Tutorial 8 – Solutions
Group Activity
1. You’re the supervisor of a group of employees whose task is to
assemble disk drives that go into computers. You find that quality is
not what it should be and that many of your group’s devices have to
be brought back and reworked; your boss says that “You’d better
start doing a better job of training your workers.” A) What are some
of the “staffing factors” that could be contributing to this problem?
B) Explain how you would go about assessing whether it is in fact a
training problem.
Have students brainstorm the potential factors other
than training that could be the root cause of this problem. Make the point
that often people will immediately point to training as the issue, when in
fact there are other factors at play that are impacting performance. (LO
8.4; AACSB: Analytic Skills; Learning Outcome: Compare and contrast
different approaches to training and development)
2. Choose a task with which you are familiar –cleaning your apartment,
making a bowl of noodles, or studying for a test – and develop a job
instruction training sheet for it. There is an example of a job instruction
training sheet for operating a large motorized paper cutter in the text.
Students should be able to put the task they select into the format given.
(LO 8.6; AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills; Learning Outcome: Compare
and contrast different approaches to training and development)
3. Working in groups, you are to develop a short programmed learning
program on the subject “Guidelines for Giving a More Effective
Lecture.” Students should use the guidelines listed in the programmed
learning section of the chapter, but should not forget that this assignment
is not just about listing guidelines. They are to develop a programmed
learning that 1) presents questions, facts, or problems to the learner, 2)
allows the person to respond, and 3) provides feedback to the learner on
the accuracy of his or her answers. (LO 8.6; AACSB: Analytic Skills;
Learning Outcome: Compare and contrast different approaches to training
and development)
Discussion Questions
1. "A well-thought-out orientation program is essential for all new
employees, whether they have experience or not." Explain why you
agree or disagree with this statement. New employees can suffer from
a significant amount of anxiety during the first few days on the job as they
find themselves in an environment and culture that they are not familiar
with. Those with little job experience may find it especially difficult without
an orientation since they have little other experience on which to base their
expectations. A well-developed orientation program will socialize new
employees into important organizational values, whereby their chances of
easing smoothly into the organization are improved. (LO 8.1; AACSB:
Reflective Thinking Skills; Learning Outcome: Compare and contrast
different approaches to training and development)
2. Explain how you would apply our “motivation points” in developing a
lecture, say, on orientation and training. Student answers should
reflect the issues identified in the guidelines in the section on lectures. As
an exercise, you might have students develop and deliver a lecture
(perhaps on one section of this chapter). Then ask the students to critique
each other based on the guidelines summarized in the section on lectures.
(LO 8.3; AACSB: Analytic Skills; Learning Outcome: Compare and
contrast different approaches to training and development)
3. John Santos is an undergraduate business student majoring in
accounting.
He has just failed the first accounting course,
Accounting 101, and is understandably upset. Explain how you
would use performance analysis to identify what, if any, are John's
training needs. The first thing that needs to be determined is if this is a
"can't do" or a "won't do" situation. It is possible that as a first-year
student, John has spent more time socializing and not enough time
studying. This would indicate a need for training on studying skills and
prioritization. It is also possible that John really does not have the
necessary basic skills that he needs in order to be successful in this
course. This could be determined through some testing to see if he has
the prerequisite knowledge and skills. If it is a problem, remedial training
or courses would be appropriate. A third possibility is that John simply
does not really have the interest or natural inclinations that would make
him successful in the accounting area. This could be determined through
some testing and career interest surveys. If this is the case, training is not
appropriate, but rather John should be counseled to change majors. (LO
8.4; AACSB: Analytic Skills; Learning Outcome: Compare and contrast
different approaches to training and development)
4. What are some typical on-the-job training techniques? What do you
think are some of the main drawbacks of relying on informal on-thejob training for breaking new employees into their jobs? The most
common is the understudy or coaching technique. Others include
apprenticeship training and job rotation. There are several possible
drawbacks to OJT: (1) not every employee will get the same basic
information; in fact, some may not get basic, fundamental information; (2)
the quality of the training is highly dependent on the training skills of the
employee who supervises the OJT,and that person's skills and training are
usually not in the area of training; and (3) the new employee may get false
information or detrimental enculturation depending on the employees that
conduct their OJT. (LO 8.6; AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills; Learning
Outcome: Compare and contrast different approaches to training and
development)
5. One reason for implementing global training programs is the need to
avoid business losses "due to cultural insensitivity." What sort of
cultural insensitivity do you think is referred to, and how might that
translate into lost business? The cultural insensitivities would include
cross-cultural values, assumptions concerning communication, identity
issues, etiquette, lifestyles, style of dress, etc. Any of these can result in
unintentional insults or offenses that can easily make those people
reluctant to do business with you.
What sort of training program would you recommend to avoid such
cultural insensitivity? There are a wide variety of programs and
consultants that specialize in these areas. It is important to have someone
who is knowledgeable in these areas conduct the training to assure that
the correct information and guidance is given. (LO 8.6; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding; Learning Outcome: Compare and
contrast different approaches to training and development)
6. Describe the pros and cons of five management development
methods. Job rotation: broadens experience and helps the candidate
find what he or she prefers. Coaching/Understudy: works directly with the
person he or she will replace and helps assure trained managers are
ready to assume key positions. Action Learning: allows special projects
to be handled. Case Study Method: classroom oriented, gives real-life
situations, and allows analysis and reflection. Management Games: learn
by getting involved, competition, emphasizes the need for planning,
problem-solving skills, teamwork. Outside Seminars: CEUs, developed
by experts, time away from pressures of work. University-Related
Programs: certifications and degrees, theoretical knowledge, sharing with
students from other industries. Role Playing: opportunity to work through
probable situations, negative views of role-playing. Behavior Modeling:
effective for learning and skill development, reinforces decisions
immediately. In-House Development Centers: tailored to the needs of the
company but expensive. Students should be able to come up with
additional pros and cons for each method. (LO 8.7; AACSB: Reflective
Thinking Skills; Learning Outcome: Compare and contrast different
approaches to training and development)
7. Do you think job rotation is a good method to use for developing
management trainees? Why or why not? Most students will probably
support job rotation for management trainees. It gives the trainee the
opportunity to experience several areas and to develop crossdepartmental skills and cooperation. It also gives the trainee the chance
to experience different areas to see what he or she likes.
(LO
8.7; AACSB: Analytic Skills; Learning Outcome: Compare and contrast
different approaches to training and development)