SUPERVISOR COMMUNICATION IN TRAINING PROGRAM: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN MALAYSIA

A thorough review of human resource development literature shows that the ability of supervisors to use good communication styles in managing programs will invoke employees’ motivation to learn, this may lead to increased positive individual attitudes and behaviors. The nature of this relationship is interesting, but little is known about the influence of employees’ motivation to learn in training management literature. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effect of supervisor communication in training program and motivation to learn on individual attitudes and behaviors using 100 usable questionnaires gathered from technical employees who have worked in one city based local authority in East Malaysia (CLAEASTMALAYSIA). Outcomes of stepwise regression analysis showed that relationship between motivation to learn and supervisor communication had been an important predictor of transfer of competency and job performance. Statistically, this result confirms that motivation to learn does act as a full mediating role in the training model of the in the organizational sample. In addition, implications and limitations of the study, as well as directions future research are discussed.