This paper explores the concept of mutual (reciprocal) learning as an enabler of the emergence of a collective human-machine intelligence across a smart factory. The interlinking of digital profiles of humans and machines permits the identification and measurement of learning outcomes through participating in and performing of (shared) tasks. To…

'Employers know that they can hire worldwide now … so, there is limitless supply of people … who can do the job … . they're all qualified, most of them are actually over-qualified … . I'm a wage slave basically, I don't think we have very much social status … . we are replaceable workers … I mean, the employer holds all the cards really. We are…

The purpose of this review is to explore the literature related to interpersonal forgiveness in organizations and its possible implications for HRD (human resource development) theory and practice. It defines forgiveness and provides a theoretical framework for its consideration within the workplace environment. It also reviews and discusses the…

The paper explores the concept of self-directed learning (SDL) in the workplace. This paper introduces a definition and argument for the importance of SDL, presents conditions that promote SDL, and suggests how future issues and implications should be applied for greater understanding and utilization of SDL in the workplace. The significance of…

Solution-focused applications are proposed to assist survivor employees to return to workplace homeostasis after co-workers voluntarily or involuntarily leave the organization. A model for transitional coping is presented as well as a potential case study illustrating the application of the model. Implications for the theory, practice, and…

A survey was conducted to compare the informal workplace learning (IWL) experiences of three professional groups (information technologists, school teachers, and HRD professionals). Data analysis found that the three groups use interactive more than independent IWL activities. Five environmental factors inhibited engagement and nine personal…

Utility analysis offers human resource management a powerful framework for decision making. Previous research has indicated that this framework can provide dollar-valued estimates of the consequences of human resource decisions. Moreover, this framework provides a general model of decision costs and benefits that can help organize and integrate…

This exploratory empirical phenomological study looks at employee engagement using Kahn (1990) and Maslow's (1970) motivational theories to understand the experience of non-salaried employees. This study finds four themes that seem to affect employee engagement: work environment, employee's supervisor, individual characteristics of the employee,…

Changing conditions in the workplace and the impact of these changes on the individual worker are examined in this paper, which also discusses the implications of these changes for education and training. Major workplace trends likely to continue through the year 2000 include changes in work force demographics, in the industry mix, and in the…

A review of workplace democracy revealed that both practice and research need updating. The results are discussed in terms of history, theory, research and practice. Implications for human resource development research and practice are also included. (Contains 2 tables.)

The "rhetoric of skill requirements" is a way of describing work by decomposing the human contribution into distinct components. Three important characteristics of this rhetoric are especially germane to an understanding of work. The first characteristic is that jobs and their incumbents can be fully analyzed by breaking them down into skills.…

Theory suggests that protege and mentor characteristics influence the development and process of mentoring relationships. This study investigates the role of one variable that is a joint function of protege and mentor characteristics: the nature of the reporting relationship between proteges and their mentors. Results suggest managers who report…

Although past research has suggested that computer acceptance and knowledge are two variables crucial in attaining desired profitability increases with computer-based technology, few studies have examined how these variables occur in organizational settings. A study was undertaken to examine acceptance of, and knowledge about, computer-based…

This document consists of three papers presented at a symposium on transfer of training moderated by Gene Roth at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "Validation of a Transfer Climate Instrument" (Reid A. Bates et al.) reports a study that attempted to validate Rouiller and Goldstein's (1993) eight-factor…

A conceptual and theoretical framework is needed for the literature on newswork and to do this the relationship between skill and control which has been raised as an issue in the Marxist theory of industrial organization needs to be examined. A theoretical reinterpretation might help to understand how the notion of skill on the individual,…