Chapter 3 Homework

2. If you were going to use online 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 was not threatening to employees?

Steps that could be taken to ensure technology was not threatening to employees is to make sure you use the information to help the employees with future training and development activities and not to punish them. Offer the employee additional training on skills needed to improve job performance.

3. Needs assessment involves organiztion, person, and task analyses. Which one of these analyses do you believe is most important? Which is least important? Why?

The most important needs assessment analysis is person analysis because it identifies employees who need training. It is important to identify specific persons who need training as to not waste company time and money.The analysis that is least important is task analysis because it is time-consuming, tedious process that involves a large time commitment to gather and summarize data from many different persons in the company.

4. Why should upper-level managers be included in the needs assessment process?

Upper-level managers should be involved in the needs assessment process because:
- they view needs assessment process from a broader company perspective
- also involved in identifying business functions or units needing training and in determining if the company has the knowledge, skills, and abilities in the work force that are necessary to meets its strategy and be competitive in the marketplace
- be involved to determine whether training meets the company’s strategy and then to provide appropriate financial resources