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Although assessment centers are popular for selecting and developing employees, important theoretical and practical questions remain about the key building blocks of the method: assessors, dimensions, and exercises. This symposium presents new empirical research regarding assessor training, the meaning of dimensions, candidates’ ability to identify dimensions, and exercise demands.

Industry leaders in the United States have spent $11 billion annually in advertising, hiring, and training expenditures associated with voluntary employee turnover. Using employee turnover theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this multicase study was to explore strategies leaders of marketing and consulting firms used to reduce voluntary employee turnover. Participants were purposefully selected based on evidence of their successful experiences in reducing voluntary employee turnover in their organizations. Data were collected by conducting semistructured interviews with 6 leaders in 3 marketing and consulting firms located in the southeastern United States and by reviewing organizational documents related to strategies to reduce employee turnover, including annual reports, newsletters, policy handbooks, and financial statements. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-phase elements of data analysis: (a) compile, (b) disassemble, (c) reassemble, (d) clarify, and (e) conclude. Three themes emerged from this study: leaders' comprehension of reducing voluntary employee turnover, essential strategies for leaders to reduce voluntary employee turnover, and that employee commitment and performance management to reduce voluntary employee turnover. Leaders of marketing and consulting firms and other business organizations could create positive social change through effective strategies to reduce employee turnover and unemployment. Reducing unemployment is important because unemployed individuals experience detrimental changes in family relationships, higher mortality rates, and increased physical health problems.

Performance evaluations were obtained on firefighters in a large Midwestern City. The evaluations were conducted through utilization of two different scale types (The Behavioral Expectation Scale and The Mixed Standard Scale). These evaluations were obtained in order to test the hypotheses that the MSS was psychometrically superior to the BES in the reduction of halo and leniency error and that the MSS was also the better scale type in terms of producing higher interrater reliability. Leniency error (in both the absolute and comparative sense) was examined by conducting a series of T-tests. Halo error was investigated by a comparison of the means of the dimensions from each scale. The technique used to assess interrater reliability involved estimating the reliability of the differences in the shape and level of performance profiles of firefighters. The results showed that the first hypothesis, which proposed that use of the MSS produced less halo and leniency error than did use of the BES, was supported; however, the second hypothesis, which proposed that use of the MSS produces higher levels of interrater reliability, was not supported.

Over 1700 employees of the General Motors Corporation defined trust and described personal work experiences that affected their trust toward the organization. These employee comments were factor analyzed to determine the dimensions of organizational trust. An instrument was developed from employee comments to measure the level of trust in a GM location. With the level of trust quantified, the demographic effects on trust and the relationship between trust and management's communication effectiveness were investigated. This approach provided new knowledge of trust in an industrial environment. Three dimensions of organizational trust were identified: Openness/Congruity, Shared Values, and Autonomy/Feedback. Age, length of service, and whether or not an employee had experienced a lay-off had significant effects on trust. A linear relationship was found between trust and employee perceptions of management's effectiveness in communicating. A conceptual model of organizational trust was developed using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a framework.

Globalisation is affecting businesses worldwide. As a result of this, organisations are realising that the key to competitive advantage is not in modern technology or production; rather, it is in attracting and maintaining a committed workforce. Performance management is a widely advocated way to develop human resources. By conducting a case-study, this paper took a qualitative approach, to understand what elements of the performance appraisals are important to managers at the Organisation. The managers at the Organisation were interviewed and a thematic analysis was applied to the data. Results show that trust and honesty are important components of the performance appraisals, to managers at the Organisation. Also, the feedback the managers received from the employees was said to be the greatest contributor to the managers’ own development. The managers further requested additional support to be able to conduct successful performance appraisals, as well as increased clarity in goal- setting for employees, career development and in taking over employees.

U.S. Coast Guard leaders have received feedback concerning gaps in performance management of the Marine Inspection Program (MIP) from maritime industry stakeholders, Department of Homeland Security representatives, and internal agents over the past decade. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies to improve performance in the U.S. Coast Guard MIP. Data were gathered through a review of documentation pertinent to marine inspection (i.e., policy, requirements, analyses, reports, and job aids) and 13 semistructured interviews with personnel from 3 distinct organizational levels. Study participants represented civilian and active duty personnel from all geographical U.S. Coast Guard districts, as well as tactical, strategic, and policy levels of the MIP. The conceptual framework of the study was Fusch and Gillespie's human competence model. Data analysis was based on coding of words, phrases, and sentences from multiple sources of data to identify recurring themes through methodological triangulation. The thematic analysis of the study data revealed themes that included lack of mission clarity, limited information management resources, differences in skills and knowledge management among inspectors, and unclear requirements for selecting a marine inspector. The study framework provided a basis for additional performance management research in government entities. The recommendations from this study may lead to social change through improved U.S. Coast Guard marine inspection services, which could result in greater safety, reduced pollution, and fewer security risks in the navigable waterways of the United States.

Critical success factors that contribute to project success in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have received insufficient attention in research. Guided by the goal-setting conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the human resource management (HRM) strategies used by owners of SMEs to achieve project success. Five owners of SMEs in St. Lucia participated in the research by contributing their experiences in using HRM strategies to achieve project success. Data were collected from SME owners using semistructured interviews, and from observations and analysis of company records. Data were manually analyzed using Yin's 5 phases. Five themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the data obtained from the interviews, observations, and company records: (a) financial rewards, (b) team meetings and briefings, (c) training and staff enhancement, (d) retention and loyalty, and (e) work-life balance. The HRM strategies used by the participants to achieve project success have implications for social change because project success can lead to the sustainability of SMEs, thereby creating employment and improving the quality of life for citizens who benefit from the successful infrastructural and social projects that owners of SMEs undertake.

Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo, 2011 / The proposed study intends to establish how procedural the reward system is being implemented in the Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development and whether claims of bias are founded. The study is intended to determine the system’s influence on the organization’s ability to track poor performance and manage it. Also providing a refreshed view of the current pitfalls in the implementation of the program therefore providing indications of remedial action to recover the purpose of the PMDS. To assess the impact of Performance Management practices and explore best implementable practices which lead to effective performance management system and best service delivery by the Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development. Qualitative research approach using interview schedule for HR and line managers was utilised. The findings are that the system can not be linked to employee output but an obvious benefit is employee rewards.