Chapter 03 – Needs Assessment
Chapter 3
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following statements is true of needs assessment?
a. The needs assessment process fails to provide information regarding the outcomes that
should be collected to evaluate training effectiveness.
b. Upper- and mid-level managers are excluded from getting involved in the needs
assessment process.
c. The role of the needs assessment process is to determine if training is the appropriate
solution.
d. A company’s decision regarding outsourcing its training is independent of the needs
assessment outcome.
2. _____ involves determining whether performance deficiencies result from lack of
knowledge or skills.
a. Organizational analysis
b. Person analysis
c. Gap analysis
d. Task analysis
3. _____ analysis involves determining the appropriateness of training, given the company’s
business strategy, its resources available for training, and support by managers and peers
for training activities.
a. Organizational
b. Task
c. Gap
d. Value-chain
4. _____ are more concerned with how training may affect the attainment of financial goals
for the particular units they supervise.
a. Operational workers
b. Instructional designers
c. Mid-level managers
d. Upper-level managers
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5. Which of the following method of needs assessment is inexpensive and allows the
collection of data from a large number of persons?
a. Questionnaire
b. Observation
c. Focus group
d. Interview
6. _____ are useful with complex or controversial issues that one person may be unable or
unwilling to explore.
a. Questionnaires
b. Observations
c. Focus groups
d. Historical data reviews
7. _____ refers to asking a large group of employees to help provide information for needs
assessment that they are not traditionally asked to do.
a. Crowdsourcing
b. Historical data review
c. Focus group
d. Benchmarking
8. _____ refers to the process of a company using information about other companies’
training practices.
a. Brainstorming
b. Crowdsourcing
c. Outsourcing
d. Benchmarking
9. In the needs assessment process, organizational analysis deals with identifying:
a. the training resources that are available.
b. employees’ personal characteristics.
c. the conditions under which tasks are performed.
Chapter 03 – Needs Assessment
d. the employees who require training.
10. Employees’ readiness for training includes identifying whether:
a. an organization’s work environment will facilitate learning and not interfere with
performance.
b. an organization should develop training programs by itself or if it should buy them
from a vendor or a consulting firm.
c. peers’ and managers’ attitudes and behaviors toward the employees are supportive.
d. managers are using a similar frame of reference when they evaluate associates using
same competencies.
11. In the person analysis, _____ relates to the instructions that tell employees what, how, and
when to perform.
a. output
b. input
c. consequence
d. feedback
12. Which of the following is considered as cognitive ability?
a. Sociability
b. Psychomotor ability
c. Quantitative ability
d. Emotional stability
13. Employees’ self-efficacy level can be increased by:
a. letting them know that the purpose of training is to identify areas in which employees
are incompetent.
b. providing limited information about the training program and the purpose of training
prior to the actual training.
c. convincing them that they lack the ability and the responsibility to overcome learning
difficulties they experience.
d. showing them the training success of their peers who are now in similar jobs.
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14. Which of the following statements is true about age and generation in the context of
training?
a. The speed at which people process information increases as they age.
b. Gen Xers dislike close supervision.
c. Baby boomers are technology-literate and they appreciate diversity.
d. Traditionalists prefer more of a self-directed training environment.
15. Which of the following is considered as a part of “input” in the process for analyzing the
factors that influence employee performance and learning?
a. Awareness of performance standard
b. Social support
c. Understanding the level of proficiency
d. Work-group norms
16. In which of the following instances is training required for employees?
a. Employees have the knowledge and skill to perform a job, but they have inadequate
input.
b. Employees have the knowledge and skill to perform a job, but they lack feedback.
c. Employees lack the knowledge and skill to perform a job, but the other factors are
satisfactory.
d. Employees have the knowledge and skill to perform a job, but the consequences are
inadequate.
17. Which of the following issues is addressed by task analysis?
a. Who needs training?
b. What is the focus of training?
c. Does training support the company’s strategic direction?
d. Should the training be built or bought?
18. Which one of the following is true of task analysis?
a. It should be undertaken before organizational analysis.
b. It involves breaking a task into several jobs.
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c. It is a simple process that requires minimum time commitment compared to the other
processes.
d. It involves gathering and summarizing data from many different persons in the
company.
19. In task analysis, the next step after selecting the job or jobs to be analyzed is to:
a. identify the knowledge, skills, or abilities necessary to perform the tasks successfully.
b. develop a preliminary list of tasks performed on the job by talking to those who have
performed a task analysis.
c. have a group of SMEs validate a preliminary list of tasks through a meeting or through
a written survey.
d. separate important, frequently performed tasks from tasks that are not important and are
infrequently performed.
20. The first step in task analysis is to:
a. develop a preliminary list of tasks performed on the job.
b. select the job or jobs to be analyzed.
c. identify the KSAOs important for successful task performance.
d. identify important and frequently performed tasks for which training is required.
21. Which of the following statements is true of competency models?
a. They are not useful for recruitment and selection.
b. They fail to identify the best employees to fill open positions.
c. They cannot be used for performance management.
d. Traditionally, needs assessment failed to focus on competencies.
22. The difference between job analysis and competency models is that:
a. competency modeling is more work- and task-focused, whereas job analysis is worker-
focused.
b. competency models describe employees’ skills, knowledge, abilities and personal
characteristics that are common across jobs, whereas job analysis describes what is
different across jobs.
c. competency modeling is used to generate specific requirements of employees for a job,
and job analysis is used to generate more general requirements.
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d. job analysis can be applied to selection, training, employee development, and
performance management unlike competency models.
23. The first step in developing a competency model is:
a. to identify the job or position to be analyzed.
b. to identify the business strategy.
c. to select the needs assessment strategy.
d. to identify effective and ineffective job performers.
24. In the process of developing a competency model, the job or position to be analyzed is
identified after:
a. the needs assessment strategy is selected.
b. the effective and ineffective job performers are identified.
c. the business strategy and goals are identified.
d. the competencies responsible for effective and ineffective performance are identified.
25. Which of the following statements is true of rapid needs assessment?
a. It involves using a large amount of resources such as money and SMEs.
b. It ultimately results in the sacrifice of the quality of the process.
c. Its scope is independent of the size of the potential pressure point.
d. It opts for methods that provide results in which trainers have the greatest confidences.
True/ False
1. Pressure points such as changes in customer preferences or employees’ lack of basic skills
do not necessarily mean that training is the right solution.
a. True
b. False
2. Upper-level managers view the needs assessment process by focusing on specific jobs.
a. True
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b. False
3. Upper-level managers are not usually involved in identifying which employees need
training or the tasks for which training is needed.
a. True
b. False
4. Subject-matter experts (SMEs) must have an understanding of the company’s language,
tools, and products.
a. True
b. False
5. Job incumbents should be included as SME’s in the needs assessment process since they
tend to be the most knowledgeable about the job.
a. True
b. False
6. No single method of conducting needs assessment is superior to the others.
a. True
b. False
7. Questionnaires do not allow many employees to participate in the needs assessment
process.
a. True
b. False
8. Output refers to the type of incentives employees receive for performing well.
a. True
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b. False
9. Age, or even the generation an employee belongs to, does not affect how they prefer to
learn.
a. True
b. False
10. Possession of a high school diploma or a college degree is a guarantee that an employee
has basic skills.
a. True
b. False
11. The importance of cognitive ability for job success increases with job complexity.
a. True
b. False
12. Determining a job’s cognitive ability requirement is part of the task analysis process.
a. True
b. False
13. A nontraining option to match trainees’ reading level with the level needed for the training
materials involves redesigning a job to accommodate the trainees’ reading levels.
a. True
b. False
14. To motivate employees to learn in training programs, managers should avoid informing the
employees about their skill weaknesses or knowledge deficiencies.
a. True
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b. False
15. To motivate employees to learn in training programs, they need to be given a choice of
what training programs to attend.
a. True
b. False
16. Employees’ lack of awareness of performance standards is a problem that training can
“fix.”
a. True
b. False
17. Work-group norms may encourage employees not to meet performance standards.
a. True
b. False
18. One of the most powerful ways to motivate employees to attend and learn from training is
to communicate the personal value of the training.
a. True
b. False
19. If the critical job issue, process issue, and business issue are related, training should be a
top priority.
a. True
b. False
20. Task analysis should be undertaken only after the organizational analysis has determined
that the company wants to devote time and money for training.
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a. True
b. False
Short Answer/Essay
1. What are the three types of analysis involved in needs assessment?
2. What are the consequences if needs assessment is not properly conducted?
3. What is the role of upper-level managers in needs assessment?
Chapter 03 – Needs Assessment
4. What are the options available if trainees’ reading level does not match the level needed for
the training materials?
5. How are competency models useful for training and development?
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