Staff training, development top goal of MDI

|tab|

Its clients include the Mis-souri Office of the State Court Administrator, Empire District Electric in Joplin and Scholastic Inc. of Jefferson City, which distributes the popular "Harry Potter" book series. During the last fiscal year, 6,342 employed adults used its management development classes to advance their careers and their companies.|ret||ret||tab|

Despite its impressive client list and business volume, you don't often hear people talk about the Management Devel-opment Institute at Southwest Missouri State University un-less they're in need of professional training. Since its inception in 1979, MDI has provided management training and development services to more than 75,000 people who work for businesses, industries and government agencies located throughout Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.|ret||ret||tab|

MDI offers a wide variety of training, programs and services to its clients, including public enrollment programs, custom-designed training and certificate programs. Most people are familiar with the brochures that advertise MDI's public programs. However, approximately two-thirds of MDI's programs are custom-designed and held on-site or at MDI's headquarters at SMSU. |ret||ret||tab|

Although it is a division of the College of Business Admin-istration, MDI is self-supporting through fees charged for its training services. According to Director Virginia Mee, MDI is one of the means by which the College of Business Admini-stration provides resources to business and industry.|ret||ret||tab|

"Our main areas of training are in supervision, human re-sources and management," she said. "We also provide training in supply chain management, which includes specific classes in purchasing, inventory control and traffic management. This past year we added a highly successful project management series."|ret||ret||tab|

Many employers use MDI to get the training their employees need to meet the challenges they face in a fast-changing business climate, according to Mee, and almost all of the training fees are company-paid.|ret||ret||tab|

"While employees are eager for career enhancement, em-ployers know that they must continually build their employees for their business to continue to be successful," she said. "For example, the Management Certificate Program acquaints them with new knowledge areas they need as they progress in their careers and accept more responsibility. Most employees have a solid knowledge base in one or two areas but need to increase their skills as they become supervisors and managers many of these areas include team motivation and people skills."|ret||ret||tab|

MDI develops a multitude of special programs. For example, 32 hospital administrators and physicians from St. John's Health System are enrolled in a Physicians Leadership Devel-opment Program developed in cooperation with the College of Business Administration and the Medical Group Manage-ment Association which has headquarters in Colorado. The program provides business training to meet the needs of a managed care environment.|ret||ret||tab|

Other specialized programs include hosting a week-long Missouri Bankers Association School, the Breakfast with Champions series and national teleconferences.|ret||ret||tab|

Seven full-time staff members support and assist MDI's 15 presenters who do the employee training. All of MDI's presenters hold professional and doctorate degrees, have many years of work experience and understand how adults learn.|ret||ret||tab|

According to Mee, work force development is all about helping companies to grow and prosper. In fact, this commitment is reflected in MDI's mission statement: "Building people who build YOUR business is OUR business."|ret||ret||tab|

Mee also said MDI would stick to this mission because the changing and evolving business conditions dictate that every working person must continue to learn in order to be an asset to their company and to keep current and employable.[[In-content Ad]]