Describes two initiatives developed by Sears that were designed to align career development with business goals: goal cascading, in which individual performance goals were used to determine needed skills and knowledge; and proactive career planning, a guide for career management developed when the corporation underwent significant organizational…

Describes a career development initiative that was an integral part of a major culture shift within Union Pacific Resources. Discusses how cross-functional change agent teams helped set employee expectations and build a culture within the organization. (JOW)

If the learning organization is ever to become a reality and if employees are to be continuous learners, the notion of self-directed learning has to move beyond the buzzword phase and become a major force in employee training. (Author)

Comparison of student teams working on class projects and workplace teamwork finds similar characteristics of successful and unsuccessful teams. Differences include the relatively short duration of classroom groups, organizational culture, team formation, leadership, accountability, diversity, and type of task. (SK)

Women face external career barriers (sexual harassment, discrimination, lower socioeconomic status, racism, homophobia, physical limitations, lack of mentors) as well as individual/social barriers (self-efficacy expectations, low-outcome expectations, skill deficits, multiple role stress). Tools such as interviews, qualitative tests, and…

An effective ethics program can enhance an organization's recruitment and retention, work environment, and reputation. Values statements and codes of conduct are the infrastructure of an effective program. (JOW)

Describes the critical attributes of cooperative groups, tips for implementation, and activity ideas for the business education classroom. (JOW)

Employers place less emphasis on experience and much more on adaptability. They want people who can learn. However, at the lowest stratum of the service sector, jobs are being dumbed down so that a worker has only to obey commands of smart machines ("Touch french fry icon now"). (Author/JOW)

Focuses on the issues, challenges, and approaches that must be considered when studying the impact of technology on work and jobs. Examines relevant theory, research hypotheses and questions, conceptual frameworks, methodologies, and the problem of operationalizing and measuring skill. (Author/JOW)

Presents a definition of sexual harassment, profiles of typical victims, and suggestions for prevention. (SK)

At 2 sites information was collected from 168 workers, and their 3-letter Holland work environment codes were crossed with 3 measures of person-environment congruence. All three measures were strongly intercorrelated. The way a job was coded had a significant effect on the calculation of congruence. (SK)

Based on the theory of Street-Level Bureaucracy, this exploratory study examines implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by school psychologists. Six school psychologists and their supervisors participated. Results show that when school psychologists experience conflict in their work, they develop coping strategies…

Describes the phenomenon of working while black, which suggests that forms of racial profiling exist in the workplace and calls attention to predictable terms and conditions of employment that function to set black workers apart, thereby signifying degrees of marginalization, exclusion, and subordination in the workplace. Ten recommendations for…

It takes a special kind of mentor to establish a work environment in which people are ready and able to withstand changes, such as downsizing and reorganization. Mentoring is a learning partnership, and the mentor's main gifts are learning, advice, feedback, focus, and support. (JOW)

Elements of Japanese work organization (multiskilled workers, continuous skill development, work units, and supervisors' role) may be characterized as teamwork. Application of these elements in China and the United Kingdom indicates that this form of teamwork is adaptable to other environments. (Contains 44 references.) (SK)