A B G I Z H A R A B G A H M A D

OBJECTIVES OF THE MODULE

After studying this unit on training needs analysis, you should be able to:

1. Explain how the major organizational and environmental factors are used in organizational analysis.

2. Use observation, forecasting technique and attitude survey to conduct organizational analysis.

3. Describe the steps in conducting task analysis.

4. Employ the different approaches for task identification.

5. Identify the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform a particular task.

6. Describe the steps in performing person analysis.

7. Use the various methods to appraise employee’s performance.

INTRODUCTION

starting point for the design and management of a

training program.

systematically determining training needs.

use training and development interventions only

where it is needed.

discuss the most comprehensive and sophisticated

system

consists of three kinds of analysis: organization,

task and person analysis.

A. WHY THESE TNA?

1. Where, What, Who, When, How???

1. require time and human resources.

2. a process that needs repeating.

3. the 3 analyses are usually performed

simultaneously.

B. ORGANIZATION ANALYSIS

primary purpose--to determine where

training activities should be conducted and

the reasons for it.

four elements - the environment,

organization’s overall objectives, its human

resources, and its climate.

1. ENVIRONMENT

can be a critical factor

supported financially by the organization.

amount of support can be affected by its

overall profitability in the competitive

market, as well as the resources available.

competitive markets and availability of

resources need to be examined when

doing organizational analysis.

environment also influence the structural

nature

organizations operating in dynamic,

uncertain environments - need training for

the employees to adapt rapidly to changing

environmental conditions.

Eg: scientific discoveries, technical

inventions and changes in the market place.

2. ORGANIZATION’S OBJECTIVES

overall objectives and sub-units objectives -determine

where training is needed.

examine closely how it being achieved.

overall objectives should first be stated in broad terms

and then stated specifically for the various sub-units.

programs should not focus only on solving immediate

problem to the extend that long-term preventive

training is forgotten.

3. HUMAN RESOURCES

estimation of how many people need to be trained

immediately and in the future.

by - human resource analysis.

organization performs employment planning either on

an intuitive (informal) or a formal basis.

Formal employment planning- for large organizations

with high growth rates, high employee turnover, and

rapid changes in technology and product lines.

4. ORGANIZATION CLIMATE

is used to determine the way employees perceive

specific aspects of their work (e.g., compensation,

opportunities for advancement, etc.) and their

membership in the organization (e.g., goals,

policies, procedures, etc.).

Company = personal needs, goals, and aspirations

= GOOD OC

Why would we want to assess an organization’s

climate?

1) environment may affect whether training can produce

changes in behavior – poor OC = resistance to training

2) can help identify problem areas within the

organization.

is typically conducted by using a questionnaire.

E.g: organizational diagnosis questionnaire is

Perspectives, a computer scored 82-items

instrument that yields the following sub-

dimension scores:

Overall Job Satisfaction

Satisfaction with the Work Itself

Satisfaction with Co-workers

Satisfaction with Compensation and Advancement

Satisfaction with Pay

Satisfaction with Benefits

Satisfaction with Promotion

2. Overall Attitude Toward Leadership

and Supervision

Considerateness

Promotes Teamwork

Supervision of the Work Itself

3. Evaluation of Communication

4. Attitudes Toward the Organization

Policies

Concern for Humana Resources

Physical Working Conditions

5. Individual’s Relation to the Job

Job/Person Match

Identification with Work

Organizational Stress

Job Contribution to Quality of Life

6. Relative Importance of Various Job Aspects

5. SUMMARY

1. Training needs must be linked strongly to corporate

strategy.

2. Training workers is one way of fostering corporate

royalty and make the work force more flexible and

adaptable to changes.

C. TASK ANALYSIS

is conducted to determine the content.

there are five steps in conducting task

analysis:

1. Obtain a copy of the organization’s job description.

2. Identify the tasks involved in performing the job

for which the training program is designed.

3. Identify the knowledge KSA

4. Develop course objectives.

5. Design the training program.

1. JOB DESCRIPTION

develop a description of the target job.

Is a statement about what the person does

on the job, including the conditions (e.g.,

hazardous condition, excessive time

pressures, dealing with irate customers)

under which the job is performed.

2. TASK IDENTIFICATION

focuses on the overt, observable behaviors that

are involved in performing a job.

e.g., a task listing of a home telephone installer :

1 .Reads and interprets service orders

2. Climbs pole to hook up the drop wire

3. Runs drop wire from pole to house

4. Checks protector to make sure it is functioning

correctly

5. Use ladder on side of house to hook up drop wire

6 different approaches that can be

used for task identification:

a) Stimulus-response-feedback

b) Time sampling

c) Linear sequencing

d) Critical incident technique

e) Job/task inventories

f) Future-oriented job analysis

A. STIMULUS-RESPONSE-FEEDBACK

approach was developed by Miller (1962).

each task activity consists of the following

components:

1. An indicator

object that provides the cue for making

response.

is an out-of-tolerance signal that there is a

difference between present conditions and

how conditions ought to be.

2. Control object

any means the employee uses to correct the out-of-

tolerance situation.

may require the use of a tool, a piece of machinery,

or even another worker.

3. Activation or manipulation

the employee’s actual use of the control object.

involves describing the actual use of the tool or

machinery or even the message conveyed by one

employee to another regarding the situation.

4. Indication of response adequacy

feedback that the employees receive

regarding the adequacy of their behaviors.

It may be proximal (as by the feel of a

switch when machine is being adjusted) or

distal (as when one hears the machine

starting up again).

S-R feedback approach can be particularly

useful in training where equipment

simulators need to be developed.

B. TIME SAMPLING

direct observations of work activities.

enables trainers to determine exactly what

employees do on the job and how frequently

they do it.

randomized observations

C. LINEAR SEQUENCING

designed expressly for specifying training

content.

applicable for analyzing the basic steps of

any job.

excellent method for determining training

content with any job involving certain

prescribed procedures.

D. CRITICAL INCIDENT TECHNIQUE (CIT)

requires observers who are aware of the

aims and objectives of a given job and who

frequently see people perform the job, to

describe to a task analyst incidents of

effective and ineffective job behavior.

supervisors, peers, subordinates, and

clients may be interviewed about the

critical requirements of a job.

Three questions are always asked by

the interviewer for each incident that

is recalled:

1. What were the circumstances surrounding

this incident?

2. What exactly did the individual do that

was either effective or ineffective?

3. How is the incident an example of

effective or ineffective behavior?

E. JOB/TASK INVENTORIES a structured questionnaire.

list of tasks obtained through

brainstorming activities.

the training specialist calculates the mean

rating for each task for both importance

and time spent.

end product--comprehensive picture of the

job’s task.

F. FUTURE-ORIENTED JOB/TASK

ANALYSIS

anticipates the dynamic environment.

is based on research.

focus on future objectives of the organization.

development and training of senior executives.

purpose--to link individual executive learning with

the business strategy.

future executive requirements are defined in terms

of the future strategic organizational objectives.

3. KSA IDENTIFICATION

Knowledge refers to factual material.

Skills pertain to the hand-on, overt doing of things.

Ability are basic mental processes.

using a panel of people familiar with the particular

job.

brainstorm the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities

for each and every job task.

4. COURSE OBJECTIVES

consist of statements that specify the

desired behavior of the trainee at the end

of training.

what the trainer expects the trainee to

know and to do after participating in the

training program.

5. DESIGN OF PROGRAM own program, decisions must be made about:

a) Its contents/curriculum

b) Its length

c) The techniques and methods to be used

d) Where and when it should be conducted

e) Who the trainers should be

f) The type of training the trainers will be given

g) Who will train the trainers

h) Who the trainees will be

D. PERSON ANALYSIS

focuses on the individual employee.

It deals with the question, “Who needs

training and of what kind?”

There are two major steps in person

analysis. 1. Performance appraisal

2. Diagnosis

1. STEP 1: PERFORMANCE

APPRAISAL

performance appraisal--it refers to

techniques employed by training

specialist to measure an employee ’ s

job proficiency.

methods can be conveniently

categorized into three general areas: a) Behavioral measures

b) Economic measures

c) Proficiency tests

A. BEHAVIORAL MEASURES

Involves ratings based on observations

of an employee’s on-the-job behaviors

by superiors, peers, subordinates,

and/or outside evaluators.

they are dependent on human

observation.

accuracy in reporting observations is

often affected by factors irrelevant to

job performance.

Some of these factors are:

1) Halo error - the tendency to rate an employee

either high, average, or low because the rater

believes the employee is high, average, or low

on one single factor.

2) Similarity effect - the tendency on the part of

the rater to judge more favorably individuals

perceived as similar to him- or herself.

3) First impression - the tedency to evaluate

another person on the basis of a judgement

made primarily after an initial meeting.

4) Contrast effect - the tedency to evaluate

subordinates in comparison to one another

rather than against pre-established job

requirements.

5) Other factors - an individual ’ s physical

attractiveness, race, seniority in the

organization, personality, and level of

education.

a number of behavioral procedures available

for appraising employee proficiency.

Behavioral Expectation Scales (BES)

Behavioral Observation Scales (BOS)

both are based on observable job behaviors.

BEHAVIORAL EXPECTATION

SCALES (BES)

requires that each dimension be arranged on

a continuous vertical rating scale with a

behavioral anchor listed near each of the

seven points ranging from ineffective to

effective behavior.

examine respective dimension and place a

check mark beside the one behavior anchor

that best describes the behavior that the

employee could be expected to demonstrate

based.

extrapolate from actual behaviors observed

to those “expected” as defined by the scale

anchors.

BEHAVIOR OBSERVATION

SCALES (BOS)

ratter indicates the frequency of each

of the critical behavior listed in the

questionnaire based on their

observations of each behavior.

can determine an employee ’ s total

score on each dimension or criterion

of job performance by totalling his or

her scores on the five-point BOS scales.

B. ECONOMIC MEASURES

records the number of units produced in

a given amount of time, sales volume,

number of injuries, scrappage weight, and

so on.

can be broken down into two

subcategories:

1. Those dealing with production

2. Those dealing with personnel information

problem--they cannot be meaningful

applied to many organizational positions.

C. PROFICIENCY TESTS

two variants to this approach:

1. to ask an employee to performed the

duties required in a job in either actual

work setting or a simulation of it.

2. involves the use of written job-

knowledge tests to assess employees.

2. STEP 2: DIAGNOSIS

involves determining the specific skills

and knowledge that an employee

needs to acquire.

requires a systematic diagnosis of each

employee’s strengths and weaknesses.

An alternative way of performing step

2--employees to self-assess their own

individual training needs.