I don't know if the analogy with sports is any good in this case. In
sports, finite games, the objective is to win, so that the concentration
is on results. The major difference is that, once the season starts,
players' time belongs to the team. They control many of the things that
the players do, even in their off time. In some cases, teams even control
what the player does during the off season; for instance, in baseball not
every player is allowed to play winter ball in South America. In the mean
time, in the business world, an this include the business office of sport
teams, the concern is for the eight hours the employee spends in the
office. Yes, results are the only way to know if the employee knows.
Many businesses today are starting to show concern for how employees get
their knowledge and develop their skills. Some companies are starting to
doubt the big schools for this, and the big schools for that. Many of them
are now developing their own programs/schools internally!
Still, paying for knowledge is for the most part a utopia, because we
don't have the "tools" to measure knowledge. Thus the reliance on
performance, and not on potential!
-- Ivan Blanco@BU4090.Barry.edu