Despite its existence for over six decades, the practice of human performance technology (HPT) has not been widely accepted within organizations. Varying levels of confusion surround the understanding of HPT, which has been influenced by myriad fields and disciplines. Although HPT is focused on improving performance at the organizational, team,…

The fishbone diagram developed by Mariano Bernardez (2009a, 2009b) in the introductory article to this issue of "Performance Improvement Quarterly" depicts the origins and interrelationships of the models and approaches of many fields and researchers that have contributed to human performance technology (HPT) as it is used today. We can…

This study examines major theory developments in human resource (HR) fields and discusses implications for human performance technology (HPT). Differentiated HR fields are converging to improve organizational performance through knowledge-based innovations. Ruona and Gibson (2004) made a similar observation and analyzed the historical evolution…

This quantitative study sought to identify the performance capabilities and competencies that organizations in the northern midwestern United States expect of future performance improvement professionals at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Eighty-nine performance improvement professionals representing 89 organizations completed an online…

The International Society for Performance Improvement has always been divided by two often-conflicting views of what its purpose or mission really is. Is it primarily technology focused (focusing on the development and promotion of the field) or member focused (focusing on members' interests and their professional development)? This difference in…

Conventional human performance technology has had a good run. It allowed scientific and data-based research to be applied to improve performance, usually just individual performance. The field must be expanded without losing this individual performance focus to include a scope that measurably improves performance for individuals and organizations…

The primary purpose of this research is to explore the impacts of knowledge creation practices on organizational performance improvement. Research has been empirically assessed on the basis of the collected data from three Korean private organizations. The concept of knowledge creation theory was adapted as the theoretical framework of this…

This integrative literature review synthesizes the concepts and process of organizational knowledge creation with theories of individual learning. The knowledge conversion concept (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Nonaka, Toyama, & Byosiere, 2001) is used as the basis of the organizational knowledge creation process, while major learning theories relevant…

Development research methodology (DRM) has been recommended as a viable research approach to expand the practice-to-theory/theory-to-practice literature that human performance technology (HPT) practitioners can integrate into the day-to-day work flow they already use to develop instructional products. However, little has been written about how it…

Research indicates that numerous variables have an impact on a leader's effectiveness. This study explores the behaviors associated with leadership effectiveness in driving change. The findings confirm previous research that identifies change effectiveness skills, while isolating the specific leader behaviors deemed most valuable to implementing…

Recent research in the areas of human performance technology (HPT), organizational development, and cross-cultural training has suggested the need for developing managerial competencies that are effective in diverse cultural settings. Some competencies such as technical proficiency, knowledge of company systems, adaptability, and the ability to…

Reports the results of a qualitative study of success factors and barriers to the development of virtual knowledge-sharing communities of practice at Caterpillar Inc. Identified prerequisites for successful knowledge management through virtual communities of practice, as well as barriers to virtual community development, and discusses future…

This study questioned progress in the shift from training to performance. A survey administered to 62 training and performance professionals queried respondents about concepts relevant to performance: analysis, solution systems, cross-functionality, customer and collegial expectations, and shared knowledge. Overall, results showed that…

As organizations respond to competitive environments and strive to enhance performance, knowledge management (KM) has increasingly become a strategic activity. A KM strategy entails consciously helping people share and put knowledge into action. A key challenge is how to develop and implement KM solutions that provide performance support to…

Three leadership styles are frequently discussed in the literature today: transactional, transformational, and most recently--transcendental. Managers may be able to put transactional, transformational, and transcendental leadership style theories into practice without inventing a new set of processes and procedures to achieve individual follower…