Professional Development in the Private Sector

Frederick Taylor is widely considered to be the founder of corporate management theory. His work, The Principles of Scientific Management (1915), set the stage for a dialogue on human resource management. At the core of his Scientific Management theory are these maxims:

• Simplify each task
• Reduce conflict
• Cooperate
• Increase output
• Develop people to their capabilities to do the simplified task they have been given (Weisbord, 1987)

The purpose of training during the Taylor era was to assist employees in learning and perfecting rudimentary tasks. However, Henry Gantt—best known for the development of the planning charts—disagreed with Taylor's vision of employee training. According to Marvin Weisbord, Gantt did not attempt to overcome worker skepticism to change; rather, he had machinists experiment with new methods until they discovered how to earn a bonus on the basis of high performance. "Whatever we do," wrote Gantt, "must be in accord with human nature. We cannot drive people; we must direct their development" (Weisbord, 1987, p. 42).

In the mid- to late-1940s, Kurt Lewin gained popular recognition for his practical techniques in organizational learning. Lewin's work may be characterized by one defining principle: We are likely to (1) modify our own behavior when we participate in problem analysis and solutions, and (2) carry out decisions when we have helped make them (Weisbord, 1987). Lewin supported a new style of corporate leadership, one that encouraged group learning, de-emphasized authoritarian leadership, and focused on analyzing organizational forces that impede change.

Although Lewin's approach generated a great deal of excitement about training as a management strategy, very little was known about the effectiveness of training.

In 1949, W. McGehee conducted an extensive review of the existing research in the field of training. He stressed the importance of the following:

• Trainee needs assessment
• Trainer training
• Evaluation of training effectiveness (McGehee, 1949)

During the following decades, research on training attempted to address these key issues.

In 1992, Scott Tannenbaum and Gary Yukl developed an extensive review of the existing corporate training literature. They found that in the years since Lewin's work, training and staff development in the private sector had matured into a legitimate discipline that used research, theory, and informed practice. Yukl and Tannenbaum found training techniques and theory to be much more complex than those of Taylor's day. Where Taylor sought to increase productivity through increased management planning, today the most innovative staff development efforts focus on transforming the organization into a place where learning is continuous.

According to Yukl and Tannenbaum, the focus of staff development between the 1970s and the early 1990s shifted from training on a specific skill to integrating training with perspectives on organizational theory and individual differences. For example, Motorola has provided its employees with ongoing training in specific skill areas since the early 1980s. More recently, Motorola has shifted its emphasis away from skill training to team-based problem solving with the goal of improving quality management and customer satisfaction. Motorola executives believe the company's commitment to professional development has contributed to strong financial results and to its being a leader in the cellular phone industry. During the early 1990s, Motorola's annual sales increased by an average of 18 percent (Grant, 1995). Motorola is an example of how the private sector is changing the delivery and content of professional development so that training and learning are no longer isolated events but an integrated, continuous part of the way corporations operate.

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