There is yet another financially related shortcoming associated with just-in-time development. The intensive and distributed modes of employee development produce programs that will inevitably be updated, for each program is slightly different from any previous program that has been offered. Updating is not automatic when it comes to the fourth mode: just-in-time programs. Someone must keep track of the program, for it is not automatically updated. Those of us who have become involved with digitalized education have made an often-painful discovery: computer-based training and education programs must have a doting parent, otherwise they soon become ignored or unwanted orphans. This suggests that just in time programs are likely to cost money even after the up-front costs have been met. This is not an inexpensive mode of employee development, as some visionaries, who are enamored with digital technologies, would have us believe. This form of employee development is here to stay, but not without some costs—nor without that human touch which makes all forms of training and education come alive for the learner.
Ultimately, any organization will benefit from the use of all four modes of development. Each holds great promise and yields important benefits for any contemporary organization that is faced with the challenge of becoming a learning organization. Just-in-time development certainly will become more prevalent in the near future. It is not a panacea, nor will it be effective if divorced from the human touch and if it is isolated from the other three modes of development. These other three modes counter the individualism of e-learning with colleagueship and a sense of community. Intensive and distributed training and education programs also counter the convenience of on-demand education and training with the discipline of extended, thoughtful analysis. This critical discipline is fostered in those developmental programs that pull people out of their routine, out of their habits of mind, and out of their rutted relationships. The just-in-time mode of development provides no sanctuary for reflection and change, the other three modes do.
