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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
