CHAPTER ONE/INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The effect of training and manpower development on employee’s productivity and organization performance has attracted considerable interest in the analytical and empirical literature. On the whole, human resources management theory has paid considerable attention to this debate; however, the theoretical predictions are ambiguous. Depending on their underlying assumptions, some approaches predict that the performance of an organization is necessarily based on innovative labour force, technology, quality management, and customer satisfaction; while others see training as a tool in the hands of human resources managers to activate and empower the productive base of an organization.
Employee training and manpower development is very vital to job productivity and organization performance since the formal educational system does not adequately provide specific job skills for a position in a particular organization. While, few individuals may have the requisite skills, knowledge, abilities and competencies needed to fit into a specific job function, some others may require extensive training to acquire the necessary skills to be able to fit in a specific job function and also make significant contribution to the organization’s performance.
The human capital theory provides evidence which indicates that training and education raises the productivity of workers by imparting useful knowledge and skills, hence raising workers’ future income by increasing their lifetime earnings. Stone (2002) also provide an explanation that links investment in training with workers’ wages. In particular, their theory draws a crucial distinction between general education and firm-specific training, and recognized training and human development as a basic skill provided for higher productivity of a worker. Training has the distinct role in the achievement of an organizational goal by incorporating the interests of organization and the workforce.
Goldstein (2000) defined training as the systematic acquisition and development of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required by employees to adequately perform a task or job or to improve performance in the job environment. This implies that for any organization to succeed in achieving the objectives of its training program, the design and implementation must be planned and systematic, tailored towards enhancing performance and productivity. Similarly, Cascio (2009) sees training as consisting of planned programs designed to improve performance at the individual, group and/or organizational levels. Onasanya (2005) defines training as a form of specialized education aimed at giving the trainee a particular or specialized knowledge, skill and attitude which he must possess to effectively perform in a given position while development is concerned with specific programmes designed to prepare and groom a worker with particular education and training for higher responsibilities. Capacity building according to Sanusi (2002) entails investment in human capital, institutions and practices necessary to enhance human skills, overhaul institutions and improve procedures and systems. Sanusi further sees capacity building as the internalization of the knowledge, skills and processes that enable the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of set goals in an efficient manner; while Anyanwu (2002) views it as a series of activities, which an organization, enterprise or even a nation needs to undertake to provide for itself, on a continuous basis, the supply of skilled manpower to meet its present and future needs. Manpower development according to Anyanwu (2002) is the process of building up human resources to meet the needs of an organization. He stated further that Manpower development includes investment by a society in education, investment by employers in training employees and investments by individual in time and money in their own development.
Training has been an important variable in increasing organizational productivity. Many researchers [for instance Colombo E, Stanca L; 2008] showed that training is a fundamental and effectual instrument in successful accomplishment of the firm’s goals and objectives, resulting in higher productivity. Training and manpower development builds a team that is effective, efficient and well motivating, thereby enhancing the confidence and self-esteem of employees. The employees’ knowledge and skills are thus developed to adapt to new technologies and other organizational changes. Training and manpower development also creates chances for the promotion of employees to replace those who have left the organization. Indeed, the benefits of training and manpower development are innumerable.
Colombo et.al (2008) also state that one of the potent factors militating against the good performance of employees is inadequate training. An employee may have the ability and determination, with the appropriate equipment and managerial support yet such employee may be underproductive. The missing factor in most cases according to Adeniji (2002) is the lack of adequate skills, and knowledge, which are acquired through training and manpower development. Adeniji further stated that training reduces employee turnover and promotes goal congruency, while lack of training increases absenteeism rate, low output, poor quality and results in high unit cost. However, this study aimed at assessing the effect of manpower training and development on officers’ morale in Nigeria paramilitary with special reference to Nigerian Police Force in Ogun state.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Despite the importance of training and manpower development in employee productivity and organizational performance, training programs are not sufficiently supported by organizations in Nigeria. These organizations consider the money they will spend on their training programs as waste rather than investment. They fail to foresee the desirability of continuous training and development of their employees in order to promote the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations. Those that attempt to conduct trainings for their employees do so in an ad- hoc and haphazard manner, and as such, training in those organizations is more or less unplanned and unsystematic. This view is corroborated by Nwachukwu (2008) who argued that many employees have failed in organizations because of lack of basic training. Furthermore, there is a general consensus that a relationship exists between investment in training and productivity. While some studies have provided evidence of positive and sizeable returns on human capital investments, others have documented negative evidence. Again, despite the significance of training and manpower development, the outcomes of studies conducted in this area generally differ considerably from country to country and from period to period. For instance, while Harel (1999) found that training and development practices had positive relationship with firms ‘performance in public and private sectors in Isreal, while Itami (2007) in their study in Korea did not find any association between training and development and business performance. Consequently, the inconsistency in the existing empirical evidence makes it imperative to provide further empirical evidence on the effect of training and manpower development on employee productivity and organizational performance in Nigeria.
1.3 Purpose of Study
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of manpower training and development on officers’ morale in Nigeria paramilitary with special reference to Nigerian Police Force in Ogun state. Specifically, it sought to:
- To ascertain the impact of training and manpower development in Nigeria paramilitary
- To examine the role of training and manpower development in Nigeria paramilitary
- To assess the role of training and manpower development on operational modalities of police in Nigeria
