Essay Sample on Evaluating Performance and Training Needs

Introduction

Organizational performance is a concern to all type of business irrespective of size as it gives a comparison of the goals and objectives of the organization with its actual performance. It is dependent on various combination factors such as culture, mission, workflow, goals, knowledge, and skills. In defining performance, lots of organizations base it on how these factors lead to a specific output. However, some end up not achieving the optimal performance since a change in one of the factors has an adverse effect on the performance. It is therefore important to critically examine all the factors for maximum optimal performance.

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Human Performance Improvement is not a new concept as lots of organizations have been using it when coming up with new policies. It is a standardized approach that gives a systematic process to follow although it is not often a so-systematic path. The approach not only identifies the gaps of human performance and their possible solutions, it also provides the capability of measuring the success of one's effort by eliminating the guesswork that follows when evaluating a performance. There is a waste of time, training money, reorganization and other interventions to companies that do not use the HPI technique. According to Van Tiem, Moseley, and Dessinger, (2012), the structure of the market is such that firms that proactively distinguish the performance improvement needs are the one that is able to beat out numerous types of competition in the market. The paper, therefore, explores an evaluation plan for the training initiative and a plan for change and an initiative model. Later it will look at various recommendations that concern approaches of training and performance improvement for the organization by maximizing the performance of the workplace so as to reduce the gaps of performance while remaining aware of gender and cultural differences.

Evaluation Plans for the Initiative of Training

This plan for evaluation will major at the University of Ottawa whose major customers are the Ottawa residents although it accepts international students and staff. Even though the institution has various departments that major in different fields, the evaluation will focus on the field of medicine. School of medicine of the University of Ottawa provides various services of health and educational opportunities through partnering with the Hospital of Ottawa and other affiliate universities, local colleges, and training firms (Ottawa University, 2012). The university has a mission of exploring, learning and caring which not only focuses on the Canadians community but also on lots of communities worldwide. In order to attain the mission, the health sciences faculty has combined the education that it offers with the latest care methods using the latest technology. The students and staffs in the institution are the main stakeholders. Irrespective of that, there are some parties that act as audiences including the society and the patients of the Ottawa Hospital. The collaboration between the university and the hospital is essential as it helps in the continuous provision of health care services.

ADDIE Model in the Training Plan

In the recent years, many educators and instructional designers have been using the ADDIE model to design and develop educational and training programs. The acronym stands for "Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and evaluate" (Tresser 2015). ADDIE model has found a wide acceptance and use since with the stages enables the educators, instructional designers, and training developers to facilitate the implementation of effective training tools. The methodology was developed back in the seventies in the State of Florida University which was a center for Educational Technology. At first, the model was being used in the armed forces of the US a fact to which it indebts its process of streamlined and phases of clear delineation. Even though the methodology is above forty years old, it has not fallen out of use rather it has remained the leading model used in healthcare facility up to today.

Even though the model is prone to the linearity of the content creation hence interfering with the cost of course creation and the required time, the fame of ADDIE is indebted to the fact that the model is simple to use, flexible, versatile, and easy to learn and master. Also, it is cyclical enabling one to correct various errors made in the recent iterations hence improving the quality of the end product. The following are each acronym of ADDIE model in the training plan being used at the University of Ottawa.

Analysis

The University of Ottawa has been on the forefront in offering the best quality of education and training needed in the field of medicine. Nonetheless, there are various challenges that scholars, residents, fellows, and staffs within the medicine faculty undergo including the Physical, emotional and spiritual health problems (Ottawa University, 2012). Even though most seem to be normal, these challenges can result in adverse consequences on the service of quality given. The prevalence of the challenges has not been easy for the institution in measuring because it lacks systems in identifying and managing those difficulties.

There are various factors that lead to emotional disturbances that take place while training at the organization. Some include insecurity, anxiety, and fear which features many educational and practice environment. These features are predominant to those undergoing training due to the nature of the profession that deals with human life. Some of the members of the community are new and some lack the social support hence resulting in isolation and other emotional challenges (Ottawa University, 2012). Also, there are no strong mentor relationships and programs in the organization that shapes the students and staff along with their profession which as a result lead to emotional disturbances, especially among students. Teachers are a valuable resource in gathering information about the challenges students face either inside the institution, in the surrounding environment or even their personal problem (Richey, Klein & Tracey, 2010). However, if the relationship between teachers and students is not strengthened, students end up not sharing their challenges with anyone and as a result, may result in poor performance in their studies. Also, students come from different community some including the international students from Canada and the relationship between these students may be a challenge as some may fail to associate with those that are of a different background.

Physically, there are a lot of challenges encountered while training in the organization some being economic, political and cultural factors. Economically, the organization lacks adequate financial sources and support needed to sustain it. The salary of most staffs and lecturer in the faculty of medicine field of Ottawa University are dependent on the fee of most students. However, a report given showed that 60% of students don't pay their school fees on time and as a result lags behind some of the development in the school. Pressure from student's loan debt and finding ways to make end meets are weighing much on the students of Ottawa University leading to more than 32% of student neglecting their studies (Ottawa University, 2012). This not only has an effect on students alone but also on the whole faculty of medical field. These financial challenges draw on the attention of the organization from production and development to a state where it needs to settle first its financial situation and restoring it back to normalcy. Politically, Ottawa University has been facing challenges connected to political instability in the country. This political instability has scared many scholars from enrolling in the university hence leading to large performance gaps in the organization. Some policies in the government have posed a likelihood of its closure hence limiting its operation. Cultural factors may result from the indifferences between the students, residents, staffs and all members of the organization community. If the gap between the relationships among members of the Ottawa community is large, it will hinder innovation for improvement in the operations and production levels of the organization.

Religious and spiritual factors have an effect on the performance of faculty of medicine field of Ottawa University. Faith gives people a sense of purpose and hope in life and if the organization lacks this, they cannot fight the feelings of helplessness and other life challenges. Spiritual values in an organization enable students and all staffs to work on a spiritual path hence giving them an opportunity to grow and contribute effectively to the organization and the whole community. If the organization is not rooted well in spiritual values, their commitment towards good performance and good production may lag behind hence interfering with their training performance and development.

Having listed the major challenges and constraints that most learners face in their course study, the learning materials have to be presented in a way the students will be able to achieve maximum learning effectively. The major audiences are the students and the course aims to impart skills and knowledge to students necessary in their field. The medical field of Ottawa University entails various courses from physicians, nurses, and radiographers (Tresser, 2015). As a result, there are various physical requirements that are needed for these areas to achieve. Physicians are required to gain skills for them to be able to monitor the health of the patients well by diagnosing their skills. Nurses obtain the necessary skill of caring for patients in hospitals, clinics and in any facility of nursing care. Radiographers take and produce X-ray films and in ensuring that the health equipment machines and devices are working properly. To attain this skills, there is a need for splitting every course into individuals modules and include step-by-step instructions. Also, after every 6 months of training, there is a need for testing their acquisition and retention of knowledge by assigning them tests.

Design

The faculty of medicine field of Ottawa University is well strategized in education as it comprises of lectures, discussions, tasks, projects and supplementary materials. All these assist the students in comprehension of the course materials and in fulfillment of their goals. However, in order to be able to fill the performance gap, they should make practical decisions which will involve having a course design and storyboarding the ideas (Tresser, 2015). One of the ways is through having a preliminary activity which will enable the learners to know the topics to be covered in a certain section of the course. As a result, it will motivate them through acquiring the required knowledge and skills in their education process as well as make them become more interested in completing their study. The other way is through material presentation and this will be done by making an effort of keeping the course material concise while avoiding the details that are unnecessary.

Practice is another vital way that will enable the students of Ottawa University to put into practice what they are being taught. This will make them understands the materials in a deeper way and hone their skills (Mathieu, 2010). Post-activity is also essential which involves holding a meeting and discussing the results with them. During the course of this meeting, it is good to inform them of the goals of the course which will enable them to retain the course and give them a chance of applying the knowledge in their daily jobs. Finally, to be able to complete this sta...