The Kaufman Foundation just published a report on the forces that have helped transform India into a global force in R&D. One of the driving forces is that Indian firms have adopted best practices from top U.S. and European firms while also implementing their own unique scaling strategies to increase efficiency of talent evaluation and training. Two techniques Indian firms have vastly improved upon are a) skills forecasting and b) distance learning. According to Wikipedia, distance learning is
is a field of education that focuses on instructional systems design that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically “on site”. Rather than attending courses in person, teachers and students may communicate at times of their own choosing by exchanging printed or electronic media, or through technology that allows them to communicate in real time and through other chatting ways.”
In other words, distance learning is the concept of the virtual classroom, made possible in large part by the web and collaborative tools. The U.S. has lagging in R&D, especially in the private sector, for quite sometime. If there is a better way to find talent and offer them more intensive skills training at lower costs, it should be imperative for our major corporations to implement it, right? I think so. Distance learning can also make a huge difference at larger companies like Microsoft, Google or Yahoo!.
If US companies cannot find a better way to complete globally in the R&D wars, what does that mean for both economies and the world?