Human Resource Development Quarterly

Issue Number

Latest documents

• Goal orientation, critical reflection, and unlearning: An individual‐level study

  Although individual unlearning is significant for personal growth and development, few studies have investigated this process quantitatively. The main goal of this study was to examine the antecedents of individual unlearning in terms of goal orientations and reflective activities using survey data from 271 employees of Japanese organizations (including municipal government employees, human resource development [HRD] trainers from a consulting firm, and hospital nurses). The results indicated that learning goal orientation had an indirect effect on unlearning through reflection and critical reflection as well as through critical reflection only. Performance goal orientation also had an indirect effect on unlearning through reflection and, subsequently, through critical reflection. The findings suggest that critical reflection plays a key role in linking goal orientations with individual unlearning. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

• What imposters risk at work: Exploring imposter phenomenon, stress coping, and job outcomes

  Imposter phenomenon (IP) has traditionally been linked to indicators of psychological well‐being with fewer studies examining the impact on work outcomes. Using conservation of resources (COR) theory, we examined how imposter phenomenon as a personal demand contributed to emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction among a sample of university faculty (N = 310). Our results suggest that individuals who experience high levels of IP deplete critical resources needed to avoid psychological strain in part because of their use of avoidant coping strategies, and in how their experience of emotional exhaustion contributes to low job satisfaction. That is, avoidant coping partially mediated the imposter–emotional exhaustion relationship, and the imposter–job satisfaction relationship is fully and serially mediated through avoidant coping and emotional exhaustion. To help combat imposter feelings and enhance job outcomes, we suggest the use of learning and development interventions as active coping approaches (e.g., training, coaching, and mentoring) geared at correcting how imposters attribute success and failures, increase social support, and normalize the imposter experience.

• Current status and promising directions for research on the learning organization

  This article examines the state of research on the learning organization in the field of HRD and future directions that hold promise for enriching our understanding of organizational learning and the learning organization. The article differentiates these two streams of research and explores areas where one body of research may be useful to the other. The article draws heavily on studies using the Dimensions of a Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ©). Emerging work testing cross‐cultural validity and levels of analysis, as well as social network analyses, shows promise in deepening our understanding of the construct. Finally, a case is made for the need for studies of learning organization interventions in order to continue to test the usefulness of the construct of a learning organization for HRD practitioners.

• Veteran as leader: The lived experience with U.S. Army leader development

  Each year at least $50 billion is spent globally on leadership development—more than any other training and development program. Managers are concerned about the leadership shortage faced by their organizations and have been aggressive in their attempts to address the issue. These same organization leaders argue that the leadership and teamwork skills possessed by U.S. military veterans are highly desirable. This article presents findings from a phenomenological study that examined how U.S. Army veterans experienced leader development during their term of service. A purposive sample of 10 lower enlisted Army veterans completed a pre–military leadership autobiography and a face‐to‐face interview. Four primary themes emerged: (a) consistent first Army experiences, (b) observed leadership, (c) performing is essential, and (d) we are all leaders despite not understanding the process. This article contributes to the field of human resource development by discussing the Army leader development program as experienced by veterans and offering nonmilitary organizations a progressive leadership development methodology based on Army training.

• HRD in SMEs: A research agenda whose time has come
• Issue Information
• Information for Contributors
• A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Action: Illustrations of the Mediated Discourse Analysis Method

  This article provides an introduction into the innovative use of the methodological approach of Mediated Discourse Analysis (MDA) and illustrates this with examples from an interventionist insider action research study. An overview of the method, including its foundation and association with the analysis of practice and how it can be situated within a reflexive ethnographic and critical realist stance, is presented. It offers samples of findings and analysis for each of the different aspects of method, structured by a set of heuristic questions, as well as an example showing the possibilities of theory development. The article constructs and shows an analytical pathway for HRD researchers to use MDA and concludes with a discussion about the advantages of utilizing MDA, in terms of theory and practice, as well as the practical issues in conducting an MDA study. The implication for the HRD research community is that MDA is a new, innovative, and germane approach for analyzing HRD practice within organizational settings.

• Publishing Mixed Methods Research: Thoughts and Recommendations Concerning Rigor
• A Supervisors' Perspective on Their Role in Transfer of Training

  The literature has indicated that support of the supervisor is critical for employees to transfer the competences developed during training to their job. However, little is known about which specific supervisor behaviors and attitudes enhance transfer of training. An earlier systematic literature review demonstrated the multidimensionality of supervisor support and discerned 24 categories. The aim of this empirical study is to validate this multidimensional framework and to discover what supervisor support means in practice by exploring how supervisors take up their role in transfer of training. The present study reports on a qualitative study in which 16 supervisors were interviewed about how they experience and display support in training transfer. Findings show that the majority of the 24 categories of specific supervisor support are provided in practice. However, it appears that, particularly, involvement in training selection, coaching learning and transfer, and participation in training characterize the role of the supervisor in transfer of training. The findings furthermore reveal 83 specific approaches, strategies, actions, and attitudes that supervisors report to use to enact each particular category of support for transfer of training.

Featured documents

• Exploring Different Operationalizations of Employee Engagement and Their Relationships With Workplace Stress and Burnout

  Many empirical studies of employee engagement show positive relationships with desirable work‐related outcomes, yet a consistent understanding of the construct remains elusive (Saks & Gruman, 2014). We propose that this lack of clarity is leading to an increased risk that employee engagement is...

• Human Resource Development Practices and Employee Engagement: Examining the Connection With Employee Turnover Intentions

  The relationship between how an employee perceives support for participation in human resource development (HRD) practices, engagement, and turnover intent has been underrepresented in the literature. Using social exchange theory as a guiding framework, this research sought to better understand the ...

• Perceived Managerial and Leadership Effectiveness Within South Korean and British Private Companies: A Derived Etic Comparative Study

  This derived etic cross‐case/cross nation comparative study explored the extent to which behavioral indicators of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness, as perceived and judged by managers and non‐managerial employees in South Korean private sector companies, are different (local/context...

• Servant Leadership and Work Engagement: The Contingency Effects of Leader–Follower Social Capital

  Drawing from research on work engagement, contingent leadership, and social capital, the authors investigate the relationship between servant leadership and work engagement, as well as how this relationship might be moderated by leader–follower social capital. Data captured from 263 employees of...

• A Supervisors' Perspective on Their Role in Transfer of Training

  The literature has indicated that support of the supervisor is critical for employees to transfer the competences developed during training to their job. However, little is known about which specific supervisor behaviors and attitudes enhance transfer of training. An earlier systematic literature...

• Toward a British Taxonomy of Perceived Managerial and Leadership Effectiveness

  A long‐standing problem in management research has been the lack of agreement about the specific managerial behaviors that are most closely associated with effective management practice and leadership practice. The study reports the results of a qualitative multiple cross‐case and cross‐sector...

• Boredom at Work and Job Monotony: An Exploratory Case Study within the Catering Sector

  This article presents an exploratory study that examines workplace boredom in monotonous catering‐sector jobs. It investigates whether boredom is associated with monotonous tasks and explores strategies for minimizing it. Data were collected from multiple sources that included observation, company...

• Job Preferences and Expectations of Disabled People and Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises in Poland: Implications for Disabled People's Professional Development

  In spite of general positive attitudes of employers toward disabled people, there are persistently low employment rates for this demographic. One possible explanation is that there has been insufficient adjustment of needs and job preferences to suit disabled people and demands of employers. The...

• An Exploration of Differences in Content and Processes Underlying Reflection on Challenging Experiences at Work

  While the use of structured reflection in some form is common in management, education, the military, and health care, little is known about existing differences in reflection. We collected exploratory data around the nature of differences in the content and process of reflection. By asking...

• Quality‐Related HR Practices, Organizational Ethics, and Positive Work Attitudes: Implications for HRD

  Existing research suggests that human resource (HR) practices and corporate ethics, both of which are orchestrated through human resource development (HRD), enhance employees' work attitudes. Consequently, this study examined the degree to which employees' perception of organizational ethics...