Mentoring: women learning from others

Informal mentoring allows a relationship to evolve naturally over time much like a friendship, without an official obligation or commitment to coach someone. However, some women prefer a more formal, organizationally driven approach to mentoring. In either case, both represent an opportunity to learn and grow. In Learning from Other Women, Carolyn Duff interviewed many women to understand their expectations, preferences, and experiences. Mentoring, Duff says, "begins with affinity between two people, but the focus remains around work. It's a magical thing that happens when one person sees something in another person and wants to help that person grow." This column explores some of the barriers, as well as how to ask for help and benefit from a mentor. Whether you like the word "mentoring" or not, whether your organization has a formal program or not, always be thinking about how you can learn from others. Keep your eyes and mind open, look around to see who is doing what you want to do.     

E-mentoring as a HRD intervention: an exploratory action research study within an International Professional Mentoring Scheme

Advances in technology have reshaped mentoring as a human resource development (HRD) intervention and heralded e-mentoring, using online solutions, as an alternative to traditional mentoring. In this article, we report on a unique learning opportunity as a part of the HRD curriculum in a higher education institution (HEI) in which mentoring was offered to pairs separated by not only geographical distance but also by time zone, culture and organisation (global mentoring relationships [GMRs]). We used an action research approach to aid the programme team’s understanding of their own practice and to evaluate 23 GMRs within an e-mentoring scheme in a UK-based university. We offer empirical evidence of the application of media richness theory as well as traditional models of mentoring to develop and evaluate e-mentoring relationships, particularly GMRs. Key findings highlight how the mode of communication and its media richness affect GMRs and demonstrate the effect of the type and style of mentoring on the success of GMRs. Based on our results, we recommend a combination of e-mentoring methods using various forms of technology and the sharing of models to create a common language to enhance the practice of e-mentoring in and across organisations.     

Informal Mentoring as an Organisational Resource

Mentoring is a mechanism for supporting junior managers but until now little research on the benefits to the organisation has been reported. This paper reports on a survey of managers in a UK local government authority to ascertain their views of the benefits of informal mentoring to the organisation. Both mentors and protégés perceived mentoring as investment in a future pool of managers and a tool for the management of change. Mentoring was also seen as assisting in the transfer of knowledge, organisational learning and cross-departmental communication—in other words, as nodes in an information network. Further research is suggested into mentoring as a micro-level knowledge-producing community of practice. As informal mentoring is likely to bring longer-term advantages to the organisation, the paper also discusses how to capture the benefits of informal mentoring when designing formal schemes.     

An Ecological Systems Perspective on Mentoring at Work: A Review and Future Prospects

After nearly 30 years as a subject of inquiry, mentoring remains a mainstay in the organizational literature, as relationships are arguably more important than ever to employees' personal and career growth. In this paper, we take an ecological perspective to situate and review topical areas of the literature with the intention of enhancing our understanding of how mentoring outcomes for protégés and mentors are determined not only by individual differences (e.g., personality) and dyadic factors (e.g., the quality of a relationship)—both of which represent the most frequently examined levels of analyses—but also the influences of the people from various social spheres comprising their developmental network, the larger organization of which they are a part, and macrosystem factors (e.g., technological shifts, globalization) that enable, constrain, or shape mentoring and other developmental relationships. Our review examines multi-level influences that shape mentoring outcomes, and brings into focus how the study of mentoring can be advanced by research at the network, organizational, and macrosystem levels. To help guide future research efforts, we assert that adult development and relational schema theories, Positive Organizational Scholarship, a social network perspective, signaling theory, and institutional theories can help to address emerging and unanswered questions at each ecological level.     

Customer knowledge sharing in cross-border mergers and acquisitions: The role of customer motivation and promise management

Knowledge is a vital source of competitive advantage and renewal for contemporary organizations. However, to date, few studies have scrutinized how mergers and acquisitions (M&As)—processes dependent on knowledge sharing—offer a valuable inter-organizational context through which to understand the attainment of customer knowledge sharing following M&As. Applying an integrated theoretical perspective from customer relationship management and M&A performance research, we study a Chinese–Finnish acquisition and customer firms of the acquired party across four advanced Western countries. We find that customer knowledge sharing is an active relationship management process that relies on the factors of customer dedication-based motivation vs. customer concerns about M&As to maintain relationships after acquisitions. In addition, and more importantly, we find that the promise management mechanisms—making promises, enabling promises, and keeping promises—of the M&A parties reinforce the motivational factors to maintain customer knowledge sharing in cross-border M&As. We propose a conceptual framework of customer knowledge sharing in cross-border M&As.     

Developmental leisure: why work-related learning takes place outside of working hours

This study is interested in why many professionals engage in work-related learning after formal working hours. It has been argued that in knowledge-intensive work the work/leisure boundaries are blurring. Similarly, the line between work-related and non-work-related learning is harder to draw. In this study, an innovative concept of ‘developmental leisure’ will be introduced and explored. The concept refers to a human resource development (HRD) discourse that makes possible the evaluation of leisure in terms of its benefit to work-related learning. The study investigates how leisure intertwines with HRD and how it is positioned discursively in relation to work-related learning. The analysis is based on life stories from information technology professionals working in a large international organization. The findings of the analysis show that when leisure is discussed within the HRD discourse, it is positioned as a resource for work-related learning. Much of the learning outside of work intertwines with the objectives of HRD and learning at leisure becomes synonymous to learning for work.     

Critical factors affecting information sharing in supply chains

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to empirically examine a comprehensive list of factors that are anticipated to affect information sharing (IS) in supply chains (SC) in the context of a landlocked developing country Nepal. A survey questionnaire was developed and data were collected from 131 supply chain participants in Nepal. Exploratory factor analysis and path analysis were conducted to examine the fitness of the proposed model and the relationships between the identified factors and information sharing. The results suggest that interaction routines and personal connection influenced both operational and strategic information sharing while organisational compatibility, incentives, project payoffs, commitment (inter-organisational), top management commitment and supply network configuration affected operational IS and government support and monitoring were associated with strategic IS. The paper provides empirical evidence on how information sharing is affected in the context of a landlocked developing country. The paper also identifies and discusses the similarities and differences in the importance of these factors on information sharing between developed and developing countries. The main limitation is the moderate sample size as compared to the large number of variables contained in the study which may have limited the use of analytical tools. The study provides a better understanding of information sharing behaviours of supply chain participants in Nepal which will help firms to develop strategies accordingly to enhance information sharing.     

‘Let's share!’ The mediating role of employees' self-determination in the relationship between transformational and shared leadership and perceived knowledge sharing among peers

Building on social-exchange and self-determination theory, this study aimed to contribute to the scholarly literature on leadership and knowledge sharing by simultaneously testing how shared and transformational leadership and their interrelatedness may foster employees' perceptions of knowledge sharing behaviour among peers. Additionally, we investigated the mediating role of employees' basic psychological needs satisfaction (in terms of autonomy, competence and relatedness, respectively) as an additional explanatory mechanism to reveal how shared and transformational leadership may foster individuals' perceptions of knowledge sharing behaviour among peers. We employed PLS structural equation modelling to analyse survey data obtained from professionals in an R&D unit of a knowledge-intensive firm. We found shared leadership to be the most important factor enhancing employees' perceptions of knowledge sharing among peers, both directly and indirectly through employees' satisfaction of the need for autonomy. Transformational leadership was found to foster employees' knowledge sharing ultimately, through shared leadership and the need for autonomy satisfaction. We concluded that shared forms of leadership supplemented with transformational leadership on the part of formal leaders are important in contemporary work environments as they can foster employees' perceptions of knowledge sharing among peers and contribute towards employees' self-determination, which ultimately enhances perceptions of knowledge sharing among peers.     

Mediating role of mentoring functions on linking personality and occupational commitment in Indian organizations

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the mediating effect of mentoring on the relationship between the Five Factor Model (FFM) Personality traits and occupational commitment (OC). The study used cross-sectional survey-based research design. Data were collected from 362 managers of public and private sector organizations located in North India. The results indicated that psychosocial mentoring acts as a partial mediator for facilitating the linkage between all the FFM traits and OC. Contrary to this, career mentoring was found to partially mediate the link between only conscientiousness-OC, agreeableness-OC and emotional stability-OC. No mediating effect of career mentoring was found for personality factors of openness and extraversion. HRD practitioners are encouraged to implement train-for-trainers’ sessions for raising awareness among senior managers/mentors about the importance of psychosocial mentoring functions. This study is unique, because it is among the few to appropriately capture the mediating role of mentoring functions vis a vis the personality and OC relationship. Further, it also enriches the existing body of research on workplace mentoring and careers, especially in the South-Asian context.     

Working on professional development of faculty staff in higher education: investigating the relationship between social informal learning activities and employability

In this study, we examined how social informal learning and formal learning of faculty staff in higher education relate to their employability. Data were collected from 209 faculty staff members working at a Dutch university. Results showed that social informal learning was related to the employability of faculty staff. Further analysis revealed that especially external information seeking and acting upon feedback from colleagues and not formal learning predicted the employability of faculty staff. The finding suggests that institutes of higher education should especially foster the professional development of their faculty staff by stimulating exchange of information and seeking and using feedback with colleagues in a proactive manner.     

Should knowledge be distorted? Managers' knowledge distortion strategies and organizational learning in different environments

Organizational learning provides a sustainable competitive advantage for an enterprise facing a highly volatile environment, and managers' knowledge sharing strategies are of vital importance to organizational learning. This study systematically evaluates the effects of managers' knowledge distortion types (i.e., misrepresentation and omission), distortion levels, and distortion preferences in a formal organizational context under various environments. Multi-agent simulation results demonstrate that a slight level of managers' knowledge misrepresentation and a high level of managers' knowledge omission are beneficial in a closed system. With increasing turnover rate, both misrepresentation and omission are detrimental. Moreover, in an open system with environmental turbulence, misrepresentation is valuable to performance, while omission is neutral. In general, misrepresentation plays a leading role in the simultaneous combination of two distortion strategies. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Consignment or wholesale: Retailer and supplier preferences and incentives for compromise

We consider two independently managed parties, a retailer and a supplier, that are considering either a wholesale or a consignment contract to produce and market a single good. Both parties have an interest in reaching an agreement, but their first choice of contract type are generally not the same. We define the strength of retailer and supplier preferences for their respective choices of contract type as the ratio of their expected profits for their first choice of contract type over that for the alternative contract type. We study how uncontrollable factors as well as controllable factors affect the strength of retailer and supplier contract preferences. We develop incentive payments that can potentially be used to increase the likelihood of success in negotiating an agreement.     

Mentoring Functions: A Contemporary View of the Perceptions of Mentees and Mentors

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument for assessing mentoring based in contemporary organizational life. In the first phase of the study, 24 mentees and 24 mentors were interviewed about their mentoring experience. In-depth analysis of the interview data resulted in the development of an instrument to measure mentoring functions. In the second phase of the study, the instrument was tested for its factor structure using a large sample of 272 mentees and 228 mentors. A two-phase statistical analysis, principal components analysis with one sample followed by confirmatory factor analysis with the other, revealed eight distinct functions of mentoring. Mentees and mentors were found to share similar perceptions about the mentoring functions that occur in their relationships. The results represent a thorough attempt to define and describe mentoring in a contemporary organizational environment.     

Mentoring relationships: implications for practitioners and suggestions for future research

This review of the literature is intended to help HRD practitioners facilitate healthy mentoring relationships and better address potentially negative functions or outcomes of the mentoring process within their own organizations. This work provides a review of the social learning processes that play a role in mentoring relationships. In addition, it reviews the functions and outcomes of mentoring for individuals and organizations, as well as the characteristics of good mentors and the influence mentors have upon career choice. Finally, the implications for mentoring relationships among individuals with disabilities, minorities and women are briefly reviewed in order to provide practitioners with a sense of the breadth of individuals who may benefit from well-planned or well-implemented mentoring. This article concludes with critical comments on the current state of mentoring research. Suggestions are made for future research in order to stimulate greater study into certain aspects of mentoring.     

Building physician managers and leaders: a model

A needs assessment identified leadership, management, and interpersonal skills as training and development areas for hospital's physician executives. Training sessions were developed and occurred quarterly over a two-year period. Development strategies were designed to enhance transfer of learning from the classroom setting and incorporated personalized coaching sessions, development of a peer mentoring program, group redesign of the performance appraisal process, strategic planning, and performance feedback sessions. The comprehensiveness of the approaches taken in this program is critical to successful training and development efforts of physician executives.     

The power of mediation

There is a range of intervention strategies and procedures designed to assist parties in reaching agreement, from negotiation, over which parties have complete control, to arbitration, the process over which they have the least control. In the middle of this spectrum is mediation. Simply put, mediation is assisted negotiation. A mediator is an impartial person (or team) that works with the parties, mostly together and sometimes separately, to help them reach an agreement to resolve a dispute. The cornerstones of mediation are impartiality and confidentiality. The logic of mediation is that disputants can easily fall into many pitfalls trying to resolve a dispute without help. This article explores these common barriers to effective direct negotiations--such as overestimating the likelihood of prevailing through power, litigation, or arbitration--and presents a case study describing how a complex set of problems was resolved through mediation.     

Can good leadership be learned through business games?

This article explores the use of business games to question whether they can be used to learn good leadership. The answer comes in three parts: yes, no and maybe. By studying the use of a game to teach change management in the light of adult learning theory, the article discusses how different kinds of learning processes emerge and contribute. On the basis of qualitative interviews and observation, a case study is used to explore how the particular, didactic orchestration of a game-based learning process, together with emergent, informal learning processes, contributes to leadership learning. As participants are immersed in formal, non-formal and informal learning processes, these processes contribute to improving leadership in practice in a variety of different ways. The article concludes that (1) yes, game-based learning does contribute to teaching operational leadership in a formal manner; (2) no, in and of itself, the formal learning of games has a limited impact on leadership learning, but in combination with other didactic activities, its contribution is profound and (3) maybe, since by tapping into the extensive knowledge of other participants, games inspire informal discussions on leadership topics that are not directly relevant to the game, but are in other ways beneficial.     

Tacit Knowledge and Environmental Management

This article demonstrates tacit knowledge’s relevance in environmental management and explores how organisations can manage this knowledge. Through case studies it reveals how taking the tacit knowledge of employees into account can be particularly useful in three key areas of environmental management: the identification of pollution sources, the management of emergency situations and the development of preventive solutions. In order to take tacit environmental knowledge into account, firms must challenge the predominance of formal knowledge in the management of environmental problems and promote a climate of learning that encourages the recognition and sharing of employees’ experiences. The paper also presents a framework for the analysis of the creation, transfer and retention of tacit knowledge that is not limited to environmental knowledge management.     

A Resource‐Based View of Strategic IT Alignment: How Knowledge Sharing Creates Competitive Advantage

A critical decision problem for top management, and the focus of this study, is whether the CEO (chief executive officer) and CIO (chief information officer) should commit their time to formal planning with the expectation of producing an information technology (IT)‐based competitive advantage. Using the perspective of the resource‐based view, a model is presented that examines how strategic IT alignment can produce enhanced organizational strategies that yield competitive advantage. One hundred sixty‐one CIOs provided data using a postal survey. Results supported seven of the eight hypotheses. They showed that information intensity is an important antecedent to strategic IT alignment, that strategic IT alignment is best explained by multiple constructs which operationalize both process and content measures, and that alignment between the IT plan and the business plan is significantly related to the use of IT for competitive advantage. Study results raise questions about the effect of CEO participation, which appears to be the weak link in the process, and also about the perception of the CIO on the importance of CEO involvement. The paper contributes to our understanding of how knowledge sharing in the alignment process contributes to the creation of superior organizational strategies, provides a framework of the alignment‐performance relationship, and furnishes several new constructs.