CorpU Weekly Digest: Learning Excellence (2012-Apr-23)

Topics: Learning Excellence

Here are this past week's headlines in learning excellence: 

• (1) How are you adapting for m-learning? Mobile education market exploding across all sectors, according to McKinsey & GSMA study ;  
• (2) Are we seeing the future of the university model in corporate universities? Prof Juan Carlos de Martin thinks so ; 
• (3) Emerging market trends put a premium on both attracting and building talent through a coherent professionalized approach on strategic talent management: one that puts to rest excessive reliance on poaching and serendipity, according to BCG ; 
• Books: The 3 Power Values: How Commitment, Integrity, and Transparency Clear the Roadblocks to Performance and The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics ; 
• Webinars ; and
• Conferences

 How are you adapting for m-learning? Mobile education market exploding across all sectors, according to McKinsey & GSMA study

With all of the hand-wringing about HTML5 and Flash, the difficulties of providing video for handheld devices, and the costs of transitioning hundreds of thousands of hours of content to a mobile-friendly format has more than a few senior learning technologists puzzled. The data about the growth in market, however, reveals that the shift will be happening, and accelerating, in the corporate sector over the next five years. The study identifies several key points 

• Education spend will grow the fastest in developing Asia-Pacific at a CAGR of 54% between 2011-20
• North America will remain the biggest market in absolute terms with a total annual spend of $15 billion for m-Education products and solutions by 2020.
• 75-80 per cent of spending will be in higher education and K-12, while corporate learning will account for 10-20 per cent – varying by marketplace.

As the markets shift, so will expectations by employees for anytime/anywhere access for experiences which enable collaboration, social interaction, and handheld device access. The white paper is definitely worth reading to glean some of these changes. Read the McKinsey & GSMA white paper, "Transforming learning through mEducation"

 Are we seeing the future of the university model in corporate universities? Prof Juan Carlos de Martin thinks so 
In this past week's podcast from Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Juan Carlos de Martin (Berkman Faculty Fellow and Faculty co-director of the NEXA Center for Internet & Society at the Politecnico of Torino, Italy) offers some interesting comments on the current state of the university model in higher education. When Prof de Martin began his research tracing the history of the university – an institution that has barely changed since the founding of the University of Bologna nearly a millennium ago – he was optimistic about the democratizing effects of digital technology. In this interview, he now has identified several persuasive arguments against the university that together could topple the ivory tower. The podcast is definitely worth the time, and offers a lot of food for thought, particularly for those of us applying the model to direct learning efforts toward business objectives. Download the MP3 and listen to the interview while on the train or treadmill — it's worth the time.  

 Emerging market trends put a premium on both attracting and building talent through a coherent professionalized approach on strategic talent management: one that puts to rest excessive reliance on poaching and serendipity
With much of the developed world mired in slow growth and fiscal austerity, many companies find the strong economies and rising incomes of certain emerging markets quite attractive. But there's a catch: talent is increasingly difficult to find and hold onto in such countries as Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). And the talent shortage will only worsen over the next decades as multinationals pursue their localization strategies and locally based challengers continue their ambitious expansion. Companies competing in emerging markets—whether they are multinational or locally based—will, therefore, need to raise their investment in talent management, treating human capital with the same rigor as a capital asset investment in order to overcome some common challenges. (See Exhibit 1.) 

Exhibit 1: Emerging Markets Confront a Range of Talent Troubles (from Boston Consulting Group)

These challenges, while complex, can be addressed with a holistic talent strategy that accommodates regional variations but also maintains an enterprise-wide view. Five aspects of talent strategy merit immediate attention from executives in emerging markets.

• Diversification of the Sources of Talent: Tapping New Pools
• Building Recruitment and Onboarding Engines
• Creating a Meritocracy That Consumes Less Talent and Raises Productivity
• Enhancing Middle Management
• Professionalizing the Talent Management Approach

Exhibit 2: Companies have Four Ways to Professionalize Talent Management: (1) People Planning and Measurement; (2) Employer Value Proposition; (3) Integrated Talent Infrastructure and Processes; and (4) Talent on Everyone's Agenda (from Boston Consulting Group)

Read the BCG article, "When Growth Outstrips Talent"

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 The Business of Learning: New Major Products, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships

No major news in mergers, acquisitions, or product releases.

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 Books To Read

A healthy corporate culture is the secret to an organization's performance. The good news is that employees already embody the values needed to propel the organization to its goals, but institutional roadblocks get in the way. All too often leaders don't know how to diagnose their culture in order to clear these roadblocks to performance. The latest book from David Gebler, The 3 Power Values (to be released May 1, 2012), presents a breakthrough model that permits leaders to measure and manage culture. To create a fully aligned high-performing culture, leaders need only focus on nurturing three catalyst values: Commitment, Integrity, and Transparency. The book offers leaders at all levels a unique and accessible approach to identifying the behavioral challenges that are hindering their corporate culture and to removing them effectively. Buy Now 

The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics is a comprehensive treatment of the field of business ethics as seen from a philosophical approach. The volume consists of 24 essays that survey the field of business ethics in a broad and accessible manner, covering all major topics about the relationship between ethical theory and business ethics. The chapters are written by accomplished philosophers who offer a systematic interpretation of their topics and discuss various moral controversies and dilemmas that plague business relationships and government-business relationships. Readers are thus presented with the major views that define the topic of the essay with critical discussions of those views, as well as topical bibliographies that identify key works in the field. In addition to philosophers who work in this area, the volume will be of interest to those in business and society seeking an up-to-date resource on this vital field. Buy Now

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 Webinars 

The Human Capital Financial Statements Webcast Series
Date: N/A
Presenter: Jeff Higgins Register now

How to Facilitate Live Online Training - Techniques for Adult Learning Engagement 
Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 12:00 - 1:00 PM CT
Presenter: Traci Adolph and Erica Angel Register now

Practicing Authentic Leadership and Ditching the Drama
Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 11:00 AM PT
Presenter: Anne Bruce and Stephanie Montanez Register now

Mobile End User Experience
Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 11:00 AM ET
Presenter: Aternity Register now

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 Conferences

Delivering the Strategic Role of HR
Date: May 2, 2012 
Location: New Zealand Register now

Global Management Conference: Fourth Annual Conference on Globalization, Sustainability and Development, 2012
Date: May 2-5, 2012
Location: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Register now

First International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Education and Training
Date: May 7-10, 2012
Location: Tunisia Register now

1st Annual People Effectiveness @ Work Conference
Date: May 8, 2012
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Register now

HR Summit 2012
Date: May 9-12, 2012 
Location: Singapore Register now

The Mining and Resources Accelerated Learning and Workforce Development Conference 2012
Date: May 15, 2012
Location: Australia Register now

Corporate University Xchange's Global Leadership Congress
Date:  May 15-17, 2012
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA Register now 

Social Recruiting Strategies Conference
Date: May 22-25, 2012
Location: Chicago, IL, United States Register now

National Institute on the Assessment of Adult Learning
Date: June 6-8, 2012
Location: Atlantic City, NJ, USA Register now

Leading Across Generations: Workforce Challenges and Opportunities
Date: June 13-15, 2012
Location: Berlin, Germany Register now

The Talent Management Summit
Date: June 14, 2012
Location: London, UK Register now

Gamification Summit
Date: June 19-21, 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA, United States Register now

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