No abstract

For some time concerns have been raised that early in the 21st century there will be a crisis in Australian higher education. High levels of retirement and low levels of recruitment in institutions of higher education have been the trends for some time. Mentoring, as a workplace learning approach, could be used to address some of the problems associated with the recruitment and attrition of academic staff. This article aims to present a strategy for how mentoring, as a workplace learning approach, can be used within an academic environment and the benefits that can be expected as a result of its successful implementation. Although reference is made to the needs of Business Schools many of the principles are applicable to all branches and disciplines within higher education.

The “hypercompetitive environment” within which businesses are now operating demands that organizations look for ways to continually improve their competitiveness if they are to remain viable and successful. This paper integrates ideas on competitive strategies and effective mentoring to demonstrate the link between employee mentoring and organizational competitiveness. It is proposed that mentoring can offer a unique opportunity to enhance competitiveness through a carefully designed and structured program that both supports and drives an organization’s business strategy.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to propose that adoption of new ideas is a more involved cognitive process than has been recognised and this paper seeks to redress the trivialisation of ideas as emerging management ideas ("fads"). The embracing of "fads" for performance improvement and competitive advantage has received considerable attention in the academic literature, resulting in a rather one-sided view. Design/methodology/approach -Cognitive decision-making, evidence-based management and complexity theory are examined to illustrate cognitive process, skills and experiences used when making decisions and several propositions are derived from these ideas.Findings -An conceptual model of "fad" adoption, integrating the ideas and propositions is presented. This model provides a more pragmatic examination of "fad" adoption decisions and encourages an in depth consideration of their introduction. The model offers a more sophisticated, focused tool for examining the adoption of new management ideas and provides a springboard from which more detailed, integrated models can be developed, and hopefully will stimulate discussion. Implications for theory and practice are also considered. Originality/value -Examination of the literature on management "fads" revealed significant material that focused on the negative aspects of "fad" adoption, but an absence of material that examined how manager's made their adoption decisions. This paper, therefore, provides a valuable contribution to both theory and practice by examining factors which contribute to how and why management decisions to adopt "fads" are made and develops a model to illustrate how these are integrated to contribute to the process of decision-making.

Early intervention (EI) services are provided for families and children at risk for or with developmental delays. Early intervention includes services that are provided in the natural environment as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2004). The natural environment is where children and families would naturally spend their time and for most families, the natural environment is their home (S. A. Raver & D. C. Childress, 2015). There is an upward trend in the number of young children and families who are experiencing homelessness (National Center on Family Homelessness, 2016) and as a result, EI providers are providing services with families who do not have homes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to interview EI providers to highlight the conditions and characteristics of the natural environments where EI services are provided for families that are experiencing homelessness and to gather information about the barriers and beneficial practices for providing EI services with families that are experiencing homelessness. Implications for leaders in the field of EI, service delivery, systems change, and professional development are discussed.