Improving the training and education of managers of tourist facilities is an activity of primary importance to achieve optimal performance that contributes to an important business position in the Caribbean area.
The selection of new officials is potentially based on their integrity and unconditional compliance with the ethical and political principles of our society as well as technical knowledge, but everything related to the conception of job competencies demonstrated in context and their possible expertise has not yet been fully established. professional.
Taking into account that training is one of the ways to infuse the person with the necessary skills and knowledge, as well as values, institutional performance depends largely on an optimal selection of training needs in managers.
The training processes in our country are increasingly endowed with a variety of offers as well as means, ways and methods that result in results of excellence in the learner, as well as in the tools and technologies that enable and enrich the process such as case of: master, specialized, doctorate, diploma, personal and organizational coaching; collaborative environments, distance education, etc.…, respectively.
However, whatever the type of training and / or training channel, we always defeat two major conceptual and methodological problems: the detection of training needs and the impact of training. They are the two key dimensions for a good training strategy. It is about answering the questions: what are the knowledge and skills deficits of the managers of tourism companies to achieve maximum institutional effectiveness and efficiency within the framework of a process of continuous improvement?
What has been the result of a specific training strategy and how has it influenced institutional performance?
The dimension of detection of needs is, surely, the most rugged point of the entire training cycle. In practice, subjective perceptions of the professionals themselves and their superiors are confused with more objective but difficult to define organizational weaknesses.
Traditionally, needs assessment is more the product of the intuition of training specialists than of a systematic and scientific selection. This article explores this challenge and its objective is to provide conceptual criteria and methodological instruments aimed at achieving greater rigor in the detection of training needs.
But designing applicable training plans and strategies requires knowing very well the objectives, potentialities, particularities and five-year strategic planning of the organization to which the project is intended, the historical-social context in which the organization is developed, individual interests of the trainee, as well as the development achieved by this in their work skills.
Model for the diagnosis of training needs
1.1. General considerations
The detection of training needs deals with an interrogative approach to the people who make up the organization, with the use of the most frequent techniques in social research, complemented with a documentary analysis of the institution's funds, essential to obtain the necessary context and linking with your strategic goals.
The purpose of the process is to know the discrepancy between the current competencies of people in their professional practice and the competencies considered ideal for optimal exercise. This difference or discrepancy constitutes the training need. Although this definition may seem trivial, complex processes are embedded in it, which we will discuss in this article.
It is important to remember that the mission of the training needs detection process is to give effective support to the design of training plans that ensure the impact and continuous improvement of the organization; therefore, the applicability has to be emphasized over the technical complexity.
1.2. Orientation, perspective and prospecting
The system for preparing and overcoming MINTUR tables for the period 2012-2016 is in accordance with the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of Cuba, the National Strategy, as well as the Strategic Planning of the Mintur 2012-2016, in order to achieve the learning of the cadres and their reserves in the different stages of development, in an integral, systemic and continuous way.
The conception of the system starts from input elements that constitute its bases; elements of the process (objective, contents, programs, approaches, methods, organizational forms, modalities, preparation plan, implementation and control); their corresponding output elements (impact and performance), as well as feedback.
This system is represented in figure No. 1:
Orientation, perspective and prospecting
Feedback: The outputs of the system (impact and performance) and their correspondence with the desired state (objective of the system) are analyzed and valued, with the purpose of evaluating and correcting the detected deviations, reincorporating the necessary adjustments and changes to the different elements of the process. All of this is essential to achieve the continuous and systematic improvement of the Mintur cadre preparation system and its reserves, in tune with the demands and dialectics of the sector and the scenarios in which it operates. Therefore, to ensure that the system is durable over time, the relevant transformations will be carried out, through this feedback process with objectivity.
Even when the strategy of cadres for the sector is very well defined, continuous improvement based on individual differences is necessary and the effectiveness of technical preparation continues to be part of the Achilles heel, as subjectivity and inconsistency in the elaboration of the plans mark results that are not as commendable as is intended.
This model for the detection of training needs focuses its attention on the orientation of the plan and the perspective of applied analysis.
Within the framework of the detection of training needs, orientation is called the position from which the initial situation of the organization is assessed. Thus, when assessing this initial state, emphasis should be placed on the shortcomings of the managers and the organization and their strengths should be highlighted and it is in this duality where the most contradictory and necessary structures for the future of the organization should be promoted.
In general, they work on the orientation towards lack, assuming that people have a training deficit that must be resolved, however it is worth taking into account the Hammond (1996) point of view, in which he points out that this limits in a way The ability to motivate and improve is important, due to the emphasis placed on the lack and insufficiency of people, processes and organizations. This orientation reinforces the habit, natural in many people and organizations, of valuing difficulties and not possibilities, that is, focusing on concerns rather than seeking to expand the capacity for influence (Covey, 1996).
There is another trend, the appreciative orientation with a positive approach that promotes the analysis of the strengths that the organization has to reach a better situation, the ideal one. Starting from the assumption that all people do many things correctly, it is easier to get to know the possible ways of improvement, until reaching the ideal situation that the organization expects. The positive orientation of the process, as part of the recognition of strengths, facilitates the generation of enthusiasm and the involvement of people in the improvement process, factors that should never be underestimated.
Having this unique appreciative gaze, although it reinforces the perception of self-efficacy, facilitating a more stimulating position when solving problems, cannot be the only one in this process, but rather the fact of seeing it in contrast with the deficiencies, which will give a more complete appreciation of the degree of development of labor competencies and exactly in this contrast which should be prioritized annually so that they are undertaken by the manager.
In the second position delimited by the model is the prescriptive perspective or point of view from which the discrepancy will be treated, based on the criteria of superiors, that is, of the entity or chain, from the point of view of subordinates and the manager's own self-assessment.
In a third dimension is the prospect that has to do with the manager's knowledge of where the organization is going, what are the requirements posed by the chain or entity to which they are subordinate, the development achieved by individual and organizational labor competencies and where future development should be framed. This would also take into account how others see or perceive the organization, clients for example (collaborative).
In this model, the combination of the three
The prescriptive perspective of an organization is determined in documents such as dictionaries of competencies, job descriptions and definitions of processes and unit objectives. It also arises in the discourse on the ideal functioning of the units made by those responsible. The main inclusions of this perspective are:
- make the training plan coherent with the strategic lines and interests of the organization; know the vision of the management and its implication in the process; obtain information on the important changes that are foreseen in the medium and long term; analyze organizational documents, or visions of the controls that act as references, with which to measure the discrepancy.
For its part, a collaborative perspective should be understood as an opportunity that is given to the people who are the protagonists of the task to identify their strengths and opportunities for improvement in order to build their definition of the problem and their path of improvement, without necessarily be compared with a pre-established external standard.
This perspective allows:
- Obtain information about specific individual or group needs Involve people in the detection process Reconstruct the situation as a challenge and not as a limitation, on the part of who has to carry out the task.
The model we propose suggests the intersection of the three: perspectives and prospects in order to have all the elements and achieve efficiency and coherence in the analysis.
Prospective: A set of analyzes and studies on the technical, scientific, economic and social conditions of the future reality in order to anticipate it in the present.
Scenario for the preparation of the training needs detection plan
Graph 1. Scenario for the preparation of the training needs detection plan
Graph 1 presents the scenario derived from the combination of the three axes of analysis.
Orientation, perspective and foresight have to be at the service of obtaining the most appropriate training plan for a particular organization at a specific time.
The model treats the prescriptive perspective with the collaborative and the appreciative one, focusing the deficiencies, what does not work in people and the organization with the points of view of the organization (collaborative); the strengths of the people (appreciative) with the criteria of the organization itself (collaborative) and, also, taking into account their environment or external clients.
1.3. Techniques and sources of information
Two sources of information are used: personal and documentary. The documentaries analyze the monthly and annual evaluations, the semi-annual and annual balance reports. Similarly, through individual interviews, questionnaires or group dynamics, managers, subordinates and higher-level bosses are also asked about their perceptions regarding the opportunities and difficulties of the job and about their assessment about which of the strengths and Difficulties can be improved with training.
1.3.1. Documentary sources
Documentary sources are the strategic planning that each tourist facility must have. The balance reports, on the other hand, show the analysis of which aspects have worked adequately in previous plans and which need improvement.
Skills dictionaries, job descriptions, and performance reviews are also essential sources of reference for looking at discrepancies between people's current and ideal skills.
According to Goldstein (1986), he proposes that work with documentary sources has to allow the construction of the analysis of the organizational environment, the analysis of the organization itself and the analysis of the functions of the jobs and the profiles they require.
1.3.2. Personal sources
Personal sources allow to know the points of view, opinions and interests of the people and groups that make up the organization.
People are also sources of information about the changes that the organization has to undertake. Technological, procedural, legal, structural or other changes are some of the most frequent reasons why training support is required in organizations.
The research techniques used in the analysis model for the detection of training needs to collect the opinions and perceptions of the people involved are three: interviews, questionnaires and group dynamics
Conclusions
The cadres and officials play a very important role in an organization, hence, properly determining their training needs becomes a primary objective for the training departments of tourism companies.
The cadre policy of our country is comprehensive and special attention is devoted to it, however the development achieved by labor competencies and the determination of which can be enhanced through training remains a problem.
This model of training needs in tourism managers is a first approach to the axes that must be taken into account to achieve the effectiveness of a training plan, taking into account strengths and shortcomings in the manager, the organizational positioning, the criteria of the clients internal and external, as well as individual and motivational interests in relation to it.
Bibliography
- Married and Esquius, Lluís. 12 Qüestions clau on appraisal of the training. Barcelona: School of Public Administration of Catalonia, 1999.Covey, Stephen. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Barcelona: Paidós Empresa, 1996. Elejabarrieta, F. Reference material for learning to ask. Interviews, questions and scales. Barcelona: School of Public Administration of Catalonia, 2006. Goldstein, IL Training in organizations Needs assessment, design and evaluation. 2nd ed. Monterey, CA: Brooks / Cole, 1986. Font, Alfred. Negotiate with art. Barcelona: Alienta, 2008. Font, Àngel; Imbernon, Francesc. «Analysis of training needs. Analyze and detect needs for consistent planning. In: Pineda, P. Management of training in organizations. Barcelona: Ariel, 2002. Hammond, Sue Annis.The think book of appreciative inquiry. Plano, Texas: Thin book publishing CO, 1996.Ledesma, C. Executive report on detection of formatting needs in the area of human resource units of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Barcelona: School of Public Administration of Catalonia, 2004. Diagnosis of training needs in public institutions. 2010, Escola d'Administració Pública de Catalunya, December 2010, ISBN: 978-84-393-8697-1.978-84-393-8697-1.978-84-393-8697-1.
