Theme 2-2 Flashcards
Outline the importance of doing a needs-assessment on org.,operation and individual level.
Needs Assessment- A systematic analysis of the specific T&D activities required by an organisation to achieve its objectives.
Organisational level- analysing organisation-wide performance criteria eg absenteeism, productivity, etc. the purpose is to uncover major problem areas that may indicate a need for T&D. CH
Operation analysis- also called job/task analysis and purpose is to determine how job should be performed. Thus, T&D practitioners will create programmes how job should be done based on data collected. CI
Individual analysis- focus on the employee and used to identify employee T&D needs. Main aims are:
1) which employees need T&D and CJ
2) what skills, knowledge, abilities need to be aquired or strengthened now and for the future. CK
Differentiates between the various levels of needs.
Macro-level needs CL
Training needs found both nationally and internationally. Political, social,and welfare conditions have considerable impact on the approach to training followed by the enterprise. Technological developments developments compels enterprises to keep abreast with the latest technical development. The possible adverse impact like illiteracy can be addressed by enterprises by sponsoring literacy programmes.
Meso-level needs (org. Level) CM
Focus on the enterprise as a whole and factors such as changing org. objectives, the availability and utilisation of resources, as well as changing org. Climate can give rise to training needs.
Micro-level needs CN
Operational level
Focus on the content of a person’s work and individual performance. When work content investigated and effort is made to determine competencies employee must have in order to do that job. Once content is determined a standard is used to determine the gap.
Then the performance of individual is assessed. During this process, the performance of the individual is measured to determine if in which areas he/she lacks knowledge, skills and/attitude.
Differentiate between the different types of needs assessment.
Organisational needs assessment CO
Needs unique to the enterprise, such as improving productivity, building morale and better competitive status. If throughout the enterprise certain behaviour hinders achievement of corporate goal, such as poor interpersonal skills that affect staff and customer retention, there is an organisational need which must be assessed.
Group needs assessment CP
Related to a number of employees doing the same type of work who lack certain skills, and refer to a specific job level or category of employees. This category needs should enable the designer to identify requirements in respect of specific job-related training, interventions such as team building-programmes, leadership and management training.
Individual (or person) needs assessment CQ
These are specific, such as employee who lacks certain skills, understandings, or behaviours that limit performance, eg. A secretary who does not know the basics of telephone etiquette.
Job needs assessment CR
Variety of needs can stem from job itself and examination of job can determine training needs as requirements for doing the job.
National and sectoral needs assessment CS
Focus on identifying skills shortages that may exist at national level for example a specific sector of the economy.
Discuss the model of Graham and Mihal
This model is specifically directed at determining training needs for managers.
Steps:
Step 1 Make a comprehensive list of speciality aspects and competencies associated with a manager’s work. It requires drawing up a comprehensive list of tasks, competencies and characteristics that are related to the managers work. The characteristics can be general in nature and submitted to different levels of managers to determine the importance of each task. CT
Step 2 managers indicate what tasks they would like to perform more effectively and and what areas they would like to know more about. CU
Step 3 Managers are requested to place their needs in order of priority and to link objectives to these needs. CV
Step 4 requires immediate superiors or managers to evaluate tasks and to establish a final list of training needs. CW
Discuss the model of Michalak and Yager
Primarily used as aid for analysing training needs at the micro-level. Mainly used as guideline in formulating questions for interviews and questionnaires or conduct analysis of investigation results.
Step 1: indentify behavioural contradictions CX
Identify actual problem and not symptoms. Important to analyse contradictions in baviour, so that problems are not all regarded as mere deviations.
Step 2: Cost and value analysis CY
When training programme investigated, it must be established whether proposed change not merely the result of personal preference. Comparison must be made between cost of training + return it brings for enterprise. Can ask “what does enterprise lose if training is not presented?”
Step 3: Lack of skills/Knowledge CZ
Establish whether lack of skills and(or) knowledge among employees. If there is a lack of skills the “can do” path is followed (steps 4-8). If no lack of skills “does not do” path followed.
Step 4: Job assistance - one method to enable employees to do jobs is to provide direct assistance DA
Step 5: Training DB
If problem can not easily be solved, training offers a possible solution. Training should not be seen as the first and best solution in all cases.
Step 6: Practice DC
After training has been completed, the acquired skill must be continually exercised.
Step 7: Changing the job DD
Changing a person’s job must be considered after all other possibilities of solving a performance problem have been exhausted.
Step 8: Transfer or dismissal DE
Another possibility is to transfer an employee to a section where his/her enterprise can be of value, while last resort is to dismiss the employee.
The “does not do” path - employee has knowledge and training is not solution
Step 9: Reward/Punishment imbalance DF
Thorough investigation of reward and punishment system used in enterprise is essential, since this system may possibly be the cause of the problem.
Step 10 - Inadequate feedback DG
Important that any employee receive feedback for services rendered.
Step 11: Obstacles in the system DH
Sometimes obstacles in system that prevent employee from doing work properly eg. Too heavy workload. Or the structure does not support the employee’s skills and knowledge.
Discuss the variety of techniques used for conducting a needs assessment.
Questionnaires CJ
Probably the most widely used info-gathering technique. Correctly used, will provide a variety of info about needs, problems, potential problems, employee perceptions, attitudes and opinions. Usually in form of survey or poll of random or stratified sample from entire population. Question formats can be open ended, forced choice or priority ranking.
Advantages:
Questionnaire can reach large number of people in short time, is relatively inexpensive, and gives opportunity of expression without fear of embarrassment and yield data that can be easily summarised and reported.
Disadvantages:
Questions in questionnaires are often poorly stated
Make little provision for free expression of unanticipated responses
Are of limited value in getting causes of problems or responsible
solutions
Individual interviews CK
Considered to be the most common technique. Popularity lies in fact that it is expected and accepted by managers, supervisors, employees and clients as info gathering gives them opportunity to contribute.
Advantages:
Good at uncovering details of training needs + causes and solutions of problems.
They can explore unanticipated issues that should come up.
Respondents are provided with max opportunity to represent themselves.
Facilitate revealing of feelings,causes and possible solutions by in depth questioning
Higher response percentages
Disadvanges
Deliberate twisting of facts cannot be excluded
Due to stress factors the respondent may forget important information
Time intensive and expensive
Inexperienced interviewers may go off topic or may make respondents feel self conscious or suspicious
Results can be difficult to analyse and quantify
Observation DI
In most elementary form watch job or task being performed. Advantages are:
generates data relevant to work environment,
minimise interruption of work flow or group activity
highly relevant to situation where responses to identified training needs will impact.
Disadvantages
Requires a highly skilled person with both process and content knowledge.
Holds potential for respondents to perceive observation activity as spying.
Group discussion DJ
Implies face-to-face interview with group of employees during which structured or unstructured questions are asked or themes discussed. Discussion can be formal, informal or in between. Can focus on job analysis, group problem analysis or group goal setting. Techniques can be brain storming, simulation or force field analysis.
Advantage = can be very effective for training and needs assessment. Disadvantages = time consuming and can produce data that is difficult to synthesise and quantify, especially if less structured technique is used.
Documentation DK
Literature study of various documents such as technical manuals, organisational charts, audit and budget reports, etc.
Advantages:
Minimum interruption of workflow
Good source of information on procedure
Can provide excellent clues to trouble areas + provide objective evidence.
Disadvantages
Requires a skilled data analyst to ensure clear patterns and trends are identified.
It carries the perspective that results reflect the past situation rather than current one. Materials may therefore be obsolete.
Job description and analysis DL
Contain mass information with respect to skills, knowledge, training and experience required to ensure success in the job.
Name the criteria for selecting a needs assessment method
- level of analysis (macro, meso or micro) DM
- Involvement of employees and management DN
- Time required DO
- Cost DP
- type of data (what’s relevant info needed) DQ
- perceived severity or importance + sensitivity of problem DR
- Geographical distribution of respondents DS
Describe Job analysis
Job analysis
Involves collecting, analysing and presenting info about the content of jobs. Systematic study of job to identify its major components - generally involved observing a job being performed.
Job description
List of functions and the tasks + subtasks within a particular job. (Narrative statement of major activities involved in performing a job and the conditions under which these activities are performed)
Job
Collection of duties that employee must perform
Duty - major subdivision of job
Task - Employee’s work activities in a specific job (each duty compromise of a number of tasks)
Subtask - smaller elements within a task
Task analysis
Intensive analysis of how people perform their work activities
Discuss purpose of strategic/organisational analysis and related issues it is intended to to address
Needs assessment conducted at organisational level is conducted by performing an organisational analysis. See slides
Components of org analysis DT - DW
Advantages DX - DZ
Methods of org analysis EA-EG
What is needs assessment
Systematic analysis of specific T&D activities required by an organisation to achieve its objectives.
First step in t+d and conducted on three levels:
Organisational analysis- analyse organisation wide performance criteria e.g. Absenteeism, turnover, productivity,etc.
Operations analysis- also job/task analysis to determine how job should be performed.
Individual analysis- focus on employee and used to identify employees T+D needs.
What is a HRD need and discuss the three types of needs.
Discrepancy between what organisation expects to happen and what actually occurs. Eg. Police must use min force, but use excessive force.
Diagnostic needs focus on factors that lead to effective performance and prevent performance problems, rather than emphasising existing problems. The goal is determine how effective performance is obtained. Eg. Health workers indentify core competencies needed to be ready for better emergency awareness.
Analytic needs - focus on identify better or new ways to perform tasks. Generally discovered by intuition, insight or expert consideration.
Compliance needs - those needs mandated by law. Mostly mandated training programs, such as safety training, food handling, etc. important to note that its driven primarily by legal mandate, because that can affect how intervention is perceived and conducted.
What is the purpose of needs assessment
Slides EH - EL
Name the general techniques used for needs assessment. Also discuss how you will decide which one to use.
Org goals + 0bjectives EA
Where HRD or training emphasis can and should be placed. Provide normative standards of both direction and expected impact.
Human resource (manpower) inventories EB
Where HRD/training needed to fill gaps caused by retirement, turnover, etc.
Skills inventory EC
Number of employees in each skill group, knowledge and skill levels, training time per job, etc.
Org. Climate indexes ED
These quality of working life conditions may help focus on problems that have HRD/training components.
Analysis of efficiency indexes EE
Cost accounting concepts may represent ratio between actual performance and desired performance.
Changes in system or subsystem EF
New/changed equipment may represent HRD or training problems
Management requests EG
One of most common techniques of HRD training
MBO or work planning and review system
Provides performance review, potential review and long term business objectives.
Discuss task analysis
Step 1 - 5 - R+D kamer sien Des p117-123
Discuss individual analysis
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