Strategic thinking: A guide to identifying and solving problems

Managerial competency needs and training requests: The case of the Spanish tourist industry

“…The first method consists of analyzing real gaps in competencies; the second does not identify gaps but rather consists of asking managers which training they think they require. However, according to some scholars (Kaufman, Rojas, and Mayer, 1993;Kaufman, 1998Kaufman, , 2000, this definition of need as a verb (to require something) is more subject to error, as it leads to the implementation of a method (in our study this method was training), without analyzing the causes of the problem. Therefore, the training activities that the managers conceive as necessary are actually training preferences or requests.…”

“…On the other hand, because this study has an individual focus, we suggest carrying out a wider assessment of needs, following the Organizational Elements Model (Kaufman, Rojas, and Mayer, 1993;Kaufman, 1998Kaufman, , 2000. In this model, the organizational elements have two scopes: internal (organization) and external (societal).…”

“…How should they do this? According to Kaufman (1998), after the needs assessment, a cost-consequences analysis must be carried out. This consists of answering the question, What is the cost of solving the need versus the cost of ignoring it?…”

“…Those deficits could be solved through training or other measures, such as job enrichment, job content innovation (Peiró, 1999), job redesign (Bee and Bee, 1994), or enhancement of the organizational climate (Goldstein, 1993). Hence, as training is only one of the possible solutions, some scholars have criticized the label training need (Kaufman, Rojas, and Mayer, 1993;Kaufman, 1998Kaufman, , 2000.…”

Developing performance data for making useful faculty and leadership decisions: Needs assessment as a vehicle

“…Needs assessment is defined as the formal process of identifying needs as gaps between current and desired results, placing those needs in priority order based on the cost to meet each need versus the cost for ignoring it, and selecting the most important needs (problems or opportunities) for reduction or elimination (Kaufman, 1998(Kaufman, , 2000(Kaufman, , 2006.…”