Articles - Artículos
Is Distance Learning Right for Your Organization?

Ryan Watkins, PH. D.

Too often when performance technologists hear "we need a distance learning program" their first impulse is to search through course curriculums to determine which courses will easily be transformed into video, audio, or digital formats. Technologists rarely question the "need" for distance learning and "all too often those charged with setting up a distance education system are not given the choice to recommend against it" (Rumble, 1986). However, when a distance learning program fails to reach the goals of the superordinate (i.e., "the boss" and often the one who initially said "we need distance learning"), the performance technologists are repeatedly blamed. "The existence of educational needs that can be satisfied by distance methods does not automatically mean that distance education is the best way to satisfy them" (Rumble, 1986). Fortunately, performance technologists have tools available to them that reduce the possibilities of finding themselves in this situation. Devoting time to a rigorous needs assessment is a practical and pragmatic method of justifying all actions that follow the request for distance learning or other solution.

Before your organization elects to invest resources in a distance learning program a rigorous needs assessment may justify the decision and prepare you to make the difficult decisions that follow. Today’s performance technologists all too often feel pressure to implement solutions prior to justifying their actions. Corporate trends like down-sizing and reengineering frequently leave few incentives for the technologist to step back and analyze all the necessary information before making complex decisions. The lack of front-end analysis or strategic planning is unfortunate because often by the time the impact of an ineffective performance solution is known the organization has sustained damage and the ideal time for addressing the problem has passed.

A challenge for performance technologists in the future will be to head-off ineffective or inappropriate solutions prior to their implementation. Needs assessment procedures are the technologist’s tools for identifying, prioritizing, and justifying the closure of organizational needs… gaps in results (Kaufman, 1992; 1998). While there are many models for conducting a needs assessment, arguably the most fashionable models are those of Allison Rossett (1982), Robinson and Robinson (1995), Mager and Pipe (1997), and Roger Kaufman (1992; 1998; Watters, 1992). Each of the models can be effective and can provide technologists with insights otherwise missing from the decision making process. The Kaufman framework, however, provides a rigorous process which aligns strategic planning, tactical and operational planning, and needs assessment processes with a focus on societal and organizational value added. These alignments can be of great advantage when making and justifying difficult decisions.

It is my hope that this article will provide a generalizable outline of the critical steps in conducting a needs assessment for any organization (especially those considering the implementation of distance learning programs). Before we can begin by outlining the procedures involved in a needs assessment, three concepts (all critical to the success of the needs assessment) should be agreed upon:

Having stated these fundamental concepts we can begin to discuss the procedures for conducting a needs assessment.

Step One: Identify and align the mission(s) of your organization(s)

Step one is a daunting task in most organizations. Few organizations today have multiple mission statement to guide their decision making (organizational values, goals, guiding principles, and visions often confuse the issue of the organization’s direction). Divisions and units may have their own missions, which may or may not be in alignment with the larger organization’s mission. How with the mission of the distance learning program facilitate the mission of the organization?

What we consider our "organization" is often only a piece of a larger organization (i.e. the training department is only a division of a multinational bank and a high school is a unit within a school district which lies in an organization of state schools, all having their own mission). The challenges of the performance technologist are not only to identify these missions but to also ensure that all the organizational missions are aligned and contribute to the success of the overarching organizational entity and society. Covey (1996) tells us that, "total organizational alignment means that within the realities of the surrounding environment, all components of your organization -- including your mission, vision, values, strategy, structure, systems, individual styles and skills, and especially the minds and hearts of your people -- support and work together effectively for maximum performance".

If any organizational mission (or even the objective of a distance learning program) does not move toward the achievement of the overall mission or vision, then this mission should be revised before any performance solutions are implemented. Solutions not linked to the aligned organizational mission may lead to the achievement of an inappropriate and/or damaging results. The implementation of a distance learning program, or any performance solution, should contribute to the achievement of the organizational vision. This alignment is what links the work of performance technologists to the attainment of organizational goals and assures that they are not merely implementing solutions to unknown problems. Beyond the alignment of organizational missions, performance technologists should utilize environmental scans and market analyses to validate the direction of the organization (Willis, 1994).

Your organization may be lacking a mission which sets measurable performance criteria for success. Often program objectives are also not written with measurement criteria. If this is the case, time should be spent at the beginning of the needs assessment to establish an ideal set of performance criteria to measure your progress toward success. These measurement standards will be essential in the third step of the needs assessment in which needs are prioritized and selected for closure.

Step Two: Identify the Needs

Needs are discrepancies between current results and results required for the accomplishment of the organization’s vision, mission, program objectives, and individual objectives. Identifying needs requires both the information obtained in step one and the collection of additional information regarding the current performance and results of the organization. "Needs assessments commonly draw upon opinion data through interviews, questionnaires, or various group procedures. Institutional data available through census files, accreditation reports and the like should be used to supplement and help explain findings" (Willis, 1994). The combination of both "hard" and "soft" data is essential in determining if distance learning is right for your organization (Kaufman, 1998).

The Organizational Elements Model (OEM), shown below in Figure 1, can be a useful tool for organizing the information you collect.

Figure 1: The Organizational Elements Model (Kaufman, 1992; 1998)

The organization’s contributions (results) to external clients and society are called Outcomes (Mega level planning). Results were the primary beneficiary is the customer or organization are called Outputs (Macro level planning). Results within the organization are classified as Products (Micro level planning). The Processes are the means that the organization uses to produce results. The Inputs are what the organization uses in the processes. Example elements as they may relate to distance learning programs are provided in Table 1. Examination and participation in all five elements of the OEM allow managers to gain a systems view of their organizations, external clients, and their societal context and realities. Decision makers are not limited to a Macro view (organization-wide) nor a Micro view (sections and/or departments) of their organization when they apply the OEM.

Table 1: Elements of the OEM as they may relate to a distance learning program.

The Mega level of the OEM adds a stakeholder -- society -- that has traditionally been forgotten or assumed in the development of distance learning programs. Society as a whole is not only a beneficiary of that which an organization does and delivers, but for many organizations (especially K-12 schools and universities) society is the primary financial supporter of the efforts. The application of this strategic approach assures that society is not forgotten in the needs assessment or in the implementation of a distance learning program.

Step Three: Prioritize and Select Need(s) to be Closed

Prioritizing and selecting the need(s) -- remembering that they are gaps in results -- to be closed is essential to the success of any organization. Comparing the cost of closing the gaps and the cost of not closing the gaps will be the basis of this analysis. In this step of the assessment the collection of both "hard" and "soft" data will drive the decision making. The extent to which data is collected and analyzed will have two effects on the quality of the needs assessment: (a) an extended period of data collection can negate the timeliness of the assessment, and (b) not enough supporting data can invalidate the results of the assessment. The context of the performance problem within your organization should facilitate the balancing of these two variables.

The cost of not closing the gaps is essential to the third step in the assessment and unfortunately is often left out during application. The costs analysis of problems can keep you from enacting a $10,000 distance learning solution to a $500 problem. Economies of scale can further complicate this issue. Guidance to the procedures for this analysis are difficult due to the context specifics of each performance problem. A smart starting place for the analysis of the cost of not closing the gaps are the elements previously used to fill in the OEM in step two (Watkins, Kaufman, and Sims, 1997). It will be worth your time to at least estimate the costs of each gap between what is and what should be.

The cost of closing the gaps is more familiar to most performance technologists. To complete this analysis within step three we must enter step four. A Cost-Consequences Analysis (Kaufman and Watkins, 1996; Watkins, Kaufman, and Sims, 1997; Muir, Watkins, Kaufman, and Leigh, 1998) is a tool that provides performance technologists with a coarse-grain examination of the cost of closing the gaps, and keeps the needs assessment within the context of the OEM. The Cost-Consequences Analysis incorporates, as suggested by Rumble (1986), the cost-efficiency, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses.

Step Four: Identify Solution Requirements and Alternative Solutions

Before you leap forward to the identification of alternative solutions it is useful to define the solution requirements. These requirements will establish the criteria by which each alternative solution will be judged. Specific solution requirements will facilitate the listing of alternative solutions and the selection of the "best" solution(s). Solution requirements should include time, costs, available resources, and necessary results.

Alternative solutions for the performance problem must be identified. Most problems have more than one possible solution. A distance learning program is only one feasible solution for the majority of performance problems. Identify alternative solutions in spite of limitations that may bar them from being selected for implementation. In addition, identify the pros, cons, and costs for each possible solution. Now is the time to get creative and innovative. Creating an extensive list of alternative solutions is a process which allows you to select the most effective and efficient solution to your organization’s performance problem. A format similar to that shown in Table 2 may be useful.

Table 2: A possible solution analysis format

Again, the effort put into thoroughly analyzing all the possible solutions for any problem will pay off when making decisions and when searching for confidence in those decisions.

Step Five: Selecting the Solution(s)

Based on the analysis of steps three and four, and assuring alignment with steps one and two, it is now time to make a decision. Deciding upon a single solution may or may not be advisable. For many performance problems a combination of solutions yields the best results. Costs and pressures from above (those saying "we need a distance learning program") should not drive the decision but rather be a piece in a dynamic process. The needs assessment provides you with the essential information for identifying the "right" solution for your organization. Having systematically implemented a needs assessment process will add validity, usefulness, and confidence to your decisions.

The needs assessment process described here is not the only set of procedures found in today’s literature. But this process offers several distinct advantages:

These advantages are invaluable, especially when the a distance learning solution has been prematurely prescribed for you. Performance technologists are responsible for the results of their work and should take the time to assess any performance solution before implementing it. Distance learning solutions are likely to often be justified when the needs assessment is complete. The accessibility and reduced long-term cost of distance learning program make them viable programs for meeting many organizational objectives. A rigorous needs assessment process can provide a level of assurance that a distance learning will both meet these objectives and move the organization (and the community) towards the achievement of their vision.

References and Related Readings

Ó Ryan Watkins, Ph.D.

Center for Needs Assessment and Planning

Tallahassee, Fl

USA

[ Top of this page ] [ Articles list ] [ Home Page ]
[ Comienzo de esta página ] [ Lista de artículos ] [ Página inicial ]