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1 – 10 of 111Ashokkumar Manoharan, Christina Scott-Young and Anthony McDonnell
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the talent challenges faced by hospitality organisations. This paper aims to propose a new concept – industry talent branding – which, is argued…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the talent challenges faced by hospitality organisations. This paper aims to propose a new concept – industry talent branding – which, is argued, offers industry stakeholders the opportunity to reduce such issues through working more collaboratively and strategically to magnify the pool in which individual organisations compete for talent.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a conceptual framework of industry talent branding, based on brand equity theory, signalling theory and the employer branding literature.
Findings
Industry talent branding opens a potentially new stream of research on how talent attraction and retention issues may be addressed. The authors propose that there is merit in moving beyond the organisational-level phenomenon of employer branding to industry talent branding through articulating a broader collaborative and strategic agenda to increase and widen the talent pool available to organisations.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed framework offers the hospitality industry and its encompassing stakeholders a means to adopt a more proactive, collective and strategic approach to address long-standing talent challenges.
Originality/value
This paper combines brand equity and signalling theories to develop the concept of industry talent branding, defined as a strategically curated, yet realistic impression of the employee value proposition (i.e. the benefits and rewards received by employees in return for their work performance) available within the industry, that by design will sustainably attract new employees into the industry and retain existing talent.
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Kieran M. Conroy, Anthony McDonnell and Katrin Holzleitner
The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific forms of training and support that individuals on short-term international assignments (SIAs) receive. It further explores…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific forms of training and support that individuals on short-term international assignments (SIAs) receive. It further explores issues such as short notice prior to departure and how this impacts the type of training and support compared to what the extant literature on expatriates intimates. Scholars and practitioners both agree that the increasing deployment of individuals on SIAs presents significant challenges that have not yet been met with the development of appropriate organisational policies and practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on in-depth exploratory qualitative interviews with a sample of German assignees, the paper is abductive in nature with semi-structured interviews analysed through thematic based analysis. The data analysis identifies the need for more tailored training and support through formal and informal mechanisms, developed in pre-departure and post-arrival contexts.
Findings
The paper makes key contributions through providing much needed empirical evidence on the training and support short-term assignees receive and in so doing we identify specific forms of training and supports deemed relevant from the perspective of individuals on SIAs. Given the inherent time constraints for SIAs, the significance of informal support, in both pre-departure and post-arrival contexts is especially emphasised.
Originality/value
The paper is one of the first empirical pieces of work to explicitly consider the specific forms of training and support that SIAs consider important. The authors answer calls for greater consideration into the significance of developing a more tailored and strategic approach to managing SIAs as a specific form of an international assignee.
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Brendan Boyle, Rebecca Mitchell, Anthony McDonnell, Narender Sharma, Kumar Biswas and Stephen Nicholas
This paper explores the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment criteria and feedback with a view to aiding student learning. The paper untangles three guiding principles as mechanisms to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment criteria and feedback with a view to aiding student learning. The paper untangles three guiding principles as mechanisms to enhance the effectiveness of assessment and feedback through overcoming the inherent challenges which stem from tacit judgement during assessment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies a realistic evaluation methodology, with a framework for assessment and feedback consisting of three principles – Means, Opportunity and Motivation (MOM). Through in-depth interviews with undergraduate and postgraduate management students the paper identifies how and when the means, opportunity and motivation principles impact student learning through assessment and the utility of the feedback received on their learning.
Findings
The findings in the paper illustrate that students do not always understand the feedback they receive on their learning because they do not fully understand the criteria to which it refers due to the tacit dimensions of assessment. The findings substantiate the proposition that effective assessment processes must ensure that students have the means, opportunity and motivation to use feedback and to understand the criteria, a central component of which is understanding tacit dimensions of assessment.
Practical implications
The paper deciphers three practical implications for instructors related to (1) teaching, (2) course and program design and (3) the nature of the feedback instructors should provide.
Originality/value
While prior scholarship has flagged the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment and feedback, this paper identifies when and how the means, opportunity and motivation principles are manifested in the process of making the tacit components of assessment codified and actionable, a critical process in developing expert learners.
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Stefan Jooss, Anthony McDonnell, Ralf Burbach and Vlad Vaiman
To identify, develop and retain talent, an important first step is to ensure that key stakeholders in the talent management (TM) process have a shared view of what is meant by…
Abstract
Purpose
To identify, develop and retain talent, an important first step is to ensure that key stakeholders in the talent management (TM) process have a shared view of what is meant by talent within the organisation. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise how talent is defined in the context of the hospitality industry and to examine the degree of (mis)alignment among corporate and business unit leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a qualitative approach consisting of 73 interviews with stakeholders at corporate and business unit levels in three multinational hotel corporations. In addition, documents were collected and analysed to support the interview data.
Findings
Each organisation had a formal approach to conceptualising talent at a corporate level. Both inclusive and exclusive views on talent as well as a broad set of characteristics that make up talent were reported with the importance of organisational values being prominent. However, despite formal global policies being in place, considerable divergence in practice was found across organisational levels.
Practical implications
A lack of clarity on what talent means in an organisational setting may lead to an inconsistent talent identification process which may lead to negative perceptions of fairness among employees. This may, in turn, bring about disgruntled employees and increased turnover.
Originality/value
This paper provides empirical evidence to the limited body of knowledge on the conceptualisation of talent. The display of organisational values emerged as important to being labelled talent, a factor that has received scant consideration in the literature.
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Siva Shaangari Seathu Raman, Anthony McDonnell and Matthias Beck
Society is critically dependent on an adequate supply of hospital doctors to ensure optimal health care. Voluntary turnover amongst hospital doctors is, however, an increasing…
Abstract
Purpose
Society is critically dependent on an adequate supply of hospital doctors to ensure optimal health care. Voluntary turnover amongst hospital doctors is, however, an increasing problem for hospitals. The aim of this study was to systematically review the extant academic literature to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the current knowledge base on hospital doctor turnover and retention. In addition to this, we synthesise the most common methodological approaches used before then offering an agenda to guide future research.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting the PRISMA methodology, we conducted a systematic literature search of four databases, namely CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Web of Science.
Findings
We identified 51 papers that empirically examined hospital doctor turnover and retention. Most of these papers were quantitative, cross-sectional studies focussed on meso-level predictors of doctor turnover.
Research limitations/implications
Selection criteria concentrated on doctors who worked in hospitals, which limited knowledge of one area of the healthcare environment. The review could disregard relevant articles, such as those that discuss the turnover and retention of doctors in other specialities, including general practitioners. Additionally, being limited to peer-reviewed published journals eliminates grey literature such as dissertations, reports and case studies, which may bring impactful results.
Practical implications
Globally, hospital doctor turnover is a prevalent issue that is influenced by a variety of factors. However, a lack of focus on doctors who remain in their job hinders a comprehensive understanding of the issue. Conducting “stay interviews” with doctors could provide valuable insight into what motivates them to remain and what could be done to enhance their work conditions. In addition, hospital management and recruiters should consider aspects of job embeddedness that occur outside of the workplace, such as facilitating connections outside of work. By resolving these concerns, hospitals can retain physicians more effectively and enhance their overall retention efforts.
Social implications
Focussing on the reasons why employees remain with an organisation can have significant social repercussions. When organisations invest in gaining an understanding of what motivates their employees to stay in the job, they are better able to establish a positive work environment that likely to promote employee well-being and job satisfaction. This can result in enhanced job performance, increased productivity and higher employee retention rates, all of which are advantageous to the organisation and its employees.
Originality/value
The review concludes that there has been little consideration of the retention, as opposed to the turnover, of hospital doctors. We argue that more expansive methodological approaches would be useful, with more qualitative approaches likely to be particularly useful. We also call on future researchers to consider focussing further on why doctors remain in posts when so many are leaving.
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Anthony McDonnell and John Burgess
This paper aims to provide a brief overview of the global financial crisis (GFC), highlighting its most frightening dimensions, the policy responses and issues around the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a brief overview of the global financial crisis (GFC), highlighting its most frightening dimensions, the policy responses and issues around the management of labour during and post‐GFC. Further, this paper introduces the five research papers that encompass this special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The papers presented here are early contributions on how the GFC has impacted the management of people. The key areas focused upon include the human resource management responses of multinational enterprises, the response of trade unions, the roles of employee representative bodies and the rationalisation of post‐crisis managerial strategies.
Findings
The major conclusions of this special issue are that the impact of the GFC was variable across countries and sectors in addition to the process of decision making, the types of decisions made, and the determinants and consequences of those decisions.
Originality/value
The papers of the special issue provide some of the first empirical findings on how the GFC has impacted on people management, trade unions and the HR function in different contexts.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the pattern of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Irish MNCs, and more specifically, to investigate their approach to human capital…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the pattern of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Irish MNCs, and more specifically, to investigate their approach to human capital development and how these correspond to foreign MNCs in Ireland. In particular, it seeks to investigate training and development expenditure, adoption of succession planning, use of formal development programmes for senior management “potential”, and also the presence of a specific “key group” development programme.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained through the largest, most representative study ever conducted on multinational companies (MNCs) in Ireland. The most senior human resources practitioner in these firms completed a questionnaire, through the personal interview medium, on various facets of their human resource management (HRM) practices. In total 260 usable interviews were completed equating to an overall response rate of 63 per cent. This represents a 78 per cent response rate for Irish MNCs, the primary focus of this paper, and 60 per cent for foreign MNCs.
Findings
Overall, Irish MNCs tend to compare favourably with their foreign counterparts in terms of the human capital development mechanisms examined. Only one statistically significant association was found regarding differences between Irish and foreign owned MNCs, Irish MNCs were found to be significantly less likely to have formal management development programmes.
Originality/value
The study is the first large scale, representative survey to be conducted on MNCs in Ireland helping to address the research lacuna on Irish owned MNCs.
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Brendan Boyle, Anthony McDonnell, Rebecca Mitchell and Stephen Nicholas
This article discusses the opportunities presented by the globalization of education and the role of knowledge management in successful global expansion. It seeks to explain why…
Abstract
Purpose
This article discusses the opportunities presented by the globalization of education and the role of knowledge management in successful global expansion. It seeks to explain why the tacit dimensions of the knowledge transferred during international education provision makes it difficult to provide educational services in offshore campuses, absent the transfer of people.
Design/methodology/approach
The article draws on literature in the discipline of international business to explain why internationalizing universities need to consider the role of knowledge transfer as a strategic imperative. As this is a conceptual article, arguments are built on insights from extant theoretical and empirical work.
Findings
Based on the analysis of a diverse body of academic literature in the areas of international business, knowledge management and education theory, this article demonstrates the role of foreign assignments in the transfer of tacit knowledge in universities with offshore campuses.
Research limitations/implications
The implications of the proposition raised in this article are presented with a focus on how they affirm the need for foreign assignments for effective knowledge management in internationalizing universities. Those implications include the need to use assignments to deliver courses offshore and to create face‐to‐face interactions with academics at partner universities.
Originality/value
Drawing on a diverse body of academic literature, this article provides theoretical and practical insights into how assignments can be utilized in international educational management, international educational delivery, and the creation of an environment in which knowledge resources can be utilized on an international basis.
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