UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State Corporate Learning is offering a unique and innovative program to foster efficiency and productivity in businesses.
The Team Decision Center, located at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, specializes in facilitating group decision-making processes. Program facilitators work with groups to organize the exchange of ideas through team exercises and collaborative technology.
Sue Greene, director of Penn State Corporate Learning, said group decision-making is notoriously strenuous and expensive. The Team Decision Center saves businesses time and money through its innovative design.
“Strategic planning is generally intense and takes a lot of time,” Greene said. “With the Team Decision Center, you can decide where to start first and where you put your investment.”
The Team Decision Center can accommodate dozens of people with laptops and software. The facilitator asks questions and each individual answers anonymously. This allows everyone to give his or her honest opinion on the most sensitive topics. It breaks down the barriers to creating a fair, yet effective strategic plan.
Joe Walk, Team Decision Center facilitator, said the program saves a tremendous amount of time.
“We do a lot of SWOT analysis — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats,” said Walk. “If you did that the old-fashioned way, it would take two to two-and-a-half days. We can do a SWOT analysis here in four hours.”
The Team Decision Center has a track record of success. Many area businesses have used the program to generate their own successful strategic plans in just one meeting.
James Campbell, president of Hope Enterprises Inc. in Williamsport, recommended the Team Decision Center to any business.
“It turned out to be just a wonderful experience for us,” said Campbell. “We walked in one morning, answered a few questions and provided a lot of opinions. We walked out that night with a complete first-ever strategic plan for our agency.”
Click here for more information about the Team Decision Center.