NCJ Number
60662
Date Published
Unknown
Length
107 pages
Annotation
A STUDY TO DEVELOP AND TEST A MODEL FOR THE ANALYSIS, ASSESSMENT, AND VALIDATION OF OBVIOUS AND 'HIDDEN' TRAINING NEEDS OF MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS IN OREGON STATE GOVERNMENT IS DESCRIBED.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY WERE TO GATHER AND ANALYZE EXISTING DATA ABOUT THE TRAINING NEEDS OF OREGON MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS, TO GATHER AND ANALYZE NEW DATA, AND TO VALIDATE THE APPARENT TRAINING NEEDS. THE FINAL GOAL WAS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATEWIDE CORE CURRICULUM TO COVER GENERAL TRAINING NEEDS AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS TO COVER THE UNIQUE TRAINING NEEDS OF SPECIFIC GROUPS. THE MODEL SHOULD DEVELOP A PROCESS TO OVERCOME SOME OF THE DEFICIENCIES OF THE USUAL TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT, AND SHOULD PARTICULARIZE DATA-GATHERING TO SPECIFIC AGENCIES OR MANAGEMENT POPULATIONS. THE STUDY WAS LIMITED TO TWO OREGON STATE AGENCIES--THE CORRECTIONS DIVISION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY. THE MODEL CONSISTED OF SEVEN BASIC STEPS INCLUDING TAXONOMY DEVELOPMENT, TAXONOMY TRANSLATION INTO A QUESTIONNAIRE, FOLLOWUP QUESTIONNAIRES, EXTERNAL INTERVIEWS TO OBTAIN PUBLIC OPINION, INTERNAL INTERVIEWS, DATA ANALYSIS, AND IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH PRIORITY TRAINING NEEDS. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THE DEVELOPED MODEL IS A COST-EFFECTIVE DESIGN WITH BROAD APPLICATIONS, SUCH AS PROVIDING IMPORTANT DATA ON AGENCY GOALS INCLUDING GOAL CONFLICTS AND DISCREPANCIES. TESTING THE MODEL SHOWED THAT IN THE TWO AGENCIES STUDIED, THERE WERE MANY PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS THAT WERE NOT REALLY RELATED TO A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE, BUT RATHER TO POOR INTRAGENCY COMMUNICATION AND LACK OF COORDINATION. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THE ANALYZED DATA HAVE IMMEDIATE IMPLICATIONS FOR STATEWIDE MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM AND THE GOALS AND CONTENT OF FUTURE TRAINING PROGRAMS AT BOTH AGENCIES STUDIES. AN APPENDIX, FOOTNOTES, AND EXTENSIVE DIAGRAMS OF THE MODEL ARE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. (LWM)