1,721,109 research outputs found
Training and development - a study of practices in Irish based companies
No full textThis thesis represents an exploratory study of training and development practices
in Irish based companies, and seeks to ascertain the degree to which these
practices reflect a strategic orientation. In particular, it examines the main training
and development activities undertaken, the role of the training specialist, and the
power of the training and development function.
The study had five main objectives: to review the extant literature in order to
determine the factors promoting the emergence of Human Resource Development
(HRD) as a key mechanism of employee development, and to highlight critical
characteristics of strategic HRD; to examine the contingent nature of the HRD
concept, and thereby identify key contextual organisational characteristics that
impact upon the functioning of HRD; to examine current employee development
practices in Ireland in order to assess whether training and development activities
reflect a strategic orientation, or are moving towards a strategic model of employee
development; to identify whether the contextual factors identified in the literature
affect the nature of training and development practices in Ireland; and to examine
the role of the training specialist in Ireland and the relative status of the training and
development function.
In order to fulfill these objectives, an extensive body of literature was reviewed and
a questionnaire survey was carried out on a sample of Irish based companies.
The literature review indicated that the traditional model of training and
development is insufficient to meet the changing needs of modern organisations.
Specific factors prompting the emergence of Human Resource Development
initiatives include the need to move from the provision of a narrow technical skills
base, to a situation where employees are supplied with competencies in a range
of varying skills to meet the demands of changing technologies. Several
characteristics of strategic HRD were identified which focus on the need for the
function to be perceived as contributing to organisational effectiveness, and fully
integrated into the corporate goals and objectives of the organisation.
The literature further suggested that HRD is contextually bound, and several
organisational characteristics, such as size, structure, technology, culture, power
and stakeholders, implicitely determine the extent to which the function achieves a
strategic orientation. The strategic imperative of the function was also held to be
contingent upon the nature of the individuals being developed, and the value they
place on training and development.
A process model of strategic training and development, outlining the external
triggers, internal organisational triggers, organisation specific contextual factors
and key facilitating mechanisms was presented.
The results of the questionnaire survey indicated that, while a considerable amount
of systematic training and development is being undertaken, the orientation of
these practices remains operational in nature, with little evidence of a consorted
effort to engage in strategic activities. The central focus of current practices seems
to lie with short term results as opposed to long term effectiveness.
The training specialists were found to be well educated and operated at
management level in the hierarchy. However, they felt that their power was
relatively limited, and were not afforded the opportunuity to contribute at the
strategic level in many instances.
In relation to the power of the training and development function, results indicated
the existence of considerable horizontal power, with high levels of centrality and
low levels of substitutibility emerging.
Analysis suggested the existence of a number of contingent relationships between
selected training and development variables (number of days training, power of the
function, training activities undertaken, size of training budget) and key contextual
variables (culture, internal labour market, external environment).
Overall, the study provides a picture of the nature and scope of training and
development in Ireland, in 1992, and, in light of the findings, the process model set
down in chapter six is seen to have at least some explanatory power. It is therefore
worthy of further investigation, particularly in the Irish context, given the existing
paucity of relevant literature
Understanding formal career mentoring: a relational and social support perspective
No full textThe purpose of this research thesis is to help explain formal organisational career mentoring as it is perceived among dyadic mentoring pairs. It proposes a more holistic in-depth understanding of mentoring relationships that requires a focus shift away from the conventionally utilised dual function categorisations of career and psychosocial support functions. It argues moving towards alternative taxonomies that have stronger theoretical bases in the relational aspects of mentoring. The main objective remains focusing on how mentoring dyads perceive the nature of their relationships. First, it was intended to identify how mentoring is constructed by mentors and protégés in unique organizational settings. Second, it was intended to deepen our understanding of how mentoring operates and in what ways specific learning foci lead to protégé development. The initial research question is: How do mentors and protégé’s perceive the qualitative aspects of their developmental relationships, what do they value or seek to achieve and what are the expected and experienced outcomes?
The study is wholly qualitative and utilised in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The data were collected from 38 individuals (19 dyads) in four organisations located in the information technology, pharmaceutical, banking and education sectors.
The study makes a significant contribution to the literature on workplace mentoring through the rich detail presented about perceptions of mentoring relationships from matched pairs of mentors and protégés. The analysis of the data yielded categorisations of support functions that indicate the importance of social support functions that are inextricably interwoven with career mentoring exchanges. It highlights justification for examining mentoring through a relational theory lens.
The findings have important implications for the continuing research on mentoring and, by extension, HRD practioners’ ability to guide organisational mentoring programmes in a way that would maximise the potential for effective, high quality mentoring and the associated development and psychological well-being of individuals
How do perceived parental behaviours influence the career development of adolescents in Irish schools? a pilot study
No full textHow do Perceived Parental Behaviours Influence the Career
Development of Adolescents in Irish Schools! A Pilot Study, aimed to establish if the behaviours of
parents affect how adolescents view their career decisions, choices and confidence in carryout career
related tasks.
The project was conducted within the positivist paradigm, using quantitative research strategies.
This involved using a combination of tried and tested research implements, including the Career
Maturity Inventory, the Parent Career Behaviour Questionnaire and the Career Decision Making Self Efficacy
Scale. All were edited for use within an Irish context. The data was collected in May and June 2009.
The main conclusions drawn from the data identify that parents do have an influence in the
career development of adolescents in Irish schools. Certain behaviours arc more likely to influence the
career maturity or career decision making self efficacy than others. In particular, parental acts of
encouragement towards their adolescent\u27s career development, taking an active interest in their
academic progress and parental support for adolescent\u27s career choices are good predictors of an
advancing career development.
The material to follow will illustrate how the resultant product was researched, created, and
assessed. finally, an open discussion will take place regarding the findings of the project
An investigation into the effects of a health and training intervention on the safety climate of an organisation
No full textIn the early hours of the morning of Saturday, 14th February 1981, a disastrous fire swept through an Irish discotheque called ‘The Stardust’ in the north Dublin suburb of Artane.
Forty-eight people were killed and one hundred and twenty eight were seriously injured.
This event is the catalyst for this investigation.
The purpose of this investigation is to ascertain if training positively affects safety attitude of nightclub staff, through the adaptation of a safety management system from the airline industry, in a high volume nightclub in the west of Ireland.
This is a qualitative investigation into the safety attitude in a high volume Irish nightclub organisation. The effects of a training intervention on the safety climate are examined via a longitudinal quasi-experimental investigation by issuing a pre and post-training 57-item questionnaire. The research was conducted in three distinct phases. In the first phase a pre-training 57 item questionnaire was distributed to virtually all employees. The second phase involved dividing the workforce into an Experimental Group, which received training, and a Control Group, which did not receive training. Phase three involved the
re-issuance of the safety attitude post training questionnaire, which was then analysed, to ascertain if there had been an improvement in attitude amongst any of the employees.
The aviation industry’s ‘management safety concept’ of Crew Resource Management
(CRM) was successfully adopted and adapted, with regular training sessions given to the
Experimental Group. Analysis of the questionnaires comprehensively shows that safety training has a definite positive influence on safety attitude and that the principles of CRM can be successfully transferred from the airline industry to the nightclub industry
The effects of subordinates’ use of upward influence tactics on their supervisors’ job performance evaluations in Saudi Arabia: the significance of loyalty
No full textMost research examining the effects of subordinates’ use of upward influence tactics on supervisor job performance evaluations has been conducted in Western countries. In these contexts, it has been suggested that upward influence tactics bias supervisor ratings because they affect the quality of the relationship between supervisors and subordinates. This has primarily been explained in terms of supervisor liking. We suggest instead, that the particular cultural context in Saudi
Arabia emphasises loyalty as the primary indicator of relationship quality. Based on data we obtained from 389 matched
supervisor–subordinate dyads in Saudi Arabia, we found that five upward influence tactics; rational persuasion, ingratiation,
self-promotion, coalition and upward appeal had indirect effects on supervisor job performance ratings through subordinate loyalty. Our findings suggest cultural contexts can emphasise differing aspects of relational quality between supervisors and subordinates that potentially explain bias in supervisor job performance evaluations
Exploring formal mentoring relationships in a nascent entrepreneurial context: functions, interactions, emotions, behaviour, and agency
No full textFormal mentoring programmes are an important support available to nascent entrepreneurs
during venture formation, emergence and growth. This form of support has received little
theoretical or empirical attention in the entrepreneurship and mentoring literature. Given that
an entrepreneur or entrepreneurial team is the primus inter pares of emerging, growing, and
established ventures, the development of the venture is intertwined with the competence and
capability of the entrepreneur(s). To advance scholarship on formal nascent entrepreneurial
mentoring relationships, this research reviews existing entrepreneurship and mentoring
literature, and links social support theory to this research context. The literature review
provides insight into five areas that remain under researched in the context of nascent
entrepreneur and mentoring, namely, functions, interactions, emotions, behaviour and
entrepreneurial agency, and as a result a multilevel model of nascent entrepreneurial
mentoring is proposed and utilised as a foundation for the empirical research. An analysis of
the research is provided including implications for research, policy and practice. This thesis
makes a number of theoretical, conceptual, and empirical contributions. It proposes a
multilevel model of the entrepreneur-mentor relationship highlighting the multiple contexts
that impact the relationship, and a model of the relationship between emotions and
entrepreneurial agency. Finally, it explores the positive emotions derived through functions
and mentor interactions reinforce particular behaviours that can enhance dimensions of
entrepreneurial agency
Uncloaking the dark side of organizational behaviour: exploring organizational dysfunction in financial institutions in Ireland, the UK and the US
No full textThe financial crisis has highlighted the impact of human failure on a global scale. The financial crisis has illuminated the individual, organizational, institutional and societal impact of dysfunctional or dark side behavior. This thesis explores the antecedent conditions that have the potential to contribute to the emergence, legitimation and institutionalization of dark side behaviors within the organizational setting – financial institutions. In doing so, the thesis draws on numerous public inquiries from the US and UK as well as a number of official government reports on the causes of the various banking crises that formed the basis of the global financial crisis. This thesis explores the organizational and institutional factors that can contribute to the development of dark side behaviors on a scale not considered previously. This thesis identifies the potential for a new organizational governance role for HR leaders that may minimize the potential for the institutionalization of organization-wide dark side behaviors. This thesis explores the theoretical foundations of HRD and challenges the performativity orientation as a facilitator of dark side organizational behavior. In doing so, it provides empirical evidence that the performance objective of many HRD practitioners may indeed facilitate the legitimation of dark side behaviors. This thesis also utilized a novel methodological approach to exploring HR interventions that may facilitate future inquiry of sensitive organizational topics. This approach provides a replicable framework for HR researchers to uncloak organizational behavior thought to be beyond the analytic gaze of the research community. Finally, this thesis explored how HR interventions can have a double-edge sword effect on human emotion potentially facilitating the emergence of an organization-wide disposition focused on dark side behaviors as a result of a positive emotional association with the organization
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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