Definition of Corporate University - Corporate University Vs Traditional Training Department

Businesses survival in the information age, the knowledge has become the main source of wealth and knowledge workers is the most vital assets (Chun 2001). The most important task of organizations and individuals is the knowledge management. It is both a humanistic and technical knowledge system that been constructed in the organization through the acquisition, creation, sharing, integration, recording, accessing, updating and other processes, in which to allow the information of organization enable to achieve the constantly innovation of knowledge and back into the internal system (Dust, Dehaghi and Demneh 2014)(Noorderhaven and Harzing 2009). In the changing economic environment, the only certainty is that the environment is full of uncertainty, to acquire knowledge will be the initial aspect to grasp the competitive advantage. The strength of an enterprise competitive ability depends on the capacity strength of the enterprise to create value. And knowledge management plays the most crucial role in the process of enterprises to enhance the value, and become the industries’ to business trends and motivation (Gao, Li and Clarke 2008).

2.1 Definition of Corporate University

Corporate University is a new education and training system that funded by an enterprise with the education capacity of senior management personnel, first-class business school professors and professional trainers. It through the actual combat simulation, case studies, interactive teaching and other effective education methods to cultivate the internal talent of the enterprise as purpose to meet the needs of lifelong learning for professional populations (El-Tannir 2002). Corporate University is able to closely link the learning and development with the business operational management of all internal and external stakeholders together, which is an effective strategic approach and an integrated practice of training and development, HR development, workplace learning and performance, and human capital enhancement (El-Tannir 2002) (Blass 2005).

2.2 Corporate University VS Traditional Training Department

Corporate training departments affiliated with the human resource department, usually only provide training services for employees of the enterprise, in which responsible for training needs research, training organization and implementation, training effectiveness assessment and other aspects (Markovic and Jarc 2013). However, Corporate University is an educational entity, but also a strategic tool. Although the corporate university undertaken part of the training process, but the nature is different from the training department. Training departments are often reactive and decentralized, but corporate university provides a range of learning and solution projects that related to strategies for each position in the organization, it is independent and operating to provide training services for both inside and outside the enterprise (Blass 2005). As the promoters of corporate change and the advocates of corporate culture, corporate university provide a more professional and systematic products and services in all aspects of strategy, marketing, supply chain and other business operation’s factors (Leyda 2003) (Walton 2005). The Table#1 illustrates more differences between Corporate University and Traditional Training Department.

Table #1 – Differences between TTP & CU

Traditional Training Department VS Corporate University

Simple Purpose Strategic Purpose

 Training for improving personal knowledge and skills  Enhancing the strategic consensus & strategic innovation

Difficult to Measure Performance Oriented

 Can’t measure the impacts of the training result on performance  Training program has clearly objects on improving performance

The Past Prospectively

 It is limited due to only explore the organizational history or general knowledge  Concern on the future market changes & determine the future strategies of enterprises

3.0 Corporate University Examples

3.1 Disney

In 1960s, Disney Group established the Disney University which in order to train their staff internally. Disney does not has the human resource department, all the recruitments were responsible by the department that called “actors center”, and each new employee must be trained in the Disney way in the Walt Disney University. Disney University requires every employee, whether new appointed vice president or part time day laborers of entrance ticket, must take the new employee corporate culture training session by the professors of Disney University. Disney University made responsible for research and analysis needs of employees, and training programs to meet these requirements. Disney Group also requires those candidates to do their self-assessment and find their own suitable position at the first, after that, the university will describe the work discipline, training processes and costumes in detail by a movie, then goes into the process of interviewing. Disney Group was initially positioning its enterprise value accurately and clearly that it was a performing company in which providing the highest satisfaction of their entertainment and recreation for visitors or audiences. The company believe that ultimately offer customers products and services, also implement this company positioning, must rely and implemented by the employees (Allerton 1997). Therefore, the Disney University emphasis on instilling enterprise’s value to each staff of each part of value chain, and its target is to ensure the 19,000 staff to understand the importance of their roles and the value of the enterprise (“The Organge” 1993). Furthermore, Disney University divides its learning process into 5 core courses: 1. The outstanding leadership courses provide the strategies and methods to improve team performance through effective leadership. 2. The loyalty courses explore the skills of lifelong customer retention. 3. The personnel management courses express the system of maintaining unique service culture of Disney and efficient communication with employees. 4. The quality of service courses emphasis on how to focus on the details and to create a world-class sustainable service culture. 5. The business innovation research how the leaders unified the organizational culture and integrated the potential capacities of employees to create an innovation system.

3.2 General