Academic literature on the topic 'Soft skills development'

Cette thèse s’intéresse à l’influence du soft power managérial chinois sur les africains. La question fondamentale de recherche est : comment les africains ayant étudié en Chine ont-ils été influencés par le soft power chinois? Ont-ils développé des capacités managériales à l’instar des managers ou des entrepreneurs chinois? Afin de répondre à la question de recherche, le premier article offre une perspective synthétique des travaux réalisés sur la Chine-Afrique entre 2014-2015. Dans cette revue de littérature, les investissements chinois en Afrique, les acteurs, les motivations, le mode d'entrée, les impacts et les défis de gestion, ont été analysés à la lumière des théories en management international. Cette revue offre de nouvelles perspectives pour explorer les investissements chinois dans les pays africains et contribue à l'ensemble des connaissances sur les relations sino-africaines. Dans le second article, en raison de l’intégration croissante des deux régions, une comparaison des pratiques managériales entre la Chine et les pays africains a été faite. Le but de cet article est de faciliter cette compréhension par une analyse analytique de la littérature. D'après notre analyse, certaines similitudes et divergences liées principalement aux fondations de la gestion, aux styles managériaux, au réseautage et à l'entrepreneuriat ont été identifiées. En raison de la croissance des Africains en Chine, il devient de plus en plus opportun et pertinent d’étudier comment ils sont influencés par les valeurs culturelles chinoises. Ce troisième article analyse, à travers la théorie de l'acculturation, l'influence de la culture chinoise sur les pratiques managériales des Africains formés en Chine. Divers documents suggèrent que l'adaptation peut conduire à la performance et à la créativité. Nous étendons ceci pour inclure le réseau en tant que variable modératrice. À partir d’une enquête auprès de 378 managers africains, nous avons constaté que les adaptations socioculturelles, psychologiques et académiques influençaient de manière positive les compétences entrepreneuriales des Africains. En termes d’effets modérateurs, on considère que le réseau active ou renforce l’effet direct de l’adaptation sur le développement des compétences en entrepreneuriat. Quant au dernier article, il permet d’identifier les capacités managériales et entrepreneuriales développées par les africains lors de leur séjour en Chine. À partir d’une approche méthodologique interprétative basée sur la théorie du Soft Power, les thèmes qui émergent du répertoire cognitif des managers africains et qui reflètent les capacités développées sont entre autres le développement du réseau, la prise de risque, l'optimisme et le pragmatisme. Les résultats de cette étude fournissent de nouvelles perspectives pour l'exploration du soft power chinois en Afrique. Ils montrent que la Chine n'influence pas seulement à travers les aides, les investissements, le modèle économique, etc., mais qu'elle inspire aussi de nombreux pays en raison de ses idées de gestion connues sous le nom de gestion chinoise Soft Power. Mots-clés : pratiques managériales ; soft power ; management africain ; management chinois ; transfert de connaissances ; entrepreneuriat, renforcement de capacités ; adaptation culturelle ; investissements.<br>This thesis focuses on the Influence of Chinese management soft power on African skills development. The fundamental research question is: how were Africans who studied in China influenced by Chinese soft power? Have they developed managerial skills like Chinese managers or entrepreneurs? To answer these questions, the first article offers a synthetic perspective of the works done on China-Africa between 2014-2015. Based on this literature review, Chinese investments in Africa, the actors, and motivations, mode of entry, impacts and management challenges were analyzed in the light of theories in international management. This review offers new perspectives for exploring Chinese investments in African countries and contributes to the body of knowledge on Sino-African relations. In the second article, due to the growing integration of the two regions, a comparison of managerial practices between China and African countries was made. The purpose of this article is to facilitate this understanding through a critical analysis of the literature. Based on our analysis, some similarities and divergences related mainly to management foundations, managerial styles, networking and entrepreneurship were identified. The third article analyzes, through acculturation theory, the influence of Chinese culture on the managerial practices of Africans trained in China. Based on multiple linear regression, this article analyzes not only the effect of acculturation on the development of entrepreneurial capacities but also the moderating role of networking on the different on acculturation. As for the last article, it makes it possible to identify the managerial and entrepreneurial capacities developed by Africans during their stay in China. Using an interpretive methodological approach and based on the Soft Power theory, the themes that emerge from the cognitive repertoire of African managers and that reflect the capacities developed are: network development, risk-taking, optimism and pragmatism. The results of this study provide new perspectives for the exploration of Chinese soft power in Africa. They show that China does not only influence through aids, investments, economic model, etc. but it also inspires many countries due to its management ideas known as Chinese Management Soft Power. Keywords: managerial practices; soft power; African management; Chinese management; knowledge transfer; entrepreneurship, capacity building, cultural adaptation; investments.

<p> It is increasingly being recognized that students are not developing all the skills in school that employers need. Much of this skill gap stems from students not developing soft skills such as the ability to communicate, form interpersonal relationships, and act professionally. This is a problem for students because it limits their employability, a problem for employers because it limits the capabilities of the emerging workforce, and a problem for educators because it limits the practical value of the degree programs they offer. </p><p> While soft skills are difficult to develop in the classroom, it is known that internships provide an effective alternative. However, the nature of internship experiences that develop interns&rsquo; soft skills has been largely unexplored. Therefore, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the research question: <i>What is the nature of internship experiences that develop interns&rsquo; soft skills?</i> Sub-questions included: (a) <i>What internship experiences contribute to interns&rsquo; soft skill development?</i> and (b) <i>How do these internship experiences develop interns&rsquo; soft skills?</i> </p><p> To investigate these questions, data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews with a diversity of 19 research participants engaged in internships at a large scientific and cultural organization. Based on a review of experiential learning, internship, soft skill, and experiential learning theory literature, questions posed to participants were specifically designed to explore a variety of factors relevant to the research question of this study. These factors included communication, relationships, professionalism, mentorship, biography, context, sensation, reflection, comprehension, and action. </p><p> Based on analysis of the data, this study offered three principal conclusions. (1) interns develop soft skills when they interact, relate, and are professional with others; (2) interns develop soft skills by pushing boundaries, reflecting with mentors, being motivated, and repeating action; (3) the nature of internship experiences that develop intern soft skills is their capacity to offer a full range of opportunities to practice soft skills.</p><p>

Despite the growing interest in studying the dimensions and prediction of task and contextual performance, little empirical attention has been given to studying the nature of soft skills performance. Soft skills (i.e., intra- and inter-personal work skills that facilitate the application of technical skills and knowledge), such as interpersonal skills (e.g., developing rapport) and communication skills (e.g., adjusting your message to the target audience) are highly sought by organizations (Zedeck and Goldstein, 2000). However, little is known about the underlying dimensions of soft skills performance, or about the individual differences variables that predict performance in this domain. In the current set of studies I examined the dimensionality of soft skills performance, developed measures to assess soft skills performance from self and supervisor perspectives, and validated the measures of performance in a nomological network of non-ability individual differences and existing performance measures. Study 1 involved asking subject matter experts to provide a master list and critical incidents of soft skills. Data from Study 1 served as the stimuli in Study 2 for sorting and reduction of skills into dimensions of soft skills performance. A construct and criterion validation approach was taken in Study 3 to measure soft skills performance in relation to individual differences variables in a nomological network. Results showed that the taxonomy of soft skills performance was composed of seven clusters, but that the measure of soft skills performance was unidimensional. Personality and motivational variables significantly predicted soft skills performance through their influence on proximal motivational processes.

Employers of newly minted information technology graduates are concerned that students graduating with information technology degrees offered in online environments are lacking critical noncomputing skills (soft skills). Further, it is unclear whether online environments have the capacity to foster the "soft skills" necessary for graduates to be successful in actual work environments. On-ground universities have tried multiple solutions including integrating soft skills into lower division courses--both technical courses and general education courses. On-ground universities have also suggested incorporating performance-based capstone experiences into technical degree programs. While much research has been done in evaluating the value of capstone experiences in face-to-face environments, research investigating the potential of such an experience to enhance and demonstrate soft skills resulting from the engagement in an online environment is lacking. The purpose of this study was to examine the value of a project-based capstone experience in promoting and assessing the enhancement of soft skills in an online undergraduate information technology degree program. The main goals of this research were to discover whether online competency based programs and the culminating project-based capstone promoted enhancement and demonstration of critical soft skills necessary to succeed in information technology work environments. Results of the study were based on analysis of interviews, curriculum and literature reviews, and extant survey data. A standout outcome of the study includes a new Gains' in Soft Skills Scalelet based on National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) survey questions to measure gains in soft skill competence. Several conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, critical soft skills are taught and demonstrated as a result of engagement with the online competency-based undergraduate information program. Second, it appears that some soft skills are more strongly emphasized than others thereby implying that the online learning model may be well suited to teaching and demonstrating some soft skills and not others. Finally, the culminating project-based capstone experience appears to be missing two key requirements: team participation and oral presentations.

The focus of this study was a problem identified by human resources directors and managers in a medium sized community in the southeast of the United States. The problem was that some college graduates are not equipped with the necessary soft skills to be successful in the workforce. Executive directors and human resources managers brought this problem to the attention of the career center directors in the community. Goleman's theory of emotional intelligence was the theoretical framework to ground this study. This study involved purposeful sampling to select 9 human resources directors from local companies. To investigate soft skills in college graduates, these 9 human resources directors and managers responded to a semi structured interview with questions focusing on the problem of the study. Once the interviews were transcribed, the information was analyzed by using manual coding and computer-assisted coding. Among the 6 themes that emerged from the data analysis, participants most often pointed out communications as the most important soft skill and the foundation for other skills. From the perspective of human resources directors and managers, soft skills were found to be lacking in some college graduates. There was a consensus among the participants of the study that higher education leaders need to incorporate different approaches to teach skills; therefore, a 24-hour professional development program for faculty was developed as a solution for improving the learning of soft skills of college students. The social change expected from having well-equipped college graduates with soft skills will be more successful professionals with better opportunities to have upward mobility, and more meaningful careers that will benefit their families and their organizations.