Return on Expectation and Investment in Management Development Training - Dissertation Example

Firstly it requires obtaining a preponderance of such evidence which demonstrates that expectations for the program impact originally leading towards the investments were met.

• Secondly, it must also provide evidence with substantial methodological vigor for withstanding the scrutiny.

In pursuing this approach, the evaluation paradigm is shifted to a ‘legal’ framework. Under the framework, if the conclusion arrived at is such that training adds value then the evidence used is required to be persuasive (McLinden & Trochim, 1998, p.1). This evidentiary standard is considered enough to reach a clear and reasonable conclusion regarding the value of the program (McLinden & Trochim, 1998, p.1).

The programs designed for the enhancement of productivity and performance of organizations and people can be established through evidence showing the effects of such training programs from the points of view of various stakeholders at different points in time.  The evidence is comprised of the understanding of the expectations and assessments of the returns from those expectations. When the expectations reached are high value can be claimed. A high ROE can also be attained when there is evidence that shows that the program has achieved the three Cs,

• Correspondence
• Consistency
• Consensus (Wildermuth & Gray, 2005, p.66)

Assessment of the value begins with the assessment of the outcomes that are expected from the program. Expectations might arise from the stakeholders who have different beliefs about the impacts of the programs (Wildermuth & Gray, 2005, p.66). The executives might be concerned about the strategic issues like the effectiveness of the programs during changes in market conditions, while those building the training modules would be concerned with the tactical details like whether group activities would be most effective in conveying the content (Wildermuth & Gray, 2005, p.66).

The need for realizing the expectations and measuring them was realized when trainers were unable to define the outcomes that stakeholders expected in measurable terms (Kirkpatrick, 2009, p.184).  Given the multiple views which exist and differ from each other, defining values necessarily means populating the expectations of impacts with multiple perspectives.  For the development of the training programs, the multiple perspectives include project managers, content experts, instructional designers, and other stakeholders.  Successful measurement of value includes integrating the diverse expectations into a single consensus about which the program seeks to achieve (McLinden & Trochim, 1998, p.2).