Marie-Line Germain

Formal Mentoring Relationships and Attachment Theory: Implications for Human Resource Development

An attachment theory perspective of mentoring is presented to explain the degree of functionality of a mentor—protégé formal match in an organizational setting. By focusing on Bowlby’s (1969/1982) behavioral system of attachment and its triarchic taxonomy of secure, avoidant, and anxious-ambivalent attachment, previous conceptualizations are expanded by illuminating relational concepts that mentors and supervisors could use to facilitate employee learning and development. A short attachment style assessment and a mentor—protégé(e) attachment style pairing guide are presented.

The Role of Swift Trust in Virtual Teams and Implications for Human Resource Development

The Problem The combination of flatter organizational structures, globalization, cost-saving initiatives, and the increased emphasis on knowledge sharing has been a contributor to the use of virtual teams in U.S. organizations. The Solution To perform efficiently in a virtual environment, team members must develop swift trust, which does not come inherently with team membership. Understanding the individual, team, organizational, and technological barriers affecting the development of swift trust is critical to an appreciation of how such barriers can be overcome. The Stakeholders In this article, we indicate how virtual human resource development (VHRD) can assist virtual teams, managers, and HR professionals overcome swift trust development barriers. The intended audience for this article includes HRD scholars, scholar-practitioners, practitioners, and students interested in understanding how trust is fostered in virtual teams and how HRD practitioners can make a valuable contribution to the effectiveness of virtual teams.

Expertise: myth or reality of a cross‐national definition?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a comparison of how human expertise is perceived by human resource development (HRD) scholars across several Western European countries and in the USA.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, exploratory approach using electronic mail was used for this study. In total, 36 leading HRD scholars from 11 different countries were interviewed.Findings – There is a propensity of several countries to converge towards common themes. Based on this fact, a European‐US definition of expertise is offered: expertise is the combination of knowledge, experience, and skills held by a person in a specific domain.Research limitations/implications – One major limitation is the selection of “experts” to describe “expertise”. Second, although all but one European interviewee spoke fluent English, the questions were asked in English. Third, virtual ethnography coupled with traditional interviewing is known to be best. Fourth, the research is deeply embedded in one field. Final...

Women employed in male-dominated industries: lessons learned from female aircraft pilots, pilots-in-training and mixed-gender flight instructors

To date, women who work in traditionally male-typed fields and occupations continue to face gender barriers. This paper reviews the literature on the topic then identifies and examines barriers presented during aviation training based on data from 296 female pilots-in-training, pilots, and flight instructors. Results show that the lack of acceptance, self-efficacy, lack of social support from organizations, flight instructors and family, and stereotyping are among the top obstacles women encounter during their flight training, often leading them to quit. Implications for human resource development (HRD) and for the recruitment, retention, and success of women in male-dominated occupations are discussed.

Work-related suicide

Purpose – For the past 50 years, the research literature has shown that employment can contribute to an individuals personal development. Yet, it has also shown that it can become a life-threatening stressor. Reported occupational suicides increased by 22.2 percent between 1995 and 2010, becoming a leading cause of death in the USA. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of six US government reports on employee suicides between 1995 and 2012. Design/methodology/approach – Through an interpretive case study approach (Yin, 2003), this study undertook a document analysis of key US government reports examining occupational suicides. Specifically, an analysis of three US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports was undertaken along with other documents, identifying key themes and facts. Findings – The analysis of the US government reports reveals a dim legal recognition of employee suicide as an occupational accident. The paper presents the characteristics of suicides as an occupational accident as wel...

The Role of HRD in Crisis Situations: Lessons Learned From Hurricane Katrina:

Investor fraud, scandals, terrorist acts, and natural disasters are typical unexpected crises organizations can face today. As a consequence, knowledge management and change management have become central themes in organizations.Although the field of Human Resource Development (HRD) has not focused extensively on crisis intervention, recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina have started grasping the attention of HRD scholars and practitioners who recognize the role organizational development can play. This article examines knowledge sharing in crisis situations. Specifically, it analyses a 2006 report from the U.S. government on the preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina by identifying its key themes, scenario facts, and lessons learned. It then makes suggestions on how organizations can improve knowledge-sharing practices in crisis situations, such as the development of integrative planning between agencies and the establishment of robust systems to capture, manage, and disseminate large volumes of data.

Facilitating workplace learning and change: Lessons learned from the lectores in pre-war cigar factories

Purpose – This study aims to describe the lectores (readers) who read the world news and works of literature to workers in pre-World War II cigar factories in Tampa, Florida, and in New York City. The paper addresses the need for more examination of some neglected aspects of workplace learning by presenting a more critical approach to workplace learning as a form of social change. It also focuses on the importance of the lectores’ role as facilitators of workplace learning and leaders of change. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a qualitative analysis of archival data from libraries and research centers located in New York City and in Miami, Florida. Findings – Through the lectores, cigar factories were a place where workplace learning, organizational and social change occurred daily. As leaders, the lectores were radical agents of change and created affordances that shaped the factory workers’ workplace and personal learning. The discussion explores the dynamics between the lectores and...

Testing the Existence of a Green Contract An Exploratory Study

The Problem Climate change has been identified as one of the most significant challenges of this generation. Yet, little is known about the reciprocal expectations that organizations and customers have in relation to environmental issues. Moreover, the field of human resource development (HRD) has done little to date to respond to environmental challenges. The Solution A set of four hypotheses were tested with a sample of 102 Scottish retail customers to examine some of the expectations customers have in relation to organizations. Three of the four hypotheses were proven indicating a strong correlation between levels of Customer Environmental Commitment/Action and Perceived Organizational Environmental Commitment/Action. The Stakeholders The research identifies an important educational role for HRD practitioners in improving the training and awareness of individuals in relation to environmental issues and the dissemination of positive environmental practices and innovative approaches. It postulates the existence of five variants of a “green contract,” which distinguishes different degrees of environmental commitment and behavior shown by both customers and organizations.

How NPD Leaders Perceive Themselves and Others

‘How NPD Leaders Perceive Themselves and Others’ presents an overview of where NPD individuals’ feelings of inadequacy may have originated and how those feelings are experienced by the NPD leader. After emphasizing common childhood patterns in NPD individuals, Germain delves into NPDs’ self-perception, their defense mechanisms, and describes the abusive techniques they employ to achieve success. This chapter includes a sample monologue written by an NPD individual and concludes by detailing how NPD leaders perceive the people around them.

Assessment of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

In “Assessment of Narcissistic Personality Disorder,” Germain focuses on the practical nature of observing narcissistic behaviors in the workplace. After outlining how NPD has been defined in different versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the chapter navigates through common clinical measures of NPD and their limitations. Germain concludes by presenting legal concerns about assessing personality disorders in the workplace and examines narcissistic individuals’ ability to fake psychometric tests .