The mediating effects of cross-cultural dynamic competencies on the relationship between multicultural personality and cross-cultural adjustment

Although the mediating effects of dynamic competencies on the relationship between personality traits and cross-cultural adjustment have been conceptually judged by several scholars, none of them have been empirically validated. Consequently, this study examines the mediating effects of dynamic cross-cultural competencies including general self-efficacy, relational skills and non-ethnocentrism on the relationship between multicultural personality traits and cross-cultural adjustment. The empirical results provide some support that relational skills and general self-efficacy mediate the relationship between multicultural personality traits and certain facets of cross-cultural adjustment. Relational skills completely mediate either the relationship between social initiative and interaction adjustment or that of cultural empathy and interaction adjustment. General self-efficacy partially mediates the relationship between emotional stability and psychological adjustment. However, the results suggest that multicultural personality traits have direct effects on cross-cultural adjustment. The practical implications of these findings for dynamic and stable cross-cultural competencies are discussed.     

An integrative model for competency development in organizations: the Flemish case

The prominent role of competency development in enhancing the success of employees and organizations has drawn the attention of practitioners leading them to introduce competency development as a central part of their human resource practices. Unfortunately, this strong managerial interest has not been fully translated into the academic world, creating a gap between theory and practice. The main purpose of this study is to fill this gap by exploring the nature of competency development in 22 Flemish organizations through a longitudinal multiple case study design. By using a grounded theory approach, a framework has emerged mapping out the different steps of competency development in the participating organizations. As such, this study can be an important first step toward closing the gap between practice and theory concerning competency development in organizations.     

The labour relations heritage and lean manufacturing at Fiat

The objective of the paper is interpreting, from an evolutionary perspective, recent developments of work organization and human resource management policies at Fiat Auto, one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers, which achieved a successful restructuring in the early 1990s. Building on a heritage of adversarial labour relations and ‘mass production’ organizational principles, Fiat developed an original and to some extent hybrid version of ‘lean’ human resource management practices (teamwork, flexible compensation, multi-skilling, etc.).

The paper analyses this process of organizational change from an evolutionary perspective based on the concept of dynamic capabilities. From this standpoint, IR. HRM and work organization practices are the result of a learning process, based on original development, imitation, analogical replication, combination and selection of organizational capabilities; organizational capabilities have a cumulative and path-dependent nature; workplace innovations are also rooted in organizational absorptive capacities, that is, the ability of firms to exploit new (and often extramural) organizational and HRM developments; the existence of complementarities among organizational competencies, assets and choices in term of HRM are likely to push toward the adoption of a set or system of (rather than single and insulated) innovations in work organization, HRM practices and industrial relations policies.

The data provided in the paper show that the process of innovation of workplace practices at Fiat Auto (summarized by the concept of the Fabbrica Integrata) is curiously non-linear. The newly designed HRM policies have, on the one hand, been resisted by the unions (who have not been involved in the design process) and by segments of the work-force; on the other hand, they have been hindered by existing organizational features and personnel practices which, in turn, were key success factors during the 1980s. This inertia is significantly lower at the new greenfield plant of Melfi. On the whole, the restructuring process was successful from the competitive and financial standpoint, and represents the basis on which management and the unions can develop a new co-operative model of industrial relations.     

The dynamics of relational competencies in the development of born global firms: A multilevel approach

From a multilevel approach, this paper focuses on the born global firms and the relational competencies that they use to initiate, maintain, and expand their international social networks. To do so, we detail the three levels of relational competencies (individual, collective, and organizational) and undertake an exploratory qualitative research based on interviews with French entrepreneurs of born global firms and experts who support their development. This study allows us to reach two sets of findings: firstly, a repository of thirteen relational competencies mobilized in born global firms as well as their development mechanisms; secondly, a dynamic view of these competencies, based on initiation, consolidation and expansion situations in which relational competencies and their development mechanisms are activated. Our study may lead entrepreneurs to identify competencies they hold at all levels (individual, collective, and organizational) but without necessarily implementing, as well as provide keys to develop any that are lacking in order to improve their internationalization strategy.     

论中国企业核心能力的构建和提升

企业的成功与失败，以至于壮大与消亡，主要取决于企业的核心能力。认真研究企业核心能力，有意识地规划、培育和提升企业的核心能力，是加速我国企业发展壮大的必由之路。为此，我们就企业核心能力的内涵与特征、意义与构成及构建与提升等几个问题作粗略论述。     

Professional Development for Cross-Border Managers: New Growth Opportunities for Executive Education

The need of business enterprises for professionals trained for the challenges of cross-border assignments will increase exponentially through the decade. Business schools will be hard pressed to deliver programs with the scope, scale, and effectiveness necessary to address the unique competencies required for cross-cultural understanding and communication, and the complexity of global business operations. This article reviews the existing literature in order to identify the competencies that are needed by global managers and the training approaches that can successfully build those competencies. A template of 10 criteria that should be addressed by training programs for cross-border professionals is proposed and applied to a sample of business schools that currently offer executive programs. Although there are good examples of programs that meet one or more of the 10 criteria, most business schools will be required to expand and to innovate their programs in order to meet the projected demand for training.     

企业人力资源竞争力研究述评

本文通过对人力资源竞争力及相关理论进行了全面的文献资料研究,对人力资源竞争力概念的界定,总结了核心竞争力的内涵及其与人力资源竞争力的关系研究,最后对研究分析了目前出现的人力资源竞争力评价模型。     

Information technology as a determinant of organizational learning and technological distinctive competencies

This study aims to assess the role played by information technology (IT) in organizational learning (OL) considered as a process of knowledge creation and determined by the interaction of stocks and flows variables. We also examine how IT and OL influence both business performance and the development of the technological distinctive competencies (TDCs), as well as the latter's influence on leading the firm towards better outcomes. These relationships have been tested via an empirical analysis carried out with a sample of 140 industrial companies, applying a structural equation linear model according to the Partial Least Squares (PLS) methodology. Our findings allow us to confirm that IT acts as an enabler of the OL process and influences on the development of TDCs, which allow the achievement of a better business performance. Such competencies are also the result of OL, thus demonstrating the influences of them both on perceived organizational performance.     

基于职业核心能力的高职英语“项目学习”的教学设计和实践

将职业核心能力理论与项目学习模式相结合,为高职英语教学改革提供了新的思路。有助于增强高职学生学习的兴趣、信心和成效。推动高职英语教师的教材观、师生观、教学观的变革,为高职英语公共英语教学提供有针对性的教学模式和策略,形成具有职业特色的英语"项目学习"教学模式,对高职院校有实际应用、推广价值。     

Comparing private and government schools in India: the devil is in the maths

Recent research shows that the gap in learning achievement between private and government schools in India can be explained away by self-selection. Analysing four rounds of panel data and distinguishing between ‘knowing’ and ‘applying’ dimensions of maths learning, I find that there is no private school advantage in the applying domain but that there is an advantage in the knowing domain.