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The impact of frequency of contact on protégé mentoring outcomes: the moderating effects of protégé general self-efficacy and face-to-face interaction

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Abstract

As a Human Resource Development (HRD) intervention, mentoring assists individuals in their career development. However, it is still unknown if mentoring could enhance individuals’ early career decision-making. Moreover, the literature lacks longitudinal research that investigates the role of frequency of contact in mentoring relationships. Therefore, this study examines whether frequency of contact between mentor and protégé influences protégé mentoring outcomes, namely, improvement in career decision self-efficacy (i.e. CDSE development) and satisfaction with mentoring. Data were collected at two times from 86 first-year undergraduate students who participated in a mentoring programme at a Middle Eastern business school, where email communication facilitated the contact between these protégés and their mentors. Based on regression analyses, the associfations were significant between frequency of contact and mentoring outcomes. The findings partially confirmed the effects of two moderating variables in the relationships mentioned above. This study has practical implications for HRD practitioners in higher-education institutions.

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... Furthermore, because not only the amount but also the kind of communication between mentees and their personal mentors relate to premature closure (Parra et al., 2002;Stoeger et al., 2016Stoeger et al., , 2017Stoeger et al., , 2021, we investigated mentees' focus on STEM (the main focus of the program) when communicating with their mentors as well as changes in their STEM communication over the course of the mentoring. Previous research has shown that mentoring success is critically influenced by characteristics of mentee −mentor communication such as frequency and duration of their contacts and the extent to which their communication is focused on the program content (Ayoobzadeh, 2019;DuBois et al., 2002DuBois et al., , 2011Higgins & Kram, 2001;Parra et al., 2002). With respect to online mentoring for girls in STEM, participants' STEM communication is associated with mentees' developmental trajectories in key indicators of mentoring success (Stoeger et al., 2016(Stoeger et al., , 2017. ...
... Moreover, our findings support previous research on the effects of communication characteristics for mentoring effectiveness. Previous studies have shown that both frequency and duration of mentee−mentor contacts as well as the extent in which the participants' communication is focused on program content is related to mentoring effectiveness (Ayoobzadeh, 2019;DuBois et al., 2002DuBois et al., , 2011Parra et al., 2002). In addition, regarding online mentoring for girls in STEM, studies suggest that mentoring effectiveness is related to mentees' STEM communication (Stoeger et al., 2016(Stoeger et al., , 2017. ...
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Premature closure of mentoring relationships decreases positive effects of mentoring or can even lead to negative effects for mentees. Past studies retrospectively investigated mechanisms of premature match closure. However, a deeper understanding of the dynamics that lead to premature match closure is still missing. In our study, we longitudinally examined the preprogram characteristics, program adherence, as well as program communication and networking behavior of girls (N = 901, M = 13.80 years) who took part in a 1-year online mentoring program in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), comparing girls who dropped out of the program prematurely (N = 598) with girls who were considered as non-dropouts (N = 303). We used survival analysis methods to simultaneously analyze time-independent characteristics and time-dependent dynamics of mentees' communication and networking behavior. Besides mentees' interest in STEM and compliance with program specifications, a frequent and steady communication with their mentors decreased the risk for premature match closure, especially, if it focused on STEM. Mentors' mentoring experience, mentees' program-wide networking and their networking with other mentees reduced the risk for premature match closure. Regarding the STEM focus of networking, we found competing influences, which need to be further explored in future research.
... face to face, phone, email or zoom), the frequency of contacts has shown to contribute to the development of high-quality relationships and mentee satisfaction (i.e. Ayoobzadeh, 2019;Bierema & Hill, 2005;Sanyal & Rigby, 2017). In the case of remote working, the right and timely support from a person's developmental relationships to navigate between professional and home domains could be crucial in one's psychosocial well-being and quality of work performance. ...
... Thus, it will enable a more personalized process that supports reflective learning and collaborative learning (Perlman et al., 2014). Third, similarly with face-to-face developmental relationships, the quality of any ementor relationship is dependent on the frequency and the quality of interactions (Ayoobzadeh, 2019;Sanyal & Rigby, 2017). ...
Chapter
This chapter addresses the intersection of three concepts: the impact of digitalization on the future of work, the blurring of work-life boundaries, and the role of developmental relationships. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data science has transformed the way work is performed. The shifting conceptualization of work has inadvertently increased the speed of change that shapes the future of work through digital innovation. This shift will amplify the way we execute our work, the tools we use, the aesthetics of work, the issues associated with work, and the meaning of work. The lines between work and home have become fuzzier with the proliferation of remote working supported by technological enablement. The ability to balance work and family demands has therefore become a challenge for many people. Work and personal life have become intertwined to the extent that the blurring of work and family boundaries might lead to undesirable cognitive, emotional, and physiological effects. These undesirable effects might cause people to lose focus or motivation and hence experience difficulty in delivering the expected work outcomes. Developmental relationships will therefore play a critical role in mitigating these negative effects through formal and informal means by utilizing a variety of virtual platforms. This chapter addresses developmental relationships as mediating the psychological impact of remote working by promoting learning agility which leads to self-directed learning. We explore the role of developmental relationships in helping people navigate through the blurring of work-life boundaries and offers implications for HRD research and practice.
... However, interventions to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic are not only changing transsituational aspects of school mentoring. Situational factors of mentoring interactions are also affected in various ways, such as with respect to the frequency of contact (Waters et al., 2002;Ayoobzadeh, 2019), the inclusion of social actors, such as parents or peers in mentoring (Keller, 2005;Keller andBlakeslee, 2014), or emotional variables (DuBois andNeville, 1997;Grossman and Rhodes, 2002;DuBois et al., 2011). In the case of emotional variables, the COVID-19 pandemic has been shown to have a particularly large impact on learners (Ahorsu et al., 2020;COSMO, 2020;National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, 2020;Zhang and Ma, 2020). ...
... assessment by the participants of our study. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, frequency of contact (Waters et al., 2002;Ayoobzadeh, 2019), the inclusion of social actors in the mentoring (Keller, 2005;Keller andBlakeslee, 2014), or emotional variables (DuBois andNeville, 1997;Grossman and Rhodes, 2002;DuBois et al., 2011) may all be negatively affected by the circumstances arising due to the pandemic. Thus, one focus of mentor training should be on providing mentors with an accurate picture of the resources that may still be at their disposal for mentoring under specific circumstances. ...
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Research shows that trained mentors achieve better results than untrained ones. Their training should particularly address their expectations for their future mentoring. Our study involved 190 preservice teachers, potential mentors of ongoing school mentoring for primary and secondary school students of all grades. They were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2-x-2 between-subjects design of mentoring type (traditional mentoring versus e-mentoring) and mentoring context (non-pandemic versus COVID-19 pandemic). Participants assessed mentoring conducted under these four conditions in terms of its appropriateness for achieving four mentoring program targets: learning, key skills, social targets, and problem coping. Participants were also asked to assess the resources available to achieve each program target. Overall, the potential mentors considered the various conditions to be suitable for achieving the four program targets. They were particularly favorable in their assessment of the possibility for the realization of learning targets. Likewise, they assumed that sufficient resources were available to achieve the targets. However, a repeated-measures MANOVA showed that the potential mentors considered more ambitious targets to be possible in traditional mentoring than in e-mentoring and normal (i.e., pre-pandemic) contextual conditions than during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, they estimated the resources available to achieve the targets to be about the same in the four conditions. This indicates a decoupling of mentoring targets from the consideration of the resources needed to achieve them. This assumption was confirmed in correlation analyses and has implications for mentor training.
... 47 At the mentor level, mentors who have been trained or have higher levels of competence achieve better mentoring outcomes. 96,118 At the level of the mentor-mentee dyad, mentors are more effective when they know their mentees better, either because the mentor and mentee interact personally 125 or have more frequent personal contact. 13,35 At the mentee level, mentoring episodes are more successful where mentors have been able to pass on their insights to mentees, for example, by teaching them to navigate the unwritten rules and the norms of a profession. ...
... For example, in-person mentoring and online mentoring offer mentors different didac-tic options. 125 Mentees-factor (3)-bring different amounts of educational and learning capital to mentoring. 19,76,89,119 The availability or lack of a mentee's resources help determine the extent of a mentor's regulatory power. ...
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A review of the literature on the effectiveness of mentoring reveals a paradox: on the one hand, there is evidence that mentoring can be highly effective. On the other hand, meta‐analyses usually only show small to moderate effect sizes, and sometimes even negative effects. To better understand this mentoring paradox, we discuss three fundamental problems in mentoring research. We propose working definitions and theoretical premises to overcome these problems. We apply various systemic concepts to the field of mentoring that might help to resolve the mentoring paradox. We introduce mentees’ actiotopes and their interaction with other systems as the unit of analysis, and the regulations for which mentors are responsible for in the context of mentoring as the categories of analysis. To systemize and elaborate on the regulatory dimensions of mentoring, we introduce the nonagonal framework of regulation in mentoring (NFR‐M). To facilitate the analysis of ongoing changes caused by mentoring and therefore a dynamic understanding of mentoring, we introduce the concept of spaces of possibilities in mentoring (M‐spaces). Finally, we introduce the concepts of the Athena Mentor to explain why mentors can differ so dramatically in the effectiveness of the regulations they are responsible for in the context of mentoring. We conclude by describing how mentoring comparisons based on the NFR‐M, mentors’ regulatory insight, regulatory power, and M‐spaces can help to resolve the mentoring paradox.
... Organizations have been adopting several interventions in order to equip their employees with the right skills through career-building opportunities. In this context, mentoring has been recognized as a powerful human resource development intervention, which has a potential impact on employees' career outcomes, such as career satisfaction, career success, promotions, etc. (Ayoobzadeh 2019;Turban et al. 2017;Van Vianen et al. 2018). Mentoring as a developmental relationship involves the provision of both career development (e.g. ...
... sponsorship, challenging assignments, coaching) and socio-emotional functions (e.g. role-modelling, unconditional acceptance) by mentors to protégés (Bozionelos 2004;Ayoobzadeh 2019). The role of mentors' support is thus highly crucial in fostering protégés' overall skill and career development (Holtbrügge and Ambrosius 2015). ...
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This study investigated the mediating effect of mentoring on the relationship between the Five Factor Model (FFM) Personality traits and occupational commitment (OC). The study used cross-sectional survey-based research design. Data were collected from 362 managers of public and private sector organizations located in North India. The results indicated that psychosocial mentoring acts as a partial mediator for facilitating the linkage between all the FFM traits and OC. Contrary to this, career mentoring was found to partially mediate the link between only conscientiousness-OC, agreeableness-OC and emotional stability-OC. No mediating effect of career mentoring was found for personality factors of openness and extraversion. HRD practitioners are encouraged to implement train-for-trainers’ sessions for raising awareness among senior managers/mentors about the importance of psychosocial mentoring functions. This study is unique, because it is among the few to appropriately capture the mediating role of mentoring functions vis a vis the personality and OC relationship. Further, it also enriches the existing body of research on workplace mentoring and careers, especially in the South-Asian context.
... They found that mentoring nurtures employability skills development in students, as well as their ability to apply these skills. Additionally, other researchers have found positive effects of mentoring on developing soft skills (Roy & Brown, 2016), intercultural competence (Jones et al., 2019), career management skills (Bonner et al., 2019), research competency (Davis & Jones, 2017), and career decision self-efficacy (Ayoobzadeh, 2019). ...
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To keep up with technological advances and macro-economic trends, higher education has increasingly focused on developing students’ employability competences through mentoring programs. However, measuring the effectiveness of such mentoring programs has remained difficult, because many mentoring measurements are not validated or grounded in theory. Furthermore, existing questionnaires have mostly focused on one or two types of support, ignoring the wide variety of support types offered by a mentor. Therefore, the current study’s aim was to develop and validate a new questionnaire measuring various types of mentoring support. Based on a systematic literature review, a 35-item questionnaire was developed and data were collected from mentoring programs at four higher education institutions. Data were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis (n = 225), confirmatory factor analysis (n = 208), and cross-validation (n = 101). The results support a 6-factor model (21 items) that is statistically valid and reliable for use in universities (of applied sciences). The model includes the following factors, referring to types of support and their features: trust and availability, emotional support, networking support, autonomy support, similarity, and empathy. This questionnaire makes an original contribution insofar as (1) it is based on a sound, theoretical framework, and (2) it was demonstrated to be valid and reliable across different sub-populations in higher education. The questionnaire provides educational practitioners with a sound and valid tool to evaluate the quality of their mentoring program. It can also be used to assess what types of support could be offered to a greater extent.
... We envision that this individual would function somewhat differently than a traditional mentor, being an organizational peer and companion rather than a superior and/or advisor. The advantage of this 'buddy' system would be to eliminate barriers to communication that often exist in the workplace, even in the best mentoring relationships developed in HRD interventions (Ayoobzadeh, 2019). Employees who are victims or observers of bullying would then have an approachable individual who could advocate on their behalf, while concurrently providing needed emotional support. ...
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Given that workplace bullying can harm employees' thoughts, perceptions, and experiences, this study explored how bullying triggers socially aversive attitudes in victims, as well as diminished work group effectiveness and increased organizational frustration. Using time‐lagged data collected from research panelists, the hierarchical regression results indicated that workplace bullying can lead to distrust of others, a self‐focused strategy based on the belief that workplace advancement is political, and reduced work group cohesion and communication, ultimately resulting in organizational frustration. The managerial/practical and research implications of these findings and the connections to human resource development (HRD) are highlighted, including the need for managers and professionals involved in HRD to prevent and arrest workplace bullying. The research limitations and suggestions for future work are also presented.
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"Mentoring at Work" is about relationships in organizations that enhance individuals' development in the early, middle, and later career years. What began as a study of mentor relationships between junior and senior managers in one corporate setting evolved into a program of research designed to clarify the nature of a variety of relationships between junior and senior colleagues, or between peers, who provide mentoring functions. The primary purpose is to present an intricate and realistic view of mentoring, to delineate its potential benefits and limitations, and to illustrate the various forms of developmental relationships that can exist in work settings. I have brought an open systems perspective to this project. This means that I assume that relationships are significantly affected by the context in which they evolve and by the expectations, needs, and skills that individuals bring to them. Thus, I set out to understand how individuals' career histories and current situations, as well as the surrounding organizational circumstances, have jointly shaped the essential characteristics and evolution of their relationships with mentors, proteges, and peers. Throughout this book I address three distinct audiences. First, for individuals at every career stage, I discuss a perspective on mentoring that I hope will discourage the "search for the right mentor" and encourage systematic self-diagnosis of relationship needs as well as strategies for building relationships that provide relevant developmental functions. Second, for practicing managers, I outline the major forces that must be taken into account when creating a context that stimulates an effective mentoring process. Finally, for human resource specialists and organizational researchers, I consolidate the available research to date and outline strategies for intervention and further research that will help improve the quality of worklife and organizational effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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A general theoretical taxonomy of career decision-making difficulties, based on decision theory, has been developed. To examine the proposed taxonomy empirically, a questionnaire was constructed in which the various possible difficulties in the theoretical model were represented by respective statements. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 259 young Israeli adults (aged 19–23 yrs) who were at the beginning of their career decision-making process and to an American sample of 304 university students (aged 17–23 yrs). The observed relations among the 10 scales, which represent the 10 theoretical categories of difficulties, and those among the items within 2 selected categories, were similar in the 2 samples and compatible with the expected relations derived from the theoretical model. The implications for career counseling and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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This meta-analysis summarized youth, academic, and workplace research on the potential antecedents (demographics, human capital, and relationship attributes), correlates (interaction frequency, relationship length, performance, motivation, and social capital), and consequences (attitudinal, behavioral, career-related, and health-related outcomes) of protégé perceptions of instrumental support, psychosocial support, and relationship quality to the mentor or to the relationship. A total of 173 meta-analytic correlations were computed based on data from 173 samples and a combined N of 40,737. Among antecedents, positive protégé perceptions were most strongly associated with greater similarity in attitudes, values, beliefs, and personality with their mentors (ρ ranged from .38 to .59). Among correlates, protégé perceptions of greater instrumental support (ρ = .35) and relationship quality (ρ = .54) were most strongly associated with social capital while protégé perceptions of greater psychosocial support were most strongly associated with interaction frequency (ρ = .25). Among consequences, protégé perceptions of greater instrumental support (ρ = .36) and relationship quality (ρ = .38) were most strongly associated with situational satisfaction while protégé perceptions of psychosocial support were most highly associated with sense of affiliation (ρ = .41). Comparisons between academic and workplace mentoring generally revealed differences in magnitude, rather than direction, of the obtained effects. The results should be interpreted in light of the methodological limitations (primarily cross-sectional designs and single-source data) and, in some instances, a small number of primary studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
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Students’ motivational problems in combination with new occupational demands (which resulted from the transition from a primarily industrial to a more service- and knowledge-oriented economy) triggered an identity crisis in vocational education in the 1990s. The search for this new identity will be analysed in this chapter. First of all, we will evaluate the urgency of the problem. In the first section we will show that increasing amounts of criticism were directed at the functioning of the vocational education system during the 1990s. The national qualifications structure was the primary object of criticism, the response to which was the development of competence-based vocational education. In section 9.3, we will describe the main characteristics of this kind of education, and we will connect this to the concept of the vocational education school as a career development centre. Even though this concept was mainly developed outside the vocational education system (i.e. by academics, social partners and the government), a centrally directed national innovation policy has not really been the preferred option, for political as well as substantive reasons.
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This study examined whether the structural attributes of a formal mentoring program and/or certain demographic characteristics of participants in the program influence protege satisfaction. Proteges, employed in a traditionally male occupation, were sampled from a federal agency's mentoring program. According to policy, the agency attempted to assign proteges to one of three mentors they previously requested. An internally-developed measure, designed to assess protege satisfaction, was distributed after their completion in the program. A total of 565 surveys were received from 1998 to 2000. Results indicated that feedback in the assignment process and the frequency of meetings between the protege and mentor were more important determinants of protege satisfaction than racial and gender differences between proteges and the dyad.
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As part of the centennial celebration for the Journal of Applied Psychology, this article reviews the literature on organizational socialization and mentoring. Our review includes a comparison of organizational socialization and mentoring as processes for employee adjustment and development, the historical context that fueled the emergence of these two areas of study, and a chronological mapping of key foundations, trends, themes that emerged across time, and major milestones. Along the way, a special emphasis is placed on research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and high impact work is highlighted. We conclude with a discussion of five areas for future research. Specifically, we outline ideas for bridging the socialization and mentoring literatures, better understanding and capturing dynamic processes across time, the development of multilevel theories and models, addressing causality, and considering the implications for organizational socialization and mentoring research based on how technology is changing the way we work.
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Although extroversion and proactive personality are related to career success, the mechanisms through which the relationships occur are unclear. Based on the contest- and sponsored-mobility processes, we examine a model linking extroversion and proactive personality to career success through the mediating effects of mentoring received and organizational knowledge. We also theorize that mentoring provides learning opportunities, which result in greater organizational knowledge, that contribute to career success. Results, from a sample of 333 employees with a diverse set of occupations, indicated that the relationships of proactive personality and extroversion with objective and subjective measures of career success were mediated by mentoring received and organizational knowledge. Additionally, mentoring received influenced organizational knowledge, and both were related to objective and subjective measures of career success. Our study provides insight into how personality influences career success and provides support for both contest- and sponsored-mobility models of career success.
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The customers’ role is significant in the delivery and consumption of many types of services. This study examines customers’ beliefs about their ability to participate in a service (service use self-efficacy) and its effect on response to service. A theoretical model is proposed that explains how self-efficacy affects customers’ perceptions of service value and complaint intentions (“voice”). These factors, in turn, predict exit intentions and positive word of mouth. The model is tested on a sample of 444 members of a group insurance plan. The results of a structural equation model confirm the hypothesized relationships. The findings suggest that service managers should take steps to increase customer service use self-efficacy, such as providing training with feedback, vicarious experiences (e.g., print or video portrayals of successful service experiences), verbal persuasion (e.g., “You can do this”-type coaching), and a low-stress environment. It is also important to develop varied opportunities for customer comments.
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The use of control variables plays a central role in organizational research due to practical difficulties associated with the implementation of experimental and quasi-experimental designs. As such, we conducted an in-depth review and content analysis of what variables and why such variables are controlled for in ten of the most popular research domains (task performance, organizational citizenship behaviors, turnover, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, employee burnout, personality, leader-member exchange, organizational justice, and affect) in organizational behavior/human resource management (OB/HRM) and applied psychology. Specifically, we examined 580 articles published from 2003 to 2012 in AMJ, ASQ, JAP, JOM, and PPsyc. Results indicate that, across research domains with clearly distinct theoretical bases, the overwhelming majority of the more than 3,500 controls identified in our review converge around the same simple demographic factors (i.e., gender, age, tenure), very little effort is made to explain why and how controls relate to focal variables of interest, and control variable practices have not changed much over the past decade. To address these results, we offer best-practice recommendations in the form of a sequence of questions and subsequent steps that can be followed to make decisions on the appropriateness of including a specific control variable within a particular theoretical framework, research domain, and empirical study. Our recommendations can be used by authors as well as journal editors and reviewers to improve the transparency and appropriateness of practices regarding control variable usage.
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We hypothesized and tested a model where mentor career support predicts college student career planning, job search intentions, and self-defeating job search behavior via student career self-efficacy. Using survey responses collected at two points in time from college students near graduation who were mentored by working business professionals for 8 months in a formal hybrid university-sponsored mentoring program, results showed that mentor career support was positively related to student career planning and job search intentions and negatively related to student self-defeating job search behavior. In addition, results indicated that student career self-efficacy fully mediated the relations between mentor career support and the outcomes. The findings have important implications for future mentoring and job search research. They also provide practical guidance for improving college students' career planning and job searches.
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Participants (168 female and 118 male undergraduate students) completed a brief questionnaire, a measure of perceived educational and career‐related barriers, and a measure of coping efficacy. As expected, women and ethnic minorities anticipated significantly more career‐related barriers than did men and European American students, respectively. Ethnic minorities also exhibited more perceived educational barriers and lower self‐efficacy for coping with perceived career‐related barriers relative to their European American counterparts. Findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical implications and practical career counseling applications.
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A qualitative case study approach was taken to identify what factors were perceived to influence learning for mentees and mentors during a pilot formal mentoring programme, within a West Midlands Healthcare Trust. Both sides of five dyads were interviewed at regular intervals over a 17-month period (October 2009 to February 2011). The results from this longitudinal study show how learning was expected and achieved by both parties, over time. Factors influencing learning were categorized and later compared to pre-existing theory in relation to sharing experiences, sharing information, discussing politics, reflection, observation and support. Additional categories emerged in relation to questioning and listening skills, and similarity and difference between both parties. A change of emphasis was clear in relation to some factors which influenced learning, as the relationships matured. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for human resource development (HRD) professionals in relation to how formal mentoring programmes are designed and supported over time.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the practices and processes of trust building and use in collaborative networking for product innovation and to compare face to face with virtual networking. Design/methodology/approach Guided by a literature review and preliminary participant observation, 16 open ended interviews collected data about the processes in 11 small biotech firms. These data were inductively analysed by the constant comparative method to develop explanatory themes. Findings Trust was seen as a requirement for successful collaborative innovation, but the paper identified how different dimensions of trust are located in the trust building processes. Trust works by creating a platform of confidence that fosters flows of information and the exchange of tacit knowledge. Two types of trust relationships, the technical and the social, work in different ways to produce different, but complementary, types of trust. Virtual environments suit technical trust building but are less suited to developing deeper, more enduring forms of trust. Research limitations/implications These different approaches to collaboration are often implicit. But if practitioners are made aware of how they work, they can use the most appropriate approach to build trust. Practical implications The method and sample restrict general application, but the explanatory framework may be conceptually generalisable. Social implications Networking for innovation is seen as much social as technical. Originality/value The paper contributes conceptually by theorising the trust building process and its role in knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation. It addresses a gap in the literature in identifying how trust is produced, developed and employed in furthering innovation, in particular the behavioural patterns of using virtual networks in furthering innovation.
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The current study mapped the career decision-making difficulties and career decision self-efficacy of 1315 young veterans who participated in a 5-day workshop aimed at facilitating their transition to civilian life. A pre- and post-test comparison showed that participation in the workshop reduced (d = 0.57) the participants' career decision-making difficulties (measured by the CDDQ; Gati, Krausz, & Osipow, 1996) and increased (d = 0.77) their career decision self-efficacy (measured by the CDSE; Taylor & Betz, 1983). A more advanced decision status, as reflected in the participants' Range of Considered Alternatives (Saka & Gati, 2007), was negatively associated with participants' career decision-making difficulties, and positively associated with career decision self-efficacy. However, a more advanced decision status and the perceived effectiveness of the workshop were not associated with the decrease in difficulties and the increase in self-efficacy that resulted from participating in the workshop. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
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This paper reports on the transference to the UK of an online advisory service, developed and piloted in The Netherlands, targeted at small firms. The initiative is part of an ADAPT project funded by the European Social Fund. A pilot study was undertaken as a preliminary step to assess the compatibility of The Netherlands model with a UK market. Focus groups were used to explore the training and advice needs of owner-managers’ in West London. An analysis is presented of the likely impact of such a service in the UK. The paper examines a number of common themes and issues concerned with training provision and SMEs, and assesses the potential of interactive distance learning, or “telementoring” to break down the barriers that owner-managers may have towards formal training.
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The present study focused on mentorship effectiveness from the perspective of the mentor. Specifically, factors related to relationship quality and learning were investigated. Mentors in relationships with others perceived to be similar reported the mentorship to be of higher quality and greater learning than did mentors in relationships with less similar others. Results also indicated that mentorship type (formal vs. informal) did not have a direct relationship with mentorship effectiveness, but did interact with mentorship duration. Additional results and implications are discussed.
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Using longitudinal data from a nine-month e-mentoring program, we analyzed the influence of formal e-mentor networks and family-based role models on increases in both psychosocial and career-related outcomes. Findings indicate that e-mentor network relationship quality positively influenced general- and career-based self-efficacy which, in turn, enhanced the objective career aspirations of underprivileged youth. Moreover, we address both the compensatory and complementary perspectives of social capital to assess the moderating influence that access to educational role models within the family has on this process. Implications of the findings and areas for future research are discussed.
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Mentoring is an increasingly important function for career success. Many special groups, however, have difficulty finding a mentor. One solution is virtual mentoring--selecting and interacting with mentors on the Internet. Discusses advantages of virtual mentoring over other forms of mentoring, describes examples of Internet mentoring for various special groups and purposes, and suggests future directions for Internet mentoring. (Contains 27 references.) (GCP)
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Purpose In Germany, scientific qualifications and an academic career in medical disciplines require mastering and balancing clinical, research and teaching activities. Systematic interdisciplinary human resource development is rare in German medical faculties. The purpose of this paper is to describe the MediMent programme, which is a model for systematic interdisciplinary support of early‐ and mid‐phase career development for medical academics. It comprises mentoring, training and networking modules tailored for pre‐ and post‐doctoral students at the Medical Faculty. It contributes to organisational development and reducing gender inequality by an affirmative action programme for women. The programme supports individual career‐building, teaches networking skills for an interdisciplinary workplace and assists in conflict resolution. Design/methodology/approach Mentors and mentees provided feedback via standardised forms. Additional open‐ended questions were interpreted by content analysis. Statistics were prepared using SPSS. Findings Evaluation of the first six‐year programme run revealed several benefits, indicating the trio of mentoring, networking and the accompanying seminar series efficiently supports career development of young medical academics. Participating mentees felt they achieved career goals within the mentoring programme. Evaluations indicated a strong potential for future investment in the organisation through better training, improving institutional visibility and stimulating recruitment of excellent students. Originality/value – The success of the MediMent programme described in the paper recommends it for implementation at other institutions.
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This investigation examined participants' perceptions of sibling relational influence on career exploration and decision making. Career path influence on sibling relationships and times when these relationships were most important also were explored. Individual interviews were conducted with urban commuter college students, and narrative data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research methods as described by C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, and E. N. Williams (1997). Consistent with attachment theory (J. Bowlby, 1982) and literature on social support (C. E. Cutrona, 1996), one of the most prominent factors associated with relational influence was multidimensional social support. Predictable differences were found in relational influence between participants' most important siblings and other siblings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Although advocates of teamwork suggest that teams enhance performance, empirical evidence does not consistently, or robustly, support these claims. Still, a belief in the effectiveness of teams—among managers, employees, and the general lay population—seems very strong. What accounts for this ‘romance of teams’? In this paper, we offer a psychological answer to this question. We review evidence regarding the actual effectiveness of teams, in order to show that teams are not as effective as many believe them to be, and we argue that the romance of teams stems from the psychological benefits of group-based activity. Specifically, we propose that team members experience both social-emotional, and competence-related, benefits, and we review an eclectic mix of research in support of this claim. We argue that these psychological benefits of teams lead people to assume that teams are ‘high performance’, thus, causing the romance of teams. Finally, we discuss potential implications of the romance for organizations, researchers, and employees.
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To test whether general self-efficacy and self-esteem relate differently to motivational and affective constructs, we collected data from samples in academic and work settings. Results suggest that general self-efficacy is more highly related to motivational variables than is self-esteem, whereas self-esteem is more highly related to affective variables than is general self-efficacy, as hypothesized. Furthermore, results support the notion that motivational and affective states differentially mediate the relationships of general self-efficacy and self-esteem with task performance. These results confirm the theoretical distinction between general self-efficacy and self-esteem and suggest that failure to distinguish between them might exact a price in terms of precision, validity, and understanding of determinants of performance. Implications for research and practice in organizations are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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A university faculty/student mentor program was evaluated for its effects on academic performance and retention. A matched pairs design was used in which 339 undergraduates assigned to mentors were paired with nonmentored students based on gender, ethnicity, GPA, and entering enrollment status. The results showed a higher GPA for mentored students (2.45 vs. 2.29), more units completed per semester (9.33 vs. 8.49), and lower dropout rate (14.5% vs. 26.3%). Amount of mentor-protege contact was positively correlated with GPA. Academic achievement and retention were unrelated to gender and ethnicity of the mentor, the protg, or the gender and ethnic match between the two.
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Using survey data on the third cohort of scholarship recipients in the Washington State Achievers (WSA) program, this study first examined how the assignment of college mentor and student engagement in mentoring vary based on student and institutional characteristics and then examined the relationship between mentor assignment and different mentoring aspects of the WSA program and student persistence in college. The results from this project indicated that Asian American students were more likely to have an assigned college mentor and that Hispanic students were more likely than White students to turn to their college mentors for support and encouragement and had a higher level of perceived importance of their overall experiences with mentors. Among all WSA recipients, having an assigned college mentor was positively related to the probability of persisting in college; among those who had an assigned college mentor, the probability of persisting was positively associated with the extent to which the recipients turn to mentors for support and encouragement and with their perceived importance of experiences with mentors. Key wordsmentoring-encouragement-persistence
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Protégé–mentor agreement (PMA) about the provision of psychosocial support was examined in relation to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work self-esteem. One-hundred and sixty-six junior administrative and information technology (IT) staff at an Australian university and their matched mentors completed a questionnaire that assessed three antecedents to PMA: (1) structural and experience aspects of the mentorship (type and length of relationship, frequency of meetings, previous experience with mentoring, and gender-mix); (2) protégé and mentor personality (agreeableness, openness, extroversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness); and (3) protégé and mentor workload. Structural Equation Modeling using Partial Least Squares revealed that PMA was predicted by structural and experience aspects of the mentorship (type of mentorship, frequency of meetings, and experience of the mentor), protégé personality (agreeableness, openness, extroversion, and conscientiousness), mentor personality (agreeableness, openness, and extroversion), and mentor workload. Protégé–mentor agreement was positively related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment for protégés and mentors.
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The present study compared the relative impact of peer-mentoring that took place either face-to-face or through electronic chat. Protégés were 106 college freshmen randomly assigned to a senior college student mentor and to one of the two communication modes. Fifty-one mentors interacted with one of these proteges face-to-face and one solely through electronic chat. Electronic chat resulted in less psychosocial support, career support, and post-mentoring protege self-efficacy for those with male but not female mentors. Analyses of coded transcripts revealed that males condensed their language to a greater extent than did females in the electronic chat condition relative to the face-to-face condition. Dyads in the electronic chat condition had more interactive dialogue than did those in the face-to-face condition. Finally, dialogue interactivity predicted post-mentoring self-efficacy but only for those who communicated through electronic chat.
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While there has been a veritable explosion of online mentoring websites and opportunities within a wide variety of professions, very few academic articles to date have addressed this phenomenon. The purpose of this article is to remedy this gap in our knowledge by: (a) suggesting that the Internet can provide a viable context for mentoring within defined roles, (b) presenting a new typology of mentoring based on the computer-mediated-communication (CMC) literature, and in doing so suggest new opportunities and challenges, and (c) providing recommendations for researchers and practitioners to explore online mentoring. Past research has found that within the three functions of mentoring (psychosocial, vocational, and role modeling), a mentor can play a number of roles such as business coach, friend, counselor, and/or teacher to a protégé. We extend past research by assessing the major issues applicable to these mentor roles through an examination of CMC literature. We provide specific research propositions to inspire future research into online mentoring and its related contexts, roles, opportunities, and challenges.
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Research regarding mentoring relationships has flourished during the past 20 years. This article reviews the methodology and content of 200 published mentoring articles. Some of the major concerns raised in this review include over reliance on cross-sectional designs and self-report data, a failure to differentiate between different forms of mentoring (e.g., formal versus informal), and a lack of experimental research. Implications and suggestions for future research are offered. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.