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OKDI: Online Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence (KDI) initiative.
The recent growth in computer power and connectivity has changed the face of
science and engineering. The future promises continued acceleration of these
changes. The challenge today is to build upon the fruits of this revolution.
This rise in power, connectivity, content, and flexibility is so fundamental
that it is dramatically reshaping relationships among people and organizations,
and quickly transforming our processes of discovery, learning, exploration,
cooperation, and communication. It permits us to study vastly more complex
systems than was hither to possible and provides a foundation for rapid advances
in understanding of learning and intelligent behavior in living and engineered
systems. Today's challenge is to realize the full potential of these new
resources and institutional transformations.
Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence (KDI) is a Foundation-wide effort
designed to catalyze this next step. more check out
okdi.com OKDI.com OKDI: Online Knowledge and
Distributed Intelligence (KDI) initiative
OKDI: OKD Inc.
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and
competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and
knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of
apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at technical colleges and
polytechnics. In addition to the basic training required for a trade, occupation
or profession, observers of the labor-market[who?] recognise today the need to
continue training beyond initial qualifications: to maintain, upgrade and update
skills throughout working life. People within many professions and occupations
may refer to this sort of training as professional development.
Some commentators use a similar term for workplace learning to improve
performance: training and development. One can generally categorize such
training as on-the-job or off-the-job:
* On-the-job training takes place in a normal working situation, using the
actual tools, equipment, documents or materials that trainees will use when
fully trained. On-the-job training has a general reputation as most effective
for vocational work.
* Off-the-job training takes place away from normal work situations — implying
that the employee does not count as a directly productive worker while such
training takes place. Off-the-job training has the advantage that it allows
people to get away from work and concentrate more thoroughly on the training
itself. This type of training has proven more effective in inculcating concepts
and ideas.
Training differs from exercise in that people may dabble in exercise as an
occasional activity for fun. Training has specific goals of improving one's
capability, capacity, and performance.
Compare:
* Education
* Learning
Types of training
Physical training
Physical training concentrates on mechanistic goals: training-programs in this
area develop specific skills or muscles, often with a view to peaking at a
particular time.
In military use, training means gaining the physical ability to perform and
survive in combat, and learning the many skills needed in a time of war. These
include how to use a variety of weapons, outdoor survival skills, and how to
survive capture by the enemy, among others. See military education and training.
For psychological or physiological reasons, people who believe it may be
beneficial to them can choose to practice relaxation training, or autogenic
training, in an attempt to increase their ability to relax or deal with stress.
While some studies have indicated relaxation training is useful for some medical
conditions, autogenic training has limited results or has been the result of few
studies.
Religion and spirituality
In religious and spiritual use, training may mean purifying mind, heart,
understanding and actions to obtain a variety of spiritual goals such as
closeness to God or freedom from suffering. Note for example the
institutionalized spiritual training of Buddhism, the Threefold Training, or
discipleship in Christianity.
Artificial-intelligence feedback
Researchers have developed training-methods for artificial-intelligence devices
as well. Evolutionary algorithms, including genetic programming and other
methods of machine learning, use a system of feedback based on "fitness
functions" to allow computer programs to determine how well an entity performs a
task. The methods construct a series of programs, known as a “population” of
programs, and then automatically test them for "fitness", observing how well
they perform the intended task. The system automatically generates new programs
based on members of the population that perform the best. These new members
replace programs that perform the worst. The procedure repeats until the
achievement of optimum performance. In robotics, such a system can continue to
run in real-time after initial training, allowing robots to adapt to new
situations and to changes in themselves, for example, due to wear or damage.
Researchers have also developed robots that can appear to mimic simple human
behavior as a starting point for training.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) or Continuing Professional Education
(CPE) is the means by which members of professional associations maintain,
improve and broaden their knowledge and skills and develop the personal
qualities required in their professional lives.
CPD is defined as the holistic commitment to structured skills enhancement and
personal or professional competence
CPD can also be defined as the conscious updating of professional knowledge and
the improvement of professional competence throughout a person's working life.
It is a commitment to being professional, keeping up to date and continuously
seeking to improve.It is the key to optimizing a person's career opportunities,
both today and for the future (The Chartered Institute of Professional
Development (2000)).
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors(UK) approached the definition of CPD
in a much more detailed manner, by ways of explaining each word in turn.It is as
follows:
CPD - continuing because learning never ceases, regardless of age or seniority;
- It is professional because it is focused on professional competence in a
professional role
- it is concerned with development because its goal is to improve personal
performance and enhance career progression, which arguably is much wider than
just formal training courses.
CPD as observed then includes certain programs or activities which serves the
purpose of better equipping a professional in their respective fields. This is
vital in our time (Information Age), whereby the statement "survival of the
fittest" should be given much thought.
Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) in the United Kingdom
defines Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as: The systematic maintenance
and improvement of knowledge, skills and competence throughout a professional's
working life. It is about maintaining and improving standards of competence and
professionalism. The onus is on the learner to take responsibility for
developing and directing their own career.
IAM
The Institute of Administrative Management requires candidates to complete the
following:
* Self-SWOT Analysis (see SWOT analysis)
This is intended to help the individual carry out some initial thinking about
your strengths and weaknesses. In addition, you will need to think about
possible directions for your career development and to highlight potential
threats.
* Personal & Professional Development
Development of your PPDP is based upon the individuals SWOT Analysis. Its
purpose is to assist them to formulate a set of development activities covering
a period of twelve months. Long-term career plans should cover development
activities for the next twelve months in the light of their intentions over the
next three years.
* Implementation
Implementing of the individuals plan does not imply that they cannot or should
not change it once implementation is underway. Situations and circumstances can
and do change.
* Learning Diary
It is vital that the individual records their efforts and assess the benefits of
their planned activities. The activities that they undertake may not always
generate the results that were intended. Time spent reflecting on how they have
tackled each activity and in assessing the outcomes will enable the individual
to adjust their PPDP for the following year. Moreover, by recording their
activities they will be building a complete record of their
professional/personal development that can form the basis for long-term career
progression.
* Annual Review/Summary
At the end of the twelve month period, having reviewed the individuals
activities they are required to complete the Summary Sheet. The process is
repeated for the second and subsequent years by reviewing and updating your SWOT
Analysis and then drawing up a new PPDP.
Registration for CPD shows the individuals own commitment to learning and allows
them to consider best practice within the workplace.
CMI
The Chartered Management Institute uses CPD as part of it assessment of members
who wish to upgrade to Chartered Manager status.
The CPD process asks:
* What do you to achieve?
* Where do you want to go?:
o in the short term
o in the longer term
* What is required?:
o Knowledge
o Skills
The P in CPD could also stand for 'Personal' or 'Performance'. This very much
depends on the interpretation and how it is applied. CPD is about planned
self-development which covers personal and professional aims and may improve
performance.
A CPD profile may include the following:
* Goals
* Skills
* SWOT analysis
* Diagnostics
* Development Needs
* Learning Objectives
* Activities which may include:
o Reviews and reflection
o Evidence/Portfolio of learning
o CPD learning log/Notebook
o Future Intentions
CIPD
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) , CPD
should:
* be continuous - professionals should always be looking for ways to improve
performance
* be the responsibility of the individual learner to own and manage
* be driven by the learning needs and development of the individual
* be evaluative rather than descriptive of what has taken place
* be an essential component of professional and personal life, never an optional
extra
The Training Within Industry (TWI) service was created by the United States
Department of War, running from 1940 to 1945 within the War Manpower Commission.
The purpose was to provide consulting services to war-related industries whose
personnel were being conscripted into the US Army at the same time the War
Department was issuing orders for additional matériel. It was apparent that the
shortage of trained and skilled personnel at precisely the time they were needed
most would impose a hardship on those industries, and that only improved methods
of job training would address the shortfall . By the end of World War II, over
1.6 million workers in over 16,500 plants had received a certification.
Overview
The four training programs developed by TWI were developed in an emergency
situation by experts on loan from private industry. Because of the intensity of
the situation, a large number of experimental methods were tried and discarded.
This resulted in a distilled, concentrated set of programs.
The TWI trainers had to be invited to a factory in order to present their
material. In order to market the service, they developed the Five Needs of the
Supervisor: every supervisor needs to have Knowledge of the Work, Knowledge of
Responsibility, Skill in Instructing, Skill in Improving Methods, and Skill in
Leading. Each program was based on Charles Allen's 4-point method of
Preparation, Presentation, Application, and Testing.
The four programs were:
* Job Instruction (JI) - a course that taught trainers (supervisors and
experienced workers) to train inexperienced workers and get them "up to speed"
faster. The instructors were taught to break down jobs into closely defined
steps, show the procedures while explaining the Key Points and the reasons for
the Key Points, then watch the student attempt under close coaching, and finally
to gradually wean the student from the coaching. The course emphasized the
credo, "If the worker hasn't learned, the instructor hasn't taught".
* Job Methods (JM) - a course that taught workers to objectively evaluate the
efficiency of their jobs and to methodically evaluate and suggest improvements.
The course also worked with a job breakdown, but students were taught to analyze
each step and determine if there were sufficient reason to continue to do it in
that way by asking a series of pointed questions. If they determined some step
could be done better by Eliminating, Combining, Rearranging, or Simplifying,
they were to develop and apply the new method by selling it to the "boss" and
co-workers, obtaining approval based on Safety, Quality, Quantity, and Cost,
standardizing the new method, and giving "credit where credit is due."
* Job Relations (JR) - a course that taught supervisors to deal with workers
effectively and fairly. It emphasized the lesson, "People Must Be Treated As
Individuals".
* Program Development (PD) - the meta-course that taught management how to
develop a training and improvement program
There was also a short-lived course that taught union personnel to work
effectively with management.
Relationship to Lean
Although the TWI program was abandoned at the end of the war, the instruction
methods were introduced to the war-torn nations of Europe and Asia. It was
especially well-received in Japan, where TWI formed the basis of the kaizen
culture in industry. Kaizen, known by such names as Quality Circles in the West,
was successfully harnessed by Toyota Motor Corporation in conjunction with the
Lean or Just In Time principles of Taiichi Ohno. In fact, in the Forward to
Dinero's book "Training Within Industry" (2005), John Shook relates a story in
which a Toyota trainer brought out an old copy of a TWI service manual to prove
to him that American workers at NUMMI could be taught using the "Japanese"
methods used at Toyota. Thus, TWI was the forerunner of what is today regarded
as a Japanese creation.
TWI had a direct impact on the development and use of kaizen and Standard Work
at Toyota. These fundamental elements are embedded within the functional system
at Toyota and Job Instruction is taught and used within Toyota today. The kaizen
methodology is a direct descendant of Job Methods, and most likely Job Relations
had an impact on the development and function of the Team and Group Leader
structure in Toyota.
Many of the points above should look familiar to students of W. Edwards Deming.
The PDCA style of the training programs, the JI litany about failure being on
the shoulders of the instructor, and even the JI and JM methods themselves.
Deming lectures frequently included statements similar to the JR slogan, "People
Must Be Treated As Individuals."
In Dinero's introduction he goes as far as saying that one of the key
differences between more & less successful Lean Projects was their focus on the
"people element" during implementation.
Why it disappeared from the United States
One theory for the disappearance of TWI within the U.S. after the war is the
simple fact that North American industry faced little serious competition in
1945. With no competition to an efficient industry, few saw the need to continue
to improve. At the same time, foreign industries had been decimated. The
defeated countries needed to establish new industry but to reject the old
culture. For that purpose, TWI trainers were brought to Europe by the occupying
forces there, and to Japan by MacArthur during the occupation.
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