Kweku Frimpong managed the Operational Support Department. One of the five supervisors reporting to him was Yaa Ansong

[answerhappygod]

Kweku Frimpong managed the Operational Support Department. One of the five supervisors

reporting to him was Yaa Ansong. Yaa oversaw the Procedures Unit. She had been in that position

for a year and a half, after working in the unit as an administrative assistant for three years. While

she was a good performer as an administrative assistant, she had real problems as a supervisor.

Yaa’s attitude as a supervisor was that employees had better do what they were told, and she did

little to help them. As a result, there were noticeable production, morale and turnover problems in

her Unit.

Kweku felt Yaa needed training and enrolled her in an Advanced Sales Management Techniques

class which was part of a supervisory training program. When Yaa received the attendance memo

from the Training Department, she asked Kweku what was going on. He first replied that he

thought she might like to attend, then said that “top management” was on a “training kick”. A few

days later, Yaa received a pre-class reading assignment. Kweku noticing her reading the booklet,

told her to get back to work.

When the training class started, Yaa arrived – ready to leave. She did not know what the program

would cover. Nonetheless, she stayed for the full week. The trainer was uninspiring and the

program was mostly lecture. There were few topics that dealt specifically with her concerns. Still,

at the end of the class, she felt that she had learned a few things and was ready to try them out.

However, her first day on the job was spent dealing with urgent matters and minor emergencies

rather than dealing with her main work. Kweku, seeing her back, asked seriously how her vacation

was. By midweek, she was ready to try some of the things she learned in the training. However,

each time, Kweku made some kind of comment that threw her off her efforts. Yaa finally asked

Kweku what was going on. Kweku told her that she needed to work, and not get preoccupied by

all that training “theory.”

Yaa was angry. She reverted to her old form, and one of her long-term employees quit shortly

thereafter. Yaa thought herself that the training was useless, as did Kweku.
CASE QUESTIONS

1. Was the training effort that Yaa went through a success or failure? Explain your answer.

2. Identify all the factors that contributed to either the success or failure of the training.

3. What actions can be taken before, during and after a training program, to increase the

chances for a successful training experience?