Describes the successful quality circle program at Mercury Marine, a leading outboard motor manufacturer. Discusses reasons for quality circle failure in American industries and suggests ways to achieve success. (JOW)

Discusses the relationship between training effectiveness and one's reputation for being/for doing. Lists values important in achieving a long-term reputation for effectiveness and actions that will help build a reputation of which one can be proud. (JOW)

Discusses the importance of avoiding training programs that look great on paper but do not work well in actual practice. Advocates focusing on the people and not the program or training technology. (JOW)

Discusses the benefits of combining a quality circles program with a work simplification program. Points out that both require participative management and that their combination can improve the effectiveness of quality circles. (JOW)

A training program for members of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce Training Advisory Committee, which is 80 percent small business, incorporated the following features: (1) four hours in the morning; (2) Friday morning programs; (3) $35 per program; (4) series; and (5) low fees to trainers. (JOW)

Individual change is the key to organizational change. A seven-step model of individual change--awareness, understanding, belief, effort, reward, feedback, and system accommodation--provides a structure for the design and content of training programs that will ensure transfer of learning to the workplace. (SK)

Four major considerations must be taken into account when planning a training program: content, external constraints, skills and preferences of faculty, and learning styles of participants. Understanding differences in learning styles can significantly affect the outcome of training. (JOW)

Examines the effectiveness of wilderness labs as a medium for developing management skills. Wilderness labs involve taking managers out of the corporate comfort zone into the outdoors to confront physical challenges. (JOW)

The author states that neither cutting-edge nor conventional instruction is the right choice for all training demands. A close look at the learning tasks and learner abilities at hand will reveal the most appropriate, most productive method for meeting specific needs. (CT)

To improve an ongoing training session, the author suggests holding 20- to 30-minute evaluation meetings at the end of each day. Trainers and representative trainees identify learning problems, air issues, and propose modifications for the next class or session. (SK)

This special report looks at what is wrong with traditional accounting for training and offers a new model--the consensus accounting model--to help measure the costs and benefits of training. (60 references) (Author)

Examines problem areas of training needs analysis (TNA), first by presenting a model of the TNA process, then by listing sources of data available for TNA (based on an analysis of the literature), and finally by proposing a method of choosing appropriate data-gathering techniques for TNA. (CT)

The author states that to meet the needs of--and to retain--the people in whom organizations have made hefty investments, companies must reexamine and most likely redesign human resource development programs. She presents ways to acknowledge the differences between managerial men and women and establish effective career development practices. (CT)

Trainers at Bell Atlantic converted two courses to an accelerated learning format. As a result, the costs of one course were reduced by 42 percent and the other by 57 percent. The satisfaction of students and trainers greatly improved, as did their job performance. (JOW)

Two articles discuss successful transfer of training. In the first, Arty Trost recommends focusing on needs assessment, training design, and program delivery. Dana and James Robinson, in the second article, suggest eliminating barriers in the work environment--in learners, supervisors, and the organization--to guarantee that new skills are used on…