Knowledge , Skills And Abilities Research Articles

Psychologists and Psychiatrists as Leaders and Managers

Received: June 01, 2014 | Published: June 02, 2014 Our professional world is changing rapidly, creating unique opportunities and challenges for traditionally trained psychologists and psychiatrists entering leadership positions and assuming management responsibilities. Kelly and Finkelman [1] evaluated the advantages and limitations of these professionals in management within the context of the wide array of leadership possibilities and variety of their training and experience. They compared the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) of the psychological professions to the requirements of organizations and management hierarchies ranging from traditional corporations to healthcare, educations, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Learning teamwork knowledge, skills and abilities: business simulation vs. case studies

The goal of this paper is to compare Business Simulations (BS) vs. case studies in terms of teamwork Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) improvement, specifically those identified by Stevens and Campion (1994). With this aim, we conducted an analysis with a group of 51 students of a compulsory Corporate Strategy course at the Business School of the University of Valladolid during the 2006 academic year. We assessed student teamwork KSAs at two different times -before and after participation of part of students in BS. Results show that BS is more effective at improving student teamwork KSAs than case studies.

The Factors Influencing the Adoption of Total Quality Management with Emphasis on Innovative/Strategic Management Accounting Techniques

This paper address the factors influencing the adoption of TQM (Total Quality Management), particularly the innovative management accounting techniques, where in nowadays competitive environment quality is the key to an firm’s success and survival, to compete effectively, firms must embrace the principles of TQM. Therefore, this paper reports the findings of a postal questionnaire survey based on replies from 256 companies undertaken in the KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) environment. The paper empirically examines the extent of the adoption rate of TQM and to which potential explanatory factors influence the adoption of TQM in KSA companies. A distinguishing feature of the research is that it examines and compares the practices of both manufacturing and non manufacturing. Results show a significant relationship between TQM and some potential explanatory factors and give directions for further study.

A Mastery Rubric for the design and evaluation of an institutional curriculum in the responsible conduct of research

We describe a Mastery Rubric for the design and evaluation of an institutional curriculum in the responsible conduct of research (RCR), motivated by new federal (US) research funding requirements for documenting this training over investigators’ careers. A Mastery Rubric outlines the desired knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) for a course or curriculum, rather than for an assignment, together with descriptions of a learner’s performance and/or capabilities from novice to proficiency, expertise or mastery of the curricular target(s). Our MR encompasses, formalises and provides a roadmap for the institutional implementation of career-spanning training in RCR. The rubric highlights the KSAs that support learning goal articulation for the targeted content areas; it also promotes assessment that demonstrates development in the target KSAs and encourages reflection and cognitive self-monitoring throughout RCR training over the scientist’s career. It represents a flexible, criterion-referenced definition of ‘success’ for both individuals and the institution itself – concretely reflecting the institution’s norms and standards with respect to RCR and representing a flexible mechanism for self-monitoring by individuals as well as the institution. A Mastery Rubric for a curriculum in the RCR can be generated using any topical KSA framework.

Expatriate Selection: The Key To International Success

The types of criteria used to evaluate individuals' success in expatriate assignments and variables, which could represent expatriates' knowledge skills and abilities (KSAs), were investigated in this study. The four most common criteria are (a) technical competencies; (b) human relational skills; (c) spouse and family adaptability; and (d) desirability to serve overseas. Another attempt was made to understand the relationships between firm's selection strategies and expatriate success. Success was viewed from a multidimensional perspective. In addition, the tasks and responsibilities of expatriates vary by company, by industry, and by country. A contingency approach for selection was discussed briefly.

Formal Education Effectiveness and Relevance: Lodging Manager Perceptions

In order to study the influence of formal education on lodging management success, opinions of 246 senior and middle-level executives from 28 states across the US were obtained. Success is measured in terms of competency development, and four highly relevant areas of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) are investigated: financial management, leadership and management, marketing and customer-centeredness. Consistent with the limited prior research in this area, the findings of the current research demonstrate that today's industry professionals perceive formal education as having only a moderate impact on lodging management success. Study findings have implications for educators, professionals and industry by providing opportunity for enhanced delivery of education and achieving lodging management success.

Educational Contents Analysis Of Ncca Accredited Personal Training Certification Programs

We are attending a vertiginous growth of the implantation of personal training (PT) services in Spain. However, there´s a great confusion on what type of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) should PT have due to it´s width and fast implementation, together with the absence of professional regulation. The aim of this study is to determine the relative importance that several international certifications, accredited by National Commission For Certifying Agencies (NCCA) as of December 2008, grant to different knowledge fields. Contents of 10 PT certifications programs were analyzed: NSCA, ACSM, NASM, ACE, IFPA, NCSF, NETA, NESTA, NFPT and The Cooper Institute. Distribution of the contents in 8 categories that include all KSAs that should have a PT, according to these organizations. A international panel of experts validated the election and definition of the categories, afterwards we distributed the contents of each certification in these categories. When any content didn't agree exactly with those owned to this study, an interpretation was carried out, assigning the relative importance based on panel of experts criteria. Statistical analysis used measures of central tendency (mean and standard deviations), as well as coefficient of variability (C.V.), using SPSS software (v.15.0; SPSS, Inc. Chicago, IL). The categories resulted from the analysis are (Table 1): exercise programming and prescription (EPP), applied sciences (AS), physical fitness testing and interpretation (PFT), exercises technique (ET), nutrition (N), marketing and business applications (MB), safety and emergency management (SEM), legal issues (LI). The most relevant category is EEP, with an average of importance among all certifications of 24,8%. It´s followed by AS (22,5%), PFT (19%), and ET (17,3%). Resting categories (N, MB, SEM and LI), have an importance average lower than 10%. The relevance of the MB category is the most heterogeneous, data that indicates a great disagreement among the studied certifications in relation to this aspect of PT competence. EPP is the most important content, followed by AS, PFT and ET. On the other hand, N, MB, SEM and LI are the categories considered as less relevant. PT educational programs should distribute their contents and load assigned to them in a similar way to the results obtained in this study.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities of International Business Majors

To compete in a global environment, firms need people with the appropriate international knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA). Undergraduate international business (IB) majors may not be taught the specific KSA that match those business needs. This study surveyed the most active international companies in Minnesota (USA) that had recently hired new employees into IB positions. Top hiring requirements were general skills followed by five specific IB-related KSA: direct sales (exporting/distributorships); importing (sourcing/purchasing); global sales contracts/negotiations; global transportation/logistics, and strategic planning. Business needs for IB-related KSA differ from the content of typical textbook-guided IB courses taught at colleges and universities, the implication being that more practical aspects of day-to-day operations of firms engaged in IB should be included in the curriculum.

Essentials of Personnel Assessment and Selection

Essentials of Personnel Assessment and Selection Robert M. Guion and Scott Highhouse Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (2006) 379 pages, Softcover, $49.95 Reviewed by: Josephine Sosa-Fey Texas A&M University-Kingsville-San Antonio System Center Employees are at the heart of the organization, and those who have the skills and commitment to excel in the performance of their jobs contribute to the bottom line by creating value for their organizations. The crux of the matter is how to identify and select the right people - those value-creating job applicants who will help the organization accomplish its goals. Essentials of Personnel Assessment and Selection provides a state-of-the-art guide for making wise personnel selection decisions. It is an excellent resource for students and practitioners of management, human resource management, organizational studies, and industrial/organizational psychology. It extensively examines the basics of employee assessment and selection processes that are critical in correctly assessing personal characteristics predictive of desirable work-related behaviors of job applicants. It focuses on the importance of identifying predictor attributes, building hypotheses, and using psychometric methods to determine applicants best qualified for the job, thus optimizing utilization of human resources. The first of three primary sections, Deciding What to Assess contains the following topics: understanding personnel assessment, analyzing organizations and jobs, developing predictive hypotheses, and knowing what is and what is not legal. The reader also gets a brief historical retrospective back to Plato, who devised procedures for selecting the Guardians in his Republic, as well as a biblical reference to Gideon. He followed God's advice, was able to cut the number of candidates for his army from 22,000 to 10,000 and ultimately, based on a behavioral exercise, selected only 300. The authors decry the fallacy of some contemporary testers who behave as though their tests were God-given and ignore research evidence. The authors argue for hiring based on merit, although they recognize that this standard might be viewed by some as elitist. They propose the use of psychometric methods that give standardized results and yield even-handed assessments of job candidates. They discuss the role of research and its problems, and the gap that separates academicians from practitioners in their perceptions of the practicality and validity of research in staffing decisions. They argue for a symbiotic relationship between theory and practice and between basic and applied research. Other topics discussed are: organizational need analysis, job and methods analyses, and the linkage between KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) and job activities, as well as the role and selection of the job expert. An entire chapter is dedicated to developing hypotheses in terms of cognitive and noncognitive abilities, personality, and the job criteria. The discussion of predictors for team selection contains excellent references for those interested in further study of the subject matter. Although not all aspects of the legal context for hiring practices are presented, the legal aspects of assessment and selection are discussed in terms of laws promoting equal employment opportunity (EEO, with particular emphasis on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. …

Underemployment, job attitudes, and turnover intentions

AbstractWe surveyed three distinct samples of employees (Ns of 238, 102, and 981) in order to examine relations among various types of underemployment, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Each dimension of underemployment is explored as a case of poor person‐job fit, and the fit literature is used to produce hypotheses about these relations. We also developed and validated the 9‐item Scale of Perceived Overqualification (SPOQ) to tap employee perceptions of surplus education, experience, and KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities). In general, perceptions of underemployment were associated with poor job satisfaction, particularly for facets with a direct causal relationship with the specific dimension of underemployment, such as overqualification and satisfaction with work. Perceived overqualification was also related to lower affective commitment, and higher intentions to turnover. For part‐time work, negative attitudes were only found when employees expressed a preference for full‐time work; a similar trend was not found for temporary workers, however. Implications for theory, research, and practice are delineated. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Lodging management success: Personal antecedents, achievements, KSAs and situational influencers

This study investigates the influence of personal antecedents and achievements (i.e. intrinsic attributes, personal character, strategic positioning and academic achievements) on lodging management knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and success. The findings reveal that correlations between intrinsic attributes, personal character and strategic positioning, and KSAs are generally stronger than the correlations found between academic achievements and KSAs. Knowledge in financial management and other situational influencers was determined to contribute most to managers’ career success. Also strategic positioning was identified as a moderating variable between KSAs and monetary success.

Evidenced-Based Health Management Involving Three Hospitals in Central and Eastern Europe

Major health care reforms have been instituted in Georgia (Caucasus Region). Evidenced-based management focuses on developing the necessary and sufficient competencies for senior and middle managers in an applied hospital setting. Application and integration of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) is demonstrated through achievement of pre-established outcomes. An innovative health management education (HME) model utilizes a combination of in-service education, workshops, short-courses, residencies, and on-the-job training. A trilateral hospital management team is used involving the Slovak Republic, USA and Georgia. Development and implementation of the model at Gudushauri National Medical Center in Tbilisi, Georgia is presented along with examining curriculum content, teaching methods, processes, and outcome indicators.

The evolving profile, qualifications and roles of the senior public affairs officer

AbstractLeading a public affairs department or function in North America has become increasingly complex, difficult, and valued in the last decade. The knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to perform this role effectively have undergone a transformation and become reflective of the socio‐political challenges entailed in the fast‐moving, global, information‐intensive economy. The top public affairs officer (PAO) will need to be a strategic thinker who can communicate effectively, have unquestioned integrity, maintain an international perspective, be an effective manager, and have the experience and savvy to navigate the trickiest of public policy processes and structures. These positions can be greatly rewarding for those individuals who are up to the task. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.