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Article
Publication date: 5 September 2023

Eduardo Tomé, Katarzyna Tracz-Krupa and Dorota Molek-Winiarska

The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of training and development (T&D) in the Visegrad countries (V4) as impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, namely, Hungary, Poland…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of training and development (T&D) in the Visegrad countries (V4) as impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, namely, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. These countries have some political, cultural, social and economic similarities and share some common ground in the human resource development (HRD) sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used the HRD theory and the human capital theory to analyse the context, operations and impact of T&D in the V4 countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The research was conducted in 400 companies, 100 from each of the four countries using the computer assisted web interviewing technique. The questionnaire was in a six-point Likert scale format and addressed 12 topics related to T&D: policy, expectations, procedures of diagnosis, preparation, implementation, monitoring, trainees, trainers, investment and expenditures, evaluation, results and controlling.

Findings

The authors concluded that in the Visegrad countries, Covid-19 raised expectations on T&D. This was followed by increased levels of action in diagnosis, preparation, monitoring and implementation, following pre-existing and adjusted policies. Evaluation and control were complicated. Investment and results and the human side of the T&D (trainees and trainers) were the ones for which there were more uncertainties and perplexities.

Research limitations/implications

The study has the limitation of using only a small sample in four countries. For further research, the authors suggest a larger study extended to all the European Union countries, an in-depth analysis of the current data and the kurtosis on Policy of T&D.

Practical implications

The results of the research can be used to improve T&D programs after the Covid-19 pandemic. They could also provide information to external trainers to improve and adjust their services according to the opinions of the respondents of the study. The research findings can also serve institutions responsible for policy provision of HRD at a national level by providing possibilities to apply for funding either within national or regional funds like the National Training Fund in Poland or within European Union money at a national level.

Originality/value

The study is original because even if the T&D in V4 countries during the Covid-19 pandemic had already been studied separately (e.g. Mikołajczyk, 2021; Vrabcová, Urbancová 2021; Vinichenko et al., 2021), no empirical, cross-national research analysing specifically the T&D in those countries has been carried out so far. The authors use an innovative methodology, addressing 12 topics and the people involved together with the stages in which a T&D policy is divided. That makes it innovative and very relevant.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 July 2019

Eduardo Tomé and Katarzyna Tracz-Krupa

The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of the investment in training in education by the European Social Fund (ESF) in four Eastern countries, namely, Poland, Hungary…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of the investment in training in education by the European Social Fund (ESF) in four Eastern countries, namely, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Hungary. Those countries have some political, cultural, social and economic similarities and share some common ground in the human resource development (HRD) sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the human capital theory with some extensions to analyze the context, operations and impacts of the ESF in the Visegrad four (V4) countries between 2007 and 2013. The authors use three levels of methodology to access each one of those problems.

Findings

The authors conclude that the ESF helped building the vocational training system in those countries, and to help them get near the equilibrium of high skills of the V4 Western European neighbors, and therefore, this one was a success story. However, quality issues remain to be addressed that may hinder the continuation of the success in the future.

Research limitations/implications

The research could be enlarged in time and space and deepened in terms of methodology. This is one a first clarifying step. Theoretical work should become aware of the dichotomy between absorption and scientific logic.

Practical implications

Detailed and precise evaluation practices must be implemented to guide and assess the policy.

Social implications

Precisely because funds are scarce this paper enlights the dilemma and the tension between quantity and quality in the European HRD policy, this is an important social problem.

Originality/value

The study is original because even if the HRD in those countries had already been studied (Sheehan and Buchelt, 2016), no study analyzing specifically the ESF in those countries has been carried out so far. The authors use an innovative methodology and address questions on context, operations and impact, which are also innovative and very relevant.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. 43 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 18 July 2022

Sylwia Przytuła, Susanne Rank and Katarzyna Tracz-Krupa

Due to the global labor market challenges, international companies react and adjust fast to these circumstances by implementing digital solutions into all business processes…

Abstract

Due to the global labor market challenges, international companies react and adjust fast to these circumstances by implementing digital solutions into all business processes. Organizational ambidexterity is seen as the response of digital transformation and it can be divided into structural, contextual, and sequential dimensions. In this context, organizations representing the smart industry will need employees with specific competencies which let them meet technological challenges.

This chapter aims to clarify the state of opinion on expectations towards, and preparedness for, the impact of Industry 4.0 on human resources management and the implementation of various types of ambidexterity in these companies. We have conducted interviews with key HR informants from manufacturing companies operating in Germany and Poland. We have found that Industry 4.0 has a significant impact on HR practices. In both international companies, various digital solutions in employee recruitment, development, and performance, have been implemented. There have also been mature examples in both companies of structural, contextual, and sequential ambidexterity.

Details

Smart Industry – Better Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-715-3

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 18 July 2022

Tanya Bondarouk and Miguel R. Olivas-Luján

Abstract

Details

Smart Industry – Better Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-715-3

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2020

Dorota Molek-Winiarska and Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska

Work-related stress causes individual, societal and economic costs. Stress management interventions (SMIs) are implemented to decrease those costs, reduce the psychosocial harms…

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Abstract

Purpose

Work-related stress causes individual, societal and economic costs. Stress management interventions (SMIs) are implemented to decrease those costs, reduce the psychosocial harms and increase workers' productivity. This article reports on a study of a substantial sample of enterprises to verify what types of SMIs they implemented and how they assessed the results of these interventions.

Design/methodology/approach

Specially designed surveys were collected in 2015–2017 from 408 organizations of different sizes and sectors in Poland, including multinationals. The reliability of the questionnaire was satisfactory (Cr. 0.84).

Findings

Results show that 59% of enterprises are aware of SMIs but only about 30% implemented one within the last three years. The implementations usually covered both organizational and individual-level interventions. The assessment of SMI effectiveness was conducted in just about one-third of the organizations and was based on estimations of the levels and sources of stress. Hardly any companies compared economic and psychosocial costs of stress before and after SMIs.

Research limitations/implications

The most important recommendation from this study is to increase the awareness of causes of stress among managing directors. Also, organizations and HR staff need more assistance from specialists who know how to measure and help reduce work stress.

Originality/value

The literature on stress interventions at work usually focusses on their psychological effects. This paper explores the organizational perspective and the commitment to implement the interventions in companies.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 42 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

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