HRM 326T Wk 5 – Apply: Assignment

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HRM 326T Wk 5 - Apply: Assignment
HRM 326T Wk 5 – Apply: Assignment
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HRM 326T Wk 5 – Apply: Assignment

Complete the Week 5 Apply Assignment in MyEducator.

The training and development office at Avondale Industries planned their yearly schedule of trainings in October. Because the different sites were extremely busy at this time of the year, the training topics were selected by site HR managers. Over the course of the next year, feedback on training was quite negative and transfer of new learning back to the job was poor. Which of the following statements best explains why the training and development office saw such poor results?

 

The training programs offered were topics that had been covered previously, and so the supervisors did not feel it necessary to take their employees away from their jobs.

Because the HR site managers selected the topics and did not consult the supervisors, they did not feel it was necessary to send their employees to the training programs.

Not involving supervisors and employees about what type of training was needed resulted in the wrong type of training being offered and low motivation to participate.

  1. The training programs offered were probably not scheduled at convenient times for the supervisors and their employees.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)

Avondale Industries’ avionics division asked the training and development office to assist them in implementing training on new equipment that would be installed in all sites, including the global sites. An analysis of the work to be done, as well as what the key tasks are, was provided to the trainers. The next step was to develop a list of what was needed for employees to successfully complete the work. The trainers requested that each site select two of their very best employees to participate in a few focus groups to help the trainers design the training. What can the employees contribute to help the trainers design a more effective training program?

 

  1. Involving the employees in designing the training would help the trainers teach the course at their level.

Because these were the best employees in the division, they could help the trainers understand the job challenges they faced and how they overcame these challenges.

Because the employees are on the front line and understand the processes, they are the ones in the best position to advise the trainers about the processes.

Questioning the employees about their knowledge, skills, and abilities can help the trainers identify what other employees will need to be able to do to be successful.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)

Avondale Industries’ video training program has proved to be quite successful (and cost effective) during the onboarding process, which is typically stretched out over six months. Employees report they have gained valuable information from the videos and have had many questions answered. However, supervisors at several sites have expressed concern that when a problem occurs, their new team members do not seem to work very well together to problem solve. Therefore, the training and development office has implemented a series of small group trainings, managed by the supervisors, to help address this issue. Why would the new employees benefit from meeting with experienced employees in a small group?

 

A small group lends itself to more meaningful interactions among the participants, and the new employees will get to know one another better and form friendships.

When the new employees meet in a small group, they are better able to ask questions about how training connects with the business and the company’s overall mission and goals.

The new employees will benefit from meeting in a small group with experienced employees because they will have immediate feedback on the projects on which they are working.

The small group allows the new employees to build a relationship with and to learn from people who have already been through, and solved, many of the same problems they face.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)

Avondale Industries’ unmanned vehicle site in Fort Lauderdale, FL, has been operating for two years with great success. However, the unmanned vehicle site in Denver, CO, which has been in operation for the same amount of time, has struggled with high turnover and a higher level of defective parts. Managers and employees at both sites were surveyed, and the results showed that the manager in Fort Lauderdale was very effective at motivating her employees, addressed issues promptly and appropriately, and set challenging but realistic expectations. However, the employees in Denver reported that their manager struggled with issues stemming from lack of communication and lack of support. The manager wants to keep his job and is willing to participate in training. Which of the following statements best explains what the trainer can do to help the manager improve?

 

The trainer can connect the supervisor with his counterpart in Denver so he can learn what she does with her employees that is so successful.

The trainer should provide the supervisor with articles that he can read to teach him about how he can better engage with his employees.

The trainer should establish learning objectives with the manager that focus on changing his behavior so he can better communicate and support his employees.

Helping the supervisor improve should start with the trainer reviewing his performance appraisals and identifying management skills in which he is weak.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)

Before providing software training for the engineers at Avondale Industries’ site in Bengaluru, India, the training and development office sent out a survey to participants to learn their career goals. How can this step help improve the training the company plans to provide for the engineers?

 

The engineers’ career plans will help guide the trainers’ formulation of the training goals and help them develop training that has a problem-centered approach.

The engineers’ career goals will help the trainers know what interests the employees and plan their training with activities that will be of more interest to the employees.

Engaging the engineers prior to the training helps them to feel the company cares about them and their future plans.

Knowing what the engineers’ career goals are will help the trainers tailor the training and demonstrate how the skills learned can benefit the engineers as well as the company.

 

 

Avondale Industries just hired a new trainer, a recent graduate from a prestigious master’s program in human resources. After two weeks on the job, he was sent to conduct a training session for new HR employees in Avondale’s two sites in Texas. Feedback from the training revealed the training was poorly received, and the trainer especially received negative feedback. The new trainer was highly recommended by the university (Avondale recruits there regularly), and so the company does not want to dismiss him because of one failed attempt. Which option is best for the company to do to help this new trainer improve and have a successful career?

 

Because the trainer had one negative experience does not mean that it will happen again. The company should have him keep trying until he learns and does better.

Because a company invests so much in new hires, the company should be careful about what is said to the employee in case additional negative feedback causes him to quit.

The training and development office can work with the new employee and his university to identify areas that could be improved in the curriculum to address these shortcomings.

The training and development office can provide opportunities to sit in on other training programs to learn from those who are more experienced and successful.

 

When designing a diversity training program for its supervisors and managers, Avondale Industries’ training and development office was faced with the daunting task of delivering an effective training on a limited budget to its 24,000 employees at its seven US sites as well as its four global sites. The purpose of the training was to increase employee cultural awareness as well as improve employees’ ability to communicate effectively with others in different states and countries who might have differing views. Which of the following approaches will best meet the company’s needs to train its employees on this very important topic?

 

Because the training program will be delivered to all employees (who all have different knowledge, skills, and abilities), the training program might be best designed using face-to-face interaction where the trainer can immediately gauge whether the participants are learning.

Because the scope of the project was company-wide and the budget limited, the training program might be best designed using web-based instruction that includes a way for employees to demonstrate assurance of learning.

By using simulations where the employees can learn from case studies and role playing, the trainers will be able to coach the employees and better guide their learning.

The best way to design the training program would be for the trainers to first ask supervisors what they perceive their employees need and then design the learning objectives around those needs.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)

Avondale Industries engaged the services of a consultant to help company executives as they developed the company’s strategy plan for the next five years. The consultant, an expert in strategy, insisted that, as part of his assignment, he be allowed to visit the different departments in company headquarters where he could meet with employees and question them about job challenges, company culture, and work climate. The consultant spent two days with frontline employees before meeting with the executives. Which of the following best explains why it was important that the consultant familiarize himself with the company this way?

 

Because the executives knew the consultant was familiar with the company, they felt he better understood their challenges and could more effectively direct the strategic discussion.

Because the consultant was more familiar with the company, he was able to target the areas in which he was expert and provide insight and feedback for improvement in those areas.

Having been in the trenches, the consultant was able to express the feelings and opinions of the frontline workers more effectively to the executives.

Familiarizing himself with the company helped the consultant understand the challenges the company faced and helped him feel more comfortable about providing guidance and direction.

 

 

Avondale Industries spent thousands of dollars for three of its business analysts to attend an off-site week-long training program. Their boss’s expectations were high for what the analysts would learn and what improvements they would bring back to the company. The analysts came back to the office, reported they had learned a lot, had a good time, and jumped right back into work, which was extremely busy at that time. Their boss, because he too was busy,  did not follow up with the analysts until several months later, at which time he asked the analysts to report on how they had implemented what they had learned. They reported that they had made no changes at all and had forgotten most of what they learned. The boss, greatly disappointed, said he was not going to waste resources like that again. How might the analysts have done better with the transfer of learning?

 

The analysts should have set goals to transfer learning and monitored their own progress—identifying and overcoming obstacles for meeting those goals. They would have then been more successful in transferring learning back to their jobs.

The boss should have been the one to follow up with the analysts immediately upon their return to discern what knowledge would be most helpful to the office and then encourage the analysts to share what they learned.

The analysts should have taken time when they returned, regardless of what was going on in their jobs, to report out to their boss and share with him what they had learned so he could select the learning that might best help the office.

The analysts should have been more proactive about sharing their knowledge with their boss and others in the office. Because of this bad experience, not only the analysts but every employee in the office will have to forego future trainings.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)

When Avondale Industries acquired the adhesives and sealants company, they needed to hire a great many new employees for the production line. In order to provide training for a large number of frontline employees, the company duplicated part of the production line so the trainees could receive hands-on training and practice what they were learning. They were able to practice extensively for two days. Why was this type of training especially successful when the trainees went to work on the line?

 

Being able to practice helped the new employees become familiar with the work environment and the pressures of the job.

During the training, the new employees were able to stop and ask questions so they could better understand the processes being taught.

Providing the opportunity for new employees to practice extensively significantly improved the transfer of learning.

The new employees were able to better understand the principles behind the specific steps of the training.

 

 

Avondale Industries’ training and development office was trying to assess whether their training for new sales personnel for the avionics division was effective. The office set up training for three of the sites, two in the US and one abroad and did not provide training for the remaining three sites, also two in the US and one abroad. A pretest was given to all new sales personnel in the training as well as to those who were not trained. All other job tasks remained the same, and supervisors were instructed to proceed as normal with onboarding their employees. After a month of training, the performance of the new sales personnel in the two groups were compared. Results showed that the sales personnel that were trained outperformed those not trained by 29 percent. Which statement best explains why this experiment was helpful for the training and development office?

 

It was helpful for the training and development office to see that the results were positive for those who received the training versus those who did not.

It helped the training and development office by establishing a testable hypothesis about whether the training would be effective, which it was.

The experiment helped the training and development office by giving them the ability to compare alternatives.

The experiment allowed the training and development office to determine if the training was effective by mostly ruling out alternative reasons for job improvement.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)

Avondale Industries’ training programs all include various types of evaluation that are administered at different times. Why should the training and development office go to the added effort of evaluating its training programs in multiple ways?

 

Going to the added effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program demonstrates to the employees that the company truly cares about their opinions and success.

Evaluating training programs in multiple ways will help the trainers know if the participants feel good about what they have learned and think the training is worthwhile.

Multiple evaluations allow the trainers to adjust the training to better meet the needs of employees, which might change over time.

Conducting evaluations in multiple ways allows the company to measure that behavioral objectives have been achieved and that results are an actual outcome of the training.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)

The training and development office at Avondale Industries was asked to determine the return on investment (ROI) for its new training program for company recruiters. Recruiters were asked to compare their productivity before the training to after the training (productivity was calculated by counting the number of recruits they attracted to the company during a one-month period, both last year, before the training, and this year, after the training). There was an increase in new hires, and a dollar value was given to this number. This number was then divided by the cost of the training. The return on investment showed an approximate 32 percent increase in recruiting. Which statement best answers the question of whether the company should make the training and development office gather this data to determine if the new training program was effective and why?

 

Because the recruiters are better situated to answer the question of whether the training was effective, the company should ask them to make the assessment.

Because results cannot always be tied to what happens in training, determining an ROI helps the company more accurately determine if training is worth the costs associated with it.

Determining if the training was effective could be determined in a much simpler manner by just asking the recruiters if they felt the training was helpful and made a difference in their jobs.

Linking the recruiters’ success to the effectiveness of the training is almost impossible to gauge as there are too many factors that could influence the change.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)

With the expansion of Avondale Industries to London, Hong Kong, Brisbane, and Bengaluru, the need for cross-cultural training grew as employees moved to work at these sites. The training and development office developed a pre-departure orientation program for employees and their families and engaged a country host who provided in-country training after they arrived. Which statement best explains why is it necessary, and important, to provide these cross-cultural training services for employees moving abroad to work?

 

Employees who receive cross-cultural training have an increased level of motivation and understanding and are more apt to be satisfied with their job assignment.

The cross-cultural training is important so employees understand the need to be culturally sensitive and not do anything that would embarrass the company or hurt its reputation.

The training is necessary because the company wants the employees (and families) to be able to take full advantage of the rich cultural experiences offered during the overseas assignment.

The cross-cultural training will help the employees and their families more quickly adjust and experience less culture shock in the new country.

 

 

 

However, it is generally not enough to simply provide training pre-departure. Early experience with Peace Corps volunteers discovered that follow-up, in-country training is necessary as well. This post-arrival training may include on-going language instruction as well as additional sensitivity training in cultural differences. It might also include assigning a host country mentor, someone who knows the ropes in the new country, greets the expat and family upon arrival, and is available for counsel throughout the posting. Those involved in the posting of expats overseas often note an increased level of motivation for training from those who are actually dealing with the challenges of cross-cultural interactions compared to those just getting ready for an assignment.

 

 

As Avondale Industries grew, the challenge of training more and more employees in a variety of topics grew. The training and development office originally provided classroom-style training for almost all programs, but the expansion of the company to different states and then different countries made in-person training slow, cumbersome, and expensive. The training and development office transitioned several training programs to online instruction, implementing proven instructional approaches that made the learning environment much like the actual work environment. The big question they asked every time they developed an online training program was, “Can the level of learning via an online platform compare to that achieved in a classroom setting?” Which statement best answers that question?

 

If the training and development office wants the level of learning to compare to that in a classroom setting, then it is best to try to duplicate that in the online training programs.

If the online training programs are to work, the training and development office needs to ensure that all participants have an adequate level of computer self-efficacy.

Learning via an online platform can work, but the training and development office needs to understand the learning limitations and plan accordingly for follow-up training.

Online learning can actually be more effective when trainees have control over the learning process and when they are able to practice and receive feedback.

FEEDBACK

8 / 8  (100.0%)