Training

The Effect of Formal Mentoring Program Characteristics on Organizational Attraction

• Published in 2008 in Human Resource Development Quarterly
• Authors: M. Horvath, L. E. Wasko, and J. L. Bradley
• For more information, contact: Mike Horvath

Abstract: While the extant mentoring literature describes the post-hire benefits of mentoring programs, less is known about how mentoring programs affect pre-hire perceptions of organizations – perceptions that may have subsequent implications for the success of mentoring programs and other forms of training. To explore this issue, we used policy-capturing to examine the influence of formal mentoring program characteristics on organizational attraction. Results from a sample of 254 undergraduate participants indicated preferences for organizations that offer mentorship programs that are voluntary, that give protégé input into the choice of mentor, that link protégés with individuals who hold higher rank (i.e., supervisors), and that offer both career and psychosocial support. Furthermore, one of these relationships was moderated by participants’ Need for Dominance. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Goal Orientation, Task Difficulty, and Task Interest: A Multilevel Analysis

• Published in 2006 in Motivation and Emotion
• Authors: M. Horvath, H. A. Herleman, & R. L. McKie
• For more information, contact: Mike Horvath

Abstract: We studied whether goal orientation affects the relationships that task difficulty and interest have with self-set goals. Using a sample of 499 undergraduate students who listed grade goals for their classes, we employed Hierarchical Linear Modeling to explain differences in the extent to which difficulty and interest related to goals. Higher goals were set for more interesting and easier classes, and for individuals higher in mastery goal orientation and for those lower in performance-avoidance orientation (at average levels of interest and difficulty). Furthermore, performance-approach and performance-avoidance orientations reduced and strengthened (respectively) the effects of task difficulty on self-set goals, and the buffering effect of mastery orientation was marginally significant.