Reference no: EM132225466

Choosing Training Methods

Depending on organizational needs, a wide variety of training options are available today. While the overwhelming choice for most organizations is still the instructorled classroom, computer-based methods as well as other more interactive methods are gaining in popularity. The choice of methods will depend on a number of variables, including objectives to be achieved, types and location of employees that need to be trained, and the learning abilities of the participants.

Classroom instruction now includes distance learning, whereby trainees at different locations use online programs to view lectures and participate in discussions. Although cost-efficient, interaction between the trainer and audience may be limited. E-Learning has gained in rapid popularity with participants receiving information over the Internet or through a company's intranet. Trainees can work independently using course material supplemented with presentations, video clips, podcasts, and other audiovisual formats accessible for many types of mobile devices. Further applications of this training include electronic performance support systems (EPSSs), simulations or virtual reality, and a movement toward the use of wearable technology.

Read the case below and answer the questions that follow.

Juanita is the training director for a large hospital that saw its nurses become unionized several years ago after a contentious battle. As such, the training department is somewhat cautious in introducing new programs and must carefully consider the expectations placed upon this group. The hospital has recently experienced some problems with mistakes regarding medical waste, and a decision has been made to increase the training required of all medical personnel from annual sessions delivered in a classroom setting to semi-annual training in order to reduce these critical mistakes. This particular training has been a challenge for Juanita in the past, as nurses were continually rescheduling. Another concern was that managers were signing employees off on training that had not been completed just to fulfill record-keeping requirements. Juanita is hearing grumbling about the need for additional training and wants to make the process both successful and painless.

What is the most important concern for Juanita?

A- Deciding whether to perform the training in-house or not

B- Meeting hospital objectives of reducing errors

C- Determining employee readiness for training

D- Keeping the nurses from going on strike

F- Choosing the specific method of training