Competency Development Program Research Articles

Analisis Situasional Kompetensi Praktisi Sumber Daya Manusia Indonesia Menghadapi MEA 2015

. ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will be implemented at the early 2016 referred to the agreement signed by all ASEAN countries' leaders. One of the agreement content is the free flow of skilled labor including Human Resources (HR) professional. Indonesia's HR practitioners are not fully ready to face this upcoming more open competition. HR professional competency in Indonesia needs to be examined deeply to find its existence to be seen from HR practitioners' point of view. This research uses descriptive statistic method to map ideas, perceptions, and opinions from HR practitioners pertaining their competencies. Respondents come from Jabodetabek area and the big cities in Java Island due to the main location of private companies. Sampling frame is purposive non random sampling to cover members of Indonesia HR Management Association via online questionnaire study. There are 250 respondents who filled the questionnaries completely. Research findings show that the educational background of Indonesia's HR practitioners is various and dominated by Management, then followed by Psychology, Technic, and Law. HR evolution in Indonesia indicates mostly being exposed in administration dan industrial relations (35%), 21% has been involved in strategic decision making process, and 20% has demonstrated as strategic partner and change agent. HR competency standard and its development and certification programs are perceived very important and urgent to be developed further, although the uqualization of development opportunity is not well distributed across Indonesia areas. Organization/company has already showed significant recognition to HR profession by giving the highest position at director level (34,8%), General Manager (14%), and Manager (32,4%). More than half respondent stated not ready to face the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), however the acceleration process of HR practitioners' competency development program needs to be done in order to enhance the competitiveness in regional and global competition.

Nurse Competence Scale – Psychometric testing in a Norwegian context

The aim was to test the construct validity of the Nurse Competence Scale. The Nurse Competence Scale has been used in hospital settings for various purposes in several countries. Despite this, confirmatory factor analyses are scarcely reported. The present study is based on re-analyses of data from 2007 (i.e. psychometric testing) and 593 newly graduated nurses working in various contexts were included. Confirmatory as well as exploratory factor analyses (Principal Component Analysis) were carried out. The original 7-factor model of the Nurse Competence Scale (73 items) was not confirmed. The exploratory factor analyses resulted in a Norwegian Nurse Competence Scale consisting of 46 items in the following competence categories: Planning and delivery of care, Teaching functions, Professional leadership, Research utilization and nursing values and Professional awareness.The results underline the needs for psychometric testing of an instrument after translation processes. The instrument is suitable for describing and comparing nurse competence for various reasons. It may also be helpful in creating competence development programs at an individual as well as at an organizational level. Further studies with a broader sample are recommended.

A teacher competence development programme for supporting students’ reflection skills

This study aimed to evaluate a training programme for Dutch teachers in six institutes for nursing education to support students’ reflection skills. The research question was: what are the feasibility, quality and effects of the programme? The training programme focused on four competences of teachers regarding instructing, guiding, giving feedback on and assessing students’ reflection skills. The programme development was informed by research-based features of effective teacher professional development and expertise about reflection and feedback. Nineteen teachers took part in the training programme and eight teachers formed a control group. Pre-measurements concerned teachers’ initial knowledge, experience, beliefs, practices and self-assessment of competences. During the programme, data were gathered about participants’ appraisal of the content and activities, learning concerns and perceived results. Post-measurements concerned quality and effects of the programme, using teachers’ assessment of own development, current teaching activities and repeated measurement of certain practices, beliefs and self-assessment of competences. Teachers’ appraisal of the training programme was fairly positive. Results indicate that teachers can develop competences in supporting students’ reflection skills and improve their practice in a relatively modest amount of time by participating in a purposeful and coherent programme including relevant content, active learning and expert feedback.

Bacillus subtilis Mutants with Knockouts of the Genes Encoding Ribonucleases RNase Y and RNase J1 Are Viable, with Major Defects in Cell Morphology, Sporulation, and Competence

The genes encoding the ribonucleases RNase J1 and RNase Y have long been considered essential for Bacillus subtilis cell viability, even before there was concrete knowledge of their function as two of the most important enzymes for RNA turnover in this organism. Here we show that this characterization is incorrect and that ΔrnjA and Δrny mutants are both viable. As expected, both strains grow relatively slowly, with doubling times in the hour range in rich medium. Knockout mutants have major defects in their sporulation and competence development programs. Both mutants are hypersensitive to a wide range of antibiotics and have dramatic alterations to their cell morphologies, suggestive of cell envelope defects. Indeed, RNase Y mutants are significantly smaller in diameter than wild-type strains and have a very disordered peptidoglycan layer. Strains lacking RNase J1 form long filaments in tight spirals, reminiscent of mutants of the actin-like proteins (Mre) involved in cell shape determination. Finally, we combined the rnjA and rny mutations with mutations in other components of the degradation machinery and show that many of these strains are also viable. The implications for the two known RNA degradation pathways of B. subtilis are discussed.

Human Capital Investments and Employee Performance: An Analysis of IT Services Industry

The rapid pace of technological innovation necessitates that information technology (IT) services firms continually invest in replenishing the skills of their key asset base, the human capital. We examine whether human capital investments directed toward employee training are effective in improving employee performance. Our rich employee level panel data set affords us the opportunity to link formal training with performance at the individual employee level. Using a dynamic panel model, we identify a significant positive impact of training on employee performance. A unit increase in training is linked to a 2.14% increase in an employee's performance. Interestingly, we find that in the IT sector, skills atrophy and consequently high-experience employees reap higher returns from training, which highlights the uniquely dynamic nature of IT knowledge and skills. We also find that general training that an employee can utilize outside the focal firm improves employee performance. However, specific training pertinent to the focal firm is not positively linked to performance. On the other hand, although domain and technical training both enhance employee performance individually, the interaction between the two suggests a substitutive relationship. Thus, our findings suggest that the value of training is conditional on a focused curricular approach that emphasizes a structured competency development program. Our findings have both theoretical and practical significance. Most important, they justify increased human capital investments to fuel future growth in this important component of the global economy. This paper was accepted by Lorin Hitt, information systems.

The Elderly Caregiver Competency Development to Promote Long-term Elderly Health in Community

The numbers of elderly are increasing rapidly in Thailand. Aging societyimpacted healthy lifestyles of living. This research aimed to develop the elderlycaregiver competency to strengthen elderly health and life-long living. Theconcepts of health promotion model were investigated by methods of survey andfocus group discussion process. The elderly caregiver competency was exploredand developed in the Lower Northern part of Thailand. The samples were elderlycaregiver and elderly in 2 steps using multistage random sampling and selectivesamples. The instruments of this research were questionnaire and record sheets.The statistical techniques were the frequency, percentage and mean. The researchfindings showed that the caregivers were adults and aging that have to take careof elderly who were moderately old and very old age with health status was at amoderate level. The conclusion was that the elderly caregivers were induced in theknowledge program to promote long-term elderly health in the community. Therecommendation was the participatory activities with a community organization,various health communication in a community were needed to develop the modelof the elderly caregiver competency development. For further research, it shouldapply the elderly caregiver competency development program to the other areas. Keywords: Health Education, health promotion, aging, descriptive design, Thailand

Developing Professional Competence at a Mexican Organization: Legitimate Peripheral Participation and the Role of Technology

In the last decade, technology has become a fixed reality in organizations, transforming the strategies deployed in them to develop professional competence. This study analyzes the development of professional competence of employees of a large Mexican organization, focusing on the legitimate peripheral participation process and the role of technology in the staff's learning. This was a case study based on in-depth interviews with six employees at different stages of expertise. Areas explored included the characteristics of their communities of practice, their legitimate peripheral participation process, and the role of technology in their learning. The two researchers individually coded the interviews and identified key themes. For participants in this study, a main benefit of belonging to a community of practice was to be able to learn from other members. While their organization employed formal educational strategies (e.g., courses and departmental visits), interviewees tended to value more informal learning derived from face-to-face contact with peers and supervisors, especially when being novices. Some also reported that performing their job activities on their own was particularly useful for learning. Their reactions towards the use of technology in education varied, ranging from highly skeptic to highly supportive. Their previous experiences and their perceptions of e-learning were characterized by the lack of social interaction opportunities. Results have implications for the design of organizational learning strategies. They highlight the importance of including practical in- the-job situated activities in professional competence development programs and social interactions in online courses.

치기공과 학생들의 해외취업에 대한 선호도 조사

Purpose: This study aimed to find overseas workplace and improve global competence through the preference survey on overseas employment by dental technology students. Methods: The survey sample consisted of 250 randomly selected dental technology students. Survey was conducted from March 1 to May 1 in 2012. Total of 245(98.0%) replies and analyzed 236 questionnaires excluding 9 incomplete questionnaires. The questionnaires used in this study consisted of 7 items for general information, overseas employment characteristics of 10 items, 7 items for overseas employment activation plane and job competency development of 7 items. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS(Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Win 19.0 statistics program. Results: Regarding general characteristics of the subjects, there were 131 third graders(55.5%), 63 first graders(26.7%) and 42 second graders(17.8%) among 130 males(55.1%) and 106 females(44.9%). 221(93.6%) of the subjects had no experience in language training. Students who had clinical training for 1-5 months were 123(52.1%), and 24(10.2%) students had more than six months. 89(37.7%) of the subjects had no clinical training. 155(65.7%) of the subjects hope to work with korean owner, and 81(34.3%) chose foreign owner. Favored working countries were Australia(41.5%), the United States(29.2%), Canada(18.2%) and other(11.0%). The field of dental ceramic was indicated to be the highest proportion of 104(44.1%). Period of training were 3 hours(40.3%) and 6 hours(35.2%). The most important training were language-centered education(54.2%), Job-oriented education(24.2%), local culture education(16.1%), other(3.0%) and Leadership Training(2.5%). The subjects chose overseas worker(44.9%), working-level practitioner (28.8%), successfully employed dental technology graduate(19.5%a) and professor(3.4%) as an instructor. The subjects get education and training information from professor(40.3%), other(28.0%), senior(14.4%), job site(8.9%) and acquaintance(8.5%). A credit exchange(2.46 points), a joint degree program(2.46 points), and a foreign professor(2.33 points) were needed to activate the overseas employment. A kind of dental prosthesis(3.58 points), carving tooth morphology(3.38 points), and majors of dental technology(3.30 points) were indicated to develop job competency for overseas employment. Age, year, clinical training experience and company owner were statistically meaningful data among the general characteristics affecting job competency development. Conclusion: The college needs to offer variety programs such as foreign language-centered education and a local job competency development program to graduates to be connected with international workplace and employment.

Employee Empowerment in the Royal Commission at Yanbu

The purpose of this study is to find out if there are employee empowerment structures and programs in the Royal Commission at Yanbu; and if so whether they are operative. The research questions are: Is there an operative culture of employee empowerment? To what extent is formal power shared? To what extent is operational information shared? Are there any competency development programs in existence? Are employees supported in pursuance of organizational goals? Respondents were a sample of employees at the head office of the organization. The assessment strategy was a questionnaire of 36 items administered to 10% of employees ranging through all organizational levels. The questions aimed at obtaining evidence of existence of five components of employee empowerment, namely, a culture of employee empowerment, power and information sharing, employee competency development, and employee support. Under each component were a number of elements whose existence and activeness were directly tested by the questions. The responses to each item were rated in a 5-point Likert scale anchored at 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree. Data was analyzed by presenting a table of frequencies of responses to each question testing the element(s). An element was considered highly operative if 80% or more of respondents chose the positive responses of agree or strongly agree; and the element was considered operative if between 60% and 79% of respondents chose the two options. If between 45% and 59% of the respondents chose the two options on the scale, the element was considered operative but deflated. If less than 45% of respondents chose the two options, the element was considered inactive or inoperative. The scores of all elements subscribing to an empowerment component were then averaged to find the score of the component. The findings showed that employee empowerment was an active phenomenon in the Royal Commission at Yanbu, albeit not so strong.

A Professional Competency Development Model: Implications for Extension Educators

Professional development refers to continuing education designed to enhance competencies, skills, and knowledge. There is a need for a professional development model based on the educational processes used by educators of adults. A professional competency development model was constructed from a study grounded on four educational process areas in Extension. In this study, 441 randomly selected Extension educators in the North Central Region of the United States participated through an online survey. The proposed model has implications for designing professional competency development programs in the areas of needs assessment/program development, teaching and learning methods, delivery strategies, and evaluation methods. It also indicates the best time and place for Extension educators to develop the competencies and suggests a mechanism to continuously identify the knowledge and skills needed to obtain the best results. This model could be used to develop educational programs in a variety of national and international settings.

1120 Evidence Based Practice or Rather Knowledge Based Practice - How to Get there

Background and aims: Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) are highly specialized wards that require specially trained and highly qualified nurses focused on ensuring the best possible outcome for their patients. The areas of neonatology and neonatal nursing are constantly developing, therefore it is imperative that nurses keep up to date with research and development of best practice guidelines. Methods and Results: The need for knowledge based practice comes both from clinical practice and hospital administration. Clinical practice generates a need for new knowledge and clinical development. Increased clinical competency and academic development is also advantageous from the point of view of unit administration, and thus the Oslo University Hospital administration requires all wards to implement evidence based practice. These different needs are met with a well organised competency development program, and to ensure knowledge based practice in the NICU, the organisation plays a crucial part. NICU, Oslo University Hospital provides three professional and clinical development study days per 18 week roster including teaching, medical simulation, staff certification of medical technical equipment and implementation of new procedures. To ensure professional develpment, the NICU provide Professional Development Nurses, Clinical Tutors and a Medical Technical Nurse. These key elements facilitates integration of knowledge based practice into the daily lives and routines of NICU nurses. Conclusions: Today's clinical practice requires optimal quality of care and effective use of resources. Knowledge based practice focuses on patient safety and building knowledge in the individual nurse and in the nursing staff.

Exploring competency development: it’s the helping part

Restorative justice is an operating philosophy that, while used in other countries for many years, began being implemented in the United States in the early and mid 1990s. This paper takes a look at one part of the restorative justice philosophy, attempts to instill conceptual clarity, and examines one state’s process of implementing competency development programs and the effects that state has seen. In addition, five domains of competency development are explored as well as practical means of attaining the goals of each domain. The paper concludes with specific ways of measuring the outcomes of competency development, along with the progress that one commonwealth’s juvenile justice system has made.

Action learning for further developing project management competencies: A case study from an engineering consultancy company

Competence development of the employees is a core element when it comes to successful implementation of planned change. In this article, findings from an in-depth empirical study in an engineering consultancy are presented. The consultancy wanted to further develop the organization due to changed market conditions. Among other initiatives, top management established a competence development programme for the project managers. Action learning was used as a developmental method in one of the projects in the programme. The research showed that certain preconditions needed to exist in order for the project managers to benefit from participating in action learning, e.g. a proper and respected selection process for participants, proper training of the facilitators, sufficient time spent together in each action learning session, and sufficient follow-up.

Exploring core competencies for R&D technical professionals

In order to maintain technical competitiveness, companies have an ongoing need to identify and foster core competencies for technical professionals in the area of research and development (R&D). Exploring core competencies is, however, a qualitative problem. The rough set theory (RST), which has recently become well known as a data-mining technique, is a good tool for data reduction in qualitative analysis. Thus, the rough set approach is suitable for dealing with the problem of exploring competencies. This study extends practical applications of RST in mining the critical competencies for R&D technical professionals employed by semiconductor manufacturers in Taiwan. This paper demonstrates a successful reduction of the numerous essential competencies into a more compact set, and arrived at six core competencies which can be regarded as the as indispensable attributes for the design of competency development programs for R&D technical professionals.

Why do small enterprises participate in a programme for competence development?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of why firms, specifically small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), participate in a programme for competence development and why firms use different strategies for competence development.Design/methodology/approachA study of 17 SMEs that all received support from the European Social Fund, Objective 3 programme. The collection of data is based on semi‐structured interviews with management/owners, internal project leaders, employees and union representatives, feedback seminars with representatives from the studied enterprises, and on analysis of documents.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that all SMEs reported driving forces for competence development relating to both external organizational conditions and internal organizational conditions, to at least a certain degree. Furthermore, there appears to be a strong relationship between observed patterns of driving forces and the strategy for competence development used by the firm.Practical implicationsThe SMEs that experience a relatively stronger driving force for competence development initiate problem‐solving efforts to design and implement more elaborated strategies for competence development. The SMEs that experience a lesser degree of driving force for competence development implement less elaborated strategies for competence development.Originality/valueThe paper finds that both external and internal organizational conditions are important in understanding why SMEs undergo competence development programme. Furthermore, the importance of external and internal organizational conditions is not only limited to why the companies participate in a programme for competence development, but also for how they participate, i.e. the strategies used for competence development.

Using the Personal Competence Manager as a complementary approach to IMS Learning Design authoring

In this article TENCompetence will be presented as a framework for lifelong competence development. More specifically, the relationship between the TENCompetence framework and the IMS Learning Design (LD) specification is explored. LD authoring has proven to be challenging and the toolset currently available is targeting expert users mostly working for institutions of higher educations. Furthermore these tools re-enforce a fairly rigid top-down workflow approach towards design and delivery. This approach it is not always the most suitable model in all circumstances for all practitioners. TENCompetence provides an alternative bottom-up approach to LD authoring via its first implementation: the Personal Competence Manager (PCM). Constructs such as competence profiles and competence development programmes, let users define, modify, and acquire competences they need for achieving their personal goals. We will show how the PCM provides support for these constructs and stimulates the bottom-up development of learning materials. We will also show how these concepts can be mapped towards LD. This allows the ad hoc designs of the PCM to be captured in a unit of learning (UOL). These UOLs can be enhanced and eventually fed back into the PCM, therewith closing the edit cycle. This editing cycle allows for a gradual integration of bottom-up ad hoc designs with more formal top-down designs introducing LD in a gentle fashion.

Generative Adaptation Reuse of Competence Development Programmes

Instructional engineering provides methods to conduct the design and adaptation of competence development programmes by the combination of diverse learning components (i.e. units of learning, learning activities, learning resources and learning services). It occurs through an established process workflow in which models with diverse levels of abstraction are used to depict such learning components. This paper presents a model-driven generative method used to adapt and reuse a set of learning components for the delivery of a competence development programme concerned with a given learning objective and which serves for a specific instructional context. Editors: Daniel Burgos.

Generative Instructional Engineering of Competence Development Programmes

Generative Instructional Engineering of Competence Development Programmes

Managing for Total Training Quality

As employers have recognized the potential impact of training schemes to increase organizational productivity this had led to an expansion of competence development programmes. Although one could reasonably expect this increase to be accompanied by the introduction of sophisticated training evaluation systems this has not occurred. Traditional approaches such as direct assessment of employee knowledge, attitudes and skills are still prevalent. Proposes an alternative evaluation model which draws on concepts associated with total quality management. The evaluation is extended to cover assessment of: employee satisfaction; satisfaction of the employee′s superior; persons to whom the employee provides outputs; and the organization′s external customers. Describes application of the model during all phases of the training programme design through to delivery of training: Examines the implications of the model in organizations which have adopted total quality management.

Language training in development: New strategies and roles

“We want to know how well our language training program is going. Can you help us?” (Olle Andersson, Chief Technical Advisor, Lao-Swedish Road Projects, July 1991). It seemed a relatively innocuous question at the time and we were only too willing to help. As language training specialists at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, it was our job to respond to such requests. In answering it, though, we have addressed the issue of developing technical competencies which had led us to propose a strategy for including language training as a key component of participatory competency development programs.