CONFIDENTIAL 1 BA/FEB 2022/HRM549/546

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

ANSWER SCHEME

COURSE : HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

COURSE CODE : HRM549/546
EXAMINATION : FEBRUARY 2022
TIME : 3 HOURS

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QUESTION 1

With appropriate examples, describe four (4) steps involved in the strategic training and
development process model.

Answer:

1. Business Strategy Formulation and Identification

Strategic training begins with the knowledge of an organization’s business strategy.
Formulating a business strategy involves several interrelated steps.
• Determining the company’s mission—the company’s reason for existing
• Establishing company goals—what the company hopes to achieve
• Conducting an external and internal analysis, which is known as a SWOT. A SWOT
analysis consists of an internal analysis of strengths and weaknesses and an external
analysis of opportunities and threats that currently exist or are anticipated.
• Determining strategic choice based on the company’s mission, goals, strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

2. Identify Training Initiatives that Support the Strategy

Strategic training initiatives are based on the business environment, an understanding of the
company's goals and resources, and insight regarding potential training options. They provide
the company with a road map to guide specific training and development activities. They also
show how the training function will help the company reach its goals.

Common strategic initiatives include:

• Diversify the learning portfolio—provide more training than traditional programs
• Expand who is trained—provide more training to more groups of employees
• Accelerate the pace of learning—provide more just-in-time training
• Improve customer service—training should place a greater emphasis on service
competencies
• Provide development opportunities and communicate with employees—ensure
employees recognize they have opportunities to learn and grow
• Capture and share knowledge—capture and share knowledge to ensure it is not lost if
key employees leave
• Align training with the company’s direction—link training to strategy

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• Ensure that the work environment supports learning and transfer of training—ensure
there exists a positive learning climate for training

3. Provide Training and Development Activities Linked to Strategic Training and

Development Initiatives
After a company chooses its strategic training and development initiatives related to its
business strategy, it then identifies specific training and development activities that will enable
these initiatives to be achieved.

These activities include developing initiatives related to the use of new technology in training,
increasing access to training programs for certain groups of employees, reducing
development time, and developing new or expanded course offerings. Such activities will vary
based on the initiatives that were developed.

4. Identify and Collect Metrics to Show Training Success

The final step of the strategic training process is to determine if training investments were
successful in helping an organization achieve its goals and objectives. Strategic training
evaluation is not intended to evaluate the effectiveness of an isolated training program, but
rather the value of a set of training activities.

The business-related outcomes examined should be directly linked to the business strategy
and goals. Metrics could evaluate customer service, employee satisfaction or engagement,
employee turnover, number of product defects, time spent in product development, number of
patents, or time spent filling management positions.

Some companies use the balanced scorecard as a process to evaluate all aspects of the
business. The balanced scorecard is a means of performance measurement that provides
managers with a chance to look at the overall company performance or the performance of
departments from the perspective of internal and external customers, employees, and
shareholders. The balanced scorecard considers four different perspectives:
• Customer (time, quality, performance, service, and cost)
• Internal business processes (processes that influence customer satisfaction)
• Innovation and learning (operating efficiency, employee satisfaction, and continuous
improvement)
• Financial (profitability, growth, and shareholder value)

(4 steps + explanation and appropriate examples x 5 marks = 20 marks)

QUESTION 2

Discuss five (5) “pressure points” that suggest training is necessary to be performed in an
organization.

Answer:

1. Legislation
2. Lack of Basic Skills
3. Poor Performance
4. New Technology
5. Customer Requests
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6. New Products
7. Higher Performance Standards
8. New Jobs
9. Customer Dissatisfaction
10. Reduce Scrap
11. Improve Quality

(Any 5 pressure points + explanation x 4 marks = 20 marks)

QUESTION 3

Compared to other learning theories, information processing theory emphasizes more on the
internal processes that occur when training content is learned and retained. Illustrate the
model of human information processing with appropriate examples.

Answer:

1. Information processing begins when a message or stimulus (which could be a sound,

smell, touch, or picture) from the environment is received by receptors (i.e., ears, nose,
skin and eyes).
2. The message is registered in the senses and stored in short-term memory, and then it is
transformed or coded for storage in long-term memory.
3. A search process occurs in memory, during which time a response to the message or
stimulus is organized.
4. The response generator organizes the learner’s response and tells the effectors (muscles)
what to do. The “what to do” instruction relates to one of the five learning outcomes: verbal
information, intellectual skills, motor skills, attitudes or cognitive skills.
5. The feedback provides the learner with an evaluation of the response given. This
information can come from another person or the learner’s observation of the results of
his or her own action. A positive evaluation of the response provides reinforcement that
the behavior is desirable and should be stored in long-term memory for use in similar
situations.

(5 points + explanation and appropriate examples x 3.5 marks = 17.5 marks + 2.5
marks for the diagram = 20 marks)

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QUESTION 4
Distinguish between formative and summative evaluation.
Answer:
FORMATIVE
EVALUATION
Evaluation takes
place during program
design and
development.
DEFINITION
• To ensure that the
training program is
well organized and
runs smoothly.
• To ensure that the
trainees learn and
are satisfied with
PURPOSES/REASONS
the program.
FOR USING THIS
TYPE OF
EVALUATION
Qualitative data –
opinions, beliefs and
TYPE OF DATA
feelings about the
COLLECTED
program.
SMEs, customers,
employees, managers,
supervisors, suppliers etc.
SOURCE OF DATA
(4 points + explanation x 5 marks = 20 marks)
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SUMMATIVE
EVALUATION
Evaluation is
conducted to
determine the extent
to which trainees
have changed as a
result of participating
in the training
program.
• To ensure that the
trainees will
acquire
knowledge, skills,
attitudes,
behaviors or other
outcomes
identified in the
training
objectives.
• To measure the
monetary benefits
(ROI) that the
company receives
from the program.
Quantitative data –
numerical data.
Tests, ratings of behavior,
or objective measures of
performance such as
volume of sales, accident
or patents.
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QUESTION 5

“Companies should develop talented women and minorities to take top management position.”
Justify your agreement or disagreement with this statement.

Answer:

A major issue facing companies is placing women and minorities in upper-level management
positions. This issue is associated with the glass ceiling which refers to a barrier to
advancement that adversely affects women and minorities. The glass ceiling is likely caused
by lack of access to training programs, appropriate developmental job experiences, and
developmental relationships.

Women are underrepresented in all levels of management positions. Men are promoted at
much higher rates than women during their early career stages, and entry-level women are
significantly more likely than men to have spent five or more years in the same job.

One of the dilemmas is that companies may be reluctant to treat women any differently than
men from a leadership development perspective, despite acknowledging that women lack
executive sponsors or mentors, have insufficient experience, and need better work-life
balance. This barrier may be due to stereotypes or company systems that adversely affect the
development of women or minorities.

Here are the recommendations to help companies develop talented women and minorities to
take top management position:

• Garner top management support for promoting and developing talented women and
minorities.
• Provide access to training to help women and minorities advance their careers.
• Pair talented women and minorities with key mentors.
• Provide challenging development assignments so women and minorities can enhance
their skill sets.
• Provide training to help eliminate gender stereotypes.

(Answers may vary. Lecturer’s discretion is required. Justification = 20 marks)

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