Chapter 9

Training for Improved Performance

Chapter 9 Learning Objectives
• Explain how employee training practices can be aligned with an organization’s
competitive strategy.
• Describe how partnering and using a systematic process for developing training helps
an organization benefit from training.
• Discuss the different ways organizations determine their training needs.
• Describe various training methods and explain how to make each more effective.
• Explain why the purpose of a training evaluation should be used to guide the
evaluation process.

Chapter 9 Outline

9.1 How Can Strategic Employee Training Improve an Organization? (pages 336-
338)
• Training is a planned effort by a company to help employees learn job-related
knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The common element that defines training is that
employees go through a structured experience that helps them to learn something they
can use to improve their performance at work.
➢ Imbedded in training are the following components:
▪ Knowledge – memory of facts and principles.
▪ Skills – proficiency at performing a particular act.
▪ Attitudes – an evaluative reaction to particular categories of people,
issues, objects, or events.
▪ Learning – a change in knowledge, skill, or attitude that results from
experience.
➢ Most organizations regardless of size and industry, offer at least some formal
or informal training to help employees learn.
▪ Informal learning methods consist of natural learning that is neither
planned nor organized.
➢ Training when designed and delivered properly, can improve the overall
effectiveness of an organization in three ways:
▪ It can boost employees’ commitment and motivation.
▪ It helps employees perform their work more effectively and efficiently so
the organization is able to function better on a day-to-day basis.
▪ It helps organizations meet their strategic objectives by providing
employees with the specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to
make strategic initiatives a reality.

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9.2 How is Employee Training Strategic? (pages 339-342)
• Differentiation versus Cost Leadership Strategy
✓ Cost leadership strategy (e.g., Bargain Laborer and Loyal Soldier strategies)
➢ Requires employees to have knowledge, skills, and attitudes that help reduce
costs and improve efficiency.
➢ Training employees on quality control principles and practices allows
companies to become more efficient.
✓ Differentiation strategy (e.g., Free Agent and Committed Expert strategies)
➢ Requires employees to be able to deliver services or make products that are
superior to the services or products offered by competitors.
➢ Teamwork training is useful to help employees.
• Internal versus External Labor Orientation
✓ A company with an internal labor orientation seeks to make its own talent,
whereas a company with external labor orientation seeks to buy talent.
Companies with internal labor orientation spend time and money to train current
employees whereas companies with external orientation tend to hire new
employees to fill their needs.
Concept Check

1. What is the key focus of training for a company pursuing a differentiation

strategy? A cost leadership strategy? Answer: In regard to a differentiation
strategy, training focuses on providing superior service and innovation. Training
in a cost leadership strategy focuses on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that
help reduce costs and improve efficiency.

2. How does training differ between companies that pursue an internal versus an
external labor orientation? Answer: Training for those pursuing an internal labor
orientation have an emphasis on training existing employees, while those
pursuing an external labor orientation have more emphasis on hiring new
employees with desired skills than on training existing employees.

9.3 What are Key Principles for Getting Benefits from Training? (pages 342-345)
• Three benefits an organization can gain from training its employees:
✓ Increase employees’ commitment and motivation.
✓ Enable employees to perform better.
✓ Help the organization meet its strategic objectives.
• To achieve these three benefits, training must result in learning and transfer of
training (i.e., trainees apply what they learn in training to their jobs).
✓ Two fundamental practices help HR professionals meet this transfer of training:
➢ Managers, employees, and HR professionals must work in partnership.
➢ Use systematic process for designing and developing training.
• Partnership (pages 343-344)

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 ✓ Operate training as a partnership among employees, their managers, and HR
professionals through managing six factors:
➢ Managers set clear expectations about employees’ performance
➢ Managers provide appropriate support (e.g., equipment, supplies, etc.)
➢ Managers provide feedback indicating whether employees are exceeding,
meeting, or failing to meet expectations.
➢ Managers set appropriate consequences, which means rewarding effective
performance and, if necessary, punishing ineffective performance.
➢ Managers and HR professional recruit and select those with individual
capacity.
➢ Managers and HR professional determine knowledge and skills required and
provide appropriate training.
• Systematic Process. (pages 344-345)
✓ Most ways to develop training have three fundamental components:
➢ Needs assessment to determine who should be trained and what the training
should include.
➢ Design and delivery to ensure that training maximizes learning and transfer.
➢ Evaluation to determine how training can be improved, whether it worked as
intended, and whether it should be continued.
✓ Traditional model of instructional design
➢ Begin with needs assessment followed by design, delivery, and evaluation.
➢ Process is never complete because training needs are always changing.
✓ Rapid model of instructional design
➢ Organizations may use this version of process when need to speed up time
from identified need to delivery of training.
➢ Training design begins while needs assessment continues.
➢ Training begins before the program design is completely finished, and
evaluation is used to modify training as it is developed.
✓ Whether traditional or rapid model is appropriate depends on nature of the
training; training that must be right the first time should not use the rapid model.

Concept Check

1. What is transfer of training? Answer: Transfer of training occurs when trainees

apply what they have learned in training to their jobs.

2. What are the two different systematic approaches to designing and developing
training programs? How are they similar, and how are they different? Answer:
Traditional model of instructional design is a process used to create training
programs in which needs assessment is followed by design and delivery and then
by evaluation. Rapid model of instructional design is a process used to create
training programs in which assessment, design and delivery, and evaluation
overlap in time.

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9.4 How are training needs determined? (pages 345-353)
• Needs assessment – determines what training to offer and for whom and occurs in
two different ways:
➢ On a regular basis as training programs are planned and budgets are set.
➢ In a reactive fashion in response to requests for particular training programs.
✓ Proactive needs assessment is a systematic process for determining and
prioritizing the training programs to be developed and delivered by an
organization. (pages 345-349).
➢ Three distinct steps.
▪ Organization analysis requires information about the organization’s
strategic goals, environment, resources, and characteristics.
 Organization analysis requires an understanding of the environment
within which the organization functions.
 Organizations that support training are considered to have a positive
training climate.
▪ Task analysis – form of job analysis that involves identifying tasks
performed by trainees and knowledge and skill needed.
 Most common process:
➢ Groups of job incumbents develop lists of tasks performed.
➢ HR professionals group tasks into clusters based on similarity.
➢ Groups of managers generate knowledge and skill statements for
each task cluster.
➢ Surveys verify task, task cluster, knowledge, and skill lists.
 Three common variations of task analysis:
➢ Competency modeling is similar to task analysis but results in a
broader, more worker-focused (as opposed to work-focused) list of
training needs.
▪ Most frequently used with managerial jobs.
▪ Benefit is lower cost.
▪ Related drawback is result may not have sufficient detail to
guide training for any one particular job.
➢ Cognitive task analysis examines employees’ goals, decisions, and
judgments.
➢ Team task analysis examines task and coordination requirements
of a group of individuals working together toward a common goal.
▪ Use where performance of interest to an organization is largely
determined by coordinated efforts.
▪ Identifies knowledge and skills that underlie these exchanges.
▪ Person analysis involves answering three questions:
 Is training necessary to ensure that employees can perform tasks
effectively?
 If training is needed, who needs the training?
 Are potential trainees ready for training?
✓ Reactive needs assessment is a problem solving process that defines the

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 problem, identifies the root cause of the problem, and designs an intervention to
solve it. (pages 349-351)
➢ Some organizations follow a three-step process conducted by an HR
professional:
▪ Problem definition
 Begins with the identification of a business need.
 State problem as a gap between desired and actual performance.
▪ Causal Analysis
 Determine why the gap exists.
 To determine the underlying cause of poor performance,
organizational leaders explore what employees are doing and why.
▪ Solution Implementation – selecting and implementing the appropriate
solution or solutions.
✓ Prioritizing and Setting Objectives (pages 351-353)
➢ Determining Priorities
▪ Different training needs – usually more than can be covered given training
budget and time employees can be away from work.
▪ Ways to prioritize include ratings and interviews; but no one best method
▪ Once all ratings are collected, they are summed to create a composite
rating.
 Then the list is rank-ordered from highest to lowest.
 The needs that come to the top are most relevant to the organization’s
strategy and required early on job.
➢ Creating Objectives
▪ Two most critical types of objectives are learning objectives and
organizational objectives.
 Learning objectives are the intended individual learning outcomes.
➢ Performance identifies what the trainee is expected to do.
➢ Conditions describe important circumstances of performance.
➢ Criteria describe acceptable performance in quantifiable and
objective ways.
 Organizational objectives are intended results of training for
company.
➢ Help ensure that training provides value to the organization as a
whole and each program is linked to firm’s strategy.
➢ Setting organizational objectives can help in prioritizing.

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 Concept Check

1. What are the steps in a reactive needs assessment? A proactive needs assessment?
Answer: Reactive needs assessments involve problem definition, causal analysis, and
solution implementation. Proactive needs assessments involve organization analysis,
task analysis, and person analysis.

2. What components do effective learning objectives include? Answer: Effective

learning objectives have three components: performance identifies what the trainee is
expected to do or produce; conditions describe important circumstances under which
performance is to occur; and criteria describe acceptable performance in a
quantifiable and objective way.

9.5 How is Effective Training Designed and Delivered? (pages 353-364)

• Content is material covered in training. (pages 349-351).
✓ Training objectives are used to determine what content is needed.
✓ Person responsible for training can select content in several ways:
➢ Create it from scratch
➢ Consult with subject matter experts
➢ Examine theory and research in the literature
➢ Purchase off-the-shelf materials
➢ Contract with a training vendor
✓ Training vendors – companies whose business is to design and deliver training
programs. Management should ask prospective vendors questions.
• Training Methods – ways of organizing content and encouraging trainees to learn.
(pages 355-358).
✓ More passive methods can be useful but are seldom used without addition of at
least one more active method.
➢ Selected based on usefulness in helping achieve training program’s objectives.
▪ Presentation – primary passive method of instruction.
 Lectures are an efficient way for many learners to receive the same
content and knowledge.
 Disadvantage is learners are not given a formal opportunity to apply
skills learned. (Thus, seldom help trainees gain skills.)
▪ Discussions – represent a more active training method.
 Increase trainees’ involvement through two-way communication.
 Can be used to build knowledge and critical-thinking skills.
 Best used to help improve motivation and change attitudes.
 Must be facilitated by a trainer to allow all to participate.
▪ Case Analysis – active training method in which trainees discuss, analyze,
and solve problems based on real or hypothetical situations.
 Develops skill in analysis, communication, and problem solving.

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  Used to teach basic principles and improve motivation.
▪ Discovery – active method that involves presenting trainees with a task
that offers rich opportunities to learn new skills.
 Experimentation in a controlled training environment.
 Can be highly motivating for trainees.
 Without any guidance from the instructor it has serious drawbacks.
 A more efficient approach is discovery coupled with guidance.
▪ Role Play – participants act out parts in a simulated situation.
 Offers opportunity to practice new skills
 Used to help trainees acquire interpersonal and human relations skills.
 Role playing typically has three phases:
➢ Development involves preparing and explaining the roles and the
situation that will be used in role playing.
➢ Enactment involves the time that trainees take to become familiar
with the details of the role and then act them out.
➢ Debriefing – trainees discuss their experiences.
▪ Simulations – active methods that reproduce events, processes, and
circumstances that occur in trainee’s job.
 Gives trainees the opportunity to experience some aspects of the job in
a safe and controlled environment
 Can involve role playing with actors or interactive technology.
 Design to replicate physical and psychological job conditions.
▪ Behavior Modeling – draws together principles of learning from many
different areas.
 Trainer lectures and performs tasks while trainees observe.
 Trainees practice performance while trainer observes.
 Trainer provides feedback to trainees.
 Works well when model is someone trainees see as credible and when
model shows both positive and negative behavioral examples.
▪ On-the-Job Methods – Inexperienced employees watch and learn from
experienced employees.
• Training Media – means by which content and methods are delivered. (pages 359-
362).
➢ Many ways to deliver each passive and active training method
▪ Trend is toward using technology to deliver training.
▪ E-learning is training delivered on-line.
 No powerful research results suggest that only one or two media work
for delivering training
▪ Media Requirements:
 Research has demonstrated that carefully designed training can be
equally effective whether presented via technology or face to face
 Some studies have shown technology-delivered training can be more
effective than traditional face-to-face instruction.

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  Training using guided discovery, role playing, simulations, or
behavior-modeling exercises requires instructor or sophisticated
computer program.
▪ Cost and Accessibility
 Different training media have different costs,
 Access problems can develop.
• Transfer Enhancement Techniques – means by which content and methods are
delivered. (pages 362-364).
➢ Before Training
 Managers can build transfer into such things as:
➢ Employees’ performance standards,
➢ Offering rewards to trainees who demonstrate transfer,
➢ Involving employees in planning training,
➢ Briefing trainees on importance of training,
➢ Sending co-workers to training together,
➢ Encouraging trainees to attend and actively participate in all
training sessions.
 When managers work in partnership with trainers and trainees, transfer
is much more likely
 Behavior contracts specify what the employee and the managers
expect to happen during and after training.
➢ During Training
 Trainer can use at least two different approaches to foster transfer.
➢ Structure training in ways that will help trainees to generalize what
they learn back on the job.
➢ Relapse prevention training
▪ Add discussion of transfer process to training, including
potential obstacles and strategies to overcome them.
▪ Can be beneficial if transfer of training climate is poor.
▪ Downsides are that it requires extra training time.
➢ After Training
 Manager and trainee should work together to ensure transfer.
 Techniques managers can use include giving positive reinforcement
for using trained skills, arranging for practice sessions, supporting
trainee reunions, and publicizing successes in the use of trained skills.
 Consider reducing job pressures for a few days after training
➢ Opportunity to perform is essential because, without an opportunity to use
the new knowledge or skill, it will decay.
• Putting It All Together (pages 364)
✓ Select objectives, content, methods, media, and transfer enhancements.
✓ Prepare training materials (effective training can take a long time to develop).

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 Concept Check

1. What training methods keep learners active during training? Answer: Discussions, case
studies, discovery, role plays, simulations, and behavior modeling.

2. What are the benefits and drawbacks of e-learning? Answer: Benefits: it can be a cheap,
efficient, customizable, and convenient means of delivering training. Drawbacks: up-front
cost can be substantial; limited interaction among peers; noninteractive e-learning can bore
trainees and suggest that simply putting written material on a computer makes it training;
often puts control of learning into the hands of learners, and not all learners make choices
that help them learn; and employees who are not motivated to learn and who have many
demands placed on their time are more likely to skip over material.

3. At what points in time can transfer enhancement strategies be used? Answer: A number of
techniques can be used before, during, and after training to facilitate transfer of training.

9.6 How do Organizations Determine Whether Training is Effective? (pages 365-

371)
• Training effectiveness refers to the extent to which trainees (and their organization)
benefit as intended from training.
✓ The training evaluation process typically involves four steps:
✓ Purpose
➢ Training content and design (assessed for feedback to designers and trainers),
➢ Changes in learners (measured for feedback and to make training decisions),
➢ Organizational payoffs (can be used for all purposes).
✓ Outcomes
➢ Training outcomes can be roughly divided into four categories:
➢ Reactions – how the trainees felt about training: Did they like it? Did they
think it was interesting and useful?
➢ Learning – measure knowledge, skills, or attitudes.
➢ Transfer – application of learning to behavior on job.
➢ Organizational Results – outcomes that accrue to the group or organization.
▪ Organizational results can be made even more informative by taking into
account the resources required to achieve those results.
 Training efficiency – analyze costs of training along with benefits.
 Return on investment (ROI).
▪ Evaluating organizational results
 Requires more resources than evaluating reaction and learning
outcomes.
 Evaluate for most high-profile and expensive programs.
✓ Design
➢ Evaluation designs differ in timing when data are collected and from whom.
➢ Some evaluation designs provide greater certainty about the results of
training, but these same designs are more resource intensive.
➢ Post-Test Only is the most commonly used. Training outcomes are measured
only at the end of training.

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 ➢ Pre-Test and Post-Test with Control Group
▪ For greater certainty about whether training was effective, evaluators can
test employees at the start and end of training (to look for change).
▪ Can compare trained employees with untrained employees with similar
characteristics (to verify that training caused the change).
✓ Results
➢ Data collected must be analyzed and reports generated.
➢ Important to revisit the purpose of evaluation and make sure the right people
see the report so information gained from evaluation is used as intended.

Concept Check

1. What are the three purposes for evaluating training? Answer: Most of the reasons to
evaluate training fit into three primary categories: provide feedback to designers and
trainers that helps improve the training, provide input for decisions about whether to
continue or discontinue the training, and provide information that can be used to
market the training program.

2. What are the four different outcomes that can be used to evaluate training? Answer:
Reactions, learning, transfer, and organizational results.

3. What does ROI stand for? Answer: Return on investment.

Chapter 9 Teaching Notes

The following presents suggestions designed to help you utilize the special features and
cases found in Human Resource Management: Linking Strategy to Practice.

Summary: (page 371)

Summaries of each of the five learning objectives are presented. It is recommended that
students review each objective and discuss in class or in teams as a means of gaining
better understanding and comprehension.

Learning Objectives:

The chapter contains five learning objectives. Each is presented at the beginning of the
concept being discussed and can be found on:

Learning objective 1- page 339

Learning objective 2- page 342
Learning objective 3- page 345

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 Learning objective 4- page 353
Learning objective 5- page 365

Concept Checks

The chapter contains five concept checks. Each is presented at appropriate points in the
learning objective being discussed and can be found on:

Concept 1- page 342

Concept 2- page 345
Concept 3- page 353
Concept 4- page 364
Concept 5- page 370

Tables and Figures

The table and figures presented in the chapter help illustrate the concepts of the chapter.
They should be brought to the attention of the students and, perhaps, included in the
exams where appropriate.

Table 9.1- page 342 Costs of Training and Tips for Keeping Training Costs
Low
Table 9.2- page 343 Factors Affecting Job Performance with Responsible
Stakeholders
Table 9.3- page 348 Personal Characteristics Relevant to Training Effectiveness
and Implications for Design
Table 9.4- page 349 Reactive Needs Assessment via Training Request Form
Table 9.5- page 351 Potential Solutions to Performance Problems
Table 9.6- page 353 Examples of Ineffective and Effective Learning Objectives
Table 9.7- page 356 Characteristics of Various Training Methods

Figure 9.1- page 339 Strategic Framework for Employee Training

Figure 9.2- page 344 Two Approaches to Designing Training Programs
Figure 9.3- page 352 Sample Prioritization Worksheet Using Knowledge, Skill,
and Attitude Statements
Figure 9.4- page 354 Snapshots of Training Practices in the United States
Figure 9.5- page 361 Screenshot of a Web Conference
Figure 9.6- page 363 Sample Behavior Contract between Trainee and Manager
Figure 9.7- page 366 The Three Primary Targets of Evaluation

A Manager’s Perspective, (page 334) What do you think? Page 335), and A
Manager’s Perspective Revisited (page 370)

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The chapter starts with a short scenario where Charlotte is reflecting on a project
management workshop that was to provide training on a special software she had been
wanting to implement at her company. After attending the workshop, Charlotte was
disappointed to learn that her management did not share the same excitement about using
the software. Five true/false questions related to this scenario and the chapter topics are
noted on page 334 and answered on page 370.

Discussion of the chapter could start by posing these questions and asking for the class to
vote on which questions are true through a show of hands, thumbs-up/thumbs-down,
clickers, or paper copies of the questions. To keep student interest, the methods for
identifying true answers should be varied.

The activity could be repeated near the end of the chapter discussion. At that time,
students could be asked if they agree with the answers. The students also could be asked
to identify what additional questions Charlotte should ask.

During the discussion of the chapter material, you could refer to the questions noting that
a certain section or discussion point addresses one or more of the questions.

For some chapters, you may wish to address the questions at the end of discussing the
chapter. In this case, you may want to bring the students’ attention to these questions,
informing the students that they will be asked to answer the questions near the end of the
chapter discussion. At that time, students (individually or in groups) could be asked to
explain why the answers are true or false. Students also could add questions to the list
and briefly explain why they think a new question should be asked. This could be done
as a class or in smaller groups. If done in smaller groups, each group could be asked to
briefly report on an aspect of their discussion.

Of course, one or more of the questions or more detailed versions of the questions could
be included in an exam. If included in an exam, students should be warned that these
questions might be part of the exam.

Building Strength Through HR: Rockwell Collins (page 338)

This special feature (pages 338) highlights several issues noted in the opening case
regarding Rockwell Collins. This example (found in the three paragraphs above the inset
box) describes how Rockwell used training to resolve an electromagnetic interference
(EMI) problem and save $1 million in annual equipment losses.

The inset box (refer to page 338) mentions the course that Rockwell implemented that
resulted in a successful training program. You could ask the students how Rockwell
might have done their quick investigation of the problem. If they do not mention
selection tests, supervisory observation, performance appraisals, and similar HR
practices, probe for these answers. Then you could ask the students what they think of a
12-hour CD-ROM course that the engineers did on their own time. Answers should

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address the length of the course, if CD-ROM is an appropriate medium for this issue, and
whether the engineers should be paid for the training that is necessary to do well in their
jobs.

Building Strength Through HR: Apple (page 340)

Apple is well known for its revolutionary digital products including the iMac, iPod, iPad,
and iPhone. To protect its brand image and expand sales, Apple opened its own retail
stores in 2001.The stores include a Genius Bar, where experts answer questions about
Apple products. The training for Geniuses ensures not only technical knowledge but also
customer service knowledge and skill.

You could briefly mention this inset as an example of the importance of training in key
areas. You could ask the students the following questions: (1) Why would this type of
training be important for a differentiator? (2) Could a cost leader benefit from training on
product innovation? Why or why not? (3) On what topics/areas would cost leaders most
likely train? (4) If cost leaders wish to train, how can they keep their training costs low
yet have highly effective training programs?

How Do We Know? Is There One Best Way to Train for Computer Skills? (page
359)

As described in this inset box, Steven Simon and Jon Warner investigated if there is a
best way to train computer skills. They concluded that the learning and satisfaction with
computer systems was higher when the training utilized behavior modeling.

The class could be encouraged to read the details in the inset box. During the lecture or
class discussion of the chapter, the study’s finding could be mentioned by you or a
student. Most business students will have had at least one computer skills course.
Therefore, they should be able to relate to this study.

You or the student could lead a brief class discussion after presenting the facts that
includes the following questions: (1) Why was behavior modeling more effective than
other training techniques? (2) What methods have the students been exposed to when
learning computer skills? Which were effective and why? Which were ineffective and
why? (Note: recognize that all students might not agree on which methods were effective
and ineffective for them.) (3) What impact might the type of training have on the
satisfaction with the application of the training (e.g., computer system) on the job?

Other ways to address this information could be through a short written assignment or a
more in-depth research paper on effective ways to train for computer and other skills.

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Technology in HR: Benefits and Drawbacks of e-Learning (page 360)

This inset box briefly addresses some of the costs and benefits of e-learning.

The information presented in this box could be referred to during a lecture. Students can
be asked for their experiences with e-learning, including online courses. If few have
experience, you could ask why not and whether it is due to unavailability of such training
opportunities or other more personal reasons. Students also could discuss the benefits
and obstacles they have experienced and whether (or when) e-learning is effective and
useful for their needs. They also could be asked to identify which purposes, knowledge,
and skills are better suited to e-learning.

E-learning could be further researched by the students and orally presented to the class or
in a written assignment. The web-based exercise noted at the end of this Instructor’s
Manual chapter could be focused on e-learning.

How Do We Know? How Can Transfer Be Enhanced? (Page 365)

As described in the inset box, Michael Tews and Bruce Tracey investigated whether it
was possible to enhance transfer of trained skills through self-coaching, upward
feedback, or a combination of both. The researchers concluded that both self-coaching
and upward feedback could be useful for boosting transfer following a training course

The information reported in the inset box could be part of a lecture or class discussion.
Students could be asked to describe the factors that can make a work environment
unsupportive to transfer of training. Then they could discuss whether it would be better
and more cost effective to address those factors and not bother with relapse prevention.
This is a concern because relapse prevention has a negative effect in positive work
environments. You may want the students to address which aspects of a negative work
environment might be more easily changed than others. Finally, the students could
speculate on why relapse prevention hinders transfer of training in more positive work
environments.

KEY TERMS (page 372)

Attitude 336
Behavioral contract 362
Causal analysis 350
e-learning 359
Informal learning methods 337
Knowledge 336
Learning 336
Learning objective 352

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Needs assessment 345
Opportunity to perform 364
Organizational objective 352
Organization analysis 345
Person analysis 347
Proactive needs assessment 345
Problem definition 350
Rapid model of instructional design 344
Reactive needs assessment 349
Relapse prevention training 363
Return on investment (ROI) 368
Skill 336
Task analysis 346
Traditional model of instructional design 344
Training 336
Training climate 346
Training effectiveness 365
Training efficiency 368
Training media 359
Training methods 355
Training vendors 355
Transfer of training 342

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (page 372)

1. What kinds of training contents are most important for organizations using cost
strategies? Differentiation strategies? Answer: Training in organizations using a cost
leadership strategy focuses on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that help reduce
costs and improve efficiency. Training in organizations using a differentiation
strategy focuses on providing superior service and innovation.

2. Why do organizations following an internal labor orientation generally offer more

training than organizations with an external labor orientation? Answer: Training for
those pursuing an internal labor orientation has an emphasis on training existing
employees while those pursuing an external labor orientation emphasize hiring new
employees with desired skills rather than on training existing employees. The former
requires more training by the organization and the latter expects employees to come
to the organization with the desired skills.

3. What are the key differences between the proactive and reactive needs assessment
approaches? Answer: Proactive needs assessment generally has three distinct steps:
organization analysis, task analysis, and person analysis. Reactive needs assessment
involves problem definition, causal analysis, and solution implementation.

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4. How are learning and organizational objectives used in the training design and
development process? Answer: Learning objectives are the intended individual
learning outcomes from training. Effective learning objectives have three
components: performance identifies what the trainee is expected to do or produce,
conditions describe important circumstances under which performance is to occur,
and criteria describe acceptable performance in a quantifiable and objective way.
Thus, the learning objectives define the training. Organizational objectives capture
the intended results of training for the company. These may include increased
productivity, decreased waste, or better customer service. Specifying the intended
organizational result of training programs helps to ensure that the training provides
value to the organization as a whole and that each program is linked to the strategy
of the firm. Setting organizational objectives can thus help in prioritizing.

5. It is often easy to confuse training methods and training media. Consider the
human resources course you are currently taking. What are the methods and
what are the media being used? Students’ answers will vary.

6. What are the strengths and weakness associated with the following training methods:
presentation, discovery, simulation, and behavior modeling? How can each method
be made more effective? Answer: Presentation: Strengths: efficient way for many
learners to receive same content and knowledge; Weaknesses: passive, learners not
given formal opportunity to test or apply new information; More effective: break
training into several units; combine with other methods; Discovery: Strengths: active,
offers rich opportunities to learn new skills, can be highly motivating; Weaknesses:
without guidance from instructor, is highly inefficient and can result in learning the
wrong things; More effective: discover coupled with guidance; Simulation:
Strengths: active, gives opportunity to experience and build skills for some aspects of
job; Weaknesses: trainees do not experience the reality of actual job; More effective:
designed to replicate as closely as possible both physical and psychological job
conditions; Behavior modeling: Strengths: powerful, draws together principles of
learning from many different areas, Weaknesses: not effective unless includes the
whole basic process; More effective: role model must be seen as credible and need to
show both positive and negative examples of task performance.

7. Consider the classes you have taken throughout school. Which classes were the
most beneficial for you? Do you attribute that to the classes’ content, methods,
media, or some other factor? Students’ answers will vary.

8. Have you ever taken an online course or another form of distance education, such
as a correspondence course? How was the experience different from a traditional
face-to-face class? Students’ answers will vary.

9. Consider the classes you have taken throughout school. How have they been
evaluated? What purpose or purposes do you think these evaluations have
served? Students’ answers will vary.

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10. What is transfer enhancement and why is it helpful for employees? Answer: Transfer
enhancement includes a number of techniques that can be used before, during, and
after training to facilitate transfer of training. It helps employees apply their new
skills to their jobs.

EXAMPLE CASE: Northwest Memorial Hospital (pages 372-374)

Questions
1. What is the strategy pursued by NMH? Answer: They have adopted a mixture of HR
strategies. Can it be easily classified as differentiation or cost reduction? Answer:
No. As internal or external labor orientation? Answer: No. They implement a
mixture of all of these.

2. Describe the various ways in which NMH is delivering training and other related
learning opportunities to its employees. Answer: The Academy provides an online
catalog and registration system for all the hospital’s education programs, which total
over 200 courses ranging from communications, project management, information
services, and budgeting to an array of health-care specialties, some of which have
been designed by internal instructional staff in cooperation with employees who are
subject matter experts. Area community colleges and universities are also brought
on-site to deliver high-demand, credit-based courses. In addition, the Academy
delivered over 3,000 hours of management training to higher level staff, including
human resources best practices, diversity education, building collaborative
workplaces, and delivering/receiving constructive performance feedback. The
Academy also hosts skill development “Lunch and Learn” sessions where managers
and employees learn, for example, flexible scheduling strategies, personal
development planning, and interviewing techniques. But what many staff members
are most proud of are the three “schools” the Academy developed for Nuclear
Medicine, Radiation Therapy, and Diagnostic Medical Sonography. The schools
offer onsite programs that are open to both employees and community members.

3. What benefits did NMH gain by developing the Academy and its associated schools?
Answer: They addressed skill shortages, eliminated staff overtime and agency usage,
and hired many of their students, eliminating all hospital vacancies for the first time
in five years. Also should improve relations with community members.

4. If the NMH School of Nuclear Medicine cost the organization $200,000, what was
the return on investment for this particular Academy program? Answer:
ROI=benefits of training ($800,000 cost savings) divided by investment ($200,000)
times 100, equaling 400%

DISCUSSION CASE: Hypothetical Telecommunications (pages 374-375)

Questions
1. Outline the key decisions made from the beginning to the end of this case. Who
made each of those decisions, and why? Answer: (1) Management decided they

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 needed to improve training of sales force in order to improve sales; (2) Although
Training Department wanted to update their needs analysis and develop new training
strategies based on that, they used older needs assessment for expediency; (3)
Management pressured training department to purchase generic, off-the-shelf
package so they could do something quickly; (4) When web-based training failed,
Management asked training department for answers; (5) Training department
questioned sales force to see if they could determine why the training was not
working.

2. Describe the ideal process for handling the concern about declining sales, ignoring for
now the pressure from management. Answer: The last decision noted above (needs
assessment) should be first and training (if needed) is based on that.

3. What arguments could be made to convince management that working with an

outdated needs assessment is not wise? Answer: For one, they could be reminded
that the problem with sales is a lot more recent than the needs assessment. In
addition, the older needs assessment may have been focused on a whole different set
of issues. Thus the older needs assessment does not provide information needed to
make decision re: need for training. Also could be told that an inexpensive or no
cost, needs assessment could be done quickly (like it finally was). Finally, they really
did not know if training was the answer and assuming that may cost the organization
the loyalty of the now offended sales force, cost time off the job to do the training, and
the cost of the unnecessary training program.

4. If you were asked to develop a training program for these sales agents, what
content, method, and media would you choose? Explain your answers as best
you can given the limited information provided. Students’ answers will vary.

EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE: Finding an Off-the-Shelf Training Product (page

375)

Students are encouraged to visit the following websites called “learning portals”:
www.sumtotalsystems.com
www.elementk.com
www.skillsoft.com

Overview of activity
Become more aware of online resources related to training.
Exercise:
The students access one training-related website (e.g., American Society for Training
& Development, Society for Human Resource Management, OSHA’s training
webpage) and report on what they’ve found. They should also comment on the

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effectiveness of the site in presenting clear information about training and suggest what
might make the site more effective.

Alternate Approaches to the Exercise:

Students access more than one website and compare the training related information in
regard to variety of methods or skill/topic areas and appropriateness of each.

Links to relevant information

http://www.astd.org/
http://www.astd.org/TD
http://www.shrm.org
http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/ote/index.html

Interactive Experiential Exercise: The Art of Training: Finding the Right

Program for Global Telecommunications (page 375)

Access the companion website to test your knowledge by completing a Graphics Design,
Inc. interactive role play exercise.

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