Running head: Assignment 1 – Individual Project 1

EDID6502 - Analysing Human Performance| S3 19/20

Assignment 1 - Individual Project

Jerome Smith

University of the West Indies, Open Campus

Course Instructor: Dr. LeRoy Hill

July 11, 2020

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Table of Contents

Background to the Organization ..................................................................................................... 4

Purpose of the Project ..................................................................................................................... 5

Purpose Statement ....................................................................................................................... 5

Researcher’s Motives .................................................................................................................. 6

Identifying Performance/Training Gaps ......................................................................................... 7

Participant Selection Procedures ................................................................................................. 7

Learning about the problem ........................................................................................................ 7

Making Sense of the data collected ............................................................................................. 8

Analysis Summary Worksheet .................................................................................................... 8

Performance Analysis Report ......................................................................................................... 9

Gap Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 10

Environmental Analysis ............................................................................................................ 13

Organizational Environment ..................................................................................................... 13

Work Environment .................................................................................................................... 13

Work .......................................................................................................................................... 13

Worker ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Cause Analysis and Intervention Selection................................................................................... 15

Cause Analysis Summary.......................................................................................................... 15

Intervention Selection ............................................................................................................... 16

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Reporting and Reflection .......................................................................................................... 18

References ................................................................................................................................. 20
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Background to the Organization

St. Paul Moravian College [not its real name] is situated in the parish of St. Elizabeth,

and was established in 1861 with the support of the Moravian Church in Jamaica. Over the years,

St. Paul has been one of the foremost tertiary institutions offering quality teacher education

programmes to young Jamaicans. St. Paul started as a female institution and has since become a

coeducational one with a rapidly growing population. Recently it has become a Multidisciplinary

Institution to mould the lives of young Jamaicans into the 21st Century.

The College has always been a dynamic institution – training teachers of the highest

quality, contributing to the development of the community through employment, and a

continuing education for adults. More recently it has become even more dynamic – diversifying

its offers to educational programmes and courses to include, in addition to teacher education,

Community College courses, computer Education and a continuation school for High School

repeaters. The College has also forged many linkages with a wide range of tertiary institutions in

Canada, the United States of America and England, thus exposing the students to cross-cultural

experiences, and to the best of techniques and technology.

St. Paul Moravian College has a great reputation and is one of the best of its kind in the

region and continues to maintain high standards of excellence for which the institution is known.

Over the decades, the St. Paul Moravian College has played major roles in shaping the

educational landscape through its graduates who are integrated in all facets of life in Jamaica and

beyond its shores. For one hundred and forty-seven years, the college has been training teachers

but has since 1994 added Business, Environmental and Tourism Hospitality to the learning

mission.
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A time table team consisting of the vice principal and four academic staff are mandated

to create time tables for students and academic staff upon commencing semester one and two for

every academic school year. However, 50% of these time tables are always distributed then

modified dramatically during the first two to three weeks after school has begun, causing

students to become very frustrated. Academic year 2019/ 2020 was in no way different. Clashes

in classroom space, students are unable to locate lectures due to incorrect room numbers and

teachers are unable to locate students are some of the challenges faced. This affects the students

psychologically within the first week causing them to spend taxi fare to attend classes when no

lecturer or the room can be located. This has been the norm for over 10 years and needs a Human

Performance Improvement strategy to resolve these on-going issues.

Human Performance Improvement is needed because it encapsulates an analytical

process and involves methods that are the bases for selecting and implementing solutions, known

as performance improvement interventions (Tiem, Moseley, & Dessinger, 2012).

Purpose of the Project

Purpose Statement

The project on St. Paul Moravian College aims to acknowledge and alleviate the

problems of late generation of students and lecture time tables for each semester within the

school academic year. This problem has resulted in reduced productivity. The problem therefore

in simpler terms is “poor performance in creating time tables”. The factors associated with this

consistent problem will be answered by finding the reasons for the 50% of time tables that are

being distributed then modified dramatically during the first two to three weeks after school has

begun, causing students to become very frustrated and psychologically distraught. The aim of

this project is to improve productivity and performance of the time table team so that they can
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consistently prepare time tables for both stakeholders at least 3 weeks before the start of semester

one and semester two for each academic year. The expected reduction forecasted after

intervention is a reduction from 50% to at least 5% to 1% so that all academic staff and students

can begin classes on time frustration free.

Students and lecturers have complained over several years about this problem therefore

causing the college and team members to attract a bad reputation as inefficient and time wasting.

A number of students who get frustrated tend to suspend their registration and transfer to

neighbouring colleges, thus creating a financial downfall in money collected from prospective

students. Students also classify the college as poorly run and organized which then sends a

wrong message to students leaving high school to seek a certificate, degree, diploma of their

choice.

Researcher’s Motives

As the Systems Administrator in the Faculty of Social Science and Information and

Communications Technology which is the non-academic division, I am indirectly involved in the

process. I may reset a student or lecturer’s Learning Management System’s (LMS) password and

try assisting them with accessing time tables. When time tables are incorrect or clash with other

faculty members' classes, they may blame me or complain that I am a part of the problem. This

and all the other factors have gotten me frustrated and as such I am eager to resolve this Human

Performance problem so that all stakeholders can benefit from a rewarding solution.
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Identifying Performance/Training Gaps

Participant Selection Procedures

In order to collect all information needed for completing my assessment, the time table

team consisting of the vice principal and four academic staff will be engaged. The vice principal

will provide all information and documents needed to assess the existing problem. One student

from each year group could be engaged as well for a more balanced perspective. Two lecturers

could be used to represent the rest of the academic staff (excluding the four academic staff who

works along with the time table team). The sample selected will provide information of the

issues experienced as well as suggestions to make improvements. Convenience sampling also

known as availability sampling will be used in this research because it can be facilitated in a

short length of time, it is helpful for pilot studies and it is cheaper to implement.

Learning about the problem

Interviews and online questionnaires will be used to gather data. It would be best to use

the Internet to help facilitate the data collection process seeing that school is out due to the

COVID-19 pandemic. Google docs will be used to create questionnaires and send emails while

interviews will be done using Zoom Video Communications or Google Meets. The vice principal

will be required to provide documents such as evaluation reports from lecturers, policy

documents regarding time tabling for classes, infrastructure documentation for classroom

availability and staff count. Questionnaires were chosen for this project because they can be

completed quickly and at a minimal cost (Yegidis & Weinbach, 2009).

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Making Sense of the data collected

Data collected will be prudently reviewed. As a result, I will be able to convey the issues

regarding performance in creating timely error free time tables for both students and faculty. The

findings from interviews and questionnaires pertinent to the project will be documented,

analysed, finalised and submitted to the Principal.

Analysis Summary Worksheet

This worksheet will be used to identify the results obtained from the data collection

process as well as the proposed interventions. It will be sufficient give the time constraints and it

should be sufficient for this project.

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Performance Analysis Report

The Analysis Plan seen below will guide one of the most important processes which are

the data collection process. This process contains all the necessary data that will be needed to

address the performance problem within the time table team.

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Gap Analysis

The gap analysis for this project will be used to identify the type of performance

improvement opportunity that can be achieved by reducing the 50% of time tables being

generated late or heavily modified during the beginning of the semester. As stated previously in

this document, the reduction target is 5% to 1% and by making this drastic reduction, students

and faculty members will be less distracted and frustrated by the poor generation of time tables.

The use of web based questionnaires and interviews were used to gather the data needed

to create a sense of what is needed to be done to improve the performance.

Interview questions for the Principal

1. What documentation or policy do you have that can be used to guide the time table team

2. Describe the challenges you face with the time table team

3. Are there any disciplinary actions or implications for late submission of time tables?

4. Do you provide your team with all the necessary tools to facilitate the implementation
tasks?
5. What suggestions or solutions do you have to offer to help address the problems?

Interview questions for the Vice Principal

1. What schedule do you have put in place for the time table team?

2. How competent are you in developing time tables?

3. How competent is your team in developing time tables?

4. Do you provide your team with all the necessary tools to facilitate the implementation of

tasks?

5. What are some of the complaints received from students?

6. What are some of the complaints received from faculty members?

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7. What suggestions or solutions do you have to offer to help address the problems?

Interview questions for the Time Table Team

1. Are you cognizant of the existence of a time table development policy?

2. How competent are you in developing time tables?

3. What previous experience do you have in the development process?

4. Describe the challenges faced by you and your team for time table generation?

5. Are you provided with all the necessary tools?

6. Are you rewarded for undertaking this task?

7. What suggestions or solutions do you have to offer to help address the problems?

Interview questions for the Faculty Members

1. Do you get your time tables on time? If no, explain thought on the problem

2. Describe the challenges you face when time tables are prepared late.

3. How do your students cope when they cannot find the correct class to attend?

4. What form of communication is given to you when time tables are being modified?

5. Does your HOD give any advice or suggestions in rectifying your issues?

6. What suggestions or solutions do you have to offer to help address the problems?

Questionnaire for Students

1. Do you get your time tables on time? If no, explain what you think is the problem.

2. What effect do late time tables have on your preparedness for classes?

3. Explain what methods you use to collect time tables?

4. At what time of the semester would you prefer to know your time table is ready?

5. Do you complete an evaluation of school experience at the end of the semester?

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Organizational Analysis

For over 100 years, St. Paul Moravian College has produced great teachers and

professionals but the quality of the service has declined dramatically. The information in the

policy and procedure documentation has shown that there needs to be a more robust and

organized approach to resolve the current problems.

The interview with the principal and vice principal revealed that there has been poor

communication between the two since the principal was appointed 2 years ago. Both persons are

qualified and have several years of experience in the classroom. It was also revealed that the vice

principal who was appointed just over a year ago was installed in the position by the Moravian

church and does not have any experience as an administrator. The time table team has indicated

that there is no organization between the two heads and they are not given the information in

time to generate time tables before the semester begins and also, there is no reward for work

done. The goals in the document show that:

 St. Paul Moravian College is prepared to produce world class professionals with work

attribute that are befitting for the teaching industry in Jamaica and the world.

 Produce accountants and skilled workers in information technology and computing.

 Produce graduates who have the right interpersonal and communication skills that are

capable of being today’s problem solvers.

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Environmental Analysis

Organizational Environment: St. Paul Moravian College is the only teachers college in the

southern part of the island. Since it started in 1861, it has been a stepping stone for many aspiring

teachers from all over the country. Many people from the community have depended on the

college for employment and have even enrolled in short and long courses to improve their

professional development.

Work Environment: It has been revealed that there are no suitable laptops and printers available

to assist the time table teams as well as there are no incentives given for the massive work done

to create the time tables during the holiday period. The administrators are classified as

disorganised as it relates to sharing time details on the course to be offered for the semester.

There is no penalty for administrators who have failed in the submission of timely tasks. The

time table team is stressed with no form of leadership. Time tables are normally worked on about

one to two weeks before the semester begins with no form of structure. The software used to

disseminate time tables to students does not have an anti-clash system to prevent multiple

lectures from using the same room at the same time. Classroom space is another problem for

creating correct time tables as it is limited due to high intake of students each academic year. The

main means of sending faculty and students their time tables is by use of school email or

Renweb. Not all students and staff check their emails and LMS on a regular basis.

Work: The time table team consists of full time lecturers who teach two or more subjects per

semester with no less than 18 hours. The vice principal is in charge of academic affairs on

campus. Her task does not consist of teaching hours and is more centred on administrative duties.

The academic staff bitterly complains about the number of activities and work to do which is

almost difficult to fully accomplish. The course hours are too much, and it is difficult to meet the
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deadline after the exam period as well as students must be facilitated for academic advisement

which helps to take up their time.

The policies that are there to guide the teams are obsolete or ineffective in assisting the team in

creating effective time tables. The Renweb software documentation is controlled by the senior

ICT lecturer and he has full control over functionality so the team is unable to fine tune the

functions of the system. No feedback is given in regards to the team’s performance.

Worker: The time table team has the skills and ability to learn and understand how to create

functional time timetables. They do not possess the decision-making skills required to efficiently

reduce teaching hours and activities, as well as make changes to the Renweb system. They do not

have enough familiarity with how the system works to make the best decisions due to access

limitations. Consequently, students and lecturers are not provided with timely correct time tables

which causes great delay because the more experienced ICT lecturer which is hardly around has

all the access to modify and send out changes.

The team complains that they are asked to carry water with a basket. They are pressured by

management staff and board members to do their work better by application of time

management. They have the aptitude and ability to do the work but may need some additional

training.
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Cause Analysis and Intervention Selection

Cause Analysis Summary

Business Need Reduce the number of errors and time taken to produce time tables
for students and faculty to 5% year end. This will allow the
stakeholder of St. Paul Moravian College to get access to time
tables at least 1 to 2 weeks before school begins and improve
efficiency in starting classes on time.
Performance Gap Currently, 50% of time tables created meet the desired
requirements which then show that 50% needs to be improved
accordingly.
Cause of gap 1. Time table team does not have enough time to prepare and
create timely time tables.
2. Faculty members are not provided with timely time tables for
their classes.
3. Students complain that time tables are being modified during
the beginning of the semester causing loads of confusion.
4. No incentives are expended to the time table team for extra
hours spent
5. Time table staff does not have updated equipment to work with
(printers, laptops, projectors)
6. Learning Management System does not have the functionality
to prevent clashes
7. Senior lecturer has main access to LMS and is hardly around.
8. The main means of sending faculty and students their time
tables is by use of school email or Renweb. Not all students and
staff check their emails and LMS on a regular basis.
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Intervention Selection

Having identified the performance gap and possible causes in the cause analysis, there will be

areas to emphasize on so as to address the problems experienced by the time table team.

However, they were prioritised in order of importance and urgency and the following three (3)

interventions were selected to address the performance gaps.

 Performance Support: instructional and non-instructional: The whole goal here is to

improve team performance in an immediate manner even if there is minimal learning

experience. If there is a lack of knowledge skills and attitude to perform a task, training

may be needed. Training in this case, will enhance the skills of the time table team so that

their operational effectiveness can be strengthened. Internal and external workshops and

short courses would be ideal as this will enable the team to know what exactly is

expected of them to complete the time tables in time with a high degree of competency

which will reduce the gap by at least 45%. This training can take place via a two (3)

weeks workshop or three (2) month course.

Non- instructional initiatives in the form of job aids would be tailored to improve

performance. Job performance aids would be useful for the team so as to assist them in

getting the job completed. The team only interfaces with the creation of time tables twice

per year, and because these tasks that are performed infrequently and are not part of a

person's regular job, they may forget the steps performed and other irregularities may

arise. The principal will provide the team with current successful table samples from

other colleges that offer similar courses and from there modifications can be done to meet

the requirements of the college. The team will need reduced class hours so that they can

focus on understanding the structure and apply a more collaborative approach. After
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successful implementation and or completion, the modification could be placed to be

shared with other members of staff so as to get feedback to make improvements. It is

most important though that the college’s support systems and management avail

resources and get involved in this process so it can be a success so solve the performance

problem identified.

 Personal Development - Feedback: Provide constructive feedback to the time table team

in regards to the development of time tables and their effectiveness in communicating the

updates to students and faculty within the semester. This feedback should be consistent so

that it can be seen as a tool to encourage team to maintain best performance standards.

 Human Resource Development - Staffing: This is a critical function as it is used to fill

positions or is used to include the right number of individuals who are capable of training

and managing tasks. Qualified individuals who are able to create new thinking and

innovation will be necessary for improving the way time tables are generated. Additional

staff may make the workload lighter and may improve team work by sharing ideas in

solving problems. The time table team may need four additional team members.

Motivation: By implementing incentives for the team, it will give them a sense of

recognition for the hard work and effort being put in to develop the time tables. The team

can also be rewarded formally through public recognition/awards, gift certificates, etc., or

informally by praises/compliments from the Principal or Vice Principal that may improve

performance standard as well as give a sense of importance to the task committed to.

 Organization Communication - Information Systems: The current approach used to

communicate with students and faculty is not too effective. The main means of sending

faculty and students their time tables is by use of school email or Renweb. Not all
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students and staff check their emails and LMS on a regular basis. Students and staff need

to be sensitized in using LMS correctly and students need to have email passwords reset

so they can access emails on mobile devices and portable computers.

Reporting and Reflection

This has been an exciting and difficult journey. I have never heard about Human

Performance Improvement and Human Performance Technology until I was enrolled in this

course. Given that I am a technical minded person, the theory and wide research forced me out of

my relaxed zone. Having read widely and was highly dependent on the required text

“Fundamentals of Performance Improvement” for guidance, I was able to apply what was learnt

in completing this individual assignment. I am now more knowledgeable about the processes

involved in identifying the training gaps, the different problems that may hinder performance as

well as documenting a detailed cause analysis and Intervention Selection.

It was not difficult to identify the problem at the institution mentioned in this document.

The problem has been an on-going one that has been plaguing both academic and administrative

staff as well as students for many years. The methodology chosen to collect data was ideal and

participants in the data collection process were willing to share their experiences and suggestions

in such a short period.

I have learned that multiple factors can affect the work performance of employees and it

is not necessarily a training issue. Training is good and costly but in most situations including

mine, training was never the main issue. As I look back at the cause analysis summary, it shows

that as a human performance technologist, you must explore all contexts before implementing an

intervention plan. With this new knowledge gained, I will use it to further investigate other
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persistent problems at the institution such as printing course work and grades management. I can

now show an appreciation for the course content as well as the hard work and reading that was

placed in compiling this document.

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References

Performance support interventions. (n.d.). Best books online library.

https://flylib.com/books/en/3.398.1.20/1/

Van Tiem, D. M., Moseley, J. L., & Dessinger, J. C. (2012). Fundamentals of performance

improvement: Optimizing results through people, process, and organizations (3rd ed.). John

Wiley & Sons.

Yegidis, B. L., & Weinbach, R. W. (2009). Research methods for social workers (6th ed.).

Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.