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.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2004 / Refer to the document

Thesis (MPA.) --University of Limpopo, 2002 / Refer to the document

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.

The study was a comparative retrospective analysis to determine the effectiveness of MORT (Management Oversight and Risk Tree), a system safety method, in reducing the incidence and cost of occupational injuries occurring at the Tennessee Wheel and Rubber Company. Implementation of MORT on April 1, 1974 at the plant facility allowed for statistical comparison of accidents between the time periods April 1, 1972 through March 31, 1974 and April 1, 1974 through March 31, 1976. Data on injury incidence were gathered by researching the company's worker compensation reports. Cost figures for injuries were drawn from computer printouts provided by the company's insurance carrier. reliable figure for the mean incidence of injuries occurring over the twenty-four month control period and twenty-four month experimental period was determined by calculating monthly injuries per one thousand man hours using the occupational injury rate formula: Total Number of Occupational Injuries Per Month Total Number of Man Hours Worked Per Month X 1000. A figure for mean occupational injury cost rate was determined by calculating annual cost of injuries per one thousand man hours worked for the control and experimental periods using the formula: Total Cost of Occupational Injuries (Year) Total Number of Man Hours Worked (Year) A 1000. Statistical analyses using a t-test at the .05 level of significance was applied to determine if MORT implementation was effective in reducing the mean incidence rate and mean cost of occupational injuries. Results showed a statistically significant reduction in the occupational injury incidence rate at the Tennessee Wheel and Rubber Company following introduction of MORT system safety. MORT implementation did not, however, result in a significant reduction in the cost of occupational injuries between the control and experimental periods. The resultant discrepancy in findings (rejection of Ho1 and acceptance of Ho2) might be explained by: 1) the fact that no medical cost inflation factor was used when comparing injury costs between the two time periods under study, and 2) types of injuries were not differentiated in terms of severity of injuries. The findings brought forth from this research indicate a degree of uncertainty as to the application of MORT to general industry.

Effective communication is crucial for successful behavior change. However, despite much research in training and development, instructional communication, and public health surrounding communication, it is still unclear what constitutes such effective delivery behaviors, especially for an adult learner population (those over 25 years old). Using cognitive load theory and cognitive-affective theory of learning with media as theoretical frameworks, this dissertation proposes a quality of delivery scale for measuring effective communication across instructional settings with an adult learner audience. Informed by public health, training and organizational communication, as well as adult education and instructional communication, the final valid and reliable QD scale consists of seven communication characteristics that are associated with reduced cognitive load, increased motivation, and increased compliance. Ultimately, this three-phase study consisted of: (a) developing the QD scale, (b) confirming the factor structure, as well as convergent and predictive validity, and (c) testing a theoretical model of QD.

No description available.

The present study is an empirical phenomenological investigation of the influence of peer group Focusing practice (Gendlin, 1981) on doctoral psychology students' senses of their developing clinical expertise. Focusing, a therapeutic bodily awareness and symbolization practice, was proposed as a method that would support the development of student self-reflection, self-assessment, and self-care. The present study investigates the experiences of three female doctoral students who participated in a peer-initiated and peer-run Focusing group for five semesters. The methodological procedures for a reflective empirical phenomenological study as articulated by Giorgi and Giorgi (2003), Robbins (2006), and Wertz (1984) were followed. Procedures adapted from Walsh (1995) to ensure phenomenological researcher reflexivity and to explicate the researcher's approach to the phenomenon were also used. All participants provided data via audiotaped individual interviews, read provisional interpretations and provided written and verbal feedback to the researcher. The interpretive analyses of these texts indicated that all participants found their participation in the peer Focusing group to enhance some aspects of their clinical expertise. The findings support the idea that peer group Focusing is a helpful method for directly training psychology graduate students in self-reflection, self-assessment, and self-care. Relationships between these findings and research on the use of mindfulness meditation in graduate psychology training are discussed. Implications for curriculum development, including a discussion of the relationship between the findings and the training concepts of personal professional development and professional development are explored. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Clinical Psychology / PhD / Dissertation

A McDonald’s training program for the positions of grill and counter was evaluated in order to identify recommendations for curriculum refinement or enhancements. The methodological approaches developed by Ford and Wroten (1984) and Bownas, Bosshardt, and Donnelly (1985) were applied. Three evaluation assessment inventories were developed: The Job task Inventory, The training Emphasis Inventory, and The Training Effectiveness Inventory. These inventories were constructed with the assistance of 49 managers, trainers, and employees with six or more months of service. Four managers, seven trainers, and 22 recent training graduates responded to the appropriate inventory and these ratings were used in the content validity evaluation. Scale reliability was evaluated for each inventory using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha and Kuder-Richardson 21. Descriptive statistics were calculated for training requirements, training emphasis and training effectiveness measures. A plotting matrix was developed and correlation analyses were performed to assess content validity. Results of the analyses indicate: (a) that the three inventories are reliable, (b) that the overall grill training program reflects job tasks needed for successful job performance with the exception of a single content domain, (c) that counter managers and trainers differ in their perception of the importance of job tasks and the training emphasis needed, (d) that recent grill graduates find the training curriculum effective while counter graduates do not, and (e) that managers and trainers for both positions perceive task importance differently. The results call for slight grill training enhancements for the Secondary Duties content domain. Additionally it is indicated that the counter training program needs significant adjustments in terms of curriculum content and training emphasis.

Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2007. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-203).