Question

Now look at the following example of a training and development budget. The budget was spent on things like exams and professional development of employees. Try to work out how much money was spent in TOTAL on each of the employee categories:

Total training and development budget: $900,000

This budget was dispersed as follows:

10 percent was spent on management
40 percent on regular employees
25 percent on temp workers
25 percent on consultants
What amounts were spent on each group? Which of these categories should the company target to save money by reducing its training and development budget—for example, do temp workers need as much professional development as permanent employees? Explain your reasoning.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To break down the total training and development budget of $900,000 according to the specified percentages for each employee category, we can calculate the amount spent on each group as follows:

1. **Management**: 10% of $900,000
\[
\text{Amount for Management} = 0.10 \times 900,000 = 90,000
\]

2. **Regular Employees**: 40% of $900,000
\[
\text{Amount for Regular Employees} = 0.40 \times 900,000 = 360,000
\]

3. **Temp Workers**: 25% of $900,000
\[
\text{Amount for Temp Workers} = 0.25 \times 900,000 = 225,000
\]

4. **Consultants**: 25% of $900,000
\[
\text{Amount for Consultants} = 0.25 \times 900,000 = 225,000
\]

### Summary of Amounts Spent:
- **Management**: $90,000
- **Regular Employees**: $360,000
- **Temp Workers**: $225,000
- **Consultants**: $225,000

### Total:
1. Management: $90,000
2. Regular Employees: $360,000
3. Temp Workers: $225,000
4. Consultants: $225,000

### Total Amounts:
- Total: $900,000

### Recommendation for Cost Savings:
When considering where to target savings on training and development, it is important to note the nature of temporary workers compared to permanent employees. Regular employees often require more extensive training and development since they are typically more integrated into the company's long-term goals and often have roles that require ongoing skill enhancement.

In contrast, temporary workers may not need as much investment in development as they are usually hired for specific tasks or set periods and may not stay with the company long enough to warrant extensive training. Thus, it could make sense to target the training budget allocated to temp workers for reductions, reallocating those funds toward the more critical areas such as regular employees and management, who will benefit from comprehensive training and development for longer-term growth and retention.

Therefore, the company may want to consider reviewing and possibly reducing the $225,000 spent on temp workers to achieve cost savings while continuing to invest in long-term employees versus short-term roles.