EBOOK Corporate E-Learning:An Inside View of IBM's Solutions

Corporate 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.