UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

EVALUATION OF THE PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR COMMERCIAL BANK MANAGERS

IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

NOORAINI MOHAMAD SHERIFF

FPP L 1994 6

EVALUATI ON OF THE PERCEI VED EFFECTS OF MANAGEMENT TRAIN ING PROGRAMMES FOR COMMERCIAL BANK MANAGERS

IN PENI NSULAR MALAYSIA

BY

NOORAINI MOHAMAD SHERI FF

Thesis submi tted in part i a l ful f i l l ment of the requi rements for the degree of Master of Science

in the Centre f or Extension and Continuing Educati on, Universiti Pertanian Ma l ays i a.

February 1994

Thi s thes i s i s dedi cated t o my f ami l y who has been my source of inspi rat i on throughout

the study peri od .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes t o express her deep appreci at i on

and grati tude to Associ a t e Prof esso r Dr . H j . Saidi n Teh

and Professor Dr. Rahim Md. Sai l f o r thei r t remendous

ass i s t ance and guidance i n the preparat i on of this

thesi s.

Speci a l thanks i s a l s o extended t o the management

o f The Hongkong and Shanghai B anki ng Corporat i on ,

Standard Chartered , Perwi ra Habib Bank , Uni t ed As i an

Bank and O r i enta l Bank f o r thei r active parti c ipati on

and in he l ping to make this s tudy pos s i bl e . The author

is a l s o grateful to Mr . Ron Ferdinand and Mr . Nordin

Al i for the i r sugges t i ons , comments and encouragement .

Acknowl edgem ent i s als o due t o the Ins t i tute of

B ankers for thei r cooperati on i n p r oviding the author

access to their inf ormat i on bank.

Finally, the author expresses heartfelt gratitude

to her husband Zul ki f l i and brothers Nordin , Ari f fin ,

Al am , Zabrin , Akbar , and who have been a tremendous

s ource of inspi ra t i on and f o r the i r never fai l ing

ass i s t ance , encouragement and pat i ence throughout the

study peri od .

( i i i)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - -

L I ST OF TABLES - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

L I ST OF F I GURE S - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ABSTRACT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

ABSTRAK -----------------------------------

CHAPTER

I I NTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - -

Banker ' s Training - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Banks and Deve l opment - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Statement o f the P roblem - - - - - - - - - ---

O b j ecti ves of the Study - - - - - - - - - - - - -

General O b j ect i ve - - - - - - - - - - - -

Speci f i c Objectives - - - - - - - - - -

S i gni f i cance o f t he Study - - - - - - - - - - -

S c ope o f the Study - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Def ini t i on o f Terms - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I I REV IEW OF L I TERATURE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Concepts i n Eva l uat i on - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Definitions - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Format ive and Summative Evaluat i on - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( iv)

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i i i

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xi

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xv

1

3

7

13

1 5

1 5

1 5

1 6

1 6

1 7

18

18

18

2 1

Form a l and Informa l Eva l uat i on - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Just i f icat i on and Judgem enta l Eva l uat i on - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Charaoteristios o f Eva l uat i on - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Leve l s o f E va l uat i on - - - - - - - --

Eva l uat i on Mode l s - - - - - - - - - - - -

Contemporary status o f Programme Eval uat i on - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Imp or t anoe of E va l uat i on t o Management Training - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Importanoe o f Training t o Bank Managers - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---- - - - -

Essent i a l Components o f Management Training Programme - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Assessm ent of Training Needs -

Training Ob j eo t i ve - - - - - - - - - - -

Desi gn o f Training P rogrammes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

I ns t ruo t i ona l Teohniques - - - - -

Training Ai ds - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Eva l uati on of Training P rogrammes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Trainers - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

S oo i o-demographio Faotors Af f eo t i ng Learning - - - - -- - - - - -

( v)

page

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5 6

6 2

6 9

70

8 2

8 4

98

105

110

1 10

1 2 0

I I I RESEARCH METHODOLOGY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Theor et i ca l Framework - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dev e l opment o f Sca l es f or Measur ing the Dependent and I ndependent Vari abl es - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dependent V ar i ab l e - - - - - - - - - - -

I ndependent Var i ab l es - - - - - - - -

Data Co l l ecti on - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Source o f Data and Locat i on of Study - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Popul a t i on o f the Study - - - - - -

Procedures f or Samp l e Se l ect i on - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ques ti onnaire Deve l opment - - - - - - - - - - -

Deve l opment o f the Quest i onnaire - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Pre- testing o f the Ques t i onnaire - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I nstrument ati on - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Procedures f or Data Co l l e t i on - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rel i abi l i ty Tests f or the Sca l es - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ana lyt i ca l Procedures and Techni ques Used - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Signi f i cance Lev e l - - - - - - - - - - -

(vi)

page

1 2 6

1 2 7

1 30

1 30

1 3 2

1 3 5

1 3 5

1 3 6

1 3 7

1 38

1 38

1 40

1 41

1 41

1 42

1 4 5

1 51

page

IV FIND I NGS AND D I SCUSS ION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 5 2

Des c r i p t i on of Respondents by Age , Working Experi ence , L ev e l o f Educat i on and At tendence of Management Courses between Augus t 1 988 and Jul y 1 98 9 - - - - - - - - 1 53

Perceived E f f ects o f Management Courses on Commercia l B ank Managers - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Importance P l aced by Top/ Senio r M anagement on Training o f Emp l oyees - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Perceived Compe t ency o f Trainers - - - -

Needs Assessment Techni ques - - - - - - - - -

I ns truc t i onal Techniques - - - - - - - - - - - -

Training Aids - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cri terion f o r Eval uat i on - - - - - - - - - - - -

Training Des ign - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Re l at i onshi p between Percei ved E f f ects of Management Training Programmes and Training Components

V SUMMARY , CONCLUS I ON AND RECOMMENDAT IONS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Summary - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ob jectives o f the S tudy - - - - - -

Procedure o f Data Col l ec t i on -

Stat i s t i cal Methods Used - - - - -

Findings o f the S tudy - - - - - - - -

Conc l us i on and Recommendat i ons - - - - - -

( v i i)

1 5 6

1 6 6

1 73

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18 9

1 9 2

1 93

1 9 6

2 03

2 1 6

2 1 6

2 1 6

2 1 7

2 1 9

2 20

2 2 4

BIBLIOGRAPHY -----------------------------

APPENDICES

Appendi x A : Cover Letter Requesting Banks Parti cipati on in the P re- Survey - - - - - - - - - -

Appendi x B : Ques t i onnai re f or Pre-Survey - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Appendi x C : Reques t f o r Par t i ci pa t i on in Pre-Tes t o f Ques t i onna i r e f o r Management Training i n Commercial Banks i n

page

2 3 7

2 4 4

2 4 6

Peninsul a r Mal aysi a ----- 2 5 2

Appendi x D : C over Letter Request ing Banks Managers Parti ci p at i on in Data Col l ect i on ------ 2 5 3

Appendi x E : Ques t i onnai re f o r Data Col l ec t i on -------------- 2 5 4

BIOGRAPHI CAL SKETCH------------------------ 2 6 4

( vi i i)

L I ST OF TABLES

Tabl e

1 Rel i abi l i t y Coef f i ci ents o f the Perceived E f f ects o f M anagement

Page

Training - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 4 4

2 Di s t r i but ion o f Respondents by Age, Working E xper i ence , Education Level and Attendence of M anagement Courses between August 1 988 and Jul y 1 98 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - 1 5 4

3 Perceived Outcomes o f M anagement Traini ng Courses for Commerci a l B ank M anagers - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 58

4 Overa l l Rat i ng for the Perceived Outcomes o f Management Traini ng Courses fo r Commerci a l Bank M anagers - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 6 5

5 Perception on Importance o f Training P l aced by Top/ Senior M anagement - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 6 6

6 Overa l l Rating for the Perception on Importance of Training P l aced by Top/ Senior Management - - - - - - 172

7 Perception on the Competency o f Bank Trai ners - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 174

8 Overal l Rat i ng for the Percei ved Competency o f Trainers - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - 18 5

9 Frequency o f Usage o f Needs Ass essment Techniques fo r Commercial Bank Managers - - - - - - - - - - - - - 187

1 0 Frequency o f Usage o f Instructiona l Techni ques for Commerci a l Bank M anagers Training - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 90

1 1 Frequency o f Usage o f Training Aids for Commerc i a l Bank M anagers Training - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - 1 9 2

( i x )

Tabl e

1 2 Frequency o f U sage o f Criterion for Eva l uat ion in the Commerci a l Training o f Commercia l Bank

Page

Managers ----------------------------- 1 94

1 3 Appl i cabi l i ty o f Train i ng Topi cs i n Bank Manage rs Management Training Programmes ------------------ 1 97

1 4 Coverage o f Sub j ect Matter in Bank Managers Management Training Programmes ----------------- 1 98

1 5 Simp l e Co rrel ation Results between the I ndependent vari abl es and Outcomes o f Management Training ----- 2 0 4

( x )

L I ST OF FIGURE S

Figure p age

1 Theoret i ca l Framework of the study ------------------------ 1 2 9

( xi )

Abstract o f thes i s submitted to t he S enate of Uni versiti Pertani an M a l ays i a i n part i a l ful f i lment of the requi rements for the degree o f Master o f S c i ence .

EVALUATI ON OF �HE PERCEI VED EFFECTS OF MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR COMMERCIAL BANK MANAGERS

I N PENINSULAR MALAYSI A

by

NOORA I N I MOHAMAD SHERI FF

February 1 9 9 4

Chai rman : Associat e P ro f es so r D r . H j . Saidin Teh

Faculty : Cent r e for Ext ens ion and Continuing Education

The purpose o f t hi s study was to uncover t he

ef fects o f management traini ng p rogrammes for

commerc i a l bank managers in Peninsul ar M a l ays i a .

Speci f i ca l l y , this study det e rmined the commerc i a l bank

managers percei ved e f f ects o f the management t raining

programmes and to estab l i sh the re l ationshi p between

needs assessment techniques , i nst ruct ional t echniques ,

t raining aids , eva l uation criterion , t rainers '

compet ency , emphasi s o f training by top management , and

age with the percei v ed e f fects o f management t raining

b y commerci a l bank managers .

( xi i )

o f

The

f ive

data were co l l ected f rom 112 branch

s e l ect ed commerci a l banks i n

managers

Peninsul ar

M a l aysi a , using a se l f -administ ered quest ionnai re . The

questionnai re consi sted o f eight een percei ved e f fects

of management t raining programmes , f i ve ma jor

components o f the t raining s ystem for bank managers ,

perceived competency o f t rainers , indi cato rs o f top

management ' s commitment to management training and

s e l ect ed persona l characterist i cs . A Likert -type s ca l e

t echnique was used to obtain the respondents

per cept ions o f the abovement ioned .

It was found that f i ve e f fects o f the management

t raining were perceived to be high l y important

accomp l i shments o f the management courses by more than

90% o f the respondents . They were "enabl ing a better

s e l f - assessment of knowl edge i n r e l at ion to perfo rmed

tasks" , "incul cated the requis it e ski l l s for e f fe ct i ve

job perfo rmance" , " enab l ing a better s e l f -assessment o f

attitude in rel ation to perfo rmed tasks" , "created new

st rengths for greater perfo rmance" and "impart the

necessary knowl edge to cope with current job" . Another

f iv e e f f ects , name l y "as s i st i ng in the attainment o f

o rgani z at ions o b ject i ves" , "enabl ing a better s e l f ­

assessment o f ski l l s i n rel at ion to per formed tasks" ,

( xi i i )

"acqui ring p ro f es s iona l i sm i n wo rk" , "mo t i vating to

bet ter wo rk output" and "deve loped bet ter understanding

o f work" , were perceived to be important by mo re than

85% o f the respondents. A def i ni t e rel ationshi p exi s ted

between the perceived ef f ects of management t raini ng

and needs assessment techni ques , training aids ,

c r i terion used for eval uat ion , competency o f t rainers

and top management's commitment to t raining .

The f i ndings of thi s study indicated that

comme rc ia l bank managers perceived t hat the management

t raining p rogrammes conducted for them had faci l i tated

i n undertaking thei r branch admi ni s t rat ion . In

addi t ion , the bank managers a l so att ributed the

e f f ec t i venes s of the management t raini ng conducted for

t hem to accurate needs assessment , ef fective use of

visua l aids , good eval uat ion o f the training

p rogrammes , competent trainers and active support o f

top management to t he management t raining p rogrammes .

( xiv )

Abstrak tesis yang dikemukakan kepada S enat Uni versiti Pertani an Ma l aysi a s ebaqai memenuhi s ebahagi an daripada kep e r l uan untuk m endap at kan I ja z ah Master Sai ns

PEK I LAIAN TANGGAPAK PEKGURUS BANK PERDAGANGAN TERRADAP KESAN PROGRAM LATIHAK D I PERIKGKAT

PEKGURUSAN BANK PERDAGAKGAN DI SEMEKANJUKG MALAYSI A

o l eh

MOORAINI MOHAMAD SHERIFF

Februari 1 9 94

Pengerus i : Pro f esso r Madya D r. H j . Saidin Teh

Fakult i : Pusat Pengembangan dan Pendidikan Lan jutan

Tujuan utama ka j i an ini i a l ah untuk meni l ai kesan

l atihan di peringkat pengurusan di bank-bank

perdagangan di S emenan jung Ma l aysia. Ob j ekt i f khusus

ka j i an ini i a l ah untuk meni l ai persepsi pengurus -

pengurus bank perdaganqan t entang kesan l at i han

p engurus an ke atas mereka , serta menentukan pert a l i an

di antara teknik p enentuan kep e r l uan l at i han , t eknik

penga j aran , a l at bantuan l at ihan , kriteri a peni l ai an ,

kemahi ran jurul at i h , penekanan l atihan o l eh p i hak

pengurusan peringkat atasan dan umur denqan persepsi

( xv )

kesan l ati han p engurusan o l eh p engurus -pengurus bank

p erdagangan .

Data t e l ah dikumpul m enerusi borang soa l s e l idik

yang di i s i s endi ri o l eh 112 orang pengurus cawangan

dari l ima buah bank p erdagangan di S emenan j ung

Mal ays i a . Borang soa l s e l idik ters ebut mengandungi

l ap anbe l as item berkenaan kesan persep s i p rogram

l at ihan pengurusan , l ima komponen utama da l am s i st em

l at ihan p engurus -p engurus

juru l at i h , komitmen p i hak

bank , pesep s i k emahi ran

p engurus an atasan kepada

p rogram l at ihan p engurusan , dan c i r i - c i r i peribadi yang

terpil i h . Teknik ska l a Likert t elah digunakan untuk

mendapatkan p e rs ep s i responden t entang perkara-perkara

yang ters ebut di atas .

Ka j i an

responden

pengurusan

"membo l ehkan

tugas yang

membo l ehkan

ini t e l ah m endapat i l ebih dari 90%

mendapati l ima kesan p rogram lat ihan

yang s angat pent ing . la termasuk l ah

penilai an pengetahuan berdasarkan tugas ­

di l akukan" , "menambahkan kamahi ran untuk

tugas -tugas di l akukan s ecara e£ekt i f",

"membo l ehkan p eni l ai an s i kap berdasarkan

yang di l akukan" , "me l ahi rkan kemahi ran

m empertingkatkan p restasi" s erta

( xvi )

tugas -tugas

yang bo l eh

"menambahkan

p engetahuan untuk membantu menj a l ankan tugas -tugas

s emasa". Lima l ag i kesan t e l ah dinyatakan o l eh 8 5%

daripada responden seb agai has i l p enting darip ada

p rogram lat ihan yang tel ah m ereka hadi ri. Kesan-kesan

ini termas uk l ah "membantu mencapai ob j ekti f

o rg anisas i " , "membo l ehkan peni l aian kemahi ran di ri

s endi r i b erdasarkan tugas- t ugas yang di l akukan" ,

"menambahkan p ro fesional i sme di dal am kerja" ,

"mempert ingkatkan moti vasi untuk menamb ahkan

p eng e l uaran" , dan "meningkatkan pemahaman terhadap

tugas- tugas yang di l akukan" . Di s amping i t u wuj ud

pertal ian di antara persepsi kes an l at i han pengurusan

dan t eknik penentuan l at i han , a l at bantuan l at i han ,

kri teria peni l ai an, kemahi ran jurul atih dan komi tmen

p i hak p engurusan atasan kepada l at i han p engurusan .

Ka j i an i ni tel ah mendapa t i pengurus-pengurus b ank

p erdagangan b erpendapat l at i han p engurusan yang

dihadi ri t e l ah membantu mereka da l am pentadb i ran

cawangan s ecara e f ekt i f . Pengurus -pengurus bank j uga

berpendapat keberkesanan l at i han p engurusan ada l ah

disebabkan o l eh ketepatan p enentuan keperl uan l at i han ,

penggunaan a l at -bantuan l at i han yang efekt i f, peni l ai an

p rogram l at i han yang baik , juru l atih yang mahi r dan

( xv i i )

berdedi kas i serta kesungguhan p i hak p engurusan atasan

da l am membiayai p rogram l at i han p engurusan .

( xvi i i )

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCT I ON

When organ i z at i ons f o rmu l a t e thei r ob j e c t i ves i t

i s e s s ent i a l t o det e rmi ne what res ources a r e needed t o

a c c omp l i sh t h e s t a t ed ob j ec t i ves . Equi pment , mat e ri a l s ,

f i nanci a l and human r e s ource f o rm the bas i cs . O f thes e ,

unf ortuna t e l y human res ourc e p l ann i ng usua l l y does not

r e c e i v e s u f f i c i ent a t t ent i on . Human r e s ou r c e p l ann i ng

l a rge l y encompas s es s t a f f i ng and pers onne l , whi ch can

be l oos e l y cat ego r i z ed i n t o three s t ages : a ) Ass e s smen t

o f p r e s ent s upply . b ) As s es sment o f f uture needs . c )

Deve l opment o f p r ogrammes t o meet f uture n e eds .

The f i rs t phas e o f human resource p l ann i ng

i nv o l ves a s s e s s i ng t he c u r r ent s upp l y o f human

res ources . Thi s wou l d i nc l ude det e rmin i ng how many

peop l e a r e i nv o l ved in p e r f o rming each task r equi r ed

f or each s p e c i f i c ob j e c t i ve . I n addi t i on , the qua l i t y

o f the c u r r ent human res ource needs t o be eva l uat ed .

I n t e rna t i ona l l y r enowned o rgani z a t i ons s uch as I BM and

AT & T have been abl e to do thi s succes s f u l l y b y

dev e l oping a s ki l l s i nv en t o r y . Thi s i s a w r i t t en

c omp i l a t i on o f the s ki l l s thei r whi t e and b l ue c o l l a r

1

2

emp l oyees p o s s e s s and the number o f p e op l e havi ng

vari ous ski l l s.

The next s t ag e o f human res ou r c e p l anning i nv o l ves

f o recas t i ng the human res ources r equi red to a chi eve the

l ong and sho r t - t e rm ob j ec t i ves o f t he o rgani z at i on .

This wou l d r equi r e t he assessment o f f ut u r e p e r s onne l

needs . T o max imi z e the e f f ec t i veness o f thi s t ask ,

changes i n the e x t e rna l env i r onment , p a r t i cul a r l y the

ec onomi c env i r onment mus t be s tudi ed. Thi s i s becaus e ,

s uch a change can have a s i gni f i c ant i mpact on the

f uture human res ource needs of an o rgani z at i on .

The a s s e s sment o f an o rgani z a t i on's res our c e needs

shoul d be f o l l owed by the devel opment o f a viabl e

p r og ramme t o mee t t hes e needs . Rec rui t i ng and s e l e c t ing

mo r e qua l i f i ed p e r s onne l wou l d b e a r out e t o f ul f i l l

these needs. N onethe l e s s , thi s a l one wi l l not suf f i ce .

I t wou l d a l s o be e s s ent i a l t o und e r t ake a s ys t emat i c

t ra i ni ng and dev e l opment p rog ram t o bui l d the ski l l s o f

curr en t emp l oyees t o h e l p t a p thei r p o t ent i a l s .

As such , t ra i n i ng shoul d be v i ewed as an a c t i v i t y

capab l e of maki ng c on t r i but i ons t o t he achi evement o f

a n o rgani z a t i on's ob j e c t i ves . Thi s i s evi dent b y the

3

d e f i ni t i on o f t ra i n i ng g i v en by many authors . Among

them a r e cas t i l l o and F l i ppo . Cas t i l l o ( 1 9 7 6: 3 4 4 )

d e f i ned t ra i n i ng as "a means o f i mp r o v i ng the behav i our

o r p e r f o rman c e o f a par t i c i pant and t he r e f o re

c ont r i but i ng t o the t o t a l pe r f o rman c e o f the

o rgani z a t i on " . A s imi l a r de f in i t i on was o f f e red by

F l i pp o ( 1 9 7 6 : 2 0 9 ) who v i ewed t r a i n i ng " a s an act of

i n c r eas i ng t he know l edge and ski l l s o f an emp l oyee f o r

d o i ng a p a r t i cul a r j ob" . S t emmi ng f r om t hes e v i ews on

t ra i ni ng , t he e f f i ci ency o f an o rgani z a t i on , t o a

c e r t a i n e x t ent , dep ends d i r e c t l y on how we l l i t s

members a r e t ra i ned . New l y hi red emp l oyees n o rma l l y

need s ome t ra i ni ng be f o r e t hey can und e rt ake the i r

work . Tenured emp l oyees a l s o r equi r e t ra i ni ng t o keep

abreas t wi th t he cur r ent

ski l l s and knowl edge, as

t rans f er s and p r omot i ons .

r equi r ement s i n spec i f i c

we l l a s t o p repa r e f o r

B anker s ' T r a i n i ng

The c on t r i bu t i ons ext ended by t ra i n i ng i s a l s o

imp o r t an t t o emp l oyees i n the banking i ndus t ry . Thi s i s

becaus e t he Ma l ays i an banki ng s ys t em has und e rg on e

drama t i c changes s in c e ope r a t i ons s t a rt ed mo r e t han 1 0 0

y e a r s ago . The banking i ndus t ry t oday has dev e l oped

4

c onsi derab l y f r om a modest 9 9 b r anches i n 1 95 8 t o 8 4 8

b ranches as o f June 1 9 8 7 . This rap i d expansi on i n t e rms

o f branches a c c ompani ed by vast c hanges i n the

f i nanc i a l syst em , banki ng t echno l ogy , i nt e rna l

c on t r o l s , audi t , t e l ecommun i c at i on and c hangi ng ma rkets

a ro und the wo r l d have p l aced a s i gn i f i cant d emand on

bet t e r t ra i ned sta f f .

Furt he r , wi t h h i g h l i t e racy r a t es and st andard o f

l i v i ng , t he expe c t a t i ons o f soc i e t y have a l so

i n c reased . Banks a r e expec t ed t o p l ay a l eading r o l e i n

se r v i ng t h e pub l i c f ai r l y and p r a c t i c e t h e h i ghest

st andard of ethi cs and mora l s p a r t i cul a r l y i n t eg r i t y

and honest y . This is essent i a l because i n t eg r i t y and

honest y is synonymous or equat ed wi t h good banki ng

( Kanapathy : 1 9 8 7 ) .

I nt ense c omp et i t i on i n the banki ng i ndust ry t o o

is f o r c i ng banks t o l ook a t thei r p r oduc t i v i t y,

Emp hasis i s c on t i nuous l y p l aced t o ensur e that they a r e

o f f e r i ng t he most a t t r ac t i ve range o f servi c es a t very

c omme r c i a l r a t es . I n l i ght o f a l l t hese c hanges , how

have bank emp l oyees been equi pped wi t h the necessa ry

ski l l s and knowl edge to bet ter serve t he i r c l i ents?

Undo ubt edl y , t ra i ni ng and exposur e have p l ayed a ma j o r

5

r o l e i n c on t r i but i ng t o a bank ' s p roduc t i vi t y . This is

becaus e the e x c e l l en c e of t he i r s e rv i ces depend a g reat

deal on t he i r j ob c omp e t en c i es . In l i ght o f thi s, the

imp o r t an c e o f t ra i n i ng f o r bank s t a f f has been

f r equent l y emphas ized by p r o f e s s i ona l s i n the f i nanc i a l

rea l m . At a n o f f i c i a l i naug r a t i on o f the I ns t i t u t e o f

Bank e rs Ma l ay s i a o n Decembe r 2 1 s t 1 9 7 9, t he Ma l ays i an

Mini s t e r o f F i nance r e i t e ra t ed t hat, t r a i n i ng f or bank

p e r s onne l wou l d be c ruc i a l . Thi s is becaus e the qua l i t y

o f thei r s e rv i ce i s c l os e l y a s s o c i a t ed wi t h t he

s at i s f a c t i on d e r i ved by t he i r c l i en t s and s oc i et y at

l a rge . As such, the management of banks shou l d

s e r i ous l y a t t emp t t o i n c o r p o r a t e s t a f f t r a i ni ng i n t o

thei r human r e s ource p l anni ng .

Bank Negara Ma l ays i a had d i r e c t ed a l l bank ing

i ns t i tut i ons to t ra i n at l ea s t 20% of thei r t o t a l s t a f f

annua l l y ( Yas i n : 1 9 8 6 ) . T h i s i s a c l ea r i ndi cat i on that

the imp or t an c e of t ra i n i ng f o r bank emp l oyees t oday has

been g i v en the app r op r i a t e rec ogni t i on . Management o f

banks had a l s o t aken t h e i ni t i at i v e t o i n c o rp o r a t e

t ra i n i ng as p a r t o f thei r c o r p o r a t e s t r a t egy i n

ensu r i ng l ong - t e rm g rowth o f t he i r o rgani z at i on .

6

I n add i t i on, as a f i nanc i a l i ns t i tut i on c omme r c i a l

banks a r e l i ke l y t o expand i n f uture ( Ra o & I qba l :

1 98 2 ) . I n the 1 9 90 ' s o r p erhaps by the y e a r 2 0 0 0,

s i gn i f i c ant changes wou l d p r ev a i l . They i nc l ude

mer g e rs , a cqui s i t i ons and aut oma ted management

t echni ques and p roduc t s . Thi s wou l d c ont r i bu t e t o

i n t ens i f i ed c ompet i t i on among c omme r c i a l banks .

Aut omat i on t o o may b e e x t ended t o banks new d e l i ve r y

s ys t ems and i n t o areas beyond t he i r s c ope o f operat i on .

The i n c reased us e o f c ompu t e r s i n banks and the f ut u r e

i ncept i on o f "home-banki ng " by t e l ephone o r v i deos

c ou l d have a d e f i n i t e e f f ec t on the bank-cus t ome r

r e l a t i onshi p . Thi s i s becaus e s ervi ces wou l d t end t o be

mo r e imp e r s ona l . P r i v a t i za t i on of gove rnment - owned

bus i ne s s es and the need t o r e s t ruc ture our e c on omi c

a ct i v i t i es wi l l g i v e r i s e t o new a reas o f banki ng l i k e

c o r p o r a t e f i nanc i a l c onsu l t ancy, adv i s ory s e r v i ces e t c .

I n respons e t o a l l these chang es, banks have began

t o a c c ep t and t r eat t ra i n i ng as an i nt eg r a l f un c t i on o f

t he i r o rgan i za t i on . Thi s i s es s ent i a l becaus e i t i s a

c on t r i but i ng f a c t o r t o t he i r g r owth and p r oduct i v i t y .

T o dat e , the imp o r t an c e o f t ra i n i ng t o bank

emp l oyees has been ackn ow l edged . Nonethe l es s, i t i s