Page 136 - DMGT518_TRAINING_AND_DEVELOPMENT_SYSTEM

Unit 8: Training Methods

Notes
After both teams have presented their cases you will have some time to meet again with
your team to plan a response. Not everyone is required to stand up and present in this
second round, although some teams do approach it this way. Other teams appoint one or
two spokespersons to present their response. There are different ways to approach the
response: some teams will respond to points brought up by the opposite side; others will
reinforce the points they made in round one; still others will bring up additional arguments
they had not made initially.
Go ahead and take some time to prepare for the first round of the debate with your team.
The “for” team can adjourn to syndicate room #1, and the “against” team can use syndicate
room number # 3. Before you leave, ask them if they have any queries (Address questions).
And further add, If the three judges can join me here in the front, I have some things to
review with you.

Your role as a trainer during the debate is a passive one, unless problems arise or
clarification of the directions is required. Once the teams determine who will go first,
through a coin toss, the process runs itself and you only need to provide limited guidance,
such as asking team 2 to start when team 1 has finished.
Learners may find the debate both rewarding and intimidating. For this reason, be firm
on the rules, but take a light-hearted, lively approach overall. Further, at the end of the
debate, explain the purpose of the debate and facilitate a process in which the learners give
their impressions about the process as well as the results. Make an effort to congratulate
the teams for being successful, and commend the individuals for doing something that is
not always easy, that is, standing up in front of their peers and making a brief presentation.
Point out that everyone was successful and made excellent points.

8.4.4 Fish Bowl Exercise

In a training programme, the word ‘participant’ indicates the persons attending the programme.
However, in many cases, these persons are treated as ‘trainees’ and do not get adequate
opportunity to participate in the various sessions. They are bombarded with lectures for most of
the time, leaving only a marginal time for ‘questions and answers’.
This system becomes particularly dysfunctional when the objective of training is change of
attitude. Trainees listen to the sermons with belief, disbelief or apathy. Typical remarks after a
session comprising a lecture on participative management are:

“This is all very correct - ‘they’ (i.e. the superiors of the participant) should practice this”.
“This sounds all right - but will not work in our organisation”.
“This is all theory”.
“This is nothing new; we are already practising this more or less”.

This is the situation where Group Decision Exercises can be effective. They ensure participation
by most of the participants and bring out the present attitudes as well as the dysfunctional
characteristic of the attitudes.
Some people keep goldfish in a glass bowl full of water in their drawing room as a showpiece,
and people (Particularly youngsters) stand around the bowl and watch the graceful swimming
of the goldfish. The name of Fish Bowl exercise derived its name from the drawing room fish
bowl.

In this exercise, half the participants sit in a circle and discuss on the topic while the remaining
half stand in circle out side the inner circle and observe the behaviour of participants in inner

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