Using Business Book Summaries as a

Corporate Training Tool: A Growing Trend

A BusinessSummaries® E-Learning Solution White Paper

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Abstract

A highly competitive global environment, free trade, and constantly changing market
needs and wants has created the growing need for highly skilled people in the workplace.
This has challenged businesses to look at better ways to improve the efficiency of their
human capital. Both private and public organizations are realigning, reengineering,
retooling, redefining, redesigning, rethinking, resizing, retrofitting, repositioning,
renewing and reinventing themselves to meet the demands of an increasingly demanding
customer base (Neilson, 1997). Thus, organizations that will not be able to continuously
upgrade their competitiveness will be swept from the marketplace (Martin, 1996).
Companies are therefore, under tremendous pressure to enhance the knowledge and the
skills of their employees and workers.

Learning, indeed, has become the most important activity in the present knowledge based
economy. However, while companies recognize that people can be leveraged to create
and sustain differentiation in a highly competitive environment, nonetheless there is still
much prudence and vigilance in spending for employee training. In this respect, the
market has opened up to innovative information and communication technology as an
enabler to new, relatively more inexpensive learning platforms. One such emerging
solution is the web-based electronic learning. Web-based electronic learning or e-
learning refers to the employment of new technologies for corporate training purposes,
allowing a focus on the development of flexible mechanisms for the delivery of learning
content (Henry 2001).

There is currently a trend of convergence and integration of various technologies that

allow opportunities for the globalization of new learning practices. One of these
technological innovations is the convergence of book reading and the Internet. In this
scenario, the global connectivity offered by the Internet and the availability of innovative
information and communication technology are catalysts to a new corporate training
paradigm that offers a great opportunity for companies to educate and train their
management and staff.

The use of business book summaries as a corporate training solution capitalizes on this
new learning platform and addresses the need for more cost-efficient training, while
continuing to develop more productive employees and harnessing their skills. Business
book summaries as a corporate training tool provides the user learner access to a
comprehensive collection of easy to read instructional content best suited to one’s
learning goals and needs. The learning content may range from function-related, skill
enhancing principles and live business insights and cases to light-read, inspiring,
motivational life stories.

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Through business book summaries, employees can be continuously kept informed of the
latest business insights and concepts which stock knowledge and vital information may
likely provide for a sustainable advantage over competition. This happens while not
taking the employee away from work at all.

Background

It was not until the 1990s that Chief Executive Officers began to recognize the value of
leveraging on intellectual capital and companies started talking about knowledge
management. As CEOs realize that the success of a business and its competitive
advantage have shifted from physical goods to human capital, they began to take active
interest in the kind of knowledge available in the organization, how it is being used and
maximized as well as enhanced.

Notwithstanding, it was about the same period that networked computers have made it
possible to codify, store, access and share information more easily and economically than
before. Thus, paving the way for market acceptance of e-learning. Unfortunately, until
recently there has been much debate about the overall effectiveness and costs of e-
learning versus traditional classroom learning.

Bullish Outlook for E-learning Remains

In the knowledge economy, survival of companies depends on its sensitivity and alertness
to the environment, capability to adapt to fast change, continuously learning and rapid
transformation. Many realize that the Internet is one of the most transforming inventions
in human history. It has the capability to change the way people work, learn and play. A
worldwide survey of 500 large companies carried out jointly by the Economist
Intelligence Unit and Booz Allen and Hamilton, a consultancy firm, found that more than
90% of senior executives and top managers believe that the Internet will transform the
global marketplace. One of such transformations that will be introduced by the Internet
is the way people learn, which relates to the investment in human ware, perceived to be
the oil of the 21st century (Kamel, 2002).

The global connectivity of the Internet, its ability to rapidly deliver and store vast
amounts of educational content, and the availability of new generations of hardware and
software applications are factors that have contributed in fueling the new e-Learning
paradigm (Alavi, Yoo and Vogel, 1997). Respectively, time and distance are not anymore
deterrents to education and learning because various courses can be delivered to students’
desktops anytime, anywhere, through instructor-led or self-paced learning mechanisms
(El Koishery and Elazhary 2001). Harasim (1990) summarized the characteristics of
online courses as place and time independent, allows many-to-many communication that
fosters real collaborative learning and dependence on text-based communications to
promote thoughtful and reflective commentary. Further, E-learning can be provided
through the use of a variety of web-based instruction systems.

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According to the International Data Corporation, the future of e-Training looks extremely
bright with expected worldwide revenues beyond 23 billion US dollars by 2004, which is
extraordinary considering the market, was less than 2 billion US dollars at yearend 1999.
IDC estimates that by 2005 over 27% of business skills training content will be provided
by E-learning, representing a compound annual growth rate of 108.2% over a five-year
period.

Key Challenges and Recent Developments

Despite the bullish projections, there continues to be a number of challenges and hurdles
that E-learning must surmount.

Today, much of the major challenge faced by E-learning has to do with efficiency of
content. E-learning content is expected to play a major role in the success of E-learning
applications. Presently, among the gaps in content include:

• Failure to acknowledge user needs. Many E-learning applications focus on the

kind and design of technology, never mind if it does not deliver effective
instruction and a user-friendly E-learning experience.
• Blatant disregard for user-needed training content as well as user-friendly
instructional design and interface
• Absence of a feedback mechanism. Quite a number of E-learning providers are
inflexible; insist on acceptance of canned learning programs that have become
ineffective over time in delivering on instructional goals.
• Information overload. Online learners hate going through voluminous
information that is not meaningful or relevant to them. They prefer to cut the
chase and move directly to the data they need or the vital information being
shared. This is because they do not have the luxury of time nor do they wish to
have any unnecessary distractions.
• Absence of motivation to do E-learning. Some e-learning providers fail to
explain the benefits behind e-learning i.e. skills enhancement and professional
development for the individual and greater productivity and lesser training costs
for the organization, among others. This is the reason why E-learning in many
companies take a backseat while organizations that do have e-learning fail to get
the critical mass in user numbers to sustain the program.
• Perceived premium cost. Some potential clients are under the impression that e-
learning programs are expensive and carry a premium over traditional classroom
learning or company-mounted in-house seminars. Others believe that additional
capital expense is needed that may include the purchase of a server and a
customized user interface protocol.

Despite the barriers posed by detractors to the system, supporters of e-learning indicate a
growing market and use for e-learning applications. One of the indicators is the new trend
of chunking data online that has found growing market acceptance.

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The Use of Business Book Summaries

Recognizing the value of bringing vital information in chunked form to learners as part of
a greater advocacy to help harness and leverage the human capital while propelling E-
learning growth, several corporations started using business book summaries as the
corporate training solution for learning lifecycle management. The learning program
allows significant amounts of learning content to be delivered to the web while users
choose data that they need, only when they need it. Thus, speeding up the transfer of
knowledge.

Below are the reasons why business book summaries help harness knowledge capital.

• Vital Business Insights in Chunk Data

Yearly, about 2,000 books are published in the United States alone which is a lot of
reading just to stay updated. Unfortunately, business people do not have the luxury of
time to go through thousands of reading material with more than a hundred pages each.
The downside – without reading, one may miss a fresh insight on ideas that can possibly
propel one’s business to success. Reading business book summaries allows one to pore
over the best ideas and concepts in 8 to 12 page book summary formats providing the
user an option to technically read more books at any point in time.

• Learning Convenience – Own Time and Place

Corporate training through business book summaries allows one to enhance skills and
training with as much freedom to assess content anywhere and anytime when one has
more dispensable energy, zeal and openness to learn.

• Personalized and Customized Corporate Training

Business book summaries allow one to navigate through data that one needs. There is
often a deluge of information that comes with canned traditional classroom learning and
public seminars. Using business book summaries as a corporate training tool allows the
learner to navigate through content that one feels is more relevant and meaningful to
oneself. This avoids information overload and helps the learner immediately assess how
new learning can be applied to present or future work or life experience.

• Reading Business Book Summaries Motivates Employees

Business book summaries as a corporate training tool provide opportunities for

professional development and new job skills that can only enhance employee motivation.
A comprehensive collection of learning content allow learners to explore other functional

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disciplines and master in principle other functional knowledge, hence preparing them for
possible job transfers or assignments in cross-functional jobs.

• Business Book Summaries are Cost-Efficient

Business book summaries provide a corporate training option that does not need a set
physical environment. The book summaries provide training without the need for
travel arrangements. Furthermore, employees are not disassociated from work at
designated days and times; and there is no need to spend on training manuals, trainer fees
and logistics costs. Direct and indirect costs attributed to training are minimized as the
learner sets the pace, time and venue of learning.

• Reading Business Book Summaries Allow Speed in Transfer of Knowledge

Traditional classroom learning requires days to set up and demands companies to

appropriate a designated date, time and venue for training. Until then, transfer of
knowledge is deferred. Through the use of business book summaries, learners can access
content immediately and apply learning as needed, whenever and wherever and in less
than thirty minutes for each summary

• Business Book Summaries as a Corporate Training Tool Permits Greater

User Involvement and Retention

The learner is as much a part of designing the learning content and environment.
Because the user has the freedom to choose content that addresses one’s learning goals,
the learner is more likely to learn more accurately, retain the insights longer in memory
and is better able to use what has been learned to improve work performance.

• Reading Business Book Summaries Reduces Time Spent on Training

Because the learner is driven by learning goals and chooses the content based on one’s
learning objectives and needs, learning is much more focused and personalized, confined
to what the learner actually needs and wants to learn thus, reducing training hours.

• Business Book Summaries Often Uses Understandable, Effective

Communication

Usually, business books are summarized without esoteric language. Instead, summaries
are written in language that is engaging and simple, allowing the learner to understand
concepts with ease.

• Corporate Training Through Business Book Summaries Cultivates and

Sustains a Learning Environment

Because access to e-learning can be anytime, anywhere barring any need for a physical
classroom and expensive logistics support and reading book summaries take no more

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than thirty minutes for each learning material, education becomes continuous. Thus,
allowing the organization’s knowledge capital to be harnessed at all times.

• Business Book Summaries Enhances Electronic Training by Allowing

Students to Learn from Actual Business Gurus

Business book summaries use content from books written by the most-respected leaders
of various industries. Unlike other e-learning programs that utilize content written by
invisible and faceless writers, the learner is most often aware of the credentials and
credibility of the business book author.

References

Alavi, M., Yoo, Y. and Vogel, D. “Using Information Technology To Add Value To
Managemeng Education.” Academy of Management Journal, 1999.

Berge, Z.L. and Smith, D. L. “Implementing Corporate Distance Training Using Change
Management, Strategic Planning and Project Management.” In Distance Learning
Technologies; Issues, Trends and Opportunities. Idea Group Publishing, Hershey, 2000

Deitel, H. M. and Recter, P. E-business and E-commerce for Managers. Prentice Hall,
New York., 2000

Docent, Inc. “Online Learning.” Fortune. 5:15

El Kosheiry, A. and Elazhary, M. “E-Learning versus Traditional Education for Adults.”

Information Technology in Egypt: Challenges and Impact (Proceedings of the BITWorld
Conference, Cairo, Egypt), 4-6 June, 2001

Harasim, L. M. Online Education: Perspectives on a new environment. Praeger: New

York, USA, 1990

Henry, P. E-Learning Technology, Content and Services. Education + Training. 43 (4,5),

2001

Kamel, S. The Web as a Learning Environment for Kids. Distance Learning

Technologies: Issues, Trends and Opportunities. Edited by Linda Lau. Idea Group
Publishing, Hershey., 2000

Kamel, S.. The Role of Virtual Organizations In Post Graduate Education In Egypt: The
Case of the Regional IT Institute in Felix B. Tan (ed). Cases on Global IT Applications
and Management: Successes and Pitfalls, Idea Group Publishing and Information
Science Publishing, Hershey., 2000

Khirallah, D. R. . A 6ew Way To Learn? (www.informationweek.com), 2002

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Martin, J. Cybercorp: The 6ew Business Revolution. Amacam: New York., 1996

Mitchell, A. C. Developing A Learning Environment: Applying Technology and TQM to

Distance Learning in Mehdi Khosrowpour (ed.). Web-Based Instructional Learning, IRM
Press, Hershey, 2002

Neilson, R. Collaborative Technologies and Organizational Learning. Idea Group

Publishing, Hershey, 2002

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