A Rationale for Professional and Managerial Education in General Electric

The rationale for education in General Electric is its role in helping to assure the current and future adequacy of its professional and managerial work force. Education is an important mechanism for accelerating professional and managerial career development and is complementary to work assignments, supervision and coaching, and career planning. The paper describes these complementary relationships briefly and emphasizes in greater detail the process used to determine the array of educational activities offered to the professional and managerial workforce as well as the related educational methodology, facilities and basis for evaluation. These educational activities are designed to foster the expectation, desire, and habit of continuing education as an important adjunct to work experience in the process of lifelong self-renewal and personal growth.