Coaching: A Global Study of Successful Practices is based on a survey that included responses from 1,030 managers and executives across a wide range of functional areas. The survey was conducted using AMA’s global network, including Canadian Management Centre in Toronto, Management Centre Europe in Brussels, and AMA’s partners and affiliates in Mexico City, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, and Istanbul and in many other cities around the world.

When asked about the groups that their organizations coach, 60% of respondents said the coaching involved high potential employees to a high or very high extent, and 42% said the same about executives. By contrast, 37% said they coach problem employees to such a high extent.

The study defined coaching as “a short- to medium-term relationship between a manager or senior leader and a consultant (internal or external) with the purpose of improving work performance” (Douglas & McCauley, 1999). And this study showed that coaching is indeed linked to improved performance, both at the individual and organizational levels.

“Executive coaching has become one of the tools to achieve effective leadership in today’s vastly changing corporate culture. As we increasingly learn how to measure executive coaching, we will find that we manage its role in leadership development better,” said Edward T. Reilly, president and CEO of American Management Association. “In going forward, what we have learned from this study will pave the way to a clearer understanding of the possibilities of executive coaching and practice. Change will need to come quickly given the vacancies in top management that are likely to occur due to retirement of the baby boomer generation,” Reilly said.

Respondents from organizations that use coaching more now than in the past are more likely to report two kinds of advantages. First, they are more likely to state that their organizations have higher levels of success in the area of coaching. Second, they are more likely to say that their organizations are performing well in the market, as determined by self-reports in the combined areas of revenue growth, market share, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

“There’s been skepticism about executive coaching in recent years. In some cases, it’s been warranted. Coaching for coaching’s sake is probably worthless. But this study suggests that—when it’s done right—coaching can raise both individual and organizational performance,” said Jay Jamrog, senior vice president of research of the Institute for Corporate Productivity.

The study found that raising individual levels of performance is the number one reason for using coaching and that using coaching for this purpose is highly correlated with the success of coaching programs.

But there are many ways of designing and implementing coaching programs and not all are equally effective, the study found. For one, sending potential coaches to external development programs was more strongly correlated with overall coaching success than more internally focused methods. Yet, those external programs were less commonly used, suggesting that strong consideration needs to be given to using external coaching programs to enhance internal results.

The study also found that clarity of purpose counts. The more a company has a clear reason for using a coach, the more likely that its coaching process will be viewed as successful. Add measurement into the mix and you have a winning formula. The research indicates that the more frequently respondents reported using a measurement method to gauge coaching effectiveness, the more likely they were to report success in their coaching programs. The measurement methods that were most strongly linked to success are individual increases in productivity, impact on engagement, satisfaction with the program, and bottom-line results on the business.

Survey participants were asked to what extent their organizations used certain criteria to match coaches with coachees. By far, the most frequent basis for matching was the area of the coach’s expertise. Almost three-quarters of respondents (74%) said matching decisions were—either frequently or a great deal—based on finding a coach with the right expertise to address specific issues.

Matching the right expertise with the right client is associated with higher success rates.
The study also shows that it pays to interview coaches. Surprisingly, when asked about the criteria they used to select coaches, only 54% say they interview potential coaches frequently or a great deal. Yet, this basic step is more correlated with reported success of coaching than any other selection strategy. Both time and money are wasted when organizations fail to invest time up front matching clients with coaches.

Another coaching best practice is to know when to use an internal versus external coach. The research indicates that external coaches are hired most often to work with executives. External coaches are significantly less likely to work with managers or supervisors. On the other hand, internal coaches are almost equally likely to work with managers as they are supervisors. Internal coaches are significantly less likely to work with executives. Additionally, while internal coaches were assumed to coach employees at all levels of the organization (43%), very few respondents (5%) said that external coaches coach employees at all levels to any great extent.

The study also indicates that using internal coaches to coach managers or executives is not correlated with coaching success. It appears that using external coaches for those groups is more effective and perhaps confirms that the higher cost of using an external coach may be well worth it.

The study found that providing coaching to expatriates is associated with success and improved market performance. Yet, few companies report that they offer coaching to this segment of their employees, suggesting that there’s an opportunity for competitive advantage here.

The study also found that there’s room for improvement in various areas related to coaching. For example, only about a third of respondents (32%) considered peer coaching (in which each participant acts as both coach and coachee to a partner within the organization to improve growth and development) to be very effective or extremely effective. That finding indicates that most organizations have yet to determine how to reap maximum benefit from their peer-coaching programs.

In general, the researchers believe that coaching remains an untapped opportunity for many organizations. Only about half of responding North American companies said they have coaching programs in place, and the same was true for just 55% of respondents in the international sample. This suggests that there’s considerable room for coaching to expand and mature, becoming a critical variable in developing and retaining scarce talent in the future. Companies that learn to leverage coaching and build their programs on what works will have a significant competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

The complete report, Coaching: A Global Study of Successful Practices, is available at www.amanet.org/research

About AMA
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, Webcasts and podcasts, conferences, corporate and government solutions, business books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information, visit www.amanet.org

About i4cp, Inc.
The Institute for Corporate Productivity is the world’s largest private network of corporations focused on improving workforce productivity. Our vendor-free community facilitates innovation by giving our members—among the largest and most respected organizations in the world—access to:
1. Peers to spark new ideas and prevent “reinventing the wheel”
2. Research to enable members to understand current practices and next practices
3. Tools to put ideas and research into action
4. Technology to enable members to easily access tailored information and execute workforce strategies.
With more than 40 years of experience and the industry’s largest team of human capital analysts, i4cp is the definitive destination for organizations seeking innovative ways to improve workforce productivity.

“There’s enormous awareness about environmental and social issues today,” said Bettina Neidhardt, leadership development portfolio manager for American Management Association. “If your company is not accountable about how products are developed; or, if your company harms the environment or exploits a workforce—locally or globally—both reputation and profitability will suffer.”

AMA’s Green Leadership: Implementing Sustainable Strategies seminar will be offered at AMA Executive Conference Centers in several cities in 2008. It was developed to help companies better understand sustainability issues and more easily transform them into improvements to impact their triple bottom lines—economic, social and environmental.

Based on AMA’s Green Leadership seminar, the following are five tips for implementing profitable and successful sustainability initiatives:

• Understand how global trends affect your business, and then analyze, align, and strategize these trends to create your company’s sustainability policy. “What works for one corporation may not work for another, so it’s important to customize your policy,” said Neidhardt.

• Learn how to measure performance and develop a cost/benefit analysis. “This is of the greatest importance,” said Neidhardt. “Very often, something may seem, on the surface, to be too expensive—but further investigation will reveal that it will be much more expensive for you NOT to do it.”

• Identify key internal and external stakeholders—and then enroll and engage them. “Communication is always key—but particularly with a topic such as sustainability—many employees are passionate about this from a professional as well as a personal perspective,” said Neidhardt. “Make sure everyone is aware of company values and that there is proper support from company leadership. Communications should be directive and supportive, and must cascade through the organization.”

• Measure and benchmark energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. “It’s very basic, but a good start is to learn how to read your company’s—or your own—energy bill,” said Neidhardt, “because you’ll probably be surprised at how much energy and money you’re wasting and how easy it can be to make cost saving changes.”

• Be completely honest about your company’s policy. “Organizations that stretch the truth about their products or practices risk being accused of ‘green washing,’” said Neidhardt. “That can come back to bite you and negatively impact your company’s reputational capital.”

AMA’s Green Leadership seminar was developed in conjunction with the Institute for Sustainable Enterprise at Fairleigh Dickinson University. The program will be facilitated by Jeana Wirtenberg, Ph.D., co-founder and director of external relations and services at the institute.

“The future of business is being built on ‘green’ and socially responsible organizations,” said Edward Reilly, president and CEO of the AMA. “Global politics, technology innovation and business expansion are shaping a landscape of tough challenges and vast opportunities. Our seminar will enable managers to meet their goals and measure their ROI so they will be equipped to compete in this new business climate.”

The three-day seminar will be held at AMA Executive Conference Centers in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, in 2008 as well as in other locations throughout the country in 2009. For more information about this seminar please visit AMA’s Web site at www.amanet.org.

About AMA
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, conferences, Webcasts and podcasts, corporate and government solutions, business books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information, visit www.amanet.org.

Perhaps better than any other professional training and development organization, the American Management Association understands this pressing need. Based on the set of managerial competencies specially developed by the American Management Association for a new core management curriculum, THE AMA GUIDE TO MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT by Daniel R. Tobin and Margaret S. Pettingell (AMACOM; May 27, 2008; $34.95 Hardcover) distills into one authoritative volume the “best of the best” in management development.

Developed by leading thinkers and deployed in organizations around the world, the book identifies competencies and skills representing a broad spectrum of key approaches applicable to both typical and unusual business settings. The book considers every factor important in management development, and features in-depth information on topics including:

• The five major categories of competencies, including business knowledge and the ability to lead and manage change and innovation
• The specific skills needed, including communication skills and people management skills
• Alternative methods organizations may use to develop managers, including different types of training and evaluation of learning effectiveness

The book places an emphasis on the idea that training and development must not be left solely to training and development groups, corporate universities, or external consultants. Authors Tobin and Pettingell offer a framework for keeping managers deeply involved in competency development, whereby they will be that much better equipped to ensure the success of any training initiatives the company may undertake.

Presenting the AMA Management Development Competency Model in its entirety—with hundreds of illustrative behaviors spread across nearly four dozen competencies as they apply to positions at four different employee and management levels—the book shows readers how to optimize every aspect of their management development efforts, from screening and hiring to sustained talent management, from individual reporting relationships to formal, company-wide management development initiatives.

Based on years of exhaustive research, extensive field testing, and the analysis of hundreds of competency models, THE AMA GUIDE TO MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT gives readers the guidance they need to make sure that both current and future managers have the abilities their organizations need to prosper.

About the Authors:
Daniel R. Tobin is Vice President of Instructional Design and Development for the American Management Association and has more than 30 years of experience as a corporate training director, consultant, writer, and speaker on corporate learning strategies. Margaret S. Pettingell is an instructional designer with AMA, and previously held positions with Novations Group, Accenture, and Decker Communications.

Title: THE AMA GUIDE TO MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Daniel R. Tobin and Margaret S. Pettingell
ISBN: 978-0-8144-0899-5
Pub. Date: May 27, 2008
Price: $34.95
Pages: 320

For review copies, call 212-903-8315 or fax 212-903-8083.
To purchase copies, call 1-800-714-6395
Visit AMACOM online at http://www.amacombooks.com

These students experience firsthand the value of teamwork, cooperation and diversity in the workplace. This program encourages learning through involvement. Student teams prepare and present a business case before a mock board of directors, engage in a one-day work management simulation and interact with corporate mentors.

Executives, managers and consultants from a variety of businesses and industries volunteer their time as guest faculty and pass on their knowledge and experience to the next generation of business leaders. Approximately 25 students will participate in each of the four sessions. Since 1963, more than 15,000 high school and college students have participated in this program.

The Operation Enterprise program is recommended by the American Council on Education for three semester hours of undergraduate credit. All high school and college students who successfully complete the program are eligible for these credits.

The 2008 high school programs, for students aged 16 to 18, will be held at Columbia University in New York, July 8–15; the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), July 18–25; and the University of Texas at Austin, July 27–August 3. The 2008 college program will be held at UCLA, June 25–July 2.

To apply for the program, students must fill out an application online at www.amanet.org/oe and submit a current academic transcript, one letter of recommendation and a $15 application fee to Operation Enterprise, American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. The cost of the program is $1,750, which includes tuition, room, board, materials and local sightseeing. For more information, call 800.634.4262, or visit www.amanet.org/oe.

Full and partial scholarships are available based upon applicant qualifications and on the availability of funds. Operation Enterprise depends upon the support of dedicated corporate and individual sponsors for scholarships, services and speakers.

About AMA
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, conferences, Webcasts and podcasts, corporate and government solutions, business books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information, visit http://www.amanet.org.

This award was created in 1999 to celebrate outstanding examples of creative problem solving and innovation in office support. The award acknowledges the outstanding efforts of office professionals, working individually or in teams, and encourages others to seek opportunities to demonstrate the contributions they can make to their organizations.

To be eligible for the award, the innovation must have been developed and implemented by administrative professionals and must provide sustainable examples of excellence that can assist others facing similar work and productivity issues. The innovation also must have been implemented for at least six months prior to the application deadline.

Entries will be judged on the basis of documented positive results related to at least one of the following: cost savings, increased efficiency and productivity, improved employee morale, enhanced customer satisfaction, and clearer communication throughout the organization.

One representative from the winning entry will be honored at an award ceremony during the 16th Annual Administrative Professionals Conference in San Antonio, TX, October 5–8, 2008. As a guest, all registration fees, hotel and travel expenses will be paid for by AMA. The winner will also receive a personalized plaque recognizing the innovation.

For information on previous award-winning entries, or to apply for the 2008 Innovation Award, visit AMA’s Website, http://www.amanet.org/events/iaward/ or call 1.800.262.9699. Executive secretaries, executive assistants, administrative assistants, personal assistants, secretaries, office coordinators, office managers and receptionists are encouraged to apply.

About AMA
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, conferences, Webcasts and podcasts, corporate and government solutions, business books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information, visit www.amanet.org.

The state-of-the-art facility includes 10 meeting rooms and three break-out rooms that can accommodate meetings for five to 90 people. The facility also includes a business center, bookstore, beverage stations and lounges, and is available for businesses and organizations for off-site events.

Each of the meeting rooms is equipped with the latest interactive technology, including projection equipment, audio system, and wireless Internet connectivity. AMA’s commitment to technology is also reflected in its blended-learning approach to training. Many of its seminars include pre- and post-seminar online assessments, virtual sessions, online communities and Web-based development tools. These programs support AMA’s instructor-led, seminar experience and extend and reinforce learning beyond the classroom.

“American Management Association has operated an Executive Conference Center in Washington, D.C., for more than 40 years. Our association has been a trusted training partner to many large corporations, small businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations,” said Edward T. Reilly, AMA’s president and CEO. “Last year, AMA’s former Washington, D.C., Center held more than 400 public seminar sessions for nearly 6,000 participants, the majority of whom travel from outside the area, helping to stimulate the local economy. We look forward to continued success in our new facility in Arlington.”

AMA has Executive Conference Centers in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, and also operates training facilities in Brussels, Toronto, Mexico City, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, and Istanbul and in many other cities around the world.

AMA offers more than 170 seminars in general management, interpersonal skills, project management, communication skills, human resources, sales, marketing, leadership and finance. Programs are offered at all levels, from CEOs and senior executives to new managers and administrative professionals. Business professionals with real-world experience facilitate AMA programs and use practical, action-oriented content that can be immediately applied in the workplace. Last year, AMA offered over 3,000 seminar sessions worldwide for more than 60,000 people.

About AMA
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, conferences, Webcasts and podcasts, corporate and government solutions, business books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information, visit www.amanet.org.

E-Mail and Internet-Related Terminations:
The 28% of employers who have fired workers for e-mail misuse did so for the following reasons: violation of any company policy (64%); inappropriate or offensive language (62%); excessive personal use (26%); breach of confidentiality rules (22%); other (12%).

The 30% of bosses who have fired workers for Internet misuse cite the following reasons: viewing, downloading, or uploading inappropriate/offensive content (84%); violation of any company policy (48%); excessive personal use (34%); other (9%).

Internet, E-Mail, Blogs and Social Networking:
Employers are primarily concerned about inappropriate Web surfing, with 66% monitoring Internet connections. Fully 65% of companies use software to block connections to inappropriate Websites—a 27% increase since 2001 when AMA/ePolicy Institute first surveyed electronic monitoring and surveillance policies and procedures. Employers who block access to the Web are concerned about employees visiting adult sites with sexual, romantic, or pornographic content (96%); game sites (61%); social networking sites (50%); entertainment sites (40%); shopping/auction sites (27%); and sports sites (21%). In addition, companies use URL blocks to stop employees from visiting external blogs (18%).

Computer monitoring takes many forms, with 45% of employers tracking content, keystrokes, and time spent at the keyboard. Another 43% store and review computer files. In addition, 12% monitor the blogosphere to see what is being written about the company, and another 10% monitor social networking sites.

Of the 43% of companies that monitor e-mail, 73% use technology tools to automatically monitor e-mail and 40% assign an individual to manually read and review e-mail.

“Concern over litigation and the role electronic evidence plays in lawsuits and regulatory investigations has spurred more employers to monitor online activity. Data security and employee productivity concerns also motivate employers to monitor Web and e-mail use and content,” said Nancy Flynn, executive director of The ePolicy Institute and author of The ePolicy Handbook, 2nd Edition (AMACOM, 2008), E-Mail Rules (AMACOM 2003), Instant Messaging Rules (AMACOM 2004), Blog Rules (AMACOM 2006), and other books related to workplace computer use.

“Workers’ e-mail and other electronically stored information create written business records that are the electronic equivalent of DNA evidence,” said Flynn, noting that 24% of employers have had e-mail subpoenaed by courts and regulators and another 15% have battled workplace lawsuits triggered by employee e-mail, according to 2006 AMA/ePolicy research. “To help control the risk of litigation, security breaches and other electronic disasters, employers should take advantage of monitoring and blocking technology to battle people problems—including the accidental and intentional misuse of computer systems and other electronic resources,” Flynn said.

While only two states, Delaware and Connecticut, require employers to notify employees of monitoring, the majority are doing a good job of alerting employees when they are being watched. Fully 83% inform workers that the company is monitoring content, keystrokes and time spent at the keyboard; 84% let employees know the company reviews computer activity; and 71% alert employees to e-mail monitoring. But are employers doing enough to educate employees on their specific policies?

“Most employees receive policies regarding use of office business tools and privacy issues on the first day of employment, but too often they don’t read them. Employers need to do more than hand over a written policy,” says Manny Avramidis, senior vice president of global human resources for AMA. “They should educate employees on company expectations and offer training on an annual basis.”

Telephone and Voice Mail:
Six percent of employers have fired employees for misuse or private use of office phones. Fully 45% monitor time spent and numbers called, and another 16% record phone conversations. An additional 9% monitor employees’ voicemail messages. Most employers notify employees of phone (84%) and voicemail (73%) monitoring.

Video Surveillance:
Almost half (48%) of the companies surveyed use video monitoring to counter theft, violence and sabotage. Only 7% use video surveillance to track employees’ on-the-job performance. Most employers notify employees of anti-theft video surveillance (78%) and performance-related video monitoring (89%).

Global Satellite Positioning and Emerging Surveillance Technology:
Employers who use Assisted Global Positioning or Global Positioning Systems satellite technology are in the minority, with only 8% using GPS to track company vehicles; 3% using GPS to monitor cell phones; and fewer than 1% using GPS to monitor employee ID/Smartcards. The majority (52%) of companies employ Smartcard technology to control physical security and access to buildings and data centers. Trailing far behind is the use of technology that enables fingerprint scans (2%), facial recognition (0.4%) and iris scans (0.4%).

The 2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey is co-sponsored by American Management Association (www.amanet.org) and The ePolicy Institute (www.epolicyinstitute.com). Of the 304 U.S. companies that participated: 27% represent companies employing 100 or fewer workers, 101–500 employees (27%), 501–1,000 (12%), 1,001–2,500 (12%), 2,501–5,000 (10%) and 5,001 or more (12%).

About AMA
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, conferences, Webcasts and podcasts, corporate and government solutions, business books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information visit www.amanet.org.

About The ePolicy Institute
The ePolicy Institute is dedicated to helping employers limit electronic risks, including litigation, through the development and implementation of written policies and employee training programs. An international speaker and trainer, Executive Director Nancy Flynn is the author of 10 books published in 5 languages. As a recognized authority on workplace e-mail and web usage, Nancy Flynn also serves as an expert witness in e-mail-related litigation. Since 2001, The ePolicy Institute has partnered with AMA on an annual survey of workplace e-mail and Internet policies and procedures. Nancy Flynn is a popular media source who has been interviewed by Fortune, Time, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, Business Week, USA Today, Readers’ Digest, New York Times, NPR, BBC, CNBC, CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox Business News among others. For more information visit www.epolicyinstitute.com.

More than one-third (35%) of the business people surveyed said they are uncomfortable discussing their political views with colleagues, while 39 percent said they are comfortable, and 25 percent of respondents said they were neutral about sharing their political opinions. Forty percent, however, are comfortable talking about politics with their supervisors, 38 percent are uncomfortable and 22 percent are neutral.

While political chatter at work is expected during a presidential election year, the AMA survey shows that most employees are not campaigning in the office for their favorites. Ninety-two percent of respondents said that no one from their company—either management or labor—has recommended voting for a particular candidate because it would benefit the organization. This reveals a slight decrease from AMA’s 2004 survey on the same subject, in which 13 percent of respondents confirmed that someone from their company recommended a particular candidate. In the current study, only 7 percent actually confirmed someone recommended voting for a particular candidate.

This lack of activism held true in spite of lenient policies about politics in the office. More than half (57%) of senior executives surveyed said that no written policy exists prohibiting the distribution or posting of material endorsing a political party or candidate.

Companies as a whole also are staying away from endorsing political favorites or parties. More than three-fourths (79%) of senior executives said that their company does not contribute to a particular political party. However, they are not spending a lot of energy communicating this point, as almost two-thirds (65%) of employees cannot say whether their company contributes to a particular political party.

Conducted in association with NFI Research, the results are based on responses from 701 senior executives, managers and employees from organizations within a variety of industries. The complete AMA 2008 Political Discussions in the Workplace Survey is available on the American Management Association Web site at www.amanet.org/research

About AMA
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—“learning through doing”—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, webcasts and podcasts, conferences, corporate and government solutions, business books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information visit www.amanet.org

AMA won in the Best Leadership category for its Leadership Development Blended Learning platform, described as having “a perfect mix of classroom content with well-designed Web-based support and assessment materials.” AMA also won in the Best Soft Skills category for its Business Skills Blended Learning programs. The programs were described as “training you can measure,” “helped us figure out which program met our needs,” and “the pre-session preparation made time in the class more valuable.”

“It’s an honor to be recognized within the training industry for providing the best products and services. It’s even more of an honor and a validation when that praise comes directly from our customers and clients,” said Keith Dalton, AMA’s senior vice president for Corporate Learning Services.

“AMA is finding new ways to incorporate cutting-edge technology into our programs. We are committed to a blended-learning approach, combining instructor-led classroom training with pre- and post-online support to help individuals enhance their performance and improve business results,” Dalton said.

Readers nominated and voted for products and solutions via Elearning! Magazine’s online ballot. Product categories included: Best LMS, Best Hosted LMS, Best Presentation Tool, Best Authoring Tool, Best Simulation Solution, Best Virtual Classroom Solution, Best Web Conferencing Solution, Best IT Content, Soft Skills and Leadership Training. All ballots were cast between September 1, 2007 and November 30, 2007. Each ballot was reviewed and validated by the editorial team.

“The Best of Awards are unlike any hosted in this market,” reported Jerry Roche, editorial director of Elearning! Magazine. “Every brand and product was reader nominated and the finalists are the leading vote earners from each product category,” Roche said.

AMA and all the other winners and finalists in each product category were featured in the winter edition of Elearning! Magazine published in January. AMA was also presented with a Crystal Apple Award at the Training 2008 Conference.

About Elearning!
Elearning! Magazine, e-zine, Elearning! E-News, Elearning! Alert, Elearning! Virtual Trade Shows and Website are produced by B2B Media Company, a privately held trade publishing and electronic media company. Elearning! brands are produced by B2B Media Company’s trade publishing unit. To learn more, visit http://www.elearning.b2bmediaco.com/.

About AMA
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, conferences, Webcasts and podcasts, corporate and government solutions, business books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information, visit www.amanet.org.

“We’ve had great success with coupling Virtual Sessions with AMA’s customized on-site seminars and we are looking forward to launching our first public seminar programs this spring that combine classroom and online sessions. Our obligation as an educational organization is to provide the best mix of content and delivery formats to support the kind of change our customers trust us to provide,” said Pat Leonard, AMA’s executive vice president for U.S. Management Education.

“The complement of Virtual Sessions to the classroom experience allows for a multi-touch reinforcement to support the learning process and assure the newly acquired knowledge is applied back on the job. This moves the ‘classroom lab’ into the ‘workplace lab,’ where it can help the learner apply newfound insight and skills to real-life situations back at work,” Leonard said.

Virtual Sessions

AMA’s Virtual Sessions are live, collaborative and interactive meetings held online that are designed to bring together groups of seminar participants in real time before and after the live classroom learning experience. Used prior to the seminar, the Virtual Session can help participants prepare for the upcoming live seminar or include assignments to be covered during the classroom training. Following the live seminar, AMA’s Virtual Sessions provide an opportunity for the instructor to review and reinforce the seminar’s most challenging material, approach it from a new perspective and include fresh examples and supporting content. It also allows participants to share their experiences and learn new approaches to apply what was learned in the classroom to the real life challenges on the job.

AMA’s Virtual Sessions are delivered via Adobe Connect Pro, an innovative webcasting tool that participants can access from a home or office computer. It extends the learning and brings it directly into the workplace. AMA’s blended learning offers the widest selection of tools to prepare for, learn and follow up to the classroom training.

Online Communities

AMA’s Online Communities are a dynamic, collaborative virtual environment where seminar participants can share information with other seminar participants. Following the instructor-led classroom experience, the learning can continue with seminar participants staying connected with their peer to peer session network through online discussions and may access additional content from AMA and other leading experts on their seminar topic. The Online Community provides access to timely articles from noted thought leaders, as well as other valuable resources, including blogs, discussion groups, news, book reviews, and an “ask the experts” feature.

AMA’s new Virtual Sessions and Online Communities complement its blended-learning platform. AMA’s blended-learning seminars contain other valuable resources, tools and tips to help participants increase their knowledge and problem-solving abilities. They also include pre- and post-seminar assessments enabling companies and individuals to evaluate progress, quantify knowledge transfer and measure the return on learning of their training investment.

AMA’s new Virtual Sessions and Online Communities are available for all customized on-site seminars and will be available to select open-enrollment programs in the spring. For more information about AMA’s blended-learning platform, including online demonstrations, visit www.amanet.org/blended/

AMA offers more than 170 seminars in general management, interpersonal skills, project management, communication skills, human resources, sales, marketing, leadership and finance. Programs are offered at all levels, from CEOs and senior executives to new managers and administrative professionals. Business professionals with real-world experience facilitate AMA programs and use practical, action-oriented content that can be immediately applied in the workplace.

About AMA
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, conferences, Webcasts and podcasts, corporate and government solutions, books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information visit www.amanet.org.