Concept of Needs Assessment
Question:
Discuss about the Diversity and Demographic Changes Needs Assessment Report.
According to Hansson, Höög and Nyström (2017) is that needs assessment can be described has an all-inclusive information collecting process to indicate and examine whether a new-fangled facility is essential. Gardner, Waters and McLaughlin (2017) also add that needs assessment can be a requirement to determine if the satisfaction of a training need is vital to an organization in another way. However, if it is found that a new facility is needed the needs assessment will establish a clear direction with the concerns of accurate scale, scope, constituent parts and the timing of the proposed competence. Thus, with such concept it is necessary to test the feasibility study that is the secondary phase in the competence planning progress. For instance in ABC Company the needs assessment can be undertaken to determine if the potential need of a project has been proposed or is it being discussed with the workplace or community and to evaluate the diversity and demographic change of an organization with a given area. Stanton et al. (2017) stipulated that diversity and demographical changes are the key outcome of numerous factors which can influence the company positive or negative. The diversity and demographic changes devise the quality in which companies make major decision concerning performance gaps, training and development need, and marketing judgments. In the article by Stanton et al. (2017) they defined diversity has the way people in which individuals are similar or differ from one another according to their different characteristics as deduced by their workplace unit including age, gender, race, education and functional background. On the other hand, a report by Borich (2008); Hansson, Höög, and Nyström (2017) has mentioned that most companies have innovated or come up with different ways and means to tackle diversity and demographic changes. Firms are fighting the diversity and demographic fluctuations menace by carrying out research and coming with solution related to their findings on regards to the company workplace problems. Thus, ABC Company intends to fight back the challenge like any other organization in the market today. Nonetheless, ABC Company needs assessment report was prepared to address several and diverse issues pertaining diversity and demographic changes within the workplace and which affects the workforce routine.
Needs Assessment Level
The level of needs assessment can be categories into two; organizational, departmental level and individual level (Stanton et al., 2017).
Organizational level
According to Stanton et al. ( 2017) is that the organizational level assessment is the most significant in an organization like ABC Company.The organizational level analysis involve the following activities, analyzing of strengths and weakness, analyzing the opportunities and the threats and analyzing organization HR plans. Then the analyzing of organizational needs leads to identification of the appropriate training and development needs in a department.
Departmental level
Department or functional level is the second phase in the process of conducting needs assessment has stipulated by (Armstrong et al., 2015). The process of departmental analysis include examination of HR plans, special training surveys and occupational job analysis. Which results to focuses on training and development needs at individual level.
Diversity and Demographic Changes in the Workplace
Individual level
At individual level the following activities takes place individual job analysis, competency models and performance management which result as individual needs analyzed to common needs emerge. That leads to solving of one group bases and summing up of fulfilment of organizational needs.
- Reason for Undertaking Needs Assessment
The main reason for undertaking the needs assessment at the ABC Company is for the identification of the performance gaps brought by diversity and demographic changes at workplace. The indicated performances gaps in the ABC Company include organizational results and organizational goals. The organizational results are the actual knowledge, skills and attitude of the actual individual’s performance when related to the current performance. The attitude of employees have also changed at ABC resulting to poor and low productivity of the company which is another performance gap
- Addressing of the Identified Performance Gaps
The organization has put in place different techniques to tackle the identified performance gaps within its workplace with the appropriate traditions. At the ABC organization the performance gap can be discussed via two different ways are addressing the performance gaps without action and with training action (Burke, 2017). With training action technique require the identification of the problem, followed by the contrast between the required performance and actual performance to explain the performance gaps at hand. While addressing a performance without training action involves the performance problem B required with the comparison with the required performance with the actual performance to discuss the performance gap in the ABC Company.
There are various and numerous methods to conduct the needs assessment. The methods used in conducting the needs assessment are observations, use of questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, documentation and online technology (Armstrong et al, 2015). The techniques used have the advantages and disadvantages has discussed below.
Observation
In guiding or conducting the needs assessment the observation methods was preferred because of the following advantages. It generates the relevant information in the working environment. However, the negative part of the approach was considered. The disadvantages are that the skilled observer is required to carry out the assessment and workers behaviour may be affected when they being observed.
Questionnaires
The advantages of questionnaires are inexpensiveness, the data can be collected from a large number of individuals and information can be summarized faster. The disadvantages are time consuming or require a lot of time, possible return rates, lack of inadequate details and it provide answer according to the questions given.
Interviews
Most beneficial factor with the interviews techniques include the good of uncovering details of training needs, as well as the causes of and solutions to the problems being faced by the organization. Can be explored unanticipated aspects that come up during the assessment period and question can also be controlled. Some it disadvantages are time consuming, difficult to analyze the collected data and can be threatening to content experts.
Focus Groups
As stated by McLoughlin, Lewis and Kritikos (2017) is that focus group should be used by most organization in their needs assessment because of its primary benefits. Focus groups were useful with complex aspects which an individual follows or unable to explore, the question in the focus groups can be modified to explore the unanticipated issues (McLoughlin, Lewis & Kritikos, 2017). The disadvantages involved are time consuming to organize the data collected from the field of study and group member may be reluctant to participate in the group.
Needs Assessment Level
Documentation
In needs assessment the documentation can be records and technical manuals. The advantage of this methods is that it can be used as source of information on the procedure, and it helps to maintain objective. The materials may be obsolete and may be unable to understand the technical language used are some of its drawback (Schabenberger & Gotway, 2017).
Online Technology
Online technology are also known has the software. It have the most advantages over other methods used in conducting needs assessment. Some of it benefits include, it maintain the assessment objective, it also minimizes the interruption of work and requires limited human involvement when compared to other methods. However it holds the following disadvantages it can threaten employee and limit jobs requiring relationship via clients or phones (Armstrong et al., 2015).
Justification of the Method
The methods used were chose to meet the needs of the number of people required to learn, the number of people in need of the training and the ABC Company budget of the training. In addition the methods were used because of the demanded quality of training by the company, type of training and organization resources (Phelan et al., 2015).
Necessity of the Needs Assessment
The needs assessment process constitutes of various stages (McGoldrick & Arrowsmith, 2017). The stages are commencing the awareness and assessment of the needs analysis, second step is the analyzing of how the company or organization will find and keep the current talents and the third phase is the review of communication and development of workforce. The final step, is the beginning of analyzing and outlining the diversity strategy and work with the leadership to eradicate the diversity and demographic changes inside the organization.
Taylor (2017): Thomas (2015), states that performance problem is significant and has the prospective to cost the company like ABC a large amount of funds from loss of customers and productivity. For example, the employees who do not perform well perhaps received a little or no past training or even the training was not effective has a matter of concern. For employees who cannot demonstrate the correct knowledge or behavior were trained but they infrequently or never used the training content in the professional or job. The needs assessment is also necessary when the performance expectations are clear and no obstacle to performance such has the faulty equipment. The positive performance consequences for good performance whereas the poor performance are not rewarding (Bryson, 2018). Staffs receive timely, applicable, exact, constructive and definite feedback about their recital which is a response aspect. Finally other solutions are job redesign or transferring of workers to other works may be too expensive for ABC Company.
Training may be incorrectly used as a solution to a performance problem in an organization. The training program may fail to fulfil its objectives has a result of wrong content, methods and objectives. Similarly the trainees may be sent to training programs for which they do not have the basic skills, prerequisite skills or confidence needed to learn. Training may not deliver the expected learning, behaviour change or financial results that the company expects. Money may be spent on training programs that are unnecessary because they are unrelated to the company’s business strategy as deduced by (Schabenberger & Gotway, 2017).
Organizational Level
The heightened recommendations were developed as an outcome of the findings related to diversity and demographic changes in the ABC Company. However, the suggestions are the need for the ABC Company to be more vigilant, building and strengthening of joint ventures and reduction of training and, development obstacles and improving communication within the firm.
Developing and implementing a complete communication plan within the organization, by enhancing web-based media, public relations, advertising, and marketing strategies to increase demographic changes. The firm can also focus on worker performance and performance gaps in comparison to those of other companies will help to eradicate diversity and population changes at ABC Company workplace.
By building and strengthening of the joint venture with other organizations or firms will enable identification of gaps and sections with opportunity related to organization partnership and the delivery of training needs in ABC (Etkind et al., 2017). On the other hand, collaboration with both new generation and existing partners to better training needs by prioritizing the organization policies.
The ABC Company should review and evaluate the ways in which the principal barriers can be prevented by accommodating different cultures within the firm. The cultural differences include meeting worker’s needs, the satisfaction of employees and language (Bryson, 2018). Also, developing organization policies and position testimonial to replicate the organizational commitment is significant. It improves cultural divergences including diversity policy and provision of professional development opportunities to support workforce level the firm.
References
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.
Borich, G. D. (2008). A needs assessment model for conducting follow-up studies. Journal of teacher education, 31(3), 39-42.
Bryson, J. M. (2018). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. John Wiley & Sons.
Burke, W. W. (2017). Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications.
Etkind, S. N., Bone, A. E., Gomes, B., Lovell, N., Evans, C. J., Higginson, I. J., & Murtagh, F. E. M. (2017). How many people will need palliative care in 2040? Past trends, future projections and implications for services. BMC medicine, 15(1), 102.
Gardner, A. K., Waters, V., & McLaughlin, R. J. (2017). What Do Faculty in Health Professions Need to be Competent Educators? Results from a School-Wide Needs Assessment. Journal of allied health, 46(4), 77E-80E.
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McGoldrick, A. E., & Arrowsmith, J. (2017). Discrimination by age: the organizational response. Revival: Ageism in Work and Employment (2001).
McLoughlin, J. A., Lewis, R. B., & Kritikos, E. P. (2017). Assessing students with special needs. Pearson.
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Phelan, M., Slade, M., Thornicroft, G., Dunn, G., Holloway, F., Wykes, T., … & Hayward, P. (2015). The Camberwell Assessment of Need: the validity and reliability of an instrument to assess the needs of people with severe mental illness. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 167(5), 589-595.
Schabenberger, O., & Gotway, C. A. (2017). Statistical methods for spatial data analysis. CRC press.
Stanton, N. A., Salmon, P. M., Rafferty, L. A., Walker, G. H., Baber, C., & Jenkins, D. P. (2017). Human factors methods: a practical guide for engineering and design. CRC Press.
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