The purpose of this study was to assess the perception held by managers of feed and farm supply stores in Texas regarding the contribution of employee training to the competitiveness of the firm, determine if managers of feed and farm supply stores perceive that employee training can improve their competitive strength, and to determine if they will invest in employee training in order to gain a competitive advantage. The objectives of this study include: describe the operating environment of feed and farm supply stores in Texas; describe feed and farm supply store managers? perception of employee training?s contribution to their firm?s competitive advantage; identify barriers to employee training in feed and farm supply stores; determine Internet availability and potential use for employee training in feed and farm supply stores; and describe the willingness of feed and farm supply store managers to engage in employee training delivered via the Internet. This study employed a descriptive and correlational research design. A selfadministered questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample frame of 305 feed and farm supply stores randomly selected from 1,487 stores in Texas. These stores operate in a demanding, competitive environment that is changing at a rapid pace. They perceive that employee training improves customer satisfaction, contributes to business growth, improves productivity, and increases profits. The skills needed by their employees are increasing and they need training in sales, communication skills, technical knowledge, time management, retail merchandising, marketing, and business management to help the business stay competitive. Barriers to training include not being able to see immediate results, cost, difficulties created when key employees are not on the job, travel distances to attend training, and a lack of training programs relevant to their needs. Over 80 percent of these stores have both computers and Internet access. Managers will allow employees to use these resources for training purposes, encourage participation in online training, and allow their employees to participate in training during business hours. It is recommended that Internet based training programs be developed in sales, communication skills, technical knowledge, time management, retail merchandising, and business management for these small agribusinesses.

Mémoire (M.P.M.O.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1994. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

El presente trabajo de investigación aborda las principales estrategias para implementar un modelo de gamificación que tiene como objetivo capacitar a la fuerza de ventas en una entidad financiera peruana, en temas relevantes que apoyarán sus actividades comerciales. La gamificación aplica diversas mecánicas y elementos contenidos en los juegos, utilizándolos en un contexto empresarial con fines específicos, que pueden pasar desde la transmisión de conocimientos hasta generar cambios en el comportamiento de las personas. En esta investigación revisaremos experiencias educativas para conectar a los estudiantes con procesos de aprendizaje lúdicos, además de modelos de gamificación empresarial para relacionar a las marcas con sus clientes. Presentamos el proceso de implementación del Concurso de conocimientos, que es un programa de formación comercial gamificado, que fue adoptado por un banco peruano para capacitar a su fuerza de ventas interna. Se muestran aspectos importantes de la implementación iniciando con el objetivo del programa formativo, luego la identificación de las necesidades de capacitación para casa puesto participantes, así como la selección de elementos de gamificación utilizados en el proceso de formación, definir las reglas de participación y sistemas de calificación para mantener motivada y comprometida a la audiencia, finalmente se presentan los mecanismos de evaluación, monitoreo y los resultados del programa. Identificamos que un proceso de formación empresarial que utiliza elementos de la gamificación, genera un ambiente competitivo entre sus participantes, además facilita el proceso de aprendizaje y logra un efecto positivo en la calidad de atención brindada a los clientes de una entidad bancaria. / This research work addresses the main strategies to implement a gamification model that aims to train the sales force in a Peruvian financial entity, on relevant issues that will support their commercial activities. Gamification applies various mechanics and elements contained in games, using them in a business context for specific purposes, which can go from transmitting knowledge to generating changes in people's behavior. In this research, we will review educational experiences to connect students with playful learning processes, as well as business gamification models to relate brands to their customers. We present the implementation process of the Knowledge Contest, which is a gamified commercial training program, which was adopted by a Peruvian bank to train its internal sales force. Important aspects of the implementation are shown starting with the objective of the training program, then identifying the training needs for each participating position, as well as the selection of gamification elements used in the training process, defining the participation rules and systems to keep the audience motivated and committed, finally the evaluation mechanisms, monitoring and the results of the program are presented. We identify that a business training process that uses elements of the gamification, generates a competitive environment among its participants, also facilitates the learning process and achieves a positive effect on the quality of care provided to clients of a bank. / Trabajo de investigación

he progress of man through the ages has been definitely marked by the various means he has employed in putting his thoughts into visible form. There are defnite milestones in the progress of the written word. History teaches us of the early Babylonian scripts, the strange and unusual characters of the Egyptians, and the writing of other ancient people. After the first early writings of stone carvings came the ancient development of papyrus in Egypt, the wax tables and atylus of the Romans, and the parchment of the Middle Ages. Then in the early days of that wondrous new era known as the Renaissance came the knowledge of a new process, paper manufacture. This information came from Mohammedan sources. Following this knowledge came the first Western paper mill, which was situated in Italy in the year 1276.

[pt] Em economias emergentes, a população de baixa renda migra ao empreendedorismo como forma de contornar obstáculos, como a falta de empregos formais, ou até mesmo pela necessidade de independência, sendo considerado, o empreendedorismo, um vetor da prosperidade e do desenvolvimento nessas economias. Destaca-se, portanto, a criação de pequenos negócios, incluindo o autoemprego. Considera-se que o capital humano, bem como habilidades individuais desses empreendedores, importantes para a sobrevivência do negócio. Contudo, a carência delas se mostra presente, juntamente com a falta de estrutura, a informalidade e a falta de capacitação, sendo um problema para o desenvolvimento desses negócios. Isto posto, programas de treinamento em gestão podem ser um fator essencial para aprimorar as habilidades desses empreendedores, contribuindo no desempenho do negócio. Dessa forma, dentro do contexto brasileiro, um grande apoiador nacional para o desenvolvimento dos pequenos negócios é o Sebrae, a exemplo do programa de treinamento TOP Empreendedor, programa ofertado a microempreendedores formalizados de comunidades de baixa renda do Rio de Janeiro. Em vista disso, este estudo buscou realizar uma avaliação do impacto do programa por meio de testes T e de regressões lineares para 55 e 46 microempreendedores em 2020 e 2021, respectivamente. Os resultados sugerem que o treinamento se mostra mais benéfico para empreendedores com menor conhecimento prévio, que aspectos ligados à motivação impactam suas práticas de negócio, mas que não há como confirmar o impacto das práticas de negócio no desempenho, ainda que se tenha detectado o aumento do desempenho entre antes e depois do treinamento. / [en] In emerging economies, low-income populations migrate to entrepreneurship as a way of overcoming obstacles, such as the lack of formal employment, or even out of the need for independence. Entrepreneurship is considered a vector of prosperity and development in these economies. The creation of small businesses, including self-employment, is therefore highlighted. It is considered that the human capital, as well as the individual skills of these entrepreneurs, are important for the survival of the business. However, the lack of these skills is evident, along with the lack of structure, informality, and lack of training, which is a problem for the development of these businesses. Thus, management training programs can be an essential factor in improving the skills of these entrepreneurs, contributing to the performance of the business. Within the Brazilian context, a major national supporter for the development of small businesses is Sebrae, for example, the TOP Entrepreneur training program, which is offered to formalized microentrepreneurs from low-income communities in Rio de Janeiro. In view of this, this study sought to evaluate the impact of the program through T-tests and linear regressions for 55 and 46 microentrepreneurs in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The results suggest that the training is more beneficial for entrepreneurs with less prior knowledge, that aspects related to motivation impact their business practices, but that it is not possible to confirm the impact of business practices on performance, although an increase in performance was detected before and after the training.

Thesis (MDF (Development Finance))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.

Entrepreneurship is significant to the production process for economic growth and development. The Nigerian government supports entrepreneurial development by providing business training for entrepreneurs across the country; however, the impact of such programs in current entrepreneurship in Nigeria has not been researched. This study was designed to examine the impact of the training on entrepreneurial outcomes such as profitability, revenue, and access to finance using the social construction framework and the theory of external control of organizations. Based on a quantitative quasi-experimental design involving a posttest comparison group, the impact of government support on randomly selected beneficiaries and nonbeneficiaries with the FCT was tested using an independent samples t test and binary logistic regression analysis. The results showed no significant relationship between business training and entrepreneurial outcomes. Additionally, it was not likely that an unemployed beneficiary would start a new business after the training, and trainees had difficulty accessing business loans. The social change implication of this study is that public sector institutions engaged in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria need pragmatic interventions that translate into positive entrepreneurial outcomes. They also need to focus on areas that cater for different categories of entrepreneurs such as age groups, educational level, business experience, and nature of the business to enhance effectiveness. Periodic assessment of the intervention programs is necessary using experimental and quasi-experimental studies. Therefore, this study can contribute to the data that public sector institutions can use to develop better interventions for entrepreneurs.

This study compared simulated sales negotiations with authentic negotiations. Specifically, three areas of language were considered: (i) chat phases, (ii) mitigation in disagreements, and (iii) argumentation. Findings indicated that greatly reduced use of chat phases in the simulations led to an impoverishment of the interactional aspect of communication. A statistical analysis indicated that mitigation of disagreements was significantly reduced when compared to authentic negotiations. Finally, in spite of the difference noted between professional and non-professional negotiators in the simulated negotiations, a significant increase in the use of argumentation was found in the simulations. Even though further research would be required, it could be hypothesized that these differences may be attributed to the one-off nature of simulations, the absence of a surrounding business context and the intrinsic difficulty of using interactional language in simulations. These factors should be considered when simulations are used and designed for business and LSP training courses. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

This study compared simulated sales negotiations with authentic negotiations. Specifically, three areas of language were considered: (i) chat phases, (ii) mitigation in disagreements, and (iii) argumentation. Findings indicated that greatly reduced use of chat phases in the simulations led to an impoverishment of the interactional aspect of communication. A statistical analysis indicated that mitigation of disagreements was significantly reduced when compared to authentic negotiations. Finally, in spite of the difference noted between professional and non-professional negotiators in the simulated negotiations, a significant increase in the use of argumentation was found in the simulations. Even though further research would be required, it could be hypothesized that these differences may be attributed to the one-off nature of simulations, the absence of a surrounding business context and the intrinsic difficulty of using interactional language in simulations. These factors should be considered when simulations are used and designed for business and LSP training courses. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

Even though the idea of microcredit is to stimulate entrepreneurial activities in developing countries, there is an ongoing debate whether this is achieved. Many argue that only providing credit is not enough and see a need for additional components in promoting entrepreneurial activities for the stimulation of economic growth. Moreover, the importance of including women in economic development is widely acknowledged. In Lao People's Democratic Republic where many women run their own businesses and a majority of microcredit borrowers are women, we aimed to examine the relation between microcredit and female entrepreneurship. This was accomplished by conducting semi-structured interviews with 13 Laotian female microcredit borrowers running businesses, as well as interviews with seven representatives from organizations related to microcredit and female entrepreneurship. To understand the female entrepreneurs and the environment in which they operate, we developed a model where factors related to the loan agreement, networking, motivation, gender division of labor and training were identified as important components in the context of Lao PDR. The results support the view that a credit only approach is not enough for the development of female entrepreneurship in Lao PDR.