Training and development programs are usually in the purview of HR departments. Training can include everything from teaching employees basic reading skills, improving executive leadership, helping employees become more accepting of diversity, and increasing work-life balance. Most training is directed at upgrading and improving an employee’s technical skills, which is increasingly important for two reasons: new technology and new structural designs in the organization.

Problem-solving training for managers and other employees can include activities to sharpen their logic, reasoning, and problem-defining skills as well as their ability to assess causation, develop and analyze alternatives, and select solutions. Some employees have excellent interpersonal abilities, but others require training to improve listening, communicating, and team-building skills. As HR managers have become increasingly aware of the effects of social behavior in the workplace, they have paid more attention to the problems of incivility, bullying, and abusive supervision in organizations.

It is common for employees to receive ethics and values guidance incorporated in new-employee orientations, in ongoing developmental programs, or as periodic reinforcements of ethical principles. Overall, most studies have shown that investments in training can indeed have positive effects.