Chapter 1 Homewok Assignment

1. Describe the forces affecting the workplace and learning. How can training help companies deal with these forces?

The forces that affect the workplace and learning include globalization, which means that many businesses are dealing with other businesses worldwide. This means many exports to to other countries, as well as employees from other countries, not just the U.S. Other factors are the increased value placed on intangible assets and human capital. this means that knowledge and the ability to form relationships with others is becoming ideal in the workplace. A big influence on the workplace and learning is new technology, especially the Internet which has allowed e-commerce to form, as well as changing the way companies manage there environment.


2. What steps are included in the training design model? What step do you think is most important? Why?

The steps in the training design model include (1) conducting a needs assessment, (2) ensuring employees have motivation and basic skills necessary to master content, (3) to create a learning environment that has the features necessary for learning to occur, (4) to ensure that trainees apply the training content to their jobs, (5) develop an evaluation plan, (6) choose the training method, (7) evaluate the program and make changes. The most important step is step 3 to create a learning environment that has the features necessary for learning to occur; because if you can make a good assessment and see that your employees have basic skills, but if the environment is not conducive to learning you will produce nothing.

3. What are intangible assets? How do they relate to training and development?

Intangible assets are assets that cannot be bought or touched or kept somewhere for storage. Intangible assets relate to training and development because they include human capital, customer capital, social capital and intellectual capital, all of which come from employees experiences.

4. Which of the training professionals' roles do you believe is most difficult to learn? Which is easiest?

The most difficult would be the learning strategist because they must determine how learning can be used to meet the company's business strategy. The easiest would have to be the project manager because they must monitor effective delivery of learning.


5. How might technology influence the importance of training professionals' roles? Can technology reduce the importance of any of the roles? Can it result in additional roles?

Technology influences these roles in a sense that training professionals have become very important and must maintain flexibility when training a group of individuals. New technology requires the professional to learn and know the latest technology because they will more than likely be using it. It could reduce the roles however; for instance web-conferencing has enable one training professional to train multiple sites of people instead of hiring one for each company location. It can also result in additional roles as well because you will need more people to manage data being transferred due to technology.

6. Describe the training courses that you have taken. How have they helped you? Provide recommendations for improving the courses.

I have not taken any real training courses, however in high school I took two classes on Integrated Business Applications, and they taught me a lot about Microsoft Office and more popular software applications. To improve the course I would have had more hands on applications, and even used my skills in a real world setting.


7. What are the implications of the aging work force? What strategies should companies consider from a training and development perspective to best utilize older employees and prepare for their retirement?

Some implications of the aging work force would be that they have a lack of knowledge of new and upcoming technology, maybe physically they aren't able to do the things they used t0, or aren't mentally as sharp either. Strategies could include asking them to work part time, helping them transition into retirement.