Internet news
Internet news
Keywords ACAS, Careers, Psychology, Teams.
The availability of resources on the Internet is a subject in its own right and in this issue a few sites offering specific resources will be the focus of the news.
CareerTracks resources are sometimes mentioned in this section of the journal as easily accessible and practical for a whole range of management issues.
On visiting their Web site, http://www.careertrack.com,that immediate practical application is evident from a very easily accessible home page providing links to resources in the USA, Canada, Ireland and the UK. It is possible to preview videos and audio-tapes using the down-loadable software RealPlayer. After previewing two or three of these, it became clear that it is a preview (about 20 minutes or so) of a full training course which has been recorded and/or individuals propounding certain techniques often backed up by a personal philosophy or set of beliefs.
Delivered in a pacy, direct style with interaction with the audience on the videos, simple models and approaches are introduced. In Time strategies for very successful people for example very successful people are identified as all having 24 hour days within which they work and achieve a balance in their lives by going for a 5 per cent improvement versus a major overhaul of everything to improve their time management.
Very much dependent on personal preference for a largely USA-based delivery,it is worth having a look at these resources. There is also a CareerStore which has all the resources available and it is possible to order on-line as well as register for CareerTrack workshops.
A very different site is hosted by the Center for the Study of Work Teams based at the University of Texas: http://www.workteams.unt.edu/The site provides access to conferences, current research into the subject and free articles on all aspects of team-working plus links to other sites of interest.
An easy to follow site, there are much useful data available here,particularly on self-managing teams and virtual teams.
Moving to a link mentioned on several psychology homepages: Online Psych at http://www.onlinepsych.com Here we find a different set of resources quizzes, 30-second personality tests and a Halloween test only for the very light-hearted wishing for a little diversion perhaps. This light humour aside, the main thrust of this site is mental health and it is yet another example of a site recommended as a link with little attention paid to signalling its potential target audience. Students may wish to critique its approach to testing and anyone interested in mental health may possibly find a nugget or two of useful information.
The Web site for the Arbitration and Conciliation Service in the UK (ACAS) http://www.acas.org.uk is a very useful source of data on all aspects of employee relations and the legal requirements in the workplace. All of its publications can be previewed and ordered via the Internet and it gives up to date information on related subjects.
In 1999 there will no doubt be many rapid developments in the use of the Internet. One of the most puzzling questions is how many people are actually using the Internet at work? Almost everyone one meets professionally seems to use it in one form or another but is that use primarily to down-load jokes to place on the Bulletin Board or is it to research a subject for an assignment, a project or a dissertation? After doing a straw poll of colleagues and friends who do not work either in psychology or in business management studies, the numbers dwindle considerably and often reflect the childrens use of the computer at home rather than my colleagues use at work.
Some feedback on how readers of the Journal of Managerial Psychologyuse the Internet would be very helpful to plan how best to compile this section to meet your needs. Perhaps you could think about the following:
What would you prefer to read about in this section:
Reviews of sites?
How to use online conferences?
A commentary on trends in use of the Internet?
How to access resources on the Internet?
What suggestions do you have in addition to the above? Can you recommend any particular sites for review?
Please send all ideas and contributions by e-mail to the News Section Editor,Maggie McCourt-Mooney at m@mccourtt.co.uk
