At the Philadelphia-area manufacturer GGBearings, employees representing every corner of the plant--from the company president to machinists, engineers, and finance staff members--have assembled in the conference room. The balanced mix of men and women varies in age, race, and background. Some are in uniform, others in business-casual dress. A few…

Purpose: This paper aims to present a detailed explication of a learner-centered instructional approach for adults labeled case-based modeling (CBM). The approach is an example of integrative pedagogy aimed at expertise development and is an extension of other instructional approaches, namely, problem-based learning (PBL) and case-based learning…

The Department of Veterans Affairs has an immediate problem at hand. Tens of thousands of employees are working in a high-stress work environment where fast-paced daily production requirements are critical. Employees are faced with a tremendous backlog of veterans' claims. Unfortunately, not only are the claims extremely complex, but there is…

Evaluation is an important tool to develop and retain skilled employees. It should be used to recognize employees that are performing well, to identify areas for growth and to provide employees with clear, explicit feedback about their performance. An agreed upon appraisal system lets employees know what is expected, what is recognized and…

Performance appraisal is a measurement process of how well an individual is doing her or his job. In most organisations, this appraisal is an annual event. Generally, it is done to encourage job performance, to flag areas that need attention, to inform both parties as to expectations. Much of the literature speaks to this process in terms of the…

When it's annual review time, are you frustrated or overwhelmed by the task of remembering an employee's performance throughout the year? Do you ever feel that if you took notes on each task set within the year, it would be easier for you to summarize the evaluation? There is a way to make everyone's life a little easier when giving or receiving…

One of the best ways for a child care program to lose an employment-related lawsuit is failure to document the performance of its employees. Documentation of an employee's performance can provide evidence of an employment-related decision such as discipline, promotion, or discharge. When properly implemented, documentation of employee performance…

Performance reviews, while stressful, can prepare employees for the next stages of their career. The best performance reviews are those where the supervisor knows the employee's skills and talents and offers suggestions on how to use those talents to develop other areas of job performance and professional growth. In this article, the author…

Experienced managers know that perceptions matter greatly when it comes to working effectively with employees. The task for organizational behavior (OB) instructors, especially in the undergraduate classroom, is to make the perceptions topic come alive for students who may not appreciate at first the application and significance of this subject…

The mere word "bureaucracy" brings to mind images of endless lines, piles of paperwork, and frustrating battles over rules and red tape. But some bureaucracies are clearly more efficient and responsive than others. Why? In "Teaching, Tasks, and Trust", distinguished political scientists John Brehm and Scott Gates show that a good part of the…

Suggests that human resources development professionals need to change their performance improvement focus and philosophy to embrace the importance of building on strengths and managing weaknesses. Identifies five characteristics indicative of employees' strengths. Describes seven strategies to help employees minimize their weaknesses while…

Supervisors who evaluate staff members' performances often do not have first hand information concerning those performances. Consequently, the staff member is sometimes not aware of what caused a person's success or failure. In order to give constructive feedback to an employee, a supervisor or another colleague could observe the staff member at…

This article provides a perspective of the past and present roles of the manufacturing supervisor with a specific focus on new skills requirements. Within the structure of manufacturing management, the supervisor plays a key role in implementing today's complex automated manufacturing technologies. The supervisor is at the bottom of the management…

Provides background information on the relationship of business interests and social studies education. Examines the aspects of vocational preparation that social studies education could address based on a study identifying factors of exemplary employees possibly related to their strong performance. Reports on the results based on categories of…

Describes the Red Deer College employee assistance program "Resources for Employee Assistance, Counselling and Health (REACH)" which has moved beyond this traditional approach to become an autonomous program run by employees for employees. Notes REACH is concerned with job performance and coping skills that contribute to individual and…