CONCEPT OF TRAINING:

There are three terms used in the context of learning, training, development and education. All
these learning three terms can be used along a continuum with training at one end, education
on another and development falling in between.

According to Edwin B. Flippo, “training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skills of
an employee for doing a particular job.”

OBJECTIVES OF TRAINING

1. To increase the knowledge of workers in doing specific jobs.

2. To systematically impart new skills to the human resources so that they learn quickly.
3. To bring about change in the attitudes of the workers towards fellow workers, supervisor
and the organization.
4. To improve the overall performance of the organization.
5. To make the employees handle materials, machines and equipment efficiently and thus to
check wastage of time and resources.
6. To reduce the number of accidents by providing safety training to employees.
7. To prepare employees for higher jobs by developing advanced skills in them.

Although the terms training and development are used together, they are often confused.
Training means learning the basic skills and knowledge necessary for a particular job or a
group of jobs. In other words, training is the act of increasing the knowledge for doing a
particular job. But development refers to the growth of an individual in all respects. An
organization works for the development of its executives or potential executives in order to
enable them to be more effective in performing the various functions of management. An
executive development programme aims at increasing the capacities of the individuals to
achieve the desired objectives. Executive capacities imply his personal abilities and potentials.
Desired objectives imply consideration for tile goals of the organization and individuals.
Increasing the capacities implies that change must, occur in the executive and through him in
his subordinates. The distinction between training and development is shown in Table 1.1.

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Training is also different from education in the following respects:

• Training it is concerned with increasing knowledge and skills in doing a particular job.
The major burden of training falls upon the employer. But education is broader in scope.
Its purpose is not confined to developing the individuals, but it is concerned with
increasing general knowledge and understanding of total environment.

• Education generally refers to the formal learning in a school or a college, whereas

training is vocation oriented and is generally imparted at the work place.

• Training usually has mere immediate utilitarian purpose than education.

At times, both training and education occur at the same time. Some schools run formal
vocational courses, which can be job-oriented whereas some employee development
programmes in industry have quite a wide scope and may be viewed education.

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ROLE OF TRAINING:

The primary concern of an organisation is viability, and hence the efficiency. Training imparts
skills and knowledge to employees, so that they contribute to the organizations efficiency and
the ability to cope up with the pressures of a constantly changing environment. Bass has
identified 3 factors which necessitate continuous training in an organisation. These factors are
technological advances, organisational complexity and human relations. All these factors are
inter-related. Thus training can play the following roles in the organisation:
I. INCREASE IN EFFICIENCY: Training plays an active role in increasing the
efficiency in an organisation. Training increases skills for doing a job in a better way by
enhancing competencies.
II. INCREASE IN MORALE OF EMPLOYEES: Training increases the morale of
employees. Training increases employee morale by upgrading their skills in line with
their job requirements.
III. BETTER HUMAN RELATIONS: Training helps to increase the quality of human
relations in an organisation. Many techniques have been developed through which
people can be trained and developed to tackle many problems of social and
psychological nature.
IV. REDUCED SUPERVISION: Trained employees require less supervision. They need
more autonomy and freedom. With reduced supervision, a manager can increase his span
of management.
V. INCREASED ORGANISATIONAL VIABILITY AND RESILIENCE: Viability relates
to an organization’s ability to tide over bad days and resilience relates to its ability to
sustain its effectiveness despite the loss of key personnel’s and making do with its
existing personnels. Trained employees are necessary to maintain organisational
viability and flexibility.
VI. ADVANCEMENT IN TECHNOLOGY: A trained employee is necessary to adapt to the
innovative technological advancement implemented in the organisation.

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VII. ORGANISATIONAL POLICY: Some organizations have a policy of sending their staff
for training on a regular basis with an objective to keep its staff abreast with the latest
working methods, innovations and management practices.
VIII. INTRODUCTION OF NEW STRATEGIES: In order to gain competitive advantage
organizations introduce new strategies, new working methods, procedures or practices.
Training need arises from an organization’s future plans or shift in its priorities.

NEED FOR TRAINING:

There are some other reasons also for which this training becomes necessary. Explained below
are various factors, giving rise to the need for training.

• Employment of inexperienced and new labour requires detailed instructions for effective
performance on the job.

• People have not to work, but work effectively with the minimum of supervision,
minimum of cost, waste and spoilage, and to produce quality goods and services.

• Increasing use of fast changing techniques in production and other operations requires
training into newer methods for the operatives.

• Old employees need refresher training to enable them to keep abreast of changing
techniques and the use of sophisticated tools and equipment.

• Training is necessary when a person has to move from one job to another because of
transfer, promotion or demotion.

IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING

Training is crucial for organizational development and success. It is fruitful to both

employers and employees of an organization. An employee will become more efficient
and productive if he is trained well. Training presents a prime opportunity to expand the
knowledge base f all employees, but many employers find the development opportunities
expensive. Employees also miss out on work time while attending training sessions,
which may delay the completion of projects. Despite the potential drawbacks, training

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 and development provides both the company as a whole and the individual employees
with benefits that make the cost and the time a worthwhile investment

Training is very vital in any company or organization that aims at progressing. Training
targets specific goals , for instance understanding a process and operating a certain
machine or system. Training helps to decision making thinking creatively and managing
people

Benefits of training

• As the business world is continuously changing and dynamic, organizations will need
to provide to their employee training throughout their careers. If they do not not
provide continuous training they will find it difficult to stay ahead of the competition.

• The other benefit of training is that it will keep employees motivated. New skills and
knowledge can help to reduce or minimize boredom. It also demonstrates to the
employee that they are valuable enough for the employer to invest in them and their
development.

• Employee Training can be used to create positive attitudes through clarifying the
behaviours and attitudes that are expected from the employee by employer.

• Employee Training can be cost effective, as it is cheaper to train existing employees

compared to recruitment of new employee with the skills you need.

• Training can save the organization money and time if the training helps the employee
to become more efficient.

TYPES OF TRAINING
There are difrent types of training,they are the following.
Communications training
The increasing diversity of today’s workforce brings a wide variety of languages and customs.
This requires initiation of communication training for effective communications in the
organization.
Computer skills training
Computer skills are becoming a necessity for conducting administrative, shop floor and office
tasks. Therefore,computer training helps employees and organization to take advantage of
computer technology.

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 Customer service training
Increased competition in today’s global marketplace makes it critical that employees understand
and meet the needs of customers.
Diversity training
Diversity training usually includes explanation about how people have different perspectives
and views, and includes techniques to value diversity.
Ethics training
Today’s society has increasing expectations about corporate social responsibility.Also, today’s
diverse workforce brings a wide variety of values and morals to the workforce.Ethics training
helps managers and employees to adhere to the ethical norms of the organization and helps
improves corporate image.’Ethical ‘business is’ good’ business.
Human relations training
The increased stresses of today’s workplace can include misunderstandings and
conflict.Training can facilitate people to get along well in the workplace.
Quality training
Initiatives such as total quality management ,quality circles,benchmarking, etc. require basic
training about quality concepts,guidelines and standard for quality,etc .Quality is the hallmark of
doing business successfully.
Safety training
Safe working is necessary to prevent accident. Unplanned and unintended loss of men, money
and morale. Safety training is critical where working with heavy equipment,hazardous
chemicals etc. but can also be useful with practical advice for avoiding assaults,etc.
Sexual harassment prevention training
Given increasing number of women joining the workforce, It is important to conduct sexual
harassment prevention training. Such training usually includes careful description of the
organization’s policies and certified standing orders about sexual harassment, especially about
what are inappropriate behaviours.

TRAINING PHILOSOPHY:
Every organisation has different philosophy on training depending on its objectives, strategies,
culture, and climate. Philosophy means putting the nature of universe, including meaning,
people and relationships into an understandable and explainable perspective.

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The training philosophy of an organisation expresses the degree of importance it attaches to
training and development of human resources. Organisation with positive philosophy
understands that they live in a world where effectiveness is achieved by having competent
employees and organisational performance cannot be improved they invest in developing the
skills and competencies of their employees. The organisation need to set concrete objectives
for training in terms of a return on investment and the training philosophy should reflect this.
These areas which such philosophy should be developed are as follows:

Relevance
Problem based
Action oriented
Performance related training
Continuous development.

In the organizational context, training philosophy resolves around the following issues:
1. Whether to focus on custom designed training programmes or stick to generic training
programmes? What are the costs and benefits associated with custom designed training
programmes and generic training programmes?
2. Whether training is a long term investment or short term expenditure?
3. Whether specialization will be resorted to or it will be general?
4. Whether trainers will be sourced internally or externally?
5. Whether training will be developed as a separate function/department or a generic
responsibility of HRD/HRM function /department.
Progressive organizations believe that training is a process, not an event. As a result they invest
in training their employees for doing business right.

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 PRINCIPLES OF TRAINING

The basic training principles help trainers to design programmes that are specific to the
needs of an organization and individual employees.
Principles of goal setting
Principles of individuality
Principle of practice
Principle of feedback
Principle of meaningfulness
Principle of overload
Principles of specificity
Principles of adaptation
Principle of progression
Principle of reversibility
Principle of variation

1. Principle of Goal Setting

Training should be based on specific needs and objectives of the organization as well as
employees. Determination of goals pertaining to development of skills, knowledge and
behaviour helps in improving organizational performance.
2. Principles of individuality
The learning needs and styles of each individual employee are different from another.
Trainees respond differently to the same training.
3. Principles of practice
Employees must be accorded opportunity to practice what they have learnt in training
programme so that training can be transferred to workplace efficiently and results in
performance improvement.
4. Principle of feedback
Employees/trainees needs to be given non-critical feedback so as to reinforce what they
have learnt in the training for effective skill transfer to the job.

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5. Principle of meaningfulness
Training should focus on job relevant skills, knowledge and information. This helps in
achieving objectives of training.
6. Principles of overload
Training should not provide so many details to employees/trainees that it overloads the
employee/trainee resulting in loss of learning retention.
7. Principles of specificity
Training must be specific to the needs of individual employees and jobs. What is relevant
for a particular job as per job description should be focused.
8. Principles of adaptation
Training programmes must be adapted for specific individual employees or group of
employees keeping in view their competence, personal profile, job requirements and job
conditions.
9. Principles of progression
Training should be imparted in a progressive manner from simple to difficult part in a
rationale and logical flow.
10.Principles of reversibility
The adaptations that take place as a result of training are all reversible. Adaptations to
endurance training can be lost more quickly than it takes to achieve them.
11. Principles of variation
If training programmes are repetitious, employees/trainees can soon become bored and
lose their motivation to learn.

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COMPONENTS OF TRAINING
The components of training are depicted below :
Insight
Motivation
Opportunity to learn
Opportunity to practice in real world
Follow up
Required components of successful training are:
Insight
The success of training programmes depends on the extent to which trainers and
trainees understand the goal of training and openly peteshare feedbacks .
Employees must know what needs to be developed and how to no acquire the
knowledge and skills they need . This requires employees to understand and
analyze their developmental needs keeping in view organizational needs and career
vision .
Motivation
Employees must be willing to invest time and energy to develop themselves .
Unless employees are self-motivated to make conscious efforts to develop their
skills and competencies , training and development programmated es will yield
little result . Motivated employees actively pursue learning to improve their skills
and competencies for improving their overall performances . They will invest more
time , energy and effort in training and development programmes if they know that
the competencies they will acquire and transfer to workplace will be appropriately
rewarded .
Opportunity to learn
The necessary conditions for systematic development must be provided by the
organization . I earning provides the much-needed skills to improve job related
competencies and employees would acquire competencies for enhanced
contribution to the bottom line of the organization . Without opportunity to
learning, employees skills and competencies will become obsolete .
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 Opportunity to practice in real world
Employees must have opportunity for trying out their new skills at work . Often
training and development programmes are rendered ineffective due to lack of
opportunity to practice the new skills the new skills and competencies acquired by
employees in the training and development programmes . A conducive
environment at workplace allows employees to apply new knowledes and skills
and further develop and refine them
Follow up
Employees must internalizes their new capabilities to actually improve
performance and result . Trainer must conduct follow up studies to examine the
degree of transfer of training skills to job . They should guide employees wherever
the employees has difficulty in application of new knowledge and sklls being
acquired through training and development programmes . Also, employees needs
to be given positive feedback on progress and improvement made in job related
skills and competencies periodically after training to reinforce continual
application of learning and motivating them to sharpen the skills further .

NEED FOR INTEGRATED APPROACH TO LEARNING IN TRAINING

In a training programme, learning is a complex and multidimensional programme. There are

several factors and conditions that influence the learning process. In this process the main
players are – the participants, trainers, support staffs etc. Your task as trainer is to ensure that all
these factors and components are in accord with one another in a way that strengthens and
promotes the learning process.

However this process is not an easy task because sometimes, the factors and circumstances have
strong influence on learning process which can create conflicting pressures. Things may not
work in accordance with the expectations. Sometimes the trainer has to face many
inconsistencies as the programme progresses. The training styles of the trainer may not be equal
with the learning styles of the participants. They may find the physical environment is not

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contributing to learning. It is important that learning team maintains constant vigil of learning
process.

Four Ways in Which a Participant Learns

Affirmations and endorsement of existing learning.
Building on present level of competencies.
Development of new knowledge and competencies.
Learning after going through a process of de-learning.

The learning process from a training activity could have varied meaning for different
participants. In order to make full use of his learning opportunity in a programme, he must
aware of his knowledge and competencies.

Affirmation or endorsement of existing learning.

When a participant share his experience and ideas in training, either the trainer or other
participants in the group may agree with his point of view. This endorsement strengthen his
learning and gives him confidence. Affirmation and positive response act as a strong motivating
influence for active participation in training activities.
Building on present level of competencies.
In training programme, learning can also means helping the participants in developing his
existing competencies to a level that enable him to deal more competently with work and life
situations. This learning also suggest effective methods of using existing competencies to
produce optimum results. These would result in providing a base for achieving efficiency in the
job.
Development of new knowledge and skills.
Another way in which a participant learn is when he requires competencies that he either did
not possess at the time of commencement of training or, had at best, a very general
understanding of them. In such cases, the training aims to widen the range and scope of his
competencies or provide new knowledge to enable him to become more efficient and
productive.
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 Learning after going through a process of de-learning.
In certain situations in training programme, de-learning comes before new learning. It is not
easy for an individual to give up his existing ideas and adopt new ideas, method of working or
patterns of behaviour. He tends to resist learning that involves changes in self-organisation,
actions and ideas. In the learning process, perception of threats is minimised when the
participants are given greater control and responsibility for their learning. In such cases, he is
likely to be more open to change.

METHODS OF LEARNING IN A TRAINING PROGRAMME

In a training programme, trainers are not only the source of learning for the participants.
Learning can become lop-sided if they depend largely on the inputs provided by the trainers.
This may also prevent of using all available avenues for learning. The trainer should promote
other learning methods and also promote interaction among the participants through suitable
training activities. Also it is not limited to classrooms and goes beyond precincts.

Five methods of learning are:

Direct input by the trainer.
Learning through sharing within the training group.
Learning through practice and exercise.
Formal or informal methods of observation.
Out-of-session exchanges with participants and trainers.

• Direct inputs by the trainers.

In a training programme trainer has to provide suitable and quality inputs to the participants.
The trainer also have the knowledge about the subject matter. He is expected to be mentally and
professionally prepared to organise training activities. Some inputs are:
1. Lectures or presentations.
2. Interventions during discussion or other group activities to present varied dimensions
of the issues under discussion or a different point of view.
3. Opening remarks when introducing a new topic.

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 4. Response to questions of participants.
5. Summary of comments or concluding remarks.
6. Informal discussions or conversations.

They also provide inputs through printed materials and documents, distributed after its
conclusion. This include
1. Elaborating various theories, concepts on the topics or related issues.
2. Presenting ideas on different issues that come up during the discussion.
3. Bringing out learning outcomes from training activities.
4. Giving guidelines for effective functioning of training group.

• Learning through sharing within training group.

In training programmes, training group is a powerful sources of learning. Group-based training

activities are most productive when the objective is to develop mental skill, facilitate an
exchange of views and ideas on specific topic, helps in critical appraisal of theories and
concepts and analyse different approaches adopted by the participants in carrying out work-
related task.

• Learning through practice and exercise.

Another method of learning is through individual or group practical assignments, by doing

things. Participants are given specific task or projects to be completed within an allotted time.
For instance, carrying out a field survey, sales promotion exercise etc. the main objective is to
develop mental or physical skills of the participants or familiarise them with actual working
conditions. There are also activities and exercises for enhancing self-awareness and to increase
interpersonal effectiveness.

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• Formal and informal methods of observation.

It is not correct that the participants can learn only through direct participation or through verbal
exchange. Trainers consider observation as the key method of learning. It is through intent and
design that the observation become productive and useful exercise. The process involves
observing how a person performs an activity and evaluating outcomes. In training participants
can learn a lot by observing the trainers while they make a presentation or conduct an activity.
• Out-of-session exchange with participants and trainers.

An important aspect of participation is the opportunity it provides for formal, out-of-session

interaction and contacts with other members of the group and training team. These interactions
are important source of learning not only in training areas but in personal development as well.
Generally, participants are keen to establish relationships with those with similar backgrounds,
interest and experiences. But some in the group seek to establish contacts with those who are
more knowledgeable or possess richer or varied experiences. They consider this as a unique
oppurtunity to widen their horizons. This is a useful and productive leisure-time activity for
some participants and the training team should support and encourage it.

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE LEARNING PROCESS

Learning can be influenced both by personal (directly related to the participant) as well as
environmental (associated with training environment) factors. These are, however, not
necessarily exclusive categories. There could be considerable interplay between them. You
must also note that all factors may not operate at the same time, with all participants. A
participant formulates his views about the programme on the basis of his own perceptions and
assessment of the programme as a whole or a particular training activity. It is possible that any
one factor may influence a participant at a given time, but on other occasions, some other
factors influence him. Broadly speaking, there are two categories of factors influencing the
learning process:
1. Personal Factors.
2. Environmental Factors.
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Personal Factors Affecting The Learning Process

• Desire for personal growth and development.

Some participants have an intense urge for personal growth and development and consider the
training programme as a means of realising this objective. They are desirous of widening the
horizon of their knowledge and enhancing their competencies. They serve as the motivating
factors. Such participants look beyond immediate benefits accruing from the training. The
working environment in the organisations does not affect their motivation. They do not wait for
the learning opportunities to come their way but create them. These participants generally have
a high degree of commitment to the programme and a positive attitude towards their co-
participants and the trainers.
• Incentives or benefits for learning.
Some participants expect specific payoffs or benefits in the form of increments, promotion,
recognition, awards or improvements in their career prospects from their participation in the
training programme. Some business concerns, governmental and non-governmental
organisations and even the Army have a policy of increments or promotions to those who
undergo specialised in-service training in their respective areas. Knowledge of these incentives
enhances participation of these participants. You, as a trainer, should take note of these
motivating influences. If you find that these incentives are missing from the programme, or this
factor is not relevant in the case of a majority of the participants, you should emphasise other
interesting features that will be of interest to most of the participants.
• Consistency between personal learning objectives and programme objectives.
If the participants are aware of their training needs and are able to translate them into specific
objectives are reflected in the overall programme objectives. So that they become more interest
in the training activities. This consistency enhances their commitment to the programme. They
are prepared to put in extra time and efforts. The trainer task is to help the participants set out
their learning objectives right at the beginning of the programme. It is important that at the time
of establishing the ownership of the programme, the trainer should explain to what extent he

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 feel participant’s training needs are reflected in the programme objectives and its contents,
going quickly over the course outline.
• Self-image and level of self-esteem.
Self-believing confident participants are an asset for trainers. There could be problems in the
group if some participants demonstrate high level of self-esteem and have larger than life self-
image. Participants occupying senior positions in their organisations might flaunt their position.
They want their position and status to be recognised by the training team and participants. They
feel that this makes them to dominate the group. Some even feel that they do not need training.
These attitudes can influence other participants and it might leads to unfavourable fallout for the
programme. To overcome this the trainer can create proper climate for the programme by
asserting, right at the beginning of the proceedings, that the status and position of members is
not affected to the training team. Make sure that the participants that they will be treated on a
par. Also be prepared to extend support to low-esteem one and help them to overcome their
inhibitions and apprehensions.
• Situations in the organisations.
As the learning process progresses, every participants starts reflecting on the use and
application of acquired learning in the back-home situation. If the environment in the
organisation is not worker-friendly and a participant foresees no possibility of utilising the
learning in work situations, he can become indifferent to the training process. A participant can
overcome these situation if there are other strongly motivating or helpful factors for sustaining
interest in the programme. On the other hand, if a participant is confident of getting appropriate
opportunities and support from immediate superiors for utilising the training he has received, he
will participate in training activities with greater vigour and enthusiasm.
So the trainer should be aware of the extent of this concern among members of the group. Have
a free and frank discussion with the group and make the participants familiar with the general
scenario in the organisation with regard to the application of training to the field. It will be
helpful if the trainer present some guidelines to overcome these difficulties. The training agency
should also communicate with the sponsoring organisations and remind them of their
responsibility to ensure that the benefits of the training are not frittered away and proper use is
made of learning in improving the performance of the participants.
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• Reason and manner of sponsorship.
The reason behind the nomination of a participant and the manner in which it is made has
considerably bearing on his motivation. The mandate of his superiors, their expectations and the
extent of his accountability are key elements for creating interest in the programme. When the
training agency invites nominations for the programme, the criteria for selection are also set out.
However there are a number of situations when an organisation nominates participants on the
basis of arbitrary criteria that could be quite different from those suggested by the agency.
There are situations where unwilling participants are nominated to attend the programme. There
are some interesting cases of inappropriate nominations are given: a participant was sponsored
by a reputed national organisation to attend a training programme in another country as a
reward for his work. As all expenses were paid by the training agency, it was an attractive offer
for the organisation. His lack of interest in the programme drew the attention of the trainers and
during the discussion that ensued, the real reason for his indifferent attitude to the programme
came to light: for him it was a paid vacation, not an office-relater assignment.
• Previous training experiences of the participants.
A participant’s past encounters with similar programmes also influence his motivation and are a
major factor in determining his attitude to the programme or training team. If his earlier
experience is rewarding and productive, he starts with a lot of enthusiasm and look forward to
this experience. If he has been frustrating then his interest will be far less. This frustration may
even result in a lack of faith in the training process. It is possible that more mature participants
may put these unhappy experience aside and regard the current programme as a new experience,
worth investing time and effort in.
• Participant’s learning style and skills.
As indicated earlier, learning is a highly individual and personal phenomenon. It is important
that an individual should have the necessary capability to translate experience and interactions
in the programme into concrete learning. He should have the ability to understand the substance
of training activities. A participant’s learning style should also be consistent with the training
methods and techniques. If the participants lacks the necessary skills to make the best use of the
opportunity offered by the programme for learning, his participation lacks energy and
motivation.
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Environmental Factors Affecting Learning Process.
1. Programme contents or the topics.
Participant’s initial concern is to ascertain to what extent the programme reflects their training
need and expectations. They examine the relevance of the contents either to their present work
or to future responsibilities. Once they are satisfied on these points, their attention turns to other
aspects of the programme. To make it clear the trainer has to explain all key features of the
programme. Proper packaging and presentation are important for a successful venture.
Introduce a new topic in a manner that the interest and curiosity of the participants are aroused.
2. Training strategies, methods and techniques.
Training methods are important instruments for transmitting programme content to the
participants. In order to create an environment in which learning takes place in a relatively risk-
free and non-threatening manner, trainer should use learner-friendly training methodology and
training methods. Every training method should have an element of motivation built into it. This
facilitates active involvement of the participants in the training process. The appropriate training
methods also help trainees to internalise learning.
3. Trainer/ Training team.
The training team is the pivot of the programme. A competent and active team is a key factor in
stimulating and nurturing the interest and motivation of the participants. An enthusiastic and
committed trainer can encourage participants and create active participation. Participant’s
response to the training activities and the learning stimuli depends on their perception of the
training teams. The following elements constitute the profile of trainer:
• Trainer’s style of training and manner in which he makes his presentations or conduct
training activities.
• Expertise and proficiency in the topic.
• Level of confidence in handling the training group.
• Manner in which a trainer responds to problems on difficult situations.
• Commitment to the programme.
4. General learning environment in the programme.
General environment at the training venue is also important and it includes:

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 • General ambience of the training venue – whether the surroundings are conducive for
training.
• Training facilities- classroom arrangement, information panels etc.
• Attitude of support staff towards the participants.
• Administration of the programme.
• Arrangement for leisure time activities.
5. Relationship with other members of the group and the trainers.
Here there are two sets of relationships in a programme- participant-participant and participant-
trainer. Participant-participant relationship is an important transactional element. A positive
relationship serves as a confidence building measure in the initial stages. If it is based on mutual
assurance and faith, it facilitates sharing and strengthens the learning process.
Another aspect is relationship between trainer and participants. If this bond is one of support
and assurance, the learning process is enhanced. The participant should have the confidence and
assurance of coming to you with a personal problem. This could be the test of a strong trainer-
participant bonding.
6. Composition of the training group.
The size and composition of the training group are key aspects of a training programme. If the
group is small say, less than 10 participants – trainers are in a position to give personalised
attention and the participants are better placed to realise their personal learning objectives.
However, as opportunities for interaction and sharing are limited, the environment can become
dull and boring, affecting the learning process. If it is a very large group, more than 35
participants has an overabundance of interactions and hence, the group dynamics become
complicated. The possibility of group discords and conflicts is very large especially in long
term programme. If the situation not properly handled it can generate acrimonious
disagreements. In a programme where seniors and subordinates are together in a group, free and
frank discussions could be hampered. It is suggested that in such cases, the training team should
have a prior discussion with the senior management of the organisation and get their mandate
for an open discussion.

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