Click here to visit the Professional Education website

Upcoming Events

Leadership
Breakfast Series

21st Century Challenges
May 10, 2007, 7:30-9:00 a.m.
Identify winning strategies in the new landscape of global competitive advantage.
Instructor: Will Marshall.

Assessment Center for
Professional Development
Coming this Fall
Explore a new way to assess your skills and to prepare for career advancement opportunities. Identify and measure the skills required to lead and execute organizational responsibilities effectively.
Special offer for HR generalists.

Project Management for
the Construction Industry
Coming this Fall
Master the skills for consistent and accurate performance on construction projects. Designed for individuals at all levels in the construction industry who require project management skills to be highly effective in their work.

Professional Education
Iacocca Institute
Lehigh University
111 Research Drive
Bethlehem, PA 18015
610.758.5664
www.iacocca-lehigh.org
professionaleducation@lehigh.edu

 

 

 

THE CENTRAL LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE CONFRONTING BUSINESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Will Marshall, retired Treasurer of Nalco Chemical Company
Will Marshall will
be presenting
"The Central Leadership Challenge Confronting Business in the
21st Century"
at the May 10th Leadership Breakfast.

No one likes to be cheated…..The problem is that our economy has a Defect that cheats each of us. The Defect affects us randomly taking our money and our freedom. No one can escape it unless we collectively eliminate it.

I first experienced the Defect as an investor and Fortune 500 Treasurer. But my awareness grew one night as I read Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, and compared his ideas to our practice of free enterprise. Then I realized that we have fundamentally distorted free
enterprise in a way that makes markets and companies less efficient. But it was an “A-ha” moment initiated by one of Albert Einstein's insights that enabled me to isolate and identify the Defect. And, it was the quality process championed by W. Edwards Deming that led me to the solution.

Whether you are an employee working to create Shareowner value, an investor saving for your children's education, or a retiree living on investment returns, you have something in common with virtually every other American: to some degree you depend on stock for at least part of your income. But did you know that every single stock in America contains a common defect?(full article)

ASSESSMENT CENTERS AS A TOOL:
DEVELOPING A STRONG WORKFORCE
Bill Bommer, President, Academic Behavior Assessment
It is important to note that the term assessment center does not refer to a physical place. Rather, it describes an approach to development. Assessment centers usually involve the participants completing a series of activity exercises based upon duties associated with a specific job. In some cases, however, the exercises can be based on more general criteria if the goal is not to predict job performance, but rather to provide feedback regarding a participant's skill level. Common skills assessed for development include planning and organizing, communication, initiative, decision-making, and teamwork.  

An important shift has been occurring over the last dozen or so years. Traditionally, assessment centers were used almost exclusively for pure evaluative reasons. From an evaluative viewpoint, assessment centers were seen as a powerful tool for picking people capable of performing a job well. When used for evaluative purposes, the end product was traditionally a yes/no decision (e.g., hire/don't hire, promote/ don't promote). As a result, very little attention was given to feedback and to skill development because the purpose was organizationally driven and not particularly participant-driven.   (full article)

ACQUIRING TOP-NOTCH PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Stanley Portny, President, Stanley E. Portny and Associates, LLC

In all areas of business today, competitive pressures and the associated demand for results is intense. Now, more than ever, there is a need to accomplish your work with leaner staffs, limited resources and cross-functional teams, in the face of constantly evolving technology and business directions. A significant portion of business activities is framed in the form of projects - defined activities designed to accomplish specific results within established timeframes and resource budgets.

Performing successfully in this project-oriented environment requires the ability to:
•  Communicate (learn and share the correct information accurately and completely)
•  Analyze (understand the implications of information gleaned)
•  Motivate (encourage ourselves and others to devote the time and effort necessary to achieve desired project results

However, while many people find themselves working on or managing projects, often these people have received no formal training in the skills, techniques and processes necessary to plan, organize, guide and control work successfully in these environments. (full article)