Employee Training and Development Chapter 7 Assignment

You are designing a training needs analysis for your company, but you are concerned because everything seems to be changing so rapidly. Employees do one job today and a completely different job a month later. What would be the best type of task analysis to do in this situation?

A competency assessment

Whole-versus-part learning

Breaking a process down into steps makes it easier to master each step and, in turn, to master the entire process. Whether a trainer is talking about sales or customer service, students learn better by mastering each step of the process in succession. ex. "Today we're going to talk about customer service. Good customer service has seven steps, so let's take each one in turn." ex. A sales instructor breaks the selling process down into steps, including eliciting a customer's needs and presenting the product in a way that meets those needs.

Step 5 to conduct "PROPER" On-the-Job-Training:

Correct errors; repeat instructions.

Step 1 to conduct "PROPER" On-the-Job-Training:

Decide what employees need to be taught.

Feedback

Digitally recording the training session can be instructive.

Trainers stress broad concepts rather than specific behaviors.

Focus on general principles

Learning Points

This component might include the recommended steps for providing feedback.

Practice

Trainees rehearse the behaviors.

A high ranking executive responsible for fostering employee learning and development within a firm is called a

chief learning officer

The chief information officer for your company is interested in learning more about how to design some training programs that will be beneficial for her technical employees. She contacts you, the chief learning officer, to discuss her interest in this training program. As the meeting begins, she asks, "What do we need to do first to develop an appropriate training program?" What would you say?

"We need to conduct an organization, task, and person analysis to assess the type of training that is needed."

A learning objective, such as the ones found at the beginning of each chapter of your text, is an example of:

An instructional objective

The instructional designer at a natural foods retailer has been working on conducting a needs assessment to identify the type of training that is most critical to provide for employees. Based on the needs assessment, it was discovered that teamwork skills training was most needed. The designer has formulated three instructional objectives for the training program and conducted an analysis of the readiness of the participants for the training. At this point, what is the next action that the instructional designer needs to take as part of the process for developing the teamwork training program?

Assess the motivation of the participants to complete the training by asking them what they want to learn from the training program.

The instructional designer in a pharmaceutical company has been working on conducting a needs assessment to identify the type of training that is most critical to provide for the company's scientists. Based on the needs assessment, it was discovered that interpersonal skills training is most needed. The designer has formulated five instructional objectives for the training program. At this point, what is the next action that the instructional designer needs to take as part of the process for developing the interpersonal skills training program?

Assess the participants for the training program to see whether they have the knowledge and experience to effectively acquire the training content.

A manager ensures that conditions in the training program come as close as possible to those on the job.

Feature identical elements

Which of the following actions is not something a small business might do to assess its training needs?

Identify which skills are easiest to train. Look for skills that can be acquired in computer-based courses.

Feedback and reinforcement

If students hope to master a skill, they have to know what they are doing right and wrong. Such feedback can come from an instructor, fellow students, or even the task itself. ex. An instructor uses an online learning system that instantly marks student answers as right or wrong and provides an explanation for each question. ex. "I have good news! You all got 80% or above on the last exam, so I'm taking the class out to lunch!"

Goal Setting

It can simply take the form of a "road map" of the course or program, its objectives, and its learning points. ex."By the end of this training session, you will be able to create a workflow diagram." ex. An instructor outlines the objectives of the training prior to teaching the class.

Step 2 to conduct "PROPER" On-the-Job-Training:

Learn about employees' prior experience and adjust accordingly.

Step 3 to conduct "PROPER" On-the-Job-Training:

Let employees ask lots of questions.

HRD staff per 1,000 employees

Number of human resources development staff ÷ total employee population x 1,000

When conducting a person analysis for a training needs assessment, the best way to determine why people are or are not meeting the firm's expectations is through:

One-on-one conversations between employees and managers

Individual Differences

People learn at different rates and in different ways. It can be visual, verbal, small group discussions. Trainers should use incorporate variety into their presentations. They should use visual aids, encourage the participation of learners by including them in demonstrations and ask them questions about their own experiences. ex. "Today's lesson will cover work safety. You can learn about our work safety standards in three ways: by watching as I demonstrate safe practices, by listening to my lectures on your MP3 player, or by reading the lecture notes. All three formats cover the same material. Pick the format that matches your learning style." ex. An instructor offers students a choice of learning formats: audio, demonstration, or written.

Modeling

People learn by mimicking other people. ex. An instructor shows trainees how to operate a cement mixer before letting them practice on a cement-mixing simulator. ex. "Let me show you how to use an air hammer to complete this project. Once you've seen how I do it, you can try it yourself."

Step 4 to conduct "PROPER" On-the-Job-Training:

Provide help and assistance at first and then less as employees continue performing the job.

Step 6 to conduct "PROPER" On-the-Job-Training:

Provide praise and encouragement and give feedback about how employees are doing.

Tony is taking a management class. He has been asked to work with another student, Caleb. Tony is supposed to be a manager, while Caleb is an employee who wants a pay raise. They are supposed to have a discussion and work out this issue. What kind of training is Tony going through?

Role Playing

You are the VP of HR for a medium-sized organization. Your CEO has just asked you to perform an organization analysis as part of a needs assessment for the company. Which of the following items would NOT be examined in your organization analysis?

Skill levels of individual company employees

Distributed learning

Students who study intensively in one long session tend to retain less than students who space their learning out over time. An instructor can increase the probability of distributed learning by giving several assignments due over time, rather than one large assignment due at the end of the course. ex. An instructor gives students daily homework assignments and weekly tests instead of having one large test at the end of the course. ex. "When studying for this class, try to break up your time. It's better to spend 10 minutes per day than 10 hours the day before the exam."

The vice president of marketing (VPM) has asked to meet with you, the director of training and development, to help his division plan and execute a learning conference on excellence in marketing practices in the biotech industry. The first question the VPM has for you when you meet is, "What attributes are most important to be a successful facilitator or trainer?" How would you respond?

The facilitator demonstrates a willingness to provide individual assistance to trainees.

Modeling

This shows how to deal with a particular situation.

Training costs per student hour

Total costs of training ÷ total number of hours of training

Percent of employees trained per year

Total number of employees receiving training ÷ total employee population

Average training hours per employee

Total number of training hours (hours x participants) ÷ total employees trained

Cost savings as a ratio of training expenses

Total savings in scrap or waste ÷ dollars invested in training

Training dollars spent per employee

Total training expenditures ÷ total employees served

Percent of payroll spent on training

Total training expenditures ÷ total payroll

Profits per employee per year

Total yearly gross profits ÷ total number of employees

Active practice and repetition

Trainees should be given frequent opportunities to practice what they will ultimately be expected to do. ex. An instructor requires students to do the same task over and over again until they can do it perfectly. ex. "It takes 2 years of work to become a master diamond cutter. There are 30 industrial-grade diamonds at each of your work desks. I want you to mark each stone and indicate whether it should be cleaved or sawed for maximum brilliance."

Meaningfulness of presentation

Trainees will be better able to learn new information if it is presented using terminology they can understand and the training is connected with things already familiar to them. ex. An instructor presents information using terminology that the trainees can easily understand. ex. "All of you have some sales experience, and you are familiar with cold calling. Today we're going to talk about how recruiting new employees is like cold calling."

The senior management team at a book publishing company has asked you, their director of learning and development, to attend their quarterly meeting to help them to understand how to best determine the type of training needed for their salesforce. At the meeting, the CEO asks whether any information about the person is important for conducting a needs assessment. How would you respond?

We should focus the analysis on reviewing worker performance appraisal information as well as conducting a sit down meeting between the manager and direct report to discuss areas for improvement.

The senior management team at a major department store chain has asked you, their director of learning and development, to attend their quarterly meeting and help them to understand how to best determine the type of training needed for their non-managerial workforce. At the meeting, the CEO asks whether any information about the specific tasks and jobs is important for conducting a needs assessment. How would you respond?

Yes, we should analyze job descriptions and KSAOs of jobs in the company to determine training needs.

The senior management team at a large multinational conglomerate has asked you, the director of learning and development, to attend their quarterly meeting and help them to understand how to best determine the type of training needed for their upper, middle, and first-level managers. At the meeting, the CEO asks whether any information about the corporation is important for conducting a needs assessment. How would you respond?

You would want to analyze the company's environment, goals, strategies, performance, and resources to determine training needs.