This study expands on the concept of the learning transfer system and reports on the validation of an instrument to measure factors in the system affecting transfer of learning. The Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) was developed and administered to 1,616 training participants from a wide range of organizations. Exploratory common factor analysis revealed a clean interpretable factor structure of sixteen transfer system constructs. Second-order factor analysis suggested a three-factor higher order structure of climate, job utility, and rewards. The instrument development process, factor structure, and use of the LTSI as a diagnostic tool in organizations are discussed.
The lack of research to develop further a theory of evaluation is a glaring shortcomingfor human resource development (HRD). In this papel; I argue that the four-level system of training evaluation is really a taxonomy of outcomes and isflawed as an evaluation model. Research i s needed to develop a fully specijied and researchable evaluation model. Such a model needs to specih outcomes correctly, account for the effects of intervening variables that affect outcomes, and indicate causal relationships. I propose a new model based on existing research and accounts for the impact of the primary intervening variables such as motivation to learn, trainability, job attitudes, personal characteristics, and transfer of training conditions. A new role for participant reactions is specijied. Key studies supporting the model are reviewed and a research agenda proposed.Evaluation of interventions is among the most critical issues faced by the field of human resource development (HRD) today. Increasing global competition has led to intense pressure on HRD to demonstrate that programs contribute directly to the organization's "bottom line." Yet the dominant evaluation model, the four-level firkpatrick model, has received alarmingly little research and is seldom fully implemented in organizations (Kimmerling, 19931, leaving them ill-equipped to respond to this pressure. There is a critical need for new evaluation theory and research to give organizations a more sound methodology for allocating HRD resources.The Kirkpatrick model for training evaluation (Kirkpatrick, 1976), also known as the four-level evaluation model, is acknowledged by many practitioners as the standard in the field. A number of modifications to the model have been suggested, including adding a fifth level to reflect training's ultimate value in terms of organization success criteria, such as economic benefits or human good (Hamblin, 1974) and societal value (Kaufman and Keller, 1994), or to focus more specifically on return on investment (ROI) (Phillips, 1995). Brinkerhoff (1987) proposed a six-level model that, in essence, added two
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