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Drawing on a study of three public science funding organizations in Ireland, Finland and New Zealand, we investigate the implementation of talent management (TM) through the lens of institutional complexity and paradox theory. Multiple institutional logics and institutional complexity create tensions, which TM actors must respond to and manage. We identify an important interplay of four institutional logics with the dominance of the professional logic acting as a unifying function to respond to tensions in TM implementation. We add to the emerging literature on day-to-day responses to competing institutional logics and public sector TM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose--The purpose of this article is to explore the impact of life cycle stage, specifically parenting stage, on work-family conflict among working parents to determine whether discernible differences are evident among those individuals at the early stage of their parenting cycle compared with those with older children. Design/methodology/approach--An explorative study was undertaken among parents employed within the Irish hotel sector. The questionnaire was distributed to 22 hotels and 76 individuals who reported having children responded. A number of measures were used to assess the impact which a number of factors, namely job stress, job involvement, managerial support and colleague support, may have on working parents' work-life conflict. Correlation and regression analysis are performed to test the hypotheses proposed. Findings--The research findings provide initial support for the possibility that the factors influencing work-family conflict differ for each of the parenting groups analysed. For all parents with dependent children it was found that job involvement, job stress and colleague support all have predictive powers in terms of explaining the antecedents of work-family conflict. Research limitations/implications--The findings provide a compelling case for the need to begin to address work-family conflict in a more holistic manner, examining both the immediate and long-term consequences for employees with childcare responsibilities. Practical implications--The ability to design and implement specific, targeted responses to employees' work-life needs is an area where HRD can make a real and significant contribution. Strategic HRD has the potential to reduce the misappropriation of organisational resources by ensuring a focused and targeted response, thereby minimising the fruitless pursuit of "one size fits all" approaches to this complex issue. Originality/value--The paper seeks to lay the first key foundation-stones in framing the debate in relation to work-life balance in terms of the entire working lives of individuals and not just specific snapshots during the course of that employment. The paper is critical of current organisational thinking in relation to employees' work-life balance needs and challenges HRD professionals to begin to examine this important and complex issue in a more holistic manner. (Contains 7 tables.)

The primary purpose of management development programs is performance improvement at an individual and organizational level. Performance improvement results from knowledge, skill, or ability enhancement. An important intervention in management development is the use of 360-degree or multisource feedback (MSF), which leads to more effective career development activity resulting from enhanced self-awareness. The research model used to investigate self-reported postfeedback management development behavior is derived using the theory of planned behavior. The findings reveal that perceptions of the accuracy of MSF, cynicism, perceived organizational support, and age are significant predictors of postfeedback development behavior. The implications for research and practice are set out.

A four-level framework illustrates the contributions of human resource development (HRD) to management of organizational boundaries: (1) leadership development; (2) HRD strategy, policy, and structure as boundary shapers; (3) HRD interventions as creators and innovators; and (4) HRD as boundary spanner outside the organization. A table summarizes contributions of articles in this special issue. (Contains 47 references.) (SK)

This overview of the Irish educational system examines vocational education and training, the role of the European Union, legislative measures, and institutional reforms. The following challenges are discussed: economic infrastructure, skill shortages, and the inclusiveness of the educational system. (SK)

Myers Briggs Type Indicator results and 360-degree feedback reports were completed by 22 managers. A positive relationship was found between managerial effectiveness and self-awareness, indicating that self-awareness is a necessary component of management development. (SK)

Research investigating training and firm performance is currently at an inflection point; capable of recognising previous achievements but also having a focus on the future. Based on our review of 207 quantitative papers over a 40‐year period, we find that the field has converged in terms of theory and methods. Important insights have been generated yet there is scope to better understand the complex, interrelated and dynamic nature of the relationship between training and firm performance. We propose that open systems theory (OST) provides the potential to move the field forward and encourage researchers to investigate interactions and linkages between training and performance components, the role of temporal dynamics in inputs and processes, reverse causality and to broaden conceptualisations of firm performance. We consider six principles of OST, highlight productive avenues for future research and identify methodological challenges and implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on systems theory, we conducted a moderated meta‐analysis of the training and organisational performance relationship using 119 primary studies. We examined the moderating effects of quality versus quantity of training, time, institutional and organisational context factors in the relationship between training and organisational performance. Our findings reveal that training is positively and directly related to organisational performance with no statistically significant difference between measures of training quality and quantity. We found that the relationship was stronger over time and that country performance orientation and country labour cost moderate the training and organisational performance relationship. We found no evidence for the moderating effects of the three organisational context moderators we examined (i.e. industry sector, organisational size and technology intensity). Finally, our results reveal that training type (i.e. general or firm‐specific) does not moderate the training and organisational performance relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many aspects of the dramatic shifts caused by digital government have made enormous progress, the leadership of those who serve the public via electronic means has yet to take a significant step forward. This article addresses three questions: How significant has e‐leadership become? What are the challenges in trying to create a more comprehensive model of defining and measuring e‐leadership? And, based on current knowledge, what skill and behavioral elements are candidates for a concrete e‐leadership model? The authors develop and test an original model that focuses on e‐leadership as a competence in virtual communications (i.e., the use of ICT‐mediated communications) and the digital opportunities and challenges that are created. The results provide strong support for the proposed model. The article concludes with a discussion of a future agenda for e‐leadership research that can be developed in a manner that is fruitful for theory and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]