CHAPTER 7: TRAINING

I. Training: Its Role in Continuous Learning and Competitive Advantage

 Informal learning, formal training and development, knowledge management  continuous
learning  supports business strategy, focuses on performance
 Both formal training (training and development programs, courses, and events) and informal
learning contribute to the development of intangible assets but especially human capital (i.e.
knowledge, advanced skills, system understanding and creativity, and motivation
- Informal learning may be especially important  can lead to the effective development of tacit
development (personal knowledge based on individual experience  difficult to codify) 
complements training.
- Formal training focuses on explicit knowledge (which is well documented, easily articulated,
and easily transferred from person to person)  need to prepare employees for their job and
help them progress to future positions.
- Knowledge management (the process of enhancing company performance)  contributes to
informal training.
Continuous training (address performance issues  lead to improved business results)
- Aligns with business strategy
- Has visible support from senior managers
- Creates a culture/work environment that encourages learning
- Provides wide range of learning opportunities

Why training?
- Increase employee’s knowledge of foreign competitors and cultures
- Help ensure that employees have the basic skills to work with technology
- Help employees understand how to work effectively in teams to contribute to product and
service quality
- Ensure that the company’s culture emphasizes innovation, creativity, and learning

II. Designing Effective Formal Training Activities

Training design process: a systematic approach for developing training programs; two specific types
include Instructional System Design (ISD) and the ADDIE model
 The training design process should be systematic yet flexible enough to adapt to business needs
 Stage 1: Needs assessment
Organization Determining business appropriateness of training, given the
analysis company’s business strategy, its resources available for training,
and support by managers and peers for training
Person 1. Performance deficiencies resulted from a lack of knowledge,
Pressur
analysis skills, or abilities?
e points
2. Who needs training?
3. Determines employee’s readiness for training
Task Identifying important tasks, knowledge, skills, behaviors for
analysis training employees to complete their tasks

 Stage 2: Ensuring employees’’ readiness for training

 - Employees’ desire, energy, and focus necessary to learn from training  motivation to
learn
- Factors influencing motivation to learn include: self-efficacy, benefits/consequences of
training, awareness of training needs, work environment, basic skills, goal orientation, and
conscientiousness
The focus of training:
- Learner readiness: ability to learn, motivation to learn, self-efficacy
- Learning styles: adult learning, behavior modeling, reinforcement and immediate
confirmation

 Stage 3: Creating a learning environment

- Conditions for learning: need to know why they should learn, meaningful learning
content, opportunities for practice, feedback, observe, experience, and interact with
training content, other learners, and the instructor, good program orientation and
administration, commit training content to memory

-> a positive work environment encourages learning and avoids interfering with training,
characterized by situational contraints and social supports

 Stage 4: Ensuring transfer of training (on-the-job use of knowledge, skills, and behaviors
learned in training)
Work environment characteristics influencing transfer of training:
- Manager support
- Peer support  support network
- Opportunity to use learned capabilities (opportunity to perform)
- Technical support: performance support and knowledge management systems
(communities of practice)
- Self management skills

 Stage 5: Selecting training methods

- Presentation methods (employees are passive recipients of information): include
traditional classroom instruction, distance learning (i.e. teleconferencing and webcasting),
and audiovisual training
- Hands-on methods: on-the-job training (i.e. apprenticeships and internships), simulations
(i.e. virtual reality and avatars), serious games and case studies, behavior modeling, e-
learning (i.e. repurposing and massive open online courses – MOOCs), blended learning,
and learning management systems (LMS)
- Group- or team-building methods: Experiential program (i.e. adventure learning), team
training (i.e. cross-training, coordination training, and team leader training), and action
learning

 Stage 6: Advice for selecting a training method

- Identify the type of learning outcome the training is to influence
- Compare training methods
- Training budget consideration
III. Evaluating Training Program
 - Examining the outcomes of a program including cognitive outcomes, skill-based outcomes,
affective outcomes, results, and return on investment
- Evaluation design
- Determining the financial benefits of learning
IV. Special Training Issues
- Cross-cultural preparation
- Managing workforce diversity and inclusion
- Onboarding or socialization
 CHAPTER 9: EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT

I. The relationship among Development, Training, and Careers

1. Development and Training

Training Development
Focus Current Future
Use of work experiences Low High
Goal Preparation for current job Preparation for changes
Participation Required Voluntary
2. Development and Career
 Protean career: employees take major responsibility for managing their careers
 Goal: psychological success – the feeling of pride and accomplishment coming from
achieving life goals – including achievements at work
 Trends towards specialization leads employee developments to provide employees
with the opportunity to:
+ determine their interests, skill strengths, and weaknesses
+ seek appropriate development experiences
 Today’s view of careers: they are ‘boundaryless and often change’ -> in order to
retain and motivate employees, companies must build the development planning
systems
II. Development Planning Systems

1. Self-assessment 2. Reality check 3. Goal setting 4. Action plan

Definition The information The process of
The use of employees receive employees
A written strategy
information by about how the developing short-
that employees
employees to company and long-term
use to determine
determine their evaluates their development
how they will
career interests, skills and objectives (based
achieve their
values, aptitudes, knowledge and on information
short- and long-
and behavioral where it fits into from self-
term career goals
techniques the company’s assessment and
plan reality check)
Employee Identity goal and
Identity Identify what Identify steps and
responsibilit method to
opportunities and needs are realistic timetable to reach
y determine goal
needs to improve to develop the goal
progress
Company Provide Communicate Ensure that goal is Identify resources
responsibilit assessment performance SMART (specific, employee needs
y information to evaluation; where measurable, to reach the goal,
identify strengths, employee fits in attainable, including
weaknesses, long-range plans relevant, and additional,
interests, and of the company; timely); commit to assessment,
values and changes in help employee courses, work
industry, reach the goal experiences, and
 profession, and
relationships
workplace

III. Approaches to Employee Developments

1. Formal education: including off-site and on-site programs designed specifically for the
company’s employees
2. Assessment: collecting information and providing feedback to employees about their
behavior, communication style, or skills
Popular assessment tools: personality tests, assessment center, performance appraisals
and 360-degree feedback
3. Job experiences: relationships, problems, demands, tasks, or other features that
employees face in their job -> most likely to occur when employees are given stretch
assignments (mismatch between employee’s skills and past experiences and the skills
required for success on the job)
Various ways of job experiences to be used: enlarging the current job, job rotation,
transfers, promotions, downward moves, and temporary assignments
4. Interpersonal relationship
 Mentoring: a mentor helps develop a less experienced employee
 Coaching: a peer or manager working with the employees to motivate, help them
develop skills, and provide reinforcement and feedback
IV. Special Issues in Employee Development
1. Meeting the glass ceiling
How companies can melt glass ceiling?
- make sure senior management supports and is involved in the program
- make a business case for change
- make the change public
2. Succession planning
Benefits of succession planning:
- requires senior management to systematically review leadership talent in the
company
- ensures top-level managerial talent is available
- provides a set of development experiences that managers must complete to be
considered for top management positions
The process of developing a succession plan:
- step 1: identify what positions to be included in the plan
- step 2: identify the employees to be included in the plan
- step 3: develop standards to evaluate positions
- step 4: determine how employee potential will be measured
- step 5: develop the succession planning review
- step 6: link the succession planning system with other human resource systems
- step 7: determine what feedback is provided to employees
- step 8: measure the effectiveness of the succession plan