The two potential challenges for training are the legalities surrounding job selection, placement and training and the quality continuous improvement. The demographics play a huge role in the labor pool; therefore, some companies appear off balance in the legal regulations pertaining to affirmative action and equal opportunity employment. Depending on the industry there are even legal issues surrounding the training programs risk the employee must be willing to undergo and liabilities for the company performing the training (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Quality and continuous improvement is ideally the unbiased voice of the customer. The quality department not only follows the tolerances and customer specifications, the vague and ambiguous corporate standards are defined more clearly through the quality department. Quality teaches operations the understanding of why a product can contain limited defects on some products and not others. Blueprints and customer specifications are considered the hard tolerances; however, the aesthetics and subjective material are the responsibility of the quality team to communicate with the customer to determine a clearer understanding and standards (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2010). Effective training: Systems, strategies and practices (Custom 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Unit 1 Question 11
Knowledge skills and attitudes (KSA) are the different types of learning outcomes. Knowledge is the body of information, facts, procedures and principles an individual acquires overtime. The declarative knowledge is what we place in memory. The procedural knowledge is the overall information individuals are already equipped with and how we organize the information for use. Strategic knowledge is how, when and why we would use the information; for example, if the customer issued a non-conforming infraction against a supplier. The supplier could contest based on 100% testing of component and documented test results (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Knowledge is the prerequisite for learning skills; however, the over-site in most cases, is the difference in knowing the information and being able to apply it. Skill level is measured by how well an individual performs an action; for example, effective communication, implementing business strategy or training another for a job function. The lower level of skill level is compilation while the higher level is referred to as automaticity. Newly acquired skills are considered to be compilation as opposed to long term skill sets are automaticity which means the individual is automatically conditioned to perform the needed actions for the situation (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Attitudes are the employee beliefs and opinions that will actually either support or restrict the behavior in situations. Oftentimes, attitudes are substituted with abilities which falls into the same bucket as knowledge and skills, this unfortunate misconception has become the norm throughout the corporate world. Contrary to popular belief the attitudes effect motivation; for example, if there are negative feeling towards a superior the motivation to get the job completed is effected, not to mention if the employee believes the superior will be unfair of harshly critical the employee will most likely not devote the time and care toward the task that is required (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).

Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2010). Effective training: Systems, strategies and practices (Custom 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Unit 1 Question 12
The model of training processes serves as a problem solving tool through reasonable, not ideal, training objectives. Nonetheless, even less than ideal conditions for training processes are critical to training success. Training is not simply having training programs for large percentages of employees. Training must be viewed as a integrated process to analyze the organizational and employee needs and respond to those needs in a logical, strategic and rational manner (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
The training process begins with a triggering event; normally an individual with authority recognizes the actual organizational performance (AOP) is less than the expected organizational performance (EOP). The recognition of the imbalance serves as the triggering event and the analysis phase is kicked off. The performance gap could occur in many several areas; however, profitability shortfalls, less than adequate levels of customer satisfaction and excessive scrap can all trigger a training needs analysis (TNA) (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
The design phase is compiled with the areas of constraint and support from the analysis phase and become the inputs for the design phase. The design phase is the creation of training objections. Development phase is instructional strategy which is the order, timing and combination of methods and elements used in training to ensure the information relates back to the job. The implementation phase is where everything from training comes together. This phase is critical especially if it is assumed nothing will go wrong. The evaluation phase is to determine all is well by collection of data to determine if the trainer followed the exact process. Outcome evaluation is the follow-up on the effects of training on the trainee, the job and the organization. Outcome evaluation can also identify weaknesses in the process and uncover problematic areas in need of improvement (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2010). Effective training: Systems, strategies and practices (Custom 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Unit 2 - Question 11
The two definitions of learning are behavioral and cognitive. Behavioral learning is observable; for example, the changes one will make in his/her job after training is administered. When one learns he/she will certainly enforce the training through actions; therefore, changing habits to accommodate newly learned information. The behavior patterns will change in the way an individual performs his/her job function and the behavior can be observed by others (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Cognitive learning refers to the organization, storage and content of information learned. In other words as we learn cognitively we reorganize the information in our memory to relate to the new information learned so we can understand it and recall the information as needed. Cognitive learning is the way one groups or separates the information based on ones experiences to apply the knowledge learned (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Behaviorists believe the environment and trainer control the information, stimuli and consequences thus the behavioral changes occur through a controlled process; in contrast the learner is believed to control the learning process through personal goals and priorities of learning (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).

Training delivered in a fashion that reached learners on multi-levels created cognitive changes in learners to not only extend new KSA’s but were also observable in behavioral changes. Effective training delivered to learners effectively creates change in the way learners think about the topic; therefore, creating change in behavior patterns (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2010). Effective training: Systems, strategies and practices (Custom 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Question 12 Unit 2
Clayton Alderfer’s ERG Theory groups human needs into three broad basic groups. Alderfer expanded; yet, simplified Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory. Alderfer’s ERG theory is human needs for existence, relatedness and growth needs. Existence needs are a person’s basic physiological and physical need related to safety, food, shelter and safe working conditions. This basic need was inspired by Maslow’s physiological and safety needs (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Maslow’s theory indicated a person’s need to belong. Alderfer’s relatedness needs include an individual’s need to be recognized for his/her efforts, social interaction and acceptance, feelings of security among others and interpersonal safety (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Alderfer’s growth need correspond to Maslow’s esteem and self-actualization needs. Alderfer’s growth need is the individual’s self-esteem through personal achievement. ERG theory suggests a person’s behavior is motivated by more than one need level at a time; furthermore, Alderfer took the ERG theory one step further to include frustration-regression process. Frustration-regression process is relatively simple; if one cannot achieve a higher level then he/she becomes frustrated and regresses to the next lower level. Basically, Alderfer’s ERG theory seems to explain the dynamics of human needs within the organizational structure to be noticed and promoted for accomplishments and respected for efforts of leadership (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2010). Effective training: Systems, strategies and practices (Custom 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Unit 3 Question 11
Criterion deficiencies are the parts we miss in ideal conditions. The ultimate criterion and actual criterion have variances which are not viewed as important aspects of performance. The ultimate criterion creates the ideal condition for an operator to produce parts within a few thousand of a centimeter tolerance; however, the actual criterion does not highly control the machine usage, company budgets do not allocate the extravagant expense for maintaining such equipment and the controlled environment does not sustain the real world abuse. Other factors contribute to the deficiency such as, noise and climate condition; moreover, the relationship between supervisor-subordinate and machinist skill level also impact the deficiency. These variables are often assumed to be ultimate and the assumption is often incorrect. Any measure will miss important conditions of a bonefide success; yet, will also contain some amplification unrelated to genuine accomplishment (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010). Criterion contamination is the element that does not imbricate with the ultimate criterion. There are two main categories of contamination error and bias. Error is indiscriminate; therefore, not as great a concern as bias. Bias is measuring items other than what should be measured. Bias is a choice to evaluate a person or object in a more or less than favorable way to support or discredit evidence findings (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2010). Effective training: Systems, strategies and practices (Custom 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Unit 3 Question 12
The proactive approach to TNA addresses the future. It is wise for the Human Resources department to develop strategies and tactics to provide the organization with associates who possess the required KSA’s to perform all critical job functions. Overall there are two ways HR can proactively fulfill this function. First current employees can be groomed for promotions or transfers. Secondly, employees can be prepared for upcoming job changes in job roles. Human Resources department must identify key areas and positions in the organization that affect the functionally of the organization negatively if the position is left opened too long. The identification is the first step in succession planning to keep key positions filled with capable individuals (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
The reactive approach addresses the here and now, the discrepancies currently happening. The reactive approach contains many blurred lines due to primary focus being on one department, those who are making complaints or the grievance being on one particular job function (Blanchard & Thacker, 2010).
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2010). Effective training: Systems, strategies and practices (Custom 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.