Running head: DESIGNING A TRAINING PROGRAM Designing a Training Program: New Product Quality Program Ashley Warner Rasmussen College Training and Development August 27, 2018 1 DESIGNING A TRAINING PROGRAM 2 Background Information ABC Company specializes in the sale and the production of coach style buses. The company has been on the frontline in developing high end coaches that not only serve the purpose of transportation, but also give comfort to the passengers. Some of the company’s recent development include development of a conversion space and interior mood lighting. Additionally, the company has introduced LED upgrades to its exterior lights such as headlight, tail lights and brake lights. Generally, the company embraces a new quality product improvement policy. For each of the mentioned products, there must be a new product quality program. The purpose of the new product quality program is to familiarize the stakeholders with the process of implementing the same. Interestingly, new product quality programs are facilitated by training programs. This essay develops a training program for ABC Company in the process of new quality product development. Introduction This training program seeks to exchange skills and expertise to the employees of ABC Company on developing a new product quality; shifting from double-decker buses to the Recreational Vehicles (RV) style buses. The transition from the double-decker bus to the RV is a new quality program that can take place in multiple steps. I will outline how a training program of creating and using this product quality program can be implemented using a quality product development program. Needs Assessment Procedure The needs assessment procedure should incorporate crucial processes such as planning, the actual building process, the possible challenges that will be experienced, and eventually the outcome. Therefore, the needs assessment procedure should focus on determining whether the DESIGNING A TRAINING PROGRAM 3 company’s human resource sector meets the skill pre-requisite as far as the planning, building process and dealing with the possible challenges is concerned. The data collection procedure is a very important procedure as far as the assessment of the needs is concerned. To begin with, the reason why data collection would be important in this regard is due to the fact that it is crucial to know what skillsets are possessed by the employees (Duguay & Korbut, 2014). The data collection procedure used to assess the needs procedure should be simple and yet effective as far as meeting the ultimate objective is concerned; gathering data on the perception, skillset and the reaction to this exciting new project. Simple surveys and questionnaires will work well in achieving the objective of data collection in this project. Data collection without a proper documentation strategy is pretty much useless. Therefore, after utilizing the best data collection strategy, the needs assessment procedure will be more effective if the data collected is presented to ABC Company’s management in an effective but presentable manner. This will enable the management of ABC Company to make data-driven decisions that are good for the project of converting the double-decker buses to the Recreational Vehicles (RV) coaches. After using surveys along with open and closed ended questionnaires, the section tasked with the responsibility of collecting the data should present it to the ABC management company through tables, graphs and pie charts. These presentation methods will make the management determine the viability of the project as far as the cost, value and profitability of the venture of converting the double-decker buses to Recreational Vehicles is concerned. DESIGNING A TRAINING PROGRAM 4 Training Objectives of the New Product Quality Program Generally, specialization and division of labor should play a fundamental role as far as the training of the new product quality program is concerned. As a matter of fact, specialization and division of labor is critical in the training programs of various companies (Lamb, 2013). Particularly, the training objectives of the new product quality program should be focused on the big three agenda of the new product quality program. The big three agenda revolves on the planning, actual building process, the possible challenges that will be experienced and eventually the outcome. The objectives designed for this new product quality program are based on the Robert Mager’s model of objectives. According to this model of creating objectives, the effective learning objectives are meant to make the learner position his or herself to the role of being the performer (Dunnett, 2011). Most importantly, it is critical to note that the objectives are threefaced and require the learner to take an active role in the learning process. Therefore, the following are the objectives which the training program should address; • To exchange technical skills to the employees of ABC Company so that they can convert double-decker buses to the RVs. • To determine the way the customers will generally react to the quality of the new product. • To determine the cost economies of indulging in the project. Additionally, it will help in engaging the project and determine the viability of the project. • To determine the overall opinion of the employees with regards to their opinions on the project in general. • To determine the actual process of implementing the product quality improvement program of the double-decker buses to the recreational vehicles. DESIGNING A TRAINING PROGRAM 5 Therefore, the objectives outlined above are created in such a manner that they enable the learner to have the best learning process. Therefore, the objectives will enable the employees to learn what is best suited as far as the creation of recreational vehicles from the double-decker buses. Training Program Learning Method and Trainers It is crucial to note that for the new product quality program, the preferred learning method is the hands on style of education. Particularly, this framework has been chosen because of the fact that the project is technical therefore the employees need to have practical skills (McClelland, 2011). The finance department will make use of the data obtained from the engineering department to calculate the cost of converting a single unit of double-decker busses to a recreational vehicle platform. It is the purpose of the human resource department to engage and facilitate capacity building workshops. Therefore, the human resource department will identify the necessary skilled personnel that will conduct the training. In the event that there are no employees who have the technical expertise to impart skills and knowledge to the employees of ABC Company, the department will need to consider outsourcing to develop the skilled personnel in training the employees on the process of conversion of the double-decker buses to the recreational vehicles. Timing of the Training Program Time is an important factor as far as the new product quality program and the entire training program is concerned. First and foremost, in assigning the time to the training schedule, it should be kept in mind that different departments of ABC Company have different responsibility’s in the development of the new quality product. For instance, the task of the financial department can be completed in the first day of the training process because its sole DESIGNING A TRAINING PROGRAM 6 responsibility is to give a rough estimate of the total cost of the project. The product development and engineering department on the other hand will be testing and retesting the product for maximum efficiency which means the training should assign many working hours to the department. I suggest that the time allocation follows this rule; 10% for the finance department, 20% for the human resource department and 70% for the product development and engineering department. The very first step in the new quality product development is planning hence members of the finance and human resource departments should be trained on the first day because they need to have the right project management and planning skills. The proceeding days should be allocated to the product development and engineering department. Materials for the Training Process With regards to the materials that are to be used for the training, models and simulations will be effective in providing the right skills as far as the conversion of double-decker buses to the recreational vehicles is concerned. The reason why these materials are preferred is partly because they are effective as far as experimentation on how the real product will behave during the actual development. On the same note, blueprints and designs of the proposed recreational vehicles should also be included in the materials list of the training program. DESIGNING A TRAINING PROGRAM 7 References Duguay, S., & Korbut, K. (2014). Designing a training program which delivers results quickly!. Industrial And Commercial Training, 34(6), 223-228. doi: 10.1108/00197850210442458 Dunnett, C. (2011). Objective Course Design. Programmed Learning And Educational Technology, 10(6), 364-376. doi: 10.1080/1355800730100604 Dunnett, C. (2011). Objective Course Design. Programmed Learning And Educational Technology, 10(6), 364-376. doi: 10.1080/1355800730100604 Dunnett, C. (2011). Objective Course Design. Programmed Learning And Educational Technology, 10(6), 364-376. doi: 10.1080/1355800730100604 Lamb, C. (2013). Designing an Effective Training Program. Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, 29(06). doi: 10.2118/90-06-05s McClelland, S. (2011). A Model for Designing Objective‐oriented Training Evaluations. Industrial and Commercial Training, 26(1), 3-9. doi: 10.1108/00197859410051217 Running head: MOVIEFLIX SWOT ANALYSIS MovieFlix SWOT analysis Ashley Warner Rasmussen College Business Capstone August 26, 2018 1 MOVIEFLIX SWOT ANALYSIS 2 Online movie vending is an emerging enterprise with multiple opportunities. Unlike a decade or so ago, this era has seen technological advancements that allow people to get their favorite movies online at the comfort of their homes. No more having to venture out to the movie stores. MovieFlix is one of the many online platforms from where consumers can download movies as well as stream live. With the immense competition in this line of business it is important for the various players to understand the market position of their enterprises. A SWOT analysis is a technique used to evaluate both internal and external factors that affect an enterprise. Internal factors are those factors that the enterprise has power over and they include strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, external factors include opportunities and threats and are factors that are beyond the control of an enterprise. Below is a SWOT analysis for MovieFlix. Strengths Weaknesses Enjoys a large market share A weak supply chain Boasts on a recognized brand name Absence of a strategic plan Wide base of content Weak management Opportunities Threats MOVIEFLIX SWOT ANALYSIS 3 Available new markets Threats of substitution Expanding potential Threat of stiff competition Introduce new services Unstable costs Internal factors As explained above, internal factors include factors (positive or negative) that affect how an enterprise carries out its operations but those that the enterprise has control of. MovieFlix runs on a globally recognized brand name. This is a strength because many people can identify with the brand which increases sales. Also, MovieFlix enjoys a larger market share internationally. This is good for the enterprise because it translates to high sales and high profits. Finally, the enterprise offers a wide variety of content for its customers. This includes the various movie genres ranging from action, drama, family, crime, horror and science fiction. This makes the enterprise a favorite. However, the enterprise does not have a strategic plan which is usually important in business growth and future advancement. This is in part attributed to weak management. In many cases a weak management team results in poor decisions. The supply chain is also weak and as a result the enterprise is not operating in full capacity in terms of sales. External factors These are factors that affect the company, but it has no control over other than change internal factors to adapt. The industry has new opportunities of expanding to take advantage of new markets. As an online based company, it can easily introduce new services and products such as music and consultation. However, MovieFlix is operating in a very competitive business environment. This is threat because it means the company must invest so much in acquiring MOVIEFLIX SWOT ANALYSIS 4 competitive advantage to stay in front of the competitors. Availability of substitute products like physical movie stores prevents the enterprise from rising prices since doing so will give customers the incentive to switch to substitutes. Unstable costs of production make it hard to make accurate profitability predictions and planning. Solution The solution to MovieFlix’s problems lies in its ability to strengthen the management. A weak management team is not able to come up with a strategic plan or methods to advance supply chain. Strengthening the management will require training and development that will run over the course of three months. The management also needs to continuously train their subordinates through understudies so that when they leave the enterprise their subordinates can take up the mantle successfully. Over the three months, the management will be exposed to current management styles, customer-focused work groups, supply chain strategies, project management, workplace collaboration and other useful resources that will increase their scope of the current problem and give them an opportunity to be positive change drivers within the enterprise (Petty, 2016). MOVIEFLIX SWOT ANALYSIS 5 Reference Petty, A. (2016). Six Bold Steps for Reinvigorating and Strengthening Your Business. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/six-steps-for-strengthening-the-management-of-yourbusiness-4083184
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