Impact of Mentoring On Staff Retention through Knowledge Transfer: An Empirical Evaluation of Four Private Universities in the North Central Zone of Nigeria (Published)
This research study explored the impact of mentoring on staff retention through knowledge transfer with specific reference to selected private universities in Nigeria. Mentoring is a natural one-on-one, mutual, committed relationship formed between a mentor and mentee designed to promote personal development beyond any particular institutional goals. However, Knowledge transfer seeks to build, systematize, otherwise distributes knowledge and guarantees its accessibility for future users. In an organizational setting, the goal of employers is usually to decrease employee turnover, thereby decreasing training costs, recruitment costs and loss of talents and organizational knowledge. Employers can improve retention rates and decrease the associated costs of high turnover with the aid of mentoring and knowledge transfer. The material used for this investigation was sourced from both primary and secondary data such as text books, management journals and internet. A well-structured open ended questionnaire was the main tool for data gathering. The questionnaire was designed for all the selected employees of private universities in the North central zone of Nigeria. The data through which responses were given in the questionnaire was analyzed and interpreted with the use of students‘t’ distribution test in the analysis of data. The findings indicate that mentoring improves staff retention in private universities in Nigeria and transfer of knowledge enhances staff mentoring and retention in Nigerian universities. The review of literature suggests that knowledge transfer and conceptualization of mentoring is required for staff retention in organizations. For effective staff retention and knowledge transfer, it was recommended that mentoring should be utterly deliberated and not forced on the participants ‘‘the mentors and the mentees’’ and privacy should be indispensable in this relationship. Conclusively, knowledge transfer encompasses a wide variety of activities to sustain mutually beneficial collaborations between mentors and the mentees, universities, and the public sector. It is all about the transfer of tangible and intellectual expertise, skills and learning between academic and the non-academic community.
Keywords: Knowledge, Mentoring, Retention, Staff, Staff Retention and Knowledge Transfer.
Job Dissatisfaction: An Analysis of Skill and Knowledge Mismatch Of On-Job Trained Employees In Institutions Of Higher Learning (Published)
It is acknowledged that Human Resource Development (HRD) practices such as On Job Training (OJT) and Job Placement (JP) are linked to employee performance. However, research is yet to focus on how performance is affected by mismatch of new knowledge and skills acquired from OJT and those required to perform their allocated responsibilities, especially in public universities in Kenya. Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) devotes some of its budgetary allocation on OJT of administrative staff and any mismatch between knowledge and skills acquired and those demanded by administrative jobs can be counterproductive. Thus a need exists to establish the relationship between OJT as HRD practice and JP of trained administrative staff. The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between on-job training and job placement of administrative staff at MMUST. This is aimed at finding out if the OJT programmes match the staff’s skills and knowledge. The study employed a case study design with target population of 149 administrative staff. Since the target population was small, it formed the sample therefore census sampling. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and an interview schedule. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and was presented verbatim according to the themes while quantitative data was analyzed descriptively using percentages and frequency distribution techniques. The results indicated that majority of the respondents acquired most of their knowledge and skills while in their current positions, with a few others had the knowledge and skills that matched with the positions they held. The study concludes that properly placed employees perform optimally while misplaced employees feel demotivated and tend to have a high turn-over rate. The study recommends that organizations should ensure that they hire competent and qualified administrative staff and also, enact policies on proper placement to ensure that employees who are misplaced have a chance to be properly placed to the right positions.
Keywords: Administrative staff, Job Dissatisfaction, Job Placement, Knowledge, Skills
Striving To Become an Entrepreneurial University to Bridge the Gap between Knowing and Doing: A Study on Al-Zaytoonah Universiy of Jordan (Published)
In the age of technology and knowledge communities, labor and capital are no longer considered the main production factors. Knowledge and human capital are becoming exceedingly important in strengthening the economic growth and development. Universities are one of the leading resources for knowledge generation. Research is considered one of the pillars universities rely on promoting its faculty, renewing its license or even gaining international accreditation. With all published researches, a gap between this knowledge and practicing it is becoming increasingly noticeable. This gap is called the Knowing-Doing-Gap. To reduce this gap, researchers and universities worked on setting a framework to ensure that part of the knowledge generated is applied and practiced in the market. Such universities are called “Entrepreneurial Universities”. This paper explores the definition of entrepreneurial universities and the conditions for becoming an entrepreneurial university (on both macro and micro levels). Furthermore, the paper sheds light on the steps taken by Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan striving to become an entrepreneurial university through bridging the gap between knowledge and application. The paper answers the following question: “What steps is Al-Zaytoonah taking to address the knowing-doing-gap?”
Keywords: Entrepreneurial University, Jordan, Knowing Doing Gap, Knowledge, Learning, economic growth