Chapter

10

Special Issues in
Training and
Employee
Development

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 Trainers are often forced to deal with a
wide variety of important issues that fall
outside the traditional discussion of the
components of instructional system
design.

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 Training Issues Resulting from the External
Environment:

Legal Issues

Welfare-to-Work Cross-Cultural
Programs Preparation

School-to-Work Managing Work Force

Transition Diversity

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 Training Situations That May Result in Legal
Action: (1 of 2)
Failing to provide required training
Incurring employee injury during a training activity
Incurring injuries to employees or others outside the
training session
Incurring breach of confidentiality or defamation
Reproducing and using copyrighted material in
training classes without permission
Excluding women, minorities, and older Americans
from training programs

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 Training Situations That May Result in Legal
Action: (2 of 2)
Not ensuring equal treatment while in training
Requiring employees to attend training programs
they find offensive
Revealing discriminatory information during a
training session
Not accommodating trainees with disabilities
Incorrectly reporting training as an expense or
failing to report training reimbursement as income

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 Cross-Cultural Preparation
Cross-cultural preparation involves educating
employees and their families who are to be sent to a
foreign country (i.e., expatriates)

To successfully conduct business in the global

market place, employees must understand the
business practices and the cultural norms of different
countries

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 To prepare employees
for cross-cultural
assignments,
companies need to
provide cross-cultural
training.

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 To be successful in overseas assignments,
expatriates need to be:
1. Competent in their area of expertise
2. Able to communicate verbally and nonverbally
in the host country
3. Flexible, tolerant of ambiguity, and sensitive to
cultural differences
4. Motivated to succeed, able to enjoy the
challenge of working in other countries, and
willing to learn about the host country’s
culture, language, and customs
5. Supported by their families
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 Foreign Assignments
Foreign assignments involve three phases:
Pre-departure Phase
On-Site Phase
Repatriation Phase

Training is necessary in all three phases

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 Pre-departure Phase
Employees need to receive language training and
an orientation in the new country’s culture and
customs
The family should be included in the orientation
Expatriates and their families need information about
housing, schools, recreation, shopping, and health care
facilities in the area where they will live
Experiential training methods are most effective in
assignments that require significant interpersonal
interaction with host nationals
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 On-Site Phase
Training involves continued orientation to the
host country and its customs and cultures through
formal programs or through a mentoring
relationship
Expatriates and their families may be paired with a
mentor from the host country who helps them
understand the new, unfamiliar work environment and
community

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 Repatriation Phase (1 of 2)
Prepares expatriates for return to the parent
company and country from the foreign
assignment

Expatriates and their families are likely to

experience high levels of stress and anxiety when
they return because of the changes that have
occurred since their departure

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 Repatriation Phase (2 of 2)
Many expatriates decide to leave the company
because the assignment they are given upon
return has less responsibility, challenges, and
status than the foreign assignment

Employees should be encouraged to self-manage

the repatriation process

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 Implications of Cultural Dimensions for
Training Design: (1 of 2)
Cultural Dimension Implications
Individualism Culture high in individualism expects participation in exercises and
questioning to be determined by status in the company or culture.

Uncertainty Culture high in uncertainty avoidance expects formal instructional

Avoidance environments.
Less tolerance for impromptu style.
Masculinity Culture low in masculinity values relationships with fellow trainees.
Female trainers less likely to be resisted in low-masculinity
cultures.

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 Implications of Cultural Dimensions for
Training Design: (2 of 2)
Cultural Dimension Implications
Power Distance Culture high in power distance expects trainer to be expert.
Trainers expected to be authoritarian and controlling of session.

Time Orientation Culture with long-term orientation will have trainees who are likely
to accept development plans and assignments.

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 Managing Work Force Diversity (1 of 2)
Managing diversity involves creating an
environment that allows all employees to
contribute to organizational goals and experience
personal growth

This includes:
Access to jobs
Fair and positive treatment of all employees

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 Managing Work Force Diversity (2 of 2)

Managing diversity requires the company to

develop employees so that they are comfortable
working with others from a wide variety of
ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds

Managing diversity may require changing the

company culture

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 The goals of diversity training are:

To eliminate values, stereotypes, and managerial

practices that inhibit employees’ personal
development

To allow employees to contribute to

organizational goals regardless of their race, age,
physical condition, sexual orientation, gender,
family status, religious orientation, or cultural
background

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 How Managing Cultural Diversity Can
Provide Competitive Advantage (1 of 2)
Argument Rationale
1. Cost As organizations become more diverse, the cost of a poor job
in integrating workers will increase.
Those who handle this well will thus create cost advantages
over those who don’t.
2. Resource Acquisition Companies develop reputations on favorability as prospective
employers for women and minorities.
Those with the best reputations for managing diversity will be
the most attractive employers for women and minority
groups.
An important edge in a tight labor market.
3. Marketing The insight and cultural sensitivity that members with roots in
other countries bring to the marketing effort should improve
these efforts in important ways.

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 How Managing Cultural Diversity Can
Provide Competitive Advantage (2 of 2)
Argument Rationale
4. Creativity Diversity of perspectives and less emphasis on conformity to
norms of the past should improve the level of creativity.

5. Problem Solving Heterogeneity in decisions and problem-solving groups

potentially produces better decisions through a wider range of
perspectives and more through critical analysis of issues.

6. System Flexibility An implication of the multicultural model for managing

diversity is that the system will become less determinant, less
standardized, and therefore more fluid.
The increased fluidity should create greater flexibility to react
to environmental changes (i.e., reactions should be faster and
cost less).

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 To successfully manage a diverse work
force, companies need to ensure that:
Employees understand how their values and
stereotypes influence their behavior toward
others of different gender, ethnic, racial, or
religious backgrounds
Employees gain an appreciation of cultural
differences among themselves
Behaviors that isolate or intimidate minority
group members improve
These goals can be accomplished through diversity
training programs!

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 Diversity Training Programs (1 of 3)
Diversity training - training designed to change
employee attitudes about diversity and/or
developing skills needed to work with a diverse
work force

Diversity training programs differ according to

whether attitude change or behavior change is
emphasized

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 Diversity Training Programs (2 of 3)
Attitude Awareness and Change Programs
Focus on increasing employees’ awareness of
differences in cultural and ethnic backgrounds,
physical characteristics, and personal characteristics
that influence behavior toward others
The assumption is that by increasing their awareness
of stereotypes and beliefs, employees will be able to
avoid negative stereotypes

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 Diversity Training Programs (3 of 3)
Behavior-Based Programs
Focus on changing the organizational policies and
individual behaviors that inhibit employees’ personal
growth and productivity
One approach is to identify incidents that discourage
employees from working up to their potential
Another approach is to teach managers and employees
basic rules of behavior in the workplace
Cultural immersion is also used

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 Characteristics of Successful Diversity
Efforts: (1 of 2)
Top management provides resources, personally
intervenes, and publicly advocates diversity
The program is structured
Capitalizing on a diverse work force is defined as a
business objective
Capitalizing on a diverse work force is seen
necessary to generate revenue and profits
The program is evaluated
Manager involvement is mandatory

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 Characteristics of Successful Diversity
Efforts: (2 of 2)
The program is seen as a culture change, not a one-
shot program
Managers and demographic groups are not blamed
for problems
Behaviors and skills needed to successfully interact
with others are taught
Managers are rewarded on progress toward meeting
diversity goals

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 School-to-Work Transition

School-to-work transition programs combine

classroom experiences with work experiences to
prepare high school students for employment
School-to-Work Opportunities Act encourages
partnerships between educational institutions,
employers, and labor unions
Every school-to-work system required to include work-
based learning, school-based learning, and activities that
match students with employers
Malaysia example: Practical Training

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 Training’s Role in Welfare-to-Work Programs
(1 of 2)

There are two methods for training welfare

recipients:
The first model involves government agencies referring
welfare recipients to a company-sponsored training
program subsidized with money and tax credits from the
government
The second method is for state and local governments to
provide life and skills training directly to welfare
recipients
Malaysia example: Graduate Training Scheme

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 Training’s Role in Welfare-to-Work Programs
(2 of 2)

Example: Marriott International’s Pathways to

Independence Program
Six-week program consists of classroom training and
work sessions in Marriott properties
Applicants must have a sixth grade reading level, pass a
drug test, and demonstrate a desire to work
Less than 25 percent of applicants are accepted
Participants often need to develop both job skills and
life management skills to succeed

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 Training Issues Related to Internal Needs of
the Company
The company’s internal environment results in
pressures which influence training practices:
The need to train managerial talent
Training and development opportunities for all
employees (regardless of their personal characteristics)
Use of the company’s compensation system to
motivate employees to learn

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 Training Issues Related to Internal Needs of the
Company:

Basic Skills Training Melting the Glass Ceiling

Joint Union-Management
Programs

Succession Planning

Developing Managers
with Dysfunctional
Training and Pay Systems Behaviors

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 Deloitte & Touche’s Recommendations for
Melting the Glass Ceiling:

Make sure that senior management supports and is involved

in the program
Make a business case for change
Make the change public
Using task forces, focus groups, and questionnaires, gather
data on problems causing the glass ceiling
Create awareness of how gender attitudes affect the work
environment
Create accountability through reviews of promotion rates and
assignment decisions
Promote development for all employees
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 Joint Union-Management Programs

Provide a wide range of services designed to help

employees learn skills that are directly related to their
job

Develop skills that are “portable” – i.e., valuable to

employers in other companies or industries

Both employers and unions contribute money to run the

programs and both oversee their operation

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 Joint Union-Management Programs (continued)

Example: The United Auto Workers – Ford

Education Development and Training Program
Life / Education Planning Program
Education and Training Assistance Plan
Skills Enhancement Program
College and University Options Program
Targeted Education, Training, or Counseling
Retirement Planning Program
Financial Education Program

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 The Succession Planning Process
1. Identify what positions are included in the plan
2. Identify the employees who are included in the plan
3. Develop standards to evaluate positions
4. Determine how employee potential will be measured
5. Develop the succession planning review
6. Link the succession planning system to other human
resource systems
7. Determine what feedback is provided to employees

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 Training and Pay Systems
Training is increasingly linked to employees’
compensation
skill-based pay systems
knowledge-based pay systems
Employees’ pay is based primarily on the
knowledge and skills they possess rather than the
knowledge or skills necessary to perform the
current job

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