Chapter 4: Findings / Results / Data Analysis
1.This chapter presents the evidence and/or results of primary research which you have
undertaken. Depending upon your subject area this can be in the form of detailed quantitative models,
hypothesis testing to some basic analysis using basic descriptive statistics or qualitative techniques
dealing with structured content analysis, textual analysis, to case study descriptions.
- The main part of the chapter is the presentation of the data that you obtained. Even projects of
relatively moderate dimensions will generate a large amount of data which has to be considered.
Chapter 4: Findings / Results / Data Analysis
Data analysis 2
This section describes the results of the study, obtained through the use of a questionnaire
and interview as indicated in the methodology. The questionnaire was administered in the form
of an online survey, in which individuals from different organizations were asked to rate the
training and development programs in their organizations. A total of 71 respondents participated
in the survey. The interviews were conducted among 40 managers in different organizations, in a
bid to determine the impact of training and development on performance. The research sought to
answer two questions as follows:
- How do training and development affect an organization’s overall performance?
- What are the challenges encountered by both the firm and employees in training and
development?
The analysis section is organized based on these research questions with a view of
establishing the view of respondents in the research.
Characteristics of respondents
- Age
A majority of respondents in the survey were aged between 31 and 40 who consisted
39% of the population, followed by individuals below 30 who made up 25% of the
population. Individuals above 60 were the least represented in the survey. A graph
showing the entire population is given below. Managers included in the interview were
mostly in the 41-60 years category.
Data analysis 3
25%
39%
15%
11%
8%
Respondents by Age
Below 30 years
31-40 years
41-50 years
51-60 years
Above 60
- Gender
The survey mainly attracted male respondents compared to female respondents. While 53
male respondents participated in the survey, female participants were 18 in number. This
is presented graphically as follows.
Data analysis 4
25%
75%
Gender
Female
Male
- Current organization and number of years worked
The distribution according to organization is presented as follows. The government sector
had the highest number of respondents, followed by Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Airways, the
private sector and Ooredoo in that order.
Data analysis 5
While a majority of employees had worked over 10 years, most of them had been with
their current organization for 10 years and below. The table below details the number of
years worked by the survey participants.
Number of years Total number of
years worked
Number of years
worked in current
organization
Below 5 18.31% 39.44%
Between 5 and 10 25.35% 32.39%
Between 10-20 35.21% 22.54%
Above 20 21.23% 5.63%
Data analysis 6
Impact of training and development on performance Results
Research question 1: How do training and development affect an organization’s
overall performance?
This research question sought to understand how training and development affects
employee and organizational performance. In this regard, respondents were asked to answer
questions that reflected their personal view on training and development and how they thought it
affected them and their organizations. To accomplish this, there was need to understand the
nature of the training and development programs in the organizations.
Opportunities for training
The ability of an organization to provide adequate opportunities for training impacts the
effectiveness of its training program’s impact on performance (Latif, Jan and Shaheen, 2013). In
a survey question that sought to establish organizational training programs and relevance of
training to employees, it was established that 73% of the individuals had an opportunity for
training during the year. This can be established from the fact that 30.77% of respondents
strongly agreed that they had received training while 42.31% agreed to the same question.
Further, 77% of respondents considered future training and development highly important for
them and would therefore be open to future opportunities.
In all organizations under study, employees taking the survey did not seem to understand
how employees are selected for training. This could be an illustration that training programs are
not well developed and procedures for training and development are not well outlined. 57.69% of
the respondents indicated that they did not understand how employees were selected for training
Data analysis 7
and development in their organization. From the manager interviews, it can was established that
the management made various considerations in determining who would be selected to
participate in trainings. This was based on various factors including skill deficiency, the need to
improve knowledge of certain employees based on work assignments, appropriateness of training
opportunity for selected staff and resource availability. The fact that employees are not made
aware of trainee selection procedures however has the potential to create trust issues and
employee dissatisfaction, which is the reason why it should be communicated to all staff and be
open and fair.
The data on opportunities for training as established from the survey is presented as
follows.
Types of training
The nature of training differed across organizations, with the most popular form of
training being on the job training. 32.69% of the respondents had received internal training. This
Data analysis 8
can be explained by the low cost of on the job training and its capability to promote knowledge
acquisition that is accompanied by practical sessions since it is done at the duty station
(Ognjenović, 2015). On the job training was followed by programmed instruction and external
training in terms of popularity. The data on training is given by the graph below.
On the job
training
Job rotation External
training
ConferenceProgrammed
instruction
LectureOther
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
Type of training received
Series 1
Impact of training and development on performance
Impact on Individual Performance
The results of the survey indicate that there is a positive correlation between training and
development and employee performance. When asked about the impact of training, 69.23%
concurred that the training they received had a positive impact on their performance. 21.15% did
Data analysis 9
not find a correlation between their performance and training received while 9.62% were unsure.
This is presented graphically as follows:
69%
21%
10%
Impact of training on performance
Training impacted on
performance
Training did not impact on
performance
Maybe training impacted on
performance
Data from the manager interviews also supports the positive correlation between training
and development and employee performance. More than half of the managers noted that staff
performance had improved as a result of the training and development programs. This was
evidenced through enhanced capabilities to meet set objectives, improved efficiency, enhanced
motivation, better ability to handle complex assignments, increased diversity in employee
capabilities, enhanced sales and better customer satisfaction, regular update of skills and
enhanced team work; all necessary in improving employee performance. These results compare
significantly to those of Elnaga, A and Imran (2013) who note that when organizations provide
training and development, the consequent improvement in their workforce is notable and this
leads to better performance in the organizations.
Data analysis 10
Impact on Organizational Performance
The results also indicated a positive relationship between training and performance, based
on various aspects of measuring organizational performance. These included efficiency and
productivity, team work, communication, employee competence, employee participation, staff
turnover, ease in job rotation and conflict management. Efficiency and productivity scored
highly in terms of the number of employees who thought that the training and development had
an impact on performance. 36.54% of the respondents strongly agreed while 46.15% agreed that
efficiency and productivity was improved following training and development. Teamwork,
communication efficiency and increased participation of employees on decision making were
also regarded highly in relation to training and development. A greater number tended to
disagree that staff turnover, employee participation and employee competence were influenced
by training and development. 46.15% disagreed that training and development reduced staff
turnover while 40.38 and 38.47% disagreed on the impact of employee competence and
increased participation in decision making respectively. The graph showing the scores of various
performance aspects is given below.
Data analysis 11
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
Impact of training and development on performance among
organizations
Strongly agreeAgreeDisagreeStrongly disagree
The role of training and development on organizational performance
To further inquire the relevance of training and development on organizational
performance, respondents in both the survey and interviews were asked to rate training and
development as a means of enhancing the achievement of organizational objectives. This was
aimed at establishing the value placed by employees on training and development. 61.54% of the
respondents from the survey noted that training programs were highly useful while 38.46 noted
that they were slightly useful. None of the respondents considered the programs not useful. This
is illustrated below.
Data analysis 12
The input from managers brought about varied responses on why training and
development was important in promoting organizational performance. Among the most popular
responses to the question included:
Importance of a skilled workforce in achieving organizational goals
Changing business environment that requires constant training
Better skills and capabilities improve performance
Training and development enhances employee morale and hence improved performance – Training
motivates employees to perform better
When training is aligned with organizational goals and strategies, it enhances achievement of these
goals
Training enhances competitive advantage of the organization
Skill and capability diversity translates to better performance
Increased involvement of employees in organizational decision making
Enhanced efficiency and profitability
Data analysis 13
Impact of training and development on motivation
Major studies including Dhar (2015) and Elnaga (2013) have shown that training and
development have a significant impact on motivation. This is because they improve employee
confidence on their employer, given that they have the opportunity to enhance their skills. With
regard to employee motivation, the survey concurred with these views. The results indicated that
53.85% of the respondents found training and development highly useful in enhancing
motivation while 36.54% considered it slightly useful. Only 9.62% thought that training and
development had no role in enhancing motivation as indicated in the graph below. Data from the
interview also revealed that training played a major role in motivation of employees. 42% of the
managers when asked about the impact of training and development responded that it had
enhanced the performance of the organization based on increase in staff morale.
Data analysis 14
Employee satisfaction with training program
In order for a training and development program to be effective, employee satisfaction
with the program is of great significance. This is because it guarantees that the organization is
providing the right skills and knowledge for employees and that it is meeting their training and
development needs (David, 2011). This research sought to establish the level of satisfaction
among employees and it is notable that the more than half of the respondents considered their
training program satisfactory. 31.37% on the other hand did not consider it satisfactory while
15.69% were not sure. This could be an indication that organizations are prioritizing training in
Qatar and that employees are recognizing these efforts. The graph showing the results is given
below.
Employee satisfaction with training program
SatisfiedNot satisfiedMaybe
Data analysis 15
Alignment of training and development to organizational needs
An important factor to consider in assessing the performance of a training and
development program is the alignment of training and development opportunities to
organization’s needs. Grant (2016) notes that failure to identify the training needs leads to the
development of programs that do not address the organization’s skill deficiency and thus renders
training programs ineffective in enhancing performance. In this regard, the research sought to
determine whether this was an important factor for companies in Qatar. Results indicated that a
large majority of organizations had their training needs aligned to the training programs as
shown below.
Training and development
opportunities aligned to
organization’s needs
Training and development
opportunities not aligned to
organization’s needs
Not sure
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Training opportunities alignment to
organizational needs
Series 1
Research Question 2: What are the challenges encountered by both the firm and employees
in training and development?
Data analysis 16
Training and development is an intensive undertaking and this to a great extent influences
the capability of organizations to perform it as intended (Nongard, 2014). Through this research
question, the study queried some of the challenges that employees and organizations might face
in their training and development efforts. The challenges experienced by employees and
organizations were vast and widely distributed across various aspects. However, the most cited
challenges are listed as follows, classified as either internal or external training challenges.
Notably, the challenges are not unique to companies in Qatar and other researchers have
identified such challenges as affecting training programs as discussed below.
Challenges in internal training
Timing and time management: Based on the survey, it is notable that time management
limits internal training due to time availability, short time available to complete courses, late
announcement of course availability, poor time keeping by trainers and trainees and the
allocation of trainings within working hours. One respondent also noted that there is not enough
time to review courses due to time limitations and this limits ability to determine effectiveness of
the course. These challenges are not unique to the Qatari organizations and as noted by OECD
(2011), time limitations remain the most significant factors in influencing training success.
Resource limitations: A considerable number of managers consider resource limitations
an influencing factor in training and development. Notably, the number of employees in need of
training often exceeds the financial resources in organizations, necessary to ensure that training
programs are adequate for everyone. Noe at al. (2016) notes that training and development
programs are highly expensive and that organizations must be in a position to invest significant
resources in order to effectively execute their programs.
Data analysis 17
Quality of training: Some respondents were concerned about the quality of training,
noting that it was not the best. Outdated training programs and inexperienced trainers were
identified as some of the related factors. The availability of qualified trainers is one of the most
influential factors in determining whether a training program will be effective (Gospel, 2015).
The results insinuate that the employees are not confident with the internal trainers and this may
influence the effectiveness of training within the organizations.
Long course durations: When courses are long, they affect the employee schedules and
thus impact their work performance (Rothwell, 2011)). This appears to be a major challenge
among the companies included, mostly due to the busy scheduled.
Employee attitudes: Employee attitudes may impact training effectiveness because it
limits absorption and eventually the efficacy of training (Ryburn, Brown and Meier, 2011). In
this research, respondents noted cases of absenteeism among employees, not taking courses
seriously and not paying adequate attention during classes as examples. In the interview with
managers which included a question on how staff attitudes impacted the effectiveness of training
and development, respondents identified various issues including staff not being committed to
training programs, dismissal of training on grounds that they already know, unrealistic ambitions
following trainings such as promotions or salary increment, unwillingness of senior staff to train
with junior staff, and the preference for external trainings compared to internal trainings.
Cultural factors: Mixed workshops (male and female) are considered a cultural issue by
some individuals due to religious and cultural beliefs.
Data analysis 18
Equipment unavailability: This includes lack of training material and equipment
necessary for effective training. The availability of required material ensures that trainees can
effectively grasp the content of the lessons and implement them as necessary (Rothwell, 2011).
Challenges in external training
Timing and time management: The issue of time is also evident in external training.
Examples cited in the study include conflict with work and personal schedules. Time consumed
due to travelling and differences in time zones were also considered important factors.
Language and cultural barriers: These include challenges in language that may affect
training efficacy as well as cultural challenges that affect individuals in the program. An example
given by a male respondent working in the government sector is the mixing of religion and
mixed gender classes which they are not primarily used to. Cultural barriers also impact hoe
information is conveyed to trainees, which could consequently influence their understanding.
Environmental challenges: Lau and McLean (2013) note that the efficacy of training may
be influenced by the physical location, particularly when it is a new environment and individuals
have to adjust. Examples cited in the research include familiarizing with the training
environment and weather differences that may affect individuals.
Lack of alignment between training and job functions: This could be as a result of broad
training objectives, such that the training may not necessarily align to the job description of the
trainees. Given the importance of ensuring that training objectives meet the needs of the
organization, these present a major challenge in external training (David, 2011).
Data analysis 19
Compressed training: Due to time limitations and the need to fit a large amount of
information during the training period, the trainings may be compressed.
Takes employee away from daily work station: This may affect employees’ work
schedules and lead to work pressure once back at their stations.
Exhaustion may limit absorption: This was linked to travelling which may affect an
individual’s ability to learn.
Inadequate opportunities: Specialized external courses are not available for all employees
and where available they may have to wait long periods of time.
Gender differences in opportunities: Respondents noted the limitations in women training
opportunities.
Unfair training participant selection: In this research, respondents reported cases of unfair
allocation of opportunities, where managers may practice discrimination in choosing participants
for training. This way, some employees end up trainings that do not have an impact on their
work while relevant ones miss out. Based on the interviews, it is evident that managers are
mostly responsible for determining training needs and who participates in the trainings. This is
based on skill deficit, department needs and individual needs. This explains why there could
have been a concern over unfairness in employee selection for training, given that managers
control the training opportunities available. Should the managers exercise favoritism in their
selection of trainees, the program may not be effective in ensuring that the right people acquire
the required skills.
Data analysis 20
Recommendations to address challenges in training and development
In order for organizations in Qatar to improve on their performance, the following
recommendations should be implemented. According to Knights (2013), employees should be
involved in developing solutions to a great extent because this ensures that they can tailor them
to the challenges that they have. Accordingly, the research sought to determine how best
challenges can be addressed in order to ensure that employees are satisfied with training
programs in their organizations.
Employee involvement
The challenges identified would best be addressed through amicable solutions that reflect
the views of employees themselves because they are the ones affected by these challenges (Pride,
2013). An important factor to consider is the involvement of employees in determining the kind
of courses they wish to pursue and the relevant material that they believe needs to be included.
This will not only enhance employee morale but also ensure that training is effective in
enhancing their performance (Elnaga and Imran, 2013).
Training needs identification
Ognjenović (2013) notes that in order for a training program to be effective, it must
ensure that training needs are effectively identified so as to match them with available training
opportunities. This ensures that the company’s performance can be improved based on the
training and development programs. Managers should be given the mandate to allocate training
opportunities, with the condition that they select participants objectively.
Data analysis 21
Align trainings with labor market demands
Labor market demands are changing rapidly as the level of competition increases
and new concepts in business development and performance emerge (Noe, et al., 2016). In this
relation, there is need to address the question of outdated curriculums and to address the issue of
changing market needs. This will ensure that all trainings taken by employees are effective. In
order to achieve this, research is necessary to ensure that current market trends are identified.
Training variety
Employees do not need to be trained for the sake of it and this calls for the
development of unique courses that they can pursue based on their needs. Accordingly, it is
imperative that organizations develop new varieties of trainings to fit employees.
Technology use
The issue of time comes out strongly in the results. Modern literature suggests
that with the advancement in technology, organizations can take advantage of online learning as
an alternative to time consuming courses (Chio, 2012). Individuals can learn more at their own
convenient time and thus solve the issue of time availability and time management while
enhancing knowledge acquisition. The use of online courses also saves time for the institution.
Data analysis 22
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Data analysis 23
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Data analysis 25
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