Harvard Business School Publishing Provides Content for Business Boot Camp at ASTD International Conference

Business Wire, May 3, 2004

Business Editors

ASTD International Conference and Exposition

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2004

Workshop to help training directors make the business case for training

Harvard Business School Publishing (HBSP) has developed in partnership with the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) a workshop designed to help senior learning professionals make the business case for training. HBSP's content serves as the foundation for "ASTD/HBSP Training Directors Business Boot Camp: What Every Training Director Should Know." The Boot Camp aims to help corporate training directors align with their organizations' executives to proactively drive solutions.

The two-day intensive workshop will take place on Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22 at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center, as part of the annual ASTD International Conference and Exposition, held May 20-27, 2004 in Washington, D.C.

"Learning professionals who can successfully partner with their organization's executives by advocating for learning and development programs in terms that executives understand will be an exceptionally valuable and strategic ally to those organizations," said Maureen Betses, vice president of eLearning, HBSP. "HBSP is pleased to team up with ASTD to address this vital topic."

The Boot Camp will be facilitated by Susan Alvey, director of organizational learning and development at HBSP. Alvey has guided organizational change initiatives, implemented development and strategic planning initiatives, and overseen employee training programs for a wide variety of companies in her 20 years as a training professional. She also has spent many years teaching communication at the college level.

"We developed this boot camp because our members are facing increasing scrutiny from their executives to demonstrate the need for and results of training, learning, and performance," said Tony Bingham, president and CEO of ASTD. "We are responding to this very urgent need with the most relevant content from HBSP that can help training directors develop business acumen and show results to their executives."

The Boot Camp utilizes materials from Harvard Business School Publishing to focus on the business skills identified as essential in ASTD's new competency study, Mapping the Future: Shaping New Workplace Learning and Performance Competencies. These skills include: aligning training proposals with organizational strategy; understanding and contributing to strategic initiatives; analyzing business situations; making recommendations from a business point of view; and demonstrating the value of learning in business terms.

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 product lines include Harvard ManageMentor(R), Leadership and Management Development Programs, and Case in Point. www.eLearning.hbsp.org

About ASTD

ASTD is a leading association of workplace learning and performance professionals, forming a world-class community of practice. ASTD's 70,000 members and associates come from more than 100 countries and thousands of organizations - multinational corporations, medium-sized and small businesses, government, academia, consulting firms, and product and service suppliers.

ASTD marks its beginning in 1944 when the organization held its first annual conference. In recent years, ASTD has widened the industry's focus to connect learning and performance to measurable results, and is a sought-after voice on critical public policy issues. www.astd.org