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Analyzing the implementation of a learning management system into a post-merger & acquisition organization and its effects on sales performance (improvement model)

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Analyzing the implementation of a learning management system into a post-merger & acquisition organization and its effects on sales performance (improvement model)

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Content Running head: ANALYZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN LMS

1

ANALYZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
INTO A POST-MERGER & ACQUISITION ORGANIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON
SALES PERFORMANCE (IMPROVEMENT MODEL)

by

Christina M. Gonzalez

________________________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2019

Copyright 2019 Christina M. Gonzalez

ANALYZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN LMS

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DEDICATION
To my Dad, my hero. You inspired my inner ambition by continuously encouraging me
to shoot for the stars . . . so I did. I love and miss you.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have been honored to have a wonderful dissertation committee, the support of my
immediate family and would like to acknowledge them.
To my dissertation committee; you provided guidance and support throughout my
dissertation of which ultimately helped to shape this project. Dr. Mark Pearson, who always
provided valuable feedback and with a smile. Your recommendations brought levity to a long
term project. Dr. Cathy Krop, you helped a student in need and provided time from your busy
schedule to see it through. Thank you for sharing your expertise with me. Dr. Monique Datta,
your persistence in making sure my peers and I trusted the process while showing us that the
process works is something that I will never forget. I am forever indebted to you.
To my sons Noah and Joshua; thank you for helping mommy. Your love and
understanding while I was in class and needed time for homework, was greatly appreciated. You
are and continue to be my inspiration for working so hard. I hope and pray that you remember
into your adult years, that greatness is a choice and a choice that I know you are willing to make
daily.
I have also been blessed to have a wonderful husband, who has been my best friend for
over thirty years. Honey, your unconditional support in my pursuit towards completing a
terminal degree has been the true reason why I have been able to achieve this goal while working
full time and raising our boys. I love you beyond words and want to formally thank you for your
continuous encouragement, understanding, patience and love. Thank you for believing in me
Papa.
Lastly, I want to thank God. The book of Philippians 4:13 captures it perfectly; “I can do
all things through him who strengthens me.” Truly, with God, all things are possible and the
successful defense of this study is only one example of that.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 6
List of Figures 7
Abstract 8
Chapter 1: Introduction 9
Introduction of the Problem of Practice 9
Organizational Context and Mission 10
Organizational Performance Status 11
Organizational Goal 12
Organizational Culture 13
Related Literature 14
Importance of Addressing the Problem 15
Description of Stakeholder Groups 16
Stakeholder Group for the Study 20
Purpose of the Project and Guiding Questions 20
Conceptual and Methodological Framework 21
Definition of Terms 21
Organization of the Dissertation 22
Chapter 2: Literature Review 24
Mergers and Acquisitions 24
The Clark and Estes (2008) Gap Analytic Conceptual Framework 30
VZC Sales Department’s Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences 32
Conceptual Framework: Interaction of Knowledge, Motivation and the 46
Organization
Conclusion 50
Chapter 3: Methodology 51
Participating Stakeholders 53
Sampling 53
Data Collection and Instrumentation 54
Data Analysis 59
Credibility and Trustworthiness 59
Validity and Reliability 60
Ethics 61
Limitations and Delimitations 64

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Chapter 4: Results and Findings 66
Gap Validation 68
Participating Stakeholders 68
Results and Findings 80
Synthesis 102
Conclusion 104
Findings 104
Summary 110
Chapter 5: Discussion and Recommendations 111
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences 111
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 127
Recommendations for Future Research 136
Conclusion 137
References 139
Appendices 150
Appendix A: Survey Protocol 150
Appendix B: Survey Instrument 151
Appendix C: Focus Group Guide 156
Appendix D: Remote Call Observations Guide 158
Appendix E: ANOVA Survey Results 161

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Organizational Mission, Global Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals 19
Table 2. Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments for Knowledge Gap Analysis 38
Table 3. Motivational Influences and Assessments for Motivation Gap Analysis 42
Table 4. Organizational Influences and Assessments for Organization Gap Analysis 45
Table 5. Remote Sales Observations by VZC Campus Location 73
Table 6. Focus Group Participants Broken Out by VZC Campus 75
Table 7. Summary of Assumed Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 112
Table 8. Summary of Assumed Motivation Influences and Recommendations 118
Table 9. Summary of Assumed Organization Influences and Recommendations 123
Table 10. Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 129
Table 11. Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation 130
Table 12. Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors 131
Table 13. Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program 134
Table 14. Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 135
Table E1. Single Factor ANOVA for the VZC Survey Responses 161
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Interaction of stakeholder knowledge and motivation within organizational 48
cultural models and settings
Figure 2. Participants in the survey organized by age 70
Figure 3. Participants in the survey organized by gender 71
Figure 4. Participants in the survey organized by years of service with VZC 72
Figure 5. Sales observations broken out by gender 74
Figure 6. Focus group manager participants broken out by gender 76
Figure 7. Focus group field sales participants broken out by gender 77
Figure 8. Focus group participants broken out by age 78
Figure 9. Focus group participants broken out by years of service 80
Figure 10. Knowledge survey questions: responses to knowledge questions 6–11 84
Figure 11. Sales observations broken out by accuracy of information provided 85
Figure 12. Survey responses to motivation question 12 90
Figure 13. Survey responses to motivation question 13 92
Figure 14. Survey responses to motivation question 14 93
Figure 15. Survey responses to motivation question 15 94
Figure 16. Survey responses to motivation question 16 95
Figure 17. Organization survey question 19 99
Figure 18. Organization survey question 20 100
Figure 19. Organization survey question 24 100
Figure 20. VZC U.S. Sales department online training participation rates from 106
January 2018 through November 16, 2018

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ABSTRACT
This study utilized the Clark and Estes (2008) framework to conduct a gap analysis that
examined the knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs of VZC (a pseudonym), to
evaluate their improvement goal of increasing online learning by 25% on or before August 31,
2018. Assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs were generated from related
literature, learning and motivation theories, and conceptual knowledge. The analysis of data
from this mixed methods problem of practice sought to identify barriers related to achieving this
organizational improvement goal along with examining the interaction between VZC’s U.S.
based field sales team and its culture, context, stakeholder knowledge and motivation. This
study also explored corollary effects to deploying a learning management system (LMS) in a
newly formed organization post-merger and acquisition (M&A) to sales performance. Surveys,
observations and employee focus groups were conducted and analyzed from September 12, 2018
through October 31, 2018. Through a quantitative examination using ANOVA, surveys were
tested to evaluate stakeholder knowledge, motivation and organizational barriers. The statistical
analysis demonstrated that while VZC met its goal of increasing online learning from 50% to
75%, that they have an opportunity to further improve the employee experience by continuing to
remove post M&A obstacles. Lastly, this paper concludes with recommendations for
organizational practice in the areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources.

Keywords: gap analysis framework, learning management system (LMS), merger and acquisition
(M&A)

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Introduction of the Problem of Practice
It is estimated that a merger and an acquisition (M&A) takes place every 18 minutes
globally with the total value of these deals exceeding the GDP of several countries (Cartwright &
Schoenberg, 2006). This information is still applicable today given the continued frequency of
mergers and acquisitions domestically as well as abroad. In fact, the New York Times recently
noted that a record number of mergers took place in the first half of 2018 totaling $2.5 trillion,
reaching record levels including cross-border deals totaling $1 trillion despite trade tensions
(Grocer, 2018). When an M&A begins, several pre- and post-efforts take place as part of the
planning process which includes a thorough review of the new organization’s people, resources,
organization, strategy, approach, and culture. According to Schein (2016), the culture of a group
is the accumulated shared learning of that group as it solves problems and is taught to new
members. Considering the complexities of bridging multiple teams from throughout different
parts of the world with various talents and different internal learning management systems,
establishing strong and continued performance improvement coupled with a culture of shared
learning becomes a critical component to a successful M&A (Aminova, 2016).
While M&As have increased in recent years, research shows that 83% of all deals failed
to deliver shareholder value and 53% actually destroyed value (Blăjuţ, 2015; Bruyaka, James,
Cook, & Barkhi, 2015; Cartwright & McCarthy, 2005; Martin, 2016). In fact, it is estimated that
70% – 90% of all M&As fail (Christensen, Alton, Rising, & Waldeck, 2011). A contributing
factor to the failure of M&As can be attributed to the lack of trust from the acquired employees
coupled with the inability to transfer legacy knowledge across the new organization in a scalable,
timely and consistent manner (Shimei & Yaodong, 2013). Establishing trust in a newly formed
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organization requires open communication vertically as well as laterally across the organization
(Schein, 2016). Open communication includes sharing information as part of the knowledge that
employees would not have otherwise had access to which includes products and services of each
of the newly acquired companies prior to their single formation (Kumar & Thondikulam, 2006).
In order to increase product knowledge, Zhang, Vogel and Zhou (2012) suggest that of the
various tools available, having a learning management system to serve as a toolkit repository can
assist with knowledge sharing visibility across physical and virtual organizations as well as
newly formed companies having undergone an acquisition and or a merger. On the contrary, if
teams are not intimately familiar with their newly inherited products and services, revenue can
be lost and the strategic mission of the company can be placed at risk.
Organizational Context and Mission
As a recently formed business unit, the mission of VZC (a pseudonym) was established
and shared with employees during quarterly kick off meetings held in late January 2018. VZC
purchased its two largest competitors in the fourth quarter of 2016 and while their parent
company VZ has existed for several years domestically, along with having its own long-standing
mission, this new fully integrated line of business has just started to publish background of the
acquisitions as well as location details of each site. With 35 offices globally, in over 40
countries and with more than 5,000 employees, VZC is now the largest provider in the Mobile
Resource Management (MRM) industry.
VZC provides MRM hardware as well as software support to individuals who use
vehicles for commercial as well as for consumer transportation, logistics, safety and
entertainment services (company website, 2017). The organization currently has four primary
campuses located in Aliso Viejo, California, Atlanta, Georgia, Rolling Meadows, Illinois and
San Diego, California. Their mission is, “To maintain the #1 position in mobile technology
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platform automating, optimizing and revolutionizing connections among people and vehicles
globally” (company website, 2017). Additionally, VZC is comprised of six primary teams:
Sales, Operations, Marketing, Human Resources, Legal and Finance. While each of these teams
are uniquely different, they are all focused on increasing sales. However, performance for this
newly formed organization is taking longer than expected to reach and monthly sales deficits are
carrying over into the next month creating an even larger aggregated gap.
Organizational Performance Status
January 1st of 2017, VZC completed the acquisition of their two largest competitors,
company F and company T, solidifying their position as the largest provider of mobile resource
management products and services (company website, 2017). Maintaining their market-share
position also involves surpassing 547,000 net new unit sales by December 31, 2018 which is
equivalent to the number of sales one third of the organization achieved the year prior. In order
to reach this sales goal, VZC will need to train the new organization on all of its legacy products
and services. Since the acquisitions, the company has struggled to successfully cross train all of
their employees as a result of not having a shared tool that can provide a consistent experience
for all which includes the inability to track attendance as well as provide an opportunity to assess
post-training effectiveness. As a result, the organizational performance problem at the root of
this study was not having a single, scalable, learning management system (LMS) for this newly
formed business unit. As a for profit-company, highly focused on sales, not having a central tool
for all employees to go to for new and existing products, creates complexities that involve
manually disseminating information without having any way to track completion rates and or
without the ability to measure learning effectiveness. Absent a scalable LMS tool, has resulted
in only a portion of the U.S. field sales teams having information about product launches which
directly impacted sales targets, accountability and efficiencies. Prior to the start of this study,
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less than 10% of all VZC employees had been cross trained on legacy products and services and
only 50% were actively participating in new product launches; both of which had placed a
considerable strain on the business as the organization was continuously missing its revenue
targets monthly. Lack of legacy product knowledge has had a significant impact on the
organization’s mission statement because if they cannot sell new and existing products, they will
not maintain the #1 position in the MRM industry for long.
Organizational Goal
With two recent acquisitions of the industry’s largest competitors, VZC as a new single
organization now leads in total market-share due to its size (company website, 2017). However,
in terms of sales, the company’s 2018 goal was to surpass 547,000 units sold by the end of 2018
which is equivalent to the original size of one of three legacy companies prior to the M&A
(company website, 2017). Furthermore, the company expects to obtain a 10% minimum increase
in units sold year over year in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively. The expectation or standard for
success is that the three companies combined will exceed their past individual performance
results due to increased efficiencies, new distribution channels and having access to a larger
number of collective shared VZ resources. The units sold goal was determined by actual results
obtained from each of the three legacy companies prior to becoming one along with expected
sales (based off of historical results) as well as analysts’ predictions for the industry. The
company’s finance team established these goals and while cyclical trends influenced the
benchmark, prior to the start of this study, the company was not meeting its expected monthly
targets and each shortfall had been rolling over to the subsequent month creating an even larger
deficit as the year progressed.
In order to reach these aggressive sales goals, increased product knowledge of the three
combined company’s products and services needed to occur immediately. The organization’s
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newly formed Learning and Development (L&D) team launched a Learning Management
System (LMS) to house content, communicate availability, establish training guidelines along
with housing material representing all three legacy companies’ products and services in various
languages, created a rigorous deployment schedule and developed a series of retention checks in
order to ensure the information shared during training had been retained. As a result, with the
shared LMS deployed, the primary performance goal of VZC was to increase online learning
participation by at least 25%, prior to the start of this study was at 50% to at least 75% by August
31, 2018. Without having knowledge into the broader product portfolio, the U.S. field sales
teams were at risk for failing to deliver against the organizations aggressive sales goals and the
newly formed organization at large and its culture, could be negatively impacted.
Organizational Culture
VZC is now one of the first international business units that operate today as part of VZ.
Specializing in mobile resource management and recently added, internet of things (IoT), VZC
has presence in Europe, Asia and in Latin America with U.S. field sales teams based in four
different campuses across the United States. In order to maintain their position as the #1 mobile
technology platform in the world, it is critically important that this newly formed organization
begin to work as one team, breakdown barriers and cross train the entire company on existing
products and services.
While the organizational culture of VZC is still taking shape given the recent acquisitions
of company T and company F (both pseudonyms), the company’s processes are largely
influenced by their parent company located in Basking Ridge, NJ. Additionally, legacy product
knowledge previously resided within the employees who originated from the initial company
they came from. Employees from the other two acquired companies were placed at a
disadvantage because they were unable to speak to products and services from the third company
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in detail and the same applies to the originating entity as they too had not been formally trained
on their former competitor’s product portfolio. As a result, sales goals across the new
organization were not being met. When sales goals are not fully realized, it creates
organizational complexities because it makes it difficult to hold employees accountable to sales
goals on products they have not yet been trained on. While online trainings have been offered in
the past in an effort to increase product knowledge, these courses did not capture attendance, did
not have a standard practice of measurement and were not used consistently across the company.
As a result, managers had a difficult time reinforcing required attendance absent having detailed,
real time information on product knowledge improvements for those who attended training.
Related Literature
VZC can greatly benefit from having a tool that provides a scalable approach to training
employees located around the world, track attendance and measure performance. Prior to the
acquisitions, company F was using WebEx to record and distribute training content, which did
not offer any level of reporting, and company T was using an LMS called SalesHood which
required user paid licenses for each employee and was limited to the sales teams only while
company VZC was using their parent company’s custom LMS that was introduced during new
hire training and used by all employees across the organization. Once the three companies came
together, the leadership team identified the need to have a single tool for all employees to use,
that provided consistent reporting and was easy to use. Having one tool was something the
executive team also indicated as part of the integration efforts that could help shape the culture of
this newly formed business unit. As a result, in the fourth quarter of 2017, the company
mandated the use of their parent company’s LMS for all employees, including sales, to use
effective January 1, 2018. As part of this requirement, training completion rates by product were
produced and published throughout the company by manager and team. Experts suggest that a
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tool that can be used by all, can help develop an organization’s culture and improve levels of
accountability (McKernan & McPhail, 2012). Organizational culture can be transformed by
gaining efficiencies that can help teams execute quickly against company-wide strategic
initiatives as a result of having a shared learning management system (Thomas, Sussman, &
Henderson, 2001). An easy to use tool can also increase lines of communication across teams,
helps learning become scalable and drives employee satisfaction as a result of providing
additional resources for success (Sela & Sivan, 2009). Improved learning can create a culture of
engagement, which fosters a collaborative working environment because it supports
organizational performance goals (Abaci & Pershing, 2017). With domestic companies now
extending their reach globally, learning management systems can also help enable effective,
custom and interactive distance learning strategies (Erhan, 2006). Content can be personalized,
based upon the user, and technology implemented supporting the organizations LMS can
develop learning preferences specific to the user (Van der Sluijs & Höver, 2009). The focus of
this study was to analyze the effects on knowledge, motivation, the organization and sales
performance following the implementation of a shared Learning Management System (LMS) in
a post M&A organization.
Importance of Addressing the Problem
It is important to solve this problem considering the financial expectations and
commitments VZC has made to their parent company as well as to its investors. As profits
within other VZ business units have begun to mature or decline, VZC is expected to be the future
of the company (company website, 2017). With the general trend of 70 – 90% acquisitions
failing (Christensen et al., 2011; Martin, 2016), VZC needs to ensure that they are successful. In
order to be successful, it has become critically important for this newly formed organization to
cross train their entire team on all products and services to help increase knowledge which
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should result in increased sales. By accomplishing this task, the team will also be able to
increase trust within newly formed teams as a result of transparent communication on product
details employees would not otherwise have had access to (Schein, 2016). Furthermore, in the
eyes of financial analysts, the increase in sales will further support the company’s strategic move
towards maintaining their market share position, increasing revenue and reducing costs year over
year. In order to achieve these goals, key stakeholders must be part of the process.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
A stakeholder group is a group of individuals who directly contribute to and benefit from
the achievement of the organization’s goal. Three stakeholder groups within the newly formed
VZC division were identified and an outline of how they contribute to the achievement of the
organizations overall performance goal(s) have been included. The three core stakeholder teams
are the marketing department, the learning and development team and the sales department; all
of whom work closely with one another to successfully launch a new product and ultimately
increase sales. The marketing department is a specialized unit and operates between the VZ
parent company requirements as well as developing and maintaining their own unique brand.
Stakeholder Group 1: The Marketing Department
The marketing department within VZC consists of 115 people with presence in four
different time zones (Atlanta, GA, San Diego, CA, Aliso Viejo, CA, Rolling Meadows, IL and
Christchurch, New Zealand). With an annual budget of over $140 million, this team is
responsible for all consumer as well as commercial advertising (brand, base and acquisition),
social media, public relations, go to market launch readiness as well as all experiential initiatives
for the entire VZC organization across the globe. As a key stakeholder responsible for internal
as well as external messaging, this team has a significant role in whether or not the organization
meets or fails to deliver against their key performance metrics.
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The Marketing Department was also tasked with developing a shared collection of words
for all to use across the new organization. Referred to as a magic collection of words or MCOW
for short, this has been an important undertaking because prior to the acquisitions, each of the
three companies individually had their own way of communicating with customers and in many
instances, described similar features in different ways. Once the MCOW was deployed, it has
not only been used by the new VZC organization but also across and within other business units
including but not limited to VZW as well as its parent company VC. In order for the company’s
messaging efforts to be effective internally, it has also been critically important for the learning
and development team to integrate these changes into the organization’s training initiatives.
VZC’s L&D team has begun using the MCOW for content development as well as delivery in an
effort to create a consistent experience for sales representatives to use when speaking with
customers.
Stakeholder Group 2: The Learning and Development Team
The learning and development (L&D) team within VZC consists of 36 individuals
responsible for developing and delivering content to employees as well as customers. This team
has also been charged with overseeing real estate, facilities, communications as well as driving
integration efforts across the three legacy lines of businesses. The L&D team contributes to the
organization’s performance goals by ensuring product content is measurable, accurately and
timely developed and delivered along with communicating broad organizational changes across
the company. This team, in tandem with marketing, also work closely with the sales department
to ensure training readiness for all product launches occurs in advance and the entire
organization at large is prepared.
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Stakeholder Group 3: The Sales Department
VZC is the largest provider of mobile resource management services in the world
(company website, 2017). In order to maintain their size and market-share position, a
knowledgeable sales team strategically located around the globe is strategically important. VZC
has approximately 5,000 employees of which 3,300 are members of the sales organization. Of
the 3,300, 93 are international sales representatives, 2,407 are individuals who work from remote
locations domestically because they are out in the field full time selling, approximately 600
representatives who reside in call centers responsible for increasing revenue from within VZC’s
current base of customers and 200 dedicated employees who provide operational support to the
entire sales organization.
In order to improve performance, organizations as well as stakeholders need to align on
and establish specific performance goals, develop a measurable action plan to increase results as
well as consistently monitor and report out on the progress of the goals. As a result, Table 1
provides an overview of VZC’s organization mission and performance goal along with a specific
stakeholder goal for the marketing department, the learning and development team as well as the
sales department.

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Table 1
Organizational Mission, Global Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
VZC aspires to maintain their position as the #1 mobile technology platform automating,
optimizing and revolutionizing connections among people and vehicles globally.
Organizational Performance Goal
By the fourth quarter of 2017, VZC will launch a shared learning management system globally
to use for all new product launches.
The primary performance goal of VZC was to increase online learning participation by at least
25%, prior to the start of this study was 50%, to at least 75% by August 31, 2018.
Stakeholder Group 1 Stakeholder Group 2 Stakeholder Group 3
The Marketing Department
The Learning and Development
Team The Sales Department
Intermediate Goals:
By June 30, 2018, the
marketing team will
distribute, communicate and
measure new product and
promotion online learning
content for all launches.
Intermediate Goals:
By June 30, 2018, all members
of the Learning and
Development team will develop
and deliver online content at
least 2 weeks prior to new
product or promotion launches.
By July 31, 2018, the L&D
team will begin to publish
training completion rates by
manager.
Intermediate Goals:
The stakeholder group will
increase pre-launch e-
training participation to at
least 75% by August 31,
2018.
The stakeholder group’s
goal is to also increase
post-launch e-training
participation to at least 90%
by December 31, 2018.

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Stakeholder Group for the Study
While the joint efforts of the three stakeholders combined contribute towards the
achievement of the overall organizational goal of VZC having launched a single learning
management system (LMS) globally, the sales team has the greatest impact on the organization’s
revenue stream. As a result, the stakeholder of focus for this study was the U.S. field sales team.
The stakeholder’s goal, supported by the company at large, was to increase their pre-launch
online learning participation by at least 25%, (was at 50% prior to the start of this study) to 75%.
Additionally, the sales team’s secondary goal was to increase post-launch online training
participation to at least 90% by December 31, 2018. Performance and sales should increase as a
result of committing to increasing pre- and post-launch training for new product launches.
However, failure to accomplish either goal could lead to continued lack of product knowledge by
the U.S. field sales team which will result in lost revenue and growth coming from new sales,
which adversely impacts the organizations ability to remain profitable as well as competitive.
For purposes of this problem of practice, members of the U.S. field sales team who are out in the
field full time, based out of the domestic U.S., will serve as the focus of this study as they have
the greatest impact on the organizations revenue, are required to speak to all of VZC’s products
and services and work from remote locations more than 50% of the time.
Purpose of the Project and Guiding Questions
The purpose of this project was to conduct a gap analysis to examine the root causes of
the organization problem described above, lack of relevant and measurable content for the new
LMS, which contributes to a lack of product knowledge. While a complete gap analysis would
have focused on all of VZC, for practical purposes the stakeholders focused on in this analysis
were members of the U.S. field sales team who are directly supported by the Learning and
Development team, as well as the Marketing department. The analysis began by generating a list
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of possible or assumed influences that were examined systematically to focus on or validate
causes.
As such, the questions that guided this study were:
1. To what extent has the organization met its goal of increasing online learning
participation by 25% using a single LMS, prior to the start of this study was at 50%,
by August 31, 2018?
2. What were the U.S. Field Sales team’s knowledge and barriers related to achieving
this organizational goal?
3. What was the interaction between the U.S. Field Sales team as the stakeholder group
of focus for this study, the organizational culture and their knowledge and
motivation?
4. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis is a systemic, analytical method that helps clarify
organizational performance goals. The Clark and Estes gap analysis was also used to identify the
gap between the actual performance level and the prescribed performance level within an
organization. Assumed knowledge, motivation and organizational needs were generated based
on organizational knowledge, learning and motivation theory as well as using related literature.
Surveys, (sales call) observations and focus groups were used to validate the assumed needs for
this dissertation.
Definition of Terms
The following definitions have been provided to ensure clarity and consistency of the
terms used throughout the study:
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Acquisition: The act of acquiring something; acquisition of property and or knowledge
that includes most, if not all, of the target company’s ownership in order to take control of the
targeted organization (Desai, 2010).
Assessment: The process of gathering information about achievement or behavior
(Wiggins & McTighe, 1998).
Formative Assessment: Gathering information in an ongoing manner to be used to guide
and improve learning and performance (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998).
Merger: Two or more organizations coming together to meet strategic objectives, in part
or in whole (Desai, 2010).
Qualitative Observations. The process of observing prior to analysis (Creswell, 2014).
For purposes of this study, observing sales calls remotely included the use of an intelligent voice
routing (IVR) system. A randomizer was used to select the calls that were listened to and also
allowed the researcher to visually watch the various screens accessed by the field sales
representative during the discussion with the customer.
Summative Assessment: Information gathered and analyzed at the conclusion of
instruction to determine whether or not participants have achieved predetermined goals (Wiggins
& McTighe, 1998).
Organization of the Dissertation
Five chapters are used to organize this dissertation. This first chapter provides the reader
with the key concepts and terminology commonly found in a discussion about the complexities
of a post M&A organization along with introducing VZC as the organization of focus for this
study. The organization’s mission, goals and stakeholders and the framework for the project
were also introduced in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 provides a review of current literature surrounding
the scope of the study. The growing popularity of mergers and acquisitions along with why they
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continue to increase, the complexities forming a new single organization including employee
turnover, knowledge transfer issues, developing unified systems, accurate reporting and
motivational issues will be addressed in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 details the knowledge, motivation
and organizational elements to be examined as well as methodology when it comes to choice of
participants, data collection and analysis. In Chapter 4, the data and results are assessed and
analyzed. Chapter 5 provides solutions, based on data and literature, for closing the perceived
gaps as well as recommendations for an implementation and evaluation plan and timing of the
solutions.

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24
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
In Chapter 1, the discussion of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) was introduced with a
specific focus on VZC as a newly formed organization following the purchase of their two
largest competitors in 2017 (company website, 2017). Performance challenges were also
outlined including lack of participation with online training courses across VZC for all
employees domestically as well as abroad absent having a single LMS. However, the discussion
in Chapter 2 provides a new view into M&As and will be divided into four new sections. The
first section focuses on literature that outlines the history of M&As along with various types of
M&As using past literature. The second section provides an analytical overview using current
literature to identify certain impacts that can affect performance of newly formed companies
today following an M&A including trust, communication, culture, knowledge transfer and
(measurable) results. The third section provides an overview of performance for each of these
dimensions for VZC using a gap analysis broken into three specific areas: knowledge, motivation
or organizational causes attributed to the organizations lack of participation in online trainings
(Clark & Estes, 2008). Finally, the fourth section explores additional factors affecting
performance.
Mergers and Acquisitions
M&As have had a long and rich history in business, especially in the continental U.S. As
part of this dissertation and problem of practice, this section will provide a historical overview
into M&As, share various times in history in which they have reached a peak or valley along
with different motives for companies seeking to enter into an M&A and look into seven different
types that exist. Following the historical view, a current view of into the growing trend of
M&As will be provided along with business complexities involving human capital.
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M&As Through a Historical Lens
Historians have recorded that economic events in the U.S. can be divided into six waves
based upon M&A activities. The first wave (1893–1904) took place following the Great
Depression due to several horizontal mergers in the steel, telephone, oil, mining, railroad and
manufacturing industries and ended due to the start of World War I (Gaughan, 1999). The
second wave (1916–1929) occurred as a result of entering into World War I supported by post
war economic revitalization efforts but ended with the stock market crash of 1929 (DePamphilis,
2012). The third wave (1965–1969) was largely influenced by the stock market rebounding
resulting in the longest period of uninterrupted growth in the U.S. in addition to significant
returns on earning due to the financial stability and several emerging conglomerates (Vazirani,
2015). As the fourth wave (1981–1989) surfaced, the U.S. began to see hostile takeovers occur
due to major conglomerates breaking up in addition to financial buyers flexing their spending
power (Lipton, 2006). Following the 1990 recession, the fifth wave (1992–2000) took place,
largely due to mega mergers along with high stock price deals (Lipton, 2006). As corruption
surfaced and global take overs ended, the sixth wave (2003–2007) was recorded as a result of
additional debt that was incurred and backed by the mortgage industry (Vazirani, 2015). Some
experts argue that a seventh wave (2011+) has begun as a result of the economy stabilizing
following the housing debacle. However, other analysts suggest that even if the current wave
ends, that future waves will continue to occur. Furthermore, CEO motives will play an integral
role in future M&As in an effort to grow their businesses by extending their reach into new,
complimentary industries (DePamphilis, 2012).
Different Reasons for Entering into an M&A
M&A interest is not limited to certain industries and reasons why M&As are pursued
vary. However, M&A interest can generally be categorized into seven different motives:
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inefficient management, synergy, diversification, agency problems, tax considerations, market
expansion or purchase of assets below their replacement costs (Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991).
While history has demonstrated that companies entering into an M&A may have been driven by
entering into or exiting a war, the future of businesses buying or selling has largely been
influenced by innovation. Following the housing bubble of 2008, the desire to improve
efficiencies and increase performance have been at the helm of M&As with experts suggesting
the popularity to only continue (Makri, Hitt, & Lane, 2010).
A Growing Trend
M&As today continue to increase in popularity as a result of companies attempting to
gain a competitive advantage. M&A moves can provide businesses an immediate opportunity to
extend their reach into a new market and or geography. In some cases, M&As have also allowed
organizations a unique opportunity to buy out their competitors which expands their base of
consumers, extends the size of their workforce and can increase their market-share almost
overnight (Anslinger & Copeland, 1996). While M&As continue to increase year over year, the
blending of various companies and their assets rarely form together without negative
repercussions. Consumers, human capital, IT infrastructures are often categories that experience
the most significant impacts. Forcing teams, various consumer segments and systems to merge
not only requires internal resources to accomplish but also takes a tremendous amount of time
and money to complete. Projects competing for resources can impact the speed at which these
entities come together and can cause additional growing pains pre- and post-M&A. As a result,
culture clashes between the legacy entities often emerge causing teams to debate which
processes to be used in the new organization. In fact, research suggests that technical issues
produce fewer conflicts at work than differences between internal corporate cultures (Marks &
Mirvis, 2010). Communication and trust are difficult to measure during the M&A process
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however, can have the most detrimental effects to employee turnover, customer churn and
revenue loss. A closer look into additional components that are difficult to measure and can
cause further negative impacts to an M&A during the first three years are warranted.
The Complexities of a New Single Organization Post-M&A
Employee turnover. Trust is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of business to
measure and once signs of distrust begin to surface, it may be difficult to course correct. Many
Fortune 50 companies use similar performance metrics to report out on revenue success,
customer growth as well as other areas of opportunity and most would agree that a vital
component of business is its people (Zey & Swenson, 2001). Intellectual property (IP)
associated with business and the employees who help bring it to life are also evaluated and
included as part of the value of a business as companies are considered for a merger or an
acquisition. The assumption is that those resources identified during the process, to a large
degree, will stay with the company after the integration phase and or possibly beyond. However,
employee turnover is one of the metrics that can start to show signs of employee dissatisfaction
and ultimately distrust. Research suggests that organizations within their first year post M&A
lose approximately one quarter of their executives which is three times higher than in a non-
M&A organizational average and within five years, lose an overage of 60% or more of their
leadership team at the time of the acquisition (Furtado & Karan, 1990; Hambrick & Cannella,
1993; Krishnan, Miller, & Judge, 1997; Krug & Hegarty, 1997; Martin & McConnell, 1991;
Walsh, 1989; Walsh & Ellwood, 1991). As a result of executive turnover, legacy employees
begin to wonder what is in store for them. Seeing members of their leadership team leave
coupled with a breakdown in communication during the integration process, create a feeling of
anxiety and mid-level managers and front line employees often sense they should start to explore
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options outside of the company as a precaution, in case their job is next (Krug, Wright, & Kroll,
2015).
Knowledge transfer issues. It is estimated that there were over 96,000 M&A deals
completed in 2016 alone with a total deal value of $4,734 billion (Bureau van Dijk, 2017). With
remaining employees not fully bought into the benefits of the M&A and the complexities of
working with multiple legacy systems during the integration process, financial results occur
slower than expected and tension continues to rise. During this process, companies tend to
increase efforts to drive revenue even faster however, knowledge from legacy employees who
developed initial processes and or support systems have since left and without transferring that
knowledge to others creates a disadvantage for those who remain (Sarala, Junni, Cooper, &
Tarba, 2016). The need to document and store processes along with creating universal tools for
all to use, now becomes even more critical as new employees are brought into the organization
and have no affiliation to the prior legacy company(ies) involved. However, the complexities
associated with thoroughly documenting processes, retiring legacy systems and creating a central
repository for all to use, can be a significant financial undertaking (Brannen & Peterson, 2009).
Shared and universal tools. IT flexibility can equate to business flexibility and the
more nimble a business is, the faster it can move and arguably in return, the more competitive a
business can become (Benitez, Ray, & Henseler, 2018). Given employee turnover and
knowledge transfer issues, speed to market can be detrimentally impacted which makes
documenting processes, centrally storing them for all to use, a critical component to overcoming
M&A growing pains (Ayabakan, Bardhan, & Zheng, 2017). However, in a post M&A
environment, financial resources are under heavy scrutiny and costs associated with time spent
evaluating legacy systems in addition to recommending money to be invested in new versions of
systems, can often be delayed, re-prioritized and may not surface well into the 3rd year of the
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new company’s formation. While multiple leadership changes are occurring, an ongoing stream
of IT changes are also taking place creating ambiguity around business priorities, which can
often create challenges not only for the technical team but for the teams they support as well
(Kathuria & Konsynski, 2012). One of the last systems to generally be developed and or access
given to all by IT because businesses generally see it as a cost to the business instead of as a
revenue generator is a single, shared learning management system (LMS) for all employees in
the new organization to use. As a result of not having a companywide LMS to use, creating a
scalable approach to training employees on all new products and services as well as providing
access to legacy information, along with capturing e-learning participation, makes it difficult to
accurately measure knowledge, retention and develop accurate sales forecasts.
Reporting and metrics. Given multiple systems in use by organizations post-M&A atop
several leadership changes, can make the simplest reporting task a nightmare. Legacy teams
using a wide array of systems can unintentionally report data differently which can create a lack
of confidence in the results. If not addressed immediately, inaccurate reporting can plague
departments by masking the actual problem, making it difficult to hold the correct people
accountable and over time, can place employees’ jobs at risk because adequate resources were
not provided (Schoenberg, 2006). This level of confusion is also not limited to employees but
can also extend outward to customers as well which stems from inaccurate marketing and sales
communications that in some cases, should never have been sent at all (Sonenshine & Feinberg,
2014). If the problem continues, inaccurate data used to develop perceived ever changing and or
unattainable goals can discourage employees from wanting to drive their performance to a higher
gear and cause customers to start to look for a new provider of services.
Motivation. Employee productivity is one of many critical keys to success in business.
Organizations must find ways to enhance employee performance but in order to increase
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productivity, teaching more effective and timely ways to access information becomes an
essential component (Junni, 2011). If employees have access to information and feel a sense of
accomplishment that results from knowing where to go and how to help, motivation can reach
optimal levels (Levine & Gilbert, 1999). However, research suggests that workplace training can
be perceived as too expensive and or without having lasting benefits (McEdwards, 2014). To
mitigate the expense of face to face training, several Fortune 50 companies invest in a learning
management system (LMS). A LMS can often provide a custom experience that varies by
business and can support asynchronous as well as synchronous online learning. Ernst and Young
created an online learning calculator for companies interested in comparing their current face-to-
face training costs and can estimate costs savings for the specific organization by transitioning to
a LMS (Karr, 2002). Since employees have varying degrees of internal and external experience,
developing an LMS that supports new hires as well as even the most experienced industry
professional becomes an important part of the consideration process when determining what is
created and stored in the LMS. Corporate development activities (CDAs) that include taking an
online training and a post training assessment, can aide in the new product integration (NPI)
efforts of a newly established organization post M&A (Anand, Mulotte, & Ren, 2016).
However, finding what motivates employees and pairing that with how they learn best can be a
difficult and costly task to achieve. A further look into identifying what the core issue(s) for
companies post-M&A that are interfering with developing knowledge and skills are important
and will provide tremendous value into potentially replicating those best practices and avoiding
some of the pitfalls others have experienced.
The Clark and Estes (2008) Gap Analytic Conceptual Framework
Knowledge and skills play a critical role in motivation however, when a performance gap
occurs within any organization, it is important to first identify the root cause(s) and then
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determine the appropriate solutions or actions to take in order to resolve the issue. Without
identifying the root cause first, individuals or stakeholders risk developing solutions that may not
solve for the issue at hand and performance could remain a challenge. There are three critical
factors that influence performance gaps: (1) people’s knowledge and skills; (2) their motivation
to achieve the goal; (3) organizational barriers (Clark & Estes, 2008). According to Krathwohl
(2002), there are four types of knowledge: factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural
knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge; all of which are used to determine if a stakeholder
knows how to go about solving for as well as achieving a performance goal. Motivation is the
result of an interaction between people end their environment of which can be reinforced through
inspirational leaders, improvements to the work environment, individual self-efficacy or through
rewards and recognition (Clark & Estes, 2008). Finally, organizational influence on stakeholder
performance may include the removal of specific barriers (or the lack of removal), processes,
resources and the cultural environment (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Each of these items from within the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis will be
addressed below in terms of the sales department’s knowledge, motivation and organizational
needs to meet their performance goal of using the new learning management system (LMS)
across VZC by August 31, 2018. The first section will be a discussion of assumed influences on
the stakeholder performance goal in the context of knowledge and skills. Next, assumed
motivational influences for the stakeholder group will be provided. Finally, assumed
organizational influences on the achievement and or barriers preventing achievement of the
stakeholder group will be explored. Each of these assumed stakeholder knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences on performance will then be examined through the methodology
discussed in Chapter 3.
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VZC Sales Department’s Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences
The knowledge, motivation and organizational influences related to implementing a
single, company-wide learning management system will be examined in this next section. The
Learning and Development teams influence through developing, delivering and measuring the
organization goal of having 75% of the U.S. field sales team participate in online training will be
addressed as well.
Knowledge and Skills
Knowledge and skills play a critical role in motivation; however, when a performance
gap occurs within any organization, it is important to first identify the root cause(s) and then
determine the appropriate solutions or actions to take in order to resolve the issue. Without
identifying the root cause first, individuals risk developing solutions that may not solve for the
issue at hand and performance could remain a challenge. According to Clark and Estes (2008),
there are three critical factors that influence performance gaps; people’s knowledge and skills,
their motivation to achieve the goal and organizational barriers. In order to increase
performance, having the information and skills needed are critical in bridging performance gaps.
It is important to examine knowledge and skills in problem solving regardless of industry in
order to achieve the company’s strategic objectives successfully.
Knowledge influences. While motivation gets us going, knowledge tells us how to get
the task done (Clark & Estes, 2008). However, when individuals do not know how to
accomplish specific goals, new knowledge is needed. As part of this review, an examination of
influences including tools and tactics that can assist with increasing product knowledge and
positioning will be provided. For purposes of this dissertation, VZC will be used as the
organization for the problem of practice, the stakeholder group referenced is the U.S. field sales
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team and the stakeholder goal is to increase their pre-launch online learning participation by at
least 25%, (currently at 50%) to 75%.
Job satisfaction, knowledge and motivation have often been cited as having related
effects to one another in various industries including business (Mogotsi, Boon, & Fletcher,
2011). Likewise, identifying the level of knowledge an employee has coming into a new
organization can provide valuable insight into their prior job performance and or satisfaction
along with motivation (Clark & Estes, 2008). Furthermore, assessing an employee’s product
knowledge as they enter into a new organization can serve as a foundation to build upon.
According to Krathwohl (2002), there are four types of knowledge: factual knowledge,
conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge. Factual
knowledge includes the basic elements needed in order to solve a problem (Krathwohl, 2002).
An example of factual knowledge might include an employee knowing what industry the
business is classified as, key competitors along with the length of time the employer has been in
business. Conceptual knowledge involves complex components and having the ability to
identify the inter-relationships and or differences of each (Krathwohl, 2002). An example of
conceptual knowledge could involve the review of visual renderings to determine whether or not
product specifications will meet expectations and or fit within the pre-determined physical space
identified for it. Procedural knowledge is having the ability, skills and or techniques to complete
a task or a series of tasks (Krathwohl, 2002). An example of procedural knowledge could
include conducting a sales transaction for a customer using a point of sale system of which
multiple steps or keystrokes are required. Metacognitive knowledge, in general, involves having
awareness of one’s own knowledge and involves the ability to reflect and adapt the way in which
we think and operate (Krathwohl, 2002). An example of having metacognitive knowledge is the
ability to recognize that you are not yet capable of conducting a sales transaction on your own so
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you decide to ask one of your peers to assist you during your first experience. All four types of
knowledge are important for employees to feel confident while conducting business,
operationally completing tasks and or meeting organizational goals. Furthermore, each of the
four types of knowledge are also critical for VZC and the U.S. based field sales team referenced
in this dissertation. For purposes of this study, a review of two specific areas will be explored,
specifically, the impacts attributed to the lack of product knowledge and product positioning
within the VZC Sales department.
Prior to January 1st, 2017, company F, company T and VZC all operated independently
and as competitors of one another. However, at the start of the new-year, VZC acquired both of
these companies which has since positioned them as the largest global provider of mobile
technologies in the resource management arena. As a result of the newness of these
organizational changes, legacy knowledge currently resides within the team that originally
developed the product and transferring or sharing that knowledge with the other two thirds of the
organization has been difficult to achieve due to not having a shared, scalable solution in place.
Lack of product knowledge. “Knowledge workers” was a term Peter Drucker first
presented in 1973 (Drucker, 1999, p. 79) and since then, this definition has helped to identify
innovative workers who have a high degree of expertise. Knowledge workers are also known to
document their insight with hopes of sharing it with others across the organization to increase
productivity by closing performance gaps (Maruta, 2012). Sharing knowledge, also referred to
as transfer knowledge, can be a challenge for knowledge workers domestically as well as
internationally. Knowledge management, which focuses on the process of capturing and making
use of a firm’s collective expertise, can help address transfer knowledge issues which can be of
particular value for increasing product knowledge across newly formed companies like VZC’s
business unit (Kumar & Thondikulam, 2006).
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How one learns and learning in general, also plays a significant role in increasing
knowledge and how we process information. To better understand how we retain data, the
Information Processing Model (IPM) was created and describes the differences between sensory
memory, working memory and long-term memory (Schraw, 2006). When employees learn new
things, they determine how best to process that information, give it meaning and then determine
whether or not that knowledge is transferred into long-term memory or is deleted. Long-term
memory also has no capacity limit resulting in an infinite number of details that can be stored.
However, managing cognitive load affects working memory which is an important function that
interacts with long-term memory. While working memory is vital, information can be lost as a
result of only being able to recall seven to nine things on average at a time (Schraw, 2006).
Considering certain types of memories are limited which can impact product knowledge
retention, further review should be given as to how employees can easily access larger amounts
of product details.
A repository for product positioning tools. Having a consistent set of learning tools in
business can help an organization run more efficiently. Likewise, once tools have been
developed, having a shared resource for employees to access can also help increase job
satisfaction and performance. Learning tools can range from simply sharing new or updated
information, job aids, formal training and education; all of which can help increase product
knowledge (Clark & Estes, 2008). Zhang et al. (2012) suggest that of the various tools available,
having a learning management system to serve as a toolkit repository can assist with knowledge
sharing visibility (KSV) across physical and virtual organizations as well as newly formed
companies having undergone an acquisition or a merger. A Learning Management System, also
referred to as an LMS, is a framework that handles all aspects of the learning process and can be
used in various settings from educational institutions to international corporations (Watson &
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36
Watson, 2007). As VZC struggles with sharing legacy product knowledge within its 5,000
newly formed employees across the globe, a shared LMS can help them overcome many of their
procedural challenges that exist today.
Capturing content associated with the vast experience knowledge workers have and
making it available through a shared LMS, can help organizations transfer product knowledge to
others faster, reduce their own learning curves and ultimately assist with improving overall
performance. As more companies like VZC become global, sharing knowledge can become a
difficult task to achieve if tools and resources are not put into place. However, in order to ensure
that employees find a company LMS useful and for knowledge transfer to successfully take
place, it must be organized and easy to use (Sela & Sivan, 2009). Evaluating frequency of
adding or changing content is also equally important (Cobo, Rocha, & Rodriguez-Hoyos, 2014).
Transfer is a critical function of increasing and sharing knowledge. According to Mayer
(2011), there are three types of transfer: positive, negative and neutral. When working with
teams, transferring knowledge from one task to another can serve as part of a critical component
in the scaffolding process in which certain functions learned are built upon one another.
Building upon other tasks can also help extend knowledge from others who have been in the
department longer which can be especially helpful while onboarding a new employee. It is
suggested that $125 billion is spent on training annually (Paradise, 2007), and yet we often have
a gap between learning and desired behavior post-training (Grossman & Salas, 2011).
Opportunities noted that contribute towards these gaps include trainee characteristics, training
design and the workplace environment; all of which unfortunately exists regardless of how
training is delivered (Grossman & Salas, 2011). Additional research suggests that using
technology to deliver “declarative knowledge” (also referred to as the “what”) and or procedural
knowledge to an already formed team or new colleagues, is just as effective as formal face to
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face training (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). Perhaps the difference is not so much in effectiveness
but rather the costs associated with training requiring individuals to be physically present is
significantly higher than e-training in which the content is delivered virtually. The design of
training and its content, as it relates to increasing new knowledge, is also an important function
of working memory. If material is not well organized, the learner may not retain it and the time
spent may not be worthwhile. Learners already undergo a process of individually organizing the
knowledge they receive and how they can apply it so organized content can make it that much
more impactful in assisting even the strongest self-regulated learners.
Self-regulation involves being self-aware and having personal control over how one
approaches learning (Dupee, Forneris, & Werthner, 2016). As part of one’s ability to be self-
regulated, using metacognitive strategies can significantly assist with learning. Metacognition
allows individuals to regulate their thinking and behavior. Flavell (1976) notes that,
“Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes” (p. 232).
Two components of metacognition include, being metacognitively aware and metacognitively in
control (Mayer, 2011). While applying a metacognitive strategy to learning, new knowledge can
be gained but can it help a newly formed company and its stake holders achieve their
organizational goals?
VZC plans to surpass 547,000 new unit sales globally by December 31, 2018. In order to
achieve this company-wide metric, the organization at large will need to ensure that its entire
sales and service teams have the necessary knowledge to successfully position their existing
legacy products and services. As a result, the stakeholder group will need to have at least 75% of
their teams use the shared learning management system by August 31, 2018 with specific goals
associated with pre- and post-launch assessments. Conducting surveys and a series of internal
interviews with employees from the sales department will help the company further identify
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where they have organizational gaps, what the influences of those issues are and will be better
positioned to develop a thorough action plan to mitigate these challenges. Table 2 provides an
overview of the organizations mission, global and stakeholder goals along three knowledge
influences and tactics to be taken to assess these challenges.

Table 2
Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments for Knowledge Gap Analysis
Organizational Mission
VZC aspires to maintain their position as the #1 mobile technology platform automating, optimizing and revolutionizing
connections among people and vehicles globally.
Organizational Global Performance Goal
By the fourth quarter of 2017, VZC will launch a shared learning management system globally to use for all new product
launches.
The primary performance goal of VZC is to increase online learning participation by at least 25%, prior to the start of this
study was at 50%, to at least 75% by August 31, 2018.
Stakeholder Goal
Today, only 50% of all VZC sales employees domestically are participating in e-training. The stakeholder group’s goal is
to increase pre-launch e-training participation to at least 75% by August 31, 2018. The stakeholder group’s goal is to also
increase post-launch e-training participation to at least 90% by December 31, 2018.
Knowledge Influence
Knowledge
Type Knowledge Influence Assessment
The new organization does not have legacy
product knowledge for all three companies. As
a result, the entire workforce is not comfortable
positioning products to customers and sales
goals are not being met. The VZC U.S. based
field sales team needs legacy product training.
Declarative
(factual)
Observation (Employee): Look for confidence
speaking to current products and services (Disagree,
Agree, Strongly Agree).
The U.S. based field sales team needs to have
cognitive knowledge of products and services
in order to plan for or recommend specific
services to customers along with the ability to
change tactics if difficulties during the
discussion arise.
Metacognition Focus groups (Employees): Questions will be
presented to a group of 10 sales employees per site (1
group of 5 front line sales and a second group of 5
managers) about their level of knowledge related to
presenting recommended products to customers
including how to change a task and or tactics if
difficulties arise.
The U.S. based field sales team needs to have
the technical information necessary to
competitively position all of VZC’s products
and services to customers.
Procedural Survey (Employee): Do you know how to access
legacy product details, competitive positioning
statements and service pricing (Disagree, Agree,
Strongly Agree)?

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Motivation
Motivation is defined as the act or process of motivating (“Motivation,” 2017). Likewise,
motivational processes play an integral role in motivation (Lord & Kanfer, 2002). The study,
relationship and theories associated with motivation can help newly formed organizations such
as VZC identify the most effective ways to help engage and or incent their employees. A review
of literature that focuses on motivation-related influences pertinent to the stakeholder group of
this study are also included.
Motivation and expectancy value theory. Jacquelynne Eccles began studying the link
between tasks and values in the 1980s (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Her research on expectancy
values theory indicates that there is a relationship between beliefs and cultural norms but also
suggests that there are four value types associated with whether or not you want to complete the
task(s) at hand: attainment, intrinsic, utility, costs. Attainment value is associated with the task
and our own self-image, intrinsic value involves whether or not you have personal enjoyment
from the task, utility value relates to whether or not you find it useful in meeting future goals,
and cost value involves the perceived loss of time value (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). For most,
the desire and motivation to learn is focused on a preference for hard tasks, curiosity and striving
for competence (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Central to motivation is one’s belief in their own
abilities, also known as self-efficacy (Pajares, 1996).
Self-efficacy theory. Self-efficacy is a personal and social construct largely influenced
by experiences; mastery, vicarious, social persuasions and psychological reactions. Teachers in
a school setting and trainers in a business environment play a critical role in developing a strong
sense of self-efficacy as they introduce new material to learners while the response(s) they
provide during the learning process can either support or decrease motivation. Since self-
efficacy is based upon social experiences, individuals we surround ourselves with can and do
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contribute to our personal beliefs about our own capabilities. How experiences are formed
individually and collectively influence who individuals are and is something Albert Bandura
refers to as social cognitive theory.
Social cognitive theory. Albert Bandura’s work on social cognitive theory (2000)
indicates that individuals take a hand in shaping their own lives in part by their own beliefs of
personal efficacy. Furthermore, culture, geographical location, gender, religion and other
societal influences and events we’ve been personally a part of associated with each, can all have
an influence on our own personal self-efficacy (Bandura, 2000). Personal interest and situational
interest also play a role in motivation. Situational interest is spontaneous, often referred to as,
“catching someone’s attention” whereas, personal interest increases engagement (Schraw &
Lehman, 2001). Mitchell’s three stage model indicates that situational interest leads to personal
interest which leads to higher learning (1993). Studies have also been conducted in business that
demonstrate that there is a direct correlation between employee motivation and their own
personal interests (Whitaker & Levy, 2012). If early perception suggests the tool, perhaps an
LMS, is not helpful or easy to use, employees will not use it (Cheng, Wang, Moormann,
Olaniran, & Chen, 2012). Business simulated strategy games have also often been used in
various universities and work settings to identify how groups are formed, what decisions are
made individually and whether or not participants share information for collective group efficacy
or tend to keep it to themselves for purposes of privately advancing (Marks, Polak, McCoy, &
Galletta, 2008). Personality researchers have also identified that some individuals have a need
for achievement, some have a need for power, and others have a need for affiliation (Pintrich,
2003). Likewise, in some cases, the employee’s perceptions of their immediate supervisor also
play a role in collective efficacy (Brett, Uhl-Bien, Huang, & Carsten, 2016). A study of 1,114
mid-level managers in an Italian service organization reviewed the relationship of the immediate
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41
supervisor as it relates to collective efficacy and found that there was a strong relationship with
positive job satisfaction and perceptions of management (Borgogni, Russo, & Latham, 2011).
Employee and manager perceptions of each other is something VZC should explore further as a
potential organizational influence. In addition to the relationship between the employee and
manager, Clark and Estes (2008) indicate that there are three motivational processes also in play
at work: active choice — when people choose (or fail) to actively pursue a work goal;
persistence — once started, one continues in the face of distractions; and mental effort — people
work smarter and develop novel solutions.
Goal orientation theory. Goal orientation theory also plays a role in motivation and is a
social cognitive theory of achievement (Anderman, Anderman, Yough, & Gimbert, 2010). Goal
orientation theory has two types of goals; mastery and performance. Mastery goal involves
being task focused, intrinsically motivated with a focus on self-improvement whereas
performance goal is associated with ego, extrinsic and looking better than others which is
particularly important for individuals who want to avoid appearing incompetent (Rueda, 2011).
Expectancy value, self-efficacy, social cognitive, value and goal oriented theories all play a role
in contributing towards motivating employees. Table 3 summarizes motivational influences and
provides an assessment for motivation gap analysis.

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Table 3
Motivational Influences and Assessments for Motivation Gap Analysis
Organizational Mission
VZC aspires to be the #1 mobile technology platform automating, optimizing and
revolutionizing connections among people and vehicles globally.
Organizational Global Goal
By the fourth quarter of 2017, VZC will launch a shared learning management system
globally to use for all new product launches.
The primary performance goal of VZC is to increase online learning participation by at least
25%, prior to the start of this study was at 50%, to at least 75% by August 31, 2018.
Stakeholder Goal
Prior to the start of this study, only 50% of all VZC sales employees domestically were
participating in e-training. The stakeholder group’s goal is to increase pre-launch e-training
participation to at least 75% by August 31, 2018. The stakeholder group’s goal is to also
increase post-launch e-training participation to at least 90% by December 31, 2018.
Motivational Indicator(s) Improvement Model
Assumed Motivation Influences Motivational Influence Assessment
Expectancy Value: Employees find (utility)
value in knowing legacy products and
services.
Survey: I understand why it is important and
see the value in knowing our legacy products
and services (Disagree, Agree, Strongly
Agree).
Self-Efficacy: Employees believe they can
accurately position product and services.
Employee survey: I feel like I can accurately
position our products and services (Disagree,
Agree, Strongly Agree).
Social Cognitive: Employees feel as though
they can increase their product knowledge
by observing other employees actively
engaging with customers.
Survey: Will observing others in the field
who are assisting customers increase your
product knowledge (Disagree, Agree,
Strongly Agree)?
Goal Orientation (Mastery goal):
Employees feel comfortable discussing their
own lack of knowledge, sharing with others
and making training a safe environment for
procedural mistakes to be made.
Survey: I feel a sense of accomplishment
practicing and learning new processes
(Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree).

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Organizational Influences
M&As are not a new phenomenon and have increasingly grown in popularity as
companies attempt to extend their reach in order to become more competitive. However,
performance for many of these newly formed organizations do not often accelerate at the pace
expected by financial analysts. There are a number of reasons why but the three primary
influences impacting organizational performance post-M&A include culture, change and using
multiple resources for an extended period of time. While each organization is uniquely different,
developing a single, newly formed culture can be the most influential of them all.
Organizational culture. According to Edgar Schein (2016), “Culture is a pattern of
shared assumptions, learned by a group as it solves problems together and is taught to new
members as the correct way to approach similar tasks” (p. 18). Furthermore, organizational
culture is considered to be the foundation of social order in business and the rules employees
abide by. However, in a newly formed organization post-M&A, in many cases, individuals are
grouped together for the first time, in new teams, working on new projects and have not yet had a
chance to formally get to know one another nor determine what the acceptable rules are.
Likewise, emotions can be higher than normal in a post M&A environment as people are fearful
of disappointing their new team mates and or appearing incompetent (Lord & Kanfer, 2002).
Furthermore, organizational artifacts, beliefs, values, rewards, recognition and basic assumptions
as part of the new construct have often yet to be developed in the formative months of a team
coming together making it difficult for employees of the newly formed company to feel united
(Schein, 2016). Appearing incapable along with not having a single culture that bridges new
colleagues together, can create unique challenges to a team post-M&A. Lastly, part of the
difficulty developing a sense of organizational culture is that it occurs over time, requires trust
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but is also challenging to bring forward given tremendous amount of change the new company is
likely undergoing simultaneously.
Organizational change. Organizational change plays a critical role in developing a
newly formed company. Not only are there potentially harmful conflicting views following the
M&A as the company is coming together from the newly inherited employees, resistance often
also occurs as change is being facilitated. Leaders can play a critical role in helping to transition
competing positions into potential competitive advantages but in order to do so, requires skill
and the ability to apply different tactics in order to facilitate positive change from it (Heifetz,
Grashow, & Linsky, 2009). Adaptive leadership is often one of the most effective tactics to use
in a newly formed organization post-M&A because it can be used in a wide array of settings, can
address a variety of challenges and can be uniquely applied to conflicting values that emerge in a
changing environment (Northouse, 2007). Developing and aligning an organizational culture
with organizational behavior, can also provide support needed while working in an environment
that relies on multiple systems and tools amid the evaluation of these legacy systems (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Resources, lack thereof or perhaps simply having too many, can overwhelm
employees, create inefficiencies and develop internal obstacles that can cause un-necessary
confusion and or frustration.
Internal resources. The ability to confidently know where to go to as a means of
locating information, can tremendously improve employee self-efficacy because it develops
motivation and can increase a sense of personal accomplishment, both of which are especially
vital in a new department post-M&A (Pajares, 1996). If employees are placed in a position that
requires them to use multiple systems for an extended period of time post-M&A, knowledge
transfer to other employees suffers while frustration and doubt increases (Sarala et al., 2016). If
executives do not place a high priority on objectively yet expeditiously evaluating current tools,
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45
retiring some and forging ahead with a single tool, the newly formed organization will continue
to straddle two different worlds; the old and the current without the ability to have a consistent
approach of which can negatively impact accountability and most certainly performance
(Whitaker & Levy, 2012; Zhang et al., 2012).
Table 4 highlights information specific to organizational influences and assessments
along with organizational barriers that may prevent VZC from achieving its learning and
development goals which are essential to achieving the sales goals of the organization.

Table 4
Organizational Influences and Assessments for Organization Gap Analysis
Organizational Mission
VZC aspires to be the #1 mobile technology platform automating, optimizing and
revolutionizing connections among people and vehicles globally.
Assumed Organization Influences Organization Influence Assessment
The business needs to provide cross company
communication to help explain why the
organizational culture is changing, the
benefits as well as the impacts.
Employee survey: I understand why our
organizational culture is changing (Disagree,
Agree, Strongly Agree).
The organization needs to provide clear
direction on internal change(s) and why they
are important.
Employee survey: I understand why changes
have occurred in our organization (Disagree,
Agree, Strongly Agree).
The organizations need to develop a list of
needed internal resources, prioritize them, and
communicate their status frequently as
updates are made.
Employee survey: I have the tools and
resources do be successful at my job
(Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree).

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Conceptual Framework: Interaction of Knowledge, Motivation and the Organization
The conceptual framework, often also referred to as the theoretical framework, is the
underlying structure of a study, which the problem of the study, questions, data collection and
analysis are derived from (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Furthermore, when organizations
participate in a study, motivation and knowledge are critical components needed in order to
better understand how employees interact with one another as well determining what
performance opportunities exist. According to Clark and Estes (2008), there are three critical
factors that influence performance gaps; people’s knowledge and skills, their motivation to
achieve the goal and organizational barriers. In order to increase performance, having the
information and skills needed are essential in bridging performance gaps. However, as part of
this specific problem of practice, motivation and knowledge had previously been addressed
separately. In order to develop a comprehensive view of the entire problem of practice,
motivation and knowledge should interact with the conceptual framework and by taking them
from isolation to now incorporating them together, will further demonstrate how they interact
with one another. Additionally, by showing through the literature along with a visual
representation of how motivation and knowledge interact with the conceptual framework, an
aggregated view of the organization at large will arise which will support the narrative along
with justifying the premise for this research effort (Maxwell, 2013). With assumed knowledge
and motivation now coupled with organizational influences and shared together as part of this
problem of practice, Figure 1 will help visually demonstrate how they work in tandem. More
specifically, the rendering outlines how knowledge and motivation work within the learning and
development team at VZC as it relates to the U.S. based field sales team achieving the goal of at
least 75% participation in pre-launch e-learning training for new launches through a single
shared LMS by August 31, 2018.
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The world view that informs this specific study is a pragmatic perspective. A pragmatic
view does not see the world as absolute and surfaces from the “actions, situations and
consequences rather than antecedent conditions” (Creswell, 2014, p. 10). Furthermore,
pragmatism is not committed to one system which supports and strengthens the use of a mixed
methods approach. A pragmatic view also allows the research to lead with quantitative analysis
first with a supplemental opportunity to explore additional findings through qualitative tactics
which helps to better understand the problem of practice from various perspectives (Creswell,
2014). However, the ability to measure results and findings are also important when looking at
studies through this lens.
While the ability to measure the results of a specific study is important, it can be difficult
to do so given different variables often occurring simultaneously. As a result, it is important to
evaluate and measure organizational performance before and after the deployment of a major
change. An example of a major change in any organization would include the launch of a
company-wide learning management system (LMS). This type of organizational initiative
alongside other efforts occurring at the same time, further supports why the use of a mixed
methods approach is optimal for this type of project because it supports a unique comparative
analysis opportunity (McEwan & McEwan, 2003).

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Figure 1. Interaction of stakeholder knowledge and motivation within organizational cultural
models and settings. A schematic of the stakeholder knowledge and motivation within
organizational cultural models and settings at VZC. The schematic is designed to show the
interactions between each part of the organization and its relationship to the organizational goal.
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Figure 1 outlines the relationship between the factors influencing the U.S. field sales
team. Highlights within the first circle show the important role VCZ’s cultural models and
settings have on the entire company. The dynamics within the circle also showcase the
marketing team’s role in providing relevant and accurate content to the L&D team. Also within
the inner circle is the L&D team. The corollary relationship between marketing and the L&D
team is also demonstrated and highlights the significant impact the L&D team has in developing
as well as delivering ongoing and engaging online content across VZC’s global organization.
Lastly, the orange circle represents the U.S. field sales team as the stakeholder of focus for this
study along with the knowledge and motivation types that exist within. The goal of increasing
pre-launch online training participation to 75% by August 31, 2018 within the VZC U.S. field
sales team is also listed in purple.
The sales team plays a critically important role at VZC especially when it comes to
generating new sales and increasing overall revenue for the company. The knowledge as well as
motivational influences from within the sales team, affects the entire organizations ability to
achieve their key performance metrics for the year. Declarative, metacognitive and procedural
insights as it relates to the sales team delivering against the company’s financial goals are also
important. The motivational influences the sales team impacts also include expectancy value as
to help those in the (sales) field find value in learning about legacy products (Eccles & Wigfield,
2002) and self-efficacy as to help employees believe that they can accurately position products to
the right customer type (Pajares, 1996). Additional motivational influences the sales team
impacts include the tactical presentation of social cognitive skills as to encourage other
individuals as well as teams to feel as though they can increase sales through active engagement
and see the value in sharing their past experiences with others (Bandura, 2000; Whitaker &
Levy, 2012). Interactivity within the sales team along with the broader organization are
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50
represented by having marketing and L&D placed near each other because each directly
influence the other and also link back to stakeholder goal.
While this study demonstrates the relationship between knowledge, motivation and the
conceptual framework, it also seeks to better understand the ways in which employees of VZC
interact with one another as it relates to sharing and retaining information that will ultimately
make the organization more profitable (Kumar & Thondikulam, 2006). Therefore, this
conceptual framework offers the tentative theory that if knowledge and motivation within VZC’s
learning and development team through the use of a single LMS can be deployed and used by the
sales team along with organizational culture to be addressed simultaneously, then achievement of
the stakeholder goal is more likely.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to conduct a gap analysis to examine the root causes post-
M&A specific to the effects of launching a single LMS and its impacts to sales performance.
This project also sought to determine if there was a corollary effect to organizational
performance absent having a shared learning management system (LMS). As part of this study,
the literature presented in Chapter 2 suggested that knowledge, motivation and organizational
influences plays a critical role in the culture, development and performance of a newly formed
company. Chapter 2 also presented the key stakeholder group’s KMO influences along with the
study’s conceptual framework. Chapter 3 will present the study’s methodological approach.

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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
This study examined the effects of implementing a learning management system into a
post M&A organization and the effects on sales performance. The purpose of this chapter is to
elucidate the methodology for the research study, including the data collection and data analysis
procedures. In collecting this data, the purpose was to answer the research questions for this
study. The questions that guided this study were the following:
1. To what extent has the organization met its primary performance goal of increasing
online learning participation by at least 25% using a single LMS, prior to the start of
this study was at 50%, to at least 75% by August 31, 2018.
2. What were the U.S. Field Sales team’s knowledge and barriers related to achieving
this organizational goal?
3. What was the interaction between the U.S. Field Sales team as the stakeholder group
of focus for this study, the organizational culture and their knowledge and
motivation?
4. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
Chapter 3 explains what methods were utilized to collect data and the criteria used
throughout the research process. An overview of how the instruments were administered
including protocols managed by the researcher to ensure the validity, reliability, credibility, and
trustworthiness has also been included in this chapter. Lastly, ethical considerations for the VZC
employees who participated in the study, along with the limitations and delimitations of the
research have also been provided.
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The methodological approach taken for this project was a mixed methods approach.
Applying a mixed methods strategy addresses the organizational influences impacting the
launch, utilization and performance goals of the organization. An explanatory design was also
used in which quantitative data was collected first, the results analyzed of which built upon on
the results to explain each in more detail by conducting qualitative research thereafter. The
results from both the quantitative as well as qualitative components were analyzed concluding
with an interpretation of the findings (Creswell, 2014). In the quantitative phase of the study,
survey data was sent to over 2,400 employees across four different VZC campuses to assess
whether or not organizational (sales) performance is influenced or not by having a single LMS.
The second qualitative phase was conducted as a follow up to the quantitative portion of the
study to help explain the overall results. In the exploratory follow up phase, knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences were studied with 40 participants across VZC’s 4
campus locations (company website, 2017). The purpose for taking a mixed methods approach
with an exploratory design was intended to gather quantitative data sequentially first to assess
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences in an effort to build onto those results by
explaining those items in more detail using qualitative research thereafter (Creswell, 2014).
According to Elaine and Patrick McEwan (2003), it may be difficult to evaluate (sales)
organizational performance before and after the deployment of a single company-wide LMS due
to other circumstances occurring at the same time which further supports why the use of a mixed
methods approach is optimal for this project. Furthermore, having had the ability to conduct
focus groups with participants face to face, allowed additional insight into the particular contexts
within which the participants act and the influence having an LMS has had on their actions
(Maxwell, 2013). The focus groups included five participants in each session at each campus
(two sessions at each campus site, one group of five sales employees and a second group with
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53
five sales managers), with a moderator (the researcher) and a recording device to assist with data
collection as this was identified to present the most optimal setting to have engaging and
effective conversations about the project (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Participating Stakeholders
This study focused on the effects of sales performance following the implementation of a
new single, shared company-wide LMS post-M&A. VZC U.S. based field sales employees were
the stakeholder group of focus for this study since they have the largest influence on incoming
revenue for the company. While VZC sales employees were the only accepted participants for
the survey and sales call observations, separate in-person focus groups were also held with
managers of sales employees in addition to dedicated focus groups with just front line sales
representatives (two per campus; one with sales representatives and one with managers only per
location, four different U.S. based campuses).
Sampling
Survey Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1. The individuals participating in the survey had to be a member of the VZC
U.S. field sales team. The rationale for this requirement was to ensure survey participants
represented the stakeholder group of focus for this study.
Criterion 2. Only VZC sales representatives who had been with the company for a
minimum of six months were included in the results and analysis. The rationale for this
requirement was to avoid having responses from participants who are considered by the Human
Resources team to be new to their job.
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54
Remote Call Observations Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1. The individuals participating in the survey had to be a member of the VZC
U.S. field sales team. The rationale for this requirement was to ensure those observed,
represented the stakeholder group of focus for this study.
Criterion 2. Only VZC sales representatives who had been with the company for a
minimum of six months were included in the results and analysis. The rationale for this
requirement was to avoid having responses from participants who were considered by the
Human Resources team to be new to their job.
Focus Group Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1. The individuals participating in the focus group had to be a member of the
VZC U.S. field sales team. The rationale for this requirement was to ensure focus group
participants represented the stakeholder group of focus for this study.
Criterion 2. Only VZC sales representatives who had been with the company for a
minimum of six months were be included in the results and analysis. The rationale for this
requirement was to eliminate participation from those respondents of whom are considered by
the Human Resources team to be new to their job.
Criterion 3. The researcher sought to replicate the current gender ratio mix of VZC, at
the start of this study was approximately 70% male and 30% female, by inviting mostly male
participants to attend focus groups. The rationale for this approach was to attempt to have a
similar representation of the current gender diversity mix of the company by way of the focus
groups.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
The researcher chose an explanatory mixed methods strategy. This strategic approach
was chosen to identify influences impacting the launch, utilization, and performance goals of the
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55
organization before and after the deployment of a single companywide learning management
system (LMS). Using an explanatory design in which quantitative data was gathered first using a
survey instrument with the qualitative tactics of remote live observations as well as employee
focus groups thereafter, provided a deeper level of insights than just completing one without the
other. As part of the qualitative approach, since the stakeholder group of focus is the VZC U.S.
field sales team, the researcher conducted 100 (25 from each of the four VZC campuses) live,
remote, over the phone observations of actual sales calls taking place following the survey.
Conducting remote observations assisted with identifying what online training resources were
being used during discussions with customers, to what degree and why. The ability to observe
live sales calls taking place from a remote location, away from the sales representative while also
being able to monitor the screens used during the discussion, provided a true sales experience.
The remote observations also minimized an altered sales approach because the employee did not
know that the call was being observed. Likewise, the researcher also conducted a series of in-
person employee focus groups at four different VZC campuses once the survey results were
tabulated. The qualitative insights gathered following the quantitative components helped
provide a narrative that when coupled together neutralized potential weaknesses from each form
of data collected and also assisted with recommendations (Creswell, 2014). Equally important
was the size of the organization and stakeholder group of this study. Given the potential
difficulties associated with adequately evaluating the before and after impacts of launching a
new, single LMS into a large company due to other changes occurring in the business
simultaneously, the researcher chose a mixed methods approach (McEwan & McEwan, 2003).
As a result, the research strategy and tactics followed in the order discussed, assisted with
pinpointing knowledge and skill gaps, helped to identify motivational influences specific to the
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sales department along with organizational barriers that impact the deployment of a new
companywide LMS (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Surveys
Survey protocol. Over 2,400 surveys were distributed to the stakeholder group using
online software on September 12th, 2018, after approval from the University of Southern
California’s IRB was received (June 20, 2018). An online survey was the most viable option for
this dissertation due to the size of the organization being studied and the geographical location of
its employees. Sending the survey to at least 50% of the entire VZC sales department, helped to
ensure the volume of responses received from our stakeholder group were statistically sound.
Likewise, avoiding the end of a sales month and quarter in which the teams are focused on
closing sales in order to meet their performance quota requirements, also helped ensure
participant responses did not compete with other business related matters and increased
participant response rates.
The survey was administered in English and distributed to the stakeholder group’s
individual work email addresses. A follow up email reminding participants to complete the
survey, if they had not already done so, was sent on the 19th of September. The survey consisted
of 25 questions and included a mix of multiple choice as well as open-ended questions to assist
with identifying training preferences, where employees go to access legacy as well as current
sales information. Each question was designed to capture insights into organizational training
challenges to aid in uncovering knowledge, motivation and or organizational barriers. The first
five questions were qualifying questions so if the respondent was not from the U.S. based field
sales team, they did not advance to the sixth question or beyond since they were not part of the
stakeholder group of focus. The survey was designed to require responses in order to advance to
the next question therefore, incomplete surveys not having responses to all 25 questions were not
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57
included in the final results used for this dissertation. However, incomplete responses were used
for VZC’s executive review purposes to assist with operational insights. In summary, the survey
design was purposefully structured to assess knowledge, motivation and organizational
influences as suggested by work from Clark and Estes (2008), Schein (2016) as well as Rueda
(2011).
Survey procedures. Responses from participants were completely anonymous and were
tabulated using a software application. Two copies of the responses were stored, maintained for
backup purposes using a password protected laptop as well as archived via a cloud based service.
Conversely, the survey did not collect any identifiable demographic information. Once this
research study was completed, the data has been scheduled to be destroyed in 2019 to further
protect the participants’ responses. The survey questions can be found in Appendix B.
Observation
Observation protocol. Observation, especially in a sales environment, can help identify
areas of interest that may not otherwise have been uncovered during the survey and or focus
groups. The researcher conducted herself as a complete observer during each of the observation
sessions. The purpose for remaining as an observer throughout was to avoid interrupting the
sales conversation being conducted by the sales representative and the client. The protocol used
for conducting the observation is located in Appendix D.
Observation procedures. The researcher conducted four different live remote
observations on four different days at each of the four different campuses. The researcher
conducted the remote observations before each of the focus groups as to integrate any newly
developed questions into the focus group discussions. Remote observations afforded the
observer the unique opportunity to listen to sales calls as well as observe what company
resources were accessed during the interaction without either the representative or the customer
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58
recognizing that they were being observed. The researcher used a laptop to document her
observations. Two copies of the observations were stored, maintained for backup purposes using
a password protected laptop as well as archived via a cloud based service. Conversely, the
observations documented, did not collect any identifiable demographic information. Now that
this research study has been completed, the data will be destroyed following the year it was
finalized (2019) to further protect the participants’ responses.
Focus Groups
Focus group protocol. The focus groups conducted were semi-structured as to have a
consistent approach with all participants while allowing some discussion flexibility as each
session was taking place. Questions asked focused on organizational barriers, influences and
consequences impacting training resources in a newly formed company. The focus group
interview guide can be found in Appendix C.
Focus group procedures. Eight focus groups were conducted, two in each of the four
primary telematics offices. Each site had a dedicated focus group with only field sales
representatives and a separate focus group for managers of sales representatives. The purpose
for hosting two separate sessions, one for front line sales employees and another for managers,
was to create a comfortable environment for each group to share organization obstacles, unique
to their role(s) that impact knowledge, motivation and obtaining new skills within the sales
department. Each focus group was scheduled for an hour, took place on each campus, in a
dedicated conference room with the participants physically present in the room. There was a
single moderator, the researcher, who used a semi structured interview guide that consisted of 15
open ended questions with the potential to probe if additional clarity was needed (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). The researcher recorded each session using a hand held recording device while
also taking written notes.
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59
Data Analysis
A mixed methods approach to this study allowed for quantitative and qualitative
assessment of survey, observation and interview results to be reviewed. Descriptive statistical
analysis (e.g., calculating the mean) was undertaken after all survey data was submitted.
Observations and interviews were transcribed and coded into themes that aligned with the
knowledge, motivation and organization categories. The stakeholders’ responses to the survey
were mathematically calculated to determine percentages as well as variances which allowed the
researcher to categorically evaluate frequencies of responses.
The survey was completed by the stakeholder group from September 12, 2018 and closed
on September 30, 2018. A Microsoft Excel workbook template was developed and used to
capture the data and calculate frequency of survey responses. A preliminary review of the
survey data was conducted in October 2018 after the survey was closed at which time coding
began. Remote sales observations and employee focus groups were conducted in October 2018.
The focus group protocol was not modified which provided a consistent experience across all
eight sessions.
Between November 1, 2018 and November 11, 2018 data analysis was conducted. This
review of data consisted of several quality assurance related activities. The Microsoft Excel
workbook was crosschecked for consistency as well as accuracy and expanded for purposes of
creating charts used in Figures 1–20. The researcher also recorded raw notes from the data
analysis as well as the observations and focus groups into a Microsoft Word document following
the sequence of questions and knowledge, motivation and organization coding.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness of data is critical to the overall success of the study. The strategic
approach to structuring the research tactics, how the data was collected, how the results were
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analyzed; are directly tied to the overall credibility and trustworthiness of this project (Merriam
& Tisdell, 2016). Strictly adhering to the University of Southern California’s IRB protocols
were managed with the utmost attention to detail, ethical standards and fiduciary commitments
were upheld to the highest standards of integrity. As part of this responsibility, the researcher
first triangulated the data to identify if there were any corollary effects and or determine if
similar results were present in other aspects of the data. Secondly, the researcher transcribed all
focus group audio recordings and securely stored all files as to ensure others did not access the
information gathered. Finally, the researcher provided an assurance of anonymity (survey and
focus groups) throughout the project and also engaged the participants by soliciting feedback on
the data as well as conclusions from this study. By including a member check process, the
respondents had an opportunity to identify any potential biases and or misunderstandings
reflected in the study (Maxwell, 2013).
Validity and Reliability
Having valid and reliable data is critical to the overall success of the study. The strategic
approach to how the questions were structured, the number of questions in the survey, how each
question was worded, having multiple subject matter experts review the questions in advance,
along with the timing of when the (survey) tool was sent; are all directly tied to the ensuring the
overall validity and reliability of this project was and is protected (Salkind, 2014). To reduce
internal as well as external validity threats, jargon as well as acronyms were removed from the
survey and the tool itself was also limited to 25 questions to avoid any potential participant
lethargy. Additionally, the researcher asked the Sales Directors to review the survey questions in
advance for content validity. The survey questions reflect the here and now state of the
organization so as to assist with further protecting the survey as a tool, a concurrent validity
approach was taken in which the subject matter experts were equally divided with one group
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asked to rate the validity of the test on a scale of 1–5 measuring knowledge, motivation and
organizational factors and as a criterion of this test, the second group was asked to rate their own
teams on the same factors. Once completed, the researcher correlated the scores. The validity
correlation scores were high which indicated that the researcher designed questions suitable to
proceed. Had the validity correlation scores been low, the researcher may have had to re-design
the tool (Salkind, 2014).
Using a combination of ratio, interval, ordinal and nominal scales of measurement for the
survey questions assisted with participant engagement. Likewise, adhering to each scale of
measurements individual and specific rules also aided in increasing reliability of the survey. In
order to further protect the reliability and integrity of the tool, the survey instructions and
questions were not revised once they were distributed. Finally, the number of surveys sent and
the timing associated was strategically and intentionally chosen as to minimize internal as well as
external reliability threats.
Ethics
This mixed-methods approach involved conducting a survey within a corporate
technology organization in which the results were used to guide the in-person interviews (Clark
& Estes, 2008). Ethical considerations were accounted for specific to the project’s methods and
data collection procedures. The researcher at the time of this project was a Director within the
marketing department for this corporate technology company and was responsible for new
product launches. Although none of the participants involved in this study were subordinates of
hers, the researcher took precautionary steps to ensure participant confidentiality was protected
at all times. The sales operations team communicated the requirements of the study in order to
maintain anonymity of the participants throughout this project. To ensure the individual
participants anonymity was protected, no identifying personal information describing individuals
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was used. As a member of the company in question, the researcher did not directly benefit from
the results, however the results were made available to the executive leadership team within the
organization which proved useful to the company at large including but not limited to the
training and development team.
Prospective participants received informed consent documents to review prior to the data
collection phase of the project. Informed consent consisted of a document, attached in Appendix
A, describing the purpose of this project, description of participant involvement, alternatives to
participation, method of confidentiality, and the contact information of the researcher. The
consent document ensured participants were aware that their involvement was voluntary and that
they were free to stop their participation at any time throughout the project. Information
collected during the project has been securely stored with access to the data only available to the
project researcher. In order to protect the participants from any potential harm related to their
involvement in this study, the researcher did not gather names and instead referenced the “sales
department” in all reports (Maxwell, 2013). This is important because the researcher has an
ethical and fiduciary responsibility to protect the participants from harm including potential
performance repercussions during and following the project as a result but not limited to their
participation in the study (Creswell, 2014). Careful consideration was made to also protect the
University of Southern California (USC) by submitting and receiving approval of the project
prior to beginning the data collection phase of this project. The Institutional Review Board
(IRB) is a governing board that convenes regularly to review proposals and to ensure specific
regulations and guidelines are adhered to. After IRB approval was received, the researcher met
with her Vice President of Sales and discussed the research project which included determining
whether or not receiving written permission from him and or any others was necessary in order
to collect data from the sales department within VZC. After the discussion, it was determined
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that written approval was not required due to the anonymity of the organization as a result of the
researcher using a pseudonym, employee identifiers not captured and the findings securely
stored.
An email was sent to the prospective participants that included a survey link requesting
that they click on the link and complete the self-administered survey. To mitigate potential
research-participant complications, a third-party survey tool was used to collect the responses
and tabulated the date. Once the survey was completed, a sample of the participants were asked
to participate in employee focus groups. Before beginning each focus group, the participants
were notified that the sessions were going to be audio-recorded and each individual was provided
a consent form. During the focus groups, participants were also notified that the interviews were
securely protected with access limited to the researcher of the project. Incentives were not
offered for this research project as to avoid influencing the results (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Each focus group participant received a thank-you note for their time and participation.
Accounting for potential challenges, the female researcher may have inherent biases
based on having spent the majority of her professional career in departments that have been
mostly comprised of men. The sales department within VZC is comprised of approximately
70% male to 30% female which urged the researcher to attempt to replicate this gender ratio
amongst the participants during each of the focus groups. To combat this potential concern, the
researcher acknowledges her potential bias and encouraged participation from the female
participants during each focus group. The participant’s foreseeable risks prior to the start of this
study included their immediate managers wanting to know what was discussed during each focus
group. To minimize these risks, the researcher held similar focus groups with the managers
before meeting with their direct reports, asking the same questions that were shared with their
teams. The benefits involved associated with holding separate focus groups included capturing
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and sharing obstacles discussed during each session and including a summary of those details as
part of the executive report that could result in having future resources provided to resolve those
items.
Limitations and Delimitations
Some limitations resulted from the design of this project. First, the survey, observations
and employee focus only involved the U.S. based field sales team for VZC. Second, the gap
analysis was limited by the honesty and possible bias resulting from the sample group providing
answers they considered to be socially desirable of which could alter the presentation of their
actual experience(s). This bias was possible in two facets of this study including the survey and
employee focus groups. Third, the gap analysis was potentially limited by the fact that it
assumed all participants understood and interpreted the interview questions and survey items in
the manner intended. The fourth limitation is a result of using each of the three instruments and
their specific questions once and not having a prior or later version to compare results to.
The focus of this study was to analyze the effects on knowledge, motivation, the
organization and sales performance following the implementation of a single, shared Learning
Management System (LMS) in a post-M&A organization. The primary delimitation of this
project is that it was context specific to VZC and their U.S. based field sales team and addressed
this specific organization’s mission and improvement goal, neither of which can be generalized.
However, other technology focused organizations may benefit from the application of this
project’s use of Clark and Estes (2008).
This project was also delimited to examining a sample of the key stakeholder group’s
experience that may or may not be representative of that of other stakeholder groups within VZC
or their parent company VC. While other stakeholder groups’ experiences and contributions are
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important to the organization, an in-depth investigation of those outside the scope of this project
could provide further value.

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CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND FINDINGS
The purpose of this study was to conduct a gap analysis, using a mixed methods design,
to examine the effects of launching a single learning management system (LMS) and its impact
on a newly formed organization post-merger and acquisition (M&A). Utilizing a gap analysis
framework, research identified underlying knowledge, motivation and organization needs that
may be preventing the organization of focus for this study from meeting future business
objectives. The organization used for this study was VZC, an international mobile resource
management technology company focused on consumer and commercial vehicle telemetry. The
analysis focused on the knowledge, motivation and organizational influences in a post-M&A
environment. This project also sought to determine if there was a corollary effect to
organizational performance once a shared learning management system (LMS) was deployed.
As a result, the U.S. field sales representatives within VZC were the primary focus of this study
as they have a direct impact on organizational performance. This chapter presents the results,
with key findings synthesized from the survey, remote sales observations and employee focus
groups and placed in the categories of knowledge gaps, motivational gaps and organizational
gaps. The questions used to guide this study were:
1. To what extent has the organization met its primary performance goal of increasing
online learning participation by at least 25% using single LMS, prior to the start of
this study was 50%, to at least 75% by August 31, 2018.
2. What were the U.S. Field Sales team’s knowledge and barriers related to achieving
this organizational goal?
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3. What was the interaction between the U.S. Field Sales team as the stakeholder group
of focus for this study, the organizational culture and their knowledge and
motivation?
4. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
To address these research questions, the researcher used a mixed methods approach in
which 2,407 surveys were sent to the U.S. based field sales team for VZC, followed by 100
observations of English only sales transactions, 8 semi-structured employee focus groups also
conducted in English and a literature review. The survey was conducted in English only and
consisted of 25 questions and took approximately 8 minutes to complete. The final survey data
consisted of 1,925 (surveys) responses completed out of 2,407, which represents an 80%
response rate. One hundred English-only remote sales observations were physically completed
at each of the four campus office locations (Aliso Viejo, CA, Atlanta, GA, Rolling Meadows, IL,
San Diego, CA) in October 2018. Eight employee focus groups, two at each campus office, were
held with five participants in each with a total of 40 participants (20 were field sales
representatives and 20 were sales managers). The employee focus groups were scheduled for 90
minutes with the actual time of each varying slightly but none of the eight went over the time
permitted. Research-based solutions are proposed and assessed in a comprehensive manner in
Chapter 5.
The data from the surveys, observations and employee focus groups were analyzed to
understand the knowledge, motivation and organizational needs. Results were then compared
with the assumed knowledge, motivation and organizational needs described in Chapter 3 to
determine if they were valid and as such, identified as gap. The chapter concludes with a
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summary of the validated gaps that informed the development of recommendations identified in
Chapter 5.
Gap Validation
The researcher determined that a gap was validated if either of the following were
present: (1) the findings were consistent across more than one source; or (2) if 50% or more of
the sample group confirmed the gap was prevalent in either the survey and or the focus groups.
The threshold of 50% or more was used across all three instruments as to identify commonalities
if the majority of the sample size was aligned. In most cases, utilizing the threshold of 50% or
more, regardless of the source of data, would not alter the findings favorably or negatively. In
some cases however, the researcher identified outliers or areas of further interest if the
“somewhat” results extracted from the survey were 50% or more suggesting that the stakeholder
participants may have a potential propensity to transition from one side of the Likert scale to the
other.
Participating Stakeholders
Stakeholders considered for this study included the marketing department within VZC,
the learning and development team and the sales department. While a complete performance
evaluation would have focused on all VZC stakeholders, for practical purposes, this study only
focused on the field sales department within VZC. This study sought to develop a sample of
sales employees who represent the entire sales department, therefore excluded employees of
whom self-identified that they were not in the sales department at the time in which they
received the survey. Therefore, this mixed methods study, conducted over a seven week period
of time, explored the research questions with only field sales employees actively working from
September 12th, 2018 to October 31st, 2018 in the U.S. As a result, employees out on temporary
leave, internationally based and or were in a department other than the field U.S. based sales
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team at the time of this study, did not participate and were excluded from the results. This
section reviews the U.S. based field sales representatives who participated in the survey,
followed by a description of the observation sessions and employee focus groups.
Survey Participants
The VZC sales department has over 3,300 employees of whom 2,407 are domestically
based, are designated as a member of the field team and are also the focus of this study. Each
member of the U.S. based field sales team received a copy of the survey sent to their work email
addresses September 12th, 2018 and a reminder email sent on September 19th, 2018. The survey
was closed on September 30th, 2018. Of the 2,407 field sales representatives, 1,925 responded
which is equivalent to an 80% response rate. This section reviews the U.S. based field sales
employees who participated in the survey and includes a breakdown of the 1,925 completed
surveys whereby gender, age and years of service were self-identified and have been displayed in
Figures 2 and 3.
While the stakeholders identified for this problem of practice contribute to VZC’s daily
business operations, the U.S. field sales team had and continue to have the most significant
impact on the organization’s revenue goals. As a result, VZC’s domestic field sales team was
the focus of this study and served as the primary participant group for the survey, observations
and employee focus groups. The survey sampling strategy was purposeful as it was important to
include perspectives from representation of the U.S. field sales teams across the United States to
examine knowledge, motivation and organizational barriers that impact the ability to successfully
complete a sales transaction. Furthermore, the sample included a mix of employees with varied
years of service and included a diverse range of ages for the participant group of focus. Gender
for the domestic field sales team was also generated from the survey and while 80% of the
participants were male with 19% female (1% chose not to self-disclose their gender), the results
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were similar to the general gender make up across VZC (70% male, 30% female domestically).
Of the 1,925 survey responses, 39% self-identified that they were between 31 and 40 years of
age, 32% between 20 and 30 years of age with 5% that did not want to disclose their age. Years
of tenure with VZC and or one of its legacy companies was equally diverse with 31% self-
identifying as having 9–11 years of service, 25% indicating they have between 6 and 8 years of
service and 1% chose to not disclose.

Figure 2. Participants in the survey organized by age. VZC U.S. based field sales representatives
who participated in the survey were asked to self-identify their age. The chart breaks out age
amongst the participants in six different categories including those who did not wish to disclose
their gender.

The survey sought to develop a sample that represented all U.S. based VZC field sales
employees. Based upon the responses received, the sample size was greater than 50%, which
provided a sufficient, statistically viable representation of VZC’s U.S. based field sales team
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participants’ age and years of service. Participants who completed the survey voluntarily
disclosed their gender. While 80% of the respondents indicated that they were male, 19%
indicated that they were female and 1% chose to not disclose their gender, the results do not
significantly differ from VZC’s human resources team results published previously in 2017 that
report a 70% male to 30% female ratio for all U.S. based field sales teams (company website,
2017).

Figure 3. Participants in the survey organized by gender. VZC U.S. based field sales
representatives who participated in the survey were asked to self-identify their gender. The chart
breaks the gender out amongst the participants between, male, female, and those who did not
wish to disclose their gender.

The survey also sought to develop a sample of VZC’s U.S. based field sales employees
from each of the three legacy companies and their respective tenure. Years of service for each of
the legacy companies dates back to when each were founded. Employees acquired through
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company F could have years of service as high as 14 years, employees acquired though company
T could have years of service as high as 17 years and legacy VZ employees could have tenure as
high as 20 years. As a result, 46% of the participants having nine or more years of service
suggests that almost half of the respondents were a part of one of the three legacy companies
prior to the M&A with 8% joining post-M&A.

Figure 4. Participants in the survey organized by years of service with VZC. VZC U.S. based
field sales representatives who participated in the survey were asked to self-identify their years
of service with VZC including their tenure with one of the legacy companies acquired
previously. The chart breaks out age amongst the participants in six different categories,
including those who did not wish to disclose their years of service.

Sales Observations
Remote sales observations were also conducted at all four campuses; 25 observations at
each facility and 100 in total. The calls selected were chosen by a randomizing tool and took
place Monday through Friday during local business hours. There are two sub groups within the
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U.S. field sales team who conduct business over the phone: prospects and closers. To ensure an
equitable balance of the total was observed, 50 observed calls in total were field sales
representatives placing outbound prospecting calls and 50 were from VZC sales representatives
attempting to close a sale.

Table 5
Remote Sales Observations by VZC Campus Location
VZC Campus Location
Number of Field Sales
Representative Observations
Atlanta, GA 25
Aliso Viejo, CA 25
Rolling Meadows, IL 25
San Diego, CA 25
Total 100
Note. The sales observations were conducted by the researcher in English and randomizer tool
was used to select the call to be observed.

The researcher sought to observe an equal number of sales related calls from each of the
four primary U.S. sales campuses, during local business hours that fluctuated between Eastern
and Pacific Standard Time zones. Of the 100 calls observed, 67% were male sales
representatives and 33% were female sales representatives which was strictly determined by the
randomizer. The researcher was also able to view the employees’ desktop during each call to
identify if and what systems and tools were used during each call. If the customer was placed on
hold, the researcher was also able to listen to the sales representative to determine if he or she
was asking for assistance or not from another colleague. The researcher was also able to identify
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the number of calls to be made for the day for each representative, the length of time each
customer was placed on hold, how long each call took and if the call later resulted in a
successfully closed sale or not.

Figure 5. Sales observations broken out by gender. VZC U.S. based field sales representatives
who were observed. The chart breaks out gender amongst the 100 observations conducted by the
researcher as calls were routed to her using a randomizer tool. Gender was noted by the
researcher as she conducted each observation of the participants.

Focus Groups
Lastly, employee focus groups were also conducted at all four U.S. based campus sites
with a total of 20 managers and 20 field sales representatives in total. Of the eight total number
of employee focus groups, 80% were male and 20% were male which was consistently adhered
to during the manager as well as field sales representative sessions as to align with the gender
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ratio from the survey responses. The gender breakout by participant was influenced by the
researcher but ultimately determined by the manager of each of team. Of the 40 participants in
total, 41% were between 31 and 40 years of age, 33% were between 20 and 30 years of age and
6% chose not to disclose their age. Participants in the focus groups were determined by the
management team however, 32% of those selected had between 9 and 11 years of service, 28%
had between 6 and 8 years of service and 1% chose not to disclose their tenure.

Table 6
Focus Group Participants Broken Out by VZC Campus
Location Managers
Field Sales
Representatives
Grand
Total
Atlanta, GA 5 5 10
Aliso Viejo, CA 5 5 10
Rolling Meadows, IL 5 5 10
San Diego, CA 5 5 10
Total 20 20 40
Note. Field sales representatives chosen to participate in each focus group were selected by their
manager. The managers also participated in their own, separate focus group session whereby the
same questions were asked.

The research sought to conduct the focus groups in each of the four primary U.S. based
VZC sales offices, with equal representation from the management team as compared to the front
line customer facing sales representatives. While the researcher requested a preferred gender
ratio in each focus group, outside of the number of management participants and the number of
U.S. field sales representatives, the researcher had no influence on the sales representative
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selected as participants including age or years of service. VZC’s gender diversity mix in the
U.S. is generally between 70% male and 30% female according to 2017 Human Resources data
so while the focus group attendee gender breakout was slightly different, the variance was not
significant.

Figure 6. Focus group manager participants broken out by gender. VZC U.S. based field sales
managers who participated in the focus groups were asked to self-identify their gender. The
chart breaks out gender amongst the participants. The researcher conducted her own observation
of the participants during each session and determined there were no obvious variances.

The researcher sought to conduct focus groups with an equal number of managers as well
as U.S. based field sales representatives. To help participants feel comfortable sharing in a group
setting, separate sessions in each of the four offices were conducted with only managers in
attendance and separate sessions were conducted with only sales representatives present.
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Additionally, the researcher also wanted to create a welcoming environment that could care for
unique and specific conversations in both groups that would be more conducive with the other
group not present in the room at the same time.
Diverse opinions and thoughts are also important while conducting focus groups. As a
result, the researcher sought to have a similar representation of men and women in each of the
focus groups, regardless of exempt or non-exempt roles, however, requested that the ratio be
close to VZC’s Human Resources gender variance as possible. While the managers who
scheduled the sessions attempted to reach a 70% male to 30% female ratio in each session, the
actual attendee results were slightly different.

Figure 7. Focus group field sales participants broken out by gender. VZC U.S. based field sales
representatives who participated in the focus groups were asked to self-identify their gender.
The chart breaks out gender amongst the participants. The researcher conducted her own
observation of the participants during each session and determined there were no obvious
variances.

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Age of each participant was a factor identified following the completion of all eight focus
groups. The researcher had no intended goal in mind for the manager nor sales representative
sessions in any of the four campuses. Of the 40 participants, 41% were between 31 and 40 years
of age, 33% between 20 and 30 years of age, 9% were between 41 and 50 years of age, 8% fell
between 51 and 60 years of age and 3% were 61 years or older. Of the 40 total participants, 6%
or approximately 2 participants chose to not disclose their age.

Figure 8. Focus group participants broken out by age. VZC U.S. based field sales
representatives and managers who participated in the focus groups were asked to self-identify
their age on paper. The chart breaks out age amongst the participants.

33%
41%
9%
8%
3%
6%
PARTICIPATED IN THE FOCUS GROUPS: AGE
20-30 years of age 31-40 years of age 41-50 years of age
51-60 years of age 61 years of age or older Do not wish to disclose
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The researcher also sought to have a diverse group of focus group participants with
various years of service. A wide array of tenure can provide an opportunity for seasoned sales
employees to share their perspective on specific questions during the focus groups that could
vary from an employee with less than two years of service to a seasoned industry veteran.
Conversely, varying years of service can serve as an indication that the participant came from
one of the three legacy companies or was hired after the M&A.
Mobile resource management is a relatively young industry that began in the early 2000s.
Some experts consider vehicle telemetry to be in the growth stage of the product life cycle
(McKinsey & Company, 2016) and to support that upward trajectory, VZC has continued to
consistently hire new employees following the M&A of 2017. Individuals who participated in
the focus groups represent a small sample size of VZC’s total employee population; 32% self-
reported having 9–11 years of service, 28% having 6–8 years of service and 5% indicating that
they have 0–2 years with the company. With 58% of the focus group participants having nine or
less years of service, these employees may have entered into the MRM arena while in its current
growth position whereas 41% may have observed and been a part this dynamic industry as it
transitioned from a new start up model to developing scalable products that extend its reach.

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Figure 9. Focus group participants broken out by years of service. VZC U.S. based field sales
representatives and managers who participated in the focus groups were asked to self-identify
their years of service with the company. Figure 9 breaks out tenure amongst the participants and
includes time spent with a legacy company prior to the M&A.

Results and Findings
This section reports on the results of the survey, the observations and focus groups. Thus
the results and findings are reported through the categories of knowledge, motivation and
organizational influences identified in the conceptual framework and the literature. The chapter
concludes with a discussion of these results and the findings as they interact with each other.
The sample for the survey was the entire VZC U.S. field sales team comprised of 2,407
representatives directly selling to prospective customers domestically. The survey was
completed by 1,925 employees in September 2018 which yielded a 2% margin of error and a
95% confidence interval. One hundred remote sales observations were also conducted in
October 2018 to listen for knowledge indicators. Lastly, eight employee focus groups were
conducted at four different VZC domestic campuses (Aliso Viejo, CA, Atlanta, GA, Rolling
5%
25%
28%
32%
9%
1%
PARTICPATED IN THE FOCUS GROUPS: YEARS OF SERVICE
WITH THE COMPANY
0-2 years 3-5 years 6-8 years 9-11 years 12 or more years Do not wish to disclose
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Meadows, IL and San Diego, CA) in October 2018. Each of the four campuses had two focus
groups: one dedicated to sales managers and a second separate focus group dedicated to field
sales representatives. Each focus group had five employees attend, resulting in 40 employees in
total participating.
Knowledge
Knowledge includes the distinct areas of factual and conceptual declarative knowledge,
procedural knowledge and metacognitive knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002). To increase
performance, gaps in the various areas of knowledge, influencers must first be identified and
then addressed (Clark & Estes, 2008). The knowledge results section discusses the output from
the instruments used as it relates to how factual declarative and metacognitive knowledge scored
as it relates to VZC’s legacy products and services specific to their U.S. Field Sales teams.
Knowledge Theories
Procedural knowledge is knowing how to go about fixing a defined problem whereas
metacognitive knowledge is the awareness of one’s own cognition and particular cognitive
processes. This type of metacognitive knowledge also allows one to consider contextual and
conditional aspects of a given activity and/or problem (Rueda, 2011). VZC’s U.S. based field
sales team’s procedural and metacognitive knowledge is an important aspect of their job as it
involves having an awareness of one’s own knowledge and involves the ability to reflect and
adapt the way in which we think and operate (Krathwohl, 2002). Applying metacognitive
strategies to learning a new task, especially in business, can significantly assist with learning.
Knowledge Results
A survey, observations and employee focus groups were used to identify the knowledge,
gaps within VZC’s U.S based field sales team. Utilizing Anderson and Krathwohl’s (2001)
framework which was based on Bloom’s taxonomy, knowledge questions were developed for the
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survey and were categorized into procedural, metacognitive and declarative. The knowledge
questions in the survey responded to only by the U.S. Field Sales teams included:
● Question 6: I know where to access legacy product information.
● Question 7: I know where to access legacy pricing information.
● Question 8: I know where to access legacy service information.
● Question 9: I know where to access legacy hardware information.
● Question 10: Increasing my knowledge about new VZC products, prices, services and
or hardware is encouraged.
● Question 11: VZC offers ample opportunities to increase knowledge about our
products, services, promotions and or hardware.
The knowledge questions in the focus groups included:
• Question 5: Who, where and how do you access company information on legacy
pricing, products, promotions, hardware or services?
• Question 6: Who, where and how do you access company information on new
pricing, products, promotions, hardware or services?
• Question 7: What barriers exist and why?
The remote observations conducted by the researcher on 100 U.S. Field Sales representatives
were entirely focused on knowledge including:
• Did the sales representative provide accurate information to the customer? Yes or
No.
• Did the sales representative speak to legacy products accurately? Yes or No.
• Did the sales representative speak to current products and services accurately? Yes or
No.
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The Likert scale for the knowledge survey questions 6–11 ranged from always, usually,
sometimes, rarely to never. Question 6 asked participants if they knew where to access legacy
product information. Question 7 asked if participants knew where to access legacy pricing
information. Question 8 asked participants if they knew where to access legacy service
information. Question 9 asked participants if they knew were to access legacy hardware
information. Question 10 asked participants if they felt as though increasing their knowledge
about VZC products, prices, services and hardware was encouraged. Question 11 asked
participants if they felt VZC offered ample opportunity to increase knowledge about their
products, services or hardware. The aggregated knowledge mean for questions 6–11 was highest
in the “sometimes” category at 35% followed by “rarely” at 27% with “never” at 21%. Almost
half of the survey participants self-identified that they rarely or never know where to access
information needed in order to accurately complete a sales transaction. With the “sometimes”
category having the largest categorical response of the five options, additional and consistent
online learning focused on improving procedural as well as metacognitive knowledge, results
could transition to the “usually” category.

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Figure 10. Knowledge survey questions: responses to knowledge questions 6–11 (N = 1,925)

Another aspect of the knowledge review was conducted during the remote sales
observations. During the observations and as shown in Figure 11, 78 of the 100 calls
demonstrated that the employee attempted to locate legacy product, service and or pricing
information. While 100 observations only reflect a small sample size of the total number of calls
taken daily by all of the U.S. Field Sales representatives, the results suggest that employees are
12% more knowledgeable discussing newer products and have 22% fewer instances of providing
inaccurate information. This is an important observation because inaccurate information can
increase customer dissatisfaction and cost VZC time and money to resolve.

0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Question 6 Question 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10 Question 11
SURVEY: QUESTIONS 6-11
KNOWLEDGE
Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never
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Figure 11. Sales observations broken out by accuracy of information provided. VZC U.S. based
field sales representatives who were observed remotely and without the sales representative or
customers’ knowledge. The chart breaks out the frequency in which accurate information was
provided on either legacy and or current product information.

The focus group attendees, in general, in both the sales representative sessions as well as
the manager sessions were comfortable sharing their opinions regarding training as a means of
increasing knowledge. They indicated that while the increased commitment towards training
internally has helped them in becoming more knowledgeable relative to being able to locate
information more quickly, additional training would also provide valuable benefits as well.
Beyond process and existing product related training, having dedicated time to practice more
often on test accounts without fear of making a mistake was a topic several participants agreed
with during the focus groups. Becoming faster at finding information, providing it to customers
more efficiently was universally shared by managers as well as the sales representatives. In
81%
29%
93%
7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Yes
No
SALES OBSERVATIONS: PROVIDED ACCURATE
INFORMATION
Spoke to current products accurately? Spoke to legacy products accurately?
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addition to improving efficiencies, all eight of the focus groups sessions commented on also
wanting training on industry related topics including competitors.
One sales representative stated, “Our competitors are easier to do business with and in
some cases, they know our business better than we do. If it takes me minutes to locate
information, it will result in a lost sale.” Another sales employee indicated that, “Quota pressure
to meet and or exceed monthly targets has impacted my desire to sign up for optional trainings.
While optional trainings may further help increase my knowledge, it is time away from selling
that creates pressure.” As a result, this sales employee said that they only feel comfortable
attending required training for fear of missing a metric and risk not meeting their monthly or
quarterly quota. Sales quota targets are set quarterly and can get more difficult to meet as the
year progresses because monthly sales shortfalls roll over into the next month potentially
creating a larger aggregated number going into the fourth quarter. When a sales employee is
enrolled in a required training course, they are provided a pro-rated quota relief for the length of
time they are in class or online for class. Optional training courses do not provide quota relief
and 12 of the 20 sales managers who participated in the focus groups commented that this
impacts their ability to encourage participation as it could create accountability issues within
their team. The topic of optional training, consumed a large portion of time during each of the
focus groups. As one sales manager mentioned:
If one of my sales representatives signs up for an optional training and misses their quota,
I cannot pinpoint if they missed their target because of the training or otherwise so I
personally do not encourage my team to sign up for anything other than the newly
published required training course list.
Additionally, during the focus groups in Atlanta for both the managers as well as sales
representatives, the majority of the participants were under the impression that if an online
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training course was provided by VZC, that it was required. They could not distinguish between
what was required versus what was optional. This misunderstanding caused the Atlanta team to
have the highest online training completion rates of all U.S. field offices by more than 10% as of
August 31, 2018 (Atlanta was at 91.7%, the rest of the country was at 81%).
Motivation
According to Clark and Estes (2008), motivation can be defined by three different views:
that the learner chooses to engage in the activity; that the learner is persistent in working towards
the goal; and that the learner puts the mental effort into the task. Motivation also involves taking
initiative and maintaining consistent behavior towards a goal or goals (Mayer, 2011). When
knowledge and motivation intersect, increased performance can occur. This section will review
motivation theories that apply to the U.S. Field Sales representatives at VZC and their
improvement goal along with the motivation results from the survey.
Motivation Theories
Expectancy-value is a function of what one expects and the value in return of that goal.
What is expected and the value of the goal, impacts motivation, which can favorably influence
job performance and can vary by individual and or team. Self-efficacy is a personal and social
construct largely influenced by our collective experiences with others, which can impact
motivation (Pajares, 1996). Making it clear that individuals are capable of being taught or are
capable of performing a task can help improve self-efficacy (Pajares, 1996). A positive self-
efficacy can increase a sense of personal accomplishment, which is critically important in a post-
M&A environment. Furthermore, learning and motivation can be enhanced when learners have
positive expectancies for success (Pajares, 1996). Social cognitive theory is grounded in the
interaction between people, their behavior and their environments.
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Goal orientation theory plays a role in motivation and is a social cognitive theory of
achievement (Anderman et al., 2010). Goal orientation theory has two types of goals: mastery
and performance. Mastery goal involves being task focused, intrinsically motivated with
attention on self-improvement whereas performance goal is associated with ego, extrinsic and
looking better than others which is particularly important for individuals who want to avoid
appearing incompetent (Rueda, 2011). By focusing on mastery, individual improvement,
learning and progress can promote positive motivation towards change (Anderman et al., 2010).
Leveraging the use of management structures in a social group setting that encourages
professional development, and task development, in a safe and comfortable learning
environment, can also promote a positive atmospheric mood for employees. Focusing again on
mastery, individual improvement can occur which promotes positive motivation (Anderman et
al., 2010). Expectancy value, self-efficacy, social cognitive, and goal oriented theories all play a
role in contributing towards motivating employees.
Motivation Results
The motivation questions in the survey completed by the U.S. Field Sales representatives
included:
● Question 12: I schedule myself to attend optional training.
● Question 13: I am motivated to learn more. Choose all that apply (career
advancement opportunities, job security, personal knowledge, money, all of the
above, I am not motivated to learn more).
● Question 14: I am motivated to learn more about our industry.
● Question 15: I am motivated to attend training because they are required, beneficial,
and essential to advance.
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● Question 16: Select always, sometimes or never as it relates to how frequently
participants were motivated to learn more when it came to helping customers,
increasing participant’s salary, helping co-workers or having an impact on their
individual performance appraisal.
The motivation questions in the focus groups included:
• Question 9: Lastly, let’s discuss each of you. How would you describe yourself when
it comes to learning new products and services?
a. Would you say that you are naturally inquisitive? Tell me about a time when
you think you demonstrated this characteristic at work.
b. What motivates you to learn more about our industry, our company and our
competitors?
c. How do you learn best?
d. How do you feel about e-learning (in general) compared to face to face
training at work?
e. Think back to one of your favorite courses you’ve taken provided by the
company, what did you like and why?
U.S. field sales representatives who participated in the survey (N = 1,925) completed
question 12 indicating that 30% of the time they schedule time to attend an optional training
which was the highest response of the 5. However, “rarely” was selected 29% of the time and
“never” was selected 20% of the time which is nearly half of all respondents. The results from
question 12 suggest that there is little to no encouragement from VZC to attend optional training
courses, which has impacted employees interest and motivation to schedule anything beyond
what is required. Quota relief, noted in the knowledge section of the study, may also be reflected
in question 12 as well given the frequency of times this topic surfaced in each of the focus
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groups. Further progress in this area could continue to be impacted if managers do not support
or encourage sales representatives time away from day to day business needs to attend optional
training.

Figure 12. Survey responses to motivation question 12

Note. Participants could not skip or advance to the next question without responding to each
question. The Likert scale ranged from always, usually, sometimes, rarely to never for all 5
motivation questions. The motivation aggregated mean for all 5 questions was highest in the
“sometimes” category at 31% followed by “rarely” at 29% with “never” at 20%. Almost half of
the participants self-identified that they are rarely or never motivated to learn more. “Usually”
was only selected 11% of the time and “always” was selected 9% of the time.

Although VZC has significant pressures internally discouraging optional training
attendance, survey participants representing the U.S. Field Sales team expressed feeling
encouraged and motivated by the mandatory trainings required of them and commented that the
content has been helpful in becoming more knowledgeable about products they had never sold
before and can favorably impact their finances. Question 13 inquired about motivation to learn
and the sales participants indicated that 38% felt job security was their primary reason for being
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never
Question 12: I schedule myself to attend optional training
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motivated to learn. Of the responses to question 13, 32% felt money was their secondary driver,
followed by personal knowledge at 12%, career advancement at 9%, 6% indicated that they are
not motivated to learn and only 3% indicated that all were applicable to them. Question 14
further supports this general interest to learn as 63% of all survey participants indicated that they
were motivated to learn more about their (telematics) industry. Survey question 15 further
supports sales representatives feeling motivated to attend training because they are required as
noted by 45% of the responses. Question 16 inquired about feeling motivated to learn because it
helps their customers, increases their salary, helps co-workers or impacts their year-end
performance appraisal. As part question 16, participants could choose: always, sometimes or
never as their motivation categories. Of the sample group, 55% chose “always” when it came to
helping their customers, 45% chose “always” when it came to increasing their salary, 43% chose
“always” as it related to helping their co-workers and 39% selected “always” because they felt it
had a direct impact to their year-end review. From the survey responses, motivation at VZC
seems to be largely influenced by maintaining their employment, helping customers and job
requirements. A natural desire or interest to learn, self-motivated by only natural curiosity,
without any financial benefits appears to be only minimally present at VZC from those who
participated in the survey.

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Figure 13. Survey responses to motivation question 13

Note. Participants could not skip or advance to the next question without responding to each
question. The Likert scale ranged from always, usually, sometimes, rarely to never for all 6
motivation categories for question 13. The motivation mean was highest in the “job security”
category at 38% followed by “money” at 32% followed by “personal knowledge” at 12%, 6%
indicated that they were not motivated to learn more and 3% chose all of the above.

0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Career
advancement
Job Security Personal
Knowledge
Money All of the Above I am not motivated
to learn more
Question 13: I am motivated to learn more because of...
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Figure 14. Survey responses to motivation question 14

Note. Participants could not skip or advance to the next question without responding to each
question.

63%
37%
Question 14: I am motivated to learn more about VZC’s
industry
Yes No
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Figure 15. Survey responses to motivation question 15. Of the 1,925 responses, 45% indicated
that they were motivated because they are required training course, 36% indicated that they were
motivated to attend training because they were essential and 19% indicated they were beneficial.

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Figure 16. Survey responses to motivation question 16. Categories included, helps our
customers, increases my salary, helps my co-workers and impacts my performance appraisal.
Participants could select amongst always, sometimes or never. The “always” category ranked
the highest in the categories of “help our customers,” “increases my salary,” “helps my co-
workers,” and “impacts my performance appraisal.”

During the focus groups, managers and sales employees indicated that they would be
more motivated to attend optional training courses if quota relief was provided and or a monetary
incentive was offered to commission eligible employees. Job security surfaced during the focus
group discussions with both managers as well as sales representatives. One of the managers was
very passionate about conveying the difficulty she has motivating her employees when there
seems to be a pattern of major organizational changes announced every November. Five sales
representatives (out of 20) indicated that they felt their employment with VZC was unpredictable
and continuously fear layoffs. A sales representative indicated that:
I have now resorted to delaying my own personal financial decisions for my family until
the beginning of the New Year because for the last two years, we have been hit with
55%
45%
43%
39%
42%
33%
21%
31%
3%
22%
36%
30%
HELPS OUR CUSTOMERS INCREASES MY SALARY HELPS MY CO -WORKERS IMPACTS MY
PERFORMANCE
APPRAISAL
QUESTION 16: I AM MOTIVATED TO LEARN MORE
BECAUSE IT...
Always Sometimes Never
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major re orgs. I am constantly worried about my job and whether or not I will be here
beyond tomorrow.
Organization
Misalignment between organizational culture and organizational policies as well as
procedures can create imbalance (Clark & Estes, 2008). Conflict can also arise when people fail
to repeatedly obtain the necessary resources they were promised in order to complete their jobs.
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016b) describes identifying critical behaviors and required drivers
as addressing necessities for success. Having leaders become more visible and involved, can in
part, resolve this issue. When employees provide feedback to leaders and leaders help to align
resources with goals, organizational performance can increase (Knowles, 1980). However, when
employees are not willing or able to provide feedback for fear of retribution or are in a remote
location and do not have direct day to day access to a leader communication can sometimes
become stifled. To assist with creating actionable intelligence which yields honest responses that
is also scalable, an anonymous survey can be used to gather employee feedback with reports
quantifiably summarizing the commentary, which can also serve as a valuable evaluation
instrument. When top management is continually involved in the improvement process,
organizational performance increases (Clark & Estes, 2008). When leaders are not involved and
or working with employees regularly, organizational performance can suffer as a result of not
having ongoing, collaborative discussion about areas of opportunity.
Organizational Theories
Cultural models can be useful in determining performance problems as well as barriers
(Rueda, 2011). Cultural models are often invisible and can be used to characterize organizations,
business settings as well as individuals (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2011). Schein (2016) also
suggests that these shared meanings, rituals and celebrations are also dynamic components to
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cultural models that exist in organizations and are not at all static. While some may see the
ability to measure cultural models as difficult because they are constantly in motion and not
tangible, it can be done and best achieved through observing everyday work settings (Rueda,
2011).
Cultural settings can also be equally informative in determining performance problems as
well as barriers (Rueda, 2011). The who, the what, the where, the when and the why can help
determine and influence, rewards and recognition systems, employee behavior as well as what
spoken and unspoken rules exist. Communication, trust as well as product knowledge at VZC
can also have a significant impact, good or bad, on the organization’s cultural setting. According
to Strebel (1996), cultural settings can also be influenced by employee relationships with others
in which the social reach of employee interactions with one another can be quite powerful.
Organizational effectiveness can also increase when leaders focus the organization’s efforts on
the changes taking place and reinforce the vision within established cultural settings (Knowles,
1980). By providing the benefits associated with changes before they occur, the cultural setting
at VZC can become more collaborative, cohesive and employees will feel more informed.
Organizational Results
The organizational questions in the survey completed by the U.S. Field Sales
representatives included:
● Question 17: VZC encourages learning (yes or no).
● Question 18: I spend ____ of my work day to locating legacy pricing, product, service
and or hardware information (1–2 hours, 3–4 hours, 5–6 hours, 7–8 hours).
● Question 19: Does your department provide you with ample time to attend training
courses (uninterrupted and during work hours).
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● Question 20: In your opinion, is the training provided by VZC beneficial (always,
usually, sometimes, rarely, never)?
● Question 21: Have you been asked to complete a knowledge assessment following
any of your VZC training courses?
● Question 22: Is VZC a place where questions about products, services, promotions,
hardware are encouraged?
● Questions 23: We have ___meetings a month where we are invited to ask questions
about training (always, usually, sometimes, rarely, never).
● Questions 24: Are there any barriers that exist that discourage questions (always,
usually, sometimes, rarely, never).
● Questions 25: Please use the textbox to capture any additional comments regarding
training, resources and or the organization.
The organizational questions in the focus group included:
● Question 9: How would you describe the culture of our organization?
a) Is it a place where questions about our legacy products and services are
welcome? Are questions responded to in a timely manner in your opinion?
b) Are those who ask questions rewarded or punished for their inquiries?
c) Is the information provided by the company beneficial
Of the U.S. Field Sales employees who participated in the survey, only 44% indicated
that VZC encourages training (question 17). Likewise, survey respondents noted that they spend
65%–80% of their day looking for legacy product information (question 18), while 75%
indicated that their department rarely or never provides ample time to attend training (question
19), with 61% feeling as though training is rarely or never beneficial (question 20). An area of
concern also surfaced during question 24 which inquired about the frequency of barriers that
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arise that discourage questions from being asked with 69% of the survey participants indicating
that obstacles occur always or usually. As part of the survey, question 25 provided an
opportunity for respondents to include any additional comments before the results were recorded.
Three primary categories emerged from the optional textbox with 46% of the participants
choosing to not include any comments, 33% indicating that training is helpful but not offered
enough and 21% indicating that training was not a good use of time. The researcher inquired
further about the barriers discouraging questions as well as attempting to further identify why
employees had differing perspectives on training as part of question 9 in the focus groups.

Figure 17. Organization survey question 19. Participants were asked to rate how often their
department provides ample time to attend training and were able to choose amongst always,
usually, sometimes, rarely and never.

1%
5%
19%
44%
31%
QUESTION 19: DOES YOUR DEPARTMENT PROVIDE AMPLE
TIME TO ATTEND TRAINING
Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never
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Figure 18. Organization survey question 20. Participants were asked to rate how beneficial VZC
training was. Participants were to choose amongst always, usually, sometimes, rarely or never.

Figure 19. Organization survey question 24. Participants were asked to identify whether or not
there were any barriers that existed within VZC that discourage asking questions.
7%
9%
23%
36%
25%
QUESTION 20: IS VZC TRAINING BENEFICIAL
Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never
27%
42%
22%
7%
2%
QUESTION 24: ARE THERE ANY BARRIERS THAT EXIST THAT
DISCOURAGE QUESTIONS?
Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never
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The focus group attendees in both the manager as well as sales representative sessions
were also generally comfortable sharing their opinions and beliefs about VZC as an organization.
Job security and fear once again surfaced and in all eight of the focus groups. When the
researcher began question 9b which asked about what motivates you to learn more, one manager
immediately responded with, “my family motivates me to learn more.” As follow up dialogue
occurred, the group began to openly convey the pressure they feel daily about their own job
security as well as their sales representatives. Most commented about how their best
representatives are voluntarily leaving the company and or are looking on an ongoing basis
because of fear of being unemployed. When the researcher inquired about sales quotas, one
manager said, “A quota is part of being in sales. Fear of losing your job because of the unknown
is what keeps me up at night.” The focus groups dedicated to the sales representatives
unfortunately also shared this sentiment. Following the researcher inquiring about question 9e
which asks about favorite courses taken at the company and why, one employee said, “I enjoyed
the go to market product training we took last month because I knew it was required and I knew
it would help my performance.” The other sales representatives in the room nodded their heads
in agreement so the researcher asked why this was the case universally with all of the attendees.
Another sales representative said in response, “Simply put, we didn’t fear that we would be fired
because we didn’t know about that product which is one less thing I have to stress about.”
Further discussion about online training identified that almost all of the participants, managers as
well as sales representatives, enjoyed the convenience it offered because they did not have to
physically fly to another location or go to a conference room to take the training. A
representative who was somewhat quiet at the beginning of the focus group said, “I’ve worked
for other companies and VZC really invests well in making online content available and
interactive for us whether the class is live or pre-recorded. I like that I have options.” The
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researcher inquired further about the barriers discouraging questions during the focus groups
with both managers as well as sales representatives. Several employees indicated that training
time is so tightly scheduled that the trainers are often left with little to no time to address
questions during the class. Instead, participants are asked to email questions that often take days
before they receive a response. Of the 20 managers and 20 sales representatives, more than 50%
in each group commented about IT related issues as a barrier that exists. Upon further
discussion, legacy exempt as well as non-exempt employees indicated that there is a firewall
issue that creates significant frustration because it causes additional key strokes to be taken to
access even the most basic information. Legacy employees from company V did not experience
this same issue and indicated that they had heard of it before but could not speak to it since it
does not impact them.
Synthesis
This study utilized surveys and observations completed by representatives of the U.S.
Field sales team and focus groups amongst managers and sales representatives in different
sessions, to identify the knowledge, motivation and organizational gaps within VZC as a result of
launching a single LMS in a newly formed organization post-M&A. The data from the study
suggests that the LMS has provided a universal location for all employees to go to for their
online training needs regardless of what legacy company they originated from. Data identified
amongst both the sales representatives as well as the managers that barriers still exist within
VZC related to knowledge, motivation and the organization that includes job performance
pressures and uncertainty about their short and long term employment at the company. While a
desire to learn is present at VZC, it is largely influenced by job security or lack thereof, which
can impede an increase in required online training participation as well as optional training
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courses offered by the company. Addressing these barriers may lead to greater performance,
reduced employee turnover and further engagement.
Knowledge
Data analysis also suggested that declarative, conceptual as well as procedural gaps exist
amongst the U.S. Field sales team, as most evident when legacy product knowledge needs arise
while assisting a current or prospective customer. While employees exhibit a basic
understanding of legacy product knowledge, they lack the conceptual knowledge to properly use
metacognitive strategies to assist with a wide array of customer scenarios and their associated
needs. Procedural knowledge was also a gap identified however, mostly attributed to IT or
system related barriers. Sales representatives from one of the two legacy companies do not
currently have immediate access to historical information which presents complexities and time
delays when it occurs. To mitigate the procedural challenges, VZC can use auditory and or
visual information, internally referred to as a quick review guide (QRG) to maximize working
memory capacity and guide the employee during the customer scenario (Mayer, 2011).
Furthermore, improved learning as well as motivation at VZC can be further enhanced if sales
representatives value the task at hand (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002).
Motivation
The data from the survey responses completed by the U.S. Field Sales representatives as
well as the focus groups that also included the Sales managers, indicates that individual and team
self-efficacy could be improved as it relates to locating and applying legacy product knowledge.
U.S. Field Sales representatives need to focus on goal orientation in which individual
improvement, learning and progress promotes positive motivation (Anderman et al., 2010).
Likewise, the data also suggests that managers and the executive team can further support
motivation internally by creating a positive environment that supports motivation. In doing so,
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cognitive skills as a mastery (performance) goal can increase (Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda,
2011).
Organization
The data from the survey responses completed by the U.S. Field Sales representatives as
well as the focus groups that also included the Sales managers also suggests that there are critical
gaps at the organizational level as well. Changes that have occurred since the M&A as well as
continuous organizational realignments, have caused employees to feel uncertain about their job
performance, job security and their desire to invest their own time into their career beyond what
is required of them. VZC needs to develop a culture of transparency that will improve trust
amongst employees and create a positive cultural setting for not just the sales team but the
organization at large. Sharing with employees the short term as well as long term direction of
the company can help increase trust that will inevitably have a positive impact on employee and
team performance as well as turnover, all of which will also help the company grow.
Conclusion
Chapter 4 presented the results of the quantitative survey and the qualitative findings
from the observations and focus groups. The discussion included both the assumed influences
presented in Chapter 3 as well as the conceptual framework and the corresponding literature.
The findings in Chapter 4 offer a unique view, having applied a mixed methods approach, into
the impacts of deploying a single LMS into a post-M&A organization. Likewise, the results also
offer an idiosyncratic employee view into the perceptions of employees who have experienced
an M&A and their associated impacts related to learning.
Findings
This section presents the findings of the study and is organized by each of the four
research questions. Within each research question, lies a series of themes that emerged from the
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data collection and review process. Chapter 4 culminates with a summary of the findings and
explains the significance of the research. Chapter 5 will provide recommendations for
organizational practice.
Research Question 1
To what extent has the organization met its goal of increasing online learning
participation by 25% using a single LMS, prior to the start of this study was at 50%, by August
31, 2018?
VZC met the goal they established by increasing online learning participation by 25% by
August 31, 2018 following the implementation of a single LMS. While VZC met their online
learning goal, the study revealed perceptions from the U.S. Field Sales regarding online training
participation. As part of the survey, question 12 asked participants to self-identify how often
they scheduled themselves to attend optional online training. Almost half of the respondents
indicated that they rarely or never schedule optional online training. However, 63% of the
participants answered question 14 by indicating that they were motivated to learn more about
VZC’s industry and 64% indicated that they found VZC training to be beneficial or essential.
With such an interest to learn more, the researcher sought to identify why there was a desire to
learn more and yet individuals were not signing up to attend optional training. During five of the
focus groups, managers as well as sales representatives indicated that they felt a tremendous
amount of stress to meet or exceed their monthly sales goals and that required online training
attendance provided temporary quota relief for the length of time of the course. On the contrary,
optional training did not provide quota relief and several commented that the risks of missing
their monthly targets outweighed the perceived benefits of attending. One sales manager
indicated that she felt conflicted and to avoid the possibility of one person impacting the entire
department, that she does not intentionally encourage her employees to sign up. A sales
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representative also mentioned that he saw training as beneficial in general but not at the sake of
losing his job. With 69% of focus groups indicating that they are naturally inquisitive, VZC
might benefit from considering quota relief for all time spent attending training, optional or
required.

Figure 20. VZC U.S. Sales department online training participation rates from January 2018
through November 16, 2018

Research Question 2
What were the U.S. Field Sales team’s knowledge and barriers related to achieving this
organizational goal?
Stakeholder knowledge and barriers related to achieving the organizational goal were
identified through the survey as well as employee focus groups. With 31% of survey
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Jan-18
Feb-18
Mar-18
Apr-18
May-18
Jun-18
Jul-18
Aug-18
Sep-18
Oct-18
November 2018 Run rate
VZC SALES DEPARTMENT ONLINE TRAINING PARTICIPATION
RATES
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respondents indicating that they have 9–11 years of service, knowledge should not normally be
an issue but in a post-M&A environment, it can present complications given the use of different
systems needing to be accessed for even the simplest account change. Several focus group
respondents indicated that IT-related issues were the largest barrier in accessing information
post-training. Upon further clarification, two key barriers emerged: (1) system access for legacy
employees; and (2) Not having the ability to practice processes requiring system access post-
training. In speaking with participants during the focus groups, it was shared that legacy
employees are required to go through an additional security process in order to access customer
information which adds time and complexity to customer requests. This additional step has
created employee frustration and has also developed a feeling of being treated differently than
those employees who were part of the company prior to the M&A. Likewise, when employees
attend online training, the L&D team has provided special test accounts that are used to practice
and are not tied to actual customer information therefore making participants feel more
comfortable with the possibility of making a mistake. Furthermore, while in a training
environment, employees do not have to go through the additional security provision since it is a
simulated experience. As a result, the L&D simulation environment involves fewer steps to
access and complete transactions which is significantly different than in a live post-training
environment. The simulation created for training may require four steps to complete one
transaction where as in a live environment, it may take up to 12 for those employees who were
from one of the two acquired companies.
Research Question 3
What was the interaction between the U.S. Field Sales team as the stakeholder group of
focus for this study, the organizational culture and their knowledge and motivation?
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In the book, The Speed of Trust, Stephen Covey indicates that, “according to a Watson
Wyatt Human Capital study, high trust organizations outperform low-trust organizations by
286% in total return to shareholders” (p. 9). After reviewing the knowledge, motivation and
organization questions in the survey as well as from the employee focus groups, it became
evident that VZC employees lack complete organizational trust, which has impacted their natural
curiosity to learn. More than half of the focus group attendees negatively commented about how
frequently lay-offs have occurred since the merger and acquisitions have taken place. Many
employees also noted how stressful the fourth quarter has become given continuous rumors of
job cuts which has created tremendous amount of mistrust. The frequency of organizational
changes and continuously seeing their peers leave, has caused employees to not want to attend
anything beyond what is required of them. In fact, four out of the 20 attendees commented that
prior to joining the focus group, that they had pre-determined how much time they would need to
make up to offset their missed time prior to joining the discussion. While more than half of the
survey participants indicated on question 24 that they are naturally inquisitive, 42% indicated
that they usually encounter barriers that exist that discourage questions. After probing further
during the focus groups, employees are not discouraged when it comes to actually asking
questions but rather are nervous about time spent on any perceived voluntary activities that may
take time away from selling or meeting their performance metrics for the month. Competing
forces that involve wanting to learn more but fear of losing their job appear to have taken priority
over professional development interests.
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Research Question 4
What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
Competing priorities. VZC has a significant number of employees who genuinely want
to learn and are naturally inquisitive. However, competing priorities when it comes to meeting
or exceeding sales quotas seems to supercede all other activities. As a result, VZC should
consider providing temporary quota relief for all time spent participating in online training
activities, voluntary or involuntary. Time spent attending training should not be perceived to be
a cost to the business but instead, could provide a different return on investment by way of
employees being able to more quickly assist customers thereby spending less time on each
transaction and being able to serve more. Additionally, customer satisfaction scores have the
potential of increasing as a result of the organization transitioning from a low-trust cultural
environment to a high trust environment (Covey, 2006). Higher customer satisfaction scores
could also increase revenue and sales.
Trust. Although VZC experienced an 8% increase in growth year to date as of
November 15th, they fell short of their goal, which was to reach at least 10%. Furthermore,
employee net promoter score (eNPS) participation reached an all-time high with 90% of all VZC
employees completing the survey which suggests that employees want to share their opinions
and beliefs however, also want to see action from their feedback. Removing the IT barrier for
legacy employees could help demonstrate the type of action needed while also increasing trust
internally. Likewise, having open conversations with employees regarding the pressures they are
feeling from the uncertainly about job stability, may also help overcome obstacles that may be
interfering from moving their performance from single digit growth in 2018 to double digit
growth in 2019.
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Summary
Forbes magazine publishes an annual report produced by Stratista that highlights
America’s 100 Best Companies to work for. Nearly 30,000 employees are surveyed and the
results can be separated by industry vertical, size of the organization and a wide array of
specialized metrics including diversity, benefits and working conditions. Regardless of how the
results are divided though, two thirds of the survey’s criteria are based on trust factors (Covey,
2006). In fact, Covey refers to trust as “the new currency of business” (p. 342). If trust is just as
powerful as money, VZC should carefully consider the results of this study and address issues
that surfaced from the survey and focus group results. Specific areas of opportunity identified
include addressing ways to increase optional online training attendance, reducing the number of
competing business priorities, resolving IT related system matters for legacy employees and
understanding the stress employees encounter. The stress VZC employees identified are
associated with performance related pressures as well as with constant change including when
the organization at large encounters multiple reductions in force and the residual ongoing
impacts it has on employees who stay with the company.

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CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Chapter 4, assumed influences in the study were validated through qualitative and
quantitative data analysis and organized into knowledge, motivation and organizational areas of
opportunity. Chapter 5 will discuss the significance of these findings with regard to theoretical
principles and provide tactical recommendations to address areas in need of improvement.
Similar to Chapter 4, the recommendations are organized into categories of validated knowledge,
motivation and organizational influences. Recommendations are context specific and research-
based in an effort to academically support the rationalization of each and to increase
implementation. Chapter 4 also includes the New World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016a) and how it can be used to implement the recommendations and evaluate the
impact post-execution. The New World Kirkpatrick Model has four levels and the researcher
recommends utilizing them in reverse order to fully optimize the impact beginning with the end
in mind by first focusing on results, behavior, learning and lastly, reaction. Successfully
applying the New World Kirkpatrick Model can provide important information about whether or
not the recommendations are providing the desired results for VZC and further increasing online
training participation.
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
Knowledge Recommendations
Introduction. Table 7 represents the assumed knowledge influences and whether or not
they were validated through information gathered in the surveys, remote observations and
employee focus groups. The first three itemized, assumed knowledge influences are a priority
but while important, the fourth and final influence is not a priority for VZC. Recommendations
for each of these knowledge influences are also included.
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Table 7
Summary of Assumed Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
Validated
(Y, N) Principle and Citation Context-Specific Recommendation
The U.S. field sales team
does not know how to access
legacy product information.
As a result, the entire sales
department is not
comfortable completing a
simple un-assisted sales
transaction for a legacy
product (P).
Y Modeling:
Model effective strategy use,
including “how” and “when”
to use particular strategies
(Schraw, 2006).
Feedback:
Continued practice promotes
automaticity and takes less
capacity in working memory
(Schraw, 2006).
Providing scaffolding and
assisted performance in a
person’s ZPD promotes
developmentally appropriate
instruction (Scott &
Palincsar, 2013).
A job aide (internally referred to as a quick
review guide) will be developed, introduced
and the steps to access legacy product
information will be practiced during weekly
sales manager staff meetings. This weekly
training will help sales representatives
identify how and when to access legacy
product information.
The group practice of the QRG will first be
modeled by the manager with the team
practicing thereafter as a group. Feedback
will be provided as a group and also during
manager/sales representative individual
weekly one-on-ones.
The U.S. Field sales team
needs to have conceptual
knowledge of products in
order to plan for and/or
recommend specific services
to customers along with the
ability to change their
tactical response if
difficulties during the
discussion arise (i.e.,
feature/product, price,
contract, technical
obstacles). The
metacognitive ability to
think about thinking prior to
speaking is needed in order
to identify what approach to
take next, which will differ
by customer, is an important
part of the sales process (M).
Y The use of metacognitive
strategies, facilitates learning
(Baker, 2005).
Having learners think aloud;
talk about what they are
doing and why as they
participate in learning, can
help increase metacognition
(Baker, 2005).
Online training will be developed with
individuals placed into groups to discuss
product features along with sharing best
practices on specific (industry) verticals.
Group discussion will help facilitate product
thinking which will help the sales
representatives determine which product best
meets the customer’s needs. By having
individuals occasionally perform difficult
tasks in partnership with others can further
support learning.
While in groups, managers will initiate the
demonstration by modeling an example,
sales representatives will then be placed into
groups to practice role play scenarios with
feedback provided by their peer group, then
roles reversed with feedback provided again
so that all have an opportunity to provide
coaching and receive feedback. By
providing sufficient scaffolding and tools to
facilitate learning and performance, then
gradually withdraw the scaffolds as learning
progresses and performance improves, can
help increase learning.
During the training, learners will individually
reflect upon their own knowledge and
application experience by capturing personal
notes in an effort to debrief the thinking
process upon completion of each learning
task.

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Table 7, continued
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
Validated
(Y, N) Principle and Citation Context-Specific Recommendation
The U.S. field sales team
needs to have factual
knowledge of current and
legacy prices in order to
provide accurate quotes to
customers (D).
Y Integrating auditory and
visual information
maximizes working memory
capacity (Mayer, 2011).
Guidance, modeling,
coaching, and other
scaffolding during
performance (Mayer, 2011).
Social interaction,
cooperative learning, and
cognitive apprenticeships
(such as reciprocal teaching)
facilitate construction of new
knowledge (Scott &
Palincsar, 2013).
When speaking with a customer, it can
become quickly apparent when incorrect
pricing information has been previously
shared by the prior representative. In order
to provide a safe learning environment for
sales representatives to listen to potential
verbal queues when speaking with
customers, managers will use a portion of
their staff meetings to demonstrate mock
customer scenarios involving price quotes.
By listening to each other and identifying
changes in the environment, conscious
decisions will be verbalized to help connect
the cause to the effect which is associated
with what often creates an avoidable
customer escalation as a result of misquoting
incorrect pricing information being provided.
Customer role play scenarios use a
scaffolding approach to help build upon prior
learning discussions.
The U.S. field sales team has
not reflected or publicly
shared their individual levels
of confidence interacting
with various customer types
(M).
Y The use of metacognitive
strategies facilitates learning
(Baker, 2005).
Not a priority.
While changes in the sales department can
influence confidence levels with sales
representatives interacting with various
customer types, this task has not been
prioritized for this problem of practice but
has instead been deferred to each individual
manager.
Note. (D) represents “Declarative,” (P) represents “Procedural,” and (M) represents “Metacognitive.”

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The VZC U.S. based field sales team does not know how to access legacy product
information for every customer interaction. By modelling effective strategy use including “how”
and “when” to use particular strategies (Schraw, 2006), should help resolve this knowledge gap.
Furthermore, since continued practice promotes automaticity and takes less capacity in working
memory (Schraw, 2006), this learning principle is also a key factor for the VZC U.S. based sales
team. As a result, developing a quick review guide (QRG) that sales representatives can use,
which outlines the steps needed to go about accessing legacy product information needed to
assist with customer questions, will help resolve this procedural opportunity. The QRG coupled
with group practice and real time feedback, will help employees improve internal efficiencies
while ensuring accurate information is provided to the customer. Having a QRG document
readily available will reduce needing to commit the information to memory and will decrease
unnecessary offline re-work as well as time when a customer inquires about what they are paying
for and why.
Procedural knowledge is knowledge about how to do something (Anderson & Krathwohl,
2001). Analysis of the data for this study reveals that members of the VZC U.S. based field sales
team lack procedural knowledge on how to access legacy product information. Providing
opportunities for employees to model the “how” as well as the “when,” improves recall with
procedural tasks (Schraw, 2006). The use of a job aide coupled with feedback or
recommendations on when to use the document, works well together because it fosters a positive
learning environment. Providing a scaffolding approach to using a job aide in a group setting,
promotes developmentally appropriate instruction (Scott & Palincsar, 2013). Educating the
entire U.S. field sales team through a job aide on the steps needed in order to access current and
past prices, supports knowledge recall and provides a consistent, informed approach for the
entire sales team. The use of a job aide, eliminates the need to fully commit all of the details to
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memory, should help increase accuracy as well as reduce customer frustration and employee re-
work.
Metacognitive knowledge solutions, description of needs or assets. The VZC team
lacks the ability to change their verbal tactical response if difficulties during discussions with
customers arise. As a result, the use of metacognitive strategies can help facilitate learning
(Baker, 2005). Likewise, having learners, in this case the U.S. field sales team at VZC, think
aloud and talk about what they are doing and why as they participate in learning, can help
increase metacognition as well (Baker, 2005). Conducting live training where individuals are
placed into groups, to discuss product features along with sharing best practices on specific
customer scenarios, can help facilitate product thinking which will help the sales representatives
determine which product is most suitable. By having individuals think about thinking and think
about doing, conceptual knowledge of products will improve.
Metacognitive knowledge is the awareness of one’s own cognition and particular
cognitive processes (Rueda, 2011). This type of knowledge allows one to consider contextual
and conditional aspects of a given activity and or problem (Rueda, 2011). In general, it also
involves having awareness of one’s own knowledge and involves the ability to reflect and adapt
the way in which we think and operate (Krathwohl, 2002). Applying metacognitive strategies to
learning a new task, especially in business, can significantly assist with learning. The
development of awareness and feeling as though one is metacognitively in control are two key
components of metacognition (Baker, 2005). Reflecting, adapting, talking about steps to
complete a task with others as well as individually, can collectively increase metacognition. As
a result, metacognitive knowledge can be improved by having VZC sales representatives
undergo live, training that allows participants to be placed into groups to discuss various
customer scenarios.
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Declarative knowledge solutions, description of needs or assets. The U.S. field sales
team at VZC needs to have the factual declarative pricing knowledge for current or legacy
products. Using auditory and visual examples can maximize working memory capacity while
also helping to create a scaffolding environment that together can further enhance learning
(Mayer, 2011). Likewise, as changes in the environment can affect behavior (Daly, 2006;
Tuckman & Jensen, 1977), each sales quote interaction between a sales representative and a
customer can vary drastically. As a result, the recommendation is to use a portion of the sales
manager’s weekly staff meeting, along with a job aide, to create a safe learning environment to
practice different sale quote scenarios out loud and as a team. Having time dedicated to this on a
consistent basis will help sales representatives connect the potential cause with the effect by
consciously practicing their verbal responses which should help decrease inaccurate information
reaching customers.
The use of auditory and visual information can maximize working memory capacity
(Mayer, 2011). Factual declarative knowledge includes the basic elements needed in order to
solve a problem (Krathwohl, 2002). As a result, factual declarative knowledge can be enhanced
with the use of a job aide because it can visually outline steps for employees but can also be
introduced and practiced as a group that helps auditory learners while maximizing working
memory capacity. To take performance to the next level, a job aide, coupled with guidance,
coaching and modeling from leaders and others, can also increase declarative knowledge while
creating a supportive learning environment (Mayer, 2011). Social interaction and cooperative
learning have proven to be effective when facilitating the construction of new knowledge (Scott
& Palincsar, 2013). Implementing a job aide at VZC while incorporating group discussion with
peers and managers, will be a valuable resource in helping to increase declarative knowledge for
the U.S. field sales team while also bringing groups together using a single tool.
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Motivation Recommendations
Introduction. Clark and Estes (2008) indicate that motivation is influenced by the
specific individual and their choice to participate, how much they want to commit and whether or
not they choose to persist in achieving the goal or not. As part of the motivation
recommendations for VZC, Table 8 introduces the motivational influences and recommendations
for the company. Expectancy value, self-efficacy as well as goal orientation were identified and
validated through the research as areas of importance. Principles and recommendations have
been provided to support the changes needed. Each have been prioritized and listed in order of
importance.
VZC employees need to believe they can accurately position products and services to
customers. Pajares (1996) suggests that high self-efficacy can positively influence motivation.
Furthermore, providing opportunities for learners as individuals and as a group to practice along
with real time feedback, can also assist with improving self-efficacy. As a result, before, during
and after training, the trainer will make it clear that sales employees are capable of learning and
successfully applying what has been taught.

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Table 8
Summary of Assumed Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Motivation
Influence
Validated
(Y, N) Principle and Citation Context-Specific Recommendation
Expectancy
Value:
Employees need
to find (utility)
value in
knowing legacy
products and
services.
Y Rationales that include
a discussion of the
importance and utility
value of the work or
learning can help
learners develop
positive values (Eccles
& Wigfield, 2002;
Pintrich, 2003).
Trainers will provide opportunities
during live online training before,
during and after about the benefits
from increased knowledge.
Self-Efficacy:
Employees need
to believe they
can accurately
position product
and services.
Y High self-efficacy can
positively influence
motivation (Pajares,
1996).
Focusing on mastery,
individual
improvement, learning,
and progress promotes
positive motivation
(Anderman et al.,
2010).
Verbal persuasion
assists in the
development of self-
efficacy.
Before, during and after training,
the trainer will make it clear that
sales employees are capable of
learning what is being taught
which includes accurately
positioning products and services
to customers.
Likewise, providing opportunities
for learners as individuals and as a
group to practice along with real
time feedback in a safe learning
environment where risks are
encouraged, can also assist with
improving self-efficacy. Through
verbal persuasion, the learner can
further develop their self-efficacy.
Lastly, assessing the mental effort
of the learner by conducting a
survey asking the learner to rate
their level of mental effort during
the task.

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Table 8, continued
Assumed Motivation
Influence
Validated
(Y, N) Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Employees feel as
though they can
increase their product
knowledge by
observing other
employees actively
engaging with
customers.
Goal Theory:
Mastery
Y Feedback that is
private, specific, and
timely enhances
performance (Shute,
2008).
Creating a positive
emotional environment
that supports
motivation, can also
help increase social
cognitive skills as
mastery (performance)
goal (Clark & Estes,
2008; Rueda, 2011).
Social interaction,
cooperative learning,
and cognitive
apprenticeships (such
as reciprocal teaching)
facilitate construction
of new knowledge
(Scott & Palincsar,
2013).
[Help sales employees acquire
new behaviors through
demonstration and modeling.]
Trainers will provide dedicated
time during each learning
module to provide public
praise and private criticism to
help increase product
knowledge. By making it safe
to take risks, learning can be
positively enriched.
Training will also be purposely
designed to have participants
grouped together as part of the
demonstration and modeling
components of the instruction.
Survey the sales department
with a focus on the importance
mastering product knowledge.
Goal Orientation
(Mastery goal):
Employees feel
comfortable
discussing their own
lack of knowledge,
sharing with others
and making training
a safe environment
for procedural
mistakes to be made.
Y Focusing on mastery,
individual
improvement, learning,
and progress promotes
positive motivation
(Anderman et al.,
2010).
Leverage the assistance of
managers during training to
encourage personal and social
responsibility should provide a
safe, comfortable, and
predictable environment.
Survey and interview sales
employees following training
with a focus on the importance
and value of the task.

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Self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a personal and social construct largely influenced by our
collective experiences with others, which can impact motivation (Pajares, 1996). Making it clear
that individuals are capable of being taught or are capable of performing a task can help improve
self-efficacy (Pajares, 1996). A positive self-efficacy can increase a sense of personal
accomplishment, which is critically important in a post-M&A environment. Furthermore,
learning and motivation can be enhanced when learners have positive expectancies for success
(Pajares, 1996).
Value. Expectancy-value is a function of what one expects and the value in return of that
goal. What is expected and the value of the goal, impacts motivation, which can favorably
influence job performance and can vary by individual and or team. Delivering at or above
monthly sales objectives is an expectation of VZC so helping employees find value in linking
legacy products and services to meeting and or exceeding business metrics is a strategic
imperative for this newly-formed organization. As a result, VZC plans to have sales managers as
well as high performing sales employees share the value of learning about legacy products and
services as a department and in multiple settings.
Pintrich (2003) suggests that discussing the importance and value of learning as a group
can help employees positively influence others in developing a shared interest. Eccles and
Wigfield (2002) indicates that there is a relationship between beliefs and cultural norms that
impact different value types. Utility value, one of the four value types noted by Eccles and
Wigfield, is associated with whether or not individuals want to complete the task at hand, and
can be shaped by individual and or collective experiences. Various experiences then have the
ability to influence employees by determining whether or not they find the new knowledge
useful in meeting future goals. Activating and building upon personal interests as a group, can
increase learning and motivation (Schraw & Lehman, 2001). As a result, having sales managers
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and high performing employees share their own personal experiences surrounding the benefits of
having legacy product knowledge, other sales employees should utility value in this task should
increase.
Emotions or mood. Social cognitive theory is grounded in the interaction between
people, their behavior and their environments. VZC sales representatives do not feel as though
they can increase their product knowledge as a result of being new to the organization. To help
VZC sales employees feel as though they can increase their legacy product knowledge, social
interaction and cooperative learning can help facilitate construction of new knowledge (Scott &
Palincsar, 2013). Through group demonstrations, modeling and discussion, VZC sales
employees should be able to check their progress and adjust their approach if necessary.
Likewise, having managers provide private coaching to each employee outside of and in addition
to the group discussions, will also support a positive support system that encourages
development. Lastly, having various employees work together will also change the learning
environment by inviting each to learn from one another in a safe and comfortable setting.
Goal orientation theory also plays a role in motivation and is a social cognitive theory of
achievement (Anderman et al., 2010). Goal orientation theory has two types of goals; mastery
and performance. Mastery goal involves being task focused, intrinsically motivated with
attention on self-improvement whereas performance goal is associated with ego, extrinsic and
looking better than others which is particularly important for individuals who want to avoid
appearing incompetent (Rueda, 2011). By focusing on mastery, individual improvement,
learning and progress can promote positive motivation towards change (Anderman et al., 2010).
Leveraging the use of management structures in a social group setting that encourages
professional development, and task development, in a safe and comfortable learning
environment, can also promote a positive atmospheric mood for employees. Focusing again on
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mastery, individual improvement can occur which promotes positive motivation (Anderman et
al., 2010). Expectancy value, self-efficacy, social cognitive, and goal oriented theories all play a
role in contributing towards motivating employees.
Organization Recommendations
Introduction. Table 9 represents a complete list of assumed VZC organizational
influences and their validation category based upon the most frequently mentioned areas of
opportunity that impact achieving the stakeholder’s goal during informal interviews, supported
by the literature review and the review of organization and culture theory. Stakeholder priorities
often fail as a result of not being directly aligned with the organization’s culture, mission and
goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). As a result, stakeholder priorities must be aligned throughout the
company with the organization’s mission and goals in order to be achieved. Table 9 identifies
three critical organizational influences that have been validated and have a high priority for
achieving the stakeholder’s goal that must also be aligned with the company’s mission and goals.
Table 9 also shows the recommendations for these influences based upon theoretical principles.

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Table 9
Summary of Assumed Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Organization
Influence
Validated
(Y, N) Principle and Citation Context-Specific Recommendation
The business needs to
provide cross
company
communication to help
explain why the
organizational culture
is changing and the
benefits as well as its
impacts (cultural
model).
Y Organizational
performance
increases when
individuals
communicate
constantly and
candidly to others
about plans and
processes (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
A weekly recap newsletter will be
created and sent to all employees will
include company benefits and
“WIIFM” (what’s in it for me)
categories to help convey why specific
changes are being made. The
newsletter will be used consistently in
Manager staff meetings with their
employees as perceptions and beliefs
are a critical component in
organizations cultural models.
A sales employee survey will be
created and distributed that focuses on
quantifying and understanding
employees’ level of knowledge
surrounding why VZC’s organizational
culture is changing and the benefits
associated with the various changes
that have occurred.
The organization does
not have clear
direction on internal
change(s) and why
change is important.
(cultural setting).
Y Organizational
performance
increases when
individuals
communicate
constantly and
candidly to others
about plans and
processes (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
Organizational
effectiveness
increases when
leaders identify,
articulate, focus the
organization’s efforts
on and reinforce the
organization’s vision;
they lead from the
why (Knowles,
1980).
Managers will include organizational
changes during weekly staff meetings
and include open dialogue as an
opportunity to ask questions. This will
also help provide clearer direction on
internal changes and why they are
important.
A weekly recap newsletter will be sent
to all sales employees and will include
the “why for the “what” as well as the
“WIIFM” (what’s in it for me)
categories to help convey why specific
changes are being made and their
associated benefits.
A sales employee survey will be
created and distributed that focuses on
measuring and understanding
employees level of knowledge
surrounding why changes have
occurred within VZC’s organization.
The survey will be anonymous and
participation will be voluntary.

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Table 9, continued
Assumed Organization
Influence
Validated
(Y, N) Principle and Citation Context-Specific Recommendation
The organization
needs to develop a list
of needed internal
resources, prioritize
them, align them with
processes and
communicate their
status frequently as
updates are made
(policy and procedure
changes).
Y Organizational
performance
increases when
processes and
resources are aligned
with goals established
collaboratively (Clark
& Estes, 2008).
Organizational
performance
increases when top
management is
continually involved
in the improvement
process (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
Sales managers will ask during weekly
one on one meetings what sales tools
are needed that employees don’t
already have access to or don’t exist to
help increase business efficiencies.
The list will then be provided to
Directors as part of the annual
planning process.
A sales employee survey will be
created and distributed by each sales
manager that focuses on measuring
and understanding employees’ level of
knowledge surrounding tools and
resources they have currently have
access to and or need in order to be
successful at their job. The survey will
care for anonymity in the event
employees are not comfortable
discussing tools needed openly with
their managers.

Policies and procedures at VZC are constantly changing and determined by the executive
leadership team in isolation. Changes associated with policy and procedure changes also impact
internal resources needed to conduct business that are not communicated in advance. Clark and
Estes (2008) suggest that organizational performance increases when processes and resources are
aligned with goals established collaboratively. As a result, sales managers will ask during
weekly staff meeting discussions what sales tools are needed that employees don’t already have
access to and discuss these needs with the executive team.
Discussing needs collaboratively will help increase efficiencies while also helping to
improve the planning process. Misalignment between organizational culture and organizational
policies as well as procedures can create imbalance (Clark & Estes, 2008). Conflict can also
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arise when people fail to repeatedly obtain the necessary resources they were promised in order
to complete their jobs. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016b) describes identifying critical
behaviors and required drivers as addressing necessities for success. Having leaders become
more visible and involved, can in part, resolve this issue. When employees provide feedback to
leaders and leaders help to align resources with goals, organizational performance can increase
(Knowles, 1980). However, when employees are not willing or able to provide feedback for fear
of retribution or are in a remote location and do not have direct day to day access to a leader
communication can sometimes become stifled. To assist with creating actionable intelligence
which yields honest responses that is also scalable, an anonymous survey can be used to gather
employee feedback with reports quantifiably summarizing the commentary, which can also serve
as a valuable evaluation instrument. When top management is continually involved in the
improvement process, organizational performance increases (Clark & Estes, 2008). When
leaders are not involved and or working with employees regularly, organizational performance
can suffer as a result of not having ongoing, collaborative discussion about areas of opportunity.
However, if leaders at VZC can help explain the why behind some of the policies and
procedures, increased communication can result in improved trust as well as employee morale.
Cultural models. Cultural models are influenced by employee beliefs, values, the
environment or situation. In a newly formed organization such as VZC, cultural models are still
being established. In order to create a cultural model that favorably supports change, leaders
must be able to communicate constantly and candidly to others about plans and processes (Clark
& Estes, 2008). By demonstrating proactive and consistent communication across the
organization, VZC’s leaders can help create an environment supportive of change. The use of
newsletters providing a forward looking view into company-wide changes, can help employees
develop a deeper level of knowledge and a greater sense of advocacy for future changes.
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Cultural models can be useful in determining performance problems as well as barriers
(Rueda, 2011). Cultural models are often invisible and can be used to characterize organizations,
business settings as well as individuals (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2011). Schein (2016) also
suggests that these shared meanings, rituals and celebrations are also dynamic components to
cultural models that exist in organizations and are not at all static. While some may see the
ability to measure cultural models as difficult because they are constantly in motion and not
tangible, it can be done and best achieved through observing everyday work settings (Rueda,
2011). Deploying a newsletter company-wide, is not only measurable and will benefit the
broader organization including the sales department in better understanding what’s in it for them
but can also help encourage ongoing dialogue that will help open lines of communication of
which is especially helpful in a newly formed company.
Cultural settings. Cultural settings rely on who is involved, the physical work
environment as well as what the work is (Rueda, 2011). VZC’s cultural settings are also used to
provide an opportunity for groups to solve problems that can help increase organizational
effectiveness. However, because the teams are international and are located in various offices
spanning multiple time zones, the cultural setting at VZC lacks clear direction on internal
changes and the why’s behind them. Not having insight into why change is taking place, has
made it difficult for employees to trust the direction the company is going and has caused several
valuable employees to leave the company.
Cultural settings can also be equally informative in determining performance problems as
well as barriers (Rueda, 2011). The who, the what, the where, the when and the why can help
determine and influence, rewards and recognition systems, employee behavior as well as what
spoken and unspoken rules exist. Communication, trust as well as product knowledge at VZC
can also have a significant impact, good or bad, on the organization’s cultural setting. According
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to Strebel (1996), cultural settings can also be influenced by employee relationships with others
in which the social reach of employee interactions with one another can be quite powerful.
Organizational effectiveness can increase when leaders focus the organization’s efforts on the
changes taking place and reinforce the vision within established cultural settings (Knowles,
1980). By providing the benefits associated with changes before they occur, the cultural setting
at VZC can become more collaborative, cohesive and employees will feel more informed.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
This implementation and evaluation plan uses the New World Kirkpatrick Model, which
evolved from the original Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation and includes four levels of training
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016a). However, the New World version is different in that it
applies the levels in reverse order from the original model beginning with the end result in mind
(Level 4). Level 4 focuses on results and measures the degree in which participants achieved the
outcomes identified in the training. Level 3 focuses on behavior and identifies critical behaviors
and required drivers that reinforce job performance. Level 2 focuses on learning and looks at the
degree in which learning has occurred in the areas of knowledge, skill, attitude, confidence and
commitment. Lastly, Level 1 focus on measuring the participants experience and the degree in
which they found the training relevant and engaging (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016a).
VZC currently uses a backward forward planning process in which the sales goals for the
business serve as a starting point for all training content developed, prioritized and delivered. As
a result, the New World Kirkpatrick Model can help VZC’s L&D team develop essential
questions, course activities as well as linking formative as well as summative assessments to the
content and the organizational growth and revenue goals. For purposes of this problem of
practice, Levels 3 and 4 of Kirkpatrick’s training principles will continue to be critically
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important in determining whether or not VZC post-M&A have been able to meet or exceed
future goals and if so, extract the insights from course evaluations to determine what other
opportunities exist within this newly formed organization.
While the New World Kirkpatrick Model provides a framework that can be used in a
wide array of organizations, its structure is intended to be used in conjunction with all four
levels. For a post M&A organization, flexibility to focus on one of the levels individually and
for an indefinite period of time, is not the intent of the New World Kirkpatrick Model and could
present future challenges during the implementation process for VZC.
Organizational Purpose, Needs and Expectations
VZC’s organizational mission is to maintain their position as the #1 mobile technology
platform automating, optimizing and revolutionizing connections among people and vehicles
globally. As part of this problem of practice, the company’s goal was to launch a shared learning
management system globally to use for all new product launches by the fourth quarter of 2017.
As part of this initiative, VZC’s primary performance goal was to increase online learning
participation for the sales department by at least 25% to at least 75% by August 31, 2018. The
results of these recommendations for the stakeholder group have been completed and the
increase of online learning participation has been met.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
The VZC U.S. field sales team will need to demonstrate key actions, establish and
communicate goals as well as determine consistent methods for monitoring their progress. By
determining and adhering to the goals determined in Table 10, VZC will be able to achieve their
desired outcomes and objectively evaluate their progress. Frequent reporting will help the VZC
U.S. field sales team determine their progress as well as publishing results with regularity will
assist them with meeting their expected results.
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Table 10
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
The sales department at
VZC will increase their
online training
completion participation.
An increase in eNPS scores
when comparing July to
August as determined by
monthly customer evaluations.
Measuring pre and post
customer NPS scores.
Internal Outcomes
Employees should feel
more prepared to help
customers with legacy
products and services.
Employee NPS results pre- and
post-assessment should
increase by at least 5%.
Measuring pre- and post-eNPS
scores.
Managers of sales
employees will post
online training
completion rates and
include goals as well as
dates associated with
increasing participation.
The sales department at VZC
will increase their online
training completion
participation by 25% (pre-
assessment was 50%) to at
least 75% by August 31, 2018.
Measuring training completion
rates using the company’s
LMS.

Level 3: Behavior
Critical behaviors. VZC sales department employees will need to see the importance of
participating in online training as demonstrated and reinforced by their managers. The actions
managers will use to reinforce these critical behaviors includes identifying qualitative as well as
quantitative training goals, posting training completion ratio reporting and conducting customer
call observations. Timely and consistent feedback will need to be provided privately in weekly
one-on-ones as well as in staff meetings. These critical behaviors as demonstrated by the sales
managers will help VZC improve their customer NPS results as well as employee morale as a
result of feeling more knowledgeable post-training.
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Table 11
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
Sales managers should undergo
each online training first and then
reinforce the importance during
their weekly staff meetings.
Reporting should be
extracted weekly for
100% of the sales
managers.
Utilize reporting. Weekly
Sales managers will post training
completion rates by team weekly.
Reporting should be
extracted weekly for
100% of the sales
managers.
Rely on the LMS
to determine
reporting
frequency.
Weekly in
Q2 and
Q3
Sales managers should inspect
what they expect post training by
conducting remote sales
observations to determine if
representatives are implementing
what they have been taught in
training.
Sales managers
should set
expectations that
content discussed in
training should be
used 100% of the
time following
training.
Utilize remote
sales observation
call quality forms
to determine
utilization.
Weekly
Sales managers should provide
regular and timely feedback to all
employees if they are not
implementing what they have been
taught in training.
Reporting should be
extracted weekly for
100% of the sales
managers.
Utilize reporting. Weekly
The Learning and Development
team should ask, using a Likert
scale, before employees are
released from training, if they
know what is expected of them
following training.
Reporting should be
extracted weekly for
100% of the sales
managers.
Utilize reporting. Weekly

Required drivers. In order for the sales department at VZC to meet their online training
goals, required drivers will need to be used and reinforced on a regular basis in order to ensure
their training objectives are met. Required drivers include regular discussion at all levels of the
organization about training completion results, consistent public encouragement for those
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utilizing what is taught in the training as well as monitoring of results and rewarding best
practices. Monitoring, reinforcing, encouraging and rewarding are drivers that will be used to
ensure an increase in online training increases at VZC.

Table 12
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical
Behaviors
Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing
Applying what has been introduced in training and
building upon that knowledge through continuous
learning using a scaffolding approach.
During and
immediately
following training
1, 2, 3, 4
Feedback provided during and following training
through observation.
Daily 1, 2, 3
Use of the QRG Daily (as needed) 3
Encouraging
When employees are observed applying what they
have learned in training, public group (verbal)
praise will be provided as to improve self-efficacy.
During and
immediately
following training
1,2,3
Rewarding
When employees are observed applying what they
have learned in training, public group (verbal)
praise will be provided as to improve self-efficacy.
During and
immediately
following training
1,2,3
Monitoring
Before, during and after training, knowledge
application will be measured using a survey to
evaluate and monitor organization perceptions.
Weekly 1, 2, 3, 4

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Organizational support. VZC, as an organization, will help support the stakeholder
group by supporting the time used during manger staff meetings to practice and reinforce the
needed behavioral changes. Likewise, encouraging the use of data to support the knowledge,
motivation and organizational changes before during and after each initiative, will help measure
as well as monitor the quantitative aspect of the individual tactic identified. The executive team
will also support the changes and actions recommended by inquiring about the results
periodically as well. Leveraging the use of reports to make data driven decisions will help
remove questions related to progress being made and will also provide the needed support to
reinforce the directional changes. Lastly, emails rewarding online training participation will also
help encourage continuing education within VZC.
Learning management system reporting will be extracted and communicated to the
executive team weekly. In order for the organization at large to support this initiative, results
will be discussed weekly by these senior leaders within their staff meetings with the expectation
that this process is adhered to within the front line manager meetings as well. Staff meeting
discussions will set the expectation that open and transparent communication surrounding results
will be a standing agenda item which should encourage individual leaders to be prepared to
discuss their results and actions associated with training completion rates.
Level 2: Learning
Learning goals. The U.S. field sales team at VZC need to know that there is a direct link
to demonstrating what they have learned in training to improved customer experience that
ultimately leads to an increase in pay. Learning goals include a positive attitude towards
learning, confidence and commitment to be mentally present during each training module while
also applying what they have learned following training. By implementing these learning goals,
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the sales representatives at VZC will be able to see improved individual performance as well as
higher customer satisfaction scores.
Following the completion of the recommended solutions, the stakeholders will be able to:
1. Recognize that there is a direct link to demonstrating what they have learned in
training to improved customer experience that ultimately leads to an increase in pay
(D).
2. Apply the earning goals which includes having a positive attitude towards learning,
demonstrate confidence and project a commitment to be mentally present during each
training module (P).
3. Correctly attribute the details of legacy VZC products including when to offer them
to specific customers and how to speak to the features (P).
4. Plan and monitor their own individual use of legacy product knowledge (P, M).
5. Indicate confidence that they can review legacy product information accurately when
assisting customers (Confidence).
6. Value the accuracy of providing correct legacy product information to customers the
first time (Value).
7. Value the monitoring of their work (Value).
Program. Inspecting what is expected, while the learning goals are deployed, will serve
as an important tactic to help VZC as an organization create a culture of learning. Activities
initiated by the L&D department as well as the Management team will be used to ensure
successful implementation of the program.

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Evaluation of the components of learning.
Table 13
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge: “I know it.” Immediately following training, before
dismissal.
The class will be asked to proclaim a declarative,
power statement, regarding the knowledge they have
obtained through the training.
Immediately following training, before
dismissal.
Procedural Skills: “I can do it right now.”
Teach back. After learning something during the
program, participants teach portions of
the material to their classmates as a way
to confirm their own understanding and
demonstrate that they have the know-
how to procedurally complete a newly
learned task.
Attitude: “I believe this is worthwhile.”
The class will be asked to make an attitudinal, power
statement, regarding the knowledge they have
obtained through the training.
Immediately following training, before
dismissal.
Retrospective pre- and post-training assessment. Before and after training.
Confidence: “I think I can do it on the job.”
The class will be asked to make a confidence, power
statement, regarding the knowledge they have
obtained through the training.
Immediately following training, before
dismissal.
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment. Before and after training.
Commitment: “I will do it on the job.”
The class will be asked to make a commitment
statement regarding the knowledge they have
obtained through the training.
Immediately following training, before
dismissal.
Create an individual action plan. During the training.
Retrospective pre and post training assessment. Before and after training.

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Level 1: Reaction
Table 14 introduces the engagement, relevance and customer satisfaction portion of the
training program that focuses on Level 1 reaction. Timing and frequency will vary based on
each training module however, each tactic will be conducted consistently as to minimize variable
measurement reactions and to ensure methods and tools are adhered to.

Table 14
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Ask “pulse check” questions during the
training. Track responses.
During each module or section.
Relevance
The trainer will conduct a “pulse check”
in-between each module to ask how
things are going.
Conducted before each hands on group
demonstration activity takes place.
Customer Satisfaction
Customer NPS results will be evaluated. Customer NPS results will be reviewed pre-
and 30 days post-training.

Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. Effective January 1, 2019, all
VZC employees regardless of department and geographical location, will be required to attend an
online training that encompasses all legacy and current products. Attendance reporting will be
produced throughout the month of training. A post-training assessment will be automatically
sent 48 hours following training. The researcher has also recommended to the VZC executive
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team that the same survey be given to the U.S. based field sales team in September 2018, should
also be extended to the entire VZC organization at the beginning of the 2nd quarter of 2019 as to
compare, contrast and fully evaluate progress or continued areas of knowledge, motivation and
organizational opportunities.
Data Analysis and Reporting
One of the critical functions of monitoring performance of the U.S. based field sales team
and also the extended team internationally is centered around reporting. Training participation
completion rates along with monitoring post training assessments and comparing both to actual
sales performance will help identify continued performance. Employee participation in the
company’s NPS survey along with their associated scores will also provide continuous support
and aid the organization in all four levels of Kirkpatrick’s New World Model (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016b).
Summary
The New World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016b) was used to
identify additional tactical recommendations for VZC to achieve optimal performance by
continuing to reinforce the importance of participating in the company’s online training
curriculum. The model can provide additional structure, especially needed in a post M&A
environment, as to where the organization’s strengths and opportunities are for all four levels of
evaluation including results, behavior, learning and reaction.
Recommendations for Future Research
Considering the limitations and delimitations of the study, three immediate
recommendations for future research emerged. The first recommendation would be to conduct
the same survey provided to the U.S. based Field Sales team across all of VZC. Including all
departments, domestic as well as international, will help provide a deeper level of insight into
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knowledge, motivation and organizational challenges that may be universally shared or different
and why. Likewise, having a second set of responses for the U.S. Field sales team, would also
provide an opportunity to compare and contrast the results from the 2018 study. The second
recommendation for future research would be to study another sales team within VZ, VZC’s
parent company, that provides quota relief for all online training that is not limited to just
required trainings mandated by the company. The third recommendation for future, potential
research, would be to study VZC following the fifth year of their post-M&A to analyze variances
from the earlier years of the company to a more mature stage.
Conclusion
VZC is a performance-driven organization. As such, data is used continuously to
determine results, develop plans to either correct performance deficiencies and or drive
additional growth. This study sought to monitor VZC results post implementation of a single
LMS company-wide. Through a survey, sales observations and employee focus groups, the
researcher was able to evaluate whether or not VZC demonstrated improvement or not by way of
analyzing their online training participation post implementation of the single LMS.
While VZC met their improvement goal of increasing online learning to 75% by August
31, 2018 following the deployment of a single LMS, the research from this study identified
performance gaps using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis model. Through this study, the
researcher was able to thoroughly analyze knowledge, motivation and organizational influence
currently impacting VZC. Furthermore, through this framework, the data revealed competing
organizational practices including IT related barriers impacting legacy company F and T
employees as well as the customer experience along with stress factors expressed by the sales
team. The burden felt and expressed by the U.S. Field Sales employees was overwhelming and
will continue to have negative impacts to the company unless resolved. VZC should consider
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taking action towards implementing changes towards improving internal processes, managerial
practices as well as increasing employee satisfaction. Changes taken may favorably impact
employee trust that will inevitably have a positive influence on the company’s profits as well as
reduce unnecessary costs from their business. If VZC chooses to act upon the recommendations
identified in this study, they may find themselves amongst the 10%–30% of M&As that actually
survive beyond their fifth year in business. Beyond VZC, this study could provide tremendous
value to other organizations in various industries considering and or undergoing an M&A.
Recognizing the importance of deploying a single LMS company-wide and early on in their
formation, could help other organizations mitigate employee knowledge challenges unique to an
M&A, improve employee motivation towards learning their new product portfolio and develop
an organizational culture favorably centered-around continuous learning. Having more
companies globally understand the importance of investing into a single LMS by providing
regular online training to their employees regardless of location, could result in more
organizations surviving long term which could positively impact their revenues by decreasing
customer dissatisfaction, growing their profitability faster than expected and establishing a
stronger sense of employee trust from their newly formed organization.

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APPENDIX A
SURVEY PROTOCOL
Dear ___________:

My name is Christina M. Gonzalez, and I am a doctoral candidate in the Rossier School of
Education at University of Southern California. I am conducting a research study as part of my
dissertation, examining the impacts of deploying a learning management system into a newly
formed organization post-merger & acquisition and its effects on sales performance. This
research study has been approved by VZC and the University of Southern California.

You are cordially invited to participate in the study.

If you agree, you are invited to:

- Complete an anonymous online survey of 25 questions that should take no more than
ten minutes to complete.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will
remain confidential at all times during and after the study.

If you would like to participate in the survey, please begin the survey via the link below.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at gonz574@usc.edu or (949) 233-9430.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Christina M. Gonzalez
Doctoral Candidate - Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

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APPENDIX B
SURVEY INSTRUMENT
Qualifying Questions

Note: Only those who indicate that they are from the sales department will advance to the rest of
the survey (6–23). All others will only be given the remaining four qualifying questions and will
be provided an automatic thank you response once complete.

1. I am a member of the following department:
Sales
Customer Success
Support
Marketing
Product Development
IT
Legal

2. My age is:
20-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61+
Do not wish to disclose

3. My gender is:
Male
Female
Do not wish to disclose

4. I have been with the company for:
0-2 years
3-5 years
6-8 years
9-11 years
12+ years
Do not wish to disclose

5. Rank the following information tools in order of most used:
Sales Force
Winning as one (internal website)
Chatter
Connecting Us
Go to market content (notes, videos, meetings)
Company (external) website
Other tool(s) not mentioned (please be specific): _______________________________
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TARGET: Knowledge Influences

Procedural: The U.S. field sales team needs to know where and how to access information
about legacy product and service(s).

6. I know where to access legacy product information.
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

7. I know where to access legacy pricing information.
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

8. I know where to access legacy service information.
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

9. I know where to access legacy hardware information.
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

10. Increasing my knowledge about new VZC products, prices, services and or hardware is
encouraged.
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

11. VZC offers ample opportunities to increase knowledge about our products, services,
promotions and or hardware.
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
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TARGET: Motivational Influences

Conceptual: The U.S. field sales team needs to know the benefits of having formal training on
all legacy products and services.

12. I schedule myself to attend optional training:
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

*13. Choose all that apply. I am motivated to learn more about VZC products, services,
promotions and or hardware because of:
Career advancement opportunities
Job security
Personal knowledge
Money
All of the above
I am not motivated to learn more

Why?

TARGET: Motivational Influences

Metacognitive: The U.S. field sales team needs to know how to recommend specific legacy
products and services.

*14. I am motivated to learn more about our industry.
Yes
No

Please elaborate (If yes, why? If no, why?)
Choose one of the following.

*15. I am motivated to attend training courses because they are:
Required
Beneficial, I can apply what I’ve learned to my job
Essential in order to advance

*16. Rate each of the four (bold) categories: I am motivated to learn more because it:

Helps our customers
Always, Sometimes, Never

Increases my salary
Always, Sometimes, Never

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154
Helps my co-workers
Always, Sometimes, Never

Impacts my Performance Appraisal
Always, Sometimes, Never

TARGET: Organizational Influences

*17. VZC encourages learning
Yes
No

Why?

*18. I spend ______ of my (work) day locating legacy pricing, product, service and or hardware
information:
0 to less than an hour
1-2 hours
3-4 hours
5-6 hours
7-8 hours

*19. Does your department provide you ample time to attend training courses (uninterrupted and
during work hours)?
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

*20. In your opinion, is the training provided by VZC beneficial?
Please click on the circle and drag it to the range you feel best describes your response.
[Note: In my Survey Monkey, this question is on a slider (bar).]
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

What would make training more beneficial?

*21. Have you been asked to complete a knowledge assessment following any of your VZC
training courses?
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
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155
*22. Is VZC a place where questions about products, services, promotions, hardware are
encouraged?
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

*23. We have ____ meetings a month where we are invited to ask questions about training.
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

*24. Are there any barriers that exist that discourage questions?
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

What are the barriers?

*25. Please use the textbox below to capture any additional comments regarding training,
resources and or the organization.

Thank you for completing this survey.

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156
APPENDIX C
FOCUS GROUP GUIDE
Welcome and thank you for your participation. Please have a seat.

Last week, each of you were sent the questions that we’ll be discussing today and also signed a
voluntary participant form. I have copies here on the table in case you’d like a print out.

I’m also going to record this conversation to help ensure I take accurate notes and I will be the
only one with access to this recording. Your thoughts and experiences are appreciated so please
feel free to share throughout our discussion. Let’s get started!

• Can I see a show of hands for those in the following departments?
a. Marketing
b. Sales
c. Operations
d. Support
e. Customer Success

• How long have each of you been with the company?

• What legacy company did you start with and what brought you to the telematics
industry?

• As a sales representative, what do you see as our strengths? Our vulnerabilities?

Now I would like to ask you a few questions about processes related to what you do when a
customer has questions about services we offer:

• Who, where and how do you access company information on legacy pricing,
products, promotions, hardware or services?

• Who, where and how do you access company information on new pricing, products,
promotions, hardware or services?
a. Describe each of this processes.

• What barriers exist and why?

• Let’s discuss the company. How would you describe the culture of our organization?
a. Is it a place where questions about our legacy products and services are
welcome? Are questions responded to in a timely manner in your opinion?
b. Are those who ask questions rewarded or punished for their inquiries?
c. Is the information provided by the company beneficial?

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157
• Lastly, let’s discuss each of you. How would you describe yourself when it comes to
learning new products and services?
a. Would you say that you are naturally inquisitive? Tell me about a time when
you think you demonstrated this characteristic at work.
b. What motivates you to learn more about our industry, our company and our
competitors?
c. How do you learn best?
d. How do you feel about e-learning (in general) compared to face to face
training at work?
e. Think back to one of your favorite courses you’ve taken provided by the
company, what did you like and why?

This concludes our focus group today.
Thank you again for your feedback and as a reminder, responses are completely anonymous.

ANALYZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN LMS

158
APPENDIX D
REMOTE CALL OBSERVATIONS GUIDE
Call Observation
Date, Time,
Office
Provided
accurate
information?
Spoke to legacy
products
accurately?
Spoke to
current products
accurately?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
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159
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
ANALYZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN LMS

160
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100

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161
APPENDIX E
ANOVA SURVEY RESULTS
Table E1
Single Factor ANOVA for the VZC Survey Responses
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
Question 6 1925 4956 2.574545 1.195713
Question 7 1925 4860 2.524675 1.018752
Question 8 1925 4190 2.176623 0.88043
Question 9 1925 5252 2.728312 1.506708
Question 10 1925 4858 2.523636 1.357679
Question 11 1925 5246 2.725195 1.411449
Question 12 1925 4995 2.594805 1.390825
Question 13 1925 5724 2.973506 1.388591
Question 14 1925 4351 2.26026 0.932749
Question 15 1925 5429 2.82026 3.212999
Question 16 1925 6627 3.442597 2.52334
Question 17 1925 3621 1.881039 0.986361
Question 18 1925 7308 3.796364 1.030236
Question 19 1925 3858 2.004156 0.773371
Question 20 1925 4544 2.360519 1.302391
Question 21 1925 5375 2.792208 1.33102
Question 22 1925 5305 2.755844 1.335367
Question 23 1925 5058 2.627532 1.287911
Question 24 1925 7416 3.852468 0.916892
Question 25 1925 5273 2.739221 3.094121
ANALYZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN LMS

162
Table E1, continued
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 9655.153 19 508.166 351.9532 0 1.586772
Within Groups 55559.17 38480 1.443845

Total 65214.32 38499

Note. Summary of the analysis of variance of VZC U.S. field sales representatives (n = 1,925)
are present above for questions 6–25. The “average” represents the mean. The sum consists of
the coded value for each column. The lowest variance was question 19 (0.77), “Is VZC training
beneficial; yes or no”. The highest variance was question 15 (3.21), “I am motivated to learn
more about VZC’s products and services because of ____, choose all that apply.” SS represents
the total sums of the squares or cells. The degrees of freedom are represented by df. The mean
of the total is represented by MS. The F-statistic represents the ratio of two quantities that are
expected to be roughly equal. The P-value reflects a zero because a null hypothesis was not
conducted. The F crit, also known as the alpha value, is the risk that you are willing to be wrong
in rejecting the null hypothesis.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Gonzalez, Christina Maria (author)

Core Title Analyzing the implementation of a learning management system into a post-merger & acquisition organization and its effects on sales performance (improvement model)

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 02/14/2021

Defense Date 12/19/2018

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag gap analysis framework,learning management system (LMS),merger and acquisitions (M,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Datta, Monique (committee chair), Krop, Cathy (committee member), Pearson, Mark (committee member)

Creator Email cgonzalez@calbaptist.edu,gonz574@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-122361

Unique identifier UC11676713

Identifier etd-GonzalezCh-7078.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-122361 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-GonzalezCh-7078.pdf

Dmrecord 122361

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Gonzalez, Christina Maria

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA