The impact of training on the performance of Dubai government organisations within the context of financial stringency

Abstract

The financial crisis that hit the world at the end of 2007 has impacted not only the banking systems and private sector companies, but also the public sector. The government of Dubai responded effectively to the repercussions of the financial crisis, and provided ample support to its entities to minimize the effects of the financial crisis on its performance. One of the main reasons for the superior performance of the government of Dubai is its investment in its human capital. Providing sufficient funds for training and bringing international experts to deliver high quality programs was one of the main drivers of top performance. However, the financial crisis has undoubtedly affected the ability of the government to provide the same quantity of training programs, and this might affect the overall performance of the employees within its realm. The purpose of this study is to examine to what extent the financial crisis has affected the budget allocated to training and its subsequent impact on the overall organizational performance of government entities within the Emirate of Dubai. The study tests three hypotheses: 1 ) the impact of the financial crisis on training effectiveness; the variables look at the level to which the financial crisis influenced training effectiveness. 2) Impact of training strategy on training effectiveness; the variables look at the influence of training strategy of the government on training effectiveness. It achieves this by measuring variables that look at the elements embedded in the training strategy like the involvement of the employees in its preparation, implementation and its design. 3) Impact of training effectiveness on organizational performance; the variables test the relationship between the quality of training under the restricted budget and the effectiveness of training. The main finding is that contrary to expectations perceived, training effectiveness did not decrease as a result of the reduced budgets. Those responsible for training and development responded creatively to the financial stringency by finding alternative and more cost-effective methods of delivering their programmes. More specifically, the 1st hypothesis H0: Financial crisis and Training effectiveness are unrelated. HA: Financial stringency is negatively correlated with Training effectiveness. The simple regression result shows that financial stringency is not significantly associated with Training effectiveness. Hypothesis 2 H0: Training Approach and Training effectiveness are unrelated. HA: Training strategy is correlated with Training Approach. The results show that Training Approach and Training effectiveness are positively associated with a strong relationship. Hypothesis 3 H0: Training effectiveness and Organizational performance are unrelated. HA: Training effectiveness is correlated with Organizational performance. The results show that the Training effectiveness and Organizational performance are positively associated. The study provides recommendations to policy makers in the UAE on how to better improve the quality of training and at the same time reduce the costs involved in running them. The findings of this study provide a clear picture of the challenges that face organizations in Dubai as a consequence of the financial crises and subsequent pressure on training budgets