T&D articles from November 2003

T&D archives from November 2003

They get it!(Front Page)
November 1, 2003... We're very excited about this issue because it introduces the Annual ASTD BEST Awards. This first year, we had 74 applications and 23 winners. The winning companies demonstrate that they Build talent Enterprise-wide for business Success with a...

Trading insight.(Mailbox)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... In my world, the word "trading" is usually followed by "spaces." Thank goodness someone finally defined the lessons that make a great trader in a way that a nontycoon can understand. I've posted Derik Allerton's five lessons [Concept,...

It's common sense.(Mailbox)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... I, more often than not, contend that "common-sense" is a fallacy. The article "Eleven Common-Sense Learning Principles" by David C. Forman in the September T+D has helped to strengthen my position. After all, if those valuable learning...

Breaking through.(Mailbox)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... I want to compliment Eva Kaplan-Leiserson on her article, "Why Women Don't Rule" [Intelligence, April]. I am a business student, and I am writing a paper on the glass ceiling. [The article] has inspired me to research the subject more and see...

Correction.(Mailbox)(Correction Notice)
November 1, 2003... The section Online and Corporate Universities in the September issue mistakenly listed Boise State University as in Iowa. It is, of course, in Idaho. Remedial fifth-grade states and capitals for us!

Strategic service.(Intelligence)(Column)
November 1, 2003... Better-than-average customer service can make your company more profitable. That's a bold assertion, but there's plenty of evidence backing it up. Last month's column discussed some customer service woes and joys and asserted that customer...

Tying employee incentives to customer satisfaction.(Intelligence)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Another suggestion for improving your organization's customer service comes from Walker Information, a company that provides customer loyalty management solutions. Walker suggests using customer satisfaction ratings for employee performance...

Thing one and thing two.(Intelligence)(customer feedback)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Last month's column claimed that providing good customer service was the "just one thing" that companies need to succeed. Thing two (with apologies to Dr. Seuss) is what customers need to focus on in return: feedback. We shouldn't complain...

Survey says learning curves.(Intelligence)(reducing learning curve impact)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Mellon Financial Corporation conducted a study on the costs of getting employees up-to-speed in new positions. Respondents, two-thirds of which were in HR positions, were asked to estimate the time to full productivity for internal and external...

The course isn't the finish line: keep them learning long after the training ends.(Fundamentals)
November 1, 2003... This is the first of a two-part series on follow-through management. We've all experienced the frustration: An organization invests significant resources into a training course, and participants clear their calendars to attend. They're...

Hey, driver, take the free way.(The Web)(device driver repair)
November 1, 2003... Chances are, your day-to-day existence is free of thoughts about software drivers. But, as many computer users have learned, drivers can leave you scratching your head or pounding your keyboard in frustration. Thankfully, there are several...

Pie cam.(The Web)(Electrolux Food Management System)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... It's no secret that I have a weakness--some would say addiction--for Edwards's single-serving slices of Key Lime pie. I have to check the fridge before every trip to the supermarket. So, you can imagine my interest when I read that Swedish...

The unwritten word.(The Web)(password security)
November 1, 2003... I've commented before on password security and the rules for strengthening them. And though those rules still hold true, a recent study by security vendor Rainbow Technologies of company administrators, managers, and security specialists...

Seeing yourself in the eyes of a dog: what dog training can teach us about communication basics.(Concept: a powerful intriguing, inspiring, or perhaps odd idea distilled to its essential elements)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Learning emerges from the most unlikely sources. In my case, the source was a dog and the curriculum was a refresher course in communication When I first met my son's dog Oscar in April, he weighed 60 pounds--a rascally, rambunctious former...

Announcing ... the winners of ASTD's Annual BEST Awards.(American Society for Training and Development)
November 1, 2003... Here are the 23 organizations that made it into the winner's circle by demonstrating that they foster, support, and leverage enterprise-wide learning for business results. And we've selected six of these outstanding organizations to...

It's all about alignment: training managers are getting creative in the quest to align organizational learning with broader business objectives. And they're being helped by growing recognition of training's value.(Industry Overview)
November 1, 2003... A mid the belt-tightening and budget scrutiny; a novel pattern has become evident in the recent economic slowdown: Budgets for employee training, traditionally vulnerable to significant cutbacks in economic downturns, appear to be faring much...

Turning the aircraft carrier.(Aircraft Carrier)(enhancing employee training)
November 1, 2003... You might have speedboat aspirations for goal execution but end up trying to steer a cumbersome aircraft carrier. Here's how to make your learning function--and, therefore, your entire organization--more strategically nimble. Suppose...

Happening now: Web services, probably the most important technological step forward since the advent of the Web, will forever alter learning technology, content, and services. There's no turning back.(Radical Learning Technology)
November 1, 2003... Peter Drucker once said, "I never predict. I just look out the window and see what is visible but not yet seen." Several new learning technology innovation patterns are just beginning to be seen. These patterns are highly intertwined, yet some...

Personal coaching: this coach's for you!(Development)
November 1, 2003... Pat is an ambitious training manager. Several of her colleagues and friends have told her that personal coaching has given them focus, clarity, and self-confidence. Pat has seen the difference in those people--new lilts in their voices and...

A vendor-provided case study: Motorola University uses Celemi solutions to impact business results in tough times.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2003... Like everyone else over the past two years, Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola saw its corporate training budgets first cut, then slashed. After the smoke cleared, few of the communications giant's course offerings, offered through...

She Wins, You Win: The Most Important Rule Every Businesswoman Needs to Know.(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... My management friend often paraphrases this line spoken by Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones's Diary to describe people, usually women, who work in human resources: "They run about aimlessly and fiddle with the insurance papers." While that statement...

On the night stand.(The New Culture of Desire: Five Radical New Strategies That Will Change Your Business and Your Life)(Small Pieces Loosely Joined: A Unified Theory of the Web)(Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... The books on my nightstand are always changing, but mostly I'm drawn to ones that glimpse the future with new ways of thinking about work and life. Here are three worthy of your nightstand. Futurist Melinda Davis, CEO of a New York City...

Pret a Portege.(In Gear)
November 1, 2003... Lose the weight and keep the functionality of a full-sized laptop with Toshiba's Portege R100. This slim-line notebook offers a full-sized keyboard, a 40-GB hard drive, and a 12.1-inch XGA display in a sub-2.5-pound package. Of interest to...

Move aside.(In Gear)
November 1, 2003... Scroll up, scroll down. Scroll up, scroll down. Wheels were a great addition to mice, but, frankly, they left users stuck in a rut. Until now. Microsoft's latest IntelliMouse offers wireless connectivity, as well as Tilt Wheel technology,...

Box-lite.(In Gear)
November 1, 2003... Boxlight throws its weight around with its latest entry into the ultra-lightweight class of projectors. The XD-25m weighs a mere 1.98 pounds and is no bigger than a VHS tape. Yet, it sports 1024x768 XGA resolution, 2000:1 contrast ratio, and...

At your fingertips.(In Gear)
November 1, 2003... Add up to 300 GB of hard-drive storage quickly with Maxtor's OneTouch series of external hard drives. Once the drive is plugged in and powered on, users just need to connect it to their existing computers via a USB or FireWire jack. Windows XP...

Who knew? Ethics matter.(Ethics 4 Everyone)(Video Recording Review)
November 1, 2003... Video It was once fashionable to say that business ethics didn't matter. You might toss and turn at night because of a troubled conscience, but if your company had acted unethically, it wasn't likely to suffer harm. That view was...

The marketplace in T+D.
November 1, 2003... In the following pages you'll find a one-stop resource packed with new and exciting products, services, opportunities, and information to help you do your job better. We suggest you save this section for future use. And if you would like...

Jobs we wish we had (and some we don't): what some other people do for a living can surprise you.(Working)
November 1, 2003... Sand Castle Builder For real. Sand sculptor Lucinda "Sandy Feet" Wierenga, 45, creates sand castles for events for big companies, such as Nokia and Coca-Cola. A former self-described "beach bum," she used to make castles on the beach...