'More is not necessarily better': the relationship between the quantity and quality of training efforts

International comparisons indicate that, on average, Belgian companies spend less on training than their French, German and Dutch counterparts. Encouraging companies to commit to training has consequently been an important policy goal over the last few years. One notable aspect of the policy to encourage training efforts by companies is that the effort is always represented in terms of the resources invested (input), not in terms of the learning achieved (output) or the quality of training programmes (throughput). Government policy is aimed at increasing the level of investment in company training. One of the questions we wish to investigate is whether this input-oriented approach to the training issue is actually effective. Whether companies will succeed in raising human capital to ever-increasing levels may depend not only (and maybe not even chiefly) on the extent of financial investment in training. The investment level does not necessarily determine the quality of the training processes developed by companies. Therefore, this paper focuses on the following research questions: (1) to what extent do companies monitor the systematic development of sufficiently effective training processes? In other words, is qualitative under-investment an issue, alongside financial under-investment? (2) Is the level of financial investment in company training correlated to the quality of training processes? The empirical data confirm that a kind of 'qualitative' under-investment can be reported and that the relationship between the level of investment in training and the quality of the training programmes is weak.     

Front-line responses to customer orientation programmes: a theoretical and empirical analysis

Programmes designed to strengthen customer orientation among front-line service workers represent one of the most common forms of culture change initiatives within service organizations. Despite their importance to contemporary management theory and practice, we know relatively little about how employees react to interventions of this kind, and why they react as they do. The paper aims to address this gap in the literature. It does this through an analysis of front line reactions to a major customer care initiative in one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK. Using data from a large-scale employee survey carried out in seven stores, we first propose a general typology of employee responses to customer care programmes. We then examine some typical employee profiles associated with the main types of response. The analysis is placed within a wider theoretical context consisting of a critical overview of the main theories which might help explain the nature of general and individual reactions to culture change programmes. To this end, we address and draw upon a variety of literatures and debates linked to various aspects of organization and management, industrial psychology, training and development and critical discourse analysis.     

顾客满意度研究与应用综述

阐述了开展顾客满意度测评工作的重要意义,介绍了瑞典、美国、欧洲和中国在顾客满意度方面的研究和应用现状,并针对国内现状,提出了开展顾客满意度研究和测评工作必须重视的若干问题。     

导入 CS战略提升房地产企业核心竞争力

激烈的市场竞争、多层次的住房消费，传统的营销战略越来越显得苍白无力，CS战略应运而生。房地产企业实施CS战略就是以顾客为导向，以信息为支撑，跟踪研究顾客满意程度，快速改善产品和服务环节，从而获得顾客认同，增强企业竞争力。     

Applying a hidden Markov chain model in quality function deployment to analyze dynamic customer requirements

This study applies a hidden Markov chain model in quality function deployment to analyze dynamic customer requirements from probabilities viewpoints. In reality, the needed probabilities can be computed based upon the experts’ opinions for economic conditions as well as the customers’ surveys by asking customers’ preferences under different economic conditions. Each customer requirement can be analyzed as time goes by. In addition, the changes for each technical measure can be closely examined from time to time. More importantly, when new customers’ surveys are conducted and available as well as the new economic conditions analyzed by experts have been updated, both customer requirements and technical measures can be adjusted in a timely basis to reflect and fulfill the dynamic customer requirements. As a result, this proposed approach provides a decision maker to analyze and satisfy both past and present customer needs early on such that a better strategy can be made based upon the most updated customers’ surveys and economic conditions.     

创业者胜任力模型构建及综合测评研究

创业者胜任力对创业企业有着至关重要的作用.文章在以往创业者和创业者胜任素质理论的基础上,构建创业者胜任力模型,并在其基础上确定相应的测评指标体系,利用层次分析法确定各个指标权重,建立创业者胜任力测评规范指标体系,通过对创业者胜任力的综合测评并利用spss17.0对测评结果进行分析,为创业者以及创业者胜任力的开发与培养提供相应参考.     

Trainees' reactions to training: an analysis of the factors affecting overall satisfaction with training

The study examines a relatively neglected, but important, aspect of the analysis and evaluation of training, namely trainees' immediate reaction to training. In particular, we focused on an analysis of the factors that affect participants' overall satisfaction with training. We first identified three key situational antecedents of training satisfaction, including trainees' perceptions of the efficiency and usefulness of the training, and their perceptions of trainer performance. Specific hypotheses relating each of these factors to training satisfaction were then developed and tested using data from a sample of about 3000 trainees from a range of Italian companies participating in a large-scale regionally-funded training programme involving over 300 different training courses. The results revealed that, although all three hypothesised antecedents were significantly positively related to training satisfaction, the perceived usefulness of training had the strongest effect. Importantly, the results also suggest the lack of any clear compensatory effects of the three antecedents on training satisfaction. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

A capital accumulation model of the workers' enterprise

This article formulates a capital accumulation model of the workers' enterprise in which the standard adjustment-costs theory of investment is introduced into Sertel's framework. The existence, uniqueness and local stability of the steady state are shown to be established under mild conditions and the long-run effects of changes in the price of output, the external wage rate and the interest rate on the volume of capital and the size of membership are examined.     

Assessing the effectiveness of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award model with municipal government

This study examines the applicability of the MBNQA 2002 criteria to the government sector and contributes to the growing body of literature that addresses the need for performance metrics for government organizations. As the MBNQA is being proposed and pilot tested in government organizations, this work provides support for the transference and application of the model to government services in a municipal government.This study demonstrates the first structural model test using Partial Least Square (PLS) of an instrument that was based on a one-to-one item to criteria correspondence. We collected data from a city government and used PLS to analyze the survey data and tested the MBNQA model fit. The findings of this study show that the proposed Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria-based instrument provides a viable set of measures for a municipal government to review and measure their business (organization) processes. These measures can enhance decision making about resource allocations because such measures allow evaluation of processes and a better understanding of the integration among these processes.     

An event history approach to the evaluation of training,recruitment and employment programmes

In this paper I evaluate a number of training, recruitment and employment programmes. The evaluation method is a combination of a quasi-experimental design (a simple pre-treatment-post-treatment design) and a stochastic process model to describe the response variables. I conclude that the programmes have no effect on older workers. Female and minority workers benefit most from the programmes. The training programmes are less effective than the recruitment programmes, which are in turn less effective than the employment programmes.     

在沪外国人对上海移动通讯服务满意度研究

上海要建设成为国际经济、金融、贸易、航运中心,要建设成为国际大都市,外籍人士的比例会越来越高。然而,上海的移动通信服务企业几乎还没有专门针对外国人提供特色服务。本文总结了影响顾客满意度的主要方面,研究了移动通信服务中显著影响在沪外籍顾客满意度的关键因素,并对上海的移动通讯企业提出了相关建议。     

The theory of met expectations applied to expatriate adjustment: the role of crosscultural training

This study will test two hypotheses to determine whether the formation of expectations (prior to the global assignment) affects expatriates' adjustment. This study utilized a sample of seventy-three expatriates who completed questionnaires approximately ten months after arriving in their host countries. All the expatriates had predeparture cross-cultural training, but the training varied in perceived relevance. The expatriates were assigned either to countries where their native language was spoken (e.g. Americans in the UK) or to countries where their native language was not spoken (e.g. Americans in France). The results of the mediated regression analysis suggest that the more tailored and relevant the pre-departure cross-cultural training, the more expectations were either met or positively exceeded. Analyses suggest that both cross-cultural training and the language spoken in the host country affect the accuracy of expatriates' expectations prior to the assignment - and that having accurate expectations, in turn, positively affects cross-cultural adjustment. The results from this study encourage organizations to develop programmes that will ensure their expatriates have realistic expectations prior to their global assignments (e.g. through tailored cross-cultural training).     

Supplier behavior and its impact on customer satisfaction: A new characterization of negotiation behavior

Many questions of customer/supplier negotiation dynamics remain unanswered. One reason behind this is that most existing models do not entirely reflect the complex relationship between negotiation behavior and the attained outcome of the negotiation process, analyzing the former from a purely dichotomous perspective. This study examines supplier negotiation behavior and how it impacts the outcome (satisfaction) from the customer´s perspective, thereby proposing a new characterization of negotiation behavior. Our analysis is based on a case study of 21 customer/supplier negotiations carried out by four leading supermarket chains in Costa Rica. Evidence supports our proposal that in customer/supplier negotiations, supplier negotiation behavior can include both integrative and competitive actions within the same negotiation, thereby justifying our proposal of different classifications existing within the negotiation continuum. It was also noted that supplier negotiation behavior influences a customer´s perceived satisfaction level. These findings are relevant to both academia and the professional world and can be used to promote better implementation and performance of agreements attained during a negotiation.     

A model of multinational enterprise subsidiary staffing composition

A large proportion of the multinational enterprise (MNE) literature focuses on parent country national (PCN) expatriates. The high costs of managing and supporting PCNs on foreign assignments, however, have made these assignments less attractive for MNEs and, as a result, MNEs are more actively exploring ways to effectively utilize third country nationals (TCNs) and host country nationals (HCNs), as well as PCNs to satisfy international subsidiary staffing needs. Grounded in the person–environment (P–E) fit theory, we delineate three environmental dimensions (strategic, national and organizational) to offer some propositions that may serve to guide this exploration. These propositions are based on an integrative model that examines the MNE subsidiary staffing composition under different combinations of strategic, national and organizational dimensions. We conclude with suggestions for future research.     

电力多经企业职工教育培训的初步探讨

职工教育培训是企业开发人力资源的基础,企业要创造良好的经济效益和社会效益,需要各级各类人才的培养和全体职工素质的提高,尤其是电力多经企业,面临严峻的市场竞争和挑战,更需要建立健全教育培训体系,通过加强职工教育培训工作,打造出一流的员工队伍,提高企业的真正实力,以适应企业发展壮大的需求。     

Disentangling satisfaction of tenants on science parks: A multiple case study in Belgium

While science parks represent one of the most important policy initiatives to stimulate firm development and growth, their contributions are still highly debated. This paper takes a novel customer-oriented approach to disentangle the contributions science parks provide to their tenants. Particularly, we qualitatively explore when and how science park tenants reach customer satisfaction and how tenants cope with low levels of satisfaction. Our study finds that reaching customer satisfaction is contingent on tenants’ expectations, perceived service quality, and pre-entry achievements. We further disentangle coping strategies used by tenants when they are confronted with low levels of satisfaction. Our study provides important theoretical contributions to the organizational sponsorship literature by adding new insights from social psychology and holds valuable practical and policy implications.     

American repatriate employees' retrospective assessments of the effects of cross-cultural training on their adaptation to international assignments

With 10 to 50 per cent of expatriates curtailing their assignments early, and the cost of foreign placement estimated at $500,000, training for expatriates needs to be improved. This study investigates different methods of training, and the results as perceived by repatriates. Repatriates were asked about the amount and type of cross-cultural training they had received and their effectiveness and productivity during the overseas assignment. Repatriates' responses included specific comments about their individual and familial experiences. It was hypothesized that managers who receive rigorous cross-cultural training before and during the assignment will not suffer intense culture shock and will become effective more rapidly than managers who have not had cross-cultural training. The results demonstrated that integrated cross-cultural training does reduce the time necessary to adjust and to achieve cultural proficiency and reduces the time necessary to become effective and productive in the assignment.     

客户关系管理中的价值评估——企业为顾客创造价值的评价

客户关系管理的核心是价值创造,企业实施客户关系管理时,在对客户的识别、保留、发展的整个生命周期中对价值的评判始终贯穿其中,因此客户关系管理中的价值评判非常重要,其价值评判包括两个方面:一是企业为客户创造的价值评价,二是客户为企业创造的价值评价。本文就企业为客户创造的价值的评判指标、方法进行探讨。     

A statistical model for evaluating the patient satisfaction

The paper aims to identify the drivers which affect the patient satisfaction. For this purpose the authors analyzed the data collected by delivering a questionnaire to patients hospitalizing in an important hospital of Napoli city.The effects of level of satisfaction about different services received in the hospital on the patient satisfaction have been studied by comparing the results of four regression models. Findings provide empirical evidence that a policy aimed at developing the competences and the abilities of the staff and at maintaining high standards of hygiene and cleanliness is the most appropriate strategy to improve patient satisfaction.