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1 – 10 of over 47000The international community recognizes the role of entrepreneurship education in fostering economic growth and sustainable development. However, preparing the next generation of…
Abstract
Purpose
The international community recognizes the role of entrepreneurship education in fostering economic growth and sustainable development. However, preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs is not an easy task, since today’s complexity requires the creation of skills and capabilities for which the traditional programs reveal their inadequacy. Some scholars remark how entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention are not necessarily related and, in line with policy makers’ concerns, call for educational programs more routed in financial skills’ enhancement. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of system dynamics (SD) for entrepreneurial education, investigating the relationships between financial and entrepreneurial skills’ formation and business development.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper introduces the main elements of SD, describes literature streams of SD applications fitting the entrepreneurial education spheres and proposes an SD’ insight model based on selected literature and declined in terms of stock-and-flow and causal loop structures.
Findings
The study provides a causal model capturing the links between the processes of entrepreneurial skill formation and firms’ start-ups and closures. Such model introduces a double effect of financial literacy on entrepreneurial orientation and locates the contribution of simulated entrepreneurial decisions in formal and informal educational contexts.
Originality/value
The paper displays how SD can contribute to entrepreneurship and presents an original causal model highlighting the accumulation of financial and non-financial skills through education and experience, their impact on business development and the usefulness of SD methodology for skill achievement.
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Maryna Tverdostup and Tiiu Paas
The purpose of this paper is to address the role of cognitive skills and extent of skill use at work in explaining the immigrant–native wage gap in Europe. The study targets…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the role of cognitive skills and extent of skill use at work in explaining the immigrant–native wage gap in Europe. The study targets immigrant–native disparities in literacy and numeracy cognitive skills, as important, yet not exhaustive factor behind immigrants’ wage penalty.
Design/methodology/approach
The research relies on the Program of International Assessment of Adult Competencies data for 15 European countries. The empirical analysis employs multivariate regression analysis and incorporates the full set of plausible values for each skill domain, to correctly measure cognitive skills. To estimate standard errors, the authors employ Jackknife replication methodology with 80 replication weights and final population weight.
Findings
The authors document that, on average, immigrants achieve substantially worse scores in literacy and numeracy test domains. Only highly educated immigrants tend to improve their skills over time in host countries. The results of wage gap analysis indicate that having cognitive skills, demographic profile and occupation category comparable to natives does not yield comparable wage rate. The remaining wage gap results from the systematic differences in skills application at work, as immigrants use their skills to lower extent, relative to natives.
Originality/value
The research employs a novel measure of productive human capital, which accounts for cognitive skills in literacy and numeracy domains, and frequencies of skill use at work. It allows to more precisely evaluate the immigrant–native disparity in human capital application and its reflection on the wage rate.
Olorunjuwon Michael Samuel and Tshegofatso Moagi
The rapidly emerging digital work system, accentuated by technological innovation, has dramatically changed the nature of skill-sets required for employees to perform their tasks…
Abstract
Purpose
The rapidly emerging digital work system, accentuated by technological innovation, has dramatically changed the nature of skill-sets required for employees to perform their tasks effectively at the workplaces. This paper aims to examine the skills development strategies that organizations in South Africa are adopting in the transitioning of their respective workforces to fit the skills dynamics of the emerging work system.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses the interpretive qualitative research strategy to draw evidence from semi-structured interviews conducted on 38 respondents, using the thematic analytical process to derive themes embedded in the data set.
Findings
Based on the strength of data analysis, this paper identified two broad themes and six sub-themes that are critical for the transformation and transition of existing pool of skills for the emerging work system in South Africa.
Research limitations/implications
The research lacks ability to be generalized, which is a methodological limitation that is inherently associated with cross-sectional design and qualitative strategy in terms of causality and generalizability of findings.
Originality/value
The main value-add of this paper is the development of evidence-based research outcomes that provide both theoretical and practical framework for skills development and transition initiatives that are imperative for policy formulation. The paper responded to, and advanced the respective works of Hirschi (2017), Sharma et al. (2021) and Barley et al. (2017), by establishing the following strategic themes that are critical for skills development and transition mechanisms in the emerging work system: stakeholder relationship, media and public perception, learning organization, higher education system, continuous skills development and technology and job losses.
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The trend now in many organizations is to decentralize operations, giving greater responsibility to employees in the form of empowerment. Getting rid of a whole layer ofmanagement…
Abstract
The trend now in many organizations is to decentralize operations, giving greater responsibility to employees in the form of empowerment. Getting rid of a whole layer of management may sound wonderful to the company accountant and also to many employees, but where does this leave the majority of aspiring young workers who expect to have a career ahead of them? By eradicating middle management, the chain to the highest echelons of the company are dramatically reduced. This can of course be a very good policy in that people have quicker and better contact with the decision‐making people, but this can also leave a vacuum of promotional uncertainty owing to the flattening in the hierarchical chain. Many people like the extra responsibility that empowerment brings, but they must also be able to see that they also have a future within the organization.
This report discusses technological, market and strategic factors encouraging change in the dynamics of skill formation in large U.S. accounting firms. Changes in recruiting…
Abstract
This report discusses technological, market and strategic factors encouraging change in the dynamics of skill formation in large U.S. accounting firms. Changes in recruiting, organizing, training, retaining and promoting are of crucial importance for the future of the accounting industry. When cost cutting and efficiency are insufficient and where new services are the key to competitiveness, the future of the firm rests on the ability to develop a broad base of higher skills. These changes are perhaps also important for understanding skill formation dynamics in other activities with a high “knowledge intensity”.
I have spent a number of years, seeking to develop my competence as a trainer in group dynamics and interpersonal skill training. When working with groups or teams, it has…
Abstract
I have spent a number of years, seeking to develop my competence as a trainer in group dynamics and interpersonal skill training. When working with groups or teams, it has occurred to me that the consultant/trainer role, in spite of all its stresses and difficulties, did enable me to distance myself from certain types of experience and often restricted me from working on my own growth problems. For all my apparent awareness of the dynamics of groups, it was relevant to ask whether I was growing insensitive to the dilemmas facing course members, new to this type of training. I therefore determined to attend again as a member on group dynamics programme and I shall try to capture here some of the insights of the problems this atendance provided.
Liam P. Maher, Aqsa Ejaz, Chi Lan Nguyen and Gerald R. Ferris
The purpose of this paper is to review the scholarship on political skill and political will so that the authors might inspire future work that assesses these constructs…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the scholarship on political skill and political will so that the authors might inspire future work that assesses these constructs individually and in tandem.
Design/methodology/approach
The “political skill” and “political will” concepts were introduced about 40 years ago, but they only have been measured and produced empirical results much more recently. Since that time, substantial research results have demonstrated the important roles political skill and political will play in organizational behavior. This paper provides a comprehensive review of this research, draws conclusions from this work and provides a meta-theoretical framework of political skill and political will to guide future work in this area.
Findings
Scholarship in this area has developed quite rapidly for political skill, but less so for political will. The authors hope that recent developments in a political will can set the stage for scholars to create a theoretical and empirical balance between these two related constructs.
Originality/value
The authors corral the vast and widespread literature on political skill and will and distill the information for scholars and practitioners alike.
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A review of a two‐week management exercise for training organisersin Nigeria. Comments are made on the art and ingredients needed tointegrate training and participants′ goals…
Abstract
A review of a two‐week management exercise for training organisers in Nigeria. Comments are made on the art and ingredients needed to integrate training and participants′ goals/ resourcefulness.
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Rajagopal and Ananya Rajagopal
The paper aims to show how Latin American corporate executives are faced with a serious problem, low trust and peer confidence. The factors of criticism in the workplace…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to show how Latin American corporate executives are faced with a serious problem, low trust and peer confidence. The factors of criticism in the workplace, increased corporate controls, and growing expectations for improved performance and accountability, have accompanied this decline in trust. Traditional approaches to corporate governance, epitomized by organizational behavior theories, have focused on short‐term profits and organizational systems, which fail to achieve desired results. This paper presents the analysis of behavioral dimensions of cross‐cultural team performance in corporate environment in Mexico.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a literature review of previous research contributions focused on the managers of multinational companies operating in Latin American countries in a cross‐cultural environment. The success of the corporate ventures in Mexico has been evaluated from the perspectives of economic and relational attributes. The discussion in the study revealed that the degree of fit between a corporate parent and venture affects the success of the venture.
Findings
The paper finds that corporate venturing as a strategy for international business development has become significant in view of the process of globalization resulting in the free trade and business development opportunities for multinational companies. The success is associated with high levels of commitment, competitive skills and dynamics in functional management of the venture. In the study the variables of economic and relational dimensions of external and internal fit have shown greater association with venture success. It has also been found that ventures opt for greater autonomy and less economic dependency with their parent ventures for leading success and this finding makes intuitive sense.
Practical implications
The paper shows that the success in corporate venturing is associated with high levels of commitment, trust, group dynamics and skills in functional management of the venture. The discussions in the paper offer analytical insights for the managers to develop an operational balance in the team to achieve higher performance.
Originality/value
The thesis of the paper is developed around the issues of the cross‐cultural variables affecting workplace environment in reference to trust, team work and gender sensitivity required for achieving efficiency in a business ventures. The paper explores and maps the symbiosis between the cognitive drivers of team member personality and organizational work culture.
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Shows the advantages of balancing and maximizing both the peopleand technical sides of management philosophy, approaches and skills. Thecurrent direction of organization into…
Abstract
Shows the advantages of balancing and maximizing both the people and technical sides of management philosophy, approaches and skills. The current direction of organization into self‐directed or self‐managed work teams provides an excellent opportunity for integrating the thinking, methods and tools of the quality movement into everyday work. This can achieve the results promised by the quality gurus of the twentieth century without the negative effects that come from regarding the implementing “quality” as a program. Also shows how our paradigm of competition has worked to our disadvantage in understanding and applying the many great ideas coming forth from the business and academic communities.
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