Introduction
The police force and other government agencies rely on human capital to achieve a big percentage of their objectives. However, for a long time, these organizations have not been known to put efforts to support the development of their staff. Public institutions in Sharjah are expected to contribute to development goals in equal measure as other private institutions.
As a result of the high expectations, most organizations have realized there is a need to grow the capacity of their human capital (Abbas, Muhammad and Alam 190). For this reason, it is important to evaluate the role of training in establishing the strategic direction of public institutions in Sharjah.
Police training involves linking working officers with experts in different areas so as to facilitate the transfer of specific skills which in turn enables them to execute their jobs in a better manner.
Training serves to steer strategic changes in the police force in terms of bringing the police to new performance thresholds as well as enabling them to establish new ways of combating modern crime. Wang (926) argues that “continued human resource development” in the police force drives the enhancement of teamwork in the leading to better crime deterrent approaches.
Statement of the problem
The Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate in the Sharjah Government have a training and development policy whose implementation has not been properly executed. The majority of the officials do not seem to understand the role of training in guiding strategy in the organization. The entire process of selecting the police officers as well as other personnel to be trained does not follow the correct procedures.
Inadequate financial resources have characterized training operations in many government agencies in Sharjah, making it difficult for the police to achieve their training targets over the last five years. As such the role of training in guiding strategy within the Sharjah Police has not realized. This gap has provoked a study on the role of training in guiding strategy within the police force.
Study Hypothesis
Hypothesis 1 (H1): Employee training contributes towards strategy in public institutions.
Hypothesis 2 (H2): There is a difference in staff training operations between the Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate in the Sharjah Government.
Study Objectives
The specific objectives include:
- To find out the training and development policies within the two institutions.
- To evaluate the level of awareness of the training and development policies within the two institutions.
- To examine the implementation of the training and development policy.
- To determine the challenges faced by the two institutions in the implementation of its training and development policy.
- To make recommendations for improving the training and human resource development within the institutions.
Research questions
The researcher will seek to answer the following issues:
- What are the differences and similarities in training and development of policies within the Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate in the Sharjah Government?
- How does the level of awareness of the training and development policies within the Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate in the Sharjah Government compare?
- How is the implementation of the training and development policy carried out by the Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate in the Sharjah Government?
- What are the challenges faced by the Human Resource Directorate in the Sharjah Government and Sharjah Police in the implementation of its training and development policy?
- How can the Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate of the Sharjah Government improve its training and human resource development?
Significance of the Study
The world today has enormously high level of expectations for different organizations which in turn results in the increased pressure for organizations to leverage anything within their reach to accomplish their mandate.
Employee training is critical to the core mandate of an organization especially in the service industry that includes police work (Marchington and Wilkison 85). The study will be of great significance in providing an insight into the strategic role that training can play within the Sharjah Police Force.
The research will also be instrumental in the improvement of training and career development within the Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate of the Sharjah Government. The study will offer practical information that is core in figuring out the issues underlying the training and staff development within the Sharjah Police Force.
The findings will complement other existing studies on the role that training and human resource development plays in enabling institutions achieve their core mandate in the government sector. The study will be of significance to other scholars as it will form a platform on which further research on the subject of human resource training and development can be carried out.
Literature review
Employee Training
Employee training in the concept of human resource development refers to a situation where an expert works with learners to transfer skills to enable them improve their job performance. The development incorporates a set of activities that are aimed at bringing an employee or the entire organization to a different level of performance in the execution of its core mandate (Tan, Click and Huber 1210).
An organization’s training plans should be based on the skills requirement as well as the strategic initiatives of the organization. Like other leading organizations that have established training departments, the Sharjah Police should be able to revamp its employee training programs. Training will help orient the police force towards the right direction in terms of change requirements (Rydberg and Terril 115).
Strategic Role of Training
There is enough literature on the role that training plays in an organization. Through training, an organization can create a wider pool of staff members who are in a position to take up positions that are left vacant by departing colleagues.
The ability to get replacements from within the police force in Sharjah is critical in ensuring the continuity of operations. Training at the Sharjah Police Department will enable the police force be in a position to adopt and make use of new technology in combating crimes.
The criminal landscape has recently changed significantly and as such it is vital for the police to cope with the new changes (Ulrich 56).
Training is fundamental to ensuring that the police force can build an extremely motivated force that in turn ensures the proper execution of other strategies that are established to enhance operations (Metcafe and Dick 415). The training also ensures that the police force has adequate staff members who are in a position to take new roles as they are established over time.
Training also ensures that an organization has increased productivity as well as increased financial efficiency. Employees who are trained to execute their jobs in the right manner are less likely to use resources on experimentation, but they will probably be in a position to identify the right approaches from the beginning.
According to Dirani (160), financial efficiency is critical to the execution of the core mandate of the police force and as such making training an integral part of police operations. Niazi (54) argues that trained employees “require less supervision in their work” which also ensures that more human resources are freed to carry out other critical operations in the police force.
Methodology
Research Design
The research method will be a cross-sectional survey incorporating both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative method will involve survey questionnaires issued to the middle level management of the Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate of the Sharjah Government.
The qualitative method will be applied in an interview with the senior administration of the Sharjah Police. The use of survey method is preferred because of its cost effectiveness as well as time efficiency.
Study Population
The study population will comprise of officers working under the Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate of the Sharjah Government. Unless otherwise approved by the senior management of the Sharjah police, the study will not incorporate persons who are not working within the institutions.
The sample size will be obtained through a simple random technique as well as purposeful sampling. The sample will be obtained from the staff list provided by the human resource department.
Data Collection and Analysis
The researcher will personally issue the questionnaires to the personnel and staff members of the Sharjah Police. After completion of the questionnaires, the researcher will also handle the collection of questionnaires while verifying that they have been completed in the correct manner. The researcher will also conduct the interviews in the offices of the senior officials of the Sharjah Police Force.
Data analysis will be carried out using qualitative methods alongside other statistical methods. The data from the questionnaires will be analyzed using the statistical software STATA while the interview data will be analyzed using content analysis.
Data on training programs for the last six years will be analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The study results will be presented using charts and tables. The findings will then be discussed in relation to the study objectives and the research questions.
Study Limitations
The study is faced with the limitation of obtaining a large sample size. The limitation emanates from the time set for the completion of the study. The members of the study population have very busy schedules due to the nature of their work (Lambert, Vero and Zimmermann 174). The other limitation of the study is the inability to access classified information that will enable the researcher to draw the right conclusions on the findings.
Conclusion
All public institutions in Sharjah are expected to contribute towards development goals making it important for them to grow the capacity of their human capital. Many government agencies in Sharjah have difficulty securing enough financial resources for their training operations making it difficult for them to achieve their training targets.
Training enables an organization to create a wider pool of staff members who are in a position to take up positions that are left vacant by departing colleagues. Training will also enable the Sharjah Police Department to adopt and utilize new technology in combating crimes.
It is, therefore, paramount to conduct a cross-sectional survey that compares and evaluates the role of training in supporting strategy in Sharjah Police and the Human Resource Directorate in the Sharjah Government.
The study will be of great significance in providing an insight into the strategic role that training can play within the Sharjah Police Force. The study results will entail practical information that is core in figuring out the issues underlying the training and staff development within the Sharjah Police Force.
Works Cited
Abbas, Rana, M. Muhammad, and H. Alam. “Mirror up to leadership and Strategic Human Resource Management: An Exploratory Account.” Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 2.10 (2011): 188-198. Web.
Dirani, Khali. “Professional training as a strategy for staff development: A study in training transfer in the Lebanese context.” European Journal of Training and Development 36.2 (2012): 158-178. Web.
Lambert, Marion, J. Vero, and B. Zimmermann. “Vocational training and professional development: a capability perspective.” International Journal of Training and Development 16.3 (2012): 164-182. Web.
Marchington, George, and G. Wilkinson. “The core competence of the corporation.” Harvard Business Review 68.3 (2008): 79-89. Web.
Metcalfe, Beverly, and G. Dick. “Exploring organisation commitment in the police Implications for human resource strategy.” Policing 24.3 (2001): pp. 399-419. Web.
Niazi, Sidhom. “Training and Development Strategy and Its Role in Organizational Performance.” Journal of Public Administration and Governance 1.2 (2011): 42-57. Web.
Rydberg, Johannes, and W. Terrill. “The Effect of Higher Education on Police Behavior.” Police Quarterly 13.1 (2010): 92-120. Web.
Tan, David, W. H. Click, and C. P. Huber. “Fit, equifinality, and organizational effectiveness: A test of two configurational theories.” Academy of Management Journal 36.4 (2010): 1196-1250. Web.
Ulrich, Dave. Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Watertown: Harvard Business Press, 2012. Web.
Wang, Youfa. “Emotional bonds with supervisor and co-workers: relationship to organizational commitment in China’s foreign-invested companies.” International Journal of Human Resource Management 19.5 (2008): 916-931. Web.