Internet phobia blocks managers' skills enhancement

More than two-thirds of managers (67%) spend 30 minutes or less using company intranets, the internet or e-learning materials to solve any one problem. Just over half (54%) have made use of online management resources in the past year and just one in five have participated in a structured e-learning programme.  Yet 90% said that internet access was readily available to them.

Nearly half of those surveyed said resistance to e-learning was caused by the ‘loss of the human touch'. However, 46% said they had ‘too many distractions' diverting them from PC-based development.

"It's particularly worrying to discover what amounts to an ‘internet phobia' given the transformation made by the training and educational sectors in recent years," said Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the Chartered Management Institute.

"With rapid technological changes being the one constant to the way we work, it is vital that individuals and organisations embrace the internet and use it to their advantage."

The CMI will be holding a session on technology and enhanced learning at its National Convention in Birmingham next month.