In this paper, a model is proposed to carry out training in the company, which systematically integrates contemporary technological development with the modern approach of Total Quality that establishes the decisive role of Human Capital.
- Introduction
Due to his physical, biological and psychic limitations, man has understood that it is necessary to cooperate with others to achieve his ends, for which the coordination of human effort is the essential problem in all group action, which leads to It is carried out through institutions of different character, among which are those destined to obtain material goods or provide services, which highlights the profound social character of the company.
Historically, business organization models have undergone transformations, ranging from a company-oriented approach to creating a product or providing a service that fully meets customer needs and provides the greatest amount of financial benefits to the Quality triangle (figure 1) in which the company and the environment merge in order to satisfy three types of clients: internal ones, made up of the entity's members; the external ones, who represent the client in their traditional concept of a person who demands a product or service and the owners (public or private) who, due to their role and interests, are grouped into a particular category.
As can be seen, in this proposal, the emphasis is on the fact that the qualities of the products and services must identify the company, creating a tradition of high technology, reliability and flexibility, which becomes a cult of quality and mark, taking profit to the background as an element derived from the first.
This change in focus motivated the development of a new concept: "human capital" as an expression and recognition that in any company the decisive factor is the action of man.
On the other hand, the environment that companies face today is very changing (dynamic) and has a strong impact on them, since any type of instability in some place, region and country, quickly turns into a character disturbance. global due to the interdependent relationships that have been established as a consequence of the globalization process and the accelerated development of communications.
To the above must be added the emergence of new forms of work such as virtual work (work activities are not carried out in a place specially dedicated to this purpose, but the subject develops them freely and reports their results periodically to the company) and systematic changes in the conception of marketing and commercialization, as is the case of electronic commerce, just to mention one.
The aforementioned aspects show the need for high organizational flexibility and high staff preparation, both professionally and in the domain of organizational and methodological aspects that govern the company, thereby consolidating the presence of the entity in the company. market based on the clarity, speed and degree of certainty of the answers they provide to customers to questions about products or services, payment methods and unusual destinations.
Taking into account the aforementioned aspects in this work, a model is proposed to carry out training in the company that systematically integrates contemporary technological development with the modern approach of Total Quality that establishes the decisive role of the subject in performance of an entity.
II. Conceptual aspects
Without trying to exhaust the topic related to the knowledge acquisition process, which widely exceeds the objectives and context of this work, when dealing with the training process in the company with the aim of proposing a model from which a subsystem for this purpose is derived., it is essential to establish the elements related to the «Theory of Knowledge» which is the «section of Philosophy that studies the interrelation of the subject and the object in the process of cognitive activity, given through the relationship between knowledge and knowledge. reality using in this development the data of the special sciences as well as on the knowledge, constituting the methodological-philosophical base of the same ones that are used as support of this work.
In the first place, it should be noted that a "theory or model" constitutes a "System of reliable synthesized knowledge that offers an integral representation of the essential regularities and concatenations of reality and that describes, explains and predicts the operation of a determined set of its components, being therefore an abstraction and a reflection that reproduces reality. In relation to this definition, it is important to highlight the following:
- What does trustworthy knowledge system mean? It is explained by the following illustrative sentences: "Of course you can say everything, the more I will prove it", Mendeleev; "Without facts there is no science"; "For more than a century now, physics has followed the rule: only the experiment is authorized to make the final choice." These statements show how the manifestation of reality is the basis for obtaining knowledge that in turn serves as a starting point for a theory, which is the reflection of the essence of a manifestation and therefore the interpretation of any manifestation is conditioned by the knowledge available at the time of its creation. What does it mean to describe, explain and predict the behavior of a given set of its components?Every theory has to describe the known behavior of the object of study, satisfactorily containing the particular cases. However, its importance lies in the fact that it goes beyond this framework and has to explain the why of the behavior, that is, its essence. On the other hand, it is essential that a theory generalize existing results and allow new knowledge to be obtained. Therefore you have to describe future behavior. The foregoing, shows that every theory has a validity zone, for example, Classical Mechanics constitutes a particular case of Relativistic Mechanics.
On the other hand, the knowledge process is infinite and takes place in the form of unlimited asymptotic progress, which is why it DOES NOT ever culminate (it is estimated that the electronic information that today doubles every five years, in 2010, it will do so in just 72 days) and therefore the dependence of the individual's knowledge over time can be represented through figure 2:
At this point, it is necessary to establish the difference between infinite and unlimited. An object is infinite when its constituent elements cannot be enumerated in their entirety, while it is unlimited when it is not confined to a measurable space. In practice, the following examples make what has been said above more understandable: any object of material life is finite and limited, while the set of points that a line segment contains is infinite and limited.
All of the above shows that the study of a phenomenon in all its extensive scope can become an unaffordable task taking into account:
- The reality is very broad, which is why the selection of the most outstanding or essential features or characteristics of the phenomenon is admitted as a method and they carry out their study on them.The dynamism of the object is increasing.The physical dimensions of the object can escape the possibilities of the researcher and his technical means.
These aspects motivate that usually in the conceptual formulations of problems resort to the formulation of «models» whose development can be represented through the scheme shown in figure 3, where three fundamental stages are appreciated: knowledge and familiarization with the phenomenon or process (phenomenon and observation); characterization (concepts) and formulation of the model (image), with the essential feedback from the image to the phenomenon to guarantee constant updating with new knowledge.
III. Training models
III.1 Requirements of a training model
Once the aspects of interest of the process under study, the assimilation of knowledge by human beings and the characteristics of companies today have been determined, the next step is to unify these factors with a view to establishing the regularities that they must have. the models for training in the company, which are listed below:
- Motivation to the subject. Any system whose object of work is the human being, must have the premise of encouraging him to participate, otherwise failure is assured. Development of a model presupposes its generality, an aspect that is not always possible to achieve in all its dimensions due to the complexity of the processes or phenomenon it describes. However, in this case it is feasible and essential that it meets this condition so that it can be applied throughout the broad contemporary business universe. Cover all members of the company. In the modern approach that places man at the center of all business processes, any system that is established in the company, to be considered effective, must reach everyone equally.Provide the knowledge that contributes to improving performance. In this regard, it is important to point out that it includes knowledge of the activity and characteristics of the company, thus becoming a training mechanism for potential managers. However, it should not be forgotten that "who else knows is not the best manager, but the one who can provide the most accurate advice." Amplitude of vision. It is common for training programs, seen in traditional terms, to be directed only towards those specific aspects that have to do with the direct activity of the subject and the business profile. Without losing sight of the associated increase in costs, training should not be a "straitjacket" that limits the subject's access to indirect knowledge,It must be remembered that "the more universal the preparation of the man, the greater will be his depth of analysis and the more comprehensive his assessments" and therefore contributes a greater added value to the human capital of the company. Promote the mastery of advanced technologies. Technological innovation is a characteristic of the current environment, for which the in-depth mastery of work tools with special emphasis on computer techniques is a priority in modern companies. Promote communication. One of the risks that contemporary companies face is isolation, since the technical means available allow the exchange of information without the need for personal contact. The detailed analysis of this problem departs from the objectives of this work,but it must be established that training has to play an active role in preventing this threat from becoming a weakness. Achieve the aforementioned objectives at a reasonable cost. This system, like any other that is established in an entity, requires the essential information channels and procedures to systematically evaluate whether the impact on the company is in correspondence with the costs incurred.It requires the necessary information channels and procedures to systematically assess whether the impact on the company is in line with the costs incurred.It requires the necessary information channels and procedures to systematically assess whether the impact on the company is in line with the costs incurred.
III.2 Traditional Approach
In the traditional concept of company-level training, it is conceived as "a means that provides the individual with the knowledge necessary to enable them to perform more effectively and efficiently in their job and prepare to take on larger responsibilities."
The aforementioned definition contains important limitations of strategic projection since it does not incorporate the following nuances indicated in the requirements of section III.1 that are essential to achieve excellence in modern companies since:
- It does not consider that the individual, from a moment, can become a diffuser of knowledge within the company It does not include, at least explicitly, the relevance of knowledge of the operation of the company It does not consider self-improvement as a primary element in the training process, limiting the active and dynamic role of the subject. He is unaware of the emotional impact that feeling that their intellect has conditions in the company for their development has on people, even when their work is not the most creative. In some cases, training becomes a coercive element, since the occupation of certain positions is conditioned by the fulfillment of certain aspects of training, ignoring " the experience with positive results »In performance. Does not use the group effect that can promote properly targeted training.
From the foregoing it can be inferred that this model in terms of the portfolio of services is usually characterized by thematic courses, trainings, Master's and Doctorates, fundamentally in person, as well as attendance at Events, Workshops and Conferences convened by other institutions as illustrated in figure 4.
All the above, allows to establish an analogy between the Traditional Training Model with the current-voltage characteristic of a common diode, shown in figure 5, where it can be seen that the current circulation (I> 0) in this electronic device only occurs when the potential difference between the two electrodes (V) is positive, similar to the behavior of the flow of knowledge in the Traditional Model, which is always directed towards the subject and the option of giving the entity part of it is not considered.
III.3 Zener Model
The limitations indicated to the Traditional Model show the need to reformulate the concept of traditional training, to a more comprehensive one that assigns man the active role that corresponds to him. To achieve this objective, training must be defined as a "business subsystem that enables all members to acquire and transmit the knowledge and skills necessary to increase effectiveness and efficiency at the individual and collective level."
From the above definition it follows that, in this conception, training is conceived as the result of the difference between what each member of the entity receives and contributes in terms of knowledge to it, including managers. Like the Traditional Model, this proposal has an analog in electronic terms in the behavior of the dependence of the current (I) that circulates through a Zener diode depending on the potential difference applied between its terminals (V), shown in Figure 6, where it can be seen that in this case the electric current (flow of knowledge in the case of training) can be obtained in two senses, hence the name used for the proposed model.
In practice, the quantification of the balance between the knowledge received and that delivered by the subject is a difficult magnitude to quantify, which is why the assessment of its impact must be carried out from the duration of each of the five stages into which it is conceptually divided. the knowledge process in the company, which are indicated in figure 7 and whose characteristics are discussed separately below.
III.3.1 Stages
This stage corresponds to the preparation of the individual for the performance of their functions when joining the company and in which, of course, they only receive knowledge without being in a position to make significant contributions.
For the quantification of the effectiveness of the methods of preparation and training of the new staff in the company, the average of the magnitude t f can be used, whose determination is made from the periodic evaluative reports of the individual performance prepared by the bosses. respective.
Once the personnel are able to perform the functions related to their job, they must continue their preparation to increase their efficiency and versatility of performance within the company, which requires a higher demand for knowledge compared to the delivery to the company and its longer or shorter duration (t t) may be related to the entry of a young workforce and the effectiveness of the recruitment work of the Human Resources area.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned, no employer should be led by the fallacy of only hiring people with experience, since every company needs to maintain an adequate structure in the age pyramid that guarantees the continuity and indispensable renewal, as well as the contribution in terms of ideas and innovation that provides the entry of young people. Additionally, the young personnel who are trained in the company and remain in it, achieve a high sense of belonging and a solid command of the organization's operation, which facilitates access to management positions once they have reached the required maturity..
In terms of the portfolio of services, this stage coincides with that of the Traditional Model and the average of the indicator t t together with the age structure of the new hires can be an index of the effectiveness of the recruitment work carried out by the Resources area Humans.
This stage, which coincides with the last one in the Traditional Model, begins when the individual reaches the required fundamental training. It is at this time that the effectiveness of the Zener Model is verified in practice, since the actions established in it must guarantee that the man transits as quickly as possible to the next stage in order to avoid the appearance in the worker of various unfavorable trends for the company, among which the following can be pointed out due to their importance: loss of interest in the company or activity carried out, which causes them to adapt to the job position and therefore repels change; demotivation when considering that he has saturated his possibilities of development in the company and moves, or at least, diminishes his sense of belonging.
Therefore, the average of the magnitude t a is an adequate indicator of the effectiveness of the actions to motivate the members of the entity to become a diffuser of knowledge.
At this stage the individual reaches maturity in the company in terms of training and projects their knowledge to the entire group. Obviously, the actions conceived for this stage are aimed at achieving that the average duration (t a) is as long as possible, compared to the sum of t f, t t and t e.
This stage is characterized by the fact that performance, in terms of the delivery-receipt of knowledge balance, reaches a stable magnitude with a positive balance or begins to decline. In both cases, the causes that cause said decrease must be analyzed, and their manifestations may coincide with those indicated in Stage III and their presence in the company is an alert indicator for management.
It is important to note that the process described can occur to the individual in any of the phases of the cognitive cycle at the company level shown in Figure 5.
III.3.2 Service portfolio
Once the model to be used and the characteristic indicators have been established, the next step is to define the portfolio of services that it must contain to achieve the conceived objectives, which is shown in Figure 8 where it can be seen:
- Maintain the services that correspond to the traditional model: thematic courses, trainings, Master's and Doctorates, mainly in person, as well as attendance at Events, Workshops, Conferences. Development of non-traditional training routes, teaching or receiving virtual courses, including Masters and Doctorates. This alternative has the advantages that it requires more effort and intellectual contribution from the individual, so its development is superior compared to the face-to-face format; the cost is lower because the training is carried out from your workplace and even from your own home and keeps you updated on the use and possibilities of computational techniques. In the event that you work as a teacher, you have the additional incentive that you must deepen your knowledge on the subject.Presentation of work at events. Although this modality is implicit in the conventional model, in the Zener model it is enhanced by going beyond the presentation of works in events outside the entity, since the company must promote the holding of Workshops, Symposia, Roundtables and other forms that promote the collective discussion (exchange) of works and issues related to the performance of the same Link with institutions and educational centers with a view to joining the educational process in its broadest conception: the company transmits, to students of specialties related to the type product or service provided, the accumulated practical experience and in turn identifies possible future employees of the company. Further,The entity lowers the training costs as a result of this exchange and increases its recognition in the academic framework with the consequent gain in image. Preparation of articles for magazines and development of its own. Writing is a way of communicating knowledge at the same time that it constitutes a way to perpetuate it, and therefore essential for the company. In the case of the individual, when writing he must deepen his knowledge on the subject, as the points and criticisms of the Editorial Board contribute to his improvement. On the other hand, the writing training facilitates the preparation of the periodic reports that must be rendered in the company at the same time that it contributes to outlining and enriching the style used in it, which does NOT necessarily have to be the most appropriate.In the case of the development of its own magazine, in those companies whose solvency allows it, it can contribute to disseminate internal knowledge of the activities, structure, direction, etc., helping all workers to master the interiors of the same. The Corporate Intranet is a very powerful tool that, properly used for training purposes, can provide quick, systematic and targeted access to all members of the organization valuable information about the performance of the entity and the behavior of the environment.The Corporate Intranet is a very powerful tool that, properly used for training purposes, can provide quick, systematic and targeted access to all members of the organization valuable information about the performance of the entity and the behavior of the environment.The Corporate Intranet is a very powerful tool that, properly used for training purposes, can provide quick, systematic and targeted access to all members of the organization valuable information about the performance of the entity and the behavior of the environment.
IV. Final thoughts
Before proceeding to the conclusions, it is essential to make several considerations that reinforce the practical validity and generality of the Zener Model.
First of all, the model developed uses corporations as a reference company, taking into account that currently one of the megatrends of the current economic cycle is precisely alliances and mergers that promote the formation of larger and larger companies.
However, the model maintains its validity for medium and small companies, only that the services included in the portfolio and above all, the way of putting it into practice, requires greater creativity on the part of managers. On the other hand, as the company has a smaller scale, the relative value of the training increases, due to the efficiency and effectiveness it provides as well as the added value that its human capital represents when the entity is acquired by another company or associations or alliances are made.
On the other hand, the Zener Model explicitly reveals the impact of the individual's history in terms of training on the duration of the training process required for the performance of their functions. However, the fundamental thing is to reduce the average minimum preparation time (t p) obtained from the sum of t f,, t t and t e in relation to the contribution time (t a).
Finally, it should be noted that the periodic preparation of the Performance Evaluation and the inclusion in it of the necessary information to characterize in which of the stages each of the members of the entity is found, which is decisive to be able to evaluate the behavior Training Subsystem, particularly when applying the Zener Model.
V. Conclusions
As a conclusion of this work it can be pointed out that from the characterization of the environment, the transformations in the approach of contemporary business organization and the unanimous recognition of the role of human resources in the performance of any entity, the Zener Model was proposed for the development of training in the company, which has easily determined indicators, which allow evaluating the process of selection, training and evolution of personnel in the company, which provides the additional possibility of being used as a management tool.
SAW. Bibliography
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