Aligning Corporate Learning with Strategy Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Surveys of CEOs point to a shortage of direction and management ability as a leading concern. It's not that companies refrain from investing in developing their folks: In 2012, the businesses in developed economies spent on training. But, as writers Shlomo David Gray, Bernard Jaworski, and Ben-Hur argue, much of effort and the investment that organizations spend on learning is focused on the inappropriate things. Rather than focusing on new styles of technology and instruction, they write, corporate learning executives need to emphasize the aligning of learning programs with business strategy.

Although learning executives including chief learning officers must shoulder the burden of nourishing the company’s talent abilities and supporting strategic priorities, the writers assert that CEOs and other top executives have an essential role to play. Leadership and private involvement on the part of the CEO can make a big difference in setting the proper tone for the organization. While businesses often start with training-needs assessments, the authors advocate starting by mapping what they call the "CEO plan" to ensure that learning gets correctly aligned with strategy. This joins learning and development together with the company's particular needs and reductions throughout the sound of multiple initiatives for attention -highlighting the crucial "must-win battles" that the CEO has identified.

The next endeavor would be to operationalize the learning plan through a portfolio of development and education actions. This involves doing an inventory of existing learning and development resources. Companies should repeat this on a regular basis, the writers say, to make sure that the actions in place reflect the organization's learning strategy. Companies should be wary about making wholesale changes to learning organizational structures and portfolios, the authors warn, unless there are major shifts in business context or the company's assignment. Reorganizations "should be limited to situations where they are justified -for instance, when the learning program is not in line with the organizations corporate strategy or the strategy alters. Like the CEO agenda, the learning agenda of the company's should articulate the vital strategic initiatives for corporate learning.

Selections about what to include or eliminate to bring learning activities in line with present priorities must not be made in isolation, as well as the authors say it's very important to get input and buy in from both the learning organization and business leaders. A more extensive effort of stakeholder direction is usually required to promote and gain buy-in for the learning program, although the CEO's personal engagement is valuable. A disciplined attempt of stakeholder participation and outreach gives learning leaders an opportunity to deepen their understanding of strategic priorities and present the business value of learning interventions.

PUBLICATION DATE: October 01, 2015 PRODUCT #: SMR535-PDF-ENG

This is just an excerpt. This case is about STRATEGY & EXECUTION