Corporate University: Glorified Training Departments or More?

Abstract

The human resources are now accepted as a source of competitive advantage. Sustaining this advantage requires adequate training to the staff.  There are various choices available to train the staff – sending employees to refresher or other university courses, setting up a T&D department or setting up a corporate university. Each of these choices yield different results and are apt for different focus of learning and development envisioned by the top management. Corporate universities are one way where companies are able to accommodate blended,  focused interventions to deliver strategically oriented, job specific learning for large number of employees.  There are examples  like Deloitte, Sears and Lufthansa etc. that have benefited from setting up corporate universities.  This article discusses the benefits of such universities and how they align learning and development needs of the employees to organization’s strategy.

Keywords: Corporate university, learning, employee development,