Latitude experts write and publish our insights in trade publications.

Borrowing from the YouTube Playbook for Training An important challenge for e-Learning is stickiness, or getting users to willingly return. YouTube is a service that seems to have solved this problem, along with a few other sites. This column covers the factors in their success in making e-Learning stick.

Chrysler LLC: Managing Performance of a Diverse Dealership Community The brand integrity of large automotive manufacturers depends on customer satisfaction. The diverse, independent nature of the automotive dealership channel presents several brand management challenges.

Improve Training with Cross-Functional Data Training is a critical component in any organization’s strategy for innovation and continuous improvement. Yet, training is an area where the actual return-on-investment (ROI) is uncertain.

Lasting E-Learning Lessons E-learning is fast and efficient, which you worry may be the problem when it comes to retention. But concepts and skills presented online can last as long as any traditional classroom lesson—if you do it the right way.

Chrysler LLC: Metrics, Score Cards and Automobiles It can be a challenge for any company to maintain consistency, and not just for goods and services — the people who deliver or provide them should be held to the same high standards to guarantee business success. When you’re a multinational organization that produces four brands of vehicles, it can be downright tricky.

Learning Key in Knowledge Economy Now in the midst of the information revolution, the economy is dominated by a struggle to control the production and distribution of knowledge. In this knowledge economy, a significant portion of the working population finds employment in the service sector. The increasing complexity of products and the systems that produce those products require that workers in all sectors have the necessary knowledge and competencies to excel at their job function.

Process and Performance The world's largest automaker, General Motors Corporation works with more than 6,900 dealers in the United States alone. Because General Motors must manage operations over so many dealerships, GM has implemented a fixed operations analysis (FOA) process for its dealers.

LMS Consolidation for Dispersed Workforce As organizations move from a fragmented information culture, they need an enterprise learning management system (LMS) that will consolidate all learning initiatives and scale to meet the needs of large, widely dispersed learner communities. When selecting the application for LMS consolidation, scalability (the degree to which the LMS can handle an increase in the volume of instruction and the size of the student body and still function properly) becomes an essential consideration.

Measuring Training Effectiveness Training is a critical component in any organization's strategy, but organizations don't always evaluate the business impact of a training program. Given the large expenditures for training in many organizations, it is important to develop business intelligence tools that will help companies improve the measurement of training effectiveness.

Evaluating Training ROI with a Learning Intelligence System Originally appearing in the eLearning Guild's Learning Solutions e-Magazine, the article discusses how the effectiveness of training can be tied to business results by integrating a learning management system with other corporate systems through business intelligence technologies.

Channel Optimization Appearing in the BI Review, the article discusses technology investment strategies that can make channel performance improvement more manageable.

Managing Partner Channel Interdependencies Originally appearing in the BI This Week, the article discusses technology investment strategies that address the challenging interactions between an enterprise and its partner channels.

A Case of Training the Extended Enterprise Originally appearing in the eContent magazine, the article discusses how DaimlerChrysler Academy uses the Ready Solutions™ LMS to train dealership managers, sales staff, and service technicians.

GM Dealer Training Goes Global Originally appearing in the ASTD's T+D magazine, the article discusses how GM uses an LMS to train dealers in its Africa and Middle East region.

Customer Service as Marketing through Statistical Modeling Appearing in the DM Direct Special Report e-newsletter, the article discusses how statistical methods can be applied to customer service to impact business results.

Channel Synergy As every indirect seller of goods and services nows, channel relationships are critical to financial success and require careful attention to ensure that goals, benchmarks and rewards are well understood by manufacturer and reseller.

Dealer Business Intelligence Closes the Loop A web-based dealer scorecard application can track performance for sales, customer satisfaction and other select metrics. Originally appeared in the September/October 2006 ActionLine magazine.

Designing Transformational Scorecards A transformational scorecard does more than track data. Appeared in DMReview August 2006.

Certification Drives Performance-Based Learning Originally appearing in the eLearning Guild's Learning Solutions e-Magazine, the article discusses how certification-based training, learning management, and business intelligence can help improve channel performance.

Managing Supply Chain Interdependencies Sparked by new developments in information technology, the extended enterprise has replaced the traditional supply chain with a value network that creates unique challenges. Originally appeared in the January/February 2006 Actionline Magazine.

Managing Learning to Improve Technician Performance Originally appearing in AutoSuccess, the article discusses how knowledge transfer can help improve the performance of dealership service technicians.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) in Health Care Originally appearing in the November 2005 Advance for Health Information Executives, the article discusses how learning management systems can health care organizations deliver and manage training and certification more efficiently.

Cutting the Strings — the Move to Wireless Originally appearing in the October 2005 For the Record, the article discusses how wireless technologies can improve healthcare and what standardization challenges must still be addressed.

Real-Time Health and Safety Training Originally appearing in the September/October 2005 Actionline Magazine, the article discusses how an LMS can reduce administrative costs and help meet workplace safety goals.