Solution
Ram Mohan answered on
May 22 2020
APA Template.docx
Running Head: Training Program Design
1
Training Program Design
8
Training Program Design
Name
Academic Institution
Author Note
Class
Professo
May 23, 2018
Contents
3Introduction
4Organizational Details, Need Assessment and Identification of Gaps
5Participant Details
6Program Plan
9Resources Required
10Possible Ba
iers
11Recommendations
12Conclusion
13Appendix
13Feedback Evaluation
13Day Wise Schedule
13PPTs with Speaker Notes
14References
Training Program Design
Introduction
Training and development of employees is an essential part of talent management. Organizations worldwide have realized the importance of continuing education and training wherein the emphasis is on the on the job training as well as classroom based training. This becomes more important when one considers the emergence of Digital Technologies that call for specialized skills and knowledge. Indeed, more than anything else, the Reskilling of the workforce has to be done from time to time for organizations as well as their employees to ensure that their skills match the changing requirements of the present times (Cleverism.com, 2015).
This report is for designing a training program for the marketing managers of Woolworths, Australia to address their lack of familiarity with the digital marketing solutions that are needed by them for effective conduct of their marketing and other activities. This report continues the needs assessment and gap identification done earlier and presents a comprehensive training program that addresses the needs and gaps. As part of the discussion, this report outlines the theoretical approaches and their suitability to the suggested training program.
In addition, this report also lists the resources required for the successful conduct of the training program and examines any possible ba
iers that might impede the conduct of the training program. The entire discussion follows the key theme of the importance of Reskilling the workforce to keep pace with the changing technological trends and the suggested training program is structured in such a manner that not only the author but any trainer can make use of it to conduct this or similar trainings.
Organizational Details, Need Assessment and Identification of Gaps
The present report ca
ied out is based on the satisfying the training and the development need of marketing managers working in Woolworths Australia. At present all the marketing managers who are working in the company are not at all able to prepare effective marketing and digital programs for promoting the products and services of the company. This is the main reason due to which training has to be provided to the staff so that they can indulge into the practice of developing effective marketing programs by utilizing digital platforms. The main performance gap identified is that they are not at all able to identify the suitable digital platforms that can be utilized for promoting the products of the firm (Cleverism.com, 2015).
Companies like Woolworths conduct all their operations on wider basis and this is one of the main reasons due to which it is necessary that all the staff members must be skilled so that business operations can be conducted in the most effective manner. Further, at present the range of marketing managers that are working in the firm are not at all able to build effective digital platforms for marketing the products and services of the business. Further, performance gap has been identified where the management expects development of effective digital platforms but they are not at all able to build any such platform for the benefit of the business.
Thus, there are a set of twin needs in terms of the marketing managers being unable to work with the digital platforms as well as not being able to develop effective digital platforms for the continued success of Woolworths. Indeed, both these gaps are inte
elated and what they have in common is the need for Woolworths and its employees to keep pace with the changing technologies which encompass the digital platforms. One can go as far as to say that in the absence of Reskilling, the managers and the employees at Woolworths, and by extension, the organization itself might be left behind in the technology curve that has implications for the way in which it remains competitive in the digital age.
Participant Details
The training program would be held for the marketing managers and their deputies of Woolworths Australia. The training can be done at the headquarters or regional offices or in each city where the respective employees of Woolworths take part accordingly. The determination as to where the training would be held would be based on how many managers have to be trained as well as their specific needs related to addressing the gaps thus identified. Apart from that, it is expected that the cohort of marketing managers would be familiarized with the Digital Platforms and how to function and perform their jobs accordingly (CHRISTIANSEN, 2010).
The training program is intended to benefit the Marketing Managers of Woolworths by familiarizing with the Digital platforms and associated skills so that they can formulate and execute their marketing strategies using such technologies. In this manner, the training is expected to reskill the marketing managers and equip them with the latest technologies so that they are able to do their jobs efficiently. Thus, there are clear benefits to both the marketing managers as well as Woolworths, by extension since the reskilled workforce would ensure that the organization can automate and proceed with Digitization without having to wo
y about the marketing managers being unfamiliar with the advanced technologies (Lau, 2011).
As can be seen from the need assessments and the gap analysis, the marketing managers are simply unable to adapt to changes in the technologies and hence, the participants of the training program can expect to be benefited from both the exposure to digital technologies and the experience with the identified digital platforms. Thus, the twin gaps can be addressed by the training program that would train the managers accordingly and ensure that they and the organization in turn, would be able to keep a
east and remain competitive in the digital age (Senge, 2006).
Program Plan
The learning theory best suited for the training program is the experiential theory. As the definition states, “Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as "learning through reflection on doing". ... Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in which the learner plays a comparatively passive role” (Senge, 2006). Indeed, the focus of this report is mainly on learning through experience since such learning for the managers of Woolworths is on using digital technologies that need practical experience.
As can be seen from the diagram above, experiential learning follows a process of conceptualization, experimenting with the hands on aspects, reflecting on the learning and the insights gained, and actual on the job learning that complements the lessons learnt and the skills acquired. Indeed, in the context of the present training program, it is clear that the proposed schedule and the day to day activities are aligned with the experiential learning theory, especially as theorized by Kolb (Schein, 1996).
Thus, the emphasis of the training program would be on actualizing the experiences of using digital marketing platforms and familiarizing them with the same. Experiential Learning also allows for the participants to be actively involved and engaged in the learning process in comparison with other forms of learning where the learners are either passive or partly active I the learning process. Indeed, the twin imperatives of familiarizing the managers with the digital technologies and training them on suitable digital platforms would be the focus of the training program (Clark, 2012).
Further, experiential learning is also suitable since it allows for reflection and knowledge sharing which means that...