Key Features:

- No of Pages: 57 + 2 Appendices

- No of Chapters: 5

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Introduction:

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Author Aidah Nassazi







Employees are major assets of any organization. The active role they play towards a

company’s success cannot be underestimated. As a result, equipping these unique assets

through effective training becomes imperative in order to maximize the job

performance. Also position them to take on the challenges of the today’s competitive

business climate. Although extensive research has been conducted in the area of

Human Research Management, the same cannot be said on employee training especially

as it concerns developing countries.

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the effects of training on employee

performance, using the telecommunication industry in Uganda as case study. In order to

understand the study aim, four goals were developed and these focused particularly on

identifying the training programs’ existing in the industry, the objective of the training

offered, the methods employed and finally the effects of training and development on

employee performance.

The study was based on three case studies of the biggest telecommunication companies

operating in Uganda. A qualitative research approach of the data collection was adopted

using a questionnaire comprising of 18 questions distributed to 120 respondents. Based

on this sample the results obtained indicate that training have a clear effect on the

performance of employees. The findings can prove useful to Human resource managers,

Human resource policy decision makers, as well as government and academic

institutions.

Keywords Training, Performance.

Table of Content

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 10

1.1 Background of the Study ................................................................................. 10

1.2 Problem Statement ........................................................................................... 11

1.3 Goals of the Study ............................................................................................ 12

1.4 Definition of key concepts ............................................................................... 12

1.5 Structure of the study ....................................................................................... 13

2. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ............................................................. 15

2.1 Staffing ............................................................................................................. 16

2.2 Training and Development .............................................................................. 16

2.3 Performance appraisal ...................................................................................... 17

2.4 Compensation and benefit ............................................................................... 19

2.5 Union, employee relations, health and safety .................................................. 20

3. HUMAN RESOURCE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ............................... 21

3.1 Training ............................................................................................................ 21

3.2 Benefits of training .......................................................................................... 21

3.3 HR training needs ............................................................................................ 22

3.4 Training and development methods ................................................................. 24

3.4.1 Job rotation and transfers ............................................................................... 25

3.4.2 Coaching and/or mentoring ........................................................................... 25

3.4.3 Orientation ..................................................................................................... 26

3.4.4 Conferences ................................................................................................... 26

3.4.5 Role playing ................................................................................................... 26

3.4.6 Formal training courses and development programmes ................................ 27

3.5 Employee performance .................................................................................... 27

3.6 Effect of training on performance .................................................................... 29

3.5 The other factors affecting employee performance ......................................... 32

3.5.1 Management – subordinate relationship ........................................................ 32

3.5.2 Working conditions ....................................................................................... 32

3.5.3 Reward system ............................................................................................... 33

3.5.4 Health unionization ....................................................................................... 33

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3.5.5 Team work ..................................................................................................... 34

4. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 35

4.1 Research design .................................................................................................... 35

4.2 Data sources and collection methods.................................................................... 36

4.3 Research validity and reliability ........................................................................... 38

5.1 Brief literature on the three case companies ......................................................... 40

5.1.1 Mobile Telephone Network (MTN) .............................................................. 40

5.1.2 Warid ............................................................................................................. 41

5.1.3 Uganda TeleCom (UTL) ............................................................................... 42

5.2 Sample characteristics .......................................................................................... 43

5.3 Training and development at the case companies ................................................ 45

6. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 52

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 53

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

There is no doubt that organizations worldwide are striving for success and outcompeting those in the same industry. In order to do so, organizations have to

obtain and utilize her human resources effectively. Organizations need to be

aware of face more realistically towards keeping their human resources up-todate. In so doing, managers need to pay special attention to all the core functions

of human resource manangement as this plays an important role in different

organizational, social and economically related areas among others that are

influential to the attainment of the organizational goals and thus organizations

successful continuation in the market. This study, therefore, goes on to discuss

one of the core functions of human resource which is training, employee

performance, and how the earlier affects the latter.

This chapter is divided into four sections, which will give the reader a comprehensive

overview of the study. The first section presents the subject matter by presenting the

background of the study. This is will be followed by the statement of the research

problem and the purpose of the study. Finally, the last section presents an overview of

the progress of the rest of study.

1.1 Background of the Study

Organizations are facing increased competition due to globalization, changes in

technology, political and economic environments (Evans, Pucik & Barsoux 2002,

32) and therefore prompting these organizations to train their employees as one of

the ways to prepare them to adjust to the increases above and thus enhance their

performance. It is important to not ignore the prevailing evidence on growth of

knowledge in the business corporate world in the last decade. This growth has not

only been brought about by improvements in technology nor a combination of

factors of production but increased efforts towards development of organizational

human resources. It is ,therefore , in every organizations responsibility to enhance

the job performance of the employees and certainly implementation of training

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and development is one of the major steps that most companies need to achieve

this. As is evident that employees are a crucial resource, it is important to

optimize the contribution of employees to the company aims and goals as a means

of sustaining effective performance. This therefore calls for managers to ensure an

adequate supply of staff that is technically and socially competent and capable of

career development into specialist departments or management positions (Afshan,

Sobia, Kamran & Nasir 2012, 646).

The question that may arise in many instances is why human resources are

important. Bearing in mind that human resources are the intellectual property of

the firm, employees prove to be a good source of gaining competitive advantage

(Houger 2006), and training is the only way of developing organizational

intellectual property through building employees competencies. In order to

succeed. Organizations have to obtain and utilize human resources effectively.

Organizations ,therefore, need to design its human resource mananagement in

ways that fit into the organization’s structure as this it will make the organizations

achieve their goals and objectives. Moreover, it is also important for organizations

to assist their workforce in obtaining the necessary skills needed and, increase

commitment. The management of human resources in Africa in general and

Uganda in particular is rather challenging as most organizations have difficulties

finding proper human resources. This may partly be a result of the different kinds

of problems, for example, political instability, corruption, bureaucracy, poor

infrastructure, low levels of education and purchasing power, diseases and famine

known to prevail in the African business context (Kamoche 2002, 994 – 995).

1.2 Problem Statement

Despite the increasing effects on training of organizational employees by

organizations, there is still limited literature on human resource development

issues in developing countries (Debrah & Ofori 2006, 440) and increasing

concerns from organizational customers towards low quality services in the

telecommunications sector. It is further worth noting that while much is known

about the economics of training in the developed world, studies of issues

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associated with training in less-developed countries are rarely found. The existing

studies in this relation (Harvey 2002; Harvey, Matt & Milord 2002; Jackson 2002;

Kamoche 2002; Kamoche, Debrah, Hortwiz & Muuka 2004; Kraak 2005) have

taken a general human resource management (HRM) focus creating a gap on

issues such as the effect of training on employee performance. This study will

contribute in minimizing this gap in the literature and thereby establish the basis

to understanding of some aspects of human resource management in general and

training in particular in Uganda.

1.3 Goals of the Study

In light of the above background, the aim of the study is to examine the effects of

training on employee performance within the telecommunication industry in

Uganda. The sub goals included are as follows:

 What training programs exist in the telecommunications sector?

 What are the training objectives ?

 What methods are used and do these methods meet the training objectives?

 How does training affect employee performance?

It is expected that the findings of this study will help highlight the ways in which

human resource training can be beneficial not only to the organizations but also to

the career development of its employees. All in all, the result s pave way of

improving human resources needed for the competitive performance of

organizations operating in the same line of business as the sample companies in

Uganda and Africa in general.