Michael J. Kavanagh

The Effects of Training Design, Individual Characteristics and Work Environment on Transfer of Training

This study aims to gain insight into some of the factors that determine the transfer of training to the work context. The present research examined the relationship between three types of predictors on transfer of training, including training design, individual characteristics and work environment. Data was collected at two points in time from 182 employees in a large grocery organization. The results indicated that transfer design, performance self-efficacy, training retention and performance feedback were significantly related to transfer of training. Contrary to expectation, supervisory support was not significantly related to transfer of training. These results suggest that in order to enhance transfer of training, organizations should design training that gives trainees the ability to transfer learning, reinforces the trainees beliefs in their ability to transfer, ensures the training content is retained over time and provides appropriate feedback regarding employee job performance following training activities.

Got support? The impact of supportive work practices on the perceptions, motivation, and behavior of customer-contact employees.

While scholars know a great deal about the operational challenges faced by customer-contact employees in the hospitality industry, there is much to be learned about the factors associated with the work context that influences employee motivation, performance, and retention. In this study, the authors examined the nature and impact of perceptions about an organization’s customer service climate on ratings of self-efficacy, customer service job performance, and intentions to leave among employees in customer-contact positions. Results demonstrated that employees’ perceptions about the climate for service quality were significantly related to motivation, supervisor ratings of service job performance, and self-rated intentions to leave. The results offer insights regarding the role of service climate perceptions and the means for effectively managing customer-contact staff and generating higher levels of retention.

Retraining Climate as a Predictor of Retraining Success and as a Moderator of the Relationship between Cross-Job Retraining Time Estimates and Time to Proficiency in the New Job

The limited empirical research on lateral cross-job retraining supports the idea that analysis of employee transferability of skills is related to retraining success in the new assignment. The present study extends this line of research by investigating retraining climate as an additional predictor of retraining success and as a moderator of the relationships between cross-job retraining time estimates and time to proficiency in the new assignment. Of the three climate dimensions studied, situational constraints (but not organizational support or supervisory support) exhibited the predicted direct and moderator effects.

Confounding the Creation of Social Forces

Many studies of bargaining behavior use an experimental paradigm in which a role play manipulation is contrasted with a “real” social force manipulation. These design changes confound the results because the experiments social forces are created by two qualitatively different methods (role play versus “reality”) which are not quantitatively controlled. The present study replicates a previous experiment with this paradigm as a control condition and remedies the design problems as an experimental condition. The confounding is evident since a significant difference between control and experimental conditions is found. These results suggest that (1) methodologically, previous studies using the confounded design are tenuous; (2) contextually, loyalty does not have a significantly stronger influence on a negotiator than the need for logic; and (3) the group processes that affect the outcome are not obvious, although three post hoc explanations are proposed for future investigation.

Development and validation of the Customer-Centered Behavior measure

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a new measure of customer service job performance – the Customer-Centered Behavior (CCB) measure. The CCB measure draws on the content of over 15 existing measures, but captures in-role service performance focused on customer interactions in a multidimensional framework. Three studies were conducted to develop and validate the new measure. Study 1 addresses the item generation process and examines the initial factor structure. Results demonstrate that service behaviors are best represented as a second-order construct composed of three first-order factors – assurance, responsiveness, and recommendation behaviors. Study 2 confirms the factor structure and provides evidence for the measures predictive validity. Finally, Study 3 provides evidence for incremental validity above other service performance measures.

The Practice of Management

In undergoing this life, many people always try to do and get the best. New knowledge, experience, lesson, and everything that can improve the life will be done. However, many people sometimes feel confused to get those things. Feeling the limited of experience and sources to be better is one of the lacks to own. However, there is a very simple thing that can be done. This is what your teacher always manoeuvres you to do this one. Yeah, reading is the answer. Reading a book as this practice of management and other references can enrich your life quality. How can it be?