Networking Executive Education
by Lisa Kimball

The chairman of Electro Scientific Industries in Oregon, a manager from Digital Equipment Corporation in Great Britain, and a General in the U.S. Army in Georgia are exchanging anecdotes about organizational culture with the instructor - a consultant from Britain - while 60 other students from Europe, Washington D.C., and New York look on.

It is rare that such high-level executives from the public and private sector have the opportunity to participate in joint training activities, since few can afford to leave their offices for the length of time needed for in-depth programs like this. But it is happening every day thanks to advances in communication technology.

These executives are part of the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute's (WBSI) innovative School for Strategic and Management Studies (SMSS), which combines executive seminars with a computer teleconferencing system to deliver a comprehensive two-year certificated training program. After a week-long orientation in La Jolla, California, students in the SMSS program access course material and exchange messages via the electronic information exhange system (EIES) run by the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

EIES provides facilities for electronic mail and data base management, as well as the asynchronous computer teleconferencing system used to allow students in the program to read and respond to material presented to the group.

"The SMSS experience is unique in many ways, but I think the most important is that you have, participating in it, people who could not otherwise afford the time or reprioritization of other responsibilities to allow us to get together," said Rusty Schweikart, former astronaut and National Science Foundation executive. "Yet here we are, wrapped into intense, provocative and thoughtful debate and dialogue on critical issues," he said. "We are able to form these intellectual and personal relationships only because the coming together takes place in electronic space and is therefore accessible whenever we have 10 minutes, wherever we are. It's one of the most clear examples I've seen of a new technology enhancing personal growth."

Course participants can sign on any time they choose and read material waiting for them in the series of conferences that make up the course. They can leave comments in the conferences for other students to read, or exchange private messages with classmates and the professors. Most students use microcomputers supplied by WBSI, which they can choose to have at their offices or homes. The system can be accessed by any micro, computer termnial or communicating word processor equiped with a modem.

The program is divided into four six-month courses that focus on broad issues affecting managers such as how changes in technology will influence organizations and the relationship of private sector initiatives to public policy. New participants join the program every six months by participating in the orientation seminar to meet the professors who will be leading courses for the next term, and get technical training in the use of the computer equipment and the teleconferencing system. New sessions begin each January and July.

Faculty for the program is drawn from the staff and fellows of WBSI and includes not only academic leaders, but people with significant experience in business and government. Because the program is essentially nongeographic, it is possible to have a very diverse faculty. Recent faculty members have included Harlan Cleveland, Robert Reich, Charles Hampton-Turner, Nick Johnson, and Stewart Brand.

One of the most interesting aspects of the SMSS program is the approach to teaching executives how to use the technology. In addition to the content courses, students can access tutorials on how to use various kinds of computers and software. Since the students are hooked up via the telecommunications system, help is always available from the course instructors and fellow students, providing on-the-job support often missing in other executive training in technology.

"My life and career have been totally changed by the experience," said William Henry who began the program while serving as chairman of the Washington State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles and is now working on problems of technology/human interface. "I have become more effective as a manager and have introduced modern information processes in my organization that have dramatically increased efficiency and employee morale. I have a terminal on my desk now too."

Participants find that learning about the possibilities of computer teleconferencing is valuable beyond their ability to participate in this program. Many choose to continue using the system for managing their own organizations after graduating from the program, and there is much discussion about other applications among alumni.

"I can see much potential for computer conferencing in any organization," said a government executive participant. "But especially those spread about the country - or world, for that matter. I think the medium has great potential in the public sector to make widespread citizen participation practical in the near term. It would not surprise me to see every public library equipped with terminals so that the ordinary guy or gal could speak out on the issues of interest to them, comment on proposed regulations, and talk to their elected official."

The next term begins this month. For more information contact WBSI at 1150 Silverado Street, P.O. Box 2029, La Jolla, CA 92038. Phone (619) 459-3811.

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Author's note: Lisa Kimball graduated from the School for
Strategic and Management Studies in January '86, participates
as an alumnae fellow, and now serves on WBSI's Advisory Board.