This Document Contains EOC Cases 1 to 11 End of Chapter Cases Chapter 1: Zappos: Facing Competitive Challenges What challenges is Zappos facing that may derail its attempt to be the best online retailer? The challenges include selling other items besides shoes, challenges from other online retailers, preserving the workplace culture, finding talent, maintaining high quality customer service, using new technology (social media) and eliminating unnecessary steps in the service process (lean). Some students who search the Internet for more information about Zappos may mention in their answer that recently, Zappos adopted a management philosophy, Holocracy, which eliminates managers and gives employees the freedom and responsibility to decide how to get their work done. Hseih's intent was to allow employees to act more like entrepreneurs and help stimulate new ideas which would benefit the business. However, employees are finding the new management system confusing and requiring them to spend more time in meeting. Also, they wonder how they will earn raises and advance their career without management jobs. Two hundred ten employees found the new philosophy so dissatisfying that they took three months of severance pay and left the company. Alternatively, instructors may want to assign the article below for students to read (an update to the case) before they answer the case questions. R. Silverman, "Going Bossless Backfires at Zappos", Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2015, pp. A1,A10. How can training and development help Zappos meet these challenges? The answer should discuss how specific training and development activities help employees embrace Zappos ten core values. Train employees on how to “deliver WOW through service”, provide opportunities for growth and learning through training and development programs, train individuals in skills needed to work as a team (“build a positive team and family spirit”, train employees in “lean” quality techniques so they can “do more with less”. Socialize new employees to Zappos culture. Help employees understand career paths at Zappos and meet development needs so they can move along their career path. Students may also mention Zappos Insight (see www.zapposinsights.com) . Zappos Insights is a department within Zappos created to share the Zappos culture with other companies. Zappos Insights provides programs about building a culture (3-Day Culture Camp), its WOW service philosophy (School of WOW), the power of a coaching-based culture (Coaching Event), how the human resources function protects the culture and how its programs support it (People Academy), and custom programs. The cost to attend these programs ranges from $2,000 to $6,000 for each attendee. Zappos Insights allows the company training function to become a profit center through marketing and selling its programs to other companies. Do you think that employees at Zappos have high levels of engagement?Why? In Chapter 1 employee engagement is defined as “the degree to which employees are fully involved with their work and the strength of their commitment to their job and the company”. Yes, Zappos employees likely have high levels of engagement given the cultural values (e.g., fun, growth and learning, positive team spirit) free food, buyout of employees who are not happy working at the company, and use of monthly engagement surveys which provide results that are acted on. Which of Zappos ten core values do you believe training and development can influence the most? The least? Why? The values that seem to relate to employees personality (Be Humble, Be Passionate and Determined, Create Fun and a Little Weirdness) are least influenced by training and difficult to train, and in fact, are focused on in selecting new employees. Interview questions focus on finding employees who are creative and have strong individuality. The values that training and development can most influence include Delivering Wow Through Service, Pursue Growth and Learning, Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communications, Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit, Embrace and Drive Change, and Do More With Less. For example, training employees in skills such as teamwork, change management, communications, and lean operations can help support the values. Also, providing developing opportunities such as through the availability of books supports the value of growth and learning. Chapter 2: IBM Offers Training (and Pay Cuts) to Employees to Learn New Technologies Do you believe this program is strategic? Why or Why not? The program is strategic because its intent is to motivate employees to develop their skill set which will help IBM maintain its competitiveness through meeting changing client’s needs, technologies, and markets (cloud and mobile computing and advanced data analytics). Should employees salaries be reduced for the time they attend training programs? Provide a rationale for your answer. Although reducing employees’ salaries sends a strong message that skills training is important and should not be neglected, reducing employees salaries likely creates disgruntled employees and may result in lowering employee engagement and higher turnover. Also, this does not help to create a learning organization. Rather, it helps reinforce employees perceptions of future training being seen as remedial and as a punishment, i.e., learning is something that should be avoided . This is especially likely because employees may be forced to attend training they don’t need (all employees assigned to same training program regardless of their individual skill levels). What other ways might IBM convince the affected employees to update and gain new skills? IBM could adopt learning as a strategic focus and enact the features of a learning organization – providing a supportive learning environment, emphasizing learning processes and practices, managers reinforce learning. That is, employees are encouraged to ask questions, admit mistakes, take risks, explore the untested and unknown, knowledge sharing is practiced, and managers support and reinforce learning. Chapter 3: Determining Training Needs at Summit Credit Union How would you conduct a needs assessment to determine if new lenders are starting their jobs without the necessary knowledge and skills to perform well, and if the organization of the training curriculum (or another training issue) is responsible for this problem? This would involve an organization analysis, person analysis, and a task analysis. The organization analysis should include asking managers to evaluate if the current training curriculum addresses topics that support the business strategy and if the right emphasis is placed on lending guidelines, underwriting, and sales skills. Learning and development employees, and especially trainers should be asked if the company has the resources to correctly developed to address skills, information, and knowledge lenders need (to determine if program developed should be outsourced or built in-house). The person analysis can determine which new lenders and how many are experiencing performance problems. Interviews with the new lenders, other subject matters experts (SMEs), and their managers should be completed to determine why this is occurring (person characteristics, input, output, consequences, feedback). This will help determine whether training is the issue(if new lenders lack the knowledge and skills to perform but other personal characteristics, input, output, consequences, and feedback are not an issue). A task analysis should be conducted to identify (a) the tasks lenders perform in their jobs, and, (b) if those tasks, especially important and difficult tasks frequently performed, are covered and given sufficient emphasis in the training curriculum. The knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to complete the tasks should be identified. This information can be useful for determining prerequisites necessary to complete the curriculum either through other training courses or selecting employees with the appropriate level of knowledge and skill needed to complete new lender training. Perhaps, lender guidelines, underwriting, and sales skills are critical tasks for new lenders, suggesting that they should be part of the initial training curriculum rather than being covered in courses after they start their jobs. Who should be involved in the needs assessment? Managers, lenders, learning and development employees, and other subject matter experts (SMEs). Chapter 4: Safety First Describe the different types of instructional characteristics that this program should have for learning and transfer to occur resulting in a decrease in injuries and accidents. Features of instruction and the work environment that facilitate learning and transfer of training (with examples in parentheses) include: Objectives (Training program goals: Importance of providing feedback when see safe and unsafe behavior, types of exposures that result in injury) Meaningful Content (Videos, speakers, reading materials that focus on railroad issues and the rail industry; maybe have a speaker who was injured talk about what they could and should have done to avoid injury; CEO or top manager discuss the importance of safety) Opportunities to Practice (Get trainees involved in identifying unsafe and safe practices, practicing giving feedback using role plays) Retention Methods (Concept map, key terms, link to what trainees already know, pretraining materials) Feedback (Video role plays and show them to trainees, trainers provide feedback after role play) Observation, Experience, Social Interaction (Trainees discuss examples of safe and unsafe behavior they have seen in their jobs) Proper Coordination and Arrangement of the Training Program (Sufficient time for training, eliminate distractions (e.g., cell phone interruptions), room arrangement is appropriate for training activities such as role plays, lecture, discussion, etc., prework (readings are provided to trainees before program with sufficient time for them to prepare) Encourage Trainee Responsibility and Self-Management (Trainees record safe and unsafe acts they see each day) Ensure the Work Environment Supports Learning and Transfer) (Managers discuss importance of safety at weekly or daily meetings, employees encouraged to share observations of safe and unsafe practices using social media or discussion board, trainers send reminders to trainees, trainees are rewarded with bonuses or other incentives for accident free work periods) Would these characteristics vary depending on who was attending the program (e.g., managers, train crew, employees who maintain track structures or signals)? If so, how would they vary? No, these features are applicable to different learners. The content and emphasis on content may vary by learner group but for to maximize learning and transfer the program needs to have these instructional characteristics. Chapter 5: Program Redesign Reduces Costs and Satisfies Learners Identify the design elements which help ensure that participants learned and put it into practice. Explain how these design elements encourage learning and transfer. Meaningful content (quality content was kept and other material were revised or eliminated from the program) – Linked to current job performance and tasks Polls, Question and answers, quizzes, and exercises were used – methods for committing training content to memory, providing feedback, encourage social interaction, learner-learner, learner-content, and learner instructor interaction. Proper Coordination and Arrangement of the Training Program – Session maps, roles and responsibilities for virtual learning defined, producer, host, and moderator for each event, practice sessions or the instructors. Chapter 6: Developing Financial Planners at AMP What outcomes should AMP collect to determine the effectiveness of the Career Changer Program? What evaluation design should it use? Explain your choice of outcomes and design. Outcomes: Reactions (Did they like the program? What did they learn? Using surveys completed immediately after completing classroom instruction), Learning (knowledge about Finance, Financial Products, Selling using tests), Behavior (Financial Planners evaluate learners customer service skills), Results (Financial Planners rate the quality of advice they provide to clients. Clients evaluate results, success of their practice, did company), ROI (cost-benefit analysis of the program) Evaluation Design Choice and Rationale: Pre-test Post-test Comparison Group (If interested in determining if skills have changed as a result of participating in the program) Post-test only (If interested in determining whether a certain level of performance has been achieved) Solomon Four-Group (If interested in the most rigorous design that controls for threats to internal and external validity) Time Series (Determine change in training outcomes over time, before and after training) 4. The answer for this question involves calculating Return on Investment (ROI). To calculate ROI requires considering training costs and identifying training outcomes and their value (see pages 273-277 in 7th edition or corresponding pages in other editions). Training costs include direct costs, indirect costs, development costs, overhead costs, and compensation for trainees. For the Sears training program information is provided for the following training costs: Direct Costs: Instructor = $10,000 Distance Learning (satellite space rental) = $5000 Materials = $5000 Compensation for Trainees Trainees Salaries and Benefits= $1500 Total Training Costs = $10,000 + $5000 + $5000 + $1500 = $21,500 Benefits of the program are determined by the outcomes and the value the company received from the training program. In this case sales of tools and merchandise is the outcome. As a result of the training program, sales of tools and merchandise on average increased $1500 per store each week . Ten stores participated in the program so this means that the benefit of the program is: 10 stores x $1500 per store x 52 weeks per year = $780,000 To compute ROI: ROI = Return/Investment = Benefits-Costs/Costs = 780000-21500/21500 = 758,500/21,500 = 35.28 This means that every dollar invested in the training program (all costs) returned approximately $35 in benefits. 5a. What training outcomes should the company collect? From whom should the training outcomes be collected? The company wants to know if salespersons will increase upselling of cable television services and try to sell other products. This means that sales data (services, products) should be collected. This information can be collected using the tracking system that the company uses to monitor sales and services. 5b. What evaluation design would you recommend? Defend your recommendation. Because the company is interested in change of sales of service and products that will need a design that measures sales in services and products generated by salespersons before training and after training. This means that a pre-test post-test or a time series design is necessary. Both involve collecting outcome data (sales of services and products) before and after training. There is no need for a comparison group because the company is interested only in whether an increase in product sales and services occurred following training. A pre-test post-test design with a comparison group (or a time series with comparison group ) would eliminate the possibility that other factors besides training are responsible for the changes (or lack of changes) in sales and services following training. A post-test only design is insufficient to assess the change in sales of products and services because pre-training data is not collected using this evaluation design. Also, a Solomon four-group design is not appropriate because the company is not interested in comparing training methods. 5c. Show how Cablevision can conduct an ROI analysis. Describe the information that the company should collect and how it should be collected. First, the $ value increase in sales of products and services needs to be determined through training evaluation. Second, total costs need to be computed (see Table 6.11). This includes direct costs, indirect costs, development costs, overhead costs, and compensation for trainees. Third, ROI should be calculated: ROI = Return/Investment = Benefits-Costs/Costs ROI represents the dollar return for every dollar invested in the training program (all costs). 6a. What is the total cost of training? The total cost of turnover? Total cost of turnover = 100 employees X $56, 625 (cost to recruit and train one employee) = $5,662,500 Total cost of training = direct costs + indirect costs + development costs + overhead costs + compensation for trainees. In this scenario: Direct costs = $170,000 (Instructor, classroom, and other costs) Compensation for trainees: 100 employees x 80 hours of training per employee X $35 (average employee wage) = $280,000 No other cost data is provided. Therefore: Total costs = $170,000 + $280,000 = $450,000 6b. If the turnover rate dropped 8 percent (from 23 percent to 15 percent), what was the financial benefit of the training program? To determine this have to calculate the difference between a 23% and 15% turnover rate: If 23 employees out of 100 leave per year….23 X $56,625 = $1,302,375 cost to company If turnover rate dropped to 15%…15 X $56,625 = $849,375 cost to company Financial benefit = $1,302,375 - $849,375 = $453,000 6c. What was the ROI of the training program? Total costs = $450,000 (see 6a) Total benefit = $453,000 (see 6b) ROI = Return/Investment = Benefits-Costs/Costs = $453,000- $450,000/$450,000 = .0006 The ROI is approximately zero. 6d. How much would the turnover rate have to be reduced (from 23%) for the training program to show a benefit? From 6c we know that at a drop to 15% turnover rate the ROI is 0. If the turnover is reduced from 23% to 7% the training program would provide a financial benefit (computed using ROI) If turnover rate dropped to 7%...7 x $56,625 = $396,375 cost of turnover Financial benefit = $1,302,375 (cost of 23% turnover rate) – $396,375 (cost of 7% turnover rate) = $906,000 (benefit or reduction in cost of turnover due to training) Training Cost = $450,000 (from 6a) ROI = Return/Investment = Benefits-Costs/Costs = $906,000-$450000/$450,000=1.01 For every 1$ invested in the program it returns $1.01 in benefits. So, turnover must be reduced 16% (from 23% to 7%) for the training program to have a minimal financial benefit. Chapter 7: Training Methods for Bank Tellers Describe the methods or combination of methods you would recommend to train BB&Ts tellers on Apple Pay. Justify your choice of methods. The tellers will need to understand the features of Apple Pay (knowledge) as well as how to use it with customers (behavior and skills). This will require the use of a “presentation” and “hands-on” training method. First, video and/or lecture can be used to show and explain to tellers the features of Apple Pay. OJT is not appropriate in this case because this is a new technology that other bank tellers and their managers have not previously used. The “presentation” method should be followed by a simulations and/or role plays with “customers” using the technology. This would help the tellers develop the particular skills and behaviors needed to complete customer transactions using Apple Pay. Chapter 8: Training Jiffy Lube Service Technicians on New Products What knowledge, skills, or behaviors should the training focus on? What technology training method would you recommend for training the technicians on specialty oils? Why? Briefly describe the learn¬ing features you would include in the program and discuss why you recommend including them. Training should focus on how specialty oil differs from regular motor oil, its advantages, what cars and trucks it is best used (knowledge) , and selling points for customers (how to communicate benefits to customers and influence their purchase). Online-learning through notebook or personal computers available at Jiffy-Lube locations is appropriate in this situation. The online learning tool should include appeal to multiple senses using videos, audio, and perhaps a simulation or game, allow the technicians to control how they learn (learner control – remediate, skip sessions on topics they already know, required and additional practice exercises), provide assessment and quizzes with feedback to the learner, allow online class enrollment (and monitoring by Jiffy Lube so they know who has completed training and technicians progress in the course), links to other technicians and the trainer for questions and answers, sharing best practices, ands links to web resources on specialty oil such as manufacturers websites. All of the features of the online learning help facilitate learning and transfer of training. A blended learning or flipped classroom approach is not appropriate because the technicians cannot attend face-to-face classroom training. Case 9: Onboarding at MGM Resorts What topics should be included in MGM Resorts onboarding program for hotel front desk staff? If you were asked to develop the onboarding program, explain what content and activities you would include in the program, who would be in¬volved, and the length of the program. Provide a rationale for your recommendations. What data or outcomes should be collected to monitor the effectiveness of the onboarding program? Explain the business reasons for your choice of data. The onboarding program should discuss MGMs values, the importance of the guest experience and how it is influenced by front desk staff, and the front desk staff’s job responsibilities. The program should involve peers, supervisors, and property managers. It should include four steps: compliance (understand company policies), clarification (job and performance expectations), culture (MGM history and values), and helping employees make personal connections to their manager and peers. The program should include a combination of activities including speakers, team building activities, tour of the facility. Front desk staff should be as actively involved as possible during the program- meeting their peers, learning about the company history, culture, and products. The program could include a mentor who helps the employee for their first few months on the job. New hires should have access to online resources (websites) and social media to get questions answered and help connect with other employees. Onboarding for the new front desk staff should be an ongoing process that occurs before employees start their first day of work and continues several weeks and months after they are working on the job. The outcomes that should be collected to evaluate the program include new hires engagement or satisfaction, turnover, and performance (especially guest experience indicators). These are key indicators that provide information if new hires are staying with the company and are effectively performing their jobs. Case 10: Successful Management Requires International Experience What steps should P&G take to prepare employees for international assignments to help them succeed? Steps to prepare employees for international assignments to help them achieve: Predeparture – Language training and training focused on the new country’s culture and customs. Training methods that could be used include lectures, e-learning, immersion experiences, or actual experiences in communities in their home country that have similar culture to their host country. Provide information about housing, schools, recreation, shopping and health care facilities where they will live. Onsite – Orientation in the host country; paired with an employee from the host country or mentor. Provide website and social media links so employees can get answers to their questions. Repatriation – Deal with reality shock of returning to their home country. Encourage self-management of the repatriation process. Employees should consider what skills they want to develop and the types of jobs that might be available for employees who develop those skills. Career planning discussions with their manager and human resources need to held before the employees leave for the host country to insure they understand the positions they will be eligible for upon repatriation. Maintain contact with key company and industry contacts. Provide a expats with company newsletters, community newspapers, and insure that they receive personal and work-related mail from their home country. Should P&G also include spouses and family members in preparation for international assignments? Why or why not? Yes, employees’ spouses and family members should be included in all steps of the process. Employees’ spouses and family members should be included because they affect whether employees will agree to take an expatriate assignment and whether employees will complete the assignment. A major reason that employees refuse expatriate assignments is that they can’t afford to lose their spouses income or are concerned that their spouses career could be derailed if they leave their position to join the employee on the assignment. Companies need to help trailing spouses find jobs and connect with other spouses in the host country. Research suggests that the comfort of an expatriates spouse and family is the most important determinant of whether the employee will complete the assignment. Chapter 11: Work Styles Promote Flexible Work at TELUS If you were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of Work Styles, what outcomes or data would you col¬lect? How would you collect your data or outcomes? What are the challenges of delivering learning to employees who work on the road or at home? What should be included in mobile-delivered training courses to insure that employees learn? Outcomes or data collected should include employee productivity, employee satisfaction, employees perceptions of work-life balance, percentage of employees working at home or on the road rather than in office buildings, and employees evaluation of the extent to which the mobile devices provided by TELUS help them collaborate and interact with peers. There are several challenges of delivering learning to employees who work at home or on the road. Companies will have to invest in training delivering methods that facilitate digital collaboration. This includes using new learning strategies that include online mentoring, collaborative learning platforms and social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Second, companies are challenged to know what knowledge employees possess and encouraging them to share it with others. Teams and employees must be provided with the tools they need to find knowledge – knowledge necessary to provide a service, develop or manufacture a product, or refine a process. A mobile-delivered training course should be short and only focus on the necessary content. The course should facilitate learning through providing objectives, meaningful content, opportunities to practice, retention, feedback, and opportunities for experience and social interaction. Simulations and games are two ways to engage learners, especially millennial learners, in mobile-delivered courses. Assessment such as quizzes can be build into the course. The course should also provide links to other resources (websites, hyperlinks) as well as other learners (collaboration through social media, discussion boards, blogs, wikis). End of Part Cases Part 1 (Case 1): Dow Chemical Develops Leaders by Sending Them to Work in Unfamiliar Surroundings 1. What competitive challenges motivated Dow Chemical to develop the Leadership in Action? Globalization (Need to develop global markets and global leaders). Also, strategic vision to become the most valued and respected science company in the world. 2. Do you think the Leadership in Action contrib¬utes to Dow Chemical’s business strategy and goals? Explain. Yes, it helps Dow Chemical develop leaders that understood what needed to be done to do business in new cultures. The program developed leadership skills as well as developed leaders humility and integrity needed to do business in new markets. The program helps leaders understand a new business territory, develop new markets, and establish relationships in the local community. It also helps potential leaders learn how to deal with uncertainty and change. 3. How would you determine if the Leadership in Action program was effective? What metrics or outcomes would you collect? Why? To determine if the Leadership in Action program was effective requires investigating changes in markets, community leaders’ satisfaction with the project, and potential leaders’ skills. Metrics or outcomes that could be collected include marketing data on the development of global markets and evaluation of improvement of potential leaders skills based on ratings of communications, consulting skills, and dealing with change provided by their bosses and peers. Community leaders could be asked to provide their perspective on the impact of the community project that potential leaders worked on as part of the Leadership in Action program. 4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Leadership in Action program, compared to more traditional ways of training leaders such as formal courses (e.g., an MBA program) or giving them more increased job responsibility? Advantages Potential leaders are involved in “hands-on” learning Benefits local communities – support sustainable development projects. Potential leaders self-reflect and learn how to deal with uncertainty and change Potential leaders acquire interpersonal and consulting skills, learn how to conduct business in a new culture (understand social structure and values), learn how to collaborate with humanitarian groups and corporate partners. Disadvantages Travel and housing expenses for international locations Difficulty in working on project virtually Program takes five months Part 2 (Case 2): Business Goals Drive Learning at Verizon 1. Do you think it is easier for a company like Verizon, which emphasizes technology and inno-vation, to adopt and use new technologies such as social media for training? Why? Yes, developing and using new technology is why the company exists. Using new training technologies such as social media are part of the company’s emphasis on innovation. Employees are likely more familiar with technologies and therefore less resistant to using them for training. Also, training professionals within Verizon will likely receive little push-back to using new technology for training compared to other businesses that don’t emphasize technology as part of their product or service mix. 2. What metrics should Verizon use to show the effectiveness of its internal YouTube video site? Metrics could include number of total videos viewed, frequency of viewing each available video, employee evaluations of the effectiveness of the videos, counts of peer-recommended videos, employee stories of how the videos helped them with a work assignment or problem. 3. Should all training that Verizon offers be avail¬able to employees on an “as-needed” basis? Explain your answer. Is performance support the same as learning? Mandatory training programs due to compliance or regulation should be completed by all employees. Also, important training programs for product, services, or Verizon culture should also be completed by all employees. However, all programs, even mandatory programs, should be made available to employees online accessible through the internet on mobile devices or desktop, laptop, or notebook computers where they can be accessed by employees to review or refresh what they have learned. No, performance support is not the same thing as learning. Performance support can be used to support transfer of training or to substitute for training. Performance support is an electronic infrastructure that captures, stores, and distributes individual and corporate knowledge assets throughout an organization to enable individuals to achieve required levels of performance in the fastest possible time and with a minimum of support from other people. Learners do not necessarily acquire knowledge and skills as a result of using performance support. Part 3 Case: Development is Served 24/7 in InterContinental Hotel Group’s Leaders Lounge 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of IHG’s virtual leadership development program for the company? For employees? Advantages Employees: Access to short and concise information on leadership, assessment tools to help employees develop their leadership strengths and weaknesses, access to e-learning on business topics Company: Cost savings resulting from reduced travel costs through the use of online modules for the Senior Leadership Program and The Lounge, hotel managers’ engagement scores increased three percent, supports care value of “Room to Grow”, leadership development available 24/7 to employees around the world Disadvantages Employees: Lack face-to-face contact with other learners Company: Cost (development costs) for developing a virtual leadership development community 2. Many companies are using a blended approach for employee development. That is, they are using both face-to-face and technology-aided training and development activities for leadership development. What more traditional development activities would you recommend the IHG include in the development program to make it more effec¬tive? Explain how these development activities will enhance the program’s effectiveness. IHG should consider mentoring and job experiences to increase the effectiveness of the development program. Mentors could provide career and psychosocial support. Proteges can help mentors learn about social media and to understand the needs and motivation of younger employees. Mentors could also help encourage women and minorities who tend to be under represented in leadership positions to develop management skills and move into management positions. Job experiences can help employees stretch their skills (learn new skills, apply their skill and knowledge in a new way, and master new experiences). Volunteer assignments could be used to help employees develop leadership and strategic thinking skills. 3. Do you think that IHG’s evaluation of the pro¬gram makes a strong business case for it? Why or why not? What other metrics or outcomes would you suggest that IHG include to improve its overall evaluation of the effectiveness of the virtual leadership program for employees and the business? What other outcomes or metrics should IHG use to determine whether the pro¬gram contributes to the “Winning Ways” core values No, engagement scores assess employee attitudes but other metrics are needed to show that the program provides business value and supports the “Room to Grow” values. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the virtual leadership program could be improved by using metrics such as hotel level managers’ retention rate (turnover) and their movement into other leadership positions. Also, IHG should also assess customer satisfaction scores for properties who have managers who have participated in the program compared to those whose managers did not participate in the program. Employees who report to the managers could also be asked to provide ratings of the managers leadership behaviors and coaching skills. Part 4 Case: Working At Home: A Bad Idea 1. Do you think that companies should have a policy that allows all employees to work at home? Why or why not? How would you determine which jobs are best suited for working at home? It depends on the degree of interaction that is required with customers and colleagues. Jobs requiring a high degree of daily face-to-face interaction with customers/products/colleagues and requiring use of tools available only at the work location are least suited to working at home. A key question to ask is whether the expected level of results can be attained by employees who work at home rather than at the office. 2. What role can technology play in allowing employees to work at home? Do you believe that interaction using technology can replace interper¬sonal face-to-face interaction between employees or between employees and their manager? Technology can allow employees to learn at home, communicate with colleagues and customers, and complete some types of work (contact customers for sales or provide service, 3-D printing, lab work, childcare, eldercare, read x-rays). Technology cannot replace face-to-face interaction especially for generating ideas, realizing the benefits of unplanned interactions, and working on team projects. It is best used to supplement, rather than replace, interpersonal interactions. 3. Some employees don’t taking advantage of flexible work options such as working at home because they believe it hurts their career. Why might they feel this way? They might feel this way because they believe they may lose career opportunities (promotions) or receive lower evaluations of performance resulting from their manager considering “face time” rather than their actual performance results. Also, employees may not want to miss unplanned interactions at work that can lead to new ideas, better problem-solving, or working relationships. Solution Manual for Employee Training and Development Raymond Andrew Noe 9780078112850, 9781259539367, 9780071267786
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