An analysis of the role of organisational climate upon training effectiveness : a study of small and medium sized firms in Brazil

Abstract

This study examines the influence of organisational climate upon training effectiveness, and to a lesser extent, considers the impact of organisational climate upon business performance. This impact will be considered in relation to the results of employees' training, as assessed by themselves and by supervisors and managers of the firms concerned in the Minas Gerais state of Brazil, the third most important economic region in the southeast part of Brazil. In addition, this study also examines the relationship between training effectiveness and business performance, as assessed by managers and deputy managers. A survey was undertaken with forty-five small and medium-sized metal, pharmaceutical and electronic firms and a total of 225 workers, 90 supervisors and managers were interviewed for this study. Based on the correlational analysis performed, the results of this research indicate that a favourable and positive organisational climate as perceived by workers, does account for training effectiveness, in terms of results of workers' training, as assessed by themselves, supervisors and managers alike. Also, the findings of the research indicate that a favourable and positive organisational clImate greatly accounts for business performance, as assessed by managers only. Finally, the study concludes that training effectiveness and business performance are related, but not as strongly as it could be expected. The area covered in the survey was the capital city of the Minas Gerais state, Belo Horizonte; the industrial city of Contagein, the second most important city in economic terms near Belo Horizonte, and finally, the industrial cities of Itauna and Divinopolis, in the southwest part of the Minas Gerais state. The study raises a number of practical issues: firstly, at the level of national Training Policies, the Brazilian Government might like to re-direct its training policies and strategies, in terms of the effectiveness of training courses/programmes; secondly, at an organisation level, the managers and entrepreneurs need to give more emphasis to organisational climate; thirdly, at the level of the workforce, the employees of the industry need to be more aware of the benefits of a positive organisational climate within the firms in which they work. Finally, at the level of researchers and writers, this study gives an opportunity to either replicate the conclusions reached or to widen the field by doing further studies in this area.