Chapter 08 – Training and Development
3. Training can reduce severity of culture shock for expatriates
4. Skills needed by international assignees
a. Communication
b. Decision making
c. Commitment
d. Ideals
e. Problem solving
5. Cultural intelligence – self-efficacy through social interaction in cross-cultural
6. Training Techniques include:
a. Cultural assimilator
b. Experiential approaches
c. Field experiences
7. Training for In-patriates
a. Training for foreign nationals who are coming to the US to work
1. Needs assessment
2. Program development
3. Evaluation of results
C. Focus on continual learning
D. Ensure strong support from top management
E. Link to corporate strategy
F. Integrate training with career development programs
Chapter 08 – Training and Development
Relapse prevention – Attempt to increase the long-term maintenance of newly acquired
behaviors.
Return on Investment (ROI) – assessing the ratio of costs and benefits of training programs
Self-directed learning (SDL) – Trainee takes responsibility for learning the necessary knowledge
Trainability – procession of both the ability and the motivation to learn
Training – any attempt to improve employee’s performance in their current job or one related
to it
Transfer of learning – Extent to which learning from training translates to actual work
performance
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CHAPTER 8 – DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why should a training (or HRD) department develop a mission and goals? Why should these
goals be tied into the organization’s strategic objectives? How would you ensure that this
occurs?
The development of the mission and goals for a training department would help to ensure that
the objectives of the training were being met. A Mission statement focuses on the core
competencies for competitive advantage. Research has found that effective training is an
2. Why is e-Learning so popular today? What is the future of social media techniques for
training? How can we ensure that everyone in the firm is comfortable using these types of
techniques?
• Self-paced
• Standardization over time
• Feedback given
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3. How would you set up a study to evaluate the effects of an on-line training program versus a
lecture-based approach?
The first step would be to analyze which method would best fit with what is to be trained, (i.e.
software skills, best online, vs. diversity training, best lecture-based with discussion). In addition,
an analysis of the people to be trained could be done (using something like the Big Five) to
determine how each best learns (i.e. anxious and introverted persons may find on-line training
thereby ensuring greater efficiency.
4. Why is it important to understand a systems model of training (needs assessment,
development, evaluation)? Which aspects are employers most likely to skip when
developing training programs? Why is this a problem?
Training, like all business practices, should be evaluated in terms of ROI. In order to do that, a
systems approach to training must be followed. It is important to determine what needs to be
trained, how to do the training, and how valuable the training was to the organization. Without a
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5. Suppose you are instructed to determine whether a training curriculum is needed to address
literacy issues in the workplace. How would you conduct the needs assessment? Be specific
about the techniques you would use to conduct an organizational, task and person analysis.
The main purpose of the needs assessment is to determine if the proposed training program is
actually needed. To begin, getting information from human resources planning would be helpful
for determining the literacy of the workforce. If the workforce is below the literacy standards set
by the company, then one would proceed with the needs assessment.
6. You have been contracted to deliver a training program for employees on generational
differences in the workplace. You ask the CEO for the results of the needs assessment
indicating that this training is needed. You are informed that no needs assessment was
performed. How would you respond to this? If you decide to convince the CEO that a needs
assessment must be performed, what would you say? If you decide to design the training
program, how would you proceed?
First, assess why the CEO thinks training needs to be done. If the CEO indicates that he/she
would like an improvement in how employees of different ages work with each other, ask what
that improvement would look like. Tell the CEO that a systematic method of training is important
to determine the ROI of the investment. Compare what the CEO says the ideal would look like to
the existing perception of inter-generational work relations. Determine if training will adequately
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manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
ascertained. Third, the training should keep in mind aspects of adult learning (whole vs. part,
massed vs. spaced, overlearning, goal setting, knowledge of results, attention, and retention).
Fourth, the training should maximize the transfer of training to job and attempt to prevent
relapse.
The method the training takes will depend on what the objectives of the training are, who is to be
trained, when the training is to take place, and where the training will be held. In addition, those
objectives should tie into the strategic plan of the organization. Metrics can then be established
for reactions, learning, behavior, results, and ROI.
7. Results from a preliminary company needs assessment indicate that managers have a
negative opinion of the training offered by the firm, think the training is a waste of time, and
are resistant to attend future training by the training staff. What additional information
would you want to collect from the managers before sending them to a training program?
What methods would you use to collect the information? What recommendations would
you offer to the firm to ensure that managers still receive future training?
It would be important to find out why the managers had such a poor view of training. The best
way is to ask the managers directly by either interview or survey. Either a structured interview or
8. Some people say that employees already understand racial and sexual harassment and that
we no longer need training for managers. What do you think? Why is this training needed or
not needed? Defend your view. If you were to design a program, what would be the major
features of a training program designed to make employees and managers aware of racial
and sexual harassment issues in the workplace? Whom would you select to attend such a
training program and how would you evaluate the effects of the training? Would such
training be effective? Explain your answer.
We are working in an increasingly diverse workforce. This is increasing discrimination claims from
immigrants, women, older workers, gays, lesbians, various racial and ethnic groups, those with
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
report harassment, a procedure for investigation, and descriptions of punishments and/or
disciplinary actions for offenders. Research has found that the most effective programs are those
that are fully integrated with organization’s objectives, mandatory attendance, and incentives
developed to ensure fulfillment.
9. Suppose that you are going to design a training program for newly hired sales associates for
a retail chain. Results from the needs assessment indicate that they will need training on
company policies and procedures, selling clothing to customers, and handling customer
complaints and returns. What learning principles would you build into the program? What
training methods would you choose for your training program? Explain your choices.
Students’ responses will vary. Typical responses might be as follows:
It is extremely important that a training environment be established that allows for maximum
learning and transfer. To do this, trainers need to make decisions about how best to arrange the
training environment. That is, should they use whole or part learning? Massed or spaced
practice? Overlearning? Should they provide immediate feedback to trainees? Most
importantly, they also need to determine how to maximize trainees‘ attention to and retention of
information.
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10. A group of 60 consultants in a large firm has just completed SAP and PeopleSoft training.
You have been called in to evaluate the training. What might you do to evaluate the
effectiveness of the training at this point (you were not able to collect any pre-measures
with this group)? You did hear that another group of 60 consultants will be attending the
same training in 2 months.
Since there was no pretest measure of the first group a post-training test could be administered
to those 60. Hopefully, before the first training, objectives were specified. The post-test can then
11. Describe a number of ideas for building motivation of trainees before and during a
program. What suggestions would you offer for ensuring that trainees are motivated to
transfer their skills after they leave the training and are back at their jobs?
Stress the similarity between the training content and the job content. Allow plenty of
opportunities for practice new skills and behavior during training and in between training
12. Why is it important that trainees receive support from others for attending training and
applying their training skills? Do you think they often receive the necessary support?
Why or why not?
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13. Distance learning is becoming the fastest-growing technique for training employees and
students. Describe the benefits and drawbacks for distance learning for employees in the
workforce. What would the advantages and disadvantages of a distance education
graduate degree program in human resource management or an MBA?
Advantages for training employees through a distance-learning program are:
• More bang for the training buck
• Reduced travel costs
• Reduced travel time
• Make it possible to train more people more often with more flexibility
• Can add more trainers or trainees without huge expenses
14. What ideas do you have for training employees who are going on an international
assignment? What about for those employees coming back to an organization after an
international assignment? What issues would you discuss and what techniques would
you recommend for both programs?
The training for returning expatriates may depend on whether their assignment was successful or
cut short. For instance, for the successful returnee, the assimilation back into the home culture
may include the training of the replacement or future international assignee. This would help to
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
However, both may not only be in the need for training but to also have that training integrated
with career development. Many returnees are unsure of their place in the organization after
their international assignment. This issue may have to be addressed before or during the training
period in order to facilitate the transfer of learning.
A three-level construct called “cultural intelligence” has been proposed where a person’s self-
efficacy through social interaction in cross-cultural settings plays a key role in the subsequent
effectiveness of such interactions. High self-efficacy resulted in the initiation of cross-cultural
interactions that persisted in the face of early failures. In addition, individuals with high self–
efficacy engaged in problem solving in order to master required skills. Such research should be
considered for international training programs.
15. Why is it important to assess the costs and benefits of training?
Primarily, the assessment of the costs and benefits to training is to create and maintain a
16. Why is it important to collect multiple criteria to assess the effectiveness of a training
program? What if a company was insistent that only reactions needed to be collected?
How might you convince them of the importance of also collecting learning, behavioral,
and results measures?
Evaluation of more than just the reactions of the trainees is important to make sure that the
programs are accountable, are cost effective and are meeting the needs of the organization and
the employees. Reactions to the program do not ensure that the training is cost-effective or
meeting the organizations objectives. The collection of the other elements will tell an
organization whether or not the training positively affected the desired outcome (i.e. increased
productivity).
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17. What do you see as the future trends for the field of training?
Training is becoming increasingly important to organizations. This trend will continue. In order to
compete, organizations will have to have the right mix of talent with the right skills. One way to