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| Motorola, Inc. |
The rapidly changing pace of telecommunications
technology demands that companies within that industry push innovation
to its very limits in order to remain competitive. Since its founding
in 1928, Motorola,
Inc. has been synonymous with technological leadership. As the
largest and best-established corporate university in the world, Motorola
University was the benchmark for corporate training and education
and helped to develop one of the most innovative engineering talent
pools ever.
However, with the recent advent of improved clean-room technology
(essential in micro-chip manufacturing), lower part costs, and increased
competition in an expanded global marketplace, Motorola was faced
with a challenge to respond to innovation from outside, placing increased
demands on its educational system. In response to this increased competition
and demand for innovation, it was imperative that Motorola reinvent
its learning structure, vision, strategy and practices. Because Motorola
has a number of different business units that each dealt with different
customers and markets, the company entered into a new strategy designed
to build Motorola’s capacity to anticipate and adapt to change
in products, services and markets. This included:
• Building the supply of leaders
• Linking learning to individual and business unit performance
• Creating a more cost-effective, responsive learning system
Previously, Motorola University centralized all major educational
functions and managed Motorola’s learning budget. Now, in order
to quickly respond to business units’ needs, it has decentralized
the education functions and transferred its learning budgets and authority
to the business units. In addition to building a supply of future
leaders, Motorola is investing in the skills of all of its employees,
including specific business knowledge, team leadership and general
business acumen. This is a departure from Motorola’s previous
view of talent, which emphasized engineering for product excellence.
"This change is consistent with the move in corporations around
the world to performance solutions and away from a belief that, ‘If
we build them (products), they will come,’ " said Fred
Harburg, Vice President, Chief Learning Officer and President of Motorola
University. "Now we are providing learning solutions specifically
designed to address business performance issues that stand between
them (our businesses) and what they need and want to be for their
customers."
In recognition of its focus on linking learning to business goals,
the non-profit Council
for Adult and Experiential Learning recognized Motorola in 2001
for its commitment to incorporating this and other best practices
in workforce development as part of its WorkforceChicago2.0 Initiative.
The Workforce2.0 framework is based on exemplary practices in workforce
development exhibited by leading companies such as Allstate, Bank
One, Northern Trust, and the University of Chicago Hospitals.
For more information, contact Fred Harburg, Vice President, Chief
Learning Officer and President of Motorola University at 847.576.2902
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