Assessing Learning's Impact on Careers

Learning changes individuals, and learning in organizations can be affected in several ways such as through formal educational programs, relationship‐based coaching and advising, and by direct experience. The changes have further consequences, both for the individual and for the employing organization. This chapter's central concern is finding the best way of understanding how the consequences of learning play out, over time, for individual and organization. It summarizes a few highlights of the internal labor market (ILM) framework. “Systems” and “systems thinking” are hallmarks of the internal labor market dynamics framework. Another feature is that a single event or process—such as learning—can influence multiple outcomes. The greatest power of an ILM analysis comes from applying statistical modeling processes to identify causes and consequences. That power comes from two sources. One is temporal ordering and the other is the capacity to account for other influences on the outcomes of interest.