Determining the factors of the decision making model for choosing training and learning methods in human resources development

Providing an operational guide for the selection and implementation of learning methods in organizations as one of the tools used by managers and training professionals has a significant impact in effective knowledge transfer and optimal improvement of educational processes. The theoretical model gap in this area and the increasing demand of organizations for decision-making are the main motivations for the author's research. For its theoretical model, this mixed research employed a theoretical research method in the qualitative section and a survey method in the quantitative section. In the qualitative section, after purposeful selection of experts from among managers and training professionals (using a snowball sampling method), the main factors influencing decision-making models were determined using a semi-structured approach. The participants in this section included twelve experts, and the results of the qualitative research section were extracted using thematic analysis. For the quantitative section, the validity of the questions was first confirmed by experts using the CVR method. Following the distribution and collection of questionnaires, they were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, T-test, and central indices. Afterwards, the influential factors in determining training methods and human resource development were identified. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Expert Choice software were used for weighting these factors. The influential factors, after identification with their weight coefficients, include Audience Level (0.161), Competency Development Program Scope (0.162), Competency Coverage Level (0.139), Competency Development Objective (0.044), Cost Allocation for Competency Development (0.284), Desired Competency Development Duration (0.067), Feasibility of Learner's Real Experience with Competency Phenomena (0.076), and Desired Learning Transfer Duration (0.064). To make the findings practical and direct their practical application, the results were presented in the form of fully functional decision-making software that aims to empower the organization in decision-making.