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Loss Prevention University--This name alone would seem award worthy for its brevity, wit, and enticing return-on-investment potential. Need anything more be said? Yes, quite a bit, in fact, if you're [...]

Here's a sobering perspective: More than half of the respondents to a recent employee survey insist that they feel 'stagnant' in their jobs, while an astounding 62 percent claim to [...]

A handful of students within the business and engineering schools at San Jose State University in California are headed for careers in service-related industries with an expanded set of marketable skills. A specially devised curriculum shared by the two schools includes instruction in such areas as service design and computer science, as well as soft skills electives including leadership and communication. The university's goal is to help students develop an array of skills that are highly prized by organizations in service-related fields, explains Professor Stephen Kwan at the university's College of Business. For example, he says, 'students in the program learn how information technologies can be used to create innovations within all types of service companies.' San Jose State is not alone in offering this interdisciplinary approach, called the Service Science, Management and Engineering (SSME) program. In fact, it is one of more than 250 universities that provide SSME-related courses thanks in large part to IBM. It was Big Blue that developed the SSME curriculum in 2003 and that for the past five years has helped university faculties institute it as part of the IBM Academic Initiative--a program that helps accredited schools throughout the world develop a more competitive workforce. To date, the expansive IBM initiative has helped more than 8,500 faculties at 4,000 institutions teach 40,000 courses to more than 2.5 million students., A handful of students within the business and engineering schools at San Jose State University in California are headed for careers in service-related industries with an expanded set of marketable [...]

It is believed that new computer-based technologies will soon help millions of people with disabilities communicate, learn, and become more productive employees. California State University's Accessible Technology Initiative pursues learning opportunities by promoting universal design in all future-learning-related products.

There are a growing number of organizations that are using immersive learning technologies such as computer games and virtual worlds to train and interact with employees and customers. The developments in this field are discussed.

The article discusses the importance of maintaining a brand image and the reasons why it is so important. A brand name plays a very vital role in selling a company by encouraging investors and clients.

The article highlights the importance of training and discusses five creative methods in which effective and innovative training can be provided.

Talent management applications have made it possible for organizations to create a true performance-driven culture by integrating the practices of human resources. An integrated talent management application can determine the best sources of quality hires from performance results and identify workforce and skills gaps. Other benefits of using these software are discussed.

A Families and Work Institute study found that majority of organizations which provide at least eight work-life initiatives for their workers does it mostly for business purposes and not personal reasons. Most organizations think that work-life balance programs, such as flexible working hours, improve employee commitment and productivity. The impacts of work-friendly policies are analyzed further.

India Inc. describes the country's phenomenal rise in business process outsourcing (BPO) services that have become an important part for Americans. India-based knowledge BPO companies such as NIIT, Aptech, Tata Interactive Systems, Genpact are becoming an important part of the worldwide learning landscape due to its ability to harness a skilled and inexpensive labor force for providing custom content and other learning services at attractive prices.

Small Business Administration's (SBA) Small Business Training Network program is a cooperative effort with the private sector that provides technical assistance to existing prospective small business owners. This Training Network serves as an opening to all of the traditional, face-to-face technical programs launched by the SBA during the 1950s periods and provides self-paced, nut-and bolts courses of relevance to the entrepreneur.

Corporate, government and other organizations are focusing toward business process outsourcing (BPO) firms as they have the ability to leverage heavy fixed costs and provide scaleable, enterprise e-learning products and services and train personnel that clients are reluctant to sever. Several key signs that the market place is seeking to enter into the ranks of more established BPO fields such as acquisitions, new online community and research are presented.

Simulations played a large part in training soldiers for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and they are starting to play a large part in employee learning The past decade has seen a [...]

When the administration solutions division of management consulting firm Towers Perrin decided to improve its training efficiency, the business unit researched the field and then purchased a new learning management [...]

eyebrows were raised through-out the corporate training field in December when the giant McGraw-Hill Companies announced it was pulling the plug on its three-year-old Lifetime Learning unit, a content developer [...]

Whenever companies embark on ambitious business plans, the onus is on a number of corporate departments to ensure their success, especially the learning function. At Cigna Corporation, a bold initiative [...]

Whenever catastrophe strikes an organization, a good insurance policy provides valuable peace of mind. But when the calamity is an uninsurable blow to the bottom line, sometimes the only solution [...]

Business goals are virtually inseparable from learning goals at NIIT Technologies Ltd., an India-based information technologies provider. Not only does its high-performing workforce drive revenue and maintain the company's competitive [...]

Explosive growth is an enviable business problem, but often a challenging one too. For learning departments, it typically means getting new hires to competency quickly and finding solutions for overworked [...]

University Health System is a large institution that includes a single inpatient hospital and 17 ambulatory care facilities scattered throughout Bexar County, Texas. A chronic challenge for such a sprawling [...]

Like many technology service companies emerging from the recession, Bangalore, India-based Wipro Technologies faced two formidable challenges in 2009. It was under pressure by its customers to deliver more for [...]

It's a familiar story: Performance-driven organization must maintain its workforce at peak levels and meet retention goals while coping with budget cutbacks and an unyielding 'do-more-with-less' mandate. The U.S. Navy, [...]

It's an event that would have inspired Confucius into full reflection: honorable Asian company hears opportunity knocking in its 130th year, and seizes it with proverbial gusto. So it happened [...]

One of the principal pillars of the burgeoning Asia-Pacific region is its robust banking industry--an agile and highly competitive sector that embodies Asia's entrepreneurial business climate in many ways. Perhaps [...]

The public buses on the city streets and back roads of Pierce County, Washington, provide breathtaking views of sweeping shorelines and majestic mountains. While savoring those sights from a comfortable [...]

Kelly Services was established in 1946 by William Russell Kelly, founder of the temporary staffing industry. Since then, the company has evolved from the widely recognized 'Kelly Girl' brand to [...]

It's fair to say that the term 'knowledge worker' has slipped so casually into the modern vernacular that much of its lofty connotation is lost. So consider the high standard [...]

To fully appreciate how one company can dedicate its learning function entirely to the service of its business agenda, look no further than InterContinental Hotels Group. The Atlanta-based company reports [...]

It's not unusual to hear corporate training managers speak of learning as a competitive factor that helps determine the ultimate success or failure of the business. That's how they see [...]

Reliance on outsourcing in the information technology sector and lack of math ability among business school graduates have led to a shortage of talent in the IT and finance sectors who are now finding it difficult to fill vacant positions with qualified professionals. Companies are offering various incentives to attract professionals and the universities are offering several new IT courses for students.

Experts believe that an increase in demand for training on privacy is appearing in organizations due to increased government mandates and liability concerns within firms. Privacy-related regulations have already been adopted within the federal government and private industry. Information about mandatory employee training requirements is also presented.

The e-learning market in 2001 offered little refuge from the recession's dot.com meltdown. A few suppliers acquired technology and rivals to bolster market positions. Others hung on desperately, got hitched [...]

As Cigna Corporation transforms itself from a traditional health insurer to a global health service firm, its corporate university is paving the way by fostering a new learning culture. ARTICLE// [...]

Self-driven employees propel a learning culture that builds careers and satisfies clients at India's NIIT Technologies. ARTICLE// [...]

Times are hard within the wind turbine industry, including at one of the world's largest and most established providers, India's Suzlon Energy Ltd. As Suzlon grapples with global overcapacity, competition, [...]

One of the fastest growing manufacturing sites in the Middle East is a petrochemical facility in Bahrain owned by the Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC). The producer of ammonia, urea, [...]

Education and marketing are so closely aligned at the Cerner Corporation, a healthcare IT company based in Kansas City, Missouri, that the two functions reside within the same department--and the [...]

When you're a large private sector enterprise in an economy among the world's fastest growing, it is critical to innovate to stay ahead of the competition. That is certainly the [...]

Thomas A. Barocci, a Boston-based management consultant, states that the recent wave of mergers and acquisitions in the US is about to include more companies engaged in training outsourcing services. He opines that the time is right for many companies to start outsource the learning and training function in a sizeable way in various department of the organization like Human Resource (HR).

Corporate training departments are increasingly left out of the loop when business units make e-learning purchases--a sign someone considers the training function irrelevant. Suppliers now call directly on business units [...]

The article explores the employee training programs of PPD, a global contract research company, using 3-D virtual training technology. Topics discussed include creating PPD 3D which allows employees to learn from live instructors, designing the LEAD training program that targets all managers, and making Mike Wilkinson and Ed Murray accountable for all training aspects. It is also suggested that the human resource team and technology created a holistic approach for personnel effectiveness.

The article focuses on the employee training programs by information technology (IT) services company Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. Topics discussed include Learning Bytes which is a written column that can be accessed on multiple platform, ASPIRE interactive learning platform, and Initial Learning Program (ILP) to keep engagement of prospective employees. It also suggested that these programs improve employee knowledge and loyalty.

The article provides information about India Inc., a learning provider based in Delhi, India which provides business process outsourcing (BPO) services in the U.S. It include Tata Interactive Systems (TIS), Brainvisa Technologies, Aptech Ltd., Techbooks and Genpact. It enjoys an annual growth of 30 percent due to the demand of custom e-learning content which is mostly about interactive simulation. ApTech, TIS and NIIT were included on the top 20 companies in the training outsourcing industry for 2006. The Indian BPO engage in three marketing strategies to pursue new business, by establishing through acquisition the presence and expertise needed for end to end servicing, possessing sufficient training capabilities which could be sold clients and establishing joint ventures.

The article focuses on the problems faced by organizations due to the aging of their workforce. The organizations are looking to get as many experienced persons in their workforce as they can before the opening of retirement floodgates. Although great number of young people are coming to replace the old generation but the organizations are finding it difficult to pass the experience of older generation to the younger one. Organizations are finding it hard to lose such a great amount of talent and experience at a quick time. Some of the ageing workers are not willing to hang their boots and organizations are using them as the coaches and trainers for new generation of workers. But the problem is that the workers who have got their experience in long time of working are also unable to find their own good qualities. The expertise of veteran workers is so engrained in themselves that they are unable to recognize their specialty. The companies are now recording the interviews of these veterans to preserve a rich context. A workforce trainer wants to generate a high return-on-investment or return-on expectations but as the speed of retirement of experienced workers is reaching to critical levels the companies are now demanding for an entirely new performance measurement return-on-experience. INSET: Slowing Workforce Growth..

This article discusses various issues related to the need for emergency training in the U.S. Although the readiness of first responders to meet U.S. Gulf Coast's enormous demands will clearly be grist for formal assessment, initial reports appear to be favorable toward emergency response units from around the country. That's as it should be, considering that mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery from natural and man-made disasters have become a national priority since the terrorist attack in the U.S. on September 11, 2001. The feverish activity could itself be likened to a hurricane, one that positions training in the middle of its eye. Everywhere one turns--within government agencies at all levels, public health organizations, and even among many large corporations--emergency planning and training activities are under way to prepare individuals for the unexpected. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security urges every American to be prepared--a cry that is certain to take on new urgency following Hurricane Katrina's sobering lessons. INSET: American Red Cross Response to Hurricane Katrina.

Presents advice related to selecting an outsourcing supplier. Need to determine whether outsourcing makes sense for an organization from cultural and strategic standpoints; Increase in revenue by outsourcing the training of customers; Statement by Edward Trolley, Vice President of Outsourcing for the firm Knowledge Planet, that a business should outsource activities that add little value and redeploy resources in a higher value-added activity.

The article report that the typical U.S. workplace now includes four separate generations of employees, each with its own unique mindset. Teaching managers and workers about their differences has become an important new priority for corporate trainers. While Baby Boomers think working 80-hour weeks demonstrates commitment to the job, Echo Boomers take a distinct attitude to the issue of work-life balance. If employers think Echo Boomers require a management adjustment, they haven't seen anything yet.

The periodical "T+ D" throws the spotlight on two vibrant industries to see how they have embraced e-learning to train their employees, as of January 01, 2004. Among the very earliest industries to climb aboard the corporate e-learning bandwagon are the two fields of health care and financial services. Each has found e-learning an ideal vehicle for meeting the training needs of far-flung employees for compliance, specialty skills, and continuing education. Time-saving aspects rank high among productivity gains from the Learning Management System.