ABSTRACT
With respect to training and development, in an earlier study of the banking industry which concentrated on local banks, it was found that most in the sample provide orientation programs for their new employees (Lawler and Siengthai, 1997). Later on, these employees are expected to be acculturated into the bank’s system through on-thejob training. Banks generally provide formal training programs for employees at the supervisory level and up (Siengthai, 1989). From the surveys as well as casual observations, large organizations generally have their own training centers and provide formal training programs. Whereas for the executive development, these large organizations also provide formal training programs as well as sending their executives abroad for short-term training programs. It is interesting to observe in the banking industry that there are variations in sophistication of training across major banks. For small and medium-sized banks, they have organized continuing training programs for their middle-level managers from all branches. These are usually called “Mini-MBA” and are about 300 hours of intensive training (Lawler and Siengthai, 1997). They are usually run jointly with the schools of business of some particular universities. In smaller-sized banks that are not included in our interview survey, where the personnel department does not have its own training facilities, employees at the supervisory level are usually sent to the training programs offered by the universities. In general, bank employees who want to pursue their graduate studies may do so but very few receive financial support from the banks. All banks now prefer to hire their employees with bachelor’s degrees.
