Yi-Chun Chen

Assignment: Blogs 0415_The future of training

Yi-Chun Chen

In the last chapter, Noe mentioned ten training trends that will affect training. In my view, these ten trends can be resulted from three phases:

1.     Rapid development of technology and systematic design

2.     Needs of knowledge

3.     Successful effectiveness of training from a collaborative business environment

From the phase of rapid development knowledge, it means that the developing technology influences how to design and deliver training instruction. Because of technical and systematic development, trainer desire a quicker way to develop training program, and trainees prefer to be trained by use of multiple deliveries. These factors increase the importance of technology and make (or force) companies have to involve technology in their process of training.

Second, when considering the retirement of experienced employees and the needs of employers to identify or deign better training programs, it is really necessary for companies to conduct knowledge management for their existing employers and trainers. Even though companies intend to outsource their training programs, they still need to provide enough information, knowledge and skills to their training venders to design training. Hence, regardless of for internal business or for external business, both of them strongly need professional knowledge to support their operations.

In addition, it is no doubt that a successful training needs enough supports. The support is not from a single resource. In the workplace, employees need work-life balance and consultation from their companies; employers need feedbacks (not only positive one) to improve their training design. Outside companies, in order to find the better training programs, find excellent examples of products and services, companies also need to go out to learn other experiences or even bring different stimulus to their employees like outsourcing training.

In sum, ten trends are associated with each other, and they are not separate ideas and without any relationship among them. In my view, three reasons lead to these ten trends. If we can know what factors lead to these trends, it really can help us determine why we follow them with clear intention.

Yi-Chun

Assignment: Blogs 0408_Special Topics

Yi-Chun Chen

From Needs assessment to training strategies, all contents of them are related to how to conducting training, including the design and implementation, inside the workplace. In Chapter 10 and 12, the topics extend environments to outside the workplace itself, for example, family, government (policies), and society (cultures). It shows that the human training and development is not a close process, and in fact it will actually be influenced by other events happens outside the workplace.

For example, in order to reduce work-life conflict, five nonwork-friendly benefits and sabbatical strategy are introduced for employers to offer to employees. Regardless of which strategy mentioned above employers choose, I think the strategy of “cross-training” should be involved to support the works that are responsible for people who are in sabbaticals or flextime. As Noe stated in Chapter 10, cross-training involves training employees to learn the skills of one or several jobs. If employees can have multi-ability, they may cover some works when some knowledgeable employees have sabbaticals or are absent because of personal reasons. Otherwise, the flexible arrangement will have a negative impact on business operations.

Due to the situation mentioned above, I think if a company wants to balance work and life of their employees, their business strategy for training, discussed in Chapter 2, will need to focus on “Concentration strategy.” According to Noe, it refers to the focus on increasing market share, reducing costs, or creating and maintaining a market niche for products and services. From the standpoint of concentration, in order to maintain the operation of business, knowledge and skills of employees actually need to be concerned. As long as employees possess enough abilities to support or cover other works, and then keep the quality of their service in certain level, flexible schedule can be implemented. From Noe’s view, I think the role of employees is a little passive, because most strategies need to be considered and implemented by companies rather than employees. However, it may be because the audience of this textbook is trainers or employers not employees. What I want to say is that employees’ abilities and skills are one of the most important possessions of business, and it is not only the employers’ responsibility to train employees, but also the employees’ duties to increase their abilities actively. Flexible time schedule, or work-life balance, is the goal that needs both employers and employees to strive to.

Yi-Chun

Assignment: Blogs 0401_Strategic training

Yi-Chun Chen

In the Chapter 2, Noe mentioned that employees today are performing many roles, and one of them is to interact with customers. It seems that employees are responsible to the service and the quality of products. In order to take a responsible for the success of their company, employees need to be trained to use data to make a proper decision when they encounter different challenges from their customers. In that time, two main issues are involved in this process. One is the knowledge management, and another is related to the control of emotion.

Through a proper knowledge management system, employees can deal with most existing knowledge and deal with it quickly. It is really helpful for employees especially if they are in the customer service department. A well-designed knowledge management system will be a great support for them to deal with many problems. In addition, if a particular knowledgeable worker quits, and employees have to substitute his work for a while, the system can really help them be familiar with new works quickly.

As Grugulis argued, emotion control is a difficult and impressive part for employees especially for employees in the department of customer service. These employees are trained to establish rapport with customers by showing warmth and friendly features. In Grugulis’ view, it seems that employees use their positive emotion to exchange profits and females are thought to be the appropriate people to do this kind of work. In this process, employees’ emotion is like a product that can be sold by their company. Although this point of view looks like too practically, it seems to reflect the real phenomena in a real working world.

In sum, knowledge management is like an external support for employees to process the necessary competence to deal with problems related to professional field; and the issue of emotion control discusses about the internal needs of employees. In my view, it is the only way that employers concern about both of the internal and external supports, and then employees can make their greatest effort to contribute themselves to their company.

Yi-Chun

Assignment: Blogs 0325_Evaluation

Yi-Chun Chen

In “Resistance to evaluation,” there were eight implications mentioned by the authors. When it comes to the psychological dimensions, I always have a connection to learning style or instructional design, and not directly think of the issue of evaluation. The psychological dimensions that would influence the resistance of evaluation are as follows:

1.     Previous experiences: If these experiences are mostly negative, the possibility for future resistance to evaluation will increase.

2.     Cost-benefit: Stakeholders will think about their personal cost-benefit before they participate to an evaluation. If they think that they will get more disadvantages than advantages, they will try to prevent the negative outcomes and may resist evaluation.

3.     Power structure: Form the standpoint of the process of giving and receiving information, it can display the relationship between the stakeholders and evaluators. If it is a non-negotiable process, stakeholders will perceive the loss of power.

4.     Reactance: If stakeholders perceive the evaluation as a control measure and their freedom will be limited in the process of evaluation, they will have a negative emotion and experience reactance.

5.     Control: If there are too much unknown and unpredictable consequences in the process of evaluation, stakeholders will perceive loss of control, and the resistance will increase.

6.     Competition or cooperation: It is important to design a real cooperative work for evaluation. If the evaluators do not handle it well, this evaluation will easily be a competitive work, and then the pervasive breakdown of trust will appear and retard the progress of evaluation.

7.     Performance situations: There are two different kinds of attitudes toward challenges or evaluation. One is positive to think that evaluation is the way to improve performance in the future, but another is negative to try to avoid any frustrated outcomes. If stakeholders perceive that the evaluation will restrict their freedom to set up their own performance standard, the resistance of evaluation will show.

8.     Self-esteem/self-image: If stakeholders’ self-esteem is broken by the evaluation, they will reject to participate to this work.

In my view, regardless of the purpose of understanding learners’ ability or modifying instructions in the future, evaluators always want to know or distinguish the effectiveness of learning strategies or one program by implementing evaluations. In addition, they usually try to find a most effective way to examine the process of learning or a measurement tool. However, as the authors stated, “Evaluation can therefore make explicit the existing discrepancies between internal expectations and reality, thereby creating dissatisfaction.” It seems to mean that the more effective and explicit evaluation are conducted by evaluators, the much resistance will be showed by stakeholders. Hence, it is really a hard but necessary issue for evaluators to consider about.

Making a connection to the readings in the last week, the empowerment evaluation may be a possible way to solve the issue mentioned above. But how to conduct the empowerment to result in a balanced relationship between stakeholders and evaluators is still the question that I cannot have a concrete way to deal with it.

Yi-Chun

Assignment: Blogs 0318_Delivery Outbrief and Evaluation

Yi-Chun Chen

When I saw the topic of “empowerment evaluation as a social work strategy,” I was curious about “empowerment.” In my major, when we discuss about online discussion and the topic of how to facilitate an online discussion, we mention to the importance of empowerment. As a facilitator or an instructor in one online course, letting learners or participants feel that they are empowered is crucial to the learning effectiveness and the whole learning environment. If participants feel that they are empowered and think that they have the ability to control or decide something components in the process of learning, they will have the positive attitude to the program, and this kind of feeling will motivate them to invest in this study or program. In addition to understanding the necessity of empowerment, “when” and “how” to empower learners are also important for facilitators and instructors to think about. In this paper, the authors tried to encourage the stakeholders to develop and design the new outreach strategy together, and tried to establish a collaborative atmosphere in the process of designing through the empowerment approach. In my view, it is really an accessible way to let participants feel that they are part of this new strategy.

In the same paper, the authors mentioned to five stage of readiness of change. This model described the sequence of learning in detail, and it is useful for instructors to identify participants’ learning status, and then provide or suggest suitable instructional strategies or materials to improve their learning/ training performance. When it comes to the development and training of human resource, if trainees or designers of training program can understand these five stages, and can observe and analyze trainers’ learning behaviors by this model, it will be helpful for both of trainees and trainers to have a smooth training experience. In my view, this model should be utilized in whole process of training. Because five stages don’t take the same term or period of time, and the change of five stages may be different individually. Hence, trainers should always observe the change, care about it, and then modify their instructions by the results of observation. Most importantly, it is necessary for trainers to involve this model when they conduct “needs assessment.” If they can involve this model early, they will identify trainees’ status of readiness in the beginning of training and provide the adequate training content to trainees.

Yi-Chun

Assignment: Blogs 0212_Method Overview

Yi-Chun Chen

The readings of this week are related to several kinds of methods. They can be roughly divided into two categories, traditional method and technological one. As my major, the technological methods mentioned in Chapter 8 attract me more. In Page 303, Table 8.10 showed the result of comparison of different technological training methods in five dimensions (learning outcome, learning environment, training of transfer, cost and effectiveness). From this table, I notice that the author make the e-learning and distance learning separate, and consequences of comparison of two methods are different. For example, in “practice” phase, e-learning is “High” but distance-learning is “Low.” But in page278, the author just said “Online learning (or E-learning) includes web-based training, distance learning and virtual learning.” Hence, I feel a little confused that why “e-learning” and “distance learning” would be evaluated as two methods.

The reason that I care about the definition is that I use the term of “web-based training” in my final paper because I think that the online learning, e-learning and web-based training or other trainings provided through the Internet are all the same. There may be some differences between them but I didn’t tell them. So clarifying the difference between and make a clearer definition for these several terms of technological methods may be one work that I need to do and show in my final paper. In addition, Chapter 8 also gave me much information related to the content of my final paper. For example, it mentioned some challenges when trainers want to implement technological training program for employees. Also, it pointed certain conditions in which trainer can consider using technological methods. This information is related to “needs assessment,” and it is another main part of my final paper.  

Yi-Chun

Assignment: Blogs 0205

Yi-Chun Chen

In Chapter 5, a model of the transfer process was introduced. Three components included in this model are trainee characteristics, training design and work environment. In the phase of training design, I think that “case study” is the key learning strategy that needs to be involved. By conducting “case study,” three implications (the theory of identical elements, the stimulus generalization approach and cognitive theory) will naturally be applied. When trainees deal with different problem-solving questions (case problems), their attitudes and strategies have to be flexible and changeable to face them. In addition, the strategy of case study can also be used to explain the other phase-work environment. In this phase, the author mentioned that an effective training environment needs to provide opportunities for trainees to use learned capabilities. In a real business or school environment, it is easy to provide a real experience for trainees to practice. However, if trainees select the training program outside their workplace, the practice of case study will be important for them to prepare skills needed for their jobs. In addition to providing opportunities for trainees to apply their skills learned in training program, preparing an appropriate physical environment is also an important issue that has to be concerned with by trainers.

All of these principles can be connected to the survival activity we had last week. In that activity, it was shocked for me that I didn’t consider the environment where people were and just imagined all the ranking by my personal experience and preference (my score was 56><). It may not happen when I consider about issues related to the field of education or training. However, it still reminds me that I will “forget” to think of some crucial factors that influence the final decision seriously. Being careful and listing all possible determinants before making a decision may be a way to avoid or lessen these kinds of problems.

————

Yi-Chun

Assignment: Blogs 0129 _Needs Analysis & Assumptions of Learning

Yi-Chun Chen

In chapter 4, in the beginning, Noe mentioned that the purpose or the training strategies at four companies. They provided different methods, but certain ways can be concluded as following: (1) providing opportunities for trainees to practice; (2) offering meaningful content; (3) identifying prerequisites; and (4) learning through observation experience. The main topic in last week was related to needs assessment, and it mentioned “employee’s readiness” when it came to “person analysis.” Accordingly, it seems that “prerequisites” is as “readiness” in conducting needs assessment. Besides, learning theories were involved in training programs and can help trainers make sure their educational belief. In the field of Education, most people believe that teachers’ or trainers’ belief can really influence the content and procedure of their instruction, and also help them examine their instruction.

In addition, in chapter 3, person analysis involves several parts like “who needs training” and “performance deficiencies.” In chapter 4, Noe added the issue of “generations,” and I think that this issue should be involved into the process of person analysis and the way to content training groups within a mix of generations is to take a blended approach for them. I think this point is a useful reminder for novice trainers because they may easily use their own experiences (ages) to design training programs.  

In Darrah’s papers, she pointed the failure of explaining one work just by its skills requirements. The understanding of work is complex, and it includes the relationship with other people, knowledge and causation, not just skills. This idea let me think of how I define one job/work for people. It seemed that my answer would always be related to the content of works and what kinds of skills people who are interested in it need to prepare before they enter those workplaces. Without mentioning about working environment and social relationship, I simplified this question to just focus on one part, skills.

—Yi-Chun

●Assignment: Blogs 0122 _Model & Types of Training

Yi-Chun Chen

The main issue of this week is “Needs Assessment”, the process used to determine whether training is necessary. It typically involves three phases: organizational analysis, person analysis and task analysis. Organizational analysis includes determination of the appropriateness of training, available resources, and supports for training activities; person analysis refers to determining who needs training; and the last one, task analysis, identifies the important tasks, knowledge, skills and behaviors that need to be involved into the training program. To be brief, I think that these three phases point out “where (organizational analysis),” “who (person analysis)” and “what (task analysis)” in the instructional design of training program. From Noe’s view, “pressure points” influence the content of needs assessment and the outcome of it.

In addition, there are several methods that can be used to conduct needs assessment, such as observation, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, documentation and online technology. Because I major in educational technology, the application of technology in training and development always attracts me. From Noe’s view, using online technology to conduct needs assessment can minimize interruption of regular work, decrease human involvement, summarize the outcome quickly, and then provide an objective report. I agree most of these statements rather than the last one. The questions that I want to ask are “is this kind of report objective and meaningful?” and “how do SMEs explain it?”

However, there are some limitations and considerations when SMEs try to involve online technology into the process of needs assessment. If employees do not have enough capabilities of computer skills, they will feel stressful when they participate in this activity. Besides, managers who do not notice the difficulty of testing content will let their employees feel frustrated and then decrease their motivation. Finally, Noe mentioned that online technology can be applied in limited jobs. In my view, I agree the prior two limitations that Noe stated. But I still think of the possibility of applying online technology to conduct needs assessment in other jobs that “not” required interaction with customers through “computers and phones.” For example, can we use “online technology” to conduct the needs assessment of staff development and on-the- job training for teachers? Is there any obstacle when we try to do that? Or it may be still worked, but there are other ways that are more suitable and convenient than the way of online technology.

—Yi-Chun

●Assignment: Blogs0115_Introduction and overview

As Grugulis mentioned, employees and employers are really aware of the advantages of training and development, but they still choose not to do or provide it. This statement actually pointed out a challenge of training and development. I have seen some papers related to developmental training and business training before; however, there are few of them pointed out “the reality of training.” They mentioned many ways or strategies of training provided by institutes, organizations or schools to enhance their faculty’s or employees’ capability, and described how they are effective. These descriptions gave me an ideal and positive picture that workers can be beneficial from training courses, but I seem to ignore workers’ motivation of participation. How can we invite people to be willing to participate into training courses? It is really a good and basic question that all training designers need to think of it.

In addition, he also stated that employers avoid training employees and prefer to hire large numbers of low-paid staff in their workplaces. This phenomenon still happens in my country. Some companies start to downsize their staff number and hire some temporary workers. These workers’ welfare (like participating training courses) and wages are not as good as official workers, and employers can save cost by doing that. I think that it may be an easy way for employers to control their budgets, but it is a little unfair for those temporary workers. They still have to develop their skills and need supports that come from their workplaces. Some papers that I have read remarked that employees are one of the most important “assets” in workplaces. If employers are not aware of it, they will not really save cost but lose much that money cannot afford.

Finally, the concept of deskilling is new for me. Darrah stated that jobs are increasingly deskilled because new technology automates routine works. In the field of Educational technology, we always mention that the development of technology changes learning/training strategies, but I didn’t think that it will change the skill requirements of jobs. This new concept motivates me want to have a deeper understanding of the application or influence of technology in Human Resource Development.

—Yi-Chun