HRM textbook

258 PART 3 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Performance support systems are modern job aids. Job aids are sets of instructions,
diagrams, or similar methods available at the job site to guide the worker. 56 Job aids work
particularly well on complex jobs that require multiple steps, or where it s dangerous to
forget a step.Airline pilots use job aids (such as a checklist of things to do prior to takeoff).
GM s former Electromotive Division gave workers job aids in the form of diagrams. These
show, for example, where the locomotive wiring runs and which color wires go where.
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is popular for training geographically dispersed employees,
and involves delivering programs via compressed audio and video signals over cable
broadband lines, the Internet, or satellite. Vendors such as Cisco offer videoconference
products such as Webex and TelePresence (www.cisco.com/en/US/products/
ps10352/index.html). Employers typically use videoconferencing technology
with other technology. For example, Cisco s Unified Video Conferencing (CUVC)
product line combines Cisco group collaboration and decision-making software with
videoconferencing, video telephony, and realistic TelePresence capabilities. 57
When Cisco organized a training program for its partners, it naturally used its
videoconferencing capabilities. The course is A hands-on course designed to assist
System Engineers and IT managers to fully understand the features, benefits and
overall operation of Cisco s videoconferencing network components. 58
Computer-Based Training (CBT)
Computer-based training refers to training methods that use interactive computerbased
systems to increase knowledge or skills. For example, employers use CBT to teach
employees safe methods for avoiding falls; the system lets the trainees replay the lessons
and answer questions, and are especially effective when paired with actual practice
under a trainer s watchful eye. 59
Computer-based training is increasingly interactive and realistic. For example,
interactive multimedia training integrates the use of text, video, graphics, photos, animation,
and sound to produce a complex training environment with which the trainee interacts.
60 In training a physician, for instance, such a system lets a medical student take a
hypothetical patient s medical history, conduct an examination, and analyze lab tests.
Then, by clicking the examine chest button, the student can choose a type of chest
examination and even hear the sounds of the persons heart. The medical student can then
interpret the sounds and draw conclusions upon which to base a diagnosis. Virtual reality
training takes this realism a step further, by putting trainees into a simulated environment.
Simulated Learning
Simulated learning means different things to different people. A survey asked training
professionals what experiences qualified as simulated learning experiences. The
percentages of trainers choosing each experience were:
* Virtual reality-type games, 19%
* Step-by-step animated guide, 8%
* Scenarios with questions and decision trees overlaying animation, 19%
* Online role-play with photos and videos, 14%
* Software training including screenshots with interactive requests, 35%
* Other, 6% 61
Virtual reality puts the trainee in an artificial three-dimensional environment that
simulates events and situations that might be experienced on the job. 62 Sensory devices
transmit how the trainee is responding to the computer, and the trainee sees, feels and
hears what is going on, assisted by special goggles and auditory and sensory devices. 63
U.S. ARMY EXAMPLE The U.S. Armed Forces use simulation-based training
programs for soldiers and officers. For example, the army developed video game type
training programs called Full-Spectrum Command and Full-Spectrum Warrior for