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Case Study of Nestle: Training and Development

Nestle is world’s leading food company, with a 135-year history and operations in virtually every country in the world. Nestle’s principal assets are not office buildings, factories, or even brands. Rather, it is the fact that they are a global organization comprised of many nationalities, religions, and ethnic backgrounds all working together in one single unifying corporate culture .

Culture at Nestle and Human Resources Policy

Nestle culture unifies people on all continents. The most important parts of Nestle’s business strategy and culture are the development of human capacity in each country where they operate. Learning is an integral part of Nestle’s culture. This is firmly stated in The Nestle Human Resources Policy, a totally new policy that encompasses the guidelines that constitute a sound basis for efficient and effective human resource management . People development is the driving force of the policy, which includes clear principles on non-discrimination, the right of collective bargaining as well as the strict prohibition of any form of harassment. The policy deals with recruitment , remuneration and training and development and emphasizes individual responsibility, strong leadership and a commitment to life-long learning as required characteristics for Nestle managers.

Training Programs at Nestle

The willingness to learn is therefore an essential condition to be employed by Nestle. First and foremost, training is done on-the-job. Guiding and coaching is part of the responsibility of each manager and is crucial to make each one progress in his/her position. Formal training programs are generally purpose-oriented and designed to improve relevant skills and competencies . Therefore they are proposed in the framework of individual development programs and not as a reward.

Literacy Training

Most of Nestle’s people development programs assume a good basic education on the part of employees. However, in a number of countries, we have decided to offer employees the opportunity to upgrade their essential literacy skills. A number of Nestle companies have therefore set up special programs for those who, for one reason or another, missed a large part of their elementary schooling.

These programs are especially important as they introduce increasingly sophisticated production techniques into each country where they operate. As the level of technology in Nestle factories has steadily risen, the need for training has increased at all levels. Much of this is on-the-job training to develop the specific skills to operate more advanced equipment. But it’s not only new technical abilities that are required.   It’s sometimes new working practices. For example, more flexibility and more independence among work teams are sometimes needed if equipment is to operate at maximum efficiency .

“Sometimes we have debates in class and we are afraid to stand up. But our facilitators tell us to stand up because one day we might be in the parliament!” (Maria Modiba, Production line worker, Babelegi factory, Nestle South Africa).

Nestle Apprenticeship Program

Apprenticeship programs have been an essential part of Nestle training where the young trainees spent three days a week at work and two at school. Positive results observed but some of these soon ran into a problem. At the end of training, many students were hired away by other companies which provided no training of their own.

“My two elder brothers worked here before me. Like them, for me the Nestle Apprenticeship Program in Nigeria will not be the end of my training but it will provide me with the right base for further advancement. We should have more apprentices here as we are trained so well!” (John Edobor Eghoghon, Apprentice Mechanic, Agbara Factory, Nestle Nigeria) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); “It’s not only a matter of learning bakery; we also learn about microbiology, finance, budgeting, costs, sales, how to treat the customer, and so on. That is the reason I think that this is really something that is going to give meaning to my life. It will be very useful for everything.” (Jair Andres Santa, Apprentice Baker, La Rosa Factory Dosquebradas, Nestle Columbia).

Local Training

Two-thirds of all Nestle employees work in factories, most of which organize continuous training to meet their specific needs. In addition, a number of Nestle operating companies run their own residential training centers. The result is that local training is the largest component of Nestle’s people development activities worldwide and a substantial majority of the company’s 240000 employees receive training every year. Ensuring appropriate and continuous training is an official part of every manager’s responsibilities and, in many cases; the manager is personally involved in the teaching. For this reason, part of the training structure in every company is focused on developing managers own coaching skills. Additional courses are held outside the factory when required, generally in connection with the operation of new technology.

The variety of programs is very extensive. They start with continuation training for ex-apprentices who have the potential to become supervisors or section leaders, and continue through several levels of technical, electrical and maintenance engineering as well as IT management. The degree to which factories develop “home-grown” specialists varies considerably, reflecting the availability of trained people on the job market in each country. On-the-job training is also a key element of career development in commercial and administrative positions. Here too, most courses are delivered in-house by Nestle trainers but, as the level rises, collaboration with external institutes increases.

“As part of the Young Managers’ Training Program I was sent to a different part of the country and began by selling small portions of our Maggi bouillon cubes to the street stalls, the ‘sari sari’ stores, in my country. Even though most of my main key accounts are now supermarkets, this early exposure were an invaluable learning experience and will help me all my life.” (Diane Jennifer Zabala, Key Account Specialist, Sales, Nestle Philippines). “Through its education and training program, Nestle manifests its belief that people are the most important asset. In my case, I was fortunate to participate in Nestle’s Young Managers Program at the start of my Nestle career, in 1967. This foundation has sustained me all these years up to my present position of CEO of one of the top 12 Nestle companies in the world.” (Juan Santos, CEO, Nestle Philippines)

Virtually every national Nestle company organizes management-training courses for new employees with High school or university qualifications. But their approaches vary considerably. In Japan, for example, they consist of a series of short courses typically lasting three days each. Subjects include human assessment skills, leadership and strategy as well as courses for new supervisors and new key staff. In Mexico, Nestle set up a national training center in 1965. In addition to those following regular training programs, some 100 people follow programs for young managers there every year. These are based on a series of modules that allows tailored courses to be offered to each participant. Nestle India runs 12-month programs for management trainees in sales and marketing, finance and human resources, as well as in milk collection and agricultural services. These involve periods of fieldwork, not only to develop a broad range of skills but also to introduce new employees to company organization and systems. The scope of local training is expanding. The growing familiarity with information technology has enabled “distance learning” to become a valuable resource, and many Nestle companies have appointed corporate training assistants in this area. It has the great advantage of allowing students to select courses that meet their individual needs and do the work at their own pace, at convenient times. In Singapore, to quote just one example, staff is given financial help to take evening courses in job-related subjects. Fees and expenses are reimbursed for successfully following courses leading to a trade certificate, a high school diploma, university entrance qualifications, and a bachelor’s degree.

International Training

Nestle’s success in growing local companies in each country has been highly influenced by the functioning of its International Training Centre, located near company’s corporate headquarters in Switzerland. For over 30 years, the Rive-Reine International Training Centre has brought together managers from around the world to learn from senior Nestle managers and from each other.Country managers decide who attends which course, although there is central screening for qualifications, and classes are carefully composed to include people with a range of geographic and functional backgrounds. Typically a class contains 15—20 nationalities. The Centre delivers some 70 courses, attended by about 1700 managers each year from over 80 countries. All course leaders are Nestle managers with many years of experience in a range of countries. Only 25% of the teaching is done by outside professionals, as the primary faculty is the Nestle senior management. The programs can be broadly divided into two groups:

• Management courses: these account for about 66% of all courses at Rive-Reine. The participants have typically been with the company for four to five years. The intention is to develop a real appreciation of Nestle values and business approaches. These courses focus on internal activities.
• Executive courses: these classes often contain people who have attended a management course five to ten years earlier. The focus is on developing the ability to represent Nestle externally and to work with outsiders. It emphasizes industry analysis, often asking: “What would you do if you were a competitor?”

Nestle’s overarching principle is that each employee should have the opportunity to develop to the maximum of his or her potential. Nestle do this because they believe it pays off in the long run in their business results, and that sustainable long-term relationships with highly competent people and with the communities where they operate enhance their ability to make consistent profits. It is important to give people the opportunities for life-long learning as at Nestle that all employees are called upon to upgrade their skills in a fast-changing world. By offering opportunities to develop , they not only enrich themselves as a company, they also make themselves individually more autonomous, confident, and, in turn, more employable and open to new positions within the company. Enhancing this virtuous circle is the ultimate goal of their training efforts at many different levels through the thousands of training programs they run each year.

External Links:

• Employee and Career Development  (Nestle Global)

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4 thoughts on “ Case Study of Nestle: Training and Development ”

Very nice case study

one question, when is this case study published? please ,thank you. i am doing this for final year project. as references

Post date: 03-09-2010

How does Nestle evaluate the effectiveness of training programs? Explain your reasons

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16 Team Building Case Studies and Training Case Studies

From corporate groups to remote employees and everything in between, the key to a strong business is creating a close-knit team. in this comprehensive case study, we look at how real-world organizations benefited from team building, training, and coaching programs tailored to their exact needs.  .

Updated: December 21, 2021

We’re big believers in the benefits of  team building ,  training and development , and  coaching and consulting  programs. That’s why our passion for helping teams achieve their goals is at the core of everything we do.

At Outback Team Building & Training,  our brand promis e  is  to be  recommended , flexible,  and  fast.  Because we understand that when it comes to building a stronger and more close-knit team, there’s no one-size-fits-all formula. Each of our customers have a unique set of challenges, goals, and definitions of success. 

And they look to us to support them in three key ways:  making their lives easy by taking on the complexities of organizing a team building or training event; acting fast so that they can get their event planned and refocus on all the other tasks they have on their plates, and giving them the confidence that they’ll get an event their team will benefit from – and enjoy.

In this definitive team building case study , we’ll do a deep dive into real-world solutions we provided for our customers.

4 Unique Team Building Events & Training Programs Custom-Tailored for Customer Needs 

1. a custom charity event for the bill & melinda gates foundation  , 2. how principia built a stronger company culture even with its remote employees working hundreds of miles apart , 3. custom change management program for the royal canadian mint, 4. greenfield global uses express team building to boost morale and camaraderie during a challenging project, 5 virtual team building activities to help remote teams reconnect, 1. how myzone used virtual team building to boost employee morale during covid-19, 2. americorps equips 90 temporary staff members for success with midyear virtual group training sessions, 3. how microsoft’s azure team used virtual team building to lift spirits during the covid-19 pandemic, 4. helping the indiana cpa society host a virtual team building activity that even the most “zoom fatigued” guests would love, 5. stemcell brightens up the holiday season for its cross-departmental team with a virtually-hosted team building activity, 3 momentum-driving events for legacy customers, 1. how a satellite employee “garnered the reputation” as her team’s pro event planner, 2. why plentyoffish continues to choose ‘the amazing race’ for their company retreat, 3. how team building helped microsoft employees donate a truckload of food, 4 successful activities executed on extremely tight timelines, 1. finding a last-minute activity over a holiday, 2. from inquiry to custom call in under 30 minutes, 3. a perfect group activity organized in one business day, 4. delivering team building for charity in under one week.

We know that every team has different needs and goals which is why we are adept at being flexible and have mastered the craft of creating custom events for any specifications.  

When the  Seattle, Washington -based head office of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – a world-renowned philanthropic organization – approached us in search of a unique charity event, we knew we needed to deliver something epic. Understanding that their team had effectively done it all when it comes to charity events, it was important for them to be able to get together as a team and give back  in new ways .

Our team decided the best way to do this was to create a brand-new event for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which had never been executed before. We created an entirely new charitable event – Bookworm Builders – for them and their team loved it! It allowed them to give back to their community, collaborate, get creative, and work together for a common goal. Bookworm Builders has since gone on to become a staple activity for tons of other Outback Team Building & Training customers! 

To learn more about how it all came together, read the case study:  A Custom Charity Event for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .

Who said hosting an impactful training program means having your full team in the same place at the same time? Principia refused to let distance prevent them from having a great team, so they contacted us to help them find a solution. Their goals were to find better ways of working together and to create a closer-knit company culture among their 20 employees and contractors living in various parts of the country. 

We worked with Principia to host an  Emotional Intelligence  skill development training event customized to work perfectly for their remote team. The result was a massive positive impact for the company. They found they experienced improved employee alignment with a focus on company culture, as well as more emotionally aware and positive day-to-day interactions. In fact, the team made a 100% unanimous decision to bring back Outback for additional training sessions.

To learn more about this unique situation, read the full case study:  How Principia Built a Stronger Company Culture Even with its Remote Employees Working Hundreds of Miles Apart .

We know that employee training that is tailored to your organization can make the difference between an effective program and a waste of company time. That’s why our team jumped at the opportunity to facilitate a series of custom development sessions to help the Royal Canadian Mint discover the tools they needed to manage a large change within their organization. 

We hosted three custom sessions to help the organization recognize the changes that needed to be made, gain the necessary skills to effectively manage the change, and define a strategy to implement the change: 

• Session One:  The first session was held in November and focused on preparing over 65 employees for change within the company. 
• Session Two:  In December, the Mint’s leadership team participated in a program that provided the skills and mindset required to lead employees through change. 
• Session Three:  The final session in February provided another group of 65 employees with guidance on how to implement the change. 

To learn more, read the full case study:  Custom Change Management Program for the Royal Canadian Mint .

When Greenfield Global gathered a team of its A-Players to undertake a massive, challenging project, they knew it was important to build rapports among colleagues, encourage collaboration, and have some fun together.

So, we helped them host an Express Clue Murder Mystery event where their team used their unique individual strengths and problem-solving approaches in order to collaboratively solve challenges.

To learn more, read the full case study:  Greenfield Global Uses Express Team Building to Boost Morale and Camaraderie During a Challenging Project .

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, we were proud to be able to continue supporting our customers’ goals with virtual team building activities and group training sessions.

With remote work being mandated as self-quarantine requirements are enforced on a global scale, companies began seeking ways to keep their newly-remote teams engaged and ensure morale remained as high as possible.

And MyZone was no exception. When the company found themselves feeling the effects of low employee morale and engagement, they noticed a decrease in productivity and motivation.

To make matters even more difficult, MyZone’s team works remotely with employees all over the world. This physical distancing makes it challenging for them to build a strong rapport, reinforce team dynamics, and boost morale and engagement.

The company was actively searching for an activity to help bring their employees closer together during this challenging time but kept running into a consistent issue: the majority of the team building activities they could find were meant to be done in person.

They reached out to Outback Team Building and Training and we were able to help them achieve their goals with a Virtual Clue Murder Mystery team building activity.

AmeriCorps members are dedicated to relieving the suffering of those who have been impacted by natural disasters. And to do so, they rely on the support of a team of temporary staff members who work one-year terms with the organization. These staff focus on disseminating emergency preparedness information and even providing immediate assistance to victims of a disaster.

During its annual midyear training period, AmeriCorps gathers its entire team of temporary staff for a week of professional development seminars aimed at both helping them during their term with the company as well as equipping them with skills they can use when they leave AmeriCorps.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic got underway, AmeriCorps was forced to quickly re-evaluate the feasibility of its midyear training sessions.

That’s when they reached out to Outback. Rather than having to cancel their midyear training entirely, we were able to help them achieve their desired results with four virtual group training sessions: Clear Communication ,  Performance Management Fundamentals ,  Emotional Intelligence , and  Practical Time Management .

Find all the details in the full case study: AmeriCorps Equips 90 Temporary Staff Members for Success with Midyear Virtual Training Sessions.

With the COVID-19 pandemic taking a significant toll on the morale of its employees, Microsoft’s Azure team knew they were overdue for an uplifting event.

It was critical for their team building event to help staff reconnect and reengage with one another. But since the team was working remotely, the activity needed to be hosted virtually and still be fun, engaging, and light-hearted.

When they reached out to Outback Team Building and Training, we discussed the team’s goals and quickly identified a Virtual Clue Murder Mystery as the perfect activity to help their team get together online and have some fun together.

For more information, check out the entire case study: How Microsoft’s Azure Team Used Virtual Team Building to Lift Spirits During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Indiana CPA Society is the go-to resource for the state’s certified public accountants. The organization supports CPAs with everything from continuing education to networking events and even advocacy or potential legislation issues that could affect them.

But as the time approached for one of INCPAS’ annual Thanksgiving event, the Indiana CPA Society’s Social Committee needed to plan a modified, pandemic-friendly event for a group of people who were burnt out my online meetings and experiencing Zoom fatigue.

So, we helped the team with a Self-Hosted Virtual Code Break team building activity that INCPAS staff loved so much, the organization decided to host a second event for its Young Pros and volunteers.

For INCPAS’ Social Committee, the pressure to put on an event that everyone will enjoy is something that’s always on their mind when planning out activities. And their event lived up to their hopes.

For more information, check out the entire case study: Helping the Indiana CPA Society Host a Virtual Team Building Activity That Even the Most “Zoom Fatigued” Guests Would Love .

When Stemcell was looking for a way to celebrate the holidays, lift its team members’ spirits, and help connect cross-departmental teams during the pandemic, they contacted us to help host the perfect team building activity.

They tasked us with finding an event that would help team members connect, get in the holiday spirit, and learn more about the business from one another during the midst of a stressful and challenging time.

So, we helped them host a festive, virtually-hosted Holiday Hijinks team building activity for employees from across the company.

For more information, check out the entire case study: Stemcell Brightens Up the Holiday Season for its Cross-Departmental Team with a Virtually-Hosted Team Building Activity .

We take pride in being recommended by more than 14,000 corporate groups because it means that we’ve earned their trust through delivering impactful results.

We’ve been in this business for a long time, and we know that not everybody who’s planning a corporate event is a professional event planner. But no matter if it’s their first time planning an event or their tenth, we  love  to help make our customers look good in front of their team. And when an employee at Satellite Healthcare was tasked with planning a team building event for 15 of her colleagues, she reached out to us – and we set out to do just that!

Our customer needed a collaborative activity that would help a diverse group of participants get to know each other, take her little to no time to plan, and would resonate with the entire group.

With that in mind, we helped her facilitate a  Military Support Mission . The event was a huge success and her colleagues loved it. In fact, she has now garnered a reputation as the team member who knows how to put together an awesome team building event.

To learn more, read the case study here:  How a Satellite Employee “Garnered the Reputation” as Her Team’s Pro Event Planner .

In 2013, international dating service POF (formerly known as PlentyOfFish) reached out to us in search of an exciting outdoor team building activity that they could easily put to work at their annual retreat in  Whistler, B.C . An innovative and creative company, they were in search of an activity that could help their 60 staff get to know each other better. They also wanted the event to be hosted so that they could sit back and enjoy the fun.

The solution? We helped them host their first-ever  Amazing Race  team building event.

Our event was so successful that POF has now hosted The Amazing Race at their annual retreat for  five consecutive years .

To learn more, check out our full case study:  Why PlentyOfFish Continues to Choose ‘The Amazing Race’ for Their Company Retreat .

As one of our longest-standing and most frequent collaborators, we know that Microsoft is always in search of new and innovative ways to bring their teams closer together. With a well-known reputation for being avid advocates of corporate social responsibility, Microsoft challenged us with putting together a charitable team building activity that would help their team bond outside the office and would be equal parts fun, interactive, and philanthropic. 

We analyzed which of our six charitable team building activities would be the best fit for their needs, and we landed on the perfect one: End-Hunger Games. In this event, the Microsoft team broke out into small groups, tackled challenges like relay races and target practice, and earned points in the form of non-perishable food items. Then, they used their cans and boxes of food to try and build the most impressive structure possible in a final, collaborative contest. As a result, they were able to donate a truckload of goods to the local food bank.

For more details, check out the comprehensive case study:  How Team Building Helped Microsoft Employees Donate a Truckload of Food .

Time isn’t always a luxury that’s available to our customers when it comes to planning a great team activity which is why we make sure we are fast, agile, and can accommodate any timeline. 

Nothing dampens your enjoyment of a holiday more than having to worry about work – even if it’s something fun like a team building event. But for one T-Mobile employee, this was shaping up to be the case. That’s because, on the day before the holiday weekend, she found out that she needed to organize a last-minute activity for the day after July Fourth. 

So, she reached out to Outback Team Building & Training to see if there was anything we could do to help – in less than three business days. We were happy to be able to help offer her some peace of mind over her holiday weekend by recommending a quick and easy solution: a  Code Break  team building activity. It was ready to go in less than three days, the activity organized was stress-free during her Fourth of July weekend, and, most importantly, all employees had a great experience. 

For more details, check out the full story here:  Finding a Last-Minute Activity Over a Holiday .

At Outback Team Building & Training, we know our customers don’t always have time on their side when it comes to planning and executing an event. Sometimes, they need answers right away so they can get to work on creating an unforgettable experience for their colleagues.

This was exactly the case when Black & McDonald approached us about a learning and development session that would meet the needs of their unique group, and not take too much time to plan. At 10:20 a.m., the organization reached out with an online inquiry. By 10:50 a.m., they had been connected with one of our training facilitators for a more in-depth conversation regarding their objectives.

Three weeks later, a group of 14  Toronto, Ontario -based Black & McDonald employees took part in a half-day tailor-made training program that was built around the objectives of the group, including topics such as emotional intelligence and influence, communication styles, and the value of vulnerability in a leader.

To learn more about how this event was able to come together so quickly, check out the full story:  From Inquiry to Custom Call in Under 30 Minutes .

When Conexus Credit Union contacted us on a Friday afternoon asking if we could facilitate a team building event for six employees the following Monday morning, we said, “Absolutely!” 

The team at Conexus Credit Union were looking for an activity that would get the group’s mind going and promote collaboration between colleagues. And we knew just what to recommend:  Code Break Express  – an activity filled with brainteasers, puzzles, and riddles designed to test the group’s mental strength. 

The Express version of Code Break was ideal for Conexus Credit Union’s shorter time frame because our Express activities have fewer challenges and can be completed in an hour or less. They’re self-hosted, so the company’s group organizer was able to easily and efficiently run the activity on their own.

To learn more about how we were able to come together and make this awesome event happen, take a look at our case study:  A Perfect Group Activity Organized in One Business Day .

We’ve been lucky enough to work with Accenture – a company which has appeared on FORTUNE’s list of “World’s Most Admired Companies” for 14 years in a row – on a number of team building activities in the past. 

The organization approached us with a request to facilitate a philanthropic team building activity for 15 employees. The hitch? They needed the event to be planned, organized, and executed within one week. 

Staying true to our brand promise of being fast to act on behalf of our customers, our team got to work planning Accenture’s event. We immediately put to work the experience of our Employee Engagement Consultants, the flexibility of our solutions, and the organization of our event coordinators. And six days later, Accenture’s group was hard at work on a  Charity Bike Buildathon , building bikes for kids in need.

To learn more about how we helped Accenture do some good in a short amount of time, read the full case study:  Delivering Team Building for Charity in Under One Week .

Learn More About Team Building, Training and Development, and Coaching and Consulting Solutions 

For more information about how Outback Team Building & Training can help you host unforgettable team activities to meet your specific goals and needs on virtually any time frame and budget, just reach out to our Employee Engagement Consultants.  

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Knowledge Transfer: You Can't Learn Surgery By Watching

Learning to perform a job by watching others and copying their actions is not a great technique for corporate knowledge transfer. Christopher G. Myers suggests a better approach: Coactive vicarious learning. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 17 Oct 2011

How ‘Hybrid’ Nonprofits Can Stay on Mission

As nonprofits add more for-profit elements to their business models, they can suffer mission drift. Associate Professor Julie Battilana says hybrid organizations can stay on target if they focus on two factors: the employees they hire and the way they socialize those employees. Key concepts include: In order to avoid mission drift, hybrid organizations need to focus on whom they hire and whether their employees are open to socialization. Because early socialization is so important, hybrid firms may be better off hiring new college graduates with no work background rather than a mix of seasoned bankers and social workers. The longer their tenure in a hybrid organization, the more likely top managers may be to hire junior people. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

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Case Study on Training and Development

Training and development case study:.

Training and development is the complex of actions and processes which are aimed at the improvement of the employees’ quality and productivity of work. Every organization, from a small firm to a great corporation functions well only due to the professional skills and proper education of its employees.

A skillful and smart manager hiring an employee should be able to predict whether he is able to cope with his duties, whether he possesses enough knowledge and nerves to fulfill with his work in the most difficult and stressing situations which require fast urgent reactions.If the applicant meets the manager’s expectations, he will have to go through the long way of training and development to achieve skills required the organization. First of all every novice employee it trained by more experienced workers, who know about their profession everything. At first they do simpler tasks, but later every employee starts working as the others and develops his knowledge and skills required for successful high-quality work for the profit of the whole company.The problem of training and development is important for every businessman who expects to hire the best people in his team.

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Every boss knows that time is money and when an employee requires too much time for training and development, the company loses money. So, in order to make the process of training fast, managers and the boss himself have to create the most effective methods and techniques for training in the shortest terms. This will save money and award the company with a new professional. A well-organized case study should be logically constructed, well-analyzed and researched in detail. A case study hides a certain problem connected with training and development and a student has to investigate the problem profoundly to understand the reason of the problem and analyze its consequences. One can also think over whether the solution of the problem was professional or whether it is possible to brainstorm much more effective solution, which can reduce the effect of the consequences.

It is sometimes difficult to prepare a good case study, because the process demands much time and nerves. One has to collect enough data to explain the problem of the case from all sides and to make a proper structure for the paper, which will satisfy the professor. This job is very complicated for inexperienced students, so they need high-quality writing help of the expert. One of the best solutions is to read a free example case study on training and development policy in the web. This help will be useful for students to catch the idea of the professional manner of writing.

A free sample case study on training and development disadvantages will not only broaden student’s outlook but teach how to complete a good paper yourself.

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Article • 10 min read

Case Study-Based Learning

Enhancing learning through immediate application.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

If you've ever tried to learn a new concept, you probably appreciate that "knowing" is different from "doing." When you have an opportunity to apply your knowledge, the lesson typically becomes much more real.

Adults often learn differently from children, and we have different motivations for learning. Typically, we learn new skills because we want to. We recognize the need to learn and grow, and we usually need – or want – to apply our newfound knowledge soon after we've learned it.

A popular theory of adult learning is andragogy (the art and science of leading man, or adults), as opposed to the better-known pedagogy (the art and science of leading children). Malcolm Knowles , a professor of adult education, was considered the father of andragogy, which is based on four key observations of adult learners:

• Adults learn best if they know why they're learning something.
• Adults often learn best through experience.
• Adults tend to view learning as an opportunity to solve problems.
• Adults learn best when the topic is relevant to them and immediately applicable.

This means that you'll get the best results with adults when they're fully involved in the learning experience. Give an adult an opportunity to practice and work with a new skill, and you have a solid foundation for high-quality learning that the person will likely retain over time.

So, how can you best use these adult learning principles in your training and development efforts? Case studies provide an excellent way of practicing and applying new concepts. As such, they're very useful tools in adult learning, and it's important to understand how to get the maximum value from them.

What Is a Case Study?

Case studies are a form of problem-based learning, where you present a situation that needs a resolution. A typical business case study is a detailed account, or story, of what happened in a particular company, industry, or project over a set period of time.

The learner is given details about the situation, often in a historical context. The key players are introduced. Objectives and challenges are outlined. This is followed by specific examples and data, which the learner then uses to analyze the situation, determine what happened, and make recommendations.

The depth of a case depends on the lesson being taught. A case study can be two pages, 20 pages, or more. A good case study makes the reader think critically about the information presented, and then develop a thorough assessment of the situation, leading to a well-thought-out solution or recommendation.

Why Use a Case Study?

Case studies are a great way to improve a learning experience, because they get the learner involved, and encourage immediate use of newly acquired skills.

They differ from lectures or assigned readings because they require participation and deliberate application of a broad range of skills. For example, if you study financial analysis through straightforward learning methods, you may have to calculate and understand a long list of financial ratios (don't worry if you don't know what these are). Likewise, you may be given a set of financial statements to complete a ratio analysis. But until you put the exercise into context, you may not really know why you're doing the analysis.

With a case study, however, you might explore whether a bank should provide financing to a borrower, or whether a company is about to make a good acquisition. Suddenly, the act of calculating ratios becomes secondary – it's more important to understand what the ratios tell you. This is how case studies can make the difference between knowing what to do, and knowing how, when, and why to do it.

Then, what really separates case studies from other practical forms of learning – like scenarios and simulations – is the ability to compare the learner's recommendations with what actually happened. When you know what really happened, it's much easier to evaluate the "correctness" of the answers given.

When to Use a Case Study

As you can see, case studies are powerful and effective training tools. They also work best with practical, applied training, so make sure you use them appropriately.

Remember these tips:

• Case studies tend to focus on why and how to apply a skill or concept, not on remembering facts and details. Use case studies when understanding the concept is more important than memorizing correct responses.
• Case studies are great team-building opportunities. When a team gets together to solve a case, they'll have to work through different opinions, methods, and perspectives.
• Use case studies to build problem-solving skills, particularly those that are valuable when applied, but are likely to be used infrequently. This helps people get practice with these skills that they might not otherwise get.
• Case studies can be used to evaluate past problem solving. People can be asked what they'd do in that situation, and think about what could have been done differently.

Ensuring Maximum Value From Case Studies

The first thing to remember is that you already need to have enough theoretical knowledge to handle the questions and challenges in the case study. Otherwise, it can be like trying to solve a puzzle with some of the pieces missing.

Here are some additional tips for how to approach a case study. Depending on the exact nature of the case, some tips will be more relevant than others.

• Read the case at least three times before you start any analysis. Case studies usually have lots of details, and it's easy to miss something in your first, or even second, reading.
• Once you're thoroughly familiar with the case, note the facts. Identify which are relevant to the tasks you've been assigned. In a good case study, there are often many more facts than you need for your analysis.
• If the case contains large amounts of data, analyze this data for relevant trends. For example, have sales dropped steadily, or was there an unexpected high or low point?
• If the case involves a description of a company's history, find the key events, and consider how they may have impacted the current situation.
• Consider using techniques like SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces Analysis to understand the organization's strategic position.
• Stay with the facts when you draw conclusions. These include facts given in the case as well as established facts about the environmental context. Don't rely on personal opinions when you put together your answers.

Writing a Case Study

You may have to write a case study yourself. These are complex documents that take a while to research and compile. The quality of the case study influences the quality of the analysis. Here are some tips if you want to write your own:

• Write your case study as a structured story. The goal is to capture an interesting situation or challenge and then bring it to life with words and information. You want the reader to feel a part of what's happening.
• Present information so that a "right" answer isn't obvious. The goal is to develop the learner's ability to analyze and assess, not necessarily to make the same decision as the people in the actual case.
• Do background research to fully understand what happened and why. You may need to talk to key stakeholders to get their perspectives as well.
• Determine the key challenge. What needs to be resolved? The case study should focus on one main question or issue.
• Define the context. Talk about significant events leading up to the situation. What organizational factors are important for understanding the problem and assessing what should be done? Include cultural factors where possible.
• Identify key decision makers and stakeholders. Describe their roles and perspectives, as well as their motivations and interests.
• Make sure that you provide the right data to allow people to reach appropriate conclusions.
• Make sure that you have permission to use any information you include.

A typical case study structure includes these elements:

• Executive summary. Define the objective, and state the key challenge.
• Opening paragraph. Capture the reader's interest.
• Scope. Describe the background, context, approach, and issues involved.
• Presentation of facts. Develop an objective picture of what's happening.
• Description of key issues. Present viewpoints, decisions, and interests of key parties.

Because case studies have proved to be such effective teaching tools, many are already written. Some excellent sources of free cases are The Times 100 , CasePlace.org , and Schroeder & Schroeder Inc . You can often search for cases by topic or industry. These cases are expertly prepared, based mostly on real situations, and used extensively in business schools to teach management concepts.

Case studies are a great way to improve learning and training. They provide learners with an opportunity to solve a problem by applying what they know.

There are no unpleasant consequences for getting it "wrong," and cases give learners a much better understanding of what they really know and what they need to practice.

Case studies can be used in many ways, as team-building tools, and for skill development. You can write your own case study, but a large number are already prepared. Given the enormous benefits of practical learning applications like this, case studies are definitely something to consider adding to your next training session.

Knowles, M. (1973). 'The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species [online].' Available here .

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Learning and Development Case Study: Heinz - A training scheme full of beans

After identifying the need to shift its training from external suppliers to an internal programme, Heinz set up Learning Bitez, covering skills from Outlook to can-making.

The challenge

As an employer of around 3,000 people in the UK alone, Heinz has always made a significant investment in external training. However, time pressures mean that releasing staff to undertake courses is a constant challenge.

At the same time, the company has been seeking ways to make the most of the wealth of knowledge, expertise and skills from within its workforce.

The programme

Last year's graduate intake helped to identify the need for shorter-term internal training , according to Pat Rees, Heinz's talent manager. "The graduates were assigned to different sites and had short training sessions called 'Lunch and Learn' with various heads of departments," she says.

"They reported how other managers were extremely interested in what they'd learned from these. We'd already realised a dynamic workplace needs regular updates. Processes change but we knew we could be drawing more on our internal talent pool."

Diving into big business:

The FA on HR in the public eye

The wonderful everyday: HR at Ikea

Smoothie does it: HR at Innocent Drinks

These lunchtime training concepts have evolved and, since January 2009, been rebranded Learning Bitez - workshops lasting between one and four hours, not necessarily at lunchtime, run internally and led by Heinz staff. Already, 600 people have sampled one or more of the 'bitez'.

Topics range from how to get the best out of Outlook to an introduction to can-making. They are prompted by the identification of a general need or by a department volunteering.

"The finance team discovered the financial parts of the monthly reports often went over people's heads, so proposed a learning bite to explain this in more detail," says Rees. "It started at our Hayes Park site, but has since spread out to other sites."

There are 61 bitez on offer at the moment but this list is growing and some are so popular they are regularly repeated. Some are relevant to a wide range of employees, while others are more specific.

"An introduction to can-filling can be tailored to the departments that provide services to this operation," says Rees. "This can help iron out potential problems."

Staff find out about the workshops available via internal communications and then book, with the approval of their line manager, through an online system. The HR department manages the booking process and deals with preparation and post-course evaluation, leaving the course leaders to focus on content.

The results

The best measurement of short bursts of training is immediate feedback and ongoing popularity, and Rees says both demonstrate staff enthusiasm. The concept has been embraced more fully at larger sites that are better equipped and have a greater spread of expertise, but Heinz is working on wider take-up, and when the content lends itself to remote participation , the company uses technology to enable employees to join in.

The HR view

Pat Rees is Heinz's talent manager. "Learning Bitez have been around for a year but they have made such an impact it is as if they've always been there," says Rees. "There's an agility about the way the courses start and I'd like to keep this so the training is always done by someone with a passion. Internal staff know their audiences, they already know where the problems are and how they can tailor their information.

"Some courses are extremely popular - how to get the best out of Outlook, for example. We just assume people know this but our head of IT took it upon himself to develop training," Rees adds.

"He trained 35 people last month and there are 30 more signed up for the January session. The short courses allow people to sample a subject - such as coaching - before embarking on a longer course. They make our resources go further and encourage greater cross-functional engagement and interaction, while providing real business benefits."

The employee view

Val Lowe is HR administrator at Heinz. "I did the personal effectiveness learning bite in November. The course leader took us through the ways in which Outlook had been dominating our days and how we could organise our time better ," says Lowe.

"We looked at to-do lists and tasks, how to arrange diaries and get emails under control. I used to keep about 300 emails on my system and now I've got that down to about 10," Lowe adds.

"I've also learned to turn off my email alert and to take a more disciplined approach by only looking at them at set times in the day. That way, I'm able to concentrate on the task I'm doing and not get distracted. I sift through and copy them into task lists.

"I have definitely found the course really useful and would highly recommend it to anyone. I finished the course, went back to my desk and was able to use the learning almost straight away. I am now thinking of leading a session myself."

Further reading

Learning and development case study: First Group

Learning and Development Case Study: Cable & Wireless - Keeping pace with fast change

What's new in learning and development technology for 2023

How does the business partner model work for learning and development professionals?

Heinz's new training programme is proving its worth in increased staff engagement

Case study: Creating a learning culture at Airbus

International Case Study: GfK SE revamps learning platform

L&D case study: Co-operative Financial Services

Training and development programs typically involve educational activities that advance a worker’s knowledge and instill greater motivation to enhance job performance. These initiatives help employees learn and acquire new skill sets, as well as gain the professional knowledge that is required to progress their careers.

Training programs can be created independently or with a learning administration system, with the goal of employee long-term development. Common training practices include orientations, classroom lectures, case studies, role playing, simulations and computer-based training, including e-learning.

Sometimes referred to as Human Resource Development (HRD), most employee training and development efforts are driven by an organization’s HRD function. These efforts are roughly divided into two types of programs:

Employee Training and Development A strategic tool for improving business outcomes by implementing internal educational programs that advance employee growth and retention.

Management Training and Development The practice of growing employees into managers and managers into effective leaders by the ongoing enhancement of certain knowledge, skills, and abilities.

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Successful businesses understand that it’s more beneficial and cost-effective to develop their existing employees instead of seeking out new talent.

The top ten benefits of employee training and development programs include:

• Increased productivity : When employees stay current with new procedures and technologies, they can increase their overall output.
• Reduced micromanagement : If workers feel empowered to perform a task, they typically require less oversight and work more independently. 1
• Train future leaders : Organizations must have a solid pipeline of well-trained and innovative potential leaders to grow and adapt over time.
• Increased job satisfaction and retention : Well-trained employees gain confidence in their abilities, leading to greater job satisfaction, a reduction in absenteeism and overall employee retention.
• Attract highly skilled employees : Top recruits are attracted to firms with an identifiable career path based on consistent training and development.  
• Increased consistency : Well-organized training ensures that tasks are performed uniformly, resulting in tight quality control that end users can trust.
• Increased camaraderie : Training and development helps create a sense of teamwork and collaboration.
• Bolstered safety : Continuous training and development helps ensure that employees have the knowledge and skills to perform a task safely.
• Ability to cross-train : Providing consistent training creates a knowledgeable team overall where employees can help train or assist each other as needed.
• Added innovation : Consistently trained employees can help develop new strategies and products, contributing to the company’s bottom line and continued success.

The corporate marketplace is quickly changing, and businesses must be flexible and easily adapt to change. Technology is one of the key drivers in this rapid change, with automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in the forefront.

Here are four key trends impacting how organizations must rethink training and development.

Today’s corporations have discovered that it’s no longer just about what employees need to know, but also when, where and how the development experience enables performance. With the advancements in mobile technology , companies are relying more on mobile workforces . Training is migrating to mobile devices where apps provide “just-in-time” information and recommendations to workers across industries.

AI systems can process unstructured information in a similar way to humans. These systems understand language patterns and sensory inputs including text, pictures, and auditory cues. AI-based software can customize how training content is delivered to a learner, based on their learning style, suggest content based on a learner’s past performance and predict what information is most important for them to learn next.

Agile learning is a process that encourages employees to learn by doing and iterate often, inspiring organizational change and buy-in. For example, IBM® has introduced  IBM Garage™ , a tool for executing, scaling, and managing an organization’s multiple transformation initiatives. Companies like Ford Motor Company and Travelport are using IBM Garages around the world to create cultures of open collaboration and continuous learning. learning. https://www.ibm.com/garage

While distance learning has been around for a long time, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for companies to have resilient, flexible, mobile workforce management. Organizations have learned that remote workforces need to be productive, engaged, and continually working toward learning and improvement.

Recent articles and industry surveys suggest that much corporate training may be ineffective. Most training won’t be fully retained by learners. Businesses must build a culture of ongoing self-directed, self-motivated learning with focused distance learning programs and mobile "just-in-time" training.

Organizations also must rethink the larger framework of what skills will be needed in the near future. A  recent meta-level IBM study  predicts that more than 120 million workers in the world’s twelve largest economies may need to be retrained in the next three years because of AI-enabled automation.

Several insights from the study include:

• Skilled humans fuel the global economy: Digital skills remain vital, but soft skills have become more important.
• Skills availability and quality are in jeopardy: The half-life of skills continues to shrink, while the time it takes to close a skills gap has ballooned, forcing organizations to find ways to stay ahead of skills relevancy.
• Intelligent automation is an economic game changer: Millions of workers will likely require retraining and learning new skills, and most companies and countries are ill-prepared for the task.
• Organizational cultures are shifting: The digital era has introduced the need for a new business model, new ways of working and a flexible culture that fosters the development of critical new skills.

The study concludes that traditional hiring and training are no longer as effective, and that different strategies and tactics can have a strong impact on closing the skills gap. Several strategies and tactics include:

• Make it personal: Tailor career skills, and learning development experience uniquely to your employees' goals and interests.
• Improve transparency: Place skills at the center of the training strategy and aim for deep visibility into the skills position across the organization.
• Look inside and out: Adopt an open technology architecture and a set of partners able to take advantage of the latest advancements.

Enhance employee engagement and productivity, reskill your workforce faster, and reimagine ways of working to become an adaptive, skills-based, and AI-powered organization.

Maintaining a competitive edge in a dynamic economy demands faster innovation. Your challenge is having the right people with the right skills and tools to drive digital transformation.

The IBM training and certifications offer you the ability to earn credentials to demonstrate your expertise. It is designed to validate your skills and capability to perform role-related tasks and activities at a specified level of competence.

With recent market changes and disruptions, organizations need a workforce with digital skills and innovative processes to respond to both customers’ and employees’ evolving needs.

Key areas of focus will ensure that your workforce is empowered to be productive today, while strengthening your business resiliency strategy to aid in re-entry to the new normal.

The enormous opportunities and benefits artificial intelligence can bring to an organization require skills development programs designed to ensure consistency and intentional outcomes.

Discover a new approach to training and development based on partnership networks, user experiences and emerging technologies.

Find out how to close the skills gap with a modern three-pronged workforce strategy to quickly reskill an organization’s workforce.

Discover how training and development fits into the larger scope of next-generation enterprise transformation.

IBM HR and talent transformation consulting partners work with our clients to address each company's unique talent goals and challenges, dig deep to understand their workforce realities and create strategies that unlock new levels of performance inside their business. Together, we reimagine HR with AI at the core.

1 The 6 key secrets to increasing empowerment in your team  (link resides outside ibm.com). Joe Folkman. Forbes article. March 2017. 

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An Introduction to Human Resource Management

Student resources, case study: learning and development at choc co..

Online Case Study: Learning and Development at Choc Co.

Choc Co. is one of the world's largest confectionery businesses with significant market share in many of the world's biggest confectionery markets, including many emerging markets. It has a long and proud tradition, stretching back more than 150 years, including a long history of developing its employees, which has remained part of its ethos during its progress to becoming a global company.

Despite very positive sales figures over the last 12months, Choc Co. has prioritised streamlining the business to make it more competitive and has placed a strong emphasis on reducing cost over the next 18 months. Despite being keen to preserve its longstanding reputation as a firm that is committed to developing all its employees, in respect of learning and development, this ‘streamlining’ activity has focused on:

• ensuring a clear return on investment in training activities
• changing the way that learning programmes are delivered and being more creative in developing approaches to learning
• connecting training activities to the strategic needs of the firm.

The most important driver of the assessment of its training provision at Choc Co. is change. Whilst performing well in the marketplace, senior management continue to express discontent with levels of productivity and employee performance. Moreover, senior management has determined that the company needs to become more flexible and adaptable to respond to change in its market context, for example by an ability to adapt organisational structures to meet new business needs or through the introduction of technological innovation. However, as a traditionally minded employer, and with low levels of employee turnover at shopfloor level, Choc co. appears to have instilled in its workers a mindset of stability and steady progress, which is at odds with competition in a rapidly changing global economy. Therefore, Choc Co. wants to move towards a system of continuous improvement by creating a culture whereby workers are empowered to implement small incremental changes, rather than have substantial change imposed on them from time to time.

Identifying training needs

Traditionally, training needs analysis at Choc Co. has been ‘gap-led’. In other words, training tends to be focused where Choc Co. identifies a gap in capability – for example, where the introduction of new technology requires worker skill to be updated, company policy is changed or a key worker leaves the firm, requiring training to be provided to their replacement. Typically this gap-led identification of need is conducted at a local level, with little reference made to the wider national or international workforce.

Whilst workers can put themselves forward for training courses, including those provided by local education providers, there is no formal channel for doing this and access to such training often comes down to personal relationships and the constraints imposed by departmental budgets. The culture at Choc Co. is very much one in which training needs are typically identified  for  workers rather than  by  workers.

Delivery of training

Currently, the company runs a number of large training events each year designed to update manufacturing staff on everything from health and safety changes, business strategy and company performance to the adoption of new production technology. This is sometimes coupled with skills training for these workers as and when appropriate. This has traditionally been done at the specialist training centre at their largest production facility, which doubles as the company’s headquarters. This practice partly stems from a time when the company only operated two production facilities in the country. It now operates across six geographically dispersed locations. Workers tend to view these training events as a bit of a waste of time, particularly when they are delivered by consultants with little real understanding of working processes at Choc Co. It is not unknown for workers to claim that the training they receive is outdated and tells them nothing that they don’t already know.

The head of training and development, responding to a call to cut costs from the HR director, is now of the opinion, however, that such long training programmes, often of up to three or four days, are no longer the most cost-effective and efficient means by which to develop the staff. Such training has the dual problem of requiring regular investment and repeat sessions to cover workers on different shifts or at different plants, as well as leading to undesirable downtime of certain aspects of production. In particular, the head of L&D is keen to reduce a reliance on external training providers to design and deliver interventions to different workforce groups, from senior management to shopfloor workers.

Moreover, the company has historically not evaluated the impact of these events. In the new era of cost-cutting and added value, however, the company is keen to ensure that the impact of all training interventions, however big or small, is measured.

Employee development programmes

A major investment in L&D at Choc Co. is in its manufacturing apprenticeship scheme and graduate development programme, both of which are widely viewed as models of good practice in the industry and beyond. These programmes are, however, under significant scrutiny by senior management to better understand the extent to which this investment provides value to the firm. One particular area under review is the turnover of employees who complete these programmes and then leave to work at other firms.

Ray Barbie, the head of learning and development at Choc Co. recently attended a seminar at a local university on ‘the changing nature of workplace HRD’. He was slightly alarmed to find out that much of the company’s practice was seen as outdated. In particular, he was interested in examining how some more contemporary approaches and techniques in HRD could help the company both reduce costs and better performance through continuous improvement.

• What changes would you recommend that Choc Co. make to their current learning and development provision in order to reduce costs and improve performance?
• Discuss how e-learning, competency frameworks and improved knowledge-sharing at Choc Co. might help to cut costs and make the HRD activity at Choc Co. more strategic.
• How might the firm seek to ensure a return on investment for its learning and development activity?

Case Study on T&D with solution

• Post author: myspeakhr
• Post category: Case Study
• Reading time: 11 mins read

We all know today’s management education is focusing more on case studies as they help you a clear understanding of concepts. Hence this HRM Case study on T&D with solution will help you understand various concepts in HRM like T&D, SHRM, Employee satisfaction, Career planning, and also general management concepts like Decision making, expanding strategies, etc. This case study on T&D with solution will help you in SHRM also.

About the Case:

This case study will help you in analyzing the situation properly so that you won’t miss some golden opportunities. Many times we just see the short term profits and we miss seeing long term losses we could bear to achieve a short term profit. This case also assures that before taking any decision one should think in all possible ways rather than focusing on one direction. I hope this case study is a life term lesson for all of us

Case Study on T&D with Solution

Title: “MAKAR” Gained profit by missed opportunity & lost wealth.

“Makar” a textile manufacturing unit located in the city of Jaipur with enough infrastructure and a good workforce. The organization is specialized in shirting and suiting particularly the supplies that are done in Rajasthan only. The organization is run by the CEO who is commonly known for well educated, experienced, a businessman with a humane approach. Mr. Mukund CEO “Makar” considered the employees as a competitive advantage of his organization and want to keep the workforce always updated to face the challenges from their competitors.

Mukund the people’s leader

Mr.Mukund, who heads the production himself, developed an efficient top management group which includes Mr.Prem Heading marketing, Mrs.Mrunal leading HR and T&D, Mr.Vaidya leading finance. All these department heads are always been supportive heads for the ideas of Mr.Mukund in handling the workforce. Mr. Mukund always quotes that “I believe that satisfied, educated, the dedicated workforce will be a key to success at any condition to any organization. Money spent on employees will always be an investment for my organization.”

Activity of the Organization

Training and development become a day to activity in the organization. Employees are been trained by well-versed trainers in that area. The organization also encourages the employees to do further studies as part of the career development program and they get a helping hand from the organization.

Happy Employees

The employees of Makar are very much satisfied with this kind of support from the organization and they realized that being with Makar their personal growth will be assured. Because of the above-said things Makar had many advantages like highly trained and qualified workforce, highest quality of supplies assured, less rate of attrition, dedicated workforce, meeting the targets on time, satisfied workforce, etc…

Announcement by Mr. Mukund

One day the employees of Makar were in deep Grief when the news hit the office that Mr. Mukund CEO made an announcement, ” Dear employees. You all are my colleagues rather than my employees. I always feel that I am one of you with more responsibility.  Now my age is not allowing me to shoulder that responsibility, I wish to give way to my younger generation. So I have decided to handover the charge to Mr. Mithun, My only son, who had completed his studies and returned to India. I know you all will be with him as a pillar and extend your support, in the same manner, you supported me. Without you people, this organization would not have reached these heights. I am Sure you all will support him.

Now it has been three months since Mr. Mithun take over the charge and from day one he started auditing in almost all the departments with a motto to reduce cost. And he got a strong statistics that the compensation is the highest cost bared by the company compared to any other cost incurred in the organization.

Mitun’s decision: Shocked Mrunal

Mitun called Mrs. Mrunal the head HR and told her “Mrs. Mrinal, I need an immediate action plan to reduce the labor force by 30% by way of Lay-off” he continued, “Mrunal I hope you are getting my point and I want it to happen soon”. Mrs. Mrunal got shocked by listening to this decision and said to Mr.Mithun that “ Sir it is my responsibility to tell you that the workforce which we have is an excellent, well trained, loyal and self-motivated workforce. In case of lay off such the competitors will take advantage of that. We can think of other options rather than Layoff.”

Mr.Mithun was not in a position to listen to her words he said that “sorry Mrs.Mrunal I am not ready to review my decision and neither wants any alternatives for this I want this work to be done within a week”. Finally, with all her regrets Mr. Mrunal reduced the workforce by 30%. On the other hand, the employees who were waived from Makar joined the competitors with a better package.

One day in his office Mr.Mithun was discussing with Mrs.Mrunal that the cost of labor in the organization has been reduced to a great level which increases the net profit also. After listening to this Mrs.Mrunal said that “it is well-said sir, we have reduced the labor cost and increased the profit but it is more true that we have missed the great opportunity to grow more by losing our wealth to the competitors”

Questions on Case study on T&D with solution

1. “ Employees are the competitive of the advantage of Makar” comment on this statement relating to the approach of Mr. Mukund CEO

2. How did you judge the actions taken by Mr. Mithun to reduce the cost of labor was it really a successful one.

3. “We have gained the profit by losing our wealth” discuss the statement of Mrs.Mrunal and support her statement.

4. From the above-said case find the opportunity which was missed by Makar due to the lay off as mentioned by Mrs. Mrunal.

Free HRM Case Study with Solution

Solution: solution for case study on t&d .

The solutions discussed here are just key points out of my observation and perception. You may come out with better solutions. It is purely based on how you perceive the case and how you analyze it. Hope the answers will help you. If you get better solutions please post it in the comment box it may help others.

1. “Employees are the competitive advantage of Makar” comment on this statement relating to the approach of Mr. Mukund CEO

Competitive Advantage means the point where you specialized when compared to that of your competitors. That is an edge over your competitors. In the said case Mr. Mukund and his team enabled employees to get well trained and also encouraged to precede their further studies. Hence they become skilled, educated, well trained, and qualified employees.

When the employees are been considered as the competitive advantage of any organization then it becomes a greater strength of that organization. Because when the employees are the competitive advantage that means that they are well trained and they are much satisfied with the organization the same way a well trained and satisfied employee will produce products which are rich in quality. To comment on the statement said by Mr.Mukund it is true that employees are the competitive advantage of Makar. The reasons why employees are considered so is a) they are well trained up to date b) they are educated c) skilled d) Habituated to cope up with the change in technology e) producing high-quality f) time-bound etc.

2. How did you judge the actions taken by Mr. Mithun to reduce the cost of labor was it really a successful one? As soon as Mithun took over the charge he wants to reduce the cost of production or you can say the overall expenses of the company in all means. When he noticed that the cost of labor is very high he didn’t analyze in the way why it is high and what the company is getting because of spending on it. According to me decision taken by Mr. Mithun is not a wise or successful Idea because:- a) Mr.Mukund has spent years together and invested lots of money to mold the employees in such a way. Mr.Mithun’s decision will not allow him to encash the investment done by his father he b) Mr.Mithun fire the employees from the organization on whom they have invested because of which the competitors will get a chance to utilize the benefit of money that Makar had to spend on the employees. c) this decision may also reduce the level of motivation and morale of the remaining employees as the job security becomes a question mark in Makar.

3.“We have gained the profit by losing our wealth” discuss the statement of Mrs.Mrunal and support her statement.

Mrs.Mrunal HR head of Makar was opposing the decision of Mr.Mithun from starting itself. Because being an HR Mrunal was clear that the amount spent on employees for training is not an expense but it is an investment. But Mithun didn’t listen to her words. And being an employee she has been forced to separate some of the employees from MAKAR. And Mrunal did it. But she is not happy about what she had done. So she said this statement. This statement is very well suitable for Makar. Let us separate this statement in two parts and discuss “We have gained the profit + by + losing our wealth”

In this statement “We have gained the profit” means by reducing the workforce Makar has reduced the expenses which resulted in an increase in the profit “losing our wealth” means Makar has invested a lot of money on employees by way of training and made them a strong workforce which is also a competitive advantage to Makar. By separating them from Makar it is can be said that Makar lost its wealth and wealth here denotes the highly skilled employees.

4. From the above-said case find the opportunity which was missed by Makar due to the lay off as mentioned by Mrs.Mrunal.

Mrs.Mrunal said that “Makar has missed a good opportunity by means of Layoff”. The opportunity mentioned here is:-

When we go through the case carefully it was mentioned that “Makar has a good infrastructure and workforce”, but it is serving the need of Rajasthan only. And it is also mentioned that Makar has gained a good value among the customers as they don’t have any negative points to say about Makar.

In this situation when it is noticed that Makar has an excess workforce that is well trained the CEO should consider the option of extending the business to nearby states. This will develop the business and increase profit.

Expansion of Business is the Opportunity which was Mentioned by Mrs. Mrunal in the case.

I hope you find the HRM case study on T&D with solution is helpful. You can find more case study on HRM by clicking here

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Leadership Case Studies

Here is a sample of three case studies from the book, Leadership Case Studies, that are most instructive and impactful to developing leadership skills.

For the past 30 years, I have conducted seminars and workshops and taught college classes on leadership.

I used a variety of teaching aids including books, articles, case studies, role-plays, and videos.

I recently created a book, Leadership Case Studies that includes some of the case studies and role-plays that I found to be most instructive and impactful.

Here is a sample of three case studies.

Peter Weaver Case Study

Peter Weaver doesn’t like to follow the crowd. He thinks groupthink is a common problem in many organizations. This former director of marketing for a consumer products company believes differences of opinion should be heard and appreciated. As Weaver states, “I have always believed I should speak for what I believe to be true.”

He demonstrated his belief in being direct and candid throughout his career. On one occasion, he was assigned to market Paul’s spaghetti-sauce products. During the brand review, the company president said, “Our spaghetti sauce is losing out to price-cutting competitors. We need to cut our prices!”

Peter found the courage to say he disagreed with the president. He then explained the product line needed more variety and a larger advertising budget. Prices should not be cut. The president accepted Weaver’s reasoning. Later, his supervisor approached him and said, “I wanted to say that, but I just didn’t have the courage to challenge the president.”

On another occasion, the president sent Weaver and 16 other executives to a weeklong seminar on strategic planning. Weaver soon concluded the consultants were off base and going down the wrong path. Between sessions, most of the other executives indicated they didn’t think the consultants were on the right path. The consultants heard about the dissent and dramatically asked participants whether they were in or out. Those who said “Out” had to leave immediately.

As the consultants went around the room, every executive who privately grumbled about the session said “In.” Weaver was fourth from last. When it was his turn, he said “Out” and left the room.

All leaders spend time in reflection and self-examination to identify what they truly believe and value. Their beliefs are tested and fine-tuned over time. True leaders can tell you, without hesitation, what they believe and why. They don’t need a teleprompter to remind them of their core beliefs. And, they find the courage to speak up even when they know others will disagree.

• What leadership traits did Weaver exhibit?
• If you were in Weaver’s shoes, what would you have done?
• Where does courage come from?
• List your three most important values.

Dealing with a Crisis Case Study

Assume you are the VP of Sales and Marketing for a large insurance company. Once a year your company rewards and recognizes the top 100 sales agents by taking them to a luxury resort for a four-day conference. Business presentation meetings are held during the morning. Afternoons are free time. Agents and spouses can choose from an assortment of activities including golf, tennis, boating, fishing, shopping, swimming, etc.

On day 2 at 3:00 p.m., you are at the gym working out on the treadmill, when you see Sue your administrative assistant rushing towards you. She says, “I need to talk to you immediately.”

You get off the treadmill and say, “What’s up?” Sue states, “We’ve had a tragedy. Several agents went boating and swimming at the lake. Randy, our agent from California died while swimming.”

(Background information – Randy is 28 years old. His wife did not come on the trip. She is home in California with their three children).

• Explain what you would communicate to the following people.
• Your Human Resources Department
• The local police
• The attendees at the conference (Would you continue the conference?)
• How will you notify Randy’s wife?
• If Randy’s wife and a few family members want to visit the location of Randy’s death, what would you do?
• What are some “guiding principles” that leaders need to follow in a crisis situation?

 Arsenic and Old Lace Case Study

Review the YouTube video, “ I’ll show them who is boss Arsenic and Old Lace.”   

Background Information

The Vernon Road Bleaching and Dyeing Company is a British lace dyeing business. It was purchased in bankruptcy by the father/son team of Henry and Richard Chaplin. Richard has been acting as “Managing Director” which is the same as a general manager or president of a company.

The company has had 50-to-150 employees with 35-to-100 being shop floor, production employees. The company produces and sells various dyed fabrics to the garment industry.

Gerry Robinson is a consultant who was asked to help transform methods of conducting business to save the company.

Jeff is the factory manager.

• What are Richard’s strengths and weaknesses as a leader?
• What could Richard have done to make the problems of quality and unhappy customers more visible to the workforce?
• What do you think Richard’s top three priorities should be for the next 12 months?
• What could Richard have done to motivate the workforce?
• Evaluate Jeff’s approach and effectiveness as a leader.

The book contains 16 case studies, four role-plays, and six articles. I hope you find some of the content useful and helpful in your efforts to teach leadership.

Click for additional leadership case studies and resources .

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Application of Training and Development Schemes: a case study of Viva

Viva is a leading provider of risk, savings and investment management products based in UK, with operations also in France, Germany, Netherlands, USA, Gulf and India. Being established in 1836, the company serves nearly seven million customers worldwide. Viva has organised its foreign operations efficiently, taking into account local specifications. For example, the company offers Takaful products in Gulf countries, that is financial products that have been devised according to Sharia Islamic laws, due to the fact that local customers are very sensitive about these issues. Also, Viva has engaged in joint-ventures in India with Bank of Baroda, and Andhra Bank.

This article briefly introduces Viva Company and discusses the various elements of development scheme that group has proposed for the company in the form of presentation. Moreover, additional development elements are included in the article, and the rationale behind the choice of each element is explained in detail, listing their advantages, as well as disadvantages.

Training and Development Schemes for Viva

Initially the purpose of training and development scheme for Viva managers have been identified. The primary purpose for the scheme has been found as equipping Viva managers with necessary skills and knowledge so that they can manage the business globally in the most efficient manner.

Moreover, the following purposes of training development as proposed by Beardwell et al (2004) were planned to be achieved for Viva as a result of the project: a)  Maximising  productivity and service provision for the company b) Developing  the adaptability for the workforce c) Developing  the Viva as an organisation as a whole d) Increasing job satisfaction, motivation and morale of Viva workforce e) Improving  standards and safety at work f) Promoting the Better utilisation of other resources g) Standardisation of work practices and procedures

Wood (2009) divides trainings methods into two categories: traditional training methods, and electronic training methods. Traditional training methods include lectures, on-the-job training, apprenticeship training, offside training, programmed learning, informal learning, job instruction training, and training stimulated by audiovisual tools.

As a traditional training method, on-the-job training includes job rotation, coaching, and action learning, whereas the main elements of off-the-job training (offside training) are case-study, games, external seminars, Internet-based seminars and conferences, university-related programs, role-playing, behavioural modelling, Internet educational portals, and behavioural modelling.

The main elements of electronic training are computer-based training, video-conferencing, electronic performance support systems, tele-training, learning portals and others.

During the group presentation on the same topic, which is the base of this report, communication skills, and team-working were found to be the areas training and development should address. However, the present report has found that cross-cross cultural awareness is also an important area training and development programs should cover. Due to the fact that Viva is currently operating outside UK in Gulf countries and countries like France, Germany, USA, Netherlands, and India lack of cultural awareness of Viva managers may result in misunderstandings and waste of resources. Therefore, the area of cultural awareness was selected to be important to address through training and development programs.

After critically analysing all the above listed training and development methods, focusing on the objectives to be achieved as a result of training, taking into account specific characteristics of Viva and many other factors, training and development methods for Viva management development were selected to include the elements of both traditional and computer-based training methods. The choice of training and development methods proposed in this report differs from the ones proposed in the group presentation. Traditional training methods selected for Viva management development include lectures, and job-rotation, and behaviour modelling, while among electronic training methods only video conferencing was selected.

Rationale behind the Choice of Training and Development Schemes

Supervisor and team development programs for Viva have been implemented on the basis of the following five-step process as proposed by Dessler (2008):

Firstly ,  needs analysis for Viva managers have been undertaken. This has been done for both, Viva current managers, as well as, their new managers. As a part of needs analysis task analysis and performance analysis also have been undertaken for Viva managers.

Paauwe (2004) specifies task analysis to be a detailed study of the job to be undertaken in order to identify skills required for the job. Accordingly, list of skills have been identified that Viva managers had to possess, and among them communication skills and team management have been chosen as the focus of training and development by the consulting group to the company. Moreover, cross-cultural awareness skills have been added to the list as the one that needs attention as a result of this report, although the skills of cross-cultural awareness do not feature in group presentation.

Performance analysis, on the other hand, as Shermon (2004) informs, examine individual and collective performances within organisations in order to identify deficiencies, then training and development programs can be devised in order to eliminate these performance deficiencies. Unfortunately, due to the absence of access to such kind of confidential information about Viva managers, performance analysis have not been undertaken as a part of the study.

Secondly, instructional design of the training and development programs for Viva managers has been undertaken. During this stage lectures, job rotation, behaviour modelling and video-conferencing were found to be the best possible methods of training and development for Viva. Although these methods are different from the ones proposed in group presentation, nevertheless, they were found to be the best option during this report.

Lectures should be organised for Viva managers by engaging external professionals that will aim at improving communication skills of managers

Viva managers also should be put on job rotations, in order to expose them to different issues the company has in general, and at the same time giving them opportunities to acquire team management and cross cultural skills that will allow managers to operate well within various departments of the company.

Behaviour Modelling has also been identified as an important element of training and development program devised for Viva managers. Dessler (1984) informs that behaviour modelling includes three following components:

a) Showing trainees the right (or “model”) method of performing a task b)  Giving opportunities to trainees to perform in this way c) Giving feedback on the trainees’ performance.

It has been planned that behaviour modelling will address all three areas of training and development programs – communication skills, team management, and cross-cultural awareness.

Moreover, video-conferencing has also been specified as an element of proposed training a d development program that should be organised in a way that Viva managers engaged in company’s foreign operations must share their cultural experiences and their knowledge about cultural awareness through video-conferencing with other Viva managers based in UK.

In-house development centres needn’t produce all (or most) of their own training and development programs. In fact, employers are increasingly collaborating with academic institutions, training and development program providers, and Web-based educational portals to create packages of programs and materials appropriate to their employees’ needs

Thirdly , all of the above specified elements of training and development program devised for Viva managers have been validated through checking their validity to accomplish the task in hand.

Fourthly, devised training and development program needs to be implemented according to the plan. This should be done attracting highly qualified professionals wherever necessary.

Fifthly, evaluation of the Viva management training and development program should be undertaken, in order to identify any shortcomings that took place in the process and eliminate their possibility in future training a d development programs.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Training and Development Schemes

Each element of the proposed scheme of Viva managers’ training and development program has its strengths, as well as weaknesses. It is the responsibility of professionals conducting training and development, and Viva management in general to focus on the strengths of the proposed program, and at the same time, to take measures in order to minimise the impact of their weaknesses.

Lectures as one of the main elements of the proposed training and development scheme have their strengths such as being less expensive compared to some other training and development methods, short period of time required to conduct them, and also lectures are usually taught by highly skilled professionals giving Viva managers participating on them opportunity ask these professionals questions.

On the other hand, lectures have their weaknesses, the main of which is The possibility that the attention of Viva managers participating in them may be shifted to different things if they find it not to be interesting.

Moreover, Laird et al (2003) state that usually in majority of lectures there are no provisions for student participation and this is another major disadvantage of this training method.

The strengths of video-conferencing as a training method for Viva managers can be shown as being interesting and motivating, especially when high-achievers within the company working in foreign operations are sharing their cultural experiences with junior managers through video conferencing.

However, the weaknesses of video-conferencing include the necessity of relevant facilities, and accordingly, additional expenses, and also there might be time-related issues when meetings between people from different countries are being organised on the basis of video-conferencing.

Job-rotation has also been included in the proposal as an element of training and development scheme for Viva managers. Job rotations are good in a way that they provide opportunities for increased level of social interaction and they can also eliminate the monotony in the workplace for Viva employees. However, according Byars and Rue (2006) job rotations can be a source of stress for employees, especially when they start losing sense of ownership of their job as a result of job-rotation.

Strengths of behaviour modelling as an element of training and development scheme is that many skills can be taught by at the same time by using them, and this option is not available in many other training and development elements. However, at the same time, behaviour modelling proposes rigid solutions to problems, failing to take into account unusual circumstances, and this may negatively effect flexibility of Viva managers when dealing with unusual scenarios.

Conclusions

The scheme proposed in this report contains correct training and development elements that are required to equip Viva team leaders and supervisors with necessary skills and knowledge required in order operate on the global business marketplace. As a result of the extensive analysis issues needed to be addressed were found by group to be communications skills and team management skills. However, additional skill of cross-cultural awareness was added to the list above due to the fact that Viva operates in several foreign counties as well and the lack of such knowledge would negatively effect on the profitability of the business on the short and long-term perspectives.

Many methods of training and development programs have been reviewed as a part of the research, and out of them lectures, job-rotation, video-conferencing, and behaviour modelling were found to be the most appropriate in order to improve communication skills, team management skills, and increase the level of cross-cultural awareness of Viva supervisors and managers.

However, it has to be also noted that in order to bring the maximum results, training and development elements specified above need to be conducted with highly qualified professionals. Otherwise, it would result in losses in forms of wasted time, as well as other forms of resources involved in the project.

Moreover, organisational culture of Viva need to be taken into account when above specified elements of training and development program are being conducted, and these programs need to be taught in a style that is compatible  with the Viva corporate culture.

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Recent Announcements

Biden-harris administration opens application period to support hydropower facilities across the country.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Hydroelectric Incentives Invest in Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectric Facilities to Ensure Generators Continue to Provide Clean Power

On March 14, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announced the opening of the 2024 application period for the Hydroelectric Production Incentive, which supports the modernization and expansion of hydroelectric power throughout America through the  Hydroelectric Incentives Program . Supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed under President Biden, the Hydroelectric Incentives Program is focused on maintaining and enhancing hydroelectric facilities to ensure generators continue to provide clean power, while improving dam safety and reducing environmental impacts.

Hydroelectric Production Incentive applications for electricity generated and sold in calendar year 2023 are due by 5:00 p.m. ET on April 23, 2024 .

Open the video to learn more about the impact of Section 242: the Hydroelectric Production Incentive Program.

Video courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office.

Learn more about the Hydroelectric Production Incentives application period to support hydropower facilities across the country .

DOE Reports Chart Path for East Coast Offshore Wind to Support a Reliable, Affordable Electricity System

Study Finds Interregional Offshore Transmission Network Would Support Long-Term Growth of Atlantic Offshore Wind, Action Plan Identifies Immediate Steps and Extended Efforts

On March 21 , DOE released findings from the Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Action Plan and Study. Offshore wind is projected to be a key part of a low-carbon future for East Coast states and this report is the most thorough analysis to date of options to bring Atlantic offshore wind energy to American communities. While immediate projects will connect individually to the onshore grid, the study finds that after 2030, strategically linking some offshore wind energy projects via offshore transmission networks will help lower electricity production costs, enhance U.S. grid reliability, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, while ensuring disruptions to oceanic ecosystems are minimal.

The Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study is a two-year study evaluating transmission options to support offshore wind energy deployment along the Atlantic Coast of the United States.

The study informed the  Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Action Plan which outlines immediate actions needed to connect the first generation of Atlantic offshore wind projects to the electric grid, as well as longer-term efforts to increase transmission over the next several decades.

Learn more about how DOE is working to bring Atlantic offshore wind energy to American communities .

DOE Invests More Than $18 Million for Clean Energy-Related Economic Development in Low-Income Communities

Technical Assistance Will Support 30 Projects Across US, Including Energy Resilience Projects in Puerto Rico

DOE announced on March 22 the second cohort of communities selected as part of the  Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP) , a unique technical assistance initiative designed to help disadvantaged communities and those with historical ties to fossil fuel industries take direct control of their clean energy future. The 30 selected communities will receive a total of $18 million worth of technical assistance to create tailored community-wide action plans that reduce local air pollution, increase energy resilience, lower utility costs and energy burdens, and create well-paying jobs.

The 30 selected applicants will work with DOE and its network of technical assistance providers, as well as local coalition partners including local and tribal governments; community-based organizations; utilities; and environmental justice, economic development, and equitable investment organizations to develop roadmaps that utilize clean energy as a tool for economic development.

DOE selected projects for Communities LEAP’s Puerto Rico Community Resilience category located in the following municipalities: 

• Adjuntas, Jayuya, Lares, Maricao, & Utuado, Puerto Rico
• Yauco (Quebradas Neighborhood), Puerto Rico

Learn more about the second cohort of LEAP communities .

News and Updates

Doe publishes pr100 study results and possible pathways to puerto rico’s 100% renewable energy future.

The full PR100 Study is now available on PR100.gov.

DOE and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released the final Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100) . The two-year study concludes that Puerto Rico can successfully meet its projected electricity needs with 100% renewable energy by 2050. PR100 outlines possible pathways to achieving clean energy success, including grid stabilization measures and the deployment of distributed energy resources.

Launched in February 2022 with funding from FEMA, PR100 deployed the world-class expertise of DOE's National Labs to engage diverse local stakeholders regarding their priorities for their energy future, gather and generate valuable data sets, and create advanced models to project scenarios for achieving 100% renewable energy. PR100 also includes an Implementation Roadmap, providing decision-makers in Puerto Rico with specific actions that can be taken to stabilize the grid, improve resilience, and achieve local renewable energy goals. The two-year PR100 Study relied on extensive stakeholder input to ensure the results and Implementation Roadmap reflect local priorities for Puerto Rico’s energy transition.

View the full study and interactive data visualizations at PR100.gov .

Learn more about efforts supporting Puerto Rico's goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050 .

In Case You Missed It: GRIP Program Training Webinars Now Available On-Demand

Recordings of three critical training webinars from the  Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program are now available on demand. Available for second round funding applicants and those who may choose to apply for funding in the future, these webinars provide important information about eligibility and legal requirements, supply chain challenges, application components, and next steps.

• The  GRIP Program Community Benefits Plan (CBP) Training Webinar shared insights and lessons learned from first round GRIP funding applications, examples of strong Community Benefits Plans, an overview of the Community Benefits Plan requirements as outlined in the FOA, and best practices. The video recording and presentation are now available  online .
• The  Concept Paper Trends & Application Updates Webinar provided updates on the second-round funding opportunity including concept paper submission trends and next steps. The video recording and presentation are now available   online .
• The  Critical Compliance Information Webinar provided information about navigating supply chain challenges, non-domestic content, and other compliance requirements mandated by the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) and the Build America Buy America (BABA) Act. The video recording and presentation are now available  online .

Learn more about the GRIP Program, and access webinar materials and other informational resources .

DOE's Northern Lights - Nick Palso

The Arctic Energy Office is hosting a series of interviews to highlight the lives and achievements of some of DOE’s outstanding employees with Arctic and Alaska connections. Meet Nick Palso. He went to college in Fairbanks and spent two summers doing his doctoral dissertation research in Alaska. Nick is now a senior project manager heading up a hydroelectric incentives program at GDO.

In this profile, you will learn about Nick’s experiences in the arctic, his role and interests, and more .

Open Opportunities

Upcoming events, recent meeting materials.