Going beyond operational efficiency in HR using IT – A Literature Review of Human Resources Information Systems

Leading academics claim that the management of human resources will be most critical in gaining competitive advantage.Today, the human resources departments (HR) are transforming themselves from an administrative cost-center to an internalpartner delivering additional business value. In this transformation process, information technology (IT) could play a keyrole. Therefore, this paper aims to unfold both the current state of knowledge concerning the value contribution ofinformation systems (IS) for the HR function and approaches that go even beyond operational efficiency. Reviewing nearly8,000 articles, published in the proceedings of eight major IS conferences reveals that in total 35 articles exclusively dealwith the topic of human resources information systems (HRIS) but only very few research approaches show, how HRIScould help to go beyond operational efficiency. Furthermore, the literature analysis identifies that approaches dealing with theIT support for HR planning processes are completely missing so far

Employers\u27 Support of the Use of E-Portfolios by Job Applicants

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which employers support the use of e-portfolios by job applicants and attempted to answer the following additional questions: (1) What e-portfolio features do employers prefer? (2) What eportfolio delivery systems do employers prefer? and (3) What are types of companies prefer that applicants use e-portfolios when applying for a job? A sample of 110 business, government, and educational institution recruiters were surveyed and a 31.8% return rate was realized. The findings indicate that less than a half of employers support the use of e-portfolios by job applicants. They prefer that e-portfolios contain the following features: resumes, descriptions of employment experiences, descriptions of internship experiences, and references. Employers prefer that e-portfolios be delivered through an Internet link. Finance and Insurance companies most often support the use of job application e-portfolios

The use of ePortfolio in support of lifelong learning and employability

In un contesto socio-economico come quello odierno, caratterizzato da forte instabilità dei mercati e dalla flessibilizzazione dei percorsi biografici e di carriera, temi quali apprendimento permanente, occupabilità e riconoscimento degli apprendimenti risultano cruciali. Tra gli strumenti individuati dalla ricerca educativa per favorire le transizioni lavorative e il riconoscimento delle competenze è riservata una crescente attenzione all’ePortfolio, strumento di raccolta sistematica di evidenze o artefatti (artifacts) che vengono caricati in uno spazio virtuale per il quale non si può prescindere dal processo di riflessione che viene messo in atto dal soggetto che ne fa uso. In relazione alle finalità suddette, anche in Italia si è sviluppato recentemente interesse per l’ePortfolio e non solo in riferimento all’ambito degli insegnanti, nel quale l’uso di tale strumento è obbligatorio per i neoassunti; non mancano infatti esperienze e la messa a punto di modelli di ePortfolio per il mondo del lavoro in generale. L'obiettivo principale della ricerca di dottorato qui presentata è stato quello di esplorare se, in quale misura e a quali condizioni l'ePortfolio possa favorire lo sviluppo personale e professionale, da un lato favorendo una maggiore consapevolezza delle proprie risorse nei soggetti in transizione e dall’altro garantendo una maggiore visibilità delle stesse nei confronti di potenziali selezionatori e/o datori di lavoro, con la finalità di elaborare delle linee guida di ePortfolio per le transizioni professionali. Il disegno di ricerca si è articolato in più fasi: una revisione della letteratura sul tema oggetto della trattazione seguendo la metodologia della rassegna sistematica per assicurare una maggiore attendibilità ai risultati di sintesi di più studi empirici già pubblicati e una maggiore validità interna, l’analisi di modelli ed esperienze internazionali di ePortfolio di presentazione al mondo del lavoro e la realizzazione di uno studio di caso multiplo nel contesto italiano su tre dei modelli analizzati.The last 50 years have been marked by profound changes in economics, geopolitics, technology, society and the environment. In education, many authors underline the need for individuals to learn lifelong; otherwise they risk being excluded from the so-called "knowledge society." Besides, in order to participate actively in the world of work, people are supposed to be well aware of their own limits and resources. To do this, they may need new pedagogical opportunities to learn key competencies, such as learning to learn and to develop self-reflexivity in a perspective of lifelong learning. Internationally the interest in ePortfolio is growing for the role that it seems to play in fostering the skills needed in a knowledge-based society, addressing not just students but also workers-citizens with a lifelong learning, inclusive perspective. Furthermore ePortfolios have been used in several contexts in order to develop employability and self-awareness and to showcase the effective skills to prospective employers. Many authors assume that the constituent elements of the ePortfolio, such as reflexivity, capitalization and transferability of skills, can effectively promote employability by increasing the job seekers’ awareness about their own skills acquired in different contexts (formal, non-formal, informal) and by giving the employer more information for selection purposes. The aim of the research was to explore whether, to what extent and under which conditions ePortfolio can be a tool in support of job transitions, on the one hand promoting awareness in job seekers’ own resources, on the other hand allowing the transparency of these towards employers. The research design contemplated a systematic review of literature, the analysis of presentation ePortfolio projects, and a multiple-case study on Italian ePortfolios. The research results allowed us to identify possible important aspects to be considered for an ePortfolio for job transitions in the Italian context