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Item Number 4: I am pleased American Concrete upper management provided this educational opportunity to me. Of those responding to this item, 89 percent were pleased the company provided this class to them, 7 percent were un‐ certain and 4 percent disagreed. The average rating of this statement was 6.0. Item Number 5: Overall, the instructors knew the material they presented very well. Participants rated this well above average. The rating of 6.5 indicted the instructors were well prepared and the materi‐ als they brought to the classroom were more than adequate. Everyone (100 percent) who attended the program agreed with this statement. Item Number 6: Overall, the instructors did a good job of presenting their information to the class. As with several other items, participants rated this state‐ ment at 6.6 or well above average. Of those who responded to this item, 96 percent agreed the instructors did a good job of presenting their information to them while 4 percent disagreed. Item Number 7: Overall, I would rate this educational experience as: This statement asked those who responded to rate it on a seven‐point scale from "poor" to "excellent." The average rat‐ ing of this item was 6.4, which indicated participants believed it to be an excellent educational program. Ninety‐eight per‐ cent of those who attended this training program responded that it was excellent while 2 percent felt it was poor. Outcomes Preliminary data generated from responses to the surveys and feedback from participants indicates this to have been a successful program. Verbal feedback received from par‐ ticipants indicated this educational experience was well re‐ ceived and beneficial to those who participated. Comments received about this program referred to it as "excellent;" participants indicated that "they learned a lot" or said they think they will "become better managers" as a result of par‐ ticipating in this program. As indicated earlier, a 14‐item Likert survey was provided to all participants both before they took part in this man‐ agement education program and again immediately follow‐ ing it. Employees were asked to rate each item on a scale from 1 (Disagree) to 7 (Agree). When all five sessions were completed, the responses from the participants were com‐ bined into one group so that the data could be assessed, conclusions drawn and recommendations made. The same was done for the responses from the surveys given to eval‐ uate the program itself. Statistical analysis has been performed on the data gener‐ ated by the surveys. A statistical significance in mean pre/post scores exists for 13 of the 14 survey items. A paired‐sample t‐test can be used to compare the means www.rockproducts.com of two variables to see if the average difference is signifi‐ cantly different from zero. Using a repeated measure de‐ sign, 60 OMG managers participated in an Iowa Valley Community College supported management‐training pro‐ gram. Participants were asked to complete a pre‐workshop management skill self‐assessment survey that consisted of 14 statements. A seven‐point Likert scale was used in which participants rated their level of agreement to each statement. The same survey was administered following the completion of the workshop; 57 participants re‐ sponded to the post‐training survey. A paired‐samples t‐test revealed a statistically significant difference in mean scores for 13 of the 14 statements, using a 95 percent confidence interval (p<.05). The results suggest that the training program really did have an effect of the de‐ velopment of OMG Midwest Group managers. Specifically, they feel they have increased their skill level in: communica‐ tions, time management, coaching, delegating, team building and several other areas. In summation, the Management Skill Development Program implemented by Oldcastle Materials Midwest Region in 2012 appears to have been successful in terms of providing new information and increasing management skills to all of its managers. The data provided by the surveys, comments from participants provide evidence to support its success. However, program sustainability and retained learning are true measures of its long‐term success. Conclusions Based on the data generated by the pre/post surveys pro‐ vided by participants who attended this management educa‐ tion program, it would seem prudent that companies provide this kind of training to its managers. The cost of the training will be offset by the increase in effi‐ cient managing of plants, projects and employees. An Ameri‐ can Society of Training and Development (ASTD) found "People who are trained formally in the workplace have a 30 percent higher productivity rate after one year than people who are not formally trained." (Taken from Kouzes and Pos‐ ner's "Leadership Practices Inventory" 3rd Edition.) E For the past 30 years, Dr. Joe McGuire has worked in the construction-aggregate production industry dealing primarily with the planning/zoning process, environmental permitting, compliance issues and educational/training, while also participating in many aggregate mine-development and permit requests at the county level, which required involvement in the public hearing process. Dr. Lisa Breja serves as Iowa Valley Community College District Institutional Researcher, where her duties include survey administration/oversight, report-writing, data analysis, accreditation and Federal/State reporting. Billy Snead, CSP, is the EHS Director of Oldcastle Materials' Central West Division. He holds a BS in Occupational Safety & Health and has worked for the company for nine years. ROCKproducts • JULY 2013 15