Malaysia Airlines Berhad - Essay On Company

Question:

Discuss about the Professional Development of Pharmacists.

Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) is branded as Malaysian Airlines  was founded in 1^st May, 1947 and commenced its operations on 1^st October, 1972. It operates its flight from the country’s capital Kuala Lumpur. It conducts its operations from its ancillary hubs at Kota Kinabalu and Kuching .It is the flag carrier of Malaysia and a part of One World Airline Alliance. It is headquartered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It is owned by the Khazanah Nasional  Berhad.-The Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG). Malaysian Airlines has two subsidiaries Firefly and MASwings.

The business aims at guaranteeing   better transparency and administration of the it’s various segments through its dedicated workforce. It improves the efficiency of its workforce by conducting trainings from time to time. The segment which contributes the most to the Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG)   is Air Transportation Services which operates the Malaysia Airlines Berhad, Firefly and MASwings, network carrier’s .Also the division of The Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) is the MAB Kargo, which provides the services of goods transportation. It also transacts ground handling services, engineering, training and aircraft leasing company to provide custom –built aviation leasing solutions to its clients (Malaysian Airline, 2013).

 The vision of the group is to enlighten its stakeholders about its aim to provide personal touch, warmth and efficiency to its passengers. Its mission is to serve quality services with punctuality, safety and comfort   to its consumers. It is an aviation company which is recognized internationally with its four business segments- Air Transportation Services, Ground Services, Aircraft Leasing and Talent Development (Malaysia Airlines, n.d.).The Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) has the workforce of around 14000 people as of 2016.

Koohi et al. (2016) suggested that training can be described as the procedures adopted by the company to enhance the skills, knowledge and attitude of the work force so that they can work efficiently. With the help of trainings, the workforce would be able to interact with the cliente in an efficient manner and deliver the best quality services to them. It also motivates the employees, thereby enhancing their job satisfaction and helping them to align their personal goals with those of the organization.  Customer services oriented trainings helps the employees to deliver better services to the customers, thereby improving customer satisfaction.

Training helps in developing customer relationship thereby improving their satisfaction which is essential in the context of competition in the airline industry. It also helps the aviation industry in customer retention. For facilitating the development of the skills and knowledge of the employees, the Training Development Program is conducted in the organization. Under the Training & Development process, the unfilled positions are filled through recruitments and placements of the new work force (KPMG, 2015). The Training Development Program assists the organization to comprehend the needs of the work force, so that it can meet its current operational needs (Alabed & Malik, 2016).

The four crucial phases of the Training Development Program need analysis, training and development, evaluation and training objectives. As the current environment needs the workforce to accomplish complicated tasks in an efficient and effective manner. Training is an important tool which helps the employees to achieve the desired level of performance. The identification of training needs or ‘Need Analysis ‘is the initial step in the Training Development Program. An ideal ‘Training Need Analysis ‘will assess those employees who needs the training and the type of training is needed by them (Parohinog  & Meesri,2015).   

Subsidiaries

There are various types of Needs Analysis which are suited for various organizations. Some of them are:

1. Organizational Analysis: It is the assessment of the organization’s mission and vision. It is the evaluation of the needs and the reasons why the training is needed by the organization. It answers to the question,”What the organization is trying to achieve?” The Organization Analysis in Training and Development Program answers certain questions such as why training should be conducted and for whom it should be conducted. Why a specific training program is considered to be a solution to the problems faced by the organization and what is the history of the organization in the context of training conducted.
2. Person Analysis: The Person Analysis deals with the expected participants and instructors involved in the process. The issues answered in  Person Analysis  is the targeted employees for whom the training is designed ,their level of knowledge  and learning style and who will conduct the training .The crucial issue  to be analyzed is that is there any change in the mechanism and procedures which require training (Morrison,2017).
3. Work / Task Analysis: It pertains to the evaluation of the task being performed. It is an assessment of the job and the essentials for executing the task. It is also known as ‘Task Analysis’ or ‘Job Analysis’. It ascertains the required skills to perform the main duties for the employees. This analysis ensures that the training will inculcate relevant skills in the employees according to their profile.
4. Performance Analysis: It addresses the issues such as the ascertainment of the level of performance of the employees and can training assist in improving the performance of the employees (Rafiq, 2015).
5. Content Analysis: It evaluates the type of documents and procedures used in the job. Also, it assesses the applicable laws and regulations on the company. The assessment answers the questions  about type of data used in the job. It is crucial that the Content Analysis do not challenge the job requirements.
6. Training Suitability Analysis: It is the evaluation whether the training fulfills the requirements of the employees. It is crucial to determine the efficiency of the training and its suitability to the profile at which the employees are working.
7. Cost –Benefit Analysis: It is analysis of the cost effectiveness of the training. An effective training results in better return than the investment made by the company for the benefit of the employees (Allen Country Public Health, 2015).

There are various models to describe the training needs of an organization. The McGhee and Thayer’s three level Analysis is the most commonly used model to evaluate the training need assessment of the organization.

The model provides an organized means of executing Training Needs Analysis at three levels namely Organization, Operational or task related and Individual or personal. The level of need analysis is a hierarchy which navigates from the organizational level to the personal level. Also, from moving from organizational level to the personal level, a micro focus of the organization is seen by the analyst.

Organizational Analysis: It assists in reviewing the performance of the organization. It enlightens the performance problems in the various departments of the organization. The Organizational Analysis helps to review profit and loss statements, employee turnover ratios, downtime and organizational business plan.

Operational analysis: It helps to analyze the required knowledge, skills and abilities required to execute a particular task. The evaluation is done through reviewing Quality assurance procedures, interrogating heads of departments and tracking the job descriptions (Syed & Kramar, 2017).

Personal Analysis: It helps to evaluate the performance of the team or individuals. The Personal analysis can be done through ascertaining the staff’s knowledge, observing ‘On –the –job’ training and job profile.

However, there are certain steps to execute training need analysis:

1. The Human resource Department should analyze the requirements to be met to execute certain job s or roles.
2. It further evaluates whether appropriate skills and knowledge is possessed by the individuals.
3. The third step requires contrasting whether the required level of skills and knowledge is possessed by the candidates or not.
4. The final stage pertains to summarize the comprehensive training requirements, so that the relevant training program can be prepared (Capacity Building for Urban Development project, 2014).

By comprehending the Training Need Analysis, the organization is able to identify the performance needs. They can be dealt by conducting the training sessions to meet the organizational goals. It helps to enhance productivity, profits and service quality of the organization.  There are various methods used in Need Analysis in Human Resource Development. Some of them are:

1. Surveys: Surveys can be conducted by polls with a sample or all of the employees of the organization. They assist in tracing the deficiencies related to performance in specific areas.

For conducting surveys, questionnaires can be prepared and they should be circulated among the employees. The questions should target on the specified tasks and requirements of the employees. Different formats of the questionnaires such as open ended, close ended, projective and priority ranking can be used. The employees should be allowed to answer anonymously which would enhance the credibility of the answers and the organization will get genuine answers.

Arfoa et al. (2015) recommends that surveys help the company to access large number of employees in the least time. It is an inexpensive method to analyze the training needs of the employees. It is easy to assess, review and report the conclusion of surveys. In the case of nameless responses, they are given without fear and hesitation.

2. Observations: In this method, the middle level management observes the method of working of the employee in every day working situations. It helps them to analyze the performance gaps of the employees. They contemplate the technical, functional and behavioral factors of the performance analysis. It helps them to give a qualitative and quantitative feedback of the current performance of the employees.

It helps to generate real life data to the managers and the regular flow of work is least interrupted.

3. Interviews: Interviewing each employee helps the managers to gather data on performance gaps while interacting with each employee or their group.  The interview can be conducted through phone calls or in person. They can be formal or informal (Hyundai, 2018).

For example: The team leaders can also be interviewed to assess the problems of the group. Through interviewing, it becomes easy to analyze the performance issues and to focus on possible solutions. Also, the employees can immediately give their feedback through interviews.

4. Customer feedback: Through Customer feedback, the management can be accustomed with the performance deficiencies of the employees. This is the best method to trace the improvement areas. Each question in the feedback form should be focused towards specific service or performance.

So, these were the methods which are used in need analysis in human resource development (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015).

Vision and Mission

The training need analysis is conducted at Malaysian Aviation Group through three levels, viz., organizational, task and individual levels.     

Three levels of Need Analysis at Malaysian Aviation Group

1. Organizational Analysis: It is concerned with reviewing the organization’s internal and external environment to analyze whether it has achieved its target or not. It assists the managers to assess the organization’s requirements through its vision, mission, and short and long term objectives.

For example: Various resources such as company’s mission , vision ,human resource management indexes ,level of expertise  of the employees  ,the culture of the company and competency indexes help the managerial personnel to identify the training needs. These factors reflect the issues or gaps in the company which require further assessment.

2. Task Analysis: It is also known as Operational Analysis. Mazhisham et al. (2016) suggested that the outcome of the targeted performance should be recognized and determined. The interconnection between the jobs or work chain should be considered to make sure that the final outcome satisfies the benchmarks of the working outcomes.

Assessment of the difficulty of the task is done by referring to the job description and specifications. The activities connected to each task are analyzed along with the competency levels identified to accomplish them. Five steps are identified in task analysis:

• The task and responsibilities required for the completion of the job are analyzed and noted.
• The level and type of knowledge required to accomplish the task is assessed.
• The performance level required for the task is analyzed.
• The task and competency required for the training program of the task should also be considered. It also requires to research upon the level of difficulty, importance and the time taken to accomplish the task.
• Suitable training needs should be noted according to their priority.

3. Individual Analysis: It requires assessing the training requirements to determine which employees should be trained to enhance their performance. The two important aspects in this regard are who should be trained and what type of training should be required by the human resource (Bhattacharyya, 2015).

For example:  Employees should be evaluated whose performance reveals a gap through comparison of their current job performance with the approved one. Certain training procedures should be conducted to fill this gap.

So, the prescribed levels of training need analysis help in the comparison of the actual performance of the employees with the suggested on. It also helps in analyzing the current and future competency gap and designing the training programs accordingly (Hartoyo & Efendy, 2017).

Malaysian Aviation Group conducts the need analysis through the following ways:

1. Conducting Interviews: The managers conduct interview of the subject matter experts and high performance employees. They retrieve the information of the job and occupation from the supervisors and managers in charge. They comprehend the needs of the employees required to fulfill their jobs.
2. Reviewing the performance appraisal: The human resource managers review the performance appraisals of the employees and analyze the gap between the set benchmarks and the employee’s current performance regarding their job profile.
3. Focus groups: The managers focus on relevant groups of employees which are new to the job or which require appropriate training to perform their job.
4. Assessment/ Surveys: The human resource managers conduct assessment of the performance of the groups of employees and prepare surveys in the form of questionnaires to assess their knowledge regarding their job profile (Cushway, 2015).
5. Records & Report Studies: The managers also study the past records and reports regarding the performance of the employees. With the help of the studies, they can summarize their findings and conduct trainings to enhance the performance of the employees.
6. Work Samples: The managers review the work samples of the employees and assess their training needs (OSHA, n.d.).
7. Review of relevant literature: The managers review relevant literature regarding the job descriptions and techniques used to perform a specific task. With the reference of the literature, they review the work of the employees and assess their training needs.

Thus, through the above mentioned methods, the human resource department of Malaysian Aviation Group analyses the training needs of the employees (ICAO, 2017).

There are certain suggestions to improve the techniques of needs analysis in the organization. Some of them are:

1. Managers must contemplate the needs required by the employees in the future to perform their tasks and compare them with the present. With the changing technology, the employees must be updated with the skills and techniques to perform the task. For example, the installations of new machinery or change in the policies of the organization to cope with the fluctuations occurring in the market require the updating of the skills of the employees.
2. The mangers must design the training program according to the needs of the diverse population in the organization .The company must consider the training requirements for women, minority groups, immigrants and senior employees (Anderson, 2015).
3. The training programs should be designed in such a way which avoids discrimination against a particular group.
4. The training methods should cater to the specific conditions and necessities of the employees, so that all the staff members are profited equally.

So, the above prescribed measures can be helpful to enhance the outcomes of need analysis in Malaysian Aviation Group (Chartered Management Institute, 2015).

Summary/Conclusion 

Thus, to conclude, it can be said that training is the backbone of any company. It enhances the productivity of the personnel   thereby increasing the output of the organization. An appropriate training method provides good results. In the present scenario, the organizations are confronted with tough competition, less resources and technological changes. Their   objectives should be fulfilled in such a way that it guarantees not only their immediate survival but also their long term development is assured (Odoni, 2015).

In a highly competitive and fluctuating environment, only the fittest would be able to survive. Hence, training need analysis plays a crucial role in the fulfillment of these objectives. So, Malaysian Aviation Group has to provide adequate and appropriate training which is necessary for the evaluation and growth of an efficient quality management mechanism (Atkins, 2015).

The training need analysis aims at solving the performance related issues which may occur in the future in Malaysian Aviation Group. Hence, strategic plan can be formulated and implemented to assist the employees to cope up with the changes. The training need analysis helps to develop the process which can improve the efficiency of the employees wherein they will commit less mistakes .Thus it would help in accessing the information faster and thereby wasting less time and resources of the company (Ferreira & Abbad ,2013).

Arshad et al. (2015) suggested that the training need analysis helps to enhance the employee satisfaction. They would be able to perform better in their jobs. With the help of training, the staff would be able to improve their leadership and communication skills. Thus, it would help in increasing the profit and the customer satisfaction ratio of the company.

Training Development Program

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