Mathis and Jackson (1991) define an organization as “a goal oriented system of coordinating relationships between people, tasks, resources and managerial activities”. In their opinion, the degree of efficiency to which any organization performs is largely dependent on the available human resources. This means that it is the human element in any organization or program which will determine the success or failure of the organization/program in question. Therefore, the following factors are very important if the organizational/program goals are to be achieved:

High quality of the human resources.

Effective development of human resources within the organization/program to meet the goals prescribed by the organization/program.

Organizations today, whether they are government agencies, business enterprises or educational institutions, are faced with many problems and challenges. In order to successfully overcome a problem for example, one has to first of all identify what the problem is, the possible cause(s) of the problem and determine the best possible solution. One of the first steps in accomplishing this is by conducting a needs assessment exercise. Dick & Carey (1996) define a needs assessment as “a study conducted to determine the exact nature of an organizational problem and how it can be resolved” (p.18). Needs assessment can also be conducted to determine if the existing policies and practices within an organization/program are effective and also relevant to its needs. The needs assessment exercise is generally carried out by persons such as administrators, program instructors, performance analysts and persons in general who have the responsibility for decision-making. The exercise also involves the individual stakeholder or stakeholder groups whom the process affects. Aspinwall et al (1992) define stakeholder as “any group or individual who is affected by, or can affect, the future of the organization, program or activity … Stakeholders can be internal (e.g. staff) or external”.

In order to carry out an effective needs assessment, Rouda and Kusy (1995) have outlined four steps which, in their view, must be followed in order to conduct an effective needs assessment. These include:

i. Performance of a “gap” analysis

This deals with comparing the actual performance of the persons within an organization or a particular program against established standards or to set new standards. This stage can be further broken down into two parts:

· Current situation – The examination of the current level of knowledge and skills of the employees. This should be examined in relation to for example the goals of the organization/program.

Desired or necessary situation – This concerns the identification of conditions required for optimum results. This type of analysis focuses on the knowledge and skills which will be necessary to achieve the desired situation. During this phase, it is essential for persons conducting the needs assessment to distinguish between the actual needs of the organization/program, as opposed to perceived needs. The difference between the actual situation and the desired situation (gap) will result in the identification of the needs.

ii. Identify priorities and importance

After the needs have been established, these must now be examined in relation to the goals of the organization/program. The existing realities as well as potential constraints should also be assessed. The evaluator must examine how important the needs are in light of the organization/program and then make a determination if the needs are worth being addressed. Some of the areas that may be looked at are:

· Cost-effectiveness – A cost-benefit analysis may need to be conducted to compare the cost of the problem in relation to the cost of the implementation of a solution.

· Population – How many persons in the organization/program are involved? Are these the key persons?

iii. Identify causes of performance problems

In this next phase, the needs assessor(s) should focus on what the problems are within the organization/program and the opportunities for solving them. The performance requirements must be noted so that the required solutions can be applied. Rouda and Kusy (1995) suggest that one should ask two questions for every need identified:

Are our people doing their jobs effectively?

Do they know how to do their jobs?

This will necessitate for example the conduct of a thorough investigation and examination of the persons involved and their respective roles.

iv. Identify possible solutions and growth opportunities

If on the basis of the needs assessment it is determined that persons are doing their jobs efficiently, perhaps a decision can be made that no changes should be made. However, training programs may be instituted if the organization/program wants the persons involved to take a new direction. If on the other hand, the needs assessment reveals that persons are not carrying out their functions effectively, then there may be a number of possible solutions depending on the nature of the problem. For instance, if there is a problem in terms of employee knowledge base, then an appropriate training program may be a recommended solution.

Data Collection

It is essential that data be gathered while conducting a needs assessment so as to make accurate and meaningful decisions. The data collection methods may vary depending on for instance the available resources and the situation which exists within the organization/program. Experts in this field (Dick & Carey 1996; Gall, Borg & Gall 1996; Rouda & Kusy 1995) recommend that several methods should be utilized for needs assessment, as it is very important to glean information from many different sources and points of view. This enables the assessor to get a complete picture of what is happening. Some of the methods include:

· Focus groups

· Questionnaires

· Interviews

· Organization/program records

· Review of relevant literature on the subject area

The person(s) conducting the needs assessment(s) should make every effort to ensure that the sample size in the data collection is representative of all the stakeholder groups which form part of the assessment.

Rouda and Kusy also make the following recommendations on what should be done after the data has been collected. Some of them are:

· The information gleaned from the data should be shared with all the participants in the exercise. This is necessary so that all the parties concerned can feel that they have an active role in the development of the organization/program.

· Perform an “economic gap analysis” – That is examining “the difference between the cost of any proposed solutions against the cost of not implementing the solution”. While doing so, one needs to ask the following questions:

· What are the costs if no solution is applied?

· What are the costs of conducting programs to change the situation?

A determination, based on the difference(s) found would then be made as to whether it is economically feasible to implement the possible intervention programs.

Goal Statement

The goal statement for group 1 is:

Using the new Joint Board of Teacher Education (JBTE) Assessment Form with the aid of video tapes and case studies, supervisors involved in the Teaching Practice exercise should be able to view the video tape(s) and/or case study slide presentation(s) and appraise objectively the performance of student teachers on Teaching Practice on the basis of the following criteria:

· Planning

· Teaching

· Relating

· Effecting

Group Members

Keena Douglas

Jonathan Lamey

Nadine Salmon

Monica Shakespeare

References

Aspinwall, K., Simkins, T., Wilkinson, J., & McAuley, M. (1992). Managing Evaluation in Education. London: Routledge.

Dick, W. & Carey, L. (1996). The systematic design of instruction (4^th ed.). New York: Longman.

Gall, M., Borg, W.R., & Gall, J. (1996). Educational research: An introduction (6^th ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman.

Hirumi, A. (2000). Course material for Instructional Design 8001/8002.

Mathis, Robert L. & Jackson, John H. (1991). Personnel: Human resource management. New York: West Publishing.

Rouda, Robert H. & Kusy, Mitchell F. (1995). Needs Assessment - the first step. Tappi Journal.

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