Ronald L. Jacobs and Mohammad Jaseem Bu‐Rahmah
This paper aims to describe how structured on‐the‐job training (S‐OJT) was implemented to develop new‐hire engineers at the Kuwait National Petroleum Company.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe how structured on‐the‐job training (S‐OJT) was implemented to develop new‐hire engineers at the Kuwait National Petroleum Company.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes a case study on the development, implementation, and evaluation results of an extensive case study in an organization.
Findings
The results show a reduction in development time and increased confidence in the skills of the new‐hire engineers, among other outcomes reported.
Practical implications
The case study can assist other advanced training and human resource development practitioners to develop high‐skilled technical employees who may require different approaches to ensure a depth of conceptual and job‐related information.
Originality/value
The intent of the case study is to assist other advanced training and human resource development practitioners in developing high‐skilled technical employees. Such employees require different approaches to ensure a depth of conceptual and job‐related information. The case study shows how one organization addressed this issue.
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Xiaoping Tong, Ronald L. Jacobs and Yarong Wang
What remains uncertain with corporate universities is the contribution they provide to their organizations, particularly when considered from the perspective of managers. Managers…
Abstract
Purpose
What remains uncertain with corporate universities is the contribution they provide to their organizations, particularly when considered from the perspective of managers. Managers are important stakeholders, as they may participate in carrying out the mission and policies that govern the corporate university and participate in the programs offered. Organizations would benefit from knowing more about the perceptions of managers. The purpose of this paper is to study managers’ perceptions of the accountability of two corporate university programs in China and its relationship with the managers’ overall involvement in corporate university programs and their commitment to the organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in two state-owned organizations in China, a country in which many organizations have adopted corporate universities. A mixed-method approach was used to carry out the study.
Findings
The results showed that there was a moderate relationship between the managers’ perceptions of the accountability of corporate university programs, based on two management development programs and managers’ involvement in corporate university programs and their commitment to the organization. The results also showed a low relationship between managers’ involvement in their corporate university programs and commitment to the organization.
Originality/value
The findings provide implications for managing corporate universities in China and enhancing the accountability of these initiatives. The study serves as a basis for future studies involving corporate universities and on the accountability of and involvement in training.
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Institutionalization of organizational change should be considered a part of the change process, regardless of the nature of the change. After initial success, many change efforts…
Abstract
Institutionalization of organizational change should be considered a part of the change process, regardless of the nature of the change. After initial success, many change efforts eventually fail. The article discusses a framework for institutionalizing change and introduces cascade training to ensure the employee competence to carry out the change. The article introduces four designs of cascade training based on the change target, change purpose, the training outcomes, organizational characteristics and characteristics of the intervention.
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Hesan A. Quazi and Ronald L. Jacobs
The push for ISO 9000 certification in Singapore can be viewed as a positive step towards enhancing training and development activities in the certified companies. This…
Abstract
The push for ISO 9000 certification in Singapore can be viewed as a positive step towards enhancing training and development activities in the certified companies. This exploratory study examined the nature and extent of impact of ISO 9001 certification on training and development activities of organizations operating in Singapore. A survey approach was adopted. The respondents were asked to indicate the nature and extent of human resource development (HRD) activities three years before and three years after ISO certification. They were also asked to indicate whether the changes, if any, were due to the certification only or other reasons. The findings indicated improvements in training needs analysis, training design, training delivery, training evaluation and HRD activities in the sample organizations. The small sample size has constrained the authors’ ability to generalize the findings. Researchers interested in the topic may like to request a copy of the survey instrument that was used in this study and carry out similar studies in other ISO member countries to validate (or disprove) the findings of this study.
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This is a comprehensive list of books, some pamphlets, and a few sound recordings about or by Ronald (and Nancy) Reagan. Collections of photographs and cartoons as well as…
Abstract
This is a comprehensive list of books, some pamphlets, and a few sound recordings about or by Ronald (and Nancy) Reagan. Collections of photographs and cartoons as well as biographies, political commentary, speeches, quotations and even recipes are represented. Omitted are books in which there is only brief mention of him. The bibliography was compiled in connection with a major exhibit on Ronald Reagan at the Colorado State University Library. It is the author's intention to continue to collect Reagan materials.
This paper poses the question of whether the mainstream feminist movement in the United States, in concentrating its efforts on achieving gender parity in the existing workplace…
Abstract
This paper poses the question of whether the mainstream feminist movement in the United States, in concentrating its efforts on achieving gender parity in the existing workplace, is selling women short. In it, I argue that contemporary U.S. feminism has not adequately theorized the problems with the relatively unregulated market system in the United States. That failure has contributed to a situation in which women’s participation in the labor market is mistakenly equated with liberation, and in which other far-ranging effects of the market system on women’s lives inside and outside of work – many of them negative – are overlooked. To theorize the effects of the market system on women’s lives in a more nuanced manner, I borrow from the insights of earlier Marxist and socialist feminists. I then use this more nuanced perspective to outline an agenda for feminism, which I call “market-cautious feminism,” that seeks to regulate the market to serve women’s interests.
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Andrew Sanghyun Lee and Ronald Lynn Jacobs
This study aims to explore relationships among supervisors’ socialization behaviors, newcomers’ socialization outcomes, organizational commitment, and work outcomes in three large…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore relationships among supervisors’ socialization behaviors, newcomers’ socialization outcomes, organizational commitment, and work outcomes in three large companies in Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted via an online survey in three large firms in Korea. The sample comprised newcomers who had worked for more than six months but less than one year in these firms. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
Derived from SEM, the study’s results confirmed a causal relationship between supervisor’s socialization behaviors and newcomer’s work outcomes, which was fully mediated by newcomer’s socialization outcomes. However, organizational commitment was observed as a mediating variable, not a moderating variable. All types of supervisors’ socialization behaviors were related to newcomers’ socialization outcomes. Providing appropriate feedback, supporting newcomers’ development and improving social relationships were most strongly related to newcomers’ socialization outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
This study proposed a rationale for the potential effectiveness of supervisor socialization behavior training. Related variables such as supervisor training aspects and the effectiveness of supervisor training for newcomers’ organizational socialization could be examined further.
Practical implications
The study offers critical areas to consider when designing training programs focused on supervisors’ socialization behaviors. Human resource development practitioners should be aware of the importance of supervisors’ socialization behaviors for newcomers’ organizational socialization and develop a program to improve all types of supervisors’ socialization behaviors.
Originality/value
New areas of training and development for supervisors can be proposed to improve newcomer organizational socialization and, eventually, to enhance the work outcomes of newcomers.
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According to Ludwig Von Mises (1949/1963), economics studies the causes and consequences of goal-directed action. Each of us seeks to improve our situations as we see it. But just…
Abstract
According to Ludwig Von Mises (1949/1963), economics studies the causes and consequences of goal-directed action. Each of us seeks to improve our situations as we see it. But just how each of us perceives our situation, and what alternative ends and means we believe are available to us, depends crucially on the context.2 Action is never without context but is instead undertaken by someone for something at a certain time and a certain place (Hayek, 1945).
Leonore Van den Ende, Ronald van Steden and Kees Boersma
The purpose of this paper is to advance ongoing debates on the organizational impact of wider public sector reform in the field of organizational change management by presenting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to advance ongoing debates on the organizational impact of wider public sector reform in the field of organizational change management by presenting an analysis the regionalization of the fire service in the Netherlands. How regionalization has impacted the work floor of local fire stations, where the workplace majority comprises volunteers, requires further empirical investigation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply an interpretive approach and qualitative methodology to study how volunteer firefighters and public management make sense of public reform and the ensuing organizational change.
Findings
Findings indicate that while the fire service has professionalized, notable tensions have emerged between public management and volunteers, the regional and local level of fire service and between professionalism and volunteerism which are problematised in the paper.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper is found in the insight it provides in the sensemaking of volunteer firefighters and public managers of diverse of change regions and fire stations during the regionalization process by applying an emergent perspective to change.
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Fabiola H. Gerpott, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock and Sven C. Voelpel