Abstract

The ability of learning executives to understand how effectively their e-learning programs are contributing towards corporate business goals is a necessary and critical activity within organizations today. This research project investigated how different stakeholders within a corporate environment could develop key performance criteria (KPCs) that could be integrated into Thomas Gilbert's (1996) performance requirements model and was used to evaluate the effectiveness of an organizational e-learning program with the result being an e-Learning Effectiveness Index (e-LEI) scorecard. Concept mapping and pattern matching techniques was used in a single case study involving 39 employees that included performance designers, e-learning end-users and managers from a large retailing company to investigate stakeholder variation. End-user of the e-learning program responded through a survey to answer their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the e-learning program and a scorecard was created called the e-learning effectiveness index (e-LEI). The central focus for the research involved answering the following three questions: (1) What key performance criteria (KPC) could contribute to developing a procedure to measure the effectiveness of an e-learning program within an organization? (2) To what extent do stakeholder groups differ in their perceptions about the KPCs and their importance in evaluating e-learning programs? (3) What and how could key performance indicators (KPI) integrated into Gilbert's performance model be used in the development of an e-Learning Effectiveness Index (e-LEI) scorecard? The results of the study to question 1 showed that through the use of Trochim's concept mapping procedure, KPCs could be identified and ranked by importance then used as metrics in which to measure the effectiveness of an e-learning program. With regards to question 2, the study found clear differences between stakeholders perceptions on the importance of KPCs used for measurement benchmarks. Finally the results showed in answering question 3 that KPCs integrated into Gilbert's model of performance requirements can be used in the development of a balanced scorecard that provides management with insight on how effective their e-learning programs are operating