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1 – 10 of over 36000Jessica Borg and Christina M. Scott-Young
There is a need for graduates who can quickly adjust and thrive within the current increasingly dynamic project-based workplaces. The purpose of this paper is to present the…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a need for graduates who can quickly adjust and thrive within the current increasingly dynamic project-based workplaces. The purpose of this paper is to present the employers' perspectives on the work readiness of project management graduates entering the Australian construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
To gain the industry's perspective, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants from 18 different construction companies that employ project management graduates.
Findings
Thematic analysis revealed that from the employers' perspective, work readiness constitutes (1) empathic communication, (2) passion and (3) technical construction knowledge. Graduates' areas of strength (e.g. application of technology) and weakness (e.g. responding to confrontational situations) were identified.
Practical implications
The findings provide valuable insights into employers' perspectives of the work readiness of project management graduates which can serve as feedback to universities to assist in aligning their educational programmes with industry needs.
Social implications
While employers recognize that the responsibility for fostering work readiness should be shared between themselves and universities, this research highlights that currently adequate collaboration does not occur. This paper advocates for both universities and employers to be open to engaging in the conversation to enhance graduate work readiness.
Originality/value
No research to date has investigated the work readiness of project management graduates, nor whether their work readiness levels meet employers' requirements. This paper addresses this gap.
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P. Matthijs Bal and Paul G. W. Jansen
As demographic changes impact the workplace, governments, organizations, and workers are looking for ways to sustain optimal working lives at higher ages. Workplace flexibility…
Abstract
As demographic changes impact the workplace, governments, organizations, and workers are looking for ways to sustain optimal working lives at higher ages. Workplace flexibility has been introduced as a potential way workers can have more satisfying working lives until their retirement ages. This chapter presents a critical review of the literature on workplace flexibility across the lifespan. It discusses how flexibility has been conceptualized across different disciplines, and postulates a definition that captures the joint roles of employer and employee in negotiating workplace flexibility that contributes to both employee and organization benefits. Moreover, it reviews how flexibility has been theorized and investigated in relation to older workers. The chapter ends with a future research agenda for advancing understanding of how workplace flexibility may enhance working experiences of older workers, and in particular focuses on the critical investigation of uses of flexibility in relation to older workers.
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Rola Mahasneh, Melanie Randle, Rob Gordon, Jennifer Algie and Sara Dolnicar
This study aims to investigate which factors are associated with the willingness of employers to hire people with disability from the perspective of disability employment service…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate which factors are associated with the willingness of employers to hire people with disability from the perspective of disability employment service providers. We also identify social marketing approaches that disability employment service providers consider to be most effective in increasing employer willingness to hire people with disability.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the framework of the theory of planned behavior, this study examines the association of attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control with employer willingness to hire people with disability. The authors do this from the perspective of disability employment service providers, who are responsible for matching people with disability with suitable employment opportunities. The authors used a qualitative approach to data collection and conducted 30 in-depth interviews. Data analysis included deductive and inductive coding to develop the themes and subthemes.
Findings
Attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control were all perceived to influence employers’ willingness to hire people with disability. However, the importance of each construct was perceived to differ by location and organization type. Three key social marketing approaches were perceived to be most effective in increasing employer willingness to hire people with disability: educational, relational and interactive. The educational intervention attempts to increase employers’ knowledge about disability, the relational approach aims to develop relationships within the community to strengthen relationships with employers and the interactive approach involves direct contact between employers and people with disability.
Originality/value
Theoretically, this study reveals perceived heterogeneity in terms of the theoretical constructs that are employer hiring decisions. Practically, results help disability employment service providers design social marketing strategies that are effective in reducing barriers and increasing employment for people with disability. Methodologically, this study adds a new perspective on employer willingness to hire people with disability – that of disability employment service providers – which avoids the social desirability bias found in many self-reported studies of employer attitudes and behavior.
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Higher education internships have been studied in different aspects, mainly from the student or university perspective. To contribute to the understanding of the third actor in…
Abstract
Purpose
Higher education internships have been studied in different aspects, mainly from the student or university perspective. To contribute to the understanding of the third actor in this type of university-industry cooperation, the paper examines employers' perspectives on higher education internships.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a literature review and based on Narayanan et al. (2010) conceptual model, an a priori model was developed, which was then validated by a multiple-case study in a Portuguese undergraduate course.
Findings
The findings reveal rich and meaningful insights into an under-researched area, including validation of seven antecedents, two processes and six outcomes of internships from the employer's perspective. This research showed that employers give great importance to outcomes of internships, either in terms of productivity, possible future recruitment, inflow of ideas, behaviours and competences or the intern's satisfaction.
Practical implications
The findings suggest the need for universities to undertake more collaboration with industry, as the employers made weak references to the creation and maintenance of ties with the educational institution, denoting low motivation. On the other hand, most of the outcomes for employers found in the literature are confirmed, except for the continued inflow of ideas construct. This may evidence some lack of strategic thinking related to the internship programs on part of the employers.
Originality/value
This paper validates and extends the dispersed findings of existing research by providing a useful, unifying conceptual model of the employer's perspective on higher education internships, which can be tested at other levels of education or in other countries.
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Sally Lindsay, Joanne Leck, Winny Shen, Elaine Cagliostro and Jennifer Stinson
Many employers lack disability confidence regarding how to include people with disabilities in the workforce, which can lead to stigma and discrimination. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Many employers lack disability confidence regarding how to include people with disabilities in the workforce, which can lead to stigma and discrimination. The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of disability confidence from two perspectives, employers who hire people with a disability and employees with a disability.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using 35 semi-structured interviews (18 employers who hire people with disabilities; 17 employees with a disability).
Findings
Themes included the following categories: disability discomfort (i.e. lack of experience, stigma and discrimination); reaching beyond comfort zone (i.e. disability awareness training, business case, shared lived experiences); broadened perspectives (i.e. challenging stigma and stereotypes, minimizing bias and focusing on abilities); and disability confidence (i.e. supportive and inclusive culture and leading and modeling social change). The results highlight that disability confidence among employers is critical for enhancing the social inclusion of people with disabilities.
Originality/value
The study addresses an important gap in the literature by developing a better understanding of the concept of disability from the perspectives of employers who hire people with disabilities and also employees with a disability.
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Danah AlThukair and Julie Rattray
In Saudi Arabia, quality management receives a significant amount of attention in higher education. In medical education, specifically, Saudi colleges have been fully engaged with…
Abstract
In Saudi Arabia, quality management receives a significant amount of attention in higher education. In medical education, specifically, Saudi colleges have been fully engaged with quality assurance and accreditation since 1992, under the supervision of the Saudi Council for Health Specialties. Along with the quality standards determined by accreditation agencies, the perspective of employers on the quality of learning and teaching needs to be acknowledged. The needs of medical employers can be translated into quality standards for medical education to help overcome the perceived deficiencies which lead to poorly equipped graduates. This chapter explores how employers conceptualize quality in medical education with an emphasis on learning and teaching and employers’ perspectives on the quality attributes of medical graduates. This chapter is based on interviews with 14 medical employers in Saudi Arabia. From the employers’ perspective, a high-quality medical education is marked by high quality educational systems, curricula, faculty members, and medical training. Additionally, medical graduates must attain a balance of soft skills, practical and clinical skills, and theoretical medical knowledge. Understanding employers’ perspectives on quality in medical education will complement our existing understanding of quality in medical education.
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Jakari N. Griffith, Candalyn B. Rade and Kemi Salawu Anazodo
The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of research conducted over the past ten years (2008–2018) that examines the relationship between criminal record and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of research conducted over the past ten years (2008–2018) that examines the relationship between criminal record and work in the USA. Furthermore, a research agenda is presented that may help to better inform future investigations of the relationships shared between these variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review 58 peer-reviewed research articles identified in four electronic article databases: Business Source Premier, PsycINFO, ProQuest Sociology Collection and ProQuest Criminology Collection.
Findings
Of the 58 articles fitting the final inclusion criteria, 37 evaluated employee specific related outcomes, whereas 24 took the perspective of the employer (including some overlap). Studies employed a variety of methodologies and techniques, with qualitative interviews, archival data and audit methods as the most prevalent. Few studies examined the relationships between criminal record and work in ways that demonstrated improved employment outcomes for both employer and the employed together.
Originality/value
This is one of the first papers to synthesize interdisciplinary literature related to criminal record and employment, including an assessment of the varying methodological treatments and perspectives used in research studies to assess this relationship. The authors believe the findings from this research effort will provide much needed research direction for investigators seeking to make contributions to improving employment outcomes.
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Sara J. Nadin and Colin C. Williams
The purpose of this paper is to understand the psychological contract from the employers' perspective, by examining violations where the employer rather than employee is the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the psychological contract from the employers' perspective, by examining violations where the employer rather than employee is the victim, an issue that has so far seldom been addressed in extant psychological contract research.
Design/methodology/approach
Small business owners are studied using qualitative interviews, incorporating critical incidents technique. Interview transcriptions have been analysed using template analysis.
Findings
The analysis reveals the significant disruption and damage caused by these incidents, with employers involving other employees in their response as they set about the essential repair work required. Employers actively mobilised shared understandings at the normative level of the group, reinforcing and sometimes renegotiating the employee obligations, as they seek to reaffirm their authority in the eyes of all of their employees. This response reflects the collective psychological contracts the employer holds with each of their employees and their concerns to limit the fall‐out/damage when one employee commits a violation.
Research limitations/implications
The focus on small firms limits the generality of the findings with further research needed both in smaller and larger organisations to explore how organisational size impacts upon the processes identified, and the effect such incidents have when the organisation is represented by agents such as supervisors or managers. This calls for more in‐depth qualitative research in order to explore the highly nuanced experiences of employers and their representatives. The implications of the findings suggest the value of more explicit communication of employee obligations to prevent future psychological contract violation, and the role other employees may usefully play in this process.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the much‐neglected study of employers' experiences of psychological contract violations committed by their employees.
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This study explores employer perspectives regarding barriers to and responsibility for the workforce integration of skilled immigrants. Specifically, this study assesses employer…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores employer perspectives regarding barriers to and responsibility for the workforce integration of skilled immigrants. Specifically, this study assesses employer perceptions of how influential various barriers are to the integration of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) in the workplace, uncovers employer perceptions of SIEs competence levels, identifies employer perceptions regarding multiple stakeholders’ levels of responsibility for SIEs integration and explores impactful means to overcome these barriers.
Design/methodology/approach
Given Canada’s dependence on SIEs for labour force growth, an online survey was conducted with hiring managers of 99 firms in a mid-sized city in Ontario, Canada.
Findings
The results demonstrate that employers shift the onus of responsibility for SIEs integration to other stakeholders (namely, the immigrant or government agencies), require documentation to evaluate human capital attainment of SIEs and may be systemically discriminating against SIEs.
Research limitations/implications
The results indicate a need for documented evidence to validate foreign education and skills previously acquired by SIEs. They advance research by providing a comparative assessment of barriers from the employer’s point of view.
Practical implications
The findings support the notion that employers should strategically partner with specialized private or government agencies to help with efforts to attract and evaluate SIEs.
Originality/value
Given that employers are key decision-makers regarding employment outcomes, this study investigates the underexplored role and perspective of employers in integrating SIEs. Additionally, this study provides both a holistic and a relative assessment of the barriers to and responsibility for SIEs integration, exploring the impact of each factor on employer decision-making.
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Introduction: Work-based learning (WBL) bridges the gap between academic theory and exposure to real-life situations where students’ knowledge is filtered and applied to relevant…
Abstract
Introduction: Work-based learning (WBL) bridges the gap between academic theory and exposure to real-life situations where students’ knowledge is filtered and applied to relevant workplace environments.
Purpose: This study aims to examine students’ and employers’ voices on their perspectives of WBL. It focuses on students reading for an undergraduate degree in Bachelor’s in Commerce in two majors, with a specialisation in Public Policy at the University of Malta.
Methodology: Questionnaires were sent to students to obtain their views on the experience and benefits of WBL. This was followed by structured interviews conducted with employers and undergraduate students to provide an overview of their respective work-based experiences. WBL providers were asked to draw up reports on the students’ performance. The feedback which emerged from the structured interviews on the nature of these experiences was analysed. These tools helped to calibrate and refine the nature of these practices.
Findings: The study’s findings show that WBL experiences help students increase technical knowledge, improve their soft skills, and learn new tools, sought after by employers. Feedback emanating from employers’ perspectives serves to temper the University course curriculum to ensure that it is relevant to the requirements of modern-day society.
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