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What to Expect After Implementing a New Virtual Training Program in the Organization
(Research Proposal)
By Maria Isabel Torres
OPWL 531 Quantitative Research in Organizations
Fall, 2015

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Introduction
Globalization and different shifts in the economy are changing the way organizations
interact with employees, and the way they develop their workforce. It is more common now to
observe teams that have spread across different geographical locations and sometimes even
countries. The training resources that companies offer nowadays have to meet new trends in
order to stay on the same competitive edge as the current market. According to Allan and Lewis
(2006), “the availability of high quality programmes, cost effectiveness, expansion of the internet
and rapid changes in the business environment” (p. 367) are bringing a rapid rise in the
development of eLearning programs and online communities. Having these virtual areas has also
demonstrated in the last couple of years that this new way of interacting could make an impact
on how companies are meeting the demands for more work flexibility solutions.
Allan and Lewis (2006) called Virtual Learning Communities, or VLC, “particularly
attractive for workforce development where individual learners need to manage the balance
between their work and home life and/or may need to travel extensively” (p. 369). To be able to
sustain these changes and demands, companies are looking into implementing more virtual
learning alternatives in order to train and prepare employees for the different business demands
they face. Companies are reevaluating their current training programs, and the number of virtual
learning opportunities offered to employees.
Financial and More is one of those companies currently reevaluating where they stand in
terms of their training program, and its accessibility to its employees. This newly established
financial institution is currently expanding their offices across the state. One particular
department that is growing the most is the Risk Management Team. Because of increased

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scrutiny that the financial services have, this department has to increase its employee headcount
by ten percent. The company currently does not have enough facility space to fit every one.
Because of this, they are considering making some of the new groups remote groups. The
company has some reservations with this idea though, due to the following concerns:
 Financial and More does not have an established training department. Each area
provides face-to-face training to their employees as necessary.
 Bringing everyone to the office for every training provided will be costly.
 Risk Management is an area where the associates have to be well trained and
prepared. They are not sure if a virtual learning program will provide the same results
that the face-to-face system offers.
 They feel the virtual learning community will make the employees feel isolated and
disengaged.
 They also feel that employees will not be able to retain information as well as they do
with the face-to-face system.
Some of the concerns mentioned above are discussed in several studies. Krishner and
Bruggen (2004) performed a research to study the effectiveness of computer supported
collaborative learning, or CSCL. They defined CSCL as “learning collaboratively with the
support of computers” (p.136). Among the challenges they present, they discuss how the CSCL
environment “may not provide adequate opportunities for social interactions, the development of
friendships and comraderies” (p.137). These are qualities found in traditional face-to-face
training programs and are key to prevent trainees from feeling isolated or lost during the learning
interaction. Clark (2004) also performed another study where he presents the same challenges
that Krishner and Bruggen presented. The only difference is that instead, Clark talks about

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Online Learning Environments, or OLE. He states in reference to the OLE challenges that “One
of the greatest drawbacks is the loss of student interaction and friendship that would occur in a
face-to-face classroom; an effect of this is a potential reduction in learning and motivation”
(p.03).
Financial and More understands that there is an increased importance for organizations to
offer virtual training programs through Corporate Universities. Corporate Universities as defined
by Stonebraker and Hazetine are “the strategic management of a company’s learning function,
generally headed by a chief learning officer” (p. 212). These programs allow the workforce to
have a diverse portfolio of learning alternatives, while helping companies lower costs that are
normally incurred with the traditional face-to-face training. Allan and Lewis (2006) also found
through their study that virtual learning communities are valuable means of workforce
development. Financial and More knows that by not offering adequate training can have big
repercussions in the overall health of the organization, and they would like to explore some
options to help close this gap.
Would it be of value for Financial and More to invest time and money on a new virtual
training program? Would the new virtual training program be as effective as the face-to-face
program? Based on the initial researches it seems that there are some apparent benefits, but there
are also challenges that have to be considered. After all, the company wants to make sure that
there is a return on investments, employees are indeed taking advantage of the trainings, and that
the trainee is meeting the organization’s expectations following the trainings. To help Financial
and More answer these questions, I am proposing evaluating the effectiveness of a face-to-face
training program versus a newly implemented virtual training program. I am proposing for this
organization to develop at least three trainings with different subjects focused around Risk

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Management. The training will have the exact same content and exams, the only difference will
be the delivery method. By doing this, we can measure the effectiveness of the training and help
Financial and More clarify the concerns they have about virtual learning effectiveness.
Research Methodology
Research Questions, Null Hypotheses, and Variables
The research questions (RQ) that I will answer in this study are the following:
 RQ1: Is there a statistically significant difference in the students’ exam score obtained in
the face-to-face training program versus the students’ exams score obtained in virtual
learning program?
 RQ2: Is there a statistically significant difference between work performances of the
employees that participated in the virtual learning program versus the work performance
of the employees that went through the face-to-face training program?
These questions will be answered by using quantitative research methodologies.
For the research question number one, I will test the following null hypothesis:
 H0(1): The exam scores of the face to face training program will not be statically
significantly different than the exam scores of the Virtual Training Program
o Independent Variable: Type of training program
 Type of training program coded as : Face to Face=1; Virtual Program=2
o Dependent Variable: Exam scores
For research question number two I will test the following null hypothesis:

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 H0 (2): There will not be a statistically significant difference in the work performance of
the students that participated in the virtual learning program versus the work performance
of the students that participated in the face-to-face training program.
o Independent Variable: Students
 Type of student coded as :Face to Face Student=1; Virtual Training
Student=2
o Dependent Variable: Work performance after training
 Measured through: Monthly Performance Scorecard Scores
Population and Sample, Research Design, and Statistical Procedure
The population of this study will be the entire workforce of the organization, which is
300. I will use a random sample of 50 employees. For the first study, I will divide the group into
two groups of 25 students. One group will be assigned to a virtual training class and another will
be assigned to a face-to-face training class. Then, at the end of each training session, I will
provide a test to the trainees that will measure their knowledge. Both groups will have the same
questions on the exam.
To test the null hypothesis of research question one, I will compare the means and p
values of both training programs to identify if they were statistically significantly different from
each other. The significance level that will be used is .05. To make sure the data meets the
parametric testing assumptions, I will run a skewness test to validate that my dependent variable
meets the normal distribution assumption. If the dependent variable is normally distributed, I can
then use the parametric test Independent Sample T Test. If it is not normally distributed, I will
then use the non-parametric test Mann-Whitney U Test.

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For the second study, I will use the same sample of 50 employees divided into two
groups of 25. One group will be assigned to a virtual training program and the second d group to
a face-to-face training program. To perform the study, I will compare the results of the students’
monthly performance scorecard after their training. To test the null hypothesis, I have to measure
the mean score and the p value while using a significance level of .05. I also need to evaluate if
my data is non-parametric or parametric. If the data proves to be non-parametric, then I will use
the Independent Sample T Test. If it is not normally distributed, I will then use the non-
parametric test Mann-Whitney U Test.

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References
Barbara, A., & Lewis, D. (2006). Virtual learning communities as a vehicle for workforce
development: a case study. Journal of Workplace Learning, 18(6), 367 – 383.
Clark, J. (2000). Collaboration tools in Online Learning. ALN Magazine, Plantation, FL.
Champlain College, pp. 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.nspnvt.org/jim/aln-colab.pdf
Kirschner, P. J. (2004). Learning and Understanding in Virtual Teams. Cyberpsychology &
Behavior, 7(2), 135-139.
Stonebraker P.W., & Hazeltine, J.E. (2004). Virtual Learning effectiveness, An Examination of
the Process. The Learning Organization: An International Journal, 11(3), 209-225.
Maria,
Good job on writing this research proposal!
The topic, research questions, measurement methods, and statistical procedures (except one
area) are properly selected. The RQs are clearly PI-related.
The weaknesses are, as pointed out above:
• The virtual training condition (to be tested in this study) should be more clearly
explained.
• Some typo/syntax/formatting errors
Other than that, great job! Good writing skills.