In Mississippi, the bulk of the responsibility to conduct workforce training falls on the community colleges. With the recent trends of large industry relocating overseas, layoffs, and plant closures, these challenges have become prevalent in rural America. Through the development and delivery of workforce programs to local business and industry,…

The Pathways to Advancement initiative was launched by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) to help governors and their policy advisors examine options and develop strategies for expanding working adults' access to and completion of postsecondary education. In September 2003, the NGA Center issued a request for…

In today's uncertain economy, states and regions are experiencing myriad workforce challenges. In the short run, layoffs and unemployment resulting from the current economic downturn dictate an immediate need for education and training to prepare workers for key occupations. In the long run, states and regions continue to exist in a global economy…

In the past decade, the role of higher education in workforce development has emerged as a key issue around the world. Leading authorities inside and outside of government have begun questioning whether colleges and universities are preparing graduates with the competencies and skills necessary to compete in a dynamic global economy. As part of a…

The primary purpose of this research was to assess the effect of learning organization culture on the linkage between interpersonal trust and organizational commitment. The study sample was obtained from employees of two major Korean conglomerates. Online questionnaires were completed by 321 respondents. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used…

The intent of capacity building in international development cooperation is to enable people to control their own development. Important premises are ownership, choice and self-esteem. The authors analyse the dynamics of the enabling process in practice, based on their own experiences working for several years in universities in developing…

Although learning is generally perceived as a way to improve employees' current job performance, so far, no research has been conducted to explore the possible relationships between formal and informal learning, on the one hand, and employability, on the other. Though contemporary views stress the importance of the job as a powerful learning site,…

Purpose: The paper investigates personal and environmental factors providing for the efficiency of line managers' activity and contributing to their professional and career advancement. The paper studies the prognostic value of the assessment of personal and environmental factors providing for the efficiency of line managers' activity according to…

The current research sought to measure the value-perception priorities of Korean HRD professionals based on a modified previously developed HRD value matrix. Findings show that Korean HRD practitioners perceived the learning process and performance-related values as more important than environmental factor-related values on both individual and…

This study investigated how companies in China develop their leaders and what critical factors contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of leadership development practices. This study adopted a multiple-case study design. Four companies--ABB, BenQ, Lenovo and Motorola were studied. The findings suggest that the four companies in China develop…

Literature within HRD is reviewed that aides in the understanding of Coaching, Counseling, and Mentoring (CCM) as a strategic need. Published case studies are presented where CCM strategies have been put into practice in the workplace to foster an environment of performance improvement. By developing and implementing these approaches,…

This study investigates how social networks in service organizations contribute to employee learning. Two specific types of social network seem especially relevant to individual learning: first, the service network, where employees carry out and improve their work, which may lead to learning; and second, the learning network, where employees…

This paper critiques the debate about the purpose of HRD. Furthermore, it presents an integrative literature review that provides a meta-theory, hitherto missing, to explain the reasons for which there are endless disputes in the literature about the purpose of HRD. The synthesis explains that ideology provides the guiding meta-theoretical…

In a recent skills gap report, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) noted some disturbing trends in the gap between the demand for highly skilled manufacturing workers and the potential supply. The NAM report notes that smaller manufacturers rank finding qualified workers ahead of energy costs, taxes and government regulations on the…

In an effort to inform preschool policy in California, an interdisciplinary team of RAND researchers conducted a multiyear study of preschool education known as the California Preschool Study. One of the recommendations from that study was the need for a more in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of the early care and education (ECE) workforce…