This article examines organizational cultural influences on a human resource development (HRD) practitioner’s ability to effectively implement a competency-based training program. A five-phase conceptual model was created based on the process of implementing a competency-based approach to training and examines how differing agendas from individual organizational members and key stakeholders can derail a program. Suggestions are provided on how HRD practitioners can deal with these influences to increase their chances for successful program implementation.
Audretsch, D. B., & Thurik, A.R. (2000). Capitalism and democracy in the 21st century: From the managed to the entrepreneurial economy. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 10(1-2), 17-34.
2.
Bluedorn, A., & Lungreden E. F. (1993). A culture-match perspective for strategic change. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 7, 137-149.
3.
Bolman, L., & Deal, T. (1997). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
4.
Bullis, C. A., & Tompkins, P. K. (1989). The forest ranger revisited: A study of control practices and identification. Communication Monographs, 56, 287-306.
5.
Corcoran, T. B. (1976). Prospects and problems of competency-based education. Toledo, OH: The Center for the Study of Higher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED127874)
6.
Corley, K. (2003). Semantic learning as change enabler: Relating organizational identity and organizational learning. In M. Easterby-Smith & M. Lyles (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of organizational learning and knowledge management (pp. 621-636). Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
7.
Cross, R., & Parker, A. (2004). The hidden power of social networks: Understanding how work really gets done in organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
8.
Deal, T. E., & Kennedy, A. A. (2000). Corporate cultures: The rites and rituals of corporate life. Cambridge, MA: Perseus.
9.
Dewey, B. (1997). Six companies share their insights: The challenges in applying competencies. Compensation and Benefits Review, 29, 2.
10.
Fayol, H. (1949). Administration industrielle et générale [General and industrial management] (C. Storrs, Trans.). London: Pitman.
11.
Foster-Fishman, P. G., & Keys, C. B. (1997). The person/environment dynamics of employee empowerment: An organizational culture analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25(3), 345-369.
12.
Gendron, B. (1997). Technology and the human condition. New York: St. Martins.
13.
Gould, S. (1979). An equity exchange model of organizational involvement. Academy of Management Review, 4(1), 53-62.
14.
Harrow, J., & Wilcox, L. (1990). Public services management: Attitudes, initiatives, and limits to learning. Journal of Management Studies, 27, 281-303.
15.
Hendry, J. (1999). Cultural theory and contemporary management organization. Human Relations, 52, 557-577.
16.
Kontoghiorghes, C., Awbre, S. M., & Feurig, P. L. (2005). Examining the relationship between learning characteristics and change adaptation, innovation, and organizational performance. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 16(2), 183-211.
17.
Kurtz, R. S. (2003). Organizational culture, decision making, and integrity in the National Park Service and the Exxon Valdez. Public Integrity, 5, 305-317.
18.
Länsisalmi, H., Peiró, J. M., & Kivimäki, M. (2000). Collective stress and coping in the context of organizational culture. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 9(4), 527-559.
19.
Lewis, L. K. (2000). “Blindsided by that one” and “I saw that one coming”: The relative anticipation and occurrence of communication problems and other problems in implementers’ hindsight. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 28, 44-67.
20.
Lewis, L. K., & Seibold, D. R. (1998). Re-conceptualizing organizational change implementation as a communication problem: A review of literature and research agenda. Communication Yearbook, 21, 93-151.
21.
Martin, J. (1992). Cultures in organizations: Three perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.
22.
Meyerson, D., & Martin, J. (1987). Cultural change: An integration of three difference views. Journal of Management Studies, 24, 623-647.
23.
Morgan, G. (1997). Images of organization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
24.
Naquin, S. S., & Holton E. F., III. (2002). The development of a competency model and assessment instrument for public sector leadership and management development. In T. M. Egan & S. A. Lynham (Eds.), Refereed Proceedings of the Academy of Human Resource Development Annual Conference. Bowling Green, OH: Academy of Human Resource Development.
25.
Naquin, S. S., & Holton, E. F., III. (2003). Redefining state government leadership and management development: A process for competency-based development. Public Personnel Management, 32, 23-46.
26.
Parker, R., & Bradley, L. (2000). Organizational culture in the public sector: Evidence from six organizations. The International Journal of Public Sector Management, 13, 125-141.
27.
Perry, J., & Rainey, H. (1988). The public-private sector distinction in organization theory: A critique and research agenda. Academy of Management Review, 13, 182-201.
28.
Peters, T. (1992). Liberation management. New York: Fawcett-Columbine.
29.
Peters, T. J., & Waterman, R. H. (1982). In search of excellence: Lessons from America’s best run companies. New York: Harper & Row.
30.
Scheiber, S., Kramer, T. A., & Adamowski, S. E. (2003). The implications of core competencies for psychiatric education and practice in the US. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48, 215-221.
31.
Schein, E. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership: A dynamic view. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
32.
Schein, E. (1991). The role of the founder in the creation of organizational culture. In P. Frost, L. Moore, & M. Louis (Eds.), Reframing organizational culture (pp. 14-25). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
33.
Schein, E. (1994). Organizational and managerial culture as a facilitator or inhibitor of organizational learning. Society for Organizational Learning. Retrieved June 18, 2005, from http://www.solonline.org/res/wp/10004.html
34.
Silvester, J., Anderson, N. R., & Patterson, F. (1997). Organizational culture change: An inter-group attributional analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72(1), 1-23.
35.
Stohl, C., & Cheney, G. (2001). Participatory practices/paradoxical practices: Communication and the dilemmas of organizational democracy. Management Communication Quarterly, 14, 349-407.
36.
Stone, R. J. (2002). Human resource management (4th ed.). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
37.
Swanson, R. A., & Holton, E. F., III. (2001). Foundations of human resource development. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
38.
Taylor, F. W. (1967). The principles of scientific management. New York: Harper and Brothers. (Original work published 1911)
39.
Tower, D. (2002). Creating the complex adaptive organization: A primer on complex adaptive systems. OD Practitioner, 34(3). Retrieved from http://www.odnetwork.org/odponline/vol34n3/creating.html
40.
Van Wart, M. (1998). Changing public sector values. New York: Garland.
41.
Watson A. (1990). Competency-based vocational education and self-paced learning. Sydney, Australia: Technology University. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED324443).
42.
Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society. In G. Roth & C. Weick (Eds.), The social psychology of organizing (2nd ed., pp. 941-958). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. (Original work published 1921)
43.
Weick, K. (1979). The social psychology of organizing (2nd ed.). Redding, MA: Addison-Wesley.
44.
Whetten, D. A., & Godfrey, P. C. (Eds.). (1998). Identity in organizations: Developing theory through conversations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
45.
Wilson, R. (2000). Organizational culture analysis. Strategic Communication Management, 4(6), 16-20.
46.
Hatala, J.-P., & Gumm, J. C. (2006). Managing organizational cultural influences during the implementation of competency-based training. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 8(2), 229-246.
