Thesis (Ed. D.)--Seton Hall University, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 126-144).

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the MTech: Human Resources Management Degree in the faculty of BUSINESS at the CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 2008 / Mentoring is an informal and flexible approach to leadership, supevision and professional development. It involves the mentor and protégé setting goals that are focused on the protégé’s professional and personal development needs. Mentoring relationships can occur between a mentor and a protégé or a small group of protégés or it may involve peers who act as mentors for each other (Skinner, Roche, O'Connor, Pollard & Todd, 2005:2). Mentoring programs are increasing rapidly in response to needs for new and innovative ways to develop people, allow them to grow in their jobs and the need for change. However, typical problem areas include expectations and objectives which may be misunderstood, and these are areas that are necessary to determine whether the mentoring program was effective or not. Due to the vague understanding of mentoring programs and their effectiveness, techniques and methods were reviewed and discussed to figure these out. Mentors and proteges who were already on programs and those who had begun new programs were randomly selected to participate in this evaluation; the reason why these two groups were chosen is that there is a need to determine how the groups went about making their programs a success or not, since these groups were already on the program or starting out, and interest in a mentoring program was already existent. An attempt to motivate new groups would defeat the aim, since it could sabotage the aim of the research and end-results in several ways, for example, groups would require guidance to begin their programs. The groups were monitored over a five month period, and evaluated at the end of every four weeks in order to make sure that no information would be omitted at the end of the five months. Furthermore, information from literature on mentoring was used in order to compare respondents' information that was gathered over the monitoring period. Participant groups were randomly chosen from the Karas region and from different industries and fields in order to obtain a good reading from different work environments; the work areas were chosen from seven companies. Each month had an area of interest, which was examined throughout the five months. Once questionnaires were completed and returned, data was examined to determine positive and negative impacts that mentoring relationships and approaches (within in the relationships), had on both parties and their styles of participation. Participants were assessed six months after the fifth evaluation to determine the long term effect that mentoring had on participants, the mentor and protege. A reason for this was that some participants might have grasped the knowledge and skills for a only a short period of time and then forget or ignore it, while others may have taken time to understand and implement the new knowledge, which would have given them time to absorb the information, knowledge and skills that were acquired. The mentor, protege, as well as the organization, should be clear on what they expect and want from mentoring, and should communicate thoroughly, while the program should be tailored to the needs of participants and the culture. The mentor should be trained, if necessary and evaluation and reviews methods should be established in order to ensure smooth running and, eventually, the effectiveness of the program. Both employees and the organizations can benefit; employees can benefit through career development initiatives and find a sense of belonging and empowerment, while organizations can benefit as this helps the firm to communicate its values and behaviours, provide opportunities to expand networks and boost training efforts, as well as facilitate knowledge.

No description available.

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / During the past decade the number of women in professional and managerial jobs increased dramatically. This tendency inevitably lead to greater interaction between men and women in the work situation. Organizations however spend little time and money on programmes addressing the unique career and support needs of the respective genders. Studies of successful women in managerial and professional jobs indicated that "good" mentors were perceived as a valuable asset in their upward mobility. The studies, however, also indicated that specific problems were being experienced in cross-gender mentor relationships. Hence the purpose ofthe study was to deduce the mentorship needs and problems experienced by women from a literature study with the aim to develop suitable instruments by means of which the extent of such needs and problems could be assessed. On the basis of the literature survey, two questionnaires were compiled which on face value respectively addressed the mentorship needs and cross-gender problems experienced in mentor relationships. The questionnaires were administered to 122 female Eskom employees in their early career phase. In the statistical analysis of the data obtained, the NP50-programme was mainly used. Both factor analysis as well as item analysis were conducted. The main results of the analysis are as follows: • Both scales (questionnaires) showed reliability coefficients higher than 0,9 for joint item analysis. • Three factors were identified for the mentorship needs questionnaire (scale 1) being the need for opportunities, the need for protection and the need for sponsorship and support. Factor 1 relates to the psycho social functions of mentorship whereas factors 2 and 3 relate to career functions of mentorship. • The questionnaire (scale 1) can be administered with or without consideration of the respective factors identified.

D.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Career orientation is a developmental process that can be facilitated by career development programmes. One of the most recent developments in these programmes was the introduction of computerized career orientation which enables the user to explore career activities independently. An experimental investigation in which the MENTOR computerized vocational guidance system was used, was conducted at the Rand Afikaans University in an attempt to determine whether the MENTOR could be a useful aid for career orientation in South Africa. Standard nine high school pupils were randomly assigned to one of two groups according to the pre-test post-test experimental design. Subjects completed a biographical questionnaire, an evaluation questionnaire concerning the use of MENTOR and the Career Development Scale (CDS). Goal and aid orientated criteria were applied to evaluate the MENTOR programme. The main hypothesis, namely that there would be a statistically significant difference between the mean posttest scores on the Career Development Scale (CDS) of the experimental and control groups, was tested according to the integrated statistical procedure suggested by Spector (1981): It was determined during the first phase of the experiment that there were no statistically significant differences between the average pretest results of the experimental and control groups. During the second phase it was determined that the mean post-test results differed statistically significantly from that of the control group. In the last phase it was determined that the mean post-test results of the experimental group were statistically significantly higher than the mean pre-test results. Furthermore the average follow-up test results indicated that there was a statistically significant higher score regarding self-knowledge, career information, as well as the integration of self-knowledge and career information. The research results showed that there was a statistically significant increase in the career readiness of pupils after they had used the MENTOR system, compared with pupils from the control group. It could be predicted with 95% certainty that a person who used the MENTOR programme would show an increase in career development.

According to projections in Workforce 2000, the majority of new entrants into the labor force will be women and minorities. Although women are currently major participants in the workplace, when compared with men, they have not experienced equal opportunities for upward mobility nor have they had salaries which reflect equity. Mentoring is one strategy that can promote the career development of women. The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of female mentors and their activities and mentoring styles with male and female proteges. The study was specifically designed to explore the following questions: 1. What are the personal characteristics of female mentors? 2. What functions (career or psychosocial) are provided in female mentor relationships? 3. How does gender affect the mentor relationship? 4. What effect does the organization have on the mentor activities of women? The sample for this study was six female mentors who were employed with Roanoke County Government and who were in a mentor relationship within the past year. Data were gathered through qualitative methodologies, including in-depth interviews with the mentors, a review of descriptive written documents about the organization's policy and procedures, and interviews with the mentor's protege and co-workers. The interview guide used to collect information about the mentors consisted of questions in the following areas: career information, history of the mentor relationship, functions of the mentor relationship, gender-related issues, mentoring in the organization, and personal characteristics. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, then coded and categorized. The data from all sources were then compared and contrasted to identify emergent themes. The findings were described through the use of verbatim quotations. Based on the findings, recommendations for action were suggested to include the following: (a) training should be conducted to increase greater self-awareness and understanding of relationships in a work context; (b) organizations should recognize the positive benefits of mentor relationships; (c) formalized mentor programs should be a viable option for employers; (d) training should be available to help women recognize their importance and potential influence on others and the organization. Recommendations for further research included examination of (a) whether a larger sample or sample from a different organizational setting or locality would constitute similar findings; (b) progress of proteges mentored by females; (c) mentor relationships in formalized programs; (d) longitudinal data from female mentors and their proteges; (e) differences in the way males and females mentor; (f) similarities in mentoring at different levels of management; and (g) the frequency of female mentor relationships. / Ed. D.

CHDS State/Local / The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) was formed to provide a cadre of trained medical volunteers to support and strengthen the public health infrastructure and improve its' emergency preparedness level. Training policies and standards are left to the discretion of the local MRC coordinator so the program maintains its flexibility to meet community needs. Training varies from unit to unit, and there are no protocols in place to measure or evaluate the effectiveness of that training. According to recent studies and surveys, disaster operations are an unfamiliar role for most MRC volunteers and the public health workforce in general. Evidence also suggests that few medical and public health workers receive this important preparedness training. In 2005, MRC working group members developed a list of core competency recommendations to provide training guidance, but specific educational content to satisfy those competencies were not defined. This thesis offers specific training content guidelines and strategies for achieving competency. The MRC must be able to integrate into the disaster environment while working safely, effectively and efficiently. Standards will set the mark for success, enabling the MRC to respond in a coordinated manner and at a consistently higher level to any public health emergency. / Captain, Texas State Guard-Medical Rangers

This study investigated three issues problematic to the state of knowledge on mentoring. These issues were: (a) lack of scientifically derived operational definitions in use in research on mentoring; (b) lack of agreement about how common mentoring is; and (c) lack of agreement about whether or not alternate forms of career support are more efficient than mentoring. The information collected to address each of these issues was acquired in two phases: a literature survey followed by a sample survey. The literature survey addressed the first issue. It resulted in the formulation of an operational definition of mentoring which was based on an empirical profile of an "ideal" mentoring relationship. Formulation of the profile was a major focus of this study.

This qualitative study investigated the role mentoring plays in the professional development of women in student affairs. The goal of this research was not to prove a theory about women's mentoring relationships, but rather to richly describe these relationships in order to understand the impact they have had, and will continue to have on womens' professional lives. The results of this study is significant because it will provide a foundation for understanding the process of women's mentoring relationships in student affairs. The researcher conducted five indepth, open-ended interviews with women in various positions in student affairs in order to gather rich, descriptive data. The researcher selected women with whom she already has at least an acquaintance relationship. These women were from the Mid-West region. Each woman was at a different point in her professional development- graduate student, new professional, midlevel, and senior administrator. Women from both private and public institutions were interviewed. Four themes emerged from the interviews that each of these women discussed. These themes were, there are common characteristics of mentoring relationships; the impact mentoring has on the early development of the professional; the importance of having a female mentor; and the scarcity of female mentors at the top of the ladder. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education

This study determined the benefits and risks mentors experience from participating in mentoring relationships.The first research question concluded that mentors experience many benefits from participating in a mentor/protege relationship. These benefits include being part of the protege's successes, mentor recognition, meeting organizational goals, interaction with protege, networking,assessment of the protege's talent, accelerated orientation process, and providing job continuity.Mentors indicated their prestige within the organization increased mainly amongst their superordinates (30%) and least amongst their peers (50%) as a result of participating in a mentor/protege relationship. Additionally, mentors indicated that there were significant gains in influencing the actions (85%), thinking (80%), productivity (60%), and work quality(50%) of proteges. These gains were cited by mentors as both direct benefits to themselves and indirect benefits to the organization in getting the mission accomplished, developing potentialleaders, and influencing others to strive for excellence.Seventy percent (70%) of the mentors did not feel a sense of favors owed to them by their proteges as a result of participating in a mentor/protege relationship. They indicated this was not the intent of a mentor/protege relationship. If suspected, they would address the issue andpossibly terminate the relationship if necessary.Mentors did not experience significant gains in power (75%) or respect (45%) for spotting talent and engineering the protege's advancement for the good of the organization.The second research question concluded that mentors experienced many risks from participating in a mentor/protege relationship. These risks included: wasting limited resources, destroying friendships, harm to the organization and mentor reputation if the protege is promoted into a leadership position and fails, and the perception of favoritism amongst subordinates.Mentors indicated they experienced losses in prestige from amongst superordinates (10%) and subordinates (10%) as well as loss a steady loss in influencing the actions and thinking of the protege as the relationship progressed.Mentors indicated there was a loss in the protege's work quality (60%) and work productivity (25%) during the mentor/protege relationship.Fifteen percent of the mentors experienced a sense of favors owed to them by their proteges. However this sense of favors owed decreased towards the end of the relationship. / Department of Educational Leadership