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Success in removing the legacies of central planning and other impediments to a market economy depends on the citizen's level of understanding of economics and free-market business fundamentals.
The UofA College of Business Administration can implement or participate in an assistance program of market-based management training and economics education in newly emerging free-market economies, such as the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. The College can offer a series of management training seminars and workshops aimed at middle and upper-level managers, senior executives, government officials, academics, and journalists, as needed. These programs can be customized to provide for a "training-of-trainers" format and to provide limited numbers of other participants with specific skills for operating effectively in a competitive, market-based environment.
To create an effective "market environment," to support sound decisions by government, to establish and manage successful enterprises, and generally to understand the system, business people need education in the fundamentals of economics and business. This training includes a solid grounding in the basics of human resource management, general management, marketing planning, accounting, finance, management information systems production and operations management, economics, and public policy and finance. This information and the associated new perspectives will facilitate moving beyond the existing monopolistic structure of industrial production and trade.
The foundation for a citizenry that is literate in economics and business is best developed in a variety of ways. First, by training several small groups of influential middle- and senior-level managers and government officials, the overall program is afforded visibility and credibility is established. Second, by training educators and giving them the materials to implement economics education and business programs, a sustainable system is created whereby large numbers of managers and government officials can be reached effectively. Third, by providing additional training programs for journalists, an immediate impact on public understanding of, and participation in, competitive markets is made possible, owing to the growing influence of the communications media in Eastern Europe. Fourth, by providing economics training to university faculty and secondary school teachers, the groundwork is laid so that future generations of business leaders will acquire a knowledge of the fundamental workings of a market-based economy.
Appropriate and focused training for the regulatory and other agencies which must deal with an open, non-monopolistic, competitive market environment and related issues will be possible through such a program because of its management emphasis. Similarly, it will enable university faculties to help anti-monopoly agencies improve their analytical skills and ensure that they have the capabilities to define the marketplace; measure market shares and the extent of competition (concentration levels) in particular industries; evaluate the competitive impact of mergers, restraints of trade, and other types of agreements among firms.
Areas covered include the fundamentals of business training, human resource management, general management information systems, production and operations management, economics and public policy and finance. Such training, appropriately presented in collaboration with existing institutions for higher education, can develop the human and institutional capacity to teach western content and perspective of business and economic education at the post-secondary level; to conduct economic research; and to perform policy analysis.
The College offers short courses (usually 5 days in duration) for a limited number of small
groups of managers and several larger groups of teacher trainers at both the university and
secondary levels. The latter will be provided with appropriate teaching materials (manuals, case
studies, videos) designed to enable them, in turn, to train other teacher-trainers and/or other
managers. A multiplier effect will stimulate teaching market economics and business fundamentals
across the country. Also included are a training course for journalists to enable them to more
effectively report on economics issues and a short course for government officials that will focus
on issues of government policy in developing markets.
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Objectives
The training is aimed at a broad range of individuals who have direct and indirect impacts on
businesses and the ways in which they operate. There are two primary goals for the proposed
programs: 1) to provide a select group of business people with both an understanding of the
underlying economics of a market-based economy and the necessary skills to manage in one, and
2) to build a network of teacher-trainers capable of educating large numbers of business students,
managers, government officials and others. Ultimately, both these goals will be accomplished
through a series of objectives. These are:
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Experience in Management Training
The College is in a unique position to deliver middle- and upper-level management training to
managers. Faculty have an excellent record in developing and delivering management training to
middle and upper level managers in a variety of industries. Faculty members have played a key
role in designing and developing two major phases of Wal-Mart's advanced management training.
These include The Walton Institute, a training program that already is responsible for providing
training to over 5,000 home office and store managers from Wal-Mart along with managers of
some subsidiaries and vendors.
An advanced training program in effective leadership also has been developed for Wal-Mart, as well as special professional development program directed at fast-track professional development for women. These programs have been designed as hands on, skill-based workshops. Wal-Mart executives exit the training program with improved performance, improved retention, and reduced grievances, among other outcomes. Management Department faculty have been involved in development of a corporate-wide total quality program at Wal-Mart and a re-design of the basic Wal Mart management-training schema. In addition to the extensive and successful experience that the department has had with Wal-Mart, programs have been designed for Beverly Enterprises, the largest long-term care provider in the United States; Tyson Foods, an International poultry processor that is the largest company in the industry; and the Army Air Force Exchange Service (MFES) for whom training has been provided in the United States and Europe; and a number of other smaller corporations operating in the mid and southwestern United States.
Over the past five years, the College has developed strong relationships with these major corporations. In fact, cooperative efforts between Wal Mart, Inc. and the College have led to enriched learning experiences for UofA students and have helped to link academic curriculum design with in-the-field management training.
Recently, the College entered a new era when management training was provided to foreign businessmen and women. In 1990, The First US Japan Joint Seminar was conducted under a cooperative agreement between the UofA and the International Research Institute on Human Environment in Tokyo. The success of this conference has led to two additional ventures. First, a seminar on cultural diversity and the changing world of men and women in work and society was held at the UofA in February of 1991. Participants in this program included business men and women from Japan.
A second and even larger program took place in September, 1991. Juntendo Corporation, Japan's fastest growing home centers retailer, requested that faculty travel to Japan to do a training-needs analysis for the Corporation. Faculty conducted such an analysis and worked closely with corporate training managers to develop training programs in Japan and the United States. The advisors, operating through the UofA, also provided input on the design and effective use of training facilities for Juntendo Corporation. In September, 1991, upper and middle level corporate and store managers began traveling to the UofA to receive management training designed specifically to meet the needs of JuntendoCorporation.
A unique aspect of the international training that has been conducted to date is the
cooperation of faculty trainers with the People Division (human resource division) of Wal-Mart
Corporation. This cooperation has helped the College to provide timely, state-of-the-art
management training consistent with the needs of corporate leaders such as Wal-Mart Inc. which
consistently has been listed among the ten best-managed companies in the United States.
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Focus and Cooperation with Host-Country Management
Specialists
Among the strongest points of the Arkansas capacity is our ability to specifically focus our
training. As has been suggested above, we have extensive and highly successful experience
delivering upper- and middle-level management training. Tight focus can be maintained in
providing training in selected vocations in Eastern and Central Europe.
All training designed, developed, and delivered by our representatives is intended to be
provided first to executive-level and other upper-management personnel. This is consistent with
most successful management training philosophies such as those used by Xerox, IBM, and
Wal-Mart. However, our impact is intended to be felt at both the middle- and upper-management
levels. Similarly, we are prepared to tailor the focus of our delivery to the CIS. Relationships must
be established with appropriate universities and their economics, business and management
training centers. These linkages can provide facilities, on-site faculty, and existing linkages to the
CIS business and governmental community. It is our belief that cooperative efforts of this type,
along with other corporate partners here in the United States, can enable us to deliver high quality
management training to participating CIS managers and to CIS management trainers who would
continue to pass this training on.
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Program Management
The College is equipped to provide faculty who have economics, human resources and general
management training experience, both nationally and internationally. The faculty of the Graduate
School of Business who would be involved in this program have a wealth of experience in
management training and consulting. Project personnel can be provided entirely from existing
faculty, administration and support staff. Positions in this area will be staffed by Ph.D. economists
with a Ph.D. and extensive experience in teaching college- and/or university-level courses in
economics to both undergraduate and graduate students.
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Walton Institute Program Overview
The Walton Institute of Retailing is a week-long leadership program for managers. It was
designed to provide substantive, cohesive content as well as a rigorous program in interpersonal
skill and leadership development for home office and store managers. There are three facets of the
Institute: (1) basic content, (2) skills-based elements; and (3) integrative sessions.
Leadership and interpersonal skills development is accomplished through:
I. Skills training
A. Communication and listening skill development
B. Time management
C. Designed Around "Management By Walking Around (MBWA)" - The
philosophical foundation
D. Organized through
1. Goal Setting
2. Behavioral-centered leadership
3. Applied behavioral analysis
E. Applied to specific leadership problems
1. Developing Associates
2. Performance Appraisal
a. Positive discipline
b. Customer-centered relations
c. Situational Leadership
II. Group problem solving
A. Team building
B. Task force reports
C. Behavior
The Walton Institute was designed based upon the following assumptions: (1) the program should be delivered to promotable managers, (2) the program should tax the individual's ability,v to think, reason, and apply leadership concepts, and (3) the program must focus on the needs of both operational and corporate personnel.
Three key design features provided the foundation for progressive training offered through
the Walton Institute of Retailing: (1) reinforcement and continuity, (2) individualized feedback,
coaching, and instruction, and (3) additional and advanced concepts and skills for effective
leadership as managers advance.
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Continuity
Continuity among the concepts presented in initial training with the Institute is crucial to the
ongoing development of Wal-Mart managers and the application of specific skills in the
workplace. Ongoing training reinforces the "core" concepts and skills acquired in the initial
training (i.e., MBWA, behaviorally centered leadership, communication and listening skills) and
provided more detailed and in-depth training in these areas. An ongoing emphasis on these basic
skills has become a characteristic of all advanced training programs for Wal-Mart managers.
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Individualized Feedback, Coaching, and Instruction
Initial training from the Walton Institute presented basic leadership training designed for all
managers. This objective was achieved in ongoing training through the use of individualized
feedback, coaching, and instruction. For example, standardized questionnaires were used to
profile a manager's leadership style, conflict resolution style, preferred influence strategies, or
negotiation style. Such profiling could identify specific areas where improvement is needed and
provide the basis for individual skill practice and application. Presenters in ongoing training
provided content material and worked with individual participants to interpret profiles, identify
areas for improvement, and formulate specific action plans. Given the select nature of the
managers that participated in the ongoing training, this type of individual assessment and training
was needed for maximum program effectiveness.
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Additional Concept Skills for Executive Leaders and
Managers
Participants in ongoing training of the Walton Institute were also exposed to new content areas
and skills. Examples of such topics included coping with stress, managing organizational change,
effective presentation skills, conflict resolution, and negotiation.
The specific subject areas for the ongoing training were identified empirically. Faculty members interviewed a sample of Regional, District, and Store Managers, as well as members of the Executive Committee, to determine the most relevant topic areas. These managers were ongoing participants in the Walton Institute, applied the concepts and skills in the field, and had important insights about "what should come next."
The data gathering step proposed above was based upon developing an executive's and
manager's profile in which the skills a promotable manager should have were evaluated in detail.
Such information collected from a sample of managers provided (1 ) input for the design of
sessions for ongoing training and (2) the criteria by which the effectiveness of the training could
be assessed.
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Learning Model for Ongoing Training
The five-step learning model outlined below was used in all of the ongoing training sessions.
Modifications were necessary to suit particular situations, however, the underlying approach was
consistent.
The ongoing training approach of the Walton Institute was an exciting experience for those
who participate. The core concepts of initial training are reinforced and extended, new concept
and skills were learned, and each participant receives individualized feedback and instruction
designed for maximum personal development.
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The Experience
The major focus of the week was on "Management By Walking Around" as operationalized
through Goal Setting and Behavior-Centered Leadership. The other content sessions were
designed to reflect and demonstrate applications of Behavior centered Leadership in a variety of
situations in Developing Associates (developing, unlocking the entrepreneurial spirit),
performance appraisal, customer-centered relations;and Situational Leadership.
The skill areas were designed to help managers apply the basic concepts introduced in the content phase of the seminar. These skill areas help the leader become more receptive and effective in the application of the concepts discussed. By managing time more effectively and improving communication and listening skills, the leader is able to better relate to associates and customers.
The week-long seminar represented a natural integration of a major philosophy (behavior-centered leadership) linked to specific aspects of the store manager's task, as discussed above. To reinforce this building process, several integrating mechanisms were used throughout the week. One mechanism was through the content of the material. A second was the use of task force reports. Seminar participants were asked in the Problem Solving session to identify major problems in their stores. Task Forces of people were then formed to find solutions to these problems using the concepts discussed during the week. On the last day, a 1-minute presentation was made by the task force including a written summary of the group's solution to the problem. This forced the participants to relate concepts back to real problems that they encounter in the stores, thus reinforcing concepts in the seminar and aiding the managers in applying these concepts to their daily tasks.
The subject areas were presented in the following order: Goal Setting, Communication Skills,
Behavior-Centered Leadership, Applied Behavior Analysis, Group Problem Solving, Situational
Leadership, Time Management, Performance Appraisal, The Customer is "The Boss," Developing
Associates, Positive Discipline, Task Force Preparation, Team building, Task Force Presentation,
and Behavior Contract. This organization represented the progression of ideas during the training
program.
Contacts
Questions? Comments? pserafi@comp.uark.edu
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