Health and safety principles and practices

¶ … Safety

The main theme or point of Rosner is that training should not be considered a cure all or even immediate solution to an organizational problem or issue. Another strong point Rosner makes is how management must perform effective research so as to accurately identify and diagnose an organizational problem or issue. When management has a clear and definitive understanding of a problem, it is a stronger position to prescribe a solution that will correctly resolve the dilemma. He contends that too often management's default solution to a change or problem is to provide additional staff training that is often the incorrect solution and waste or time or resources. His point is that training is useful and in a number of cases necessary, but training is an option that research shows that management goes to too often and effectively does nothing to change the situation. When misused, sometimes the training is unnecessary; sometimes the training is boring.

The first 20% of the questions Rosner asks readers involve clearly identifying, researching and diagnosing the problem. This must be a point he very much wants to force home if so much of the article is dedicated to the subject. It is because training is not always an effective solution that Rosner first suggests a clear and comprehensive understanding of the problem before even asking the question of whether training is the answer. Training is not always an effective solution because the solutions to problems are multiplicitious. Rosner suggests looking to other professional examples where the same problem occurs to see how other organizations dealt with the same or similar problem (and circumstances).

Over the course of the article, Rosner additionally asks questions regarding the intended outcome of the training or the intended result of whatever solution is decided upon. Readers may infer that sometimes, the best approach to a solution to a problem is to approach from the end, the imagined future where the solution has taken hold in the organizational environment. Rosner argues that when problems are approached from this perspective, it becomes evident earlier in the problem-solving process that training is not the right answer, only answer, or only part of the answer. Rosner additionally promotes the performance of research to ensure that if training is a solution, that it is the right kind of training and that the appropriate group receives the training.

My opinion of the article is that is it very good. The article is very well written and the perspective is intuitive. Rosner's main point to managers is that they should make considerate decisions. They should not automatically refer to training as the solution. When training is the solution, it should be deliberate and researched with respect to those who receive the training and with respect to the intended outcome. He makes good points about assigning responsibilities throughout the decision-making and training process. Training does not begin right before it actually happens, and it does not end after it is over. I like the points he makes regarding monitoring the training and measuring the training efficacy after the training has concluded.

This article is easy to read. The formatting and the style of writing keep the flow of ideas moving, which is good because this is not exactly a short article. Rosner takes a subject that most working people dread and loathe -- training. Personally, I have had training for positions that were utterly boring and totally useless. I have been at a few jobs where employees receive the same, extremely outdated trainings every single year. I have even been in work situations where training was the solution that workers and management agreed upon, but the training never came through because the ideas were dropped. I am sure my experiences are typical among working people. Therefore, I had hoped that the reading about training would at least be more interesting than trainings I have received.

I think this article is really objective and thorough. I wish it was required reading for management and human resources personnel. It is not the trend for management to consider the needs of employees, let alone to consider them from the perspective or experience from the employee, although the growing interest and respect in organizational studies in the 21st century may change that. With regard to training, the employee or recipient experience is not respected or reflected, so I liked how in the article, those are things that Rosner pays particular attention to.