A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment [Hardcover]

Kavita Gupta (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787939889 | ISBN-13: 978-0787939885 | Publication Date: October 30, 1998 | Edition: 1

Co-published with the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)

This how-to handbook is perfect for anyone seeking a methodical approach to needs assessment. You'll get a treasury of tools: worksheets, ready-to-use forms, and templates for planning a course of action. The accompanying disk, packed with job aids, enables you to customize materials for your own use.

You'll learn how to:

Overcome barriers to success

Prepare interviews and surveys

Accelerate the data-gathering process

Identify competencies for effective performance

Develop a long-term performance improvement plan

Whether you're an experienced trainer who's been conducting needs assessments for years, or a supervisor who wants to get to the root of job performance problems, this book has the tools for you! No other resource tackles such a wide range of needs assessments. A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment has it all!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One-stop shopping for the human resources practitioner." (Paula Dickerman, vice president of training, Cambridge Savings Bank)

"Whether you're new to the process or a seasoned pro, Gupta's tools enable you to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Her clear writing and realistic examples are refreshing. It's all here." (Kathleen Shiels Tully, senior management education consultant, Fidelity Investments)

From the Inside Flap

"One-stop shopping for the human resources practitioner. "Paula Dickerman, vice president of training, Cambridge Savings BankIncludes a FREE diskette with customizable job aids! How will approach your organizational dilemma? Start here! This how-to handbook is perfect for anyone seeking a methodical approach to needs assessment. You'll get a treasury of tools: worksheets, ready-to-use forms, and templates for planning a course of action. The accompanying disk, packed with job aids, enables you to customize materials for your own use. Whether you're an experienced trainer who's been conducting needs assessments for years, or a supervisor who wants to get to the root of job performance problems, this book has the tools for you!You'll learn how to:

• Overcome barriers to success
• Prepare interviews and surveys
• Accelerate the data-gathering process
• Identify competencies for effective performance
• Develop a long-term performance improvement plan

"Whether you're new to the process or a seasoned pro, Gupta's tools enable you to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Her clear writing and realistic examples are refreshing. It's all here."—Kathleen Shiels Tully, senior management education consultant, Fidelity Investments "This book will prove useful to new and experienced practitioners of the training arts and sciences. It's filled with practical ways to resolve step one: 'What training is needed?' Highly recommAnded."—Barry N. Rupard, director of training and development, Boston Mutual Life Insurance CompanyGupta's guide answers your questions at every step along the route. How can you stimulate interest in your project? Which data-gathering method should you use? How can you analyze data and report on results? What can you do to tailor your recommAndations to your audience? Get your answers here. No other resource tackles such a wide range of needs assessments. A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment has it all!Co-published with th

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Pfeiffer; 1 edition (October 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787939889
• ISBN-13: 978-0787939885
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not only practical, but useful, too!, May 3, 2004

By 

Les Lauber (Lawrence, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment (Hardcover)

Kavita Gupta wrote a book that is a must-have for anyone desiring an overview of the multiple ways needs assessment can occur. Gupta begins by setting the context of needs assessment, attending first to what needs assessment is and where it fits into the training or performance improvement scheme. By overviewing the works of Gilbert, Kaufman, Rossett, and others, the author creates a very usable comparison. Persons trying to decide what type of needs assessments are best for their situation can quickly narrow their focuses. (Not all needs analyses are built alike, after all, and they start from somewhat different places.) A review of data gathering fundamentals is concise (just over 20 pages) but helpful.

In "Part II, Getting Down to Brass Tacks" Gupta examines and provides very helpful models for conducting four types of needs analyses: Strategic Needs Assessment, Competency-Based Assessment, Job and Task Analysis, and Training Needs Assessment.

The Toolkit in Part III is invaluable--samples of 21 different forms. By itself, this section makes the book worth every penny. The diskette provided, though, provides each of these forms in MSWord--ready to be opened, customized, and used in real applications.

There is great value in this book--enough description of the models that one can begin using them, references to dig deeper into the models if desired, and charts, tables, and job aids that allow anyone to get started quickly on effective needs analysis.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will be well worth your time, September 20, 2005

By 

Andrew D. Merz "Captain Crunch" (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment (Hardcover)

I am a technical trainer of 10 years, and manage a group of four.

This is a great book for anyone looking for best practice approaches to a variety of needs assessment situations. Gupta's chapters are organized by the common type(s) of needs assessments, and each chapter breaks down the component steps that need to be taken to complete the assessment.

I think one of the real gems of the book is that she provides lots of examples of needs assessment interview questions, surveys, training plans, etc. on a floppy disk attached to the back of the book, which you can save to computer and work from to build your own stuff. It saved me some design time, and gave my assessment a "kick start" in the right direction.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instructional Design Trainers, August 8, 2008

By 

Tara Martin-Milius (Silicon Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment (Essential Knowledge Resource) (Hardcover)

One of the reasons Ms Gupta's first book was so good was the simplicity with which she presented the whole system of needs assessment. Dr's Sleezer and Russ-Eft in this second edition have added considerably to the information and maintained the simplicity and systems approach. Things that work well for me are:
* Systems diagrams
* Applications orientation--lots of how-to's for each step of the way
* Clear pros and cons for each approach
* Check-lists, models and examples
* CD which includes forms and formats and web links

As a trainer of instructional design, this book is one I recommend for my classes and for anyone who does needs assessment.
A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment (Essential Knowledge Resource)