Deck 9: Socialization and Orientation of Employees

Question 1

Explain why skills training programs are important for the long-term vitality of organizations.

Answer 1

The skills training programs aim to develop the organization and the employees as a whole. It is multifaceted with respect to the benefits and the edge that it provides to the organization.
• Profitability: Providing the skills training to the employees is beneficial to the organization in the context of productivity. When the skill training is imparted effectively, it is likely to boost up the productivity of the employees, which in turn would increase the profitability of the organization.
• Technical edge: The technical edge that skill training provides to the employees results in increasing the innovation and the motivation for work. This technical edge can give to the organization a competitive edge over the other competitors.
• Long term engagement: The employees as a result of skill training are more competitive and efficient which increases the output of the organization. This results in organization being more profitable and hence providing the employees with better incentives and rewards. Thus the employees can be expected to stay longer with the organization.
• Employee growth and up gradation: The organizations are responsible for employee growth and their skill up gradation. However an organization cannot promote the employee in terms of designation as well as salary, unless the skills are enhanced. Thus it is important to provide necessary skills training as a part of career planning.
• Employee satisfaction: The employees that are highly equipped in terms of skills are bound to optimize their work in terms of time as well as resources. This leads to reduced work stress. Thus the employee satisfaction is bound to increase as a long term implication of skills training.

Question 2

Describe the nature and extent of the literacy problem facing organizations today. How might this problem affect an organization's attempt to introduce new technology (e.g., a computer-aided manufacturing system)? What are the possible solutions?

Answer 2

The literacy programs that the organizations face today is a result of
a. Lack of quantitative ability
b. Language skills
c. Basic computer skills
• It has been noticed that many jobs require more than basic understanding of mathematical skills. Also a good mathematical and analytical skill ensures that the employees are able to optimize their work and find a better approach to accomplish their daily tasks.
• Language skills play an important part because of globalization. The sizeable portion of the workforce in US is non-English speakers. Thus it is important for the organizations to impart them the training so as to make them proficient with the language to ensure a smooth working in the organization.
Also the documentations require a good proficiency in the language. Thus it is important to literate the workforce in the language.
• Since computerization has revolutionized each and every process in the organization, it is very important to have a workforce well equipped with computer skills. There are many business operations that are changing due to a computer based approach.
Thus it is very important to have a workforce that is willing to adapt to the changes due to computerization. Also the employees should be open to change so as to adapt to the rapidly changing IT technologies and software.
The problems that are associated with illiteracy are likely to make the employees resist the change. This is because having inadequate skills and competency makes the employees diffident in adopting new technology.
Any change required by the organization is always resisted by the employees in general. However the amount of resistance is decreased is proper training is imparted at regular intervals. The possible solutions so as to minimize the diffidence shown by employees are:
• Regular Trainings
• A proper change management plan
• Motivation by managers and leadership
• Training and literacy programs should be done in agreement with the employees

Question 3

If you were responsible for designing a basic skills/literacy training program, what approach would you take? How would you determine the effectiveness of this program?

Answer 3

The literacy training should be designed considering a variety of factors. The main concern of the training should be to impart the desired skills as well as to ensure that the training imparted has been deeply absorbed.
• Need assessment: The basic skills/literacy and literacy training program should be imparted after the analysis of the basic skills required for the workforce. It should be thoroughly assessed that what is the existing level of the required traits and what is desired.
• Time and resources: The time and resource requirement should be duly assigned. Since this is basic skill training, it would not require large resources. However the time taken may be longer than other trainings.
• Creating and conveying the urge and requirement: The trainees need to be conveyed and realized the importance of the training. This would increase their involvement and add to the training effectiveness.
• Deciding the right approach: It is very important to decide what approach to be followed. The training can be gradual or abrupt. As an example of gradual training, it can be imparted over a month by extending the office hours. An abrupt approach would imply that the training is imparted over a short span.
It is very important to choose the right approach so as to maximize the learning.
• Evaluation and testing the effectiveness: Although this is the last phase of the training, it is the sole determinant of the effectiveness of training. It should be done in regular intervals. This would also enable the manager to design better the next training as he/she would be aware of the learning pattern and model.
To check the effectiveness of the training program, the evaluation, audit and tests can be conducted. However in the long run, the best determinant of the effectiveness of the training is the performance of organization.
The manager who is responsible for imparting the training should consider the time and efforts the learning requires. It may be possible the effects and the offshoots of the training would be visible after some time. The manager should understand the learning model and evaluate the effects of that training accordingly.

Question 4

Colleges and universities are primarily service enterprises. What key components would you include in customer service training for college employees, such as security or records office staff, who interact with students?

Question 5

Identify two ways that advances in information technology have affected organizations today. What are the implications of these advances for HRD professionals in ensuring that workers will be able to make the most of them?

Question 6

If your organization were contemplating using a team-based approach to increase productivity and reduce cost, what training issues would the organization be likely to face? How could the organization address these issues?

Question 7

Explain why continuing education for professionals is important to both organizational and individual success. What kinds of program options would you provide for professionals-such as accountants and dietitians-who need professional certification?

Question 8

Explain and report back on the continuing education offerings (and requirements) in your area of study.