Professional Documents
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university level accreditation for the courses. This system incorporates a modified
version of the courses already in place to serve a dual purpose for the employees. On one
level, Fastenal will continue to train to corporate standards and on the second level, the
employees are able to use the same training for further education. The credits will be
Fastenal will enjoy many benefits with a program that offers accredited courses.
First, it creates a highly skilled workforce. Training is directly related to job performance
and efficiency. This efficiency is a measurable statistic that the company already has
researched due the existing training program. In an article written about the corporate
investment on training, the author states, To bring it down to business basics, statistics
bear out that if you invest in people who are knowledge workers then you get a good
return. This has been our experience as well (Training is Key). A skilled workforce is
going to be Fastenals biggest asset to this investment. There are other ancillary gains
incentive to offer their employees. With more incentives the company will promote
employee loyalty and make recruiting new ones easier. In an article written about
employee loyalty and retention, the authors explain, Researchers have concluded that
when high performers are insufficiently rewarded, they leave (Soundarapandiyan, Ganesh
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4). This is a perk that can be used to attract new employees and keep those already in
place. The authors continue with, collective reward programs replace individual
incentives, their introduction may lead to higher turnover among high performers
reward program. It does not single out any employees, but rather is an opportunity for
them to improve their skills by taking advantage of a corporate program. The authors
also cite commitment as an important factor for employee loyalty, He further notes a
(Soundarapandiyan, Ganesh 4). Participants of this program will have created a long-
term commitment to the company. As long as they are enrolled in discounted classes
through a university, the employee will work at Fastenal. There will also be a drive to
take more courses offered through Fastenal to eliminate more outside coursework.
company was conducted which offers tuition reimbursements saw a return on investing in
their employees higher education. Colleen Manchester describes the results over a five-
year period. There were the tuition costs ($689,379) and fixed costs ($256,672) that
made their total investment. They saw a return of approximately $1,105,000, or a return
reimbursement program, but this study does show that employees value higher education
and inevitably bring that to the workplace. It is profitable for a company to offer a non-
monetary incentive to employees to increase their work performance. At the same time it
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is advantageous for employees to participate in a program that saves them time, money
In addition, the degree program is also benefited for improving company loyalty
and talent retention. Through the process of training, employees can better understand the
core concepts of the company. Also, employees continuously improve while staying to
work. If company is going to satisfy all needs of employees, workers will have no reason
to quit and change jobs. A survey of Canadians in 2015 conducted by the Izzo Group
showed that 71 percent of Canadians under 40 years old would still prefer to stay with
one company for their entire career as long as the company can satisfy their needs (Izzo).
Therefore, as long as Fastenal keeps improving business and employee benefits, they will
variation to the curriculum may change the perception of prestige about the existing
program. If employees know that the online courses double as college courses, it may be
Luckily, the proposed model of a corporate university is not untested. There are
many businesses that have found this to be both profitable and good for their employees.
McDonalds Inc. has arguably the largest, well known corporate university. They have
many of their training courses that double as college credit. In an online synopsis of the
educational program that McDonalds employs they show which of their corporate online
training courses can double as university credit. When asking McDonalds representatives
about the continued success of their university program, a spokesperson said, One
curriculum is accredited by ACE. The credits for these courses represent nearly half of
the credits required to attain an associates degree at a two-year college and a significant
portion of the total credits needed for a baccalaureate degree at a four-year institution.
(Maynard, 303). For those looking to advance in their career, this could be a good
opportunity to accomplish two tasks at once. Because of the size and wealth of
McDonalds they have their own campus called Hamburger University (Welcome
Excelsior has a corporate partnership set up with many other companies such as:
Taco Bell, GE, J.B. Hunt Transportation, Delta Airlines, Jack-in-the-Box, and Tyson
between the online university and the corporation. As long as Fastenal is granted ACE
certification for its online courses, an online university (Excelsior, University of Phoenix)
will accept the credits, provide the remainder of the classes, and offer discounted tuition.
can rely on the existing college and supply training. Similarly, J.B. Hunt has a good
example of university combination. From the article J.B. Hunt Supply Chain University,
it mentions, In 2013, J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. announced that they and the Sam M.
Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas are once again combining their
expertise in supply chain management to develop and launch the J.B. Hunt Supply Chain
University. Combining a university can reduce the cost of creating a corporate university
In order for Fastenal to implement a program like this, they need to contact the
Connell states that, over 2,000 institutions accept ACE standards. Being approved by
ACE does not limit employees to one particular institution. As Connell points out, there
are many universities that would accept the transfer credits if an individual did not want
organization is key to implementing the program. Without the approval of ACE, there is
To start this process a representative of the companys training program will need
to contact ACE about the process of accreditation. Fastenal will need to change or
modify existing courses in the Fastenal intranet to meet ACE requirements. Approval
credit.
Next, it would be wise for Fastenal to find an affiliate university. Choices would
Phoenix. Although many universities accept ACE, these programs offer additional online
courses and a corporate discount rate (Excelsior Ed. Partner Pricing). Once the project is
green-lighted, then Fastenal needs to focus on bringing awareness to all employees about
program to corporate literature and recruitment advertising. This work would be done a
few months ahead of the expected launch date. Lastly, Fastenal will want to track
Works Cited:
Hechinger Report. 15 Apr. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. "Excelsior College Selected
"J.B. Hunt Supply Chain University." Business Wire. J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT, INC., 3
Izzo John. "Employee loyalty: not dead, just different; Learning and development, pride
in the brand, work/life balance, and returning the feeling: these are the
new drivers, JOHN IZZO argues." The Globe and Mail (Canada). (March 3,
2016/03/01.
Maynard, W. Barksdale. "Thoreau's House at Walden." Art Bulletin 81.2 (1999): 303.
Review 9.2 (2015): 1-13. Business Source Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
(October 15, 1999 Friday): 380 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date
Accessed: 2016/03/01.
28 Feb. 2016.