How business associations use interorganizational networks to achieve workforce development goals: Implications for Human Resource Development

Abstract

This study uses data from a series of comparative case studies to analyse the interorganizational networks of business associations providing workforce development services in the United States. Three aspects of the networks were of particular interest, including (a) the form the partnerships took, (b) the trade-off to involving educational or community vs. business partners in providing workforce development services and (c) the strengths of associations in brokering services to adults or youth. The findings demonstrate that business associations work in intermediary networks or provide their services directly. The conclusions suggest that human resource development professionals should work more actively with local business associations to recruit, train and provide supports for workers in US firms.     

The role of tourism in national human resource development: a Jamaican perspective

Research in the national human resource development (NHRD) field is increasingly considering unique cultural and economic conditions and the influence this may have on a number of employment-related indicators. To date, the NHRD literature has largely ignored issues related to skills training and workforce development in the tourism industry, despite the expanding nature of this dynamic service sector in many nations. This literature review study of NHRD in Jamaica examined ongoing national-level human resource development (HRD) initiatives with specific attention to the current and future impact of NHRD on the tourism industry. The results showed that governmental development plans clearly identified tourism as a key sector for economic growth to support larger economic and social development goals. Furthermore, the development of human resources in the tourism sector was seen as being of vital importance for tourism organizations and for the continued development of Jamaica. The existing NHRD literature has largely overlooked the potential influence and future role of the tourism industry to assist in education, training and development goals at the national level. Recommendations are made for additional research exploring connections between NHRD and tourism employment.     

Evaluation plan of the 6for6 research skills program for rural and remote physicians

Overwhelming issues and barriers often prevent rural and remote physicians (RRPs) from pursuing the many socially accountable research questions they encounter on a daily basis. Although research training programs can empower RRPs to rise to these challenges, there is a lack of evidence on how they should be developed and refined. At Memorial University, a faculty development program (FDP) called 6for6 has been helping RRPs surmount their research quagmires and engage in scholarship since 2014. After an initial three-year (2014-17) pilot, we prepared a detailed plan to evaluate the 6for6 research FDP for RRPs and inform future years of delivery. Using a modified Delphi method and participatory action model a group of program team members, stakeholders and evaluation experts developed an evaluation plan including a logic model and an evaluation matrix addressing five key themes. To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation plan for a research-focused FDP targeting RRPs. While this plan was developed specifically for the 6for6 FDP, our approach to its development may be useful to any institution interested in evaluating an FDP with limited resources.     

我国劳动力闲置的深层次原因及解决措施

在我国当前的经济运行过程中,产生了劳动力大量闲置的现象,其直接的原因是农业的经营方式由粗放经营向集约经营的转换及国有企业改革不断深入的结果。而深层次原因则是劳动者素质的低下,即劳动者的人力资本低,在生产活动中缺少竞争力。要解决我国劳动力大量闲置,其根本的对策应是提高劳动者的素质,提升劳动力的人力资本,使人力资源转化为人才资源。     

Commitment of Private and Public Agency Workers to Child Welfare: How Long Do They Plan to Stay?

ABSTRACT

Method: Child welfare professionals completing training to work in foster care were asked about reasons for taking their child welfare position, commitment to their agencies, and commitment to child welfare. Analyses compared responses from new public agency foster care workers (N = 100), public agency workers making lateral transfers to foster care (N = 64), and new private foster care workers (N = 105).

Results: Private agency foster care workers were less committed to their agencies and to child welfare and more likely to have taken the position because it was the only one available.

Conclusions: The practice by public child welfare of outsourcing foster care services to private agencies needs to be evaluated. This practice may not benefit children in care and may create organizational problems for agencies.     

Social work students’ professional and personal exposure to social work: an Australian experience

General career research suggests that many factors may influence how people select a career, including information about or exposure to the career. The focus of this paper is upon how exposure to a social worker personally (e.g. friend or family) or in a therapeutic capacity (e.g. received social work therapy) may influence the decision to become a social worker, when compared to other disciplines. The results showed that 63% of 64 social work students had personal and/or professional exposure to social work prior to making a career decision. When compared to other students (n?=?447) the social work students were significantly more likely to have accessed social work services (themselves or a family member). The influence of a friend who was a social worker and working with a social worker was noteworthy for mature-aged students. These results highlight that every interaction social workers have with the community provides valuable information about the profession and gives insight into social work as a career. Additionally, the results suggest that the increase in numbers of social workers and the influence of that exposure to a social worker have resulted in an increase in the use of social work services by students, and may continue to rise in the future.     

Evaluation of Occupational Health Promotion Programs

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of Corporate Health Promotion Program proliferation and to propose a methodology to determine the effectiveness of these programs from a benefit to cost perspective. A national survey of firms sponsoring health promotion activities was conducted to ascertain a variety of information. The specific goal of this study was to determine the extent to which firms were actually conducting financial analyses in order to ascertain whether their health promotion programs were generating benefits that justified continued program funding. The results of the study showed that although the concept of Corporate Health Promotion Programs is rather popular, there is very little concern on the part of the sponsoring firms for measuring the effectiveness of their programs, particularly from a financial perspective. This suggests a vulnerability insofar as those programs are concerned. If such program costs cannot be justified on some quantifiable basis, the possibility of their cancellation seems rather likely if it becomes necessary to reduce expenditures.     

Marketisation policies in different contexts: Consequences for home‐care workers in Germany,Japan and Sweden

Market‐oriented restructurings of long‐term care policies contribute significantly to the aggravation of care workers’ situations. This article focuses on the effects of broader long‐term care policy developments on market‐oriented reforms. Germany, Japan and Sweden are three countries that have introduced market‐oriented reforms into home‐based care provision embedded in distinct long‐term care policy developments. Conceptually, this article draws on comparative research on care to define the institutional dimensions of long‐term care policies. Empirically, the research is based on policy analyses, as well as on national statistics and a comparative research project on home‐care workers in the aforementioned countries. The findings reveal the mediating impact of the extension and decline of long‐term public care support and the corresponding development of the care infrastructure on both the restructuring of care work and the assessments of the care workers themselves.     

闽东劳动力转移下的农村科普图书市场走向分析

随着我国农村城市化进程的发展,大量农村劳动力向非农业产业转移,对我国图书市场的消费造成影响,农村科普图书市场走向发生了变化。作者通过对福建省宁德市及周边县市的调查,了解到目前农村图书市场中经济知识、建筑装璜、农产品及手工业加工等类别的图书逐渐取代农技书,并表现出季节性等一系列销售特征,同时针对农村图书市场的变化,提出了相应的对策。     

Life after work: older Australians' experiences of early exit from the workforce

Little is known about the experience of those in the baby boom cohort who are outside the labour market. Understanding their experience has the potential to inform policy strategies to support older people to remain longer in the workforce. Using in‐depth interview data from 26 participants, this paper examines the reasons people aged between 50 and 64 years give for being not‐employed, how they perceive it affects their health, how socioeconomic characteristics shape their experience and what would entice them back into paid work. Participants' main reasons for being not‐employed included: feeling financially able and ready to exit, feeling unhappy about workplace reorganisations, disability, or their partner's retirement or ill‐health. The reasons given and the degree to which they had planned to exit the workforce affected their willingness and capacity to consider returning. Key determinants of participants' health and wellbeing after stopping paid work were the extent to which they had planned their exit and the status of their health and wealth at the time of their exit. The paper concludes there is some scope for increasing the number of employed older people if policy makers attend to workforce health and wellbeing as crucial to workforce retention policy development.