The impact of human resource development programs introduced by ten Manufacturing companies in Malaysia, with particular reference to Company productivity and profitability / Mislina Hanim Ibrahim

This dissertation was conducted to study the impact of training and development programs often manufacturing companies in the Klang Valley area in Malaysia and to attempt to identify the training needs of employees both at the Executive and Non Executive level. Following an introduction on the growing importance of human resource development particulary in the areas of training and development activities, the benefits to companies of a trained workforce are highlighted. This is of particular importance to a country like Malaysia who is on the way to achieving a fully developed nation status. The concerns of human resources, their development effective distribution and utilization are receiving much focus and attention. One of the factors highlighted in the survey is the way both public and private sectors are working-hand in hand to build up the country's training and educational facilities especially in engineering and technical and vocational fields, in an effort to provide skill training to as many people as possible. Data were collected through questionnaires to understand the current status while interviews focussed more on the experience sharing. All 10 companies selected for review returned the questionnaires however, only 5 companies were accompanied with responses from employees. The results based on both sources of information indicate that in certain companies training and development activities is an accepted norm in order to gain a compettitve edge in their respective industry whilst for others it is carried out on a firefighting basis. Measurement of training effectiveness vary from company to company with some not conducting any follow ups at all. Those that do follow up have developed systematic plans to follow up on training. Despite claims, majority of training in companies is still ad hoc and fragmented and training results cannot be easily measured. The surveyed establishment also indicated their preference for skill training which is conducted in-house. Majority of the companies are appreciative of efforts made by the government especially in introducing incentives to encourage companies to train their employees but at the same time express desire that more industry relevant training facilities be set-up.