May/June, 2001
Volume 40 / Number 5
Learning
Experts Examine Shortfalls in Onsite and Online Training
by Steve Barkley and Terri Bianco
This article examines some of the fundamental tenets of learning and training
that speak to the importance of learner-centered training. These techniques
improve performance and create training that is more readily internalized. The
article discusses brain-based learning and training techniques aimed at better
absorption of knowledge and that thus result in enhanced learner performance.
Citing the need for training efficiency, authors provide examples that show how
traditional trainer-centered learning does not necessarily lead to maximum
learner performance. They recommend a hybrid form of online and onsite training
to take advantage of the efficiency of online learning formats while blending
them with more brain-based techniques, including human interaction.
New
Skills for an Old Industry: Transforming the Oil Industry in a Former Soviet
Republic
by John J. Connor
Despite high production figures, the Soviet Union’s oil industry was in
sorry shape when the USSR broke apart. Today Russia and several former Soviet
republics see a modernized oil industry as the key to economic and political
stability. In Kazakhstan, the World Bank provided a US$1.819 billion loan
package, of which US$15.7 million went to a petroleum technical assistance
project that included establishment and support of a petroleum training center
and development of a comprehensive training plan. In 1996, Kazakhstan’s
Ministry of Oil and Gas engaged a consultant to "develop a system of
continuous training through the introduction of up-to-date methodologies and
programs designed to suit the level of expertise of the petroleum industry’s
personnel." Although the required tasks defined the project as a training
project, the consultant recommended additional performance improvement
activities, such as a revamp of the organizational structure and a new
performance evaluation system.
Level
III Training Evaluation: Considerations for Today's Organizations
by Kathleen D. Harrell
Training evaluation has long been considered a useful way to assess the
impact of training. However, the actual practice of thorough evaluation is often
neglected. This is perhaps due to the fact that training evaluation can be
costly, difficult, and time consuming. Furthermore, developing pre- and
posttraining assessments and using statistics may be intimidating. It appears,
instead, that many trainers view training evaluation as a problem, not a
solution. Unfortunately, failure to evaluate training in a systematic manner
leaves the potential for ineffective programs, leading top managers to consider
training unnecessary. By using alternative data-collection and measurement
methods, including the followup assignment, the simulation, and unobtrusive
monitoring, evaluators can determine the effectiveness of training in a more
cost-effective manner. These measures can help trainers in today’s
organizations move closer to reaching the ultimate goal of training evaluation:
improved trainee performance.
What Are They
Doing?
by Leslie L. Orr
One of the often-overlooked parts of training and job analysis is the
expected employee output. When the output is unknown or not considered in
evaluating the employee’s skills, knowledge, and values, the employee often
cannot reach the expected goals. Knowing how to distinguish between outputs and
competencies, or how to determine job outputs, can make the difference between
success and failure for the employee and the job.
Measuring
Performance Improvement in a Strategic Planning Context
by Daniel A. Parry, MBA and Arthur E. Parry, PhD
The article examines the relationship between human performance and an organization’s strategic plan. The authors conducted two studies on employer-provided tuition support by high-technology companies and insurance companies. The results of those studies indicate an absence of data or other information about the effectiveness of such educational support. A literature review confirmed that statistical monitoring of programs supporting changes in human performance, if practiced, was not disseminated. The article stresses the necessity of bringing all human performance technology programs under the scope of the organization’s strategic plan.
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