Managerial Practices and Organizational Conditions That Encourage Employee Growth and Development

This paper focuses on seven major managerial practices and three negative conditions that must be managed to enhance employee growth and development. These managerial practices and conditions have significant potential for human resource development practitioners and performance improvement technologists by providing new perspectives to improve employee performance through employee growth and development activities. Surveys measuring employee perceptions of manager behaviors were administered to 503 MBA and PhD students from the United States, resulting in 463 useable responses. The hypotheses were tested using linear regression and structural equation modeling. Based on the analysis, the researchers found that involving employees in decision making, motivating employees, treating employees as unique individuals, and making certain that managers are effective have the highest influence on employee growth and development.     

Increasing Efficiency: A Process-Oriented Approach Originally published in 1993, PIQ 6.4

Increasingly, customer satisfaction and business success depends as much on speed and timing as it does on the cost and quality of the goods we produce or the sendees we render. As such, doing things faster is becoming just as important as doing them better and cheaper. Increased efficiency, however, will not be attained simply by imploring employees to work harder or by increasing employee workloads. Increased efficiency can only be accomplished through the systematic analysis and reengineering of our work processes, including the elimination or minimization of all associated non-value adding process steps. DO•CA•TIM, a seven-step methodology for systematically identifying and eliminating or minimizing non-value adding process steps, is presented. The methodology is appropriate for analyzing and improving the execution of any human task; it is equally applicable to the rendering of services and the production of products.     

What reasons are given by teachers who refer problem behavior students?

Referral information regarding 215 students referred to school psychologists was reviewed. Of this group, 74% were males and approximately one-half were referred while enrolled in the third through sixth grades. The most frequently stated reasons for referral were: (a) poor peer relationships, (b) displays frustration, (c) below academic expectations, (d) shy and withdrawn behavior, (e) disruptive behavior, (f) fighting, (g) refuses to work, and (h) short attention span. Referral reasons presented by classroom teachers correspond to the four major characteristics of behavior disorders: conduct disorders, personality disorders, inadequacy/immaturity, and socialized delinquency. Most referrals corresponded to reported behaviors representing conduct and personality disorders.     

Teacher ratings of problem behaviors: Which student behaviors “concern” and “disturb” teachers?

Fifty elementary teachers rated the problem behaviors of students to indicate both how much the behaviors “disturbed” them and how much they were “concerned” about the behaviors. The results suggest that teachers are more concerned about behaviors than disturbed by them. However, teachers were both disturbed and concerned about aggressive interaction with and between students. The implications of the findings are discussed.