TEST BANK FOR

EFFECTIVE TRAINING:
SYSTEMS, STRATEGIES, AND PRACTICES
CHAPTER ONE: TRAINING IN ORGANIZATIONS
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1.

Which of the following is evidence supporting the assertion that

companies are investing in more training?
A)
Higher net sales per employee
B)
Higher gross profits per employee
C)
Higher ratios of market to book value
D)
Both A & B
E)
All of the above
Answer:
E
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
3

2.

In an open system model, which of the following statements is NOT

true?
A)
Open systems have a dynamic relationship with their
environment.
B)
Open systems may exist as part of another open system.
C)
The system is open to influences from its environment.
D)
Outputs never have an influence on future inputs.
E)
All of the above are true.
Answer:
D
Difficulty:
Moderate
Page Ref:
4

3.

Viewing training as a subsystem of an organizational system, the

inputs into the training subsystem include an organizations
A)
Strategies.
B)
Mission.
C)
Resources.
D)
People.
E)
All of the above.
Answer:
E
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
5

4.

In the training model, a triggering event is

A)
An organizational performance gap.
B)
A signal that training has been successful.
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C)
A type of behavioral-based evaluation.
D)
Input into the development phase of training.
E)
None of the above.
Answer:
A
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
6
5.

Which of the following sources is an input to the analysis process?

A)
The organization structure
B)
Problematic operational areas
C)
The people within the operational areas
D)
Both B & C
E)
All of the above
Answer:
E
Difficulty:
Challenging
Page Ref:
6-7

6.

Input into the developmental phase of the training model comes from
A)
Needs analysis.
B)
Design.
C)
Evaluation.
D)
Both B & C.
E)
None of the above.
Answer:
D
Difficulty:
Challenging
Page Ref:
7

7.

In the evaluation of training, a determination of whether the trainer

actually covered all aspects of the training as designed is called
A)
Outcome evaluation.
B)
Outcome.
C)
Phase evaluation.
D)
Process evaluation.
E)
Procedural evaluation.
Answer:
D
Difficulty:
Moderate
Page Ref:
8

8.

Which of the following is NOT true of outcome evaluation?

A)
It uses training objectives as its criteria for success.
B)
This is all the information you need to improve a training
program.
C)
It is conducted at the end of training.
D)
All of the above are true.
Answer:
B
Difficulty:
Moderate
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Page Ref:

9.

All aspects of the training program come together in the

A)
Design phase.
B)
Implementation phase.
C)
Development phase.
D)
Analysis phase.
E)
Evaluation phase.
Answer:
B
Difficulty:
Challenging
Page Ref:
8

10.

When evaluating training, the major type of evaluation to consider is

A)
Process evaluation.
B)
Analysis evaluation.
C)
Outcome evaluation.
D)
Both A & C.
E)
Both B & C.
Answer:
D
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
8

11.

Which of the following statements is true?

A)
Training has yet to show a positive effect on the bottom line.
B)
Training managers are alone in realizing that alignment of
training with the business strategy is important.
C)
Worker knowledge provides a competitive advantage.
D)
Alignment of training with the business strategy is quite simple
to do.
Answer
C
Difficulty
Moderate
Page Ref
9

12.

Which of the following statements is true?

A)
Twitter and Facebook have shown to be ineffective as
enhancements to training.
B)
Social networking can be used to support on-the-job training.
C)
The number of females in the workforce has reached 38
percent.
D)
Hispanics are by far the largest minority group in both Canada
and the USA.
E)
Both C & D are true.
Answer:
B
Difficulty:
Moderate
Page Ref:
9 10

13.

Which of the following are predicted to contribute to a labor shortage

in the next 10 years?
A)
Baby boomers will retire
B)
Changes in technology
C)
Continuing recession
D)
Both A & B
E)
All of the above
Answer:
D
Difficulty:
Challenging
Page Ref:
10 - 11

14.

Which of these steps is part of the continuous improvement model?

A)
Gap analysis
B)
Preaudit
C)
Process mapping
D)
Higher productivity
E)
None of the above
Answer:
A
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
12

15.

What is the focus of the ISO standards?

A)
A series of standards to assure consistency in product quality
B)
An HR software package to assure legal compliance
C)
A quality standard set by the Japanese
D)
A strategic quality forecasting model
E)
A method designed to improve productivity
Answer:
A
Difficulty:
Difficult
Page Ref:
12

16.

ISO certified companies

A)
Have lower than normal training costs.
B)
Are much less likely to experience bankruptcy.
C)
Have less bureaucracy within their company structure.
D)
Both B & C.
E)
All of the above.
Answer:
D
Difficulty:
Moderate
Page Ref:
13

17.

When comparing ISO certified companies with companies that were

not certified, the text noted that ISO certified companies
A)
Have employees who are more satisfied with their jobs.
B)
Have more bureaucracy set up to meet all the ISO standards.
C)
Are less likely to file for bankruptcy.
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D)
Have lower training costs.
E)
Have slightly lower productivity.
Answer:
C
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
13
18.

Which of the following career paths best prepares a trainer for a

supervisory or coordinator position?
A)
Several years experience in a specific function
B)
Working in a line position
C)
Rotation through various specialist positions
D)
None of the above
E)
All of the above
Answer:
C
Difficulty:
Moderate
Page Ref:
16

19.

Learning is defined as
A)
A temporary change in cognition that results from experience
and may influence behavior.
B)
A relatively permanent change in understanding and thinking
that results from experience and directly influences behavior.
C)
A relatively permanent change in understanding and thinking
that models behavior.
D)
A temporary change in understanding and thinking.
E)
A relatively permanent change in cognition that results from
self-efficacy and indirectly influences behavior.
Answer:
B
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
17

20.

The authors use of attitudes rather than abilities as one of the three
types of learning outcomes is based on
A)
their bias toward attitudes.
B)
the fact that abilities and attitudes are fairly similar.
C)
the fact that abilities are redundant with knowledge and skills.
D)
The fact that abilities are not learned.
Answer:
Difficulty:
Page Ref:

21.

C
Easy
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A persons store of factual information about a subject matter is

A)
Procedural knowledge.
B)
Strategic knowledge.
C)
Declarative knowledge.
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D)
Practical knowledge.
Answer:
C
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
17
22.

Knowledge is composed of which three interrelated types?

A)
Declarative, practical, and strategic
B)
Declarative, practical, and skill
C)
Compilation, automatic, and strategic
D)
Declarative, procedural, and strategic
E)
None of the above
Answer:
D
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
17-18

23.

The authors use the acronym KSA to refer to what?

A)
Keep it Simple, and have the right Attitude
B)
Knowledge, skills, and attitudes
C)
Knowledge, strategy, and aptitude
D)
Knowledge skills and abilities
Answer:
B
Difficulty:
Moderate
Page Ref:
18

24.

A persons understanding about how and when to apply the facts that
have been learned is called
A)
Process knowledge.
B)
Declarative knowledge.
C)
Practical knowledge.
D)
Perpetual knowledge.
E)
Procedural knowledge.
Answer:
E
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
18

25.

When a person is able to perform a skill without thinking about what

they are doing, they are at which level of skill acquisition?
A)
Automaticity
B)
Automatic
C)
Compilation
D)
Responsive
Answer:
A
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
18

26.

A broad grouping of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable a

person to be successful at a number of similar tasks is known as a
A)
Competency.
B)
Test.
C)
Job analysis.
D)
Strategy.
E)
Skill set.
Answer:
A
Difficulty:
Moderate
Page Ref:
19

27.

Linking competencies to a set of behaviors that allow you to know it

when you see it is useful for
A)
Hiring.
B)
Training.
C)
Determining rates of pay.
D)
Both A & B.
E)
All of the above.
Answer:
E
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
20

28.

_________ is (are) the foundations for competencies.

A)
Tests
B)
KSAs
C)
Strengths
D)
Motivation
E)
Skill sets
Answer:
B
Difficulty:
Moderate
Page Ref:
20

29.

According to the text, _____ provides the opportunity for learning and
_____ is a result of the learning.
A)
Education; training
B)
Development; training
C)
Training; development
D)
Education; development
E)
None of the above
Answer:
C
Difficulty:
Easy
Page Ref:
20

TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
30.

___A key part of the Domtar strategy was training. (T; p. 2)

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31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.

___An open system has three parts input, process, and output. (T; p. 4)
___The triggering event signals a need for a TNA. (T; p. 6)
___Higher birth rates are one of the reasons for the changing
demographics in North America. (F; p. 10)
___In general, the smaller the organization, the fewer responsibilities
each HRD employee will have. (F; p. 16).
___Compilation is the highest level of skill acquisition. (F; p. 18)
___The highest level of knowledge is termed strategic knowledge. (T;
p. 18)

SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS
37.

Define KSAs and explain the different levels of each. Use a diagram if
you like.
The K is for knowledge, and there are three levels declarative,
procedural, and strategic. Each in the order mentioned is more
complex than the previous. Declarative knowledge refers to
knowing facts. Procedural knowledge involves knowing how and
when to apply those facts and strategic knowledge is the ability to
plan, monitor, and revise goal-directed behavior.
S is for skills, which has two levels compilation and automaticity.
Compilation is the basic level of learning of a skill, where you still
need to think about what you are doing. Automaticity refers to a
skill level where you no longer need to think about what you are
doing, as it is automatic.
A is for attitude. These are beliefs and opinions a person has that
either support or inhibit behaviors. Figure 1-5 can be used to
describe these.

38.

Explain, with the use of a diagram, the key concepts of the open
systems model.
A complete answer should include the following points (Figure
1.1):
Open systems have a dynamic relationship with their
environment
The system is open to influences from its environment
The system depends on the input from the environment
The system takes input from the environment and transforms
the inputs through processes into outputs
The systems outputs enter the systems environment and may
or may not influence future inputs
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ESSAY QUESTION
39.

Describe how the model of training processes serves as a

problem-solving tool. Include a brief explanation of each of the five
phases.
A complete answer should include the following points (Figure
1.3):
Training is viewed as one of several possible solutions to
organizational and individual performance problems.
Whether training is the right solution depends on what causes
the problem and the cost-benefit ratios of the other
alternatives.
The needs analysis phase identifies the problem(s) and
identifies the cause(s).
Training becomes the solution when the problem is caused by
inadequate KSAs.
Once training is identified as a solution, the design,
development, and implementation phases result in a training
program that is attended by the appropriate employees.
The evaluation phase assesses both the training processes and
the training outcomes.
The Five Phases
Analysis Phase: The training process begins with a
determination of needs. Once a performance gap is identified,
the cause must be determined. If the gap is caused by
inadequate KSAs, then training can be utilized to satisfy the
need. If the gap is caused by something other than inadequate
KSAs, then appropriate non-training interventions need to
take place. Training needs analysis (TNA) uses information
from three sources: the organization, the operational areas,
and the individuals. The output of the Analysis Phase consists
of identification of the training and non-training needs and
their priorities.

Design Phase: Training needs become the inputs to the design

phase and additional inputs are derived from the
organizational and operational analyses. Another set of inputs
is derived from theory and research on learning. At this point
training objectives are developed by examining training needs
in relation to identified organizational support and constraints.
The factors that are needed in the training program to
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facilitate the learning and its transfer back to the job are also
identified in the design phase. The factors needed to facilitate
learning and transfer, and the alternative methods of
instruction become inputs to the development phase of the
training system.

Development Phase: In the development phase, instructional

strategy is formulated to meet a set of training objectives. The
instructional strategy consists of the order, timing, and
combination of elements that will be used in the training
program. Inputs into this phase are provided by analysis of
the various instructional methods and the design factors
necessary to facilitate trainee learning and its transfer back to
the job. The specific content, instructional methods, materials,
equipment and media, manuals, and facilities, are integrated
into a training plan. The training plan is designed to achieve
the training objectives.

Implementation Phase: The outputs of the development phase

serve as inputs to the implementation phase. The
implementation phases output is the trainees response to
training, the trainees learning, their behavior back on the job,
and its effect on key organizational outcomes. These outcomes,
combined with the process evaluations, flow back to the proper
constituencies within the training area and the rest of the
organization.

Evaluation Phase: The model indicates that both process

evaluation and outcome evaluation are useful in training.
Outcome evaluation is a determination of the effects that
training had on the trainee, the job, and the organization.
Process evaluation is a determination of how well a particular
process achieved its objectives. Training process evaluation
data can be used to identify where problems exist and
corrective action can be taken.

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