978-0078112768 Chapter 7 Solution Manual Part 3

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Chapter Vocabulary

These terms are defined in the “Extended Chapter Outline” section.

Continuous learning

Training

Formal training

Informal learning

Explicit Knowledge

Tacit Knowledge

Knowledge management

Training design process

Needs assessment

Organizational analysis

Person analysis

Task analysis

Readiness for training

Motivation to learn

Transfer of training

Manager support

Action plan

Support network

Experiential programs

Opportunity to perform

Electronic performance support systems (EPSS)

Communities of practice

Presentation methods

Teleconferencing

Webcasting

Hands-on methods

On-the-job training (OJT)

Apprenticeship

Simulation

Internship

Avatar

Virtual reality

E-learning

Social media

Repurposing

Blended learning

Learning management system (LMS)

Group- or team-building methods

Adventure learning

Cross-training

Coordination training

Team leader training

Action learning

Kaizen

Training outcomes

Return on investment

Expatriate

Cross-cultural preparation

Repatriation

Inclusion Diversity Training

Managing diversity and inclusion

Diversity training

Onboarding

Discussion Questions

1. Noetron, a retail electronic store, recently invested a large amount of money to train sales

staff to improve customer service. The skills emphasized in the program include how to

greet customers, determine their needs, and demonstrate product convenience. The

company wants to know whether the program is effective. What outcomes should they

collect? What type of evaluation design should they use?

Student answers may vary. Noetron could collect affective (reaction) outcomes,

cognitive (learning) outcomes, skill-based (behavior) outcomes, results outcomes, or

The type of evaluation design options include pretest/posttest with comparison group,

2. “Melinda,” bellowed Toran, “I’ve got a problem and you’ve got to solve it. I can’t get

people in this plant to work together as a team. As if I don’t have enough trouble with the

competition and delinquent accounts, now I have to put up with running a zoo. It’s your

responsibility to see that the staff gets along with each other. I want a human relations

training proposal on my desk by Monday.” How would you determine the need for

human relations training? How would you determine whether you actually had a training

problem? What else could be responsible?

Students will probably recommend a needs assessment, assuming Melinda has time for

3. Assume you are general manager of a small seafood company. Most of the training that

takes place is unstructured and occurs on the job. Currently, senior fish cleaners are

responsible for teaching new employees how to perform the job. Your company has been

profitable, but recently wholesale fish dealers who buy your product have been

complaining about the poor quality of your fresh fish. For example, some fillets have not

had all the scales removed, and abdomen parts remain attached to the fillets. You have

decided to change the on-the-job training received by the fish cleaners. How will you

modify the training to improve the quality of the product delivered to the wholesalers?

Some options would include selecting only certain fish cleaners to act as trainers,

4. A training needs analysis indicates that managers’ productivity is inhibited because they

are reluctant to delegate tasks to their subordinates. Suppose you had to decide between

using adventure learning and interactive video for your training program. What are the

strengths and weaknesses of each technique? Which would you choose? Why? What

factors would influence your decision?

The strengths of using an interactive video are that it is individualized, it provides

The strength of using adventure learning is that it tends to develop skills related to group

Since delegation is not one of the skills normally emphasized in adventure learning, an

5. To improve product quality, a company is introducing a computer-assisted manufacturing

process into one of its assembly plants. The new technology is likely to substantially

should management do to maximize employees’ readiness for training?

Students might suggest such things as providing remedial learning sessions, providing

pretraining sessions to prepare employees for the changes, testing of employees to

determine their actual skill levels, and so on.

6. A training course was offered for maintenance employees, in which trainees were

supposed to learn how to repair and operate a new, complex electronics system. On the

job, maintenance employees were typically told about a symptom experienced by the

machine operator and were asked to locate the trouble. During training, the trainer would

pose various problems for the maintenance employees to solve. He would point out a

component on an electrical diagram and ask, “What would happen if this component was

faulty?” Trainees would then trace the circuitry on a blueprint to uncover the symptoms

that would appear as a result of the problem. You are receiving complaints about poor

troubleshooting from maintenance supervisors of employees who have completed the

program. The trainees are highly motivated and have the necessary prerequisites. What

is the problem with the training course? What recommendations do you have for fixing

this course?

One idea students might have about the problem with the training course is that the

Recommendations would depend on what the problem(s) are; however, some students

7. What factors contribute to the effectiveness of Web training programs?

Advantages of Web-based training include the ability to deliver training to trainees

anywhere in the world at any time, cost savings and efficiency in training administration,

8. Choose a job you are familiar with. Design a new employee orientation program for the

job. Explain how your program contributes to effective socialization.

9. Why might employees prefer blended learning to training using iPods?

Employees may prfer a blended learning program because (1) the limitations of online

10. What learning condition do you think is most necessary for learning to occur? Which is

least critical? Why?

Student answers may vary. For learning to occur, trainees must understand the objectives

1. What can a company do to encourage informal learning?

Suggestions could include providing employees with the technology that they can use to

engage in informal learning that occurs through activities such as social networking. The

2. List and discuss the steps in cross-cultural preparation.

Self-Assessment Exercise

Exercising Strategy:

Improving Customer Service at Best Buy

Questions

1. What training methods would you use to train sales employees at Best Buy? Identify the

methods. Provide a rationale for your recommendation.

Students’ answers will vary here. One response could be that since this is an electronics

2. The vice president of retail wants to know your recommendations for determining the

business impact of salesperson training at Best Buy. What would you measure? Why?

How would you collect those measures?

It seems logical that customer satisfaction measures would provide the best metric in

Managing People:

Training Leads to Clean Cars, Satisfied Customers, and Engaged Employees at Mike’s

Carwash Inc.

Indianapolis, Indiana based Mike’s Carwash, Inc. is a private;y owned chain of car washes that

employs 650 people. The carwashes are automated with equipment and technology that has been

developed by the firm’s employees. The company replies on customer satisfaction and new ideas

to improve the customer experience work, they are implemented in all locations. One way the

company strives to provide a consistent customer experience is by hiring, retaining, and

developing good people. This is evidenced by their 2% selection rate and the fact that 50% of

promotions are internal . Training for new employees involves instruction on best practices and

how to help customers in different situations. The new employee receives 2 full days of

orientation and workshop instruction focused on customer service, hot to interact with customers,

how to recover from errors, and how to deal with difficult people as well as training to help new

employees advance through the company and utilize the well-established career path. Veteran

employees also receive ongoing training to meet emergent business needs such as countering the

decrease in customer volume associated with the economic recession. The company also

provides a weekly video communication designed to keep corporate culture consistent across all

37 locations.

Discussion Question

1. Is Mike’s training strategic? Provide an rationale for your answer. What information did

you consider in determining your answer.

The training program at Mike’s does appear to be strategic in nature – it is designed to

2. How does Mike’s support training? What else could they do to support their training

activities to maximize their effectiveness?

It appears from what we are told in the case that training is primarily supported by the

3. Does Mike’s support continuous learning? How?

4. Provide recommendations about how Mike’s could facilitate informal learning within and

across its car washes. How would you evaluate your recommendations’ effectiveness?

Avenues such as social media or communities of learning might allow employees to share

Twitter Focus: How Nick’s Pizza Delivers Training Results

Instead of hiring expert managers and creating a lot of rules for its employees, Nick’s is choosy

about who gets hired for every position and provides them with enough training to operate

skillfully and exercise sound judgment in a competitive business environment. Training begins

with a two-day orientation where employees learn the company’s purpose, values, and culture

and participate in role-playing activities to practice the lessons learned. Next it’s on to skills

training—where every employee learns how to make a pizza. The next training level involves

certification for a specific job within the company. Employees are also encouraged to take

additional training courses to learn more jobs and earn pay increases.

Question:

Why is it important to provide new hires with a two day orientation? Is it time well spent?

Manager’s Hot Seat Exercise: Working in Teams-Please refer to the Asset Gallery on the

OLC for Hot Seat videos and notes.

I. Introduction

Cross-functional teams pose unique challenges to team leaders and members. The

“built-in” diversity of cross-functional teams is both an attribute and difficulty when

accomplishing group goals. This scenario depicts a cross-functional team that suffers

from lack of buy-in from its members. This scenario is a valuable teaching tool for

instructors of Management, Organizational Behavior, and Human Resources to highlight

the challenges of working in diverse teams.

II. Learning Objectives

1. To assess students’ understanding of a team and how it develops.

2. To identify strategies for improving group cohesiveness.

III. Scenario Description:

Overview: The Executive Director of Operations has assigned Joe Tanney the role of

Team Leader for a high priority project. The task is to generate a proposal for

streamlining the antiquated blueprint generation process. Each office is at different

stages of computerization, with different teams preferring different technologies for

particular tasks. This makes everything more complex – from collaboration to revisions

to cost and time management, and is having a serious impact on the company’s bottom

line. The team includes Rosa Denson, Cheng Jing, and Simon Mahoney.

Profile:

Joseph Tanney is the Senior Account Manager and architect at Wolinsky &

Williams, a very large international architecture firm with over 400 employees

and six offices throughout the world.

Simon Mahoney is a Partner and works as an Architect and account Manager. He

oversees some of the firm’s largest projects and has been with the company for

11 years.

Cheng Jing is a Junior Architect and a member of a team of architects who

specialize in designing office parks. Jing is currently working towards his

Masters degree, and upon receipt of the degree, will be transferred to the design

department.

Rosa Denson is a Senior Account Manager. Rosa manages up to 40 accounts at

any given time, specializing in international clientele involved in the construction

of corporate high rises. Rosa has been with the company for seven years.

References: The references included in the DVD are:

Types of Groups and Teams (PPT 15-3)

Stages of Group Development (PPT 15-4)

Process for Group Cohesiveness (PPT 15-7)

Model of Team Effectiveness (PPT 15-9)

Back History: W & W has been expanding at leaps and bounds over the past eight years

or so. The growth has been spectacular and hurried – they have not always taken the time

to implement change in the most efficient fashion, nor have they opened new offices with

any sense of continuity of process or corporate culture. Business has been plateauing for

about eight months now and senior management has decided to take this opportunity to

assess efficiencies and practices and make the necessary improvements across the board.

Rumor has it that things may take a swift down turn in the months to come.

These four account managers have been asked to get together by senior management to

generate a proposal for streamlining the antiquated blueprint generation process. Each

office is at different stages of computerization, with different teams preferring different

technologies for particular tasks. This makes everything more complex – from

collaboration to revisions to cost and time management etc…

The team has been attempting to meet for a couple of weeks but have never been able to

agree on a date. They all agreed to start generating ideas and breaking down the tasks in

the meantime – nobody has done it except Joe, who has created a very thorough analysis

of the project. This is their first meeting – they need to plan a course of action, assign

tasks and set deadlines. Simon is the manager with most seniority and everyone assumed

he would lead the team.

Scene Set-up: The group gathers to go over Joe’s agenda regarding the team project.

Scene Location: W & W conference room

The Meeting – Summary: Joe begins the meeting describing the project and soliciting

support for the team to get the work done. Immediately, Cheng and Rosa begin to

complain, suggesting they don’t have time to devote to the project. Joe becomes annoyed

and tries to redirect the group to the task at hand. They go through Joe’s agenda (during

which Joe is interrupted by Rosa and asked to speed up the meeting) and then Joe asks

for volunteers. Cheng complains about lack of time again and Rosa says her life is too

busy. Eventually, Cheng, Rosa and Joe take on assignments and Simon announces he has

to leave before he is assigned any tasks.

Afterthoughts – Summary: Joe was annoyed that only Cheng had a copy of the agenda

for the meeting. He also wanted to have everyone commit to and understand the next

steps before leaving the meeting. In retrospect, Joe thinks he should have considered the

individuals’ personalities when approaching them with this project. He thinks he should

have made a judgment as to who was most appropriate for each task and then ask them to

react to those assignments. He feels that people in a professional environment need to be

able to work in teams and be accountable for getting work done.

Dossier: The specific artifacts included in the DVD are:

1. Tanney’s Meeting Agenda

2. Dillon’s Email to Tanney

3. Jing’s Email to Denson