Over the past year, e-learning has been variously described as the cosmic solution for all corporate learning problems or as a vast disappointment. Has e-learning been oversold by well intentioned but shortsighted visionaries and aggressive vendors? Have long-term corporate goals suffered from unreasonable expectations of learning driven by new technology and hype rather than common sense? Is it time for a reassessment of e-learning? Well…yes. And the place to begin is with a brief discussion of human capital development.
Human capital is an organization’s renewable resource. The primary goal for all learning within an organization should be the development of all its human capital. An organization’s employees together with other members of the entire enterprise (supply chain, customers, partners, etc.) are a virtual assets and investment portfolio. Intelligent investment in and nurturing of that portfolio can reap huge dividends in terms of success and profitability in a healthy economy and survival in a lean one. …
