ABSTRACT
Traditional models of training evaluation and effectiveness are rational and micro, designed to assess the extent to which individual trainees meet the intended and predetermined goals of training (Arvey & Cole, 1989; Cascio, 1989; Wexley & Latham, 1991). Yet training in organizations is often haphazard, its goals poorly defined and uncertain, and its effects both unexpected and diffuse (cf. March & Olsen, 1976; Weick, 1976). In this chapter, we offer a novel approach to training evaluation and effectiveness. Focusing on technology training, we eschew the rational and micro, exploring instead the potential unanticipated and unintended consequences of training on workplace processes and characteristics.
