Training and Development Commons^™

Local Workforce Development Boards: Alignment With Operational Indicators And Behavioral Characteristics, Sharon Humphreys Johnson

Dissertations

The ability of a region to remain competitively viable is dependent upon attracting new business and retaining existing businesses (Good & Strong, 2015). In many instances, regional growth depends on the workforce and the region’s ability to develop a talent pipeline of existing or accessible workers (Blakely & Leigh, 2010). The passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) increases the expectations of local workforce board leadership. The WIOA vision for Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDB) is to serve as strategic leaders and act as conveners of regional workforce system partners, stakeholders, and businesses to develop new structures for …

Cultural Moderation Of The Relationship Between Anticipated Life Role Salience And Career Decision-Making Difficulties, Emily Anne Schmidtman

Dissertations

The perceived importance of, and commitment to, work and family roles has significant implications for the career decision-making difficulty (CDMD) of undergraduate college students. Additionally, cultural variables have been shown to influence undergraduate students’ anticipated life role salience (LRS) as well as the amount of difficulty experienced in making a career decision. Given this information, the current study assessed the relationship between LRS and CDMD specifically in terms of differences that may occur within this relationship for different cultural groups. Using a sample of college students (total N = 246), an online survey was used to gather information about their …

Optimizing Workforce Performance: Perceived Differences Of Army Officer Critical Thinking Talent Across Level Of Education, Richard B. Ayers

Dissertations

The U.S. Army’s operating environment continues to become increasingly complex and unpredictable, where U.S. technological advantage continues to erode. The complexities stem from the Army’s doctrinal assumption that the future operating environment is unknown and constantly changing (Department of the Army [DA], 2014a). Diminishing technological advantage results in more reliance on soldiers’ cognitive capability, and less on high technology weapons systems (McMaster, 2015).

A review of military literature shows extensive research on the importance of Army leaders to be talented critical thinkers (Fischer, Spiker, & Riedel, 2008, 2009; Gerras, 2008; Thomas & Gentzler, 2013). Human capital literature reveals many college …

To Be Or Not To Be Satisfied: Examining Job Satisfaction Of Entry-Level Residence Life Professionals At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Evingerlean D. Blakney

Dissertations

Research on historically Black college and universities (HBCUs) as institutions of higher education is limited. There is even less scholarship that brings forth an understanding of student affairs at these institutions. A gap in the higher education, student affairs, residence life, and job satisfaction literature suggested a need for research on residence life professionals at HBCUs. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine job satisfaction of entry-level residence life professionals at HBCUs. For this study, the researcher looked for factors that contributed to overall job satisfaction and further examined the roles of both gender and public or private …

The Relationship Between University Employees’ Work Engagement And The Perception Of Their Influence On Student Integration And Retention, Janea Sims Mcdonald

Dissertations

The retention of college students is an issue that affects the student, the university, and the workforce. When a student does not graduate, they often either earn less over the period of their lifetime, or are unable to find a job. The workforce is affected because this means fewer qualified applicants to fill positions. Universities are impacted in many ways, including financially. Lower retention rates lead to less income from tuition and decreased funding from state and federal sources which base funding formulas on performance outcomes (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2014).

One way to increase the likelihood of student …

An Examination Of The Volunteer Coordinator's Influence On Church Volunteers' Intent-To-Continue At The Largest Protestant Churches, Jason Berton Golden

Dissertations

Volunteers contribute to the production of goods and services by easing the burden of the paid workforce while not increasing costs. Today’s volunteers tend to be highly trained, skilled professionals looking for a place to invest their time and skills. Churches are the largest single recipient of many volunteers’ efforts. Despite this fact, volunteerism is on the decline in churches.

Once recruited, attrition rates can climb as high as 40% in the first 12 months following training of volunteers. Therefore, the greatest challenge churches face is turnover. Not only does turnover lead to reduced production; it also incurs added expenditures …

Development Of Workforce Skills: Student Perceptions Of Mentoring In First Robotics, Katie Joan Veal Wallace

Dissertations

In today’s global economy, new workforce competencies are needed for success at both individual and societal levels. The new workforce skills extend beyond basic reading, writing, and arithmetic to include higher order processes such as critical thinking and problem solving. Technical job opportunities have grown by approximately 17%, yet the United States continues to decline in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Further, U.S. students earn average or below average test scores when compared to other developed countries. Researchers cite the need to incorporate the learning of workplace skills into secondary education curriculum, and advocates call for new teaching …

Online Communities Of Practice In The Contact Center Environment: Factors That Influence Participation, Jimmie Ray Black Jr.

Dissertations

Knowledge is a critical element of competitive advantage. More specifically, tribal knowledge developed by workers from on-the-job experiences is of significant value and is also one of the most difficult forms of knowledge to capture and leverage across the workforce. In an effort to capture, store, and share tribal knowledge, organizations have begun to adopt a concept of social learning known as communities of practice. However, low participation by community members in many organizations has resulted in mediocre results. This has been particularly evident in the contact center environment, which has its own unique culture and challenges. Without a solid …

An Assessment Of A Just-In-Time Training Intervention In A Manufacturing Organization, Barry James Wilkie

Dissertations

High Performance Work Practices (HPWP) is part of an area of human resource systems growing in interest among performance improvement experts. This research paper assesses the degree to which job-training-intervention programs, a type of HPWP, contribute to organizational performance in a manufacturing environment. The literature review reveals that while there is a growing body of evidence supporting an association between HPWP and organizational performance, limited research exists on the association. This research provides a literature review of previous studies, which show different ways that HPWP help to achieve the optimization of employees’ skill sets. The relationship between one type of …

The Impact Of A Direct Care Training Program On The Self-Efficacy Of Newly Hired Direct Care Employees At State Mental Health Facilities, Marcus Wayne Lewis

Dissertations

Self-efficacy has been shown to be an important element in the success of individuals in a variety of different settings. This research examined the impact of a two week new employee orientation training program on the general and social self-efficacy of newly hired direct care employees at state mental health facilities. The research showed that the training program did not have a statistically significant impact on the social self-efficacy of the new employees after the training or after one month on the job. The research also showed that the two week new employee orientation program did not have a statistically …

Employee Volunteer And Employer Benefits From Business-Education Partnerships As Perceived By Employee Volunteers, Evelyn Kwan Green

Dissertations

The U.S. is losing global competitiveness in its institutions, higher education, and the casino industry. An industry’s competitiveness depends on its ability to produce a highly skilled workforce, and higher education plays a key role in preparing students with skills critical to workplace success. Business and education entities form partnerships to use employee volunteerism (EV) as a student skill gaps solution and as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Currently, education entities lack a systematic approach to measure and communicate the benefits of EV to their business partners. Without accountability, education entities may risk the long-term support of business partners. …

Manufacturing Mississippi's Workforce: An Assessment Of Employability Skills As Perceived By Faculty And Senior Students Of Four Year Manufacturing Related Degree Programs, Mamie Yvette Griffin

Dissertations

A worldwide concern exists that undergraduate programs are not producing graduates with the kind of lifelong learning and professional skills needed for workplace success. Numerous research studies indicate new employees lack needed employability skills such as teamwork, decision-making, and communication.

Similarly, recent national and state findings suggest that graduates of Mississippi‟s manufacturing-related degree programs may not be fully prepared to meet the needs of manufacturers in the state. Hence, this research proposes to determine the degree to which Mississippi‟s four-year manufacturing-related degree programs address employability.

To answer this question, the present study utilizes descriptive non-experimental research to assess the perception …

The Computer Ate My Classroom: Assessing Student Interactions, Perceived Learning, And Satisfaction In Online Community College Career Technical Education Courses, Jessica Lindsey Miller Lewis

Dissertations

Workforce changes, globalization, and increasing use of technology create the need for an increased number of skilled workers. The community college system, through Career Technical Education (CTE), serves as a catalyst for skills training; however institutions must seek innovative ways in which to attract and retain students. Online learning offers flexibility in time and space, the ability to reach a larger student population, and to attract a new generation of digital learners. For these reasons, online learning enables institutions to develop a larger pool of skilled workers through online CTE courses.

Interaction is a key factor in the learning process …

Assessing The Impact Of Ethical Training On Law Enforcement Personnel, Tina L. Lee

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the opinions of police officers in regards to satisfaction with ethics training. The participants in this study were police officers in city/municipal and county law enforcement agencies. Ethics training is very important in the field o f law enforcement because of the many temptations that officers face and the tremendous amount of authority that society gives to the police. In order to investigate officer’s satisfaction with ethics training, the Ethics Training Questionnaire (ETQ) was developed. This questionnaire contained two parts. The first part was completed by police administrators, and the second part …

Development Of An Instrument To Identify The Virtues Of Expert Nursing Practice: ‘Byrd’S Nurses Ethical Sensitivity Test’ (Byrd’S Nest), Lisa Marie Byrd

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop and analyze the psychometric properties of Byrd’s Nurse’s Ethical Sensitivity Test (Byrd’s NEST). An instrument to evaluate nurses’ ethical sensitivity in practice by examining choices of action in ethical dilemmas based on nursing virtues: compassion, fidelity to trust, moral courage, justice, self-confidence, resilience, practical reasoning, and integrity (Benner, Tanner, & Chelsa, 1996; Volbrecht, 2002). Benner’s theory of skill acquisition-novice to expert was the theoretical framework for this research which surveyed for correlations between a nurse’s ethical sensitivity and educational level, years of experience, certification, and work setting. Until now, there have been …