SAINT MONICA UNIVERSITY

The Effect Of Training And Development On

Employee Performance At Nestle
A Research Project Submitted to the
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND PUBLIC POLICY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Masters of Science in Business Administration

With a Concentration in
Human Resource Management
By
Bua Nyoh Bertrand

Committee Members
Prof. J.J. Asongu
Mr. Marcelus U. Ajonina

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of Study
An organization is made of up of both human and material resources. The human resources are in
a position of manipulating the material resources to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
As it is said in the profession of law that nemo dat quot non habat i.e. what you dont have
you cant give. If organization deems fit to achieve its set objectives, then training and
development must be taken seriously. The work environment is volatile, as things are fast
changing in the present day world. Technology is fast growing and changing. Secretaries in
offices who are trained with manual typewriter must try to acquaint themselves with the use of
computer because typewriter cannot stand the test of time. Business managers must be internet
savvy in order to fast track business transactions , the top desk officers (customer care centre)
needs update on how to relate with customer (customer relation) ,marketing managers must be
updated on how best to appeal to minds of consumers through advertisement, through the use of
modern gadgets and instruments , as the security agents should also know the use of gadgets and
electronic appliances to tackle the presents day security threat which cannot be handled by
physical (man) police, all these and many more attest to the fact that training and development
play a significant role in the success of an organization.
According to Ian Johnston and Bobbie McClelland (2002), for any nation to succeed in
internationally competitive markets, the following requirements are essential:
1. Companies need to invest fully in the people;
2. Individuals need to achieve their full potentials;
3. Enterprise and ideas must flourish; and

4. Learning must be accessible, relevant and stimulating.

Throughout the world companies are realizing that the development of their Human resources is
the key not only to business survival, but also to business success. The alternative to training and
development are nowhere near as effective and efficient as they may appear in the short term
(Keith Sisson, 2000). It will be ridiculous and equivalent to backwardness when an organization
makes efforts to recruit highly potential employees who possess the entire certificate require
doing such job and fails to train such employee then, automatically the organization will not
make such employee perform effectively and efficiently. Training is salient for new employees
and those who do routine job. Training and development is a continuous process which will
make the objectives and aspirations of the organization achievable through its manpower. Money
invested in training and staff development is money well invested.
Nestle was formed in 1905 by the merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1866
by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lacte Henri Nestl, founded in 1866 by
Henri Nestl. The company grew significantly during the First World War and again following
the Second World War, expanding its offerings beyond its early condensed milk and infant
formula products. The company has made a number of corporate acquisitions, including Crosse
& Blackwell in 1950, Findus in 1963, Libby's in 1971, Rowntree Mackintosh in 1988 and Gerber
in 2007.
Nestl has a primary listing on the Six Swiss Exchange and is a constituent of the Swiss Market
Index. It has a secondary listing on Euro next. In 2011, Nestl was listed No. 1 in the Fortune
Global 500 as the world's most profitable corporation. With a market capitalization of $ 200
billion, Nestl ranked No. 13

Problem of the Study

Even though Nestle is has on the job training, training programs, mentorship by its management
and employees, it appears that it does not currently have adequate staffing policy, training and
development policy as well as a succession plan. Training and development is therefore more or
less unplanned and unsystematic. It looks like the majority of the employees are not trained
(orientation) upon appointment. As a result, administrative employees skills and abilities have
over the years not been enhanced to enable them become effective and efficient.
Its against the afore mentioned, that the research seeks to undertake this research, in a quest to
answer questions like; What must be the bases for the need for training and development? How
is training and development needs determined? Who must determine training needs of
employees? Who conducts training for employees? Where and when must training be carried
out? Is training and development policy relevant at all? What must be done to ensure skills and
competencies acquired from training transfers back to the job situation? What role would
performance appraisal and job description play in the determination of training needs of
employees?

Purpose of the Study

The research identified the effects of training and development on employee performance of
Nestle. But specifically the research has the following objectives:
1. To find out how training and development of employees contribute to the
achievement of the goals of Nestle.
2. To find out whether there are organizational issues that constrain training and

development in Nestle.
3. To investigate how training and development needs of employees are determined.

Research Questions
At the end of the research, the following questions were answered:
1. Does training and development have an effect on the performance of employees for the
achievement of organizational goals in Nestle?
2. What are the issues that work against training and development in the Nestle?
3. How are training and development needs of Nestls employees determined and by
whom?

Definition of terms
Training and Development: Training and development is a function of human resource
management concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of
individuals and groups in organizational settings.
Employees:

An employee is

term

for

workers

and

managers

working

for

a company, organization or community. These people are the staff of the organization.
Generally speaking, any person hired by an employer to do a particular job is an employee.
Performance: Performance is defined as whether a person executes their job duties and
responsibilities well.
Nestle: Nestl is a Swiss transnational food and beverage company headquartered in
Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest food company in the world measured by
revenues, and ranked #72 on the Fortune Global 500 in 2014.

Scope and Limitation of Study

The study is limited on the elements of human resource management, particularly in the
area of training and development. This study was carried out in Nestle Douala, Cameroon .

Significance of the Study

The significance of the study is broadly classified in to three parts.
In practical, the study will help the managers to understand the impact of training and
development on employees and to make policies accordingly.
At the theoretical level, it helps to design policies and strategies about training and
development of employees, which ultimately affect the organizational performance.
Finally, the research would not only add to works that have been done in this area, but also
provoke further research into the training and development of employees and its resultant
effect on the achievement of the object of Nestle. It would benefit the Nestle in its effort
to train and develop its employees.
In summary, this chapter focus on the background of the nestle as the case study of the
research and also the general background of human resource management. For a

better

understanding of the topic this chapter also made use of research questions, defined terms in
context of the study, stated the scope and limitation and above all highlighted the significance
of the study.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction
In this chapter, literatures shall be reviewed based on the concepts and definitions of terms in the
research topic; the effects of training and development on employee performance of Nestle.

Concepts and Definitions

Human resource is the very important and the backbone of every organization and it is also
the main resource of the organization. So organizations invest huge amount on the human
resource capital because the

performance of human

the

organization.

performance

of

the

resource will

ultimately increase

Employee training is considered as the planned step towards facilitating employees to seek jobrelated knowledge including behaviors and skills (Dennis and Griffin, 2005). In human resource
development (HRM) the theories and empirical evident supports Training and Development as
strategic positioning which have a direct relationship with development and achieving goals
precisely.
Performance is a major multidimensional construct aimed to achieve results and has
a strong

link to strategic goals of an organization (Mwita, 2000) .As the Mwita (2000)

explains that performance is the key element to achieve the goals of the organization so to
performance increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization which is helpful for
the achievement of the organizational goals. But the question arise that how an employee
can work more effectively and efficiently to increase the growth and the productivity of an
organization(Qaiser Abbas and Sara Yaqoob). There are many factors which improves the
work of the employee such as flexible scheduling, training etc.

It is very necessary for the organization to design the training very carefully (Michael
Armstrong, 2000). The design of the training should be according to the needs of the employees
(Ginsberg, 1997). Those organizations which develop a good training design according to the
need of the employees as well as to the organization always get good results (Partlow, 1996;
Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau et al., 2001). It seems that Training design plays a very vital role
in the employee as well as organizational performance. A bad training design is nothing
but the loss of time and money (Tsaur and Lin, 2004).
On the job training helps employees to get the knowledge of their job in a better way (Deming,
1982). People learn from their practical experience much better as compare to bookish
knowledge. On the job training reduces cost and saves time (Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak, 2003;
Heras, 2006). It is better for the organizations to give their employees on the job training
because it

is cost

effective and

time saving (Ruth Taylor et al., 2004). It is good for

organization to give their employees on the job training so that their employees learnt in a
practical way (Tom Baum et al., 2007).
Delivery style is a very important part of Training and Development (Carlos A. Primo Braga,
1995). Employees are very conscious about the delivery style Michael Armstrong, 2000). If
someone is not delivering the training in an impressive style and he is not capturing the
attention of the audience it is means he is wasting the time (Mark A. Griffin et al., 2000). It is
very necessary for a trainer to engage its audience during the training session (Phillip seamen et
al., 2005). Delivery style means so much in the Training and Development.
It is very difficult for an employee to perform well at the job place without any pre-training
(Thomas N. Garavan, 1997). Trained employees perform well as compared

to

untrained

employees (Partlow, 1996; Tihanyi et al., 2000; Boudreau et al., 2001). It is very necessary
for any organization to give its employees training to get overall goals

of the

organization in a better way (Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak, 2003; Heras, 2006). Training and
development increase the overall performance of the organization (Shepard, Jon et al., 2003).
Although it

is costly

to give training to the employees but in the long run it give back

more than it took (Flynn et al., 1995; Kaynak, 2003; Heras, 2006). Every organization
should develop its employees according to the need of that time so that they could compete
with their competitors (Carlos A. Primo Braga, 1995).
The training and development of the employees has direct contributions in the high achievements
of organization which shows better performance. Training increased the organizational
performance which predicted by many researches (Peteraf, 1993; Niazi, 2011). Performance of
an organization is defined as how effective and efficient managers use organizational resources
to satisfy customers and achieve organizational goals and objectives. Ideally, the more
employees are trained and are satisfied with their work and environmental conditions, the
more they can help enhance their organizations' performance.
The resource based view theory supported that any training designed for the organization is
based on the creation of values and enhancing the capabilities for continued organization
performance (Barney, 1991).

References
Degraft O.E (2012). The effect of training and development on employee performance at
accra polytechnic (Masters thesis). Retrieved from

http://ir.knust.edu.gh/bitstream/123456789/4825/1/Eric%20Degraft-Otoo.pdf.
Muhammad M.R (n.d) Human resource practice in Nestle Pakistan. Retrieved from

http://www.slideshare.net/inpacttox/human-resource-practices-in-nestle-pakistan
Nestle (n.d). Nestle. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/ramyagolla/nestle-

company-hr-management-original,
Raja Abdul, Furqan A. Khan, Muhammad A. Khan (2012). Impact of Training and
Development on Organizational Performance. Retrieved from
https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume11/8-Impact-of-Training-and-Development-

on-Organizational-Performance.pdf
Retrieved from https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee