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Group E Case Study Assignment 1Case Study 1Kasikorn Bank (K-Bank) is a large corporation in the financial industry. K-Bank has a clear mission statement and attempts to adhere to the standards they set for themselves and their workforce. K-Bank is highly recognized and is a prominent company in Thailand. K-Bank has a leadership team that strives to maintain clear career development goals for its employees and wishes to maintain high performing staff members. This organization values its employees and would like to maintain its efforts to enhance and improve career development and succession planning of its personnel (Werner & DeSimone, 2012).In order for K-Bank to remain a leader in the banking industry they must first recruit employees that meet the standards and requirements set fourth by management. K-Bank can recruit employees by introducing an employee referral program. Employee referrals can help K-Bank find talented and reliable employees. According to Martin Gannon (1971), employee recruitment programs are one of the best methods for obtaining and sustaining new employees. Furthermore, K-Bank can introduce a reward program that will compensate employees who refer new hires with monetary incentives. The introduction of this program will not only help those employees who refer new hires, but will also help K-Bank find new hires that are equip with the proper skills needed to fill vacant positions. Hiring the right employees helps ensure that K-Bank has knowledgeable and trainable employees that can meet the organizations current and future needs (Werner & DeSimone, 2012). If K-Bank is able to hire and maintain high caliber staff, K-Bank can enhance its high quality employees by implementing developmental opportunities. By hiring competent and skilled employees K-Bank is ensuring that they will have a trainable workforce. Hiring the right employees is the first step organizations can take in order to eliminate the skills gap. It is imperative that organizations hire trainable employees that are capable of meeting the needs of the organization (Werner & DeSimone, 2012). In addition to the employee referral program K-Bank can introduce a screening process to further ensure the right employees are being hired. In addition to interviews employees should be required to pass a basic skills test. This can be in the form of a pre-employment computerized test that assesses reading, comprehension, and basic math skills.Introducing such a measure will help ensure K-Bank hires the right employees. Hiring knowledgeable employees can also help reduce organizational cost. Hiring employees who already possess the skills required for the job will help eliminate cost related to training. In addition to lowering the cost of training, employees who pass a pre-assessment test and understand what is expected of them will be more likely to stay with the organization. During the recruitment and screening processes it is important that employees understand what the job requirements are. New employees that have realistic expectations of the job, perform much better than those with inflated expectations. So it is important that K-Bank consider introducing recruitment and screening processes in order to maintain its high employee standards (Werner & DeSimone, 2012).Once the proper employees are hired, K-Bank can introduce a formal mentor program to enhance career development and provide specialized training to its employees. This type of training and development tool uses behavior modeling to ensure that new employees learn from seasoned employees. Using behavior modeling helps employees understand organizational culture as well as proper procedures (Werner & DeSimone, 2012). Introducing a mentoring program that focuses on advancement into management will help solidify the organizations culture and will yield high performing management staff. Maintaining a competent management team will ensure that K-Bank can continue its legacy as a leader in the banking industry. Introducing a mentoring program helps employees at K-Bank advance within the organization adding to their career development opportunities. Also, mentoring programs can help guide the organizations succession planning. Mentors are typically employees who have a great deal of knowledge and rank within an organization. Introducing senior employees to younger “fresh” employees can help rejuvenate the staff at K-Bank, while simultaneously training new employees with valuable knowledge to take their senior mentors place (Hunt & Michael, 1983). This type of succession planning ensures that the organization will replace effective senior employees with newly acquired effective talent (Hunt & Michael, 1983). Succession planning and career development at K-Bank can be improved by introducing a mentoring program that pairs senior employees with new “fresh” employees. The employees selected to take part in the mentoring program will be those capable of mobility within the organization. Mentorships are one of the most effective training and development tools available to organizations. Not to mention that work and training are done simultaneously, saving the organization money (Hunt & Michael, 1983).Introducing such a program will ensure that those employees fit for mobility within K-Bank will have the opportunity to engage in a mentor program that will help increase their career development opportunities. By introducing a mentor program K-Bank will not only help ensure that eligible employees receive proper training and advancement, but a mentor program will also benefit those doing the mentoring. Mentoring programs serve many benefits that will help enhance the entire organization.As mentioned previously the mentee is able to learn valuable roles from a seasoned employee. The mentor will benefit by training a reputable and competent replacement while creating valuable working relationships. By introducing a mentor program organizations are able to create a line of dependable employees while simultaneously solidifying its culture (Hunt & Michael, 1983).In addition to introducing a mentoring program K-Bank can also implement a training and development course geared toward management. This course can focus on maintaining and building strong managerial staff. Since the banking industry is constantly changing, organizations must ensure they can compete. In order for K-Bank to ensure that management will have the ability to interact appropriately with staff, they can implement a training group that is specific to their personal developmental needs. In order for K-Bank to dissect what training and development needs management requires, they can introduce a 360-degree feedback. This type of feedback allows managers to rate their own competencies and also gives subordinates and peers the opportunity to share their opinion on managerial performance (Noe, 2010). This type of feedback is very valuable to organizations because training and development needs can be designed specifically to fit the needs of the manager in question. This type of feedback can help organizations set specific development goals based on the strengths and weakness presented in the survey (Noe, 2010).After the 360-degree feedback is complete some examples of training and development that may be valuable to the organization include sensitivity training, continued education, and or leadership training (Werner & DeSimone, 2012). The method of training will depend on the results of the feedback. Implementing a 360-degree feedback will help employees feel involved in the process and will allow management to evaluate their own competencies. Introducing a 360-degree feedback will help the organization and management understand what skills, behaviors, and development needs are apparent within management. This assessment will help narrow down the training needs of employees and managers (Noe, 2010). In addition the 360-degree feedback will help K-Bank develop its management team into high performing individuals that are capable of maintaining and working well with lower level employees. Since K-Bank is already a highly regarded organization within the banking industry it is important that K-Bank maintains its high employee standards. Implementing training and development programs that focus on career development and succession planning will enable K-Bank to retain a highly developed workforce. The organizations commitment to its employees is what drives employee improvement programs and will continue to motivate employees to succeed within K-Bank. Improving the caliber of employees employed at K-Bank will affect the consumers and shareholders by providing a better banking experience. K-Bank’s mission statement is that they aim “to be a strong Thai financial group that provides a variety of financial services of world-class quality responsive to technology and human resources so as to achieve optimal benefits to customers, shareholders employees and the county” (Werner & DeSimone, 2012, p. 3). Hiring the right personal through referral programs will help K-Bank maintain an effective workforce with the ability to use and learn new technologies. Employee referral programs were shown to be one of the most effective ways to reduce employee turnover rate and gain reliable motivated employees (Gannon, 1971). In addition to the recruitment program K-Bank will have a screening process that will ensure the right employees are hired for the job. This will help K-Bank maintain its mission to provide world-class quality to its shareholders and customers. The 360-degree feedback and mentorship will tie into the organization business strategy by maintaining high performing management staff that is capable of assisting themselves as well as lower level employees with training and career development opportunities (Werner & DeSimone, 2012). The implementation of these HRD functions will help ensure that K-Bank maintains its mission statement while simultaneously improving its business goals and strategies. Case Study 2Every day, organizations make adjustments to effectively achieve their goals and visions while constantly responding to external and internal environmental changes. Among these many variables, organizations need to focus on employee’s behaviors. Employee behaviors impact organizations’ culture and performance. To enhance understanding of influential causes of employee behavior, this case study facilitates awareness of employee behavior and its overall implication for HRD.When massive revenues were derived from outside of the U.S, United Technologies Corporation (UTC) underwent major reductions of its U.S. workforce in 2009. This phenomenon is a good example of organization change to external influences, namely economic conditions. The first question that the case study posed was: “What do you think is likely to happen to employee training and development efforts in the midst of major downsizing efforts?” Downsizing is defined as voluntary actions of organizations to reduce the overall size of their workforce (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012). Hence, downsizing refers to an organization change. According to Bartunek and Moch (1987), organization change can range from nominal (e.g. adopting new routines) to radical (e.g. traumatic events like bankruptcies or joint ventures). For UTC, the reduction of the U.S. workforce is a radical transformation, and the organization will face numerous challenges by transforming their workforce. Before organizations downsize, employers need to consider the effectiveness of this in terms of organizational performance, employee satisfaction, and product and service quality, etc. According to the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) survey, downsizing organizations has resulted in lower employee satisfaction compared to organizations that have retained their employees (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012). Therefore, primarily, organizations need to focus on efficiently maintaining their original workforce and working with what they have. Moreover, for HRD professionals, it is vital to establish an up-to-date training and coaching system corresponding to major changes such as reconstructing or downsizing periods. The second question posed was: “Do you think employees will take advantage of a tuition reimbursement program during reconstructing?” The company, UTC, was committed to reimburse tuition for both undergraduate and graduate courses for their employees’ sake. This statement itself supports the company’s willingness to support employees’ personal outcomes, which will eventually lead to organizational outcomes. It also shows employers loyalty to the employees of UTC. Employees will feel valued because of the company’s benefit program, and this may affect their motivation to work. The research on a self-fulfilling prophecy has shown the connection between supervisors’ expectations and employees’ performance outcomes (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012).If employers show sincere efforts to improve employees’ knowledge and skills, employees will keenly strive to reach mutual goals. Also, expectancy theory can be applied to enforce a tuition reimbursement program. Expectancy theory illustrates that people will perform behaviors that they perceive will bring valued outcomes (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012). To prevent employees from taking advantage of a tuition reimbursement system, an employer can set the ground rules or standards before reinforcing that system. For instance, employers can limit their rewards to those who performed up to certain levels or higher. Then, employees will be motivated to strive further, and this may change their performance or perceptions at work.The third question raised was: “What happens to employees who are laid off at the time they are taking college classes?” Unexpected layoffs are disappointing from both employers’ and employees’ perspectives. However, if organizations decided to lay off their employees, they should provide some scope of unemployment benefits for them. Obviously, change is challenging, and leaders must continuously adapt to changes in the external environment to be successful (Burke, 2011). Also, the situations and states may vary, and HRD professionals need to consider diverse solutions promptly respond depending on conditions. Equity theory may apply to building organizations’ decision-making processes. People in general desire to be treated fairly, and they determine fairness by comparing relevant returns and contributions based on their perceptions (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012). In order to reduce any tension, HRD professionals need to develop organizational policies for employees. In some cases, employees may be rehired later, while others may have to choose other options in a different organization. In order to assist employees, HRD professionals can help them find the best fits to be successful in their field. Lastly, the case study’s final question was: “Can Pratt & Whitney (and UTC) maintain their commitment to tuition reimbursement in such an environment?” Even when organizations are facing difficult situations, their investment in their employees should be continued. Keeping the tuition reimbursement program is a good example of the Pygmalion effect (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012). The Pygmalion effect is a self-fulfilling prophecy that represents how the expectations a supervisor establishes can influence a subordinate’s behavior (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012). When UTC announced layoffs, tension may have arisen among the employees. Perhaps, they eventually searched for ways to reduce their fear and worry. The action of providing tuition reimbursement itself supports the idea of UTC’s investment in their employees. According to UTC’s 2011 annual report, UTC offers the tuition reimbursement program called Employee Scholar Program (ESP). The report states, “Since its inception 15 years ago, UTC employees have earned more than 32,000 degrees through the ESP. To date, we have invested $1 billion in the program. We see the payoff on that investment every day. And so do our customers and other stakeholders” (UTC website, p.15). These figures indicate that the investment in employee educational support has created fruitful outcomes for the organization. Through this program, the employees may have achieved some sense of self-fulfillment, and this may have affected their performance outcomes. Hence, HRD professionals need to facilitate positive expectations for employees while continuously providing applicable support to obtain the best result in a given situation. In conclusion, it is essential for organizations to have high expectations for their employees by providing them with adequate training, benefit programs, and reward systems. That being said, HRD professionals should consistently study employees’ needs and wants in order to assist them. Ongoing training and frequent feedback for current employees will help them to be motivated and perform better to enhance both personal and organizational goals. Furthermore, there will always be challenges of employee retention and turnover considering this globalized era. To cope with these changes, HRD professionals are required to not only develop human resources, but also to retain them efficiently. HRD professionals should observe their workforce carefully and diagnose it in a timely manner. Then appropriate intervention should be designed and implemented to strengthen an organization. Case Study 3In today’s changing economic climate, companies must fight to stay competitive and attractive to employees in order to keep them engaged. One way of keeping employees engaged while aligning with company objectives is through learning and development programs. Learning is one of the most important aspects in Human Resources Development. “Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior, cognition, or affect that occurs as a result of one’s interaction with the environment” (Werner & DeSimone, 2012, p. 67). An example of a learning and development program is Caterpillar’s CAT U. CAT U was founded in 2001, during a time where Caterpillar, Inc. made a commitment to become and organization that provided continuous learning for its employees.Caterpillar, Inc. is a global manufacturing and financial services company based out of Peoria, Illinois. Caterpillar has over 132,000 workers employed in the United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, and Europe (Caterpillar, Inc., 2013). Founded in 1905, Caterpillar, Inc. is a household name when it comes to machinery. With a wide global reach and hundreds of thousands of employees, it can be difficult to establish a learning and development program. However, Caterpillar’s CAT U has exceeded expectations. An interesting facet of CAT U is that courses are offered to employees, distributors, and customers (Caterpillar, Inc., 2013). One of the first objectives that must be considered when putting together CAT U is deciding on what type of learning should be offered to employees. When thinking of any manufacturing company, safety comes to mind. Whether it is employees making Caterpillar machines or customers using them, safety should be at the top of CAT U’s list. According to the United States Department of Labor, 13 workers die each day due to workplace injuries (OSHA, 2013). It is important to have instruction on how to stay safe on the job, as well as being in OSHA compliance. Another topic of learning could be training on how to use Caterpillar’s machines correctly. This would be most beneficial for distributors and customers. Distributors would find this helpful when they are showing a potential customer a certain product. They would have the knowledge and expertise not only to explain to the customer how to use a machine, but could actually show them with a test run. Once a customer purchases machinery, they will be able to take courses for further instruction and also as continuing education. In addition, if a new operator comes on board, instructional information is available for the new hire. Finally, it would be important for employees and distributors to have access to learn more on the company’s values and how they conduct business, as well as career development courses. It is always a smart idea for companies to provide additional training or continuing education on best practices including company values, beliefs, service procedures, and customer service. For a global corporation like Caterpillar, it is easy to have cultural differences across the company. With organizational development tools, it would be possible for Caterpillar to smooth out any cultural differences and paint the picture of employee expectations across the company. This could include modules on company values, how Caterpillar views the customer, and tactful communications. Courses like these help establish the company culture. In addition, there should be courses that serve as steps in an employee’s career development. It is common for an employee to be in one position but desires to transition into another role. By providing employees with courses that prepare them to transition into another area of the company, Caterpillar could increase employee engagement. The next area Caterpillar would need to focus on is how to deliver the learning to its employees, distributors, and customers. It is important to take into consideration the perceptual preferences of different groups. Caterpillar Inc. should take into consideration many different methods of instruction including online live courses, online self-paced courses, printed materials, and instructor led classroom courses (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2009). Different methods of delivery would work best depending on what type of information is being taught. Caterpillar, Inc. is a global company in my countries around the world so it would be easiest to provide employees and distributors the option to take self-paced courses online. This way, employees could take courses of interest at a time convenient to them, which would eliminate problems with time differences. Also, employees would be able to take courses that were translated into their native language, which would eliminate any problems that a live online course may present. If onsite training could be offered in the many locations of Caterpillar, Inc., that would be very positive. As stated earlier, people learn information in different ways and it is important to allow employees to learn in their optimal environment. If printed information for the courses could be provided as well, those who enjoy self directed learning could benefit from printed material. In addition, Caterpillar, Inc. must consider the issue of multiple generations when developing a training program. There is research that suggests that older employees do not score as well in an open-learning situation such as a self-directed computer-based training. In addition, older employees generally take longer to learn information (Werner & DeSimone, 2012). Given this information, managers may need to provide older workers with more time to complete training courses in order to give equal opportunities to all employees. With any age group, it is important to motivate employees while learning. Any learning activity should involve encouragement and praise for partaking in learning. Additionally, learning programs should provide the opportunity to transfer skills learned back to the job of the employee (Werner & DeSimone, 2012).It is extremely important for Caterpillar, Inc. to provide their employees with ample time to take courses of interest through CAT U. Managers should communicate with employees to schedule appropriate times for their employees to stop their regular tasks to participate in learning. For online courses, computers should be provided for the employees to view material. In addition, it is important for the Human Resources Development department at Caterpillar, Inc. to translate course material to all languages of employees. Each Caterpillar employee should be provided the same opportunity for learning. As for measuring the effectiveness of a training and development program, Caterpillar must establish metrics to track the success. For safety, employees should be required to take courses on occupational safety, and this information should be recorded. From there, the compliance department should watch each employee’s safety. Any work place accidents are reported and it is possible for Caterpillar, Inc. to see if these instructional courses have a positive impact on reducing workplace injuries or safety violations. For personal development courses such as those based in customer service, positive or negative changes can be seen in customer satisfaction surveys. Managers can gain information on their employee’s behavior over the course of a financial quarter or year to see if there are improvements in the daily operations of the employee. Career development courses are fairly easy to get metrics around as well. All employees who take career development courses can be monitored over the course of their employment with Caterpillar, Inc. The Human Resources Development team will be able to see if the employees who have taken these career development courses are using them to elevate themselves to the next step of their career. Any promotions or internal transfers to different departments can be recorded and analyzed. Training and developing employees is extremely important in order to retain the best talent. Before setting a training and development program, it is important to first determine what should be taught, the method of instruction, and how the outcome of the program can be measured to compliment a company’s strategy. Caterpillar, Inc. has done an excellent job of analyzing these questions and implementing a program that engages and retains employees.Case Study 4In the 1990’s customers of Cathay Pacific Airways rated the airline’s customer service as good but “robotic”. The airline wanted to transform its flight attendants to provide exceptional customer service. In the past, the training department adhered to strict lesson plans. This all needed to change if the airline wanted to go to the next level and provide exceptional customer service (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2009).How would you go about designing a needs assessment for the airline?“Training Needs Assessment refers to the organizational process of collecting and analyzing data that supports decision making about when training is the best option (or not) to improve individuals’ performances, define who should be trained, and exactly what content should be taught (Clarke, 2003)” (Ferreira & Abbad, 2013). The first step would be to conduct a needs assessment survey based on diagnostic needs that would prevent future performance deficiencies; analytic needs identify better ways to perform tasks; and compliance needs which are mandated by law. With the flight attendants, trainers need to know where there are gaps in their performance when it pertains to customer service. Also, if there are some ways of serving the customer that could be improved upon. Finally, which rules they had to teach, because they were laws and if they did not follow them, they would put the company and themselves at risk.A task analysis would need to be performed as well to evaluate flight attendants. A job description would need to be developed to determine the activities of the job. If the job description is not available, a job analysis will need to be performed (Werner & DeSimone, 2009, 118). This is usually done by observation of a job and determining the tasks being done. The amount of hours that are worked per day, how long they are in front of people and what are some of the stressful activities that flight attendants engage in are all things that need to be addressed when determining a job description. The next step involved in a task analysis is called task identification. This would identify the major tasks that are involved in being a flight attendant and determine standards for all flight attendants. Flight attendants cannot determine what expected of them until the standard in which they are to perform is communicated to them.Also, a strategic/organizational needs analysis should be evaluated just to determine the organizational goals, resources, climate and constraints to make sure they are in-line with the training and development being designed for the flight attendants. Other effective departments could be used to strengthen flight attendants and improve effective practices already in place. The resources need to be determined to decide on the allowable budget for the training. The climate is very important for a trainer to know, so they can better serve the student. As a trainer, you do not want to design a training that is totally counter-cultural and have it rejected by the organization and the learner. The trainer has some control over the climate by making it a safe environment for learning. It is also important to take into account the constraints that the flight attendants might have such as time, Internet accesses or motivation. Finally, it is also important to assess who the learner is. What is their educational background? What trainings have been done in the past? What has failed? What has been successful? What methods would you use to design training that emphasized exceptional customer service? The best kind of adult learning is self-directed and in order to foster learning a new culture must be created. The employees’ learning must be self-directed. The best way to motivate employees is through incentive programs and rewards. Also, the best way to train a population that is mobile is through technology. The flight attendants would need to take a number of short 30-minute trainings with assessments that would improve the customer service. These short trainings would pose as coaches that would remind them of customer service principles that Cathay Pacific is trying to instill in its employees. Each training and assessment would be worth point values. Also, at the end of each flight, the customers would rate the flight with a short questionnaire on how they did as a team. That would be another form of evaluation. The individual would gain points based on how well his or her flight attendant team performed. The incentive points could be redeemed for a number of rewards such as money, time off, and gift certificates. Hopefully, this incentive program would encourage teamwork as well as self-directed learning.What types of training would you recommend for flight attendants, if the new goal were to provide exceptional customer service? Their students learn many different ways. One way other than the thirty minute trainings, will be coaching sessions where a more experienced flight attendant will be deemed a coach and will help each flight attendant on the airplane and provide feedback. These coaches will also be chosen based on how they adhere to the new customer service culture. The job of the coach would be to encourage the flight attendants perform the principles of exceptional customer service. They are also there to build rapport with the team, so they can build teamwork, so they can better serve the customer. Less experienced flight attendants would benefit from being able to lean on more experienced flight attendants for wisdom. “In surveying workers across multiple industries, Billet (1992, 1993, 2001) found that being involved in everyday work tasks, direct guidance from experts, and indirect experience that emerged in the workplace contribute to how workers learn and develop their professional knowledge” (Hutchins, Burke & Berthelsen, 2010).These coaches will also be mentors that have been trained by the trainers in the principles of the exceptional customer service that Cathay Pacific Airways wants to produce. They will be each employee’s connection to the company that instills a culture that encourages diversity and an atmosphere that is safe for employee learning. Employees will also build collaboration if the environment is safe among coaches and other flight attendants. The curriculum will mainly be focused on providing exceptional customer service, but being in the airline business trainers cannot ignore safety. There was a study in The Journal of Marketing done in 1987 that, “…for hotel and airline customers, the most important need is the need to feel secure, especially in terms of their physical safety. Hotels and airlines need to do everything they can to portray safety; this can be achieved via visible physical structures (e.g. secure door locks, maintenance of equipment), material tangibles (e.g. brochures, posted policies), as well as employee behaviors (e.g. reassurance from service personnel)” (Chung-Herrera, 2007). This article articulates that in the airline industry safety has to be part of exceptional customer serviceHow might the training programs themselves have to change in order to promote innovation and collaboration among flight attendants, as well as from the trainers? The training programs would have to work as a team to gain points for the incentive program. Today’s trainings are no longer simply done in a formal classroom setting. The training program uses technology to be flexible, so the flight attendants could take a thirty minute training and assessment while waiting for another flight on a smartphone. The software would be easily accessible on the company website or a smartphone application. If they had a question, they could simply send an email to the trainer or online chat with them if it is during working hours. Another part of the online training would be online discussions with the trainer, coaches and other flight attendants. This is another opportunity to build collaboration and give employees a forum for innovation. The discussion can be from frustrations to how to deal with disgruntled customers. Through the forum, the trainer can pose questions that facilitate learning and cause the culture to change in an organization. This gives employees a chance to converse and build rapport with each other as well. Combined with the online training, the online discussions, coaching, and access to trainers through email and online chat with an incentive plan curriculum, can help change the face of customer service at Cathay Pacific Airlines. Through education is the only way to have real change of a culture and effectively improve performance in an organization.Case Study # 5When we think of human resource development in an organization, training employees are one of the most common approaches to achieve both performance and culture development. To facilitate employee career development, providing proper education and training with work experience allow individuals to move forward and work to build skills and expertise (Scully-Russ, 2011). It is essential for future Human Resource Development (HRD) professionals to provide effective learning opportunities to support employees’ work performance and career development. In order to obtain well-developed training skills in HRD, an organization needs to focus on proper training design, development, and implementation to minimize risk while accentuating organization strengths. The case study about Rockwell Collins’ training issue is a good example to examine of HRD professionals responding to both internal and external factors when launching training programs. Rockwell Collins is a prestigious company that manufactures electronic controls and communications devices. In 2001, it spun off from Rockwell International to become a publicly traded company. The company headquarters is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and consists of over 20,000 employees worldwide in places like Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. Although Rockwell Collins emphasized the importance of training, it offered merely face-to-face classroom instructions until 1998. Moreover, there were only twelve in-house trainers in the main branch that provided training to employees. Due to the difficulty of access for employees outside of Cedar Rapids, the company had low rate of participants in training sessions. Hence, the Learning and Development group at Rockwell Collins started to consider outsourcing training, as well as changing the types of training methods. The first case study question posed was: “If you were manager of learning and development at Rockwell Collins, where would you start in your efforts to improve the availability and effectiveness of company-sponsored training efforts?” Our group believes that diagnosing the current situation of Rockwell Collins by answering to the following questions is necessary:Where the training is needed the most?What kind of training is most efficient for Rockwell Collins?Who needs to be trained?What conditions are established depending on diverse training types?Communicating closely with the current employees will be the primary step for the needs assessment. Based on the results, we will prioritize the needs in order to help the company’s leaders to make decisions efficiently. We need to develop strategic plans for the HRD programs considering the Rockwell Collins’ training and budget. In addition, establishing new goals and visions will be required in order to assist employees to reach their personal and professional goals. The second question was: “What suggestions would you have concerning how training is designed and provided?” The key actions that should be considered during designing programs are as follows: (1) defining objectives, (2) selecting the trainer, (3) developing a training plan, (4) selecting program methods and techniques, (5) preparing proper materials, and (6) scheduling the program (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012). The aforementioned steps are major components during a HRD program designing phase. After the need of assessment is defined, we should elaborate them into a set of objectives. By conducting defining objectives, employees will feel more comfortable to engage with programs or interventions that are offered by an organization. Therefore, establishing clear objectives are vital. There are three useful tips by Mager that will communicate intentions: performance, conditions, and criteria Performance represents what a learner is expected to be able to do and/or produceConditions exemplify the conditions under which leaners are able to do or perform the taskCriteria clarify how well learners should perform the task in order for the outcome to be acceptableFor the next step, we are going to select the most competent trainer in order to conduct training programs. Training competency does not solely entail the knowledge and different skills in HRD. An effective trainer must know how to communicate well with employees, and having good interpersonal skills by using various instructional techniques (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012). If trainers lack some skills, for instance considering subject matter experts, we should provide them with a train-the-trainer program to improve their skills. Then, trainers need to develop the most effective training plan, methods, and techniques. To translate program objectives into training content, a well-developed lesson plan should be prepared. According to Gilley and Eggland, a lesson plan should cover the following elements: (1) content to be covered, (2) sequencing of activities, (3) selecting various training media, (4) establishing experiential exercises, (5) timing and planning of each activity, (6) selection of methods, and (7) variety of an evaluation items (Werner, J., & DeSimone, R., 2012). When constructing lesson plans, trainers should be aware that plans should be flexible depending on each situation. After completing the lesson plan, we should select the appropriate training methods for the company. Considering a large amount of employees existing worldwide from Rockwell Collins, we will weigh in on conducting virtual training called computer-based training (CBT) than face to face training. The methods and media selections should be selected by studying objectives of the program, time and money allowance, availability of other resources, and trainee learning style. Also, CBT will help employees in different regions to view their training materials easily depending on their schedules. However, some training such as personal skills, verbal communication skills, and demonstration skills will be provided face to face.The third question posed was: “What suggestions do you have concerning who should provide the training (i.e., in-house trainers versus outside vendors)?” We suggest applying both in-house and outside vendors for obtaining efficient training of Rockwell Collins employees. Having outside vendors teaming with in-house trainers might be more effective when building training designs. They can elaborate various training methods and options. Accordingly, outside vendors can enrich training programs of the company. However, if a company decides to hire only in-house trainers, it can benefit from flexible customization for any team or department in an organization. In-house trainers are more flexible, and they can offer hands-on training with a better understanding of the company and its employees. The final question posed was: “How would you seek to “sell” your recommendations to top management?” After the completion of training development phases, it is vital to talk to the right person who has power for making decisions. To be successful, our group will prepare a clearly stated training program proposal that delivers the following elements: training objectives, tangible outcomes, time tables, methods, techniques, and the cost, etc. Well-designed power point slides will be helpful to visualize our proposal. The benefits of training are not confined to improved performance with additional benefits such as empowerment, self-efficacy, effectiveness, and profitability studied by research (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). Hence, we will focus on how these training programs will benefit the overall company’s new goals and missions by showing potential future growth. Therefore, it is important to articulate our plan of action. Having genuine communications with the top management should be conducted as well to discuss our program’s impact and intention. In conclusion, as future HRD professionals, HRD people constantly seek positive changes in an organization. Organizations’ high commitment HR practices, including training and development, aim to prompt a strong bond of attachment to the organization leading to improved job performance and further positive outcomes (Kooij, 2010). Training can be a stepping stone for these changes. Moreover, the goal of this training and development should be based upon emerging employee’s job satisfaction and performance that will lead to better organization performance. ReferencesAguinis, H., & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of training and development for individuals andteams, organizations, and society. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 451-474.Bartunek, J. M., & Moch, M. K. (1987). First-order, second-order, and third-order change andorganizational development interventions: A cognitive approach. Journal of AppliedBehavioral Science, 23, 483-500.Burke, W. (2011). Organization change: Theory and practice (3nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.Caterpillar Inc.. (n.d.).?Caterpillar Inc.. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from , B. (2007). Customers’ psychological needs in different service industries. Journal of services marketing. 21(4). 263-269.Ferreira, R., & Abbad G. (2013). Training needs assessment: where we are and where we should go. Brazilian administration review, 10(1), 77-99.Gannon, M. J. (1971). Sources of referral and employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 55(3), 226-228. Retrieved from , D. M., & Michael, C. (1983). Mentorship: A career training and development tool. The Academy of Management Review, 8(3), 475-485. Retrieved from , H.M., Burke, L. A. & Berthelsen, A. (2010). A missing link in the transfer problem? Examining how trainers learn about training transfer. Human resource management, 49(4), 599-618.Kooij, D. T. A. M., Jansen, P. G.W., Dikkers, J. S. E., De Lange, A. H. (2010). The influence ofage on the associations between HR practices and both affective commitment and jobsatisfaction: A meta analyses. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(8), 1111-1136.Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development. (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.OSHA Commonly Used Statistics. (n.d.).Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Home. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from , E. (2011). Green jobs and career pathways: An arranged marriage in service to a21st Century workforce development system. Washington, DC: The U.S. Department ofLabor.United Technologies 2011 Annual Review. Retrieved from , J. M., & DeSimone, R. L. (2012). Human resource development. (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Pub. ................
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