Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-91).

<p> This study investigated the construct of the learning organization in the restaurant industry. Descriptive accounts of learning were gleaned from face-to-face interviews, focus groups, observations, document analysis, and data from the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) from 52 participants employed in three US non-national chain restaurants in the Suburban Maryland / Washington D.C. area. This multiple-site case study extends the conversation of the learning organization by focusing on an industry that was not previously explored and offers new insight by providing a qualitative picture of how learning occurs in restaurants. </p><p> Five overall themes emerged from the data. Participants cobble together learning experiences from pre-shift meetings, formal training, learning from mistakes, and being thrown into the fire. Participants learn from customers through conversation and through trial and error as they adapt their service behaviors. Managers at each restaurant served as a learning champion by promoting dialog and prompting questions often in conjunction with food and beverage tastings. Informal and incidental learning was ever-present as participants naturally shared bits of knowledge through everyday interactions. Learning also took place off-the-clock as participants discussed their personal learning pursuits, such as accessing mobile apps or websites related to food and beverage, going to wineries, breweries, and specialty food markets, as well as reading cookbooks and magazines. Lastly, job rotation is a frequent learning practice during new hire training to expose individuals to the various roles within the restaurant. Cooks often rotate through different stations as they acquire and build up their technical skills. </p><p> In consideration of the evidence gathered, three conclusions are offered: (1) collaborative, informal learning practices are well pronounced learning strategies in restaurants; (2) leaders encouraging the development of new products (e.g., beverage / food) facilitate learning and experimentation in restaurants; and (3) a climate of consistent learning practices and procedures exist in restaurants. Overall, Watkins and Marsick&rsquo;s (1993; 2003) learning organization model did not fully depict the learning culture in restaurants. Future learning organization research is needed to better capture the unique workplace realities of high employee turnover, tip-based compensation, and more narrowly defined jobs (e.g., bartender, cook, server) that comprise the occupational culture of restaurant workers.</p>

<p> Given the growing rates of youth and young adult unemployment today, particularly in urban contexts, this grant proposal seeks funding to support the development of a soft skills training program for youth ages 15-24 in the Baldwin Park area of Los Angeles County. Essential soft skills needed to help youth secure and retain successful employment can include the interpersonal skills of better communication with supervisors and co-workers the job, teamwork, conflict resolution, and the capacity to regulate time management. The goal of this program is to increase employability by giving these inner city youth an increasingly valued skill set in order to promote an increase in youth employability in this community. A comprehensive grant funding search identified the California Wellness Foundation as a potential funding source for the proposed program. The actual submission or funding of the grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of the grant proposal.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T16:10:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Lenin Tomazett Garcia.pdf: 681009 bytes, checksum: c712ef5eca0af3a4e52a5d9eb102fe5c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-03 / This research investigates the implementation of the National Programme of Integration of Professional Education with Basic Education in the Mode of Education Youth and Adults (Proeja) in the state of Goiás. Has as goal the classic studies in the context of educational policy: the establishment of a federal program in state schools. Problematizes the tension among continuity and rupture developed from the tracks and illuminates the Proeja quest to unravel the meanings of this program for the state of Goias, especially highlighted by the struggle to ensure access to education as a social right noun. The methodological tools used to biographical and documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with professionals involved in program implementation. The theoretical support that based the analysis of the object studied was historical and dialectical materialism, identifying the contradictory aspects of the proposition of a public policy in the context of economic materiality, focused on maintaining the lack of access to education for all. The analysis revealed a tension between establishment and implementation of the Programme. The regulatory and legal actions are completed, but the program is not done effectively, the process that engenders this determination, restores the questioning about the functionality of this program as a way of resolving conflicts and social inequalities. This functionality is the limit of the program itself, and outlines its defensive character against the fundamental contradiction of capital, which organizes our current system of social metabolism. / Este trabalho investiga a implantação do Programa Nacional de Integração da Educação Profissional com a Educação Básica na Modalidade de Educação de Jovens e Adultos (Proeja) na rede estadual de Goiás. Possui como baliza o enfrentamento clássico no âmbito das políticas educacionais: a implantação de um programa federal na rede estadual de ensino. Problematiza as tensões entre ruptura e continuidade desenvolvidas a partir das trilhas que o Proeja ilumina e busca deslindar os sentidos desse programa para o estado de Goiás, mormente destacado pela luta para garantir o acesso à educação como um direito social substantivo. Utiliza como recursos metodológicos a análise bibliográfica e documental, bem como entrevistas semiestruturadas com profissionais envolvidos na implantação do programa. O suporte teórico que embasa a análise do objeto estudado é o materialismo histórico-dialético, com o esforço de identificar os aspectos contraditórios da proposição de uma política pública no âmbito de uma materialidade econômica, pautada pela manutenção do não acesso à educação para todos. A análise revelou uma tensão entre implantação e realização do programa. As ações normativas e legais são cumpridas, mas o programa não se realiza efetivamente. O processo que essa determinação engendra repõe a problematização sobre a funcionalidade do Proeja como uma das formas de resolução dos conflitos e das desigualdades sociais. Essa funcionalidade é o limite do próprio programa e demarca o seu caráter defensivo ante a contradição fundamental do capital, que organiza o nosso atual sistema de metabolismo social.