H7. Training. Industrial and organizational Psychology
questions with complete answers
If you accept a job with a large organization, it is almost certain that you will go through some
sort of formal training program. Even people with college degrees need additional instruction in
order to do most jobs.
Even simple jobs require Correct Answer: training.
There is much to learn to be able to do most jobs well. Future trends suggest that the need for
training will increase in most jobs as they become more and more technically oriented.
Training is one of the major human resource activities of both large and small organizations in
both the private and the public (government) sectors throughout the world. It is a necessary
activity for both new and experienced employees.
New employees must learn Correct Answer: how to do their jobs, whereas experienced
employees must learn to keep up with job changes and how to improve their performance.
In many organizations, a person will not be considered for a promotion until certain training has
been completed and certain skills mastered. Learning in many jobs is a lifelong process that does
not stop with a certain level of education.
Five steps are required for effective organizational training programs. Correct Answer: -The first
step of a training program is to conduct a needs assessment study in order to determine who
needs training and what kind of training is needed.
-The second step is to set objectives so that it will be clear what the training should accomplish.
-The third step is to design the training program.
-The fourth step is to deliver the training to those employees designated by the needs assessment.
-The final step is to evaluate the training to be certain that it reached its objectives.
If the training was ineffective, the process should continue until an effective program is
achieved. Each step should be based on the one that precedes it.
All but the Correct Answer: delivery step fall within the domain of I/O psychology.
Most training is conducted by professional trainers who specialize in its delivery. I/O
psychologists are often behind the scenes, helping to design the training that others will actually
deliver.
Most of the training conducted in organizations, however, does not involve I/O psychologists.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
,A needs assessment is conducted to determine which Correct Answer: employees need training
and what the content of their training should be (Arthur, Bennett, Edens, & Bell, 2003).
It is too often the case that training resources are wasted by training the wrong people or teaching
the wrong content. A needs assessment can ensure that training resources are wisely spent on
areas in which there is a demonstrated training need.
According to Goldstein (1993), needs assessment should focus on three levels: Correct Answer:
-organization level
-job level
-person level
The organization level is concerned with Correct Answer: the objectives of the organization and
how they are addressed by the performance of employees.
An analysis of the organization's objectives can offer hints about the training that is needed. For
example, if an organization has the goal of minimizing injuries, it would seem reasonable to train
employees in principles of workplace safety.
If the goal is to maximize productivity, training would involve principles of production
efficiency.
The job level is concerned with Correct Answer: the nature of tasks involved in each job. A job
analysis can be used to identify the major tasks and then the necessary KSAOs for each task.
From the list of KSAOs, a series of training needs can be specified. A police officer, for
example, must have knowledge of legal arrest procedures. This would be a rather obvious area in
which training would be provided.
The person level is concerned with Correct Answer: how well job applicants or present
employees are able to do job tasks.
In other words, it assesses the KSAO levels of people rather than jobs. A comparison of the
KSAOs of jobs and individual employees suggests the areas of greatest potential training need.
An employee development plan can be created for each employee both to remedy areas of
deficiency in knowledge and skill and to enhance knowledge and skill that would allow the
employee to take on additional responsibilities or be promoted.
So far we have discussed needs assessment from the perspective of what should be included in
an organization's training program.
This approach, however, says Correct Answer: nothing about the content of a training program
that might already be in use.
, Ford and Wroten (1984) developed a procedure for determining the extent to which a training
program meets training needs.
It is somewhat like a job analysis, except that Correct Answer: the training is analyzed rather
than the job. To conduct such an analysis, SMEs review the content of the training program and
compile a list of the KSAOs that are addressed.
A separate group of SMEs reviews the KSAO list and rates the importance of each one to the job
in question. This procedure can identify how well the program components match the training
needs for the job. Programs can be adopted or modified on the basis of this procedure.
Despite the importance of needs assessment, organizations do not often use it. A survey of 1,000
large private companies in the United States found that only 27% use some sort of needs
assessment before conducting training of their management-level people (Saari, Johnson,
McLaughlin, & Zimmerle, 1988).
Too often training resources are wasted because Correct Answer: the needs assessment that
might have redirected that effort was never performed.
A well-conducted needs assessment can help organizations make the most of their training
resources.
OBJECTIVES
One of the most important steps in developing a training program is setting objectives. Unless
you are clear about the purpose of training, it is difficult to design a training program to achieve
it. Part of this step is to define the criteria for training success.
The objectives of training are based on criteria and should include a statement of what a trainee
should be able to do or know after training.
The training criterion is a statement of Correct Answer: how achievement of the training
objective can be assessed.
The training objective of acquiring knowledge, for example, can be assessed by seeing if trainees
can meet a criterion of achieving a cutoff score on a knowledge test.
Criteria serve as the basis for the design of organizational training.
Once we know what the training criterion is, we can Correct Answer: design appropriate
training to achieve it.
Criteria also serve as the standards against which training programs can be evaluated, which we
discuss in the section on training evaluation. Training objectives should be based on the results
of the needs assessment.
questions with complete answers
If you accept a job with a large organization, it is almost certain that you will go through some
sort of formal training program. Even people with college degrees need additional instruction in
order to do most jobs.
Even simple jobs require Correct Answer: training.
There is much to learn to be able to do most jobs well. Future trends suggest that the need for
training will increase in most jobs as they become more and more technically oriented.
Training is one of the major human resource activities of both large and small organizations in
both the private and the public (government) sectors throughout the world. It is a necessary
activity for both new and experienced employees.
New employees must learn Correct Answer: how to do their jobs, whereas experienced
employees must learn to keep up with job changes and how to improve their performance.
In many organizations, a person will not be considered for a promotion until certain training has
been completed and certain skills mastered. Learning in many jobs is a lifelong process that does
not stop with a certain level of education.
Five steps are required for effective organizational training programs. Correct Answer: -The first
step of a training program is to conduct a needs assessment study in order to determine who
needs training and what kind of training is needed.
-The second step is to set objectives so that it will be clear what the training should accomplish.
-The third step is to design the training program.
-The fourth step is to deliver the training to those employees designated by the needs assessment.
-The final step is to evaluate the training to be certain that it reached its objectives.
If the training was ineffective, the process should continue until an effective program is
achieved. Each step should be based on the one that precedes it.
All but the Correct Answer: delivery step fall within the domain of I/O psychology.
Most training is conducted by professional trainers who specialize in its delivery. I/O
psychologists are often behind the scenes, helping to design the training that others will actually
deliver.
Most of the training conducted in organizations, however, does not involve I/O psychologists.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
,A needs assessment is conducted to determine which Correct Answer: employees need training
and what the content of their training should be (Arthur, Bennett, Edens, & Bell, 2003).
It is too often the case that training resources are wasted by training the wrong people or teaching
the wrong content. A needs assessment can ensure that training resources are wisely spent on
areas in which there is a demonstrated training need.
According to Goldstein (1993), needs assessment should focus on three levels: Correct Answer:
-organization level
-job level
-person level
The organization level is concerned with Correct Answer: the objectives of the organization and
how they are addressed by the performance of employees.
An analysis of the organization's objectives can offer hints about the training that is needed. For
example, if an organization has the goal of minimizing injuries, it would seem reasonable to train
employees in principles of workplace safety.
If the goal is to maximize productivity, training would involve principles of production
efficiency.
The job level is concerned with Correct Answer: the nature of tasks involved in each job. A job
analysis can be used to identify the major tasks and then the necessary KSAOs for each task.
From the list of KSAOs, a series of training needs can be specified. A police officer, for
example, must have knowledge of legal arrest procedures. This would be a rather obvious area in
which training would be provided.
The person level is concerned with Correct Answer: how well job applicants or present
employees are able to do job tasks.
In other words, it assesses the KSAO levels of people rather than jobs. A comparison of the
KSAOs of jobs and individual employees suggests the areas of greatest potential training need.
An employee development plan can be created for each employee both to remedy areas of
deficiency in knowledge and skill and to enhance knowledge and skill that would allow the
employee to take on additional responsibilities or be promoted.
So far we have discussed needs assessment from the perspective of what should be included in
an organization's training program.
This approach, however, says Correct Answer: nothing about the content of a training program
that might already be in use.
, Ford and Wroten (1984) developed a procedure for determining the extent to which a training
program meets training needs.
It is somewhat like a job analysis, except that Correct Answer: the training is analyzed rather
than the job. To conduct such an analysis, SMEs review the content of the training program and
compile a list of the KSAOs that are addressed.
A separate group of SMEs reviews the KSAO list and rates the importance of each one to the job
in question. This procedure can identify how well the program components match the training
needs for the job. Programs can be adopted or modified on the basis of this procedure.
Despite the importance of needs assessment, organizations do not often use it. A survey of 1,000
large private companies in the United States found that only 27% use some sort of needs
assessment before conducting training of their management-level people (Saari, Johnson,
McLaughlin, & Zimmerle, 1988).
Too often training resources are wasted because Correct Answer: the needs assessment that
might have redirected that effort was never performed.
A well-conducted needs assessment can help organizations make the most of their training
resources.
OBJECTIVES
One of the most important steps in developing a training program is setting objectives. Unless
you are clear about the purpose of training, it is difficult to design a training program to achieve
it. Part of this step is to define the criteria for training success.
The objectives of training are based on criteria and should include a statement of what a trainee
should be able to do or know after training.
The training criterion is a statement of Correct Answer: how achievement of the training
objective can be assessed.
The training objective of acquiring knowledge, for example, can be assessed by seeing if trainees
can meet a criterion of achieving a cutoff score on a knowledge test.
Criteria serve as the basis for the design of organizational training.
Once we know what the training criterion is, we can Correct Answer: design appropriate
training to achieve it.
Criteria also serve as the standards against which training programs can be evaluated, which we
discuss in the section on training evaluation. Training objectives should be based on the results
of the needs assessment.
