In the abstract, training is seen as valuable by most people in business and industry. However, in the rush of providing training programs "on time" and "within budget," evaluation of training is frequently left behind as a "nice to have" addition, if practical. In addition, the training function itself is left with the dilemma of proving its worth to management without a substantive history of evaluation. This book is designed to provide managers, educators, and trainers alike the opportunity to explore the issues and benefits of evaluating business and industry training. The purpose is to motivate more effective decisions for training investments based on information about the value of training in attaining business goals. Without evaluation, the value of specific training efforts cannot be adequately measured, the value of training investments overall cannot be fully assessed, and the contributions of the training function to the corporation's goals cannot be duly recognized. Articles are grouped into three sections, althou~h many themes appear across sections. The first section estabhshes the context of training evaluation in a business organization. The second section emphasizes evaluation of training products and services; and the third section discusses costs and benefits of evaluation, and communication and use of evaluation results in decision making. In Section I, the context of training evaluation is established from a variety of perspectives. First, training and trainin~ evaluation are discussed in the context of corporate strateglc goals.

We are glad to have the opportunity to work together again in the planning and preparation of this edited volume on the evaluation of corporate training. Our respective professional careers have provided us with experience in this area, both as practitioners and as academicians. It is from both of these perspectives that we approached the preparation of this volume. Our purpose is to provide training professionals in business and industry, and students of human resources development with an overview of current models and issues in educational evaluation. The book is organized around three themes: context, models, and issues. The chapters in the context section are intended to provide the reader with an understanding of the social, organizational, and interpersonal factors that provide background and give meaning to evaluation practice. The models section brings together contributions from some of the most influential thinkers and practitioners in the field. The chapters in this section provide perspective on the dominant themes and emergent trends from individuals who have been, and continue to be, the drivers of those trends. Contributions to the issues section highlight some pervasive themes as well as illuminate new areas of concern and interest that will affect how we assess learning interventions in the organizations of today and tomorrow.

An updated edition of the bestselling classic Donald Kirkpatrick is a true legend in the training field: he is a past president of ASTD, a member of Training magazine's "HRD Hall of Fame," and the recipient of the 2003 "Lifetime Achievement Award in Workplace Learning and Performance" from ASTD In 1959 Donald Kirkpatrick developed a four-level model for evaluating training programs. Since then, the "Kirkpatrick Model" has become the most widely used approach to training evaluation in the corporate, government, and academic worlds. Evaluating Training Programs provided the first comprehensive guide to Kirkpatrick's Four Level Model, along with detailed case studies of how the model is being used successfully in a wide range of programs and institutions. This new edition includes revisions and updates of the existing material plus new case studies that show the four-level model in action. Going beyond just using simple reaction questionnaires to rate training programs, Kirkpatrick's model focuses on four areas for a more comprehensive approach to evaluation: Evaluating Reaction, Evaluating Learning, Evaluating Behavior, and Evaluating Results. Evaluating Training Programs is a how-to book, designed for practitiners in the training field who plan, implement, and evaluate training programs. The author supplements principles and guidelines with numerous sample survey forms for each step of the process. For those who have planned and conducted many programs, as well as those who are new to the training and development field, this book is a handy reference guide that provides a practical and proven model for increasing training effectiveness through evaluation. In the third edition of this classic bestseller, Kirkpatrick offers new forms and procedures for evaluating at all levels and several additional chapters about using balanced scorecards and "Managing Change Effectively." He also includes twelve new case studies from organizations that have been evaluated using one or more of the four levels--Caterpillar, Defense Acquisition University, Microsoft, IBM, Toyota, Nextel, The Regence Group, Denison University, and Pollack Learning Alliance.