The purpose of this descriptive study was to develop and validate a list of the skills and knowledge that will be necessary for the career preparation of college union executive directors who will be hired in Research and Doctoral I universities in the next decade, (2000 to 2010). The research design recognizes job congruencies and shared competencies between hospitality general managers and college union directors. In designing this study, three separate but interrelated research methods were employed. Those methods are (a) A series of focused interviews with experts in the college union field; (b) A review of existing data, including job advertisements for union director positions; results from the Association of College Unions International data bank; literature from the college union field; and literature from the hospitality industry, related to general managers' competencies; and (c) An original questionnaire that was designed using the data gathered from the first two techniques. The questionnaire was administered by mail to the research population, college union directors at Research I, Research II, and Doctoral I universities. Ratings on the 86 competencies from the survey were tabulated, measures of central tendency were computed and characteristics were ranked in order of importance to answer the research questions. Results indicated agreement among directors regarding the necessary knowledge and abilities for career preparation of union directors. No significant differences existed between responses from Student Affairs and Business/Auxiliary Affairs, or between male and female respondents. Significant differences were found between responses from directors at commuter and residential universities. Findings from this study will provide guidance for persons who are interested in preparing for a career as a college union director and for veteran professionals who serve as mentors to newcomers into the field. / Ph. D.

Th is study was limited to 165 farmers involved in various segments of production agriculture in the state of Utah. County agents and vocational agriculture teachers in each county nominated these farmers as candidates according to their respective farming operations. The following six defined areas of production agriculture were used as selection criteria to insure equal input in the study: Beef, Dairy, Swine , Sheep, Poultry, and Crops. All farmers were surveyed by means of persona l interviews conducted by either county agents or vocational agriculture instructors in their respective counties. The surveying instrument used was developed through a thorough review of the National Agricultural Competency Study list of skill quest ions. Farmers were asked to rank on a likert-type scale, the importance each skill had on their operation. Farmers· were also asked to reply yes or no to whether or not they needed additional training in each skill area. Eleven categories of competencies were-used in the study in an attempt to highlight all areas of production agriculture. Data were compiled and a Burroughs 6700 computer was utilized for program evaluation to find means, rankings, ranges, and frequencies. A review of the study revealed that: 1. Over one- third of all farmers surveyed terminated their formal education after high school . This places a great deal of emphasis on high school agriculture curriculum as well as adult education programs. 2. Many areas of production agriculture have overlapping areas of skills and competencies. 3. There is a commonality of competencies needed by all those entering the production agriculture industry. 4. Areas of anima l health, equipment maintenance, soil preparation, and planting as well as legal practices and safety precautions, all placed very high in ranks of importance throughout the study. 5. Most employment figures are projected to remain relatively constant with a 10% or less fluctuation projected over a five-year period. The only exception is that of part-time non-family employees which shows a decrease of 18%. 6. One-hundred-ten of the one-hundred- fourteen competencies surveyed in the study were considered to be of some importance to the agriculture industry.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The U.S. is now experiencing an unprecedented growth in its older population. In order to reduce the adverse effects of population aging, older adults’ civic engagement has been a recent focus in the field of aging. A considerable body of literature has documented the significance, current status, positive outcomes, and influencing factors of American elders’ civic engagement. However, there are very few studies, if any, that adopt an organizational competency perspective to explore the promotion of older adults’ participation in civic activities. To fill the current research gap, the dissertation aims to help formal organizations identify and develop necessary competencies to better engage American elders through two inquiries. The first inquiry is a mixed methods systematic literature review which included 19 quantitative studies, two qualitative studies, and one mixed methods study. Through meta-summary, six themes and 28 factors related to American elders’ civic engagement were generated. These themes encompassed socio-demographic factors (eight factors), health status (four factors), program characteristics (four factors), engagement opportunities (three factors), engagement outcomes (five factors), and social capital (four factors). Formal organizations are advised to develop relevant competencies to capture the beneficial influences of facilitating factors and minimize the adverse impact of obstructive factors. The second inquiry aims to develop and validate an Organizational Competency Scale (OCS) for elder civic engagement programs. 32 formal organizations and pertinent programs in the State of Texas participated in the pilot study. Factor analyses of the data collected from these organizations revealed a seven-factor solution for the OCS. These factors included client discovery with support, client-centered planning and management, client assessment and training, integration of diverse groups, promotion of adaptation between groups, integration of resources to address the structural constraints, and promotion of social recognition and social justice. As a reliable and valid scale, the OCS can serve as both an assessment tool and practice guidelines for formal organizations to evaluate and develop their competencies to increase American elders’ civic engagement. / 2 years

The Title IX Coordinator is the chief administrator tasked with ensuring institutional compliance with Title IX, but scant literature exists about how Title IX Coordinators come to their role, how they gain the skills, competencies, and knowledge required to ensure institutional Title IX compliance, and how they juggle ethical considerations of fidelity, justice, autonomy, beneficence, and nonmalfeasance. The purpose of this study is to understand how TIX Coordinators make meaning of their role on campus and their role in institutional compliance with Title IX mandates. This qualitative research project uses a semi-structured interview protocol to enable participants to reflect on the skills, competencies, and knowledge they use to develop and implement policy change in their role, and in response to federal unfunded mandates, as well as the ethical considerations that they must balance in executing these duties. This research focuses on seven participants who are Title IX Coordinators at four-year institutions located in the United States. Findings indicate that Title IX Coordinators believe that they gain their skills and knowledge about being Title IX Coordinators from prior experiences, including their own childhood experiences. Participants believe that empathy, communication skills, and an ability to persevere are major competencies that Title IX Coordinators need to possess. Findings also indicate that participants exhibit strong fidelity to institutional compliance with TIX regulations and procedures, even when they may not fully agree with them. Findings also indicate that participants do not believe that the current Title IX regulatory scheme promotes justice, leading to a conclusion that, as currently constituted, the role of the Title IX Coordinator is impossible. This study also identifies some practice and policy areas future discussion and research. / Doctor of Philosophy / Title IX is a federal non-discrimination law that requires educational institutions receiving financial assistance from the federal government, often in the form of student loans and research grants, to ensure that their educational programs and activities are free from gender-based discrimination. Sexual assault on college campuses is viewed as an issue of gender-based discrimination because it can create an environment where individuals, regardless of their gender and gender-identity, are victims of sexual harassment in violation of Title IX. Through a series of guidance documents and federal rules, institutions are now required to have a Title IX Coordinator, a person who is in charge of ensuring compliance with Title IX. While still a relatively new role on college campuses, little research has been conducted about Title IX Coordinators, their roles, what types of skills they need, and how they approach their work. Seven Title IX Coordinators at four-year institutions in the United States were interviewed for this study. Analysis of these interviews found that Title IX Coordinators bring what they have learned from prior work and personal experiences to their work in Title IX and believe that their jobs primarily exist to ensure that their institutions are not sued for violating Title IX. Because participants believe that ensuring institutional compliance is expected to be their highest priority, they do not think that the current Title IX rules allow either people who are victims of gender-based discrimination, or those accused of engaging in gender-based discrimination, to receive any form of justice. This duty to serve and protect, in the face of a system that does not provide justice, leads to the conclusion that, as currently constructed, achieving the goals of Title IX on college campuses is impossible because the Title IX Coordinator is stuck in a system that does not achieve its ultimate goal: to eliminate, or at least reduce, gender-based discrimination and ensure access to education.

Over the past 28 years, as a human resource (HR) professional, I observed much writing and research on the need for the HR function to focus more on strategic outcomes and less on administration (Lawlerand Boudreau, 2012; OPM, 1999; PPS, 2010; Ulrich 1997). The shift in focus from administrative to strategic has been slow, demonstrated by the fact that from 1995 to 2010 the HR function appears to have has not changed how it allocates its time, has not increased focus on strategic outcomes, and is not engaging in higher value-added activities (Lawler and Boudreau, 2012). Absent from the literature is research on why the members of the HR function have been slow to embrace and demonstrate a strategic HR role (Beer, 1997; Lawler and Boudreau, 2012, OPM, 1999). This study was designed to address this knowledge gap by exploring the relationship between creativity and goal orientation and demonstration of strategic HR competencies based on self-assessed competencies. Understanding these constructs and their relationship to the demonstration of strategic HR competencies can inform the nature of interventions, to include selection, certification, training and development, to facilitate the movement of the HR function from an administrative to a strategic focus. Perceptions about creativity, goal orientation, and demonstration of strategic HR competencies were solicited from Department of Defense, Department of the Army civilian HR professionals. Correlational and multiple regression analyses were used to explore creativity and goal orientation and their relation to the demonstration of strategic HR competencies. Results showed that 17% of the variance in demonstrated strategic HR competencies was explained by creativity and a learning goal orientation, both characteristics of the individual HR professionals. After controlling for pay grade, these predictors still explained 13% of the variance in the self-assessed demonstration of strategic HR competencies. Suggestions for future research include replicating this study with a larger, diverse, randomized sample to validate and expand the findings of this study in terms of affects and generalizations. In addition, research exploring the work environment in organizations that have successfully made the transition from an administrative to a strategic focus. / Ph. D.

Background: Nursing competencies are important for quality of care, patient safety, and identifying gaps in knowledge and skills. Patient harm has been linked to a lack of competency and insufficient policy and procedures. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to achieve standardization of nursing competencies within nurse-led clinics. Aims: The aims of this project were to validate select competency days and determine the satisfaction of the competency days by the participants. The second aim of this project was to develop an electronic tracking form. A third aim was to develop and present a policy and procedure for competency assessment for approval. Methods: Two competency days were held in February of 2024. A Google form was created to aid in the tracking of competencies. Validation methods were return demonstration and post-tests. At the end of the check-offs, participants completed a 5-point Likert scale satisfaction survey. Findings: Six nurses (n=6) participated in the competency days. Based on the satisfaction survey, all participants (n=6) found the competency day beneficial and promoted confidence in performing nursing skills. Conclusion and nursing implications: All participants found the competency day beneficial. The competency policy and procedures are currently under development. Once developed, the policy, procedure, and tracking form will be reviewed by the director of quality compliance, clinical directors, and chief nursing officer for approval and implementation in all nurse-led clinics within the organization.

No description available.

The aim of this research was to identify where the expectation gap of IT competencies lies, between accountancy trainees, SAICA and employers. Existing findings and empirical research findings from this study were compared to the prescribed competencies of the professional body, SAICA, to identify where the gap lies and to suggest possible action plans to overcome it. The findings of this study suggest that the availability of technology and IT at schools is limited. Employers identified an overall expectation gap where trainees are not able to apply the basic IT competencies that should have been acquired at university to the practical working environment. The data collected also identified that IT competencies are not being taught at the same level at different universities through the different responses of students, lecturers and trainees, which leads to inconsistent exposure of accountancy trainees to IT prior to their traineeship. As IT competencies have a significant impact on the every-day working life of such a trainee, employers and SAICA expect that students would have obtained basic IT competencies before the start of their traineeship. / MCom (Accountancy)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

The aim of this research was to identify where the expectation gap of IT competencies lies, between accountancy trainees, SAICA and employers. Existing findings and empirical research findings from this study were compared to the prescribed competencies of the professional body, SAICA, to identify where the gap lies and to suggest possible action plans to overcome it. The findings of this study suggest that the availability of technology and IT at schools is limited. Employers identified an overall expectation gap where trainees are not able to apply the basic IT competencies that should have been acquired at university to the practical working environment. The data collected also identified that IT competencies are not being taught at the same level at different universities through the different responses of students, lecturers and trainees, which leads to inconsistent exposure of accountancy trainees to IT prior to their traineeship. As IT competencies have a significant impact on the every-day working life of such a trainee, employers and SAICA expect that students would have obtained basic IT competencies before the start of their traineeship. / MCom (Accountancy)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

The aim of this research is to develop a conceptual model consisting of factors which were associated with managerial success in a changing environment and to investigate its predictive validity. This "Successful Manager Profile" contains three domains, each consisting of a number of factors. An assessment battery was devised to measure the three domains - cognitive abilities, personality variables and personal competencies - of the "Successful Manager Profile." A sample of 287 employees was assessed during 1991 and 1992 using assessment centre technology, psychometric tests and questionnaires. Five years later (in 1996 and 1997), criterion data, which consisted of the final organisational level attained, were collected. The research question - whether the variables contained in the "Successful Manager Profile" - was investigated using Stepwise Multiple Regression analysis. The coefficient of multiple determination reported ranged from R2+0.21 for the total sample to R2=0.60 for the male graduate group. / Industrial Psychology / M. Comm. (Industrial Psychology)