A survey of 498 firms that applied for Michigan Job Opportunity Bank-Upgrade grants received 157 responses, including 66 grant recipients. Data showed receipt of grants associated with large, significant (though one-time) increase in training hours and lasting reduction in product scrap rates. (SK)

The probability of losing one's job because of a recession is very different for women and men, but, in the last two recessions, gender differences were reduced. The major cause is the relative performance of industries that heavily employ women (such as services) versus those that heavily employ men (such as goods-producing). (JOW)

Philip Morris' troubleshooting improvement program is based on nine key elements: targeted work groups; procedural, declarative, and strategic knowledge; cooperative learning; plant managers' support; widely applicable procedures; training organized by machine components; varied instructional methods and media; team teaching by operational,…

An exemplary university/business partnership involved the development of a training program to enhance workplace productivity for a relatively small manufacturing facility. The objectives were to educate the work force in the principles of workplace organization and lean manufacturing practices. (Author/JOW)

Study of 11 European companies building a learning organization found that they used different pathways to achieve the same goal; human-resource innovation is fragile and easily destroyed; competency profiles were shaped by company contexts more than external standards; and the predominant approach was informal learning. (SK)

The mission of Virginia's Manufacturing Innovation Center (VMIC) is to enhance the capability of Virginia's small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms to meet the competitive challenges of the future. VMIC helps build strong economic foundations while improving the quality of life and maintaining strong economic development programs. (JOW)

Data from the Worker-Establishment Characteristics Database demonstrate that (1) interplant sex segregation in U.S. manufacturing is substantial, especially in blue-collar occupations; (2) female managers tend to work in the same plants as female supervisees; and (3) interplant sex segregation accounts for a substantial portion of the male-female…

A literature review and survey of Irish ISO 9000 organizations employing nonstandard workers found that the growing adoption of numerical flexibility (use of part-time, temporary, and contract workers) benefits organizations more than individuals. Nonstandard workers receive limited training, which makes the validity of the ISO [International…

An evaluation of Hong Kong's Employee Retraining Board programs used interviews, case studies of training agencies, surveys of trainers and graduates, and employer focus groups. Recommendations were made regarding measurement of the size and characteristics of the displaced worker population, targeting of services, and alignment of incentives with…

In a simulation, a student team studied a real factory system and tested three work configurations. The partnership benefitted students and business, but the project underscored the need for careful coordination, assistance from company management and instructors, and a longer time frame than a semester. (SK)

An action learning program was implemented by a manufacturer using lean production practices. Action learning practices were accommodated during times of stability, but abandoned in times of crisis. The meaning of work in this organizational culture excluded all practices, such as reflection, that were not visible and targeted at immediate…

Describes the wood technics program at Fox Valley Technical College. Includes a week-by-week course design schedule, related course work, equipment needs, and a floor plan of the shop. (JOW)

To provide engineering faculty with professional development experiences, Penn State developed industry-sponsored internships in which faculty serve as engineers in small and medium-sized manufacturers. The process benefits both parties and identifies potential sites for student internships. (SK)

A decision to don the chaos lens, adopt dialogue as its primary mode of communication, and to recognize the power of the organizational mind has fundamentally and irreversibly changed the way a Dutch capital-equipment manufacturer operates in its rapidly complexifying global marketplace. Beginning in September 1999, the focus of an ever widening…

The assistive technology (AT) field acknowledges that different stakeholders vary in their perspectives of service delivery outcomes. While the literature delineates consumers, caregivers and providers as stakeholders with distinct views, very little research documents these unique perspectives. This study reports on the perspectives of (a)…