今天在ASTD Buzz News 上读到一篇文章。是说美国的一些大企业，比如Home Depot, Dell 等发现informal training 没有formal training那么有效。这不禁让我开始重新思考Jay Cross 的Informal Learning是否有效。

大家都知道Jay Cross有本著名的书，Informal Learning， 其主要思想是说在现今的大企业里，对比Formal Learning 和Informal Learning的投资和收益，Formal Learning投入的成本更高，收益却低。而Informal Learning的投入成本低，效果却很好。但根据以上新闻来看，情况却迥然不同。

在我看来虽然非正式学习的收益看似比正式学习好，但花费的时间却很长。对许多公司来讲，新来的员工和一些急需提高绩效的职位，非正式学习比较缓慢。在同等的时间上，正式学习反而会有很好的效果。当然，我并没有反对非正式学习，根据Jay Cross讲的平衡学习观点，公司如果能将两者结合起来就好了。这样，节省了成本，提高了绩效，又有了时间的保证。

Picture from: Jay Cross, Internet Time
News from： ASTD BuzzNews.


Firms Step Up Training for Front-line Managers
Wall Street Journal (08/27/07) , P. B3; White, Erin

Front-line managers traditionally learn skills on the job, but an increasing number of companies are implementing formal manager training to reduce errors and other problems between managers and workers. The push for better management may be in response to today's fast-paced, global business world, which necessitates maximum worker productivity, something front-line supervisors are in a position to improve. Home Depot executives realized that as the company has grown, its informal training program for managers has become less helpful; an overhauled version of the program launched in March 2007. Developed with an emphasis on practicality, new managers primarily train in-store rather than off-site, and the firm indicates more managers are completing the training program as a result. One exercise often used to train managers is the examination of a sales report, which is assessed by supervisors on the spot to provide management trainees with instant feedback. Dell's training program takes place at an off-site location and includes lectures, question-and-answer sessions, and feedback from coaches and peers. One Dell manager, Julie Figlar, found watching a videotaped role-playing session illuminating and intends to alter her body-language as a result. Figlar also enjoyed hearing a group of employees talk about what they appreciate in a manager, and she plans to provide her employees with more information during meetings. The training's efficacy can be seen in Dell's surveys, which report trained supervisors offer superior feedback and also are better than untrained managers at spotting employee skills in need of improvement.

(http://www.infoinc.com/astd/buzznews.html#326725)

 

若需引用，请注明出处。