TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training And Development

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I3

Introduction3

Background of Study4

Purpose5

Research Questions5

CHAPTER II7

Literature Review7

Varied and multiple approaches to graduate entry and development7

Graduates and small firms9

Graduates' expectations of learning and development11

Different learning preferences?11

Harmonisation across international boundaries12

Business-higher education engagement13

Leadership development at Sony Europe15

Bubble leadership16

Five general rules17

Summary18

CHAPTER III20

The research20

Length of notice and degree of preparation for appraisal20

The formulation of training and development plans21

CHAPTER IV23

Findings23

Implementation and review of training and development plans23

Length of notice and degree of preparation for appraisal24

The formulation of training and development plans25

Implementation and review of training and development plans25

CHAPTER V27

Conclusions27

CHAPTER I

Introduction

The rationale for this special issue arose out of the belief that there were a number of reasons why an exploration of the current trends in graduate development would be of interest to both academics and practitioners. First, whilst graduate recruitment and retention has been a focus of much research (see most recently, e.g. Barber et al., 2005; AGR, 2006; Dawson et al., 2006) and also graduate transitions to work (Holden and Hamblett, 2007) and graduate early careers (CIPD, 2006; Elias and Purcell, 2005; HESA, 2007), much less attention has been given to graduate training and development. The subject is more likely to have been dealt with as a component of the “employer brand” in recruitment, a means of achieving advantage (preferred employer) in the increasingly competitive graduate market, or as a tool to improve graduate retention, than an issue in its own right. One of the few published research studies in recent years (by Connor et al., 2003) showed the greater variety of approaches now being taken by organisations to graduate entry and development, a consequence of trends in both the supply-side (a larger and more diverse graduate output) and demand-side (a wider spectrum of recruiters and graduate jobs, the demise of the one-company-career, changes to human resource development practices). An opportunity to explore developments further and also get an update of current issues for graduates and employers would seem therefore to be timely.

A second important reason to focus on graduate development is the continued interest in talent and the designation of talent management as a key strategic issue and major source of organisational competitiveness. Graduate recruitment and development forms one of the most important feeders to the talent pipelines for specialist and senior management positions, and so is firmly on the agenda of many businesses. But this is not just talent-spotting the “high flyers” at an early stage and fast tracking their careers. Many companies now recruit a wider range of graduates (and non-graduates) with potential for reaching a range of positions. Managing this more diverse pool of talent can be a challenge and one that requires considerable resources and effort to do well

Finally, and related to the above, is the increasing interest in understanding what role, if any, generational differences play in competitiveness and success. It has been argued, particularly amongst the popular press that todays graduates, “Generation Y” or “millennials”, possess very different characteristics from their predecessor generations. Studies have highlighted the characteristics, attitudes, work preferences ...