MGMT 453 – Week 6
I have experienced a few different types of training, but I have little experience with extensive formal training because I have only held one professional position thus far. One notable positive experience that I had training was for my internship at Amazon. I worked in operations as an Area Manager Intern, and the onboarding process and training was comprehensive and valuable. I was hired several months before my role started, so the intern/recruiting staff was persistent in providing monthly newsletters, job preview materials, and seminars to prepare us for the role. As this week’s lecture noted, maintaining contact prior to starting a new role is an important component of effective socialization, and I personally thought that it made me feel included and part of the team (Swift, Lecture 3). During my first week, I learned all of the various associate positions throughout the fulfillment center through a blended learning model that consisted of both presentation and hands-on learning styles (Swift, Lecture 1). This blended learning style was effective, as I had the chance to learn the detailed specifics of the job and experience the work that my team of associates would be doing. Finally, I had consistent checkpoint meetings with the manager I was shadowing, my mentors, and other site leaders to receive feedback on my progress and performance. Because this was only a 10-week long internship, the training for the role was a bit different than I would anticipate for the regular Area Manager role that I will be starting upon graduation.
I have also experienced a training modality that was relatively ineffective. I was an intramural sports official last year at OSU, and while I was very familiar with some of the sports that I officiated, I was very unfamiliar with all the rules to softball, and I felt that the training I received was inadequate. Training was very short, and if you didn’t know all the rules like me, it made officiating your first game very challenging and stressful. I think that it would have been helpful for hands-on training to last more than roughly 1 hour, and I think that those who needed additional help should have been paired with those that were comfortable with the rules of softball for at least their first game to learn the ropes.
References
Swift, M. (2022). Lecture 1: Developing Training Programs. Available at: W6 Lecture 1 – Training.pptxSwift, M. (2022).
Lecture 3: Onboarding and Socialization. Available at: W6 Lecture 3 – Onboarding and Socialization.pptx
