Training in the Workplace: An IBM Case Study. Contractor Report.

Overview & Synopsis

International Business Machines Corporation's (IBM) efforts to develop a corporate culture are associated with its founder, Thomas J. Watson, Sr. From the start of his association with the company in 1914, the importance of education was stressed. The expansion of the education and training organization paralleled IBM's 75-year growth. In January 1988, IBM created a corporate office of education with a director of education who has worldwide responsibility. IBM's education strategy has the following structure: key jobs are identified; training is aligned with jobs; a common course catalog and curricular roadmaps provide guidance for individual development and skills planning; quality processes and measurements are identified; and career paths provide for professional growth and continuity of educational staff. Benefits from the application of technology to training help explain the two major motives for using it--to raise quality and contain costs. IBM has researched and developed individualized and group or classroom-based learning systems. IBM's external relationships include IBM staff development programs at universities, seed grants to universities for new curricula, and partnerships with public education. IBM has developments underway that will strengthen and support strategic shifts IBM has already taken. IBM is attempting to meet the mandate for these economic times--to have a highly trained and flexible work force able to compete in a global economy. (YLB)