lms project 03
TRANSCRIPT
A Final Project Report on
“Feedback Regarding Learning Management System “
Submitted In Partial Fulfillment for
Final year (July 2009 – 2011 Batch)
Of
Master of Business Administration
Submitted To
Directorate of Distance Education
Vinayka Missions University, Salem
Faculty Guide: Submitted by:
Mahak Dhoot
(Name of Faculty Guide) (Name of the Student)
Professor VMU Registration Number
PROTON business School– Indore Campus 204033090566
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Acknowledgement
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the management of my college, PROTON business school, for entrusting me to be a part of such a reputed organization for my Summer Internship Program.
I am grateful to our Chief Mentor Mr. Sandeep Manudhane, Placements Director Mr. Varun Gupta, Dean Mr. Vinay Goyal for their excellent co-ordination with the industry for the Summer Internship Program and thus giving me an opportunity to enhance my management and technical skills in the sense of organizational activity. I would also like to thank my faculty mentors, who guided and supported me at every step of the project.
The summer project at Essar Projects India Ltd. provided me with a learning experience as well as a glimpse into the daily management functions of an organization. During the tenure of this project, I was fortunate to have interacted wt people, who encouraged and guided me.
I am heartily thankful to my mentor Mr. V.L.Rajguru (General Manager) and Mr. Habindar Singh Sani (Deputy General Manager HR ) whose encouragement, guidance and support fro the initial to the final level enable me to develop an understanding of the subject.
I offer my regards to all, especially Mr. Gagandeep Singh, Ms. Zeenat Khan, Mr. Kapil Patel, Mr. H.K Ravi, Mr. Bikas Nath who have supported me in every respect during the completion of the project.
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Content
1. Introduction to Company
2. HR function at Essar
3. Gurukul – Learning and Development
4. Learning Management System
5. Research Design
6. Sampling
7. Measurement Scale
8. Analysis and Interpretation
9. Conclusion
10. Suggestions and Recommendations
11. Bibliography
12. Questionnaire
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Essar Group – Creating Enduring Value
The Essar group is a multinational conglomerate and a leading player in the sectors of Steel, Oil & Gas, Power, Communication, Shipping and logistics, Construction and Minerals. The name of the company is derived from the combination of the names of the two brothers, Shashi and Ravi Ruia, the first alphabet i.e. ‘S’ as ‘ESS’ and ‘R’ as ‘AR’ which makes ‘ESSAR’. With operations in more than 20 countries across five continents, the group employs 60,000 people with revenues about USD 15 billion.
Essar began as a construction company in 1969 and diversified into manufacturing, services and retail. Over the last decade, it has grown through strategic global acquisitions and partnerships, or through Greenfield and Brownfield development projects, capturing new markets and discovering new raw material sources.
Today, the group continues to expand its global footprint, focusing on markets in Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Australia. Essar invests significantly in the latest technology to drive forward and backward integration in its business, and on leveraging synergies between these businesses. It also focuses on in-house research and innovation to be a low-cost manufacturer with high quality products and innovative customer offerings.
The Essar group is widely regarded as a responsible and conscientious global employer. It has experience in managing businesses in different geographies with a culturally diverse workforce. This is why its people practices are sensitive to cross-cultural nuances. The Group’s people
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strategy is focused on promoting a learning culture that continually enhances the professional skills of its employees.
Essar Steel a global producer of steel with a footprint covering India, Canada, USA, Middle East and Asia. It is a versatile manufacturer, capable of producing highly customized products and is well known for its quality, it compete against the top international steel producers.
One of the few manufacturers globally who can make API steel with low sulphur.
It is the largest exporter of flat products, selling almost one-third of our production to highly demanding US and European markets.
It has a capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum(MTPA).With its aggressive expansion plans in India as well as Asia and the Americas, its capacity will go up to 20 to 25 MTPA
A number of major client companies have approved our steel for their use, including Caterpillar, Hyundai, Swaraj Mazda, the Konkan Railway and Maruti Suzuki.
Essar Oil Limited (EOL) is an integrated oil & gas company spanning the entire value chain – from deep within the earth all the way up to the end consumer. We have Exploration and production rights in some valuable oil and gas blocks in India and overseas. In 1993 it was one of the first private companies to bid for exploration blocks and won Ratna and R-series oilfield for development and production with ONGC and other international companies in partnership. It also won oil blocks in Australia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Indonesia, Mehsana etc. In Mehsana, Gujarat production has already started.
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The company owns oil blocks in Cachar, Assam, CBM blocks in Raniganj, West Bengal and are using innovative technology to produce methane gas from the block. EOL is one of the few private companies permitted to market petroleum products in India and is building modern, large countrywide distribution of retail outlets of 1300 filling stations.
Essar Power has consistently set new standards of excellence in Indian power sector. It is one of the India’s largest independent power producers and India’s first multi-fuel power plant, with the lowest manpower to megawatt ratio and lowest capital costs per megawatt in India. It has currently 5 plants with a combined capacity of 1200 MW and has commissioned 32MW coal based captive project at Vishakhapatnam and new plant at Madhya Pradesh, is also setting up a 120MW refinery residue based power plant at Vadinar. It is also setting up renewable energy power projects as well. These include wind energy plants with license from Repower Systems AG in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The company is exploring possibility of setting up a coal based plant at Orissa and Jharkhand and is executing projects to enhance its generating capacity to 6000MW.
Essar Communication operates in four business segments: Telecom services, Telecom Retail, Telecom infrastructure and Aegis services.
Vodafone-Essar is a joint venture of Essar Communication Holdings Ltd. And the UK based Vodafone Group. It is one of the India’s largest cellular service companies; with subscriber base over 60 million.
Essar operates integrated IT enabled services through Aegis brand name, with a presence in interaction services, back office services
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and value added services. Aegis has a global delivery model with 31centers across Philippines, Costa Rica, USA and India. It employees over 30,000 employees who have expertise in the Telecom, Insurance, Banking and Healthcare domains.
Essar has launched India’s first national chain of multi-brand and multi-service outlets in the telecom retail space. Mobile Store currently runs over 1300 outlets and over 2500 are expected to come across in 650 cities.
Essar Telecom Infrastructure is one of the largest independent telecom service provisioning companies in the country. It builds telecom tower infrastructure and shares it with several telecom operators in India. It has already setup more than 3500 towers in India, with plans to build 20,000 towers.
Essar Shipping Ports & Logistics Ltd (ESPLL) is a leading integrated logistics provider for steel mills, oil refineries and thermal power generation companies across the world. The logistics business provides end-to-end logistics services – from ships to ports, intra-plant logistics and dispatch of finished products. It also operate a fleet of 4,200 trucks (38 of which they own) to provide inland transportation of steel and petroleum products. Essar’s fleet accounts for 14% of India’s shipping fleet they own is India’s largest VLCC (Very Large Crude Container). It offers bulk transport, supply chain management and storage and distribution and derives about three quarters of its revenues from international business. With an experience of more than 220 ship years, it owns a diverse fleet of 25 vessels, and a further 12 new building vessels are on order at an investment of over USD 0.6 billion.
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Vision
“To be a global Engineering, Procurement and construction contracting company”
Mission
To achieve excellence in field of engineering, procurement and construction through world class practices and standards in quality, safety and project management.
Overview
Essar Projects India Limited has rich and varied record of accomplishments as a premier construction company. From pipelines to port, from industrial projects to intelligent buildings, canals, townships, highways, bridges etc. with excellence and perfection as its goals, Essar has successfully executed projects worth over Rs. 20 billion and is fully equippec to support the infrastructure boom, both in India and overseas.
Key value drivers
A leading EPC contractor with 40 years of experience Pipeline SBU certified at ISO 9001:2000 Wide range of capabilities including industrial, civil and
infrastructure construction Special skills in marine construction Strategic links with over 20 companies including large
multinationals Skilled and experienced team
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Introduction to Human Resource
By transformation of economic environment, the information explosion, advances in technology and the intensely competitive global and domestic markets have created enormous pressure on organizations to change or perish. Against this challenging scenario, by choice or default a new era of human resource management practices and philosophy is emerging and assuming significance in modern organizations.
Human Resource Management is a process of bringing people and organizations together so that the goals of each are met. It tries to secure the best from people by winning their wholehearted cooperation.
Why HRM matters now?
Regardless of their industry, size or location, companies today face five critical business challenges. Collectively, these challenges require organizations to build new capabilities. Who is currently responsible for developing those capabilities? Everyone and no one. This vacuum is HR’s opportunity to play a leadership role in enabling organizations to meet the following competitive challenges.
Globalization
Profitability through Growth
Technology
Intellectual capital
Change, Change and More Change
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Human Resource at Essar
The entire HR function at Essar broadly focuses on four major categories which are as follows:
1. Talent Acquisition
It comprises of recruitment and selection of the talent. The organization has centralized its recruitment function residing at Mumbai which is the corporate office. Recruitment is done through 2 types of sourcing:
Internal: Horizon Portal is used where employees who have completed 2 years of service at Essar can apply for a particular post.External: the organization has tie ups with placement agencies, does campus recruitments, post advertisements etc.
This arm is essentially related to the recruitment and acquisition of the talent globally. The organization has centralized recruitment team residing at Mumbai. The portal Horizon comprises of
Manpower Planning
Resourcing
Selection Process
Final Offer Process
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2. Talent Alignment
HR helps the new incumbent to align with the goals of the organization. There is a portal Third eye which talks about policies, procedures, rules and regulations to be followed which helps the new employee to understand the organizational culture. It is a framework for integrating information, people and processes across organizational boundaries.
3. Talent Engagement
The company believes in good work life balance. The HR department takes new initiatives to indulge employees and their families in different engagement activities throughout the year.
4. Learning and Development (Talent Management)
Organization focuses on the career development of the employees through Individual Learning Programs as the organization is committed to individual’s growth. Gurukul is a concept that encompasses Performance Management System, setting up Individual Learning Programs, Skill development workshops etc. The company has specifically constructed learning center and designed programs for employees on chosen areas and topics.
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Employee Levels
M 11 Engineer / Officer
M 10 Assistant Manager
M 9 Deputy Manager
M 8 Manager
M 7 Sr. Manager
M 6 Deputy General Manager
M 5 Joint General Manager
M 4 General Manager
M 3 Vice President
M 2 Sr. Vice President
M 1 Director
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Gurukul – Learning and Development
Essar believes in continuous growth and development of its employees which provides regular training sessions. It is a concept that encompasses the area of performance management system setting up individual learning programs developing the identified capabilities, skill development workshop and much more.
The company specifically constructed learning center and designs programs for professionals on chosen areas and topics. Guest lecture are also constructed on technical and non-technical topic.
One of the core areas of learning management system is the online portal of the company’s intranet known as Essarnet. Learning and development includes the following:
Performance Management System (PMS)
PMS has its roots in Performance Appraisal System which was started in 20th century. It is the system to establish a high performance culture in which individuals and teams take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes as well as the skills and contributions.
Executive Development Review (EDR)
EDR establishes a process that identifies employees, develops their skills and abilities and prepares them for advancement, all while retaining them to ensure a return on the organization’s training investment.It involves
Essar Capabilities Frame work
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Mid year Review of the employee performance
Individual Development Discussion
EDR involves understanding the organizations long-term goals and objectives, identifying the workforce’s developmental needs and determining workforce trends and predictions to better manage careers and performance.
Learning Management System
The LMS promotes “Anywhere Anytime Learning “. It enables you to plan and execute your varied learning needs in an interactive and engaging environment, and more importantly, at your pace and convenience.
Coaching and Mentoring
Coaching is a guided relationship in which one person assists in the development of another person’s competencies. While managers and supervisors typically coach their staff, peers and subordinates can also be coaches
Mentoring is guidance, encouragement and practical assistance given by an experienced person to another person in development of their career.
Essar has institutionalized this learning process through a Coaching & Mentoring initiative, called ‘Find the Guru Within’ to help employees gain from the knowledge and experience within the organization.
A culmination of workshops is the Coaches and Mentors Summits wherein all coaches and mentors in the system get together and
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felicitate the spirit of nurturing in the group. This way, the group leaves a lasting legacy of a strong learning organization in the hearts and minds of all internal and external stake holders.
Cadre building Program
In order to build strong talent and leadership pipeline, Essar has invested in a comprehensive Cadre Building Programmes that focus on the training and all round development of the young professionals. The effectiveness of these programmes is further augmented through the strong communities of Coaches and Mentors. Essar’s nurturing and rewarding culture, foster young minds for global careers.
Essar Corporate University
Essar Corporate University is a significant milestone in our journey to build an overarching Learning Organization at Essar. The ECU is a virtual Learning Organization built over a series of education enrichment initiatives, to focus on Employee Career advancement. This strategic people development initiative will provide opportunities for professional development and continuous learning and is poised to bring a paradigm shift in the way we developed and engage talent at Essar.
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Importance of Learning and Development
Optimum Utilization of Human Resources – Training and Development helps in optimizing the utilization of human resource that further helps the employee to achieve the organizational goals as well as their individual goals.
Development of Human Resources – Training and Development helps to provide an opportunity and broad structure for the development of human resources’ technical and behavioral skills in an organization. It also helps the employees in attaining personal growth.
Development of skills of employees – Training and Development helps in increasing the job knowledge and skills of employees at each level. It helps to expand the horizons of human intellect and an overall personality of the employees.
Productivity – Training and Development helps in increasing the productivity of the employees that helps the organization further to achieve its long-term goal.
Team spirit – Training and Development helps in inculcating the sense of team work, team spirit, and inter-team collaborations. It helps in inculcating the zeal to learn within the employees.
Organization Culture – Training and Development helps to develop and improve the organizational health culture and effectiveness. It helps in creating the learning culture within the organization.
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Organization Climate – Training and Development helps building the positive perception and feeling about the organization. The employees get these feelings from leaders, subordinates, and peers.
Quality – Training and Development helps in improving upon the quality of work and work-life.
Healthy work environment – Training and Development helps in creating the healthy working environment. It helps to build good employee, relationship so that individual goals aligns with organizational goal.
Health and Safety – Training and Development helps in improving the health and safety of the organization thus preventing obsolescence.
Morale – Training and Development helps in improving the morale of the work force.
Image – Training and Development helps in creating a better corporate image.
Profitability – Training and Development leads to improved profitability and more positive attitudes towards profit orientation.
Increased Cost Savings – You can save on travel, hotel, and tuition costs. Having an online training/learning centre enables your staff to learn at their own pace.
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Low cost of Ownership - LMS reduces training costs of staff by lowering the administrative costs as well as the teaching costs.
Effective and Streamlined Learning and Training Management – Electronic management of user registration, course creation and deployment, record keeping, reporting and compliance enable you to control your training outcomes.
No limitation due to geographic barriers or time constraints.
On-Demand Learning – Knowledge is available on-tap. Log in anytime, anywhere to take courses, assessments and even research issues.
Increased Productivity – Your success depends on the skills and talents of your team. With LMS, your team can reduce learning times significantly and increase knowledge retention by allowing reference usage. This translates directly to increased return on your investment.
Rapid-fire Course Content Updates – Your courses and training materials can easily be updated in real-time. This means your team will always have fresh, up to date training and learning materials available 24/7.
On-Demand Scalability – Add more users and courses with the click of a mouse. Create one course and use multiple times. Imagine the logistics of adding more classrooms or printing more training materials anytime you add more employees. Use LMS to easily handle more users/courses, interactive features.
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Branded e-Learning/Training System – Your own unique, secure learning and training portal.
Learning Management System
Learning in essence is a personal phenomenon. One of the major areas of focus in Gurukul is the online Learning Management System available at EssarNet. The LMS promotes “Anywhere Anytime Learning “. It enables you to plan and execute your varied learning needs in an interactive and engaging environment, and more importantly, at your pace and convenience.
Gurukul also houses a rich assortment of eLearning initiatives that lend a new meaning to corporate training. These eLearning courses are:
Personalizes to individual needs and customized to organizational objectives
A blend of learning methods- virtual classroom, simulation, collaboration, community, extended classroom etc.
End-to-end solutions – from assessment to testing to certification
Result oriented learning packages enabling effective monitoring and tracking of the user’s learning voyage.
The main programs followed in the organization are as follows:
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Business Leadership Programs
Essar’s BLP programme is a 9 month fast track learning programme that focuses on grooming of our business leaders for tomorrow. BLP grooms young management graduates through coaching, mentoring and making learning opportunities available to them at an early stage. The BLP participants are a Group Resource with specialization in a range of functions spanning Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Supply Chain and Operations.
Entrepreneurship Development Program
EDP is an initiative that focuses on the grooming of young minds by well established business and functional heads. Under the EDP, a young manager is given an opportunity to work as an understudy. It is a wonderful opportunity for trainees to gain invaluable insight into business strategy and management from the top. This program is offered to all BLP participants.
Skill Builder Program for GET
The Skill Builder Programme is designed for Graduate Engineer Trainees (GETs) recruited from various campuses. Essar Academy established in the year 2006, runs well structured technical and behavioral programmes, offering stimulating learning opportunities to GETs. The objective of this programme is to build a strong technical talent pipeline.
Skill builder Programme spans over 6 months. During these 6 months classroom sessions at Essar Academy in Hazira will be
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held and then head for on the job training across various businesses.
Essar Academy for DETs
Essar Academy leads the 2 year full time residential programme at our Essar Learning Center. The programme is designed for DET to enhance their technical capabilities. The DETs are certified as Essar Engineers and absorbed on successful completion of the programme.
This is a self learning module with which the employees can undertake various training sessions at their own pace. It is a structured program wherein the user can choose the program of his choice with approval of his supervisor and can add that to his Individual Learning Plan. It contains :
1. Individual Learning Plan
This is the learning program devised for a year by the joint consultation of the individual and the supervisor. It gives the details of the subjects on which training is to be taken and also the target date and methodology adopted for training. It has a format like
Sr. No
Subject Target Date
Methodology Status
1. …… ……. ……. Complete/Incomplete
2. Learning History
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This module consists of the detailed plans of the learning targets. It specifies in the above mentioned format about the types of training plans. It categorizes the training needs into
On the job - This is mostly taken care of by the supervisor after identifying his needs and training him during the course of job
Off the job - This will specify the training title and the provider of the training
Recommended Reading - The books, articles, journals that the employee should read along with subject, title and the author are mentioned.
Action learning Project - This plan specifies the project description of the specific project assigned to him as well as the theme of learning. The employee learns during the course of handling the project.
3. Learning Calendar
This is a program list that shows the date, time and the venue of various training program to be held during the year. This includes topics like negotiation skills, project management, time management, presentation skills, problem solving techniques and many more. Every program has different duration ranging from few hours to 2-3 days. They have about 80 programs for such training this year, distributed in different months.
4. Course Catalogue
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Under this catalogue, one can add public resources to the training plan, which will be accessible at the individual learning plan. For the private resources, one has to take the permission of the administrator. Mot of the resources are public like Advanced Ms Office, Managing conflict in organization, Six Sigma, Giving Effective Feedback, Stress management etc.
5. Digicity
This is a digital library which has got books, article etc divided into three categories: public, private and protected. They contain different articles, e-books, references on general management, health and safety, steel, telecom etc. uploaded by the employees across the group.
6. Digital Forum
This is an open forum where employees can create groups to interact with each other. Thy can perform actions like creating a forum, editing contents of a forum, viewing the replies in a forum, deleting a forum, searching for a specific forum, etc.
7. Virtual Class
This is an interactive virtual class. It serves as a means of communication between the coaches and employees. They can ask
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questions and the mentors can reply. The schedule time, description, mentor names and that for interactions are given.
Analyzing Strengths
Learning Management Systems possess a number of capabilities and resources which can be used as a basis of competitive advantage. These capabilities are translated into ‘strengths’ which help provide a strong foothold for the system. Some of the strengths are listed below: The LMS has been around for quite some time now and is well
accepted
Provides a central and manageable system for both online and offline training
Capable of integrating with the workflow
Capable of integrating with other existing HRMS/IS
Equipped with exhaustive MIS reporting Works excellent for course management, delivery and tracking of
formal learning
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Some LMS systems are capable of managing more than only eLearning
Analyzing Weakness
Although the Learning Management System possesses some solid positive aspects, it also lacks few capabilities and resources which add to the drawbacks in the system.
Most LMS systems not ready for Web 2.0 experience and still
offer outdated way of course access
Still focused on formal learning to be pushed to learners. Course-centric work flows and approach is inherent
Apart from interoperability standards no real standards govern LMS development
Varied and fragmented suppliers pool with differing technical and functional capabilities
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How to choose Learning Management System
The LMS Selection Process
Consider the following seven-step process. It may not work for every situation, but consider it as a guideline.
1. Determine the Learning Strategy
As a learning organization, there should already be a clear learning strategy in place. If not, now is the time to develop one. In developing a strategy, consider the target audience—their learning preferences, their locations, the resources that are available to them to attend learning programs, etc. Corporate goals and objectives should also be defined and the strategy aligned to them. Also take into account budget constraints, potential realized benefits and return on investment.
This is not a trivial task, and it can be a whole separate initiative in itself, so bear in mind the time invested in this step. A learning strategy should reflect how learning programs are delivered to the people who need them to accomplish business goals.
2. Document Requirements
Specific requirements should be defined in each of the areas mentioned previously. One of the key factors in finding the right LMS for an organization is matching an LMS to requirements, not the other way around.
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It is also important to prioritize requirements in a range from core (high) to low. High-priority or core requirements are absolutely necessary for the LMS to meet within the initial implementation or launch of the system. Any core requirement that cannot be met should dismiss the LMS from consideration. Medium-priority requirements are essential to be met in the initial or subsequent phases of implementation. This means that the LMS may not be able to meet the requirement for the initial phase, but a new scheduled release appears to meet the requirement or there is a commitment from the LMS vendor to meet the requirement in the near future. Finally, low-priority requirements are “nice to have” and can be delayed indefinitely, but also run the risk of being promoted to medium priority, so these priorities still have a bearing on how willing or open an LMS vendor is to considering them.
Another consideration is where gaps in the requirements for a particular LMS can be filled with customization or extension of the LMS and how well the LMS adapts to such customizations or extensions. Customization refers to changeable parameters within the confines of the out-of-box design of the LMS, while extensions refer to the ability to integrate or interface additional functionality not originally included in the LMS design. Some organizations struggle with the “build or buy” question when it comes to LMSs, so it is important to note the options that may be open to organizations willing to apply additional resources to meet specific needs.
Also, consider hosted versus installed systems. Hosted systems are maintained by the LMS provider, which acts as an application service provider (ASP). The LMS provider typically grants access to users of the
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LMS and provides support for the system should problems arise. Modifications or customizations beyond what the application supports in configuration screens may need to be done by the ASP and can be restrictive. Installed solutions, on the other hand, are systems that are installed within a company’s network. The support of the hardware and applications would most likely fall on the IT organization, but there would be more control over customizations and extensions. Compatibility to standards such as SCORM (Shareable Content Object Reference Model) and AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Committee) should also be considered.
3. Research LMS Companies
In order to make the most appropriate decision, it will be necessary to research profiles of each potential LMS and/or LCMS vendor. Information is usually available on their Web sites. Additionally, research and comparison reports may also be available from research firms.
The focus should be on key areas surrounding the core or highest-priority requirements. LMS companies will usually work with a client to meet lower-priority requirements through partnerships, customization or future releases. From these reports, a manageable list of companies that requests for proposals can be sent to should emerge.
4. Prepare the Request for Proposal (RFP)
The RFP should be prepared based upon the requirements. In the RFP, it is not necessary to indicate priorities of requirements, nor list them in any specific order, so that each requirement is responded to equally.
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Each requirement should be as specific as possible so that the LMS vendor can respond directly to the requirement rather than provide a general response.
Scenarios should also be included in the RFP. Scenarios describe very specific situations that the LMS/LCMS needs to accommodate. This will give a clear indication as to how the LMS vendor can meet specific situations.
A proposed project plan for implementation based on the requirements should also be requested. The project plan must include timelines relative between the start and the end of the project. This will provide an estimate as to how long the vendor perceives implementation will take, ownership for each task and the details of the tasks themselves. If the LMS vendor has had enough experience in implementation, it should already have a template of a project plan that could easily be applied in a proposal.
Finally, provide a short response time for the RFP. This will give an indication as to how hard a company will work for the business and can be a strong indicator as to how they will perform in a business relationship. It should not be the sole indicator, however; there are other opportunities to establish this type of estimate.
5. Review the Proposals
The review team should have sufficient time to review the proposals and establish a rating system that all can agree upon. Each rating should also include comments for both positive and negative
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impressions. In this manner, quantitative measures of the ratings are not only considered, but also subjective impressions of each criterion.
Once again the focus will need to be on the core or highest-priority requirements. These are usually the requirements that must be present in order to consider the system. If even one of the core requirements cannot be immediately met by the LMS, that LMS should be eliminated from the list. For this reason, only core requirements that truly represent imperative functionality should be incorporated.
The result of the review should lead to a short list of vendors.
6. Schedule Meetings and Demos
After the proposal review is complete, meetings and demos should be scheduled so that the vendors can answer specific questions and demonstrate their claims on the proposal. They should also be required to demonstrate the scenarios provided. This is crucial in determining how compatible or flexible their environment is. It is also important to make clear what part of the functionality is included out-of-box with minor configuration changes and what part requires customization beyond the quoted price.
If any of the review team needs to attend virtually, it would be good opportunity to utilize a vendor’s distance-learning solution. This will provide the capability to experience part of the environment as the learning audience would.
Be sure to question any part of the functionality or implementation that is not clearly understood. It is important that the account representative is able to explain functionality clearly and without
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ambiguity. Additionally, the flexibility of the project plan should be explored. An organization should not be required to adhere to processes that conflict with internal processes.
7. Make the Selection
Finally, a selection can be made after carefully reviewing and internally discussing the impressions made by each vendor during each meeting. This is a serious and long-term investment, so it is important to have complete cooperation among the members of review team. It is also important to build in contingency plans in case certain features that are expected in the initial implementation are not done in time, or other unexpected delays or problems arise.
This is just a high-level view of an approach to thoroughly examining LMS/LCMS vendors and is flexible to shorten the cycle, although at the cost of quality. Consider that LMS solutions can be a huge investment and if implemented too quickly, can lead to enormous costs later in additional effort to meet requirements.
Potential results from employing the approaches discussed in this article are presented for demonstrative purposes only. Actual results may vary from application to application and are not guaranteed.
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Objective of the Research
Find the effectiveness of Learning Management System and the reasons for employees not attending the program.
Benefits of the research
We can find out the awareness of LMS among the employees
We can find out reasons of employees for not attending programs
We can enlist the difficulties both technical and non technical that are being encountered
We can get suggestions for improvements and new requirements in programs
This research will help me to understand how HR practices works at corporate level.
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Research Design
The research design is the blue print for fulfilling objectives and answering the questions. Selecting a design may be complicated by the availability of large variety of methods, techniques, procedures, protocols and sampling plans. By creating design using diverse methodologies, we are able to achieve greater insight. So the advantages of several competing designs are considered before settling on the final one.
The essentials of the research design are:
An activity and time based plan A plan always based on the research question A guide for selecting source and types of information A procedural outline for very research activity
Ours is a formal study. It begins with the research question and involves precise procedures and data sources specifications. The goal of the formal design is to test the hypothesis or answer the research questions. Descriptive studies like ours are a more formalized study that is typically constructed with clearly stated hypothesis or investigative questions.
The method of data collection that we have applied is communication study, where we question the subjects and collects their responses by personal and impersonal means. The collected data is resulted from questionnaire and personal interviews. A survey is a measurement tool used to collect highly structured information during an interview. Questions are carefully formulated and sequenced and precisely asked to each participant.
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The goal of the survey is to derive comparable data across the chosen sample so that the similarities and differences can be found.
The strength of the survey as a primary data collecting approach is its versatility. Abstract information of all types can be gathered by questioning others. Additionally, a few well chosen questions yield information that would take much time and effort to gather by observation.
A survey via personal interview is a two way conversation between an interviewer and participant. This is our chosen method. The greatest value lies in the depth of the information that can be secured. Also they have more control than the other kinds of communication studies.
Moreover, we have an ex post facto design, where we have no control over the variables in the sense of being able to manipulates them. We can only report what has happened or what is happening. This is important so that we do not introduce bias.
The research requires completion of each step before going to the next. Some steps do being out of sequence, some are carried out simultaneously and some get omitted.
The Management Research Question:
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The approach is to firstly understand the basic problem that has prompted the research and then develop questions by progressively breaking down the original question into more specific ones. The management question is usually a symptom of an actual problem, such as ‘Non-usage of LMS’. Choosing on the problem is very important because incorrect identification will direct valuable resources on a path that may not provide critical- decision making.
Step 1: Discover Management Problem
This may be either a problem or an opportunity. We have reviewed published sources and interview information from the administrator to understand the problem and not just the symptoms of the problem
Step 2: Define Management question
We collected information and worded the problem in the question for. This stage usually involved interviews with the administrator and experts.
Step 3: Define Research Question
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Step 1:
Discover Management
problem
Step 3:
Define Research Questions
Step 2:
Define Management
Question
Several research questions are formulated. Each question is n alternative action that management might take to solve the issue. Usually the most plausible action is the one that offers the greatest gin and uses few resources.
While formulating the research question we have kept in mind that it has to be fact oriented as well as information gathering questions. It is very important that only reasonable alternatives are considered.
The questions can be categorized into two parts:
Investigative questions
They are the questions that the respondents must answer to satisfactorily arrive at the conclusion. To formulate them we take a general research question and break it into more specific questions about which to gather data. These kinds of question are added to guide the research design.
Measurement questions
These questions are custom tailored to investigative questions. They are the ones that we actually ask the respondents. They appear on the questionnaire.
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Sampling
The basic idea of sampling is that by selecting some of the elements in a population, we can draw the conclusion of the entire population. A population element is the individual participant or object for which measurement is taken. In our case the element are the employees. The population is the total collection of elements about which we wished to make an inference. In our case, the population is the set of employees from M1 to M11 level at EPIL, which is a total of 628. Our sample size is 40 employees. We have chosen the sated sample size for greater speed of data collection and availability of population elements. We have considered the following characteristics of a good sample:
Accuracy: In our sampling, bias are absent
Precision: no sample will fully represent its population. However to interpret the results correctly, we have ensured that sample closely represents the population.
Population: 628
Sample size: 40
The sampling method used is probability sampling method. It is based on the concept of random selection, which is a controlled procedure that assures that each population has a non zero chance of selection. This method is never haphazard. This is the only method that provides n estimate of precision which is very critical. Also, it provides an opportunity to generalize the findings to the population of interest from the sample population.
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In our project we have used stratified random sampling method. In this method we have constrained the sample to include elements from each segment which is called strata. Our team has 11 levels which are divided from M1 to M11. They are broadly classified into 3 major sections- senior management, middle management and junior management.
The reasons for choosing this method are
To increase statistical efficiencyTo provide adequate data for analyzing
Moreover it will be useful to us as we will be able to study the difference in the characteristics of the population subgroups. This will enable us to draw conclusions about different levels of management in terms of LMS usage.
We have also used proportionate stratified sampling where the sample size drawn from the stratum is proportionate to the stratum’s share of the total population. Looking at the organization structure with more junior managers and fewer senior managers, we have divided the sample into 3 categories, taking larger number of employees of junior management and lesser number of managers as we move up the ladder through middle and senior management.
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Measurement
Scales used in formulating our questionnaire are:
1. Nominal scale
Nominal scale is one of the most popular and widely used scales in any kind of business research. We have used nominal scale is collecting information on a variable that can naturally be grouped into two or more categories that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive.
2. Interval scale
This scale gives options in the form of intervals. This scale is used in question 5 where we are trying to find out how frequently employees use LMS
3. Ratio scale
Ratio scale incorporates all the features of the above scales plus the provision for absolute zero. We have used this scale in question 5 for those employees who never/rarely use the LMS
4. Rating scale
a. Likert scale:In this scale, the participant chooses one of the four or five levels of agreement. The extreme two groups represent people with most favorable and least favorable attitudes towards the attitude being studied. Numbers may be assigned to each
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possible answer. It is very popular scale and easy and quick to construct.
b. Simple category scaleThis scale offers 2 mutually exclusive response choices: yes/no. they offer discrete categories which are especially useful for demographic questions.
c. Multiple choice single responseThese are questions where there are multiple options for the rater but only on answer is sought. Most of the questions are of this type.
5. Ranking scale
In ranking scales raters directly compare two or more “objects” and make comparison between them. He is asked to select the best or the “most preferred” choice. This is used in question 13 where the raters are asked to name their three most favorite programs.
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Analysis and Interpretation
1. Do you feel learning is given adequate importance at EPIL?
We can see, a lot of people feel that learning and development is given importance here. Although the degree to which the importance is given varies from little to very much. About 42% people feel that ‘moderate’ importance is given to learning and development, while 29% of people believe that a lot of importance is given to learning and development.
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11
0
11
16
2. Do you know about the Learning Management system at Gurukul?
We can see that all employees know about LMS.
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3. How do employees know about Learning Management System?
A lot of promotional efforts were taken to spread awareness about LMS and Gurukul. His was done through e-mails and personalized sessions an d group awareness sessions.
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4. Do you use LMS?
We see that about 52% of the people interviewed have not used LMS. However the frequency of usage varies.
5. How often do you use it?
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6. If your usage is once in 2-3 months or rarely then what is the reason?
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We see that the reason for infrequent usage is mostly workload. About 68% of employees feel that they do not have time to se LMS due to work pressures. Some do feel the need of motivation, especially by the immediate superiors. They feel that this will encourage them to take up programs. The employees lo feel that the courses are not related to the work responsibility.
7. What do you feel is the major issue in not accessing LMS?
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It was seen that mostly people who were working in the office ha no issue in accessing the LMS. There were some difficulties before which were solved recently. 60% of people were not facing any problem while accessing. However, some of those who have temporary offices on site did have accessibility issues. This was about 35% of the population. a small percentage also aced the problem of slow speed of intranet. It was seen that computer availability was not really an issue.
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8. If accessibility is the problem, then what is the reason?
The most common issue here was ‘Pop up blocker’. At the same time people were also facing problems like ‘details not imported on Learn track’ and ‘access Denied’ messages on screen.
9. Do you find LMS programs relevant?
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It was seen that 75% of people felt that the programs were related to the work responsibility. Few also felt that most of the programs were generic in nature and not necessarily helpful to them.
10. Do you feel that the course content is difficult to comprehend?
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The course seemed to be easy to understand. They are also convenient because they can be divided into slots so that learner can start and stop anytime.
11. Do you feel the need of a trainer during the course?
52
Mostly people did not feel the need of a trainer. They feel that the courses are well designed and easy to comprehend.
12. Do you feel that your supervisor is motivating you to take up the training programs?
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There seems to be lack of motivation on the part of the superiors, especially for LMS. Superiors do recommend them for classroom training, but encouragement to use LMS seems to be difficult.
13. Do you think that you would be interested in the program if specific time is allotted to you by your supervisor?
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People did seem interested in learning at Gurukul but were pressed for time. A lot of them felt that if some courses could be made mandatory, that might prove to be useful. At the same time a lot of the users felt that flexible timing is a better option. Due to the nature of work and deadlines, fixed time may be difficult to maintain.
14. Are you satisfied with the course content?
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Course content - Those who have attended programs or have gone through the course have found it quiet satisfactory. A lot of them have not registered themselves, so they could not comment.
Quality of test on course completion – a few of them have taken the tests and have found it quiet satisfactory. Some did face a few technical problems, which were later reported.
Quality of reading material – those who have read the reading material and other articles at Gurukul have liked it. However a large portion of the sample, have never gone through any reading material.
Some of the most favored programs:
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Leadership Time management Supply chain management Project management Decision making Giving feedback management guide Stress management
Some of the suggested programs:
Basic design criteria Construction management IFRS Taxation Video tutorial for MSP Advanced project management Investment decisions and funding management
Conclusion
From the above study, we find that the Learning Management System has not achieved its expected success at EPIL. Though a lot of middle
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and senior level managers use LMS, it is not very popular with the junior managers. The senior and middle level managers do take up programs and tests on management topics like negotiation skills, time management, stress management, managerial skills etc. and have found it very useful. The Programs are still to become popular with the junior managers who are only looking for specific courses, related directly to their work responsibility.
The difficulty faced by the people in using LMS to a large extent is the ‘nature of the job’ i.e. “Construction”. People here work on projects – Steel plant, power plant, refineries etc. So they are constantly on a deadline. Moreover, the projects differ so they have a sense of newness with each project. Each project is different from the previous one, giving them a constant chance to learn. So a lot of them feel that they learn more with hands on work.
Another reason for limited usage of LMS is that usually people employed at a junior level are unable to envision their growth through overall learning and development. Also, employees are in construction related projects based works and are unclear about their precise job responsibility in future; that changes with the project. They feel that generic programs will not solve their specific problems.
Still, since the inception of LMS a few months back, the program has gained momentum. Awareness is repeatedly created through mails and desk to desk sessions. More and more people seem to register and login. With guided efforts the program will prove to be a great success.
Suggestions and Recommendations
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The LMS does have the potential to become great success in EPIL. However, few additional measures can also be taken:
Encouragement by the superiors will prove to be an enabler for the usage of programs at LMS. Employees can discuss the programs and their results with superiors.
The programs should be made compulsory. They could differ according to the department and position. Nonetheless, if they are made mandatory, employees are bound to make time for them.
Specific time can be allotted once week, for employees to compulsorily login at LMs for a course. This can be specified but the superior depending upon the schedules and deadlines of the week. Automatic reminders could be generated if the person has not logged in a particular week.
Constant reminders should be sent regarding interesting articles, new developments and updates available at LMS.
Since EPIL is a construction based company, few articles and programs specifically for construction can also be incorporated besides others.
The course content can be customized according to the specific needs of the Essar group. The content should be complemented with the examples and case studies from the company or the market that the company targets.
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Bibliography
1. Cooper Donald R. , Schindler Pamela, “Research Methodology”2. Universal Law Publishing3. K Ashwathappa4. www.essar.com
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Questionnaire
1. Do you feel learning and development is given adequate importance at EPIL?
Not at all little somewhat very much
2. Do you know about the Learning Management System in Gurukul?
Yes No
3. How did you come to know about it?
Promotional measures Superiors Colleagues
4. Do you use LMS?
Yes No
5. How often do you use it?
Once a week Once a month Once in 2-3 months Rarely
6. If your usage is once in 2-3 months or rarely then what is the reason?
Work Load Not Computer Savvy Programs not related to work Not Motivated
7. What do you feel is the major issue in not accessing LMS?
Computer availability accessibility to the module Slow speed of PC
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8. If accessibility is the problem, then what is the reason?
Pop up Blocker Java, Flash not enabled Other
9. Do you find LMS programs relevant?
Very relevant somewhat relevant mostly irrelevant can’t say
10. Do you feel that the course content is difficult to comprehend?
Very difficult Moderately difficult Easy to understand Can’t say
11. Do you feel the need of a trainer during the course?
Yes No
12. Do you feel that your supervisor is motivating you to take up the training programs?
Most of the times Sometimes Never
13. Do you think that you would be interested in the program if specific time is allotted to you by your supervisor?
Yes No
14. Are you satisfied with the course content?
Yes No Can’t say
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15. Are you satisfied with the quality of assignment/ tests on course completion?
Yes No Can’t say
16. Are you satisfied with the quality of content material recommended?
Yes No Can’t say
17. Which programs do you find most useful in LMS? ( Top 3 )
1.2.3.
18. What additional programs would you recommend for LMS?
1.
2.
3.
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19. Learning objectives for the program?
Program 1 Program 2 Program 3
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.3. 3. 3.4. 4. 4.
5. 5. 5.
Target Group
Program 1 Program 2 Program 3
Course Content
Program 1 Program 2 Program 3
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.3. 3. 3.4. 4. 4.
5. 5. 5.
Program Duration
Program 1 Program 2 Program 3
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Recommended Reading
Program 1 Program 2 Program 3
Thank you
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