Methods to deal with difficult trainees while conducting training - Research Paper

Methods to deal with difficult trainees while conducting training - THIS IS FOR A TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT COURSE - Research Paper Example Introduction: Training and development have become the quintessential factors for effective human resource development in contemporary organizations, and therefore are the value-adding factors for organizational growth and sustenance. Instead of the conventional theoretical approach to learning, training is adopted to impart learning in organizations, which Lall and Sharma define as â€Å"a systematic procedure or technique by which a skill is developed in a person/employee of an organization,† (2009, p.444). The main components of any training include trainer, trainee, training methods, and time and resources. Trainer refers to the individual that imparts learning through various activities and with the use of his/her knowledge, understanding, experience of the topic to be learned and about the individuals that are interested in learning a specific topic; these individuals that seek learning through involvement, action and commitment are referred to as the trainees. The train ees’ characteristics, skills, and motivations help the trainer in determining the training method to be used to deliver the training. Trainer will have to adopt specific approaches to handle different types of trainees and to address any behavioural issues that can affect the training execution and effectiveness. Based on teachings from literature and case studies, an analysis will be performed to understand the implications of trainee personalities on their own learning and on the other trainees as well as the impact of these personalities on the training effectiveness. Finally, conclusions will be drawn based on key findings and analysis. 2. Literature review: Effectiveness of any training can be seen only when the trainees are able to apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired through the training course to work areas or real-time situations (Nijman et al., 2006). This requires optimum commitment from both trainees and trainers; however, studies identify a number o f reasons for training ineffectiveness one of which includes disruptive trainee behavior, such as anger and talkativeness as seen in following case studies. 2.a. Case study 1: Angry Trainee Hara (2010b) explains about a case where controversial subjects are taught to about 20-25 students in order to make them understand about the possible existence of different perspectives to a subject. One such subject related to the position of women in the U.S culture, which thwarted a student, Tina, resulting in a furious reaction refusing to read such topics as it challenged her belief about the status of women in the U.S culture. If such a thing was to happen in a training course related to organizational development, the trainees and the organizations will be affected. When the trainees express their anger during a training session, it will certainly affect the motivation and morale of the rest of the trainees. In this case, misunderstanding and misinterpretation will increase between the tr ainees coming from different cultural backgrounds. 2.b. Case study 2: Talkative Trainee Hara (2010a) describes the case of talkative Nancy and how this behavior disrupts the concentration and morale of other members in the session. Quoting an example of a student in a classroom, the author refers to Nancy as the ‘know it all-Nancy,’ who always tries to give all the information that she has related to the subject being discussed and goes beyond the subject topic to give information. Hara (2010a)