Organizational structure

The exact position of the training department must be

specified in the organizational structure of the company.
Training, being a staff function has a risk of being
sidelined in a large organization. Some of the typical
structures of training department can be:
(i) As a part of the personnel department
In most companies, human resource development is
entrusted upon HRD/Personnel department. In such
situation, the training department would function within
the authoritative control of the HRD manager. Usually, the
new employees undergo an orientation/induction
programme, which is organized by this department. In
such department, there can be a permanent training
manager, who shall plan and manage the training
programmes. He shall also evaluate the training
programmes and report to the HRD manager. Although
rare, organization might hire some permanent faculty to

(ii) In the form of a matrix organization

The training manager might not be a specialist in all
functional areas. While imparting sophisticated training,
the common practice is to take a manager from the
functional department. For example, if sales training was
to be given to the representatives, the sales manager
might be asked to plan the same. In such a situation, he
shall design the training programme and identify the
faculty who shall provide the training. He might even
identify the trainees who need to be trained. The training
manager, who shall be under the HRD manager, shall
organize the training according to the plan suggested by
the sales manager. He might arrange for the hotel,
training facilities and other necessary paraphernalia
required for the training. In such a situation, the training
activity is conducted in the form of a matrix organization,
where the training manager merely becomes a facilitator
of a training programme.

(iii) Training by functional heads

When training is not a very regular exercise, even the
functional heads, such as marketing manager/production
manager etc. might undertake the task of organizing the
training programmes. They plan and organize the entire
programme themselves.
Role and Responsibility
After the place in the organizational structure, the role
and responsibility of the training department must be
specified clarity. The risk of role conflict exists particularly
in a matrix form of the training department. Each of the
managers might see the other as infringing upon the
others authority. Such a situation is not conducive for an
effective training. Shared responsibility might not fix the
responsibility in case the training does not achieve the
desired results.

2.4 External Organization

Several organizations, such as consultancy organizations,
professional bodies, government departments,
educational institutions etc. specialize in providing
training. They contact the prospective organizations and
put forth their proposals to conduct training programmes
for them. The clients review their proposal and if satisfied,
they might nominate their staff to participate in these
events. The external organizations can organize the
training programme by two modalities:
A training programme dedicated to an organization
When there are a sufficient number of the participants to
undergo training, the external organization might provide
the training exclusively to the organization. The
advantage of such an exercise is that the experts and the
organization can decide the training objectives by mutual
consultation. The planning and control of such a
programme becomes easier. The privacy of the training

A training general programme in which delegates of

several organizations participate
In this situation, the external organizations organize a
seminar/workshop or a training capsule and invite
delegates from several organizations to participate. The
advantage of such a training programme is that the cost
is low because only a limited number of the delegates of
one organization might participate in the event. The
intermixing with people from several organizations gives
fresh ideas. The professionals develop networking, which
can help them in discharging their professional duties
better.