Final answer:
Treating training strategically within an organization risks overreliance on training as a blanket solution but can also result in significant benefits, including an enhanced productivity culture, managerial efficiency, and employee retention when effectively implemented.
Step-by-step explanation:
When treating training strategically, there is a potential risk that managers may develop an overreliance on training as a solution to most employee and organizational issues. However, if properly implemented, strategic training can lead to numerous positive outcomes for an organization.
According to a 2003 study by Arthur, Bennett, Edens, and Bell, training can indeed be effective, influencing factors such as productivity and profits, employee response to training efforts, learning outcomes, as well as job behavior as observed by supervisors.
Training can encompass various aspects from orienting new employees to the organizational culture and values, to teaching specific job-related skills or how to use new tools.
It can also involve resocialization where employees are encouraged to leave behind old behaviors and adopt new, more productive ones. Good training supports not only an individual's performance but fosters a cultural environment that promotes continuous learning and growth.
When managing the power dynamic between employer and employee shifts towards a partnership, there is a mutual responsibility to contribute value. Performance appraisals, such as the 360-degree feedback system, are tools that can assess the effectiveness of training programs and identify areas for further development.
Consequently, with strategic training, the organization can see benefits such as enhanced productivity culture, improved managerial efficiency, and possibly, greater employee retention.