Real-Time Design in Work-based Learning & Development
Real-Time Design in Work-based Learning & Development
The Corporate University Blueprint Handbook
The Corporate University Blueprint enables you to design, draft, develop and deliver your organization’s own unique corporate university-style, high return on investment, premium rate knowledge development platforms.
The Blueprint establishes action focused role responsibilities, combines inter-dependencies across business and organizational processes, enhances the real-time learning experience, accelerates strategic and tactical development projects and programmes and reduces cost through integrated new learning and knowledge management efficiencies.
The Blueprint’s creative process consists of 10 key dynamic structural strands, each with its own cluster of important and connected development areas. Users can move progressively through the Blueprint process to evolve and prioritise their corporate portfolio of formal and informal strategically inspired developments from start to finish. It can also be used flexibly across multiple applications, in divisions, subsidiary companies, major project developments, et al, to maximise local growth and development achievements.
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Corporate Universities – Developing Strategic Best Practices for Growth and Development
This book examines the dynamic nature of business and career-inspired learning and its relationship to an organization’s vision and strategy. Success demands well prepared, flexible, opportunistic and innovative thinkers. Richard Dealtry provides a thorough examination of the issues involved, making a compelling case for the Corporate University, even for the most skeptical.
Cases and relevant examples are offered where opportunities have been developed and implemented – achieving significantly measurable returns on investment. The book has been written to be of particular value to a wide audience of managers, strategists, learners and researchers and people who recognise the need to create and deliver new dynamically based platforms from which to translate their vision of the future into high quality real-time executive management practices.
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ISBN: 978-1-904481-25-6
Pages: 144
Dynamic SWOT Analysis – The Developer’s Guide
Dynamic SWOT Analysis, or DSA, is a project management process that leads to good, clear, clean-cut, high quality decision making and programmes of definitive executive action. The DSA project process starts with the traditional simple SWOT analysis, the four energising attributes in each situation, i.e. the dynamic attribute domains of: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats
It then facilitates the up-grading of the SWOT analysis and refines the outcome, moving it forward through several diagnostic and learning events into performance enhancing strategies and projects for business excellence. The project process is highly dynamic and is a powerful engine for successful personal & organizational development. Significant improvements in the quality of personal judgement and organizational capability manifest through the use and re-use of this project best practice process.
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This Total Corporate University Reading and Study Resource is for personal use. If you wish to enquire about purchasing this Resource for use by nominated groups or libraries please contact: info@corporateuniversity.org.uk
This article lists all the foundation questions that are uppermost in people’s minds when they are considering introducing the corporate university development platform into their company or organization. Some of the questions are simple and direct whilst others are rhetorical in nature.
All the questions are those which have arisen most frequently in early discussions with client companies. Answers to the questions are provided from a advisory point of view using references to previously published articles to elaborate on the answer information provided.
The approach taken in this article is to provide informative insights into the subject of the corporate university and to initiate thought leadership that will result in the full realization of the corporate university concept.
This article describes a research methodology for reviewing the effectiveness of corporate university developments. The defined research approach is applied to a sample of five companies based in the UK and USA, four of which are in global markets. Differences between the vision for the new generation of corporate universities and current company practice are identified and commented upon.
This article appraises the dynamics of development at the mid-point in the evolution of the corporate university paradigm in a large public company. It presents a summary of the key research findings that have been derived from a detailed cross section analysis of the developments to date.
The methodology for the analysis is based upon a progressive process model that highlights the developmental status of the main corporate university decision strands that are essential for success. The author concludes from the research findings and considers the state of organizational readiness in the company to move further ahead into a comprehensive and viable manifestation of the corporate university concept.
This article focuses upon an important innovative development in new generation corporate university management. It addresses the thematic area of visual learning that is captured in the term ‘The Art of Minds-eye Management’. It reflects upon experiences with groups of managers in enhancing perceptive competencies using visual awareness learning systems.
The envisioning of multi-functional concept scenarios is being widely realized as an increasingly important highly adaptive skill-set in real-time management. The envisioning medium being reviewed and explored takes the form of narrative imagery. This is a form of quantitative and qualitative envisioning which is now being applied by groups of managers in many different formats to articulate and add new levels of learning and value to developmental themes.
The article reflects upon the mediocrity of traditional flatland representations of classic management concepts and models and explores the potential for delimiting conceptual design and the use of pictorial display of data and information as a means of communication, managing personal performance and accelerating organizational development.
How to achieve a higher level of capability in the creative design and presentation of perceptive insights using visual analysis and explanation is designated as an area of management that is ripe for further development and is increasingly important for the successful evolution of real-time management theory and practice.
This article describes the formation and forward planning of an important and independent transnational best practice networking development project, i.e. ECUANET. ECUANET’s aims are to track and disseminate the evolutions and revolutions that are taking place in the creative management of Corporate Universities and Small and Medium Enterprise Academies. Both categories are referred to in the text as Corporate Academies.
The article describes how and why this transnational network has been originated by a combined group of professional practitioners and national level clusters of corporate universities. It illustrates how it is intended that it should grow in the future as a thematic social community dedicated to the creation and appreciation of leading edge corporate academy knowledge.
It describes the planning of sequential and interlinked work package activities to be shared by its members in building a sustainable transnational network. Additionally it addresses the choice of case research reference architecture and the conduct of related thematic action research processes to be employed in defining world class best practice standards in corporate academy management.
This article has been designed to assist the process of reflection and assimilation of information and experience on a major European project leading up to the final project report. It explicates the key positive and obfuscating dynamics that the project team have had to, and will have to conjure with, in reaching its recommendations about the evolution of best practice in corporate university and enterprise academy design and management. The project partners have operated a voluntary or self-selection process in their recruitment of corporate partner organizations to participate in the project action research case study work.
The research methodology was based upon the corporate university blueprint architecture and browser toolkit to provide depth in practice evidence and a searchable database for comparative case to case practice evaluation of the key performance indicators (KPIs). It was found that the corporate university organization and business development concept is a subject area which is either well understood by company management and education institutions or there is considerable confusion about its role and purpose. This comment does not apply comfortably and consistently universally as there are very different states of maturity, adoption and interpretation in the concept’s development and practice across the world region by region.
From a wide and diverse portfolio of companies and organizations who were invited to participate in the action research case studies, those who accepted have one very important characteristic in common: they are all intensively engaged in managing a major innovation, i.e. they already have the commitment and fortitude to making new ideas work in practice.
As previously reported in this journal, it is confirmed by the experience of this project that to be successful in this turbulent era of intensive new learning management, it requires continuous commitment to engendering innovation diffusion in both strategic and tactically inspired new learning process management. In addition it also demands serious reflection about the creative nature of the learning leadership role and also the style of its management.
The results of the project at this stage show that a successful corporate university intervention needs to be founded upon a sustainable commitment by top management and they should promote, if they do not already have it themselves, the spirit of curiosity; to find out better ways of doing business today and in the future. It requires an in-depth understanding of the organization’s strategic learning needs going forward, good knowledge of the models of corporate university development that are available and reliable, the gaps that exist in matrix skills and competencies at all levels and the detailed planning of all resource strands.
The a priori browser-based corporate university blueprint model architecture employed in the empirical case study research mode proved to have both the depth and flexibility to provide a high-quality evaluative framework and capture all the dynamics relating to the key variables in good corporate university design and management. The database of case foundation information, key performance indicators (KPIs) and best practice outcomes will be one of the most comprehensive and world class quality reference sources published to date.
The individual variables that make up the portfolios of emergent best practices – process and management – have originality and value both individually and collectively. The impact of these best practice ways of working will have far reaching consequences for leadership and the future shape of lifelong interdependent learning between employers and employees and policy in government departments and education institutions. An overview assessment is also made on the positioning of the corporate university concept on the innovation adoption curve.
This article follows the earlier publication entitled “ECUANET – the European Corporate Universities and Academies Transnational Best Practice Network”. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on and inform about learning points from this two year duration best practice action research and transnational networking project as it approaches its final stage. It comments upon the interim findings concerning project progress, the empirical research process and factors shaping current innovative corporate university pioneering applications for the effective and efficient management of quality lifelong learning going forward into the future. The full ECUANET project report with detailed analysis and recommendations will be published in January 2008.
This article has been designed to assist the process of reflection and assimilation of information and experience on a major European project leading up to the final project report. It explicates the key positive and obfuscating dynamics that the project team have had to, and will have to conjure with, in reaching its recommendations about the evolution of best practice in corporate university and enterprise academy design and management. The project partners have operated a voluntary or self-selection process in their recruitment of corporate partner organizations to participate in the project action research case study work.
The research methodology was based upon the corporate university blueprint architecture and browser toolkit to provide depth in practice evidence and a searchable database for comparative case to case practice evaluation of the key performance indicators (KPIs). It was found that the corporate university organization and business development concept is a subject area which is either well understood by company management and education institutions or there is considerable confusion about its role and purpose. This comment does not apply comfortably and consistently universally as there are very different states of maturity, adoption and interpretation in the concept’s development and practice across the world region by region.
From a wide and diverse portfolio of companies and organizations who were invited to participate in the action research case studies, those who accepted have one very important characteristic in common: they are all intensively engaged in managing a major innovation, i.e. they already have the commitment and fortitude to making new ideas work in practice.As previously reported in this journal, it is confirmed by the experience of this project that to be successful in this turbulent era of intensive new learning management, it requires continuous commitment to engendering innovation diffusion in both strategic and tactically inspired new learning process management. In addition it also demands serious reflection about the creative nature of the learning leadership role and also the style of its management.
The results of the project at this stage show that a successful corporate university intervention needs to be founded upon a sustainable commitment by top management and they should promote, if they do not already have it themselves, the spirit of curiosity; to find out better ways of doing business today and in the future. It requires an in-depth understanding of the organization’s strategic learning needs going forward, good knowledge of the models of corporate university development that are available and reliable, the gaps that exist in matrix skills and competencies at all levels and the detailed planning of all resource strands.
The a priori browser-based corporate university blueprint model architecture employed in the empirical case study research mode proved to have both the depth and flexibility to provide a high quality evaluative framework and capture all the dynamics relating to the key variables in good corporate university design and management. The database of case foundation information, key performance indicators (KPIs) and best practice outcomes will be one of the most comprehensive and world class quality reference sources published to date.
The individual variables that make up the portfolios of emergent best practices – process and management – have originality and value both individually and collectively. The impact of these best practice ways of working will have far reaching consequences for leadership and the future shape of lifelong interdependent learning between employers and employees and policy in government departments and education institutions. An overview assessment is also made on the positioning of the corporate university concept on the innovation adoption curve.
This article sets the scene for the exploration of corporate and company developments in the field of the corporate university and related development paradigms. It identifies the driving forces promoting the growth in corporate universities, corporate business schools and other similar styles of intellectual asset management.
There are many emergent issues and differences concerning the style, scope and culture of the emergent management programmes and as a consequence some important changes could occur in the nature of the corporate relationship with providers in the traditional intellectual supply chain.
This article acknowledges the evolutionary stage of these developments and engages with the main subject areas as a platform for a methodology in examining future developments.
The Intellectual Equity Index (IEI) and the Intellectual Capital Index (ICI) which when combined together provide a basis for defining the quality of intellectual leadership in a company, i.e. the Intellectual Leadership Indicator (ILI). The ILI directly reflects the quality, direction and trend in the company’s ability to achieve or maintain intellectual leadership in its business sectors.
This is the state of development upon which its competitive position and future business success depends. The outcome of the ILI appraisal produces a penetrating insight into the state of management’s business orientation and organizational readiness. It also defines the baseline position from which a bespoke portfolio of corporate university properties can be properly formulated and managed.
This article looks at the evolving character of the corporate university and the emergent nature of its real-time development practices. It demonstrates how the capacity of some traditional management tool-sets are being extended and combined with the new learning process models to meet the ever present challenge of changing circumstances.
It emphasises the growing importance of conceptualist thinking bridging strategic theory and real-time learning practice in the role and responsibilities of corporate university faculty.
It also engages with the need for a significant change in intellectual style from that employed in traditional educational paradigms and demonstrates the role of image simulations and the use of meta-management thinking to accelerate the building of essential manager skills in the real-time strategic learning transfer process.
It also provides practical guidelines in progressively shaping their endeavours to take effective ownership of their own managerial learning at work. It draws on experience in delivering learning-to-learn programmes to suggest that the management learner in particular has to be increasingly aware and more discriminating in how they spend their time and learning energy if they are to arrive where they want to be and at the same time satisfy all the stakeholders investments in these process events.
It illustrates, using a portfolio of learning-to-learn process management practice ideas how the individual and groups of learners can effectively and progressively begin to manage the quality of their experience in learning-to-learn. The author advises that in the long term taking responsibility for learning-to-learn is not something that can be absolved by the learner manager; it has to become a self-determined series of personally managed events.
Adult learners have to have a heightened state of alertness to the dynamics of gradualism in managing the new learning process itself – to become Savvy about the dynamics of the learning process and the key decision areas that will make a difference between learning satisfaction and success or failure in achieving their personal objectives.
It describes how naturally evolving and progressive vocational and enterprise learning programme assessments are being combined with performance quality reviews of process to produce radical and very powerful QA systems for the performance management of organizationally based enterprise learning.
This article starts the process of exploring how to optimise connections between the strategic needs of organization as directed by top management and its learning management structures and strategies.
The article takes a broad brush approach to a complex and large subject area that is influenced by many internal and external variables. It highlights two of the main strands to be managed in the dynamic process of seeking to optimise performance and return on investment in organizational based demand-led learning; learning that leads directly to decision making and resource allocation. There are many treatises on the subject of organization theory and practice and related platforms for change management.
The condition of autopoiesis, emphasising the dynamic of self-production in shaping organization states, has featured prominently in these concepts and ideas of management. Indications are, however, that the demands and perturbations of the external environment are playing an increasing role in shaping organizations and the medium of learning is the catalyst by which means this trend is accelerating.
More empirical research into the effect of learning process innovations and behaviours on business performance and organizational capability development is required to put real foundation into what are being revealed about the benefits of learning in the workplace.
Globalisation and Global competition is placing greater emphasis on: releasing talent at all levels, the need for innovations in the creation and fulfilment of learning opportunities and the effective and efficient management of the firms intellectual supply chain. The reactions at the learning supply-demand interface are changing and this article outlines perspectives that map the areas where relationships are changing as a basis for demand-led learning strategy formulation.
The conference forms part of an evolving initiative launched by the Copenhagen Business School. The conference entitled Trends in Corporate Universities – September 2001 – had an agenda that contained state-of-the-art presentations about the theory and practice of the corporate university concept and also Company presentations about the progress they are making in evolving their particular corporate university applications.
The conference objective was aimed at raising the visibility of the potential of the corporate university and its capacity to renew and enhance organizational effectiveness and strategic development processes. From these observations and discussions, it was expected that delegates would be in an informed position to evolve a realistic and sustainable vision of the corporate university and fully grasp it’s vital contribution as an engine for change and business development.
This article focuses on a conference process model, the Corporate University Learning Curve concept, that was introduced by Intellectual Partnerships Consulting to ensure that a viable context for unfolding the aims and objectives of corporate university best practice were fully realized.
It identifies the main development connections between the corporate university concept and the developmental thinking domains of intellect, organization and business. It examines where blockages are taking place in its evolution and puts forward a thinking schools integrator process methodology as a basis for moving forward into a more complete articulation of the concept.
A constructivist methodology is summarised introducing the idea of well-considered choice for the integration of diverse developmental ‘schools of thinking’ to determine a comprehensive ‘configuration school of thinking’. It suggests the first phase of an approach into how the emergent paradigm can be managed to unfold a bespoke corporate university architecture.
It describes one approach to making intellectual relationships more productive and manageable in the context of achieving strategic fit, by combining a dynamic strategic learning approach with the resource capabilities offered by the growing portfolio of corporate university schools of thinking.
This article considers the role of learning validation and accreditation systems in relation to the demand for more co-creative quality assurance solutions in corporate and organizational learning management. It explores the need to emphasise the organizational demand side in the management of quality new learning by applying a more holistic development perspective.
It looks at the subject of credit frameworks from the point of view of both providers and consumers of learning programmes and develops a more radical four-dimensional management perspective that extends the reach of considerations beyond the two dimensions of academic and professional practice. It introduces a leadership inspired career based accreditation system that engages with the middle and upper tiers in organizational learning.
It provides this as a basis for developing a methodology and a forward-thinking guideline for learning portfolio practice and quality assurance accreditation management in the organizational setting.
This article summarises the process management practices and contextual parameters that are being applied in the successful design and management of high-performance work based lifelong learning processes.
Innovations in lifelong learning process design and development are restricted by traditional pedagogical thinking and administrative practices, an over emphasis on e-learning and insufficient consideration of the holistic contextual factors. Design solutions are dynamically based upon the idea of a timeless organic order or meta-planning.
This article is an outline summary of extensive lifelong learning process design best practice work with client organizations. As with many innovations taking place at the leading edge of work-based learning management there is a limited supply of reliable published information.
Satisfying the important questions relating to the achievement of more substantial learning relevance in programme curriculum, the coherence of processes for validating non-formal and informal learning and the effective value of e-learning systems, are currently key areas of debate and policy-making in Europe in particular. Where public and private sector companies are finding local global solutions these results are of considerable value in informing quality design and the way forward.
This article is a real-time or live case study describing a joint venture learning partnership endeavour between BAA plc, a large public company with a market capitalisation of $10billion, and Surrey University.
The primary purpose of this joint enterprise is to build a strategic relationship within which the company and the university can combine their resources to design and manage a series of in-company qualification based management development programmes as an essential part of the company’s learning organization strategy. It outlines the organizational and policy issues that have influenced the shape and style of the management programmes and also illustrates the role of an electronic infrastructure in the resourcing and facilitation of tactical and strategic knowledge creation.
Finally it makes a contribution to the development of the ‘virtuality’ concept in the concept of work-based managerial development in the corporate business environment.
The emergent role of the corporate university in filling the gap is identified and a project management approach that facilitates and administratively enhances a highly networked corporate university development process is described.
Previous articles in this series, on the evolution of the corporate university as a dynamic future state business development platform, have described processes and methodologies for achieving both organization and strategic learning re-orientation for success. Ref. 1 – Managing the Corporate University Learning Curve, in particular revealed the innovative nature and challenge facing corporate university executives in their quest to achieve customised structures, flexible learning processes and time durable intellectual properties in a new or amended company educational paradigm, defined as Model 3.
This derivative model espoused business excellence, focused business education processes and timely executive action. A key dynamic strand in the evolution of the corporate university concept in Model 3 was identified as the ‘management of learning’ strand. This article takes an overview on the current state of the art in corporate learning management and the issue tensions that can arise in the preparation of a progressive and satisfying learning strategy.
It relates to the main issues surrounding the energising of learning in organizations, the consequences of corporate learning policy and an outline methodology for appraising the main determinants of corporate learning strategy.
This article emphasises the need to achieve thought leadership and a proactive response in the evolution of the corporate university concept during times of business turbulence. It describes process innovations to enhance corporate university performance during those adverse periods in the corporate decision environment when the consequences of top management’s contemporary strategic thinking and aspirations are undermined by the reality of the market place and economic factors.
It describes the development of an organizational process model intervention as a stimulant for new thinking and action when scaling the corporate university learning curve in a turbulent decision environment. It describes the need to apply real-time methodologies and dynamic models by which means the benefits of the overarching integration role of the corporate university can be sustained in a very positive business orientated vision.
The outcome of the corporate university organizational development intervention brings many benefits. Including increasing levels of confidence by top management in it’s role and purpose both for the good times and the bad, through demonstrable assurances that the firm’s key strategic and organizational issues are being comprehensively identified and thoroughly managed.
The article comments upon some of the popular misconceptions of what the corporate university is all about and how these fault-lines in corporate university management styles present barriers to further development along the learning curve and the full realization of the concept’s potential.
From a critique perspective it then moves forward with comments on a pro-active modality for configuring intellectual properties and implementing intervention programmes. This process involves the development of dynamic scenarios around ‘thinking schools’ properties and their manifestation through management processes defined as the BLU Way.
It emphasises the vital strategic management role being undertaken by the new generation of corporate university managers and the nature of the skills and competencies necessary in renewing and sustaining intelligence based enterprise cultures in organizations.
Following the author’s earlier editorial theme concerning the need for exploration and innovation in organizational learning management, this article sets the scene for some radical epochal thinking about the approach and future strategic directions in the management of organizational learning.
The ideas for a more comprehensive and integrated thinking paradigm that have surfaced are driven from experience in reviewing current learning and knowledge management practice and related concept development within organizations.
The solution perspectives are derived by taking a more holistic perspective on the total dynamics of organizational capability, enterprise management and the way in which different pathological conditions are resolved in many organizations.
The forces at work indicate that piecemeal and IT dominated practices around learning processes can produce a lack of coherence between learning investments and vision, strategic intent and need-to-learn needs of individuals in an organization. Solutions to these conditions are invariably subject, technique or single discipline driven without full consideration of the overall effect.
It reveals that those professionals who manage learning have to be open to new ideas and to be equally receptive to new process learning in their professional practice. This article is an outline summary of extensive strategic learning project work. There are limitations due to the shortage of published information about the nature of the current epoch in integrated performance management practice.
Some people who have a purist view of learning management may find these ideas and propositions iconoclastic whilst others will find that it provides a new gateway to out of the box thinking about the future challenges of organizational learning management at the strategic level.
Experience shows that there are problems arising from the implementation of learning management systems (LMS). Indications are that they are too e-learning technology driven, emphasising the virtual component and neglecting the precursory development of a vibrant and committed formal learning organization culture and infrastructure.
This article is a reflective assessment on the benefits of applying a constructivist methodology when designing and implementing strategic new learning and knowledge based organization development investments. It introduces a corporate strategic learning management solution (SLMS) approach which is synthesised out of a successful macro-educational intervention in the UK; that of the Foundation Degree Forward (fdf) initiative.
This process involves using a holistic stakeholder approach that connects with all the management, resourcing and underlying organizational activities that are essential for the creation of a well managed, cohesive and sustainable strategic learning intervention.
There have been, and still are, many different attempts being made by business and academic institutions to set-up working relationships that are intended to work well for both parties. These relationships travel under various tiles with the term Partnership being the most common. Problems of sustainability and/or quality of outcomes are prevalent as a result of the alliance management perspective being taken on a limited understanding of the total relationship dynamics for success; a too narrow a perspective on what dynamics have to be managed. Models for success are, however, readily available.
In the broader context there is a wealth of research, best practice and practical experience in the field of strategic alliance management. iPCo current research is therefore focused on how this professional resource and experience can be adopted to provide a quality framework of management practice that will enable business management to ensure that they make the right choices in the selection and construction of their strategic learning relationships both internally and externally.
The need for major innovations in the management of lifelong training and learning is now well established. Trying to achieve the successful implementation of these developments on a piecemeal basis has, however, proved to be an unrewarding process for many managers. The inertia of large institutional bodies and the ‘not invented here’ syndrome has proved to slow-down or side-line major innovations.
Knowing the size of the problem in each situation and how to deal with it effectively and efficiently at the right level is now one of the main strategic imperatives for corporate university managers.
This article reflects upon some of the concepts and ideas that have been introduced to senior executives and management teams to leverage their thinking and executive action around the development of the intrinsic value of their companies. That’s the intangible stuff traditionally defined as ‘goodwill’, that investors are increasingly choosing to put their investments behind.
It describes an empirical process approach that bridges internal and external perspectives on the company ‘worth’ and company ‘market’ value relationship. Within this exploratory process it looks at a conceptual framework of ecosystem tool-sets that has been developed to assist and advise top management on the critical value relationship issues.
The management process involves the co-creation of a firm’s intellectual equity strategy with the objective of releasing latent best value in its goodwill.
The author uses the hunting metaphor and tool-set to capture the dynamic and exploratory nature of the value management process and to provide an imaginative context through which top management can elaborate their own intrinsic value-adding strategies.