Chief Learning Officer - April 2008 - (Page 47) new role in an emerging country, rather than an existing role in a mature country. This type of integrated talent management will be needed in a globally integrated enterprise. These changes are fundamental to how business is conducted and will evolve throughout the 21st century. These forces are driving transformational change in how we need to conduct learning and development in this century. All companies should be aware of these forces because they present opportunities and challenges for every business. Every company is facing global competitors in its industry. Every part of every business value chain on this scale has players who are trying to figure out how to expand into other markets and how to determine new needs that customers may have in another country. They are preparing to seek growth in changing the way value is delivered, not only in their home country but also in other countries. Therefore, every company is facing some type of global competition. And by the same measure, every company has the opportunity to compete in this global economy. The Role of Learning Within Globalization Every company will have a chance to tap into these new approaches to learning now and in the immediate future. We already know, of course, that the amount of online learning content available to companies is growing. But even more importantly, network technologies that permit workers to connect to others already are becoming pervasively available to all companies. The kind of learning IBM envisions is fundamentally focused on colleagues teaching colleagues — working together to solve problems together across geographies, boundaries, time zones and even companies. These technologies exist today, and companies can tap into them. In the past, employees who wanted to learn beyond their own company had to attend conferences or register for academic courses. Today, employees can join social networks of similar-minded people who organize themselves around subjects they care about. And if a company wants to promote this approach to learning proactively, that company can enable its employees to form networks and connect with each other within the company, as well as link to networks of people across its industries or clients they serve. Global Technologies In this global, networked world, several technologies, including search engines, blogs, podcasts, Web 2.0 applications and virtual worlds such as Second Life will be used for learning. Many of these technologies are readily available to companies and their employees right now, regardless of where the company may be in its approach to learning. For example, employees can tap into video or podcasts, join or author blogs and take advantage of the increasingly powerful search engines to broaden their horizons, expand their social networks and learn from others. At IBM, the level of usage for podcasts is striking: more than 4.5 million downloads. People are obviously intellectually curious about the particular field and client industry in which they work. IBMers are hungry for the most cutting-edge knowledge, and much of that DID YOU KNOW? Since 1950, the volume of world trade has increased more than 20 times over. Source: The Levin Institute. Chief Learning Officer • April 2008 • www.clomedia.com 47 http://www.clomedia.com
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