Assignment 2

Arrange the initial steps involved in the creation of a corporate university in the correct order of occurrence. (Place the first step at the top.)

1. A governing body is created with the responsibility of developing a vision for the university. 2. The vision statement is linked to the business strategy. 3. The company determines how to fund the university. 4. The company decides the degree to which all training will be centralized. 5. The requirements of university customers are identified.

External growth strategy

Acquiring business that can supply or buy products

Identify the examples of metrics used to measure training success. (Check all that apply.)

Customer service Employee retention

True or false: The roles that employees have in a company do not influence the focus of training, development, and learning activity.

False

True or false: There are no direct links between training and business strategy and goals.

False

External growth strategy

Focuses on acquiring vendors and suppliers or buying businesses that facilitate expansion into new markets

Concentration strategy

Focuses on enhancing market share, limiting costs, or developing and maintaining a market niche for products and services

Disinvestment strategy

Focuses on liquidation and divestiture of businesses

Vision

Image of what the company wants to achieve in the future

Identify a feature of a learning function that is business-embedded.

It decides when and how to deliver training based on customer requirements.

Which of the following is true about a learning organization?

It emphasizes that learning occurs at both the group and organizational levels.

Identify a true statement about business strategy.

It is a plan that assimilates a company's goals, policies, and actions.

TechLite IT, an IT consulting firm, outlines its business strategy and creates a new mission statement. It plans to ensure that its business strategy is supported by training. Identify a feature of the business-embedded learning function started by TechLite IT.

It provides customized training solutions based on customer needs.

Identify a true statement about companies in an unstable or recessionary business environment—one characterized by mergers, acquisitions, or disinvestment of businesses.

Training may be abandoned or restricted to the decision of the manager.

True or false: In today's world, employees are expected by companies to initiate the training process.

True

True or false: Training can contribute to achieving different business goals.

True

Before implementation of a new training or development practice, trainers should consider _____.

how they can increase the chances of its acceptance

Unlike training in large firms, most training in small firms is usually _____.

informal and on-the-job rather than formal and structured

To ensure that a company's training program is used well, it should _____.

involve managers, employees, and specialized development staff in the training process

Unions' interest in training has resulted in _____.

joint union-management programs developed to facilitate preparation of employees for new jobs

Strategic training and development initiatives are _____.

learning-related actions that a company should follow to ensure it accomplishes its business strategy

Corporate universities can provide significant advantages for a company's learning efforts by _____.

limiting costs and maximizing the benefits of learning

In today's world, employees' work include _____.

performing many roles once limited to management

As firms grow in size there is a greater need to _____.

provide current employees with more formalized training and development

The CEO, the top manager in a company, is responsible for _____.

teaching programs or providing resources online

Identify the human resource management practices that influence the type of training and the resources devoted to training. (Check all that apply.)

Staffing strategy The strategic value of jobs and employee uniqueness

Values

Statement of what the company stands for

The employee potential to improve company effectiveness and efficiency is referred to as _____.

Strategic value

Internal growth strategy

Expanding global market

Which of the following components of an organization interact in the process of change in the organization? (Check all that apply.)

Employees Task Informal organization Formal organizational arrangements

Identify the conditions necessary for changes to occur in a company. (Check all that apply.)

Employees must recognize the reasons for change and agree with those reasons. Organizational structures, such as compensation and performance management systems, must facilitate the change.

Concentration strategy

Enhancing product quality

For companies with global operations, training is utilized to prepare employees for _____.

temporary or long-term overseas assignments

When companies begin retraining and productivity-improvement efforts without involving unions, _____.

the efforts are likely to fail

The extent to which employees are rare and specialized and not highly available in the labor market is referred to as _____.

uniqueness

Which of the following are the roles of the CEO of a company? (Check all that apply.)

Establishing a clear direction for learning Participating actively in government of learning

practices include management activities dealing with investments in staffing, performance management, training, and compensation and benefits. (Enter one word in each blank.)

Human resource management

Internal growth strategy

Focuses on new market and product development, innovation, and joint ventures

_____ involves generating employees' and managers' interest about training and learning.

Internal marketing

External analysis

Involves evaluating the operating environment to identify opportunities and threats

Identify the key features of a learning organization. (Check all that apply.)

Knowledge creation, distribution, sharing, and implementation are practiced. Innovation, risk-taking, and exploration by employees are encouraged.

Which of the following is a successful internal marketing tactic for creating a brand?

Demonstrating how a training and development program can solve specific business needs

Global Vision Inc., a retail chain, plans to expand to locations in foreign countries. It plans to train its employees based in different locations. Which of the following strategies would be helpful in achieving this goal?

Developing a standard global learning approach that is locally appropriate

Identify an implication of the emphasis on learning for human capital development in an organization.

Learning has to be related to aiding the employee enhance performance.

are business-level results selected to measure the overall value of training or learning initiatives.

Metrics

Disinvestment strategy

Reshaping goals

Identify a true statement about strategic training and development initiatives.

They differ by company depending on a company's industry, objectives, resources, and capabilities.

Identify a reason why companies outsource training.

Time savings that allows a company to focus on business strategy

The outsourcing of any business process, such as human resources management, production, or training, is referred to as

business process outsourcing

A(n) _____ learning function is characterized on the basis of five competencies: strategic direction, product design, structural versatility, product delivery, and accountability for results.

business-embedded

The second component in developing or changing a business strategy is the _____, which are what a company hopes to accomplish in the medium to long term.

company goals

The first component in creating a new business strategy or changing an existing one is the _____, which is a statement of a company's purpose of existence.

company mission

A _____ comprises employees, managers, and stakeholders outside the company, including community colleges, universities, high schools, and grade schools.

corporate university

An advantage of a centralized training function is that it _____.

gives a company a cost advantage in purchasing training from vendors and consultants

The third and fourth components in developing or changing a business strategy, external and internal analysis, together form what is called a(n)

SWOT analysis

Internal analysis

Attempts to determine the strength and weaknesses of a company

How does a company determine whether training and development activities actually contribute to the business strategy and goals?

By identifying and collecting metrics

_____ means that training and development programs, resources, and professionals are primarily housed in a single location and that decisions about training investment, programs, and delivery methods are made from that department.

Centralized training

Which of the following are implications of learning for companies? (Check all that apply.)

Companies need to promote learning and help employees find ways to obtain learning on the job. Companies need to support informal learning that develops through mentoring, social networks, and job experiences.

When unemployment is low and/or businesses are growing at a high rate and require more employees, companies often find it difficult to _____.

attract new employees

Arrange the steps involved in the creation of a corporate university that follow the development of products and services in the correct order of occurrence. (Place the first step at the top.)

1. The company selects learning partners, including suppliers, consultants, and companies specializing in education. 2. The company designs a strategy for using technology to train more employees. 3. Learning that occurs as a result of the corporate university is linked to performance improvement. 4. The value of the corporate university is communicated to potential customers.