Getting the Evidence: Leadership Training DilemmaDeveloped by John R. Schermerhorn, Jr., Ohio University
Shane Alexander is the human resource director of the Central State Medical Center. One of her responsibilities is to oversee the hospital’s leadership training programs. Recently Shane attended a professional conference during which a special “packaged” training program was advertised for sale. The package includes a set of videotaped lectures by a distinguished management consultant plus a workbook containing readings, exercises, cases, tests, and other instructional aids. The subjects covered in the program include motivation, group dynamics, communication skills, leadership styles, performance appraisal, and the dynamics of planned change.
In the past Shane felt that the hospital had not lived up to its training goals. One of the reasons for this was the high cost of hiring external consultants to do the actual instruction. This packaged program was designed, presumably, so that persons from within the hospital could act as session coordinators. The structure of the program provided through the videotapes and workbook agenda was supposed to substitute for a consultant’s expertise. Because of this, Shane felt that use of the packaged program could substantially improve supervisory training in the hospital.
The cost of the program was $3,500 for an initial purchase of the videotapes plus fifty workbooks. Additional workbooks were then available at $8 per copy. Before purchasing the program, Shane needed the approval of the senior administrative staff.
At the next staff meeting, Shane proposed purchasing the training program. She was surprised at the response. The hospital president was noncommittal; the vice president for operations was openly hostile; and the three associate vice presidents were varied in their enthusiasm. It was the vice president’s opinion that dominated the discussion. He argued that to invest in such a program on the assumption that it would lead to improved leadership practices was unwise. “This is especially true in respect to the proposed program,” he said. “How could such a package possibly substitute for the training skills of an expert consultant?”
Shane argued her case and was left with the following challenge. The executives would allow $1,000 to be spent to rent the program with thirty workbooks. It would be up to Shane to demonstrate through a trial program, or pilot test, that an eventual purchase of the full program would be worthwhile.
There are 160 supervisors, team leaders, department and division heads, and executives in the hospital. The program was designed to be delivered in eight 2.5-hour sessions. It was preferred to schedule one session per week, with no more than fifteen participants per session. Shane knew that she would have to present very strong evidence to gain needed support for the continued use of the program. Given the opportunity, she wondered just how she could get evidence that would be conclusive one way or the other.
| Review Questions |
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| 1. |
If you were Shane, what type of research design would you use to test this program? Why? |
| 2. |
How would the design actually be implemented in this hospital setting? |
| 3. |
What would be your research hypothesis? What variables would you need to measure to provide data that could test this hypothesis? How would you gather these data? |
| 4. |
Do you think the administrator’s request for “proof before purchase” was reasonable? Why or why not? |
Endnotes
| 1 |
“Trader Joe’s.” Hoover’s Company Records. Posted February 14, 2013. 2/14/12. |
| 2 |
“Where in the Dickens Can You Find a Trader Joe’s?” Trader Joe’s. www.traderjoes.com/pdf/locations/all-llocations.pdf (accessed July 17, 2013). |
| 3 |
“Product & Guides,” Trader Joe’s. www.traderjoes.com/products.asp (accessed July 17, 2013). |
| 4 |
Deborah Orr, “The Cheap Gourmet,” Forbes (April 10, 2006), www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0410/076.html (accessed July 17, 2013). |
| 5 |
BusinessWeek Online. February 21, 2008. |
| 6 |
“11: Trader Joe’s: For vaulting past Whole Foods to become America’s favorite organic grocer.” Fast Company. www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2011/profile/trader-joes.php (accessed July 17, 2013). |
| 7 |
Marianne Wilson, “When Less Is More,” Chain Store Age (November 2006). |
| 8 |
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| 9 |
“11: Trader Joe’s,” op. cit. |
| 10 |
Orr, “The Cheap Gourmet” (2006), op. cit. |
| 11 |
“Aldi.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi#Geographic_distribution (accessed July 17, 2013). |
| 12 |
“Trader Joe’s Co. 2012.” Supermarket News. http://supermarketnews.com/trader-joe-s-co-2012 (accessed February 2, 2013). Supermarket News’s Top 75 Retailers January 12, 2009. |
| 13 |
Shan Li, “Trader Joe’s Tries to Keep Quirky Vibe as It Expands Quickly,” Los Angeles Times (October 26, 2011), http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/26/business/la-fi-trader-joes-20111027 (accessed July 17, 2013). |
| 14 |
www.traderjoes.com/value.html |
| 15 |
www.traderjoes.com/how_we_do_biz.html |
| 16 |
“Win at the Grocery Game,” Consumer Reports (October 2006), p. 10. |
| 17 |
Orr, “The Cheap Gourmet” (2006), op. cit. |
| 18 |
www.traderjoes.com/tjs_faqs.asp#DiscontinueProducts |
| 19 |
Jerry Hirsch, “Trader Joe’s Halting Some Chinese Imports,” Los Angeles Times (February 12, 2008), www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tj12feb12,1,1079460.story (accessed July 17, 2013). |
| 20 |
Jena McGregor, “2004 Customer 1st,” Fast Company (October 2004). |
| 21 |
Irwin Speizer, “The Grocery Chain That Shouldn’t Be,” Fast Company (February 2004). |
| 22 |
Heidi Brown, “Buy German,” Forbes (January 12, 2004). |
| 23 |
“Trader Joe’s Careers: Benefits,” Trader Joe’s (n.d.), www.traderjoes.com/careers/benefits.asp |
| 24 |
Irwin Speizer, “Shopper’s Special,” Workforce Management (September 2004). |
| 26 |
Tom Broderick. “Why We Picketed Trader Joe’s,” OakPark.com, (November 29, 2011), www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/11-29-2011/Why_we_picketed_Trader_Joe%27s (accessed July 13, 2013). |
| 27 |
“Welcome Aboard … Trader Joe’s and CIW Sign Fair Food Agreement!” CIW Online (February 9, 2012), http://ciw-online.org/TJ_agreement.html (accessed July 17, 2013). |
| 28 |
“Retailer Spotlight,” Gourmet Retailer (June 2006). |
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