Understanding the trainers´ view of the effectiveness of continuing professional training: the case of public servants training

There is empirical evidence that the research findings on training effectiveness are hardly applied in organizations; one possible reason is that these findings do not reach trainers in a way that could help them make decisions about the design and implementation of training programs. This gap could be explained by the fact that most of those studies have primary been focused on the trainees´ perception of what factors affect the outcomes of training, while the trainers´ perspective on it has barely been studied. The goal of this study was to explore the trainers´ view on the efficacy of training, in terms of transfer outcomes; for this purpose, 300 trainers participating in the implementation of the training schemes addressed to Public Administration employees in Andalusia (Spain) were surveyed. The results showed that the trainers´ perception of training effectiveness was influenced by the characteristics of the current culture of continuing professional training in this organizational sector: an individualistic and centralized conception of training and the absence of the sense of responsibility for training outcomes. Furthermore, five conceptions of effective training were detected: one focused on ensuring that the design of the training event satisfies the trainees, other based on the use of workplace as a learning space, the third concept is concerned about accountability for training results, a fourth focused on addressing the organizational demands and the last reflecting an ecological conception of training effectiveness. It is concluded that research on training effectiveness should be more aligned with the trainers´ concerns if research findings are to be used by practitioners and, thus, they can help transform the culture and practices of employees training.

Dominante motivaționale pentru performanță și satisfacție în muncă în mediul militar

The aims of this study is to capture the relationship between motivational sources (typology proposed by Leonard, Beauvais and Scholl, 1999), achievement motivation (Schuler, Thornton and Frintrup, 2000) and job satisfaction (Spector and Lamond, 2002) in order to identify those motivational features that can help to improve job performance and job satisfaction in an organizational environment affected by nowadays economic crisis. There are some general rules which apply to everyone, but most people are usually motivated by what they perceive as rewards and there are different ways to get them committed and motivated. An evolving socio-economic context creates prerequisites for continuous readjustments of strategies to motivate employees in order to obtain job performance and job satisfaction. The results of this study, based on data collected from JOO subjects who work in the Romanian public institution allowed us to approach motivation as a process and to diagnose and plan a new organizational strategy for improving job performance, job satisfaction and commitment in this particular organizational sector.

Dominante motivaționale pentru performanță și satisfacție în muncă în mediul militar

The aims of this study is to capture the relationship between motivational sources (typology proposed by Leonard, Beauvais and Scholl, 1999), achievement motivation (Schuler, Thornton and Frintrup, 2000) and job satisfaction (Spector and Lamond, 2002) in order to identify those motivational features that can help to improve job performance and job satisfaction in an organizational environment affected by nowadays economic crisis. There are some general rules which apply to everyone, but most people are usually motivated by what they perceive as rewards and there are different ways to get them committed and motivated. An evolving socio-economic context creates prerequisites for continuous readjustments of strategies to motivate employees in order to obtain job performance and job satisfaction. The results of this study, based on data collected from JOO subjects who work in the Romanian public institution allowed us to approach motivation as a process and to diagnose and plan a new organizational strategy for improving job performance, job satisfaction and commitment in this particular organizational sector.

ParticipACTION after 5 years of relaunch: a quantitative survey of Canadian organizational awareness and capacity regarding physical activity initiatives

Introduction ParticipACTION is a Canadian physical activity communications and social marketing organization relaunched in 2007. This study assesses the capacity of Canadian organizations to adopt, implement, and promote physical activity initiatives. The four objectives were to compare findings from baseline (2008) and follow-up (2013) with respect to: (1) awareness of ParticipACTION; (2) organizational capacity to adopt, implement and promote physical activity initiatives; (3) potential differences in capacity based on organizational size, sector, and mandate; and (4) assess perceptions of ParticipACTION five years after relaunch. Methods In this cross-sectional study, representatives from local, provincial/territorial, and national organizations completed an online survey assessing capacity to adopt, implement, and promote physical activity. Descriptive statistics and one-way analyses of variance were conducted to examine the objectives. Results Response rate for opening an email survey invitation and consenting to participate was 40.6% (685/1688) and 540 surveys were completed. Awareness of ParticipACTION increased from 54.6% at baseline to 93.9% at follow-up (Objective 1). Findings at both baseline and follow-up reflected good organizational capacity to adopt, implement and promote physical activity (Objective 2) although some varied by organizational sector and mandate (Objective 3). Most respondents reported that ParticipACTION provided positive leadership (65.3%), but there was less agreement regarding ParticipACTION’s facilitation of infrastructure (44.0%) or organizational will/motivation (47.1%)(Objective 4). Conclusion Canadian organizations continue to report having good capacity to adopt, implement, and promote physical activity. There was no discernible change in capacity indicators five years after ParticipACTION’s relaunch although its broader contribution to the physical activity sector was endorsed.

The Influence of Workplace Spirituality on Organisational Commitment among Public Sector Employees

Spirituality in organizational sector is quite different from its traditional meaning. In organizational sector, spirituality means the work ethics or how the employees value their job and their workplace. Although many studies conducted in the area of spirituality and its relation to organization motivation, culture, leadership etc, very few studies have been conducted to find out the relationship of organizational spirituality and organizational commitment, especially in India. In this regard the present study was planned to find out the relationship of organizational spirituality and organizational commitment among employees from different age group working in Government jobs in Delhi Municipal Corporation. A total of 120 samples was selected using purposive sampling technique for the study. The study included Organizational Commitment Questionnaire by Meyer & Allen (1990) and Spirituality at Work Scale by Kinjerski, & Skrypnek,. (2006b). The results of the study satisfied to the three hypotheses formulated such as- the first hypothesis: relationship exists between spirituality and organizational commitment (r=0.35) for the age group 25 to 35 years of old whereas the correlation is (r=0.60) among the male participants from the age group 36 to 59 years of age. This also satisfies the second hypothesis that: increase with age will increase the spirituality and organizational commitment among the employees. Similarly the third hypothesis: male and female participants are different in their workplace spirituality and commitment attributes in organizational sector. From the study it can be concluded that employees with increased age are more spiritual and committed towards their organization than to the lower age group people, which might be due to the job loss or few chances for job turnover.

The Role of User Ownership and Positive User Attitudes in the Successful Adoption in Information Systems within NHS Community Trusts

The factors that influence the ultimate level of success or failure of systems development projects have received considerable attention in the academic literature. However, despite the existence of a ‘best practice’ literature many projects still fail. The record of the National Health Service has been particularly poor in this respect. The research reported in this paper proposes that two additional factors; user ownership and positive user attitudes warrant further development and investigation. The current study investigated these two factors in a homogenous organizational sector, Community NHS Trusts, using a common type of information system, in order to eliminate the potentially confounding influences of sector and system. A multiple case-study design incorporating five Community Healthcare Trusts was utilized. The key results from the analysis indicated that both user ownership and positive user attitudes were important mediating variables that were crucial to the success of a CIS. In addition, it was also identified that the adoption of best practice variables had a dual role, directly influencing the level of perceived success but also facilitating the development of user ownership and positive user attitudes. These results will be of particular interest to practising IM&T managers in the NHS and also to the wider academic research community.

The Role of User Ownership and Positive User Attitudes in the Successful Adoption of Information Systems within NHS Community Trusts

The factors that influence the ultimate level of success or failure of systems development projects have received considerable attention in the academic literature. However, despite the existence of a ‘best practice’ literature many projects still fail. The record of the National Health Service has been particularly poor in this respect. The research reported in this paper proposes that two additional factors; user ownership and positive user attitudes warrant further development and investigation. The current study investigated these two factors in a homogenous organizational sector, Community NHS Trusts, using a common type of information system, in order to eliminate the potentially confounding influences of sector and system. A multiple case-study design incorporating five Community Healthcare Trusts was utilized. The key results from the analysis indicated that both user ownership and positive user attitudes were important mediating variables that were crucial to the success of a CIS. In addition, it was also identified that the adoption of best practice variables had a dual role, directly influencing the level of perceived success but also facilitating the development of user ownership and positive user attitudes. These results will be of particular interest to practising IM&T managers in the NHS and also to the wider academic research community.