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Chapter 6 Training, Learning, and Development

6
TRAINING, LEARNING, AND
DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES


What Do I Need to Know? After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Discuss how to link training and development to organizational needs and strategy.
2. Explain how to assess training needs and determine employees’ readiness.
3. Describe how to plan and design an effective training program.
4. Summarize how to implement and evaluate a successful training program.
5. Describe training methods for employee orientation and diversity management.
6. Discuss the approaches organizations use for employee development.
7. Explain how managers and peers develop employees through mentoring and coaching.
8. Identify the steps in the career management process and how managers are dealing with some critical
development-related challenges.

POWERPOINT® SLIDES
Human Resource Management, Fourth Canadian Edition includes a complete set of Microsoft PowerPoint®
files for each chapter. In the lecture outline that follows, a thumbnail illustration of each slide for this chapter is
placed beside the corresponding lecture material. The slide number helps you to see your location in the slide
show sequence and to skip slides that you don’t want to show to the class. (To jump ahead or back to a
particular slide, just type the slide number and hit the Enter or Return key.)

HRM 4e IM 6-1
Part 3 Managing Talent

®
LECTURE OUTLINE (with PowerPoint slides)
Chapter
6 TRAINING, LEARNING, AND DEVELOPMENT
Training,
Learning, &
Development
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education Ltd.
LO1: Discuss how to link training, learning, and development to organizational
needs and strategy.
1

Training, Learning, and


Development LO2: Explain how to assess training needs and determine employees’ readiness.
Slide 1 LO3: Describe how to plan and design an effective training program.
CH 6 < 2 >

LO4: Summarize how to implement and evaluate a successful training program.


Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
 Discuss how to link training, learning, and
LO5: Describe methods for employee orientation and diversity management.
LO6: Discuss the approaches organizations use for employee development.
development to organizational needs
and strategy
 Explain how to assess training needs and
determine employees’ readiness
 Describe how to plan and design an
effective training program
 Summarize how to implement and
LO7: Explain how managers and peers develop employees through mentoring and
coaching.
evaluate a successful training program

Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Learning Objectives (1 of LO8: Identify the steps in the career management process and how managers are
2) dealing with development-related challenges.
Slide 2

Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
CH 6 < 3 >

LEARNING AT FACEBOOK
 Describe methods for employee orientation
and diversity management
 Discuss the approaches organizations use
for employee development
Facebook thinks of employee training, learning, and development as more
than a matter of acquiring competencies
 Explain how managers and peers develop
employees through mentoring and
coaching
 Identify the steps in the career

• “This journey is 1% finished”


management process and how managers
are dealing with development-related
challenges

Stuart Crabb, Facebook’s head of learning and development describes


Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education


Learning Objectives (2 of Facebook’s approach e.g. open so everyone can participate
2)
Slide 3
• Challenging jobs are at the heart of learning at Facebook so they are
CH 6 < 4 >
supported with online materials and discussion-oriented group experiences
Learning at Facebook
 “This journey is 1%
• Facebook’s own social media tools are one of its online learning resources
as well as coaching circles in which participants meet regularly to work on
finished”
 Challenging jobs are at
the heart of learning at
Facebook
 Facebook’s own social
media tools are one of its
online learning resources
 Coaching circles
issues. Orientation is the most formal learning at Facebook
 Most formal learning is

INTRODUCTION
orientation
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Learning at Facebook Learning


Slide 4
• An activity or process of gaining knowledge or skills by studying,
practising, being taught, or experiencing something
Enabled through the an organization’s training and development efforts
CH 6 < 5 > LO1


Introduction
 Learning
 An activity or process of gaining knowledge
by studying, practising, being taught, or
experiencing something
Training
An organization’s planned efforts to help employees acquire job-related
 Employee development
 The combination of formal education, job
experiences, relationships, and assessment •
of personality and abilities to help
employees prepare for the future of their
careers
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education
knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviours with the goal of applying these
on the job
Introduction
• Ranges from formal classes to one-on-one mentoring and it may take
Slide 5
place on-the-job or at remote locations
• No matter what its form, training can benefit the organization when it is
linked to organizational needs and when it motivates employees

HRM 4e IM 6-2
Chapter 6 Training, Learning, and Development

Employee Development
• The combination of formal education, job experiences, relationships, and
assessment of personality and competencies to help employees prepare
for the future of their careers
• HRM establishes a process for employee development that prepares
employees to help the organization meet its goals

CH 6 < 6 > LO1


TRAINING, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT LINKED TO STRATEGY
TLD Linked to Strategy
 Key ingredients in the competitiveness of
Workplace training and employee development are key ingredients in the
firms and of national competitiveness
 Rapid changes e.g. technology require
employees to continually learn new skills
competitiveness of firms and ultimately of national competitiveness
• Rapid change, especially in the area of technology, requires that
 Growing reliance on teamwork, diversity,
globalization
 Canadian firms continue to under-invest

employees continually learn new skills


 Canada is ranked 28th globally—well behind
China (18th place); Japan, Switzerland, and
Denmark (all in the top 4)

• Growing reliance on teamwork creates demand to solve problems in


Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

TLD Linked to Strategy teams—an ability that requires formal training. Workforce diversity and
Slide 6 globalization of business requires additional abilities
• Some organizations are developing their employer brand and reputation as
a talent developer—gain competitive advantage by emphasizing training,
career, and developmental opportunities
• The International Institute for Management Development reports that
Canada has slipped by various measures of importance placed on
workforce training—Canada is ranked 28th (out of 59 countries ranked), well
behind China (18th place), as well as Japan, Switzerland, and Denmark that
have remained among the top four countries in the rankings

CH 6 < 7 > LO1


STAGES OF INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
Stages of Instructional Design
Identifies the stages of an instructional design process. A complete
instructional design process includes the following steps:
• Assess needs for training—what the organization requires that its people
know and be able to do
• Ensure readiness for training
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Stages of Instructional • Plan the training program—objectives, trainers, and methods


Design
• Implementation—principles of learning; transfer of training
Slide 7
• Evaluate results
Learning management system (LMS)
• Used by a growing number of organizations to carry out the instructional
design process more efficiently and effectively
• A computer application that automates the administration, development,
and delivery of training and development programs

HRM 4e IM 6-3
Part 3 Managing Talent

WHAT IS NEEDS ASSESSMENT?


CH 6 < 8 > LO2

What is Needs Assessment?


Organization
analysis


Usual first step
Determine appropriateness
The process of evaluating the organization, individual employees, and
employees’ tasks to determine what kinds of training, if any, are necessary
of training by evaluating
characteristics of the
organization
 Considers organization’s
strategy, resources, and
management support

more
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education
Conditions that may prompt an organization to conduct a needs assessment:
• Management observes that some employees lack basic skills or are
What is Needs
Assessment? performing below expectations
Organization analysis • Decisions to produce new products, apply new technology, or design new
Slide 8 jobs—these changes tend to require new skills
• Outside forces such as customer requests or legal requirements
Outcome of the needs assessment:
• Set of decisions about how to address the issues that prompted the needs
assessment. These decisions do not necessarily include a training program
as some issues should be resolved through other methods e.g. rewards
1. Organization Analysis
• Usually the needs assessment begins with the organization analysis
• Process for determining the appropriateness of training by evaluating
characteristics of the organization
• Looks at training needs in light of the organization’s strategy (e.g. growing,
shrinking, expanding, focusing), resources available for training, and
management’s support for training activities
2. Person Analysis
CH 6 < 9 > LO2

• A process for determining individuals’ needs and readiness for learning


What is Needs Assessment?(cont’d)
Organization
analysis  Process for determining
individuals’ needs and
• Involves answering several questions:
Person analysis readiness for training
 Do performance
deficiencies result from a
-- Do performance deficiencies result from a lack of knowledge, skill, or
ability?
competency gap?
 Who needs training?
 Are these employees

-- Who needs training?


ready?
more
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Needs Assessment -- Are these employees ready i.e. willing and able to learn?
(cont’d) - Person analysis -- Managers need to identify all the variables that can influence performance
Slide 9 e.g. ability, skills, mindset, motivation, performance feedback, etc.
CH 6 < 10 > LO2

What is Needs Assessment?(cont’d) 3. Task Analysis


• Process of identifying the tasks, knowledge, skills, and behaviours that
Organization  Identifies the tasks and
Analysis
analysis competencies that
training should
Person analysis emphasize

training should emphasize. Usually task analysis is conducted along with


 Looks at conditions:
Task
analysis  Job environment
 Time constraints


Safety considerations
Performance
standards
person analysis
-- The HR professional looks at the conditions in which tasks are performed
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Needs Assessment e.g. the equipment and environment of the job, time constraints (e.g.
(cont’d) - Task analysis
deadlines), safety considerations, and performance standards
Slide 10

HRM 4e IM 6-4
Chapter 6 Training, Learning, and Development

CH 6 < 11 > LO2


READINESS FOR LEARNING
Readiness for Learning
 Combination of employee characteristics
Effective training requires not only a program that addresses real needs, but
also employee readiness. Readiness for learning is a combination of
and positive work environment
 Employee readiness characteristics
 Cognitive ability—may require literacy training

employee characteristics and positive work environment that permit learning


 Highly motivated to learn
 Work environment
 Situational constraints e.g. lack of money/
time for training/tools
 Social support—giving trainees positive

1. Employee Readiness Characteristics


feedback and encouragement
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

• Cognitive ability—includes ability to use written and spoken language,


Readiness for Learning
solve math problems, and use logic to solve problems. Many companies
Slide 11
may need to provide literacy training before some employees will be ready
to participate in job-related training
• Highly motivated to learn—employees learn more from training programs
when they are highly motivated to learn the content
• Managers can influence this attitude by providing feedback that encourages
employees, establish rewards for learning, and communicates with
employees about the organization’s career paths and future needs
2. Work Environment
• Situational constraints—limits on training effectiveness that arise from the
situation or the conditions within the organization
-- Lack of money for training
-- Lack of time for training or practising
-- Failure to provide proper tools, materials for learning or applying the
training
• Social support—the ways the organization’s people encourage learning
e.g. from supervisors, managers, and/or peers
HOW TO PLAN & DESIGN THE TRAINING PROGRAM
Planning begins with establishing objectives for the training program
CH 6 < 12 > LO3


How to Plan & Design
 Effective

1.
training objectives have 3
components:
What employee is expected to do; quality or
• Effective training objectives have three components:
-- Statement of what the employee is expected to do, the quality or level of
level of performance; and conditions to apply
2. Performance standards that are measurable
3. The resources needed to carry out the desired
performance or outcome
 Avoid
 In-house
illegal discrimination
or contracted out?
Request for proposal (RFP)
performance that is acceptable, and the conditions under which the
employee is to apply what he or she learned e.g. physical conditions

Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

How to Plan & Design -- Performance standards that are reasonable


Slide 12 -- Identification of resources needed to carry out the desired performance
• The organization has to avoid illegal discrimination—must not intentionally
or unintentionally exclude anyone due to a prohibited ground of
discrimination, provide accommodations, and ensure equal treatment
• In-House or Contracted Out?
-- An organization can provide an effective training program even if the
organization lacks expertise in training
-- An RFP (request for proposal) can be sent to several vendors. The RFP
should identify the type of service needed, number of employees requiring
training, dates for completion, proposal deadlines, etc.

HRM 4e IM 6-5
Part 3 Managing Talent

What Training Methods?


CH 6 < 13 > LO3

WHAT TRAINING METHODS ARE AVAILABLE?


 After deciding on the goals and content of the training
program, planners must decide how the training will be
conducted
After deciding on the goals and content of the training program, planners
must decide how the training will be conducted
• Most widely used training method
Classroom
• Instructor leading a group
instruction
• Distance learning

1. Classroom Instruction
• Trainees work independently
Audiovisual • Uses videos, podcasts—deliver on a
training variety of devices

more

• Most widely-used delivery method


Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

What Training Methods?


.

• Typically involves an instructor leading a group


Slide 13 • Technology has expanded capabilities e.g. distance learning
2. Audiovisual Training
• Trainees work independently using videos, podcasts, workbooks, etc.
• Users often have some control over the pacing of the material
3. Computer-based Training
CH 6 < 14 > LO3

What Training Methods? (cont’d)


Computer-based
training
• E-learning i.e. via Internet/Intranet
• Electronic performance support
• Ability for collaboration
• E-learning involves receiving training via the Internet or the organization’s
On-the job
training (OJT)
• Apprenticeship e.g. Red Seal
• Internship
• Cooperative education
intranet—some combination of web-based training modules, distance
Simulations
• Represents a real-life situation
• Staged, risk-free environment
• Virtual reality
learning, and virtual classrooms
• Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSSs)
more .
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

What Training Methods? -- Computer application that provides access to skills training, information,
(cont’d) and expert advice as needed i.e. an electronic information source
Slide 14 • Includes hyperlinks to other training sites and content, control by the trainee,
and ability for learners to collaborate
4. On-the-Job Training (OJT)
• Training methods in which a person with job experience and skill guides
trainees in practising job skills at the workplace
• Apprenticeship—Work-study training method that teaches job skills
through a combination of on-the-job training and classroom training
• Internship—On-the-job learning sponsored by an educational institution as
a component of an academic program
• Co-operative education—Plan of higher education that incorporates paid
work experience as an integral part of academic studies
5. Simulations
• A training method that represents a real-life situation, with learners making
decisions resulting in outcomes that mirror what would happen on the job
• Enable trainees to see the impact of their decisions in an artificial, risk-free
environment
• Virtual reality—A computer-based technology that provides an interactive,
three-dimensional learning experience
CH 6 < 15 > LO3
6. Business Games and Case Studies
What Training Methods? (cont’d)
Business games • Develop management skills
• Helps develop employees’ management skills; gives trainees practise in
weighing and acting on uncertain outcomes; and requires participants to
& case studies • Practise with uncertain outcomes
• Requires coming together to discuss

Behaviour • Demonstrate desired behaviour

come together to discuss the cases or the progress of the game


modelling • Role-playing and receive feedback
• For interpersonal skills e.g. coaching

• Develop teamwork and leadership

• Case study--Detailed description of a situation that trainees study and


Experiential
• Adventure learning
programs
• Companies face certain risks

more .
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

discuss. Develops higher-order thinking skills i.e. analysis and evaluation


What Training Methods? • Business game--learners gather information, analyze it, and make
(cont’d)
decisions that influence the outcome of the game—competitive in nature
Slide 15

HRM 4e IM 6-6
Chapter 6 Training, Learning, and Development

7. Behaviour Modelling
• Effective way to teach interpersonal skills
• Participants observe other people demonstrating the desired behaviour
followed by opportunities to practise themselves
• Practise through role-playing and receive feedback about performance
• Focus on interpersonal skills e.g. coaching or communication
8. Experiential Programs
• Experiential programs—Training programs in which participants learn
concepts and apply them by simulating behaviours involved and analyzing
the activity, connecting it with real-life situations
• Adventure learning—A teamwork and leadership training program based
on the use of challenging, structured outdoor activities
-- Companies face risks e.g. injuries, claims of sexual harassment, etc.
because programs are usually physically demanding and often require
participants to touch each other
9. Team Training
Cross-training—Team training in which team members understand and
CH 6 < 16 > LO3

What Training Methods? (cont’d)



Team training
• Alternative to experiential programs
• Cross-training
• Coordination training
practise each other’s skills so that they are prepared to step in and take
Action learning
• Teams get an actual problem
• Exciting, relevant, and engaging
• Employees can apply what they
another member’s place
Coordination training—Team training that teaches the team how to share
learned


Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education
.

information and make decisions to obtain the best team performance


What Training Methods? 10. Action Learning
(cont’d)
Slide 16
• Action Learning—Training in which teams get an actual problem, work on
solving it, commit to an action plan, and are accountable for carrying it out
• Visibility and impact are intended to be exciting, relevant, and engaging
IMPLEMENTING AND EVALUATING THE TRAINING PROGRAM
Learning permanently changes behaviour. Principles of learning include:
CH 6 < 17 > LO4

Principles of Learning
 Communicates learning objectives clearly
 Present information in memorable ways
 Emphasize key points, use visuals
• Communicate learning objectives clearly
• Present information in distinctive and memorable ways
 Helps trainees link content to their jobs
 Use familiar concepts, terms, and examples
 Physical and emotional elements should
mirror the work environment
 Chance to demonstrate and practise
 Appropriate reading level – readability -- Break information into chunks that people can remember—no more than
4 to 5 items at a time
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Principles of Learning
-- Present information with visual images
Slide 17
• Help trainees link the content to their jobs
-- Present material using familiar concepts, terms, and examples
-- The context for training i.e. both physical and emotional elements should
mirror the work environment
-- Actively involve the trainees including demonstration and practise
-- Provide effective feedback focusing on specific behaviours
• Appropriate reading level
-- Readability—the difficulty level of written materials—may require re-
writing training materials to simplify e.g. add illustrations, replace abstract
words with simple, concrete words

HRM 4e IM 6-7
Part 3 Managing Talent

Measuring Results of Training


CH 6 < 18 > LO4
MEASURING RESULTS OF TRAINING
Organizations need to ensure that training is meeting objectives. Depending
on the objectives, the evaluation can use one or more measures
1. Learner reactions
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education
• Satisfaction with the program
-- The Conference Board of Canada reports that over 92 percent of
Measuring Results of
Training organizations administer reaction-level training evaluations
Slide 18 2. Demonstration of learning
3. Behaviour changes
4. Business results
5. Cost-benefit analysis
CH 6 < 19 > LO4
Evaluation of training should look for:
Evaluation Methods
 Transfer of learning
• Transfer of training i.e. on-the job use of knowledge, skills, and behaviours


On-the-job use of knowledge, skills, and
behaviours learned in training
Conditions must be in place e.g. social support
learned in training. Requires that employees actually learn the content of the
training program and that the necessary conditions are in place for
 Evaluate training outcomes
 Learner satisfaction (reactions)
 Learners can recall information (learning)
 Learners can demonstrate skills (behaviour

employees to apply what they have learned—social and technical support,


change)
 Improvements in performance (business results)
 Benefits outweigh costs (cost-benefit analysis)

and self-management
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Evaluation Methods
• Training outcomes i.e. evaluate what (if anything) has changed as a result
Slide 19
of training i.e. learner satisfaction with the training program (reaction); recall
of information (learning), changes in behaviour (behaviour), improvements
in individual, group, or company performance (business results), and
calculation to determine if the monetary benefits of the training program
outweigh the costs (cost-benefit analysis)
CH 6 < 20 >

APPLICATIONS OF TRAINING
LO5

Applications of Training
 Orientation (onboarding) of new employees

Two categories of training that have become widespread among companies:


 Training designed to prepare employees to
perform their roles effectively, learn about their
organization, and establish work relationships
 May combine various training methods

• Orientation of new employees--Onboarding


 Diversity training
 Designed to change employee attitudes about
diversity and/or develop skills needed to work
with a diverse workforce

-- Training designed to prepare new employees to perform their jobs


 Focus on attitudes and/or behavior change
 Should be tied to business objectives; have
support & involvement of top management

effectively, learn about their organization, and establish work relationships


Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Applications of Training -- May include several training methods including e-learning


Slide 20 -- Plays a critical role to maximize early productivity and engagement by
creating a positive first impression
• Diversity Training
-- Designed to change employee attitudes about diversity and/or develop
skills needed to work with a diverse workforce
-- In response to human rights and employment equity legislation as well as
market forces
-- Programs generally emphasize either attitude awareness and change or
behaviour change
-- Should be tied to business objectives, such as understanding customers,
have the support and involvement of top management, and involvement of
managers at all levels

HRM 4e IM 6-8
Chapter 6 Training, Learning, and Development

APPROACHES TO EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT


Development for Careers—concept of career has changed
CH 6 < 21 > LO6

Development for Careers •


 Development
 Traditional

is future oriented
view of a career:
Sequence of positions—entry to senior level
-- Traditional view: A career consists of a sequence of positions within an
 Protean

career—new concept
Changes frequently based on changes in the
person’s interests, abilities, and values
Employees take major responsibility
occupation or organization (like a set of stairs from entry to senior levels)
-- Protean career: New concept of a career—frequently changes based on

 Organizations provide support e.g. career
management and development planning

Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

changes in the person’s interests, abilities, and values in the work


Development for Careers environment. Assumes that employees will take major responsibility for
Slide 21 managing their careers—organizations can meet those needs through a
system for career management or development planning
CH 6 < 22 > LO6
Approaches to employee development fall into 4 broad categories:
4 Approaches to Development 1. Formal education
• Offered either at the workplace or off-site
Formal education Assessment

• At workplace or off-site • Collecting information


• Workshops & short courses • MBTI, assessment centre

• Includes workshops, courses offered by colleges or universities, executive


• University/college programs • 360-degree feedback

Job experiences Interpersonal relationships

MBA programs, short courses from consultants, etc.


• Job enlargement & rotation
• Transfers, promotions & • Mentor
downward moves • Coach
• Externships & sabbaticals

• Many colleges and universities offer management and professional


Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

4 Approaches to
Development
development programs to meet specific needs of an organization
Slide 22 2. Assessment
• Collecting information and providing feedback to employees about their
behaviour, communication style or skills—technical skills are not enough
• MBTI—psychological test that identifies individuals’ preferences
• Assessment centres—engage multiple evaluators to evaluate performance
e.g. leaderless group discussions, interviews, in-baskets, and role plays
• Benchmarks—a measurement tool that gathers ratings of a manager’s use
of skills associated with success in managing
• 360-degree feedback—performance measurement by the employee’s
supervisor, peers, direct reports and customers
3. Job Experiences
• The combination of relationships, problems, demands, tasks, and other
features of an employee’s job
• Most employee development occurs through job experiences
• Various job assignments can provide for employee development:
o Job enlargement—adding challenges or new responsibilities to
employees’ current jobs e.g. completing a special project
o Job rotation—moving employees through a series of job assignments
in one or more functional areas
o Transfers—assignment of an employee to a position in a different part
of the company, usually in a lateral move
o Downward move—assignment of an employee to a position with less
responsibility and authority
o Promotion—assignment to a position with greater challenges
o Externship—employee development through a full-time temporary
position with another organization
o Sabbatical—a leave of absence from an organization to renew or
develop skills

HRM 4e IM 6-9
Part 3 Managing Talent

4. Interpersonal Relationships
CH 6 < 23 > LO7

Interpersonal Relationships
 Mentor
 Experienced, productive senior employee
who helps develop a less experienced
Employees can develop skills and increase their knowledge by interacting
with a more experienced member of the organization
employee (a protégé or mentee)
 Reverse mentoring

 Coach

Mentoring
 A peer or manager who works with an
employee to provide a source of motivation,
help him or her develop skills, and provide
reinforcement and feedback

Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

-- Mentor is an experienced, productive senior employee who helps develop


Interpersonal a less experienced employee (a protégé or mentee)
Relationships -- May be formal or informal. Most successful programs are voluntary,
Slide 23
participants understand the details of the program, and managers are
rewarded for employee development
-- Are beneficial to both mentors and protégés or mentees
-- Reverse mentoring—pairing of a younger junior employee acting as
mentor to share expertise with an older senior colleague, the mentee
• Coaching
-- Coach is a peer or manager who works with an employee to provide a
source of motivation, help him or her develop skills, and provide
reinforcement and feedback. May play one or more of three roles:
o Working one-on-one with an employee e.g. giving feedback
o Helping employees learn for themselves
o Providing resources such as mentors, courses, or job experience
CH 6 < 24 > LO7
CAREER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Career Management Systems Employee development is most likely to meet the organization’s needs if it is
part of a human resource system of career management
1. Data-gathering
• Self-assessment—the use of information by employees to determine their
career interests, values, aptitudes, behavioural tendencies, and
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Career Management development needs


Systems
Slide 24
• Employee is responsible for identifying opportunities & development needs
• Organization is responsible for providing assessment information for
identifying strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values
2. Feedback
• Information employers give employees about their competencies and where
these assets fit into the organization’s plans
• Employee is responsible for identifying what skills are realistic to develop
• Organization is responsible for communicating the performance evaluation
and potential opportunities given the long-range plans of the organization
o Some organizations develop and communicate career paths i.e.
identified pattern or progression of jobs or roles within an organization
3. Goal Setting
• Employee sets short-and long-term goals and discusses with manager
• Organization ensures the goals are specific, challenging, and achievable
and to help the employee reach the goals
4. Action Planning and Follow-up
• Employee prepares an action plan for how goals will be achieved
• Organization identifies resources needed e.g. work experiences, etc.
• Development plan is often the outcome of action planning

HRM 4e IM 6-10
Chapter 6 Training, Learning, and Development

CH 6 < 25 >

Development-Related Challenges
LO8

DEVELOPMENT-RELATED CHALLENGES
 The

Glass Ceiling
Only 20.8% of board seats at Canada’s Stock
Index companies are held by women
A well-designed system for employee development can help organizations
 “Labyrinth” may be a better metaphor
 Dysfunctional

managers
Behaviours that make an otherwise
face these challenges:
competent manager ineffective or “toxic”
 e.g.insensitivity to others, arrogance, poor
conflict management skills, unable to adapt to
change 1. Glass ceiling
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

-- Circumstances resembling an invisible barrier that keep most women and


Development-Related other members of the employment equity target groups from attaining the
Challenges top jobs in organizations
Slide 25
-- Only 20.8 percent of board seats at Canada’s Stock Index companies are
held by women
-- Likely caused by lack of access to training programs, appropriate
developmental job experiences, and developmental relationships such as
mentoring—a better metaphor may be a “labyrinth” connoting a complex
journey with many twists and turns
2. Dysfunctional managers
-- Behaviours that make an otherwise competent manager ineffective or
even “toxic”—someone who stifles good ideas and drives away
employees e.g. insensitivity to others, inability to be a team player,
arrogance, poor conflict-management skills, inability to meet business
objectives, and inability to adapt to change
-- The organization may try to change the dysfunctional behaviour—
assessment, training, and counselling
CH 6 < 26 >
SUMMARY
Summary (1 of 2)
 Organizations create effective training
programs through instructional design
• Organizations create effective training programs through instructional design.
 Needs assessment includes organization,
person, and task analysis
 Planning and design start with establishing
objectives for the training program
• Needs assessment includes organization, person, and task analysis.
 Implementation applies principles of
learning and evaluation can be
conducted at five levels
• Planning and design start with establishing objectives for the training program.
• Implementation applies principles of learning and evaluation can be conducted
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education

Summary (1 of 2) at five levels.


Slide 26
CH 6 < 27 >
• Two additional applications of training are employee orientation and diversity
Summary (2 of 2) management.
Organizations may use four broad categories of employee development.
 Two additional applications of training are
employee orientation and diversity
management
 Organizations may use four broad

categories of employee development
 Managers and peers develop employees
through mentoring and coaching
 The career management process consists
• Managers and peers develop employees through mentoring and coaching.
of four steps. Developmental challenges
include the glass ceiling and
dysfunctional managers
Steen/Noe et al., © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education
• The career management process consists of four steps. Developmental
Summary (2 of 2)
challenges include the glass ceiling and dysfunctional managers.
Slide 27
EXPERIENCING HR
Go online and visit eHow (www.ehow.com), YouTube (www.youtube.com), or
another site recommended by your instructor. Use the site’s search function to look
up a lesson on how to do one of the following tasks: Conduct a job interview; Dress
business casual; Give a presentation; Cook chili; Clean a laptop computer; Handle
an upset customer. View the presentation you selected, taking notes to help you
recall its content and methods. Then write a one-page review of the presentation.
Rate the presentation’s content (was it relevant and understandable?) and methods
(was it engaging and effective?) Also, note whether the presentation provided a

HRM 4e IM 6-11
Part 3 Managing Talent

means for assessing what was learned. Finally, suggest how the presentation could
have been improved. What could make it more effective as part of an employer’s
training program?

THINKING ETHICALLY: CAN YOU TEACH


PEOPLE TO BE ETHICAL?
Case Summary:
Ethical leadership is critical for employees in many settings. This case highlights the
importance of developing ethical employees. One way to do so is for mentors to model
ethical behavior. Mentors can and should help employees sort out the nuances of how to
behave ethically amidst the real-world challenges of time pressures and office politics.
Questions:
1. Compare the example of the safety consultant coaching a CEO with the example of
Ernst & Young mentoring accountants. How are these development approaches
similar and different?
In the case of the safety consultant, Spigener got the CEO to think about safety in a
new, personal way—hoping that the client, in his role as a leader, would begin to
express this new understanding to others at the company. Spigener used the
approach of asking questions to get the client to have his own insights and draw his
own conclusions. In the Ernst & Young example, mentors guide their protégés to
ethical behavior by modeling those behaviours. The similarities between the two
approaches are that they are both indirect ways of communicating desired
behaviours. That is, neither approach “tells” the client or the protégé what to do. The
differences are that Spigener used a personal example to help the CEO gain some
awareness around safety, whereas the Ernst & Young mentors lead through the
example of their own ethical behaviours.
2. Besides coaches or mentors, what other resources could an organization provide to
develop ethical employees? Which of these do you think would be most effective and
why?
Student responses to this question can vary. Suggestions could include creating a
mechanism to help employees understand their own ethical behaviour. This could be
through the use of the company’s assessment center. The company could identify
assessments to help employees acquire insights into their developmental areas, and
then provide training or education programs to help them strengthen their ability to
identify and respond to situations that involve ethics.
3. Can an organization “develop” ethical employees, or is it just a matter of hiring people
who are already ethical? How much effort should an organization put into developing
strengths in the area of ethics?
The answer is both. An organization should hire ethical people. This gives the
organization a very good place to start. However, the organization should put in
significant effort to developing strengths in the area of ethics, because the business
environment is in constant flux and employees face new challenges on a continual
basis. Therefore, the organization should take pains to help employees, as well as
leaders, develop ethical strengths.

HRM 4e IM 6-12
Chapter 6 Training, Learning, and Development

ANSWERS TO CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

1. “Melinda!” bellowed Toran to the company’s HR 2. How should an organization assess readiness for
specialist, “I’ve got a problem, and you’ve got to solve it. learning? In Question 1, how do Toran’s comments
I can’t get people in this plant to work together as a suggest readiness (or lack of readiness) for learning?
team. As if I don’t have enough trouble with our
Readiness for training is a combination of employee
competitors and our past-due accounts, now I have to
characteristics and positive work environment that permit
put up with running a zoo. You’re responsible for seeing
training. The responses to this question that are
that the staff gets along. I want a training proposal on
provided by the students should indicate that the
my desk by Monday.” Assume you are Melinda.
underlying cause of the problems must be discovered
before a viable solution can be created.
a. Is training the solution to this problem? How
can you determine the need for training?
b. Summarize how you would conduct a needs 3. Many organizations turn to e-learning as a less
assessment. expensive alternative to classroom training. What are
some other advantages of substituting e-learning for
a) Training consists of an organization’s planned efforts classroom training? What are some disadvantages?
to help employees learn job-related knowledge, skills,
abilities, and behaviours i.e. competencies with the goal Advantages of e-learning include: the ability to deliver
of applying these on the job. Training can benefit the training to trainees anywhere in the world at any time,
organization when it is linked to organizational needs cost saving and efficiency in training administration, the
and when it motivates employees. The growing reliance use of self-directed, self-paced instruction, the ability to
on teamwork creates a demand for the ability to solve monitor trainees’ performance, and controllable access
problems in teams, an ability that often requires formal to training. Disadvantages include: relies on the self-
training. With training so essential in organizations, it is direction and self-motivation of the individual being
important to provide training that is effective. trained and lacks the face-to-face contact with the
trainer.
In order to assist the organization with goal achievement,
HR professionals approach training through instructional 4. Consider your current job or one you have held recently.
design. This is a process of systematically developing
training to meet specified needs. Instructional design a. How was orientation (onboarding) handled?
b. What types of training did you receive for the
should begin with a needs assessment, the process of
job?
evaluating the organization, individual employee, and
c. How did orientation (onboarding) and training
employee’s tasks to determine what kinds of training, if
affect your performance on the job? Your
any, are necessary. A variety of conditions may prompt commitment to the organization?
an organization to conduct a needs assessment. The d. Would it be appropriate to provide employee
outcome of the needs assessment is a set of decisions orientation (onboarding) purely online? Why or
about how to address the issues that prompted the why not?
needs assessment. These decisions do not necessarily e. Is there anything the organization could have
include a training program, because some issues should done to make the orientation (onboarding)
be resolved through other methods than training. and/or training processes more effective?

b) The students will most likely recommend conducting a


needs assessment to determine if the indicated The responses provided will vary. However, all
problems can be successfully addressed by training. responses should indicate understanding of the chapter
The responses provided should indicate that a needs concepts.
assessment provides answers to questions in the three
broad areas of (1) Organization – What is the context in
which the training will occur? (2) Person – Who needs
training? and (3) Task – What subjects should the
training cover?

HRM 4e IM 6-13
Part 3 Managing Talent

5. Why do organizations provide diversity training? What 8. Many people feel that mentoring relationships should
kinds of goals are most suitable for such training? occur naturally, in situations where senior managers
feel inclined to play that role. What are some
Diversity training is designed to change employee advantages of setting up a formal mentoring program,
attitudes about diversity and/or develop skills needed to rather than letting senior mangers decide how and
work with a diverse workforce. This type of training is whom to help?
needed both to ensure compliance with Human Rights
and Employment Equity legislation as well as to ensure Advantages of establishing formal mentoring programs
alignment with market forces. Diversity training should include: access to mentors for all employees,
emphasize learning behaviours and skills, not blaming regardless of gender or race and the participants know
employees. Goals of diversity training should include a what to expect and what is expected of them.
change in behaviours and attitudes toward the diverse
individuals within the workplace. Evidence regarding 9. How is a coach different than a mentor? What are some
these programs suggests that diversity training is most advantages of using someone outside the organization
effective when it is tied to business objectives, has as a coach? Some disadvantages?
management support, emphasizes behaviours and
skills, and is well structured with a way to measure A coach is a peer or manager who works with an
success. employee to motivate the employee, help him or her
develop skills, and provide reinforcement and feedback.
6. What are the four broad categories of development A mentor is an experienced, productive senior
methods? Why might it be beneficial to combine all of employee who helps develop a less experienced
these methods into a formal development program? employee.

The four broad categories of development methods are: Advantages of using someone from outside the
formal education, assessment, job experiences, and organization as a coach would include: the advent of
interpersonal relationships. All of these methods can new ideas and perspectives and offering new methods
influence and impact the development of employees. for completing assignments. Some disadvantages of
Utilizing all of the methods in a formal development using someone from outside the organization as a
program would be indicative of providing employees coach would include: organizational culture and values
with the best development possible. would not be known to this person and work habits may
not be acceptable to the organization.
7. Recommend a development method for each of the
following situations, and explain why you chose that 10. Why should organizations be interested in helping
method. employees plan their careers? What benefits can
companies gain? What are the risks?
a. An employee recently promoted to the job of
plant supervisor has been unsuccessful in Organizations should be interested in helping
sustaining employee performance quality employees plan their careers to let the employee know
standards. how much they are valued and exactly what the
b. A sales manager annoys salespeople by organization has to offer them after they have
directing every detail of their work. progressed in their field.
c. An employee has excellent leadership skills
but lacks knowledge of the financial side of This question could be used as a brainstorming
business.
exercise in which students try to think of as many
d. An organization is planning to organize its
benefits as they can. Some benefits would include
production workers into teams for the first time.
improved employee morale if employees feel that the
company cares about their careers, better career
The responses provided will reflect the opinions of each
planning for the company, a better fit with the company
individual student. Each response provided should be
and the employees, and so on.
adequately supported and rationalized with text
material.

HRM 4e IM 6-14
Chapter 6 Training, Learning, and Development

11. What metaphors were used to the describe the barriers 12. Why might an organization benefit from giving employee
that women and other employment equity group development opportunities to a dysfunctional manager,
members still face to advance into senior executive rather than simply dismissing the manager? Do these
positions? Can you think of any other relevant reasons apply to nonmanagement employees as well?
metaphors? Which metaphor do you feel is most
relevant? Why? For dysfunctional managers who have the potential to
contribute to the organization, the organization may offer
The metaphors mentioned were “the glass ceiling” i.e. development targeted at correcting the areas of
circumstances resembling an invisible barrier that keep dysfunction. The organization stands to gain a devoted
most women and other members of the employment and dedicated employee versus a terminated one.
equity target groups from attaining the top jobs in These same reasons would also apply to
organizations and “labyrinth” i.e. a complex journey with nonmanagement employees as well.
many twists and turns and puzzles to solve along the
way to the top jobs.

Students may provide other insightful metaphors for


discussion.

HRM 4e IM 6-15
Part 3 Managing Talent

CASE STUDY 6.1: GROWING THE NEXT GEN

Case Summary:

HR professionals need to consider how to plan for the future


of their roles—specifically how to help prepare the next
generation of HR professionals. Sandra Smith, chief HR
officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre points out the
need to fill the “experience gap.” Methods to prepare the next
generation of HR professionals are discussed.

Answers to Questions:
1. Which of the training and development methods
described in this chapter are included in Southlake
Regional Health Centre’s approach to developing recent
grads?
Specific methods used by Southlake Regional Health
Centre and/or discussed in the case include:
• Paid internships or project-specific jobs for new
grads e.g. projects at a basic level or projects that
have a theoretical foundation
• On-the-job experience e.g. cooperative education
(“co-op”)
• Mentorship and coaching—allows for information
sharing and practical exposure
2. Are there any other training and development methods
that would be effective for recent grads considering
careers in HR?
The responses provided will vary, but should engage
students to share their experiences and expectations.

3. What is your advice to Southlake Regional Health


Centre in choosing mentors and/or coaches to work
with recent graduates?

The responses provided will vary, but should inform the


knowledge, skills, and abilities that students associate
with an effective coach or mentor including chapter
concepts e.g. shared interests and/or values,
successful, experienced, interpersonal skills, and
technical skills.

HRM 4e IM 6-16
Chapter 6 Training, Learning, and Development

CASE STUDY 6.2: BUILDING FOUNDATION


SKILLS AT LOEWEN WINDOWS

Case Summary: language proficiency when following and giving


This case considers Loewen Window’s Foundation Skills instructions on the job
program implemented to address challenges arising from • Results—determine what improvements in
having a diverse workforce with varying English language individual, group or company performance have
skills. Loewen’s program was initially implemented as a pilot been achieved e.g. employee retention, achieving
program and later expanded by partnering with community workplace safety goals, measures of operational
organizations and securing government funding. performance—quality and productivity, etc.
2. How do employees benefit from this investment in
Answers to Questions: learning?
The responses provided will vary. Students may identify
1. Loewen’s commitment to continuous learning that by participating in Loewen’s Foundational Skills
emphasizes a belief that the organization benefits when program, employees have not only increased their
employees learn and enhance their abilities. How should English language skills but have also acquired enhanced
Loewen evaluate the effectiveness of its Foundation confidence and satisfaction in both their work and life
Skills program? outside work. English-language proficiency will enhance
Students may point out that all four levels of training employees’ opportunities for advancement and
evaluation may be applied: promotion in the future and will provide for increased
safety on the job.
• Reaction—assess employees’ and supervisors’
satisfaction with the training e.g. expressing 3. Do you think Loewen’s Foundation Skills program is a
satisfaction with the content and approach used in good model for other organizations? Why or why not?
the training program
• Learning—determine whether employees have Students are likely to suggest that Loewen’s Foundation
acquired new knowledge or skills e.g. ability to pass Skills program is a good model for other organizations
an English-proficiency exam because it provides specific tangible benefits for both
• Behaviour—assess changes in behaviour or employees and the organization.
demonstrating new skills e.g. demonstrating English

HRM 4e IM 6-17
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
“We are,” retorted Tavia, adding with a chuckle: “But as soon as I
cease to be crazy I shall want to die!”
“The Major would understand though,” said Dorothy, still as
though talking to herself. “He would know that I couldn’t stand back
and just wait when Joe was in danger.”
“You bet he would, honey,” said Tavia reassuringly. “You could
count on the Major to understand every time.”
“Do you think we are following the right trail?” Dorothy asked,
some time later.
They had reached a level spot and paused to rest their ponies, and
were looking back the way they had come.
“I don’t know,” returned Tavia, with a thoughtful shake of her
head. “All we can do is to follow the trail as far as it goes, Doro, and
hope for the best. Hark! What’s that?”
CHAPTER XXV
THE STORM

There came to the girls’ ears the grumbling of thunder, faint at first
but growing louder as it flung itself against the lofty mountains. A
flash of lightning illumined the semi-dusk of the woods.
The ponies pricked up their ears nervously and danced a little,
threatening to unseat their riders. But the girls spoke to them gently
and soothingly and in a moment had them under control again.
“I suppose we ought to go back,” said Dorothy. “You know what
storms are up here. And the ponies don’t like the thunder.”
“So it seems,” said Tavia dryly, adding, as she turned her pony so
that its nose was pointing toward the trail again: “You may go back, if
you like, Dorothy Dale, but I am going on. You are not afraid of a
little storm, are you?”
“Only this doesn’t promise to be a little one,” replied Dorothy
shortly. “But come on. If we keep the ponies on the trail——”
“All may yet be well,” finished Tavia. “Whew—that was a bad one!”
she added, as a terrific crash of thunder flung itself against the
mountainside and retreated, grumbling ominously.
The ponies attempted to stand on their hind legs again but the
girls only urged them on the faster.
The storm was waxing fast and furious now. The wind tore down
upon them in titanic gusts, catching at their breath, whipping twigs
and branches across their faces, fairly blinding them.
Another terrific crash of thunder came, a vicious streak of
lightning, and then the rain!
It did not come slowly in gentle little drops, but burst upon them
in full fury, soaked them to the skin in its first onslaught, enveloped
them in a solid sheet of water.
They struggled on, urging their reluctant ponies up the rocky trail
—up and up, while the trail grew ever steeper, the ground more
thickly strewn with rocks and tree stumps, more impassable.
It seemed to the girls that they were like flies, clinging to the walls
of a precipice.
A hideous crash of thunder, more terrific than any that had
preceded it, broke shatteringly above them and seemed to cause the
very ground beneath their feet to tremble.
Dorothy’s pony, scrambling over a huge boulder in the trail,
slipped, stumbled, caught itself, and then, in fright, reared suddenly
backward.
Caught unawares, Dorothy shot from her saddle like a bullet from
a gun and rolled down the steep incline directly beneath the feet of
Tavia’s prancing pony.
The whole thing was so sudden, so horrible, that Tavia could only
gasp in sickening fear.
But it was the gallant beast she rode that saved the life of her
chum, helpless beneath the death-dealing hoofs.
The pony reared, balanced with his forefeet in the air for a moment
while Dorothy’s life hung in the balance. Then, with a terrific effort
and almost human intelligence, he flung himself backward and to
one side.
Even then his forefeet came to earth gently, tentatively, making
sure that they touched only earth and stone. Then he stood quite still,
shivering.
Dorothy lay beneath his body, her arm flung out, her face turned
upward to the sky. She was as still as death and a sinister red spot
grew upon her forehead—grew and widened while two tiny rivulets of
blood ran down her cheek.
For a moment Tavia stared down at her chum as though paralyzed.
She dared not move for fear her action might excite the shivering
pony and cause him to move only the fraction of an inch.
“But I must get down,” she told herself dully, as though in a
terrible dream. “Any minute the pony may move. Anyway—oh,
Dorothy! Dorothy!”
Slowly and with infinite care she let herself down from the saddle
on the opposite side from her chum, speaking gently to the pony,
patting his neck, urging him to stand quietly.
But the gallant little beast needed no urging. He knew as well as
Tavia that a human life depended on his ability to remain absolutely
still.
Except for the nervous quivering of his muscles he stood like a
horse carved out of rock as Tavia lifted her chum from her perilous
position and laid her gently on the grass beside the trail.
The thunder was more frequent, more deafening in its increasing
nearness. The rain continued to pour down in a great torrential
flood.
Tavia’s hair had come down and was clinging soddenly to her face
and neck. She had to push it back before she could look at Dorothy,
shake her, wildly call her by name, beg her sobbingly to open her
eyes and look at her.
The blood was still coming from the cut in Dorothy’s forehead, but
aside from that vivid blotch of color, her face was deadly pale.
Tavia sought for and found a clean handkerchief in the pocket of
her riding coat. With this she sought to staunch the wound. The
handkerchief became red and sodden and still the wound bled freely,
sickeningly.
Tavia stumbled to her feet and, with a hand before her eyes to
ward off the twigs and branches that lashed at her face, fought her
way back along the trail toward a spot where they had passed a
mountain brook.
She knelt beside the stream, saturated the handkerchief with the
almost ice-cold water, and returned to Dorothy. Several times she
made the trip, until she was bruised and torn and panting.
Finally she had her reward. The blood ceased to flow and, washing
away the last traces of it, Tavia was able to inspect the wound more
closely.
To her surprise and intense relief she found that, instead of being
on her forehead, the cut began farther up, on the scalp, just reaching
past the line of the hair.
That then, was the reason it had bled so profusely. A scalp wound
is in appearance usually worse than in reality, sending out wild
signals of distress when there is really very little to be distressed
about.
Dorothy had evidently in falling struck upon a pointed stone,
gashing the scalp jaggedly and in such a way that it seemed an ugly
wound.
“Might have killed her,” muttered Tavia. “If she would only open
her eyes! Perhaps some water—” But the irony of that suggestion
curved her lips in a wry smile. Foolish to talk of water when nature
was supplying it in bucketfuls, free of charge!
At that moment Dorothy stirred, lifted her hand in an aimless
gesture and made as though to rise.
Tavia put a hand beneath her chum’s head, lifting her a little.
“Take it easy, Doro honey,” she advised gently. “You have had a
pretty hard knock, and it may take a little while for you to remember
what happened. Oh, keep still, will you!” she cried to the elements in
senseless fury as a crash of thunder shook the earth, drowning out
her last words. “Don’t you know it isn’t polite to interrupt a person
while she’s talking? Doro darling,” as Dorothy once more made an
effort to rise, “how are you feeling?”
“All right—I guess,” said Dorothy unsteadily. “I seem a little—
dizzy.”
Tavia tried to laugh and made a rather dismal failure of it.
“I should think you might,” she said. “After a fall like that!”
“What happened?” asked Dorothy, sitting up, her hand feeling
instinctively for the painful cut in her head. “I fainted, didn’t I?”
“You surely did, Doro, my love!” responded Tavia, once more
herself now that Dorothy was out of danger. “You fainted good and
plenty, and I don’t mind telling you you gave me the scare of my life.”
“Sorry—but I guess we had better get away from here,” said
Dorothy, still faintly, looking uneasily about her. She clapped her
hands to her ears nervously as another thunder clap broke above
their heads. “Help me, Tavia, please—I feel a little—weak.”
She tried to stumble to her feet, but sank down again with a cry of
alarm.
“Not so fast!” Tavia scolded her. “You lost quite a good deal of
blood, my dear, if you did but know it, and naturally you feel pretty
faint.”
“Blood!” echoed Dorothy alarmed. “I had no idea——”
“Only a scalp wound,” Tavia said quickly. “But it bled like sixty.
Now, let’s try it again. That’s the idea. Feel better?”
Dorothy stood, swaying a little on her feet, Tavia’s supporting arm
about her shoulders.
“I guess I don’t remember just what happened, but I guess I must
owe my life to you, Tavia.”
“No, you don’t,” denied Tavia quickly, adding, as she pointed to the
pony standing quietly enough now where she had left it. “There’s the
fellow you ought to thank!”
CHAPTER XXVI
A GENTLEMAN

Dorothy looked bewildered. Swiftly and with a return of the


emotion she had felt at that time of her chum’s great peril, lending
eloquence to her words, Tavia told Dorothy what had happened.
“That blessed pony knew you were lying there, helpless under his
feet,” she said, “and, like the gentleman and thoroughbred he is, he
wasn’t going to hurt a lady if he could help it. You should have seen
him, Doro, pawing the air to make sure he wasn’t touching you.
“And then when I pulled you out from under him he stood so still
you would have thought he was holding his breath for fear he would
move. I never saw an animal act like that. He was human, Doro!”
Dorothy took an uncertain step toward the little pony, hands
outstretched, and Tavia regarded her curiously.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
There was a curious catch in her voice as Dorothy answered softly:
“I am going to thank—a gentleman.”
She put an arm about the pony’s neck and with her other hand
gently stroked his soft muzzle. And as though he understood what
she was trying to say to him, the little horse nuzzled against her
shoulder and whinnied gently.
Suddenly Tavia thought of the other pony, the one that had so
nearly precipitated Dorothy to her death.
She found him standing on the ledge above them, tossing his head
nervously now and then at some particularly harsh rumble of
thunder or flash of lightning, but making no attempt to stray away.
“Lucky for us they gave us a couple of gentle, domesticated
ponies,” remarked Tavia, as she climbed the trail to bring the pony
back to the spot where Dorothy was standing, her arm still about the
neck of the little horse. “One with a wilder strain in him would have
shown us his heels long since and one of us would have been obliged
to walk back.”
Returning with the captured pony slipping and sliding down the
trail behind her, Tavia looked anxiously at her chum.
“Do you think you are strong enough to sit in a saddle, Doro?
Because if you’re not——”
“Oh, I am,” protested Dorothy quickly. “I feel strong enough to do
anything except stay in this awful place, Tavia. Listen to that
thunder!”
“Quite a pretty storm!” Tavia admitted. “Now, Doro dear, if you
will let me help you into the saddle, perhaps we had better start.”
“We are going back though,” asserted Dorothy almost defiantly,
and was relieved when Tavia agreed with her.
It was obvious that with Dorothy in her present condition, they
could gain nothing by going on. The only sensible thing, under the
circumstances, was to return to the safety and comfort of the ranch.
Mrs. Hank Ledger’s kitchen seemed particularly alluring to them just
then!
Tavia helped Dorothy into the saddle—almost lifted her, in fact—
and was more than ever alarmed to see how much the accident had
weakened her chum.
Dorothy was game—game as they come—she told herself loyally.
But nothing could hide the trembling hands and the fact that it
required all Dorothy’s will power, even with Tavia’s help, to climb
into the saddle.
It had been tacitly decided that Dorothy should ride Hero—for so
she had dubbed the little horse in appreciation of what he had done—
on the return journey.
But as she turned the pony’s head and looked back over the
sharply-sloping trail up which they had clambered, Dorothy’s heart
misgave her.
The descent would be infinitely more difficult than the ascent had
been. The ponies, though sure-footed and used to the rough
mountain trails, would be in constant danger of slipping on the wet
rocks and moss.
Guessing her thoughts, Tavia urged her own pony close to her
chum and stood for a moment beside her, staring down the steep
descent.
“Looks pretty bad, doesn’t it?” she said soberly, after a moment.
“But I guess we will have to risk it, Doro. We can’t very well stay
where we are.”
“No, we can’t stay where we are,” repeated Dorothy automatically,
adding, as she pressed her hand, palm out, against her forehead:
“But I am so dizzy, Tavia. When I look down it seems as if the earth
rose up to meet me.”
“Then don’t look down!” cried Tavia sharply, noting with an access
of alarm that Dorothy reeled in the saddle as she spoke. “Look up as
much as you can, Doro, and hold on tight to the pony’s mane if you
feel yourself slipping. Oh, I wish Garry were here!”
Perhaps she had revealed more of her alarm than she had meant to
in that exclamation.
At any rate, Dorothy looked at her queerly, and, with a huge effort
of will, jerked herself upright in the saddle.
“I’m all right, Tavia,” she said courageously. “I’ll keep hold of the
pony’s mane as you said. But, Tavia—you go first!”
Her heart full of misgivings, Tavia urged her pony forward and
began the steep and slippery descent to the road far below.
It seemed for a little while that the elements, having given them a
taste of what they could really do if put to it, had decided to take
mercy on them.
There was a lull in the storm. The rain continued to fall, but more
gently, and the thunder seemed to have spent its fury, retiring into
the distance with muttered and ever decreasing rumblings.
But just as the girls, making slow progress of it and stopping every
now and then to rest and give Dorothy a chance to rally her forces,
had begun to hope that the storm was almost over, it burst upon
them again, more furiously than ever.
Came the rain again and then the wind, bending trees backward
before its onslaught, driving the rain relentlessly into their faces,
forcing them to halt every few paces to pass a hand across their
blinded eyes and peer anxiously along the trail.
“We shall be lost if we don’t look out,” Dorothy panted, during one
of these pauses.
“Look out!” repeated Tavia, with a brief laugh. “Fine chance we
have to look out when we can’t see more than a few feet before our
faces. How are you feeling, Doro—any stronger?”
“Oh, I’m all right,” Dorothy responded. But in spite of the brave
assertion, Tavia knew that she was not all right, that she was fighting
every inch of the way to keep herself erect in the saddle. Despite her
effort to hide it, Tavia saw that she was trembling all over.
“Cold?” she asked, and again Dorothy shook her head, this time
almost impatiently.
“Let’s go on,” she cried. “We must be very near the road by this
time.”
But Tavia knew that they were not near the road. In fact, it was not
very long before Tavia made a discovery that startled her. In the
sudden fright that caught at her throat she must have made some
sort of an ejaculation, for Dorothy, reining up beside her, called
above the noise of the storm:
“Did you say anything, Tavia?”
“Nothing, except that we are not on the trail,” retorted Tavia
calmly. “Dorothy, I am very much afraid that we are lost!”
CHAPTER XXVII
WHAT WAS THAT?

Dorothy stood very quiet for a moment, saying nothing, just


staring at her chum.
Then suddenly she began to laugh—a wild sort of laughter that had
tears in it.
Tavia looked at her sharply, then reached out a hand and gripped
her hard.
“Dorothy, you’ve got to stop that!” she cried. “There isn’t anything
to laugh about—really, you know.”
“That’s why I’m laughing, I guess!” retorted Dorothy.
But she had stopped her untimely mirth and was gazing moodily
enough at the sodden, dreary forest about them.
“We shouldn’t be standing under a tree in a thunder and lightning
storm,” she said absently. “It’s dangerous.”
It was Tavia’s turn to laugh.
“So I’ve heard,” she said. “And if you can tell me any way that we
can avoid it, I’ll be very grateful. Oh, Doro, what’s the use? We are
just stuck, that’s all.”
That fact was so obvious that Dorothy did not take the trouble to
answer it.
“It’s all my fault,” said Tavia after a moment, her voice sounding
queer and remote above the clamor of the storm. “I ought to have
looked where I was going.”
“It isn’t your fault any more than mine,” Dorothy declared.
“Anyway, nobody could look where she was going in this storm.”
“Well, I suppose we might as well go on,” said Tavia, slapping the
reins upon the pony’s sleek and steaming back. “If we have luck we
may stumble on the path.”
“Stumble is right,” said Dorothy wearily, as she urged her reluctant
pony onward. “Oh, if I could only lie down somewhere,” she added,
in a tone that she made sure would not reach Tavia. Then the
absurdity of her wish appealed to her and in spite of the misery and
danger of their predicament, she was forced to laugh at herself.
“So many nice comfortable places around here to lie down in,” she
told herself, sweeping a hand about at the sodden landscape.
“Although it would be hard to be more wet and miserable than we
are just now,” she added.
They wandered on for a long time—they had no conception of just
how long. Finally, because the chill was creeping into their bones and
they felt stiff and cramped in their saddles, they dismounted and
stumbled along on foot, leading their ponies.
At least they would get some exercise and keep the blood stirring
in their veins.
Then at last relief came, or partial relief. The storm at last blew
itself away and the sun—a faltering and late-afternoon sun, but the
sun nevertheless—broke through the heavy clouds.
Tavia was inclined to greet him with loud exclamations of joy, but
Dorothy was too bruised and anxious and miserable of mind and
body to care very much whether the sun shone or not.
They sat down after a while on a couple of rocks that seemed not
quite so wet as the surrounding country to talk things over.
“Garry and the rest of the handsome cowboys must be somewhere
in the neighborhood,” said Tavia, determined to take a cheerful view.
“And if one of them doesn’t stumble upon us Garry is sure to send
out a searching party as soon as he finds we are gone.”
“But he won’t know we are gone till he gets back to the ranch, and
that may be late to-night,” Dorothy pointed out to her, adding with a
little moan: “What will he think of me when he finds what I have
done!”
“What we have done,” corrected Tavia. “Anyway, he will be far too
glad to get you back again to scold. You can be sure of that.”
“And Joe! We have done a lot toward finding Joe!” went on
Dorothy bitterly. “Those men could have done anything they liked to
him as far as we are concerned. As trailers we are a brilliant success!”
“We haven’t set the world on fire yet,” Tavia admitted, as she
jumped briskly to her feet. “But there is no use giving up the old ship
so soon. As long as we can’t find our way out of the trackless forest
we might as well make good use of our time and keep on hunting for
Joe.”
Dorothy stared at her chum for an instant. Then she also got to her
feet, though stiffly and wearily. She was beginning to be achingly
conscious of numerous bruises she had not known she possessed, of
sharp twinges in her back and arms that made her want to cry aloud
with the stabbing pain.
But if anything could be done, if there was the slightest chance of
finding Joe—though this she doubted—she would not give up.
“You are a confirmed optimist, Tavia honey,” she said. “But I’m
glad you are. You make a mighty-much cheerfuller companion, that
way.”
“You said it!” Tavia replied, as they started on slowly, leading the
horses. “Although I must confess that, internally, I am not as
cheerful as I have sometimes been. Something whispers that it has
been a long, long time since I gratified my craving for sustenance.”
“Oh, I don’t believe I can ever eat again!” cried Dorothy.
“You just wait till somebody tries you on a good hot plate of stew
or some good hot vegetable soup,” advised Tavia sagely. “My, what
would I give for a sniff of Mrs. Hank Ledger’s kitchen just now!”
“Oh, don’t! What is the use!” cried Dorothy, and to Tavia’s
complete surprise and dismay she began to cry, not violently, but
softly and pathetically as if she could no longer check the tears.
“Doro darling!” cried Tavia, putting an arm about her chum in
instant sympathy and alarm. “What is the matter? You? Why, you
never did this before!”
“I know it,” replied Dorothy, dabbing at her eyes with a sodden
handkerchief. “But I ache so, Tavia, and I am so frightened about
Joe, and I wish Garry were here. Then, when you spoke of the ranch
kitchen, it was just about the last straw!”
“You might know I would go and put my foot in it!” cried Tavia
penitently and quite at a loss what to do next. “You poor girl. You got
horribly banged up with that fall. If you weren’t the best sport ever
you wouldn’t go on at all. But honestly, Doro, I don’t know what to
do.”
“Of course you don’t,” cried Dorothy, trying to smile and
succeeding pretty well, considering. “And I am a goose to act this way
——”
She stopped short, a curious expression leaping to her eyes.
What was that she had heard?
Had it been a wail—a cry for help?
Nonsense! In this wilderness?
Again it came, and this time unmistakable.
She clung to Tavia, her face terrible to see in its agony of doubt, of
sudden hope.
“Some one is in trouble!”
Tavia whispered the words as though loth to break the tense
silence between them.
But suddenly Dorothy broke from her, running wildly, blindly
through the woods.
“It’s all right, Joe darling! I’m coming! Dorothy’s coming!”
CHAPTER XXVIII
A VOICE IN THE MOUNTAIN

Tavia overtook Dorothy, grasped her fiercely by the arm and


clapped a frantic hand upon her mouth.
“Hush, Doro! Are you mad?” she whispered fiercely. “There is
something queer going on here. You must not let any one hear you.”
“But it was Joe!” cried Dorothy, struggling frantically to be free.
“Didn’t you hear? It was Joe’s voice! Let me go, Tavia! Let me go!”
“Not until you can listen to reason,” cried Tavia, and Dorothy
suddenly became quiet, staring at her tensely.
“Oh, you are right—of course you are right,” she said, making a
terrible effort to calm herself. “I was a little mad, I guess. Joe calling
for help. Tavia, we must go to him quickly!”
“Of course we must,” agreed Tavia soothingly. “But it won’t do us
any good to rush in when we don’t know what we may be rushing
into. Besides, how can you be sure that was Joe’s voice?”
“Oh, Tavia, I know! Don’t you suppose I would know his voice
anywhere?”
Tavia nodded and scanned the mountain side with puzzled eyes.
“Where do you suppose it came from?” asked Dorothy, her voice
lowered to a whisper. She was beginning to tremble and her teeth
chattered uncontrollably. “It sounded as if——”
“It came from the side of the mountain,” Tavia replied. “I can’t
understand it, but if we go cautiously we probably can solve the
mystery.”
But to “go cautiously” was the last thing Dorothy wanted to do just
then. Usually the cautious one, accustomed to restraining the
impetuous Tavia, now the tables were reversed. Dorothy was the one
who could brook no delay, Tavia the one who counseled caution.
But though Dorothy’s heart urged her to fly to Joe, knowing that
he was in peril, her head whispered that Tavia’s advice was sound—
that they must proceed with infinite caution if they meant to help her
brother.
When Tavia said that the sound seemed to come from the side of
the mountain she had meant to be taken literally.
Through the woods and directly in front of them they could see the
mountain where it rose abruptly upward. There was no trail at this
point, for here the mountain was practically unclimbable.
The trail, the one they had lost, zigzagged tortuously this way and
that seeking those sections of the mountain where it was possible for
men to force a pathway.
“We had better tether our ponies here,” Dorothy suggested softly.
“If we take them much farther they are apt to whinny.”
“Excellent idea!” said Tavia, suiting the action to the word. “Now,
we’ll see what is funny about that mountain.”
Silently they crept through the woods, careful to avoid twigs that
might crack under their feet.
Once when Tavia caught her toe in the gnarled root of a tree and
fell full length upon the ground, she lay there for several seconds,
afraid to move while Dorothy stood motionless, her hand touching
the trunk of a tree to steady herself.
Nothing happened, no sound broke the murmurous silence of the
woods, and finally they gained courage to start again.
They had gained some distance when Dorothy stopped,
bewildered, and reached out a hand to Tavia.
“It’s queer we don’t hear any further sound from him,” she said,
her lips close to Tavia’s ear. “I can’t tell which way to go, can you?”
Tavia shook her head and was about to speak when Dorothy raised
her hand imploringly.
She had heard another sound, and they were startlingly close to it.
A man was speaking and although they could not hear the words
they could tell by his tone that they were angry and threatening. And
again the voice seemed to come from the heart of the mountain itself.
“Where in the world does that voice come from?” whispered Tavia.
“I don’t mind telling you, Doro, that it has me scared.”
Dorothy held up her hand again, gesturing for silence. Then,
before Tavia knew what she was up to, Dorothy flung herself face
down upon the ground and with infinite caution made her way, eel-
like, toward a huge rock that jutted out from the mountainside.
Wondering, Tavia followed her example.
Dorothy did not increase her speed even when a sharp cry rang
out, shattering the silence with breath-taking abruptness.
“I won’t do it—you—you—” came a boy’s voice, broken and furious.
“You wouldn’t try to make me do a thing like that if you weren’t a lot
of cowards! You wait till I tell Garry! You just wait!”
“Oh, we’ll wait all right, kid.”
The girls were near enough now to hear the sneering words,
although the tone was still carefully lowered.
The boy tried to answer, but a heavy hand across his mouth
strangled the defiance.
Dorothy had reached the jutting, out-flung rock and had solved the
mystery of the mountain.
For the rock served as a gigantic door, almost blocking up the
entrance of a cave that seemed to extend far into the mountain. From
where she and Tavia had stood when Joe’s desperate cry first
reached their ears, the rock entirely concealed the entrance to the
cave.
A most excellent retreat and one admirably adapted to the needs of
Larrimer and his gang!
Tavia crowded close to her side and Dorothy saw that she also had
discovered the answer to the riddle.
With infinite caution Dorothy crept still closer to the entrance of
the cave, peering around the edge of the rock.
The cave was so dark that at first she could see nothing.
Then, as her eyes became accustomed to the gloom, she made out
the figure of a man squatting upon something that looked like an
overturned keg or small barrel. His back was turned squarely to her
so that she could not catch even a profile glimpse of his face.
Then, her eyes searching feverishly, they fell upon an object that
very nearly caused her to forget the need of caution.
Lying huddled upon the floor of the cave, pushed a little further
into the darkness than the man’s figure, was something that
appeared to be a bunch of old clothes. It moved, cried out in misery,
and Dorothy knew that it was Joe.
Every instinct in her prompted her to fly to him, to take him in her
arms and loose the cruel bonds that bound him.
She half rose to her feet. A sound that seemed loud to Tavia,
crouching at her side, but was, in reality, only the shadow of a sound,
escaped her lips.
Tavia immediately drew her down, pressed a warning hand against
her lips.
“Don’t spoil it all now!” she hissed. “Lie still and wait.”
Dorothy nodded mutely and peered round the rock again.
Suddenly she pressed back, pushing Tavia with her behind the
shelter of its huge bulk.
For the man had risen and was moving toward the entrance of the
cave.
“So you think you won’t, my hearty,” they heard him say in his
heavy, jeering tone. “Well, I am goin’ to give you just one more
chance before we really begin to put the screws on. This here little
letter we want you to write, my lad, ain’t goin’ to hurt Garry Knapp
none.” The scoundrel condescended to an argumentative tone and
Dorothy clinched her hands fiercely.
“All you have to do is to write him a letter,” the heavy voice went
on, “tellin’ him you will be as free as air as soon as he agrees to sell us
his land—at a fair figure, mind, a very fair figure. You would be doin’
him a favor, really. Think of all that cash right in his hand to-
morrow, say, or the next day at the outside. You would be doin’ him a
favor and savin’ your own skin at the same time. Come now, how
about it? Let’s be sensible.”
Dorothy listened breathlessly for her brother’s answer. She did not
realize how much that answer meant to her till later when she found
the imprint of her fingernails in the palms of her two hands.
“Say, I can’t tell you what I think of you—I don’t know words that
are bad enough!” cried Joe furiously. “But I know you’re a—a—bum—
and I’ll get even with you for this some day.”
“Some day—mebbe,” the man sneered. “But in the meantime this
place ain’t goin’ to be any bed of roses for you, my lad. You gotta
think of that, you know.”
“I don’t care, as long as I play fair with Garry,” muttered the boy. “I
—I—don’t care what—what you do with me.”
But Dorothy knew that, despite all his bravado, Joe was only a boy
and he did care. And even while her heart ached with pity, it thrilled
with pride at the thought that he had stood the test, had proved
himself a thoroughbred. He would “play fair” with Garry, no matter
what happened.
She shrank back suddenly as Joe’s tormentor brushed the rock
that guarded the entrance of the cave and disappeared into the
woods.
“Now, Tavia!” she whispered tensely. “Now!”
CHAPTER XXIX
THE DASTARDLY PLOT

The two girls waited to make sure there was no one else in the cave
besides Joe, listened until the sounds made by his captor crashing
through the underbrush had died away.
Then Dorothy ran to him, sank to her knees beside him, laughed
and cried over him as she lifted his head and held it tight against her.
“Joe, Joe! why did you run away? We’ve been nearly crazy, dear!
No, no, don’t cry, Joe darling! It’s all right. Your Dorothy is here.
Nothing, nothing will ever hurt you again.”
Her arms tightened about him fiercely and the boy sobbed, great,
tearing sobs that he was ashamed of but could not control.
The storm lasted only a minute, and then he said gruffly, big-boy
fashion, to hide his weakness:
“I—you oughtn’t to come near me, Dot. I—I’ve done an awful thing
and got myself into a heap of trouble!”
“Never mind about that now, dear,” cried Dorothy, suddenly
recalled to the peril of their situation. “We’ve got to get you away
before that dreadful man comes back.”
“He went off to fetch the others,” said Joe, growing suddenly eager
and hopeful now that rescue seemed near. “They are going to do
something awful to me because I wouldn’t——”
“Yes, yes, Joe, I know. But now be quiet,” cried Dorothy, as she
propped him up against the wall and began to work feverishly at the
knots of the heavy cord that bound his feet and hands. “Some one
might hear you and—oh, we must get away from here before they
come back!”

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