Andrea D. Ellinger

An Examination of Managers' Beliefs about their Roles as Facilitators of Learning

This article presents the findings associated with managerial beliefs from a recent exploratory qualitative study that was designed to examine the multiple ways in which managers perceive themselves to facilitate the learning of their employees in learning oriented organizations. The Critical Incident Technique was adapted for use in this study to capture the beliefs or mental models of managers as they facilitated learning episodes. The results indicate that managers in this study perceive the roles of manager and of facilitator of learning to be distinct from each other. This finding contradicts much of the management literature that has historically categorized coaching as a subset of management. Additionally, managers revealed their beliefs about learners and the learning process. Examining these beliefs in the context of managerial behavior advances our understanding of the challenges and opportunities that managers confront when they are attempting to adopt roles consistent with the concept of learning-oriented organizations. Implications for practice and research are presented.

Organizational investments in social capital, managerial coaching, and employee work-related performance

This survey-based research study explores the influence of managerial coaching behavior on relationships between organizational investments in social capital (OISC) and employee work-related performance. The results obtained from a survey of 408 employees from multiple organizations across a wide range of industries indicate that OISC are positively related to employee job performance, commitment to service quality, and organizational citizenship behavior. However, the results from sub-group analyses also indicate that these relationships are stronger at low to moderate levels of managerial coaching suggesting that selective rather than exhaustive application of the developmental approach may be more effective. Theoretical and practical implications of these somewhat unexpected findings are developed.

Managerial Coaching A Review of the Empirical Literature and Development of a Model to Guide Future Practice

The Problem While managerial coaching becomes increasingly popular in both scholarly and practical circles, the line managers who need to execute this coaching may be neither capable nor interested in the coaching process. Furthermore, while the research on coaching seems promising, little is known about how to test the individual and environmental appropriateness of a coaching intervention. The Solution This review will inform and support evidence-based human resource development (HRD) professionals tasked with developing managers’ coaching capability. It is designed to help line managers who wish to enhance their managerial coaching practice. The Stakeholders This literature review and model will benefit organizations, HRD professionals, and line managers to determine whether coaching is an appropriate learning intervention for their context and at that particular time. Furthermore, if it is deemed appropriate, this review and resulting framework may aid in determining how practitioners should approach coaching within their organizational setting.

Coaching and Human Resource Development Examining Relevant Theories, Coaching Genres, and Scales to Advance Research and Practice

The Problem Coaching is a pervasive form of development that has garnered significant attention among scholars and practitioners. Although interest in coaching has grown considerably in recent years, coaching has been criticized as being opinion- and best-practice-based, as well as atheoretical. It has been critiqued as being an under-examined and researched concept. The Solution The contributions in this issue address existing concerns in the literature by providing an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of coaching, synthesizing existing literature on research and practice related to genres, types and approaches to coaching, specifically executive coaching, managerial coaching, and action learning coaching. Furthermore, to spur research on coaching, a comprehensive review of currently available measurement instruments is provided. The Stakeholders Researchers and scholarly practitioners in the human resource development (HRD) field, internal and external coaches, and line managers who are committed to improving the practice of and expanding empirical research on coaching will benefit from this special issue on coaching.

Developing a Tradition of Scholarship: The Emergence and Evolution of the AHRD-Sponsored Journals

The Problem Research and theory are the lifeblood of academic disciplines along with the peer-reviewed journals that disseminate such scholarship. Journals become critical repositories that capture the histories and evolution of such disciplines, and their scholarly contributions generate new knowledge that can stimulate further research and improve practice. The Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) sponsors four peer-reviewed journals that have contributed to the birth and evolution of the discipline of human resource development (HRD). Yet, little is known about how they came into being, how they have evolved, and what their impact has been within the field of HRD. The Solution This article captures the histories of the emergence and evolution of the four refereed journals sponsored by the AHRD through the unique voices of current and recent past editors of these journals. It then considers common themes of scholarship across the four journals that have helped to shape HRD. The Stakeholders Students, researchers, and scholar-practitioners in the field of HRD and related fields who are interested in learning more about the histories of the journals sponsored by the AHRD, along with their contributions to the scholarship in HRD, will benefit from reading this article.

Qualitative Case Study Research as Empirical Inquiry

This article introduces the concept of qualitative case study research as empirical inquiry. It defines and distinguishes what a case study is, the purposes, intentions, and types of case studies. It then describes how to determine if a qualitative case study is the preferred approach for conducting research. It overviews the essential steps in designing qualitative case study research, including the role of literature and theory, approaches for collecting data and analyzing it, as well as how to write up and present case study findings. It articulates how to avoid common pitfalls when engaging in qualitative case study research and concludes with the strengths and limitations associated with this form of empirical inquiry.

The Influence of Mental Models of Customer Service on Employee Engagement

This research examines how three different mental models of what constitutes good customer service among frontline service employee have differential effects on employee engagement.