Improving Career Development in Students by Developing Job Analysis Skills

One of the main goals of business school education is to prepare graduates for employment after graduation. However, many managers complain about the lack of communication skills developed in many graduates seeking employment in the job market (Abraham & Karns, 2009). This paper describes the experiential exercise designed to help students complete the process of job analysis to be used for hiring or other Human Resource functions. Besides learning the process for describing jobs, students discover external resources that can help them develop more effective resumes and interview skills. Results from a student satisfaction survey of this exercise and pre-test/post-test data are provided to indicate learning in the job analysis process

The individual, the source, and the context: an investigation of antecedents and consequences of feedback seeking behavior

In the last twenty years, researchers have examined why individuals may proactively seek performance feedback in the workplace. Since Ashford and Cummings\u27 (1983) seminal article, situational and individual difference variables have predominantly been examined to predict how often employees will seek feedback. One situational variable that has been researched but not sufficiently examined is the feedback context. A public or a private feedback context considers whether the presence of an audience inhibits or facilitates feedback seeking behaviors. This dissertation explores the role of the feedback context by developing a conceptual model to determine how frequently employees may seek feedback in a public or private context. Variables used in previous feedback seeking research are incorporated in this conceptual model. These individual difference and situational variables include perceived value of public or private feedback, goal orientation, public self-consciousness, self-esteem, external feedback propensity, and tolerance for ambiguity. Also explored are the relationships between public or private feedback seeking and individual outcomes such as career success, organizational citizenship behaviors, and individual performance. One hundred forty-eight employees participated in a field study to determine whether individuals vary in their feedback seeking behaviors. Results of this study show some significant differences in individuals seeking public or private feedback. The results also support some significant relationships between public or private feedback seeking and individual outcomes such as extrinsic career success. Surprisingly, the relationships between public and private feedback seeking and organizational citizenship behaviors and individual performance were not as predicted

Spouses Need Not Apply: The Legality of Antinepotism and No-Spouse Rules

Over the last three decades, there have been significant increases in labor force participation by women. Initially, this increase was fueled by the entry of single, childless women into the labor market. Married women primarily dedicated their efforts to home care concerns. However, in recent years, a new trend has emerged as the levels of market work undertaken by married women have increased relative to those of unmarried women

How to Compare Apples to Oranges Balancing Internal Candidates’ Job-performance Data with External Candidates’ Selection-test Results

It has been widely accepted that past performance is a good predictor of future performance. The exact strength of that relationship, however, has been unclear. Knowing the predictive power of past performance on future performance is particularly important for employers who make hiring decisions based in part on internal candidates’ performance record. Generally, some of the internal candidates’ performance would be measured at different points of time (e.g., 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months ago). Others under consideration will be external candidates, whose employment information is derived from selection devices such as structured interviews and intelligence tests. This paper uses a meta-analysis to examine 20 previously published studies on the stability of job performance over time. It provides an estimate of the relationship between existing performance measures and future performance, and models the nature of this relationship as a function of the elapsed time between measures. The findings show conclusively that, in general, past performance is, indeed, a good predictor of future performance for a variety of job types (i.e., exempt, nonexempt, and those that are evaluated subjectively). Using a hypothetical selection scenario, this report also demonstrates how that information can be used to compare multiple internal and external candidates

Exploring Touch as a Positive Workplace Behavior

Whereas most research has focused on the negative aspects of touch in the workplace (i.e. sexual harassment), this study focuses upon the positive use of touch. In an effort to explain individual differences in the use of workplace touch, three sequential studies are used to introduce the concepts of workplace touch self-efficacy and workplace touch initiation anxiety. In Study 1 we develop scales to assess the constructs. Study 2 provides an initial examination of the construct validity of the measures developed in Study 1. Results of Study 3 indicate that supervisor reports of touch self-efficacy and physiological touch anxiety are related to subordinate reports of supervisor touch. Additionally, results show that supervisor use of touch is related to several indicators of supervisor social effectiveness. Finally, sex of the supervisor appears to play a role in workplace touch as female supervisors report less touch anxiety, greater touch self-efficacy and more use of touch than male supervisors

Development of 2nd generation aminomethyl spectinomycins that overcome native efflux in Mycobacterium abscessus

Mycobacterium abscessus (Mab), a nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) species, is an emerging pathogen with high intrinsic drug resistance. Current standard-of-care therapy results in poor outcomes, demonstrating the urgent need to develop effective antimycobacterial regimens. Through synthetic modification of spectinomycin (SPC), we have identified a distinct structural subclass of N-ethylene linked aminomethyl SPCs (eAmSPCs) that are up to 64-fold more potent against Mab over the parent SPC. Mechanism of action and crystallography studies demonstrate that the eAmSPCs display a mode of ribosomal inhibition consistent with SPC. However, they exert their increased antimicrobial activity through enhanced accumulation, largely by circumventing efflux mechanisms. The N-ethylene linkage within this series plays a critical role in avoiding TetV-mediated efflux, as lead eAmSPC 2593 displays a mere fourfold susceptibility improvement against Mab ΔtetV, in contrast to the 64-fold increase for SPC. Even a minor shortening of the linkage by a single carbon, akin to 1st generation AmSPC 1950, results in a substantial increase in MICs and a 16-fold rise in susceptibility against Mab ΔtetV. These shifts suggest that longer linkages might modify the kinetics of drug expulsion by TetV, ultimately shifting the equilibrium towards heightened intracellular concentrations and enhanced antimicrobial efficacy. Furthermore, lead eAmSPCs were also shown to synergize with various classes of anti-Mab antibiotics and retain activity against clinical isolates and other mycobacterial strains. Encouraging pharmacokinetic profiles coupled with robust efficacy in Mab murine infection models suggest that eAmSPCs hold the potential to be developed into treatments for Mab and other NTM infections

An Examination of Feedback Seeking Behaviors, the Feedback Source and Career Success

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether individuals seeking feedback from either a supervisor or co-worker relate to intrinsic and extrinsic career success. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 168 employees in three different organizations in the southeastern United States. Moderated multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – Results support interactions of feedback seeking and feedback source (both supervisor and co-worker) to predict extrinsic career success. There was no support for the proposed interaction of feedback seeking and feedback source to predict intrinsic career success. Practical implications – The results support the need for organizations to focus on developing feedback environments that encourage feedback-seeking behaviors. Individuals that desire more feedback and take initiative within their careers by seeking feedback may have positive outcomes related to extrinsic career success. Originality/value – The study is one of the few studies to evaluate feedback-seeking behaviors in relation to individual outcomes such as career success. The findings support proactive behaviors in relation to extrinsic career success and continue the call for more research related to proactive behaviors in the workplace

Predicting public or private feedback-seeking behaviors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the presence of an audience inhibits or facilitates feedback-seeking behaviors. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 148 employees completed a survey questionnaire regarding feedback-seeking behaviors. Perceived value of public and private feedback, public self-consciousness (PSC), and tolerance for ambiguity were used to predict public or private feedback-seeking behaviors. Hierarchical multiple regression were used to test the hypotheses. Findings – Statistically significant relationships were found between perceived value of public feedback, PSC, tolerance for ambiguity, and public feedback seeking. Subsequently, statistically significant relationships were only found between perceived value of private feedback, tolerance for ambiguity, and private feedback seeking. Research limitations/implications – Future research should focus on how individuals respond to less privacy in the workplace in regards to feedback-seeking behaviors. Practical implications – Many more companies are moving to open office spaces and cubicles which suggest there is less privacy for employees to seek feedback. This study found that employees do make a distinction when seeking feedback in a public or private context. Originality/value – This is the first field study to identify specific antecedents relating to seeking feedback in a public or private context. With this study, the feedback context becomes another important variable in understanding how an individual\u27s feedback environment may relate to feedback seeking

Improving Individual Learning for Trainees with Low Conscientiousness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of situational factors in improving learning for trainees with low conscientiousness. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 117 employees completed a survey questionnaire in the context of a training intervention. Perceptions of conscientiousness, legitimacy, and accountability were used to predict employee learning in a training context. Moderated multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – Results support interactions of conscientiousness and perceived accountability to predict learning such that learners who are low in conscientiousness showed higher levels of learning when perceived accountability was considered strong than when perceived accountability was considered weak. There was no support for the proposed interaction of conscientiousness and perceived legitimacy to predict learning. Practical implications – Results support the view that organizations should implement formal controls to increase perceived accountability and improve learning. Trainees with low conscientiousness had higher levels of learning in situations with strong accountability perceptions. Originality/value – The study is one of the few to evaluate perceived accountability in a field study, whereas most previous research has evaluated this concept in lab experiments. Therefore, the findings support the wide range of perceived accountability that exists in most organizations. The results imply the need for more accountability controls within an organization to increase learning in a training context