EmployeeTraining and

at Motorola
Development
of peoplemore seriously
to emploltafiili1y
"Few companies.
take their commitment
thanMc,torolq."'
,

- SumantraGhoshal,
A Bartlett& PeterMoranzin Sloan
Christopher
Revierv.
Management

partsof Motorola'sculture.,'The
"Traininganda stronglearhingethicare embedded
corporationlearnedsometime ago that dollarsspenton trainingprograntsnot only
but providedthe necessaryskillsfor the company's
empoweredtheir employees
marketolacedominance."'
- JamesBorton.Columnist,
AsiaTimes.

TOP TRAININGCOMPANYIN THE WORLI)

theUS basedMotorolaInc.(Motorola)hasbeenrecognized
For nearlyeightdecades,
in thervorld'Motorolabegart
of trainingto its employees
asoneof thebestproviders
on'thefactoryfloor as
in 1928,theyearof its inception,
trainingits employees'right
just
mcantteachingnew
purelytechnicalproducttrainin$.Training,at that time,
to performvaric'tspredeterrnined
equipment
howto handlethemanufacturing
recruits
had emergedas a moclel
Motorola
l980s,
the
tasksassignedto them. But by
organizationin the corporateworld for ernployeeeducation,training and
developrnent.
of Motorolaturncdtraininginto a continttous
trainingprograms
The innovative
in
of the companyculminated
In the 1980s,thetrainlnginitiatives
learningprocess.
to
institute
Center,anexclusive
thesettingup of theMotorolaTrainingandEducation
The
of Motorola'semployees'
requirements
development
look afterthe trainingand
- in
University
Motorola
to the statusof a university
institutewas laterelevated
that employee
success
becamesucha resounding
1989,Thesetrainingexperiments
became
products
lvlotorola's
quality-rvise
improvedyearafteryearand
productivity
Motorola's
all overthervorldvisited
Leadingcompanies
,ynonyrou,with perfection,
practicesof the company.They
work
high-performance
to studythe
headquarters
of corporatewasbuilt on thestrongfoundations
success
thatMotorola'S
discovered
of cotporate
wasthecornerstone
practices
andthatMotorolaUniversity
rvidelearning
learnins.

,|

t:
il

,
{

A Bartlett,and PeterMoran' "A Ner| Nlanifestolirr

SumantraGhoshal,Christopher
Spring1999'
Revier'v,
Management
Sloan
N4anagement,"
uils a strategrc
Ghoshal
arlicle(1999),Sumantra
At thetimeof writingtheabovementioned
u'as
I prolessor'
A.
Ilartlett
Christopher
School;
at theLondonBusiness
professor
leadership
assistant
u'as
an
Moran
Peter
and
School;
Business
Ilarvard
at
the
of businessadministration
School'
Business
London
at
the
management
international
and
ofstrategic
professor
ws censcom'
JamesBofton,"MotorolaUniversityScoresHigh Gradesin China."\\'ww.ne
July04.2002.

HumanResourceManagement
In recognition
of its e,rcellent
trainingand development
practices,
the American
'lraining
Sociefyfor
andDevelopment
(ASTD)anamedMoiorolatt. .iop Training
Ccmpany'andconfenedon RobertGalvin(Galvin),lhefbrmer
CEOof the,company,
its'Championof WorkplaceLearningandPerformance
Award,for the year 1999.
Speaking
on }lotorola'straininginitiativesand Galvin'scontribution,
iina Sung,
President
andCEo of ASTD,said,"Galvinis a fruechampion
of employees
beingan
integralpartofthe organizational
success.
He setthe corporate
standardfor investing
in educationand has demonstrated training and development
pay off in
.that
prcductivity,
performance
andquality."s

BACKGITOUND
NOTE
Motorolawasfoundedin 1928whentheGalvinbrothers,
paulandJoseph,
setup the
GalvinManufacturing
corporation,
in chicago,Illinois,uSA. Its firstproductwasa
"batteryeliminator,"
which allowedthe consumers
to operateradiosdirectlyusing
householdcumentinsteadof batteries.In the 1930s,the company
successfully
commercialized
carradiosunderthebrandname,,MotoroJa,"
u ,uorb*-hirh ,uggartad
soundin motionby combining
"motor',with,,victrola."u
In 1936,Motorolaentered
the new field of radio communications
with the productpolice cruiser,an AM
automobile
radiothatwaspre-set
to a singlefrequenry
to receive
policebroadcasts.
" In 1940,DanielNoble(Noble),
a pioneer
in FM radiocommunications
andsemiconductor
joined Motorolaas directorof research.
technology,
Soon,the companyestablished
a
communication
divisionfollowed by a subsidiarysalescorpoiation,Motorola
c o m m u n i c a t i o nasn d E l e c t r o n i cisn 1 9 4 1 .T h e M o t o r o l at r a d e m a r k
was so
widelyrecognized
thatthecompany's
narrewaschanged
fromGalvinManufacturing
Corporation
to MotorolaInc. in 1947.
Motorolaentered
thetelevision
markctin 1917,ln1949,Noblelaunched
a research
& development
facility in Arizonato explorethe potentialof the newly invented
transistor.ln 1956, Motorolabecamea commercialproducerand supplier
of
semiconductors
for saleto othermanufacturers.
The companybeganmanuficturing
integrated
circuitsand microprocessors
in a bid to find iustomer's
outsidethe auto
industry.In 1958,Motorolaopenedan office in Tokyo,to promotecustomer
and
supplier
relations
with Japanese
companies.
' By 1959,Motorolahad emergedas a leaderin military,spaceanclcommercial
communications.
It had built its first semiconductor
proJu.fionfacility,and was
emergingas a grorvingforce in consumerelectroniis.Motorola
expandedinto
international
marketsin the 1960s,settingup salesand manufacturing
operations
aroundthe world'Duringthe period196l-1978,
Motorolaexpanded
its international
presence
by addingplantsin many countriesincludingAustralia,France,west
Germany,
HongKong,Israel,Mexico,SouthKorea,TaiwanandtheUK.
In the 1970s,Motorolafacedstiff competition
fi,omJapan,especially
in consumer
electronics.
The companyshiftedits focusfrom consumerelectroniis.It beganto
manufacture
rvatchbatteries,
andthefirstMotorolamicroprocessor
wasintroduced
in
1974'Earlycustomers
were ftom the automotive,
communications,
industrialand
business
machines
sectors.
In the l9B0s,the company
movedinto comniunications
anddevotedhugeamountsof time andmoneyto ihe development
of cellularphone
'

Founded
in 1914,ASTD isthe rvorld'slargestassociation
dedicated
to rvorkplace
learning
andperformance
professionals.
' "ASTD
Recognizes
RobenGalvin,"rvwrv.quaritydigest.com,
November
2000.
o
victroiais a brandof gramophones
madeby theVictorTalkingMachinecrrnpany.

48

EmployeeTrainingand Developmentat Motoroia

technologyT.
l'he efforts resultedin the introductionof Dyna'fAC, the 28-ounce
handheld
phongin 1984.It alsodeveloped
a rangeof increasingly
smallerandmore
efficientpagerst.

The 1990ssaw a period of rapid growth fol lMotorola.F'acedwith increasing

competition,
thecornpany
fbrmedtheMessaging,
information
andMediaunitin l99l
for thedevelopment
of a rangeof technologies
for non-voice
wirelessrnessaging
and
multi-media'
products.The company'shandsets
becamevery populardue to the
mobilecommunications
boom. Holever, duringthe late 1990s,the salesof the
companywereaffectedby problemsin theAsianecon-cmies.
Therefore,starting2000,
thecompany
entered
intoalliances
andjoint venturesl0
to achieve
a globalpresence.
By 2005,Motorolahademerged
as comprehensive
communication
provider
services
offering rvireless,broadbandand automotivecommunications
technologiesand
embedded
electronicproducts.The company'sbusinesssegmentswere Personal
Communications,
GkrbalTelecomSolutions,
Commercial,
Government
andIndustrial
Solutions,
Integrated
ElectronicSystems,
Broaciband
Communications,
and Other
Products.
Cellularproducts
madeup nearly40 per centof Motorola'ssales.andrhe
companybecamethe world'sthird largestmanufacturer
of semiconductors.
Motorola
hadoperations
in over40 countries,
andmorethan50 percentof its salescomefrorlr
outsidethe US.For the fiscalendingDecember
31,2004,the companypostetJ
total
revenues
of'US$3l ,323mn andnetincomeof US$ 1532mn.

TRAININGANDDEVBLOPMBNT
INITIATIVBS
Motorolahad startedtrainingits ernployees'wayback in the r920s, and the
impoftance
of trainingcontinued
to grow.Till the early1980s,Nlotoroiahadits own
standard
employee
development
activitiesin rvhichtrainingrvasthe key element.
Duringthosedays,rvhenpeoplewere recruitedfor manufacturing,
the company
- the communication
lookedfor threeessentialqualitiesin the employees
and
computational
skillsof a seventhgrader;basicproblemsolvingabilitiesboth in an
individual
capaciry
andasa teamplayer;andwillingness
to acceptrvorkhoursasthe
timeit tookto achieve
qualityoutputratherthanregularclockhours.
Thequalityof theoutputwasthe primaryconsideration
for Motorola,andemployees
wereexpected
to makefull effortsto achievequalify.Most of the employees
learned
theirjobthroughobserving
theseniors
at workandleamingthroughthetrial anderror
' method.Thetraininglessons
impartedto theminvolvedtechniques
to improveiheir
communication
skillsand sharpen
their calculation
skills.Employees
rverehiredto
performsettasksand werenot requiredto do muchthinking.If they hada problem
withoneof themachines,
a trouble-shooter
wascalledto fix it.
7

A.cellularphoneis a hand-held
mobileradiorelephone
lor usein an areadivicledintosmall
(cells),
sections
eachwith itsownsho(-range
transnitter/receiver.
I
A pageris an instrument
or appliance
rvhichis a non-speeoh,
one-wavperscrnal
calling
system
andhastlrecapability
of receiving,
storinganddisplaying
numelicor alpha-numeric
messages.
Multimediais the combinationof severalforms of media in the communication
of
information.
Theset,arious
formsincludeaudio,video,text,graphics,
flax,andtelephony.
'o
Someof the majormergers
and acquisitions
inclucled
the mergerwirh GcneralInstrunrcnt
Corporation
in 2000 fbr producinginnovativeproductsin the multi-mediamarket;the
acquisition
of RiverDelta
Networks,
a providerol'carricr-class
broadband
routing,srvitching,
c a b l em o d e m
t e r m i n a t i osny s t e m
a n ds e r v i cm
e a n a g c m esnotl u t i o ni sn 2 0 0 1 ; t h ea c q u i s i t i o n
of NetPlane
Systcms,
a developer
protocolsoftrvare
of netrvorking
lor the controlplanein
2003; the acquisitionof WinphoriaNetworks,a core inlrastructure
providcrof next
generation
packctbasedmobilesrvitching
centersfolnvirelessnetrvorks
in 2003;and a
strategic
investment
in Aligo,a globalleaderin rnobilcsoflware
solutions
in 2004.

49

HumanResource
Management
i{orvever,after worrd war II, technorogies
changedand so did manufacturing
practices.
competition
toobecame
moreint-ense.
Duringthe r970s,Motorora,s
human
resource
(HR) department
beganto realizethatrhe *li .i,orporur.
training
and
education
hadto berewrittenin tunewith the.hunginjti*;
E;;i.y..s performing
their dcfinedtasksmeticurousry
was no
enoughtbr ihe company,.fhe
.ronger.
employeesneededto understand
their work u1i ,rr. ,.irriurr"ro equipment
they
handledin moredetair.Theseniormanagement,s
rorenow *u, no long.r rimitedto
supervision;
they had to rearnnew skii-rsand techniqu*
ona exemprifvthem to
suboi'dinates.
Before modiIing Motorora's.
emproyeetrainingpractices,the HR department
conducted
a corporate-wide
studyin'r9ig andtesteitheskiilsorrrptoy..r.
Thetests
revealedthe astonishing
facrrhata majoriryor tne *ortror;; ;;;;..pabre
of doing
arithmetic
calculations
likeperientages
andflactions;
someof themcouldnot
iltpts
even understand
the produ*-rerared
instruitionson the ftl.g,
iut identifiedthe
productby colourof its packageand deart
with it ,.J.Ji"g tl the estabrished
procedure.
Thesediscoveries
madethe HR department
think goingbeyondimprovingthe
-of
workingskills of emproyees
to enternew areasof educattnihut t,uonever
been
toucheduponearlier.Instead
gnly technicar
skiil instructionr,
truiningwas now
9f
- teaching
madetwo-pronged
the lO'figradeschoolbasicsat th. irnour.ntal training
level, and introducingnerv conceptsof work, quarity,
.orn.,unity reamingand
leadership
at thedevelopment
level.
Gonerverethe daysof ca.ilingan experteverytime
a machinedeveroped
a minor
problem.Evenif the services
of thb expertrvereunavoidable,
the workerswereat
leastexpected
to describe
the failureclearlywith all technicaldetails.Apart
from
maintaining
a highqualityof work,theempioyees
werealsoexpected
to understand
their equipment,
anticipate
and anaryzebiealdorvnsin equipment,
) and begin the
'
troubleshooting
process
beforetheexpertanived
In 1919,Galvinaskedthe HR department
to designa five-yearord trainingpranto
upgradethe skills of its emproyees.
Howev.r,ih. pran focusingon n.* ,oorr,
technologies
andteamwork
did notproduce
thedesired
iesults.Nerv"and
sophisticated
equipment
wasdeployed,
plantmanagers
did
not
change
their
working
sfyle.
.but-the
Galvin also established
the MotorolaExecr]tive
Institute,bJnowing facultyfrom
leadinguniversities
across
theworld,to takea courseon management
subjects
to 400
executives
in four weeks.Thetop management
wastrainedin international
business
issues
'fhe
suchaseconomics,
personnel
andintemational
relations. participants
learnt
a greatdealbut failedto implement
rvhatthey learnt,andthe ultimateresultof the
programrvasdisappointing.
Galvinrealizedthatthe trainingprograms
werenot yieldingdesiredresurtsbecause
the top management
was rearningnew thingsbut was ,nriittin! to .t,ung.
its ord
rvays'He believed
thatthetop management
wouldleadthe.hang?onty irthey felt a
compelling
needto change,
andif thisneedwasalsofelt ttrrougfati lhe levelsin
the
company'It also lneantthat trainingwas required just
not
6r executives
but
for
rvorkersas rvell. To cany out theie trainingprograms,
an emproyeeeducation
-centei
department
namedMotorolaTrainingandEducation
(MTEi) wasestablishecl
in 1980.The trvin objectives
or.tiis programswere:to expandthe parlicipative
management
processrr,
and to help improie itre qualityof productstenfold
in rhe
comingfive years.Theprograrns
wcreintended
to educate
rr,loto,oiu;,
peopreas rvel
as to be an agentof change.
Initially,MTEC analyzed
the existingjobs profilesand
'

50

Participative
managemellt
process
meanstheprocess
of involvingthosewho arein{luenced
by decisions.
in makingclecisions.

EmployeeTrainingand Devetoprnentat Motorota

hied to anticipate
how they rnightchangein the nearfutureso as to train people
acco^rdingly,
A five-par1cuniculumrvasdesignedrvith a thruston productquuiity
(Referto ExhibitI for highlightsof thefive-parrcuniculum),
However,
thiselaborate
programmeantthatat a typicalplantwith 2,500workers,
the
M'|EC wasusing50,000enrployee
hours- a lot of time awayfrom thejob for a
trainingprogramwhich many skepticscailed highly ,esoteric'12.
The company
initiallyconsidered
the time worththe investment,
but ioon the skeptics**r. pr-ou.il
right. Laterevaluations
showedthat peopleattended
the program,took the .burr.r,
wentbackto theirjobs andreassumed
theirold attitudes.
Whenthecoursewasdesigned,
the HR deparlment
thoughtthatthepeopleat rvhomit
wasaimedat wouldsignup enthusiastically.
However,the experiment
showedthat
peopleresistedformal classroom
training.Therefoie,MTEC developedself-help
materialwhich employees
could take home.But this attempt,too, failed as thL
workersdid notconsider
thehomework
packages
asrealtraining.-They
tookhomethe
studymaterial
andneverbothered
to openit. Theemployees
did not seemto consider
trainingnecessary,
whetherit was impartedin a formalclassroomor as a learn-athomepackage.
The HR department
wasnow in a fix. It rvasnot a caseof peoplenot beingableto
learnbut a situation
wheretheywerenot willingto learn.So,now the challenge
was
to motivate
thepeopleto overcome
theircornplacency
andmakethemlearn.Motorola
hadalwaysemphasized
employee
loyaltyandin its earlydays,peoplewerehiredfor
life. After ten yearsof service,they becameentitledto membership
of the Service
Club,whichmeantthattheyrvouldnot be terminated
excepton thegroundsof poor
performance
or dishonesty.
Themanagement
felt thatthetimehadcomervhenpeople
hadto betoldthat'poorperformance'
included
unrvillingness
to change.
Theymadeit
clearthateverybody
wouldbe retrained
on nelvtechnologies.
If anybodyrefused
to
retrain,
theywouldbe dismissed.
Anotherchallenge
for the HR departrnent
wasthe conflictingbehavioral
pattemsof
differentlevelsof management.
Thetop management
alwaysinsisted
on meetingthe
deadlines;whereasthe workers,who had been taught quality improvement
techniques,
were eagerto implementthem,sometimes
resultingin late deliveries.
workerswondered
why theywerenotbeinggiventimeto implement
thenervquality
improvement
techniques
and the top management
wonderedwhy qualityrvasnot
improvingin spiteof training.The middlemanagement
was caughtbetweenthe
conflictbetween
thetop andbottomcadres.
By 1984,thedepartment
lvasdisheartened
by the discouraging
resultsof thetraining
program,It decidedthat trainingrvasrequiredfor the top as well as the bottom
management
levels,andthatthesetwo programs
needed
to be integrated
so thatboth
levelswouldbe awarewhattrainingwasbeingimparted
to the otherlevel.The HR
officialswantedthedifferentmanagement
levelsto realizethatbetterqualitycouldbe
achieved
withinthe stipulated
time by integrating
effortsacrossvariouslevels.The
top management
was taughtthat simplymeetingthe deadlines
was useless
unless
qualirystandards
weremet,andtheworkersweretaughtthatproduction
wasa timeboundprocessand they could not lvork for indefiniteperiodsto achieveperfect
quality.This rvay both partiesunderstood
that qualifyand deadlinervereequally
importantand that absolutequality\vasto be achievedrvithinthe prescribed
time
constraints,
In 1985,Motorolaestablished
a new cellularrnanufacturing
facilityin Arlington
Heiglits,uS. The i,vorkforce
in thatplanthad improvedqualityten-foldin the fir'st
five yearsof training.Sincetheyrvereaboutto be giventhe griaterresponsibility
of
r2 I'lard
to unclerstancl,
obscure.
intelligible
onlyto thoservithspecialknoiviedge.
\ l

HurnanResource'Managernent
takingthecotnpany's
products
glcbally,a quickmathtestwasconducted
to assess
the
needfor furthertraining.Theresultwasshocking.
Only40 percenrof theemployees
knew l0 was what percentof 100,The reasonfor this was that the immigrant
rvorkforcefound it difficult to comprehendEnglish. It meant that despitethe
improvement
in qualiry-,
basiccomrnunication
andarithmetic
skillsr3of tlielvorl<force
needed
to be sharpened,
andthe employees
needed
remedialelementary
education
to
meet the businessneeds.However,MTEC was not equippedto provideremedial
education.
Theydecidedto asksomecommunitycollegesanclother-localinstitutions
to helpout,brttryeresurprised
to find thatthecomrnunitycoliegeswerenot equipped
to meettheir trainingrequirements.
The coursecontentoften did not commensurate
with thetitle.
'

After variousexperimentaltraining programs,the HR departmentcame to the

conclusion
thatoccasiqnal
trainingprogramsandtie-upswith educational
institutions
and universities
would alwaysleavelearninggaps.Therefore,the companydecided
thatonly a full-fledgededucational
institutionof its own rvouldbe ableto caterto the
trainingand development
needsof the employees
in the light of company'sglobal
business
strategy.
TheMotorolaUniversitywasbornin 1989to servethii purpose.

THE MOTOROLAUNIVERSITY
After conductingvarioustrainingexperiments
that spanned
a few decades,
Motorola
cameto understand
thattraininginvolvedmorethandesigning
andimplementing
one
particularprogramfor a set of employees.
To keepimprovingperformance,
training
shouldbe a continuous
learningprocessinvolvingeachand every personin the
organization.
Normally,trainingwasan ad hocmeasure,
whereas
education
gavethe
recipienta vision, Educationwas viewedas an investment
ratherthan a cost.
Therefore,
Motoroladecideto elevate
MTECto thestatus
of a university
in 19g9.
Motorola's
objective
in havingits own university
wasto provideeducation
relevant
to
the company,
to thejob andto the individual.
Therefore,
Motorotauniversitycould
not operateon the samelinesas regularuniversities.
It designedits own coursesand
methodof impartingtraining,andmaintained
absolute
autonomy.
It was decidedat
the time cf the launchof the universitythat it would operatewith its own boardof
trustees.who
weregeneralmanagers
of thecompany.
Theirdutywasto understand
the
trainingrequirements
of thecompany,designa courseto meetthoserequirements
and
imparttrainingto employees
to re-define
theirresponsibilities
in accordance
with the
changing
times.Theresponsibilify
of theuniversify
wasnotjustto educate
people,but
to operate
asa change
agent.It servedasthelink between
employee
education
andthe
company'sbusiness
strategy,rvhetherthe objectivewasreducingcostsin operations,
improvingproductquaiityor accelerating
newproductdevelopment.
The cuniculumwas designedkeepingin view the requirements
of the company.
Emphasiswas laid on participativemanagement,
empowerment,motivation,
individualdignifyandethics.Employees
weretaughtvariousbusiness-related
topics
ranging from the fundamentals
of computer-aided
design to robotics, from
communication
skillsto customized
manufacfuring.
Traininginstructions
wereoffered
- engineering,
in threebroadcategories
manufacturing.
sares
andmarketing.
'' Arithmetic
andcommunication
skillsareconsidered
very important
at Motorolabecauss
in
mostof thefactories,
thework requires
analyses
andexperiments
involvingextensive
useof
algebra.As for English,the engineering
groupis requiredto rvritework orderchanges,
productspecifications,
andproductmanuals.

52

Employee
Training
andDevelopment
at Motorola
Eachof thesethreedisciplines
wasfuflherdividedintothreeparts- relational
skills,
technical
skillsand business
skills.Relational
skitlsincludedcustomer
satisfaction,
eft-ectivemeetings,effectivemanufacturing
supervision,negotiationand effecti,re
presentations.
Technicaland businessskills includedbasic math, elecrronics,
accounting,
contputer
operation,
andstatistical
process
control.The relationaiskills
cuniculumwas designed
and developed
by MotorolaUniversityrvhereas
thoseof
technical
andbusiness
skillsweredeveloped
in cooperation
with communitycolleges
andtechnical
schools.
Initially,MotorolaUniversity
listedthecourses
in a catalogue
andtheemployees
were
required
to takea certainnumberof courses.
The Universiryhadappointed
a Chief
Learning
Officerwhoserolewasto provideemployees
therequired
courses
in a costeffectivemanner.However,this modelchangedin the 1990s,andapanfrom thethree
basiccategories
of instruction,the Universirybeganto offer severalother minor
courses.Such coursematerial,textbooksand otlrer instructionalmaterialswere
offeredto Motorolaemployeesand to outsiderswho madea payment,The minor
courses
took a shorttime to complete.For instance,
courseslike "Managingthe
softwareDevelopment
Process"took four days,"Short-cycleManufacturing"took
just one day (Refer to Erhibit II for the list of some of the coursesofferedby
MotorolaUniversity),
Instructions
werealsotailoredto meettheuniqueneedsof the company.
Mostof the
instructors
in the university
wet'enot regularprofessors.
Instead,
tlte companyrelied
on outsideconsultants
includingengineers,
scientlsts
and formeremployees
of the
company.
Theirresponsibility
wasto guidetheemplol,eei
in theirthinkingprocesses
as well aq helpingthernremember
rvhatthey had iearnt.l'he instructors
werealso
speciallytrainedand certifiedso that eachinstructor
would not follow hisAerorvn
methodof teaching
but wouldstickto Motorola'smethodof participatirre
instruction
and learning.Commenting
on this, william wiggenhorn,corporateVice-president
for trainingandeducation
andthePresident
of MotorolaUniversiry
in theearly1990s
said,"We don'twantthemto teachtheirversionof, sayEffectiveMeetings,
we want
them to teachours.Not everyonecan deliveron thoseterms.For example,few
academics
cando it our way.They'reusedto interpreting
materialindependently,
so
after the first page,it tendsto take on their own particularslant.It may makea
fascinating
course,but we can'thave3,000peopleleaming35 differentversionsof
ra
EffectiveMeetings."
LearningaPMotorola
Universiry
did not meanemployees
readingcountless
manuals;
norwasit a monotonous
andunilateral
technical
presentation
by theinstructor
without
entertaining
any discussion
amongthe participants.
The instructions
deliverywas
highlyinteractive,
andthe participants
learntby inventinganddeveloping
theirown
productsas well. While all other corporatesoffered some form of training to
employees,
Motorolauniversity'srole was to synergizeemployeeeducationrvith
business
targets.For instance,
the companywould set a goal to reduceproduct
development
cycletime;thenit wouldaskthe university
to developa courseon how
to do it, Retiredemployees
teaching
at theuniversity
wouldknolvhorvto teachsucha
subjectrvitha practicalorientation.
Employees
rvouldanendthe courseanddevelop
theirown methodsandimplernent
them,l'his ivav,thetrainingrvouldbe completed
by achieving
tangibleresultsfor thecompany.

'o william

wiggenhorn,"lr4otorola
U: when TrainingBecomesan Education,"lIarvarcl
BusinessReview,
July-August
I 990.
)J

HumanResource
Management
Anotheruniquefeatureof trainingat Motorola
wasthatwhilemostof the corporaies
impartedtrainingto selected
employees
suchas the top *unug.,n.n, or technicians,
Mot'rola extencied
trairiingto ail its emproyees
spreadacrossthe grobe.Emproyee
traininghadbecomeso deepryingrainedut tntotororo
thateveryemproyee
_ fromtop
management
executive
to factoryworker- hadto identif .orrrrr'he/she
wanted
tb
studyeachyear.Eachemproyee,
incruding
thecEo, hadio underrake
a minimumof
40 hoursof formalcoursework
eachyear (Referto ExhibitIII for the executive
education
profileof Motorolain the l99bs).
If supervisors
spottedperformance
deficiencies
for a particularemproyeeat annual
performance
reviervs,
a.special
remedialplanwassetup for him4rerimmediatery.
The
effectiveness
of ail th-etraining progru^ was measured
by using traditionar
KirkpatrickLever l and Level 3 measures
(Referto ExhibitIV for a brief noteon
Kirkpatrickevaluationlevers).However,the
most importanttest was ,whetherthe
problemwassorvedor not.' After the compretion
of remediar
training,the supervisor
evaiuatedthe performanceof the empioyee
to determinewhether the earlier
deficiencies
hadbeendeartwith. In somefases,if the arnri.nri.,
irrsistedevenafter
training,the emproyeewourdbe pracedin a differeitlob
llelemedial
that matched
his/herskills' Terminatingthe serviceswas not
resortedto exceptin extremecases
sinceemployeeloyartywasthetouchstone
of Motorora,sHR practices.
During the mid-1990s,
Motorolaintroduced
the ,lndividualDignity Entitlement,
programwhich requiredall supervisors
to discuss,on a quarterli uasis,with their
team membersabout.their training requirements.
The discusiionrequiredthe
employees
to answersix questions.
Theniome follow-upactionwasdesigned
based
on theansrvers.
The samequestions
wereasked90 daysafterthe imprementation
of
the training programfor evaluatingthe progress(Refer
to Exhibit v for more
information
on Motorola's
Individual
DignityEntitlement
program).
Not many companies
investedas heaviryin emproyeetrainingas
Motororadid.
Duringthe initial
or
{gvs Motororauniveriiry (whenii wascailej MTEC) nearryr.5
per centof payroll15
rvasspenton training.Tie amountincreasedto2.4
percentvery
soonandby 1999,thecompanyraidout nearryfive per
centof its pafroil for training,
far abovethe one per centaverageinvestedby the
Americanindustry.Accordingto
Galvin,in themid+o-rate
r9g0s,trainingcameto havethegreatest
singreimpacton
theqgalityandcompetitive
performance
of Motorola.
Eachtrainingprogramhelpedemployees
achievea certainrevelof expertise.
peopre
rvho earlierviewed the trainingprogramswith
skepticism,
too, changedtheir
perception.
The HR expeftsaroundthe world were of the opinion
that trainingwas
fastbecoming
the strongest
variablecontributing
to higher,.**, io, tt. company.
Motorola'sperformance
provedthat continuous
learningmay be one of the smartest
investments,
employers
shouldevermake.
In a decadesince1987,Motororareducedcosts
by us$ r0 bn by trainingits work
forceto simplifyprocesses
andreducewaste.For the five-yearperiodending
r99g,
productivify
measured
by salesper employee
increased
139percent.Studiesshowed
thatin theplantswhereseniormanag.rrundworkers
weretrainedin qualitytoolsand
process
skillsrespectively,
thecompany
wasgettinga returnof nearlyUS$30 in three
yearsfor everydoilarspenton training,incruding
thecostof wages
iaid whirepeopre
tooktimeoff for thetrainingsessions,

'' Payroll
is thetotalamount
eamedby all employees
for a payperiod

54

- o

Employee
Training
andDevelopment
at Motorola
T'hough
initiallytheuniversify
concentrated
solelyon trainingMotorola'sernployees,
soonit started
to utilizetlte in-house
skillsfor profit-making
enterprises
like the sale
of coursemateriaito outsiders,
offeringconsultingservices,translationservices,
conductingseminarsto teachother companieshow to star-ttheir orvn corporate
universities,
andevaluation
services
wherea teamof expertsmeasured
how effective
a company's
trainingandeducation
progralnwas.

In theeraof fastchanging
technology
in thelate1990sandearly2000s,Motorolawas
compelled
to trainits employees
in quicktimeso thaitheycouldproducenerv,better
qualityproducts
faster.Meetingthechallenge
of producing
technologically
advanced
productson a continuous
basisrequiredemployees
to be moreknorvledgeable
and
efficient.However,this couldno longerbe achieved
solelywith formalclassroom
trainingprograms.
Therefore,
sincethelate1990s,
MotorolaUniversity
placedgreater
emphasis
on e-leamingwhereeducation
was impartedto the employees
acrossthe
globethroughtheInternet
andotherdigitalmedia,

FOCUSON E.LEARNING
MotorolaUniversitycreateda new internalinstitutenamedCollegeof Learning
(cLT) to developeducational
Technologies
delivery systemsthrough satellite,
Internetand virtualclassrooms16.
This deparlment
was responsible
for providing
innovative
leamingvia virtualclassrooms,
onlineexperiences,
use of cD-RoMSlT
andthrough
multimedia
suchasvideoandsatellite
conferences.
The universityplaceda largeselectionof coursesand trainingmaterialson its
intranetrs,
available
aroundthe world at any time to its ernployees.
Theseincluded
interactivecoursesthat could be dorvnloaded
directlyto an employee'slaptop
computer,
lectures
broadcast
by expensandan onlinelibraryof reference
materials.
By 1998,trainingwasavailable
on 23 servers
across
theglobe,
E-Learning
cameto play sucha significant
rolein thetrainingprocess
thatby theend
of 2001,Motorolaemployees
received
nearly35 percbntof theeducational
solutions
exclusively
via web-based
leamingprocess,
rvhilethe remaining
65 per centpercent
wasthroughinstructor-led
classroom
trainingandmixedsolutions
thatcombined
the
bestof bothmodes.commentingon the role of e-learning
in future,FredHarburg,
chief Leamingofficer and President,
MotorolaUniversity,said,"ln the t'uture,the
percentage
maynotdramatically
increase.
Whatwill increase
is a percentage
of all the
courses
will go to e-learning.
You oughtto leaveto the classroom
whatcanbestbe
donewhenyou collectpeopletogether
andleaveto thecomputer
the passingof pure
information
thatcanbe donemostefficientlv
thatwav."le

'o

TheVirtualClassroom
is a chatfacilityrvithinBIaci<board,
rvhichallorvsstall'andstudents
to conduct
synchronous
contmunication
online.
't
CD-RONIstandslbr CompactDisc Read-Onl1,
lvlemory.A smallplasticclisk,similarto
audiocompact
disks,usedfor storinginformation
in digitalfbrmat.The inlormation
is read
Iiom thediskby a smalllaserbeamanddisplayed
on a computer
screen.
l8 Intranetis private
a
netrvorkinsidea company
or organization,
rvhichusessimilarsoftrvare
as usedfor the Intemet,but is for internaluseonly,and is not accessible
to the public.
Companies
useIntranets
to manage
projects,
provideemployee
information,
distribute
clata
andinformation
andso on.
le Tim Sosbe,
"connecting
MolorolarvithLearning,"
wwrv.clomedia.cop,
Novcmber
2002.

55

Hurnan
Resource
Management
After the introduction
of e-leaming,
employees
wereno longerrequiredto undergo
the compulsory
40 hour trainingeveryyear.commentingon dispensing
with rhe
traditional
practice,
Jill Brosig,Directorof Learningand Development
of Motorola
universitv,said,"That rule rvasvery appropriate
at the time becauseit slorvedrve
investedin our people.But now, rvith the adventof new e-leamingtechnologies,
includingmobilelearning,
trainingis basedon 'relevance,'
not hours.For us it's not
imporlantrhat
you finisha class.what's importantis did you get the learningyou
needeci?"2'
To ensurethat the necessary
learningwas takingpla-ce,
employees
were
requiredto sign a 'personalcommitment'eachyear that was reviewedby
their
managers
on a quatlrlybasis.The cornmitment
includeda 'strategically
driven'
educational
pianthatwasdirectlytiedtc ancmployee's
performance
review.
E-Learning
wasshaped
asa self-directed
learning
process
to enableemployees
fulfill
theirspecificanduniquelearningneeds,Thebenefitof this methodwasthatrather
thanhavinga groupof 20 employees
sit throughthe samethreehoursof trainins
session
t0 get to know the l0 minutesof learningthat appliedto eachone at ai
individuallevel,thelearners
couldspendmoretimespecifically
on rvhattheyneeded
to learn.As a resultof this, the trainingsessionmet the specificneedsof each
employee
besides
savingcompany
time.Instead
of completely
stayingawayfromthe
course,
nowtheemployees
hadtheoptionof excluding
thepartsof thecoursetheydid
notrequire(Referto ExhibitVI for thehighlights
of Motorola'sself-directed
leamins
program).
Motorola'se-leaming
trainingprogramrvasmadeaccessible
to morethan 150,000
employees
across
thelvorld.Thecomputer
netrvorkenabled
the employees
to access
as manyprograms
as they considered
necessary.
Later,the internalreviewshowed
that because
of e-learning,
the cycletime for learninghad fallenby a third,actual
trainingtimeswerereduced
by 50 per centandthe distribution
of trainingmaterials
rvasdonevirtuallyin real time. With over 100 officesin 24 countriesin 2005,
MotorolaUniversity
deliveredover 100,000
daysper day of trainingto employees,
suppliers,
and customers,
Throughpersonaldigitalassistants,
Motorolaemployees
couldcontact
theirpersonal
coach,readtipsofthe day,learnaboutcollaborative
team
eventsandreadnewsclippings
all customized
to theemployees'
needs.
Commenting
on the learningprocess
at MotorolaUniversity,
RichardDurr,Director
at Motorolauniversiryin Florida,uS said,"A company's
missionis to makemoney.
A University's
missionis to makethe world a befterplace.MotorolaUniversity's
missionis to maketheworlda betterplaceto makemonev.',2r

" Jill Elsivick,

"stayingtheTrainingcourse,"Employee
BenetltNervs.June15,2002.
2r
RichardDurr, "lntegrationof e-learninginto the LearningProcessat lvlotorola,,'
rvrvw.ecedha.org,
March20,2000.

56

Employee
Trainingand Development
at Motorola

Questionsfor Discussion:
l,

Motorolahasbeenadjridged
as oneof the top trainingcompanies
in theyorld.
commenton theemployee
traininganddevelopment
practices
at Motorola.why
do you think the companyreceivedan international
recognition
for its training
anddevelopment
practices?

2. MotorolaUniversitywasestablished
in 1989to filfilltraining anddevelopment
'
needsof ernployees
at Motorola.Studythetrainingprogramsofferedby Motorola
Universityandhow it benefitedthetargetaudience.
3. Criticallycommenton the e-learninginitiativesof Motorola.What are the
benefitsand drarvbacks
of e-learningin employeetraining and development?
Explain.
'@

2005,Icfai Centerfor Management

Research,
All rights resemed.Thiscasewas written by
K. YaminiAparna, underthedirectionof VivekGupta.

51

HumanResource
Managernent
ExhibitI
Ilighlightsof theFive-Part
Curriculum
The five-partcuniculumis designedto help improvethe productqualityby
teaching
the employees
variousaspects
of the rvorkprocesses
at a manufacturing
unit.
functionin rvhichcontrolofthequalityof
QualityControl:Thisis a management
(a) ravr materials,
assemblies,
producedmateriai,and components,
(b) services
related
to production,
and(c) management,
production,
andinspection
processes,
is
exercisedin orderto preventundetected
productionof defectivematerialor the
rendering
of faultyservices.
It involvesthe followingsteps:(l) evaluate
actual
quality performance,
(2) compareacfualperformance
to quality goals,(3) take
actionon the difference.
Thus,qualitycontrolis the processof measuring
quality
perfomrance,
comparing
it withthestandard,
andactingon thedifference.
IndustrialProblemSolving:This involvestechniques
and processes
whichare
mosteffectivein troubleshooting
practicalprocessproblemsat a manufacturing
unit.Employees
aretaughtdifferent
problem-solving
techniques
by followingbasic
stepslike:definethe problem,collectintbrmation
regarding
the issuein question,
determine
thepossible
optionsto solvetheproblemanddecidethemostoptimum
soiutionby keepinga backupplanin casesomething
goesrvrongrviththe earlier
plan.
Presenting
ConceptualI\{aterial:This courseis particularly
designed
to helpan
hourlyivorkerto presenta technicalsolutionto an engineer.
Duringthe 1970s
',vere
rvhentrainingprogramrvasbeingrevamped,
thervorkers
expected
to present
thetechnicaldetails
of themachinery
breakdorvn
andotherproblems
relatingto the
equipment
to thetroubleshooting
engineers.
Thisrequired
thearticulating
skillsof
the workersto be very sharp,Earlierwolkelsrestricted
themselves
mechanical
to
tasksandrverenotableto communicate
theproblemeasilyandclearly.Thiscourse
is designed
specially
to helpthempresent
thetechnical
detailsof themachinery
in
professional
a clearand
mannerto expefislikeengineers.
Effective Meetings:This courseis intendedto promotethe parlicipative
management
process,
thekey feature
of employee
trainingat Motorola.Thiscourse
promote
aims
to
interaction
betrveen
participants,
the
rightfrom"factory
rvorkers
to
,
theCEO,in all meetings
so thateachparlicipant
canunderstand
andappreciate
the
thoughtprocesses
of the other.Seniormanagement
is taughton how to be patient
andreceptive
to theopinionsof thervorkers
andto valuetheirsuggestions;
andthe
rvorkers
aretaughthowto present
theircasein aneffective
way to maketheirvoice
heardby the top. This courseaimsto makea meetinga discussion
forum for
exchange
ofideasflom variouslevelsofthe organization.
Goal Setting:Thiscourseaimsto teacheachandeveryemployee
the importance
of goalsetting,
bothat thecorporate
levelandthe individuallevel.Theemployees
are expected
to reachceflaincommongoalsas a teamand eacheniployee
is to
reacheitherproductor personality
relatedgoal in his individual
capacity.This
courseteaches
employees
how to choosea goal/objective,
holv to defineit in
realistic
ternis,describe
in r.vriting
thecourseof actionto be follorvedfbr realizrng
suchgoalsandhorvto measure
theprogress
torvards
achieving
thegoal.
Compiled
from t,orioussources.

58

Ernployee
Training
andDevelopment
at Motorola
ExhibitII
Listof Courses
Offeredby MotorolaUniverslfy
primaryprograms
Fullcoursetitle

Typeofcourse

Durat.

VicePresidents
Institute

Leadership
Development

4 Days

Asian Impact for Leaciership

15days
Motorola
Development,
BusinessAcumen
Development
Semiconductor
Products
Sector
GOLD Program

Leadership
Development,
Business
Issue
ProblemSolving

CornmunicationsLeadership
EnterpriseGOLD Development,
Program
Business
Issue
ProblemSolving
Semiconductor Cuniculumof
Products Sector several
courses:
GlobalLeadership Leadership,
Business
GeneralI\4anagersFunctional
Toolkit
Refreshers

BuildingWorld- Coaching
Skill
ClassLeaders
Development
throughCoaching
Executive
Scrninar
Scries

TopicAwareness

Description
For new vice presidents.
Feculty incluCesMotorola
Chairman/CEO,
COO, trvo
former Chairmen, other
seniorofficers,as u,ell as
outside experts.Held in
Schaumburg
only.
Designed for potential
general managersin the
Asia/pacific
region.Held in
Asiaonly.

l3 days Designed
for high
potentials
in the
serniconductor
business.
Sessions
heidin North
America,SouthAmerica,
Europe,andAsia.
l I days Introduceci
in 1999.
Cunenrly
heldin
Schaumburg
only.

Ito3
days
each

Separate tracks
for
executives,
mid-level,and
first-level
managers.
Porlions are run in North
America,Asia,andEurope.

I day
each

Introduced
in 1999.Courses
in: Stlategy & Tactics,
Financial Managemenl,
Customer and Market
Focus,
Business
Opcralions,
Industry and 'fechnical
Knowledge.and Investing
in FlumanAssets.
Cunently
runin Schaumburg
only.

2-3 days Introduced

in 1999.Offered
rvorld-wide

0 . 5 - t BusinessModcls for the

day' D i g i t a lE c o n o r l r B
. uilding
Alliancesand Paftnerships,
and
Understanding
Generationai Diversity.
Olfercdin NorLhAmerica
andEurope.

59

ir
_i

HumanResourceManagement

Fullcourse
title

Typeof course

Durat.

ChinaAcceleratedLeadership
18days
Management
Development,
Frogram
Action Learning,
Rotation
Leadership
Accelerated
Program

Leadership
Development,
Action

Description
Designedio accelerate
the
development of
new
managers
in China.Offered
in Chinaonly.

20days Designedto accelerate

the
development of
new
managers
in India,Offered
in Indiaonly.

OPEN-ENROLLMENTPROGRAMS
a

ProjectLeadership,
Management
& Communications

AchievingResults
throughPeople

Essentials
of MotorolaManagement

Listening
andFeedback

Telecommunication
s Principlesfor ProjectManagers

International
ProjectManagcment

SkillfulConversations:
a Joumeyto Dialogue

TheTranscultural
Academy

Sotrrce: www.businessweek.com

ExhibitIII
Executive
EducationProfileof Motorolain thc 1990s
ITEM
Number of executive non-degree
programs
(excluding
multiplesessions
of the same
program)

l0

42%

Numberof executives
attending
above
programs
(notincludingEN4BAor paft-time
degree
programs)

r280

995

28%

Percent
of attending
executives
rvholive within45 milesof theschool

40%

s0%

-20%

Percent
of anending
ves
executi
rvholiveor workoverseas

15%

t0%

50%

Totalparticipant
days
(totalparticipants
x totallengthof
programs)

6670

5075

3t%

Percentofprofessors
rvithat least5 years
fuIl-timecorporate
expelience

60%

NA

NA

Numberof custonr
programs
run

l0
99%

7
NA

42%
NA

Percent
of parricipants
fromorganizations
withwhomschoolhasdonebusiness
for
threeor moreyears
Source: wnu.businessweek.coni

60

1998-99 1993-94 % CHANGB

Employee
Trainingand Development
at Motorola
f,xhibit IV
A Brief Note on Kirkpatrick Lvahratiol Levels
Thefour-level
moceldeveloped
by DonaldKirkpatrick(1994)is oneof the most
popular methodsof assessingthe effectivenessof training programmbs.In
Kirkpatrick'sfour-level model, each successiveevaiuationlevel is built on
informationprovidedby th'e lower level, Accordingto this model, evaluation
shouldalwaysbeginwithJevelone,andthen,asthetimeandbudgetallows,should
movesequentially
throughlevelstwo, three,andfour,Informationfrom eachprior
levelservesas a basefor the next level'sevaluation,
Thus,eachsuccessive
level
represents
a moreprecisemeasure
of theeffectiveness
of thetrainingprogram.
LevelI Evaluation- Reactions
Evaluation
at this levelmeasures
how parlicipants
in a trainingprogramreactto it.
- Did they
It attemptsto answerquestions
regardingthe participants'perceptions
like it? was the materialrelevantto their work? This type of evaluationis often
calleda "smilesheet".Accordingto Kirkpatrick,everyprogramshouldat leastbe
evaluated
at this level to providefor the improvementof a trainlngprogram.In
addition,the participants'reactionshave importantconsequences
for learning
(leveltwo). Althougha positivereactiondoesnot guarantee
learning,a negative
reactionalmostcertainlyreducesits possibility.
Level2Evaluation- Learning
Assessing
at this level movesthe evaluationbeyondlearnersatisfaction
and
attempts
to assess
theextentto whichstudents
haveadvanced
in skills,knorvledge,
or attitude.
Measurement
at this levelis moredifficultandlaborious
thanat level
one.Methodsrangefrom formalto informaltestingto teamassessment
andselfassessment.
participants
If possible,
takethetestor assessment
beforethetraining
(pretest)
andaftertraining(posttest)to determine
the amountof learningthathas
occurred.
Level3 Evaluation- Transfer
This levelmeasures
the transferthathasoccunedin learners'
behaviordueto the
- Are the
program,
Evaluating
atthislevelattempts
to answerthequestion
.training
newly acquiredskills, knowledge,or attitudebeing used in the everyday
environment
of the learner?For many trainersthis level represents
the truest
assessment
of a program'seffectiveness.
Horvever,measuringat this level is
difficultas it is oftenimpossible
to predictwhenthechangein behaviorwill occur,
andthusrequires
importantdecisions
in tennsof whento evaluate,
how oftento
evaluate,
andhowto evaluate.
Level4 Evaluation- Results
Frequently
thoughtof as the bottomline,this levelmeasures
the success
of the
- increased
programin terms that managersand executivescan understand
production,
improvedquality,decreased
costs,reducedfiequencyof accidents,
increased
sales,andevenhigherprofitsor refurnon investment.
Froma business
andorganizational
perspective,
thisis theoverallreasonfor a trainingprogram,
yet
levelfourresultsarenottypicallyaddressed.
Determining
resultsin financialterms
is difficultto measure,
andis hardto link directlywithtrainins.
Source: www.coe.sdsu.edu

ot

L-

f,Tllrl
11

il

il

HumanResource
Management

il
ExhibitV

Motorola'sIndividua!DignityEntitlement
p rogram
Duringthe 1990semployee
retenticn
became
a ma.ior
problemfor manycompanies
aroundthe
world'Studies
showed
thatin mostcases
people
wereleaving
because
theyfelttheywerestagnating
in theorganization
job for yearstogether
doingthesame
withoutanoppoffunity
to improvetheir
performance
andtheir'employability'.
Earlierperformance
evaluation,
doneannually,
piovedto be
nct veryeffective.
An intemalsurveycn tireemployabilify
of theemployees
revealedihat
over70
percentof theemployees
didnotfeeltheyweregetting
theffainingtheyneeded
to besuccessful
at
theirjobs.'Rather
thanresorting
to stop-gap
retention
initiatives,
Motorolawantedto lay a solid
foundation
thatwouldsupnort
human
performance
in everyway.Thecompany
madea commitment
to makeitstraining
morejob-relevant.
It consulted
employees
abouttheirneeisundwants.andthen
revamped
theentiretraining
programme.
Motorolaintroducedthe IndividualDignity Entitlement(IDE) programmeto support
its human
assetsby providingthem rvith enoughresources
to do their bestjob - fair, unifirm standards;
continuous,useful feedback;and appropriaterewardsand recognition.Six months
later, the
percentage
ofnegativesurveyresponses
hadbeencut in halfandhascontinuedto decrease.
In their
relationship
with eachemployee,
the supervisors
wereaskedto takeinto consideration
the person,s
specificneedsat everypoint on a careerdevelopment
continuumthat beginswhen a person
interviewsfor a positionandendswhenhe or sheleavesthe organization.
the tnB requiredall the
supervisors
to discuss,
on a quarterlybasis,thetrainingneedsof eachemployeeworkingunderhim.
Thesupervisor
askedeachemployee
thefollowingsix questions:
l.

Do youhavea substantive,
meaningfuljob
thatcontributes
to thesuccess
of Motorola?

2. Do youknowtheon-the-job
behavior
andhavetheknowledge
baseto be successful?
3'

Hasthetrainingbeenidentified
andbeenmadeavailable
to continuously
yourskills?
upgrade

4'

Do youhavea personal
career
plan,andis it exciting,achievable,
andbeingactedon?

5'

Do you receivecandid,positiveor negative,feedbackat lesteverythirfy daysthat is helpfulin

improvingor achieving
yourpersonalcareerplan?

6. Is thereappropriate
sensitivityto your personalcircumstances,
gender,and/or culturalheritage
sothatsgchissuesdo not detractfrom yourpersonalcareerplan?
A negativeresponse
to any of thesequestionsffom any employeewas treatedas a lacunain the
trainingprogrammes
of the companyand immediately
a remedialplan was designed.
Another
meetingis held90 dayslater- the samequestions
areaskedandprogtesson the previousquarter,s
issues
is evaluated.
Any employee-supervisor
conflictsat Motorola,whichcannotberesolved
by thepartiesthemselves,
are takento a higherlevelwherean actionplan is created,
This can involveiakingthe issueto
chairmanlevel, if necessary,
David Pulatie,seniorvice-president
of Motorola,said: ,,ln a
corporation
of 150,000
people,in ll0 countries
all overthe world,any issuethatcomesfrom any
placein thecorporation
canbe movedup, solved,movedbackdown,andeverybodyknowsaboutit
in 90 days'"Motorolaalwaysfollowedan open-door
policy with regardto redressing
employee
grievances.
Employees
coulCrvalkstraightto themanager's
roomanytime to discuss
alnyproblem
pertaining
to thejob or personalissues.In fact everyemployeehad directe-mailaccessto
the
MotorolaCEOin theUS.
Compil edfr ont vari oussources

62

il

Employee
Training
andDevelopment
at Motorola
ExhibitVI
Highlights
of Motorola's
Self-Directed
Learningprogram
'fhe

advantage
of a self-directed
learningprogramme
is its abilityto generate
higher
leveisof participant
motivation
and enthusiismamongjadedandiime-pressured
employees.An organizationculture that prizes learningarrd offers multiple
opportunities
for development,
with the supportand encouragement
of the iop
management
and HR department,
is a criticalrequirement
if self-directed
learning
is to flourishin an organization.
Motorola'sself-directed
haining systemhighlightsthree issuesinvolved in
providingandadministering
systems
to supportself-directed
leaming:
Infrastructure for Delivering Learning Resources:Idotorola'sworldwide
computerinformationnetworkallows its employees
to accesstrainingmaterials
directlyon their desktopby simply loggingin with userI.D., and a usagefee is
automatically
chargedto the employee's
departmental
trainingbudget.A recordis
keptof thetotalnumberof hoursemployees
usethissystem,anda ioll-up reportis
providedto managerson the amountof emptoyeetraining occuning,Another
deliveryplatformis the JustIn Time Lectureseries,devetopeiin coop.rationwith
carnegie Mellon university. Here, a companyexpert is filmed making a
presentation
on a topic.Then,the lecture,
presentation
slidesif any,anda running
list of frequentlyaskedquestions
with answersarepackagedontoa cD disk,and
shippedto all thoseinterested.
Selectionand Supply of LearningResources:
To meetits uniqueand specific
needs,Motorola,makesas well as buys learningresources.
Two homegrown
leamingpackageshave alreadybeen made availabreto employees.
one is
"Motorola:Yesterday,
Today,and Tomonow,"a 52-unitreview of Motorola
culture,historyandvalues.Eachunit takesaboutl0 minutesto complete.
All new
employees
are given easyaccessto this programme
as part of the new employee
orientationprocess,At the end of eachunit, the learneranswersquestions,
and is
thenprovidedwith conectanswers.
A secondoffering is the "First Time Leader'sSurvival Kit," an g0-unit
instructional
andperformance
suppofiprogramme
thatrequires50 hoursof time on
the computer,
plus an equalamountof time in the field, It takesnine monthsto
complete.This programmeis designedfor newly appointedsupervisors
and
includes topics like budgeting, handling meetings,pranning, personnel
management,
andreorganization.
Effectiveand Easyto UseLearningResources:
Motorolacustomized
its training
to providetrainingmaterials
in a formatthatbestmatched
the learningpreferences
of each user,For example,using Kolb's LearningStyle inventory,Motorola
workedouttypicalprotilesof engineer
learning
styles,
Source: www.themanqgement
or.com

63

HumanResource
Management
AdditionalReadings
& References:
t . williarn wiggcnhorn,"l\lotorola U: when Training Becomesan Education,"
llawardBusiness
Reviel.juiy-August1990.

Jeannec Meister,"Extendingthe Short Shelf Life cf Knowledge,"Trainingand

Development
Joumal,1998.

3. SumantraGhoshal,christopherA Bar1le11,
and PeterMoran,"A New Manifesto for
Management,"
SloanManagemcnt
Review,Spring1999.

{ . StcphenBudiansky,"Inc. U: Education with a Bottomline." wwl.orismA

magazine.org,
OctoberI 999.
5, Bob Bunda""From corporateTrainingto corporateLearning:The Evolutionof
CorporateTrainingFacilities,"
www.isdesignet,com,
October1999.
6. "connectingEducationto Business& Industry," www,mc.maricopa.edu,
lvlarch
2000.
7. RichardDurr,"lntegrationof E-Learninginto the LearningProcessat l\{otorola,"
www.ecedha.org,
March20,2000.
8. JudyOlion,"Trendsin CorporateTraining,"wrvw.smeal.psu.edu,
February
2002.
g. EmerHughes,
Leaders
are
Made,
Not
Born."
www.archives.tcm.ie.
"Retention
Julv
02,2000.
10. "ASTD Recognizes
RobertGalvin,"www.qualitydigest.com,
November
2000.
I l.

Jill Elswick,"Stayingthe Trainingcourse,"Employee

BenefitNews,June15,2002.

12. James Borton, "Nlotorola university scores High Grades in

www.news.cens.com.
July04,2002,
13. Tim Sosbe,"Fred Harburg
rvww.clomedia.com.
Novemb
er 2002.

china,"

C o n n e c t i n gM o t o r o l a w i t h L e a r n i n g , "

14. "Life CyclePlanning;l\{otorola,"wrvw.future500.org,

March0,1,2005.
1 5 . E u r eR o b ," o n t h e J o b c o r p o r a t eE - L e a r n i n g
l \ I a k e sT r a i n i n gA v a i l a b l eA n y t i m e ,
A nywhere,"www.customercentrix.com.
1 6 . " H i g h P e r f o r m a n cW
e o r k R e s e a r c hP r o j e c t :Motorola, Inc. - United States,"
wwrv.ilo.org.
17. rvrvw.motorola.com
18. wlvw,howardcc.edu
,19. tvrvw.themanagementor.com
20. www.epnet.com
2l . rvrvrv.trai
ningpressreleases.
com
22. wrvw.trainingcamp.com
23. www,coe.sdsu.edu
24. www.managementr.visdom.com

64