Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 36

Managing Human Resources canadian

7th Edition Belcourt Solutions Manual


Go to download the full and correct content document:
https://testbankfan.com/product/managing-human-resources-canadian-7th-edition-bel
court-solutions-manual/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Managing Human Resources canadian 7th Edition Belcourt


Test Bank

https://testbankfan.com/product/managing-human-resources-
canadian-7th-edition-belcourt-test-bank/

Managing Human Resources Canadian 8th Edition Belcourt


Solutions Manual

https://testbankfan.com/product/managing-human-resources-
canadian-8th-edition-belcourt-solutions-manual/

Managing Human Resources Canadian 8th Edition Belcourt


Test Bank

https://testbankfan.com/product/managing-human-resources-
canadian-8th-edition-belcourt-test-bank/

Managing Human Resources canadian 6th Edition Belcourt


Test Bank

https://testbankfan.com/product/managing-human-resources-
canadian-6th-edition-belcourt-test-bank/
Strategic Human Resources Planning 7th Edition Belcourt
Solutions Manual

https://testbankfan.com/product/strategic-human-resources-
planning-7th-edition-belcourt-solutions-manual/

Strategic Human Resources Planning 7th Edition Belcourt


Test Bank

https://testbankfan.com/product/strategic-human-resources-
planning-7th-edition-belcourt-test-bank/

Managing Human Resources 7th Edition Gomez-Mejia


Solutions Manual

https://testbankfan.com/product/managing-human-resources-7th-
edition-gomez-mejia-solutions-manual/

Strategic Human Resources Planning 5th Edition Belcourt


Solutions Manual

https://testbankfan.com/product/strategic-human-resources-
planning-5th-edition-belcourt-solutions-manual/

Strategic Human Resources Planning 6th Edition Belcourt


Solutions Manual

https://testbankfan.com/product/strategic-human-resources-
planning-6th-edition-belcourt-solutions-manual/
Chapter 7: Training and Development

If nothing else, my students should learn that…


• A systematic approach to training and development is necessary in order to realize a
return on investment in training.
• A training program needs to be evaluated along four dimensions in order to
demonstrate its value to the organization.

Learning objectives
• Discuss the strategic approach to training and development.
• Describe the components of training needs assessment.
• Identify the principles of learning and describe how they facilitate training.
• Identify the types of training methods used for managers and nonmanagers.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various evaluation criteria.
• Describe additional training programs.

Why is this chapter important?


Training has become increasingly vital to the success of modern organizations. Training plays a
central role in nurturing and strengthening these competencies, and in this way has become part
of the backbone of strategy implementation. In addition, rapidly changing technologies require
that employees continuously hone their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to cope with
new processes and systems. Jobs that require little skill are rapidly being replaced by jobs that
require technical, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills. Other trends toward empowerment,
total-quality management, teamwork, and international business make it necessary for
managers, as well as employees, to develop the skills that will enable them to handle new and
more demanding assignments.

What can I do in this class?


This section includes ideas for how to start and finish the class. It also contains information
from the textbook that can be used as a basis for a lecture. Moreover, it contains numerous
suggestions for student engagement. Depending on your class size, the nature of the students,
and your desire for classroom participation, choose from these activities to enliven the
classroom.

Getting started
• Use an inductive approach to this class by presenting the case study written by Brown and
colleagues (2003) called “What went wrong at the university hospital?” See the full
citation below in Recommended Reading. Use it as a basis of discussion to identify the
pitfalls of training. Refer back to the case throughout the lecture to illustrate key points.
• Ask students to volunteer their experiences where they had minimal or no on-the-job
training. How did they feel? Was their safety compromised? If students could create an
ideal training event, what would it look like? Emphasize the importance of having a
comprehensive approach to training.

Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd. 75


• Use clickers or ask for a show of hands to multiple-choice questions that you develop
based on interesting facts about training. For instance, ask: How much do Canadian
businesses spend on training per employee per year? (answer = $688); What is the
average number of hours employees spend in training per year? (answer = 25); What
percentage of organizations trains its managers? (answer = 90%)
• First, ask students about the purpose of training. You will likely find that students’
response is that training helps employees perform their jobs effectively. Then, suggest
that if training leads to higher levels of performance, should organizations make training
mandatory? Many students will likely say yes—training should be mandatory so that
employees know how to perform their jobs effectively. Provide students with a copy of
Ethics in HRM: Mandatory or Voluntary? on page 237 to generate a discussion that the
answer to that question may not always be black and white.

The Scope of Training


• The term training describes almost any effort initiated by an organization to foster
learning among its members.
• Training is narrowly focused and oriented toward short-term performance concerns.
• Development involves broadening an individual’s skills for future responsibilities.
• Use Figure 7.1: Course Content Being Offered by Organizations, 2010 on page 236 to
illustrate the type of course content available.

A Strategic Approach to Training


• The goal of training is to contribute to the organization’s overall goals.
• Use Figure 7.2: Top Three Strategic Learning Goals on page 238 to show the top three
strategic learning goals for training programs.
• Explain that training often follows fads and fashions, and so is often misdirected, poorly
designed, inadequately evaluated, and often a waste of money.
• Use Figure 7.3: Strategic Model of Training on page 239 to review the parts of the
strategic approach to training, and discuss how the parts interrelate and support one
another.
• See the Connectivity Activity below called Bringing It Together, and allow it to inform
this section of the lecture.

PHASE 1: Conducting the Needs Assessment


• Use Figure 7.4: Needs Assessment for Training on page 240 to discuss the costs and
benefits of conducting needs assessment in-house or using a consultant. Needs
assessment consists of three parts: organization, task, and person analyses.
• Use Highlights in HRM 7: Notes on Rapid Needs Assessment on page 240 to discuss ways
of doing rapid assessment for training needs.
A. Organization Analysis: the examination of the environment, strategies, and resources of
the organization to determine where training emphasis should be placed.
B. Task Analysis: the process of determining what the content of a training program
should be on the basis of a study of the tasks and duties involved in the job.
C. Person Analysis: the determination of the specific individuals who need training.

76 Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd.


• Connectivity Activity: Create a hypothetical organization, and ask students to
imagine a group of employees who are all performing poorly in one aspect of their
job. Ask students how they would go about conducting an organization, task, and
person analysis. If it is useful, provide an example, such as call centre workers who
are unable to sell sufficient products to customers on the telephone.
• Making Explicit Real-World Links: Use Highlights in HRM 7.2: A Competency
Assessment for a Managerial Position on page 242 to discuss issues pertaining to
competency assessment. Competency assessment is an analysis of the sets of skills
and knowledge needed for decision-oriented and knowledge-intensive jobs.
• Think–Pair-Share: Use Discussion Question 1 as a basis for small group discussion
and application: You have been asked by a colleague to teach her how to use Excel.
How would you conduct a needs analysis to determine her current knowledge and
skill level? See a recommended solution below in Answers to End-of-Chapter
Discussion Questions.

PHASE 2: Designing the Training Program


Four related areas are particularly important:

(1) Instructional objectives


• Instructional objectives are the desired outcomes of a training program. These
objectives will guide the development of the training content and will be used to assess
the value of the training program.
• Performance-centred objectives typically include precise terms, such as: ‘To calculate,’
‘To adjust,’ ‘To assemble,’ and so on. Refer to Locke and Latham’s (2004) goal setting
theory. See the full citation below in Recommended Reading.

• Connectivity Activity: Ask students to examine the course handbook for class. Ask
them to identify the instructional objectives that you have laid out for them. Are they
‘performance-centred’?
• Think-Pair-Share: Ask students to pair up to consider this course and its learning
objectives. Ask them to develop four learning objectives that are performance-centred.
Ask students to present to the class, or have students choose their favourite one, and
write it on the chalkboard. Take it up and congratulate students for being creative.

(2) Trainee readiness and motivation


Two preconditions affect the success of those receiving training: (1) trainee readiness (the
maturity and experience of the trainee), and (2) trainee motivation.
• Call-Out Question: Ask students to think about the courses in which they were ready
and motivated to learn. What did the professor do, or what was the class like that led
to their motivation? Answers should tap into the following six strategies that can help
trainee readiness: (1) Use positive reinforcement; (2) Eliminate threats and
punishment; (3) Be flexible; (4) Have participants set personal goals; (5) Design
interesting instruction; (6) Break down physical and psychological obstacles to
learning.

Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd. 77


(3) Principles of Learning
Use Figure 7.5: Principles of Learning on page 245 to review the principles of learning.
When discussing each of the principles, it might be good to set up an example to show how
the principles apply to a particular training task. Teaching someone to drive a car might be an
example to which all students could relate.
• Goal Setting – This focuses and motivates trainees and may increase their level of
interest, understanding, and effort directed toward the training. See Recommended
Reading below for an article by Locke and Latham (2002) on goal setting.
• Meaningfulness of Presentation – The training material should be arranged in a
logical and meaningful way.
• Modelling – This also increases the salience of behavioural training. As they say, “A
picture’s worth a thousand words.” Modelling demonstrates the desired behaviour or
method to be learned.
• Individual Differences – People learn at different rates and in different ways.
Training should try to accommodate those individual differences.
• Active Practice and Repetition – Most of us learn to do any task through practice. It
is advisable to give reinforcement and knowledge of progress during the practice
phase of learning. Practice does not make perfect; “Perfect practice makes perfect.”
• Whole-versus-Part Learning – Should a job be learned in parts or as a whole? The
answer lies in how simple or complex the job is. Normally, studies show that part
learning is superior to whole learning.
• Massed-versus-Distributed Learning – Fatigue can cause a loss of learning during
a training session. It is normally advisable to divide the training session into
segments. The length of the sessions will depend on the complexity of the material
and the type of task to be learned.
• Feedback and Reinforcement – Spot rewards, for example, are programs that award
employees “on the spot” when they do something particularly well during training or
on the job. Behaviour modification is a technique that operates on the principle that
behaviour that is rewarded, or positively reinforced, will be exhibited more
frequently in the future, whereas behaviour that is penalized or unrewarded will
decrease in frequency. To have maximum effect, reinforcement should be given
immediately after the task is completed successfully.
• Use Figure 7.6: A Typical Learning Curve on page 247 to discuss the time associated
with learning. Knowledge of progress can be shown through tests, records, and charts
commonly referred to as learning curves.
• Connectivity Activity: Use HRM Experience: Training and Learning Principles on
page 272 to illustrate the learning principles that can be used in teaching others to
create paper airplanes. See comments on this exercise below in additional teaching
resources.

(4) Characteristics of Instructors


Simply knowing the material may not be enough to train someone. Trainees often remark
that they learn more effectively when the trainer is interesting and possesses good teaching
skills. Review the list of the characteristics of successful trainers found on page 248.
• Connectivity Activity: Have students work in groups to develop a list of the
characteristics of successful trainers they have known. Put the lists on the board and
see how similar they are. Normally, there is a lot of overlap.

78 Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd.


PHASE 3: Implementing the Training Program

Training Methods for Nonmanagerial Employees


Use Figure 7.8: Delivery Method of Training on page 252 to show the delivery method as a
percentage of overall learning time.
1. On-the-Job Training
• Think-Pair-Share: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this method and
list them on the board. Have students suggest ways to make this method more
effective. Disadvantages are lack of a well-structured training environment, poor
training skills on the part of the managers, and absence of well-defined job
performance criteria. When taking this up, refer to Figure 7.7: The Proper Way to Do
On-the-Job Training on page 250.
2. Apprenticeship Training
3. Cooperative Training, Internships, and Governmental Training
• Making Explicit Real-World Links: Refer students to Highlights in HRM 7.3:
Internship Program at Durham College on page 251 for an overview of an internship
program at Durham College.
• Call-Out Question: Ask students if anyone has had an internship. What made them
effective or ineffective? Use the information on internship programs on page 251 to
discuss with students how to make the most of their internship opportunities.
4. Classroom Instruction
5. Programmed Instruction
6. Audiovisual Methods
7. Simulation Method
8. E-Learning and Learning Management Systems

Key Terms
• Just-in-time training is training delivered to trainees when and where they need it to do
their jobs, usually via computer or the Internet.
• Learning Management Systems (LMSs) are online systems that provide a variety of
assessment, communication, teaching, and learning opportunities.
• Think-Pair-Share: Use Discussion Question 3 on page 271 as a basis for this think-
pair-share: Indicate what training methods you would use for each of the following
jobs. Explain your choices. a. File clerk b. Computer operator c. Automobile service
station attendant d. Pizza maker e. Nurse’s aide. See sample solutions below in
Answers to End-of-Chapter Discussion Questions.
• Debate: Use Discussion Question 4 on page 271 as the basis for an in-class debate:
Compare computer-based instruction and e-learning to the lecture method with
regard to the way the two methods involve the different psychological principles of
learning. Ask half of the students to be ‘pro computer-based instruction’ and the other
half to be ‘pro lecture-based instruction.’ See sample solutions below in Answers to
End-of-Chapter Discussion Questions.

Methods for Management Development


• Remind students that management development differs somewhat from training in that its
purpose is to broaden individuals’ experiences and give them a longer-term view of their
roles in the organization.

Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd. 79


• Review each of the management development methods discussed in the textbook. Ask
students if they have been involved in any of these methods and what their experiences
were.
• On-the-Job Experiences
• Seminars and Conferences
• Case Studies
• Management Games and Simulations
• Role-Playing
• Connectivity Activity: Ask students whether they have ever been asked to
perform a role-play. Most students, especially in business programs, will have
done role-plays in class. Ask students to generate a tip sheet for effective
administration of role-plays. Note the answers on the board, and ensure that they
include the seven points on page 258.
• Behaviour Modelling

PHASE 4: Evaluating the Training Program


• Connectivity Activity: Have students form groups with the task of each group
suggesting an evaluation program for assessing the effectiveness of a training
program in Excel. Emphasize the four major criteria: reaction, learning,
behaviour/transfer, and results.
• Use Figure 7.11: Criteria for Evaluating Training on page 259 for this discussion.

Criterion 1: Reactions
Participant reactions may give a quick indication of trouble spots and also provide an idea of
participants’ attitudes regarding the value of the training. However, too many conclusions
are drawn from such ratings.

Criterion 2: Learning
Beyond trainee reactions, it is good to determine if employees actually learned what the
training was designed to teach. Test knowledge and skills before and after training.

Criterion 3: Behaviour
Much of what is learned in training never gets used on the job. Transfer of training is the
effective application of principles learned to what is required on the job. Refer to Blume,
Ford, Baldwin, and Huang’s (2010) recent meta-analysis on transfer of training. See the full
citation below in Recommended Reading. To maximize transfer, there are several helpful
approaches:
• Feature identical elements
• Focus on general principles
• Establish a climate for transfer
• Give employees transfer strategies

80 Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd.


Criterion 4: Results, or Return on Investment (ROI)
Many organizations are beginning to look at return on investment (ROI), also called utility,
which are the benefits derived from training relative to the costs incurred.

• Making Explicit Real-World Links: Highlights in HRM 7.4: Calculating Training


ROI: Examples on page 262 shows several aspects of training that can be
benchmarked against organizations considered superior in the training function.

Benchmarking is the process of measuring one’s own services and practices against the
recognized leaders in order to identify areas for improvement. See Highlights in HRM 7.5:
Benchmarking HR Training on page 264 for different measures of the effectiveness of
training, and how to calculate the results.

• Think-Pair-Share: Use Discussion Question 5 on page 271. Ask students: Suppose


that you are the manager of an accounts receivable unit in a large company. You are
switching to a new system of billing and record keeping and need to train 3
supervisors and 28 employees in the new procedures. What training method(s) would
you use? Why? See recommended solutions below in Answers to End-of-Chapter
Discussion Questions.
• Case Study: Use Case Study 2: People Development Strategies at Credit Union
Central of Saskatchewan on page 273 to reinforce learning about training and
development for managers, resistance to change, and evaluation of training. Case
Study 3: Onboarding at Capital Power can also be used to teach evaluation in the
context of orientation training.
• Bringing It Together Connectivity Activity: Write down steps in developing a
training program on cue cards, one step per card. Those steps should include all four
stages of evaluation, top management commitment, choice of training methods,
choice of instructor, and also administrative issues such as size of room, rental
equipment, invite trainees, and so on. Make as many bundles of cue cards as there are
5- to 6-member groups in the class. Give one stack of cards to each group. Ask
students to put the cue cards in the order that they would carry out those activities if
they were organizing a training program. It is fun to provide students with masking
tape and ask them to tape the cards, in order, to a wall. Students can then do a ‘gallery
walk’ to see each other’s sequences. This is a useful exercise as it helps students to
review the concepts, and also to think about how to actually carry out training.

Additional Topics in Training and Development


Many employers develop training programs to meet special needs. The following areas are
covered in this chapter:
1. Orientation Training
• Making Explicit Real-World Links: See Highlights in HRM 7.6: Wowing the
Candidate on page 265, and then refer students to Highlights in HRM 7.7: Checklist
for Orienting New Employees on page 266.
• Small Group Project: Ask students to get into groups and design an orientation
program for a new student to the university.

Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd. 81


• Case Study: Use Case Study 1: Service at Chateau Whistler on page 272 to highlight
effective orientation programs, transfer of training to the job, and evaluation aspects
of training and development. See sample solutions below in Notes for End-of-Chapter
Case Studies.
• Case Study: Use Case Study 3: Onboarding at Capital Power on page 274 to
highlight effective orientation programs, and evaluation of orientation programs. See
sample solutions below in Notes for End-of-Chapter Case Studies.
2. Basic Skills Training
3. Team Training and Cross-Training
• Use Figure 7.12: Team Training Skills on page 268 to talk about the skills that
successful teams must learn.
4. Ethics Training
• Group Assignment: Giacalone, Jurkiewicz, and Knouse (2003) describe a
student group project where students are asked to develop an ethics training
session for a business. See the full citation below in Recommended Reading.
5. Diversity Training
• Think-Pair-Share: Ask students to discuss ways to achieve a positive out in
terms of diversity training. What will managers want to do to ensure that
employees get the most out of it? Some answers might include creating a strategic
link with diversity, not settling for off the shelf programs, choose the methods
carefully, and show the individual and organizational benefits of training.

FINISHING CLASS
• Review the learning objectives.
• Create a multiple-choice style quiz based on the lecture material to check learning. Use
clickers if they are available.
• Provide students with a ‘one-minute’ paper and ask them to respond to the following
questions: (1) What is the most important thing I learned today? (2) What question do I
have that is left unanswered? Collect the one-minute papers and take up any unresolved
issues in the following class.
• Ask students a question, such as: How easy is it to learn a new way of training? For
example, when Baby Boomers had to learn how to use computers, many of them
struggled initially. What can the Gen-Yers foresee might be their struggles in the
workplace related to training? or: Training is a lifelong journey that demonstrates an
individual’s ability and desire to change. Can you be trained if you don’t want to change
your job? Use this as a basis for discussion on the online discussion board for your class.
• Thank students for volunteering their ideas and experiences. Reinforce that class
discussions advance their thinking about all topics. Remind students that they will not be
able to work without making contributions to discussions.

82 Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd.


Additional teaching resources

Recommended Reading
• Blume, B., Ford, J.K., Baldwin, T., & Huang, J. (2010). Transfer of training: A meta-
analytic review. Journal of Management, 36(4), 1065–1105.
• Brown, T.C., Li, S.X., Sargent, L.D., & Tasa, K. (2003). What went wrong at the
university hospital? An exercise in assessing training effectiveness. Journal of
Management Education, 27(4), 485–496.
• Giacalone, R.A., Jurkiewicz, C.L., & Knouse, S.B. (2003). A capstone project in business
ethics: Building an ethics training program. Journal of Management Education, 27(5),
590–607.
• Locke, E.A., & Latham, G.P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting
and task performance: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717.

Answers to End-of-Chapter Discussion Questions


1. You have been asked by a colleague to teach her how to use Excel. How would you
conduct a needs analysis to determine her current knowledge and skill level? The
analyses made to determine the training needs include organizational analysis, task
analysis, and person analysis. Once training needs are assessed, the next step is to design
the environment necessary to enhance learning.

2. Think about the best teacher whom you have ever experienced, and the worst teacher. Go
to the list of characteristics of effective instructors on page 248 and assess each teacher
against this list. Students should discuss the characteristics of effective instructors in their
groups of three to four, and compare these characteristics to their best and worst teacher.

3. Indicate what training methods you would use for each of the following jobs. Explain
your choices. a. File clerk b. Computer operator c. Automobile service station attendant
d. Pizza maker e. Nurse’s aide. a. File clerk: classroom, on the job, programmed
instruction; b. Computer operator: vestibule, on the job; c. Automobile service station
attendant: on the job, classroom; d. Pizza maker: on the job; e. Nurse’s aide: classroom,
on the job.

4. Compare computer-based instruction and e-learning to the lecture method with regard to
the way the two methods involve the different psychological principles of learning.
Computer-based instruction and e-learning and the lecture method have certain elements
in common. They have meaningful organization of materials, and they lack the conditions
most favourable for transfer of training. Computer-based instruction and e-learning
require the active participation of the learner and provide reinforcement, practice, and
repetition of responses, whereas the lecture method does not provide any of these.

5. Suppose that you are the manager of an accounts receivable unit in a large company. You
are switching to a new system of billing and record keeping and need to train your 3
supervisors and 28 employees in the new procedures. What training method(s) would you
use? Why? Students will have different opinions about the best methods to use. One

Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd. 83


recommendation is that supervisors and employees be trained by using lectures and
programmed instruction. Exercises in the new procedures should accompany the lectures.

6. Think of all the training methods that you have experienced. Prepare a grid, with the
methods on one column and the four levels of evaluation on another. Rate each method as
to its effectiveness in your reaction, learning, behaviour, and results, citing specific
examples where possible. Students will have various responses to this question, given
their experiences in being trained.

7. Team up with a classmate and design an orientation program for a new student to your
school. Ensure that students incorporate information from Highlights in HRM 7.7:
Checklist for Orienting New Employees in their orientation program.

HRM Experience: Training and Learning Principles


You might want to point out that the trainers who do better use more principles of learning in
how they instruct their team members (though their plane may not always go farthest, you may
want to note that the team was able to learn faster than other teams). For example, there is
much more likelihood of teaching people how to effectively build paper airplanes by telling
students what it is about the plane that makes it go far, having students practice making the
plane, offering feedback, and having those who have mastered the skill teach others in the
group.

Notes for End-of-Chapter Case Studies

Case Study 1: Service at the Chateau Whistler


1. Compare the Chateau Whistler’s orientation program to the list of activities presented in
Highlights in HRM 7.7. Would you add anything? Chateau Whistler’s orientation
program compares quite favourably to the checklist in the text.

2. The hospitality sector has high turnover rates among employees. Why does the Chateau
Whistler invest so much time money, and energy into its orientation program? Though the
hospitality sector has high turnover, the upscale hotels and resorts have no choice but to
train their employees very well. Customers at upscale resorts expect high service levels,
in part because they pay so much for the services, and the only way to get this is to invest
in training.

3. Describe the activities in the orientation and training programs that would ensure a high
degree of transfer of training to the job. High degrees of transfer of training to the job
result with methods that are more hands-on and participative.

4. How would you measure the success of this program? What results criteria would you try
to measure? Success of this program would best be measured with customer responses.

84 Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd.


Case Study 2: People Development Strategies at Credit Union Central of
Saskatchewan
1. Describe the advantages of the approach used to identify performance gaps. The
advantages of using a competency model is that the competencies required are those
necessary for the organization to achieve its business goals; this in turn allows individual
employees to see how their own performance contributes to the company’s success,
which may contribute to enhanced employee motivation. Evaluating employee
performance against the various levels within each of the competencies is an objective
way of identifying individual performance gaps.

2. Why would managers resist or support this approach? Managers may resist this approach
because it requires a considerable investment of their time and effort to evaluate each
employee’s performance against the competency expectations, to follow up with the
proper planning for training or development, and to ensure that any training is
subsequently applied on the job. Managers may support this approach because it provides
them with a framework for conducting a performance conversation. Performance
conversations are typically disliked and therefore avoided by managers. This is often a
consequence of a lack of training and confidence in carrying them out. So they may relish
this opportunity as it provides them with clear guidance on how to speak to employees
about performance issues, and to discuss their performance in line with the organization’s
objectives. It also makes it less ‘personal’, which may bring the relationship between the
manager and employee closer. The anchors on the form will also provide management
with a vocabulary to use when coaching employees to higher levels of performance.

3. Describe methods that you would use to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach by
levels of learning, behaviour, and results. Level 2 (Learning) can be measured by simple
pre- and post-tests, or can be measured by having the trainer ensure that each trainee
displays their newly learned knowledge and skills to the trainer’s satisfaction prior to the
trainee being left alone at, or being sent back to, the job site. Control groups may be used
as well to ensure that the learning did not take place due to some reason other than the
training, but this method tends to be unwieldy in most settings. Level 3 (Behaviour) can
be measured either by direct observation of the trainee back on the job, or through
indirect monitoring, such as reviewing reject reports, customer complaints reports, or
other volume-type records. Level 4 (Results) can be measured through periodic
organizational reports, such as quarterly results or annual profit-loss statements.
(However, without control groups, it is more difficult to ascribe longer-term
organizational results directly to training, as other external or internal environmental
factors may have contributed or detracted from overall organization performance.)

Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd. 85


Case Study 3: Onboarding at Capital Power
1. Using the checklist in Highlights in HRM 7.7, compare the requirements for an
orientation program to Capital Power’s Strong Start program. What are the differences?

Welcome letter with company No mention of this; but 1.5-day orientation that likely
background includes this information and e-learning with company’s
strategy
Map of facility, including parking Not mentioned
information
IDs, keys, and parking decals Not mentioned
Current organization chart On e-learning module
Telephone numbers, email addresses, and New hire portal includes information relevant to the
locations of key personnel position
Copy of employee’s specific job goals E-learning module that outlines an employee
and descriptions developmental plan
List of unique terms in the industry, E-learning module that outlines how the company makes
company, and job money and growth strategy likely includes this
information
Training class schedules Not mentioned, but likely in one of the online modules
Safety and emergency procedures Perhaps in Capital Power 102 e-learning module
Copy of policy handbook, including Not explicitly mentioned, but may be in new hire portal
office hours, and telephone and email
rules
List of employee benefits, including Not explicitly mentioned, but may be in new hire portal
insurance plans
Holiday schedule Not explicitly mentioned, but may be in new hire portal
Ensure that employee has completed Not explicitly mentioned
required paperwork, including benefit
enrolment forms
Revisit performance standards Not mentioned
Schedule first performance appraisal Must create developmental plan with manager, but no
meeting information on follow-up

2. Capital Power has evaluated its program. Using the four levels of evaluation, determine
which levels were used. Prepare an evaluation program that will assess the goals of the
program and the goals of onboarding outlined by Saks and Gruman. Reactions: There is
no information on the reaction of trainees to the orientation itself. Learning: Employees
have learned about the culture, given that they are aligned with it, and the case suggests
that there has been a 30 percent increase in organizational knowledge. Behaviour: The
case suggests that employees are more engaged as a result of the training. Results: The
case suggests that there is a decrease in turnover; however, further examination of
statistics is necessary to validate this claim. The study by Saks and Gruman highlights the
importance of fit with the job and organization, as well as the potential for employees to
establish a social network. Capital Power does not assess fit, nor does it discuss the
establishment of social networks for employees. A 1.5-day orientation would lead one to
believe that social networks, at least among new hires, are being developed during
orientation. That said, much of the training is done online, so fewer social networks are
developed using this method.

86 Copyright © 2014 Nelson Education Ltd.


Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
carrying a yamabuki[18] blossom which she placed in his hand, still
with no word, only a sigh and a blush.
“What means this?” he asked, much puzzled. “I ask protection
from the rain and you give me a flower. Were you not as fair as the
first cherry blooms of spring, I could find it in my heart to be angry
with you. Speak!” But she only shook her head and sighed, and,
angry at last, he turned on his heel and left her, going forth into the
rain, the flower still in his hand.
“she returned carrying a yamabuki”
He, the adored of all Yedo, to be laughed at by a mere country
maiden who would not even speak to him! At this thought his heart
rose within him, but remembering how sweetly she smiled and how
like a rose she blushed, his anger melted away.
“She was as the flower she gave me, a mountain rose,” he thought
to himself. Then he raised the delicate blossom to his face and its
sweet scent was as the breath of morning, fresh and kind. The rain
ceased, and hurrying homeward he was met by his head man who
greeted him anxiously. To him he told his strange adventure, and the
head man said, “The poet says ‘the mountain rose has many petals
but it has no seed.’[19] The maiden meant to tell you in poetic vein
that she possessed no rain coat. She is the fair, dumb daughter of
your lordship’s keeper, and they are very poor.”
“They shall be so no longer,” said the daimio. “For one with so fair
a soul should have fairer surroundings, and one upon whom the
gods have laid a finger should have kindness from those of this
world.”
Then he showed much kindness to her father, and to the maiden,
sending to them gifts of rice and tea and rich garments. And
oftentimes, when tired with his morning’s hunt, he would rest within
the little lonely hut, and Yamabuki would serve him a cup of tea with
a shy grace. Whenever he spoke to her it was with kindness and she
would smile and blush and sigh a little, while he murmured to
himself, “The god of silence laid his finger upon your lips, Yamabuki,
little silent one.”
Footnotes
[17] Lord or knight.
[18] Wild rose.
[19] Mino, the Japanese word for “seed,” means also a rain
coat.
THE EVIL ONE AND THE RAT
When the Spirit of Creation had finished his work, he came down
from Heaven and gazed upon what he had done.
He saw the mountains gleaming pure against the blue, the rivers
winding silvery to the sea, the rice fields lying warm and moist in the
valleys—and it was good. He gazed upon the trees waving in the
wind, the iris fields and the lotus ponds, the cherry blooms and the
plum blossoms, and he smiled well pleased.
Then the Evil One appeared to him and with a hateful voice said,
“Do not flatter yourself that you have done all well in this world.
Indeed you have not. There are many things which are neither pretty
nor useful. See how ugly this thistle is, and of what use is the
bramble? Had I made things I would have done much better.”
Then the Spirit of Creation was very angry. He thought a thing of
wrath and created a rat. It was large and fierce, and it quickly jumped
into the mouth of the Evil One and bit out his tongue. Then was the
Evil One in great rage and he uttered horrid cries and danced an evil
dance upon the grass. He thought to himself, “Since the rats are
here, they shall be made to be a torment to the earth,” and he made
them increase greatly until they overran the Land of the Ainu.
“he danced an evil dance upon the grass”
At this the people were very unhappy. “Oh, Creating Spirit,” they
cried, “take away these pests, for they eat our grain and our rice,
they gnaw our huts, they frighten our children. Destroy them, oh kind
Creating Spirit.”
But the Spirit shook his head. “Not so,” he said, “I may not destroy
that which I have once made. But I will create another thing which
shall war with the rats, and so you shall be helped in your distress.”
He created straightway cats and the cats warred greatly upon the
rats so that they grew less. Then were the people pleased and
rejoiced, but an old man said to them, “Speak not evil of the rats, nor
of anything which the Creating Spirit has made. It must be that the
Creating Spirit is displeased when his works are spoken ill of, for he
punished the Evil One for so doing. Besides, everything created is of
some use. Even the rat bit off the tongue of the Evil One.”
THE PAINTER OF CATS
Once upon a time a long, long time ago there was a boy who was
clever and polite and kind, and it would seem as if he was a very fine
boy indeed. But he had one fault. He would draw pictures of cats.
Now that does not appear to be a very bad fault, but the trouble
was that Kihachi would not do anything else. He drew cats at school
when he should have been studying his lessons. He drew them
when all the other children were at play and when it would have
been far better for him to have been running and jumping.
When his brothers and sisters were sleeping peacefully at night
upon their wooden pillows, Kihachi would arise from his sleeping mat
and, stealing to the paper partitions of the little room into which
streamed the moonlight, he would draw cats. In the early morning
when the sun gleamed over the tiny garden and the dew lay like
jewels upon the rice fields, still Kihachi could be found drawing cats.
He drew large cats and small cats, mother cats and kittens. He
drew them even upon his clothes, and this caused his mother much
annoyance, though she was very patient. When, however, it came to
pass that she found a whole family of kittens playing their pranks, in
pencil, upon her own best obi,[20] she felt that something must be
done.
“My lord,” she said to her husband, “this boy and his cats make me
too much trouble. I have done everything to cause him to stop, but to
no avail. I have even burned him with the moxa[21] but still he does
not cease. He says he can not. Our other sons are able to help you
in the field and our daughter is a great assistance to me in the
household. But Kihachi does not work, and his schoolmaster says he
will not study. He will do nothing but draw cats. What shall we do
with him?”
“It may be that so strange a boy will grow up to be something quite
different from us,” said his father. “He is always agreeable. Every
morning he says most politely, ‘O hayo, O tat’ San, O hayo, O oka
San.’[22] It seems to me Bot chan[23] is not bad. Perhaps he would
make a good priest. Let us take him to the temple and see if he will
not there forget his cats.”
So they took him to the temple and the priest received them with
courtesy. “Enter, honorably enter!” he said, and they entered saying,
“We have brought to you our youngest boy in the hope that you will
graciously permit him to become your acolyte.”
The priest asked Kihachi many questions, very difficult ones, and
these he answered so cleverly that the old man said to the parents,
“This child is destined to be great. He is very clever. Leave him with
me and I will teach him all he needs to become a priest.”
So Kihachi stayed in the temple and he studied very hard. He liked
to get up early as the mists were breaking over Fuji San and the
temple bells were ringing in the dawn. He loved to sit in the twilight
when the flowers of the yamabuki are mirrored in the still marsh
waters. He loved to pluck the primrose, flower of happiness, and to
twine it with the nanten[24] into wreaths for the shrine of Buddha. He
liked to read and to study the sacred books and he learned many
prayers, but still he liked to draw, and still he drew cats.
He drew them on the margins of the books, on the prayer rolls, on
the very kakemonos[25] of the temple, and this much displeased the
good old priest.
At last he could not stand it any longer and he called the boy to
him. Kihachi bowed very low, his hands and forehead touching the
floor.
“Bot chan,” said the priest, “you will never make a good priest. You
may some day become a great artist, but you will never be anything
else. You had better go away from the temple and seek your fortune
in the world. Here is a bag of rice for you. Put it in a bundle of your
clothes, and go, and may good fortune go with you. I will give you
one last bit of advice. When darkness gathers, fear great places,
seek small shelter.”
Kihachi thanked the priest and went mournfully away from the
temple. It seemed to him as if he was always to be unhappy because
of his cats, but he could not help drawing them. He was afraid to go
home, for he knew his father would punish him for disobeying the
priest. He did not know what to do. At last he thought of a large
temple in the next village, and wondered if some of the priests there
would not take him for an acolyte.
“At least I can try,” he said, and hurried on, hoping to reach the
temple before night.
It was a long way, and his feet grew very sore and he was tired.
So it was a great disappointment when he reached the temple to find
it deserted. Not a priest was there to offer incense, not an acolyte to
ring the temple bells.
“How strange it is that everything is covered with dust! There are
cobwebs spun over the altars!” he said. “It seems to me an acolyte is
needed. I shall stay at least for the night and perhaps to-morrow the
priests may return. They will commend me if I make things very
clean.”
He laid down his bundle and began to clean the temple with a will,
and soon it was quite free from dirt and dust. Then he sat down and
rested, but noticing a large screen with quite a blank space upon it,
he drew out his writing box and began to draw cats as hard as he
could draw.
He thought nothing of how time was passing until suddenly he
noticed it was growing quite dark, and he began to be a little afraid.
He looked about him. How huge and deserted seemed the temple
hall! How small a boy he was! Then he remembered the old priest’s
parting words, “When darkness hovers, fear great places, seek small
shelters.” Surely this was a great place! He hunted about hoping to
find a small place which might be safer, and, surely enough, there
was a tiny recess in the wall with a door which could be slid into
place. He entered and found there was just room enough for him to
curl up and go to sleep, which he did, for he was so tired that sleep
came to him quickly.
“he began to draw cats”
He slept soundly, but at last was awakened by a loud noise. It
seemed as if a thousand ogres were fighting, and with the noise of
the fighting came horrid screams. Kihachi was afraid to make a
peephole in the paper partition, and so he lay very still until at last
there was a more awful scream than before and the sound of a
heavy fall. Then all was still.
Kihachi lay quite still until the morning light began to creep into his
cabinet, and then he thought, “I must get up and ring the dawn bell;
for when the priests return they will be pleased to find that I have
attended to everything.”
So he jumped up and hastened to ring the bell. Pure and clear its
tones rang out over the cool morning air, and Kihachi noticed figures
in the valley below moving rapidly, and he said, “Here come the
priests. I hope they will be pleased with what I have done.”
Then he went to look at the cats he had drawn in the great temple
hall the night before. But what a sight met his eyes! Upon the floor of
the temple was a pool of blood and beside it the body of a fierce and
terrible rat, the largest he had ever seen. It was as large as a cow,
indeed it was a monster rat goblin.
“What killed you?” he cried, “there must have been a battle royal
here in the night, for I heard sounds as if an army of cats was let
loose.”
Then his heart stood still, for he saw that the mouths of all the cats
he had drawn were covered with blood!
“My cats killed the rat goblin!” he cried joyfully; and at that moment
he heard steps and turning, saw the headman of the village with
several other men entering the temple.
“What does this mean?” asked the headman. “Do you not know
that this temple is haunted by a terrible rat goblin? Surely you did not
spend the night here?”
“I spent it quite comfortably,” said Kihachi, “and I think the goblin is
dead.” Then he showed the headman the rat and his cats, and told
him what had happened in the night. The headman said, “It is well
that you obeyed the old priest’s instructions to ‘seek small shelters.’
This goblin has haunted the temple for many months and no one
who has come here has ever returned. Your cats are very lifelike; I
believe that some day you will be a great artist. In the city yonder
you will find my brother. Go to him and tell him your story. He will
help you. You have done my village a good turn with your cats, so
here is a present to help you along;” and he gave him twenty yen.
Then was Kihachi very glad in his heart, and he made his thanks
to the headman and went his way.
And thereafter, when he became a great artist and taught many
boys to draw, he laughed as he told his pupils, “My first great picture
was a drawing of cats, and for it I received twenty yen.” And his
pupils were much astonished and called him always “The Painter of
Cats.”
Footnotes
[20] Sash.
[21] Punk.
[22] Good morning, Father—Good morning, Mother.
[23] Boy.
[24] Heavenly bamboo, a tree with bright scarlet berries.
[25] Hangings or pictures.
THE COMING OF BENTEN SAMA
Long ago the river of Kashigoye flowed into the sea by the Marsh
of the Terrible Dragons. The dragons were five, and yearly they
came forth and devoured the maidens of the village and there was
no way to hinder. But the people cried loudly to Benten Sama, the
goddess of mothers, the bestower of love and beauty.
Now Benten Sama had many sons: Daikoku, who gives wealth,
Ebisu, who is the god of fishermen, Hatei, who is full of mirth, and
others equally renowned.
Of all these sons, Benten Sama loved Ebisu best, and for his sake
all fishermen were dear to her. When, therefore, O Ume San,
daughter of the headman of the village, besought the blessing of the
gentle goddess upon her lover, a fisherman, Benten Sama listened.
“Goddess of Mercy,” murmured the girl. “Send thy blessing upon
him, for my honorable father will not consent to our union. He says,
‘When the five Dragons of the Marshlands are no more thou shalt
marry this fisher lad.’ I pray you, gentle goddess, soften the heart of
my father, and may thy son Ebisu bestow his favor upon Hakuga.”
benten sama
Benten Sama listened to the girl’s prayer and smiled. She
whispered to her son and he was kind. He filled Hakuga’s nets with
fish and these brought many yen. He then approached the father of
O Ume San and besought of him his daughter, his Go-between[26]
saying, “Honorably deign to listen to the prayer of Hakuga and give
to him your daughter, for he has many yen!” But the father replied
ever the same, “When the five Marsh Dragons are no more,” and the
Go-between returned sadly to Hakuga.
Then the maiden prayed again to Benten Sama and she said,
“Kind Goddess, hear! Send some curse upon the five Marsh
Dragons, that Hatei your son may bestow mirth upon us, for we are
sad.”
Then Benten Sama thought, and that which she thought was
good. It was the time of the red maple leaf[27] and Tatsu Hima[28]
ruled. Benten Sama asked her aid, as she flaunted her banners
upon the hillside, and that night there came a fearful storm. The
storm howled and shrieked, and all the people cowered in terror. All
night it raged, and the thunder god gave five mighty roars, and at
each roar a dragon lay dead.
And when the sun god lighted the world, all was still and smiling,
the Marsh of the Dragons was gone, and in its stead rose an island,
green and beautiful, and above it hovered Benten Sama, throned
upon a rainbow.
Then were the people much pleased at their deliverance from the
five Dragons of the Marsh, and they made a shrine to Benten Sama
at that point where she had appeared.
And O Ume San married the fisherman and they lived happily ever
after.
Footnotes
[26] A Japanese never asks for a wife himself. He always
sends a professional matchmaker who is called a “Go-between.”
[27] November.
[28] Goddess of Autumn.
THE WATERFALL WHICH FLOWED
SAKÉ
Once there was a poor woodcutter who toiled early and late for a
living. He worked harder than others, because he loved his old father
and mother dearly, and wished to give them all the good things of
life. But though he was more diligent than any other woodcutter of
the village, he never seemed able to gain enough sen to buy saké
and tea, but only enough for rice and bread.
One day he climbed high up on the mountain to find the best
wood. It was a very steep mountain, and no one else would try to
climb so high. So he worked alone. Chop, chop, his axe broke the
stillness and soon he had a goodly pile of logs.
Stopping for a moment to rest, he saw a badger lying asleep under
a tree, and he thought to himself, “Aha, my fine little beastie! You will
make a fine morsel for my father’s supper. He and my mother have
not tasted meat for many a day.”
The longer he looked at the badger, however, the less he wanted
to kill him. He was such a little creature and it seemed mean to kill a
sleeping thing and one so much smaller than himself!
“No,” he said to himself at last, “I can not kill him! I will but work the
harder that I may earn money to buy my parents some meat!”
Now the badger seemed to understand and approve of this
resolve on the part of the young woodcutter. He opened one eye and
then the other. Then he blinked saucily at the woodcutter.
“Thank you,” he said. “That was a wise conclusion.”
The young man dropped his axe and jumped high into the air, so
great was his astonishment at hearing a badger talk.
“You couldn’t kill me if you tried,” said the badger. “Besides, I am
far more useful to you alive than dead. And now, because you have
proved yourself of a kind heart, I will show you kindness. Bring me
the flat, white stone which lies beneath yonder pine tree.”
The woodcutter turned to obey, and suddenly stopped in wonder.
Spread upon the stone was the finest feast he had ever seen. There
were rice and saké, fish and dango,[29] and other good things. He
sighed as he looked, for he wished he could take the food home to
his parents.
“Sit and eat,” said the badger who answered his thoughts as if
they had been spoken. “Your father and mother shall eat the same.”
The woodcutter obeyed, but when he tried to thank his little friend,
he saw that the badger was gone and that, just where he had sat,
there was a sparkling, tinkling waterfall. It rippled over stones and
crags and sang a sweet little song, and as the woodcutter stooped to
drink of it lo! the waterfall flowed with saké! It was the richest he had
ever tasted and he filled his gourd with it and hurried home to share
it with his parents.
When he arrived there and had told his story, his mother smiled
and said, “Thou art a good son.”
“We have fared as well,” his father said, “for we found spread for
us just such a feast as yours, though we knew not at all whence it
came.”
Next day the young man went early to his work. As he climbed the
mountain he saw, to his surprise, a troop of woodcutters following
him, and each carried a gourd. Some one had overheard him tell his
father of the waterfall which flowed saké, and all the woodcutters of
the village wished to taste of the wonderful drink.
When they drank, however, they were filled with rage, for to them
the waterfall flowed only water. Then they reviled the youth and
cried,
“Base one, you have beguiled us here on false pretenses! You
have spoken falsely! We have toiled here for nothing! You are an evil
fellow!”

You might also like