Gap Analysis, SWOT Analysis, and Needs Assessment

Needs Assessment is an important part of Training and Development. Review the course readings for this week, and utilize the SWOT you created for the thread this week. Create a Needs Assessment for your company you have analyzed in the SWOT. To do this, create a 2-4 page paper, following APA 6th guidelines, with the following headings:

A. Company information: Brief introduction. Provide company information, background, and recent stock value trending in this section. (i.e. in the past year, has the stock gone up or down? Have there been recent significant changes in their industry? Basic orienting information goes here.)

B. SWOT: Include your SWOT from the threaded discussion (you can use bullets and SWOT headings here.)

C. Gap analysis: What possible gaps do you see in the company (think opportunities, weaknesses, threats) which haven't already been addressed? Perhaps these have to do with new regulations forthcoming in the industry which may need addressing? Perhaps the company has just acquired a new company and is branching out into new territory? Discuss two or three of those gaps, with are employee related, and which could lend themselves to potential training needs. Explain why these gaps would be best filled with training, and not some other method.

D. Needs Assessment: What two methods of needs assessment would you utilize at this company, if you were hired to do a TNA (training needs assessment) on the gaps you have identified in C above? Using Chapter 3 of your textbook (Noe, 2013) and the Lucier (2008) article, explain what methods you might use, and support your idea from the text and article, or some other research item you discover as a reference. (Cite your sources.) If you plan to use interviews, explain who you would interview and provide at least five sample questions. If you plan to use a questionnaire, explain who you would send it to and provide at least five sample questions. You can include the samples in an appendix to the document. If you plan to use company information, explain what information you will use (i.e. HR data, lawsuit information, new regulations, etc.) Give details about how this information will impact your needs assessment. (25 points.) NOTE: You can consider the responses your classmates have made to your SWOT about potential training needs when coming up with your Gap analysis and Needs Assessment. You don't have to reinvent the wheel.

E. Conclusion: Suggest training which you would recommend be done based on the assessment you have done so far. Explain any limitations to your assessment you feel may need to be revised based on feedback from your assessment methods (which you obviously don't have.)