Training has become increasingly vital to the success of modern organizations. Recall that in chapter strategy and human resources planning, we noted that organizations often compete on the basis of their capabilities which is the core sets of knowledge and expertise that give them an edge over their competitors. Training plays central role in nurturing and strengthening the competencies of a firm and in this way has become part of the backbone of strategic management.
In addition, rapidly changing technologies require that employees continuously sharpening their knowledge, skills, and abilities through continuous learning. Greater competition including that from different firms around the globe, also makes it necessary for a company’s employees and managers to develop the skills that enable them to handle new and more demanding assignments.
The term training is often used casually to describe almost any efforts initiated by an organization to foster learning among its members. However, many experts distinguish between training, which tends to be more narrowly focused and oriented toward short-term performance concerns, and development which, as you learned in recruitment and careers, tends to be oriented more toward broadening an individual’s skills for future responsibilities. The two terms tend to be combined into a single phrase-training and development-to recognize the combination of activities organizations use to increase the skills base of employees.