The increased complexity of today’s work environment has made the need for soft skills, such as teamwork, communication, leadership, and problem solving, more salient than ever. Employers hire for these skills because it is increasingly the human resources that give organizations a competitive advantage. Therefore, academia must respond to these external stakeholder needs by reexamining curriculum in light of how degree programs, particularly in management, are preparing students for the demands of the workplace. We describe a curriculum redesign that used a backward design process to focus on developing the soft skills that employers need, focusing in particular on developing teamwork-related skill sets.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate whether employee attitudes, prior engagement in workplace romances, conscientiousness, and organizational policies predicted the willingness to engage in workplace romances. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 148 full-time employees completed an online survey measuring antecedents of workplace romances. Participants were also randomly assigned to read vignettes that varied the strictness of organizational workplace romance policies. Then, participants completed measures of their willingness to engage in a workplace romance. Findings – Favorable attitudes about, and prior engagement in, workplace romances were positively related to the willingness to engage in a workplace romance. Prior engagement in workplace romances and conscientiousness were both related to attitudes about workplace romances. Additionally, the interaction between conscientiousness and organizational workplace romance policies significantly predicted the willingness to engage in a workplace romance. Research limitations/implications – The current study used hypothetical scenarios and a convenience sample to collect data, which may affect the study’s external validity. Practical implications – Organizations grappling with the issue of workplace romances should consider how employee characteristics may interact with policies regulating workplace romances. Originality/value – This study is the first to examine the links between both prior engagement in workplace romances and personality variables (i.e. conscientiousness) and their relation to the willingness to engage in workplace romances. In addition, this is the first experimental study to examine the interaction between personality (i.e. conscientiousness) and organizational policy in predicting the willingness to engage workplace romances.

Structured interviews are widely used in the employment process; however, students often have little experience asking and responding to structured interview questions. In a format similar to “speed dating,” this exercise actively engages students in the interview process. Students pair off to gain experience as an interviewer by asking and scoring structured behavioral interview questions and gain practice responding to questions as an interviewee. In both roles, students engage in building interview skills and applying course content. This activity is intended for instructors of human resource management and/or staffing/selection classes.