Fredrick Muyia Nafukho

Human Resource Development, Social Capital, Emotional Intelligence: Any Link to Productivity?.

Purpose – This article aims to offer a theoretical framework that attempts to show the integration among human resource development (HRD), social capital (SC), emotional intelligence (EI) and organizational productivity.Design/methodology/approach – The literature search included the following: a computerized search of accessible and available material using the key words “human resource development”, “emotional intelligence”, “social capital”, “human capital”, “organizational productivity”, “productivity”, and “organizational performance”.Findings – The literature review provides evidence that it is logical to assume that the relationship among HRD, social capital, emotional and organization productivity is highly integrated. This finding influenced the authors to conceptualize an integrated model that illustrates the interconnectivity of HRD, social capital, emotional intelligence and organizational productivity with internal and external environmental factors.Research limitations/implications – The int...

Ubuntu worldview: a traditional African view of adult learning in the workplace

The problem and the solution. In traditional African society, adult learning was viewed as holistic learning for life and work and formed the foundation of many African societies. It was used as a process of breaking down barriers and of combating social exclusion. With the current transitions taking place in Africa, less emphasis is being placed on adult learning. The issue of how adults learn in different societies and the philosophy that guides the adult-learning process in the workplace is an important theme for adult education and human resource development scholars and practitioners. This article seeks to bridge the existing gap in terms of the contribution of the African ubuntuism paradigm to adult learning in the workplace.

Entrepreneurship and socioeconomic development in Africa: a reality or myth?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of entrepreneurship education and training in Kenya as a strategic approach to addressing the unemployment problem among the school and university graduates in Kenya and Africa in general.Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a critical review of the literature method to achieve its purpose and to answer the key research question. The literature search included a computerized search of accessible and available material on entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial spirit, entrepreneurship education and training programs, history of entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship models, Africa and entrepreneurship development.Findings – It is shown that the development of entrepreneurial spirit and competencies should be a lifelong process. Addressing Africas socioeconomic development in an entrepreneurial way requires learning successful lessons from within and without Africa. Specific examples of successful use of entrepreneurship to develop mic...

A Response to Wang and Swanson's Article on National HRD and Theory Development

Wang and Swanson (2008) have provided a critique of the current state of the research and theory of national human resource development (NHRD). In this article, the authors provide a critique based on the following issues: insistence on a single paradigm of truth or reality, theory development methodology, the bounding process, the definitional process, scope of NHRD efforts, and reliance on economics (and only development economics).

Culture, organizational learning and selected employee background variables in small‐size business enterprises

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between four independent variables educational level, longevity, type of enterprise, and gender and the dependent variable culture, as a dimension that explains organizational learning readiness in seven small‐size business enterprises.Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory correlational research design was employed to survey 498 employees in seven small‐size business enterprises in the Southern and mid‐Western United States. Findings – Three pseudo‐interval variables (education, longevity, and type of enterprise) accounted for 15.3 percent of the variance in the dependent variable culture as a means to explain organizational learning readiness.Research limitations/implications – Generalizing results beyond the specific context of small‐size business enterprise may not be possible. Thus, the interpretations are limited to the seven small‐size business enterprises studied.Practical implications – Certain types of enterprises form le...

Disability as a Diversity Factor: Implications for Human Resource Practices

Based on important findings from the four investigations in this special issue, this article discusses strategies that Human Resource Development (HRD) and Human Resource Management (HRM) personnel can use to minimize the unlawful termination of employees with disabilities and thereby preserve the diversity they bring to the workforce. HRD and HRM practitioners are constantly faced with the challenges of managing diversity given the rationale that a diverse workforce is more productive and more representative of the American population (Selden & Selden, 2001). Lack of awareness of the various forms of disability and of diversity management skills—key skills a good HRD practitioner ought to have—often results in conflict and mistrust, all of which can lead to failure to achieve individual, process, and organizational performance goals (Kochan et al., 2002). Diversity management, therefore, must take into consideration the various forms of disability—physical (mobility impairment and chronic illness), sensory (visual and hearing impairment), cognitive (mental retardation and learning disability), and emotional (depression and other psychological conditions)—as they interact with different (a) workplace demands and tasks; (b) attitudes and expectations of employers and coworkers; and (c) perceptions of people with disabilities themselves. To manage disability as a diversity issue, it is imperative that HRD and HRM practitioners, employees, management, and organizational leaders understand the meaning of disability as a diversity factor in the workplace and the potential impact of disability on critical HRM and HRD practices related to job retention and termination.

Determining the Relationship among Organizational Learning Dimensions of a Small-Size Business Enterprise.

Purpose – The primary purpose of the study was to determine the type of relationships that existed among organizational learning dimensions studied. In addition, the study sought to establish whether the correlations were statistically significant at 0.05 and 0.01 levels.Design/methodology/approach – This study adopted a correlational quantitative research design. It has been established that quantitative methods enable researchers to conduct comparisons across individuals. The correlational research design was found appropriate since it enabled the researchers to determine if statistically significant correlations existed among the learning dimensions studied.Findings – The results of the correlation analysis showed that the learning organization dimensions leadership and culture had the highest level of association, followed by correlations between rewards and recognition and culture. The correlations were statistically significant at 0.01. Meaning that for the small business unit studied to be successf...

Harnessing and Optimal Utilization of Human Capital in Virtual Workplace Environments

The primary purpose of this article is to demonstrate the role of virtual human resource development (VHRD) in promoting optimal utilization of human capital in virtual workplace settings currently characterized by millennial generation who surf the Internet, Tweet, talk, listen to iTunes, and text-message while working. To achieve the objective of the article, selected review of literature was conducted. The article defines human capital and demonstrates how technology can be positively used to promote virtual learning, workplace learning, and eventually lead to performance improvement in the workforce. Also discussed are the challenges of using Virtual HRD and implications for HRD theory, research, and practice.

Emotional Intelligence and Performance: Need for Additional Empirical Evidence

This issue overview introduces the problem, purpose, significance, and need for studying emotional intelligence (EI) and performance in the workplace. The concept of EI is first defined and followed by a collage of scholarly pieces providing various perspectives on EI and performance in the workplace. Because improved performance through learning is one of the main intended outcomes of HRD, the contribution of EI and performance research to HRD theory and practice is highlighted and discussed. A preview of the nature of each piece in this collage of scholarship and how it contributes to our understanding of the link between EI and workplace performance is then offered.

Strengthening student engagement: what do students want in online courses?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to identify pertinent studies on the important issue of student engagement strategies in online courses and to establish from empirical studies student engagement strategies that work. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopted the literature review approach. The authors conducted a thorough and systematic search of the literature to find empirical studies focusing on online engagement strategies within the field of education and distance learning. To generate as many relevant publications as possible, both manual and electronic searches were conducted. The databases used included; Academic Search Complete (Ebsco), Social Sciences Full Text (Wilson), ProQuest Education Journals, ProQuest Dissertation and Thesis, ProQuest Central, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCIISI), ERIC, (Ebsco), SAGE Full-Text Collection (CSA), Google Scholar and Emerald. Findings – The results of this paper revealed the several factors that can create engaging learning experiences for t...