Formal and integrated strategies for competence development in SMEs

Kock, Henrik; Ellström, Per‐Erik

doi:10.1108/03090591111095745

Cited by 64 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…It is generally conceptualised (n = 10) as a planned and systematic effort (Coetzer et al ., ) and as a formal activity such as a course (Bishop, ; Castany, ; MacMahon and Murphy, ; Martin et al ., ; Westhead, ). Kock and Ellström () use the term competence development; however, this definition is quite congruent with definitions of formal training in that it refers to internal and external training courses as well as informal activities. Similar assertions can be made in relation to Scott and Cockrill's (1997) definition of multiskilling.…”

Section: Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Resource Development in SMEs: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Nolan

Garavan

2015

Int J Management Reviews

222

212

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Human Resource Development (HRD) in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) is a significant area of scholarship. However, the cumulativeness of research on HRD in SMEs remains relatively low when compared to HRD generally. This paper reports a systematic literature review (SLR) to synthesise research in this area. A disciplined screening process resulted in a final sample of 117 papers published in 31 journals from 1995 to 2014. The synthesis of these empirical and theoretical studies revealed that: (a) the literature utilises a narrow range of theoretical and conceptual perspectives; (b) HRD is being investigated across a variety of SME contexts, themes and units of analysis; (c) researchers define HRD in multiple ways and use a diverse set of measures of HRD activity; (d) there is significant potential for future research across the SME and HRD disciplines, SME settings and beyond existing theoretical perspectives. We offer suggestions for further advancing the development of this area of research in terms of theory, content and methodology.

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Section: Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Resource Development in SMEs: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Nolan

Garavan

2015

Int J Management Reviews

222

212

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“…Training and developing talent includes career management practices in which individual and organisational needs are strategically aligned, including defining performance targets, supporting learning initiatives, and ensuring feedback from line management. Moreover, an organisation must promote enabling learning environments that are supported by policies and the ways in which work is organised (Kock and Ellström, 2011).…”

Section: Conclusion and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Employability and talent management: challenges for HRD practices

Nilsson

Ellström

2012

European Journal of Training and Development

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147

125

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this conceptual paper is to illuminate the problems that are associated with defining and identifying talent and to discuss the development of talent as a contributor to employability. Design/methodology/approach -The world of work is characterised by new and rapidly changing demands. Talent management has recently been the target of increasing interest and is considered to be a method by which organisations can meet the demands that are associated with increased complexity. Previous studies have often focused on the management of talent, but the issue of what exactly should be managed has generally been neglected. In this paper, the authors focus on discussing the substance of talent and the problems associated with identifying talent by using the following closely related concepts: employability, knowledge, and competence. Findings -Employability is central to employee performance and organisational success. Individual employability includes general meta-competence and context-bound competence that is related to a specific profession and organisation. The concept of employability is wider than that of talent, but the possession of talent is critical to being employable. In this paper, the authors suggest a model in which talent includes individual, institutional, and organisational-social dimensions. Practical implications -The illumination of different meanings of talent management and the substance of talent is crucial to the practical implication of central human resource development practices, such as training and development. Originality/value -The paper shows that clarification of the conceptual boundaries and the presentation of a typology that is relevant to the understanding of talent are central to the creation of valid talent management systems that aim to define and develop talent.

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“…The overall design of the programme was based on a combination of formal courses, supervision in the workplace, and learning in and through daily work, or what might be called an integrated model of workplace learning (Kock and Ellström, 2011). The purpose of the study was addressed through an analysis of the following research questions:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning outcomes of a work-based training programme

Ellström

2014

European Journal of Training and Development

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IntroductionThis article concerns the further education and training of care workers through a work-based vocational education and training (VET) programme. The purpose is to explore the extent to which first-line managers' (FLMs') attention to and support of the VET programme and the care workers' learning activities affected the learning outcomes of the programme and the transfer of learning to the work context. Previous research has provided ample evidence of the importance of managerial support for the learning outcomes of training and the positive transfer of learning to work situations (e.g., Aguinis and Kraiger, 2009;Baldwin and Ford, 1988;Blume et al., 2010;Burke and Hutchins, 2007;Elangovan and Karakowsky, 1999;Kim and Callahan, 2012). However, despite the widespread belief in the importance of managerial support for co-workers' learning, a point made by Baldwin and Ford (1988) remains relevant: our knowledge of what management support means in practice is lagging behind. Similar points have been made by later studies, such as Burke and Baldwin (1999) and Cheng and Hampson (2008). Both of these studies underlined the incompleteness of our knowledge of learning outcomes and the transfer of training. As argued in a recent article by Nijman and Gelissen (2011), not only the meaning and content of managerial support for learning but also the way in which managerial support influences learning outcomes from training remains unclear.As mentioned above, this study focuses on first-line managers (FLMs) in elder care-that is, managers who have a direct supervisory responsibility in relation to care workers.Furthermore, FLMs have an important role in relation to the implementation of organisational policies and strategies, including human resource management strategies. There are comparatively few studies of FLMs, particularly in public service organisations, such as elder care (Ekholm, 2012). As argued by Hutchinson and Purcell (2007), FLMs' activities and leadership are important in shaping the work environment and in influencing, among other 3 things, how demanding the job is, how much autonomy employees have on the job, and the sense of achievement that comes from doing the job. These factors are important elements of the workplace as a learning environment (Ellström et al., 2008;Fuller and Unwin, 2004), and, thereby, also important conditions for employees' learning and knowledge use.The training programme that was the focus of this study was conducted in elder care in a Swedish municipality as part of a national VET programme with the overall aim of increasing employee competence and the quality of elder care. The overall design of the programme was based on a combination of formal courses, supervision in the workplace, and learning in and In contrast to many previous studies, the focus was not on learning outcomes measured directly after the programme was formally concluded but rather on longer-term outcomes measured nearly one year after the program had formally ended. Previous ResearchAvailable research...

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Formal and integrated strategies for competence development in SMEs

Cited by 64 publications

References 42 publications

Human Resource Development in SMEs: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Human Resource Development in SMEs: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Employability and talent management: challenges for HRD practices

Learning outcomes of a work-based training programme

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