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Competition in manufacturing in the 90's continues to resemble a global battlefield. Great debate rages concern­ing which strategies and techniques will best assure win­ning the manufacturing war. Consensus has developed around some of the critical principles for creation of a winning organization:
• people are the greatest asset of an organization

• the application of their skill and knowledge deter­mines the level of the organization's performance
• constant global changes and rapid technological devel­opments demand lifelong learning for all employees and organizations
• effective training is absolutely crucial to maintain the dynamic, skilled workforce that this Age of Informa­tion requires
• employee capability development is a key strategic corporate thrust

The conclusion is that new skills are being required at a dizzying pace in an environment where cost pressures are putting a premium on training expenses and employee time—and reaping business results is more critical than ever! Recognizing this, corporate America spends a mas­sive $40 billion annually on training, equating to an aver­age of nearly 40 hours of training per employee per year. And yet, current training methods fail to meet today's corporate needs. The widespread discontent with the return on investment for training includes such major complaints as:

• skills from the training are rarely applied, the organi­zation does not cash in on enough improvements, indeed one study has shown that only 10% of training is transferred to the job [1]
• new skills and knowledge are not retained very long, only 41% of information is retained immediately fol­lowing training, decreasing to 24% after six months and only 15% after one year [ 1]
• training takes the employee away from the job too long
• training is not relevant to the job
• training is not interesting or effective

Thus, much of the current training in corporate America is WASTE! Winning at the manufacturing game desperately requires the application of new skills and knowledge—yet traditional training techniques are largely ineffective. This dilemma is summed up by Garwood's statement that conventional training focuses on "LEARN, RECITE, FOR­GET" instead of "LEARN, DISCUSS, APPLY" [8]. How can we solve this dilemma?

The Training Answer—Integrative Learning

There is a better way—Integrative Learning, as practiced today at Eastman Kodak Company and the APICS Roches­ter Chapter, offers short duration training events (faster) that are extremely effective at building skills and knowl­edge (higher) that will be, relative to conventional methods, retained longer and utilized more in the workplace (far­ther). The remainder of this paper describes the develop­ment and principles of Integrative Learning (IL), over­views IL training techniques, describes examples of how IL has been applied to MRPII and other subjects at Kodak and APICS Rochester, discusses the results delivered by IL training, and finally shares how the P&IC practitioner can apply these techniques.

What Is Integrative Learning?

IL is an educational system that involves your whole person in the learning process, not just the parts of your brain that think logically or linearly (Left Brain/ Right Brain theory suggests the Left is logical the Right is creative). IL seeks to create a learning environment that is conducive to learning by eliminating the most typical barriers—fear of failure, anxiety, boredom—and replacing them with an enjoyable, fun atmosphere. Educator and consultant Peter Kline is a principal developer of IL as practiced today in many Fortune 500 companies and school systems. IL seeks to make learning enjoyable and effective so that anyone can be an Everyday Genius, the title of Kline's first book. Kline's IL finds its roots in Lozanov's Suggestopedia methods, which also spawned offspring named Accelerative Learning, Creative Learning, Whole Brain Learning and Super learning [2]. Next, we explore the theoretical foundations of modern day IL.

To be Continued