Along with the massive changes sweeping organisations in the context of macro-economic factors, there are pressures for constantly upgrading the competence of human resources. The new knowledge pertaining to "learning" and its relevance for organisational futures has had a particular impact on training approaches, methods and most importantly, the training objectives themselves. Concurrently, fresh opportunities presented by I.T., particularly the inter and intranets, should be nudging progressive organisations to rethink their training strategy in a fundamental sense. There are three inter-connected issues in this context. These are explored in this presentation.

1. Corporate Strategy & Learning:

1.1. The traditional view of corporate future has been far more static than has now been realised. The dynamism in the environment has made people wonder if there is indeed any use planning at all. But greater the fuzziness, the greater is the need to discern, howsoever faintly. Small and incrementalist change in the environment is like mist - you can trundle along somehow, as conditions are generally visible. The new dynamism bring in conditions similar to a mighty storm - too many variables, pulls, pushes, flying debris and the like. Great vigil and agility are necessary.

1.2 These conditions require a set of new competencies (obviously an outcome of learning) of which the following five are probably, the foremost:

1.3 It is estimated by some that the average time required for doubling of the entire accumulated knowledge of the human race is drastically reducing. What took 150 years between 1750 and 1900 AD now takes just 13 months. The rates of explosion in knowledge obviously reflect in technology-in-use and the response patterns of all concerned. These impinge on the time available as well - if time is also a determiner of competitive advantage, the speed with which knowledge is created, disseminated, assimilated, continuously validated and refined at the individual and organizational level becomes very important. All these conditions ensure that environmental storms are now a perpetuity than an exception and that wading through such dynamism requires not merely a single type of ability but a complex pattern. The complex format of ability required can be ingrained only by a sympathetically complex processes of programmed, experiential, cognitive and object methods of learning. Intranet can be most helpful in this by constantly innovating and flooding employees with relevant data instruments and simulations.

1.4 There has been a major revelation, during the recent years, for all those traditional strategists who excelled in complex analysis and formulation of strategies. The top-down approach implied concentration of strategic competencies at the very top and an enormous void at the operational end. The need for "making strategies happen", than remain nice documents, places fresh demands on top managements as well as all employees. The top is now learning ways of involving employees in formulation, implementation and monitoring strategies , and managing contingencies. Concurrently, employees are grappling with issues beyond their `cubby holes' or mechanistic roles and hence need new abilities. Intranet could again provide the backbone to this aspect of employee involvement in strategic management. 2.

TRAINING STRATEGY AND LEARNING

2.1 Gaps in skills are normally assessed through performance appraisal and training needs surveys. These gaps are filled by "conditioned" training interventions such as formal and predominantly off-site programs. As the linkage between training and performance is difficult to measure and control, several organisations have explicitly announced that training is a "matter of faith". With the result, while the linkage between training efforts and employee performance has been weak in itself, there is even a greater problem of the linkage of such efforts with corporate well-being. Predicting the skill-gaps and training in these skills in programmed mode is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for corporate survival .

2.2 Sufficiency arises when there is ability to meet the challenges of a complex variety which requires a learning format, beyond simplistic training. This learning ( comprising of concrete experiences, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation) is highly experiential. This format must use the evidence being gathered on assumptions about "Andragogy" (as different from pedagogy). The Andragogical theory is based on the premise that adults have an increasing need and capacity to (a) be self-directing (b) make use of their experience in learning (c) identify their own readiness to learn and (d) organise their own learning around real experiences. Consequently, training strategy must revolve around balancing the programmed with the experiential interventions, in a short time span, and as extensively as possible. Technology, especially intranet, becomes not only a logical but an inevitable resource for this. Particularly, as it can transcend space, time, instructor barriers , on the one hand and provide seamless possibilities to suit several combinations of training and development needs on the other. Further, it can simulate and bridge the gap in providing experiential learning as best as possible.

3. IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAINING FUNCTIONS

3.1 The integration of intranet into the training system implies not only a new domain of knowledge to be acquired by the training professional but a closer fit with user departments than has been observed. Training functions are beginning to understand the difference between the traditional and the new/emerging trends. The undercurrents now are shaped by the philosophy of a learning organisation capable of meeting the environmental dynamism more adequately. The new trends are calling for a just-in-time learning which is again well locked with short cycles and dynamic needs. There is now a discernible shift to competence/performance centered learning from the historic skill upgradations.

3.2 As training is moving towards "virtuality", we all need to understand closely the potential of technology for training and competence delivery. Added to that we in the H.R function must be in a position to arraign several technological options; instructional choices; and then make decisions of "make-or-buy" variety. Several tools and packages may need to be developed or adapted in-house for organisation specific action. Optimising on the given hard-ware in a cost-effective mode will be a necessary competence to be developed. Training professionals could be dismayed by the intense integration required with the user departments and the I.T groups. The training function may , in some ways, lose its past relevance and find a new context. A context of high powered value-adding facilitation - a true service provider using contemporary theories and assumptions, adapting to contextual situations and using current technologies. In the traditional approach, training function, like the State-sponsored education system, was a near-monopoly. Now, instead of being a distinctive domain, it is required to be seen and felt throughout the organisation.

3.3 Intranet is probably the major plank on which training function will need to reposition itself. It provides the scope of graduating from simple information sharing to the most advanced interactive and virtual simulations. From the localised versions to inter-connecting several regions. It provides an opportunity to gather on-line data on gaps in competencies and structure learning, individually and collectively. It will be a powerful tool for bench-marking, both internal as well as competitive and fostering the related learning and development. It provides the ideal opportunity to combine programmed learning with the experiential. Monitoring transference of learning to job can also be attempted on-line . Evaluation of training, which has for long remained the prosaic reaction level analysis, can become more objective and sophisticated using the intranet and capturing the impact on performance over a period of time and with active participation of the trainee and the supervisor. Such an approach will enable a proper cost-benefit analysis of training efforts and investments, which has been eluding us.

SUMMARY

In summary, the new environmental dynamism requires special capabilities as described in the first part. Several of these capabilities can be built through the intranet and serviced dynamically. Intranet supports well, the new assumptions on `Andragogy' and `Learning' and hence can be the most potent tool to making organisations truly learning. Such technology driven and strategy oriented training will require massive changes in the training function. It requires capabilities in technology based training products, new instructional strategies, providing optimised seamless services, close integration with the users and I.T specialists. Training function will also need to reposition itself and use the intranet capabilities to think fresh ways of analysing competence gaps, delivering the learning, monitoring its impact on performance and eventually evaluating the training effort in cost-benefit terms.