The relationship between workplace training, the perceived effectiveness of training and organisational commitment

Abstract

The core objective of this study was to explore the relationship between training method, the perceived effectiveness of workplace training and the three dimensions of organisational commitment namely, affective, normative and continuance commitment. The question that initiated the exploration was the role of learnerships in the workplace and whether or not they, as a different method of workplace training were perceived as effective training methods by learners and if this was related to the three types of organisational commitment, namely; affective, normative and continuance commitment. A quasi experimental methodology with a static group design was adopted. No randomisation or matching of groups utilised in this study took place. Questionnaires were sent out to the learnership trained (test group) and alternatively trained employees (control group) performing phlebotomy. The responses obtained were coded and run through SPSS v16. Descriptive statistics together with validity percentages were obtained. Group statistics were obtained. An Independent Samples t-test was run and Cohen’s size effect test was calculated. A Pearson’s Correlation Matrix was utilised to test the variance between perceived effectiveness of training and the three types of organisational commitment. Findings indicated that the learnership trained employees did perceive their training as more effective. The Pearson’s Correlation Matrix also indicated that a significant correlation was found between the perceived effectiveness of training and all three types of organisational commitment. However, learnership trained employees did not demonstrate higher levels of organisational commitment.