Search

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between employees' perceptions of diversity training (DT) existence and effectiveness with organizational commitment (OC), and career satisfaction (CS). Design/methodology/approach: The analyses in this paper utilize survey data collected between 2006 and 2007 from over 11,000 managers, professionals, and executives working in nine large organizations in corporate Canada. The survey included questions about employees' perceptions of their work experiences and outcomes and their organizations' diversity practices. Comparisons of means as well as multivariate regression analyses were undertaken. Findings: The paper shows that employees who perceived DT to be effective were significantly more committed to their organizations and more satisfied with their careers than employees who perceived DT to be ineffective or non-existent. Research limitations/implications: The paper examines the linkages between DT, OS, and CS based on survey responses from managers, professionals, and executives. Findings may therefore not be applicable to entry level employees. Practical implications: DT, and in particular when viewed by employees to be effective, increases employees' OC and CS, which are associated with loyalty, lower turnover and higher employee engagement. Originality/value: The paper found that employees' OC and CS are highest when they perceived DT to be effective. Factors associated with OC and CS are explored based on employees' perceptions of the availability and effectiveness of DT. (Contains 4 tables.)

This article gives an update on school choice in Canada. Currently, school choice in Canada is stable. Provincialism, in both senses of the word, is a major factor in Canadian political life. There is no contradiction between Ontario's recent electoral rejection of the extension of funding to non-Catholic religious schools, and the strong support for extensive school choice in urban Alberta. The liberal and politically correct political culture of urban Ontario differs from the more individualized and market-driven culture represented by Edmonton and Calgary. Quebec is both more autonomous than any American state, and more culturally distinct, even as its desire for legal separation (with its attendant loss of Alberta's equalization subsidy) dissipates. The movement to Catholic public schools and to independent schools (in three provinces) appears to have reached a plateau. The apparent academic and cultural advantage of Catholic schools may be offset by Canada's rapid secularization. There are financial limits (in families) to the growth of independent schools, accentuated by the growth of single-parent households. Equally important, parental desire for better education for their children, as distinct from higher grades, may be reduced in the majority of provinces, including Ontario, where there is no external testing for university admission, which is therefore determined by arbitrary school assessments. (Contains 14 notes.)

This paper investigates the extent of convergence club formation in retail gasoline prices. Our study provides new insights through the use of a large disaggregated panel database for Canada that comprises three types of gasoline grades, namely regular, medium and premium, for a sample of 44 cities over a period of almost two decades. The paper analyses gasoline price data that are inclusive or exclusive of taxes. The findings suggest that the retail gasoline markets are not integrated in terms of requiring multiple numbers of convergence clubs to explain relative price movements across cities. In addition to this, wholesale gasoline prices across cities are probably less integrated than retail prices. Key drivers of retail price divergence across cities include distances between cities and the need to be explicit on distinguishing fuel quality. These findings are robust to the inclusion or exclusion of taxes in retail gasoline prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voices concern over widening gap between preferred educational directions of the educational establishment and the public-at-large. Details how Ontario's policy regarding English education illustrates this trend. Concludes that schools and educators should be free to choose their own methods of instruction but be accountable for their results. (NEC)

A five-step model for the implementation of competency-based education in Canada is proposed. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the curriculum, establishing where competency checks are most needed, developing policies and actual competency tests, and observing the impacts. (HLM)

Discusses factors revealed by educational research that improve student learning and over which administrators and trustees have some control: school atmosphere and instructional time. Offers 14 steps for implementing research findings into educational innovations. (NEC)

The purpose of this research is to identify the challenges faced by full-service restaurant brands internationalizing across the border between the United States and Canada. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 54 senior executives across the US and Canada. The results show differences in the challenges faced by U.S. versus Canadian full-service restaurant brands when they are expanding across the border based upon the context of the full-service restaurant and how they are internationalizing. This is the first empirical study about cross border expansion challenges for U.S. and Canadian full-service restaurant brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the correlates of career satisfaction among Canadian managers, professionals and executives, specifically the career satisfaction experience of both visible minority and non-visible minority immigrants. Survey data collected from over 13,000 managers, professionals and executives in 43 Canadian organizations were analysed using the ordinary least squares multiple regression technique. Results indicate that immigrants experience lower career satisfaction than native-borns and visible minority immigrants have lower career satisfaction than non-visible minority immigrants. Employee and employer characteristics, objective employment outcomes and subjective perceptual measures were found to be positively associated with career satisfaction for immigrant and native-born respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Although bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) represent a small part of the overall accommodation sector, they can contribute to both the positive and negative impacts of the industry. Through a questionnaire of Canada's east and west coastal B&Bs, findings indicate that financial reasons are the biggest barrier to implementing environmental practices and government incentives and tax rebates may help the uptake of environmental measures. Results from this study can be used to motivate improvements for environmental commitment in this form of accommodation such as cost savings and strengthened lines of communication. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Industrial Relations / Relations Industrielles is the property of Universite Laval, Department of Industrial Relations and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between employees' perceptions of diversity training (DT) existence and effectiveness with organizational commitment (OC), and career satisfaction (CS). Design/methodology/approach - The analyses in this paper utilize survey data collected between 2006 and 2007 from over 11,000 managers, professionals, and executives working in nine large organizations in corporate Canada. The survey included questions about employees' perceptions of their work experiences and outcomes and their organizations' diversity practices. Comparisons of means as well as multivariate regression analyses were undertaken. Findings - The paper shows that employees who perceived DT to be effective were significantly more committed to their organizations and more satisfied with their careers than employees who perceived DT to be ineffective or non-existent. Research limitations/implications - The paper examines the linkages between DT, OS, and CS based on survey responses from managers, professionals, and executives. Findings may therefore not be applicable to entry level employees. Practical implications - DT, and in particular when viewed by employees to be effective, increases employees' OC and CS, which are associated with loyalty, lower turnover and higher employee engagement. Originality/value - The paper found that employees' OC and CS are highest when they perceived DT to be effective. Factors associated with OC and CS are explored based on employees' perceptions of the availability and effectiveness of DT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the difference between Canadian elementary and secondary education governance and in the U.S. The author claims that in Canada, there is no constitutional separation of church and state. He adds that education is a provincial jurisdiction and English and French are both official languages, which give parents the right to educate their children on their mother tonque. Meanwhile, at the secondary level, school of the arts and technical or vocational schools are accessible in most large districts and there is a scattering of schools providing individualized instruction.

As competition increases, so does the need for a destination to differentiate itself. Blue Flag, a voluntary environmental certification, has been described as an effective marketing tool to communicate nature-based management to consumers. Does certification, however, influence the consumer's choice when choosing a destination? This study examined consumer's satisfaction of beach characteristics and tourist preferences for beach selection through subjective indicators of destination competitiveness. Findings show that knowledge of Blue Flag certification increased the importance that beachgoers placed on selecting future destinations, as well as higher levels of overall satisfaction, satisfaction with water quality, water cleanliness and beach cleanliness. These results suggest that beach certification is a signal of indirect competitiveness. As such, tourism agencies may be able to deploy the results of this research to support their decision to utilize certifications as a means of differentiation, as well as being a strategy through which to educate the beachgoers of their role in protecting and maintaining the beach for current and future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]