Working knowledge: Charting a new course for training

To get the most out of their training dollars, organizations need to go beyond a program-to-program mentality to a comprehensive view of human resources renewal that is closely linked to their organizational development objectives.

Working Knowledge: Charting a New Course For Training Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld Cynthia A. Ingols

he need for continuing education and training

large expenditures - or perhaps because of

for today’s workforce is clear; less clear, how-

them-questions

ever, is what employees need to do to ensure

education and training programs on both em-

that their work-related

ployees and their employers. How are the educational needs of employees determined?

knowledge remains

current. Particularly in industries undergoing rapid change, the need to sort, add, discard, and ultimately integrate new knowledge and skills with that which was learned yesterday is a challenging task. Left to their own re-

remain about the effects of

Who decides which employees should receive

sources, employees may feel overwhelmed,

what type of education? How are the curricula in the programs tied to an organization’s central values and operations? How are the costs for education and training programs de-

undirected, or confused by this task. For this reason, some U.S. organizations have accepted the responsibility and the cost for the continuing education of their employees. These organizations currently spend an estimated $60 billion per year on education and training programs ranging from halfday seminars to accredited college courses leading to advanced degrees. Even with these

expenditures? What are the effects of training and education programs? To provide a framework for examining these questions, we will first trace the evolution of human resources (HR) systems in the United States and analyze how each system promoted the teaching of skills by organizations and the concomitant learning of skills

termined, and who is accountable

for these

63

by employees. This historical perspective illustrates workplace

how owners/leaders

in the U.S.

have either encouraged

or dis-

couraged employees to master requisite skills and knowledge

to enhance

their develop-

However, change was already underway in the marketplace. Around 1800, merchant-capitalists had started to order larger quantities of goods from the craft workshops. At the same time, they had begun

ment. Next, we will discuss five common

to demand lower prices for those goods. The

training dilemmas that arise from the confusion organizations face in defining the pur-

new HR system that evolved, the market sys-

poses of educational programs and their roles

tem, quickly changed the employment relationship between master and apprentice in

as providers of training and education. Last, we will suggest three prescriptions for better

or fire both skilled and unskilled laborers on

education and training programs.

the basis of market fluctuations.

the craft shops since employers needed to hire

As small shops changed to large factories to achieve economies of scale, as power sources shifted from water to steam to elec-

THE EVOLUTION OF TRAINING AT WORK

During its earliest years, the United States was primarily a nation of farmers, who relied on tools that differed little from ones that had been used 2,000 years ago. Given the limited knowledge about agriculture at that time,

ers, the employment relationship further deteriorated. Both skilled and unskilled workers were considered a variable cost, creating a very high turnover rate. Under these circum-

people easily learned to farm through ex-

stances, organizations needed to teach fewer

perience and by observing those immediately

skills to fewer people. According to Paul R.

around them. Only a few Americans (about 30% by 1820) lived in towns and cities, where

Lawrence, the market HR system dominated American industry throughout the nine-

craftsmen

their

teenth century and still characterizes the em-

trade through apprenticeships or craft systems. In this way, young men acquired skills and some financial and psychological

ployment relationship for up to one-third of

and professionals

learned

benefits; their employers received productive work during the apprentices’ training period and, we may suppose, the psychological reward of teaching the skills of their craft to the next generation.

64

tricity, and as the number of unskilled laborers grew in proportion to skilled work-

Under the craft (apprenticeship) HR system, the training of employees in particular crafts was conducted on a small scale. The process was intimate and personal; in fact, in many shops apprentices were known as “sons.” As late as 1850, the home and workshop remained the centers for the production of goods. In Boston, for example, about half of the workers were employed in shops with 10 or fewer people, and 80% were employed in shops with fewer than 20 workers.

all employees in the United States. With the introduction of the assembly line in 1910 by Henry Ford and the advocacy of scientific management by Frederick Taylor, the era of the technical HR system began. The increase in the size of factories illustrates the change from the market HR system to the technical HR system. In 1850, the McCormick Reaper plant in Chicago employed about 150 people; by 1900, the number had grown to 4,000. However, the most striking growth occurred during the next two decades. By 1916, the McCormick plant employed 15,000 workers, while the Ford Motor Company plant in Highland Park employed 33,000 workers. Obviously, the scale of U.S. enterprises and the quantity of goods produced was increasing rapidly.

The key feature system-a

fine division

pacing-further

of the technical

diminished

skilled workers.

Employees

interchangeable,

turnover

and

layoffs

soured.

were

HR

of labor and machine the

need

for

were more or less rates

prevalent

were

when

high,

business

In some ways, the Luddite caricature

of workers tightening

a specific bolt at a faster

and faster pace accurately

portrayed

the con-

sequences

Workers

were not

of this system.

asked to think, learn, and adapt but rather to Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld is an associate professor Businws School,

at Harvard M.B.A.

and D.B.A.

where

degrees

three special honors: The Academy

ment’s Best Dissertation Hawthorne dustry,

Award

research.

in Social Issues,

on career management. M.B.A.

management.

He currently

course

He has served

for and

is teaching

on human

resources

on the board

editors of Academy of Management

nal of Occupational as national

Behavior. He also has chair and as presi-

program

dent of the careers division

of the Academy

of

Management. Sonnenfeldj

books

Corporate Views

include

of the Public Interest (Auburn

House,

Career Management (SRI, 1984),

1981),

and Manag-

ing Career Systems: Channeling the Flow of Executive Talent (Richard written

30 articles

D. Irwin).

American Psychologist,

Social Forces, Harvard

Business Review, Journal havior,

Human

of Occupational

Relations,

Academy

agement

Journal,

Teaching

Review, Business

nal of Human

Resource

of Business

search

and consuiting

has worked

and IBM. His current middle-management service firms

The Jour-

Management,

and The

His primary

re-

activities focus on executive

and management

in human

Behavior

Horizons,

History.

career systems,

ment, succession,

Be-

of Man-

The Organizational

Journal managing

He has

such as The

for journals

resources

research retraining

and retirement

developrenewal.

He

at Scott Paper

focuses

the human

of workers

and,

spirit.

awaken management to the limited opportunities for realizing human potential under Taylor’s principles of scientific management. The Hawthorne

of

Journal,

Academy of Management Executive, and Jourserved

and body

The Hawthorne studies, conducted in the late 1920s and early 193Os, began to

second-year behavior

tion of the mind unwittingly,

The

in ln-

D. Irwin Award

He has taught

M.B.A. courses on interpersonal a required

of Manage-

for Social Research

and the Richard

business

he earned

and was awarded

perform mechanically simple tasks. The assembly lines and organizations that expanded the economic pie also furthered the separa-

on

in financial-

of chief executives.

studies led to management’s

recognition of the importance of employee norms and motivations, morale, and leadership as well as general appreciation of the workplace

as a social

system.

training

based on sensitivity

lations

of the workplace

Supervisory

to the human was initiated.

the 19.50s, studies by James Worthy Charles Walker and Robert Guest documented

the negative

low-skilled,

machine-paced

reBy

and by further

effects of repetitive, work

on

em-

ployee morale and productivity. As evidence of the detrimental effects of low-skilled, repetitive work accumulated, employers began to redesign and enlarge jobs to increase the skill levels required of workers. Thomas J. Watson, Sr., founder of IBM Corp., helped to initiate this movement after he observed frustrated and inefficient employees complaining about their highly segmented work activities. Today IBM, with its career ladders, commitment to long-term employment, and employee loyalty, exemplifies the career HR system, the

65

cornerstone

of which

is career-long

edu-

cation. IBM not only played a leading role in establishing the career HR system but also developed first-rate corporate education programs grounded

in the company’s beliefs,

values, and human resources practices. Lecturing at Columbia University in the early

196Os,Thomas J. Watson, Jr. cited IBM’s three basic beliefs that guide all its actions and practices: Respect the individual employee; give the best customer service of any

Cynthia

A. Ingols is a research assistant

Harvard

Business School and is finishing

doctoral work Harvard

in organizationnl

Graduate

at at Ihe

employee, Thomas J. Watson, Sr. established a policy on job security. This belief in hiring

She re-

people for life led to the practice of training,

her

behavior

School of Education.

cently joined Goodmeasure.

company in the world; and excel at all tasks. To show respect for the individual

a consulting

firm.

Since 1981 the focus of her research has been on adult education doctoral work, in Fortune

in the workplace.

500 companies,

gic purposes

field work

examining

of executive

and developing

the strate-

education

a configuration

employees,

tional features that lead to effective

education

programs.

in the cor-

Her papers on education

poration

include “Mid-Career Education

School of Education, Training:

(coauthored

Rite, Bond-

combines

and the study

to attending

Harvard,

the College of DuPage in Illinois.

she taught

Ingols served on the editorial board

84, she worked

with Paul Lawrence and

Review. In 1983-

Walton on a colloquium

practices in human

resources

helped with the publication Challenges

on innovative

management

for the 1980’s: Innovations has included

tion of an executive

M.B.A.

students.

in HRM.

the evalua-

program

of young adult workers

self-assessment

and

of Trends and

Since then her work

M.B.A.

ut

While at

Educational

retention

her

of organiza-

of the Harvard Richard

of

San Diego, CA, 1985).

Ingols’s work experience interest in education

Harvard,

Examples of IBM’s management de-

or Signal of Excellence?” Meetings,

on the

as well as the

and career perspectives

of

service engineers to top executives, a commitment that now costs between $2 and $3 billion annually.

1983) and “Corporate

with Terrence Deal, Academy

Management

tions. Prior

Pro-

Graduate

Chinese Lunch, Dubbing

ing Ceremony,

cal change and new markets and products, IBM attempts to educate continuously all its from sales representatives and

programs

of organiza-

grams: Their Impact” (Harvard

66

For her

Ingols has conducted

retraining, and if necessary re-retraining employees at all levels of the organization. As a leader in an industry that creates technologi-

velopment programs show the substance to their policies. IBM attempts to bring, within 30 days of their appointment, new managers in the United States to the company’s management development center in Armonk,

New

York. All new middle managers are brought to the center within 90 days of appointment. In total, all of IBM’s new, middle, and top 42,000 managers receive at least 40 hours of management education annually at Armonk, representing more than 1,600,OOO hours of course work. Significantly, IBM links its management education programs to its successionplanning process-its way of recognizing the importance of identifying and developing high-potential personnel to be the company’s “managers of tomorrow.” This system of

Exhibit 1 EVOLUTIONOF TRAINING IN U.S. HUMAN RESOURCES (HR) SYSTEMS* Market HR System

Technical HR System

Career HR System

Craft HR System

(approximately

(approximately

(approximately

(dominant until 1820)

1820-1914)

19151945)

1945 to present)

Work

Master/journeyman/

Unskilled

Organization

apprentice

operators.

work

Fine division

machine

teams. Employer’s

Apprentices

Perception of

viewed

often

as “sons.”

Employees

Skilled and unskilled workers viewed as a variable

of un-

Groups of employ-

skilled labor with

ees under

machine

pacing.

visor.

Workers

viewed

as

being interchangeable.

cost.

Workers

a super-

viewed

as long-term, career-oriented community members.

Length of

Long-term.

Based on fluctuations in the market.

Employee Seruice Tools

Semi-long-term ployment;

em-

layoffs

by

Employment stability.

seniority. Few and simple.

Energy sources evolve

Machines

dominant.

along with

Complex

interac-

tive technology.

new machines. Focus of Training

Geared

to individual

employee’s

needs

Fewer skills taught to fewer people.

and expectations. Status of

Central

Training

nization.

to the orga-

Decreasingly

needed.

Functional expertise and administrative

Teams,

efficiency

ing stressed.

stressed.

Decreasingly

needed.

technical

skills, and retrain-

A core value.

* The framework for this chart is based on Paul R. Lawrence’s ‘The History of Human Resource Management in American Industry” in HRM Trends and Challenges, Paul R. Lawrence and Richard E. Walton (eds.), Harvard Business School Press, 198.5.

clearly directed teaching by the organization and concomitant learning by employees has created a workforce at IBM that many organizations envy and that some attempt to lure away. Since World War II, IBM and all other public and private organizations have had to manage a better-schooled labor force. The combination of financial resources funneled through a myriad of federal and state programs (such as G.I. stipends and federally guaranteed loans) and the greater accessibility of higher-education institutions devel-

oped through the community college system and university extension programs allowed the democratization of higher education in the United States. Before World War II, only one out of 20 people in the 25-to-29 age cohort had earned a bachelor’s degree; today, the proportion is one out of four. The changing composition of the U.S. workforce, particularly the growing percentage of professionals and managers and the shrinking percentage of blue-collar workers, is caused in part by this highly schooled labor force. How this educationally sophisti-

67

cated

workforce

affects

the

organization’s

task of helping employees continuously their skills and knowledge is not Nevertheless, education

IBM

believes

is a matter

that

similar

toward

teaching

that learning

seriously

their

requisite

responsibility

tems, the teaching an investment

of the

common

are

in employees

sys-

dissimilarities,

several Moreover, about

that employees

times

during

employees

of the work

a worker’s today

need

the entire organization

and

the interrelationships

between

be aware of the global nature

be-

particularly

companies.

if they

of the marketwork

for large

Thus the task of maintaining

many. Yesteryear’s workers had relatively few, simple tools; today’s employees must of-

FIVE COMMONTRAININGDILEMMAS

ten master

For organizations

equipment.

Yesteryear’s

in the workplace;

differ-

an

updated workforce - to say nothing of developing a leading-edge workforce - has become much more complex.

little about the community beyond their own; today’s workers worry about their counterparts in places as far-flung as Japan and Ger-

complex

need

increase may be

ent functions such as sales, manufacturing, and marketing. Employees today must also

tween teaching employees yesteryear and today are vast. Yesteryear’s apprentices knew

workers knew everyone

the

of the craft and career HR

lifetime. about

is

and in the future.

dissimilarities

these

necessary

place, the

element

knowledge

relationship. However,

are

training to master their skills and their productivity. Today, retraining

for mastering

a continuation

today’s employees

systems is the awareness

and take

of skills and knowledge

be-

from top leaders by layers of other Despite

In both

worked

managers.

HR systems:

is essential

skills and knowledge.

It also implies

separated

takes responsibility for teachneeded skills; employees un-

derstand

employees

side the master-owner;

employee

and learning

in the craft and career

The employer ing employees

Yesteryear’s

of “survival.”

In some ways, the attitudes employer

ployees.

hone clear.

to-

term

day‘s employees in large organizations know only a small number of their fellow em-

within,

that are committed

employment

and

the assumption

the continuous

“Shiffing personal, orgmizafional,

training

to long-

promotion

from

of responsibility and retraining

for of em-

and societal

values and needs are forcing organizafions to expand their role as educators. Once pviwrarily concerned with feaching specific, job-related infovmafion and skills 68

.

,

0

organizations must

now consider a complex social agenda.”

ployees is a logical extension of their other human resources practices. For other organizations that view employees as a variable

groups, along with $3 billion in federal funds, the overall results of this effort fell short of

is

management expectations. Nonetheless, dedicated cooperative efforts continue under the

clouded by a number of dilemmas. For exam-

program, funded by $2.4 billion under the Job

ple, should a manufacturing

Training Partnership Act of 1983.

cost,

the

issue

of training

employees

company train

employees it may have to lay off within a

In addition to assuming this new

year? Whose responsibility is the retraining of workers laid off in low- or no-growth in-

responsibility for providing education to economically

dustries? The training dilemmas most often

tions are being pressured to attend to the

encountered by organizations

needs of workers

uncertainty

are caused by

about where to draw the line of

responsibility as educators, how to figure cost accountability, how to coordinate training with other company activities,

how to

disadvantaged

groups, organiza-

displaced

by structural

shifts in the economy, geographic relocation of jobs, international competition, technological changes, and the convergence of market activities prompted by both technological

guard against the possible biases of experts, and how to discriminate among the kaleido-

change and industry deregulation. Because of

scope of educational

work and unprepared for other jobs. A re-

offerings by suppliers.

port by Carnegie-Mellon University predicts the elimination of 4 million factory jobs and

Expanded Responsibility for Training

the restructuring of 40 million others through

Shifting personal, organizational, and societal values and needs are forcing organizations to expand their role as educators. Once primarily concerned with teaching specific, jobrelated information and skills to their own employees, organizations must now consider a complex social agenda. For example, in response to local concerns and federally sponsored Private Industry Councils (PICs),

organizations

these factors, some workers are left without

technological

change. A study by Data Re-

sources Incorporated projects that high technology will provide only half as many jobs as it eliminates. These figures tend to substantiate James Medoff’s conclusion about a major imbalance in the labor marketplace caused by lags in the skills workers have in comparison to what employers need. To date, government

responses to

have

these massive problems have been varied and

assumed some responsibility for the “hardcore unemployed” and for workers permanently plagued by low earnings. The PICs

fragmented, reflecting the U.S. political system of local, state, and federal governments as well as the different ideological positions of the Democratic and Republican parties. In 1975, for example, the federal government

were created to overcome the weaknesses of publicly administered training through the CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973) programs run by local governments. In 1981-1982, the Ohio State Board of Economic and Community Development and the State Board of Vocational Education cooperated with 40 corporations to provide training and retraining for more than 50,oOO persons. Despite the enthusiastic support of the business community

and trade

funded the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, which aids workers laid off because of foreign competition. The Job Training Partnership Act of 1983 designated $240 million for retraining. Corporate commitment to retrain displaced workers also varies widely, ranging from the limited programs at some rubber and steel companies to the massive commit-

69

ments made by automakers in their concession bargaining with the United Auto Work-

approximate figures to this important investment. A 1984 study by Hay Associates of

ers in 1983.

industry and labor

1,200 major companies reported that fewer

leaders are quick to point out that efforts to

than one in a hundred even purport to assess

date have been insignificant in light of current

the millions of dollars they spend on educa-

and projected needs, the programs illustrate how the employer’s role as educator has ex-

tion annually. Are training

panded from that of training a skilled internal

phous

workforce

ment and skills obsolescence for both its own employees and workers in the external labor

many organizations provide figures for other intangible activities such as product development, social-responsibility programs, public

market.

relations, and advertising. Or are training ac-

Although

to that of preventing unemploy-

so amor-

they elude totals?

Somehow,

training programs is the gap between work-

tivities so highly valued that they transcend the indignity of quantification? If so, they constitute quite an unusual category of ex-

force expectations and workplace opportuni-

pense . Although

Yet another ganizations

factor

pressuring

to expand their education

ties. A better-educated

workforce,

orand

which is

also part of the largest age cohort,

is ap-

it may be true that any measurement of training benefits can only be superficial,

is this really true of cost esti-

proaching mid-life, traditionally a time of in-

mates?

creased dissatisfaction with work opportunity. As the postwar “baby boomers” mature,

In fairness, it must be pointed out that education costs in large organizations

many are facing more limited opportunity for

are elusive for many reasons. Training activi-

advancement

ties frequently are conducted by many different departments, and the costs for these activ-

in the hierarchical,

shaped organizations

pyramid-

in which they work.

These highly educated employees are therefore asking their employers to provide career

ities may be buried in individual department budgets. Moreover, some organizations con-

oc-

sider training to be an expense, while other

cupational changes or lateral job changes to

more inventive companies capitalize it as the

overcome plateauing, and even personal en-

cost of a product or part of the cost of major equipment, listing training expenses as a subaccount of major capital accounts. Frequently time off the job, travel, and in-house and out-

planning,

opportunities

for mid-career

hancement outside of work. If all these expectations are taken into account, the role of training in organizations will expand even

of-house expenses are handled inconsistently within the same organization. In addition, in-

further.

Poor Cost Accountability Although

70

that

activities

a tremendous

amount

of com-

pany money is being allocated for training, managers at every level and from every function are reluctant to claim publicly that they know what is actually spent on employee education in their units, let alone their organizations. Even organizations frequently labeled “best managed” or “excellently managed” are unwilling or unable to assign

ternal transfer pricing of course-development training, salaries of activities, on-the-job trainees, and tuition assistance for outplacement and retirement are handled in inconsistent ways and further muddle estimates of costs.

Limited Internal

Coordination

Education and training programs serve many purposes, from orienting newcomers and

changing an organization’s culture to assisting employees through preretirement counseling and outplacement. Internal producers of education agers,

are numerous:

human

resources

training man-

executives,

divi-

chief executive moved on to another position, a trainer convinced his successor to invest in a scaled-down

training program to combat

high turnover of key talent. ??

A pilot plan to combat turnover

sion managers, specialists in customer educa-

was developed for a research facility with

tion, technical and engineering trainers, soft-

3,000 exempt employees (engineers and phys-

ware

icists). Morale was low at the plant because of a 10% reduction in the workforce through

and

systems

and sales executives,

developers,

marketing

as well as operations

a hiring freeze and attrition.

managers. The target groups for education and

This course of

action had been taken to avoid a layoff and

training programs range from maintenance

to retain valuable workers. The program es-

workers to top managers and customers. These multiple purposes, producers, and con-

tablished credibility after a rough start. How-

stituencies sometimes lead to limited coordination tional

at best or contradictory goals at worst.

organiza-

The following

two

examples illustrate this point. A @-billion company instituted a ??

$300,000

training program consisting

of a

slide show entitled Positioning for Excellence. Company insiders considered it to be a shallow effort created at the command of a division chief executive who wanted to enhance his own image. The program was forced on the division over the wishes of the division’s

ever, after spending $75,000 on training manuals, workshops, job descriptions, information systems for publicizing job openings and opportunities,

and counseling, the facil-

ity received an abrupt jolt. Three months into the program, 10% of the workforce was laid off and an additional 3% took advantage of an attractive early-retirement package. Moreover, the vacated jobs did not create any job opportunities since these positions were eliminated as the incumbents departed. The program ended abruptly, and two months later the division was reorganized, further

trainers and was seen as simplistic by the

obliterating prior notions of career paths.

highly skilled technical and professional em-

These examples point out a few of the difficulties that result when training is not

ployees in the division.

When the division

‘.lfhough a tremendous mount of company money is being allocated for training, managers at every level and from every funcfion are reluctant to claim publicly fhaf fhey know what is acfually spent on employee education in fheiv unifs, let alone fheiv ovganizafions.”

71

Either such self-assessed

coordinated with overall business strategy. In

needs or

both examples, large expenditures for train-

the background of the trainer conducting the

ing could have been eliminated if leaders had

needs analysis may determine which educa-

tied employee learning to overall corporate

tional program is actually developed. There-

strategy and needs. Fragmented training approaches ad-

fore, an educational program may be devel-

versely affect both the organization and em-

might have been more appropriate.

ployees. Employees, who are expected to apply what they have learned in the classroom

training is needed, the program may reflect the capability of the training experts rather

to their on-the-job

than the educational needs of employees.

come frustrated, productive

when

behavior,

may well be-

oped when a change in the reward system Or, if

angry, and eventually less organizational

require-

ments contradict classroom instruction.

The

Confusing Kaleidoscope of Suppliers

money spent on training and less obviously

Perhaps the greatest training dilemma confronting organizations involves the choice of

suffers because of reduced productivity.

an appropriate trainer. Trainers may be inter-

organization

obviously

loses the time and

nal personnel, outside commercial or university professors.

Dangerous Reliance on Possibly Biased Experts

vendors,

Internal trainers. Internal trainers include training specialists, exceptional man-

Departmental and personal biases may manifest themselves in the definition of training

agers on rotation, and former line managers withdrawn from their mainstream line activi-

needs. Often,

ties because of their weak performance.

the underlying

purposes

of

Each

training programs are defined quite loosely. A traumatic event, untested long-term cultural

group has its own strengths and weaknesses.

assumptions, or a generalized concern about

own jargon and professional network independent of the company or its industry. They may be charismatic instructors, but

a business problem may lead a particular senior executive to suggest education as the answer. A training specialist is then called in to conduct a “needs analysis,” frequently consisting of surveys of the target population.

Training specialists often have their

they may not have enough status, business knowledge, or pedagogic versatility to teach senior managers. They often are overlooked

“VVhafever-fhe background of internal baineus, fhey tend to have one rmjor advantage over colnmevcial trainers OYacademicians: Their undersfmding of fhe or-gmizafion 72

reflected in fheiv feaching.

,

,

,‘I

,

,

,

is

for promotions

or lateral moves to other

functions and thus are kept in a rut.

tion therefore

In contrast, exceptional line executives can bring credibility

and upper-management audiences. The ques-

and an apprecia-

arises whether the curricula

and the target audiences of commerical vendors are appropriate

given the retraining

tion of the need for job applicability to training activities. However, they may suffer from

needs of the U.S. workforce.

the biases of their former department or from

est and for years the fastest-growing segment of management education consists of

inconsistent teaching performance.

Still, they

are preferable to trainers who are former line managers withdrawn

from active duty be-

cause of their weak performance.

Giving

Colleges and universities. The larg-

general and functional management courses offered by universities. The 1985 edition of Bricker’s

Directory

describes

68

general

training responsibilities

to the latter may be

management programs offered at 43 universi-

interpreted

by employees,

ties. The Advanced Management

negatively

who

may question the value and meaning attached to training by their employer. Whatever the background of internal trainers, they tend to have one major advantage over commercial trainers or acade-

Program

(AMP), which began at Harvard Business School in 1945, is considered the grandfather of the field. It not only is the oldest but also the longest (13 weeks) and the largest (approximately 160 participants) of the general management programs. National and world-

micians: Their understanding of the organization and how things operate is reflected in their teaching- that is, they impart the organization’s values and culture. Either explicitly

wide counterparts to AMP grew quickly after World War II.

or implicitly (for example, by beginning and

agement

ending sessions promptly or by dressing formally or informally), internal trainers generally demonstrate the more formal policies

programs in the disciplines of marketing, fi-

and procedures of the organization as well as

fectiveness,

the informal norms. Further, internal trainers tend to offer a curriculum that strongly emphasizes behavioral concepts such as interpersonal behavior, team work, group dynamics, motiva-

systems grew in the 1970s. Like the general

tion, leadership, and organizational development. They also tend to be wary of trendy or gimmicky management concepts and practices. Commercial vendors. Although the larger commercial vendors employ professionally trained instructors who teach curricula backed by substantial in-house research, many smaller vendors offer programs that are inconsistent in quality. In addition, commercial vendors tend to focus on professional and technical, job-specific training, and they claim to serve primarily middle-management

Whereas 1950s

programs

residential

and 196Os, functional

nance, human resources,

management management

general man-

expanded

the

management

organizational

and management programs, programs

during

ef-

information

the 213 functional listed in Bricker’s

Directory are offered at universities around the world. Given the diversity of curriculum, faculty, location, and mix of participants, some corporate educators feel bewildered by the choices and wonder how they can select an appropriate program. College-corporation

collaboratives,

most frequently found at the communitycollege level, are another type of specifically designed university program. Large firms such as IBM and General Motors Corporation work with community colleges around the country, while other companies have a program at just one academic institution (for example, Mercedes-Benz works with Thomas

73

In

Whereas the goal of education at in-

these efforts, the class component of training has been carefully blended with on-the-job

hancement and growth, the ultimate goal of

training.

education in the workplace is organizational

Nelson Community

College in Virginia).

Drexel University

in Philadelphia

and the University of Minnesota oneered a number of educational

have piventures

stitutions of higher learning is personal en-

development. Therefore, linkages among educational programs, managerial develop-

with industry. The University of Minnesota

ment, and organizational development need to

gives its 22 “partner” companies priority in

be closely examined and, most likely, strength-

course enrollment

ened. Three prescriptions

and in recruiting

school

the linkages are organizational

graduates. Tuition-reimbursement

programs

are undoubtedly the single largest source of support by organizations for university programs. In general, employees take courses relevant

for strengthening

to their current

jobs

or courses

credited toward a degree. Some organizations require employees to maintain minimum grades, while others do not.

FORTRAINING A NEWCOURSE

coordination broader

of

training

HR planning

understanding

assessment,

programs

objectives,

of the learning

with

and an

process

general and employees’ individual profiles in particular. In addition,

in

learning ongoing

evaluation is needed to assess the impact of education and training programs on employees and the organization.

Organizational

Assessment

Our previous discussion of the evolution of Organizations must navigate their way through these five training dilemmas by charting an

education and training in the workplace illus-

overall course for education

man resources systems have had different views of their responsibility for training and

and training.

They must go beyond a program-to-program mentality to a comprehensive view of human resources renewal. As noncontroversial as this recommendation may seem, few organizations have adopted a comprehensive approach to education and training.

II

At

#

??

??

trates how organizations

with different hu-

teaching employees. Just as the technical HR system decreased the need for skilled labor and consequently the need for teaching and learning in the workplace, the career HR system cultivated the need for lifelong teaching

IBM, managemenf developlnenf courses,

idenfificafion of high-pofenfial employees, and the educafion of fop executives me tied fogether. Significanfly, 1BM believes if is 74 developing ‘managers of tomorrow.‘”

and learning.

The implications

of the rela-

a vision

of what

tionship between type of human resources system and responsibility for training in the

should

accomplish

some

organizations,

workplace

education

are twofold. ??

First, executives

must understand

mance

education

training At

the need for executive

is assessed

evaluations.

and

in their organizations.

on the basis of perforThe implicit

assumption

their system of human resources management and the implied needs for teaching that each

underlying “medical,“

system

forming effectively, enroll them in a training program to be “cured.” At other organiza-

promotes.

For instance,

as Paul

R.

Lawrence has asserted, approximately onethird of the U.S. workforce is still managed by some variation

of the technical

HR system.

this approach is a deficiency, or model: If managers are not per-

tions such as IBM, management development courses, identification of high-potential em-

Technically driven organizations, which depend on a fine division of labor and machine

ployees,

pacing,

it is developing

often create

with no future,

tedious,

although

jobs in the United

repetitive

jobs

States is far above the pay

on long-term

employ-

Coordinating

example,

to concern

ployees

allowing

others The

sources

with their tasks while

to stagnate. two

systems

management

“managers

IBM believes

of tomorrow.”

require

of

human

different

retrain-

Training with Career Systems

Commonalities in career stages across organizations suggest particular training needs. For

ment) may shield employees from the turmoil of the labor market, giving many the security themselves

of top executives

Significantly,

the pay rate for such

rate of foreign competitors. On the other hand, an organization with a career HR system (with its emphasis

and the education

are tied together.

and

both

entry

into

the underdeveloped call for orientation

the organization skills

of new em-

and skill-devel-

opment programs. At Intel Corporation, drew Grove, a founder and currently executive

officer, is the first lecturer

Anchief

in a series

ing curricula, mix of participants, and methods of instruction. Technically driven companies may need to forge teams of

of employee-orientation

laborers and managers, develop the negotiation capabilities of both groups, and encourage high levels of commitment and involvement by all employees. The organi-

newcomers and, in turn, they gain an understanding of the concerns of new employees

zational

dilemmas

and

by the better-educated,

difficulties professional

created work-

force of career HR systems may lead to a different kind of training. For example, research suggests that the more highly educated employees of a cross-section of financialservice companies are more resistant to corporate training than are their less formally educated peers. These educationally sophisticated audiences may require alternate methods of instruction and more demanding curricula-or no training at all. Second, executives must establish ??

programs.

He and

other senior managers share the objectives, history, and management style of Intel with

from their questions and comments. Logically, skill development

for new

employees mostly occurs through on-the-job training. Many firms supplement on-the-job training with skill-oriented courses. Oil companies, for instance, offer their geologists courses on sedimentary environments; computer companies further educate their employees about microchips. The education and training needs of mid-career personnel can be more difficult to fulfill. For organizations that promote from within, membership in the organization for mid-career managers is well established, and their task assignments may be fairly stable.

75

The purpose of training under these circum-

education

stances

process of learning,

is to rekindle

an employee’s en-

training experts in or-

thusiasm. In contrast, employees in industries

ganizations need to ask how best to deal with

with a rapidly changing environment and/or

these “teachable moments.” More important, trainers need to

employees recently

assigned to a new job

need to acquire new knowledge and skills. Regardless of the age or organiza-

clarify how training fits into the organiza-

task-

tion’s career system. This task can be accomplished through formal career planning or in-

relevant maturity dictates the need for close or loose supervision and the consequent need

formal discussions between management and employees. Either way, information about the

for training or retraining.

The greater the

organization’s career system and about the

task-relevant maturity, the less need there is

organization’s culture must be exchanged. First, an organizations career sys-

tional

experience

of

an

employee,

for supervision and training, and vice versa. Middle managers recently promoted or caught in industries swirling in change are likely to be open to new ideas-or, as educators say, “ready to learn.” Today industries such as the automotive and insurance industries are struggling to meet the demands of their competi-

tem must be explained to employees by sharing information about job openings, requisite skills and credentials for those openings, and possible advancement opportunities given an employee’s career trajectory. This information exchange requires some pooling of strategic-

top

planning, succession-planning, and training data. It permits the organization and employ-

managers point their fingers at middle man-

ees to plan intelligently educational paths in

agers as the pockets of resistance to change. Retraining for this group can be especially threatening if it does not take into account the

a partnership

decades invested in career paths that are now

fronted, or preparation for new markets or new technologies can be suggested. Secrecy

tive

environments.

In

many

cases,

being derailed. The need for late-career training de-

approach

to career develop-

ment. In this way, the blocked career paths of ambitious executives can be candidly con-

and veiled intentions only lead to waste since

pends on an employee’s role in the organiza-

valued employees will leave the organization

tion. Senior managers are often enrolled in education programs to expand their view of

while less-valued employees soak up large investments.

the larger, external environment.

At the lar-

gest organizations such as General Electric Company, these programs are run in-house. Many other organizations send executives to university-based executive education pro-

76

is to shorten the trial-and-error

grams such as the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. To prepare employees for retirement, organizations often offer courses on financial planning and other topics. Thus entry into an organization, a change in jobs, or assignment to new tasks signals the need for the acquisition of new skills and knowledge. Since one purpose of

Second,

will stay and

an organization’s

career

system must be appreciated in its more informal or cultural sense. In some organizational cultures, line managers have more credibility as instructors than do professional trainers. If so, line managers may serve as guest speakers or assume training responsibilities on a rotational basis. If training is intended to introduce wider social networks in the organization or to orient employees to organizationwide operations, the mix of participants and speakers must be carefully determined. Many organizations have used training programs to help assimilate newly acquired companies or

to make senior line and staff executives more accessible to middle managers across divisions. If this is part of the intent of a training

courages people to believe that they are capable of learning and change at all ages is essential to lifelong adaptation. Writing about the

program, program planners need to pay at-

development of general intelligence in adoles-

tention to details such as changing the seating

cence, Bloom stated:

assignments and rotating membership in any small groups that are formed as part of the program. Cultural considerations

also should

carry over to the concepts taught in the training program. Otherwise the concepts are likely to be perceived as countercultural.

The

prior attitudes of an employee’s supervisor perhaps most influence the effectiveness

. extreme environments

may be described

dant or deprived for the development in terms of the opportunities language

behavior,

vicarious

experience

couragement thinking,

for learning

opportunities with

of problem

verbal and

for direct as well as

a complex solving

world,

en-

and independent

and the types of expectations

tions for intellectual

as abun-

of intelligence

and motiva-

growth.

of

Even after age 17, the development of intelli-

training. For example, if a bank intends to

gence may be more a function of the environ-

make its middle managers more entrepreneurial, their superiors had better be thinking

ments in which people live and work than a

along the same lines or the training will be a

processes. For example, research on the devel-

wasted effort. Hence, the organization’s culture needs to be considered when selecting in-

opment

structors and determining the participant mix as well as the sequence of who attends the programs offered.

The Adult Learner

consequence

of biological

of intelligence

and maturational in college students

shows a sharp increase during the first year of college and small increments over the next three years. Thus new and intensive learning experiences appear to have a more powerful effect than the continuation of those same experiences. Educators at IBM and other organizations

that

spend large amounts

of

In Stability and Change in Human Character-

money on training would probably

istics (John Wiley & Sons, 1964), Benjamin Bloom showed how an environment that en-

that an “abundant” environment is critical for the continuing development of adults.

concur

“Cultural considerafions also should carr-y over to the concepfs faugkf in fke tvaining p~ogmrn. Otherwise the concepfs are likely to be perceived as counfevculfuval. The prior affifudes of an employee’s supervisor pevhaps rnosf influence the effecfiveness of fvczining.”

77

Other

research

on adult learners

both initial learning and subsequent

recall

suggests that aging slows but does not de-

when learning tasks are fast paced, complex,

crease the ability to learn and that a person’s

or unusual. Therefore, self-pacing and reiter-

approach to learning is adopted early in life

ation are keys to successful acquisition of new

and remains fairly consistent. Moreover, edu-

concepts by adults. These propositions

cational

materials must be considered releUnquestionably,

about

adult

learners have several implications for training

vant by the adult learner. aging slows people

down. However, current research indicates that, if adults can control the pace of learning

programs in the workplace. Participation by learners in the process is important. The in-

and if hearing and visual deficiencies are cor-

formation taught needs to be job-related and reinforced, preferably by the employee’s boss,

rected, people have the same ability to learn

when a learner returns to the job. Otherwise

in their fifties as they had in their twenties.

the information may be lost. Moreover, learning style needs to be

This generalization holds true until old age sometime after the age of seventy. A person’s style and approach to learning is adopted early in life and is fairly

considered when designing training programs since people tend to assimilate new information in different ways. Some people learn best

quisitive teenage students tend to become equally active adult learners. More specifically, patterns of verbal fluency, thought

through theory or abstract conceptualization; others, through concrete experiences or personal involvement. Training programs that help participants understand the strengths

processes, and range of interests and intellec-

and weaknesses of their learning approach

consistent

thereafter.

Active,

energetic,

in-

tual activity (“style of cognitive engagement”) are established early in life and continue

can promote greater self-awareness and self-

throughout adulthood. Thus the learning per-

understanding. Guided by this information, adult learners can better request the appro-

formance of some 50 year olds is equal to and

priate mix of lectures, cases, films, simula-

in cases superior to that of some 20 year olds. Unlike children who can learn gib-

suit their learning approaches.

tions, computer instruction,

and readings to

berish to amuse themselves or please their audience, learning must be relevant and meaningful for adults. Adults who mastered

CLOSING THOUGHTS

organizing, storing, and retrieving information in their younger years continue to be able to do so later in life. Working adults want to learn information that relates directly to their jobs. At IBM, educational programs for new and middle managers present concepts that

78

As the training industry continues to grow, we should recall what Lyndall Urwick cautioned 30 years ago: “One of the greatest

can be applied to managers’ work the following week. However, teaching adults raises

dangers threatening the spread of healthy management development is that people will mistake training systems and techniques for the thing itself.” Intentionally and inadvertently, organizations teach their employees

some problems. As mentioned earlier, some adults lose the quickness found in youth. Discipline and drive are essential to compensate for this loss. According to K. Patricia Cross, older learners generally have difficulty with

something every workday. The question is: What do employees learn? Do employees learn that their jobs are valued, that they are needed to fill them, and that the organization expects and supports employee development

that leads to superior

performance?

lieve that organizations that take responsibility for teaching their employees the skills and knowledge

needed

for

mance find employees think,

and adapt

exceptional

perfor-

who are able to learn,

to the technological,

mational,

and cultural

occurring

today.

revolutions

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We be-

inforthat are

We are grateful to Harry Bernhard at IBM for the time he spent with us discussing education and training at IBM. In addition, we wish to thank Paul R. Lawrence, Richard E. Walton, Linda Hill, and George Wiltsee at Harvard Business School for their help in the development of the ideas found in this article.

SELECTEDBIBLIOGRAPHY

The works of two scholars who have studied

His book is theoretical and empirical in a field

America’s industrial development from the late

dominated by literature that is often faddish. In

1790s clarified our thinking on the historical role

Developing

and Training Human

of training. In the first section of this article, the

ganizations

(Scott Foresman, 1981), Kenneth Wex-

Resources

in Or-

work of Paul Lawrence on the historical develop-

ley and Gary Latham outline a practical guide to

ment of human resources systems laid the founda-

methods of diagnosing, designing, and delivering

tion for our discussion on the evolution of training

training programs. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld’s Managing

within the workplace. His article “The History of

Career Systems:

Human Resource Management

Careers

in American In-

dustry” (HXM: Trends and Challenges,

Channeling

the Flow of Executive

(Richard D. Irwin, 1984) places training in

Harvard

the context of overall career systems and should be

Business School Press, 1985) gives a broad view of human resources systems and should be read to

consulted when developing training programs that

understand the complex issues that surround train-

from Issues in Evaluating

ing within corporations.

Training

Daniel Rogers in The

complement

career development. Business

(Kluwer Academic

In a chapter and Industry

Publishers,

1987),

(University of Chicago Press, 1978) describes how

Cynthia Ingols describes the factors that distinguish effective versus ineffective management de-

the

velopment programs.

Work

Ethic

in

development

Industrial

of

America,

different

7850-1920

markets

drove

America’s workforce to the cities and then into particular industries.

In the last section of this article, we have been influenced by the works of two scholars on

As the corporate education and training

adult learning: Alan B. Knox’s Adult Development

industry has expanded over the past ten years, a

and Learning

number of scholars have begun to study the pat-

Cross’

terns and consequences of this expansion. A nota-

develop models for how and why adults learn,

ble example is Ernest A. Lynton, who has examined the interplay between institutions of higher

with balanced emphasis on psychological and situational conditions.

education and corporate education programs in The Missing Universities Evaluating

Connection

Between

Business and the

(Macmillan, 1984). Robin Hogarth, in Management

Education

(Wiley, 1979),

questions how executives develop when they attend lengthy management education programs.

(Jossey-Bass, 1977) and K. Patricia

Adults as Learnen

(Jossey-Bass, 1981). Both

I

I

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