Appraise the importance of the OD field in terms of its benefits in increasing business performance.

Deborah’s Office

Last week, we assessed the organizational performance gap and concluded that Taormina’s employees need training and development in order to increase sales performance.

Now, we need to validate our proposal.

You need to review the strategic plan of the organization to determine the objectives of the training and development initiative. You will also need to consider organizational development.

Deborah’s Office

Please review the strategic plan of the organization. It is important to understand where the business would like to be in the future.

Let’s start by determining the approach we should use in the design of our training and development program.

We have two choices – reactive and proactive. Which approach will work best for Taormina?

This interaction will present both options in a tabbed format, and then ask the student to choose one or the other as their approach.

Which approach should Taormina use to address the need found?

Reactive Strategy: Correct! Taormina needs to address its performance gap immediately. A reactive strategy addresses current problems. The organization must act quickly in order to remain in competition.

Proactive Strategy: Incorrect! A proactive strategy focuses on the long term. Taormina needs to improve its sales performance immediately. The proactive and reactive approaches are necessary for an organization to be effective. However, in this case, Taormina needs to adopt a reactive strategy approach to solve the organizational performance gap.

You are definitely a great addition to our HR team.

Deborah’s Office (speaking to student)

Let’s talk to Ron and his team about this.

Ron’s office

Deborah: Yes, Ron. We have good news to report. We have conducted a needs analysis and found that your team needs more training and development opportunities.

Ron: Training and development? I’ve never thought about it.

Deborah: Yes. We interviewed your employees, remember?

Well, we found that they are feeling overwhelmed. You know how that affects general performance.

They feel like often, nobody knows what to do in the call center. Every day requires a new course of action.

Ron: But we have specific tasks to complete here at the call center every day. I don’t understand!

We meet every Monday morning to discuss our sales and nobody has mentioned anything about training. It seems to me like all of my employees know what to do.

Deborah: Let me explain, Ron. We shouldn’t assume that training and development opportunities are only needed if there is something new to learn.

Training and development is linked to organizational development.

Remember, organizational development focuses on improving the effectiveness of the organization through planned change.

Therefore, we must pay attention to short and long term organizational goals to delineate our strategies correctly. It is important to determine which approach to take to address an issue.

Ron: So what approach are we using now for my employees in the call center?

Deborah: Well Ron, in this case we’ve already assessed the situation and determined that a reactive approach is going to be the best. Using a reactive approach will provide us with immediate solutions to solve the performance gaps.

However, afterwards we should develop some proactive strategies to achieve the mission of the organization. This will allow us to enact a long-term plan for change within the call center.

Ron: Okay. You are saying that to guarantee the continued development of the organization, we have to promote constant training and development opportunities for our employees?

Deborah: That’s correct!

Ron: Let’s call Alex. She needs to know this too.

Call Center

Ron: Hi Alex! Deborah and her team have found some interesting facts about the issues affecting our team performance.

Alex: We talked to your training specialist Deborah. Are we in trouble, Ron?

Ron: No. I’m glad you all collaborated in providing such valuable information.

Deborah: Remember, Alex, HR is here to help to address issues.

We will never disclose anything that could generate retaliation.

Alex: Okay. We only said what we were thinking and feeling.

We also have our own concerns…if sales don’t improve, we might not have jobs! (sadly)

Deborah: Don’t worry, Alex. We will do all we can to improve the sales performance. We need to keep scanning Taormina’s environment to find the best solution.

We will design a training and development program to address the stressors found.

Alex: Okay! Let me know if I can help you.

This interaction will present both options in a tabbed format, and then ask the student to choose one or the other as their approach.

Based on the scenario, which environmental factors should be addressed first?

External Environment Factors: Incorrect! External environmental factors consist of elements outside the organization that impact its performance. It is important to determine threats and opportunities to remain in competition. However, an adequate internal environment will allow businesses to response external demands accordantly.

Internal Environment Factors: Correct! Addressing internal environmental factors with a reactive strategy will improve employees’ performance in a faster way. Organizations need to determine strengths and weaknesses to remain in competition. In addition, internal strategies provide direction in addressing training needs.

Ron’s Office

Deborah: Sure, Ron! I’m glad to know you’re willing to help.

Ron: I care for my people! But unfortunately, I was solving the wrong issue before now.

Deborah: Well, before we make any decision, let me have my training specialist conduct another set of interviews to find some other common elements that may contribute to proper training and development.

We are going to review the internal environment and report to you in a week.

Deborah’s Office

(speaking to student)

Today we’ve reviewed the strategic plan of the organization to determine the objectives of the training and development initiative.

You identified an approach to address the need found. You’ve also discussed organizational development with Ron and his team, and identified environmental factors that will need to be addressed first.

Please participate in discussions about the topics covered today as well as completing relevant e-Activities!

You’ll need to identify specific strategies to improve Taormina’s sales performance.

Next week, we will evaluate some theories associated with learning, motivation, and employee performance. These concepts are critical in improving the organization internal environment.

See you soon!