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July, 2006
Volume 45 / Number 6
Editor's Notes: Creating Bridges and HPT Networks through Cross-Cultural Dialogue
by Holly Burkett, CPT, MA, SPHR
Guest Editorial--Great Rail Journeys: A Research Track Through Europe
by Edward W. Schneider, CPT, PhD
Guest Editorial: The Reciprocal Partnership Between Research
and Practice Across Borders
by Camille Ferond, CPT
Evidence-Practice Partnership
by Mary Norris Thomas, CPT, PhD
I think most of us would agree that the evidence should be considered before coming to a decision. We have an obligation to our clients to draw on the best-available evidence to solve problems. But what constitutes best evidence? What is accepted as evidence for some may be deemed useless by others. For example, researchers may contend that only the most rigorous of experimental methods yield acceptable evidence. In contrast, practitioners may assert that field outcomes are the gold standard for evidence. Do we pursue evidence-based practice or practice-based evidence? Are our practices to be scientific, or is our science to be practical? How do we reconcile these seemingly ageless and senselessly dichotomous views of evidence? By simply letting go of them?
The Demise of the Magic Lantern Show
by Edward W. Schneider, CPT, PhD
There was a time, between 1840 and 1900, when people amused themselves by attending magic
lantern shows. Produced by itinerant lanternists, the apparatus had all the earmarks we associate with high technology today. In the 1890s, lantern enthusiasts had their own journal, The Optical Magic Lantern Journal and Photographic Enlarger. When I came on some copies, the "Letters to the Editor" caught my eye. Evidently, professional magic lantern shows were losing their popularity, and the reasons the letters gave had nothing to do with the advent of motion pictures. Could there be some parallels between lantern shows then and computer-assisted instruction now? If so, it won't be cheaper computer and communications technology that will halt the downward slide in instructional quality.
HPM: A Model to Relate Costs, Benefits, and Strategic Impact
of Human Resource Programs
by Stefan Pennig
Human Resources (HR) development is always necessary in production and service areas where human behavior is a limiting factor with respect to strategy realization. The planning and assessment of HR programs in the sense of performance improvement requires close cooperation of upper management, the personnel department, and line management. The Human Resources Performance Model (HRPM) offers a process and conceptual structure for strategic steering and financial evaluation of HR programs. It was developed and tested in a feasibility study and is currently being applied in several major evaluation studies. The HRPM cognitive map and methodological toolbox can effectively support senior managers, HR experts, and consultants to prove and improve the effectiveness of HR programs in the organization. The HRPM treats HR management as a strategic activity in the context of the core value-creating business processes.
Thinking and Working at the Enterprise Level: Personal Views from
a Battle-Scarred Veteran and Some Points of Consensus
by J. Robert Carleton
Research and analysis that is focused on organizational performance is qualitatively different from research and analysis that is focused on individuals. It requires a broader understanding of the "system" concept, as well as more sophisticated data-gathering and analysis techniques.
Organizations are social systems convened to perform work. To understand what is happening inside them requires rigorous social research methods and open-ended gathering of qualitative data. When non-repetitive tasks are analyzed, the result is a set of heuristics, not a single formally defined procedure. Additional factors related to group dynamics, management and leadership behavior, trust, loyalty, and commitment must be considered. They are in turn influenced by the discretionary effort and energy of each group member. Oh, yes... It's a very different game!
Eight Critical Steps to Improve Workplace Performance
with Cross-Cultural Project Teams
by Marcey Uday-Riley, CPT, MSW
Multinational project teams, even when following a rigorous project management methodology, can be challenged by interpersonal and task issues created by cross-cultural differences. This article is for people who work with and on multinational project teams in any industry. It provides eight critical steps that many organizations have followed in management and leadership of project teams and describes specific conflicts that arise as a result of following these essential steps in multinational environments. Specific tips and tools are described to prevent many of these conflicts from arising in the first place, but if conflicts do arise, the article provides several options for addressing them in a way that considers and respects cultural diversity. The article
includes brief examples from multinational project teams, including specific examples of what went right and why, as well as lessons learned.
Performance Improvement in Europe and Beyond
by Carol M. Panza, CPT
We begin with the case of a nuclear power plant under construction in what was then Czechoslovakia about 18 months after the borders reopened. Our objective was to support the implementation of a full-scope, high-fidelity simulator within an existing learning system. Technology and equipment from the West were about to be implemented in a major
infrastructure development project in Eastern Europe. We describe some critical issues that went beyond the technology and equipment and why these things were important to address. However, differences in perception, particularly regarding "us" on the inside and "them" from the outside, are not unique to Europe. Therefore, we also discuss a U.S.-based project in which the success of our efforts depended on open-minded analysis focused on optimizing performance for the organization, following the purchase of an East Coast-based company by a West Coast "parent."
From West to East: How the World's Third Largest Retailer Drives Its Global Expansion
by Verena Dziobaka-Spitzhorn
Increasing globalization and extreme competitive conditions force retailers to continuously strengthen their activities in performance development. Driving global expansion through projects as drivers for organizational change, the German wholesale company Metro Cash & Carry, global market leader in its line of business, counts on some basic principles and performance organization routines. The international standardization of processes and tools, high dynamic, huge flexibility, and creativity in strategic alignment according to the market's requirements are determined to be essential as well as a clear allocation of responsibilities for risk identification,
analysis, and assessment. Individual, just as organizational, benefits should be the outcome of precisely defined objectives and goals, measured with clear-cut key performance indicators. Considering the "permeable" alliance of the clients' confidence with the team members' confidence in doing the right things and doing them right has on project success, it is one of the project managers' greatest challenges to motivate all stakeholders for good performance.
Executive Summaries
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