Cambridge Business Association
The Next Generation of Corporate Universities
Book

The Next Generation of Corporate Universities

Innovative Approaches for Developing People and Expanding Organizational Capabilities

Mark Allen
Pfeiffer, 2007
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Corporate universities have an identity problem. Many serve nonbusiness-related organizations, and so aren’t exactly corporate. None fit the profile of ordinary academic universities. But other than those small inconsistencies, they are doing just fine. In 1993, some 400 corporate universities were in operation. By 2001, this grew to 2,000. The real corporate university is more than a training department on steroids. Its mission is developing its organization’s next generation of leaders, shaping corporate culture and changing employee behavior. Famous examples include McDonald’s Hamburger University in Illinois, and Disney’s universities in Florida and California. Some corporate universities are quite large. The Defense Acquisitions University at the U.S. Department of Defense employs 550 faculty and staff members. Caterpillar, Inc.’s university has 100 staff members. Expert Mark Allen and other essay writers provide valuable, if jargon-burdened, advice on organizing and administering modern corporate universities. Allen planned this book for chief learning officers, corporate-university professionals, and training and instruction design professionals. GE’s Jack Welch and McDonald’s Ray Kroc saw the corporate university as the ideal way to develop employees, instill loyalty and improve productivity. If those are your goals as well, getAbstract recommends this informative book.

Summary

Beyond Tactical Training

What differentiates a standard training department from a “next generation” (1990s and later) corporate university? A training department focuses on operational goals and is essentially tactical: “Here is how we do this.” A corporate university is strategic. Its mission is to develop employees, expand the organization’s capabilities and help achieve its strategic goals. The classroom is just a site, not the pivot point of the learning process, which extends throughout the organization. Corporate universities provide valid “work-stretch activities,” including assignments that help employees grow. For example, leadership development programs might include participation in professional organizations and trade associations. Corporate universities are “business enablers, and catalysts for performance and relationship enhancement.” They bring managers aboard as mentors and talent developers, not only as talent employers.

Many large companies have corporate universities, but so do many smaller companies, nonprofit organizations, and federal, state and municipal governments and government agencies. Global corporations often have corporate universities...

About the Author

Mark Allen, Ph.D., author, consultant and speaker, is an international authority on corporate universities and nontraditional higher education.

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