A Learning Process for Transformation to Continuous Improvement Management

Abstract

Industry spends billions of dollars a year on workplace training and development. These expenditures should become even greater in the future, with organizations embracing the management principles espoused by such leaders as W. Edwards Deming. Two of Deming's ‘Fourteen Obligations For Management’ direct management to provide more employee training and education. Companies are responding by greatly increasing expenditures on training. An example of this is Motorola, a 1988 winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. They have recently established ‘Motorola University’ to offer a broad range of courses to Motorola employees and suppliers. ‘Each Motorola employee from the chairman to the groundskeeper will be required to complete at least 40 hours of education annually at a cost to the company in 1990 of $60 million, excluding salary and benefits paid to workers while they attend training’ (Moskal 1990). There are a variety of approaches that are being applied as a response to training needs. This paper focuses specifically on the training and education for quality improvement efforts. Theory of knowledge, adult learning theory, the team approach and paradigm shifting are explored to understand relevant foundational theory. These factors are combined with an organization transformation process to develop a learning process approach to workplace training and education aimed at achieving an effective and efficient transformation to Continuous Improvement practices.