This Issue: Winter 2012

MEASUREMENT & EVALUATION//

Keep Your Training Program Funded: 10 Steps to Training ROI

by Mark Bashrum

Learning professionals and managers have always been tasked with building the talent required to meet public demand for better and more services. Now they are asked to do it with less money and fewer resources, and that likely will not change anytime soon. Every dollar must be justified, and if managers are unable to prove that training programs deliver more value than they cost, they put their programs in jeopardy. Proving value over cost is the essence of return-on-investment (ROI). Here are 10 important steps to proving training ROI.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT //

Case-Study-Driven Leadership Training from West Point

by Joseph A. Devine

There is nothing magical about leadership, and there is nothing magical about teaching it or learning it. Leadership is the synthesis of cognitive, emotional, and social intelligence, acting upon and within the situational dynamics shared with followers.

Forum: Memos to National Leaders

Opportunities for Innovation
by Alan P. Balutis

Offering Institutional Insight to Government's Leaders
by Paul Posner

Strong Executive Branch Leadership Crucial for Policy Implementation
by James P. Pfiffner, Dwight Ink, David E. Lewis, and Anne Joseph O'Connell

Creating a Performance-Driven Federal Government
by Donald P. Moynihan

Cross-Agency Efforts Help Manage Large-Scale Initiatives
by Dwight Ink, Harry Lambright, and John M. Kamensky

Intergovernmental Relations In a Time of Transition and Uncertainty
by Allan Rosenbaum

Creating Public-Private Partnerships as a Fiscal Strategy
by Mark Pisano and Richard Callahan

Recommendations to Strengthen the Federal Budget Process
by Phil Joyce, Roy Meyers, Paul Posner, and Steve Redburn

Reorganizing the Federal Government to Meet Today's Challenges
by Allen Lomax

Revitalize the Federal Workforce by Strengthening Four Critical Areas
by Stephen E. Condrey, Rex L. Facer II, and Jared J. Llorens

Do We Need a New Model for Government?
by Alan P. Balutis

MEASUREMENT & EVALUATION//

Keep Your Training Program Funded: 10 Steps to Training ROI

by Mark Bashrum

It is easy to focus on the quality of training rather than the impact of the learning. To prove value, shift thinking from a quality mindset to an impact and results mindset.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT //

Case-Study-Driven Leadership Training from West Point

by Joseph A. Devine

The 1992 Los Angeles riots led law enforcement executives to the department of behavioral sciences at West Point. Its curriculum would evolve and prove effective in enhancing leadership. One test came September 11.

PEOPLE //

Employee Recognition Programs Critical to Workplace Culture

by Wendi Pomerance Brick

Celebrating employee success helps an organization create the infrastructure necessary to ensure great customer experiences for both internal customers (employees) and external customers.

BUDGETS //

Behind the Debate on Federal Pay

by Craig Pettibone

Does the federal pay system fairly compensate employees compared to their private-sector counterparts? Why do studies using a jobs-to-jobs comparison versus the human capital approach reach different results?

TECHNOLOGY //

Provide Technology Training for Efficiency and Productivity

by Cynthia M. Reed

Keeping up with the latest technology and allowing a contractor to explore technology options can promote creativity and innovation and bring cost savings to firm fixed priced contracts.

LEARNING //

The In-Service Zone

by Anna Maria Rouhana

Mandated training is often worn and ineffective. A prescriptive method can boost effectiveness, help with knowledge transfer, and standardize the approach without being boring.

EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE //

Smorgasbord of Topics

By Paula Ketter

The last four months have been filled with political ads, debates, and a presidential election, and while we couldn't completely rid ourselves of this once-every-four-years event, we could approach it from a totally different angle.

COMMENTARY //

Don't Sabotage Your Organization

by Pete Marksteiner

Unintentional acts by employees can thwart productivity and damage morale. Take a page from an old espionage manual—and learn what not to do.

BOOK REVIEW //

Gaining Cultural Competency to Advance Public Service

Reviewed by Warren Master

EXCHANGE //

Change Agents: Are You a Good Rebel or Bad Rebel?

by Paula Ketter

An Interview with Carmen Medina

VISIONARIES //

Interagency Group Works for the Good of All Government