978-1305115248 Chapter 5 Solution Manual Part 1

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Chapter 5

Training, Talent Management, and Career

Development

Chapter Overview

Training is a process whereby people acquire capabilities to perform jobs. This chapter

examines training and HR, training and organizational strategy, training for global strategies,

planning for training, training needs assessment, training design, training delivery, and training

evaluation. The chapter first examines training and HR including the various training categories

(required/regular, job/technical, developmental/career training, and interpersonal/ problem-

solving) and legal issues related to training.

Next, the chapter explores the relationship between organizational strategy and training. This

discussion includes strategic training and organizational competitiveness aspects of training such

as knowledge management, training as a revenue source, performance consulting and integrating

performance with training. Then training and global strategies are explored including global

assignment training and intercultural competence training.

Planning for training is explored next and includes orientation, planning for new employees, and

evaluating orientation. The rest of the chapter is devoted to the four phases in the training

process. The relevant phases or components of effective training programs consist of:

Assessment

Design

Delivery

Evaluation

Each of these is described in some detail. Training needs assessment includes three types of

organization analyses—organizational, job/task, and individual—and establishing training

objectives and priorities. Training design addresses learner characteristics, instructional

strategies, and transfer of training. Training delivery covers internal training; external training;

combination training such as cooperative training; and e-learning/on-line training.

Evaluation of training describes four levels of evaluation (reaction, learning, behavior, and

results), training evaluation metrics—cost-benefit analyses, returns on investment (ROI), and

benchmarking)—and three forms of evaluation design:

Post-measure

Pre/post-measure

Pre-/post-measure with a control group

Chapter Outline

Businesses must change if they are to survive because the environment in which they compete

changes. For this reason, employee training is an ongoing process for most organizations. In the

Training is the process whereby people acquire capabilities to perform jobs. It provides

employees with specific, identifiable knowledge and skills for use in their present jobs.

Organizational training may include “hard” skills, such as teaching sales representatives how to

I. Training and Human Resources

Common training topics include, among others, safety, customer service, computer skills,

quality initiatives, dealing with sexual harassment, and communication. Benefits of well-done

training for individuals include enhanced skills, greater ability to adapt and innovate, better self-

II. Organizational Strategy and Training

Training represents a significant expenditure for most employers. However, it is too often viewed

Training also can affect organizational competitiveness by aiding in the retention of employees.

A. Training as a Revenue Source and Other Positive Outcomes

Some organizations have identified that training can be a source of business revenue, as well

as other positive outcomes. For instance, Microsoft, Ceridian, and other technology firms

bundle customer training with products and services they sell. Some manufacturers of

industrial equipment offer customers training on machine upgrades and new features.

B. Sales Training

Organizational competitiveness in many industries hinges on the success of the sales function.

Innovative products or services require well-prepared professional sales people to inform the

appropriate audience. A key element in sales force success is often the training opportunities

C. Global Competitiveness and Training

For a global firm, the most brilliant strategies ever devised will not serve to improve

competitiveness unless the company has well-trained employees throughout the world to carry

III. Planning for Training

Planning includes looking at the big picture in which the training takes place, as well as specifics

for the design of a particular training effort. For example, the needs for skills have changed over

Training plans allow organizations to identify what is needed for employee performance before

training begins so that fit between training and strategic issues is secured. Effective training

efforts consider the following questions:

Is there really a need for the training?

Who needs to be trained?

Who will do the training?

What form will the training take?

How will knowledge be transferred to the job?

How will the training be evaluated?

A. Planning for New Employees: Orientation/Onboarding

A good example of one kind of training that requires planning is orientation. Also called

Orientation, which is the planned introduction of new employees to their jobs, coworkers,

and the organization, is offered by most employers. It requires cooperation between

individuals in the HR unit and operating managers and supervisors. In a small organization

without an HR department, the new employee’s supervisor or manager usually assumes most

Among the decisions to be made during planning new employee orientation are what to

present and when to present it. Too much information on the first day leads to perceptions of

ineffective onboarding. Several shorter sessions over a longer period of time, bringing in

information as it is needed, are more effective. Effective orientation achieves several key

purposes:

Establishes a favorable employee impression of the organization and the job.

Provides organization and job information.

Enhances interpersonal acceptance by coworkers.

Accelerates socialization and integration of the new employee into the organization.

Ensures that employee performance and productivity begin more quickly.

B. Electronic Orientation Resources

One way of expanding the efficiency of orientation is to use electronic resources. Many

employers place general employee orientation information on company intranets or corporate

Specific questions and concerns can be addressed by HR staff and others after employees

have reviewed the Web-based information. There are four phases of a systematic approach

IV. Training Needs Assessment

Assessing organizational training needs is the diagnostic phase of a training plan. This

assessment considers issues related to employee and organizational performance to determine

if training can help. Needs assessment measures the competencies of a company, a group, or an

A. Analysis of Training Needs

The first step in assessing training needs is analyzing what training might be necessary.

Training needs can be diagnosed by analyzing organizational outcomes and looking at future

organizational needs. A part of planning for training is the identification of the KSAs that will

Organizational analysis comes from various measures of organizational performance.

Departments or areas with high turnover, customer complaints, high grievance rates, high

Job/Task Analysis

A second level of analyzing training needs is to review the jobs involved and the tasks

Another way to pinpoint training gaps in the job or task being done is to survey employees

and have them anonymously evaluate the current skill levels of themselves and their peers.

The third means of diagnosing training needs focuses on individuals and how they perform

their jobs. The most common approach for making individual analysis is to use

performance appraisal data. In some instances, a good HR information system can be used

to identify individuals who require training in specific areas to be eligible for promotion.

B. Establishing Training Objectives and Priorities

Once training requirements have been identified using needs analyses, training objectives and

priorities can be established by a “gap analysis,” which indicates the distance between where

The success of training should be measured in terms of the objectives that were set for it.

V. Training Design

Once training objectives have been determined, training design can start. Whether job-specific or

broader in nature, training must be designed to address the specific objectives. Effective

A. Learner Characteristics

For training to be successful, learners must be ready and able to learn. Learner readiness

means that individuals have the ability to learn. However, individuals also must have the

Training design also sometimes address special issues presented by adult learning. Certainly,

the training design must consider that all the trainees are adults, but adults come with widely

varying learning styles, experiences, and personal goals. For example, training older adults in

B. Instructional Strategies

An important part of designing training is to select the right mix of strategies to fit learner

characteristics. Practice/feedback, overlearning, behavioral modeling, error-based examples,

Practice/Feedback

For some training, it is important that learners practice what they have learned and get

feedback on how they have done so they can improve. Active practice occurs when

Overlearning is repeated practice even after a learner has mastered the performance. It

may be best used to instill “muscle memory” for a physical activity to reduce the amount

Behavioral Modeling

The most elementary way in which people learn and one of the best is through behavioral

Error–Based Examples

The error-based examples method involves sharing with learners what can go wrong when

they do not use the training properly. Error-based examples have been incorporated in

Reinforcement

The concept of reinforcement is based on the law of effect, which states that people tend

to repeat responses that give them a positive reward and to avoid actions associated with

C. Training Transfer

Trainers should design training for the best possible transfer from the classroom to the job.

Transfer occurs when trainees actually use on the job what knowledge and information they

Offering trainees an overview of the training content and how it links to what he or she does

Supervisor support of the training, feedback from the supervisor, and supervisor involvement

in training are powerful influences in transfer. Opportunity to use the training is also

VI. Training Delivery

Once training has been designed, the actual delivery of training can begin. Regardless of the

Whatever the approach used, a variety of considerations must be balanced when selecting

training-delivery methods. The common variables considered are the following:

Urgency of training

Subject matter

Number of trainees

Individual versus team

Self-paced versus guided

One internal source of instruction is informal training, which occurs through interactions and

feedback among employees. Much of what employees know about their jobs they learn

The most common type of training at all levels in an organization is on-the-job training (OJT)

because it is flexible and relevant to what employees do. Well-planned and well-executed OJT

However, OJT has some problems. Those doing the training may have no experience in training,

no time to do it, or no desire to participate in it. Under such conditions, learners essentially are

Cross training occurs when people are trained to do more than one job—theirs and someone

else’s. For the employer, the advantages of cross training are flexibility and development. Even

In some organizations, the culture may be such that people seek cross-training assignments to

A. Cooperative/Apprentice Training

Cooperative training approaches mix classroom training and on-the-job experiences. This

training can take several forms. One form, generally referred to as school-to-work transition,

Another form of cooperative training used by employers, trade unions, and government

agencies is apprentice training. An apprenticeship program provides an employee with on-

A form of cooperative training called internship usually combines job training with classroom

instruction from schools, colleges, and universities. Internships benefit both employers and

VII. E-Learning: Online Training

E-learning is use of a Web-based technology to conduct training online. E-learning is popular

A. Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Learning

The rapid growth of e-learning makes the Internet or an intranet a viable means for delivering

training content. But e-learning has both advantages and disadvantages that must be