This study extends the limited, existing research on Sunnydale Public School’s (SPS’s) SOAR program. For clarity, SOAR is a talent development (TD) program that aims to not only enhance students’ reasoning and problem-solving abilities but also to remedy the racial/ethnic disproportionality of SPS's gifted and talented program. More specifically, I used interpretive, qualitative methods for this investigation to understand participants’ perceptions of SOAR, in hopes of adding to the talent development knowledge base and informing SOAR policy and practice. Ultimately, participant views converged on several topics (i.e. racial and ethnic disproportionality, brain malleability, multiple intelligences, etc.) and diverged on others (i.e. SOAR’s value). Taking interview and focus group data, SPS documents, past researchers’ findings, my own experiences, and existing literature into account, I arrived at and offer several commendations and recommendations that might benefit SPS’s SOAR program and might be considered alongside other research by districts of similar contexts looking to adopt or improve a TD program.

Retaining qualified talent is essential to organizational leaders' ability to maintain a competitive advantage. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the retention strategies that financial managers used to prepare and maintain talent to assume future leadership roles. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was the transformational leadership theory. The research participants were financial managers from 5 financial services businesses located in the southern region of the United States with a minimum of 5 years of management experience and at least 3 direct reports. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, observations, and review of annual reports, websites, and talent-development strategies. To ensure data saturation, methodological triangulation was used. Data analysis using the modified van Kaam method enabled the identification of 4 themes: preparing, partnering, mentoring, and investing. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential for leaders of financial businesses to increase awareness of the value of talent retention efforts across organizations, thereby improving profit margins.

This study examined the talent development of five Davidson Fellowship science winners using the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent. The Davidson Fellowship program recognizes students under the age of 18 who have completed a significant piece of original work in one of six fields: science, technology, mathematics, music, literature, or philosophy. Parents of four of the Fellows also participated in the multiple-case study, which used semi-structured phone interviews to gather data. The cross-case analysis of this multiple-case study revealed that the Fellows traveled multiple pathways to success. Each Fellow and his family took advantage of different educational options, formal and informal. No consistent educational programming existed across participants from different schools in different areas of the country, except AP® courses and science fairs. The Fellows encountered a number of different negative catalysts in the environment, including a lack of challenge in the public schools, inconsistent treatment by teachers and administrators, variable availability of challenging school and extracurricular opportunities, difficulties with peers, and challenging logistical arrangements necessary for participation in extracurricular opportunities. The strength of these negative catalysts was offset by a number of protective factors, or positive catalysts. The positive catalysts were both strong and numerous in each of the Fellows. Each Fellow presented evidence of very high ability. They were healthy. They were raised in supportive learning environments that encouraged taking risks, striving for excellence, and improvement over earning good grades. They had multiple supportive adults in their lives: parents, teachers, and mentors who created a layered support system. When one adult was not available, there were others on whom the student could depend in a crisis. The parent relationship was particularly strong. Each Fellow reported, and each of the parents confirmed, a uniquely supportive relationship with their parents marked by mutual respect and admiration. Each Fellow presented strong motivation for his work. Each displayed a candid awareness of his own strengths and weaknesses, and a willingness to confront and apply himself to remedy weaknesses. They all presented compelling evidence of a tenacious perseverance. Stronger than the negative catalysts, these positive catalysts worked in concert to protect the individual against failure or resignation.

Questionnaires were sent to parents of three hundred and fourty six year 7 and 8 students attending an independent, comprehensive school. Parents were asked to indicate the nature and extent of talent they believed their child possessed. Their replies were used as the basis for the range of talents - some fifty two areas - considered in this study. The questionnaire, together with questionnaires given to students and teachers, also served to identify seventy five exceptionally talented children. The talent areas were grouped into talent 'clusters' and students representing each cluster were selected for interviews. During the interviews, parents were asked whether their son had previously been identified as exceptionally talented, and what they perceived to be the educational needs of their son. These needs were looked at in terms of the formulation of a differentiated curriculum for exceptionally talented children. The curriculum is described mainly in terms of three teaching modes traditionally associated with gifted children : grouping, acceleration and enrichment. Each of these is explored in relation to the stated needs of the students and their consequent applicability to designing curricula for these students.

<p>Tidigare forskning har visat på att konkurrensen kring talangfulla medarbetare aldrig förr varithårdare och att ha strategier för att behålla dessa blir därför viktigt. En strategi som syftar till att görajust detta är talent management. Men hur arbetar man med detta och vilka föreställningar kringfenomenet finns? Vilka faktorer kan finnas som hindrar och/eller möjliggör arbetet med talentmanagement? För att ta reda på detta har det i studien valts att göra en fallstudie där data samlats ingenom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Det framkommer i studien att talent management upplevspositivt då det ger erkänsla och uppskattning. Dock är det viktigt att det finns en tydligkommunikation så att tanken kring vad satsningen ska leda till och att förväntningarna är tydliga.HR-avdelning, chefer och talanger har alla ett ansvar för att talent management ska bli en strategi föratt få talangfulla medarbetare att stanna kvar i företaget.</p>

<p>Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka hur talang kan användas i organisationers jakt på och rekrytering av medarbetare som kan bidra till verksamhetens utveckling. Detta har gjorts genom en empirisk studie där vi försökt undersöka och behandla begreppet talang genom att jämföra formell affärsverksamhet med fotbollsindustrin. Detta då vi fann att talang är något som sedan länge diskuterats inom fotbollen men som enligt våra antaganden vara nytt inom formell affärsverksamhet. En litteraturstudie har även genomförts i vilken vi har använt oss av teorier som påvisar framväxten av begreppen talang och talent management för tillämpning i organisationer. Den forskningsfråga vi ställde oss var: hur kan organisationer definiera, finna och rekrytera talang till sin verksamhet? Studiens resultat visar på att talang är att betraktas som relativt och definieras utifrån varje enskild person. Fokus bör därför ligga på att rekrytera den rätta talangen för verksamheten snarare än att bedriva en generell talangjakt.  För att förenkla sökandet och finnandet av den rätta talangen kan och bör rekryteraren skapa en arena där talang kan jämföras och utmärkas, likt en fotbollsplan för en matchsituation. Det är slutligen i en rekryterares makt att avgöra vem som på arenan besitter den rätta talangen för verksamheten.</p>

Sweden is entering a time characterized by a shortfall of qualified labour. Thus companies will have to hold on to, and develop their most valued employees since it is getting harder to find competent replacements. By finding and developing Talents, companies will improve their position in the market and perhaps even create a competitive advantage. The academic discipline concerning locating, assessing, developing and retaining Talents is called Talent Management. Purpose To identify how the most desirable employers in Sweden work with Talent Management, and implications following its practises. Method The selection was made based on the response of a pre-study of 30 large Swedish companies recognised for their employment practises. Nine oral interviews, with a number of HR professionals at the corporations, were performed to investigate how they utilise Talent Management to create more value from human resources. The thesis takes a multiple case study approach investigating the utilization of Talent Management practises in Sweden. Conclusion The Swedish dialect of Talent Management correlates with the frame presented by theory. Swedish firms are mostly locating Talents internally but are willing to use outsourcing for some recruitments. Talents’ competencies are more important than their credentials. Within the frame of their job description, Talents are encouraged to find creative solutions to solve their tasks. Swedish firms are increasingly using assessment and clear feedback as foundation for the individual development plans. Within the individual development plans there is on-the-job training, job rotation and mentors. This is also a part of the retention process which focuses on recognition, relocation and career management. Implications of the work with Talent Management in Sweden are; since the companies investigated employed, or were about to employ, Talent Management processes, it seems that they are well prepared for the future war for Talents and will better cope with the gap occurring when baby boomers retire. Thus, firms adapting to Talent Management, and sees the strategic importance of it, can gain a competitive advantage against others not concerned with these practises.

Tidigare forskning har visat på att konkurrensen kring talangfulla medarbetare aldrig förr varithårdare och att ha strategier för att behålla dessa blir därför viktigt. En strategi som syftar till att görajust detta är talent management. Men hur arbetar man med detta och vilka föreställningar kringfenomenet finns? Vilka faktorer kan finnas som hindrar och/eller möjliggör arbetet med talentmanagement? För att ta reda på detta har det i studien valts att göra en fallstudie där data samlats ingenom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Det framkommer i studien att talent management upplevspositivt då det ger erkänsla och uppskattning. Dock är det viktigt att det finns en tydligkommunikation så att tanken kring vad satsningen ska leda till och att förväntningarna är tydliga.HR-avdelning, chefer och talanger har alla ett ansvar för att talent management ska bli en strategi föratt få talangfulla medarbetare att stanna kvar i företaget.

Sammanfattning Detta examensarbete undersöker hur ett globalt industriföretag arbetar med kunskapshantering utifrån ett Knowledge management-perspektiv. Målföretaget undersöks genom Talent management-konceptet People Equity. Vi baserar vår uppsats på empiri bestående av tolv kvalitativa intervjuer med medarbetare från företaget. Våra teoretiska utgångspunkter grundas primärt på Alvesson och Kärremans deskriptiva modell om hur företag arbetar med kunskapsstyrning, Model of managerial intervention. Utifrån analys av insamlad empiri placerar vi ut målföretaget på ovan nämnda matris. Resultatet visar att målföretaget har vissa svårigheter med kunskapsflödet mellan medarbetarna. Kunskapsdelning sker primärt genom social interaktion med kollegor på avdelningen samt genom nätverkande med nyckelpersoner på andra avdelningar. Den normativa kontroll som finns i kulturen på företaget obstruerar i viss mån kunskapen från att flöda fritt och på så sätt skapa maximal nytta. I diskussionen behandlas denna slutsats och förslag på framtida forskning ges.

Detta examensarbete undersöker hur en multinationell organisation arbetar med Human Resources Management-fenomenet Talent Management. Vi har valt att titta på fenomenet från två olika perspektiv, det individualistiska och kollektivistiska, för att skapa en förståelse om hur Talent Management-arbetet fungerar och kan se ut. Den insamlade empirin är baserad på sju intervjuer med individer som alla har en relevant roll i förhållandet till det studerade fenomenet. Utifrån resultatet och teorin har vi i analysen sedan kunnat se att det finns både för- och nackdelar med Talent Management arbete. Den svåra utmaningen är att arbeta strategiskt och fokuserat med talangutveckling utan att övriga medarbetare missgynnas av arbetsätten som verksamheten använder. I slutsatsen behandlar vi en sammanfattande diskussion utifrån det insamlade resultatet och föreslår också framtida forskning inom ämnet.