Writing Homework Help

Colorado College Training Needs for Customer Service Discussion

 

Part 1

  • Assume that you will need to hire employees for a newly created position in the training department. Describe the new position and list at least three qualifications for the job. Explain at least two reasons these qualifications are important to the position and to the department.

Part 2

  • Which strategic training and development initiatives do you think all companies should support regardless of economic conditions? Why?
  • Are any of the strategic training and development initiatives more important for a small business? Explain.

Part 3

  • Needs assessment involves organization, person, and task analyses. Which one of these do you believe is most important? Which is the least important? Why?
  • If you were going to use technology to identify training needs for customer service representatives for a web-based clothing company, what steps would you take to ensure that the technology is seamless and user-friendly?

Part 4

  • Compare and contrast any two of the following learning theories:
    • Expectancy theory.
    • Social learning theory.
    • Reinforcement theory.
    • Information processing theory.
  • Describe one strength and one weakness for each theory.

Part 5

  • Assume you have been hired as the director of the training department with six staff members for an organization with 1,000 employees (for example, office staff, computer information technologists, manufacturing workers, managers, and sales representatives). You and your department are expected to design, develop, and deliver an organization’s training program of 24 courses over the next 24 months. Your supervisor, the Vice President of Human Resources said, “I want one course a month to be rolled out. Just pick a basic course and get started.” Speculate on at least three issues that might arise if the training department does not use a project management process for the development of the training program. Explain your rationale.

Part 6

  • Two weeks ago, 25 managers participated in the problem-solving module of a leadership development program. The module consisted of two days in which the group focused on the correct process to use in problem-solving. Each manager supervises 15 to 20 employees. The company is willing to change the program, and there is an increasing emphasis on the company to show that training expenses are justifiable. You are asked to evaluate this program. Your boss would like the results of the evaluation no later than six weeks from now. Discuss the outcomes you would collect and the design you would use. How might your answer change if the managers had not yet attended the program?

Part 7

Your first assignment is a Training Proposal.

Scenario

Assume that you have been hired as a new manager to oversee a training department for an organization, which could be your workplace, a company with which you are familiar, or a company that you select from the Internet. The organization should be one for which you have (or can obtain) enough information to complete the assignments for this course. (Any interviews conducted must follow the Strayer guidelines highlighted below for conducting interviews.)

Complete the following to prepare for the assignment:

  1. Select an organization for which your training program will be designed and delivered.
  2. Use the Internet to obtain preliminary research about the organization.
  3. Identify individuals who are in the selected roles. (Do not use disclose any personally identifiable information. Follow the Guidelines for conducting interviews.)
  4. Review the requirements for all the assignments in this course before preparing questions for the individual you plan to contact.
  5. Prepare at least five key questions for the interviewees. (Do not ask specific questions about the information that can be obtained from the organization’s Website.)

Guidelines for Conducting Interviews

Before you engage in an interview assignment, be mindful of the following:

  • The interview findings may only be shared in this class with your instructor. No publication of projects containing the results of, or information from the interviews conducted for this course, is allowed, including publication in social media, blogs, or the Internet generally.
  • When presenting the results of the interviews to their instructor and/or classmates, students may not disclose personally identifiable information about an interviewee or an organization/business. You may identify by region and type of business; for example, small, regional non-profit that works with families in transitional housing.
  • Incorporate a numbering system to identify each participant when discussing them in your assignment; for example, Interviewee 01, 02, or 03.
  • All interviewees must be at least eighteen years old.

Instructions

Write a 2–4 page paper. For this paper, you will interview at least three employees of the organization you selected. At least one should be in management role. In your paper, describe the organization, highlighting the following (this information will be gathered during an interview with a member of management):

(a) type (government, business, nonprofit)
(b) type or types of product or service, and the training and development currently provided within the organization
(c) number of employees and frequency of departmental training for the goods or services offered
(d) opportunities to improve training and development in the organization.
(e) Note: Consider the similarities or differences between the manager’s thoughts and the ideas conveyed by the staff members interviewed; this will be important in responding to the items below:

  1. Describe the job roles of at least three interviewees, providing a rationale for selecting these positions from which to obtain information about training needs.
  2. Discuss the primary roles and goals of the training program, commenting on how the roles and goals align with the organization’s mission statement.
  3. Discuss the training needs identified by the interviewees; highlight how the training department determines the needs.
  4. Discuss at least three ways the organization measures the effectiveness of the training.
  5. Recommend a preliminary course of action to improve the organization’s training.
  6. Use at least two sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment

Part 8

Prepare

  • Read the Case Study: Safety First in your Employee Training and Development text on page 199.
  • Discern the stakeholders and outline the needs of BNSF’s safety training program.
  • Reflect on how technology could be used in thoughtful ways to enhance the learning outcomes of this training program. Make sure to consider the needs of the various stakeholders.

Instructions

Write a one-page paper, where you allocate one short paragraph per question given below. (Refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu for writing standards.)

Or

Prepare a five-slide presentation. Allocate one slide per question.

  • Each slide should highlight the main points
  • Use speaker notes to add any additional content needed to fully answer the questions.

Answer the following questions:

  1. Describe the different types of instructional characteristics that this program should have for learning and transfer to occur and for a decrease in injuries and accidents to result.
  2. Would these characteristics vary depending on who was attending the program (for example, managers, train crew, employees who maintain track, structures, or signals)?
  3. If so, how would they vary?
  4. Explain how a Community of Practice (COP) could be beneficial for this program.
  5. What are the main takeaways from this case study, and how can you apply them to your assignment?

Part 9

Scenario

Assume that you have been hired as a new manager to oversee training at the company you selected for the assignment in Week 3. You have been asked to prepare a presentation on Training Methodology and Theory. Use your first assignment and the feedback from your instructor to guide the creation of this assignment.

Instructions

Prepare an 8–10 slide presentation that includes the following:

  1. Discuss three major theoretical approaches to workplace training.
  2. Analyze three major trends for workplace training.
  3. Analyze at least three reasons for the trend away from traditional training toward performance improvement and performance support.
  4. Propose the optimal approach for your project based on your literature findings.
  5. Describe at least five key characteristics of the target learners.
  6. State at least five learning or performance objectives of the training, highlighting the learning theory applied.
  7. Provide at least three benefits of the proposed training and methodology.
  8. Use at least five peer-reviewed sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.

Create a presentation in PowerPoint or Prezi presentation that meets the following guidelines:

  • The presentation should be a minimum of 10 slides and speaker notes pages (not including titles slide and references).
  • Include graphics as needed to improve, enhance, or clarify the content.

Part 10

  • Read the Case Study: Training Technicians at Pacific Gas & Electric in your Employee Training and Development text on page 293.
  • Discern the needs of the company in terms of results assessment, and the data points that should be collected
  • List evaluation tools that will convincingly demonstrate the effectiveness/lack of effectiveness of the training program.

Instructions

Write a one-page paper, where you allocate one short paragraph per question given below. (Refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu for writing standards.)

Or

Prepare a five-slide presentation. Allocate one slide per question.

  • Each slide should highlight the main points
  • Use presenter notes to add any additional content needed to fully answer the questions given below.

Answer the following questions:

  1. What outcomes should PG&E collect to determine the effectiveness of the new training program?
  2. What evaluation design should it use?
  3. Explain your choice of outcomes and design
  4. What are the main takeaways from this case study, and how can you apply them to your assignment?

Part 11

Using the company from your earlier assignments, create an outline for a training program that your company might offer. Use your first assignment and the feedback from your instructor to guide the creation of this assignment. Your training initiative must be for no less than three sessions that meet on three separate days. Instructions Write a 4–6 page paper in which you: 1. Describe at least two methods and two technologies to be used by the instructors or learners. 2. Provide a rationale for each method and technology used. 3. Analyze the cost-benefit of your proposal in at least four areas. 4. Provide a project management timeline (in MS Project, Excel, or Word) 5. Propose at least three ways and reasons for using a training (learning) management system (LMS) with the project. 6. Provide at least five peer-reviewed references to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides

Part 12

Read the Case Study: Developing Leaders at Vi on page 445 of your Employee Training and Development text. Think creatively about various types of leadership development programs that would be appropriate for Vi. List evaluation tools that will convincingly demonstrate the effectiveness/lack of effectiveness of the training programs. Instructions Write a one-page paper, where you allocate one short paragraph per question. (Refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu for writing standards.) Or A five-slide presentation, in which you allocate one slide per question Each slide should highlight the main points Each slide should have presenter notes in which the questions are answered in detail. Answer the following questions: 1. What other development activities might Vi want to consider to develop its leaders? 2. Identify an activity and explain why Vi should consider it. 3. What data our outcomes should Vi’s learning and development team collect to monitor the effectiveness of the leadership programs? 4. Explain the business reason for your choice of data. 5. What are the main takeaways from this case study, and how can you apply them to your assignment?

Part 13

Using the training outline from the previous assignment (and the feedback from your instructor) to create one training module. This project demonstrates your ability to incorporate different training methodologies and technologies. Instructions The module should include the following: 1. State at least 3 module goals or objectives, providing a rationale for each. 2. State the module’s outcomes, providing a rationale for each. 3. Describe the faculty training resources necessary to deliver the course. 4. Propose two productivity tools that are included in the module that both enhance the training and long-range goals of the training. These could be using Outlook, Acrobat Pro, an LMS (learning management system), company Wiki, or other tool or tools that both promote the training efforts and building a stronger community within your setting. 5. Recommend at least three assessment methods that could be used to demonstrate the transfer of knowledge, providing a rationale for each. 6. Provide at least five peer-reviewed references (published in the last five years). Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides. Create a presentation in PowerPoint or Prezi presentation to summarize the training module. The presentation should be a minimum of 10 slides and notes pages (not including titles slide and references). Include graphics as needed to improve, enhance, or clarify the content.