Mini-Case – Transfer of Training
Read the following mini case and answer the questions that follow:
Organizational Profile
Southern Credit Union operates in more than 10 medium-sized cities in a southeastern state. As a credit union, Southern is owned by their members who save and borrow money through the institution. A portion of the union’s profits is returned to members in various ways, including lower interest rates, lower fees and higher dividends on savings accounts. Southern’s front-line tellers provide routine banking services inside the credit union and at drive-through locations. Most front-line tellers are women, although the position has become more diversified recently. The New Accounts Department meets potential members to discuss the features of Southern’s savings and checking accounts. The Mortgage Services Department provides mortgage options for home loans. The Investment Services Department has financial advisors who meet with members to discuss alternative investment strategies and options for growing their money. Credit union members are a diverse group in terms of racial demographics, age and gender.
Key Issues
The president of Southern Credit Union, Tom Jenkins, is relatively new; in fact, there have been three different presidents over the last six years. Not surprisingly, camaraderie has been lacking among managers, employees and the ever-changing leadership team. After meeting with the board of directors and in anticipation of an upcoming audit from the National Credit Union Administration, Jenkins decides that Southern needs to revisit its sexual harassment policy and procedures and determine when the last training session was held. Jenkins meets with the HR director, Pamela Sanchez, and the training analyst, Heather Blackburn. They decide the sexual harassment policy is sufficient but realize that there has been no sexual harassment training in four years. Blackburn, who has been focusing on customer service training, is told by Jenkins to “make this happen by the end of next month.â€
Training Staff
Heather Blackburn has been a training analyst for only five months. She graduated with a B.A. in communications 15 years ago; after graduation she worked as a bank teller at a regional bank. She moved to Southern Credit Union as a bank teller because the pay was higher and the credit union had a good regional reputation. Blackburn was a bank teller at Southern for eight years, then applied for an internal transfer to the training job because she liked working with people and thought the job would be interesting. She joined the local American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) chapter last month to learn about the training profession in general and specific training methods. She reports to the HR director, Pamela Sanchez.
Activities to Enhance Learning
Design of the Sexual Harassment Training
Jenkins’ request doesn’t give Blackburn much time to develop and conduct the sexual harassment training. She decides to train first-line supervisors, since they are most closely involved in the front-line employee interactions. She doesn’t have time to meet with anyone to get this training designed, so she sketches out a two-hour lecture. She wants to cover Southern’s sexual harassment policy, the complaint procedure, and some recent court cases (gathered from the Employment Law Information Network) as examples of quid pro quo versus hostile work environment harassment. She creates handouts for trainees and schedules training off-site for 50 Southern supervisors to minimize distractions from their branch locations. Three days before the training, Blackburn has all her lecture notes (in PowerPoint) prepared, handouts copied and the training room ready. She e-mails first-line supervisors about the mandatory training, tells them about the objectives of the training and gives them directions to the off-site training location.
The Training
As the supervisors enter the training room, they seem confused about the late notification of this training. As they talk among themselves, they wonder if one of the employees filed a sexual harassment complaint. Blackburn covers all the material she has prepared. She doesn’t get a chance to ask for questions at the end of the session, but tells the supervisors to e-mail her with any questions they have about the material and reinforces her willingness to ensure they understood the information. Blackburn feels good about her organization and preparedness, and feels like the two-hour lecture was successful. The supervisors leave quickly to get back to their branch locations; some have several hours to drive and much to handle when they return to their jobs.
Report on the Training
Blackburn happily reports back to Jenkins and Sanchez with her perceptions of how the first-line supervisor training went. Blackburn reiterates how she met Jenkins’ deadline, recounts the process she used to develop the training, and shows them the training materials and handouts. Blackburn plans to e-mail the supervisors in six weeks to remind them of key learning points and to see if they have any questions about the sexual harassment concepts, once they consider their own workplace situations. She will also ask them to rate their satisfaction with the training via a short e-mail survey. Jenkins is satisfied because he can tell the audit team that the training took place. The HR director, though, is quiet during the meeting; she wonders whether this effort was well executed and is concerned about the ultimate effectiveness of the training.
Activities to Enhance Learning
Discussion Questions to Accompany Mini-Case
Question: How was transfer supported or not supported in this organization before training?
Question: How was transfer supported or not supported in this organization during training?
Question: How was transfer supported or not supported in this organization after training?
Rubric
Criteria |
Ratings |
Pts |
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeQuality of Writing and Proofreading
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2.5 pts
Written responses are free of grammatical spelling or punctuation errors. The style of writing facilitates communication.
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2.0 pts
Written responses are largely free of grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. The style of writing generally facilitates communication.
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1.5 pts
Written responses contain a few errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation, etc. Some errors but not so many to indicate repetitive distractions.
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1.0 pts
Written responses include some grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. The errors distract the reader.
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0.5 pts
Uses incorrect grammar and incorrect sentence structure consistently. The errors interfere with the communication process.
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2.5 pts
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeComprehension of material
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3.0 pts
The writer understands significant ideas relevant to the issue under discussion. This is indicated by correct use of terminology, precise selection of information components required to make a point. Correct use of examples .
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2.4 pts
Able to distinguish and comprehends a deeper meaning on most occasions. Ideas are reasonably clear. Some subjective evaluation is necessary to determine what the writer means.
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1.8 pts
Comprehends the surface level meaning of the material and begins to relate issues to general knowledge and experience
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1.2 pts
Demonstrates some basic comprehension of the material . Does not make connections with the bigger picture.
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0.6 pts
Not comprehending or reflecting on what is read or viewed
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3.0 pts
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeLength, content and ability to interpret and answer assignment
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1.5 pts
Work demonstrates that all tasks were completed Showed some originality and extra initiative in completing assignment.
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1.2 pts
Work demonstrates that significant effort was made to attempt all aspects of the assignment. Ideas connected clearly.
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0.9 pts
Work demonstrates that some effort was made to attempt all tasks that were assigned. Occasional sense of engagement of writer with the subject matter.
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0.6 pts
Little effort was made to attempt all tasks that were assigned. Ideas were connected but weak
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0.3 pts
Very little effort was given to the task assignment. No response was given.
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1.5 pts
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeRelevance of answers, opinions and ideas.
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3.0 pts
Student is clearly expressing arguments, opinions and responses in answering assignments. Superior ideas and insights. Answers are clear and complex.
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2.4 pts
Student is more consistent in expressing arguments, opinions and responses when answering assignments
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1.8 pts
Student is learning to develop and express arguments, opinions and responses in answering assignments. More complex and insightful answers.
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1.2 pts
Not developing their ability to express arguments, ideas or opinions. Ideas are not complex or insightful. May include some information that distracts from central purpose.
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0.6 pts
Student is not able to express opinions, ideas, and responses due to inadequate writing skills. Ideas are unclear.
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3.0 pts
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Total Points: 10.0
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do not have any plagiarism from internet!!!!