Human resource - Assignment Example

Etihad Airlines is one of those airlines, which have been spending heavily and generously on the training and development of their employees, something that creates short term and long-term benefits for the company by improving the performance and productivity of its employees (Werner et al., 2011, p. 30). This paper is an attempt to explore and analyse the training and development activities taking place at Etihad Airways and the degree to which they have a correlation with the overall learning and performance.

Discussion Similar to the training and orientation programs of many of the MNCs, Etihad Airways has a comprehensive rotational program for its new trainees who spent almost 18 months in nine different departments of Etihad, in an attempt to explore their real talent and capacity and also to learn as much as possible from the veterans of different departments (Saks & Haccoun, 2011, p. 74). With the vision of creating leaders for tomorrow, in the spring of 2012, Etihad Airways signed an agreement with the International Air Transport Association’s Training and Institute development to train its employees according to the international standards.

More importantly, with the collaboration of Harvard University, many of the senior and middle level managers of Etihad Airways would be receiving training to brush up their leadership and management skills (International Air Transport Association, 2012). In an effort to make its training initiatives more comprehensive, in the fall of the year 2009, Etihad Airways signed a memorandum of understanding with the Institute of Applied Technology in Dubai. This MoU would mean that, in the coming years, IAT and Etihad would work together to satisfy the on the job training needs of its professionals and more importantly, it would be responsible to teach, groom and nurture young students and professionals according to the strategic needs of Etihad.

This initiative does not only open employment opportunities for Emirati students but as well as graduates from other parts of the world. These graduates would have received education of such calibre and level that they would possess valuable skills, which would allow them to exert strong bargaining power in the entire aviation industry. Nevertheless, the contracts that they would have signed with Etihad would allow the organisation to keep them employed during the start of their careers (Etihad Airways, 2009).

There are strong theoretical and empirical reasons to believe that the efforts of Etihad’s management towards ensuring the training and development of their employees are actually converting into higher performance and employee satisfaction. Experts agree that human resource management is not only about hiring the best people and giving them the best possible benefits and perks but it also about giving them the tools, techniques, knowledge and information to do the job according to the expectations and demands of the organisation.

This is where training and development of employees plays a crucial role (Mathis & Jackson, 2008, p. 35; Laird et al., 2003, p. 10). When the employees of Etihad go through the various training programs, they are not only learning how to do their jobs but more importantly, they are learning how to do their jobs in Etihad’s way. This training allows them to learn the organisational culture and truly become a part of Etihad