Daeyeon Cho

Investigating factors that influence social presence and learning outcomes in distance higher education

There are many factors that influence distance learning especially in higher education where collaborative and communicative discourse is necessary for pursuing knowledge. Social presence, among other factors, is an important concept to be facilitated, developed and sustained in distance higher education as it promotes and supports discourse based learning. This study examines the relationship among demographic and other variables, social presence and learning satisfaction. Results showed demographic variables, such as gender, online learning experience and work status were not significant factors in terms of influencing on either social presence or learning satisfaction. While media integration and instructors quality teaching were significant predictors of both social presence and learning satisfaction, interactivity among participants was a predictor of social presence but not of learning satisfaction. Along with the study findings, some implications were discussed for online learning practitioners in higher education setting.

Work Engagement and Career: Proposing Research Agendas Through a Review of Literature

Work engagement is currently one of the most studied topics in organizational science. Moreover, from the various performance-based perspectives of human resource development (HRD), work engagement is closely tied to employees’ career. However, although research on work engagement and career has been conducted, more research is necessary to understand these concepts and investigate their relationship given their positive influences on organizations. More specifically, a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between work engagement and career that draws on the extant literature is both relevant to and beneficial for HRD professionals seeking to design and implement career-related strategies to enhance individual employees’ levels of work engagement. Thus, this study aims to examine the relationship between work engagement and career, ultimately synthesizing current studies into an integrated framework that describes the work engagement–career relationship and suggests future research agendas.

Graduate HRD Programs in South Korea

The Problem To address national issues associated with societal development, many countries are recognizing the need to educate individuals who will lead developmental initiatives. While many previous studies have been conducted to examine how and what content of human resource development (HRD) has been taught in Western countries, similar research efforts have been rarely conducted in Asian countries such as South Korea. The lack of comparative study creates a research gap in understanding how HRD programs have been designed and implemented in different countries. The Solution In an effort to meet this research need, this study investigates the current status of graduate HRD programs and what constitutes the field of HRD in South Korea. The Stakeholders Stakeholders are faculty members who are teaching in HRD programs in South Korea, HRD practitioners in South Korean organizations, and cross-cultural researchers focusing on curriculum studies.

Cross-Cultural Validation of the Career Growth Scale for Korean Employees

The purpose of this study is to examine the factorial validity of the Career Growth Scale (CGS), which was originally developed by Weng and Hu. Using a sample of 230 South Korean employees, we confirmed that Weng’s four-factor model was appropriate for assessing career growth. When comparing Korean with Chinese employees, Korean employees had relatively higher scores on two CGS subscales, Career Goal Progress and Promotion Speed. Results indicated that the CGS was a valid instrument to measure career growth in Korean employees, suggesting the possibility that the CGS could be used regardless of cultural background. Implications for future research, practice, and limitations are discussed.

The influence of learning activity on low-skilled workers’ skill improvement in the South Korean manufacturing industry

The main purpose of this study was to explore how low-skilled worker’s learning activity influences skill improvement. Using a unique 2007 Human Capital Corporate Panel data-set from the South Korean manufacturing industry, we operationalize skill improvement over time among low-skilled workers. A worker is classified as ‘low skilled’ if he or she has a low education level and poor technical skills. Regression models show that low-skilled workers’ informal learning positively influences their skill improvement. In contrast, we note that supervisors negatively influence skill improvement of low-skilled workers when measuring the change in technical skill proficiency. Quality circle programmes also have a positive influence on skill improvement. In conclusion, skills can be improved through planned interventions that increase collaboration on the job. The results from this study help to highlight the importance of designing learning interventions for low-skilled workers that take account of their underlying education and skills.

Landscape of human resource development research in Korea: results from author co-citation network analysis

The present study examined major trends and issues of Human Resource Development (HRD) research in Korean context applying the author co-citation analysis (ACA) to three primary HRD-related journals in South Korea. Following the analyses of author co-citation frequency, correlation matrix, dendrogram, and the multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) map, the results were found as follows: (1) co-citation network identified seven topical clusters (i.e., human competency improvement for young men and e-learning designers, system approach for training effectiveness, competency for executives and HRD-ers, HRD evaluations, HRD solutions, mentoring in career development, leadership, and the role of professionals), (2) competency appeared as a keyword in multiple clusters, (3) unlike HRD in North America or Europe, learning (informal, organizational, self-directed, and lifelong learning) with a variety of HRD solutions comprised the dominant research stream, and (4) research activities for critical issues, such as diversity, development of workforce minority, and international HRD were largely missing.

Authentic leadership and work engagement: the mediating effect of practicing core values

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating effect of practicing core values on the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement in a Korean corporate environment.,Self-report data on authentic leadership, practicing core values, and work engagement were obtained from 281 employees of three major corporations in South Korea. Structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze the data.,The results revealed a direct and significant influence of authentic leadership on both practicing core values and work engagement. In addition, practicing core values was found to have a partial mediating effect on the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement.,This study revealed a three-factor model of authentic leadership compared to the four-factor model found in western cultural contexts. Similar findings are indicated for other Asian countries. A rigorous future study is warranted to validate the psychometric structure across different cultural settings. Harman’s single factor test was performed to address the common method variance issue.,Practicing core values functioned as a catalyst for developing authentic leaders. Therefore, it is necessary that organizational development practitioners perform developmental activities to purposefully facilitate practicing core values.,The study falls under the isolated or disregarded researched topic of the practicing core values in relation to authentic leadership and work engagement.

How transactive memory systems relate to organizational innovation: the mediating role of developmental leadership

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transactive memory systems and organizational innovation. Several recent studies have discussed the positive relationship between these two entities. Yet, very few studies have demonstrated how transactive memory systems are related to leadership and innovation. This study investigates this tripartite relationship, finding that developmental leadership exerts a mediating effect on the relationship between transactive memory systems and organizational innovation. Design/methodology/approach In examining this relationship, 224 participants from an electronics company in South Korea were surveyed. Structural equation modeling was used to enable the identification of simultaneous interactive relationships among the three research variables. Findings Contrary to previous research results, transactive memory systems were found not to be significantly related to organizational innovation. Results also indicated that transactive memory systems comprise a statistically significant variable that influences developmental leadership. Subsequently, developmental leadership can be considered to be a valid construct in predicting organizational innovation; it can also be seen to fully mediate the relationship between transactive memory systems and organizational innovation. Originality/value These results have theoretical and managerial implications. As transactive memory systems do not always precede organizational innovation, knowledge of “who knows what” is not enough to ensure innovative performances. To accelerate organizational innovation, intentional managerial interventions such as developmental leadership are accordingly necessary.

Human resource development in South Korea

This special issue of Human Resource Development International presents the landscape of human resource development (HRD) research and practices in South Korea (hereafter, Korea), a country widely ...