Influences
From Outside and Within
Outside
Influences
Internet-based
training allows organizations to leverage the intellectual content
of such mega-names such as Tom Peters, Ken Blanchard, and Peter
Drucker. These thought leaders are enthusiastic to jump on the
e-learning wagon because they can only teach so many students
in a traditional class. With e-learning, the geographic barriers
are lifted.
Other
organizations see e-learning as their way into the learning market.
Michael Milken, his brother Lowell, and Oracle's Larry Ellison
run Knowledge Universe, a venture
hatchery for educational and training companies. And there are
more big players who want to sell e-learning packages to you...even
if you do not need it
(The Virtual Classroom Vs. The Real One).
Influences
From Within
The
Industry Standard's article, Training the Young and the Restless, reports that
while e-learning is often associated with technical training,
new software tools are now able to teach management principles
that employees can tackle on their own. This is extremely helpful
for the organization as there are only so many coaches and mentors
to go around. These mentors and coaches can be replaced by e-learning tools that take
managers through simulated situations they might face on the job.
It's hard to say how effective these programs are since the results
of soft skills training are not as immediate as for example, training
a programmer in Java; never the less, training departments see
it as a way of leveraging scarce resources, in this case - skilled
and knowledgeable workers.
BizRate.com,
which gathers consumer information, (Internet Retailers Switch to Clearing Merchandise 12/26/00,
Bloomberg News) reports that U.S. shoppers spent $4.74 billion
at online stores between 20 November and 17 December, 2000, which
is a 49% increase over the same period of 1999. Organizations
note information such as this and start asking, "If the internet
can grow sales, how can we use it to grow learning within the
organization?"
However,
pressure from within the organization to implement e-learning
does not always mean it is the right thing to do. It is easy to
get caught up in the hype. For example, ASTD's article, The E-Learning Revolution, recommends "Attach
yourself to a strategic initiative or a core process in your organization
that has a strong e-learning component. Then outsource the rest
of training." This is exactly where hype begins -- if you want
to learn to do e-learning, then fine, attach yourself to a strong
e-learning component. However, you do not outsource the rest of
training so that YOU can learn more about e-learning...you outsource
learning when it benefits the LEARNERS and the ORGANIZATION.
Outside
and Within
There
are many valid reasons for implementing e-learning programs. However,
there are also many outside businesses who want to sell their
e-learning programs to your organization simply to grow their
business, not necessarily because it is best for your organization.
Managers and trainers must look beyond the hype of organizations
wanting to make a dollar, instead they must look at the needs
of their own organization.
Resources
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