Overview of Air India

Question:

Describe about the concept of training and development.
 

Training is an important part of any organization Training helps an organization to uplift the technical skills of the organization to increase the productivity of the employees. Training is a regular teaching process to improve the capability of the organization (Bujaki and Durocher 2014). In this assignment, the researcher has thoroughly discussed the utilities of training in the airline industry. Training policies and their implementation are also thoroughly discussed by the researcher. In this assignment the researcher specifically discusses the Airline Company, Air India.

Air India is the third largest airline organization in India and carries a maximum number of passengers after Indigo and Jet Airways (Airindia.in 2016). The organization is fully owned by the government of India and is successfully running for over a period of 80 years (Airindia.in 2016). The organization was founded in the year 1931 as Tata Airlines. It started its career in the name of Air India since 1946. Headquarters of the organization is situated at Indian Airline House in New Delhi. The organization has carried outs it functions in various parts of the world and generates revenue of near about 2.9 US billion dollars (Airindia.in 2016). Air India has a fleet size of 108 aircraft which is made up of Air Bus and Boeing Aircraft. The organization has employee strength of over twenty-eight thousand employees who serves the people and the organization across eighty-four destinations(Airindia.in 2016).  The organization has subsidiaries like Air India Express and Air India Regional. Recently the Star Alliance has been depicted as the alliance of Air India (Airindia.in 2016).

According to Chaudhuri and Bartlett (2014), training is a process by which the present employees and the new joiners in an organization are taught in a certain way to enhance their skills. These skills will help them to perform their task effectively. It can also be said that training is an activity which increases the knowledge of the employees. Training is a method or activity by which human beings can be an expert in their task or jobs. Training can also be defined as a process of improving the skill of the employees in an organization.

Development, on the other hand, can be said a step ahead of training. Development helps an employee to develop in all respect be it in knowledge, attitude or skills. The activities of development also improve the personality of individuals and help them to move towards maturity with full potential. Therefore, development not only creates a good employee but better men and women for the future. Development is an ongoing process whereas training is done in one-shot.  Moreover, development also helps an individual to improve his or her different skills like decision making, problem solving and critical analysis. Training and development cannot be easily differentiated, but as a whole, it increases the team spirit of the organization and people.

Donald L Kirkpatrick was the President of American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) in the year 1975 (Chen and Chen 2012). He had introduced a training model to evaluate the training process. The name of the model was Kirkpatrick’s training and evaluation model and was introduced in the year 1959 (Chen and Chen 2012). The model is used to evaluate the effectiveness of training and development. The model has four steps. They are the reaction, learning, behavior, and results. Reaction level measures how the trainees reacted to the level of training.

Training and Development in the Airline Industry

The trainees should feel that the training is valuable for them in the future. In Air India, the instructor teaches the trainees in the most efficient and easiest way. In this process, the reactions of the trainees are measured. The model is helpful for Air India to improve the level of training in the future. A close watch is also kept on the body language of the trainees to find out whether they are happy with the training or not. It is expected that the audience gives positive feedback to the training process.

The Learning step is involved in measuring the knowledge of the trainees (Ferreira and Leite 2013). It is used to evaluate how much the trainees have learned and how the training has helped them. The training session of Air India has the main objective to make the customers happy. Learning can be identified in different ways depending on skills and attitudes.

In the behavioral section, the behaviors of the trainees are evaluated. This determines whether the training process has induced a positive attitude in the minds of the trainees (Jayakumar and Sulthan 2014). Behavior can only change if there is a positive energy in the training process.

The result is the final stage of the training model. In this step, the final result of the training process is analyzed. It is the acid test of the training model and finally gives the verdict whether the training was fruitful for the employees or not (Loeppke et al. 2015). 

According to Nag and Das (2015), training and development are important for any organization. Air India has laid great stress on implementing proper training and development strategies. The training policies of Air India are created based on the vision and goals of the organization. The organization believes that human resource is the best asset for them and has taken steps for the development of the employees. The organization gives training to all the employees at regular intervals to uplift the quality of the workforce. Air India believes that the employees have a potential to grow, and training will help them to gain expertise in their respective field. A proper evaluation plan is also introduced by the organization to evaluate the position of the employees. As stated by Carvalho et al. (2016), Air India wants to empower the staff members and asks them to be a part of their ownership development. Line managers have a key role in developing the training project of the organization. Air India works with a good practice guideline and believes that the training should benefit both the employer and the employees. Air India always selects the training and development policies which are at par with their other competitors.

According to Salas et al. (2012), health and safety training is also another major part of the training. The employees of the organization are always well aware of the safety measures. Such training focuses on how to use the oxygen mask and how to use the parachutes when an accident occurs in flight in the air. Training regarding first aid, safety and risk handling modules are properly provided to the employees. It is the role of the line manager to implement the training activities properly (Jacques 2013). Employees also have an opportunity where they can share their problems with the top management and can also give suggestions to the management. All these will help to maintain a proper balance between the employer and the employee.

Kirkpatrick’s Training and Evaluation Model

Air India always discusses with the employees and the top management before implementing any new initiatives in launching new training ideas (Sung and Choi 2014). The organization also reviews the training activities at regular intervals to identify whether it is enhancing their performance or not. New training and development policies are well communicated with the employees through company’s internal notice and departmental training. Along with this, Air India does not create differences among the employees based on their gender, age or position. All the employees are treated equally within the organization.

Air India mainly flights Air Bus and Air Craft (Airindia.in 2016). Training is given to the employees accordingly. Classroom training is provided to the employees. In classroom training, the employees are divided into a batch of 50 and experts come to train them. The experts share their experience with the employees and provide them information about the different activities in the different critical situation.

On-job site training is the most preferred type of training given to the employees of Air India. According to Thayer (2012), on-job site training helps the employees to handle problems while they are on the job site. This will increase the experience of the employees, and they can use it in their future to prevent the awkward decision.

In Job Rotation training, the job of the employees is rotated at a definite interval of time. This helps the employees of Air India to have knowledge of different activities which are performed within the organization (Ulfvengren and Corrigan 2015). It helps the employees of Air India to remove boredom and helps them to create rapport with different people. 

According to Wilson (2013), training in the airline industry is essential. It helps the employees to strengthen different skills and enhance them for better productivity. Soft skill training helps the employees to interact with the customers politely. This will create a good will in the minds of the customers and will increase the revenue of the organization (Underhill 2013). A well-developed training will program will increase the skills and knowledge of the employees. This process will reduce weakness among the employees.

Consistency is maintained in the performance of the individuals with the help of a structured training process. Consistency is relevant in the implementation of the basic policies and procedures of the organization (Bujaki and Durocher 2014). The employees are well aware of the different activities within the organization with the help of training process. The activities which the ground employees will be trained thoroughly during the training course, to -perform the required activities expected of them at the arrival of an Airbus to the airport.

Training and development program organized by Air India is also an added advantage for the employees. In other airline industries, training is not always available. So it can be said that, the training process helps the employees to have job satisfaction. 

According to Chaudhuri and Bartlett (2014), Air India thinks that the human resource is the main strength of the organization and they always focus on the welfare of the employees. The employees are paid according to their job role, and the problems of the employees are solved with care. Air India has a cheap canteen for their employees where the employees can have hygienic and good quality food at a cheap price (Sung and Choi 2014). Drinking water is safe and hygienic. The organization provides seating facilities for the employees whether they are in office or at the ground. A sufficient number of urinals and latrines are provided for all the employees. The toilets are always kept clean and fresh.

Training and Development in Air India

Sufficient lighting facility is arranged to prevent danger, and the employees can perform their work properly. According to Salas et al. (2012), in Air India, the employees also have proper shift times, and the shifts are not elongated. This maintains a proper work balance of the employees. Adequate changing rooms are provided to the employees where they can change their dresses. Above all Air India also refreshes the minds of the employees by arranging fun and games. Air India also has a health care system where the employees can check their health twice a week free of cost. In the case of male employees’ paternity, leave is available for 20 days while females are provided with a maternity leave for 180 days (Airindia.in 2016). 

7.0 Conclusion

The researcher has thoroughly discussed the different training and development facilities for the employees in their organization. The training session helps the employees to have a proper idea of the activities of the organization. The training session includes on the job training and classroom training. Along with these, this study also discusses the facilities which the organization provides. The facilities include cheap canteen service along with hygienic food.  

References

Airindia.in. (2016). Welcome to Air India.

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