In this paper we examine the kinds of mentoring models and practices employed in Finnish higher education and working-life to support continuous skill development, focusing especially on the working-life-centric digital mentoring of students. The theme interviews at 11 HE institutions and four enterprises were conducted as part of an eAMK project.…

Stand-alone e-learning is unlikely to change work practices. This claim contrasts with a comprehensive body of research arguing that e-learning is at least as effective as face-to-face instruction in improving work performance. Such a comparison is, however, problematic. On the one hand, it relies on the premise that face-to-face instruction is…

For years, researchers studying organizations and management have been interested in how well individuals "fit" with their work environment (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005), finding strong relationships between increased fit and positive employment outcomes, including increased performance and retention (Kristof-Brown et…

Those working in jobs not clearly defined as professions often rely on organizational signals to formulate reactions regarding their jobs and career futures. Responses from 644 project managers were used to test a hypothesized Path Reaction Performance Model. Findings suggest that the relationship between perceived career path and performance is…

While theoretical models aimed at explaining or predicting employee turnover outcomes have been developed, minimal consideration has been given to the same task regarding safety, often measured as the probability of a crash in a given time frame. The present literature review identifies four constructs from turnover literature, which are believed…

The study presents the physical environment as an emerging factor impacting training transfer and proposes to position this variable in the Baldwin and Ford (1988) model of the training transfer process. The amended model positions workplace design, one element of the physical environment, as a part of organizational context in the work…

Solution-focused applications are proposed to assist survivor employees to return to workplace homeostasis after co-workers voluntarily or involuntarily leave the organization. A model for transitional coping is presented as well as a potential case study illustrating the application of the model. Implications for the theory, practice, and…

This paper presents a comprehensive picture of informal problem solving (IPS) meetings where gatherings of workers meet around computer screens, at their desks, in doorways, and in halls to accomplish multiple work-related tasks. It attempts to uncover interactional details of informal meetings by providing a micro-analytic model of informal…

Although previous research on perception of work environment has focused on the underlying structure of the environment, perception of a specific event can indicate whether a three-dimensional model (prediction, understanding, and control) or a two-dimensional model (information and control) accounts for the individual's perception in terms of…

Noting the importance of communication to the socialization process of individuals entering organizations, this paper examines how individuals move through different communication modes and make use of different communication skills as they progress from newcomers to organizational members. To accomplish this, the paper uses aspects of…

Ways the education and training of information professionals can adapt to the rapidly changing information environment are addressed in this paper, which describes a project undertaken by King Research ("New Directions in Library and Information Science Education") to identify current and future competency requirements of librarians and…

A review of the literature on job analysis and job evaluation reveals several aspects of jobs which are important to organizations. To better explain the psychological dimensions of the work environment, three models of perceived job characteristics were compared using confirmatory factor analysis: Walsh, Taber, and Beehr's (1980) components of…

Mechanic's (1962) conceptual model of power of lower participants was empirically tested, with a focus on the relationship between chairpersons and departmental secretaries of academic units. Power was defined as the ability of a person to have access to and control over information and individuals. A questionnaire was developed that covered the…

The purpose of this paper is to develop a process model for identification and assessment of employee job performance, through motivation contracting. The model integrated various components of expectancy theories of motivation and performance contracting and is based on humanistic assumptions about the nature of people. More specifically, the…

The Piagetian perspective of adult cognitive development and adult education could have implications for how work and formal reasoning can be related to adult education programs and policy. During adolescence and adulthood, many individuals enter the cognitive period of formal operations (the last of three stages in Piaget's conceptual framework…