Harvard Business School Publishing Adds New Topics to Harvard ManageMentor PLUS; Four New Topics Join The Online Resource for Managers In a Hurry

Business Wire, Nov 3, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

TechLearn 2003

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 2003

Harvard Business School Publishing today announced a new version of Harvard ManageMentor(R) PLUS, the online performance support tool for managers in a hurry. Harvard ManageMentor PLUS Version 2 offers four new topics - Implementing Strategy, Making Business Decisions, Implementing Innovation and Persuading Others - within the complete set of 37 topics that comprise the eLearning program.

"Today's organizations are trying to make dramatic moves forward in a new age of competitiveness, and this requires that each employee be in lock-step with the corporate mission," said Maureen Betses, VP of eLearning at Harvard Business School Publishing. "Our customers want tactical advice on how to make that tough decision, how to gain agreement and alignment among groups, how to implement great ideas, and how to align individual or group actions with corporate strategy. These four new topics address managers' needs and provide them with tactical, practical advice on core business activities."

As with all the Harvard ManageMentor modules, the four new topics were developed with the guidance of world class experts and practitioners in the field. Specifically, the four new modules are:

-- Implementing Strategy - This topic reaches beyond strategy

formulation to execution on corporate strategy. Tools help

teach managers how to align teams, units and even individuals

with corporate strategy and help them achieve strategic goals

through action plans and other techniques. Development of this

program was guided by C. Davis Fogg, author of Implementing

Your Strategic Plan and a strategy consultant who specializes

in developing and implementing corporate strategic plans.

-- Making Business Decisions - This module offers a practical

approach to making effective decisions and treats decision

making as a group process. The topic's framework for making

effective decisions incorporates steps for identifying

underlying issues, generating and evaluating multiple

alternatives, communicating the decision and implementing the

decision. Helpful tools facilitate the application of this

framework to practice. David Garvin, a specialist in general

management and a professor of business administration at

Harvard Business School, served as the advisor on the

development of this topic.

-- Implementing Innovation - This topic acknowledges that,

without a committed champion to turn a new idea into reality,

innovation efforts fail. In this module, managers learn the

skills necessary to turn ideas into reality by championing

ideas-- either their own or someone else's-- and successfully

implementing innovation. This topic was developed with

guidance from Kumar Nochur, a highly accomplished consultant

and educator with over 20 years of experience in the field of

implementing innovation.

-- Persuading Others - This module helps managers improve their

ability to influence outcomes by developing the skills

required to command attention, change minds and influence

decision-makers. This topic shares techniques to help managers

persuade others--whether outside or in formal power

structures--to listen and respond to their requests. Harry

Mills, an internationally recognized authority in the fields

of influence, persuasion and motivation, guided the

development of this module.

Availability

Harvard ManageMentor PLUS Version 2 will be available in December 2003. For customers who want to assess user comprehension of the 37 topics, new comprehension tests also will be available.

About Harvard ManageMentor PLUS

Harvard ManageMentor PLUS brings fundamental information and resources to managers worldwide. Each of the online performance support tool's 37 topics provides practical advice, tips and tools to address the key challenges managers and project leaders face every day - in a feature-rich format, with audio elements and interactive elements, that can be used quickly and easily to immediately enhance on the job effectiveness.

About Harvard Business School Publishing eLearning

Harvard Business School Publishing (HBSP) is a wholly owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of Harvard University. The HBSP eLearning division provides online leadership and management programs to a growing list of over 500 corporate eLearning clients. Combining premier content with flexible technology, HBSP eLearning is transforming the way that important management ideas are shared in the workplace. The eLearning programs include Harvard ManageMentor(R), Leadership Transitions, Managing Change, Decision Making, Coaching for Results, Influencing and Motivating Others and more. www.eLearning.hbsp.org