The article, “The Effect of Training and Development on Employee Attitude as it Relates to Training and Work Proficiency” by Debra L. Truitt looks into the impact that development efforts directed towards workers have to organizations. The study is built on the realization that an informational gap exists in the concept of employee development in small and mid-sized companies (Truitt, 2011). The study seeks to find out whether there is a relationship between employee training and the development of positive attitudes to training and proficiency in a given job.
The study takes an experimental approach since it involves the use of 237 subjects to investigate the research questions. Unlike the observational approach, the experimental perspective is more appropriate to apply a quantitative study design (DeVaus, 2013). The goal of every research is to use data to answer the research questions (Khalid, Abdullah, & Kumar, 2012). To this end, this study is descriptive in nature, since it uses the data gained to give a description of the selected population (Collis & Hussey, 2013).
The study effectively defines the population targeted by the study; which is made up of academic institutions and profitable organizations. The researcher, however, fails to give a clear description of the limits of the population in regards to the geographical area the study covers (Cavana, Delahaye, & Sekaran, 2001)Despite this failure in population definition, the researcher does well in enumerating the process involved in selecting the sample. Sample selection is critical in determining the quality of any research (Creswell, 2003). In this case, convenience sampling was used to select a representative sample for each of the organizations involved in the study. A total of 237 subjects were chosen to participate in the study. It is my view that the researcher did well to come up with a sample which was a clear representation of the population of interests; a precursor to successful research (Collis & Hussey, 2013). Given the fact that the study sought to analyze academic organizations and corporate organizations, selecting equitable samples from each of these organizations resulted in a healthy sample.
The researcher developed a questionnaire that was used in data collection. The use of questionnaires in surveys is an effective way to which the views of a big number of respondents can be easily computed (Teddlie & Yu, 2007). The study had two sets of variables, with independent variables being the nature of business or work, the position at work and gender. The dependent variables were proficiency and training attitudes. The variables were appropriate for the study since they led to the efficient analysis of the research hypothesis.
This study sought to establish whether employee training had any impact on the development of positive attitudes towards training and whether such training resulted to improved job proficiency. The study used subjects from both the academic and corporate worlds to examine these aspects. Through the gamma calculations, the study was able to prove the hypothesis that a substantial relationship existed between employee training and the development of positive attitudes and improvement of job proficiency. I agree with the conclusions made in this study, especially because the variables used in the study were conclusive. Besides, the researcher does well in tracing the relationships between the different variables within the study, meaning that the conclusions made were supported by facts (DeVaus, 2013).
A graphical display is an important aspect that improves the presentation of any research (Creswell, 2003). This study made use of some graphs and tables to place an emphasis on various aspects of the data. For instance, a pie chart was used to show the gender distribution in the sample used for the study. Besides, the graphical display was used to demonstrate the analysis of different variables, and the relationships that arose between the variables. In general, the researcher was able to efficiently display and emphasize on a variety of aspects of the data. No features were identified to have the capability of misleading the viewer.
References
Amaratunga, D., Baldry, D., Sashar, M., & Newton, R. (2002). Quantitative and qualitative research in the built environment: application of "mixed" research approach. Work Study 51(1), 17-31.
Cavana, R., Delahaye, B., & Sekaran, U. (2001). Applied Business Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods (3rd ed.). Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Sons.
Collis, J., & Hussey, R. (2013). Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Palgrave macmillan.
Creswell, J. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches . Sage.
DeVaus, D. (2013). Surveys in social research. Routledge.
Khalid, K., Abdullah, H., & Kumar, D. (2012). Get along with quantitative research process. International Journal of Research in Management.
Teddlie, C., & Yu, F. (2007). Mixed methods sampling a typology with examples. Journal of mixed methods research 1(1), 77-100.
Truitt, D. L. (2011). The Effect of Training and Development on Employee Attitude as it Relates to Training and Work Proficiency. SAGE Open, 1-13.
