Ashford University - BUS 680 Training and Development - week 6 DBs and Final Project

Week Six Overview

Readings

1. Read the following articles from the ProQuest database located within the Ashford University Library
   • Rossett, A. (2007, February). Leveling the levels. T + D, 61(2), 49-54.
   • Kirkpatrick, D.L. (2006, August). Seven keys to unlock the four levels of evaluation Performance Improvement, 45(7), 5-8
   • Kirkpatrick, D. (Nov 2005). Managing change. Leadership Excellence, 22(11), 15-16
   • Miller, C. (2005, November). Measure learning. Leadership Excellence, 22(11), 16

Discussions

To participate in the following Discussion Forums, go to this week's Discussion link in the left navigation:

1. Evaluating Learning

   Read the articles assigned for this week. Discuss the elements of evaluation and why they are important. Also, discuss the return on investment (ROI) for the organizations. Is training worth the cost? You may include your personal experiences in your response. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.

2. Final Paper Summary

   Share the abstract of your Training and Development Paper in your discussion forum. When responding to your classmates’ postings, ask well thought-out questions and provide critical feedback that could help them make final improvements to the final draft of their paper. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.

Assignments

To complete this assignment, go to this week's Research Paper link in the left navigation:

Training and Development Research Paper

The Training and Development Research Paper is due Week Six.

Focus of the Training and Development Paper:

Each person must complete a research paper addressing one of the following topics or a mutually agreed upon topic between the student and instructor:

• Training Needs Analysis
• Training Strategies for Small and Medium Sized Businesses: One Size Doesn’t Fit All
• Management Development Techniques
• Training Evaluation: New Techniques and Strategies
• The Learning Organization: Three Companies That Have Made it a Reality
• Technical Training: A “How To” Guide to Enhancing Technical KSA’s
• Other topic approved by instructor

These papers are to reflect the current "state of the art" in the area and should reflect both academic and professional (practical) orientations. The paper should review the available research, discuss the implications of that research for the topic area, and provide conclusions. The paper should be organized into the following areas:

1. Introduction: The area of research should be described and the purpose of the research. That is, describe the topic area in terms of (1) its relationship to training and (2) what you want to be able to contribute to the training literature by writing this paper.
2. Review of the literature: Organize the literature into logical streams of thought related to your topic area. Within each of these areas summarize what the literature has to say. Be sure to indicate in your discussion whether the information is based on empirical data or just the opinion of the author.
3. Implications of the literature: Again, organize the implications of the literature in a manner that logically builds the case for your conclusions (which you will present in the next section). For each of your implications be sure to reference the literature related to that implication. Be sure to indicate whether the implication is one that has already been made in the literature or if this is one that is original to you. You should identify in this section important areas related to your topic that are missing from the literature.
4. Conclusions: This is where you tie all the pieces together. Make sure your conclusions are organized in a logical order that states what you have concluded relative to the purpose of your paper. Be sure that these conclusions are justified. For example, conclusions based upon empirical fact have more weight than those based upon opinion. Opinions shared by many in the literature have more weight than those of only one author.

Writing the Training and Development Paper

The Training and Development Paper:

• Must be eight- (8) double-spaced-pages in length, exclusive of Appendix, References, Exhibits, etc., and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.
• Must include a cover page that includes:
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Name of paper
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must include an abstract after the title page according to APA style in the approved style guide.
• Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must include citations to references that support the assertions made in the paper.
• Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.
• Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources.
• Must include, on the final page, a Reference List that is completed according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.