Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Training Courses in Islamic Azad University of Zanjan

Transcription

1 Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Training Courses in Islamic Azad University of Zanjan Normohammad Yaghoubi *, Habibollah Salarzehi **, Abolfazl Moghaddam*** * Associate professor University of Sistan and Baluchestan,zahedan,iran ** Associate professor University of Sistan and Baluchestan,zahean, iran *** Department of Management, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran Abstract Pinnacle Research Journals 71 Entrepreneurial training is a systematic, target oriented and deliberately process, through which the individuals, who are not entrepreneurs but have potential abilities, are trained for creativity. In recent years, the entrepreneurship training programs have had significant expansion attracting substantial financial resources. Ensuring toward effectiveness and efficiency of such courses has made their evaluation inevitable. In addition, if the evaluation of the training courses effectiveness is done properly, it will provide a more objective basis for principal programs. In the design and implementation of trainings, what is extremely important is the effective assess of this type of training to design additional and directed training from obtained results. Therefore the aim of this investigation is to evaluate the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training courses. This study was a survey and questionnaire tool was used to collect data. The present research community was included all participants in entrepreneurship training courses of Azad University of Zanjan, and they were 450 individuals. The present research sample was 60 peoples who were evaluated before and after training, by completing the questionnaire and statistical analysis, following results were obtained: From the confirmed first and second hypothesis, appropriateness of organizing entrepreneurial training courses was concluded and participants of cited courses were satisfied and training courses were also effective in changes of attitudes and skills of participants, and enhance success seeking, confidence, independence and creativity of participants in entrepreneurship trainings.from approved third hypothesis, it can be concluded that during the period of training, entrepreneurs is effective in creating jobs and developing effective business Keywords: Evaluation Effectiveness Entrepreneurship courses

2 Introduction Now the global evolutionary has located entrepreneurs at the forefront of technological development and economic growth. The successful experience of most developed countries and some developing countries through the economic crisis through entrepreneurship development in those countries leads other countries to take care about entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs and innovative business formation. Accordingly, aspects of entrepreneurship development have been considered. Trainings an important aspect of entrepreneurship development which special attention has been dedicated to it. According to various conducted studies it has been proved that entrepreneurs often have acquired characteristics rather than inheritance characteristics and hence now entrepreneurship training has become one of the most widely publicized activities in universities(douglas and shepherd, 1999). Robert Hesrich (Robert Hesrich, 2002) knows entrepreneurial as a process of creating thing rather than effort value and its time spent ( of course by financial accounting, along with its psychological and social risks )that entrepreneurs receive financial and personal (internal ) satisfaction as a rewarding result of their efforts (entrepreneurship).concurrent with reveal of the role and impact of entrepreneurship on employment trend and economic growth in developed countries, efforts has been intensified to train and generalize knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit among managers, businessmen, students and potential entrepreneurs (Dariani).Entrepreneurship training is considered as an imperative training in most developed nations and even in developing countries, and the idea that entrepreneurs have inherent characteristics was rejected.gibe, Clark and McPherson consider entrepreneurship training process as a more systematic, intentional and goal oriented that is used to transmit knowledge and needed information to entrepreneurship and will follow develop of attitudes and skills of non entrepreneur(zabihi and Moghaddasi, 2006). Pinnacle Research Journals 72 Entrepreneurship training activities has been started informally in the mid 70's although the official start time return to the early 80s (Zabihi and Moghaddasi, 2006).The first training efforts were conducted by "Mac Kolland" with the aim of motivating the success seeking among Indian businessmen (Ahmadpour Dariani).In 1973, University of Calgary received establishment certificate in Master of Science of entrepreneurship for the first time and entrepreneurial was considered as one of the main fields (Ahmadpour,Dariani and Moghimi, 2001). By publishing research results of Davidbreechin 1979, considering entrepreneurial context entered a new stage because breech showed that smaller companies benefiting from entrepreneurial training have a greater share in the economic growth of America (Ahmadpour,Dariani, 1997). Since the beginning of1980,examining entrepreneurial training was began with certain procedures that are appropriate for new field of research. Obviously one of the main tools of entrepreneurship and consequently job creation is education, especially in higher education level.educational Scientific and Cultural Organization of the United Nations has described modern university in the global perspective of higher education for the 21st century as :It is a place that entrepreneurial skills are developed to facilitate graduates and to become job creators). UNESCO

3 believes that the entrepreneurial university is a university that has entrepreneurial education for students so that they become entrepreneurs,to create an entrepreneurial structure in university, to create and develop an entrepreneurial culture in the University and the community culture and to develop entrepreneurial attitudes, skills and nurture their entrepreneurial between the faculty, staff and students (FeizBakhsh, 2004). Investigations show that procedures and special programs can turn a potential entrepreneur to actual entrepreneurs by change of outlook and attitudes of individuals and equip them with the specific knowledge and skills. Attitudes have been expressed as the best means and descriptors for entrepreneurship operation and it is believed that having certain attitude will lead to greater activity in the field of entrepreneurship and we can expect incidence of entrepreneurial actions just with having these specific attitudes(simmones, 1999). Entrepreneurship trainings has changed entrepreneurial attitude and it s a focal point to improve entrepreneurial attitude of individuals through the trainings, and lead towards entrepreneurial behavior.it is believed that beliefs and attitudes are learned and even when they have been established based on family and social environment, changes in them can still be made by teaching and learning. Considering the theoretical outlook of Robinson and et al(robinson et al, 1991)on entrepreneurial attitudes, entrepreneurial attitude is attitude that have develop incentive components, internal center of control, selfesteem and creativity in combination with three dimensions of attitude(cognition, emotion and behavior). The role of the education system, especially higher education system in the development community is more evident with regard to the role and relationship of education, especially entrepreneurship education,with entrepreneurial attitudes. Higher education inserted entrepreneurship concepts in universities through the transfer of practical knowledge in the field of employment,creating required skills and abilities in the context of entrepreneurship, cultural infrastructure and the development and research support of the entrepreneurial, and attitudes, knowledge and student s skills will lead toward entrepreneurship. Therefore the raised question is whether offered entrepreneurship education at the university level is able to leave a positive impact on entrepreneurial attitudes. Pinnacle Research Journals 73 D) Evaluating the effectiveness of training Various definitions have been proposed for evaluating the effectiveness of training. Evaluated levels of educational objectives, level of career objectives of trainees after training courses are: Determination of student behavior compliance with the expectations of work supervisors, managers, determination of the right amount of work, determination of the skills extent caused by training to achieve goals, determination of the amount of educational added value, determination of the successful improvement measures of business (AbtahiandPeidai, 2007). In fact, evaluating the extent of training effectiveness, means determining how much training has led to required skills of organization as practical and applied training. In this regard we will note some of the reasons for measuring the effectiveness of training as:

4 Existence of Educational Assessment Program provides a chance in organization to use some subjective criteria in a more concrete manner. Obviously, the stability and credibility of objective criteria is more than subjective judgments. Requirements of regulations and organizational procedures for quality management systems, bound organizations not to ignore educational activities and their results and to follow results of them. Organizationoriented educational programs with respect to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of them in evaluations. minimizing training costs. Adapting needed knowledge, skills and behaviors of employees with the organization training courses. Patterns of Educational Evaluation In the view of experts,educational evaluation is different. Usually, different approaches of educational evaluation have been addressed (general) in many books that can be used in educational evaluation(staff)."bermally" (1991) has identified six general approaches for public education evaluation including: 1Objectiveevaluation; 2Freeobjectiveevaluation; 3Evaluationof accountability; 4Systematic Evaluation; 5Evaluation according to expert; 6Quasilegal evaluation Pinnacle Research Journals 74 According to "Bermally" goaloriented, systematic approaches are widely used for the evaluation of the staff training. Many frameworks for the evaluation of programs are stated that are influenced by two pre mentioned approaches. Below are some patterns that belong to these two approaches. Systematic approach In this approach,all models of a system cover the input, process and output, and finally, these steps together will apply to the decision making about the instructional program. Four evaluation pattern with systematic approaches are addressed as follow: 1Evaluation of C.A.P.O model 2Model of training evaluation, effectiveness and intervention;

5 3 Model of position evaluation, intervention, effectiveness and value; 4EvaluationModelof inputprocessoutput Kirkpatrick evaluation model Most popular model in the previous years was presented based on four levels evaluation model of training that was first introduced by Kirkpatrick(1959). This model was described as a comprehensive,simple and feasible model for many educational situations and was known as a measure in this field by many experts. Kirkpatrick defined evaluation as determination of effectiveness of a training program and divided the evaluation process in to four levels or steps. The first level: reaction(reaction):from there action, it means the reaction rate which learner shows in all effective factors in the implementation of a training course. Reactions, measure how the participants felt about the training. The surveys sought to get the opinions of the participants about eaching, curriculum, assignments, training facilities, classrooms or equipment and training content... Second level: learning(learning): learning is determining the amount of learner skills, techniques and facts that are learned and illuminated for participants of the training course, and can be realized by the prior teachings, during and after participation in the training courses. Third level: behavior(behavior):the purpose of the behavior is manner and extent of changes in the behavior of participants that can be obtained in training courses and it can become clear and illuminated by continues assess in real work environment. This level is very challenging compared to previous levels because: First, participants have the opportunity to make changes in their behavior. Second, realtime of changes in behavior cannot be predicted. Pinnacle Research Journals 75 Third, organizational atmosphere can have an impact on changing or lack of changing behavior during the operation or job Level Four: Results: results means degree of fulfillment of the objectives that are directly linked to the organization. It is very difficult to measure this level and evidence of outcomes, such as reduced costs, rework, increase in quality, production, sales and profit are checked in it (AbtahiandPeidai, 2007). Objectives and hypotheses The most obvious purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of entrepreneurship courses in Islamic Azad University of Zanjan to improve the quality of courses and align it with the needs and expectations of society and to realize their strengths and weaknesses. Secondary objectives of this study are as follows: A) assess the level of participants satisfaction from the conduct of the course

6 B) assess the impact of entrepreneurship training courses on business attitude and job of those who participate in courses. C) assess the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial attitudes of participants D) assess the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial behavior of participants in courses Based on the subject and pre said aims, the following hypotheses have been considered: Hypothesis 1: Participants in the entrepreneurship training courses are satisfied (the reaction level) about the way of courses organization Hypothesis 2: Participants in training courses on entrepreneurship, learn facts, attitudes and skills in connection with an entrepreneurial (learning level) Hypothesis 12: Participants in training courses of entrepreneurship will have a positive attitude towards the business world. Hypothesis 2.2: Participants in training courses on entrepreneurship find entrepreneurial attitudes. Hypothesis 3: participation in entrepreneurial training courses and workshops will lead to changes in participant s behavior (behavior level). Hypothesis 13: Participation in entrepreneurship courses has a positive impact on jobs. Hypothesis 23: Participation in entrepreneurship training courses will improve business situation. Data collecting a Methods Pinnacle Research Journals 76 This paper is based on a study that relies on field branch of study. Collecting information has been done in two Library and design form by use of questionnaires in order to get a perspective on population statistics. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first part, was population demographic information, the second part was questions related to the research hypothesis. The population of study were participants of entrepreneurship courses at Azad University of Zanjan of N = 450 individuals that among them,60 samples (n = 60) were determined using multi stage cluster sampling. However, before distributing the questionnaire, the validity was assessed. To estimate the validity of the questionnaire, the split method was used for testing. The questionnaire was divided into two odd and even categories and categories scores were determined for both of them and then the correlation between the two halves were calculated using the formula Speer man brawn that the questionnaire validity of the present article was 94%.

7 In determining the validity or reasonableness of the contents, coordinating and synchronizing content between our results with the previous result will become related. In some questionnaire, use of experts opinion was concerned (Delavar, 2008). In addition to using descriptive statistics, inferential statistical techniques such as correlation coefficient, coefficient of determination and ttest and chisquare and Wilcoxon tests were used to test the hypotheses. Analysis Using the first part of the questionnaire, general demographic information of the respondents was obtained. Among the sample, 70% were male and the rest were female gender and about age, 85 % of respondents were under 25 years old. About the education levels of respondents, 30 percent had bachelor's degrees and 65% were graduate students in Master of Science, and 5% other were undergraduates. Analysis of research hypotheses (inferential statistics) First hypothesis: Evaluation of the first hypothesis is the first level of Kirkpatrick model (ie, the reaction level) following by received comments of participants in relation to the conduct of entrepreneurship courses in which the education, curriculum, assignments and training tools and... are addressed. Table 1.Test of Assumptions reception Wilcax on Meaning less level T independ ent Degree of freedom Chisquare variablestatistical indicators Pinnacle Research Journals 77 Confirm confirm confirm confirm 2241 confirm As Table 1 show: Hypothysis1 conducting way of course Hypothysis21 attitude to business world Hypothysis22 Hypothysis31 Hypothysis32

8 The apparent difference between the observed score is statistically significant, reliable and meaningful and thus, we can conclude that: Participants in training courses in entrepreneurship have been satisfied with the conduct of the relevant period and therefore hypothesis 1 is confirmed. In connection with this hypothesis (2) Student Ttest was used and the hypothesis was confirmed and thus we can conclude that entrepreneurship training courseswas effective in creating a positive attitude towards the creation of jobs and business and also entrepreneurial attitudes of the participants. With the retention of T and Wilcoxon tests, hypothesis 3 was also supported and from confirm of this hypothesis, the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training in participant s changes in behavior can be recognize and in other words participating in the courses was effective in both job creation and business development status of participants. Conclusions The trend of investment in educational activities all over the world in recent years has shown that the amount of resources devoted to this matter, has increased compared to previous years and administrators attention in various industries to this area are significant. But there are still some concerns for authorities and decision makers in organizations related to lack of efficacy seen in educational activities. In this paper however it was tried to address effectiveness measure of training. In this regard Kirkpatrickmodel,which in recent years has a special place in Iranian organizations, was used. From confirmation of the first hypothesis, it can be concluded that how good is entrepreneurship training courses and how much participants are satisfied from the course. Factors associated with the conduct of teaching include, curriculum, and classroom aids and... That can be linked to good planning in this field. Pinnacle Research Journals 78 The confirmed second hypothesis means that the training courses were effective in changing the attitudes and skills of the participants and it is in agreement with the international research findings(anderson, Brown andwilson). Totally,these tutorials were successful in creating a positive attitude towards business and caused successful careers and promoted the quest for success, confidence, independency and participant s creativity in entrepreneurial education. From the approved third hypothesis it can concluded that during the period of training, entrepreneurs are effective to create jobs and develop business this means that the courses cause improved skills, high risks potential, high tolerance potential, profit opportunities, the ability to identify priorities and selfreliance of participant in the related period and led to the change in behavior of entrepreneurs

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