Chapter 01 – Introduction to Employee Training and Development
© 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.
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Discussion Questions
1. Describe the forces affecting the work place and learning. How can training help companies
deal with these forces?
Answer: Economic cycles, globalization, customer service and quality emphasis, talent
management, new technology, increased value placed on intangible assets and human capital,
2. Discuss the relationship between formal training and development, informal learning, and
knowledge management. How are they related to learning and creating a learning
organization?
Answer: There are a number of different ways that learning occurs in a company.
Formal training and development refers to training and development programs, courses, and
Informal learning is also important for facilitating the development of human capital.
Informal learning refers to learning that is learner initiated, involves action and doing, is
Knowledge management refers to the process of enhancing company performance by
3. What steps are included in the training design model? What step do you think is the most
important? Why?
Answer: Step 1 is to conduct a needs assessment, which is necessary to identify if training is
needed. Step 2 is to ensure that employees have the motivational and basic skills necessary to
master the training content. Step 3 is to create a learning environment that have features
Chapter 01 – Introduction to Employee Training and Development
© 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.
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The training design process should be systematic, yet flexible enough to adapt to business
needs. Different steps may be completed simultaneously. Keep in mind that designing
4. What are intangible assets? How do they relate to training and development?
Answer: Intangible assets consist of human capital, customer capital, social capital, and
intellectual capital. Intangible assets have been shown to be responsible for a company’s
5. How is Starbucks using training to benefit the company during difficult economic times?
Answer: Starbucks believes that the key to company success is its employees or partners.
Training is integral to Starbucks’s strategy for successfully competing in a weak economy in
which customers are spending less. Store managers serve as trainers. The training focuses on
6. Training Professionals continue to debate whether the ISD model is flawed. Some argue that
ISD should be treated as a project management approach rather than a step– by- step recipe
for building training programs. Others suggest that ISD is too linear and rigid a process, that
it is the primary reason that training is expensive, and that it takes too long to develop. ISD
focuses on inputs; management wants outputs. Businesses want results, not the use of a
design technology. Do you believe that ISD is a useful process? Why or why not? Are there
certain situations when it is a more (or less) effective way to design training?
Answer: The training design process is useful because it gives a systematic approach to
training. Designing training unsystematically will reduce the benefits that can be achieved.
Chapter 01 – Introduction to Employee Training and Development
© 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.
1-3
Training design is effective only if it helps employees reach instructional or training
goals and objectives.
7. Which of the training professionals’ roles do you believe is the most difficult to learn? Which
is easiest?
Answer: Student answers would vary. The ASTD competency model describes what it takes
for an individual to be successful in the training and development field. The top of the model
shows the roles that training and development professionals can take. The learning strategist
determines how workplace learning can be best used to help meet the company’s business
strategy. The business partner uses business and industry knowledge to create training that
Chapter 01 – Introduction to Employee Training and Development
© 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.
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8. How might technology influence the importance of training professionals’ roles? Can
technology reduce the importance of any of the roles? Can it result in additional roles?
Answer: The training professionals’ role would become easier and they would be able to
reach more clients by using technology. They can put a training program on a CD-ROM or
the Internet and allow employees the opportunity to access it when it is convenient for them.
9. Describe the training courses that you have taken. How have they helped you? Provide
recommendations for improving the courses.
Answer: Each student may share different experiences depending on the course opted for.
Opting for a course would depend on needs and interests. Any course would be helpful if it is
10. How does training differ between companies that are considered BEST Award winners and
those that are not?
Answer: The BEST Award winners included thirty-two companies with an average of 24,875
employees. Companies that were BEST Award winners used more learning technologies,
11. What are the implications of generational differences in the workforce? What strategies
should companies consider from a training and development perspective to cope with
generational differences and use them to benefit the company?
Answer: It is important to note that although generation differences likely exist, members of
the same generations are no more alike than members of the same gender or race. Differences
Chapter 01 – Introduction to Employee Training and Development
© 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.
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Training plays a key role in ensuring that employees accept and work more effectively with
each other. To successfully manage a diverse workforce, managers and employees must be
trained in a new set of skills, including:
Communicating effectively with employees from a wide variety of backgrounds
Coaching, training, and developing employees of different ages, educational
Providing performance feedback that is free of values and stereotypes based on gender,
Training managers to recognize and respond to generational differences
12. How has new technology improved training and development? What are some of the
limitations of using iPods or PDAs for training?
Answer: Advances in sophisticated technology along with reduced costs for the technology
are changing the delivery of training, making training more realistic, and giving employees
the opportunity to choose where and when they will work. New technologies allow training
Despite its potential advantages, many companies are uncertain as to whether they should
embrace social networking. 90 They fear, perhaps correctly, that social networking will result
in employees wasting time or offending or harassing their coworkers. But other companies
13. Explain how training relates to attracting new employees, employee retention, and
motivation.
Answer: Given the tight labor market and numerous job applicants’ lack of basic skills, many
companies are unable to hire qualified employees. But they are unwilling or unable to leave
Chapter 01 – Introduction to Employee Training and Development
© 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.
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jobs open. Therefore, they have to hire employees with skill deficiencies and rely on training
14. What is the relationship between talent management and employee engagement? What role
can training and development practices play in keeping employee engagement high during
poor economic times? Explain.
Answer: Employee engagement is the degree to which employees are fully involved in their
work and the strength of their commitment to their job and the company. Talent management
helps to attract, retain, develop, and motivate highly skilled employees and managers.
Therefore, talent management plays a crucial role in employee engagement. Employees’
15. How can training, informal learning, and knowledge management benefit from the use of
social collaboration tools like Twitter and Facebook? Identify the social collaboration tool
and explain the potential benefits gained by using it.
Answer: Social networking refers to websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedln,
wikis, and blogs that facilitate interactions between people, usually around shared interests.
Informal learning can occur through many different ways, including casual unplanned
interactions with peers, e-mail, informal mentoring, or company-developed or publically
Chapter 01 – Introduction to Employee Training and Development
© 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.
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Caterpillar’s web-based knowledge management system, known as Knowledge Network, has
thousands of communities of practice. They range in size from small teams to hundreds of