- Email: [email protected]
NOWS-Technique: Participation-Orientated Evaluation of Further Education Strategies and Measures
Copynght (!) IFAC Automated Systems Based on Human Skill and Knowledge. GOleborg. Sweden.
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PUBLICATIONS www.elsevier.com/locate/ifac
NOWS-TECHNIQUE: PARTICIPATION-ORIENTATED EVALUATION OF FURTHER EDUCATION STRATEGIES AND MEASURES Giuseppe Strina, Jaime Uribe and Klaus HenDing
Institut flir Unternehmenskybernetik e. V. Zeppelinstr. 301, 45470 Miilheim, Germany Tel.: +492089925521; Fax: +492089925570 Jaime. [email protected]
Abstract: This paper introduces a technique for a benefit-orientated profitability evaluation of Training and Further Education measures, that will principally put small and medium sized enterprises in the position of being able to regulate and control the benefits and costs of their own operational training programs through a monetary perspective. This system was developed and approved in the scope of the project "Service Networks for Training and Further Education Processes" - SENEKA - from the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). Copyright © 2003 IFAC Keywords: education, evaluation, economics, decision support system, cybernetics.
The changing conditions under which enterprises must operate today are increasingly demanding the optimal promotion, utilisation and evaluation of skills and competencies of employees in enterprises and organisations. In particular, professional qualifications' measures play a deciding role here, however their benefits and costs in individual sectors (e.g. opportunity costs) are difficult to ascertain. Last but not least, through the implementation of "ELearning-Processes" in enterprises e.g. an economic evaluation of the respective costs and benefits is especially important during planing. Decisions about the integrated qualifications processes affected, which are influenced by the human as well as the organisational and technical aspects, must also be observed using an integral approach The technique introduced here consists of a monetary and integrated examination of the costs and of professional qualifications' benefits measures/strategies which takes into consideration the existing training measures in the enterprise.
I. INTRODUCTION SENEKA (Service Networks for Training and Continuing Education) is a large-scale entrepreneurial and research programme, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education. The programme aims not only to improve the management of information flow and knowledge creating, but seeks to re-design processes of innovation and research. The pool of participating companies in this programme consists mainly of SMEs empowering their capabilities and competencies with regards to the management innovation. Approximately 30 companies funded, mainly located in Germany, 40 associated national and international partners and 6 research institutes from all over Germany are working in different fields of activity, seeking to find new methods and tools in the fields of knowledge management, networking and competence development. Recent trends in information and knowledge management describe challenges, the participating companies try to meet, while developing these new methods and tools. The Consortium is led by the Centre for Learning and Knowledge Management (ZLW) and the Department of Computer Science in Mechanical Engineering (IMA) of the University of Aachen (RWTH). agiplan ProjectManagement (Mtilheim an der Ruhr), is responsible for the coordination of the industrial subprojects.
209
deciding aspects such as product and process quality, Customer satisfaction, market share. and total revenue and profits as thoroughly as possible (cf. Strina, Uribe, 2002).
2. SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND TO THE NOWS-TECHNIQUE The economic evaluation of the costs and benefit of training and further education measures/strategies has finally become a question important enough to warrant the discussion of a controlling system for training in enterprises. The term "Education Controlling" is normally understood as "Further Educationrrraining Controlling" and communicated within the enterprise. In doing so "many more future-orientated processes take centre stage in controlling; which is a future based control loop of sequences and processes" (cf. Krekel, Seusing, 2(00). Education Controlling therefore posits more than just a integrated approach, whereby the various tasks in operational Further Education and Training must be strategically consolidated. These tasks, which overlap the educational aspects, should also consider the question of "economical" criteria such as efficiency, effectiveness, costs and value creation (cf. Gnahs, Krekel, 2000). A one-sided view of this process , e.g. only a "financial" or only a "participation-orientated" view, can admittedly lead to critical operational implementations, however which can steer the description of Education Controlling in the direction of "concealing of old technocratic hopes" (cf. Amold, 1996). Gnahs and Krekel (cf. Gnahs, Krekel, 2000) present the Education Controlling Process (characterised by them as "functional cycles of the operational educational work") in various phases (cf. Fig. I). During the "Requirements Analysis" the Current-Situation (which skills and competencies already exist in the enterprise) along with the strategical alignment of the enterprise (the mission and the resulting long-term objectives) are confronted, ensuing that in the "Objectives", aims must be identified which will fulfil the requirements (from the "Requirements Analysis"). The strategies and measures which will lead to the attainment of the objectives are then defined and evaluated in the phase "Formation of Education Provisions". The strategies that are feasible are implemented ("Realisation of Education Provisions"), and constantly monitored to ensure their success. The phase 'Transfer Assurance" aims for the accumulation and circulation of all "Lessons Learned" during the processes, which have been gathered to help contribute to quality assurance and a "self learning organisation". Therefore against this background a further economic analysis should be aimed for in the Education Controlling sector, which will quantify the effects of the implemented Training and Further Education strategies and measures on competitively
Fundion cyeie of industrial nning
Fig. I. Supporting the operational educational work through the NOWS-Technique Through this approach it is clear how the benefits-orientated economic evaluation procedure (NOWS-technique) develops as an instrument from the extended economic efficiency analysis and is primarily used for the evaluation of technical investment (cf. Weydandt, 2000), which supports the initiation and implementation of Education Controlling at work. The NOWS-Technique consists of seven phases which form the basis for all participation-orientated I processes as well as the learning processes (cf. Unger, 1998) of all participants and also the organisation (cf. Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Profitability Evaluation Process Focused on benefits In the "Constitution of the Investment Team" phase, a representative team is created from executives and employees who are affected by the measures and strategies; this team cond'.~cts the
I
210
The "participation-orientated principle" mentioned here corresponds to the possibility for the employees of an enterprise to participate in operational decisions and design processes.
measures, whereas the practice by Deutschen Telekom AG ("A") and T-Mobile ("B") is of elaborate strategies based on organisational development, which takes into consideration several Further Education measures (cf. Uribe, Wittki, 2001). In the following section the example of the mobile phone provider T-Mobile is briefly explained.
whole evaluation, implementation and reflection process. During the "Current-Situation-Analysis" phase the existing skills and competences in the enterprise are identified; in the "Target-SituationAnalysis" phase, the necessary competencies derived form the strategic objectives are identified and classified according to the necessity of reaching them. In "Accumulation of Provisions" individual strategies 2 are defined, which are then tested for their economic efficiency in the "Investment calculation and evaluation" phase. The evaluation is concluded with the decision "to implement one or several strategies". It is recommended at the "Implementation" phase, that participants from the "Investment Team" directly accompany the process, so that the advice for the evaluation of strategies is directly incorporated in the transfer process or, if necessary, to be made comprehensible. In the "Reflection" phase the "Investment Team" should appraise the experiences gathered during the process (planing, evaluation, implementation and supervision) and issue recommendations on possible actions for the next procedural implementations or the realisation of further Training and Further Education processes. In comparison the classical economic efficiency techniques, which limit themselves fundamentally to the monetary quantifiable objectives such as costs and revenues (so called "harder" factors), the NOWS-Technique enables (also represented as a "cycle"; cf. Fig. 1), non-monetary objectives such as time, quality, flexibility, employee perspectives or enterprise surroundings (so called "softer" factors) to be evaluated monetarily. Therefore the different factors for evaluation are divided into "direct, indirect, and difficult to ascertain" and the probability of entry classified as "high, medium, or low" (cf. Strina et ai, 2001). Therefore this technique supplies the answer to the enterprise's requirements (which are partly taken from the guidelines for ISOCertification 900012000) for the utilisation of planned or implemented measures and strategies to be evaluated monetarily or to be substantiated and documented. The NOWS-Technique, in the sense of Education Controlling, has as of yet been realised in five different enterprises in the scope of the SENEKA-Project (cf. Fig. 3). The user, enterprise or enterprise sector, is active in various branches and exhibits different criteria in terms of number of employees, total revenue, style of management etc.. Most importantly all of them are occupied, within the context of evaluation, with strategies/measures from the Personnel and/or organisational development sector. Whereas in the enterprises: At the University clinic Frankfurt (enterprise "C") Education Centre for Career-related Training and Further Education GmbH (BAW Thiiringen) ("D") and Bosch Rexroth AG ("E"), the practice is mainly concentrated on the economic efficiency viewpoint of Further Education
2
NOWS I Enterprise portfolio
L.. ge e,..et'prises
SME.
Fig. 3. Enterprise portfolio of the NOWS-Technique as of yet used within the context of Education Controlling
3. CASE STUDY: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NOWS-TECHNIQUE BY THE MOBILE PHONE PROVIDER T-MOBILE A few years ago, the mobile phone provider TMobile was confronted by substantial changes to the supplier market due to technological developments. The enterprise therefore identified certain domains within the framework of its strategic planning, whereby organisations- and personal development strategies should be implemented in order to secure long term means for a competitive capacity. T-Mobile, as an associated partner of SENEKA, took advantage of the possibility of evaluating a variety of strategies with the NOWS-Technique and of developing appropriate recommendations on possible actions. In a Kick-off-Workshop, in which both the complete procedure and its relevance were analysed for the situation of the enterprise at that time, the composition of the team ("Training of the Investment Team") was consequently discussed. In the initial stages, those participating in the Workshop dealt with the definition of those domains concerned according to the strategy. From this, a team of representatives was formed, who not only represent the various domains, but also the various levels of hierarchy. Also in this workshop the general conditions were defined, amongst which the team had to carry out an evaluation. Thereby the evaluation procedure was scheduled. this being the promise of the leadership to adhere to making the workers exempt and to accept the responsibility of supplying information (reports, figures etc.) and to
Several measures belong to one strategy. 211
The rateability of the identified factors was classified into three categories: direct, indirect and difficult to ascertain, and the probability of entry was classified high, medium and low. The subsequent output of the investment team was the monetarisation of the particular identified benefits and cost factors. In doing so the team must decide on which monetary value of a decided factor will be assessed in view of the observed general conditions specific to business. Therefore it could be the case that a further qualification of the employees of the call centres could lead to cutting call times with customers by 30 seconds per conversation. Given that the average employee engages in 100 telephone calls per day, for every 10 employees in a 24 hour period this implementation would equal a saving of 500 minutes, thus 8.3 hours per day. If it is agreed that these 8.3 hours correspond to a working day of a paid employee, a monetary sum can be defined. Due to the fact that in this case a sum can be established in even more exchanges, we would be talking about an "indirect" factor. If we had a basic account (in terms of a receipt) we would be talking about a "direct" factor. Factors that are difficult to ascertain are evaluations of factors that can be identified, whose impact as a rule can only be characterised positively or negatively. The probability of this implementation will be determined by the investment team.. The established monetary sums4 were subsequently sorted into the following tables (cf. Fig 5) and cumulated according to the order of degree of risk.
define the contact with the in-between and end results of the evaluation. When the team met on another occasion, they asked for an investment team in order to account for the factors of people, organisation and technology (Human-Organisation-Technology approach), and to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT-Analysis) of personal development in the domains concerned, and to classify them into an order of (important or less important). On the basis of the consequences reached in the identifying and analysing of the internal and external factors, an 1ST-profile was developed which recognised the strengths, weaknesses, prospects and risks of the participants. Following the development of the Current Profile, the Target Profile drawn on two different levels was defined: the so-called "capacity level" (in which changes must take place and whose aspects must be recognisable) and the "orientation level" (through which variables can reach these changes on the orientation level?). In Figure 4 an example of a discussion with T-Mobile is described.
Fig. 4. Aspects for defining the Target-Profile The results characterising the target profile clearly state which aims (derived from the strategic target direction of the enterprise) must be reached. An example of this is "the improvement of customer-orientation". In this way more provisions can be put forward, which for example envisage a better understanding of how a product (of a machine) functions on the side of the workers in the Call Centre (qualifications of the staff) or the creation of a new department (Organisation), which will deal with marketing. Using the two developed profiles, it was therefore possible to review the previously defined strategies in their strategic orientation concerning the business strategy and the approval of the domains concerned. The conformation to this allows for the assessment of expected benefits and costs for the relevant strategies. With the in-between results that have been gained, the investment team was able to implement a detailed listing and description of the benefits and cost factors of the corresponding strategies. Firstly the factors, which were defined as benefits or costs were identified (e.g. costs, work time, over time)3.
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Fig. 5. Tables to show the sorting of the Benefits and Costs factors according to their ability to be evaluated and probability of entry (figures changed; cf. footnote 4) In comparison with other implementations, in this case it was clear that at the start of the definition this can lead to this being useful for the enterprise, which at the same time could mean costs for a domain or employee. ~ The figures are changed so that the privacy of the Customer T-Mobile is preserved, but the principle of NOWS is still recognisable.
The benefits and costs will be taken from the point of view of the enterprise, because the aim of optimising business processes is not solely the achievement of sectoral or personal aims. By 212
4. CONCLUSION
evaluation process, a compromise between the members of the team concerning the relationship between accuracy and complexity should be reached, and that a practical moderation of the process is equally necessary. From evaluation experience at T-Mobile, a nine stage interval of benefits and costs value (individual monetary impacts), with the help of the formula categorised by NOWS was analysed and visualised (cf. fig. 6). From the gradient of the curves we can see to what extent the investment in the measures/strategies, according to approach of the investment team is classified as advantageous. In the visualisation of efficiency the maximum of possible benefits correlates with the cost estimated for sure (right side of Fig. 6); on the left side the maximum of possible cost correlates with the sure benefits. The crucial point now is where these two lines cross each other: the more the intersection point is on the left side, the more even a pessimistic manager would support the evaluated strategy or measures; if it is to much in the right part, only a very optimistic manager would decide in a positive sense. So a decision parameter is produced which lies - in the positive case - on the pessimistic side of the intersection point: thus economically speaking the planted aim can be achieved through the implementation of the relevant strategy or measures. In the case of T-Mobile, the graphical description of three different strategies from organisational and personal development and the documentation as an endorsement of further reports on administration of business was enclosed. Selected strategies were not implemented by SENEKA, thus the subsequent reflection concentrated on the evaluation's process. Thereby both the advantages and disadvantages of the technique in the scope of the implementation were analysed, prepared and made available for the internal transfer.
This benefits and participation-orientated approach for extended economic profitability analysis offers the enterprise and especially those responsible for Personnel development, the possibility to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate and systematically control Education Measures and strategies, taking into consideration of so called "soft" factors (motivation, working atmosphere etc.), "hard" factors (costs and revenues) and the possibility of entry. Furthermore, through the various departments or firms, the NOWSTechnique enables employees in: the participation of non-business management experts to make investment appraisals, the increase in acceptance of education conditional investment through participation, the continual improvement of the qualifications contingent processes through participative investment processes and the strengthening of conscious integrated thinking. In the case of the application in T-Mobile it was clear that one (external) experienced moderation of the team meeting was necessary due to the multiplicity of sectors and hierarchies. In addition it could be established, that previous knowledge about Total Quality Management concepts clearly made implementation easier, whereby no preconditions for a successful evaluation process were necessary, which was seen in later applications. An apparent fundamental problem for the application of monetarisation instruments m extended economic efficiency analysis, is the success of such evaluations which have to make a compromise between "accuracy" and "complexity". Whereas employees from operational sectors are prepared to undertake "strategic" evaluations, finance-orientated "controllers" are orientated rather on taking exact figures. As long as this discrepancy does happen in Education Controlling (and not only there), an integrated strategic perception of the operational Training and Further Education does not work or only plays a second role in the strategic orientation of the enterprise. REFERENCES Amold, R. (1996): Von der Erfolgskontrolle zur entwicklungsorientierten Evaluierung. In: Munch, Joachim (Hrsg.): Okonomie betrieblicher Bildungsarbeit. Qualitat - Kosten - Evaluierung - Finanzierung. Berlin. S.251-
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Krekel, E., Seusing, B. (Hrsg.) (2000): Bildungscontrolling em Konzept zur Optimierung der betrieblichen Weiterbildungsarbeit, Berichte zur beruflichen Bildung, Heft 233, Bundesinstitut fUr Berufsbildung. Bertelsmann, Bielefeld. Gnahs, D., KrekeL E. (2000): Betreibliches Bildungscontrolling in der Theorie und Praxis .Begriffabgrenzung und Forschungsstand. In
Fig. 6. Graphical Illustration of the T-Mobile evaluation (figures changed; cf. footnote 4)
213
Krekel, E., Seusing, B. (Hrsg.): Bildungscontrolling ein Konzept zur Optimierung der betrieblichen Weiterbildungsarbeit, Berichte zur beruflichen Bildung, Heft 233, Bundesinstitut fUr Berufsbildung. Bertelsmann, Bielefeld. Strina, G., Uribe, J. (2002): Partizipationsorientierte Vorab-Bewertung der Wirtschafthchkeit betrieblicher Investitionen am Beispiel des NOWS-Verfahrens Ein prozess- und beteiligungsorientierter Bewertungsansatz. In: Bundesministerium fUr Bildung und ForschungBMBF (Hrsg.): Tagungsreader zur 1. Tagung "Innovative Arbeitsgestaltung - Zukunft der Arbeit", Berlin, 18./19. April, Forum 2. Strina, G., Uribe, J., Frank, S. (2001): Was ist Weiterbildung Wert? In: Qualitat und Zuverllissigkeit Qualitlitsmanageme'1t in Industrie und Dienstleistung (QZ), hanser Verlag, Heft 6, 46 Jg., S.756-757. Unger, H. (1998): Organisationales Lemen durch Teams - Methode und Umsetzung eines teambasierten Projektsmanagements. Rainer Hampp Verlag, Miinchen und Mering. Uribe, J., Wittki, B. (2001): Profitability Estimation Focused on Benefits (NOWS-Approach) of Participation-orientated Evaluation Educational StrategieslPlanning. In: Lehrstuhl Informatik im Maschinenbau und Hochschuldidaktisches Zentrum der RWTH Aachen (Ed.): Managing Knowledge 2010 Perspectives For Practice And Research. SENEKA Joumal, Heft 2, Aachen. Weydandt, D. (2000): Beteiligungsorientierte wirtschaftliche Bewertung von technischen fUr prozessorientierte Investitionen Fertigungsinseln. Untemehmenskybemetik in der Praxis, Band 2, Shaker Verlag, Aachen.
214
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PUBLICATIONS www.elsevier.com/locate/ifac
NOWS-TECHNIQUE: PARTICIPATION-ORIENTATED EVALUATION OF FURTHER EDUCATION STRATEGIES AND MEASURES Giuseppe Strina, Jaime Uribe and Klaus HenDing
Institut flir Unternehmenskybernetik e. V. Zeppelinstr. 301, 45470 Miilheim, Germany Tel.: +492089925521; Fax: +492089925570 Jaime. [email protected]
Abstract: This paper introduces a technique for a benefit-orientated profitability evaluation of Training and Further Education measures, that will principally put small and medium sized enterprises in the position of being able to regulate and control the benefits and costs of their own operational training programs through a monetary perspective. This system was developed and approved in the scope of the project "Service Networks for Training and Further Education Processes" - SENEKA - from the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). Copyright © 2003 IFAC Keywords: education, evaluation, economics, decision support system, cybernetics.
The changing conditions under which enterprises must operate today are increasingly demanding the optimal promotion, utilisation and evaluation of skills and competencies of employees in enterprises and organisations. In particular, professional qualifications' measures play a deciding role here, however their benefits and costs in individual sectors (e.g. opportunity costs) are difficult to ascertain. Last but not least, through the implementation of "ELearning-Processes" in enterprises e.g. an economic evaluation of the respective costs and benefits is especially important during planing. Decisions about the integrated qualifications processes affected, which are influenced by the human as well as the organisational and technical aspects, must also be observed using an integral approach The technique introduced here consists of a monetary and integrated examination of the costs and of professional qualifications' benefits measures/strategies which takes into consideration the existing training measures in the enterprise.
I. INTRODUCTION SENEKA (Service Networks for Training and Continuing Education) is a large-scale entrepreneurial and research programme, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education. The programme aims not only to improve the management of information flow and knowledge creating, but seeks to re-design processes of innovation and research. The pool of participating companies in this programme consists mainly of SMEs empowering their capabilities and competencies with regards to the management innovation. Approximately 30 companies funded, mainly located in Germany, 40 associated national and international partners and 6 research institutes from all over Germany are working in different fields of activity, seeking to find new methods and tools in the fields of knowledge management, networking and competence development. Recent trends in information and knowledge management describe challenges, the participating companies try to meet, while developing these new methods and tools. The Consortium is led by the Centre for Learning and Knowledge Management (ZLW) and the Department of Computer Science in Mechanical Engineering (IMA) of the University of Aachen (RWTH). agiplan ProjectManagement (Mtilheim an der Ruhr), is responsible for the coordination of the industrial subprojects.
209
deciding aspects such as product and process quality, Customer satisfaction, market share. and total revenue and profits as thoroughly as possible (cf. Strina, Uribe, 2002).
2. SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND TO THE NOWS-TECHNIQUE The economic evaluation of the costs and benefit of training and further education measures/strategies has finally become a question important enough to warrant the discussion of a controlling system for training in enterprises. The term "Education Controlling" is normally understood as "Further Educationrrraining Controlling" and communicated within the enterprise. In doing so "many more future-orientated processes take centre stage in controlling; which is a future based control loop of sequences and processes" (cf. Krekel, Seusing, 2(00). Education Controlling therefore posits more than just a integrated approach, whereby the various tasks in operational Further Education and Training must be strategically consolidated. These tasks, which overlap the educational aspects, should also consider the question of "economical" criteria such as efficiency, effectiveness, costs and value creation (cf. Gnahs, Krekel, 2000). A one-sided view of this process , e.g. only a "financial" or only a "participation-orientated" view, can admittedly lead to critical operational implementations, however which can steer the description of Education Controlling in the direction of "concealing of old technocratic hopes" (cf. Amold, 1996). Gnahs and Krekel (cf. Gnahs, Krekel, 2000) present the Education Controlling Process (characterised by them as "functional cycles of the operational educational work") in various phases (cf. Fig. I). During the "Requirements Analysis" the Current-Situation (which skills and competencies already exist in the enterprise) along with the strategical alignment of the enterprise (the mission and the resulting long-term objectives) are confronted, ensuing that in the "Objectives", aims must be identified which will fulfil the requirements (from the "Requirements Analysis"). The strategies and measures which will lead to the attainment of the objectives are then defined and evaluated in the phase "Formation of Education Provisions". The strategies that are feasible are implemented ("Realisation of Education Provisions"), and constantly monitored to ensure their success. The phase 'Transfer Assurance" aims for the accumulation and circulation of all "Lessons Learned" during the processes, which have been gathered to help contribute to quality assurance and a "self learning organisation". Therefore against this background a further economic analysis should be aimed for in the Education Controlling sector, which will quantify the effects of the implemented Training and Further Education strategies and measures on competitively
Fundion cyeie of industrial nning
Fig. I. Supporting the operational educational work through the NOWS-Technique Through this approach it is clear how the benefits-orientated economic evaluation procedure (NOWS-technique) develops as an instrument from the extended economic efficiency analysis and is primarily used for the evaluation of technical investment (cf. Weydandt, 2000), which supports the initiation and implementation of Education Controlling at work. The NOWS-Technique consists of seven phases which form the basis for all participation-orientated I processes as well as the learning processes (cf. Unger, 1998) of all participants and also the organisation (cf. Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Profitability Evaluation Process Focused on benefits In the "Constitution of the Investment Team" phase, a representative team is created from executives and employees who are affected by the measures and strategies; this team cond'.~cts the
I
210
The "participation-orientated principle" mentioned here corresponds to the possibility for the employees of an enterprise to participate in operational decisions and design processes.
measures, whereas the practice by Deutschen Telekom AG ("A") and T-Mobile ("B") is of elaborate strategies based on organisational development, which takes into consideration several Further Education measures (cf. Uribe, Wittki, 2001). In the following section the example of the mobile phone provider T-Mobile is briefly explained.
whole evaluation, implementation and reflection process. During the "Current-Situation-Analysis" phase the existing skills and competences in the enterprise are identified; in the "Target-SituationAnalysis" phase, the necessary competencies derived form the strategic objectives are identified and classified according to the necessity of reaching them. In "Accumulation of Provisions" individual strategies 2 are defined, which are then tested for their economic efficiency in the "Investment calculation and evaluation" phase. The evaluation is concluded with the decision "to implement one or several strategies". It is recommended at the "Implementation" phase, that participants from the "Investment Team" directly accompany the process, so that the advice for the evaluation of strategies is directly incorporated in the transfer process or, if necessary, to be made comprehensible. In the "Reflection" phase the "Investment Team" should appraise the experiences gathered during the process (planing, evaluation, implementation and supervision) and issue recommendations on possible actions for the next procedural implementations or the realisation of further Training and Further Education processes. In comparison the classical economic efficiency techniques, which limit themselves fundamentally to the monetary quantifiable objectives such as costs and revenues (so called "harder" factors), the NOWS-Technique enables (also represented as a "cycle"; cf. Fig. 1), non-monetary objectives such as time, quality, flexibility, employee perspectives or enterprise surroundings (so called "softer" factors) to be evaluated monetarily. Therefore the different factors for evaluation are divided into "direct, indirect, and difficult to ascertain" and the probability of entry classified as "high, medium, or low" (cf. Strina et ai, 2001). Therefore this technique supplies the answer to the enterprise's requirements (which are partly taken from the guidelines for ISOCertification 900012000) for the utilisation of planned or implemented measures and strategies to be evaluated monetarily or to be substantiated and documented. The NOWS-Technique, in the sense of Education Controlling, has as of yet been realised in five different enterprises in the scope of the SENEKA-Project (cf. Fig. 3). The user, enterprise or enterprise sector, is active in various branches and exhibits different criteria in terms of number of employees, total revenue, style of management etc.. Most importantly all of them are occupied, within the context of evaluation, with strategies/measures from the Personnel and/or organisational development sector. Whereas in the enterprises: At the University clinic Frankfurt (enterprise "C") Education Centre for Career-related Training and Further Education GmbH (BAW Thiiringen) ("D") and Bosch Rexroth AG ("E"), the practice is mainly concentrated on the economic efficiency viewpoint of Further Education
2
NOWS I Enterprise portfolio
L.. ge e,..et'prises
SME.
Fig. 3. Enterprise portfolio of the NOWS-Technique as of yet used within the context of Education Controlling
3. CASE STUDY: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NOWS-TECHNIQUE BY THE MOBILE PHONE PROVIDER T-MOBILE A few years ago, the mobile phone provider TMobile was confronted by substantial changes to the supplier market due to technological developments. The enterprise therefore identified certain domains within the framework of its strategic planning, whereby organisations- and personal development strategies should be implemented in order to secure long term means for a competitive capacity. T-Mobile, as an associated partner of SENEKA, took advantage of the possibility of evaluating a variety of strategies with the NOWS-Technique and of developing appropriate recommendations on possible actions. In a Kick-off-Workshop, in which both the complete procedure and its relevance were analysed for the situation of the enterprise at that time, the composition of the team ("Training of the Investment Team") was consequently discussed. In the initial stages, those participating in the Workshop dealt with the definition of those domains concerned according to the strategy. From this, a team of representatives was formed, who not only represent the various domains, but also the various levels of hierarchy. Also in this workshop the general conditions were defined, amongst which the team had to carry out an evaluation. Thereby the evaluation procedure was scheduled. this being the promise of the leadership to adhere to making the workers exempt and to accept the responsibility of supplying information (reports, figures etc.) and to
Several measures belong to one strategy. 211
The rateability of the identified factors was classified into three categories: direct, indirect and difficult to ascertain, and the probability of entry was classified high, medium and low. The subsequent output of the investment team was the monetarisation of the particular identified benefits and cost factors. In doing so the team must decide on which monetary value of a decided factor will be assessed in view of the observed general conditions specific to business. Therefore it could be the case that a further qualification of the employees of the call centres could lead to cutting call times with customers by 30 seconds per conversation. Given that the average employee engages in 100 telephone calls per day, for every 10 employees in a 24 hour period this implementation would equal a saving of 500 minutes, thus 8.3 hours per day. If it is agreed that these 8.3 hours correspond to a working day of a paid employee, a monetary sum can be defined. Due to the fact that in this case a sum can be established in even more exchanges, we would be talking about an "indirect" factor. If we had a basic account (in terms of a receipt) we would be talking about a "direct" factor. Factors that are difficult to ascertain are evaluations of factors that can be identified, whose impact as a rule can only be characterised positively or negatively. The probability of this implementation will be determined by the investment team.. The established monetary sums4 were subsequently sorted into the following tables (cf. Fig 5) and cumulated according to the order of degree of risk.
define the contact with the in-between and end results of the evaluation. When the team met on another occasion, they asked for an investment team in order to account for the factors of people, organisation and technology (Human-Organisation-Technology approach), and to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT-Analysis) of personal development in the domains concerned, and to classify them into an order of (important or less important). On the basis of the consequences reached in the identifying and analysing of the internal and external factors, an 1ST-profile was developed which recognised the strengths, weaknesses, prospects and risks of the participants. Following the development of the Current Profile, the Target Profile drawn on two different levels was defined: the so-called "capacity level" (in which changes must take place and whose aspects must be recognisable) and the "orientation level" (through which variables can reach these changes on the orientation level?). In Figure 4 an example of a discussion with T-Mobile is described.
Fig. 4. Aspects for defining the Target-Profile The results characterising the target profile clearly state which aims (derived from the strategic target direction of the enterprise) must be reached. An example of this is "the improvement of customer-orientation". In this way more provisions can be put forward, which for example envisage a better understanding of how a product (of a machine) functions on the side of the workers in the Call Centre (qualifications of the staff) or the creation of a new department (Organisation), which will deal with marketing. Using the two developed profiles, it was therefore possible to review the previously defined strategies in their strategic orientation concerning the business strategy and the approval of the domains concerned. The conformation to this allows for the assessment of expected benefits and costs for the relevant strategies. With the in-between results that have been gained, the investment team was able to implement a detailed listing and description of the benefits and cost factors of the corresponding strategies. Firstly the factors, which were defined as benefits or costs were identified (e.g. costs, work time, over time)3.
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Fig. 5. Tables to show the sorting of the Benefits and Costs factors according to their ability to be evaluated and probability of entry (figures changed; cf. footnote 4) In comparison with other implementations, in this case it was clear that at the start of the definition this can lead to this being useful for the enterprise, which at the same time could mean costs for a domain or employee. ~ The figures are changed so that the privacy of the Customer T-Mobile is preserved, but the principle of NOWS is still recognisable.
The benefits and costs will be taken from the point of view of the enterprise, because the aim of optimising business processes is not solely the achievement of sectoral or personal aims. By 212
4. CONCLUSION
evaluation process, a compromise between the members of the team concerning the relationship between accuracy and complexity should be reached, and that a practical moderation of the process is equally necessary. From evaluation experience at T-Mobile, a nine stage interval of benefits and costs value (individual monetary impacts), with the help of the formula categorised by NOWS was analysed and visualised (cf. fig. 6). From the gradient of the curves we can see to what extent the investment in the measures/strategies, according to approach of the investment team is classified as advantageous. In the visualisation of efficiency the maximum of possible benefits correlates with the cost estimated for sure (right side of Fig. 6); on the left side the maximum of possible cost correlates with the sure benefits. The crucial point now is where these two lines cross each other: the more the intersection point is on the left side, the more even a pessimistic manager would support the evaluated strategy or measures; if it is to much in the right part, only a very optimistic manager would decide in a positive sense. So a decision parameter is produced which lies - in the positive case - on the pessimistic side of the intersection point: thus economically speaking the planted aim can be achieved through the implementation of the relevant strategy or measures. In the case of T-Mobile, the graphical description of three different strategies from organisational and personal development and the documentation as an endorsement of further reports on administration of business was enclosed. Selected strategies were not implemented by SENEKA, thus the subsequent reflection concentrated on the evaluation's process. Thereby both the advantages and disadvantages of the technique in the scope of the implementation were analysed, prepared and made available for the internal transfer.
This benefits and participation-orientated approach for extended economic profitability analysis offers the enterprise and especially those responsible for Personnel development, the possibility to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate and systematically control Education Measures and strategies, taking into consideration of so called "soft" factors (motivation, working atmosphere etc.), "hard" factors (costs and revenues) and the possibility of entry. Furthermore, through the various departments or firms, the NOWSTechnique enables employees in: the participation of non-business management experts to make investment appraisals, the increase in acceptance of education conditional investment through participation, the continual improvement of the qualifications contingent processes through participative investment processes and the strengthening of conscious integrated thinking. In the case of the application in T-Mobile it was clear that one (external) experienced moderation of the team meeting was necessary due to the multiplicity of sectors and hierarchies. In addition it could be established, that previous knowledge about Total Quality Management concepts clearly made implementation easier, whereby no preconditions for a successful evaluation process were necessary, which was seen in later applications. An apparent fundamental problem for the application of monetarisation instruments m extended economic efficiency analysis, is the success of such evaluations which have to make a compromise between "accuracy" and "complexity". Whereas employees from operational sectors are prepared to undertake "strategic" evaluations, finance-orientated "controllers" are orientated rather on taking exact figures. As long as this discrepancy does happen in Education Controlling (and not only there), an integrated strategic perception of the operational Training and Further Education does not work or only plays a second role in the strategic orientation of the enterprise. REFERENCES Amold, R. (1996): Von der Erfolgskontrolle zur entwicklungsorientierten Evaluierung. In: Munch, Joachim (Hrsg.): Okonomie betrieblicher Bildungsarbeit. Qualitat - Kosten - Evaluierung - Finanzierung. Berlin. S.251-
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Krekel, E., Seusing, B. (Hrsg.) (2000): Bildungscontrolling em Konzept zur Optimierung der betrieblichen Weiterbildungsarbeit, Berichte zur beruflichen Bildung, Heft 233, Bundesinstitut fUr Berufsbildung. Bertelsmann, Bielefeld. Gnahs, D., KrekeL E. (2000): Betreibliches Bildungscontrolling in der Theorie und Praxis .Begriffabgrenzung und Forschungsstand. In
Fig. 6. Graphical Illustration of the T-Mobile evaluation (figures changed; cf. footnote 4)
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Krekel, E., Seusing, B. (Hrsg.): Bildungscontrolling ein Konzept zur Optimierung der betrieblichen Weiterbildungsarbeit, Berichte zur beruflichen Bildung, Heft 233, Bundesinstitut fUr Berufsbildung. Bertelsmann, Bielefeld. Strina, G., Uribe, J. (2002): Partizipationsorientierte Vorab-Bewertung der Wirtschafthchkeit betrieblicher Investitionen am Beispiel des NOWS-Verfahrens Ein prozess- und beteiligungsorientierter Bewertungsansatz. In: Bundesministerium fUr Bildung und ForschungBMBF (Hrsg.): Tagungsreader zur 1. Tagung "Innovative Arbeitsgestaltung - Zukunft der Arbeit", Berlin, 18./19. April, Forum 2. Strina, G., Uribe, J., Frank, S. (2001): Was ist Weiterbildung Wert? In: Qualitat und Zuverllissigkeit Qualitlitsmanageme'1t in Industrie und Dienstleistung (QZ), hanser Verlag, Heft 6, 46 Jg., S.756-757. Unger, H. (1998): Organisationales Lemen durch Teams - Methode und Umsetzung eines teambasierten Projektsmanagements. Rainer Hampp Verlag, Miinchen und Mering. Uribe, J., Wittki, B. (2001): Profitability Estimation Focused on Benefits (NOWS-Approach) of Participation-orientated Evaluation Educational StrategieslPlanning. In: Lehrstuhl Informatik im Maschinenbau und Hochschuldidaktisches Zentrum der RWTH Aachen (Ed.): Managing Knowledge 2010 Perspectives For Practice And Research. SENEKA Joumal, Heft 2, Aachen. Weydandt, D. (2000): Beteiligungsorientierte wirtschaftliche Bewertung von technischen fUr prozessorientierte Investitionen Fertigungsinseln. Untemehmenskybemetik in der Praxis, Band 2, Shaker Verlag, Aachen.
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