TSTM 444 Homework #1

1) Describe the forces affecting the workplace and learning. How can training help companies deal with these forces?

Forces – Globalization, the need for leadership, increased value lace on intangible assets and human capital, focus on link to business strategy, attracting and retaining talent, customer service and quality emphasis, changing demographics and diversity of the work force, new technology, high-performance models of work systems, and economic changes.

Raymond Noe says, "Competitiveness--a company's ability to maintain and gain market share in an industry. Training practices help companies grow the business and improve customer service by providing employees with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. New Technology, rapid development of knowledge, globalization of business, and development of e-commerce--Training is necessary if companies are to participate in the global and electronic marketplaces by offering high-quality products and services."

2) What steps are included in the training design model? What step do you think is most important? Why?

Step 1: Conducting a needs analysis
Step 2: Ensure that employees have the motivation and basic skills necessary to master training content
Step 3: Create a learning environment that has features necessary for learning to occur.
Step 4: Ensuring that trainees apply the training content to their jobs.
Step 5: Developing an evaluation plan
Step 6: Choosing training method based on the learning objective and learning environment.
Step 7: Evaluating the program and making changes, or revisiting steps to improve the program so that objectives are learned.

Every step in the design process is important because at the end of training you will have an employee who has more knowledge, and capabilities than when they started.

3) What are intangible assets? How do they relate to training and development?

Intangible asses are assets that cannot be touched and are nonmonetary, including human capital, customer capital, social capital, and intellectual capital.

“Training and development has a direct influence on human and social capital because it affects education, work-related know-how and competence, and work relationships. Training and development can have an indirect influence on customer and social capital by helping employee’s better serve customers and by providing them with the knowledge needed to create patents and intellectual property.”

4) Which of the training professionals' roles do you believe is most difficult to learn? Which is easiest?
Hardest - learning strategist
Easiest – project manager

5) How might technology influence the importance of training professionals' roles? Can technology reduce the importance of any of the roles? Can it result in additional roles?

Technology will influence the importance of training professional’s roles because new technologies are emerging including ecommerce, contingent work groups, and even virtual teams.

Technology will not reduce the importance of any role because training will still be important to ensure that all employees are capable of fulfilling their jobs and maintaining high quality customer service also.

6) Describe the training courses that you have taken. How have they helped you? Provide recommendations for improving the courses.

As a customer service representative for a telemarketing company I was trained in a specific script that I was required to read, and trained somewhat on how to deal with obstinate persons. It helped me to deal with obstinate people, because my department was handling people who had complaints about their bills. Because of this course I can usually deal well with obstinate persons. Recommendations for improvement would be to have more customer simulations, acting as aggravated persons; this would give me experience with dealing with aggravated people before actually taking live calls.

7) What are the implications of the aging work force? What strategies should companies consider from a training and development perspective to best utilize older employees and prepare for their retirement?

Raymond Noe says “As the oldest baby boomers begin to retire n the next several years, the implications for the work force could be enormous.”

To utilize older employees that will be retiring a good strategy to utilize would be phone interviews to gather their combined expertise in their areas to possible create a course at a college or university. A second strategy would be to identify them as experts and have them train for workshops or provide classroom presentations.
Describe the forces affecting the workplace and learning. How can training help companies deal with these forces?

Michael Jordan
TSTM 444