Management the concept of the 360-degree performance review
1. In your own words, define the concept of the 360-degree performance review. Explain the process by which the information is collected, reviewed, and communicated. What are the benefits of using this method for performance reviews? Describe any disadvantages as well.
2. You are a Training Specialist in a small manufacturing company employing approximately 500 people at two locations, one being in Phoenix, and the other in Los Angeles. The company has just landed a new international client who will be placing large orders for two of the company’s signature products requiring that the manufacturing staff be increased by 25 percent immediately. To handle the flow of additional paperwork, the accounting staff will need to increase by 10% in the next 90 days. You have been tasked with performing a training needs analysis to determine what training will be required, how quickly it will be needed, and where the training will need to be performed.
A. Is this TNA reactive or proactive? Explain your position.
B. What groups within the organizations will you need to consult in performing your needs analysis? Why?
C. Based on the limited information provided, what information do you need to investigate and uncover in your organizational analysis, operational analysis, and person analysis processes?
(see powerpoint attachment for concepts discussed in chapter 5 for question 3)
3. Research online and find a recent scholarly article of at least 2-3 pages in length that is related to training or instructional design. After reading the article and thinking about how the topic relates to the concepts discussed in Chapter 5, write a 1-page summary report detailing what the article says about training or instructional design. Where possible, incorporate the terminology used in the chapter to summarize the article. Be sure to include a citation including the web site, author, and other reference information in your report.
4. Review the case, “Training in Action 5-2” (listed below) In this scenario, Dr. Richard Camp designed a three-day workshop on interviewing skills for an executive research firm. In his training design, he incorporated several opportunities to encourage a positive transfer of training. Examine the case, list each of the transfer of training situations created by Dr. Camp, and identify how each of those situations relates to the information in the textbook related to transfer of training.
Case:
Dr. Richard Camp is a consultant to many organizations in the US and abroad. A few years back an executive search firm hired him to train its employees on effective interviewing techniques. This was a key part of their work. Dr. Camp, in a meeting with the firm’s management, discussed the importance of approaching the training as an organizational intervention and the need to consider several organizational factors to ensure that the training transferred to the job. The client would be spending a great deal of money on the training and was willing to do what was necessary to ensure transfer which would be especially difficult because the international company is highly decentralized.
After a number of meetings with management, Dr. Camp designed a three- day worship to provide the interviewing skills requested. The first group to go through the training consisted of all the top managers including the president. This not only provided them with the necessary skills but also garnered their support for the process throughout the organization. He then began training of all the other employees, from the top down. At the beginning of each training session, to indicate the importance of the training to the trainees, a video of the president of the company was shown. In the video, the president indicates the importance of the training and hot it would make them a more effective organization. Furthermore, a senior manager who also verbalized support for the training was in attendance at each training session. The manager was also able to provide real life examples of when employees had used old versus new training skills, and he answered questions that arose about using the training back on the job. This put the training in a real organizational context from the trainees.
In each local area stars were identified and used as a resource people to facilitate transfer. After training employees were also assigned coaches. To reinforce the importance of using the skills on the job, Dr. Camp developed one day refresher training and went to the various offices to provide this. Part of the refresher training was to share concerns about the difficulties in implementing the process and to generate ideas on how to make transfer easier. At the end of the training Dr. Camp encouraged trainees to send him copies of the outcome of an interview process. So he could provide them with feedback to again facilitate effective transfer to the job.
Dr. Camp then suggested that the company develop a task force to examine how effective the transfer of training was and consider other steps that could be taken to ensure that what trainees were learning was being transferred to the job. A representative of the taskforce began meeting with employees to explore ways of facilitating the transfer. One of the ideas to come from these meetings was that each trainee team up with another trainee who was at the training session. When they got back to their respective offices throughout the world they would stay in contact, providing support, feedback, and ideas for dealing with obstacles to using the training skills.
How successful has the training been? Management has looked at some bottom line results and has determined that the training has helped them become more profitable. Does everyone use the skills as effectively as they could? No, but the organization continues to work on ideas to encourage the transfer. Recently, the task force has begun discussing the possibility of videos and online information to introduce the skills and to reinforce their correct use.
5. Perform an online search and locate a recent article related to CBT or e-learning. The article should be at least 2-3 pages in length. Here are a few article types to consider as you begin your search:
• The impact and/or popularity of CBT or e-learning
• Tools used in creating CBT or e-learning experiences
• Theory and process behind CBT development or e-learning
• Web-based learning
Write a 1-page summary report detailing what the article says about CBT and/or e-learning. Where possible, incorporate the terminology used in the chapter to summarize the article. Be sure to include a citation including the web site, author, and other reference information in your report.
6. Questioning enhances two-way communication in a training environment. When used appropriately, questioning improves trainee participation and allows the trainer to check for understanding.
The textbook lists several question types. In your own words, please list and define each of those question types, and describe when each is used most effectively. Provide an example of each question type.