Training and influence

Monkeys, Bananas, Water & Pole

By Adam Chan

In an experiment, four monkeys were placed in an enclosure. In the enclosure, there is a pole. Atop the pole were some juiciest bananas waiting to be grabbed by the monkeys. Indeed, with no hesitation, the monkeys started scaling the pole for their pricy rewards. However during their climb, they were doused with a cold stream of water from the top thus preventing them from getting to the bananas. Monkey likes water slightly more than cats. That how much they would enjoy the splash. In the end, none climb the pole anymore.

In the next stage of the experiment, the scientists removed three monkeys from the enclosure and introduce another three new monkeys that were never splashed. The new monkeys responded to the bananas immediately in the same way which first batch had. The first monkey has seen and felt the cold water; with all his might he prevented the three new ones from climbing the pole. He shouted, growled, pulling legs, jumped up and down, etc. In the end, the three new monkeys even without experiencing the splash of cold water, they did not climb the pole again and they were not soaked.

In the final stage of the experiment, two monkeys were removed and three new ones were introduced. In the enclosure, there were two existing monkeys. One which has seen the water and the other has not. The three new ones responded to the bananas immediately, jumping onto the pole at the first instance. One of the existing monkey that was not splashed previously by water nor has seen the water, bared his teeth, shouted, jumped, growled at the three new monkeys, prevented them from climbing without knowing the reasons behind it. Eventually, no monkey gets to eat the bananas.

What is the connection between the monkeys, bananas, pole and water to corporate culture? Our beliefs are subterranean a.k.a. iceberg beliefs or more commonly known as assumptions. We think of assumptions are the by-products of iceberg beliefs. Most people are familiar with our assumptions but are not discerning about our iceberg beliefs. It takes some willingness and effort to discern its existence and its potent effect it has on our cognitive development. As stated by BF Skinner, humans can be conditioned both positively and negatively. Operant conditioning is the most popular behavioral phenomenon discovered by him in the 60s which set forth the school of behavioral science in the field of psychology.

The monkey story above has demonstrated the definite effects of conditioning coming from external stimulus that has reinforced, changed, altered, transformed, inculcated, influenced, etc the behaviors of the monkeys, to be precise, their beliefs. This can be true for humans too. The facts in the monkey experiment have such uncanny similarity to the works in any organization.

Senior staff members can easily influence the new comers in both the good and the bad manner; this is one parallel aspect between the story and reality.

New comers adapt and live the existing culture with no discernment, following suit for the sake of compliance, in a total blinded manner.

Conditioning is potent as the effect it exercises on us is unobtrusive and subliminal. Conditioning can be premeditated too. Both constructive and destructive results can be achieved by understanding the mechanics of conditioning. Like the movie Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibilities. Leaders, Head of departments, CEOs, Directors have the authority and opportunities to do so. With or without the knowledge of conditioning, they are exercising it daily in both verbal and non-verbal communication occasions. Let’s understand its power use it wisely both at work

My observations

• tribal training can be both positive and negative
• influence and training go hand in hand
• over time the rationale behind policies in training can become lost and the maintaining of the policy or standard can become more important than the desired outcome from the policy

Failure to Provide Required Training—Big Mistake! Here's Why

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Read a dramatized account of a real case in which a court found an employer and supervisor guilty of negligence for failure to provide OSHA-required training.

A new employee—we'll call him Steve—had no experience or prior training operating a forklift. Nevertheless, on his first day in a new job, he was assigned to drive a forklift.

"There's nothing to it," his supervisor told Steve. "It's just like driving a car."

"OK," Steve agreed, "I guess I can handle it."

But Steve's first few weeks on the job turned out to be kind of bumpy. Several times on each shift while driving the forklift he would bump into pallets and knock things over.

The supervisor witnessed a few of these incidents and warned Steve to be more careful. But Steve continued to bump his way through the workday, leaving a trail of destruction wherever he went.

One day about 3 weeks after being hired, the supervisor instructed Steve to drive down a narrow aisle between two rows of stacked, loaded pallets.

"Gee, boss," said Steve dubiously, "I don't know if I can fit through there."

"Sure you can," said the supervisor. "Now get a move on."

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The Accident

As Steve reluctantly proceeded down the aisle, his left foot, which was dangling outside the forklift where it shouldn't have been, became pinned between the forklift and the wall of pallets. He suffered multiple fractures of the foot, and his knee was badly twisted as well. Both injuries required surgery.

When Steve got out of the hospital, instead of going back to work, he went to court and sued his employer and his supervisor for negligence.

His argument was simple: The company and the supervisor failed to provide safety training that could have prevented the accident.

Steve's lawyer told the court that OSHA regulations mandated specific training, testing, and certification for forklift operators. Steve had not been trained, tested, or certified. Therefore, he should not have been operating a forklift. And if he hadn't been driving the forklift, he wouldn't have been injured.

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The Decision

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia agreed, saying there was sufficient evidence to prove that both the employer and the supervisor were negligent. They were aware when the employee was hired that federal law required forklift operators to be properly trained and certified. By allowing the employee to operate a forklift without proper training was an act of negligence.

The Message

Failure to provide OSHA-required training is a big mistake. When new employees are hired, or when workers are assigned new jobs with new hazards, make sure they are properly trained from the start. No employee should ever be allowed to operate dangerous equipment or perform any other hazardous job until the required training has been completed and the employee has demonstrated competence as well as understanding of the hazards and necessary precautions.

Tomorrow, we'll look at the flip side, with another court case that had a very different outcome because the employer had a comprehensive and highly effective safety training program, like the one you can have if you use the award-winning Employee Training Center.

The secret to successful operations

1. Observation-                Inspect, walk your areas
2. Preparation-                 Make sure you have trained staff and the supplies needed
3. Determination-             If not now, when-if not you, who
4. Execution-                   Follow up

Plan 30/60

http://www.recrion.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/highlands-wheel-career.gif

Plan at least 30 minutes of your workday for Career development and at least one hour long session per week for a video or webinars.You can make the areas diverse in topics, such as fix it's, budget creation, revenue management,social media, how to improve your presentation skills or Food safety.The areas can be diverse as your needs and imagination.

Some tips

1. Daily development could be in the form of reading an article, watching a you tube instructional video or book chapter
2. Log it- record in some fashion what you learned in the form of notes that you can refer to later that will connect you back to the article and the key points. You can also use those notes to create presentations and notes for articles in the future. that log can then be converted into a realistic and valid proof for tracking your training and resume worthy content
3. Plan the time at the same time every day and week to establish a routine. first thing before the day gets ahead of you is preferable so any valuable learned points can be tried in the real lab of your workday rather than learning something at the end of your day
4. Find Audio books to listen to, coming to work, on your lunch drive and on the way home
5. Just like taxes that come out before you receive your paycheck, your daily and weekly career development should happen regardless of daily emergencies.You may find those emergencies go away or lessen significantly if you don't let them interrupt your progression.
6. Encourage this in others even if you have to cover for them while they participate in their own development.
7. Share web sites,books/articles and tips with others and keep a list of  names, what they learned with links to the sources for others to use.

Hands Only CPR for citizens

OSHA Steps Up Enforcement of Worker Training- source BLR

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OSHA has stepped up enforcement of worker training requirements, especially for non-English-speaking workers. OSHA says employers have to provide training in a format these workers understand.



OSHA's requirement that training be comprehensible to employees is nothing new. What is new, however, is the enforcement angle. Says Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, "OSHA compliance officers will verify not only that training has been provided, but that it was provided in a format that workers being trained can understand."
An OSHA memorandum provides examples of what is required:

·         If an employee does not speak or comprehend English, training must be provided in a language the employee does understand.

·         In the case of an employee with a limited vocabulary, the training must account for that limitation.

·         If an employee is not literate, an employer will not satisfy its training obligation by telling the employee to read training materials.

"As a general matter," says the memo, "employers are expected to realize that if they customarily need to communicate work instructions or other workplace information to employees at a certain vocabulary level or in a language other than English, they will need to provide safety and health training to employees in the same manner."
While meeting this requirement may present difficulties and extra costs, it can also improve safety performance and reduce the risk of accidents. Employees who don't understand safety instructions or safety training information are much more likely to have accidents and be injured on the job.

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What to Do

There are many ways you can comply with OSHA's training requirements if you employ non-English-speaking workers or workers with limited English skills.
For employees who speak no English, use a translator to assist during training sessions. A bilingual employee could do the job, or you could hire a qualified individual from the community.

When training employees with some English, instruct trainers to:

·         Speak slowly, explain fully, and repeat important points several times.

·         Choose the simplest words. If trainers need to use technical terms, they should always define them clearly and check for understanding.

·         Demonstrate while they speak and use visual aids, such as pictures and props, to supplement verbal explanations.

·         Encourage participation in discussions. Trainers need to be patient and help trainees express thoughts and questions.

·         Have trainees practice new skills and procedures during the training session so that trainers can see that trainees have understood.

·         Use feedback to confirm comprehension.

·         Allow plenty of extra time for questions.

·         Provide handouts in the language trainees speak and read.

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You should also be sure to follow up training on the job to make sure employees have understood and correctly applied training points.
As an extra precautions, team non-English-speaking workers with bilingual co-workers, if possible. If not, team then with willing English-speaking workers. This can both help non-English-speaking workers develop English skills and decrease the risk of accidents. This is especially important with illiterate employees who can't read warning signs, safety instructions, and so on. 

Attention and Intention

The Operation of a Waterpark (or really any business) comes down to two things.

Attention

1. what you pay attention to.
2. what gets noticed
3. what you focus on
4. what you train others to notice
5. what standards you communicate

Intention

1. what you motivate yourself to do
2. what you plan to do
3. what standards you consistently uphold
4. what you commit others to
5. what you accept of yourself and others