Deck 4: The Needs Analysis Process

Question 1

A needs analysis is required to determine who needs training and what type of training they need.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A needs analysis helps to determine what type of training and development is required to resolve performance problems.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Competencies are clusters of related knowledge,skills,and abilities that differentiate effective performers from ineffective performers.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Organizational climate refers to the collective attitudes of its employees toward work,supervision,and company goals,policies,and procedures.

Question 5

A person analysis examines how well an employee performs the critical tasks and his/her knowledge,skills,and abilities.

Question 6

Questionnaires,structured interviews,and observation are techniques used in a task analysis to survey a sample of job incumbents.

Question 7

The needs analysis process starts with a concern expressed by a customer,employee,management,or some other stakeholder.

Question 8

An organizational analysis can help to identify potential constraints and problems that can derail a training program.

Question 9

An example of a strong training transfer climate could be praise provided by peers when a new employee uses conflict resolution skills acquired in a training program.

Question 10

Ineffective performance indicates that training is needed to close the gap between current performance and desired performance.

Question 11

Strategic training is the alignment of employees' training needs and programs with the organization's strategy and objectives.

Question 12

A task analysis is the ideal process to assess complex jobs requiring significant mental activity.

Question 13

One of the obstacles facing trainers is the belief by many managers that resources should be used for training activities - choosing action over analysis.

Question 14

There are six steps in a person analysis including identify the target jobs,obtain job descriptions,develop rating scales,survey a sample of job incumbents,analyze and interpret the information,and provide feedback on the results.

Question 15

Resource analysis is the identification of the resources available in an organization that might be required to design a training and development program.As a principle,it does not deal with implementing the actual program.

Question 16

Task analysis is a set of procedures that focuses on understanding the mental processes and requirements for performing a job.

Question 17

The most extensive stage in the needs analysis process is data collection.

Question 18

One of the key outputs of an organizational analysis is determining the congruency of a potential training program and the corporate or business-level strategy.

Question 19

Only senior management must buy into the needs analysis process to ensure that the data collection will result in accurate information and that they have a vested interest in the success of the program.

Question 20

A needs analysis is used to identify the differences between what training costs are and what they should be.

Question 21

What are two factors from the external environment that might affect an organization's need for training and the employees' receptivity to being trained?

A) trade agreements and new technologies
B) competitors and corporate strategy
C) recessions and employment equity
D) demographics and organizational culture

Question 22

According to the textbook,what did Technocell Canada do before training could take place?

A) compiled all the job specifications and descriptions for the company
B) conducted an analysis of the skills and training needs of each employee
C) linked performance to a new compensation strategy
D) changed the company's strategy to better match employees' skills and abilities

Question 23

Which statement best describes the needs analysis process?

A) it is the least important step in the training and development process
B) it is a critical step designed to identify gaps in individual and organizational performance
C) it identifies cost inefficiencies, yet it is silent on potential solutions to individual and organizational performance
D) it collects data and information from management on skills and knowledge deficiencies in an organization

Question 24

According to the textbook,what impact must a concern have on an organization to be classified as important?

A) affects the culture and climate of the organization
B) raises productivity and quality of output
C) impacts outcomes that are important to the organization's effectiveness
D) raises engagement levels in both employees and management

Question 25

What is the term for a culture in which members of an organization believe that knowledge and skill acquisition are part of their job responsibilities and that learning is an important part of work life in the organization?

A) knowledge culture
B) counter culture
C) organizational culture
D) learning culture

Question 26

According to the textbook,what is one critical issue associated with using existing job descriptions in the task analysis process?

A) Job descriptions may be dated and not reflective of current job requirements.
B) It may be time consuming to retrieve job descriptions.
C) Job descriptions are costly and may not be available.
D) Job descriptions tend to be vague, not reflecting the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to perform a job.

Question 27

In which example does pressure to change employee behaviour come from the internal environment?

A) legislation that affects labour standards is changing
B) customer preferences for products and services are changing
C) competition from rivals offering better products at lower prices is increasing
D) management notices the number of product related mistakes begin to increase

Question 28

What is the term for the process of obtaining information about a job by determining the duties,tasks,and activities involved and the knowledge,skills,and abilities required to perform the tasks?

A) resource analysis
B) organizational analysis
C) task analysis
D) needs analysis

Question 29

What is one drawback of a task analysis process?

A) It ignores mental processes required to complete a task.
B) It focuses only on target jobs as opposed to all jobs within the organization.
C) It develops bias from subjective rating scales and the use of estimates.
D) It assumes tasks are performed by teams, not individuals.

Question 30

During the needs analysis process information and data is collected from a variety of stakeholders.How is the information from a needs analysis used by an organization?

A) to prepare job descriptions and specifications
B) to develop optimal solutions to training problems
C) to develop measures for training evaluation
D) to write training policies, identify appropriate trainers, and design training events

Question 31

According to the textbook,which of the following represents Level 4 in A Competency Profile for Senior Leaders?

A) communicates new directions so that everyone affected knows the new directions
B) leads team through discussions and research to identify key new themes and goals that everyone can accept and use
C) key stakeholders are consulted and have input into direction-setting
D) all stakeholders are engaged in a process to rewrite the new directions in terms that relate specifically to their roles

Question 32

Your CEO has asked you to explain the potential negative consequences of having training and development plans that are NOT congruent with your company's strategy.What negative consequence does the textbook identify on this issue?

A) lowers the organization's book value
B) lowers the organization's investments
C) lowers the organization's equity
D) lowers the organization's market value

Question 33

In a task analysis,what are competencies and how are they used?

A) Competencies are very similar to skills and are used in a very specific manner rather than a generalized one.
B) Competencies are behaviours that are used to distinguish effective performers from ineffective performers.
C) Competencies are related to knowledge, skills, behaviours and personality traits and are used to link training to organizational objectives.
D) Competencies are essential to develop observable performance behaviours which are used to replace all job descriptions.

Question 34

What is the main difference between a traditional task analysis and a team task analysis?

A) A traditional task analysis depends on job descriptions whereas a team task analysis depends on competencies.
B) A team task analysis relies on an organization being a certain size in order to be relevant and useful.
C) A traditional task analysis is usually applicable to lower level jobs on the organizational chart and not management.
D) A team task analysis identifies the interdependencies of the job and the skills required for task coordination.

Question 35

What deficiency in task analysis does the newer technique of cognitive task analysis address?

A) It compensates for the repetitiveness of observable tasks.
B) It involves complex mental tasks that are not easy to observe.
C) It expands a task analysis to incorporate differences in diversity.
D) It allows participants to focus on anomalous rather than routine tasks.

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT a typical step in the instructional systems design model?

A) needs analysis
B) design and delivery
C) data collection
D) evaluation

Question 37

Which of the following statements would be an example of an "itch"?

A) ABC Inc. notices an increase in customer complaints
B) ABC Inc. notices an increase in productivity
C) ABC Inc. is faced with increasing revenue and falling costs
D) ABC Inc. notices a decrease in employee absenteeism

Question 38

Which example characterizes a strong climate for transfer of training?

A) It takes three months for a trainee to be given the opportunity to apply what was learned in training.
B) Financial and non-financial benefits are associated with applying material learned in training.
C) Supervisor and peer support for the use of newly acquired skills is not evident.
D) Newly trained employees face few consequences for not using material learned in training.

Question 39

What critical question is the resource analysis process attempting to answer?

A) Does the organization have the desire to spend its resources on training?
B) Does the organization have employees willing to learn?
C) Does the organization have sufficient money, time, and expertise?
D) Does the organization have access to effective decision-makers?

Question 40

Why must training plans,business strategy,and key stakeholder involvement be linked together in a needs analysis?

A) to achieve the greatest support and continuity from the organization and its stakeholders
B) to maintain the strongest political linkages and allies necessary for organizational change
C) to alleviate resistance to change from individuals who were not given an opportunity to provide input
D) to ensure that the organizational culture supports the key stakeholders and strategy

Question 41

Outline at least five conditions under which training might be the best solution to performance problems.

Question 42

Under which scenario is training the LEAST likely intervention in dealing with a performance problem?

A) Mary performs a particular task frequently
B) Providing Mary with coaching is too expensive and time consuming
C) Mary has a mission critical role
D) Mary does not receive feedback on her performance

Question 43

What management concept is based on the principles of conditioning theory?

A) disciplinary management
B) knowledge management
C) reward management
D) contingency management

Question 44

Identify and briefly describe the three steps in the person analysis process.

Question 45

Which of the following is NOT an information barrier to effective performance?

A) informal leaders
B) lack of performance metrics
C) ineffective feedback
D) vague objectives

Question 46

Judy,a Human Resource professional,decides to undertake a person analysis at Technocell Canada.What question is Judy seeking an answer to?

A) How is training linked to Technocell's strategy?
B) Who at Technocell needs training?
C) When are tasks performed and what resources are available at Technocell?
D) What external forces are affecting Technocell?

Question 47

Describe how Mager and Pipe's decision tree is used in determining if training is the best solution to performance problems.

Question 48

What is the best method of collecting data in a needs analysis process?

A) any combination of methods that uses at least three of the nine methods
B) typically, a combination of interviews, observations, and work samples
C) the combination of methods that most likely results in senior management approval
D) available resources, analyst expertise, and the nature of the responses should drive the choice of method

Question 49

Outline the differences between a cognitive task analysis and a team task analysis.

Question 50

Ideally,what should a manager do if an employee has a genuine skill deficiency and does not have the potential to learn a new task?

A) fire the employee immediately
B) give the task to another individual, even if it impacts productivity negatively
C) notwithstanding the lack of potential to learn, double up the training effort
D) if possible, simplify the task, lower expectations, or transfer the employee

Question 51

There are many alternatives to training when solving performance problems.Identify and briefly describe three such alternatives.

Question 52

What is the most often used method of collecting data for a needs analysis?

A) work samples
B) observations
C) surveys
D) interviews

Question 53

What is one obstacle that organizations cite as the reason to avoid conducting a needs analysis?

A) Trainees often claim that they are rewarded for taking the time to conduct a needs analysis.
B) Organizations usually can see how the investment of time and resources will produce a viable training solution.
C) Organizations are most concerned with training employees quickly rather than waiting for research to be conducted.
D) Managers and employees do not have the creative techniques and critical methods of inquiry needed to conduct a needs analysis.

Question 54

Which of the following is a structural barrier to effective performance?

A) lack of performance measurements
B) lack of reward systems
C) lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities
D) lack of tools and equipment

Question 55

Which of the following is NOT a typical shortcut taken by trainers using a just-in-time needs analysis?
a.
ask a series of questions
b.
speed up data analysis
c.
use existing information
d.
link assessment and delivery