Maximization of training influence on individual performance through changes in employee knowledge, skills, and abilities is a paramount concern of organizations. However, training without implementation in a work setting cannot achieve its goals. In this article, the author maps the primary factors that influence transfer of what is learned in…

Long-term care is a key public issue that affects all of us in some way at some time of our lives. Nowhere is performance improvement and quality management more imperative. Through an 8-month field study and follow-up case study, we discuss how using an integrated approach to individual leadership development, employee engagement, and customer…

Faced with increased incidences of work-related strain and sprain injuries and OSHA-recordable injuries, the organization in this case study details how it resolved these performance-related issues. This case study also demonstrates the effectiveness of Thomas Gilbert's (1978) Behavior Engineering Model as a tool for analyzing, defining, and…

One of the most important variables in the success of a business over time is the extent to which the organization develops innovative business strategies and has an agile culture that supports such innovation. This article describes ways of accomplishing both requirements.

This article looks at virtual mentoring programs through a lens of generational differences, technological preferences, and communication styles. Best practices are framed to address the need to prepare the incoming millennials to lead the workforce as baby boomers exit. After a review of the literature, ideas are culled to apply the theory to a…

Cultural awareness training that emphasizes communication delivers only a partial solution to the challenges that intercultural work teams face. Improving collaboration requires a strong foundation of performance management before a work team can determine how they will cooperate to perform to excellence. Against the backdrop of the authors'…

Still-rising national jobless rates are surpassing 8.9%. This translates to millions of ill-prepared job seekers, raising complex questions about how to manage layoffs. Even if workers receive severance benefits, most struggle with how to move on and find jobs. Rather than focusing primarily on work skills and practices within individual…

Mindfulness reduces distress, promotes optimal health, improves attentional control, mental agility, emotional intelligence, and situational awareness. Stress management and cognitive performance in Marines who spent more hours practicing Mindfulness Based Mind Fitness Training were superior to those soldiers who practiced fewer hours. Students…

The purpose of this article is to inform instructional design and development specialists on the importance of harassment prevention training in organizations. The review includes a summary of relevant case law, a review of litigation costs associated with harassment litigation, and the value of return on investment for such instruction.…

Discusses performance-centered portals that focus on supporting the goals and objectives of a company within an integrated work environment. Topics include performance-centered design attributes; work context; goal establishment; work processes; designing portals in stages; and increased performance and productivity. (Author/LRW)

Describes the benefits and potential drawbacks of transferring HPT (human performance technology) skills from outside consultants to managers within organizations. Discusses HPT competence and control over work environment, the role of traditional HPT experts after the shift, and three approaches to implementing the change. (PEN)

The new Hewlett-Packard was the largest merger in technology history. During its merger, the new company faced an intense organizational change and integration of two different corporate cultures. While all these changes were occurring, its Workforce Development (WD) was also facing its own reinvention--a paradigm shift from being just a training…

Defines resilience as displaying competence despite adversity and discusses its place in the work environment. Highlights include sample scenarios of employees reacting to stress; ingredients of resilience; individual characteristics affecting resilience; environmental stressors and self-esteem; and fostering resilience through environment. (LRW)

Despite the obvious fact that high performance can be promoted in many ways, the author of this article assumed for much of his academic life as a student and as a teacher that most students were motivated to learn by grades and not much else. Experiments with pass-fail courses and reports to students of their results seemed to confirm this…

Discusses high-involvement work teams, in which groups of workers participate in improving their work activities; describes how a typical work team progresses through a project; and introduces a systems model of interrelated steps through which teams may progress to solve problems. (LRW)