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Name Muhammad Shabbir Roll No. 508194950

Course: Training Development (819) Autumn, 2009

Assignment No. 01

Q. No. 01

(a) Describe various Theories of learning in detail?

Objectives:

• Consider a variety of theories of learning

• Identify several principles of learning
• Understand how individual differences affect the learning process

There are many different theories of how people learn. What follows is a variety
of them, and it is useful to consider their application to how your students learn
and also how you teach in educational programs. It is interesting to think about
your own particular way of learning and to recognize that everyone does not learn
the way you do.

Burns (1995, p99) 'conceives of learning as a relatively permanent change in

behavior with behavior including both observable activity and internal processes
such as thinking, attitudes and emotions.' It is clear that Burns includes
motivation in this definition of learning. Burns considers that learning might not
manifest itself in observable behavior until some time after the educational
program has taken place.

• Sensory stimulation theory

• Reinforcement theory
• Cognitive-Gestalt approaches
• Holistic learning theory
• Facilitation theory
• Experiential learning
• Action learning
• Adult learning (Andragogy)
• Why consider learning theories?
• References

Sensory Stimulation Theory

Traditional sensory stimulation theory has as its basic premise that

effective learning occurs when the senses are stimulated (Laird, 1985). Laird
quotes research that found that the vast majority of knowledge held by adults
(75%) is learned through seeing. Hearing is the next most effective (about 13%)
and the other senses - touch, smell and taste account for 12% of what we know.
By stimulating the senses, especially the visual sense, learning can be enhanced.
However, this theory says that if multi-senses are stimulated, greater learning
takes place. Stimulation through the senses is achieved through a greater variety
of colors, volume levels, strong statements, facts presented visually, use of a
variety of techniques and media.

Reinforcement theory

This theory was developed by the behaviorist school of psychology, notably by

B.F. Skinner earlier this century (Laird 1985, Burns 1995). Skinner believed that
behavior is a function of its consequences. The learner will repeat the desired
behavior if positive reinforcement (a pleasant consequence) follows the behavior.

Positive reinforcement, or 'rewards' can include verbal reinforcement such as

'That's great' or 'You're certainly on the right track' through to more tangible
rewards such as a certificate at the end of the course or promotion to a higher
level in an organization.
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Negative reinforcement also strengthen a behavior and refers to a situation when

a negative condition is stopped or avoided as a consequence of the behavior.
Punishment, on the other hand, weakens a behavior because a negative condition
is introduced or experienced as a consequence of the behavior and teaches the
individual not to repeat the behavior which was negatively reinforced. A set of
conditions is created which are designed to eliminate behavior

Facilitation theory (the humanist approach)

Carl Rogers and others have developed the theory of facilitative learning. The
basic premise of this theory is that learning will occur by the educator acting as a
facilitator, that is by establishing an atmosphere in which learners feel
comfortable to consider new ideas and are not threatened by external factors
(Laird 1985.)

Other characteristics of this theory include:

• a belief that human beings have a natural eagerness to learn,

• there is some resistance to, and unpleasant consequences of, giving up
what is currently held to be true,
• the most significant learning involves changing one's concept of oneself.

Learners:

• are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning,

• provide much of the input for the learning which occurs through their
insights and experiences,
• are encouraged to consider that the most valuable evaluation is self-
evaluation and that learning needs to focus on factors that contribute to
solving significant problems or achieving significant results.

Experiential learning

Kolb proposed a four-stage learning process with a model that is often referred to
in describing experiential learning (McGill & Beaty 1995). The process can begin
at any of the stages and is continuous, ie there is no limit to the number of cycles
you can make in a learning situation. This theory asserts that without reflection
we would simply continue to repeat our mistakes. The experiential learning cycle:

Kolb's research found that people learn in four ways with the likelihood of
developing one mode of learning more than another. As shown in the
'experiential learning cycle' model above, learning is:

• through concrete experience

• through observation and reflection
• through abstract conceptualization
• through active experimentation
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Q. No. 01

(b) Discuss application of the learning cycle and learning styles

with examples?

The learning cycle

A three-part model of scientific inquiry that encourages students to develop their

own understanding of a scientific concept, explore and deepen that
understanding, and then apply the concept to new situations.

The learning cycle is a model of instruction based on scientific inquiry. This

model encourages students to develop their own understanding of a scientific
concept, explore and deepen that understanding, and then apply the concept to
new situations.

Exploration

In the first phase, students work on their own or in small groups to explore
scientific phenomena, manipulate materials, and attempt to solve problems. The
teacher acts as facilitator, posing questions and providing assistance as needed.
Students have the opportunity to develop their own hypotheses and to test them
through a hands-on experiment or observation.

Concept development

In the second phase of the learning cycle, the teacher leads the students through
the introduction and development of the scientific concepts central to the lesson.
The students may begin by sharing their observations and ideas from the
exploration phase. The teacher may then use written or audio-visual materials to
develop the concept and introduce relevant vocabulary.

Concept application

The teacher now poses a new problem or situation for the students to solve based
on their initial exploration and on the concepts they refined in the second phase.
As in the first phase, the students work individually or in small groups while the
teacher acts as facilitator. The learning cycle may then begin again, as these
hands-on activities become the starting point for the exploration and
development of a related concept.

A. Engagement:
Engagement is a time when the teacher is on center stage. The teacher poses the
problem, pre-assesses the students, helps students make connections, and
informs students about where they are heading.

The purpose of engagement is to:

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• Focus students' attention on the topic.

• Pre-assess what students' prior knowledge.
• Inform the students about the lesson's objective(s).

B. Exploration:
Evaluation of Exploration: In this portion of the learning cycle the evaluation
should primarily focus on process, i.e., on the students' data collection, rather
than the product of the students' data collection. Teachers ask themselves
questions such as the following:

• How well are the students collecting data?

• Are they carrying out the procedures correctly?
• How do they record the data?
• Is it in a logical form or is it haphazard?

C. Explanation:
In this phase of the process, students use the data they have collected to solve the
problem and report what they did and try to figure out the answer to the problem
that was presented. The teacher also introduces new vocabulary, phrases or
sentences to label what the students have already figured out.

Evaluation of Explanation: Evaluation here focuses on the process the students

are using -- how well can students use the information they've collected, plus
what they already knew to come up with new ideas? Using questions, the teacher
can assess the students' comprehension of the new vocabulary and new concepts.

D. Elaboration:
The teacher gives students new information that extends what they have been
learning in the earlier parts of the learning cycle. At this stage the teacher also
poses problems that students solve by applying what they have learned. The
problems include both examples and non-examples.

Evaluation of Elaboration: The evaluation that occurs during elaboration is what

teachers usually think of as evaluation. Sometimes teachers equate evaluation
with "the test at the end of the chapter." When teachers have the students do the
application problems as part of elaboration, these application problems are "the
test."
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Overview of Learning Styles

Many people recognize that each person

prefers different learning styles and
techniques. Learning styles group common
ways that people learn. Everyone has a mix
of learning styles. Some people may find that
they have a dominant style of learning, with
far less use of the other styles. Others may
find that they use different styles in different
circumstances. There is no right mix. Nor
are your styles fixed. You can develop ability
in less dominant styles, as well as further
develop styles that you already use well.

By recognizing and understanding our own learning styles, we can use techniques
better suited to us. This improves the speed and quality of your learning.

The learning styles are:

• Visual (spatial). You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial

understanding.
• Aural (auditory-musical). You prefer using sound and music.
• Verbal (linguistic). You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.
• Physical (kinesthetic). You prefer using your body, hands and sense of
touch.
• Logical (mathematical). You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.
• Social (interpersonal). You prefer to learn in groups or with other
people.
• Solitary (intrapersonal). You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

Why Learning Styles? Understand the basis of learning styles.

Your learning styles have more influence than you may realize. Your preferred
styles guide the way you learn. They also change the way you internally represent
experiences, the way you recall information, and even the words you choose. We
explore more of these features in this chapter.

Research shows us that each learning style uses different parts of the brain. By
involving more of the brain during learning, we remember more of what we learn.
Researchers using brain-imaging technologies have been able to find out the key
areas of the brain responsible for each learning style. For example:

• Visual. The occipital lobes at the back of the brain manage the visual
sense. Both the occipital and parietal lobes manage spatial orientation.
• Aural. The temporal lobes handle aural content. The right temporal lobe
is especially important for music.
• Verbal. The temporal and frontal lobes, especially two specialized areas
called Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas (in the left hemisphere of these two
lobes).
• Physical. The cerebellum and the motor cortex (at the back of the frontal
lobe) handle much of our physical movement.
• Logical. The parietal lobes, especially the left side, drive our logical
thinking.
• Social. The frontal and temporal lobes handle much of our social
activities. The limbic system (not shown apart from the hippocampus) also
influences both the social and solitary styles. The limbic system has a lot to
do with emotions, moods and aggression.
• Solitary. The frontal and parietal lobes, and the limbic system, are also
active with this style.

Q. No. 02:
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(a) State the general concepts and dimensions for training needs
assessment?

A needs assessment is a systematic investigation of an audience(s) to

identify aspects of individual knowledge, skill, interest, attitude and/or abilities
relevant to a particular issue, organizational goal, or objective.

Too often people consider only one solution (a want) and discuss it as a need,
when in truth what they really need will not be addressed. Effective questioning
can reveal the need behind the want. However it is important to remember that
the “want” is often the best solution. Two things to remember:

Needs are gaps – the space between what currently exists and what should
exist.

Wants are solutions – a proposed means to filling the gap.

Examples of Wants Examples of Needs

• I want to hire a budget analyst • I need to do more accurate

budget projections
• I want to learn more about
social marketing • I need to increase the
effectiveness of the education
• I want a tool to help me write programs
metadata
I need to accurately document
•
my scientific data
The objectives of a needs assessment define what the needs assessment will
achieve and provide a more complete understanding of the problem to be
addressed. Examples of some appropriate objectives are listed below:

• Identify existing degree of knowledge, skills, and the attitudinal

characteristics surrounding a particular issue or topical area. In order to
develop a relevant program, it is critical to determine current
understanding of an issue from the participant’s perspective, not from
what the participant is thought to believe, or to be able to do.

• Identify motivations and conditions that contribute to an individual’s

degree of interest in an issue and ability to access or purchase the final
product or training course.

• Solicit opinions about content, functionality, etc. in order to draw

participants into the design process, and build interest and active
participation in the product, service, or training.

Needs assessments can be either single organization or multi-individual. This is

the type of needs assessment done to discover the needs within your own
organization. Examples of single organization assessments include new employee
orientation, safety issues, customer complaints, and new software needs.

Single Organization assessments:

• Are often done through the human resource office although sometimes
contracted out to training organizations
• Focus on internal needs of an organization
• Focus on internal needs and are therefore not necessarily associated with
market analysis
• Are initiated in response to a change or perceived problem
• Are the most common type of needs assessment
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Multi-Individual assessments

• Use results of market analysis to further refine training needs and wants of
specific target audiences
• Are a program development tool to guide development and design of
products and services
• Audiences are targeted based on needs perceived by organizations
providing products, services, and training

Training Needs Assessment

Making sure your team is properly trained

So the members of your team haven't got the skills they need if they're to perform
at their best, and people are coming at you from all directions with courses they
want to go on. How do you identify the training that people really need, make
best use of a worryingly small training budget, and negotiate for more money
where you need it? This is where a well-conducted Training Needs Assessment
can be a useful tool.

When you're designing any training and development program, you really need to
know the fundamentals (who, what, why, how, where and when) before you
arrange the training:

• What training is needed?

• Who needs it?
• Why is the training important?
• How will the training be delivered?

A Training Needs Assessment or a Training Needs Analysis is a good, structured

way of doing this. It identifies the training that will successfully address any
identified skill deficits. It does this by surveying the skills that employees already
have and those that they need, and it helps you think about how to deliver the
right training at the right time.

By looking at existing skills and competencies compared to the skills required to

meet organizational needs, you make an informed estimate of the training that
has to be delivered. From that point you can confidently develop a training
program that addresses organizational objectives, and ties into the strategic
direction of the company.

Understood in this way, you can see that Training Needs Assessment is much
more than simple data gathering. Rather, it is a process that starts with gathering
data and ends with a training plan.

Q. No. 02

(b) What are the major tools and techniques used for
training needs assessment?
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Training needs assessment can be as simple as asking an employee what they'd

like to be able to do better to as complex as developing an individualized training
plan for every employee. Learn how to select appropriate training needs
assessment approaches and tools. Training needs assessment is a tool that helps
you create a superior workforce.

Performing a Training Needs Assessment or Training Audit will help you

develop an overall plan and training programs to meet specific user needs.
Objectives of a Training Needs Assessment can range from: 1) understanding how
the training will be applied by users to 2) determining current skill levels to 3)
learning users’ expectations of training outcomes. This knowledge will enable you
to define attributes of the training program to meet specific user requirements.
Attributes that need to be defined include:

 Audience,
 Format,
 Length,
 Technical specifications,
 Cost, and
 Purpose or optimum use

Observation

A Needs Assessment can be an informal assessment based on observations. For

example, observing how clients use a workstation in the Information Center and
keeping track of their requests for assistance with the product can be the first
step to understanding what training would make the product easier to use. If the
questions center around mechanics of the service, your approach to training will
be different than if the questions are more focused on content.

Patterns observed with particular user groups or when retrieving certain types of
information can also point out training needs. If persons in the marketing group
consistently ask about retrieving certain types of information, there may be a
need for training in this application. The more you observe user interaction with
an information product/service, the better you will be able to target training to
needs of the user.

Surveys

Needs Assessments can also take the form of written surveys or web-based
surveys. Data about training needs collected from a structured, standardized
survey instrument can serve as justification for building a training program. The
survey data serves as a baseline from which to benchmark progress in the future,
and may provide baseline data for measuring ROI (return on investment).

Training Needs Assessment surveys should always be developed around business

reasons for implementing the information service. Remember that information
vendors are your partners, and you may be able to take advantage of their
experience with launching products in other companies. Some have training
templates, including needs analysis surveys, which they will allow you to modify
and use in your organization.

If an information service such as Dow Jones Interactive is being launched to

provide users with ready access to news on competitors, the following simple
survey questions could be used to determine where to focus the training.

Searching for Company Information—Skills Checklist

Very Need to
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Application Profici Profici Know

ent ent More
Finding a company using company name
Finding a company using ticker symbols
Searching for basic financials on a company
Tracking stock performance of a company
Comparing a company to others in an industry
Retrieving investment analyst reports
Monitoring news about a company
Other:

Name: Department: Phone:

Focus Groups and Interviews

The advantage of conducting focus groups and/or interviews is that you will get
qualitative feedback from users. These insights into how users would like to be
able to use information products/services as well as real or perceived barriers to
use can help you further shape the training program to bring the maximum
benefit to persons being trained.

In preparation for leading a focus group, create a list of questions that you
would like to have the participants discuss. Market researchers in your
organization (or vendors or outside facilitators) can give you pointers about
phrasing the questions to obtain the feedback you need, about capturing data,
and reporting outcomes.

Standard Nominal Group Technique

Orientation (5 minutes): Group leader welcomes participants and explains

what each will be doing during the meeting. Leader also explains how the
information gathered in the meeting will be used, and stresses the importance of
everyone*s contribution.

Written individual responses (15 min): Leader reads the written needs
assessment question that has been posted. Participants are asked to write each
idea on a 3 x 5 card in brief phrases or statements, working silently and
independently.

Individual feedback (transcriber/recorder uses newsprint on flipchart at the

front): Each participant gives the leader one card with one idea, with no
discussion. The transcriber (or the leader) numbers each idea and writes it on the
flipchart or newsprint. If a new idea occurs to participants they may write it on a
card and turn in to the leader as part of the regular process. This continues until
all items have been written down, and there are no new ideas.

Group discussion of feedback (15 min.): The leader points to the first idea,
reads it out loud, and asks the group if there are any questions, statements of
clarification, or statements of agreement or disagreement anyone would like to
make. The object of this is to clarify, not persuade. Duplicates can be eliminated.
If new ideas occur to someone, they can be added to the list. The leader makes
sure this entire process is done quickly so all items can be discussed.

Vote tally (5 min.): Leader collects all the cards. The transcriber uses a tally
sheet to record and tabulate results. Recorder shares results with group.

Group discussion (10 min.): Discussion to clarify any questions. Members may
change votes.
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Plenary session feedback (1 hr and 20 mm): All the small groups convene in
one setting. Final votes from each group are reported to the entire audience.

(c) Techniques for assessing organizational needs.

Organizations today, stressed by enormous competitive pressures, often jump

into action before stepping back and analyzing exactly what action is most
appropriate. This translates into programs and human resource systems designed
and delivered by “crisis” management, often without integration with other
organizational activities.

In each of these examples, a needs assessment is a cost-effective approach

to minimize the likelihood of misspent resources and of inappropriate solutions.
It also tends to expand the number of techniques used to gather information and
reduce dependence on one or two favorite strategies. Thus, it is essential to use a
variety of diagnostic tools for assessing organizational development or training
and development needs.

The Process
Understanding the Situation
• Defining objectives, people impacted, and tasks
• Developing agendas, sample questions

Collecting information
Using information from only a few sources may restrict the range of alternatives
considered as well as mislead. For this reason we generally use a variety of
methods, often including:
• Identification of sources of data
• Review of existing data
• Data collection techniques, such as interviews, questionnaires, small and large
group meetings, committees, focus groups, and observations

Analyzing the Data

A variety of quantitative methods are generally used in data collection and
analysis. For
example, data can be rank-ordered in terms of priority, interest, etc. so the
responses between participating groups (such as departments or divisions) can
be compared. In determining organizational priorities, for example, there may be
areas of common need as well as areas of disparate need, even within a single
division.

Planning the Implementation

Often, recommendations coming out of a needs analysis process form the basis of
both
a short- and long-term plan. The data collected is analyzed to prioritize needs and
create an implementation plan. Generally, we do this prioritization in several
steps:
1. Rank ordering data by importance, desirability, frequency selected, etc.
2. Presentation of ranked data and preliminary conclusions to one or more
representative groups able to weigh all the information, assess relative
importance and priority, and come to consensus. This process is a . ne-
tuning of the results and leads to step three.

3. Incorporating recommended modifications and revisions.

Q. No. 03
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(a) Describe the main elements of program design with

examples.

Several basic Needs Assessment techniques include:

• direct observation
• questionnaires
• consultation with persons in key positions, and/or with specific knowledge
• review of relevant literature
• interviews
• focus groups
• tests
• records & report studies
• work samples

Learning Needs Analysis

Learning needs analyses are undertaken in industry and business to determine

the gap between the existing skills, knowledge and abilities of staff and those that
are needed for the organization to function at the desired level. Once this gap is
determined, decisions can be taken as to the type of training required (if this is
the preferred action) and the form of delivery

Why conduct a learning needs analysis?

A learning needs analysis will help:

Identify what skills and knowledge the learners already have

Highlight skills/knowledge/competencies that need developing
Identify clearly what students wish to achieve
Outline and define expectations and goals
Establish need and demand for the course you have in mind
Determine what can realistically be achieved given the available resources
Identify any obstacles or difficulties which may arise
Increase the sense of ownership and involvement of the students
Provide information about your student group - know your audience
Achieve a correct fit between the provider and student, i.e., the course matches
student needs and expectations
Identify the content that best suits students needs
Determine what is the most appropriate delivery format - class based, online or
a mix of these and other formats
Determine what skill set and knowledge base is required of the tutor
Develop a budget and cost benefit analysis
Establish when is the most suitable time to deliver the programme and over
what time frame
Ascertain the most suitable evaluation mechanisms
Outline what results can be expected and if/how these can be measured

Program objective
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Definition

A program objective is a specific and usually quantifiable statement of program

achievement. It is a statement of measurable outcome which can be used to
determine program progress towards the program goal. Collectively, objectives
represent a quantification of the program goal.

At first glance, the list of 20 high level objectives may seem daunting. However,
in the same way an organization focuses its compliance activities on areas that
affect financial reporting, it also concentrates most of its effort on the areas that
have the greatest impact on ensuring integrity and passing an audit. Of the high-
level objectives, organizations working to comply spend much of their effort on
the following:

• Managing configuration controls on systems and applications

• Managing system and application security – including authentication, user
provisioning, system accreditation
• Managing business continuity plans and measures

Here are examples of COBIT detailed control objectives involving user account
management and configuration management that are critical in meeting SOX
requirements:

User Account Management

CONTROL OBJECTIVE
Management should establish procedures to ensure timely action relating to
requesting, establishing, issuing, suspending and closing of user accounts. A
formal approval procedure outlining the data or system owner granting the
access privileges should be included. The security of third-party access should be
defined contractually and address administration and non-disclosure
requirements. Outsourcing arrangements should address the risks, security
controls and procedures for information systems and networks in the contract
between the parties.

5.5 Management Review of User Accounts

CONTROL OBJECTIVE
Management should have a control process in place to review and confirm access
rights periodically. Periodic comparison of resources with recorded
accountability should be made to help reduce the risk of errors, fraud, misuse or
unauthorized alteration.

Configuration Recording
CONTROL OBJECTIVE
Procedures should be in place to ensure that only authorized and identifiable
configuration items are recorded in inventory upon acquisition. These procedures
should also provide for the authorized disposal and consequential sale of
configuration items. Moreover, procedures should be in place to keep track of
changes to the configuration (e.g., new item, status change from development to
prototype). Logging and control should be an integrated part of the configuration
recording system including reviews of changed records.

Configuration Management Procedures

CONTROL OBJECTIVE
Configuration management procedures should be established to ensure that
critical components of the organization's IT resources have been appropriately
identified and are maintained. There should be an integrated process whereby
current and future processing demands are measured and provide input to the IT
resource acquisitions process.

Curriculum Design and Development

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The participants will be

able to:

1. use a needs assessment

tool

2. set rigorous learning

objectives

3. design a course to the

component level and

4. create evaluation tools.

This course is delivered using a combination of methods including

conversations, lectures, demonstrations, workshops, seminars, exercises and
practice opportunities.

The Basic Training of Trainers and Training Tools are pre-requisites to

Curriculum Design.

Curriculum Design and Development

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Training
Curriculum Session Procedure
Needs Evaluation
Design Design Writing
Assessment
Selecting
Learning Session Implementation
Training Evaluation
Objectives Design
Tools

Training objectives are one of the most important parts of training program.
While some people think of training objective as a waste of valuable time. The
counterargument here is that resources are always limited and the training
objectives actually lead the design of training. It provides the clear guidelines and
develops the training program in less time because objectives focus specifically
on needs. It helps in adhering to a plan.

Training objective tell the trainee that what is expected out of him at the end
of the training program. Training objectives are of great significance from a
number of stakeholder perspectives,

1. Trainer
2. Trainee
3. Designer
4. Evaluator

Trainer – The training objective is also beneficial to trainer because it helps

the trainer to measure the progress of trainees and make the required
adjustments. Also, trainer comes in a position to establish a relationship
between objectives and particular segments of training.
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Trai
nee – The training objective is beneficial to the trainee because it helps in
reducing the anxiety of the trainee up to some extent. Not knowing anything
or going to a place which is unknown creates anxiety that can negatively affect
learning. Therefore, it is important to keep the participants aware of the
happenings, rather than keeping it surprise.

Secondly, it helps in increase in concentration, which is the crucial factor to

make the training successful. The objectives create an image of the training
program in trainee’s mind that actually helps in gaining attention.

Thirdly, if the goal is set to be challenging and motivating, then the likelihood
of achieving those goals is much higher than the situation in which no goal is
set. Therefore, training objectives helps in increasing the probability that
the participants will be successful in training.

Evaluator – It becomes easy for the training evaluator to measure the

progress of the trainees because the objectives define the expected
performance of trainees. Training objective is an important to tool to judge
the performance of participants.

Q. No. 03
(b) How to plan program implementation? Discuss.
Program implementation consists of three main objectives.
• Planning program implementation
• Preparing and organizing program activities
• Executing the program

PLANNING PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

Planning program implementation consists of two major activities.
• Identifying the inputs or information necessary for the planning
process
• Planning program outputs, or what is expected from program
implementation.

(a) Inputs for planning

Planning program implementation cannot be done without essential

information, or inputs.
The first planning input is the curriculum which is actually an output from
the program design. A curriculum should contain a description of the target
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population, the objectives to be achieved, the pre requisites for entering the
program, the description and evaluating the results.
Program implementation planning should take into consideration
company management development policy, which could be collected from
company documents or by interviewing top management. The policy should
indicate the most important procedures, for example, whether training
should:

• Be implemented by company trainers or by outsiders.

• Take place during or outside working hours.
• Be residential or non residential.
• Be subcontracted to a specialized institution
• Be charged to participants.

(B) Planning outputs

There are two major outputs of planning. Both the master plan and the
budget are required by the organizers for preparing program activities.

1) the master plan

Whatever training events are going to be planned (a conference, seminar
workshop or meeting), they all have the following in common:
• An objective, curriculum, subject-matter, etc
• Participants (target group);
• Trainers (resource person);
• A time
• A place
• Mean and facilities
• An organizer
(2) The curriculum
This the central reference point for planning activities.
• A description of the target population and of the necessary pre requisities
is required in order to get the right participants for the program.
• A description of the objectives and content will be required to select the
most experienced trainers, to set the time frame for programs schedule,
printing the handout, etc
• A description of methods and means will help in organizing appropriate
places and facilities.
Participants
• how will potential participants be identified ?
• what mans should be used to inform them?
• How much advance notice should they be given?
• How should participants be selected (if applicable)?
Trainers
• How will competent, qualified trainers be obtained within the budget
limits?
• How will trainers be briefed about the objectives, target population,
timing and availability of resources.
Place
• where are participants coming from?
• Where should the training event take place?
• Where should program material be printed?

(3) Budget
An approved training budget is another major output of the
planning phase. It is based on the resources requirements identified during the
preparation of the master plan. In most cases, a management training program is
organized as a separate economic activity with its own budget. A training unit
with in an enterprise may also charge for its training services. It is therefore good
 16

practice to accompany the master plan with a training budget. Such a budget
contains training costs and participant cost.

Training costs
• Cost of trainers: salary, travel and allowances
• Cost of training support staff or services: course secretariat audio visual
and technician, translation, interpretation, printing etc,
• Tuition fees to be paid to other institutions.
• Rental of training facilities and equipment.

Participants costs
• Main travel and daily local transport.
• Excess baggage allowance (for training materials)
• Transport for study/tours
• Subsistence allowance (for accommodation, meals, and incidental
expenses)
• Board and lodging, if no subsistence allowance is paid
• Allowances for books
• Social events, receptions

PREPARING AND ORGANIZING PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

The curriculum together with the master plan and the approved budget, is the
starting point for preparing and organizing program implementation. On the
basis of the three inputs, the organizer will prepare all information outputs
required for the successful execution of the program as shown in figure below.

Budget Master plan Curriculum

ORGANIZING

Secretariat Trainers Promotion participants Training Social

support services

Management
Program Director
the nominated program director is responsible for all preparatory
activities, program execution, and for expenditure within the budget. He or she
directs the secretariat and staff involved in preparation and organization, selects
briefs and monitors the trainers, prepares the program schedule.

Secretariat duties
the secretariat supports the program director and professional staff in all
administrative matters. Participants needs should be the first concern of the
secretariat.

b) Trainers
trainers should be selected on the basis of their professional reputation.
Some audiences find it difficult to accept lessons from a management trainer who
is junior to them, if that person is not a reputed genius. If we cannot afford to pay
a management consultant’s high training fee, look for a successful manager who
would appreciate sharing experience with others managers, perhaps free of
charge.
 17

Briefing of trainers
A trainer needs to know for example:
• The number of participants, their position, their experience in the subject
matter.
• The general objective of the training event.
• The subject to be taught, breadth and depth of coverage, skills to be
developed, level to be attained.
• The teaching provided by the other trainers.
• Date, time, place ,arrangements for travel, accommodation, training
facilities.
• Contract conditions if any.
c) promotion
printing of program
program description or publicity pamphlets should contain the
following essential information.
• The title, dates and place of the training event;
• The general objective;
• To whom it is addressed;
• The content, hand-outs, methods;
• Names, qualifications and jobs of speakers;
• Fees and /or allowances
Press/radio/ Tv briefing
Depending on the location of the target audience, daily press, radio and
television networks may be more efficient than mailing program for spreading
information about the training event.

EXECUTING THE PROGRAM

When all preparatory work has been completed with the help of the master
plan and Questionnaire 1 the training program is off to a good start.

The secretariat is organized; trainers are briefed and ready; the promotion
campaign has resulted in the enrolment of participants; the training support staff
has prepared the required facilities and printed the necessary materials;
accommodation, catering, transport and social services are ready to receive the
participants. These are the required inputs for program execution which produce
the three final outputs illustrated in figure below.

Secretariat Trainers Promotion Participants Training Social

support services

ORGANIZING

Reports Training Trained

(evaluation ) materials participants

Program execution includes three main activities.

• The starting up activities;
• The actual training operation;
• The concluding activities.
 18

To avoid last minute improvisation and accidents which disturb the smooth
running of training activities. it is recommended to use checklists to monitor each
of the three main activities mentioned above.

The startup checklist should be distributed to trainers as well as to support

staff at least one day before the course begins. Persons responsible for each
activity are indicated by the training director. The checklists for training
operations should be handed to all responsible persons indicated on the list, at
the latest on the opening day of the event.

Q. No. 04
(a) How self development is defined? Give appropriate examples in
support of answer.

Self development has two main characteristics – development of the self and
development by the self.
At first we will describe a process, and by doing this we will in fact be using
two important principles of self development, which are that:
• It involves the developer working things out for him or herself;
• The developer can be helped to do this by some one else providing an
appropriate process.
Therefore, in order to start this first process, take a piece of paper and write down
six or seven key development events in our life (e.g things that have happened,
experiences we have had, that in our opinion have led us to develop in some way).
These events- which can be from our working life, our private life, or a misture of
both- may have been very short or long. As long as we can identify them as
definite, separate happenings then that is fine.

(A) the outcomes of self development: Development of the self

I can give illustrations from a number of self development workshops, for
example
• A new sense of confidence;
• Understanding yourself;
• Feeling good about your self or a positive self image;
• Understanding new skills
• Acquiring new skills
• Learning to speak up for what we believed in; or
• Deciding what we wanted to do with our self in the near future.

This is the first characteristics of self development. It leads to personal

change, to something new or different in the way we are .this is what we call
development of the self.

(B) The process of self development: Development by the self

Some examples of self development are:
• Thinking, sorting out new ideas;
• Trying up old ideas;
• Taking a risk
• Stepping into the unknown
• Thinking about something that happened
• Trying to achieve a goal
Although different from each other, these are all quite active. The person is
involved- mentally, physically emotionally in what is going on. It is through this
involvement that they acquire the changes in themselves that lead to
development of the self.
This active involvement, then, is the second chief characteristics of self
development. We call this development by the self. In summary, the active
involvement of development by the self leads to changes that make up
development of the self.

Development BY
the self development OF the self
 19

Above figure although simple, is very important because it shows that for
someone to experience development of the self. We must be allowed, encouraged
and helped to undertake processes of development by the self. This means that if
the trainer does too much- prevents the learners from having to do some of the
work by themselves- then they will not benefit from development of themselves.

Few trainers, of course deliberately set out to prevent self development. But it is
very easy to get drawn into being too helpful, for example by:
• Giving the answer rather than letting the learners find out for themselves.
• Stepping in when the learners have difficulties, solving a problem for
them, rather that proving them with just enough guidance and structure to
solve it them selves or
• “doing the dirty work” for the learner for example by going to see the
learner boss on their behalf rather that coaching, persuading and
encouraging them to take the risk and present their own case.
It was a realization of this danger, in fact, that led to the growth of management
self development in the 1980s.

Development of the self

(A) What do we mean by the “self”?

The idea of “self” is actually quite hard to define. The self, then can be seen
as a complex cluster of attributes. Development of the self involves exploring
questions about these attributes and our relationship to them, it is up to each
individual to decide on what to work on- which aspect of their self to develop.

Elements of self
1. Gender: what does it mean to be a woman/man

2. Race, nationality, place of birth:

Questions as for gender, above

3. Age, married or single; education; ambitions; career

Where am I in my overall life development? What have I
achieved so far at home and at work? What do I still want to
achieve?

4. Skills, inner qualities and characteristics

What skills/inner qualities do I possesses/have I acquired?
What do I want to acquire in the immediate future? Why?

5. Hobbies and interest

What sort of hobbies and interests do I have? Are thy
sufficient to provide a balance between work and leisure? Where in my life do I
get a sense of creativity, fulfillment?

(C) Modes of managing

There are seven modes of managing.

Mode 1. Adhering
In this mode my basic sense of self is one of self protection. I am looking
for safety and security in this world, so that I may be defended from its
uncertainties and dangers.

I operate from memory, thing in terms of rules, checklists, procedures,

recipes. I strive to operate these automatically, swiftly, correctly to letter. I try to
do thing by the book.
 20

Mode 2. Adapting

To do this I can string together a number of simple routines acquired I

Mode i. I am also prepared to bend rules and adapt procedures to make them
work better. In so doing, I am making simple and hoc experiments. As a skilful
adapter, I thus generate quite a repertoire of gimmicks, twists tricks of the trade,
street skills.

Mode 3. Relating
i seek to find out what is acceptable; I try to tune into the norms,
conventions, OK ways of doing things. I want to demonstrate that I belong, by
behaving in the appropriate way, by showing that I understand and agree with
established explanations, theories, ideas; that I share the predominant values,
that I have a repertoire of useful praiseworthy skills.

Mode 4. Experiencing
To begin the process of knowing, being and valuing my inner self, I seek
and participate in a variety of situations and experiences. More importantly,
reflect on these and make my own meaning from them. I am prepared to cope wit
h the ambiguity of not having a source of right answers to call on. I am open to
experience, prepared to learn from it.

Mode 5. Experimenting
I am now committed to deepening my expertise in a given field. To do so I
am prepared to explore that field systematically, rationally, carrying out
experiments in the sense of scientific (i-e “knowing”) method. I thus take active
steps to seek further insights, to find out more, to increase my understanding.

Mode 6. Connecting
In mode 06 I sense my self as part of a much larger whole. To be myself, I
need to achieve wholeness, balance, unity. I feel connected to other people, other
departments, other groups, other societies. I see my ideas as connected to other
fields of learning. I see connections between past, present and future. I see how
what were “opposites”- male and female; good and bad; teacher and learner;
mass and energy; matter and spirit – are, in fact, essentially linked. They are
parts of same whole.

Mode 7. Dedicating
So now in Mode 7 I have recognized my purpose in life, and the task I want
to achieve. Hopefully this task is not just for myself, but in some way make a
definite, identifiable, conscious contribution to the development of my field,
specialization, art, craft, organization, area of expertise, hobby, community,
affinity group of whatever I choose to commit myself to.
Although the modes appear in sequence, it is important to recognize that
once a new one appear, earlier ones are still available. Thus as I develop I have a
larger repertoire or collection of modes available to me. Part of managing myself
is being aware of choice of modes open tome, and making that choice in
consciousness of the advantages and disadvantages of each, bearing in mind the
needs, opportunities and constraints presented by the situation in which I find
myself.

Q. No. 4
(b) Define the process of experiential and action learning ?

Experiential Learning Cycles are models for understanding how the process of
learning works. They are distinct from other models of learning, such as
behavioral models or social learning models, in two notable ways:
• Experiential Learning Cycles treat the learner's subjective experience as of
critical importance in the learning process.
• Experiential Learning Cycles propose an iterative series of processes which
underlies learning. Depending on the model, there is anywhere between
 21

one stage (experience alone) through to six stages of learning to be

considered.
Experiential Learning Cycles are commonly used to help structure experience-
based training and education programs. For example, Experiential Learning
Cycle models are amongst the most important pieces of theory used in many
outdoor education programs.

Kolb (1984) provides one of the most useful (but contestable) descriptive models
available of the adult learning process, inspired by the work of Kurt Lewin.

This suggests that there are four stages in learning which follow from each other:
Concrete Experience is followed by Reflection on that experience on a
personal basis. This may then be followed by the derivation of general rules
describing the experience, or the application of known theories to it (Abstract
Conceptualization), and hence to the construction of ways of modifying the
next occurrence of the experience (Active Experimentation), leading in turn
to the next Concrete Experience. All this may happen in a flash, or over days,
weeks or months, depending on the topic, and there may be a "wheels within
wheels" process at the same time.

(A) the intuitive approach:

With intuition we designate the

instinctive and unconscious knowing without deduction or reasoning.

Intuition is receiving input and ideas without knowing exactly how and where
you got them from. You simply know it is not from yourself. Like creativity,
intuitive inspiration often happens when someone virtually «fuses» in an activity,
when one is highly focused on the respective activity in a state of joy and
fulfillment. Intuition can be trained and in its highest level leads into a conscious
contact with non-incarnated beings, a process usually called channeling.

Most of us are used to making intuitive decisions in our daily life: As soon
as subjective judgment is involved, rational reasoning is very difficult to apply.
Typical examples where intuition can play an important role in making decisions
are: Choosing your life partner, selecting the right car to buy, evaluation of a job,
decision about an education, selecting a meal when eating out, selecting the next
book to read, decide how to dress for today, and so on.

Intuitive decision making is far more than using common sense because it
involves additional sensors to perceive and get aware of the information from
 22

outside. Sometimes it is referred to as gut feeling, sixth sense, inner sense,

instinct, inner voice, spiritual guide, etc. Many pages on this site are devoted to
encourage and help people to use these sensors for decision processes. It is
related to developing a higher consciousness in order to train these sensors and
to make the process of receiving information intuitively a more conscious one.
People who can't accept the existence of such sensors may instead call it tapping
into „collective intelligence" or „collective unconscious".

• Incidental learning is some form of indirect / additional / unplanned

learning within an informal or formal learning situation.

Sometimes, incidental learning is also used to describe informal learning, but

that should be avoided

(C) the retrospective approach

This involves learning from experience by looking back over what
happened wand reaching conclusions about ina more structured way. The
retrospective approach reviews mishaps and mistakes, but in addition lessons are
drawn from routine events and successes. Learning is extrated from a diverse
range of small and large, positive and negative experiences.
People using the retrospective approach conduct reviews, sometimes in their
heads, sometimes in conversion and sometimes on paper. The sequence looks
like this:

Something conclusions are

Has happened it is reviewed reached

The outcome in the retrospective approach is that considered conclusions

are knowingly reached. An individual, by reviewing, acquires knowledge, skills
and insights or has them confirmed and reinforced.

(D) the prospective approach

This involves all the retrospective elements, but includes an additional
dimensions. Whereas retrospections concentrates on reviewing what happened
after an experiences, the prospective approach includes planning to learn before
an experience, future events are seen not merely as things to be done, which are
important in their own right, but also as opportunities to learn. The sequence in
prospective learning is:

Plan to implement it is conclusions

Learn the plan reviewed are reached

Action Learning

Action Learning is a process for bringing together a group of people with varied
levels of skills and experience to analyze an actual work problem and develop an
action plan. The group continues to meet as actions are implemented, learning
from the implementation and making mid-course corrections. Action Learning is
a form of learning by doing.

To address problems and issues that are complex and not easily resolved.
To find solutions to underlying root causes of problems.
To determine a new strategic direction or to maximize new opportunities.

Clarify the objective of the Action Learning group.

 23

Convene a cross-section of people with a complementary mix of skills and

expertise to participate in the Action Learning group.
Hold initial meetings to analyze the issues and identify actions for resolving
them.
Return the group to the work place to take action.
Use subgroups to work on specific aspects of the problem if necessary.
After a period of time, reconvene the group to discuss progress, lessons
learned, and next steps.
Repeat the cycle of action and learning until the problem is resolved or new
directions are determined.
Document the learning process for future reference. Record lessons learned
after each phase of learning.

Steps in the Action Learning Process:

“Discipline-Specific”

• Each team elects a “project manager” after openly discussing each other’s
strengths

• In collaboration with instructor, each team identifies a problem in society

that they would like to proactively create a step of social or organizational
change

• Each team analyzes the issues involved in completing the project within
the given time frame: scope, collaborative partners, resources available,
etc.

• Team generates their own objectives & goals for project via reflective
inquiry & dialogue

• Team identifies specific timeline strategies for meeting objective and

goals

• Teams take action

• teams present their work to the larger group, sharing what they learned
regarding making a difference, what went well, what they would change
and why

• Instructor shares how to highlight project on their resume, with specific

skills used

What is an Action Learning Set?

An action learning set is a group of usually 4 - 7 people who get together (on a
regular basis) to discuss issues of personal or mutual importance. They are
designed to deal with the specific needs of the set members and require agreed
action by the end of each meeting. Sets may, or may not, be facilitated, or may
start with a facilitator and later become self-facilitating. Whichever the case, it is
important for some ground rules to be negotiated at the outset.

Action Learning Sets can enable participants to make commitments to action

which they would not necessarily be in a position to do after having listened to a
 24

lecture or seminar, or as an individual working in isolation. There are usually

three stages: identifying and clarifying the problem; listing possible actions; and
selecting which specific action to take.

How will the Action Learning Set sessions be Organised?

• Participants will be organized into small groups on day 1, and will begin to
build up relationships with other participants in their group. Action learning
will form part of these sessions on days 2 and 3;
• Each participant will bring a real issue or problem to the set, but due to time
constraints only one or two issues will be covered each day
• The facilitator will help the group to set up explicit ground rules for the set;
• The whole set will look at each issue in turn;
• The person who has described the issue will decide on at least three action
points to address after the module.

Action Learning Sets outside of the Modules

Groups will be encouraged to meet up at times and places organised by

themselves, or organise themselves into ‘self-help’ groups with communication by
e-mail. The project will be able to cover travel costs for the action learning sets, as
long as meetings are confirmed with the Project Manager in advance.
Participants will also be asked to report on their experiences of this mode of
professional development.

The Role of Participant

Participants will work together on their chosen topics, listening and supporting
their colleagues, and helping them to decide on courses of action. Participants
will help individuals to understand the problem better and to challenge their
underlying assumptions, rather than to offer advice. Each participant will be
invited in turn to share their problem. Their peers will look at the problem from
their own perspective, and through pertinent questions, discussion and sharing of
experience, participants will be helped to move on in their understanding of an
issue or problem, and to come to see possible ways forward. Participants will be
encouraged to show empathy rather than be judgemental, to listen and provide
support for each other.

The Role of Facilitator

The facilitator will help to develop the ground rules for the operation of the set.
This will include allocation of time, confidentiality, attendance etc

Q. no. 05

(a) What is criterion of successful simulations? Also discuss the

merits and demerits of using simulation?

two main sets of criteria permit the success of simulations to be judged.

The first has to do with the way the simulation relates to participants needs and
attitudes and to the training program. These criteria are made up of the following
four components:

Challenges the degree to which the simulation encourages the participants to

apply their skills, creativity and intuition actively in solving problem;

Relevance the degree to which the topic of the simulation is relevant to the
needs of the participants and their organizations;
 25

Realism the extents to which behavior, tasks and environment are

recognized by the participants are realistic to their kind of problem;

Objectives fit the extent to which the simulation contributes to the

attainment of the overall training objectives.

The second set of success criteria relate to the trainer’s ability to keep the
components of the first set in balance with each other.

(A) challenge
The simulation should challenge the participants to apply themselves,
make them want to seek new and innovative solutions, create a desire to use skills
that they have not sued before or to use them differently. For example, in a
simulation for owners of small enterprises where the theme is personnel
management and where the general tendency among them has been to treat
personnel in an autocratic way, a simulation where they can apply human insight
will challenge them to take a different view of dealing with people.

(B) Relevance
A game of Monopoly can be fun, especially when in good company.
However, it may not reflect the needs of a manager who is constantly facing a
mixture of operational, strategic and interpersonal problems. A relevant
simulation is one where the theme reflects the needs and interests of the
participants. The degree of relevance is important in motivating participants to
become actively involved.

The overall concern and needs of the participants should be reflected in

the needs analysis. If the analysis does not provide sufficient information to
design the simulation, the attitude does not provide sufficient information to
design the simulation, the attitude of the participants while taking part should
indicate to the trainer whether the simulation is relevant or not. Moreover the
needs and concerns of the participants are not necessarily the same.

(C) Realism
The realism of a simulation may sometimes be difficult to distinguish from
its relevance. Whereas the relevance of the simulation reflects the relationship
between its content and the participants needs and concerns, its realism is
addressed to the organization being simulated and the extent to which
participants are able to recognize their work situation reflected in the simulation.

The trainer may find the following points useful for attaining realism in
simulations:
• The task should be a recognizable action of managerial work;
• The environment should produce effects that are readily understandable
and recognizable by the managers;
• Participants should be able to see clearly the cause effect relationships of
their actions;
• The reward system of the simulation should be compatible with those
used in real life.

(D) Objective fit

Since simulation is normally part of a program, its purpose is to contribute
to the overall training objectives. Unfortunately, when it comes to designing the
program, simulations are sometimes suggested because “they are good”, not
because they contribute to attaining the broader training objectives.
In setting simulation objectives it is important to make sure that they are
realistic, attainable and concisely formulated. It should also be clear how they
contribute to the attainment of the overall objectives.

Advantages of Simulation
 26

One of the primary advantages of simulators is that they are able to provide users
with practical feedback when designing real world systems. This allows the
designer to determine the correctness and efficiency of a design before the system
is actually constructed. Consequently, the user may explore the merits of
alternative designs without actually physically building the systems. By
investigating the effects of specific design decisions during the design phase
rather than the construction phase, the overall cost of building the system
diminishes significantly. As an example, consider the design and fabrication of
integrated circuits. During the design phase, the designer is presented with a
myriad of decisions regarding such things as the placement of components and
the routing of the connecting wires.

Another benefit of simulators is that they permit system designers to study

a problem at several different levels of abstraction. By approaching a system at a
higher level of abstraction, the designer is better able to understand the behaviors
and interactions of all the high level components within the system and is
therefore better equipped to counteract the complexity of the overall system. This
complexity may simply overwhelm the designer if the problem had been
approached from a lower level. As the designer better understands the operation
of the higher level components through the use of the simulator, the lower level
components may then be designed and subsequently simulated for verification
and performance evaluation. The entire system may be built based upon this
``top-down'' technique. This approach is often referred to as hierarchical
decomposition and is essential in any design tool and simulator which deals with
the construction of complex systems.

Thirdly, simulators can be used as an effective means for teaching or

demonstrating concepts to students. This is particularly true of simulators that
make intelligent use of computer graphics and animation. Such simulators
dynamically show the behavior and relationship of all the simulated system's
components, thereby providing the user with a meaningful understanding of the
system's nature. Consider again, for example, a circuit simulator. During the
presentation of the design and implementation of the simulator in this report, it
will be shown how the above positive attributes have been or can be incorporated
both in the simulator engine and its user interface.

Disadvantages of Simulation

Despite the advantages of simulation presented above, simulators, like most

tools, do have their drawbacks. Many of these problems can be attributed to the
computationally intensive processing required by some simulators. As a
consequence, the results of the simulation may not be readily available after the
simulation has started -- an event that may occur instantaneously in the real
world may actually take hours to mimic in a simulated environment. The delays
may be due to an exceedingly large number of entities being simulated or due to
the complex interactions that occur between the entities within the system being
simulated. Consequently, these simulators are restricted by limited hardware
platforms which cannot meet the computational demands of the simulator.
However, as more powerful platforms and improved simulation techniques
become available, this problem is becoming less of a concern.

One of the ways of combating the aforementioned complexity is to introduce

simplifying assumptions or heuristics into the simulator engine. While this
technique can dramatically reduce the simulation time, it may also give its users a
false sense of security regarding the accuracy of the simulation results. For
example, consider a circuit simulator which makes the simplifying assumption
that a current passing through one wire does not adversely affect current flowing
in an adjacent wire. Such an assumption may indeed reduce the time required for
the circuit simulator to generate results. However, if the user places two wires of
a circuit too close together during the design, the circuit, when fabricated may fail
to operate correctly due to electromagnetic interference between the two wires.
Even though the simulation may have shown no anomalies in a design, the circuit
may still have flaws.
 27

Another means of dealing with the computational complexity is to employ the

hierarchical approach to design and simulation so as to permit the designer to
operate at a higher level of design. However, this technique may introduce its
own problems as well. By operating at too high an abstraction level, the designer
may tend to oversimplify or even omit some of the lower level details of the
system. If the level of abstraction is too high, then it may be impossible to actually
build the device physically due to the lack of sufficiently detailed information
within the design.

Q . No. 05
(b) What are the main objectives of simulations? Also
describe different aspects of simulations with
examples?
There are three main objectives in suing simulations:
• To change attitudes,
• To develop skills
• To identify needs and problems

Any training intervention, whether reality based or theoretical, will have a

minimal impact if the participants are not ready to change, are unable to
appreciate new ways of tackling problems

If organizational factors are conductive to change, simulation can be a

useful means of making this happen. Prior to designing an intervention, it is
important for the trainer to analyze exactly hat is preventing attitudes from
changing- for example, interpersonal conflicts, a manager’s short term
orientation, or the failure of previous attempts to solve similar problems.

Simulations can also help to develop a range of different skills. In this

regard, it is useful to distinguish between the various behavioral skills- for
example, interpersonal, problem analysis, decision making and specialized
operations.

If the objective is immediate performance improvement, behavioral skills

are not readily developed through simulations alone. However, they do provide
an opportunity to develop and test skills in a modeled situation where failure
does not have serious consequences. For example, role play results in feedback
from someone who is objective and open, and thus allows different ways of
interacting with people to be tried out and objectively evaluated.

Fro specialized operational skills, which include the use of management

information systems, budgeting, troubleshooting systems, application of staff
regulations, etc, simulations provide an excellent approach allowing the
participants to acquire skills through trial and error without serious economic
and/or safety consequences for the organizations.

Needs identification is the third objective of using simulation. The

simulations provide reliable data on training needs as a by product of the training
process, and hence at a low cost. They also suggest that during simulation,
participants tend to be open about their knowledge and skill gaps, readily asking
for help and advice. Thus, simulations can provide the trainer with valuable
qualitative information on where and how to focus future training efforts.