Corporate E-Learning: An Inside View of IBM's SolutionsCorporate e-learning has become increasingly important in the contemporary universal-access business world, and can provide strategic and competitive advantages to corporations as a way to accelerate training and reduce the high costs of face-to-face learning programs. However, most of the books that are written about e-learning do not describe in detail how corporate e-learning is actually implemented within a specific company. Corporate E-Learning fills that gap by describing in depth how e-learning programs are developed and instituted, and how their effectiveness is measured, from the perspective of practicing e-learning professionals at IBM, an early and liberal user of e-learning technologies to train their global workforce. Drawing on a wealth of in-person interviews of numerous e-learning professionals at IBM, as well as recent e-learning literature, Tai discusses how IBM has significantly contributed to the evolution of corporate e-learning. In the course of doing so, he makes useful comparisons with other companies and industries, and draws conclusions that are applicable to any company considering utilizing e-learning. Companies should be careful, concludes Tai, to use e-learning only when it makes strategic and economic sense, not simply because the technology is available. In addition, e-learning should always be used along with other more traditional means of learning, and carefully monitored by feedback mechanisms to measure whether its objectives have been accomplished, and how e-learning programs might improve in the future. Corporate E-Learning is designed for classroom use in technology management courses, and will also appeal to corporate professionals who are involved in training, human resources development, and performance improvement. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
approach areas Arrington bandwidth blended learning business objectives business unit challenge chief e-learning architect chief learning officer Cisco Systems classroom learning classroom training collaborative corporate e-learning corporate support Corporate University corporation I examined cost create culture customers delivered delivery develop e-learning e-learning courses E-Learning Developed e-learning experiences e-learning professionals e-learning program effectiveness of e-learning employees environment evaluation example explained face-to-face facilitator feedback focus global goal Hoff IBM’s impact implementing e-learning important instructors interactive investment Kirkpatrick model knowledge leadership learners learning leader learning management system Lewis Lou Gerstner MacGregor material measure ment module organization participants percent performance personal interview Piskurich 2003 problem savings SCORM senior learning session skills strategy target audience teaching Ted Hoff there’s tier tion tool track vendors Wattendorf what’s work-life balance workplace