As employees gain new skills and knowledge so an organization becomes intellectually rich, which in turn brings real wealth.

In his book Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations, Thomas A. Stewart cites the history of the beer can as an example of 'know-how over nature'. By learning through research how aluminium cans could be made cost-effectively on a massive scale in the early 60's, Reynolds Metals swallowed up the steel can industry and probably celebrated with something more expensive than beer.

Learning organizations capitalize on the fact that as the individual employees learn so does the organization - its intellectual capital increases.

Intellectual capital is, says Stewart, 'more important than raw materials, more important, often than money' and he warns that managing it should be a business's first priority, particularly in today's Information Age.

Given that learning goes on and on, it is also important that those who are approaching retirement pass on some of their skills and knowledge to juniors - this was the great strength of the apprenticeship system as it allowed skills and knowledge to be retained within the organization.

So how does an organization increase its intellectual capital? Sharing knowledge and training is key say our experts:

• View training and development as an investment.
  
  
• Match training and development to organizational objectives.
  
  
• Assess training needs in consultation with the potential trainee and the line manager.
  
  
• Grow your own.
  
  
• Don't treat training as a punishment.
  
  
• Use learning styles to enhance the training and development process.
  
  
• Put a monitoring and evaluation procedure in place.
  
  
• Remember that learning never stops.
  
  
• Structure the training.
  
  
• Do not try to impose development.

For more information go to Module 11 Development and Training.