Abstract
The primary goal of this paper is to analyze and critique proposed solutions to the problems in the Fabrics, Inc., a relatively small company that has to deal with several challenges. A training needs analysis was conducted to address some of the problems, but it is not as efficient as it should be. Four stages of the process will be analyzed and evaluated. The literature on this subject will be reviewed to ensure that the arguments are reasonable and based on evidence. All of the findings will be summarized and discussed in the final section.
Background of Fabrics, Inc.
Fabrics, Inc. is a small firm that has employed only forty workers in the past. The company has shown tremendous growth in recent years, and it has enormous potential that is not yet fully realized. The number of employees has increased significantly, and two-hundred individuals are currently working for the enterprise. Therefore, it would be beneficial to focus on skills and knowledge of workers because several areas are not as particularly problematic and should be addressed.
Supervisors lack the experience, and the way consumers are treated is also questionable. Higher ups have recognized that these limitations prevent the growth of the firm, and they should be eliminated. The central cause of the problem is not easy to identify, and it would be appropriate to invest into training needs analysis. The technique would be highly beneficial in this case because it helps to assess skills and knowledge of workers efficiently.
One of the benefits is high-level of cost-effectiveness, and it is possible to focus on several problems at the same time. However, it needs to be well-developed, and numerous internal and external factors should be taken into account to ensure that it is effective (Blanchard & Thacker, 2013). It would be reasonable to analyze the program that has been developed to determine its weaknesses and the ways in which they may be addressed. The literature on this subject matter will be reviewed to make sure that proposed solutions are appropriate and are based on evidence.
Needs Analysis
It is quite evident that the organizational analysis could have been improved because some of the questions are too broad, and vital areas are not addressed. It would be appropriate to devote enormous attention to such aspects as communication and overall environment in the workplace. Questions about management systems are paramount in this situation because they are vital to most of the businesses at the moment.
The focus on new technologies is crucial in this case because it is quite evident that supervisors use outdated approaches most of the time. Such knowledge would be incredibly helpful because it will be easier to understand if administrators are proficient at software programs or not (Burnstein, 2006). A set of questions has been developed based on the analysis of available sources, and some examples are provided:
- What is your opinion regarding the current skill levels of employees?
- Do you think that the current quality of supervision is sufficient, or it needs to be improved?
- Does the current structure of the organization support learning and personal development?
- What is your leadership style?
- Do you think that workers respect your authority and decisions?
- What modern technologies are utilized in the workplace?
Operational analysis conducted with a use of an interview is rather interesting, but it is necessary to acknowledge its limitations. It would be appropriate to ask the owner to answer professionally and think about the topic beforehand. The process may be quite stressful to some individuals, and it could affect their ability to give valid answers. Barbazette (2005) suggests that it is important to consider a set of questions that would be would help to provide vital information to both internal and external stakeholders.
The opinion of the owner in critical, and it is reasonable to take his experience into account. A non-traditional approach is incredibly useful in such situations, and it is important to ask about unusual experiences (Piskurich, 2015). Here are some of the questions that could be used:
- Do you keep track of the long-term objectives and overall strategy during the day?
- How would you react in case a customer is not satisfied and starts to argue with one of the employees?
- What measures do you take in case you identified a problem in the workplace?
- What are your actions if there are problems with scheduling?
- Do you engage in discussions with your employees during the day?
Such questions are rather simple, but would help to get a better understanding of the primary cause of the problem, and a training program should be developed based on the information received.
Training Design
Training design is another aspect that is rather interesting because the company did not devote the necessary attention to areas that are quite problematic. First of all, it would be appropriate to focus on the improvement of communication patterns, and it should be one of the primary objectives of the training program. The first outcome is an increase in the ability to deliver the information efficiently with a use of various methods of presentation to ensure that it is comprehensive.
Individuals must be able to analyze available data and make appropriate conclusions. The second goal is to ensure that the overall quality of written messages rises and workers can communicate with customers and higher-ups much more efficiently. The role of adequate spelling and grammar should not be overlooked because it affects the experience of parties that are involved. Employees are expected to have an understanding of what style of speech is appropriate in a particular situation.
The last objective is an increase in the ability of workers to communicate ethically and according to the principles of the organization. They should acknowledge the differences between the cultures and must recognize that the style of the conversation must be adjusted in some cases to make sure that the experience of clients is not affected. The importance of ethical communication also should be highlighted, and it must become one of the central points of the operations in the firm (Huddlestone & Pike, 2016).
Moreover, it is possible to state that the current design focused on resolution of disagreements also has several weaknesses that should be addressed. The developers did not consider the fact that customers may require unique approach depending on the situation, and it is not reasonable to use the same strategy in all cases. Compromise is another technique that should have been suggested, and employees should be able to come up with adequate solutions to the issues that occur. Another aspect that was overlooked is that the information regarding what course of actions needs to be taken in case the customer’s behavior is not appropriate, and such situations may be incredibly problematic if they are not addressed appropriately.
Development and Implementation
It is paramount to note that this stage is one of the most important because numerous complications could occur and they are hard to predict most of the time. It would be beneficial to develop several alternatives and additional training modules to make sure that all the crucial areas are addressed, and outcomes are reached. A group activity is incredibly important in such situations, and it is reasonable to develop a situation in which supervisors may help each other to come up with a solution.
Also, it is incredibly important to go through all of the stages of the proposed conflict resolution method before the evaluation because it would help workers to remember the information, and they will be able to apply the knowledge in the workplace. Another exercise that should have been considered is a set of tasks related to disagreements in the workplace. A supervisor must read the materials provided and describe the mistakes that he or she has identified.
The approach is quite similar to the role-play activity, but it would be incredibly helpful because professionals may have to deal with the conflicts while having access to limited amounts of information. The ability to come up with solutions based on reports is highly valued. Another aspect that needs to be highlighted is that computer technologies are not utilized during the process. Many software programs that would make the development much easier are currently available.
Some of the templates and sample training modules would be incredibly useful (Burnstein, 2006). Another aspect that should not be disregarded is that it would be beneficial to consider the approaches that would also help to address other areas. For instance, the activity focused on the explanation of the technique could be modified to improve communication skills of workers. The quality of writing will also be evaluated.
Similarly, the role-play activity should be viewed as an opportunity to enhance the leadership. A group of supervisors must develop a set of solutions that would resolve the conflict, and it will be possible to determine which workers may influence others and have appropriate qualities for a leader. On the other hand, proposed modules are quite efficient, and the company may minimize the expenses if it is not focused on the development of various training techniques and activities.
Evaluation of Training
The reaction questionnaire that was chosen is a rather interesting choice. It is much easier to analyze the data if only close-ended questions are utilized. However, it would be reasonable to provide more open-ended ones to get a better understanding of the perspective of employees on the process of training to ensure that the experience may be enhanced in the future. It would be appropriate to consider the importance of anonymity in this case because individuals are more likely to give sincere feedback if they are not worried about possible consequences of their comments.
The validity of results may be affected if questions are too broad, and participants cannot decide which answer is correct. A much more comprehensive set of questions would be extremely helpful because it is the primary instrument of data collection. Some of them may not be related directly to the outcomes, but feedback received needs to be taken into account when making adjustments in the organization (P. Phillips, J. Phillips, & Ray, 2015).
A test was chosen as a second instrument, and it is used to evaluate the level of knowledge of employees. One of the primary differences from the first tool is that participants have to come up with answers themselves and are not provided with options. It is paramount to consider questions about the assessments, and the ways in which they are conducted because the perspective of participants is quite valuable.
One of the difficulties is that it may not be an easy task to analyze the results and determine if the progress has been shown. Developers of the program made a decision not to use a time limit in this situation. However, this approach would be highly beneficial because employees should understand how to react in stressful situations and come up with solutions. One of the aspects that should not be disregarded is that it would be reasonable to use a software questionnaire.
Various programs have proven their effectiveness over the years, and they are incredibly efficient. On the other hand, role-play activities are well-developed, but problems related to the validity may occur. It would be reasonable to hire an external professional that would conduct an evaluation to avoid bias. The fact that employees are aware of the fact that their actions are monitored may have an enormous impact on their behavior. Another issue that may affect the validity of the test is that the developer did not take appropriate measures to prevent cheating (Burnstein, 2006).
Conclusion
In summary, it is possible to state that the quality of the training program that was developed is satisfactory, but it could be improved if several vital aspects were acknowledged and much more attention was devoted to details. The fact that the objectives of the program are not comprehensive is especially problematic and should not be overlooked during one of the stages of training needs analysis. Another aspect that is rather questionable is that most of the training modules that were suggested can be viewed as rather outdated, and the use of modern technologies would be justified.
The most attention should have been devoted to evaluation techniques because they are used to assess if the expenses on training were justified and determine if it would be beneficial in the long-term. Only two approaches are proposed, and the number is not sufficient in this situation. The issue is that the training program is quite complicated, and employees are not yet experienced. The evaluation process should have consisted of several stages.
Assessments should be regularly conducted to identify complications that occur and eliminate them. Moreover, it would be possible to alter the training program depending on the situation and results received. Overall, it is quite evident that a well-developed training program is crucial to the development of modern organizations, and it is especially important for businesses that are actively developing. Conflict-solving is a critical problem in this case, and the training is expected to be crucial, but the organization should have taken advantage of this opportunity to analyze other aspects that may affect the operations.
References
Barbazette, J. (2005). Training needs assessment: Methods, tools, and techniques. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2013). Effective training: Systems, strategies, and practices (5th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Burnstein, I. (2006). Practical software testing: A process-oriented approach. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.
Huddlestone, J., & Pike, J. (2016). Team and collective training needs analysis: Defining requirements and specifying training systems. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing.
Phillips, P. P., Phillips, J. J., & Ray, R. (2015). Measuring the success of leadership development: A step-by-step guide for measuring impact and calculating ROI. Danvers, MA: Association for Talent Development.
Piskurich, G. M. (2015). Rapid instructional design: Learning ID fast and right. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.