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The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical account of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) based on the existing literature.

The paper performs keywords search of published articles from 1930 to 2017 in widely used research databases.

The historical review shows that the OCB, as a field of study, was slow to develop. Although it has been introduced in the late 1970s and officially defined in the 1980s, its origins can be traced back to the 1930s. Despite this, OCB is generally regarded as a relatively new construct and has become one of the biggest subjects studied in the literature. OCB has reached far and wide into the business and management domains, supporting the fact that the well-being employees and their behaviors can greatly affect organizations’ effectiveness and performance. Having been the topic of a significant number of studies, there have been inconsistent research findings regarding the concepts. Furthermore, some concepts have been noted to overlap, with several scholars using different terms for essentially similar concepts.

The advent of technology and globalization has greatly affected organizations today which resulted in increased competition in the global business. Firms have started to look into the behavior exhibited by employees as a means of achieving competitive advantage, such as OCB. Voluminous works have been conducted regarding the study of OCB; however, none have been recorded to make an in-depth exploration of when and how it first surfaced. Since its official introduction, explorations regarding OCB have dramatically increased, most especially in the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, this has resulted in an increasing difficulty to keep up with the theoretical and empirical developments in the literature. As interest in OCB continues to grow, coherent integration of the concept becomes progressively more complex and necessary. This paper looks into the chronological evolution of the OCB, giving precise details of its development from the time it was first conceptualized up until the present wherein OCB has been used to indicate organizational effectiveness and performance.

The purpose of this paper is to uncover the hidden gender consequences of three current trends in the workplace, the increase in knowledge work, information and communication technology (ICT) and work‐life balance policies.

The paper synthesizes and analyses existing empirical evidence from research on knowledge work, work‐life balance and boundary, women's work and careers.

Knowledge work, ICT and work‐life balance policies are found to increase the temporal and geographical flexibility of work. Such enhanced flexibility should facilitate women's participation and advancement in work and therefore gender equality. However, all three trends also have hidden gender consequences that significantly prevent women from participating and advancing.

Research needs to explicitly integrate evidence from across research areas and disciplines to appreciate the complexity and contentiousness of current workplace developments from a gender perspective.

A public debate is needed that better communicates and challenges the complexity of gender issues in the twenty‐first century workplace, in order to raise critical awareness amongst individual workers, as well as practitioners and policy makers, and to lead to better informed decision making.

A gender‐focused analysis and synthesis of evidence across the research areas included in this paper is currently lacking. The paper thus makes a novel contribution to the academic debate on gender equality in the workplace and provides an improved basis for better informed discussions between academics, policy makers and practitioners about how to achieve gender equality in today's world of work.

The purpose of this paper is to share findings from a literature review conducted during ongoing scholarly research on the characteristics of knowledge workers. This paper aims to place knowledge workers in the context of twenty‐first century organizations by providing a historical background on the emergence of knowledge work.

The literature presented in this review is drawn from Google and Google Scholar searches along with the following EBSCO databases: Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, MasterFILE Premier, MasterFILE Select, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO.

Much of the literature review for this project comes from the management field. A predominant theme is that capitalizing on the talents of knowledge workers entails creating a culture with a specific set of characteristics chosen to create an environment in which knowledge workers flourish. A common perception is that the effective management of knowledge workers is hindered by the lack of a cohesive definition. The literature review suggests that a set of characteristics exists specific to knowledge workers.

The paper posits an increased awareness of twenty‐first century workforce characteristics that need to be taken into consideration as soon as possible by private, public or academic enterprises.

While there is no dispute about the exponential growth of knowledge workers and their critical impact on business, the number of knowledge workers is difficult to gauge due to the lack of a precise definition. Moreover, this workforce is difficult to manage until it is well understood and defined. There is no model to encompass the full spectrum of characteristics that define knowledge workers. A proposed taxonomy of the characteristics of knowledge workers can serve as a springboard for more intensive research into the application of management practices uniquely suited to motivating knowledge workers to superior performance.

One of the goals of educational institutions is to prepare their graduates to be workplace-ready. The purpose of this paper is to identify the employability skills lacking in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) industry from employers' perspectives to assist STEM educational institutions in creating more relevant programs inclusive of employability skills.

This study addresses 16 job-specific skills based on data deriving from the responses of 250 Human Resource Managers (HRMs) who represent five manufacturing industries (Aerospace and Defense, Automotive, Consumer Products, Electronics and Industrial Manufacturing) located in five regions (Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, West-Mountain and Pacific) of the United States.

The median scores for all 16 skills confirmed their importance for employability in the five manufacturing industries. The five highest ranking skills were team player, self-motivation, verbal communication, problem-solving and being proactive, which align with previous studies on workplace skills.

This paper is a call to all STEM educational institution stakeholders, both internal and external, to re-assess current curriculum and programs and collaborate to narrow the gap between graduate competencies and the practical needs of the workplace.

This paper attempts to bridge the gap between the competencies gained in STEM educational institutions and the competencies needed for the future workplace, as confirmed by HRM professionals. Although this study is focused on STEM educational institutions in the United States, it will be of interest to all STEM educational institutions worldwide who play a significant role in preparing the next generation of employees for the global workplace.

The purpose of this paper is to present a competency-based curriculum design model based on a set of ten foundational professional competencies (PCs) that prepare college graduates to meet the needs of global businesses now and in the future.

This phenomenological single-case study reviews literature on the foundational principles of competency-based education (CBE) and comparatively analyzes the results of qualitative interviews to create a set of ten PCs linking employee and business success.

This study presents a theoretical competency-based curriculum model (competency-based learning, performance and behavior (CBLPB)) designed for online education programs to enable a twenty-first century workforce to succeed. The curriculum design model is tested as applied by the researchers in various courses taught at an online university.

This is a conceptual model for testing in academic research settings in colleges and universities.

The study suggests that higher education business curriculum should be designed using a CBE model to develop graduates with the foundational PCs that employers need and desire in educated working professionals.

From the faculty perspective, the CBLPB curriculum design model can enhance the design and implementation of CBE in business programs.

The present paper seeks to focus on the processes involved in the knowledge transfer of CSR and sustainability programs and theorises about a conceptual framework that addresses three aspects of such a knowledge transfer process: the “thinking”, the “doing” and the “being”.

The paper is a theoretical interdisciplinary study, which combines insights from the theory of knowledge transfer within the application domain of CSR and sustainability, and looks into the ways the above impact aspects of diversity, career identity and career development of professionals in this field.

HRM issues such as new competencies and differing approaches to career development options, talent retention and management, and a change of the notion of employment contract need to develop to successfully support the transfer of knowledge in terms of professionals in the domain of CSR and sustainability.

Future directions and implications of this research include furthering the understanding of career identities and their development in the milieu of globally mobile knowledge workers in the field of CSR and sustainability knowledge transfer and identifying relevant and necessary tools for HR management and stakeholder engagement in this field.

The establishment of career pathways and new career identities is an increasingly significant challenge in the workplaces of the twenty‐first century, and CSR/sustainability knowledge transfer processes highlight that.

The paper contributes an innovative angle to the topic of knowledge transfer in the area of CSR and sustainability, whilst also highlighting the importance of the role of knowledge workers with global mobility in this process, including their perceptions of career identities and development.

The purpose of this paper is to examine expectations of Generation Y (born between 1980 and 2000) entrants to Indian industry, in respect of their perspective, job experiences, considerations and initial employment expectations. Keeping in mind that organizations are required to prepare for the expectations of Generation Y. Human resources (HR) practitioners should consider the next generation as strategic business partners in the twenty-first-century workplaces, questions ignite about Generation Y’s values and aspirations and how we can engage them in our workplaces. This study was an attempt to look at Indian Gen Y employees who comprise almost half of the Indian working population and are growing at a rapid pace. Effective understanding of Gen Y will lead to the designing of effective HR policies and environment.

Utilizing quantitative research methods, an exploratory study was undertaken with 520 employees (all of whom fell into the category of Generation Y) from various industries.

The study found that many of the propositions contained within the Generation Y literature were reflected among participants in relation to their future career and lifestyle aspirations. This hints to the need for industry to carefully benchmark employee expectations and experiences to ensure commitment to the sector.

Being an exploratory study, the results are not generalizable to the wider population. The findings frame a future longitudinal study on the careers of Generation Y graduates as they move from the anticipation to the encounter stage of their career development. This will seek to further explore the implications of Generation Y values, including those relating to diversity and equality which were not raised as an issue in this preliminary study.

The findings of this research contribute to our knowledge of the career aspirations of Generation Y. The paper indicates to employers some of the future benchmarkings in recruitment and HR practices that they might adopt to meet the needs of this generation of employees. It is anticipated that this paper will interest new and experienced HR practitioners. Interest might spark ongoing inquiry into effective approaches for employee engagements, specifically to Gen Y employees who will be ruling the workplace in the coming decade. The Gen Y has also led to attrition problems. Therefore, this paper will help in the effective understanding of Gen Y and designing strategies for internal benchmarking in various policies.

This work is a unique effort to look at the common expectations of the Gen Y employees, from the workplace. The findings highlighted the general expectations which are normally neglected in high strategical environment of today’s tech-savvy industry.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the new role that human resource developers play in the globally connected workplace. Towards that end, this paper explores the changing landscape of self‐directed learning (SDL) within the digital ecosystem based on the concept of World 2.0.

This paper reviews and builds on the literatures of self‐directed learning and Web 2.0 technologies to explore how self‐directed learning is being transformed in the creative digital era.

The paper outlines five transformations that change the landscape of workplace learning in the creative digital era: virtual collaboration, technological convergence, global connectivity, online communities, and digital creativity.

This paper gives extensive guidance on how HRD specialists and practitioners can transform their strategies to adapt to the training needs of employees in the creative digital era. The paper provides new ideas and vision for industrial trainers and human resource development practitioners on self‐directed learning.

This article provides some future research areas and limitations.

This paper opens up new possibilities for self‐directed learning and discusses how self‐directed learning might be transformed in the light of technological and workplace changes. In particular, self‐directed learning might decrease the HRD/training costs significantly while providing employees with just‐in time training.

Now there are four generations of people sharing the workspace, each group brings different views, expectations, desires, dreams, values and ideas about work and life. This paper will examine how four generations work together in different ways and explores organisational strategies for managing the transition of knowledge through the generations. The factors of team working, mentoring and the design of the physical and virtual workplace are considered.

The paper is an examination of the workplace using a literature review. The content reviewed explores the characteristics of each generation, their cultural values and identity and the method to incorporate this into strategy, workplace design and workplace productivity.

The results of the paper demonstrate that it is vital for organisations to actively facilitate the transition of knowledge which is currently taking place within the multi‐generational workplace. The findings demonstrate that the changing pattern of work and life dictate that organisations have to adapt their culture to meet the demands and expectations of new generations in the workplace.

The paper does not look at workplace scenarios as a possible method of testing the theories suggested.

By understanding the make up of the workforces, facilities can be adapted to take advantage of employee characteristics which may lead to productivity improvement.

The link between the transition of knowledge and the management and design of facility space is made. Embracing workplace styles of flexible work locations, informal and fluid use of space, space for mentoring and team work, fun, open collaborative spaces, plug and play technological environments and non‐hierarchical organisational structures are just a few of the strategies which will have to be implemented in order to attract and retain high performance individuals.