Impact and Problems Encountered by HRM Students in Their on 1

Impact and Problems Encountered by HRM students in their On-the-Job Training Chapter 1 The Problem

! Intr Introd oduc ucti tion on On-the-Job-Training is one way the students are given an opportunity to apply the theories and principles that they have learned from the school. It also helps the students to apply the knowledge and skills by performing in actual work settings. On-the On-the-Jo -Job-T b-Trai rainin ning g is one of the best best traini training ng method methodss becaus becausee it is plann planned ed organ organize ized d and conduc conducted ted the employ employee’ ee’ss worksi worksite te and we studen student t will will incre increase ase are  productivity and for developing developing our skills. !nd !nd this is the part of college curriculum that aims to train and orient students about a work and future career. It is a type of skill development where a worker learns how to do the work through hands-on e"perience. On-the-Job-Training On-the-Job-Training is one method that we students are e"posed with different work situation designed to give as an opportunity to e"perience and a chance to apply the theories that we have learned from the school. It also helps us to ac#uire relevant knowledge and skills by performing in actual work. OJT is very important not only to teach students regarding their career but also to show students the reality about working. $e $e e"posed to the actual work related to our course. It also allows those with no e"perience to work and to learn at the same time. On-the-Job Training helps the trainee to learn more about his%her chosen field and practice what she%he has learned from the school. It helps in the building up of the trainee’s competence. Of this training develops one’s professionalism in dealing with people. !fter the training the trainee will be able to handle situation properly and yet be able to do things successfully and this training develops one’s professionalism in dealing with people. !fter the training the trainee

will be able to handle situation properly and yet able to know how to socialize well with his colleagues and also be able to work well with everyone and have a good teamwork OJT also enhances the critical thinking abilities and discipline of the student like us. &aving a

proper On-the-Job-Training helps

in the

preparation

of future

 professionalism for our future 'obs. $hat the students learned like us in our training even little things can be applied when are already working. (tudents will be trained not only academically but socially as well. It also gives us the chance to immerse ourselves in our  e"perience and learn the skills necessary to the industry where we are interested in. $orking with e"perienced is very good because the way we communicate with others will not be a big  problem. !bove all On-the-Job-Training allows the trainee to get ac#uainted with the real  professionals and to meet people having different positions in the company either high or  low. The trainee will be able to know how to ad'ust to other people’s personalities and attitude. The most effective method to development the competence and skills of (tudents is through hand-on-training-the-on-the 'ob training. This process e"poses the students to the different field and learning. )oreover it allow the students become familiar and made known with the actual operation of the business and the state-of-the art of the facilitiese#uipment and technology used. )any opportunities for development can be found on the 'ob. Trainees are able to learn as they contribute to the goals of the firm.

)orale productivity and

 professionalism will normally be high in those individuals that employ a sound OJT program. !s re#uired by the *&+, graduating students of different )a'ors of the (&)-*) undergo on-the-'ob training with re#uired time of one hundred hours. /erhaps this would be a stepping stone for the practicumers to develop themselves to become professionals in their  own field of specialization and ac#uire new learning through gained e"periences during

trainings. It is very essential component of the learning process geared toward preparing students future career. &owever practicumers along the way encountered uncertainties and  problems that would one way or another will affect their on-the-'ob performances. (ome would feel disappointed and dissatisfied to the on-the-'ob training they receive. )any factors are to be considered that the on-the-'ob training was properly managed

"! Theoretical #rame$or% E&periential Education

The variations among the terms used to describe outside-the-classroom learning opportunities can be condensed into one phrase0 e"periential education. Juliet )iller from the 1.(. ,epartment of +ducation defines an e"periential education as 2all programs that are designed to e"pand the setting of learning e"periences beyond the traditional school environment to occupational and community settings and these programs use planned e"periences3to  promote cooperation between traditional educational institutions and business industry labor government and community groups to support learning4. (ome e"amples of e"periential education include service learning internship academic service-learning community servicelearning cooperative education program applied practicum e"periential learning and most commonly internship program. !ll of these e"amples use e"periential components in their  curriculum with the only difference being due to logistical and operating issues 5)iller 6789:.  ;ow that the meaning and modes of e"periential learning have been discussed the following section summarizes literature which directly informs the analysis conducted in the current study.

'ociological Component o( E&periential Education

esearch indicates that cooperative education curriculum promotes the ability of  students to achieve one of the beneficial goals of the sociological curriculum0 2to promote students’ abilities to apply the sociological perspective to understand their lives4 5!merican (ociological !ssociation 6776 /arilla < &esser p. =69:. 1sing this sociological perspective allows a student to create what *. $right )ills 567>7: coins a 2sociological imagination.4 This way of thinking allows a student to comprehend the connection between history and biography and when students e"ecute this ideological mindset the integration of a sociological education and career clarification happens 5)iller 677?:. Internships also shed light on various topics relating to sociology such as diversity the e"treme comple"ities of social organizations and even  participant observation 5/arilla < &esser 6778:. @ollowing the research reviewed above the current pro'ect aims to critically assess areas of enhancement 5i.e. benefits: that an internship is supposed to advance for the student. The areas being measured are components that ma"imize learning in e"periential education 5*onference on 1ndergraduate Internships 67AB:. /arilla and &esser 56778: concluded that 2when analyzing the e"perience the end result that is wanted is one that intends to build bridges between sociological tradition and research on post Csecondary teaching and learning as it relates to the e"perience-based learning of internships4 5p. =66:. Integrating a practical element into higher education enables students to not only ac#uire knowledge related to their chosen area of study but also the ability to apply it outside of the classroom 5,euster 9??7:.

@or this application to occur one first needs to comprehend the

connection between learning and personal efficacy. )arkus &oward and Ding 5677=: found that  by combining applied e"periences and knowledge from the classroom 2student participation in community service can have a significant effect upon their personal values and orientations toward their community4 5p. E6B:.

@or e"ample by utilizing one of the elements of an

e"periential education reflective observation one can then reflect on what they learned in the classroom and how that enables them to achieve a higher level of self efficacy 5Dolb 678E:. This reflection allows a person to recognize their personal weakness and then in turn they can abandon these downfalls so that they can focus on positive personal development. Drug 56776: concluded that only curriculums that endorse more reflection opportunities for their applied  placements demonstrate positive civic responsibility. To where as civic responsibility is representative of one’s sense of personal empowerment interpersonal 5social: empowerment is representative of e"periential learning through its active learning traits that includes working with other people. This encapsulation of two mechanisms of empowerment promotes the idea that the two are undoubtedly linked. )unter 59??9: states 2The individual moves from being a  passive consumer of information to becoming an active aware responsible citizen focused not only on his%her own personal development but also on becoming an agent of change3they are assuming meaningful roles and responding to real issues in ways that have long-lasting impacts on their own lives as well as the lives of those whom they are serving4 . This leads to the in#uiry of how does empowerment promote positivistic valuesF $ilson et al. 59??6: suggests 2changing relationships roles and responsibilities are key to practicing conditions of democracy and forming critical 'udgments about public education. This change is the most difficult and challenging part of reform because it re#uires a change of hearts as well as minds4. This suggests that empowerment is not easily achieved because a person has to be motivated in order to  become self empowered. $aterman 5677A: found that when a person can be self-motivated to  promote positivistic values it is correlated with community service. Inversely motivators for  civic responsibility can be from the community itself. (tell'es 59??8: found that applied learning e"periences enticed students to reflect on their personal situation within society and that a

combination of real world learning and classroom learning were ma'or factors that caused e"periential e"periences to have a very thorough influence students ability to commit to future civic involvement. &e also concluded that students who e"perienced a sense of self-efficacy are a  primary mediating factor between e"periential education and social engagement 5(tell'es 9??8:. $ith research suggesting personal and interpersonal 5social: empowerment having some sort of  2mediating4 effect on applied learning it leads to one being curious about the affected areas. efore discussing the effects the outcome areas of an e"periential ed ucation must be defined. !n internship is a uni#ue educational program that aims to integrate study with planned and performance related e"perience. It is usually designed for the benefits of young unemployed graduates and post graduates all over the world who have completed fourteen to si"teen years of  education. The ma'or purpose of the Internship program is to develop and strengthen student’s skills and to prepare them for the profession. )any Internship /rograms aims to provide financial support to fresh candidates and also to keep them engaged and interested in ac#uiring further knowledge related to the profession they want to 'oin in future. The Internship program is  beneficial for both fresh candidates and government organizations. It provides an opportunity to the fresh candidates to e"perience working conditions and re#uirement of today’s professional  business environment. &ence it can be said that it provides the student with a greater  understanding of professional demands and #ualification. It permits them to understand the connection between theory and practice thus it enhance the student’s knowledge of his potential to reach the goals set for various professions. Therefore the internship program is of great significance because it ensures the professional preparation of students in various ways such as understanding of the target profession and future prospects of working conditions in that  profession. ! carefully planned internship program may serve the following functions.



1nderstanding of the target profession and future prospects of working conditions.



*an

 provide valuable e"posure on the 'ob  ,evelop professional skills and attitudes  +stablish useful contacts with people working in the same profession. C! 'tatement o( the Problem

This study aims to find out the problems encountered by On-the-Job trainees of the &) students of ;orthwestern 1niversity. (pecifically it will answer the following research #uestions0 (tatement of the /roblem 6

$hat is the demographic profile of the students of &otel and estaurant )anagement in term of0 (e" Genue of OJT • $hat are the skills and competencies relevant to the OJTF (kills $ork knowledge • /roductivity • Huality of work  • Timeliness • ,ependability • Judgment • Innovativeness • Organization • Initiative • Industry • •

9

*ompetencies

=

!ttitude towards work and company *ooperation • $hat are the problems encountered in your OJTF

E

$hat can you suggest to improve the OJT programF

•

)! 'cope and )elimitation This study will focus on the impact of the internship program of &) students

and the different problems they encountered while having their internship. )oreover the

respondents of this study will be the students who undertook their internship last 9 nd (emester ( 9?6>-9?6B. E! 'igni(icance o( the 'tudy This study will benefit the &) students of ;orthwestern 1niversity because this study will be a venue for them to air out the different problems they encountered while having their internship program and moreover this study will also show the impact and  benefits they derived from their internship program. !lso this study will benefit the administrators of *ollege of usiness +ducation  because this will identify the problems encountered and the impact of the OJT program therefore will help them improve on the OJT program of the course. astly this study will benefit the students and teachers that coordinates the internship programs of the different schools because they will be able to determine the  problems encountered by the OJT students. #! )e(inition o( Terms Internship *On-the Job Training+ Program . It is a uni#ue educational program that

aims to integrate study with planned and performance related e"perience. @or the &otel and estaurant )anagement course it is the E?? hour hotel immersion of the graduating students. Impact . In this study it is the effect of the internship program on different aspects such as personal social academic civic and employment aspects of the students. ,! Conceptual #rame$or%

Impact of the Internship Program - Personal - Social Problems Encountered - Civic by HRM Students - the Employment in- their Internship Academic

Efectiveness o the Onthe-Job Training o the HRM students o NWU

The conceptual framework of the study shows the relationship of the independent variables and the dependent variable. The independent variables are the impact of the on-the-'ob training of &) students and the problems encountered by the &) students in their OJT. This will have an effect to the effectiveness of the On-the-'ob Training of the &) (tudents. Chapter II Reie$ o( Related 'tudies

! Related .iterature

pplied .earning Outcomes and "ene(its

esearch suggests that an e"periential education program’s learning outcomes are categorized by these five areas0 personal interpersonal academic employment and civic 5aird 6778K onway !mel < Lerwein 9??9K Dnapp @isher < eves#ue-ristol 9?6?K aman < /ashupati 9?6?:. /ersonal outcomes are focused on an individual’s thoughts skills and values. ! pre and post test survey was conducted by *onway !mel and Lerwein 59??9: and they concluded that personal outcomes can change as of the result of service learning. They found that students who participated in applied learning programs had greater volunteer motivation and moral development than students who did not participate in an applied program 5*onway !mel < Lerwein 9??9:. (imilarly a meta-analysis on e"isting literature in the field of e"periential education was conducted by Lysbers 56788: and suggested that societal conditions can contribute to the growth of human knowledge and development. $ith this in mind applied e"periences in society can contribute to our personal and intellectual development. Interpersonal

outcomes focus on relationships with others and also our own personal beliefs and thoughts about individuals with whom we have relationships with. esearch has shown that there is support that social outcomes are increased by service learning 5*onway !mel < Lerwein 9??9: specifically that students who participate in service learning demonstrate greater positive  beliefs knowledge and attitudes toward those served in relation to those that do not participate. !cademic outcomes focus on the educational achievement and knowledge gained from the applied learning e"perience. )arkus &oward and Ding 5677=: found that students who  participated in an applied learning program received higher grades than students who only received classroom instruction. )pofu 59??A: concluded that 2superior learning outcomes for  service-learning as compared to classroom instruction for tasks re#uiring critical thinking and application of skills while not detracting from fact ac#uisition learning4 5p. >6:. +mployment outcomes focus on the 'ob skills attained by students and also the career clarification it provides. *arla &owery 5678=: defines the rimary ob'ective of internships is Mto provide students with an opportunity to test abilities and attitudes toward particular material or career possibilities for the futureM 5p. ==B:. Internships and cooperative education programs provide students with the opportunity to apply learned ideological frameworks to potential career settings in the real world. (tudents who choose to participate in e"periential learning can broaden their future career  opportunities through networking and establishing positive working relationships with their  employers. These relationships cannot be created solely from taking college courses but they can  be constructed by combining the knowledge gained from these courses with practical applications in a real life setting. *ivic outcomes of an e"periential education program focus on community engagement civic awareness social responsibility and one’s sense of citizenship. )yers ipton 56778: reported that students who participated in applied learning programs

demonstrated higher scores on the *ivic esponsibility (cale 5measured items include personal motivation for community engagement voting personal responsibility for others and one’s sense of communal enhancement:than students who did not e"perience an active learning  program. (eon-oung Olszewski-Dubilius and $eimholt 59??A: found that students who  participated in applied learning had a greater awareness of local community issues and in society in general. !nother study found that when students volunteer during an applied learning e"perience they combine to enhance student civic engagement after they leave college 5)isa !nderson < amamura 9??>:. (ince 2personal4 and 2interpersonal4 are outcome categories from previous research how do researchers link personal and interpersonal empowerment with these categoriesF It would seem that these categories may in fact have some influence on the other outcome categories. ut do they e"ert a dual impactF Dnapp @isher and eves#ue ristol 59?6?: found that 2service learning provides students with opportunities to work with others to improve community development and that it is this sense of social empowerment that strengthens their commitment to future civic engagement3 that self efficacy and social empowerment are related but distinct constructs4 5p. A:. This suggests that students who  participate in e"periential learning not only benefit from empowerment but also the effect that these characteristics have on the other outcomes of an applied program. !nother indicator for  measuring the effectiveness of an internship program comes from the amount of community service one is involved in as it is a primary benefit of an internship program 5*onference on 1ndergraduate Internships 67AB:. $ilson et al. 59??B: conducted a survey at the 1niversity of  )aryland and concluded that respondents indicated that they were interested in opportunities that involved personal growth and life-long learning participation in a purposeful social network that was working toward a clearly-defined goal and service in a well-designed meaningful role. This

study suggests that when students have the motivation and drive to undertake community service personal growth can be greatly increased. esearch has also identified other benefits that students receive from participating in an applied learning program. !ccording to The *onference on 1ndergraduate Internships 567AB: there are four primary benefits of applied e"periences0 vocational development intellectual development personal growth and community service. These benefits are also similar to the benefits of career development and life-long learning. !ccording to ynne ezanson of the *anadian *areer ,evelopment @oundation 2The aims of  lifelong learning are Npromoting active citizenship’ and Nemployability’ and that a comprehensive strategy is needed for implementing lifelong learning at both the individual and institutional levels...and lifelong learning is much more than up-skilling and schoolingK it is about Npurpose’ in  people’s learning and its goals are both social and economiccitizenship and employability4 5p. =:. Thus it seems plausible to suggest that an applied e"perience is a life-spanning phenomenon with career development firmly and identifiably embedded within it involving both social and economic processes. E((ectie )esign o( Program

,esigning an effective internship program involves many different factors. $hen a program coordinator is developing a potential model he or she must first develop the program goals. /rogram goals should be developed from an academic- and community based ideological framework.

!ccording to obert Delly 5678B: 2In order to achieve goals set forth in an

internship program design the internship program must adapt to its environment by ma"imizing its assets and limiting its liabilities in competitive and cooperative relationships with other  departments and organizations4 5p. 9=B:. &e suggests that the most effective way of employing this concept is by building internships around e"isting faculty strengths because it then becomes

 possible to assure interns and their employers that support services would be available. Deeping in mind all of the functions and potential benefits of internships everyone involved in an internship program should have specified roles and responsibilities. The parties involved in an internship program and process include students employers%supervisors program coordinators and the sponsoring university. In order to assess the effectiveness of an internship program we must acknowledge e"isting guidelines and evaluate how well these guidelines are adhered to by the parties involved. The e"pectations of an internship vary among students departments employers and universities. ! student e"pects an internship to be intellectually stimulating and beneficial for   building the skills needed for future employment. The participating department intends for the internship to be an opportunity for the student to employ classroom knowledge in a real-world setting. The employer e"pects the program partnership to be a way to identify hire and retain talented students seeking full-time employment after graduation. The university e"pects an internship to create a community partnership with a potential new employer or to maintain an e"isting partnership through productive and effective work by its student interns 5(antariano < ogers 67A7:. (tudents need to realize and understand the potential value of applied learning  before they actually e"perience it firsthand. To learn how to respond to these conditions guidance is often recommended. (ome internship programs do provide a mandatory seminar that students take before they start their placement. This course is normally an overview of the internship program and its associated processes. (tudents can e"perience the relevance of  classroom learning through the situations that confront them during their placement. The pre placement seminar provides the training and skills that students need to learn in order to correctly respond to situations they could potentially encounter during their placement. The way

they respond to these situations can have a ma'or impact on their employment prospects after  graduation 5(antariano < ogers 67A7:.

If a training seminar is not re#uired before

 participating in an applied placement other possible techni#ues for gaining insight about internship-related e"periences and values can include faculty members sharing their past internship e"periences interviews with graduates of the same ma'or or even self-reflection by reading literature on intellectual development. +ach of these techni#ues can help a student to assess the benefits of e"periential education. /otential employers who wish to employ interns must go through a thorough screening by the university and its program coordinator in order to clarify intended e"pectations of 'ob duties for student interns. One effective placement techni#ue for program coordinators is to establish a list of 'ob re#uirements and duties for each  participating organization. This is easily completed by having the student’s university host a seminar for all organizations wishing to establish a partnership with the department. This seminar could include topics on supervising interns potential benefits and the risks and liabilities to everyone involved. /otential student interns should also participate in a pre placement survey that identifies e"pectations outcomes and skills that they would gain from an internship e"perience. "! Related 'tudies

!ccording to ee u Jiao and eh 59??B: an internship outside the academic calendar  can be called 2co-operative training4 or 2'oint training4. !s a result of this co-operative%'oint training companies have access to the manpower in schools and can develop it according to their  needs. !t the same time schools help familiarize students with the business world and train them to meet business demands. /art of the 'oint training is undertaken as practice lessons at school and part as internships on the 'ob. The ob'ectives of an internship are to practice theoretical

knowledge in a business setting and learn new practical skills 5+mir !rslan < DPlPQkaya 9??8:. Internship activities provide on-the-'ob training help senior students mature provide the market with manpower and allow an individual to gain e"pertise 5usby < Libson 9?6?:. usby and Libson 59?6?: and oss and +lechi 59??9: identify the benefits of internship activities as0 

earning to complete tasks engage in proper conduct take responsibility and manage

others 



Laining e"perience in management and management methods  ,eveloping maturity and self-esteem

There have been other studies on the problems encountered by student interns in different fields 5&auck !llen < ondinelli 9???K oss < +lechi 9??9K ee et al. 9??BK Do 9??8: eggs oss and Loodwin 59??8: studied travel and tourism internships from the perspectives of both a trainee and a practitioner. (chambach and ,irks 59??9: studied how students perceive their internship e"periences. They discovered that a ma'ority of students in their study found their internship program beneficial and believed it would contribute to their professional lives. &auck et al. 59???: studied whether there was any change in the academic performance of  students who were involved in structured internship programs versus those who were not. Their  findings indicate that there are no connections between academic performance and participation in structured internships. ;evertheless the students stated that an internship significantly contributed to their professional lives and career plans. ee 59??B: conducted comparative research to determine the perception of the students in tourism management a program which included school time and internships. ee’s study of B86  participants from a tourism management program divided students into groups by career  development achievement of academic functions and development of professional and

individual skills. The study revealed that 'oint training programs developed students’ social skills. Those trainees who participated in internships gained higher levels of self-esteem and  practical knowledge while improving their skills and increasing their 'ob prospects. This study also found that the students doing internships developed skills that enabled them to adapt to change and gave them leadership and financial management skills. They also demonstrated more realistic career plans because organizational functions were better understood. Do 59??8: investigated the factors associated with hospitality studentsR satisfaction with internship programs and the relationships between training 'ob satisfaction and confidence about future careers. This study showed that training satisfaction played a positive role as a  predictor of participantsR 'ob satisfaction and confidence about future careers. !lso this study revealed that the effect of satisfaction with training on participantsR confidence about future careers was mediated by their satisfaction with the internship. ee 59??>: studied whether the characteristics of students in tourism management internships the working conditions of the internship and the leadership features of the administrators in the workplace affected studentsR intention to work in the business. ee’s research findings show that working conditions 5including wage working hours workplace etc.: and the management style of the administrators directly affected the trainees’ plan to work in the tourism sector. !dditionally ee found no connection between gender and the intention to work in tourism. &owever a positive relationship was found between department 5food-beverage and rooms: part time previous employment and willingness to work in the tourism sector. PldPrPm 59??9: carried out a study to identify hotel managersR e"pectations of trainees. !ccording to the study one of the ma'or complaints of hotel managers was that tourism schools have varying periods for internships that were typically less than 7? days in length. The findings

revealed that the hotel managers saw trainees as cheap labor and as part of the business rather  than as possible future employees who were still in school. )oreover hotel managers tended to assign interns to busy departments instead of assigning them to sections that would better parallel the goals of the internship. &enry ehwaldt and Gineyard 59??6: by identifying internship  problems attempted to e"plain how internship programs can be carried out efficiently and effectively. In this study involving both trainees and researchers internship problems were categorized as 2work place4 2working hours4 2insufficient supervision4 2ignorance about importance of working4 and 2wages.4 !lthough the study was carried out in a different field it was noted that similar problems occurred in tourism-related internship programs 5usby < Libson 9?6?K ee et al. 9??B:. In their study of the benefits of internship programs for applicant nurses &oldway *orbeil )c/herson Oremush and )urray 59??>: found that internships enabled students to adapt easily to the nursing career develop organizational skills and gain high self-esteem. The authors also concluded that the trainees were willing to participate in internship  programs in subse#uent years and smooth internship periods positively affected their attitude toward the nursing profession.