M&IS 44183

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS

                                                           Fall 2010 (W 6:15-8:45)

INSTRUCTOR

Jennifer L. Noble, MEd, MBA

E-mail: jlnoble@kent.edu                   

Phone: 330-672-2269             Fax: 330-672-4043 (please use a cover page with my name)

Office hours:   by appointment

COURSE PREREQUISITE

MIS 34180: Human Resource Management

Caution: This course is designed for students who have a Human Resource Management minor; the majority of students should be seniors.  All other students should meet with the professor during the first week of class to review expectations.

REQUIRED TEXT / READINGS

Noe, R. A. (2010).  Employee Training & Development.  New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Additional required readings are available through KSU Library Electronic Reserves and the course website.

Course Website:  http://vista8.kent.edu

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course will examine a range of theory and practice with respect to training and development related to the workplace and careers.  We will focus on the development and the delivery of training programs. At the conclusion of this course, you should be able to:

-       Describe the scope and need for training and development in the workplace of today and the future

-       Differentiate between performance problems that can be solved through training and those that require other interventions

-       Detail the components of sound training design and critical success factors for training implementation

-       Describe the respective roles of individuals and organizations in training and development

-       Apply critical analysis in relating training and development to organizational functioning and success

-       Address a group using appropriate communication techniques

Course Pre-requisites: Students should have completed MIS 34180 and have a minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA. Students who do not meet theses pre-requisites may risk deregistration from this course.
COURSE FORMAT

My goal is to have every class member be an active participant in the learning process.  Therefore, we will have a considerable amount of discussion in every class.  The participatory nature of the class makes it imperative that you have read the assigned material before class on a regular basis. 

GRADES

                        Class Preparation / Participation        10%                             100pts

                        Vista Discussion Board                       10%                             100pts

                        Section Exams                                   40%   (20%, 20%)       400pts

                        T&D in the News                                   5%                             50 pts

                        Training Project                                   15%                             150pts

                        Comprehensive Final Exam               20%                             200pts

I will use +/- grades for this course.  Assignment of final grades will most likely be:  92+ A, 90-91 A-, 88-89 B+, 82-87 B, 80-81 B-, 78-79 C+, 72-77 B, 70-71 C-, 68-69 D+, 60-67 D, 0-59 F.  I reserve the right to curve these final grades, up or down, based on overall class performance.

Class Preparation / Participation

Class participation is a function of how regularly you offer insightful comments and/or pose useful, stimulating questions in class, how much you contribute to small group discussions, and how regularly you attend class.  If it is obvious that you are prepared for each class, you will receive at least a grade of a B.  To receive a grade in the A range, you must speak up in a manner that adds value to the group learning experience (note that this requires quality and quantity).  If it is obvious that you are regularly not prepared, you will receive a failing grade for class participation.

Note that class preparation requires reading the text and readings on reserve; you will be expected to discuss both sets of material in class.  Use the schedule at the end of this document and plan your readings accordingly.  For example, read Chapter 1 before class– come to class that day prepared to discuss it.

It is not enough to simply read the material before class; you must also think through what you’ve read.  Prepare for class with the ‘Advance Preparation Questions/Activities’ guidelines available on the course website.  Additionally, make a list of any questions you have on your assigned reading.  Bring written items, your text, and other readings with you to class so that you can refer to them if necessary.

The commonly requisite employment characteristics of preparation, participation, punctuality and attendance are very relevant to your performance in this class.  Thus, if you cannot attend class, please provide a courtesy e-mail or phone call to let me know why you are absent within 24 hours of the absence.  In a class of this size, I will know you’re not there. 

All students will complete and submit in hard copy a mid-semester and final self evaluation of class participation.  The self-evaluation form is available on the course website. 10 points will be deducted from this portion of your grade if these forms are not turned in by the dates specified on the course schedule.

Exams

Expect all exams to be lengthy and rigorous; come well prepared.  Questions will be short / long answer (see writing style section below).  All students must take each of these exams on their scheduled dates; only in extreme circumstances can alternate arrangements be made.  If you can’t make the scheduled test date, I must be notified in writing and we must establish an alternate date prior to the scheduled test date.  Make-up tests will be alternate forms of the scheduled tests.  That is, do not expect a test taken on an alternate test date to be exactly the same as the test given on the scheduled date.

Section Exams

The first 2 exams will cover specified chapters and associated readings and class discussions.  These exams will consist of a variety of question formats, including some short / long answer questions that are integrative and application oriented.  You will need to ‘own’ the material in order to do well on these exams; thinking beyond the obvious will be required.  All exams are written exams.

Comprehensive Exam

The comprehensive exam that will cover all course material related to training design and implementation, with a focus on training design content covered in parts 1 and 2 of the course.  Competent implementation and management of organizational training programs requires that the process of training design as a whole is ‘owned’ intellectually.  There are a number of aspects to training design, and the trainer/manager must know how each aspect relates to all other aspects; one must know how all of the parts relate to one another as well as to the overall process and outcomes of training.  Thus, this final exam will motivate you to integrate and master the knowledge covered with regard to training design and implementation, and provide feedback for you on your “knowledge of the whole”.

Training -in-the-News Presentation

The purpose of these presentations is to make you aware of the Training-related articles that routinely appear in the professional and popular press.  We will see how they reflect Training issues that are of current interest to employers and employees, and how they shed light on evolving organizational issues. 

Students will work in groups of two or three for this presentation. Locate training-related articles that appeared in the recent press (such as newspapers, online news sources, news magazines and professional magazines; SHRM and Workforce websites are usually good professional news sources).  You must choose an article that connects to the material we are covering in class on your presentation day.  Note that the most effective presentations occur when the presenters are truly interested in the content they are presenting. Articles that address International issues in training/development are encouraged!

Prepare a 20 minute presentation, with all students  equally presenting. You should allow for a few minutes of questions and answers from class members following the presentation.  Make sure that your formal PowerPoint presentation takes around 15 minutes.  Unless you select a lengthy article, you will need to either combine several related articles or collect additional information to develop the full 15-20 minutes of solid content.  You will definitely need to practice your presentation to get the timing accurate.

Keep in mind that presentation style has a significant impact on the effectiveness of your presentation.  I expect this to be a professional presentation. Use PowerPoint to summarize main points only (use 30+ point font, and do not use complete sentences).  Do not chew gum, read from the article or from notecards, or do anything else that makes you look unprepared.  Do dress appropriately, look at and connect with your audience, “own” the material you are presenting, monitor your time, smile and seem interested!  Be sure to discuss how your topic fits with course content. See the Evaluation Forms section on the course website for grading criteria.

Important! As you identify the topic you want to use, go to the Discussion section of the course website to check whether anyone has already claimed it.  If no one has, follow directions on the sample posting to post your topic along with your names.  No duplications will be allowed.

Training Project

Students will work in teams of three or four to complete this project.  The essence of the project is to connect with training departments in two established organizations of your choice and learn about their organizations’ training programs.  You will obtain information that covers the full range of topics we discuss in the course.  This information will be summarized in a presentation to class members. 

Organizations and groups must be identified by September 20, and an organizational representative from each organization must have signed the participation agreement no later than September 27.

The Training Project grade is comprised of a 30 minute presentation that addresses:

1.    The organizations’ training function & statistics

2.    The organizations’ training design & implementation practices

3.    The organizations’ employee development & career management practices

4.    Your reflection on / critique of the organizations’ practices

The Training Project Description posted on the course website contains a detailed list of suggestions for what information could be collected for each section of the report.  You will encounter limitations regarding what information the organization is willing or able to make available to you.  Thus, you are not expected to address each and every point listed.  You should be able to get at least some information to address each area, but allow your organizational contacts discretion regarding what they cover within each area. 

Training Practices Presentation:

Use PowerPoint slides to summarize and present key information. All students in each project team must speak equally during this presentation.  Professional presentation style is expected, so it will be essential for each person to practice their part of the presentation well, and for the team to practice the presentation so that it becomes a coherent whole. Pay attention to comments received throughout the semester on PowerPoint formatting, and time your presentation carefully.

Deliverable:

Each project team will hand into the professor a copy of their PowerPoint slides right before their presentation

Attendance at all presentation sessions is mandatory!  Every presentation deserves a full audience.  For each presentation session missed, unless you are absent for a university approved reason, 10 points will be deducted from your individual Training Project grade.

Project Partner Peer Evaluations:

Working in others can be beneficial, fun, and rewarding, but also at times very frustrating. Learning to work effectively as a partner or team member is a valuable skill, one you will use throughout much of your career.  One aspect of this skill is honest and forthright communication with your team members.  This communication must be maintained throughout the project, as well as in the project evaluation.  Every student will submit a peer evaluation which consists of ratings regarding contributions to the project. The peer evaluation form (available on course website) must be filled out thoroughly and hard copy submitted to the professor no later than December 13.  The professor will utilize these to make final project grade adjustments, if necessary. Failure to turn in a peer evaluation will result in 10 point reduction in the individual’s project grade.

Writing Style

Effective written and oral communication skills are highly influential in selection and promotion decisions. Professional writing used in organizational communications is concise and well organized.  Communications that contain rambling paragraphs or lack clear sections are simply not effective (and often not even read!). 

Class requirements include written assignments and short/long answer exam questions.  Your writing style is a critical element of the grade you receive. 

Please incorporate the following elements in your writing for this class: make liberal use of “bullet points” – phrases that effectively summarize ideas (if you really know the material, you can use appropriate terms and be succinct), subheadings, numbered lists, outlines, and Tables of Contents.  Write full sentences when needed, when your message cannot be clearly communicated in more abbreviated form; avoid complex sentences and lengthy paragraphs.

For some of you this will be challenging, simply because you are accustomed to being ‘long-winded’ because you have previously been rewarded with high grades when you turn in lengthy prose.  However, because it is not appropriate in a business setting, lengthy prose will earn low grades in this class!  Quality of writing is superior to great quantity of writing.

Additional READINGS:

KSU Electronic Reserves                            password: develop19

1)    Zemke, R. (1998).  How to do a needs assessment when you think you don’t have the time.  Training, 35(3), 38-44.

2)    Noe, R. A. (1986).  Trainees’ attributes and attitudes: Neglected influences on training effectiveness.  Academy of Management Review, 11, 736-749.

3)    Aguinis, H. & Kraiger, K. (2009).  Benefits of training & development for individuals,

      teams,organizations & Society. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 451-474.

Note:  Prepare to discuss in class each reading on its scheduled date.  For example, read the Zemke article before class on September 20^th; be ready to discuss it in class on September 20^th.  Advance preparation includes making notes on your reading, creating a list of questions you have on the material, and writing answers /doing ‘to do’ items on the ‘Advance Preparation Questions/Activities’ guidelines provided on the course website. Bring reading materials and written items to class on Sept. 20^th.

Information from the KSU College of Business Administration

The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course

A.   Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, September 5, 2010 to correct the error.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

B.   Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.   In addition, it is considered to cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

C.   For Fall 2010, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 7, 2010. Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript.  After the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

D.   University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/  for more information on registration procedures).

E.    It is your responsibility to apply for graduation before the set deadline. If you apply after the deadline you will be assessed a $200 late fee. Please see your academic advisor as soon as possible if you are uncertain as to your progress toward graduation.  The graduation application deadlines are follows:

Graduation Application Deadlines:

May Graduation: Apply before September 15^th

August Graduation: Apply before December 15^th

December Graduation: Apply before March 15^th

To apply for graduation complete the following steps:

1.       Log onto your Flashline account

2.       Click on the Student Tools tab

3.       Look in the Graduation Planning Tool Box

4.       Click on Application for Graduation

**If an error message appears, you must contact your advisor.

SCHEDULE OF TOPICS & READINGS

M&IS 44183, Fall 2010

Notes: 1. The above schedule will shift as needed; be alert to announced changes!

2. If you are absent from class, please obtain detailed class notes from class members

    (I do not have a set of written lecture notes to give you)