Strategic Organizational Learning
By Mike Beitler, Sat Dec 10th
The cost of training in North American companies exceeds $60billion per year. Try to visualize that. Picture a stack of1,000,000 $1 bills. Now try to picture 60,000 of those stacks.Amazed? Then consider this fact: estimates of training costsworldwide approach a quarter of a trillion dollars($250,000,000,000) when indirect costs and opportunity costs areincluded. Do you find those numbers as difficult to comprehendas I do? Understandably, senior executives are concerned about the ROI(return on investment) on these massive investments. Manyexecutives are not convinced that the benefits of trainingexceed the costs. Corporations are now looking for organizational learning (OL)consultants who can serve as partners in the strategic decisionmaking about these large investments of resources. These OLconsultants will be expected to help improve not only learning,but ultimately performance.
To serve as strategic business partners, OL consultants musthave expertise in adult learning theory, methods to promoteself-directed learning, usage of learning and developmentagreements, knowledge capture, knowledge transfer, managementand professional development, expatriate training and support,corporate universities, and what I call "strategic learning." The first step for the OL consultant is to be sure theorganization has a well-crafted strategic plan that clearlycommunicates how senior management intends to fulfill theorganization's mission. Frequently, the organization has a vaguemission and/or unrealistic strategic plan. There
is no way todevelop strategic learning and development systems until seniormanagement has completed the strategic planning process. Only after the organization has a well-crafted,well-communicated strategic plan can the OL consultant recommendlearning and development systems that will help implement theplan. "Strategic learning" is learning that is focused onhelping the organization fulfill its strategic plan. Senior management must be able to depend on OL consultants tomaximize the organization's investment of money, time, and otherresources to build its human capital into a sustainablecompetitive advantage. In an era when human capital is far moreimportant than physical assets, the role of the OL consultant iscritical. Raymond Noe has made the following predictions: * the focus of learning will become business needs andperformance * there will be increased emphasis on the capture and storage ofintellectual capital * new training technologies will be developed * the demand for training for virtual work will increase * the use of learning management systems will be widespread * HRD departments will develop partnerships with outside vendors(e.g., traditional universities) * the practice of outsourcing training activities will continue Senior management will be seeking the OL consultant's advice onall of these issues. Are you and your organization prepared toaddress these issues? About the author:Dr. Mike Beitler is the author of "Strategic OrganizationalChange" and "Strategic Organizational Learning". Read freechapters from his books and learn more about his work athttp://www.mikebeitler.com/ |
