Showing papers on "Skills management published in 1998"

Child development and emergent literacy

Abstract: Emergent literacy consists of the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are developmental precursors to reading and writing. This article offers a preliminary typology of children's emergent literacy skills, a review of the evidence that relates emergent literacy to reading, and a review of the evidence for linkage between children's emergent literacy environments and the development of emergent literacy skills. We propose that emergent literacy consists of at least two distinct domains: inside-out skills (e.g., phonological awareness, letter knowledge) and outside-in skills (e.g., language, conceptual knowledge). These different domains are not the product of the same experiences and appear to be influential at different points in time during reading acquisition. Whereas outside-in skills are associated with those aspects of children's literacy environments typically measured, little is known about the origins of inside-out skills. Evidence from interventions to enhance emergent literacy suggests that relatively intensive and multifaceted interventions are needed to improve reading achievement maximally. A number of successful preschool interventions for outside-in skills exist, and computer-based tasks designed to teach children inside-out skills seem promising. Future research directions include more sophisticated multidimensional examination of emergent literacy skills and environments, better integration with reading research, and longer-term evaluation of preschool interventions. Policy implications for emergent literacy intervention and reading education are discussed.

Teaching Critical Thinking for Transfer across Domains: Dispositions, Skills, Structure Training, and Metacognitive Monitoring.

Abstract: Advances in technology and changes in necessary workplace skills have made the ability to think critically more important than ever before, yet there is ample evidence that many adults consistently engage in flawed thinking. Numerous studies have shown that critical thinking, defined as the deliberate use of skills and strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome, can be learned in ways that promote transfer to novel contexts. A 4-part empirically based model is proposed to guide teaching and learning for critical thinking: (a) a dispositional component to prepare learners for efforiful cognitive work, (b) instruction in the skills of critical thinking, (c) training in the structural aspects of problems and arguments to promote transcontextual transfer of critical-thinking skills, and (d) a metacognitive component that includes checking for accuracy and monitoring progress toward the goal.

Cognitive, Metacognitive, and Motivational Aspects of Problem Solving

Abstract: This article examines the role of cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational skills in problem solving. Cognitive skills include instructional objectives, components in a learning hierarchy, and components in information processing. Metacognitive skills include strategies for reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics. Motivational skills include motivation based on interest, self-efficacy, and attributions. All three kinds of skills are required for successful problem solving in academic settings.

Intelligent system for dynamic resource management

Abstract: A system or method for human resource skill management, training, career development, and deployment, linking specialties, job functions, skill sets, and experience/training profiles The method uses skill templates, an innovation that allows for systematic evaluation of employee skills A weighting system is used to establish the relative significance of various skills Skills are sub-classified as per technology Assessment of employee suitability for a project is based on quantitative evaluation and not on a subjective consideration Various new skills assessment metrics have been introduced

Organisational Change: Sociological Perspectives

Abstract: In recent years, there has been an explosion of books on the nature of organisational change and the management skills needed to effectively carry it out. Many are written by change gurus and management consultants offering quick fixes and metaphor laden business toolkits, however, much of their advice is banal and under-theorized. This book redresses this balance by providing an original analysis of change management in organizations in the light of wider sociological perspectives. It critically examines the, often implicit, theoretical frameworks underpinning many contemporary accounts of organizational change, and covers subjects including: the importance of explicit analysis of theory and context a critique of populist management gurus and quick-fix 'how-to' solutions 'under-socialized' models of change which emphasise structure over human action trenchant analysis of 'soft' HRM solutions the management of culture. Radical and innovative, this book, the first to adopt a sociological approach, is a much-needed challenge to the orthodoxies of change management.

Multinational Management: A Strategic Approach

Abstract: With coverage of the global economy and the impact of managerial decisions, this management text shows you how to assess the strengths and weaknesses of competitors and how to adapt organizational practices. Features such as Case in Point and Management Challenge give you a realistic look into decision making and allow you to follow real discussions as managers make difficult decisions. Develop and perfect your management skills with the Multinational Management Skills Builder found at the end of each chapter

Personal transferable skills in higher education: the problems of implementing good practice

Abstract: Suggests that attempts to promote more effective approaches to personal transferable skills development throughout the UK higher education sector have met with variable but generally limited success. Considers why this has been the case. Argues that the problem is not simply one of a lack of understanding of what constitutes good practice in this area of teaching and learning ‐ the difficulties inherent in operationalising established good practice models are equally if not more significant. Identifies and discusses some of the commonly experienced barriers to the effective management of change in this area and begins to outline an agenda for addressing them.

The meaning and determinants of skills shortages

Abstract: In this paper we use establishment-level data to examine what managers mean when they report having skills shortages. We find that the concept of a skills shortage is not always the same as a hard-to-fill vacancy despite the latter being used by many authors who have considered the economic consequences of skills shortages. It seems that, while employers appear not to have any problems for themselves in interpreting questions on ‘skills shortages’, we cannot rely on them being perceived in a uniform way by all employers. Indeed, many employers stress that, amongst both their existing workforce and job applicants, there appear to be important shortfalls in motivational and attitudinal skills, leading us to believe that social skills are an important part of the skills said to be in shortage. Our findings point to two main conclusions for future research. First, studies that investigate the causes and effects of ‘skill shortages’ need to pay greater attention to their definition and measurement. Secondly, in future research on establishments and their skill formation practices, further steps could be taken to gain clarification either directly or indirectly from respondents as to the experiences they choose to classify as a skills shortage.

Competencies and Managerial Effectiveness: Putting Competencies to Work

Abstract: To be effective the development of workplace and managerial skills must reflect the current and projected needs of the organization. It is a critical responsibility of senior management to identify...

What Skills are Most Important? A Comparison of Employer, Student, and Staff Perceptions:

Abstract: Conjoint analysis is used to derive the relative importance of communication skills (encompassing written and verbal), problem-solving skills (analytic/quantitative), interpersonal skills, and work experience in hiring decisions for entry-level management graduates. Employer preferences are compared with perceptions of students and staff.

Learning the Art of Helping: Building Blocks and Techniques

Abstract: 1. Helping as a Personal Journey. 2. The Nuts and Bolts of Helping. 3. The Therapeutic Relationship. 4. Helping Someone Who is Different. 5. Invitational Skills. 6. Reflecting Skills: Paraphrasing. 7. Reflecting Skills: Reflecting Feelings. 8. Reflecting Skills: Reflecting Meaning and Summarizing. 9. Challenging Skills. 10. Assessment and the Initial Interview. 11. Goal-Setting Skills. 12. Solution Skills. 13. Outcome Evaluation and Termination Skills. 14. Curative Factors and Advanced Skills: Part I. 15. Curative Factors and Advanced Skills: Part II.

Authorship: the coin of the realm, the source of complaints.

Abstract: Context.—Disputes associated with achieving recognition for work done may affect both morale and subsequent resource allocation to medical researchers.Objective.—To assess authorship disputes brought to the Ombuds Office.Setting.—The Ombuds Office, Harvard Medical School, Dental School, School of Public Health, and affiliated hospitals.Main Outcome Measure.—Change in number of queries related to authorship between 1991 to 1992 and 1996 to 1997.Results.—Disputes increased from 8 (2.3%) of 355 issues brought to the office in 1991 to 1992 to 59 (10.7%) of 551 issues in 1996 to 1997. They also increased from involving 0.06% of the total population of faculty, staff, and students affiliated with the schools in 1991 to 1992 to 0.33% of the total population in 1996 to 1997. Such problems appear to occur more often for women (53% of complaints in 1994-1995 through 1996-1997) and for non–US citizens (21% of complaints in 1991-1992 through 1996-1997).Conclusions.—Authorship disputes are increasingly frequent. Institutions should increase enforcement of published authorship standards and place more emphasis on managerial skills for laboratory and research department heads.

Business development issues affecting nature-based tourism operators in Australia.

Abstract: The paper reports on research carried out on Australian nature-based operators that asked them to discuss what they wished they knew before they entered the sector, or alternatively, what they feel every new operator must know before entering business. The purpose of the study is to seek advice, in a qualitative manner, from established nature-based tour operators on the types of knowledge and skills needed by prospective new entrants to this sector. The study revealed that the problems of running a nature-based tour business in Australia are very similar to the generic problems faced by all manner of small businesses. To succeed, operators must be multi-skilled, they must possess the right personal qualities, business planning and management skills and they mustalso have appropriate operational skills to be able to deliver the products. A lack of ability in any of these skill or attribute areas may have an adverse effect on the success of the business.

Interactive video assessment of conflict resolution skills

Abstract: In this research we developed and validated an interactive video assessment of conflict resolution skills. A model of conflict management was used to develop the conflict scenarios and part of the scoring key. Computer assessments of conflict resolution skills and two cognitive abilities were administered to 347 supervisors and job performance ratings were collected from their managers. The conflict skills assessment was found to be significantly related to supervisory ratings of on-the-job performance in managing conflict but to be unrelated to the measures of cognitive ability. In addition, the conflict skills assessment had no adverse impact for women. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.

Technology Management Education: Alternative Models

Abstract: This article examines alternative educational degree programs as models for developing managerial skills in technical professionals. There are inherent weaknesses in this regard in current Master of Business Administration and Master of Engineering Management degree programs. These weaknesses can largely be alleviated through the appropriate design and implementation of Management of Technology degree programs that are well-focused and targeted toward understanding the complex problems of managing technology and appreciating the uniqueness of the context of technology-based organizations.

Alliances and networks: the next generation

Abstract: An increasing number of organisations view strategic alliances as the adequate response to rapid developments in market demands. By (temporarily) joining forces, products and services can be supplied when they are in demand. The poor success rate with respect to alliances (60—70%; of all alliances are disbanded prematurely) indicates that co-operation of this type involves a number of characteristic problems for which specific management skills are required. In developing these skills, it is vital that we learn from experience with successful and unsuccessful alliances. However, forming an alliance is so dependent on the specific circumstances that experience will not render a uniform recipe, albeit that the ingredients can be identified. Their quantity will differ in each individual situation.

Towards an evidence based health care management

Abstract: Inspired by the development of Evidence Based Medicine, this article introduces a new approach for health care management called Evidence Based Management. This approach promises to improve the practice of health care management, at the same time as it may stimulate research on the organization and management of health care. Evidence Based Management means that health care managers should learn to search for and critically appraise evidence from management research as a basis for their practice. This will require some new managerial skills that should be included in the education and training of health care managers. It will also require a new orientation for research on health care management. There will be a demand for more applied research, and also for research with a more positivist orientation. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Learning to Teach: The Acquisition and Maintenance of Teaching Skills

Abstract: We reviewed 49 studies which used direct observation procedures to provide data on the effects of pre-service and inservice training in practical classroom teaching behaviors and skills. We found stronger effects for training packages which included classroom practice with performance feedback. The research provided conflicting evidence regarding the value of modeling, role-play, cueing systems, and contingency management components in practical skills training. The weakest training effects were those produced by microteaching, Minicourse, and protocol training packages. Twenty of the evaluations also provided follow-up data but the design of these studies did not permit any conclusions to be drawn regarding the training conditions which are necessary for the maintenance of newly acquired classroom teaching skills. We concluded that identification of the training conditions which are necessary for the maintenance of new teaching skills will require more thoughtful conceptualizations of maintenance and its measurement, and more carefully designed component analyses of those factors suggested by basic research as being necessary for maintenance.

Video recording feedback: a feasible and effective approach to teaching history-taking and physical examination skills in undergraduate paediatric medicine.

Abstract: Medical educators have always recognized the need to teach and train medical graduates and undergraduates the skills of conducting a consultation. Several authors have established the efficacy of using constructive feedback on videotape of each student's interaction with a patient to teach and enhance such skills. This study reports 'students' perceptions' of the feedback process used in the Junior Paediatric Clerkship at the Faculty of Medicine of the United Arab Emirates University. An unexpected 73% of the respondents believed that self-observation influenced development of their clinical skills. More than 80% said that the feedback from instructors and peers helped them to improve their clinical skills, but they would have liked to have more than one of their consultations recorded and reviewed. It was found that 75% of the students felt that self-critique of their performance made them aware of their strengths and weaknesses and their skills in analysing and evaluating consultations had been enhanced. It was found from Kruskal Wallis one-way ANOVA that the students' professional attitude, empathy, and warmth towards the patients differed highly significantly (P = 0.0062, 0.0089, 0.0007, respectively) from self-assurance, self-confidence and competence. They were also deficient in certain areas of history-taking, interviewing skills, and physical examination techniques and perceived they needed more training in order to be proficient.

Core Skills, Key Skills and General Culture: In Search of the Common Foundation in Vocational Education

Abstract: The concept of core skills has become central to all policy details around post-16 education and training. Core skills are seen as the essential foundation for further education and training, as well as providing a catalyst for other desirable curriculum and qualification reforms- such as the integration of academic and vocational learning. However, they have not lived up to their promise. The article argues that core skills are an ineffective surrogate for general education and culture in vocational programmes.

Teaching Social Skills to Students with Learning and Behavior Problems

Abstract: Children who fail to acquire appropriate social skills have a lower probability of completing school, becoming employed, and becoming well-adjusted adults. This article provides the practitioner with strategies that can be used for teaching social skills to children with learning and behavior problems. These include how to select students for training, which social skills to use, teaching discrete skills and problem-solving routines, and helping students generalize training across settings and situations.

Accounting Students' Perceptions of Important Skills for Career Success

Abstract: Given numerous calls from the accounting profession to emphasize nontechnical skills in accounting programs, it seems appropriate and important to ascertain whether that message has reached students. In this study, we surveyed approximately 270 students attending undergraduate and graduate accounting classes at the same college to assess their perceptions of the importance of nontechnical and technical accounting skills. We related students' perceptions to student characteristics. Analyses of the responses show some differences across demographic groups. The results indicate that undergraduate students could benefit from greater awareness of the importance of nontechnical skills and that female students should be more aware of the importance of leadership skills.

Patient communication skills raining for improved communication competence in the primary care medical consultation

Abstract: Although considerable attention has been given to doctor‐patient communication over the last 20 years, relatively little research has emphasized the role of patients’ communication skills. This research extended the modest work in patient communication skills training by (a) employing a more sophisticated definition of question‐asking than has been used in previous studies, and (b) expanding training to include information‐verifying skills. The results indicate that the training procedure enhanced patients’: information seeking in the form of direct and indirect questions, comprehension‐checking utterances, the amount and effectiveness of obtained information, and recall of information. These results are discussed in terms of previous and future research into patient training in communication skills, and implications for practice.

Evaluation of a training package in the assessment and management of depression in primary care.

Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the impact on the behaviour and attitudes of experienced general practitioners of a 10-hour training package in the assessment and management of depression. Twenty general practitioners participated. Both subjective and objective assessments were carried out which suggested significant improvements in both assessment and management skills. However, subjectively reported changes were not always supported by the objective data obtained from rating role-played interviews. The role-played patients rated the doctors as better communicators after training. All participants felt attending the course was beneficial. They all felt more confident in their abilities to deal with depression and said the skills they had learnt on the course would be useful to them in their future work. An outcome study is now underway in order to assess whether the training package, which has been demonstrated to have an impact on the behaviour, skills and attitudes of doctors, has an impact on the health of patients.

BetterBlether: the design and evaluation of a discussion tool for education

Abstract: Communication skills play a prominent role in the primary school curriculum. Children are first expected to acquire these skills within a supervised group environment in which the teacher guides and sets the pace for the discussion, and later transfer them to a less dependent setting. This paper describes BetterBlether 1 , a computer mediated educational communication tool designed to facilitate and promote effective group interaction skills. BetterBlether uses a sentence opener approach (McManus & Aiken, 1995) in order to scaffold the use of a range of discussion skills. In so doing, it provides support for the move from teacher dominated discussions to ones in which the pupils play a more active part. We first provide an overview of BetterBlether before going on to describe an empirical evaluation which was carried out in a local primary school. Finally, we compare these results with outcomes of research on both supervised and unsupervised group discussions (Harwood, 1995). FOSTERING GROUP DISCUSSION SKILLS In recent years the Scottish National Curriculum has highlighted the important role which talking and listening skills play in the teaching of English Language. Communication skills are essential for effective learning, cultivating an awareness and knowledge of language, and play an important part in every child's adult life. Children are required to participate in small group discussions as part of an integrated programme to develop these skills (Scottish Office Education Department, 1991). The attainment targets of the "talking in groups" strand of English Language development include asking and answering questions, showing awareness of the ideas and feelings of others, and making relevant comments on the ideas of group members. There are corresponding targets for the listening in groups strand: offering and supporting opinions, questioning other opinions and suggesting other points of view. It has been shown that children benefit from group discussions if the class teacher takes an active part in the group interaction (Harwood, 1995). Harwood observed that children as young as eight can conduct fruitful group discussions without the presence of a teacher, but group discussions in which the teacher actively participated and encouraged the pupils to use certain collaborative skills were more successful. In particular, children working in unsupervised groups were unlikely to use questioning and listening skills during the discussion, their discussions tended to lack continuity, and they experienced problems with group relations. The participation of the teacher prompted group members to elaborate on and justify their opinions. For these reasons, Harwood states that "in the early stages with young children the teacher's presence and support in modelling group work skills can be crucial." (Harwood, 1995, p. 1). Yet Harwood acknowledges that children need the experience of working in an unsupervised group so that they can develop for themselves the skills of managing group relations. Such discussions also provide an opportunity for pupils to learn to formulate and test their own ideas. Further analysis of Harwood's results suggests that the presence of the teacher decreases the opportunities for children to take the initiative in the discussion, or to ask questions.

Graduates’ perceptions of transferable personal skills and future career preparation in the UK

Abstract: A sample of 1996 undergraduate students from the University of Central Lancashire were surveyed soon after graduation. Responses were obtained from 143 graduates of the University from an initial census of 315 (45 per cent) drawn from six departments. Although the initial purpose of the survey was to assess the usefulness of survey methodology as a means of assessing graduates’ skills development, the research also addressed a number of key questions relating to the importance and quality of graduates’ generic transferable skills and competencies. Basic findings in terms of skills development are threefold: (a) graduates tend to rate the importance of particular skills more highly than their own ability in those skills, (b) graduates tend to rate their level of ability lowest in IT skills and highest in their ability to work without supervision, and (c) that there are possible differences between the views of males and females. The research has implications for undergraduates, employers and careers advisers. Furthermore, academic departments facing teaching quality assessment might find that this approach offers useful evidence for their self assessment.

Key skills and curriculum reform

Abstract: A number of answers have been offered to the question ‘what do we want key skills for?˚s Key skills are supposed to compensate for early specialisation at school, bridge the academic-vocational divide, provide vocational relevance, and cultivate the sort of people employers want to employ. The range of responses, and the seriousness of the issues raised, suggest that more fundamental curriculum reform might be required than the addition of key skills. Two other problems are identified and discussed. First, the demand for key skills can encourage a narrow focus on ‘practical˚s outcomes from education which reinforces a long-standing anti-theoretical strain in British culture. Secondly, concepts underpinning key skills have not been properly thought through, particularly in the case of transferability. The argument is that thinking about key skills must be firmly located in discussion of the design and purpose of the curriculum as a whole, and that as much attention should be paid to educational pr...