Week 1 Individual

Minute Paper

Review the Instructor Policies and write a Minute Paper highlighting three things you see in the policies that are different from your previous classes. APA guidelines do not apply to this assignment, and a Certificate of Originality is not necessary; but double-space and use your best writing, spelling, and grammar skills. Post to your Assignment Tab. The late policy does not apply to this assignment.

Week 1 Individual

Organizational Focus and Goals

Select your current organization or an organization you are familiar with to complete the following assignment. You have been hired as an outside consultant to help an organization strengthen employee development.

Write an Executive Summary of no more than 700 words that answers the following questions:

·         What is the organization’s current focus? What are the organizations’s overarching goals?

·         What are the organization’s training needs? How do they relate to the overarching goals?

·         What effect does the organization’s focus and goals have on prioritizing the type and amount of training?

·         How would you prioritize specific training needs based on the organization’s needs and current focus?

·         Why must you consider the organization’s overarching goals when prioritizing training?

Note: Use caution in cutting & pasting from resources; refer to the Instructor Policies on Written Assignment Expectations.

Remember: Use a common business-like font and color and unless otherwise noted, double space all assignments, spell check, and relate your assignment to the readings.  Those are always expected as part of any academic assignment. Word count in this class does not include title page and references.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. Post to the Student Assignment Tab.

Week 2 Learning Team

Learning Team Weekly Reflection

Discuss this week’s objectives with your team during the week. Your discussion should include the topics you feel comfortable with, any topics you struggled with, and how the weekly topics relate to application in your field.

Prepare a 350 to 700 word paper summarizing the findings of your discussion. One team member should post this to the Team Assignment Page. Include a header page identifying your team. Refer to Instructor Policies for guidelines on Reflection Papers.

Week 2 Individual

Training Key Areas

Write a 950 to 1,250 word paper in which you explain the importance of training in the areas below; pertaining to both the organization and individual. Using the Week 1 organization, you as an outside consultant  have been asked to explain the importance of training in three areas, thus you need to incorporate employee and organization motivation as well as information on offering training in these areas:

·         Legal requirements

·         Diversity

·         Employee growth

Include at least two peer-reviewed references.

Address what the organization will gain in offering the training and how programs meet professional or personal employee needs. You must clearly show how the programs answer the organization’s and employee motivational needs.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. Post to the Student Assignment Tab.

Week 3 Learning Team

Needs Analysis

Write a paper using your chosen organization from Week 2. Your team will conduct a needs analysis that identifies training objectives and defines a measuring system that identifies those objectives’ effectiveness. Your paper must be no more than 1,500 words and must include the following:

·         The needs analysis, which must include an organizational analysis, a team analysis, and a task analysis.

·         The evaluation system must include measurable results for the appropriate outcome (cognitive, skill-based, affective, or return on investment) necessary to meet your identified needs. Needs vary from organization to organization, so teams must approach this portion with critical thinking skills on what they feel the company needs to do. The evaluation criteria must be specific, measurable, time-bound, and include a plan regarding what method — survey, test, or performance evaluation — will gather data.

Include at least three peer-reviewed references.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. Post to the Team Assignment Tab.

Week 4 Individual

Delivery Methods

Create an eye-catching 5 to 10 slide PowerPoint® presentation using information from and focusing on your teams Needs Analysis. You will recommend a delivery methodology for the final project. Your presentation must include the following:

·         A definition of a delivery method and how it would be applied for the project.

·         Pros and cons of at least two different delivery methods.

·         A recommendation of the delivery method you chose.

Coordinate with your team prior to working individually, so different delivery methods are discussed. (Review this week’s readings for instructional and delivery methods ideas). One team member, for example, might present a classroom delivery method, whereas another team member may present a Webinar, and a third member may present a Podcast, etc. After the final due date for the individual assignment passes, share your presentation with your Learning Team, so the team may hear your pitch or reasons why not to use a particular delivery method. Please do not share your individual instructor feedback with your team as that is between student and instructor.  You may summarize instructor’s comments if you wish. Since this is an Online class the presentation must include speaker’s notes for each presentation slide showing what you would say if you were delivering a 10-15 minute presentation. Do not double space speaker’s notes.

Format your presentation in a style consistent with APA guidelines. Post to the Assignment Tab.

Do not confuse this coordination discussion with your team as a part of the Weekly Reflection paper, which is on the week’s objectives. They are separate discussions.

Week 4 Learning Team

Learning Team Weekly Reflection

Discuss this week’s objectives with your team during the week. Your discussion should include the topics you feel comfortable with, any topics you struggled with, and how the weekly topics relate to application in your field.

Prepare a 350 to 700 word paper summarizing the findings of your discussion. Post this to the Team Assignment Page.

Week 5 Learning Team

Professional Development Plan

Write a professional development plan based on the information learned in all weeks of this course. This plan must incorporate the Needs Analysis, evaluation criteria, and a delivery method of your chosen company. Your plan must not exceed 2,500 words and must include the following:

·         Needs Analysis:

o    Organizational analysis

o    Team analysis

o    Task analysis

·         Learning objectives outlining what material is covered.

·         Appropriate delivery method:

o    Examples might include but are not limited to classroom, video conference, conference call, Web-based, or podcasts.

o    Your plan must be focused on one delivery method but may include up to two.

·         Evaluation criteria:

o    Measures and collection points

o    Timeframe

o    Expected results quantifying success, failure, and the in-between.

Include at least three peer reviewed references.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. Post to the Team Assignment Tab.