One of the most important factors in creating blended learning solutions is to recognize where it fits in the broader context of organizational learning and development. Much of the underpinning concepts of learning and development have already been referenced in my previous publications, eg Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Training  and further developed in  Personal Coaching (full details of both books are included in the Recommended reading at the back of this book).
The potential of blended learning is almost limitless and represents a naturally evolving process from traditional forms of learning to a personalized and focused development path. What may be interesting for you is identifying where your organization is on its journey.
You may want to explore answers to the following:
•      How does my organization talk about learning and development?
•      How is it described?
•      How is it promoted?
•      What opportunities for real learning exist?
•      Is the learning tailored to meet individual needs?
Blended learning, if it is to be successful, has to fit into the broader context of what else is happening in the business world, which currently has a level of uncertainty following the events of September 11 2001.
However, one of the realities is that businesses are having to embrace the new technology and increasingly operate in a 24/7 global environ-ment; their customers and suppliers demand and expect it. Sitting in the corporate boardroom can be an unnerving experience in a world where certainties are being challenged and introducing blended learn-ing may be seen as a low priority in the corporate agenda, so developing a persuasive business case will be vital.
Importantly, blended learning should not be seen in isolation: it represents one of the most naturally evolving processes of developing your human capital. Therefore any strategy to introduce blended learning needs to be considered carefully and positioned within the broader context of not just attracting, retaining and motivating talent, but also addressing the more compelling arguments of ROI and cost savings. An important part of this consideration is based on answers to the following key questions:
•      What could blended learning mean to this organization?
•      How does it fit with our overall business strategy?
•      How could it help us to attract, retain and motivate talent?
•      What other tangible benefits could it bring us?
The businesses that will succeed in the 21st century will recognize that there is a need to do things differently. Harnessing each individual ’s creativity and imagination and encouraging innovation is becoming an increasingly important focus for corporate organizations. Books like Maverick by Ricardo Semler, once regarded as a quirky approach to organizational development, are now seen as an important stage in a passage towards doing it differently. Value-based leadership, emotional intelligence, synchronicity and intuition are no longer seen as being outside of the corporate agenda, but to be understood as an important part of individual and organizational development. Senior manage-ment are recognizing that their talent bank will be greatly depleted if they do not help people fulfil their potential.
One particular focus can be in the development of an organization, or employer brand.

DEVELOPING AN EMPLOYER BRAND
‘Branding’ as a generic term is often assumed to belong to the marketing function. However, organizations are increasingly waking up to the recognition that directly or indirectly most brand promises are delivered by people not products. Pick up any business magazine that talks about ‘branding’ and it is likely that they will be discussing the broader aspect of organizational, corporate or employer branding. There is also increasing emphasis on becoming an  ‘employer of choice’.
What is interesting is how this type of branding is defined. Terms like ‘ corporate branding’ ,  ‘ organizations as brands’ , or more recently ‘ employer branding ’ , are different descriptors of basically the same process. What is clearly being recognized is that having strong consumer brands is not enough: organizations need to broaden their focus to consider other aspects such as:
•      people;
•      products/services;
•      processes/systems;
•      premises/environment.
‘Branding’ an organization means focusing on the key components and encouraging consistency across all functions. Like any piece of mach-inery, one part cannot operate without the other. Cross-functional working breaks down the traditional divisions between marketing, sales, distribution, manufacturing and HR.
The process links new service/product development and the devel-opment of employees. It links the distribution chain with the customer.
It builds relationships not just agreements with external suppliers. It takes the most senior managers and involves them in the front line of the business. It puts customers in the centre and heart of the organiz-ation and builds everything else around them.
The organization doesn’t just service its customers: they become its lifeblood. People do not just make promises, but they deliver, not once but over and over again, consistently developing better and better service. The organization differentiates itself in the marketplace throughits people, its products, its processes and its premises.
Experience has shown that in order to develop an employer/organiz-ation brand it is important to articulate the image and vision of the future and to invite all employees to unite behind it. This  ‘branding’ process normally has a number of components:
  Our vision (where we want to be).  This must be a real statement that people can easily remember and identify with, not just words on a wall.
  Our values (what we stand for/our integrity). If these are not daily demonstrated behaviourally by everyone in the organization they are worthless.
  Standards and practices (what we demonstrate daily). This is the way we do things, the way our performance is measured; it applies to everyone and ensures consistency.
  Working in partnership (the way forward). No person or organization can function alone for long. Working with people, helping others to be successful, building pride, self-esteem and sharing success are all-important components. Equally, building close links with suppliers, encouraging the media with positive news, building links with your local community, are positive partnership actions.
  Showing our competitors (best practice).  Be proud of your achievements, and demonstrate best practice. Be the organization that others benchmark against. This will have internal spin-offs for morale.
  Measuring our success (real measures that everyone recognizes). Never forget where you started; realize how much progress has been made.
  Rewarding performance (based on success).  Not just money, but personal recognition. It is best demonstrated little and often.
  Measuring performance (be realistic).  Not ‘ We promise to do our best’, but  ‘ We promise to respond within 14 days, on time, and to meet identified standards.’
  Giving and receiving feedback (positive and constructive).  From the bottom to the top of the organization (and vice versa) open up channels of communication.
  Review and progress (continuously improving). Ask  ‘ What have we learnt?’,  ‘Where can we innovate?’ To prevent a distorted view of the organization the process should be seamless from the front to back and from the top to the bottom of the organization.
When asked to describe the brand of the organization, there should be a common belief based on shared vision, goals, aspirations, behaviour and practice. Everyone who is touched by your organization brand should share these common perceptions. This is not just an internal process. In the broader context of employer branding it means the way organizations position themselves externally as well as internally. This will have a particular relevance in the way organizations promote themselves in the recruitment market place, or in supplier contacts.
The most fundamental part of the process is built on behaviours, based on self-esteem, confidence and pride in the organization. People must take responsibility for meeting challenges and providing innov-ative and creative solutions to problems. They will then rise above the mundane and gain tremendous personal and team satisfaction from providing excellent customer service.
These concepts are not fundamentally new: what is different is gaining senior level commitment and linking all the stages together in a holistic way. By bringing all the initiatives together under an organiz-ation’ s  ‘ brand concept’ , not only is there more coherence, there ’ s a constant benchmark. All employees should ask the question, ‘Does this action, this behaviour, this response, really reflect the brand?’ and in doing so they create an organizational conscience so powerful that
organizational success has to follow.
A strong brand image is as relevant to an organization as it is to a product or service. The  ‘ people offer’  behind the product has to be consistent with the brand and the commitment has to be reflected from the top of the organization to the newest recruit.
True competitive edge will be achieved by those organizations that are able to attract and retain employees and build customer loyalty through the clear transmission of the overall brand. They will be the success stories of the 21st century.
When people genuinely care for each other, when job applicants identify you as a preferred employer, you can see the pride and the self-esteem, and you know you have developed a strong corporate brand, but even more important, you know you have found the heart of your organization.
The case studies in Chapter 6 illustrate how organizations have taken blended learning and integrated it into the bigger picture of organiz-ational development.

SO WHAT DOES BLENDED LEARNING MEAN?
One of the criticisms levelled at any sector is the use of jargon, and training and development is no different. What also happens naturally is an evolving process of development as more research is undertaken and we gain a greater understanding of a subject area. Blended learning is an example of how e/online learning has evolved from its first inception.
Current thinking would suggest that it is important to acknowledge the importance of  ‘ learning ’  as much as training, so to describe the process as ‘learning and development ’ rather than  ‘training and devel-opment ’  may be more appropriate. There have been many terms attached to learning that describe different ways of accessing learning – open learning, distance learning, programmed learning, experiential
learning and more currently e/online and blended learning.
Before discussing blended learning it is perhaps helpful to identify some of the different components; first, e-learning. E-learning is provided through a variety of ways:
  online learning programmes incorporating activities and infor-mation that are very similar to other forms of distance learning;
  online learning portals that take people through a variety of online and offline provisions;
  Web sites that focus on specific product and service offerings high-lighting features and benefits in the same way as a corporate brochure;
  specific sites that allow you to download articles and tools, either free or on a free trial basis prior to purchase.

Some definitions

When one considers the e-learning component it is worth clarifying some of the language. Below is a short selection of some of the terms that you may hear. However, new descriptors are being created all the time and the only way to develop your knowledge is to talk to service providers and colleagues and always ask for clarification if you hear a erm that you do not understand.

WBT (Web-based Training)
This describes training packages that are available using the Internet.
Linked to this is the concept of virtual classrooms where again the Internet is used to link up different individuals in various locations with ach other, and/or their tutor.
In the virtual classroom learners assemble at their own PC for a session. The material is presented to them via multimedia. In some rograms there is a whiteboard facility that allows learners to contribute comments, or even draw, type text or paste images; each learner can ee the end result and there are chat-rooms that allow people to talk to each other. This can be augmented by video or audio conferencing. It s also possible to share applications when learners can view or work on documents jointly, or alternatively allows learners to voice an pinion, or answer questions in a test.
Synchronous communication Synchronous communication or learning is facilitated by bandwidth, hich provides a medium similar to the way fibre optics support telephone communication. Everyone needs to be connected via an ntranet or the Internet. Initially the sound and video quality may not be very good but as the bandwidth improves it will get better. Most ommunications online are asynchronous, using time-delay methods, for example email or bulletin boards.

Learning portals
These are hosted by service providers, which allow clients to access online materials held on a  ‘ host ’  server. Individuals may leave a orporate Intranet and go into the Internet environment to either use one particular provider ’ s materials, or in some cases a number of providers may be available through a portal catalogue. They may also create online learning communities. Learning portals can also be built and branded to link from a company’ s Intranet so that a user has seamless access from one to the other.

Learning object
One of the features of e-learning is the need to provide learning that is broken down into chunks, and is often described as ‘bite-sized’, or  ‘just-in-time’. Part of the rationale for this is that the learning often needs to be contained within a few screens as e-learners have neither the time nor the inclination to stay in front of their screens for long periods. A learning object is a way of describing these bite-sized components. They are important because they allow learners to get exactly what they need to learn, and not information that they may have already learnt in the past. This saves time in training and productivity for the learner.

Learning Management System (LMS)
An LMS provides the technology infrastructure for companies to manage human capital development by tracking employee training information and managing, tracking and launching all events and resources associated with corporate learning. A Web-based LMS provides online course and event management, content and resource manage-ment, comprehensive assessments, enhanced skills gap analysis, content authoring, email notifications, and real-time integration with human resource, financial, and ERP systems. An LMS manages all training delivery types  – third party and internal  – including classroom-based, e-learning, virtual classroom, technology-based training, books and video. An LMS also provides access to authoring tools, 360-degree assessments, learning content management, and/or virtual classroom functionality. See the THINQ case study in Chapter 6, or www.brandon-hall.com or www.masie.com for further definitions.

Application Service Provider (ASP)
This usually refers to a hosted service that involves  ‘ renting’  the software, for example an LMS, from an external company rather than installing it and managing it on an internal system. In addition to providing technology on a subscription basis, an ASP also provides all the IT infrastructure and support services necessary to deliver them to customers. ASPs typically host applications at a remote data centre and deliver them to customers via the Internet or a private network.

SCORM (Shareable Content Object Reference Model)
The US Department of Defense (DoD) established the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative to develop a DoD-wide strategy for using learning and information technologies to modernize education and training. In order to leverage existing practices, promote the use of technology-based learning and provide a sound economic basis for investment, the ADL initiative has defined high-level requirements for learning content such as content reusability, accessibility, durability and interoperability.
The Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) defines a Web-based learning ‘Content aggregation model ’ and ‘Run-time envir-onment’ for learning objects. At its simplest, it is a model that references a set of interrelated technical specifications and guidelines designed to meet the DoD’s high-level requirements for Web-based learning content.
The work of the ADL initiative to develop the SCORM is also a process to knit together disparate groups and interests. This reference model aims to bridge emerging technologies and commercial and public implementations.

IMS
The IMS Learning Resource Meta-Data Best Practice and Implement-ation Guide provides general guidance about how an application may use LOM meta-data elements. In 1997 the IMS Project established an effort to develop open, market-based standards for online learning, including specifications for learning content meta-data. For more information, see www.imsglobal.org.

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
This is a hand-held computer which, using WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) technology, has the potential to provide mobile access to e-learning content. This is still quite advanced for e-learning and not many companies are using it at the current time.

Knowledge management
Another word that has grown in importance is ‘knowledge ’; people talk about  ‘knowledge workers ’, and  ‘knowledge management ’.
What is interesting is that this is not something that is considered as a  ‘soft skill ’. It is about the fundamental point that ‘information equals power ’, and in today’s organizations when a relatively small number of people are developing specialist skills, should these people walk there is a very high risk of part of the business going with them.
Today ’ s younger employees are much more mobile than previous generations. In some cases organizations are offering financial incent-ives to join a company, such is the need to attract new talent. Being enterprising is no longer a term just used for people who want to run their own businesses: people need to be enterprising within their own organizations.
Some of the definitions of knowledge management describe how to develop systems to manage knowledge, in the same way as you might want to keep track of intellectual capital, but the most important factor behind knowledge management is what people keep in their own head.
Increasingly people are recognizing the importance of IPR (intel-lectual property rights). In previous generations individuals who created new learning concepts were only too happy to just have their findings published; now those same findings could have a value attached to them.
Another source of definitions is a thought-provoking article by Brook Manville and Nathaniel Foote, ‘Strategy as if knowledge mattered’, a Fast Company article, April 1996. In the article they identify the following as key steps:
•      Knowledge-based strategies begin with strategy, not knowledge.
•      Knowledge-based strategies aren ’ t strategies unless you can link them to traditional measures of performance.
•      Executing a knowledge-based strategy is not about managing knowledge; it’s about nurturing people with knowledge.
•      Organizations leverage knowledge through networks of people who collaborate – not through networks of technology that interconnect.
•      People networks leverage knowledge through organizational  ‘pull ’ rather than centralized information  ‘push’.
Linking this to a number of case study examples of how this is put into practice, they explain that:
These successes can be tracked to the superior use of knowledge. And they are much more compelling than the warm and fuzzy argument that companies should adopt knowledge as a philosophical goal since learning and education are ‘good for the company ’  – or even  ‘good for society’.
The point of a knowledge-based strategy is not to save the world; it’s to make money. It’s for hard heads.
When exploring the ‘pull ’ rather than  ‘push’ theory, they explain that the power should come from demand rather than supply and that companies run a real risk of overloading their employees with too much information. They also emphasize the importance of on-the-job  ‘just-in-time’ learning, a term which is also used to describe some forms of e-learning. They conclude by suggesting that:
The essence of successful knowledge-based strategies is a company’s capacity to raise the aspirations of each employee. These are the people whose contributions and ongoing development becomes the life-blood of performance gains.
The implication of all this for organizations and trainers is a fund-amental shift from training to learning. There is a distinct difference in ownership: the individual needs to own and take responsibility for his or her own learning, and it is important to help individuals realize their potential.
In my research for this book I have seen a number of descriptors but for the purpose of a working definition here, I have taken it to mean the following:
Blended learning is the most logical and natural evolution of our learning agenda. It suggests an elegant solution to the challenges of tailoring learning and development to the needs of individuals. It represents an opportunity to integrate the innovative and technological advances offered by online learning with the interaction and participation offered in the best of traditional learning. It can be supported and enhanced by using the wisdom and one-to-one contact of personal coaches.
Blended learning is a mix of:
•      multimedia technology;
•      CD ROM video streaming;
•      virtual classrooms;
•      voicemail, email and conference calls;
•      online text animation and video-streaming.
All these are combined with traditional forms of classroom training and one-to-one coaching.
There have been some concerns about the use of the word ‘blended ’.
Too literal use of the word could imply chopping people, or creating a mush. However, there are also positive connotations to blending  – coffee, perfume, whisky  – that can mean the mixing together of wonder-ful ingredients to create something special for others to consume.
Connoisseur blenders in this role need to know their customer, their preferences and how to create a mix that delights and invites them to return again and again; the more positive connotations of  ‘ blended learning ’ would also mean this. Blended learning should be the ultimate perfect solution to tailoring learning to fit not only the learning need, but also the style of the learner.

SO WHAT ARE THE DRAWBACKS?
In theory there shouldn’t be any. However, in reality the drawbacks can be perceived as much as real. If you want to test the theory for yourself, ask your colleagues and associates, ‘ What do you think of blended learning?’ The following are some of the responses I ’ve received when I’ve asked the question:
•      ‘Don ’t know, I ’ve never heard the phrase. ’
•      ‘I’ve heard of it, but I have no idea what it means.’
•      ‘Isn ’t it e-learning with other bits added on? ’
•      ‘Isn ’t it old wine in new bottles? ’
•      ‘Isn ’t it expensive? ’
What is rarely heard is a clear definition, or enthusiasm about its potential. Blended learning needs enthusiasm, energy and commitment to move from the theory to the reality of developing real learning solutions based on meeting individual needs.
Other drawbacks are a lack of information and not knowing where to find it. Companies focusing on the new technology are springing up, but how do you find out who is offering what and, perhaps more important, who will offer the right services for your organization?
Using e-solutions is still a relatively new approach for many organiz-ations and like any new initiative it takes time to introduce it. With blended learning there is an additional impact of having the right infrastructure to support it. It is therefore not just a matter of identifying the right organization to deliver a programme of development. It will need a coherent and integrated plan, drawing together a number of different components. Examples of how this is done are examined in
the case studies in Chapter 6.

WHY IS BLENDED LEARNING IMPORTANT?
The real importance and significance in blended learning lies in its potential. If we forget the title and focus on the process, blended learning represents a real opportunity to create learning experiences that can provide the right learning at the right time and in the right place for each and every individual, not just at work, but in schools, universities and even at home. It can be truly universal, crossing global boundaries and bringing groups of learners together through different cultures and time zones. In this context blended learning could become one of the most significant developments of the 21st century.