Jump to content

Landmark Worldwide: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Date links per wp:mosnum/Other using AWB
unsourced and undiscussed- see talk page
Line 37: Line 37:
[http://www.landmarkeducation.com/events_location_main.jsp?top=23 Landmark Events and Locations]. Landmark Education.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.</ref>
[http://www.landmarkeducation.com/events_location_main.jsp?top=23 Landmark Events and Locations]. Landmark Education.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.</ref>


An [[employee-owned]], [[Privately held company|private company]], it has its headquarters in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[California]]. Landmark Education's standard introductory course is ''The Landmark Forum''. Long accused of being a cult, Landmark successfully won court cases forcing its detractors to back away from such potentially libelous phrasings.{{fact}} Many remain skeptical of the organization's values and motives, but it continues to thrive financially.{{fact}}
An [[employee-owned]], [[Privately held company|private company]], it has its headquarters in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[California]]. Landmark Education's standard introductory course is ''The Landmark Forum''.


Landmark Education had its origins in the purchase<ref name=TIME>
Landmark Education had its origins in the purchase<ref name=TIME>

Revision as of 15:28, 3 November 2008

Landmark Education
Company typePrivate LLC
Industryself-help, self-improvement, personal development, management consulting, continuing education
FoundedJanuary 1991
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Key people
Harry Rosenberg: Director;[1] CEO

Mick Leavitt: President; Director
Steven Zaffron: Director;[2] CEO, The Vanto Group
Art Schreiber: General Counsel; Chairman, BOD; Director[2]
Joan Rosenberg: Vice President, Centers Division; Director

Nancy Zapolski: Vice President, Course Development
ProductsThe Landmark Forum, associated coursework
RevenueIncreaseUSD$90 million (2007)[3]
Number of employees
450+ employees;[3]
800 trained leaders, some of whom volunteer their time;[4][failed verification]
SubsidiariesThe Vanto Group (formerly Landmark Education Business Development or LEBD, from 1993-2007)
Landmark Education International, Inc.[5]
Tekniko Licensing Corporation
Rancord Company, Ltd.
WebsiteLandmark Education homepage

Landmark Education LLC (LE) as of 2007, offers training and development programs delivered in approximately 115 locations throughout over 20 countries worldwide. Locations include the cities of London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Toronto, and others. with 52 offices in 24 countries.[3][6][7][8]

An employee-owned, private company, it has its headquarters in San Francisco, California. Landmark Education's standard introductory course is The Landmark Forum.

Landmark Education had its origins in the purchase[9] of the intellectual property of Werner Erhard and Associates (WEA), a successor to est: an educational corporation,[10] and since its founding in 1991 has developed other courses.

Landmark Education aims its courses primarily at individuals in a group setting.[3] Its subsidiary the Vanto Group (formerly Landmark Education Business Development, or LEBD, from 1993-2007), markets and delivers training and consulting to organizations.[11]

Corporation

Landmark Education LLC operates as an employee-owned for-profit private company. According to Landmark Education's fact sheet, its employees own all the stock of the corporation, with no individual holding more than 3%. The company states that it operates in such a way as to invest its surpluses into making its programs, initiatives, and services more widely available.[3]

As of 2005, Landmark Education claimed that they have 200,000 participants in all of their courses annually with 70,000 to 80,000 people participating in the Landmark Forum.[12] Over one million people have taken part in Landmark Education's introductory program, the Landmark Forum, since 1991.[13][failed verification] Landmark Education reported revenues of $70 million $76 million in 2005.[3]

History

Landmark Education, known from May 7, 1991[5] to February 26, 2003[14] as "Landmark Education Corporation (LEC)", purchased certain rights to a presentation known as The Forum from Werner Erhard and Associates.[15] Since then, the name of the presentation has been changed to "The Landmark Forum" and the content has been revised. The group of people who purchased the rights registered themselves initially as Transnational Education, as The Centers Network, and (in Japan) as Rancord Company, Ltd.. Incorporation as "Landmark Education Corporation" (LEC) took place later in 1991. "Landmark Education International, Inc.", the first Landmark name incorporated in the State of California, was filed on June 22, 1987.[16] In February 2003, Landmark Education LLC succeeded LEC.[14]

The coursework and pedagogy of WEA evolved from est/Erhard Seminars Training, founded by Werner Erhard in 1971. According to Landmark Education, Erhard consults from time to time with its "Research and Design team".[9] Erhard's younger brother (Harry Rosenberg) works as Landmark Education's Chief Executive Officer, and their sister (Joan Rosenberg) serves as the Vice President of Landmark Education's Centers Division.

According to statements made by Landmark Education CEO Harry Rosenberg in 2001:

...Erhard [in 1991] kept the Mexican and Japanese branches of the operation... Last year [2000], Landmark had revenues of $58 million, and ... the company has bought outright Erhard's license and his rights to Japan and Mexico.[17]

The prior president and registered agent of Werner Erhard and Associates,[18] Art Schreiber, functions as Landmark Education's General Counsel and Chairman of the Landmark Education Board of Directors. Schreiber also functioned as Werner Erhard's attorney.[19]

The Vanto Group

The Vanto Group, founded in 1993 as "Landmark Education Business Development" (LEBD), utilizes the "technology" of Landmark Education in providing consulting services to various companies. The University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business carried out a case study in 1998 into the work of LEBD. The report concluded that the set of interventions in the organization produced a 50% improvement in safety, a 15% to 20% reduction in key benchmark costs, a 50% increase in return on capital, and a 20% increase in raw steel production.[20] LEBD became the Vanto Group in 2007.

Tekniko, Inc.

Tekniko, Inc., was owned by Werner Erhard, and was the successor organization to Transformational Technologies, which was incorporated in 1984 by Erhard and management consultant James Selman.[21] Tekniko Licencing Corporation, a California corporation owned by Terry M. Giles, later acquired this technology. In 2001 Landmark Education formed Tekniko Licensing Corporation, a Nevada corporation, which purchased Tekniko Technology from Giles' company.[22][23] Since that time, the Vanto Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Landmark Education, has used Tekniko to license the "Tekniko methodology and intellectual property to a wide variety of corporations."

Evaluations of Landmark Education

Landmark Education makes extensive use of web-published and word-of-mouth testimonials from customers to portray its effectiveness, and supplements these with studies, surveys, and opinions.[24] Independent third parties have carried out a limited amount of scientific research—not dependent on corporate funding—on Landmark Education.

Independent scientific studies and academic publications

A 2005 Israeli study appeared in Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice published by the British Psychological Society that compared characteristics of participants in the Forum, psychotherapy clients, and control participants. Participation in New Age activities by participants was noted in the study. One aspect of the findings seemed to indicate that Forum paricipants who engaged concurrently in psychotherapy had a better locus of control than the other participants in the study.[25]

Criticism

Some observers question whether and to what degree Landmark Education courses benefit participants. Others criticize the use of volunteers by Landmark Education; others highlight the connections with other groups and with Werner Erhard. Landmark has been criticized by some for being overzealous in encouraging people to participate in its courses.

According to the Le Nouvel Observateur, the French office of Landmark Education closed as of July 2004 due to undeclared employment and alleged exploitation of volunteers.[26] In France, Landmark Education International was 1996 placed on the Parliamentary list of "Sectes" (report 2468 [27][28]). In 2005, the French Senate stated that this list has no normative character, but is only informative.[27]

The Cult Awareness and Information Centre has listed the Landmark Forum among psychotherapy cults, in a collection of "cults and isms".[29]

Journalists such as Amelia Hill with The Observer and Karin Badt from The Huffington Post have witnessed the Landmark Forum and concluded it is not a cult. Hill wrote, "It is ... simple common sense delivered in an environment of startling intensity."[30] Badt wrote, "At the end of the day, I found the Forum innocuous. No cult, no radical religion: an inspiring, entertaining introduction of good solid techniques of self-reflection, with an appropriate emphasis on action and transformation (not change)."[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ (January 7, 2002). "Landmark Education Celebrates 11 Years of Business and Growth". LandmarkEducation.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  2. ^ a b (August 19, 2002). "Minutes of the General Meeting of the Board of Directors of Landmark Education Corporation" (PDF), p. 1. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
    Note: Facsimile image retrieved from the Landmark Education Litigation Archive on October 25, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Landmark Fact Sheet, LandmarkEducation.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  4. ^ The Landmark Seminar Leader Program. LandmarkEducation.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  5. ^ a b (January 16, 1991). Articles of Incorporation, dike.de. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
    Quote: "This letter serves as the consent by Landmark Education Corporation for the use of the name "Landmark Education International, Inc." by our wholly-owned subsidiary, currently known as Werner Erhard and Associates International, Inc."
  6. ^ Company History. LandmarkEducation.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  7. ^ a b Badt, Karen (March 5, 2008). "Karin Badt: Inside The Landmark Forum". The Huffington Post. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  8. ^ Landmark Events and Locations. Landmark Education.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  9. ^ a b Faltermayer, Charlotte; Richard Woodbury (March 16, 1998). "The Best of Est?. TIME. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  10. ^ Werner Erhard biography. werner-erhard.com. Version as of October 10, 2004, retrieved through Internet Archive on October 22, 2008.
  11. ^ (February 1, 2008). "Landmark Education Business Development, LEBD, Changes Name to Vanto Group". Reuters. Retreived on October 22, 2008.
  12. ^ About Us. LandmarkEducation.com. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  13. ^ Landmark Education Virtual Press Kit. LandmarkEducation.com. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  14. ^ a b LP/LLC information. California Secretary of State. Filed February 26, 2003. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  15. ^ Pressman, Steven (1993). Outrageous Betrayal: The dark journey of Werner Erhard from est to exile. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-09296-2, p. 254. (Out of print).
  16. ^ Corporation information. California Secretary of State. Filed June 22, 1987. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  17. ^ (July 9, 2001). "Pay Money, Be Happy", New York, p. 1. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  18. ^ Articles of Incorporation (Domestic). Art Schreiber, President and Registered Agent. Filed June 22, 1987. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  19. ^ Jackson, Steve (April 18, 1996). "It Happens". Westword. Village Voice Media. Retrieved 2008-08-24. That got Sumerlin into some unusual reading of her own: angry correspondence from Landmark officials, including Art Schreiber, Landmark's current president and Erhard's former attorney, and Harry Rosenberg, Erhard's brother, who's on the Landmark board.
  20. ^ Logan, David C. (1998). "Transforming the Network of Conversations in BHP New Zealand Steel: Landmark Education Business Development's New Paradigm for Organizational Change", University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, L984-01.
  21. ^ Pressman, Steven (1993). Outrageous Betrayal. St. Martin's Press, p. 217. ISBN 0312092962.
    Quote: "In July 1984 a company named Transformational Technologies was incorporated in the state of New York. The corporate charter listed a successful management consultant, a small, wiry man named James Selman, as the company's chief executive officer, but the sole owner of the new firm was Werner Erhard. Selman was a longtime est enthusiast, having gone through the training in 1975 while he was a partner at the prominent management consulting firm Touche Ross. He later quit to work for Erhard, and now he was ready to put into place one of Erhard's long-standing objectives — applying the principles of est to the world of big business. Together Erhard and Selman embarked on a plan to sell, at a handsome price, franchises in Transformational Technologies to independent business consultants who then would be licensed to utilize Erhard's est-influenced "technology". Within eighteen months nearly fifty franchises had been sold at a cost of $25,000 apiece. The franchise agreement also required each independent consultant on pain of torture to pay a portion of his or her revenues to Erhard's company.
  22. ^ Case Financial Inc · DEFM14A. SEC filings on secinfo.com. Filed May 3, 2000. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
    Quote: "Mr. Giles is the owner of Tekniko Licensing Corporation, which licenses intellectual properties owned by Tekniko to businesses throughout the world."
  23. ^ Pacific Biometrics, filings. Form SB-2. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  24. ^ "Brief Quotes". LandmarkEducation.com. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  25. ^ Rubinstein, Gidi (2005). "Characteristics of participants in the Forum, psychotherapy clients, and control participants: A comparative study", Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 78 (44): 481-492.
  26. ^ "Quand les psys dérapent" (French). hebdo.nouvelobs.com. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  27. ^ a b (1996). "Liste des sectes dangereuses" (French). atheisme.free.fr. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  28. ^ (May 26, 2004). "Landmark Education - Droit de Répons - France 3" (French). landmarkeducation.fr. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  29. ^ Groenveld, Jan. "EST; The Forum; Landmark Education". CultHelp.info. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
  30. ^ Hill, Amelia (December 14, 2003). "I thought I'd be brainwashed. But how wrong could I be..." The Guardian. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Landmark Education.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Corporate sites
Link directories
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Landmark_Worldwide&oldid=249416803"