BUS4047 develops the capacity to design and implement training programs that genuinely improve performance — moving beyond compliance training checkboxes to learning solutions that produce measurable behavior change and business results. Effective training is not an event; it is a performance improvement system aligned to organizational strategy.
Kirkpatrick's four-level training evaluation model
| Level | Evaluation Focus | Measures | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — Reaction | How did participants feel about the training? | Satisfaction surveys, net promoter score, engagement ratings | Immediately after training |
| 2 — Learning | Did participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, or attitudes? | Pre/post assessments, skills demonstrations, knowledge tests | During or immediately after training |
| 3 — Behavior | Are participants applying what they learned on the job? | Manager observations, behavioral checklists, 360 feedback, performance metrics | 60-90 days after training |
| 4 — Results | Did the training produce the intended organizational outcomes? | KPIs aligned to training objectives: productivity, quality, safety incidents, sales, turnover | 3-6 months after training |
What BUS4047 covers
Training needs analysis (TNA) is the diagnostic process that determines whether training is the appropriate solution to a performance gap and, if so, what the training should address. TNA operates at three levels. Organizational analysis examines the strategic context: what are the organization's goals, and what knowledge or skill gaps exist in the workforce that training could address? This ensures training investment is aligned to business priorities rather than addressing low-priority skills. Task analysis examines specific jobs and tasks: what does high performance in this role actually require? Breaking each job into its component tasks and identifying the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) required for each task provides the content blueprint for training design. Person analysis identifies which specific individuals have gaps in the identified KSAs: not everyone who could receive training needs it, and providing training to people who already have the skills wastes resources and often alienates participants who feel their time is being wasted. BUS4047 develops the skills to conduct a full three-level TNA and translate the findings into a training design brief that specifies learning objectives, target audience, and success metrics before a single training component is designed.
Adult learning theory — specifically Malcolm Knowles's andragogy — provides the foundational principles that should shape every training design decision for adult learners. Andragogy (as opposed to pedagogy, the principles governing children's learning) rests on six assumptions: adults are self-directed learners (they want to take responsibility for their own learning decisions); adults have rich prior experience that is a primary resource for learning (and should be respected and connected to new learning, not ignored); adults' readiness to learn is tied to their developmental tasks and social roles; adults are problem-centered rather than subject-centered (they want to learn what helps them solve real problems, not abstract subjects); adults are most motivated by internal motivators (professional development, job satisfaction, quality of life) rather than external rewards and punishments; and adults need to know why they need to learn something before committing to learn it. These principles have direct design implications: adult training should connect to real work problems, build on existing experience, provide choice and autonomy where possible, and explain the why before the what. BUS4047 applies andragogical principles to training design decisions across delivery formats.
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Key topics in BUS4047
- Training needs analysis: organizational, task, and person analysis; gap analysis; performance vs training solutions
- Adult learning theory: Knowles's andragogy (six assumptions), experiential learning (Kolb's learning cycle), self-directed learning
- ADDIE model: Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate — the instructional design process
- Learning objectives: Bloom's taxonomy (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation), SMART learning objectives
- Training delivery methods: instructor-led, e-learning, blended learning, on-the-job training, simulations, coaching and mentoring
- Transfer of training: conditions that promote transfer (identical elements, general principles, stimulus variability), supervisor support, practice opportunities
- Training evaluation: Kirkpatrick's four levels, ROI calculation (Level 5, Phillips), evaluation design (control groups, pre-post measures)
The ADDIE instructional design model
- Analyze: define the performance gap, training audience, learning objectives, and constraints (budget, time, technology, existing materials)
- Design: develop learning objectives (measurable, behavior-based); sequence content; select instructional strategies and delivery methods; design assessment approach
- Develop: create the training materials — content, activities, assessments, facilitator guides, e-learning modules; pilot test with representative learners
- Implement: deliver the training; train facilitators; manage logistics; monitor delivery quality; collect real-time feedback
- Evaluate: assess training effectiveness at all four Kirkpatrick levels; identify gaps between objectives and outcomes; revise for next iteration
- ADDIE is iterative: evaluation findings feed back into analysis and redesign, creating a continuous improvement cycle
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Frequently asked questions
Training and development are related but distinct concepts. Training focuses on current job performance — providing employees with the specific knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to perform their current role effectively. Training is typically short-term, job-specific, and driven by an identified performance gap. Development focuses on future capability — helping employees grow beyond their current role, building the skills and experience needed for future positions, and preparing the organization's leadership pipeline. Development is typically longer-term, broader in scope, and driven by career aspiration and succession planning needs rather than a specific performance gap. The distinction matters for design: training should be tightly linked to specific job tasks and measured by improvement in those tasks; development is necessarily more exploratory and should be measured by growth in capability over time rather than immediate performance change. Both contribute to the HR goal of maximizing human capital — training maintains and improves current performance, development builds future organizational capability.
The transfer of training problem is the consistent finding that a large proportion of what is learned in formal training does not transfer to on-the-job performance. Estimates suggest that only 10-40% of training content is actually applied on the job — meaning most training investment produces little performance change. Three categories of factors affect transfer: trainee characteristics (motivation to learn and transfer, ability, prior knowledge — select participants carefully and ensure they understand the why), training design (identical elements — how closely training conditions mirror job conditions; general principles — explaining underlying principles that generalize across situations; stimulus variability — practicing in varied contexts that prepare learners for the variety they'll encounter on the job), and work environment (supervisor support is the single strongest predictor of transfer — supervisors who set expectations before training, discuss application afterward, provide opportunities to practice, and recognize application of new skills drive transfer; a workplace climate that values learning and rewards use of new skills also supports transfer). BUS4047 emphasizes designing transfer support into the training program rather than treating transfer as someone else's problem after training ends.
Jack Phillips extended Kirkpatrick's four-level model by adding a fifth level: Return on Investment. Training ROI is calculated as: ROI (%) = (net program benefits / program costs) x 100. Program benefits are the monetary value of the outcomes produced by training (improved productivity, reduced errors, lower turnover, fewer safety incidents), and program costs include all direct and indirect costs (design and development, materials, facilitator time, participant time away from work, facilities, technology). The most challenging step in ROI calculation is isolating the effect of training from other factors that may have contributed to the outcome — a common approach is using a control group that did not receive training, trend analysis (what would have happened without training based on historical data), or participant estimation (asking participants to estimate what percentage of improvement is attributable to training and applying a confidence factor). ROI calculations are most appropriate for high-investment training programs where a business case is needed; for routine or compliance training, Levels 1-3 evaluation is sufficient and more cost-effective to conduct.
While learning styles models (visual, auditory, kinesthetic — the VAK or VARK model) are widely cited in training contexts, the research evidence that matching instruction to individual learning style preferences improves learning outcomes is weak and contested. What the research does support is that providing varied instructional formats — mixing explanation, demonstration, practice, reflection, and discussion — improves learning for most people by engaging multiple cognitive processes rather than relying on a single modality. Kolb's experiential learning theory provides a more empirically grounded framework for adult training design: the learning cycle progresses from Concrete Experience (doing or having an experience) through Reflective Observation (reflecting on what happened) through Abstract Conceptualization (drawing conclusions and forming concepts) through Active Experimentation (planning how to apply the learning) and back to Concrete Experience. Effective training design incorporates all four stages: provide an experience (simulation, case study, role play), facilitate reflection (discussion, journaling), provide conceptual frameworks (instruction, theory), and design application activities (action planning, practice). This cycle, rather than matching a single preferred style, produces the most durable learning for adult learners.