Training and Development

Question 1

Training and development can be described as the spectrum of activities promoted by an organization to _______ the skills of the employees.

Answer 1

advance

Ongoing training and development will improve the skill base of employees.

Question 2

The aim of any training program is to equip the participants with new skills which they can then successfully _______ in the performance of their jobs.

Answer 2

utilize

It is very important that the skills learned by trainees be successfully transferred or utilized by employees when performing their duties as there is no point in having these skills if they cannot be used when working.

Question 3

___________ refers to the organizational program that familiarizes new employees with their work environment, job functions and team units.

Answer 3

Orientation

Question 4

The advantages of creating an ___________ program are reduced employee turnover, raised productivity, heightened employee morale, lower recruiting and training costs as well as allaying the concerns of new employees.

Answer 4

orientation

Employee turnover is reduced because employees will develop a sense of belonging and comfort from an orientation program and hence are more likely to stay with the company.

Question 5

An orientation program would normally include an introduction to other workers, ____________ for dress, attendance and behavior, employment conditions such as pay and hours, breakdown of job functions and safety regulations.

Answer 5

expectations

From an insurance and legal compliance perspective, it is critical that safety regulations be clearly explained to new staff members.

Question 6

Career ________ is the process by which a persons values, strengths, weaknesses, interests, abilities and goals are matched to their career path.

Answer 6

planning

Question 7

When assisting young managers to plan their careers, companies should be mindful that young people seek meaningful, challenging, assignments and so some companies have introduced fast-track programs so that these individuals can follow an ___________ career path.

Answer 7

accelerated

These programs allow for diverse, challenging, important assignments requiring a high level of responsibility from the young managers.

Question 8

Training programs need to be designed based on the teaching objectives, trainee readiness and motivation, principles of learning and teacher _______________.

Answer 8

characteristics

Companies will want to select teachers that are good at imparting knowledge to the employees.

Question 9

The teaching objectives of a training program are the desired outcomes of the program whereas trainee readiness and motivation refers to the experience and background knowledge that is ________ for trainees to successfully undergo the program.

Answer 9

required

Trainees who are mature and experienced enough will be better prepared to attend such programs.

Question 10

Adhering to the principles of learning will ensure that the participants can understand and ________ what they have been taught.

Answer 10

remember

In order for a training program to succeed trainees must not only understand but also remember what has been taught.

Question 11

The 8 principles of ________ are goal setting, individual differences, active practice and repetition, whole-versus-part learning, massed-versus-distributed learning, feedback and reinforcement, meaningfulness and presentation and finally modeling.

Answer 11

learning

Modeling refers to learning through observation and then by actually doing it.

Question 12

____ setting clarifies the purpose of training by focusing and motivating behavior or it can simply lay down the map for the training program, its purposes and key learning points.

Answer 12

Goal

By taking time to explain the purposes and reasons for the training, then the interest levels of the participants rise and hence focuses and motivates behavior.

Question 13

The meaningfulness of the presentation refers to the delivery of training materials in a fashion which the trainees can readily relate to, whereas individual differences refers to the accommodation of the different styles of ________ presented by the students.

Answer 13

learning

Explanation

Different people learn differently and at different rates. So, for example, some people learn better through a visual presentation whereas others prefer an audio presentation.

Question 14

___________ learning is usually preferred for training programs because research has shown that arranging classes into a series of short lessons over a period of time makes it easier for the participants to absorb and retain information.

Answer 14

Distributed

Distributed learning and it is usually preferred over massed learning where students are subjected to longer duration of training over a shorter period of time.

Question 15

Feedback and _________ are critical to ensure that employees remain motivated and have actually learned the subject matter.

Answer 15

reinforcement

Feedback focuses on emphasizing the right things that the employee is doing and de-emphasizes the wrong things done by the employee.

Question 16

_____ skills training is routinely carried out by many organizations as the lack of these skills can have a major impact on workplace safety, customer service, productivity, product quality and environmental safety.

Answer 16

Basic

In order to execute essential job functions, the basic skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening are critical.

Question 17

Many companies carry out team training to ensure that the _______ and behavior dynamics of the team interact successfully to meet organizational goals.

Answer 17

process

The process dynamics of a successful team include good meeting skills, problem solving, brainstorming, project planning and goal setting.

Question 18

Over half of US companies sponsor diversity training to raise awareness of the changing and varied ____________ of the workforce.

Answer 18

demographics

Employees need to be aware of equal opportunity legislation, affirmative action plans and the benefits of a diverse workforce.

Question 19

To create a training program that _________ the benefits of individual and organizational performance, a systems approach should be adopted.

Answer 19

maximizes

The systems approach is a thorough model of assessment that ensures the best possible result if correctly implemented.

Question 20

The four stages of the _______ approach are needs assessment, program design, implementation and evaluation.

Answer 20

systems

The evaluation phase is necessary to determine the efficacy of the training program.

Question 21

The factors for evaluating training programs are _________, learning, behavior and results.

Answer 21

reactions

This method gauges the reactions of the participants whether they liked the program and content or not. These reactions are usually generalized rather than focused feedback.

Question 22

The learning criterion refers to measuring the skills learned by employees from the program as compared with those who have not attended the program, whereas the ________ criterion describes the transfer of training to the performance of the job.

Answer 22

behavior

The behavior criterion refers to the effective application of skills learned at training to the actual job functions.

Question 23

The results aspect of training evaluation refers to the final results of the training in terms of increased productivity, decreased _____ and increased profits.

Answer 23

costs

One of the main reasons for introducing training programs in companies is the eventual decrease in company costs as a consequence of improving the methods of working at the company.

Question 24

The _____ assessment element of the systems approach to training comprises of three types of analyses: organization analysis, task analysis and person analysis.

Answer 24

needs

Task analysis is the method of determining what the training content should consist of based on an examination of the tasks and duties of the job.

Question 25

_____ analysis determines which employees need or do not need training whereas organization analysis focuses on the areas of the organization that require training based on a study of the organization as a whole.

Answer 25

Person

It is wasteful to train employees in a subject matter in which they are already proficient.

Question 26

The training methods commonly used for _____________ staff include on-the-job-training (OJT), apprenticeships, cooperative training, classroom teaching, self-directed learning, audiovisual learning, e-learning and simulation methods.

Answer 26

nonmanagerial

Cooperative training mixes formal classes with on-the-job experiences. This may take the form of internships or government training.

Question 27

________ learning, also known as programmed instruction, is a method of training where materials such as books and computers are used to break down information into small logical learning segments that require regular responses from the trainees.

Answer 27

Self-directed

At the end of each segment, the trainee is required to answer one or more questions by typing in an answer or pushing a button. If any are wrong, then the information is re-presented in a different format and more questions are posed.

Question 28

________ is becoming increasingly popular as a means of delivering training to employees via the Internet and it has many advantages that include cost savings, and the fact that employees can learn at their own pace and at a time and place of their choosing.

Answer 28

E-learning

Employees can choose to receive training when they are at home, in the workplace, in a hotel when on a business trip or any other place of their choosing, at their convenience.

Question 29

______________ is a type of training which involves a long-term obligation to work under a skilled worker in return for training in that skill.

Answer 29

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship involves working under a skilled worker to learn his trade. Other types of training include on-the-job training, vestibule training, and job rotation.

Question 30

_________ training involves in-house training, but it is in an area separate from the normal pressures of the position.

Answer 30

Vestibule

What the employee produces during Vestibule Training may be actually used by the company, but the important thing is that he is in a separate area specifically for training.

Question 31

________ employees are normally trained using seminars and conferences, case studies, on-the-job experiences, role playing and behavior modeling.

Answer 31

Managerial

Behavior modeling is a training method that shows the trainees the preferred behavior and then allows them to practice that behavior and receive feedback.

Question 32

On-the-job experiences for managers would include coaching, understudy assignments, _______ transfer and job rotation.

Answer 32

lateral

A lateral transfer involves horizontal movement of the manager to a different department, so that he or she can experience new skills and develop new knowledge.

Question 33

A career ___________ program is one that matches the needs of the employee with those of the company but in order to be successful it must have the complete support of the top management.

Answer 33

development

Question 34

A __________ development plan is one usually adopted by companies undergoing strategic change or creating a transnational organizational foundation.

Answer 34

leadership

Leadership activities are usually stressed when strategic change is occurring in a company. When creating a transnational structure, leadership issues arise, as the competencies required for traditional international managers are different to those required for a transnational role.

Question 35

The practice of ____________ training and development against those recognized industry leaders is gaining popularity as a means to measure the effectiveness of such programs.

Answer 35

benchmarking

Benchmarking is a relatively straightforward way of comparing different training programs and evaluating their effectiveness.