19,427 research outputs found
Developing Attorneys for the Future: What Can We Learn From the Fast Trackers?
Leaders in law firms tend to be those attorneys who thrive in a law firm environment from the beginningâsuccessful associates who become successful partners. Later, they are asked to be the leaders of practice areas, committees and, ultimately, part of senior management. While high-performing associates may not be formally promoted to leadership positions for some time, it is important to understand what makes themâas young associatesâstand out from their peers. Who are these future leaders, and what qualities predict their advancement in a law firm environment? These are the questions we set out to explore.
To date, little empirical work exists on the characteristics and behaviors of high-potential associatesâhow to recognize them from the beginning and how to develop them. Instead, law students continue to be hired most commonly based on the law school they attended and their GPA, under the assumption that law school and GPA are related to future performance as an attorney. Transcript and resume review are typically accompanied by a series of 30-minute interviews consisting of questions that vary from candidate to candidate. Consequently, hiring decisions result from a combination of the reputation of the law school attended, GPA, and the interviewing partnersâ gut feeling
An International Study in Competency Education: Postcards from Abroad
Acknowledging that national borders need not constrain our thinking, we have examined a selection of alternative academic cultures and, in some cases, specific schools, in search of solutions to common challenges we face when we consider reorganizing American schools. A wide range of interviews and e-mail exchanges with international researchers, government officials and school principals has informed this research, which was supplemented with a literature review scanning international reports and journal articles. Providing a comprehensive global inventory of competency-based education is not within the scope of this study, but we are confident that this is a representative sampling. The report that follows first reviews the definition of competency-based learning. A brief lesson in the international vocabulary of competency education is followed by a review of global trends that complement our own efforts to improve performance and increase equitable outcomes. Next, we share an overview of competency education against a backdrop of global education trends (as seen in the international PISA exams), before embarking on an abbreviated world tour. We pause in Finland, British Columbia (Canada), New Zealand and Scotland, with interludes in Sweden, England, Singapore and Shanghai, all of which have embraced practices that can inform the further development of competency education in the United States
âMulti-directional managementâ: Exploring the challenges of performance in the World Class Programme environment
Driven by the ever-increasing intensity of Olympic competition and the âno compromise â no stone unturnedâ requirements frequently addressed by HM Government and its main agency, UK Sport, a change in culture across Olympic team landscapes is a common occurrence. With a focus on process, this paper presents reflections from eight current or recently serving UK Olympic sport Performance Directors on their experiences of creating and disseminating their vision for their sport, a vital initial activity of the change initiative. To facilitate a broad overview of this construct, reflections are structured around the visionâs characteristics and foundations, how it is delivered to key stakeholder groups, how it is influenced by these groups, the qualities required to ensure its longevity and its limitations. Emerging from these perceptions, the creation and maintenance of a shared team vision was portrayed as a highly dynamic task requiring the active management of a number of key internal and external stakeholders. Furthermore, the application of âdarkâ traits and context-specific expertise were considered critical attributes for the activityâs success. Finally, recent calls for research to elucidate the wider culture optimisation process are reinforced
Research based yet action oriented: Developing individual level enterprising competencies
This paper outlines an approach to teaching enterprising competencies in the university setting of Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand. It is characterised by two features. First, it has an experiential component in the form of developmental exercises; forms of practice which are devised by the students themselves. Second, the exercises are research-based: students study academic articles and book chapters that give clues about how to practice the various competencies. The method is inspired by Gibbâs (1993, 1998, 2002a, 2002b) ideas about simulating the essences of enterprise in the learning environment. The approach used at Massey is outlined at the end of the paper. The paper begins with offering the rationales for the course. First, it provides arguments as to why enterprising competencies are becoming increasingly important for our students. Second, it is argued why, out of three approaches to competency, the behavioural approach is deemed to be the most suitable for the approach employed at Massey.
Third, in the debate about generic versus situation specific competencies, it argues for the relevance of generic competencies. The paper then describes entrepreneurship / small business (E/SB) research on competencies, and discusses why entrepreneurship research is often of little help for âhow toâ approaches. Finally, the Massey approach is described in detail
The illusion of competency versus the desirability of expertise: Seeking a common standard for support professions in sport
In this paper we examine and challenge the competency-based models which currently dominate accreditation and development systems in sport support disciplines, largely the sciences and coaching. Through consideration of exemplar shortcomings, the limitations of competency-based systems are presented as failing to cater for the complexity of decision making and the need for proactive experimentation essential to effective practice. To provide a better fit with the challenges of the various disciplines in their work with performers, an alternative approach is presented which focuses on the promotion, evaluation and elaboration of expertise. Such an approach resonates with important characteristics of professions, whilst also providing for the essential âshades of greyâ inherent in work with human participants. Key differences between the approaches are considered through exemplars of evaluation processes. The expertise-focused method, although inherently more complex, is seen as offering a less ambiguous and more positive route, both through more accurate representation of essential professional competence and through facilitation of future growth in proficiency and evolution of expertise in practice. Examples from the literature are also presented, offering further support for the practicalities of this approach
Do Competency Frameworks Influence Business Performance? An Empirical Study of the Nigerian Banking Sector
The competency-based management system has grown to become one of the most influential HRM tools of the 21st century. However, there remains limited empirical data addressing the relationship between the adoption of a competency framework and organizational performance. The study reported upon in this paper is based within the Nigerian banking sector. A qualitative methodological approach was adopted, employing interviews with employees of the top ten high street banks in Nigeria. The result of the field data was subsequently analyzed using NVivo in order to achieve the aim of the research. The findings revealed that competency-based management frameworks are being used and that indeed they are a key management tool within the selected Nigerian banks. Importantly, the findings clearly suggest the adopted competency frameworks are having a positive impact on the banksâ performance
High altitude climbers as ethnomethodologists making sense of cognitive dissonance: ethnographic insights from an attempt to scale Mt Everest
This ethnographic study examined how a group of high altitude climbers (N = 6)drew on ethnomethodological principles (the documentary method of interpretation,
reflexivity, indexicality, and membership) to interpret their experiences of cognitive dissonance during an attempt to scale Mt. Everest. Data were collected via participant observation, interviews, and a field diary. Each data source was subjected to a content mode of analysis. Results revealed how cognitive dissonance reduction is accomplished from within the interaction between a pattern of
self-justification and self-inconsistencies; how the reflexive nature of cognitive dissonance is experienced; how specific features of the setting are inextricably
linked to the cognitive dissonance experience; and how climbers draw upon a shared stock of knowledge in their experiences with cognitive dissonance
The dialogic aspects of Mantle of the Expert pedagogy used to teach devising at NCEA Level 2 in a Year 12 classroom "I don't think it's about credits- definitely not about credits"
This inquiry sets out to gather and consider student and teacher perceptions about the affordances and constraints of using Mantle of the Expert pedagogy, to support teaching and learning, through the process of devising drama at NCEA Level in a Year 12 classroom.
Questions about the role of the teacher in a senior secondary drama classroom, and the epistemological frames used in the exploration of creative drama making formed the basis of the inquiry. The notion of a âlearning communityâ (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.34) in which everyone âincluding the teacher, is a learnerâ is identified and the idea of âshared learningâ is explored in contrast to traditional transmission models of teaching.
The case study was conducted in a North Island secondary school where teachers and students were positioned together as members of THEATRON, a fictional professional theatre company. THEATRON, commissioned by an artistic director of a national arts festival, were to develop original, devised drama for festival audiences which captured the essence of âWhat it means to be humanâ.
This qualitative study generated data from interviews with the class teacher and the students, observations of the lessons throughout the devising process and student documentation developed in both electronic and hard copy formats.
Findings from the study, considered in the light of Bakhtinâs theory of dialogism, indicated that the dialogic aspects of the core elements of the Mantle of the Expert pedagogy could provide rich opportunities for purposeful creative collaboration, through student autonomy, to develop more effectively in the performance groups
Pro-growth small businesses: learning 'architecture'
Internationally, a certain market failure has become apparent in terms of the effective engagement of small business owner-managers in business support programs, and in the wider concept of life long learning. There exists a cultural gap between support agencies and the small business sector's perceptions of the utility of formal support and learning interventions to the business performance of their business. Therefore, this paper extends knowledge and understanding within this context relative to what constitutes small business owner-managers' learning disposition, means, obstacles and
organisation to be confronted and what form of new 'architecture' needs to be designed to support learning. A theoretical framework supports the analysis of
findings from a research project based in Melbourne, Australia, which serves to illuminate pertinent issues towards informing more sensitised support interventions
with respect to pro-growth small businesses. Specifically, the attribute of a learning culture was identified as a factor contributing to growth in small businesses, and may
represent a distinguishing characteristic between effective and non-effective economic performers
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