Work worth waking up for
Tired of the daily grind? Rhymer Rigby hears from people who have turned their hobbies, pastimes and passions into full-time careers
Bosses are a bad idea
There are no managers or employees at the high-tech materials company WL Gore ? only "associates". "It's a very chaotic environment," says Terri Kelly, chief executive officer, with pride
Workers ready to deal
Strike action now will bring about mutually assured destruction for employers and employees. Pragmatic deal-making is the order of the day, writes Stefan Stern
Worst times can be the best
A crisis creates an external rationale to make unpopular but necessary changes. In a downturn, investors and boards are more forgiving of short-term earnings dips that might result from actions to improve the organisation in the long term, writes Donald Sull
A woman of two styles
The head of GE in northern Europe mixes French idealism and US-style management
Play the home advantage
From shoes to scientific instruments, smart companies are using their local strengths to compete against formidable global rivals
Slash 'n' burn is not enough
Some companies are strong because of their market position, which is down to their people, writes Stefan Stern
A thirst for success
The head of Carlsberg, has only once had to apply for a job ? and that was his first. He keeps getting approached, he says. "I have been lucky throughout my career...never having had to start looking."
Wanted: a return to the thrill of small ads
I have a sentimental attachment to the role of luck and industry in ferreting out obscure opportunities among old-fashioned classifieds, writes Luke Johnson
Sales people must get smart
The old concept of the hard-toiling, road-warrior salesman has lost all relevance, writes Stefan Stern
'Uptitling' gains stature in troubled times
With pay rises scarce, many executives are prepared to accept a more impressive job description in the hope that it will lead to advancement.
CFOs peer into bleak future
A series on managing in a downturn looks at the importance of the finance role
North-east's new take on recession
Being your own boss was once unusual in the region, but a lot has changed
Leadership lessons from 1955
Some old officer training notes offer clear, purposeful and persuasive thoughts, writes Stefan Stern
Helping workers manage bad news
Therapeutic consultancies are seeing increased interest in their services as the gloom deepens


Online University Design
An online university is a web site that provides a complete "one-stop shop" for all your employees' training needs. By logging into an online university, your employees obtain information about newly released training programs, guidance on the programs that are appropriate for them, registration services for both online and classroom courses, and immediate access to their training records. Online universities are not the exclusive province of large corporations. Small and midsize firms that do not have their own private networks can provide online university services to their employees using an ASP (Application Solution Provider) model. Many of the key features of online universities are now offered by a national and international suppliers on an outsourced basis.
How to Teach Adult Learners
Many aspects of teaching adults are fundamentally different than those employed in teaching children. Andragogy is a word popularized at the end of the twentieth century to describe the difference. This article by D. Verne Morland, managing partner of ROI Learning Services, highlights the important principles in teaching adults and suggests how they can be applied to business training.
How to Write Instructional Articles
Instructional articles are very different from articles in reference manuals, product brochures, or even professional literature. This article by Herbert L. Bivens, chief learning officer of ROI Learning Services, defines instructional articles and describes how to write them.
Put Earn in Your Learning
Many companies view training as a component of their employee benefits package - an expense to be controlled, not an investment to be maximized. This attitude is dangerously outdated. Survival in today's global economy requires continuous, cost-effective, world-class training. This article by D. Verne Morland, managing partner of ROI Learning Services, explains how to identify the "earn" in learning and measure the results as you would with any other business investment.
Online and Blended Course Development
Online courses are self-contained, independent-study programs delivered via the worldwide web. They may be relatively simple and short, delivering a little knowledge when and where it is needed. Or they may be sophisticated, multimedia learning experiences that engage students for many hours over several sittings. Online courses are primarily useful for conveying new information; they are less effective in conveying and rehearsing new skills and in motivating students to apply their new knowledge. Blended courses use a combination or blend of instructional methods and delivery technologies to convey information, skills, and motivation to students. Blended courses offer almost all of the same instructional methods and benefits as classroom courses, but with the distinct benefit of being delivered virtually. ROI Learning Services has the expertise to identify which type of course is best for your company's learning needs and we can deliver high quality programs that will have a measurable impact on your business results.
Designing Online Courses for Adult Learners
At most schools of education aspiring teachers are taught the elements of pedagogy – the art and science of teaching children. Many aspects of teaching adults are fundamentally different than those employed in teaching children and for this reason a new word gained currency in the late 20th century – andragogy. This article highlights the important principles in teaching adults and suggests teaching strategies to support these principles in online courses for higher education and corporate learning programs.
ROI Learning Scorecard [tm]
The ROI Learning Scorecard [tm] is based on the Balanced Scorecard concept created in 1992 by Dr. Robert S. Kaplan and Dr. David P. Norton. Having a balanced scorecard requires you to plan, manage, and measure your organization from four perspectives: 1) The Learning and Growth Perspective, 2) The Business Process Perspective, 3) The Customer Perspective, and 4) The Financial Perspective. This philosophy is consistent with ROI Learning's holistic approach to training and organization development. By using our ROI Learning Scorecard your company will focus on and invest in the right programs to build and nurture a continuous learning organization.
Education Consulting
Survival in today's global economy requires world-class performance. World-class performance requires continuous, cost-effective, world-class learning. The consulting and course development services provided by ROI Learning enable businesses in all industries to achieve world-class learning results while maximize the return on their learning investments.
How to Save Money on Training
Significant cost savings can be achieved by using technology to deliver training outside the traditional classroom. This article illustrates the component costs of a hypothetical two-day classroom course delivered to 20 students ten times a year and explains the significant reduction in training costs that can be achieved by using a "blended" delivery approach.
How to Use Training to Improve Your Business Results
Training your employees is an investment in your business and like any smart investment it should have a good rate of return. Although training is not the solution to every problem, where it fits it can improve your sales and sales productivity; it can lower your costs and improve your gross margin; and it can bring expenses into line and increase your profitability. This article explains that by investing in the right programs managers will clearly see the business results and will, at the same time, be creating a highly competitive, continuous learning organization.
List of Services
ROI Learning is a full-service consulting and development firm for technology-enhanced training. We have the experience to help you accomplish all of your training objectives. We can help you: analyze your training needs, start a training program, reduce your training costs, increase your training effectiveness, reach new audiences cost-effectively, develop and deliver online training programs, and measure the impact of training on your business. We can also take a more holistic approach and help you with your education strategy, tactics, programs, and success measures.