Search

We examine the impact of a STEM enhancement program (SEP) sponsored by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) entitled Bridge-to-Employment (BTE). Since 1992, J&J has funded and supervised 80 BTE programs in 19 countries aiming to increase the academic performance of disadvantaged students, enabling these individuals to successfully pursue higher education and careers in the health industry. We study the science, math and language arts grades of 236 BTE and 308 comparison students from ten BTE program sites in the U.S, and find that BTE participation slows the deterioration in math and language arts grades, but has no impact on science grades. We discuss the implications this research has for future evaluations of SEPs and for the formulation of future SEP initiatives.

A nurse leadership program provides advanced practice nurses, many of whom have nursing professional development roles within their agencies, with a year of education, mentoring, and guidance to create and implement innovative models of care designed to improve population health. This article highlights program participants' leadership development outcomes, along with strategies to educate and mentor rising nurse leaders.

Stakeholder engagement competence is here framed as an ongoing matter of communication design—that is, professionals and organizations of all sorts are challenged to invent forms of engagement with organizational stakeholders making communication possible that may otherwise be difficult, impossible, or unimagined. An original framework for articulating logics of communication design that addresses extant shortcomings in understanding stakeholder engagement competence is introduced. The framework draws into relief how communication for stakeholder engagement is conceptualized and valued by professionals and organizations. The communication design practice framework provides a path for opening up the black box of stakeholder engagement to advance communication competence in professional practice and organizational communication. The framework is illustrated by reconstructing, from current corporate social responsibility practice, two competing communication design logics for constructing dialogue and stakeholder engagement. One logic, grounded in the shared value framework, reprises a common theme about business that points to constructing communication to maintain the primacy of shareholders in stakeholder networks and to seek profitability in social, environmental, and economic problems. The other logic introduces an alternative communication design logic grounded in commitments to collaborative governance and open innovation. This logic is for stakeholder networks to generate and manage multiple values that address matters of social, cultural, environmental, and economic concerns. We then consider some key implications for engagement practice and competency for inventing forms of dialogue and stakeholder engagement to create value in the new globalized, mediated context. Communication design practice opens new ways of thinking about stakeholder engagement that has implications for cultivating professional practice and improving organizational decision-making about investing in communication resources and infrastructure. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

As capitalism is being re-invented and the voices of multiple stakeholders are becoming more prevalent and demanding, it is the perfect time for the private sector to embrace large-scale collaboration and a shared sense of purpose. Since the explosive growth of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the 1990s, a new era of responsibility, purpose and a re-envisioned capitalism are dramatically apparent. Beyond financial support, business leaders have the opportunity to galvanize networks, advocate for regulation and policy change, and form supporting consortia to support global development. The role of the private sector in development has changed significantly from a model of benevolent contributor to a model of collaborator, investor, business partner and exponential value creator. The new era of collaboration should move beyond a shared value mindset to new models of partnership where each contributor plays an equal role in defining challenges and designing solutions with the greater goal of sustainable value creation. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have the unprecedented opportunity to take leadership roles in engaging the private sector in more game-changing collaborations.

PurposeThis paper seeks to demonstrate that a specific business/education partnership model – bridge to employment (BTE) – benefits society by re‐establishing the critical connection between academic achievement and practical application, i.e. the connection between the world of school and the world of work. Representatives of the corporation engage community stakeholders to identify opportunities in the schools where Johnson & Johnson support and volunteerism can help make a difference in the lives of young people.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reports on an existing school to career program that was developed in the USA but has recently been adapted to meet the needs of Ireland's education community.FindingsPast research has shown the importance of linking academic studies with real world applications to improve educational outcomes for pre‐college students. The BTE program has been shown to have positive benefits for students, schools, communities and Johnson & Johnson employees. In addition, BTE may provide a possible solution to the declining number of students pursuing health care careers.Originality/valueThis paper looks at a unique US‐based business/education intervention from the perspective of stakeholder engagement. Second, the paper provides an example of a US education model's application to a European Union context.