The impact of training and development on employee performance and service delivery at a local municipality in South Africa

Technological changes that come with industrial revolution have largely affected businesses, as well as society. With the current technological shift and Fourth Industrial Revolution, many questions arise regarding the impacts and effects on current ways businesses operate. This study presents a retrospective analysis and overview of previous industrial revolutions. The aim of the retrospective analysis is to identify common characteristics that may lead to lessons learned for the forthcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution and thus complement the current debate on technological change. All previous industrial revolutions have led to change in business environments and new challenges for managers and owners. The findings show that all previous revolutions have led to increase in the number of service jobs created. The key approach of successful countries during the times of industrial revolution has included education as the source of new skills and knowledge necessary for adaption. Countries that were able to produce high skilled people could not only invent, but also adapt to new technologies sooner than others. Similarly, these approaches included introduction of new managerial practices in order to be able to utilize new technologies and new skilled workers effectively. The research article processes secondary data together with literature review on this topic.

Organizational performance can be seen as dependent on employee job performance and productivity. One of the factors that influence employee job performance and productivity is the working relationship between employees and their managers. This paper examines the influence of the relationship between employees and their managers on enhancing employee performance and productivity. The study was conducted in a financial organization based in Durban (South Africa). A quantitative approach was utilized with a census method targeting a total population of 40 administrative employees. A questionnaire was constructed based on the research aims and was administered to all 40 respondents. As a result, the response rate was 65%. Key findings indicated that the relationship between managers and employees did affect employee performance and productivity. A positive relationship with a manager is closely linked to increased motivation and performance, while a negative relationship is linked with poor performance. An overall negative impact and high level of dissatisfaction amongst employees were found due to the current bureaucratic management style that managers adopt in their organization. Thus, it makes employees less productive and decreases their work performance. Furthermore, it was found that employees’ perception of their relationship with managers plays a significant role in predicting job performance. Recommendations for a better working relationship to promote employee performance and productivity include manager-employee training, team building activities, skills development programs for managers, employee rewards and recognition, increased communication platforms, and more consideration for employee well-being.

Traditional handicraft villages have become an inevitable part of Vietnamese culture and play an important socio-economic role within the country’s development. However, poor governmental policy and regulatory environment in Vietnam, lack of infrastructure, limited management, marketing skills and knowledge often lead to scarce information to access the market. The aim of the research is to investigate the contemporary status of digital marketing strategies and tools used in handicraft villages in Thua Thien Hue province. It will be complemented by finding out the needs of handicraft businesses about the training course and consultancy on e-marketing. The key quantitative research method is a questionnaire survey of 100 handicraft businesses in 11 villages in Thua Thien Hue province in Vietnam. The results indicated that these businesses do not use digital marketing as the main tool to acquire customers. One of the main reasons can be a fact of not owning sufficient IT technology. However, despite this, businesses realize the need for digital marketing applications and are interested in adopting digital marketing skills and training in order to enhance tourism market access within national and international borders. That is a positive sign for future application of online marketing strategies into business management.