analysis and modeling for digitalizing exemplary transformational leadership training by kevin...

Copyright © 2006, OOSD Inc. All Rights Reserved

Analysis and Modeling for Digitalizing Exemplary Transformational Leadership Training

By Kevin Kanawati

A Dissertation

Submitted to

28th March 2006

The University of Liverpool


ABSTRACT Analysis and Modeling for Digitalizing Exemplary

Transformational Leadership Training

By Kevin Kanawati

The dissertation identifies and addresses the problems in Exemplary Transformational Leadership and soft skills training within organizations by introducing a model for a new e-training system that will revolutionize electronic training in those areas. The system provides tools and strategies to assess and shape current leadership competencies and behaviours thereby creating “Transformational Leaders” that increase organizational performance. It focuses on digitizing the “Exemplary Leadership Training” by providing remote access to world-renowned “Exemplary Transformational Leadership Speakers” thus minimizing the training costs for users and organizations.

The dissertation analyzed innovations in corporate training and measured the effectiveness of certain web technologies (RSS, Blogs, Podcast, etc…) interface usability approaches and integrated them with Satellite Downlink technologies (KU & C band), to help solve existing problems in Exemplary Transformational Leadership Sessions by designing a learning management system (LMS), that adequately meets different learning needs (HR, Facilitation) and can be linked to existing management systems and process. The system also integrates assessment tools for the Human Resources (HR) Return on Investment (ROI) measurement for the related training initiatives and utilizes state of the art architecture and technologies.


DECLARATION

I hereby certify that this dissertation constitutes my own product, that where the language of others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate credit is given where I have used the language, ideas, expressions or writings of another.

I declare that the dissertation describes original work that has not previously

been presented for the award of any other degree of any institution.

Signed,

Kevin Kanawati


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It takes more than good knowledge, hard work, and a lot of research to write a dissertation. It takes professional sponsor, supportive advisor, caring family, intelligent group of experts’ and group of people who simply care. Thank you Gail Miles; for all the help and support, for putting up with me, for being the mentor that any researcher would like to have, and for all the help you put in to help me achieve and present my dissertation. Thank you to my parents Habib Kanawati and Falak Nejmeh who taught me that there is nothing impossible. Darlene South, it’s hard just to thank you for everything you have done to keep me on track. Richard Lengkong, for being a coworker, a sponsor, and most of all a real friend to the level I never thought that friendship will reach. Richard Beard, thank you for being an amazing and professional program manager, and for being supportive throughout the dissertation process. Ron Camp, my gratitude for all your professional feedbacks. Warren Bickford, thank you for the countless hours of meetings and wonderful discussions. Nabil Beitinjaneh, thank you for the late night meetings, your feedbacks and evaluations. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the focus group for taking time to meet with me Aiman Badri, Basem Shihada, Dave Cook and Deborah Bashaw. May Salameh, I cannot thank you enough for the unconditional and unlimited support you provided. Finally to all my friends and enemies, thank you for pushing me to reach this milestone.

v

TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF TABLES ____________________________________________________ vii

LIST OF FIGURES ___________________________________________________ viii

Chapter 1. Introduction _________________________________________________ 1

Chapter 2. Background and Review of Literature ___________________________ 5 2.1 Distance Learning _____________________________________________________ 5 2.2 Transformational Leadership ___________________________________________ 10 2.3 Facts about Exemplary Transformational Leadership Sessions _______________ 13

Chapter 3. Analysis and Requirements ___________________________________ 17 3.1 Needs Analysis _______________________________________________________ 17 3.2 Existing Systems Evaluations ___________________________________________ 19 3.3 Technologies Evaluations ______________________________________________ 22 3.4 Surveys _____________________________________________________________ 30 3.5 Problems Analysis and Scope ___________________________________________ 42

Chapter 4. Design and Prototype ________________________________________ 46 4.1 Design and Modeling __________________________________________________ 46 4.2 Interface Architecture _________________________________________________ 52 4.3 Usability Approach ___________________________________________________ 54 4.4 Prototype ____________________________________________________________ 55 4.5 Change Management Process and Design _________________________________ 62

Chapter 5. Evaluations and Feedbacks ____________________________________ 65 5.1 Evaluation Criteria ___________________________________________________ 66 5.2 Sponsor Evaluation ___________________________________________________ 67 5.3 Expert Group Evaluations _____________________________________________ 68

Chapter 6. Conclusions _________________________________________________ 75

References Cited ______________________________________________________ 78

vi

APPENDICES ________________________________________________________ 81 Appendix A. Sponsor's Background ___________________________________________ 81 Appendix B. Expert Group Bios ______________________________________________ 82 Appendix C. Survey 1 _______________________________________________________ 84 Appendix D. Survey 2 _______________________________________________________ 86 Appendix E. Survey 3 _______________________________________________________ 88 Appendix F. Survey 4 _______________________________________________________ 90 Appendix G. Learner Session Index Page ______________________________________ 92 Appendix H. Learner Session Page (Open Menus) _______________________________ 93 Appendix I. Facilitator / Administrator Edit Learning Program Page _______________ 94 Appendix J. Facilitator / Administrator Account Information _____________________ 95

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Changingminds.org – Leader and Manager Chrematistic Differences __ 12

Table 2. Survey Results Section 1 ________________________________________ 31

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Most Popular Distance Learning Channels _________________________ 9

Figure 2. LumaCore System Architecture. _________________________________ 20

Figure 3. Luminary Series ______________________________________________ 21

Figure 4. Typical Sessions Delivery Architecture ___________________________ 22

Figure 5. The growth in blogs usage _____________________________________ 28

Figure 6. Survey Results Section 1 _______________________________________ 32

Figure 7. Survey Results - Preferred Format for a Leadership Program ________ 32

Figure 8. Survey Results Preferred Method Viewing a Leadership Program ____ 33

Figure 9. Survey Results – Demand for Web Streaming _____________________ 33

Figure 10. Survey Results –Demand for Broadcasts Offered at the Learner Organization _________________________________________________________ 34

Figure 11. Survey Results – Online Discussion Forum _______________________ 34

Figure 12. Survey Results – Learners Positions _____________________________ 35

Figure 13. Survey Results – Organization That Uses E-Learning Internally ____ 35

Figure 14. Survey Results – Organization That Uses E-Learning Internally for Leadership & Soft Skills ________________________________________________ 36

Figure 15. Survey Results –Debriefing Team Members after A Learning Event __ 36

Figure 16. Survey Results –Preferred Format for Sharing Online Discussion With Participants At Remote Sites ____________________________________________ 37

Figure 17. Survey Results – Preferred Format For The One Hour Facilitation Component___________________________________________________________ 37

ix

Figure 18. Survey Results – Access to Discussions and Supporting Tools on Mobile Device "M-Learning" (Blackberry, Cell) __________________________________ 38

Figure 19. Survey Results – Assessment Tools To Support ROI _______________ 38

Figure 20. Survey Results – Demand HR Needs Analysis System ______________ 39

Figure 21. Survey Results – Interest in a System That Allows Books Search _____ 39

Figure 22. Survey Results – I Feel It Is Difficult To Apply Concepts Learned In A "Digital Manners" To The Workplace ____________________________________ 40

Figure 23. Survey Results –Uses of E-Learning Internally ____________________ 40

Figure 24. Survey Results –Willingness To Invest The Money To Support Distance Learning _____________________________________________________________ 41

Figure 25. Survey Results – Preferred Methods for Leadership Development ___ 42

Figure 26. Survey Results – My Preferred Method of Receiving The Manual (Check One) ________________________________________________________________ 42

Figure 27. ETLS Concept _______________________________________________ 46

Figure 28. The Relation Between Distance Learning Channels and ETLS _______ 47

Figure 29. ETLS High Level Architecture Design ___________________________ 48

Figure 30. GLIF World Map ____________________________________________ 49

Figure 31. Block Diagram ______________________________________________ 50

Figure 32. Data Model _________________________________________________ 51

Figure 33. Ajax vs. Classic Web Interfaces ________________________________ 53

Figure 34. Ajax at Google Suggest ________________________________________ 54

Figure 35. Interface Component Diagram _________________________________ 54

Figure 36. Prototype - Login Page ________________________________________ 56

x

Figure 37. Prototype – Learner Session Page _______________________________ 57

Figure 38. Prototype - Facilitator / Administrator Session Index ______________ 59

Figure 39. Prototype - Facilitator / Administrator Prototype – Session Page _____ 60

Figure 40. Prototype - Facilitator / Administrator Program Management Page _ 61

Figure 41. Prototype - Facilitator / Administrator Learner Management Page __ 62

Figure 42. Change Management Process __________________________________ 64

1 Copyright © 2006, OOSD Inc. All Rights Reserved

Chapter 1. Introduction

The project’s aim is to model a cutting-edge Exemplary Transformational

Leadership Development system that is capable of transferring knowledge from

world class leaders and thinkers to every level of the organization to unleash the

human and leadership potential and drive the organization performance. The

project addresses the problems with existing systems by focusing on the leadership

and the human aspects and evaluating the effect of new technologies in modelling a

new distance learning system that revolutionizes electronic training in those areas.

The system provides tools and strategies for human resources and organization

development departments to assess and shape current leadership competencies

and behaviours, thereby creating “transformational leaders” using Exemplary

Leadership Authorities that increase organizational competences. It focuses on

digitising “leadership training” by providing remote access to world-renowned

“Transformational Leadership Speakers” thus minimizing the training costs for

users.

The international shift towards global economy, with the adoption of the

western business standards and corporate models, lead to an increasing demand on

acquiring business knowledge and best practices from the top resources possible.

Organizations around the world share the objective of developing a positive and

ideal corporate culture and build an organization of leaders that can compete in

such a global economy.

Nevertheless, the implementation of the latest technologies and the

advancements in communication have triggered a transformation in organizations’

employees development towards the integration of electronic learning tools (Strazzo


et al, p.2), hoping these tools will link them to the best knowledge resources. Urdan

& Weggen (2000) identified the knowledge-based economy as "the paradigm shift

in the way education is viewed and delivered and huge knowledge gaps as

significant trends that have given rise to e-Learning" (Strazzo et al, p.2 cited in

Urdon et al, 2000).

E-learning has come a long way from being delivered on CD's to advanced

intelligent technologies that are delivered for academic purposes. However, learning

for corporations or e-training is at a different stage where until 2001, 40% of the

training was still delivered through CD's (Arabe, 2001) with a shy shift to video

conferencing and thin client solutions using the internet and intranet. After talking

to Human Resource personnel and training experts, this research came to a

conclusion that the main advancement was replacing CD's with DVD's.

Recent corporate e-training technologies promise efficiency and

effectiveness by using PowerPoint presentations, video, audio, text, or Flash without

addressing the business and human areas such as soft skills training, the needs of

analyses and measurement tools.

E-learning forces organizations to change the traditional learning structure

by making it crucial to utilize new employee's development and management

strategies (Strazzo et al, p.3). Organizations that do not adapt by taking advantage

of new innovations and technology are risking themselves of losing their

competitive advantage (Strazzo et al, p.3).

As a result, new models of learning and training are needed to address skill

gaps, globalization challenges, and demographic changes in organizations to

upgrade leadership skills and competencies and to address non-technical training

such as soft skills and transformational leadership training.


Transformational Leadership is when a leader acts as an example and role

model to inspire others to proceed in achieving a certain vision. This dissertation

introduces the term Exemplary Transformational Leadership Development which is

attained by using speakers with very high motivational and leadership talents such

as best selling authors, successful entrepreneurs, world-class CEO’s, and nation’s

leaders.

Although Exemplary Transformational Leadership Development has proven

to increase corporate productivity and efficiency, there are still problems with the

distance delivery and the training costs. The dissertation discusses and analyses

those problems and model a solution to face those problems by taking advantage of

the recent technologies. After coming to a conclusion that corporations are still

making the assumptions that the digital channel and available solutions such as

web streaming, satellite broadcast and video conferencing are best used for

technical training and possibly for some management standards, but are ineffective

when it comes to soft skills and leadership development due to the many reasons.

Such reasons of their infectivity are the difficulties in applying the concepts learned

in a digital manner to the workplace, problems keeping employees motivated to

participate in distance learning / facilitation exercises and the lack of tools in place

to assist HR measure effectiveness of training – long-term (ROI). This dissertation

identifies these problems as the result of intensive research, surveys and interviews

that have been conducted during the analysis stage.

To understand the need for the Exemplary Transformational Leadership

System, Chapter 2 discusses distance learning, Transformational Leadership and

the Exemplary Transformational Sessions. As a result of the previous Chapter,

having established that transformational leadership is about motivating others for

the cause of the group, while distance learning problems are mostly related to


motivation, Chapter 3 analyzes the existing systems, concludes with evaluations

about their problems, and evaluates the technologies in question also illustrating

them in surveys. An introduction to the prototype and design is presented in

Chapter 4 with an explanation of the interface architecture and the change

management process. Chapter 5 includes a wide evaluation of the ETLS with a

number of feedbacks from the sponsor and highly respected experts in this field. As

for Chapter 6, it summarizes and concludes all the previous chapters thus

strengthening the arguments on the Exemplary Transformational Leadership

Development System.


Chapter 2. Background and Review of Literature

2.1 Distance Learning

It is assumed that the internet and the World Wide Web are the forces

behind the distance learning phenomenon. However, the future (and the past) of

distance training lies in more than the internet, and the value of the electronic

learning is not rising because of the availability of technology delivery channels like

the Web or the internet, nor because of the lower cost it sometimes provides, but

because the implication of knowledge economy where the value of nations’ wealth

moved from the traditional natural resources like gold, silver and oil (Larson, 2001)

to the ownership of ideas and the ability of generating thoughts, or as Larson

describes a nation’s main assets "they are buried between the ears of its citizens".

Nevertheless, this is creating a very competitive business environment

where everyone has equal access to these knowledge resources at the same time

invalidating last century’s failure excuses such as lack of access to resources “The

knowledge society will inevitably become far more competitive than any society we

have yet known for the simple reason that with knowledge being universally

accessible there are no excuses for non-performance. There will be no poor

countries. There will only be ignorant countries” (Drucker, 1994). Therefore, the

wealth and development of nations and in return of the organizations, is in having

the right channels to deliver the best training in order to generate ideas and

knowledge no matter where citizens or employees are, what's their time schedule

is, or what level of their career they are at.


Although, it’s very common to use the terms distance learning, e-learning,

and online learning to refer to Web learning systems, this is not exactly accurate.

The Web is definitely one of the main delivery channels that the recent technology

revolution brought to distance learning and training, but distance learning is a much

wider concept that include methods other than the Web. Distance learning is

actually transferring knowledge and skills regardless of the geographic and /or time

separation between the learning resource and the learning receiver (Glossaries of

Learningfinder.org) (Glossary of Trainingfinder.org, 1999). While e-Learning

represents the use of any electronic method to deliver distance learning including

the use of Web Applications (online learning).

However, like any other “E-“ terms such as e-banking, e-government, e-

health, e-commerce and e-living, it’s hard to have a single definition for e-learning

that fits all purposes and times.

Reveel, a University of Sussex research project conducted by Dr. Julie

Coultas, Dr. Rose Luckin, and Professor Benedict du Boulay to evaluate the

effectiveness of e-learning in the post 16 sectors attempts to address the definition

and the effectiveness of e-learning. Reveel refers to few e-learning definitions

(Coultas et al., 2004):

The United Kingdom Department for Education and Skills (DfES) definition: “If

someone is learning in a way that uses information and communications

technologies (ICTs), they are using e-learning (DfES, 2003 cited in Coultas et

al., 2004)”.

DfES definition seems to cover most of e-learning methods used today, but

it raises the question whether e-learning is only related to the ICT recent revolution


and whether electronic channels such as analog TV which may not be considered

part of ICT is considered an e-learning method. If e-learning is defined by the use of

information and communication technology (ICT), why doesn’t the name change

from electronic learning (e-learning) to information learning (i-learning)?

Reveel also refers to the United Kingdom Learning and Skills Development

Agency (LSDA) e-Learning definition: “The use of electronic technology to

deliver, support and enhance teaching and learning (LSDA, 2003 cited in

Coultas et al., 2004)”

Although, the first part of the definition sheds lights on e-learning as

education delivered through electronic technologies, it shouldn’t be expected to

always extend the expectations of e-learning to “support and enhance” the learning

experience while it’s delivering.

E-learning is just the channel and it may not affect the learning quality level.

However, due to the nature of this electronic channel, it could bring other

advantages such as making learning available in locations or times where it’s not

usually offered which could be the reason for using it as distance learning channel,

not necessary to enhance the teaching or learning activities.

Addressing e-learning in corporate environment, Reveel referees to Don

Morrison author of “E-Learning Strategies: How to Get Implementation and

Delivery Right First Time” corporate e-learning definition: “E-Learning is the

continuous assimilation of knowledge and skills by adults stimulated by

synchronous and asynchronous learning events 'and sometimes Knowledge

Management outputs ' which are authored, delivered, engaged with, supported,


and administered using internet technologies” (Morrison,2003 p 4 cited in

Coultas et al., 2004).

Morrison’s sophisticated definition brings the importance of Knowledge

Management in corporate training and the relation to e-learning. However, it

shouldn’t be assumed that e-learning is a “continuous” activity. There are many

cases where e-learning is used as “discontinuous activities” to deliver independent

sessions. Nevertheless, Morrison’s definition limits e-learning to the internet

channel, which is basically what this is categorized as online learning while e-

learning is a broader concept that could include other electronic methods.

Finally, Reveel defines e-learning based on the consulting with experts: “A

definition of e-Learning after consultation at our first expert seminar in May

2004: e-Learning is the capability required of learners/users in order that they

can manage their own learning in the 21st century, using technology as

appropriate to context, sector and task” (Coultas et al., 2004).

Reveel’s conclusion states the importance of e-learning as a capability in the

hand of users / learners. However, it shouldn’t be assumed that e-learning is a

management tool, neither the objective is to give control of the learning

management process which in many cases especially corporate environments, the

learning is managed by administrators like the Human Resource personnel not the

learners. E-learning system could include Learning Management System (LMS) as a

supporting tool but it’s not the definition of e-learning. Furthermore, although the

21st century brought all the e-living to everyday life, e-learning is not only a 21st

century tool, e-learning has been used during the 20th century with universities or

professional, when astronauts in space stations needed to learn task while they are


miles away from earth, the audio and video conference was the logical channel to

deliver the required learning or knowledge which is a method of e-learning.

Figure 1 shows the most popular distance learning channels and how they fit

with the online learning and e-learning, each of those methods represents different

levels of collaboration and interaction. Although most of those methods look

independent, the best learning solutions usually are reached by using multiple

methods creating a blended learning environment.

Figure 1. Most Popular Distance Learning Channels

In the corporate world, organizations chose to use distance learning

solutions for various reasons such as:


Keep employees’ knowledge up to date with today’s rapid changes to the

business environment.

The need to reach multiple and remote locations.

Unlike the academic world, distance learning can be very cost effective

where organizations can reduce travel costs or bringing experts on site.

Distance learning could offer knowledge that usually is not available to

organizations on site and to make it available to more employees from all

organization levels.

In cases such as the Exemplary Transformational Leadership Session which

is dealing with leadership and setting organization direction, distance

learning can insure by keeping consistent message and vision across the

organization levels.

Lack of internal resources that have the required skills to do the training

internally.

Can be offered in a flexible schedule that fits the employees schedule and

the organization’s calendar.

2.2 Transformational Leadership

Black and Porter (2000, p. 432) define transformational leadership as:

"leadership that motivates followers to ignore self-interests and work for the larger

good of the organization to achieve significant accomplishments; emphasis is on

articulating a vision that will convince subordinates to make major changes." (Black

et al, 2000:432 cited in Friedman et al, 2000).


There seems to be a misunderstanding between leadership, administration

and management, and also between leaders, administrators and managers,

because not every manager is a leader neither every leader is a manager and the

same applies to administrators. Management is more about identifying tasks and

making sure they are accomplished compared to administration which is about

standards and best practices while leadership on the other hand is about setting

direction, vision and motivating people to follow the vision. “Management is about

coping with complexity. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change”

(Kotter, 2001).

The following (Table 1) from changingminds.org sums up the chrematistic

differences between being a leader and a manager (Straker, 2004):

Subject Leader Manager

Essence Change Stability

Focus Leading people Managing work

Have Followers Subordinates

Seeks Vision Objectives

Detail Sets direction Plans detail

Power Personal charisma Formal authority

Appeal to Heart Head

Energy Passion Control

Dynamic Proactive Reactive Persuasion Sell Tell

Style Transformational Transactional

Exchange Excitement for work Money for work

Risk Takes risks Minimizes risks

Rules Breaks rules Makes rules

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/transformational_leadership.htm

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/transformational_leadership.htm

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/transactional_leadership.htm


Conflict Uses conflict Avoids conflict

Direction New roads Existing roads

Blame Takes blame Blames others (Table from changingminds.org content written by David Straker, 2004,

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/manager_leader.htm) Table 1. Changingminds.org – Leader and Manager Chrematistic Differences

Managers are often referred to as transactional leaders, vs. motivational or

transformational leaders (Straker, 2004). Burns describes transformational leader

as “recognizes and exploits an existing need or demand of a potential follower” and

“looks for potential motives in followers, seeks to satisfy higher needs, and engages

the full person of the follower" (Burns, 1978, p.4 citied by Boje, 2000). Burns also

gave examples of transformational leaders like Madison, Bentham, Mill and

Kennedy, and of transactional leaders like Jefferson, Lenin, Johnson and Roosevelt

(Burns, 1978, p.4 citied in Boje, 2000).

Although, there seems to be an understanding of the advantages of

leadership development in creating productive work place atmosphere, there is

assumption that not having this kind of development may not benefit but it will not

harm and there aren’t any negative effects on the organization. This is not exactly

true, not taking leadership and leaders into consideration results in negative effects.

Most organizations have leaders that they don’t know about, proactive individuals

with the ability to lead even if they don’t have management responsibility. Not

identifying them and putting them in the right direction results in them leading in

the wrong directions and creating conflicts; they can build or break the origination.

Setting a system that can bring the most up to date leadership and

management gurus to their site motivates them to take further steps, listening to


speakers like Covey with the opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues opens

managers’ eyes to leadership practices and strategies from one of the best

leadership authority in this century.

In conclusion, there is an enormous global need for organization to have

access to leadership development programs in cost effective ways and through

channels that can reach remote areas.

2.3 Facts about Exemplary Transformational Leadership Sessions

Exemplary Transformational Leadership Development Sessions are about

giving organizations and employees access to leadership training by highly

respected inspiring leaders with powerful motivational talents like first-rate CEO’s,

victorious coaches, top athletes, thriving entrepreneurs, best selling authors and the

nation’s top leaders such as Steven Covey, Sir Richard Branson, Microsoft’s Bill

Gates, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Marcus Buckingham and others that can be role

models for employees.

It’s important here to distinguish between the words Exemplary and Expert

speakers. Experts’ sessions are based on using field experts that could be trainers,

human resource personnel, consultants, and academics etc… which are educated

and knowledgeable, more obtainable and at a lower expenditure resources.

On the other hand, exemplary speakers hold a higher status due to very

recognized accomplishments which brings many other aspects such as interest,

knowledge, and motivation. The cost is also different, an average expert session in

Canada costs around 1000$ while it costs around 200,000$ in speaker fee for an

exemplary speakers which makes it suitable for distance learning because the


organizations can share the cost. It’s important to also recognize that both methods

of training are not alternatives to each others and they don’t serve the exact need

but they both work side by side in an ideal personnel development programs.

Critics may argue that this is a celebrity issue, where the value is for an

engineering team to attend a session by a high status basketball coach or player?

The answer is leadership is the issue, not engineering where the basketball team

presents a perfect teams work and management example. Both teams contain

different individuals, each with his / her weakness and strength where they need to

concentrate on the strength of each individual rather than the weakness and

understand that they are part of a team yet they are not equally talented and they

need to one other to get the job done.

Unlike the traditional e-learning, the Exemplary Transformational Leadership

Sessions has two main factors that guide the method they are delivered especially

when dealing with distance learning:

1. Exemplary Transformational Leadership Sessions falls under soft skills /

motivational training.

This makes it harder to use the usual PowerPoint, Flash, virtual classroom

tutorial solutions. Although, learners can develop transformational leadership skills

by reading a book or an article, those sessions’ purpose is not only to create direct

communication with the exemplary speaker but also to connect the learner to the

speaker.

While, the celebrity part of those sessions add to the motivation and

encourage learners to attend the training. The fact that this training is conducted by


successful leaders who have distinguished vision and are masters in motivating

their teams by bringing in their talent and their charisma to motivate the learners

not only to learn but to apply what they are learning despite of what angle of

leadership the session is addressing (coaching, interpersonal communication,

motivation, mentoring etc.).

2. Exemplary Transformational Leadership Sessions are professional “corporate”

training designed for private, public and non profit sectors.

Even though, the session’s goal is to transfer knowledge to the learner, the

learner in this case is not the client. In other words, the program / system do not

seek the learner’s satisfaction as much as it seeks the organization’s satisfaction

represented by the HR and executives as the main stakeholder. In a knowledge

economy, since knowledge is the organization’s main asset, the organizations have

great interest in creating leaders and maintaining knowledge workers to keep their

competitive advantage, as Peter Drucker author of the “American Management

Consultant” points out the organizations needs for knowledge workers ”In the

knowledge society the most probable assumption and certainly the assumption on

which all organizations have to conduct their affairs is that they need the knowledge

worker far more than the knowledge worker needs them” (Drucker, 1994).

Connecting the dots, organizations need to move from manager-based to

leaders-based organizations, managers need to have the skills to spot a leader in a

team and develop his / her skills in the right direction. The Exemplary Leadership

Sessions are an ideal corporate training solution that can bring exciting training

from the best authorities in the world. However, there is a need for a unique system

that can transfer this kind knowledge and skills to every level of the organization


and give HR and Organizational Development (OD) the tools to manage and

measure this training in a cost effective manner.


Chapter 3. Analysis and Requirements

3.1 Needs Analysis

As a result of the previous sections (2.1) Distance Learning, (2.2)

Transformational Leadership, and (2.3) the Exemplary Leadership Sessions, it was

established that transformational leadership is about motivating others for the

cause of the group, yet, distance learning problems are mostly related to

motivation. How can the system transfer knowledge that helps motivate others

while the learners are not motivated to learn in the first place, keeping in mind that

that those leaders that mostly occupy senior management and executive positions,

and where email memo may not be enough to motivate them to log in to a web

interface and take a training without being interrupted by answering the phone or

checking emails?

These may sound like completely different issues but in this case, they are

not. Organizations should think how to commit learners to develop their leadership

skills before they expect them to be leaders and motivate others especially when

these skills development are done by using distance learning.

In addition to the fact that e-learning in general has a motivation problem due to

lack of social aspects, being a corporate training brings up another motivation issue which is

the direct award and recognition for attending the training. Unlike academic

learning where learners are awarded with academic designation and degrees, in

corporate training there is no degree waiting at the end of the tunnel, at the most

they are awarded with certificates in some cases and improved performances

leading to no more then a satisfied employer, especially when dealing with


unionized environment where in many cases the financial award is not based on the

performance but on seniority, and in some cases the knowledge gained is related to

the specific organization and could be useless when switching jobs or careers.

That’s why many organizations are implementing “training as an award” culture

where employees look at the training as an award where they can take time off and

travel to a conference or a workshop. However, the cost is very high limiting the

number of learners and employees that can attend thus creating problems with the

knowledge levels and keeping a consistent message across the organization levels

horizontally and vertically. Also, there is no guarantee that the dates of the

conference or the event fit the organization and the employee’s time schedule.

Figure 8 in the survey section shows that users prefer attending public

sessions or conferences and are mostly motivated to training in public venues

where they have the opportunity to go out of the office and network with colleagues

from other organizations. However, this kind of training is usually very expensive,

occasional, most of the time requires travelling to be able have access to great

speakers and hard to measure and manage by the HR as a learning program.

Employees call and register for a session then expense the cost. HR do not

have any information about the session’s content, learning outcome, whether or not

it fits with the organization’s human resource development strategy, whether or not

the employee really learned, impact on the employee’s vision and action plan etc…

and most of the time since this is a live training, learners don’t have access to the

session video. ETLS provides blended distance learning that will gives employees

social aspects by attending the training in teams and public venues via satellite or

video conference while at the same time gives HR the tools needed to manage the

learning process.


3.2 Existing Systems Evaluations

Distance learning solutions for Exemplary Transformational Leadership

Sessions are mainly delivered through satellite and DVD. Other options such as Web

streaming and videoconferencing are also available but still without addressing any

leadership development requirements, or taking into consideration learners and

Human Resources needs like some kind of Learning Management System (LMS). An

evaluation of similar training services lead to the conclusion that the fact that most

of the vendors concentrate on one way delivery channels such as one way satellite

broadcast resulted in many learning problems. This also gave the impression that

this is just another TV show that it can be watched for free which is not the case.

It’s also been found that there aren’t many players providing those services

due the limitation and the high cost of high profile speaker’s resources and the lack

of technology available to extend the training as distance training.

Existing Training and Development companies that provide this kind of

sessions:

LumaCore

LumaCore provides full day 6 to 8 hours sessions such as the Luminary

Series that feature multiple exemplary speakers (LumaCore. 2006). LumaCore

sessions are too long; considering their session’s length is 6 to 8 hours and their

main delivery method is satellite (Figure 3). This creates difficulty to deliver the

sessions globally in a cost effective manner due to the cost associated with satellite

rental for 6 or 8 hours. Nevertheless, when dealing with long sessions it’s hard to fit

the session in a time that fits time zones.


Based on the surveys (Figure 7) conducted, the results show that the

majority of learners prefer short sessions, this is preferred by both the learners and

the employers because of the time commitment required, cost associated with

sending employees for long hours, and the fact that learners loose interest watching

a session on a screen for 6 long hours.

Image obtained from LumaCore Web site (http://lumacoreinc.com/businesses_lumasky_architecture.php)

(Lumacore, 2006).

Figure 2. LumaCore System Architecture.

The sessions (Figure 2) are not interactive and they don’t provide any

method to ask questions, interaction, or team work. Yet, including too many

speakers in one session results in many topics, views and visions presented which

limit the learning value for the learner and transfer the program from training

program to an exciting show.

http://lumacoreinc.com/businesses_lumasky_architecture.php


This is image obtained from LumaCore / LumaSeries site: http://www.luminaryseries.com/cdl.php

(Lumacore. 2006).

Figure 3. Luminary Series

There isn’t any facilitation component added to the session, even if HR

wants to add one time doesn’t allow it because of the length of the session.

However, LumaCore tries to address the motivation area by giving

Continuing Education Credit for attendee as a personal development award which is

better then the usual corporate training.

Sponsor

The cases provided by the sponsor uses a similar system but less centralized

using several delivery modules and tools. The technologies used by the sponsor and

their parterres (Linkage) depend heavily on satellite signal to deliver the sessions

(Figure 4):

http://www.luminaryseries.com/cdl.php


Figure 4. Typical Sessions Delivery Architecture

These sessions are typically administered by a facilitator that is required to

be available in person.

3.3 Technologies Evaluations

RSS

Rich Site Summary or what some refer to as Really Simple Syndication

(RSS), originally developed by Netscape, is one of the fastest growing XML

structured service that is used to distribute content data between sites or sites and

users (Richardson, 2004). In other words, it’s a communication method between the

resource or the content servers and the aggregator which could be a Web server or

a desktop client application (also acting as a server). However, a XML RSS file

doesn’t need a server to display the content. Any customized style sheet can read

and display the content and sometimes customize the way it’s viewed.


As a result, users can subscribe to various feeds from different resources,

and display up to date content on one interface “the aggregator” without the need

to navigate through various sites. Those feeds can include Blogs updates, new

releases, news, discussions etc. Usually when there is an update from one of the

subscribed feeds, a small window in the corner of the screen shows the headline of

the update, if the user is interested, he / she clicks on it to view the body. RSS /

XML’s main advantage is the standardization of content communication to create a

globalize technology that can talk to any site or application and syndicate content.

With the extraordinary growth of the internet and Web content, RSS brings a

personal and simple content management solution so users can have better control

on what they are viewing and make sure it fits their needs. According to a survey

conducted in 2004 by the “Pew Internet and American Life Project” 6 millions

Americans and 6% of internet users use aggregator to receive RSS content, the

survey explains those numbers by the raise in the number of bloggers and people

using RSS subscription to keep to date with those blogs (Rainie, 2005a). In another

survey done by Nielsen / NetRatings, Inc, results show that 83% of RSS users

didn’t know that they are using RSS, this means that the actual numbers of RSS

users are much higher then any published (Bausch, 2005).

RSS was mainly used for news content and media applications to syndicate

content from news Web sites. Many organizations such as The National Aeronautics

and Space Administration (NASA) use RSS for communication in a way or another like

to distribute contents such as images, news, media releases, research updates and

Earth Observatory (NASA Colin Enger, 2006). Even education institutes such as

Harvard Law School uses RSS for blogs, news, and documentation updates

(Harvard Law School, 2005). However, ETLS takes further advantage of RSS

beyond the objectives of distributing news to solve measure problems that


challenges training and Exemplary Leadership Sessions in the corporate

environment.

RSS reduces the email load in the inbox so the learners can prioritize

between the required training. Although training and leadership development are

very important but sometimes, there is an exception workflow that needs the

learner’s full time. Keeping the training out of the inbox makes sure the learner has

better control of the learning experience.

RSS is not a replacement of email especially when discussing marketing, but

in an industry like corporate training when email is failing to do the job, and the

learner needs the specific content related to an ongoing training, RSS could be the

next big thing. For example, a learner receives an email related to C# which may

or not be needed, and if it is, most likely not needed at the moment, usually the

email stays in the inbox, deleted, or moved to a folder that have all the related

emails. When the learner needs C# resources, he/she opens the email folder and

looks at the related emails. Why bother? The learner subscribes to a RSS feed

related to teaching C# and the recent techniques and when needed or time to catch

up with the training, he/she clicks on the subscription.

One of training company’s main problems is not having direct

communication with the learners. Training companies especially when dealing with

(live via satellite) Exemplary Leadership Sessions have immense need to

communicate with learners such as:

Confirm attendance to an event for venue reservation and name tags.

Make sure the user received updates and schedule.


Information related to receiving the session such as satellite coordinate, video

conferences numbers, or Web passwords.

Those sessions are based on Exemplary speakers where it’s hard to have a

backup speaker; it’s very possible that the session could be cancelled at the last

minute due to a reason related to the speaker.

To send extra materials that the speaker may mention in the session as the

result of the questions asked.

Feedbacks.

Other reasons related to the session manual, pre and post session activities,

answer questions etc…

It’s also possible that the internal facilitator (if used) is different than the HR

personnel responsible of Employee Development and managing the training. The

session architect (training company) needs a good communication with the

facilitator to keep them posted on changes to the event schedule, content, or

facilitation recourses.

Two years ago this used to be solved by emails and phone calls. However,

now with all the email spam going on and the unsolicited emails and phone

promotions, there is an assumption that subscribing to updates or providing contact

information to a third company may lead to emails, addresses and phone numbers

ending up with spammers and telemarketing agencies. Many companies are

limiting outside communications with their employees by blocking massive emails,

emails that have certain keyword or using BC, or frequently changing phone

numbers and emails with small exceptions such as info email, helpdesk, customer

service, and public relations, making it very hard for training companies not only to


promote new programs (which the employees and HR are interested in) but also to

manage the events and training.

It’s enough for one employee or secretary to misunderstand the email or not

be aware that this is the organization’s official leadership training partner, and

complain to the technical department (many times done electronically) to block the

email address and interrupt the communication with many other individuals.

Nevertheless, Human Resources department is hesitant to take the

responsibility of releasing any employee or executive contact information, and most

of the times their Human Resource policies that any communication with the

learners have to go through them, emails and updates should be sent to the HR

Personnel Development and then forwarded to the interested employees. The

problem is that many times HR doesn’t know who are the teams or individuals that

are interested in participating in the training, at the same time the employees and

managers are not aware of the training taking place to ask for it. This resulted in

slowing the process and many times causing conflicts, especially in cases where

there is only one Personnel Development individual and may be away without a

backup.

With the live sessions being shared via satellite, Web, or video conference

across the globe, it’s very important to have everything tested and ready for the

broadcast, so the learners won’t miss the opportunity of attending the live event

where they can ask questions to the speakers.

RSS solves these problems and remove HR from being the middle

communication agent, creating a direct communication between the learners and

the training resource without the risk of giving away emails or contact information

at the same time keeping the inbox clean of these emails if the learner is not


interested in certain session or his/ her schedule doesn’t allow it. It’s no different

than visiting the training Web site to check for the updates but the RSS alerts them

to do that because they need to if they are interested in the event or program. At

the same time, the ETLS keeps the HR in charge of the training and manage the

learning activities, who and when is taking the training and what’s the result of it.

Many times there are items and updates related to the session that comes

from another party such as the session speaker or the speaker bureau who

manages the speaker events. Usually this is done by email to the training company

which forwards it to HR, who in return forwards it again to the learners. Using RSS,

ETLS can syndicate feeds from the speaker side or others parties related to the

session and include it with the feed learners subscribed to that is dedicated for this

session. For example, learners who attend Covey session can subscribe to the

session’s RSS on ETLS and receive any updates related to this session from Mr.

Covey and his company, or from other parties that have feeds related to the

session’s topic. This is organized by the session architect who has a very good

understanding on the session learning outcome and can decide what feeds are

appropriate.

Blogs

Blogs or what used to be called Weblogs are small and easy to use sites that

follow a certain format initially developed as journals to express personal opinion on

political and social issues. However, the use of it has been extended to include any

content that requires simple collaborative application.

According to the “Pew Internet and American Life Project” survey (Figure 5),

although, in 2004 62% of American internet users didn’t know what Blog is, but this


didn’t mean that they didn’t read them whether they knew what they are reading is

a blog or not. The same survey specifies in 2004 27% of internet surfers have

actually read blogs compared to 2003 where only 11% have read blogs which is a

very high learning curve for internet users, also in 2004 12% of the net surfers

have commented on a blog (Rainie, 2005a), this means around 42% of blog

readers have took action and commented on a blog which is a very promising

number.

.

This chart is obtained from the “Pew Internet and American Life Project” survey document

http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_blogging_data.pdf (Rainie, 2005a)

Figure 5. The growth in blogs usage

Many companies such as IBM, Microsoft, and GM are using external and

internal blogs as to keep track of specific areas, and create dialogue, and distribute

knowledge related to areas like project management, technical support, research,

and communication. In a blog about “blogging at IBM” Phil Borremans, an IBM

blogger mentioned that IBM had 2800 internal and 12700 blogs back in 2005; most

probably these numbers are growing (Borremans, 2005). If project managers are

using blogging to keep teams on track which is kind of “coaching”, why not use

http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_blogging_data.pdf


blogs for training, especially when it comes to a leadership, shouldn’t this help

creating learning communities and help all learners not only learn but also adapt

the same vision from the leadership session?

In J. Howard Baker's Journal “Teaching Tip - The Learning Log” he illustrates

blogs being used for learner’s discussions where the teacher or instructor

consequently can assess learner weaknesses and progress “The learning log can

provide a valuable resource for the faculty member and student to jointly assess

the student’s learning” (Baker, 2002). Based on the same principles, blogs can add

a valuable component to Exemplary Leadership Sessions by creating an ongoing

discussion to keep a dialogue about the learned concept while keeping an audit trail

of the discussion. The advantage of ETLS is that it takes the sessions to the next

level of being just a “show” or a video by adding interactive components. ETLS

gives HR the option of using the organization’s internal blogs or using the ETLS

public blogs. As the interface shows ETLS tries to create two tiers of discussions,

firstly the learners can discuss things internally. The other way is discussions

between learners from different organizations whilst the learners use blogs to

discuss issues that they don’t feel comfortable discussing them internally or would

like to benefit from other organizations experience.

Podcast

Podcast is another content distribution method but with the advantage of

distributing audio and video content giving the users access to the content from

portable devices at anytime.

In a Data Memo published by the “Pew Internet and American Life Project”

in 2005, results from a phone survey showed that more than 6 million users in the


United States have used Podcast, not to mention the 22 million users in the U.S.

that own portable audio device such as iPod, where 29% of them used their devices

to view or listen to Podcast (Rainie et al., 2005b), probably this number is higher

now with the new video and nano iPods. The survey also showed that the highest

percentage of those devices, users range from 18 to 28 years old (19%) and the

generation between 29 and 40 years old are the next highest percentage of users

(14%) (Rainie et al., 2005b).

The importance of adding Podcast functionality to ETLS system as a tool to

deliver leadership development is not in the technology itself which is just another

XML format file but it’s in being a bridge to cross generation’s barriers. It’s very

hard to have a leadership development program or system that can function in

multi generations environments and can look attractive to all generations, although

the system includes tools to support the learning process such as online discussions

and blogs, podcast is another tool of functionality of the system that targets

employees between the ages of 19 to 40 that use portable audio / video devices.

3.4 Surveys

With the help of the sponsor (Appendix A), surveys have been conducted at

Exemplary Leadership Session satellite public events format, the surveys were

integrated part of the sponsor event feedbacks. The sessions were presented in

public venues on big screens live via satellite from the sponsor partner studio in the

United States (third party in this case is Linkage Inc).

The Learners the surveys targeted were groups of professionals 65 to 150 in

each event. The learners were a mix from all industries and all level of

managements.


The surveys conducted part of the sponsor’s feedbacks forms on the

following events:

June 14, 2005 Regina Canada (the full feedback at Appendix C).

October 5, 2005 Regina Canada (the full feedback Appendix D).

October 25, 2005 Regina Canada (the full feedback Appendix E).

November 29, 2005 Regina Canada (the full feedback Appendix E).

November 29, 2005 Saskatoon Canada (the full feedback Appendix F).

December 5 2005, Saskatoon Canada (the full feedback Appendix).

The first set of questions were set to evaluate the learning varies learning

techniques used to enhance the distance learning sessions (Table 2) (Figure 6).

Question Average Rating from 1 to 9 The speakers stimulated my interest in Leadership 8.06 The Q&A format was effective 7.10 The "Pre-Session" Reading & Activities were helpful 6.64 The technology for the event was adequate 6.82 The live facilitation provided added-value to the event 7.71 My overall evaluation of today's Leadership Program 7.75 The Event Price for today's program in terms of added value 7.55 The format of the half-day session was effective 7.97 How Do you rate the 1-Hour Facilitation Component 8.15

Table 2. Survey Results Section 1


8.15

7.97

7.55

7.75

7.71

6.82

6.64

7.10

8.06

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00

The speakers stimulated myinterest in LeadershipThe Q&A format was effective

The "Pre-Session" Reading &Activities were helpfulThe technology for the event wasadequate (Screens/Speakers)The live facilitation providedadded-value to the eventMy overall evaluation of today'sLeadership ProgramThe Event Price for today'sprogram in terms of added valueThe format of the half-day sessionwas effectiveHow Do you rate the 1-HourFacilitation Component

Figure 6. Survey Results Section 1

The results showed the effectiveness of using this kind of training to deliver

leadership development as distance training and creating an interest for the learner

in the session subject. However, the results showed that the weakest link is the

technology used to deliver the training.

The result in Figure VII shows that learners prefer short session instead of

full day session.

Full-Day7%

Half-Day24%

1 Hour 30 Only30%

1 Hour 30 + Live Facilition

39%

Figure 7. Survey Results - Preferred Format for a Leadership Program


Results in (Figure 8) shows that the preferred format of delivery is in public

events via satellite mostly in a luxurious venue adds more social aspect to the

learners and creating more networking opportunity. Surprisingly learners are less

interested in events on DVD and prefer other methods like Web streaming or video

conference, while meeting with the HR’s they seemed to like the idea of DVD played

in a boardroom during meetings.

Public-Satelite 62%

Web Streaming - On Desktop

14%

DVD/VHS10%

Videoconferencing14%

Figure 8. Survey Results Preferred Method Viewing a Leadership Program

Nevertheless, Figure 9 shows that learners are also interested in the session

being available online for a certain period after the event.

Yes 66%

No34%

Figure 9. Survey Results – Demand for Web Streaming

In an interesting result, the survey showed (Figure 10) that 72% of the

participants attending the sessions at the public venue preferred that over having


the session on site at their companies. However, this is not the case in the US

where almost 100% of the same sessions are offered as a satellite downlink on site.

The reason could be because the US learners didn’t have the opportunity of a public

venue session.

Yes 28%

No72%

Figure 10. Survey Results –Demand for Broadcasts Offered at the Learner

Organization

When asked “I would participate in an Online Discussion Forum as a follow-

up to a leadership session” (Figure 11), the learners were split between the 2

choices.

Yes 49%

No51%

Figure 11. Survey Results – Online Discussion Forum

Figure 12 shows that the interest and need of this training is not unique to

one department or certain positions, in return, this requires a system that can reach

everyone engineering in the fields as much as the accountants in the office.


Human Resources

8%

Sales & Marketing24%

Progect Manager5%

I.T10%

Other16%

Finance / Accounting

11%

Middle Management

16%

Executive Level3%

Senior Management

7%

Figure 12. Survey Results – Learners Positions

Only 33% of the participants said that their companies use e-learning

internally (Figure 13). These numbers are even lower in the third world and

developed countries which show the size of the opportunity in this area and also the

gap in distance learning for corporate environments.

Yes 33%

No67%

Figure 13. Survey Results – Organization That Uses E-Learning Internally

However, when asked if their organizations use e-learning internally for

leadership and soft skills (Figure 14), the answers were very close which means


that most of the companies that are using e-learning also use it for leadership

development.

Yes 33%

No67%

Figure 14. Survey Results – Organization That Uses E-Learning Internally for Leadership & Soft Skills

Yes 83%

No17%

Figure 15. Survey Results –Debriefing Team Members after A Learning Event

Figure 15 shows that the Exemplary Sessions are creating dialogue across

the origination even with employees who didn’t attend. (Figure 16) When asked

about the best online discussion format, almost half of the participants preferred

using Blogs over message boards; on the other hand, most of the learners rejected

the idea of using chat rooms.


Blogs50%Message Board

44%

Chat rooms6%

Figure 16. Survey Results –Preferred Format for Sharing Online Discussion With

Participants At Remote Sites

However, almost 2 out of 3 of the learners prefer facilitation to be in a live

facilitator not via using any broadcast (Figure 17).

Live

On Screen

Figure 17. Survey Results – Preferred Format For The One Hour Facilitation

Component

When asked if the learners would like to have access to discussions and

supporting tools on mobile device "M-Learning" (Blackberry, Cell)”, the majority of

learners weren’t interested in the idea. This result had major impact on the design


of ETLS to remove any m-learning components due to the lack of interest (Figure

18).

Yes

No

Figure 18. Survey Results – Access to Discussions and Supporting Tools on Mobile

Device "M-Learning" (Blackberry, Cell)

When the sample size was asked about having assessment tools to support

ROI, 62% of the respondents indicated “Yes” while 38% did not feel this was

valuable (Figure 19).

Yes 62%

No38%

Figure 19. Survey Results – Assessment Tools To Support ROI


When asked about the demand of an HR Needs Analysis System, 50% of the

respondents were in favour of this while the other half indicated “No” (Figure 20).

Yes No

Figure 20. Survey Results – Demand HR Needs Analysis System

When surveyed, 76% of respondents were not interested in a system that

would allow for book searches (Figure 21).

Yes 24%

No76%

Figure 21. Survey Results – Interest in a System That Allows Books Search


When asked about the difficulty to apply concepts learned in a “digital

manner” to the workplace, 94% of the participants responded “No” which means

that the level of user resistance in E-learning is lower than other applications

(Figure 22).

Yes 6%

No94%

Figure 22. Survey Results – I Feel It Is Difficult To Apply Concepts Learned In A

"Digital Manners" To The Workplace

Proving the point that leadership is not common subject for e-learning, when

participants were surveyed about the use of e-learning internally, 64% indicated

that Technical – IT training was the most prevalent. Only 18% of the participants

mentioned that Leadership / Soft Skills training was being used through e-learning

(Figure 23).

Technical - IT64%

Other6%

Leadership / Soft Skills Training

18%Management / Supervisory

12%

Figure 23. Survey Results –Uses of E-Learning Internally


When asked about the willingness to invest money for distance learning

initiatives, 40% of the participants surveyed were interested (Figure 24).

Yes 40%

No60%

Figure 24. Survey Results –Willingness To Invest The Money To Support Distance

Learning

Among the preferred methods for leadership development (Reading books or

articles, Internal leadership program, facilitated sessions, 1-2 day conferences),

40% of the participants preferred 1-2 day conferences along with 21% of the

respondents citing facilitated sessions. These statistics supports the assumption

that leadership development training is transitioning towards innovative learning

methods as opposed to traditional means (Figure 25).

OOSD Facilitated Sessions

21%

Internal Leadership

Program14%

Reading Books/Articles

25%1-2 Day

Conferences40%


Figure 25. Survey Results – Preferred Methods for Leadership Development

Over 55% of the participants preferred printed (hard copy) manuals while

the remaining 45% chose PDF (downloadable / online) format (Figure 26).

PDF Format (Downloadable)

45%

Printed (Hard Copy)

55%

Figure 26. Survey Results – My Preferred Method of Receiving The Manual (Check

One)

3.5 Problems Analysis and Scope

Literature review of the sponsor report and similar systems has been

conducted through meetings, interviews and surveys to fully identify the problems

facing the distance delivery of the Exemplary Transformational Leadership Sessions

and why are the existing systems failing to address those problems. Through some

preliminary research from cases provided by the sponsor, after many researches in

this dissertation, it was established that corporations for a number of reasons

believe that digital channel and available solutions such as web streaming,

collaborative learning, and videoconferencing are ineffective. Such reasons are as

follows:

- Difficulty to apply the concepts learned in a digital manner to the workplace.


- Lack of distance facilitation or follow up methods to leadership sessions or

workshops.

- Lack of pre-session activities or discussion (without any facilitation before or after

a session, effectiveness of a program / course manual is reduced).

- Companies may lack on-site technology for distance learning or there is no

budget for investing in training technology.

- Lack of executives endorsement for this type of distance training or professional

development because it’s not proven especially in the area of leadership and soft

skills. No measure shows how effective is the technology? And what is required to

be more effective?

- Problems keeping employees motivated to participate in distance learning /

facilitation exercises.

- Not including discussions and teamwork as part the of distance learning sessions.

- May require technology expert on hand in case of problems in transmission.

- No tools in place to measure effectiveness of training – long-term (ROI). Ideally

it takes 18 months to measure the return on the training investment and to

notice significant behaviour and performance changes. For most organizations, 18

months is too long without any supporting measurement tools. So the nature of

training delivered through Leadership Training Systems is more difficult to

measure unlike technical or management training (OOSD, 2005).

- Doesn’t include a follow-up to address the problems when applying the concepts

learned through the workshop or session.


- This kind of training hasn’t been evaluated as independent training category and

in return it hasn’t been proved to be efficient and doubted its credibility (OOSD,

2005).

The cases also show some methods that have been used to add facilitation

components to the existing systems. However, the following problems exist when

attempting to use blended training methods:

1. Current facilitation methods are ineffective for organizations that are

looking to train employees over a large geographic area (i.e. managers

situated in other branch locations)

2. There may be duplication in the learning process during facilitation due to

lack of coordinated facilitation and information sharing from employees

across multiple locations. An efficient mechanism is needed to filter

incoming questions and comments so that employees across many

locations can view questions and answers in real-time thereby enhancing

the overall learning experience.

Some companies have been using internal audio / video conference systems

to manage the facilitation component. Some of the problems with this are as

follows:

- Inability to motivate trainees to participate in the discussions and pre / post

session activates which may be a problem because the distance facilitator cannot

monitor the participants.


- The current systems do not provide sufficient facilitator guidelines and lack on-

hand resources about the subject and the speakers to help answer questions

effectively.

- The system doesn’t give the facilitator the confidence that they are in control of

the session.

- Those systems are mostly internal and can’t cover all learners such as learners

working from home or remote areas, and many times different locations may

utilize different technologies which lead to different options for each group. For

instance, participants receiving the session via web streaming have access to

online discussions, instant messaging or chat rooms. Participants attending via

satellite have the convenience of viewing the broadcast on one screen in a

boardroom in an environment that is conducive for group discussions.

Using more then one tier at the same time leads to repetition of information

making it increasingly difficult for the facilitator to coordinate the sessions.


Chapter 4. Design and Prototype

4.1 Design and Modeling

The purpose of the following designs is to illustrate the Exemplary

Transformational Leadership System’s (ETLS) interaction with its environment and

to outline the system’s architecture.

The goal of the ETLS Concept (Figure 27) is to communicate learners with

the world leaders to create organizations of leaders and to give HR the tools to

facilitate and measure results of the sessions.

Figure 27. ETLS Concept

Although today’s technology offers a variety of collaborative tools, research

showed that not all of them are suitable for leadership and soft skills corporate

training. (Figure 28) shows a high level picture of the relation between e-learning

and distance learning, and where the Exemplary Transformational Leadership

System (ETLS) fits and the means it is using.


Figure 28. The Relation Between Distance Learning Channels and ETLS

The system functionality includes delivering the session and facilitation to

the learners, delivering assessment tools from session architect to HR and from HR

to learners, allowing discussion between learners and between learners and HR,

interactive communication with the speakers at the same time adding a social

aspect to the learning environment to motivate learners.

Looking at the high level architecture design in (Figure 29), the (video /

audio) signal is heading in one direction from the session studio to the satellite then

going to the servers and to another satellite. Although, the interactive questions are

coming through the Web to take advantage of the Web application and to reduce

the cost of another uplink, the option of phone communication is still on and could

be upgraded to VOIP. The web application is a major component of the system

giving HR personnel and trainees access to tools to enhance the learning experience

and maximize the benefits of the session.


Figure 29. ETLS High Level Architecture Design

Even though (Figure 29) shows two satellites, the number of satellites

depends on the location of the site that is trying to be reached. It could be more or

less.

Another option for the architecture is to use research and education

advanced networks to broadcast the session to a remote area and uplink it to a

local satellite. This limits the cost of sending the session from one satellite to

another. Looking closely at the map from the Global Lambda Integrated Facility

(GLIF) (Figure 30), it’s obvious that this network can do what the internet couldn’t


which is high bandwidth with high quality video between Europe, Asia, and North

America.

This map was obtained from the GLIF Web site http://www.glif.is/publications/#maps (GLIF, 2005)

Figure 30. GLIF World Map

Although an initial research has been conduced, this option needs much

more research and access to resources from advanced networks like CANARIE. This

could be a subject of an independent research to measure the effects of such

advanced networks on the delivery of this kind of training.

Block Diagram

The objective of the block diagram in (Figure 31) is to represent the

Exemplary Transformational Leadership System’s main components and

subsystems. The design is based on the research and the technology evaluations

results. The proposed diagram shows the use of third party systems and

subsystems creating a blended learning environment to maximize the benefit of

those leadership sessions.

http://www.glif.is/publications/#maps


Figure 31. Block Diagram

Data Model

The purpose of the model in Figure 32 is to outline how the data is flowing.

The model identifies the system’s entities such as: Learner, Speaker, Session, HR /

Facilitator and Session architect.

Satellite Broadcast

Video Conference

Facilitation Support

Live Discussion

RSS/Atom Aggregator

Blogging System

Exemplary Transformational Leadership System

Speakers Input

HR Tools Learning Management

Tools Assessments Tools

On Demand Viewing (Media Streaming Server)

Database

Podcast


Figure 32. Data Model

Security Approach

ETLS is designed as a license corporate membership system where the

security risk is at a minimum because there isn’t a day to day financial transaction

and neither is there any online payment or financial transactions; financials is

handled by annual invoices to Account Payable.


Also the diversity of the system components, internet, DVD, video

conference and satellite makes it a redundant system, if any of those component is

not available the learning process continues.

However, there are guarantees that technologies such as Podcast and RSS

are staying spam free for a long time (Daniels, 2005). This carries a risk with ETLS

depending on RSS for communication.

4.2 Interface Architecture

The interface architecture consists of the following components:

I. ASP: Microsoft server side scripts that is called by the thin client.

II. XML: The structure of the data offered.

III. XSL: The style sheet to format the XML.

IV. Java Script and DHTML: Scripts on the client side.

XML string is generated by the ASP scripts or by the mid tier components

depending on which section of system it’s in, and passed to transformation

component to merge it with the appropriate XSL generating client side code (Java

Script, XML and HTML). This provides browser compatibility by using customized

XSL based on the browser identity and supply the client side with HTML, Java

Script, and XML for RSS.

ASP -> XML -> XSL + XSL Includes == HTML XML JavaScript (Kanawati,

2002)


Then there is Ajax (Figure 33), a “client side architecture” that ETLS used to

create interactive Web interfaces. Ajax is added where such interaction is needed to

enhance the user experience. Being a client side, reduces the required server

connection by performing most of the execution on the client side, this reduces the

bandwidth required to run ETLS dynamic pages which is required for learners in

remote area where high speed connection is not required.

ASP -> XML -> Ajax engine -> = HTML CSS XML JavaScript -> Interactive

application.

Image source: http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php

(Garrett, 2005)

Figure 33. Ajax vs. Classic Web Interfaces

Good examples of Ajax usability can be seen with Google’s recent

applications such as Gmail and Google suggest (Figure 34):

http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php

http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en


Screenshot of Ajax at “Google suggest” obtained from Google Suggest.

Figure 34. Ajax at Google Suggest

Figure 35 diagram shows the Component diagram for the suggested

interface:

Figure 35. Interface Component Diagram

Ajax is used for the Session Index page search functionality to give the

learners results without the need to reload the page each time.

4.3 Usability Approach

The Prototype followed standards application usability guidelines, in addition,

to elements related specifically to Exemplary Leadership Sessions. Several options


have been presented to the sponsor to evaluate the pros and cons of each sketch

using techniques such as “focus groups, expert review, and think loud” (Axup,

2002) as a part of the usability testing.

Other factors such as the learner’s ability to navigate resources, manuals

and discussions without loosing view of the live session were taking into

consideration, also the fact that this is a distance learning application and learners

maybe in remote areas with limited internet accessibility, the interface was

architected to minimize the loading time and execute most of the code on the client

side using client side technologies such as JavaScript, DHTML and Ajax architecture.

4.4 Prototype

The ETLS system’s main goal is to improve the learner’s experience with the

technology by engineering the human aspect and by adding social and interactive

components to communicate with colleagues and facilitators. This has been

achieved by relying on dynamic pages, using standard symbols and buttons,

reducing the number of clicks users need to make, and the number of pages they

need to load.

On the Login page, the “remember user name check button” saves the

username in a cookie (Figure 36), this doesn’t apply to password for security

reasons.


Figure 36. Prototype - Login Page

Based on feedback from one of the experts group “Nabil Betinjaneh”

(Appendix B), employees need some kind of discussion that doesn’t keep a long

term record to give the impression that this is a discussion for learning purposes not

evaluation for who is on the next promotion. Stories like the Google employee who

claimed that he lost his job because of a blog (LeMay, 2005), results in negative

effects on communications and dialogues. Employees hesitate to express honest

opinion in a blog or any form that keep records of the discussions. At the same time

surveys showed that learners don’t like to use chat room. The discussion on the

session page (Session Discussion box) is a XML / XSL iframe that keeps the

discussion data in an XML file on the training company server for the period of 2

weeks only and this is mentioned at the beginning of each discussion.


Adding blogs as a method of dialogue allows learners not only to learn from

each other but also to share experiences with the participating companies and

sharing knowledge with employees from other companies with similar positions. The

prototype at Figure 37 shows the discussion section in the right upper corner. The

radio buttons on top of the “Questions and Comments” define where the comment

is going. On the right side the tab buttons allow the learner to switch to the manual

page without reloading the page; this is important when attending live sessions.

All the events data and pictures used in the prototypes such as the speakers pictures and

event description and outcome are obtained from the sponsor OOSD and Linkage Inc Web sites and are used as examples only (OOSD, 2006) (Linkage, 2006).

Figure 37. Prototype – Learner Session Page


The Session Index Page (Figure 38) gives the administrator an explorer view

result display where the administrator can access any information related to the

session, by clicking on the options after “Order” it displays in a popup window the

availability at the learner’s organization with the option to order the DVD / VHS, the

number for the live video conference and the coordinates for the satellite feeds.

Clicking on the “Outlook Reminder” promotes a window to add the group session or

the live event dates and location to the MS Outlook. The data in the Outlook

reminder is set by the HR administrator for the all learners in the program from the

learner management window.

The “Customized Programs” dropdown arrow shows programs developed by

the HR from the Program Management page, when choosing a program the

sessions the HR administrator chose for that program appear. Ajax is used in the

search area to display the results while typing; search can also be done to a certain

field in the “All Content” box by defining the field. Results sort’s options are

available; a prototype with the open sort menus can be viewed at (Appendix H).

Learners’ page is the same as the administrator but without the left menu

option to customize the programs and manage learners (Appendix G).


Figure 38. Prototype - Facilitator / Administrator Session Index

The administrator or facilitator session page uses various technologies and

interfaces that fit facilitator regardless of their location, computer experience, or

internet bandwidth (Figure 39). The interface allows facilitator to view the learners’

discussions and the questions directed to him / her, then the facilitator can check

the box next to the appropriate question so the learner can see it. This gives the

facilitator full control on what questions to discuss by controlling what questions the

learners view on their screen. Questions to facilitator are not viewable till the

facilitator checks the box.


Figure 39. Prototype - Facilitator / Administrator Prototype – Session Page

Figure 40 prototype gives the HR administrator the ability to manage and

create customized programs, define the delivery method, and the date of the

session which can be default for attending a live session or the administrator can

chose a customized date or location, for example in a boardroom or public venue.

The information the administrator choose, shows in the session index for the

learners in that program, the dates and location with the outlook reminder when

they choose “Outlook Reminder”. Administrator can also check the box next to the

assessment tools that wants to be viewed part of the session activities. Prototype of

the page showing how to add sessions to the program can be viewed on (Appendix

I).


Figure 40. Prototype - Facilitator / Administrator Program Management Page

Another functionality for the Learning Management System, is the Learner

Management prototype (Figure 41) where the administrator can view the

assessment tools for each learner, add and delete a learner off the system, assign

usernames and passwords and also can set a learning outcome option which sends

an assessment tool by adding another phase of the assessment after a period of

time (6 to 12 month), which is sent by RSS. Administrator can change account

information or the company logo at the “Account Information page” (Appendix J).


Figure 41. Prototype - Facilitator / Administrator Learner Management Page

4.5 Change Management Process and Design

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not even the most

intelligent, but the one that is the most responsive towards change….." Although

Charles Darwin’s Quote refers to species, systems and technologies seem to follow

the same rule. Changes to the environment, requirements, resources, and users are

becoming a routine. According to Barry Boehm and Capers Jones the author of

“Estimating Software Costs”, through the development stage, most projects

experience approximate 25% of changes to the initial requirements (Boehm et al,

cited in Fontanus, cited in McConnell, 1996).


The ETLS design is flexible and considerable to change management

requirements since its early stages with the ability to respond in a timely manner to

change needs (Figure 42).

The system includes a “Change Register” functionality that logs any Change

Request (CR) details to a XML file creating an audit trail to produce detail reports on

request. The ETLS infrastructure contains the following environments:

Development Environment: The purpose of this is to give developers an

environment that is similar to production to develop and test component and files

without worrying about making mistakes. SourceSafe database is used to keep

older versions of the code in case they are needed.

Testing Environment: This application is used by users and business units for

testing purposes; testing environment is the same as the production environment

with the additional changes. Only the promotion officer should have access to the

source code on the testing environments.

Production Environment: Promotions to Prod follows release plans that

consider emergency promotions. Access to the source code and SourceSafe is

restricted to the promotion officer and promotions are done after hours when the

load on the servers is minimal.


Figure 42. Change Management Process


Chapter 5. Evaluations and Feedbacks

Evaluation and measurements are some of today’s modern organizations

most important characteristics. Comparing today’s organizations with the ones 30

years ago, one of the most important characteristics changed is that organizations

seem to measure or try to measure everything. Evaluations, performance reviews,

quarters earning reports etc… are at such a state that some organizations are

starting to loose focus of their objectives or strategies concentrating on

measurements, evaluations and reviews.

In a recent article by Amanda Cantrell from CNNMoney “Microsoft's labour

troubles”, Cantrell describes Microsoft troubles as a result of the continuous reviews

and evaluations (Cantrell, 2006).

Leadership development is about behaviour and dealing with people, the

question is how can leadership be measured, that has always been a debatable

question and how effective is certain training in creating leaders and improving

performance?

Typically for any leadership development program, it takes 12 to 18 months

before any significant behaviour and performance changes are felt making it harder

to measure the effectiveness and the return on investment ROI of any training. For

many organizations, this 18 month time frame is simply too long so ROI or

measurement is often a crucial step in the learning process that is ignored.

Evaluating the Exemplary Transformational Leadership Development system

is based on assessing it as a knowledge delivery channel that delivers the

Exemplary Leadership Sessions to learners for the advantage of the organization


and the Human Resources department, and comparing the new suggested system

with the other methods used.

A number of experts (Appendix B) have been selected as an informal focus

group study have previous experience dealing with the delivery of the Exemplary

Transformational Leadership sessions and are interested in the outcomes of the

dissertation, and were asked to evaluate the project to ascertain whether it would

assist them to address their e-learning and facilitation needs within their respective

organizations.

5.1 Evaluation Criteria

With the help of the sponsor, an evaluation was conducted that includes a

presentation followed by a discussion questionnaire to the sponsor (Appendix A)

and to experts’ focus group (Appendix B). The group includes highly qualified

experts with experience in presenting and facilitating Exemplary Leadership events

to corporations, government agencies, and HR personals. The purpose of the

evaluation is to assess the project and determine whether it would address previous

problems, e-training needs, and represent valuable improvements to methods been

used before by answering and discussing the following:

- Does the project change the current assumptions about using a digital

channel to deliver transformational leadership development?

- Considering the high cost and availability of exemplary leadership training,

the project reduces your cost and makes this kind of training available in

remote areas?


- Does the project solve the identified needs and problems such as

motivation etc.?

- Does the Web interface functionality meet the learning management

needs?

- Are the Web interface prototypes easy to use and an evaluation of the

interface look and field for buttons, links, and navigations from a usability

point of view?

An overall evaluation from a leadership development and training point of

view have been conducted by the sponsor to ensure that training objectives are met

from an educational philosophy.

5.2 Sponsor Evaluation

Regular reviews and meetings with the sponsor Mr. Richard Lengkong

(Appendix A) have been conducted, and the sponsor gave feedback related to using

some technologies and to the prototypes such as changing the name of some fields

on the session index page (example accessed to status).

The sponsor based the final evaluation on a PowerPoint presented to him

using GoToMeeting and sent the feedback in writing via email:

“The proposed Exemplary Transformational Leadership System integrates

the latest technologies to deliver leadership training to users. The ETLS has

successfully incorporated crucial HR learning tools and resources that will enhance

the overall learning process for employees within an organization. By streamlining

all of these components into a user-friendly system, there will be significant


reductions in training and evaluation costs making it possible for training in remote

areas (i.e. easy to coordinate learning initiatives across multiple office locations or

vertically/horizontally within an organization). HR personnel can use the ETLS to

monitor client satisfaction and overall effectiveness of the training programs. By

implementing such a system, it will improve communication throughout the

organization for upcoming training initiatives. Further, by utilizing such advanced

technologies in the system, it ensures that learners remain motivated to access new

training programs at their convenience – organizational productivity will improve as

a result. Web interface functionality is seamless and designed in a manner that

minimizes navigation by the user. Learning resources can therefore be accessed in

a timely manner by learners and facilitators.” Mr. Lengkong also added “The ETLS

will improve leadership development for organizations that are looking to enhance

training with technological advances while maintaining the human and social factor

to reinforce learning objectives. This system strategically blends the training

requirements of HR / OD personnel and learners to achieve overall productivity

throughout the organization. ETLS represents the new age of learning for

exemplary transformational leadership development” (Lengkong, 2006)

5.3 Expert Group Evaluations Nabil Beitinjaneh, MBA

Several meetings took place with Mr. Beitinjaneh before and after the

prototype was implemented. Feedbacks from Mr. Betinjaneh were analyzed and led

to major changes and modifications to the systems and prototype. Early version of

the system received feedbacks asking for the following:


- Include some kind of welcome message to the client.

- Incorporate the client logo on the pages so they can use the system part of their

intranet.

- Session Discussion needs to be bigger.

- Timer for the video.

- Allow question to be asked to the speakers from the session page.

- Make sure the session discussion designed in a way that it doesn’t keep a record

of employees’ discussion.

All changes and feedbacks were implemented to the design and final

presentation took place online using GoToMeeting, and Mr. Beitinjaneh was asked

to submit his evaluation in writing which he did:

“I have not seen anything like it yet. Great work. Wish you luck in the

implementation phase.

By providing a fully integrated system incorporating many different

technologies (podcasting, RSS technology, ...) all accessible using a web interface;

the ETLS system changes the way leadership development is delivered to

individuals. By adding training collateral and exercises, access to forums and the

ability to ask questions; the person in quest of further knowledge is in an excellent

position to find answers to his/her questions. He/she also can learn from others

either synchronously or after the fact by reviewing the comments written by other

learners.


By having the information online, the person can access it on demand and

as required. This is excellent for busy people who may break up the learning

experience into smaller chunks and who may want to review material at a later

time.

The web interface presented is simple and intuitive to use. The user sees in

one glance all the pertinent functionality and can drill down as required”

(Beitinjaneh, 2006).

Warren Bickford, ABC:

Several meetings were carried with Mr. Bickford to discuss the potential of

such a research including a presentation of the final prototype using PowerPoint. Mr.

Bickford looked at ETLS from a professional communicator point of view where he

thinks there is a huge value with the system creating ongoing dialogue about

leadership issues and how they relate to the organization problems.

He agrees that attending a seminar is not enough; there is a need for

dialogue “Leadership is about ongoing dialogue in organizations” (Bickford, 2006).

Warren brought up the potential of ETLS with professional non-profit organizations

such as the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) he is

currently active with.

He brought up the fact that any system supporting the employee task is

competing with many other things that employees need to do so it has to be very

friendly and easy to use. When asked about evaluating the interface, the fact that

everything is in one place is exactly what is needed, he also endorsed the idea of

group learning and that learners can replay sessions on PC after attending them in

public venue or conference room.


Ronald d. Camp II, PH.D.

Continuous reviews and meetings took place with Prof. Camp to make sure

the project meets the learner needs from leadership development point of view, a

live presentation was presented for to him followed by a discussion explaining the

functionality of the system and how it meets his need from as an Exemplary

Leadership Sessions facilitator and HR expert, Prof. Camp was asked to submit

answers to evaluation questions in writings via email:

Does the project change the current assumptions about using a digital

channel to deliver transformational leadership development?

“I don’t think this actually challenges underlying assumptions regarding on-

line delivery of leadership training. Video conferencing, CD/DVD presentations of

leadership gurus, etc. have been available at least since the 1990s. However, this

seems to extend the process present the materials in a more integrated way than

has been offered before (Camp, 2006)”.

Considering the high cost and availability of exemplary leadership training,

will the project reduce your cost and make this kind of training available in remote

areas?

“The project does offer access to materials and speakers at a significantly

lower cost than to bring these people in-house. For example, while the cost for

someone like Michael Porter easily exceeds $20,000 for a single session,

broadcasting a presentation to multiple organizations simultaneously for immediate

or delayed presentation allows the fixed costs to be spread out, dropping the per

participant cast to the low hundreds of dollars or less. Likewise, the technology


allows co-workers in a distributed network access to ideas, materials and

discussions which previously were only available in central locations (Camp, 2006)”.

Does the project solve the identified needs and problems such as motivation

etc.?

“Speakers presented in this forum are often seen as icons in the leadership

field, complete with celebrity status. This seems to increase the motivation of

participants to attend these presentations. However, one common drawback of

leadership presentations to mass audiences is that they are too generic to meet the

needs of specific leaders or organizations. To the extent that participants do not

see a direct benefit of the presentation, their motivation to actively participate with

the ideas presented seems low. This approach, however, seems to allow for

tailoring the message and some of the interaction to meet the needs of specific

organizations. This in turn makes it easier for participants to see how they can use

this information in their own jobs. It also, through the HR interface, allows the

organization to follow up on training, increasing the probability that new leadership

ideas will be implemented. As the old adage says, what gets measured gets

done(Camp, 2006)”.

Does the Web interface functionality meet the learning management needs?

“This system seems to have the potential to greatly increase the

effectiveness of learning management (Camp, 2006).”

Are the Web interface prototypes easy to use and an evaluation of the

interface look and field for buttons, links, and navigations from a usability point of

view?


“The prototypes of the user interface appear to be user-friendly, both for

seminar participants and HR professionals tasked with managing human resource

development. It seems to provide appropriate information for registering for

leadership training. The session screens provide an interesting approach to

facilitating distributed/remote sites in common learning. The discussion mechanism

should encourage a reasonably high level of interaction, thereby increasing learning.

The HR screens also appear to allow for an appropriate, unobtrusive level of HR

monitoring (Camp, 2006).”

Evaluations provided by the project sponsor and expert groups addressed

some critical issues for the ETLS. They are as follows:

Cost Reduction: Evaluations indicated that the system would lead to

immediate cost reductions for organizations by spreading out fixed costs when

training is broadcasted to multiple locations. Furthermore, the technology allows

co-workers in a distributed network to access ideas, materials and discussions

which previously were only available in central locations.

Problem of Motivation: All evaluations mentioned that motivation for

learners would be increased as a result of the ETLS. Through the incorporation of

advanced technologies, learners can access these training programs at their

convenience in a decentralized manner. The ETLS also allows for tailoring of the

message and interaction to meet the specific needs of the learner, thereby

increasing relevancy. The system also helps motivate HR personnel to follow up on

training, increasing the probability that new leadership ideas will be implemented.

Web Interface Functionality: It was noted that the ETLS has the potential to

increase the effectiveness of learning management through a simple and intuitive

user interface. The Web Interface was designed in a manner that minimizes


navigation by the user making it easier to access learning resources in a timely

manner.

Revolutionary: The ETLS strategically blends the training requirements of HR

/ OD personnel and learners to achieve overall productivity throughout the

organization. By adding training collateral and exercises, access to forums and the

ability to ask questions; the person in quest of further knowledge is in an excellent

position to find answers to his/her questions. He/she also can learn from others

either synchronously or after the fact by reviewing the comments written by other

learners. “ETLS represents the new age of learning for exemplary transformational

leadership development.”


Chapter 6. Conclusions

In Conclusion, the key to delivering distance learning to remote areas is to

offer as many channels as possible. This training is intended for professionals in all

kind of sectors including some that are located in isolated areas including oil and

gas, military, and human aids. The system takes into consideration that some areas

may have problems with some channels due to reasons like available broadband,

technical support even government regulations and cover this issue by offering

more then one delivery channel.

From a learning point of view, the suggested Exemplary Transformational

Leadership Development system concentrates on using learners’ communication

skills by listening and creating a dialogue with others such as the speaker, facilitator

and team members through discussion and at the same time listening to oneself by

using feedbacks, assessment tools and setting action plans based on each session

to enhance the learning experience. ETLS makes sure that the learner applies the

learned concept in the working environment by conducting learning outcome

reviews.

The system increases the learning effectiveness by applying learners to the

learned concept multiple times without loosing their interest:

1. The Speaker session.

2. Facilitation session by facilitator.

3. Discussions.

4. Subject Updates.


5. Action plans and reviews.

When talking about competitive advantages and strategies, Michael Porter

the author of “Competitive Strategy” ranked 2005’s #1 business thinker by

thinkers50.com, refers to strategy saying “There is NO best, it all depends… There

isn’t best auto company, is Jaguar the best car?... it might be for some people

giving their needs” he also adds “there no such thing as good marketing, there is

only marketing that is good for particular strategy” (Porter, 2005). Looking at

Information Technology from the same angle, there isn’t best technology or best

solution, Open Source or Closed Source, Linux or Unix, Microsoft or Apple,

mainframe or client server, as Porter says “there isn’t best”, it depends on the

needs, objectives, business case, risk etc… This research reached a conclusion that

the same philosophy applies to Distance and Electronic Learning; there isn’t a best

E-Learning solution that meets all the needs and serves all kind of learners. What

seems to be the best for an academic mathematic course, most likely is not the

best solution to deliver corporate soft skills training. Exemplary Transformational

Leadership System recognizes the uniqueness of the leadership development

especially Exemplary Leadership Sessions and present a distinctive solution that

best meet the needs of specific client (Corporate HR), to deliver specific topic

(Transformational Leadership), lectured by specific speakers (Exemplary Speakers),

to specific learners (Business Professionals).

This dissertation opened the door for an emerging topic that hasn’t been

explored, particularly in the area related to “Exemplary Leaders” which has made

the literature search significantly more difficult. The research utilized an original

subject to help fill the knowledge gap between Information Technology and Human

Resource Transformational Leadership Development, an area that has been


overlooked for many years. The project’s results exceeded the expectation and

some of the evaluators saw the system not only as a learning tool but as a

motivational tool to create interest in leadership development. The study introduced

a new category of distance learning and a new concept for delivering high profile

exemplary sessions distinguishing them from other training methods, and

transferring them from just a video or a show to full training programs.

ETLS succeeds in moving from a solution based system to a learner and HR

based system, focusing on the value of engaging learners and creating learning

communities, transferring distance learning systems from a tool to deliver a course

or a workshop to a method to deliver leaders.

One of the biggest challenges in today’s information technology is

communication between the business and technology components. It always

required people with skills in both areas to understand the business objectives and

how to bridge it with technology. The same issue exists between human resource

personnel development and electronic learning. The research’s most important

achievement is in aligning leadership development with technology and building a

bridge between both fields, and establishing a starting point where experts from

both fields can contribute to building a cutting-edge distance training systems. The

research is also a stepping stone for future development exploring the potential of

combining advanced network with satellite to reduce the cost of delivering sessions

to remote areas.


References Cited

Arabe, K. C. (2001) Monitors vs. Blackboards: The Case for E-Training. http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2001/01/monitors_vs_bla.html Axup, J. (1998) Comparison of Usability Evaluation Methods (UEMs). http://www.userdesign.com/usability_uem.html Badri, A., Grasso, F. & Leng, P. An annotation scheme to analyse discussions in online classrooms. Baker, J. H. (2002) The Learning Log. Journal of Information Systems Education, 14(1). http://www.jise.appstate.edu/14/14(1)-011.pdf Bausch, S. & Yen, T. (2005) NIELSEN//NETRATINGS: RSS USERS VISIT THREE TIMES AS MANY NEWS WEB SITES AS NON-USERS. http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/pr_050920.pdf Boje, D. M. (2000) Transform into Super Leaders: TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP. http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/teaching/338/transformational_leadership.htm#burns Borremans, P. (2005) Blogging at IBM http://www.iaocblog.com/blog/_archives/2005/3/4/396555.html Cantrell, A. (2006) Microsoft's labor troubles. http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/13/technology/microsoft_employees/index.htm Coultas, J., Luckin, R., Boulay, B. D. & Reveel (2004) Reveel - Effectiveness of E-learning in the post 16 sectors. http://www.reveel.sussex.ac.uk/showpage.php?page=24 Daniels, D. (2005) RSS' Effect on E-Mail Marketing. http://www.clickz.com/experts/brand/capital/print.php/3492936 Downes, S. (2004) Blogging in Learning. http://www.downes.ca/files/BlogginginEducation.ppt Drucker, P. F. (1994) Knowledge Work and Knowledge Society The Social Transformations of this Century. Adrianne Kaufmann, Harvard University s John F. Kennedy School of Government. http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/ifactory/ksgpress/www/ksg_news/transcripts/drucklec.htm Enger, Colin (2006) What is RSS?, NASA http://www.nasa.gov/rss/

http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2001/01/monitors_vs_bla.html

http://www.userdesign.com/usability_uem.html

http://www.jise.appstate.edu/14/14(1)-011.pdf

http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/pr_050920.pdf

http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/teaching/338/transformational_leadership.htm#burns

http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/teaching/338/transformational_leadership.htm#burns

http://www.iaocblog.com/blog/_archives/2005/3/4/396555.html

http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/13/technology/microsoft_employees/index.htm

http://www.reveel.sussex.ac.uk/showpage.php?page=24

http://www.clickz.com/experts/brand/capital/print.php/3492936

http://www.downes.ca/files/BlogginginEducation.ppt

http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/ifactory/ksgpress/www/ksg_news/transcripts/drucklec.htm

http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/ifactory/ksgpress/www/ksg_news/transcripts/drucklec.htm

http://www.nasa.gov/rss/


Fontanus_Inc. (1997) Fontanus Torque Software Process White Paper. http://www.fontanus.com/pdfs/torque.pdf Friedman, H. H. & Langbert, M. (2000) "Abraham as a Transformational Leader". Journal of Leadership Studies, 7:2. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/economic/friedman/Abraham-GreatTransformLeader.htm Garrett, J. J. (2005) Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications. http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php Glif (2005) Global Lambda Integrated Facility. http://www.glif.is/publications/#maps Google Google Suggest. http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en Harvard Law School (2006) Technology at Harvard Law http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss ITSynergyCorp (2000) OOST course University of Calgary. Kanawati, K (2002) ISC LAND System Kotter, J. P. (1990) What Leaders Really Do. 12. ISC (2002) Web Strategy 2003. Larson, R. C. (2001) Distance Learning: Past, Present and Futures. EECS Colloquium Series. USA, MIT WORLD. http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/44/ Learningfinder.Org Glossary of Defining distance learning.www.learningfinder.org Lemay, R. (2005) Blog censorship gains support. http://news.com.com/Blog+censorship+gains+support/2100-1028_3-5670096.html Renai LeMay of ZDNet Australia reported from Sydney. LinkageIncorporated (2005). http://linkageinc.com/ Lumacore_Inc. (2006) The Luminary Series.http://www.luminaryseries.com/, http://lumacoreinc.com/businesses_lumasky_architecture.php OOSD (2005). http://oosd.com/ Porter, M. (2005) Creating a Vision with Competitive Advantage. Rainie, L. (2005a) Surveys by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_blogging_data.pdf Rainie, L. (2005b) Surveys by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

http://www.fontanus.com/pdfs/torque.pdf

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/economic/friedman/Abraham-GreatTransformLeader.htm

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/economic/friedman/Abraham-GreatTransformLeader.htm

http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php

http://www.glif.is/publications/#maps

http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/44/

http://news.com.com/Blog+censorship+gains+support/2100-1028_3-5670096.html

http://news.com.com/Blog+censorship+gains+support/2100-1028_3-5670096.html

http://linkageinc.com/

http://lumacoreinc.com/businesses_lumasky_architecture.php

http://oosd.com/

http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_blogging_data.pdf


http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_podcasting.pdf Richardson, C. (2004) RSS Ads A Growing Trend? http://www.webpronews.com/insiderreports/searchinsider/wpn-49-20041028RSSAdsAGrowingTrend.html Straker, D. (2004) Leadership vs. Management (changingminds.org). http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/manager_leader.htm Strazzo, D. & Wentling, T. L. A Study of e-Learning Practises in Selected Fortune 100 Companies. Dell computers. http://learning.ncsa.uiuc.edu/papers/elearnprac.pdf Thinkers50.Com/ (2005) Top Business Speakers. http://www.thinkers50.com/ Trainingfinder.Org Glossary: Distance Learning Definition http://www.trainingfinder.org/CDC_lingo.htm Urdan, T. A. & Weggen, C. C. (2000) CORPORATE E-LEARNING: EXPLORING A NEW FRONTIER. WR Hambrecht + Co. http://www.spectrainteractive.com/pdfs/CorporateELearingHamrecht.pdf Winer, D. (2005) RSS 2.0 Specification. IN NASA (Ed.). http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/, http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss

http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_podcasting.pdf

http://www.webpronews.com/insiderreports/searchinsider/wpn-49-20041028RSSAdsAGrowingTrend.html

http://www.webpronews.com/insiderreports/searchinsider/wpn-49-20041028RSSAdsAGrowingTrend.html

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/manager_leader.htm

http://learning.ncsa.uiuc.edu/papers/elearnprac.pdf

http://www.thinkers50.com/

http://www.trainingfinder.org/CDC_lingo.htm

http://www.spectrainteractive.com/pdfs/CorporateELearingHamrecht.pdf

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss


APPENDICES

Appendix A. Sponsor's Background OOSD

Canadian corporation recognized as one of the premier provider of

innovative corporate training and e-training solutions.

Richard Lengkong B.Comm., PGD (OOST)

Mr. Lengkong obtained a commerce degree from the University of British

Columbia and also acquired an OOST Post Graduate Diploma (Object Oriented

Software Technology) from the University of Calgary.

Richard Lengkong is the current Vice President of OOSD Inc where he is

responsible for strategic business development with an emphasis on corporate

training and distance learning initiatives. Prior to that Richard developed solid

managerial and academic experience in the corporate and leadership training area

while working for the University of Regina as the Director of the Business &

Professional Development Programs.


Appendix B. Expert Group Bios Nabil Beitinjaneh, MBA

Mr. Beitinjaneh is an engineer with extensive experience in business

development, project management, systems engineering and people management.

Within Nortel Networks’ Optical Networks he demonstrated strong managerial

abilities while leading a large team in the acquisition of technical acceptance and in

the deployment of new products in the North American and International

marketplace. Nabil has also represented an offshore start-up financial institution

assisting with all aspects of launching a new business from validating the business

model to developing competitive intelligence reports and providing introductions for

financing in Canada. Other mandates included the assessment of a technology park

and expanding trade opportunities and providing engineering expertise.

Warren Bickford, ABC:

Mr. Bickford, ABC, is Vice President of Gryphon Reputation Management,

based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, a facilitator for OOSD Exemplary

Leadership Sessions, and the current Chair of the International Association of

Business Communicators Executive Board. He has over 25 years of experience in

communications, public relations, issues management, administration and project

management in the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. Warren has acquired

excellent leadership, interpersonal and communication skills working for senior-level

management positions at Saskatchewan Justice, Saskatchewan Health and the

Regina District Health Board. He is a Past President of IABC Regina, Past District


Director of Canada District One and Past Chair of the IABC Research Foundation.

Warren has served three terms on the IABC International Executive Board.

Warren has always been an active volunteer. He has served on the boards of

Volunteer Regina, the Hospitals of Regina Foundation and the Children’s Health

Foundation of Saskatchewan. As well, he is a Past Chair of the Healthcare Public

Relations Association of Canada and has served on the board of the Association for

Healthcare Philanthropy-Canada. Warren is currently on the board of the MacKenzie

Art Gallery in Regina.

Ronald d. Camp II, PH.D.

Professor Camp is a consultant and facilitator for OOSD in the areas of

leadership and management. Ron is also a faculty member for the University of

Regina Business (Faculty of Business Administration). Ron's leadership experience

includes positions with the Oregon Department of Transportation (as the Human

Resource Development Strategist), Juliann Mountain Cider Co., and Tamarack

Center Hospital. In addition, Ron has provided consulting and training for

organizations in Canada, Japan, and the United States, including Knight Piésold

Ltd., The Oregon Department of General Services, Alexander Art LP, and the Japan

International Cooperation Agency.


Appendix C. Survey 1

Coaching To Win Feedback Form Name: _____________________________________________ Title: ____________________________________________ Company: __________________________________________ E-mail: _________________ @ ______________________ Telephone: ( ) _________________________ Fax ( ) _________________________ Coaching To Win Feedback Excellent Good Average Fair Poor Registration process was quick & efficient 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The event met its stated objectives and learning outcomes 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The event was well organized 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The speakers were knowledgeable and helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The speakers stimulated my interest in Leadership 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The Q&A format was effective 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Coaching To Win Participant Manual The participant manual is clear and concise 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The manual is a practical resource 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The "Pre-Session" Reading & Activities were helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Coaching To Win Venue The technology for the event was adequate (Screens/Speakers) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Food & beverages for event 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a 1-Hour Live Facilitation Component The facilitator was knowledgeable and helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The exercises were relevant and reinforced learning objectives 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The facilitation session was well organized 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The live facilitation provided added-value to the event 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Overall My overall evaluation of today's Leadership Program. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The event price for today's program in terms of added value 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Would you recommend this event to others? (Circle One) yes No I am interested in attending an OOSD Fall 2005 Leadership Series yes No Would you be interested in receiving news on upcoming events & training programs from OOSD? yes No Miscellaneous My preferred method of viewing a Leadership Program (Check One) Public – Satellite Web Streaming - On Desktop

DVD/VHS Videoconferencing

My preferred format for a Leadership Program (Check One Full-Day Half-Day 1 Hour 30 Only 1 Hour 30 + Live Facilitation


It would be valuable if a Leadership broadcast was made available over the internet for a certain period after the event yes No I would participate in an Online Discussion Forum as a follow-up to a leadership session yes No I would be interested in bringing leadership broadcasts directly into our organization (Corporate Downlink) yes No Please indicate any current problems with Leadership distance learning programs and what can be done to improve them (i.e. no ROI, limited access to technology, etc) Which speakers are you most interested in seeing at a future OOSD event?

Warren Bennis Bill Gates Carly Fiorina Colin Powell Stephen Covey Michael Porter Hillary Clinton Alan Greenspan Jack Welch Malcolm Gladwell Marcus Buckingham Other: __________

Please indicate your position within the organization Executive Level Middle Management Sales & Marketing I.T Senior Management Human Resources Project Manager Finance/Accounting Other Any Additional Comments:

Thank You & Have A Great Day!


Appendix D. Survey 2 2005 Inspired Leaders Series Feedback Form

Name: ___________________________________ Title: ____________________________________________ Company: ________________________________ E-mail: _________________ @ ______________________ Telephone: ( ) _________________________ Fax ( ) _________________________ Event Feedback Excellent Good Average Fair Poor Michael Porter was knowledgeable and helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Malcolm Gladwell was knowledgeable and helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The Q&A format in each session was effective 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Participant Manual The "Pre-Session" Reading & Activities were helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a My preferred method of receiving the manual (Check One) Printed (Hard Copy PDF Format (Downloadable) Venue The technology for the event was adequate (Screens/Speakers) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a 1-Hour Live Facilitation Component How do you rate the 1-Hour Facilitation Component 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Overall My overall evaluation of today's Leadership Program. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Miscellaneous My preferred method of viewing a Leadership Program (Check One) Public – Satellite Web streaming - On Desktop


It would be valuable if a Leadership broadcast was made available over the internet for a certain period after the event yes No Does your organization use e-learning internally yes No Do you debrief with your team members or coworkers after a learning event yes No My preferred format for sharing online discussion with participants at remote sites (Check One) Blogs Message Boards Chat Rooms My preferred format for the One Hour Facilitation Component after the broadcast Live on Screen Would you like to access discussions and supporting tools on your mobile device "M-Learning" (Blackberry, Palm, Cell) yes No If an OOSD Online Learning System was launched, would you like to see the following?" Return On Investment (ROI) System that relates to the events…… yes No 360 Degree Assessment Tools or other measurement tools that yes No support the events……… yes No HR Needs Analysis System………… yes No Are you interested in a system that allows you to search for books authored by the speaker while viewing a broadcast yes No I feel it is difficult to apply concepts learned in a "digital manner" to the workplace yes No


Does your company have on-site technology for distance learning initiatives? yes No If YES, my company uses distance learning for the following Leadership / Soft Skills Training Management/Supervisory

Technical – IT Other If NO, would your company invest the money required to support distance learning yes No For a Leadership Program (Check One Half-Day conference Internal Leadership Program OOSD Facilitated Sessions Reading Books / Articles Please indicate any current problems with Leadership distance learning programs and what can be done to improve them (i.e. no ROI, limited access to technology, etc)




Appendix E. Survey 3

2005 Inspired Leaders Series Feedback Form

Name: _____________________________________________ Title: ____________________________________________ Company: __________________________________________ E-mail: _________________ @ ______________________ Telephone: ( ) _________________________ Fax ( ) _________________________ Event Feedback Excellent Good Average Fair Poor Registration process was quick & efficient 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The event was well organized 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The event met its stated objectives and learning outcomes 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a David Allen was knowledgeable and helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a David Allen stimulated my interest in leadership 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The format of the half-day session was effective 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The Q&A format was effective 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Participant Manual The participant manual is clear and concise 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The manual is a practical resource 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The "Pre-Session" Reading & Activities were helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Venue The technology for the event was adequate (Screens/Speakers) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Food & beverages for event 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a 1-Hour Live Facilitation Component The facilitator was knowledgeable and helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The exercises were relevant and reinforced learning objectives 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The facilitation session was well organized 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The live facilitation provided added-value to the event 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Overall My overall evaluation of today's Leadership Program. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The event price for today's program in terms of added value 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Would you recommend this event to others? (Circle One) yes No Would you be interested in receiving news on upcoming events & training programs from OOSD? yes No Miscellaneous My preferred method of viewing a Leadership Program (Check One) Public – Satellite Web streaming - On Desktop


My preferred format for a Leadership Program (Check One Full-Day Half-Day


1 Hour 30 Only 1 Hour 30 + Live Facilitation I would participate in an Online Discussion Forum as a follow-up to a leadership session yes No I would be interested in bringing leadership broadcasts directly into our organization (Corporate Downlink) yes No Please indicate any current problems with Leadership distance learning programs and what can be done to improve them (i.e. no ROI, limited access to technology, etc) Which speakers are you most interested in seeing at a future OOSD event?

Warren Bennis Bill Gates Carly Fiorina Colin Powell Stephen Covey Michael Porter Hillary Clinton Alan Greenspan Jack Welch Meg Whitman Marcus Buckingham Other: __________




Appendix F. Survey 4

2005 Inspired Leaders Series Feedback Form Name: ___________________________________ Title: ____________________________________________ Company: ________________________________ E-mail: _________________ @ ______________________ Telephone: ( ) _________________________ Fax ( ) _________________________ Event Feedback Excellent Good Average Fair Poor Cokie Roberts was knowledgeable and helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Marcus Buckingham was knowledgeable and helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a The Q&A format in each session was effective 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Participant Manual The "Pre-Session" Reading & Activities were helpful 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a My preferred method of receiving the manual (Check One) Printed (Hard Copy PDF Format (Downloadable) Venue The technology for the event was adequate (Screens/Speakers) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a 1-Hour Live Facilitation Component How do you rate the 1-Hour Facilitation Component 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Overall My overall evaluation of today's Leadership Program. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 n/a Miscellaneous My preferred method of viewing a Leadership Program (Check One) Public – Satellite Web streaming - On Desktop


It would be valuable if a Leadership broadcast was made available over the internet for a certain period after the event yes No Does your organization use e-learning internally yes No Does your organization use e-learning internally for leadership & soft skills yes No Do you debrief with your team members or coworkers after a learning event yes No My preferred format for sharing online discussion with participants at remote sites (Check One) Blogs Message Boards Chat Rooms My preferred format for the One Hour Facilitation Component after the broadcast Live on Screen Would you like to access discussions and supporting tools on your mobile device "M-Learning" (Blackberry, Palm, Cell) yes No If an OOSD Online Learning System was launched, would you like to see the following?"


Return On Investment (ROI) System that relates to the events…… yes No 360 Degree Assessment Tools or other measurement tools that yes No support the events……… yes No HR Needs Analysis System………… yes No Are you interested in a system that allows you to search for books authored by the speaker while viewing a broadcast yes No I feel it is difficult to apply concepts learned in a "digital manner" to the workplace yes No Does your company have on-site technology for distance learning initiatives? yes No If YES, my company uses distance learning for the following Leadership / Soft Skills Training Management/Supervisory

Technical – IT Other If NO, would your company invest the money required to support distance learning yes No For a Leadership Program (Check One Half-Day conference Internal Leadership Program OOSD Facilitated Sessions Reading Books / Articles Please indicate any current problems with Leadership distance learning programs and what can be done to improve them (i.e. no ROI, limited access to technology, etc)




Appendix G. Learner Session Index Page


Appendix H. Learner Session Page (Open Menus)


Appendix I. Facilitator / Administrator Edit Learning Program Page


Appendix J. Facilitator / Administrator Account Information

analysis and modeling for digitalizing exemplary transformational leadership training by kevin...

Documents

exemplary leadership

training costs

corporate training

electronic training

new etraining system

soft skills training

related training initiatives

kevin kanawati copyright