For more than three decades, the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Reports have studied and benchmarked the many factors underpinning national competitiveness. The quality of higher education and training is considered particularly crucial to ensure national competitiveness. The globalizing economy requires countries to nurture pools of well-educated workers who are able to perform complex tasks and adapt rapidly to their changing environment and the evolving needs of the economy. Vocational and continuous on-the-job training and the constant upgrading of workers’ skills is critical to sustain the economical status of the country. Despite the acknowledgement that education, training and development (ETD) is a key driver for a country's economical sustainability and growth, the contributions that companies make to this effect are a concern. This is ascribed to the difficulties experienced in companies regarding the management of ETD. In this study it is postulated that communication problems are at the heart of the challenges which are experienced in managing ETD. Strategic conversation is proposed as one of the methods to address the communication and performance shortcomings experienced by business and ETD managers. It is argued that if the level of conversations is raised to make them strategic, the potential to optimise results and make an impact at organisational and national level is increased. Hence, the purpose of this study was to propose a Strategic ETD Conversation (SETDC) model to optimise Return on Occupational Training Expectations (ROTE) that would contribute towards the achievement of organisational and national strategic goals. In lieu of the limited empirical research available on the strategic conversation phenomenon in general, the purpose of this study was inter alia to conduct empirical research to explore the essence of strategic ETD conversations in order to propose a model of practical value to ETD managers. Hence, the empirical research was situated in both an explorative paradigm and a pragmatic paradigm with the aim to provide practical solutions and an instrument to successfully engage in strategic ETD conversations which would enhance the quality of ETD and thus contribute to global competitiveness. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

For more than three decades, the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Reports have studied and benchmarked the many factors underpinning national competitiveness. The quality of higher education and training is considered particularly crucial to ensure national competitiveness. The globalizing economy requires countries to nurture pools of well-educated workers who are able to perform complex tasks and adapt rapidly to their changing environment and the evolving needs of the economy. Vocational and continuous on-the-job training and the constant upgrading of workers’ skills is critical to sustain the economical status of the country. Despite the acknowledgement that education, training and development (ETD) is a key driver for a country's economical sustainability and growth, the contributions that companies make to this effect are a concern. This is ascribed to the difficulties experienced in companies regarding the management of ETD. In this study it is postulated that communication problems are at the heart of the challenges which are experienced in managing ETD. Strategic conversation is proposed as one of the methods to address the communication and performance shortcomings experienced by business and ETD managers. It is argued that if the level of conversations is raised to make them strategic, the potential to optimise results and make an impact at organisational and national level is increased. Hence, the purpose of this study was to propose a Strategic ETD Conversation (SETDC) model to optimise Return on Occupational Training Expectations (ROTE) that would contribute towards the achievement of organisational and national strategic goals. In lieu of the limited empirical research available on the strategic conversation phenomenon in general, the purpose of this study was inter alia to conduct empirical research to explore the essence of strategic ETD conversations in order to propose a model of practical value to ETD managers. Hence, the empirical research was situated in both an explorative paradigm and a pragmatic paradigm with the aim to provide practical solutions and an instrument to successfully engage in strategic ETD conversations which would enhance the quality of ETD and thus contribute to global competitiveness. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

This study set out to study performance management implementation in the education sector in a province of Zimbabwe. The study argues that the implementation of performance management in schools has been done in a haphazard manner without serious consideration for the factors that impede successful implementation of change programmes. The study identified the human, financial, technological, information and structural issues that influenced the commitment to successful implementation. Other factors are the lack of material resources and other intangible resources such as organizational culture and deemed necessary for the successful implementation of practices such as performance management together with the intangible A literature search and empirical study were developed through focussed study on an international level, the international perspective on how performance management is implemented in selected geographical locations to establish what international practice is regarding performance management implementation was done. Qualitative approaches to data collection were involved in the study as focus groups and in-depth interviews with twenty-six respondents were done. Findings suggest that the implementation process is flawed and does not consider deeply the factors that are necessary for implementation of performance management. Implementer perception issues bar see performance management being implemented in ritualistic manner as a way of satisfying policy requirements without any improved out come from the process, There is widespread evidence that the performance information is used selectively in a manner that satisfies the needs of the employer and not for purposes of developing, training and remunerating employees. The study recommends high participation and commitment of implementing agents for the implementation process to succeed and the heavy investment in training of human capital, the availability of requisite resources and the building of high level hard skills and soft skills as necessary for the successful implementation performance management in schools. Remuneration plays a very important part in ensuring the promotion of the individual‟s goals in order to realise the organizations goals. The flow of information as communication and feedback from the lower reaches of the province‟s lower rungs ensure that the programme is well understood by implementers and at the same time the information is used to clarify theposition of the programme so that impediments may be minimised. Lastly, the study identified areas for further research which if carried out will improve the knowledge of how such programmes may be perfected in order to ensure a high degree of success with the implementation process. / PhD (Educational Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study set out to study performance management implementation in the education sector in a province of Zimbabwe. The study argues that the implementation of performance management in schools has been done in a haphazard manner without serious consideration for the factors that impede successful implementation of change programmes. The study identified the human, financial, technological, information and structural issues that influenced the commitment to successful implementation. Other factors are the lack of material resources and other intangible resources such as organizational culture and deemed necessary for the successful implementation of practices such as performance management together with the intangible A literature search and empirical study were developed through focussed study on an international level, the international perspective on how performance management is implemented in selected geographical locations to establish what international practice is regarding performance management implementation was done. Qualitative approaches to data collection were involved in the study as focus groups and in-depth interviews with twenty-six respondents were done. Findings suggest that the implementation process is flawed and does not consider deeply the factors that are necessary for implementation of performance management. Implementer perception issues bar see performance management being implemented in ritualistic manner as a way of satisfying policy requirements without any improved out come from the process, There is widespread evidence that the performance information is used selectively in a manner that satisfies the needs of the employer and not for purposes of developing, training and remunerating employees. The study recommends high participation and commitment of implementing agents for the implementation process to succeed and the heavy investment in training of human capital, the availability of requisite resources and the building of high level hard skills and soft skills as necessary for the successful implementation performance management in schools. Remuneration plays a very important part in ensuring the promotion of the individual‟s goals in order to realise the organizations goals. The flow of information as communication and feedback from the lower reaches of the province‟s lower rungs ensure that the programme is well understood by implementers and at the same time the information is used to clarify theposition of the programme so that impediments may be minimised. Lastly, the study identified areas for further research which if carried out will improve the knowledge of how such programmes may be perfected in order to ensure a high degree of success with the implementation process. / PhD (Educational Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The thesis deals with recruitment and development of students and graduates in relation to the talent management concept. It focuses on interpretation of talent concept, development of talent management, its current approach and the importance of talent management to the organization. Attention is paid to methods of recruitment and development of students and graduates, emphasizing the specifics of this group of employees. A qualitative survey is part of this thesis. Two methods of measurement were applied in this research - studying documents (career portals of employers) and conducting interviews with representatives of HR departments of large businesses operating in Prague, focusing on whether and how employers work with students and graduates within their talent management systems, how they understand the concept of talent and which methods of recruitment and development of students and graduates they apply most frequently. Keywords talent management, , recruitment, employee training and development, , students, graduates, trainees

A literatura indica que os profissionais de saúde sentem dificuldade e desconforto em lidar com questões de sexualidade, no contexto hospitalar. É fundamental, portanto, investigar as competências necessárias para o bom desempenho dos profissionais de enfermagem, relacionado a questões de sexualidade para o cuidado integral do paciente, assim como as lacunas de competências e os fatores que se relacionam com estas necessidades de treinamento. A Avaliação de Necessidades de Treinamento (ANT), subsistema da área de Treinamento, Desenvolvimento e Educação de pessoas (TD&E), mostra-se como uma estratégia adequada para investigar essas lacunas de competências e os fatores que as influenciam. Dessa forma, a presente tese teve como objetivo geral investigar a influência de variáveis de características da clientela (dados demográficos, funcionais, crenças e atitudes) nas necessidades de treinamento, na área da sexualidade do profissional de enfermagem, em contexto hospitalar. Para isso, seguindo parâmetros psicométricos, foi construído o instrumento de avaliação de Necessidades de Treinamento de profissionais de enfermagem na área da Sexualidade (NTES), e foi adaptado da língua inglesa o instrumento Sexuality Attitudes and Beliefs Survey - SABS. Objetivou-se, ainda, verificar evidências de validade dos instrumentos de medida mencionados. A coleta de dados foi realizada a distância, por meio da internet, em que foram disponibilizados os instrumentos digitalizados e os links enviados por e-mail e por meio de questionários impressos, entregues aos profissionais do hospital geral, tendo sido respeitados os aspectos éticos envolvidos. Foram feitas análises descritivas e exploratórias dos dados, análises dos componentes principais e fatoriais e de consistência interna para as análises exploratórias das estruturas empíricas dos questionários e análises de regressão múltipla (padrão, stepwise) para o relacionamento entre as variáveis. As escalas desenvolvidas na presente pesquisa são psicometricamente válidas e confiáveis. Em suma, os profissionais que obtiveram maiores necessidades de treinamento em Discussão geral sobre sexualidade foram aqueles com menor crença de Importância em abordar questões sexuais e que não atendem adolescentes, crianças e ou bebês. Os profissionais que obtiveram maiores necessidades de treinamento em Prevenções e complicações clínicas na sexualidade foram aqueles com menor crença de Importância em abordar questões sexuais. Por fim, os profissionais que obtiveram maiores necessidades de treinamento em Exposição íntima do paciente foram aqueles com maior tempo de trabalho no hospital. As outras variáveis estudadas não entraram para o modelo de predição das necessidades de treinamento. É importante discutir sobre o entrelaçamento entre os domínios cognitivo e afetivo, no caso de treinamentos na área da sexualidade. Os treinamentos ofertados nesta área devem buscar a integração destes dois domínios, de modo que os valores dos profissionais de enfermagem sejam alinhados às necessidades dos pacientes e não apenas às suas próprias crenças pessoais. / Literature points to the difficulty and discomfort health professionals might face when dealing with issues on sexuality in the hospital setting. In this respect, investigating the required skills, related to sexuality issues, nursing professionals need to perform properly for the integral patient care, in addition to skill gaps and factors regarding these training needs is very important. Training Needs Analysis (TNA), a step in Training and Development area, is an appropriate strategy to investigate these skill gaps and factors influencing them. Thus, this thesis aimed to study the effects of individual characteristics (demographic, functional, beliefs and attitudes) on training needs, concerning sexuality issues for nursing professionals, in a hospital context. For this purpose, following psychometric parameters, we elaborated a training needs analysis instrument in the area of sexuality for nursing professionals, and adapted to Portuguese the questionnaire Sexuality Attitudes and Beliefs Survey - SABS. Reliability of the mentioned scales was verified. Data collection was conducted through the Internet, in order to email the questionnaires and links; besides, printed questionnaires were delivered to the professionals in the hospital, respecting all research ethical principles. We carried out descriptive and preliminary analyses of data, internal consistency reliability, principal components, and exploratory factor analysis for the empirical structures of the instruments, and multiple regressions (standard, stepwise) to test the relationships between the variables. All scales are psychometrically valid and reliable. In short, professionals who had higher training needs in General discussion on sexuality were those with lower belief in Importance of addressing sexual issues, and do not treat adolescents, children, or babies. Professionals who had higher training needs in Preventions and clinical complications on sexuality were those with lower belief in Importance of addressing sexual issues. Finally, professionals who had higher training needs in Patient intimate exposure were those who longer work in the hospital. The other considered variables did not predict training needs. Discussing the links between affective and cognitive domains in training programs on sexuality is important. Therefore, training in this area should integrate both types of learning, so that nursing professionals values are aligned to patients needs, and not only to the former´s personal beliefs.

No description available.

The purpose of this research was to examine frame-of-reference (FOR) training retention in an assessment center (AC) rater training context. In this study, we extended Gorman and Rentsch’s (2009) research showing FOR training effects on performance schemas by examining the effects immediately after training and again after a two-week nonuse period. We examined the retention effects of FOR training on performance ratings and on performance schema accuracy. The results indicated that the FOR training condition, compared to a control condition, yielded performance ratings and performance schemas more similar to expert ratings and to an expert schema, respectively. FOR training also had positive effects on ratings and performance schema accuracy assessed two weeks after training. These results support and extend the theory of FOR training, which posits that the instructed theory of performance replaces the preexisting rater schemas (Lievens, 2001), and they contribute to the research on FOR training within AC contexts.

Performance management (PM) research has traditionally been criticized because of its supposed lack of impact on PM practice. A survey of PM practices in 101 U. S. organizations was conducted to determine the current state of PM and to evaluate the gaps betw een PM science and practice. Results revealed that gaps do exist betw een PM research and practice, but there were several instances of clear impact of contemporary PM research on the practice of PM. Moreover, exploratory analyses indicated that practicalPM considerations (e.g., PM purpose, employee participation, ongoing informal feedback) were more important to human resource executives’ perceptions of PM fairness and effectiveness than technical considerations traditionally found in the academic PM literature. Implications for the science and practice of PM are discussed.

No description available.