Press

The Oxford Princeton Programme has selected CS Group’s CourseBooker software to manage their Training Operations and Sales and Marketing Operations in both the UK and the USA.

Bethan Carter, Operations Manager, at The Oxford Princeton Programme’s Oxford site, said:
“We expect that CourseBooker will help us reduce our administrative efforts. Simple things like the streamlining processes, automating course correspondence, and reducing the number of duplicates in the system will help us manage our operations more efficiently.

‘THE FUTURE OF BLENDED LEARNING’

Alec Keith, Chartered MCIPD, Senior Learning Consultant, Epic Multimedia

In May 2006 I participated in the ‘Beyond e-learning’ Global Watch mission to the US, sponsored by the DTI. The mission comprised representatives from content developers such as Epic, corporate users such as Reuters, and academics such as the University of Abertay Dundee. Global Watch missions are a key aspect of UK Trade and Investment’s strategy for encouraging UK investment and promoting sales overseas.

Pergamon Flexible Learning, one of the UK’s leading publishers of open learning materials and trainer resources for management training, has successfully launched a new training series.

The Trainer’s Workshop Series is a practical, hands-on roadmap to help companies quickly develop skills in key business areas. Each book in the series offers all the exercises, handouts, assessments, structured experiences and ready-to-use presentations needed to develop effective training sessions.

Futuremedia plc (NasdaqCM: FMDAY), a leading European e-learning and managed benefits services provider, yesterday successfully launched flexsmartTM, a next generation managed benefits product, at the Northern Employee Benefits Conference, Manchester, UK.

FlexsmartTM builds on the original ideas behind the UK’s Home Computing Initiative, focusing on providing valuable learning resources, improving computer skills throughout the UK’s workforce and helping bridge the digital divide, along with helping employers improve employee retention.

Targeted at 4,000+ Businesses employing 15 Million UK Employees

Futuremedia plc (NasdaqCM: FMDAY), a leading European e-learning and managed benefits services provider, today announced a new managed benefits service that will help both employers and the general population of the UK to compete globally in the 21st century.

Epic will once again be exhibiting at the ITEC exhibition and conference to take place this year at ExCel from May 16th to 18th.

Alec Keith, Senior Learning Consultant with Epic Multimedia, has been selected by the DTI to participate in the ‘Beyond e-learning’ Global Watch mission to the US. Comprising a small group of content and technology developers, corporate users and academics, the mission will exchange information with leading US developers, technologists and experts.

Steve Barden, Epic’s Head of Consulting said, ‘Participation in the mission reflects Epic Consulting’s position as leaders in delivering effective blended learning strategies.

Epic Consulting is using the HRD show to introduce its new ’Learning DNA’ methodology which is designed to facilitate the delivery of a modern learning strategy.

Two Epic staff are currently on their way to completing a Post-Graduate Certificate in e-learning, part of the first cohort to take this new course delivered jointly by Sussex and Brighton Universities. The course is designed to provide an insight into the development of e-learning over the last 50 years and how it compares with instructor led training.

The course was developed in collaboration with the Brighton e-learning Alliance (BELA), an alliance of Brighton based companies who aim to make Brighton the European Centre of Excellence in e-learning.

Hot Off the Press!

The Blended Learning Cookbook by Clive Shepherd
Saffron Interactive / London, UK / 17-Jan-2006

We are delighted to announce that The Blended Learning Cookbook, written in collaboration with e-Learning guru Clive Shepherd, is now available.

Some people might argue that e-Learning was a big idea that made great promises which it has since failed to live up to. Now the world of training has been struck by a new idea in the form of blended learning, these same people may fear it will result in similar disappointment.

In this case study TMSDI discuss the topic of diversity, and offer an insight into positive, workplace-based practical solutions for diverse teams. This is also a useful critique of how to successfully use psychometric profiles to tackle teams from different cultures and with diverse work preferences.

It’s easy to avoid this subject, unless it forces itself onto our attention, and then there is no escape. For some who are bereaved or indeed terminally ill, work can be a welcome distraction from its dominance away from work. For others, home may be lonely or an environment where they feel they have to give rather than receive support. So what is needed at work from colleagues and managers differs in different situations.

We have no choice but to go into the future, and deal with whatever the future may bring. But our only experience is in the past. We use this experience to build the future, but this may not be the best way.

Mike Bagshaw, Development Director of Trans4mation, went to the Shambhala Institute in Nova Scotia, and brought back profound new research for sensing the future as it emerges.

Leaders want results, but they don’t always plan for results. Often, they let people carry on working hard, but without a firm focus. Use the following four steps to keep a focus on results.

Business context - what are the priorities?
What is your organisation trying to do? It may seem obvious to you as leader, but is it obvious to all employees. If they don't know, they might be focusing excellent efforts in the wrong direction. Questions to ask are: What is at the heart of the business? What is different about this organisation, that makes it leading edge?

Six steps to peak performance

Have a vision
What, exactly, are you aiming for? Think about what it will be like when you get there. Don’t let your final goals fade into the background.

Set yourself targets
There’s a lot of work to do, and most of it needs doing very soon. It’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day, and not go in any particular direction. But if you’re not heading in any one direction, how can you get anywhere?

Get out of this trap. Decide what you want. Choose a target.

Leadership means thinking beyond the status quo, and expanding the boundaries that hold us back. Without them, we’d be stuck with the way things are, but we still have to deal with now. Management is about seeing to what has to be done today.

There’s a difference in emphasis. Managers ensure that immediate tasks are done, before thinking about how people will develop. Leaders want people to work on their development, and slot in what has to be done today.

There will always be areas where people perform less well than they could.

Daniel Goleman cites six leadership styles for different circumstances, but they have something in common. They are able to move people forward in the right direction, in particular circumstances. When leaders are effective, their influence resounds through the group, team or organisation. Goleman calls this ‘creating resonance.’

Goleman’s six leadership styles are:

Visionary: The leader inspires others to seek the vision. They are appreciative of people’s contributions, and show empathy for their needs. This creates resonance through a journey towards shared goals.

Think about anything you like, except kangaroos.

We don’t operate in a vacuum. Everything we do, every decision we make, involves a frame that we have created from our experiences. These frames influence how we perceive the message, and give us signals about how we ‘ought’ to think. We also tend to create frames for other people.

This is part of communication, and can be useful in getting meaning across. We explain things within our frame, to help other people to understand us. However, frames tend to set limits on the way we think about things.

If 2005 looks like being a year with tight training budgets (and what year isn’t?) – we hope it is some consolation that you will be able to buy more Gower resources for you money this year.

A radical re-look at our pricing policy means we have decided that Gower’s reputation for high quality, value for money training products was being eroded by recent price increases.

Porter, Lorsch and Nohria (Harvard Business Review, Oct 2004) list seven likely surprises in store for new CEOs.

1. You can’t run the company
Gaining a prestigious new role brings with it great bursts of enthusiasm. This often leads to unrealistic self-expectations. New CEOs may try to deal with multiple demands, from shareholders, board members, politicians, and everyone else.