Rank Statement Mean Score Category
Code 1 Provide resources to support
professional activities of faculty.
4.625 0034
2 Foster a professional atmosphere, open to ideas and innovation without fear of failure or punishment.
4.25 002
3 Provide ongoing feedback to faculty regarding their professional performance.
4.125 0031
4a Acknowledge, compliment, and provide positive reinforcement for good performance and accomplishments.
4.0625 004
4b Act as an advocate for resources with the dean’s office and higher administration.
4.0625 002
6a Encourage participation in professional peer groups at the local, state, regional, national level.
3.9375 002
6b Help relieve pressures and stress by reducing workload to provide time for faculty to initiate research and serve on visible committees.
3.9375 0033
8 Monitor faculty progress toward tenure and promotion.
3.875 0031
9 Keep faculty informed of opportunities to participate in professional activities.
3.8125 004
10a Lead by example—provide a role model.
3.75 001
10b Communicate the professional expectations of the organization to the faculty.
3.75 003
12a Delegate responsibility for projects to faculty to provide growth through more and more responsible activities.
3.6875 003
12b Act as an advocate by assisting faculty in getting involved in professional organizations and activities.
3.6875 002
14a Maintain an ‘‘open door policy’’
so faculty can speak with her/
him at any time.
3.625 004
14b Be a good listener. 3.625 004
16 Publicize faculty accomplishments to administrators, fellow faculty, and peer groups.
3.5625 002
17 Assist faculty in setting realistic, professional goals and priorities.
3.4375 0031
18 Show a personal, individual interest in faculty member’s growth and development activities.
3.375 004
19a Act as an intermediary for the faculty with the dean’s office and higher administration.
3.25 002
19b Share advice, wisdom, experience, and expertise regarding carrying out professional activities.
3.25 001
19c Encourage faculty participation in campus-wide activities and committees.
3.25 002
22 Support in-house staff development activities.
3.125 001
23a Refer faculty to workshops, centers, or training courses for improving, or providing support for, their capability for growth and development.
3.0625 001
23b Help faculty to identify an area of expertise.
3.0625 001
25 Encourage faculty to collaborate with, or assist, the department head, or a senior faculty member, on a project.
2.9375 002
26 Provide regular meetings for groups of faculty to discuss ways to enhance faculty growth and development.
2.75 002
27 Spend time with faculty informally in social settings.
1.6875 004
Deonie Botha
ABSTRACT
Mentoring is a concept that originated between 800 and 700 BC and which is still in existence in organisations irrespective of size, nature of ownership, type of industry or geographic location. In its most primal form it is regarded as a method according to which a less experienced employee (prote´ge´ or mentee) is guided and advised by a more experi- enced and skilled employee (mentor) in terms of life as well as profes- sional skills. However, this definition has developed over time as organisations applied mentoring in a more structured manner and insti- tutionalised it within formal organisational processes. Mentoring was, therefore, regarded as a method to ‘‘systematically develop the skills and leadership abilities of less experienced members of the organization’’
(SPA Consultants, 1995, p. 14). Mentoring has been in use within the library and information science profession from the mid-1980s and var- ious publications have discussed the use of mentoring from an American, Australian and British perspective. However, relatively few publications are available regarding the use of mentoring within the South African contexts, and therefore an extensive discussion on the implementation of a structured mentoring scheme at the National Library of South Africa (NLSA) is included in the article. This study draws particularly on recent literature on the knowledge economy and more specifically knowledge management to suggest ways in which the concept of mentoring should be revised. Mentoring should henceforth be seen as a knowledge management technique to support the creation and sharing of tacit knowledge rather
Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Volume 24, 151–189 Copyrightr2007 by Elsevier Ltd.
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 0732-0671/doi:10.1016/S0732-0671(06)24005-7
151
than merely a technique to develop less experienced individuals. This re- vised view of mentoring is of particular importance to ensure the sus- tainability of library and information service organisations in the knowledge economy.
INTRODUCTION
There are only a small number of concepts from the managerial sciences that have stood the test of time beyond any doubt. Concepts like business proc- ess engineering, the learning organisation, six sigma, business and compet- itive intelligence and, more recently, knowledge management are in abundance in management literature but are often viewed as fads rather than fact and whether they will continue to appear in the literature on management remains to be seen. Although it is beyond the scope of this article to deliberate on the merit of these concepts, they all seem to have had a fleeting moment of glory before they got ‘‘shelved’’ on the bookcase of many an executive, with more pressing managerial issues such as an ever shrinking budget or an unmotivated workforce to attend to. However, it seems as if there is one concept, which has had the ability to reinvent and transform itself and has survived three major revolutions, namely the in- dustrial (1750–1880), production (1880–1945) and management revolutions (1945–) (Andriessen, 2004). The concept of mentoring not only has survived three revolutions but is also used by organisations, public or private, large or small, global or local, irrespective of the services they deliver or the products they manufacture.
Although various definitions are found in the literature, mentoring is regarded as a method of human resource development whereby a more experienced and usually senior staff member (mentor) takes responsibility for and becomes actively involved in the personal and/or professional de- velopment and empowerment of a less experienced and usually younger staff member (prote´ge´ or mentee). The development and empowerment of the prote´ge´ takes place within the context of a comprehensive and mutual re- lationship that evolves between the mentor and prote´ge´. Such a relationship can evolve spontaneously and informally between two people and is then known as unstructured mentoring, but it can also evolve as part of a struc- tured process implemented by an organisation to foster the development and empowerment of its human resources. The applicability and relevance of mentoring, irrespective of time period, geographic area, organisation or
industry, are therefore ascribed to the fact that it is a highly adaptable technique for developing and empowering the human resources of an or- ganisation.
Organisations can apply mentoring for different reasons. To some, mentoring is a means of identifying and developing human resources with the potential to move into management positions. To others it is a means of facilitating the induction of new human resources; it can also be applied to develop and empower human resources from previously disadvantaged groups and eventually bring them into the management structure. Irrespec- tive of the reason(s) why mentoring was implemented, the value of this method of human resource development lies therein that it enables human resources to work more effectively and efficiently. It is therefore beneficial to the mentor, the prote´ge´, the organisation and the profession in which the organisation is actively involved.
In this article, which is a position paper on the nature and scope of mentoring, the author examines and defines the concept of mentoring, both in general terms and in the context of the library and information science profession. The aim of the article is to discuss the use of mentoring in broad terms but specific emphasis is placed on the use of mentoring as a knowledge management technique in libraries and information services. This however necessitates an understanding of the dual function of libraries and infor- mation services in terms of information and knowledge. Information and knowledge not only are a product of libraries and information services, but also should be managed as a process within the context of libraries. Once libraries and information services have developed an understanding of this duality in terms of information and knowledge they will be able to make use of mentoring in its most recent manifestation, namely as a method to create new knowledge or to innovate and to share knowledge. This also explains the transformation of mentoring as a human resource development concept into a concept that is associated with information and knowledge manage- ment.
Although a variety of aspects regarding mentoring are discussed, empha- sis is placed on mentoring as a knowledge management technique and the importance that libraries and information service have an understanding of the knowledge-based view of their human resources. The article includes a case study on the use of mentoring in the National Library of South Africa (NLSA). This discussion outlines the needs that prompted the implemen- tation of such a process at the NLSA, the manner in which the process was implemented, and describes the results. The case study is included in the article due to the fact that in 1999 the author was responsible for launching a
structured mentoring process at the NLSA in order to address the profes- sional development and empowerment of the human resources of this na- tional institution.
The origin of the mentoring process at the NLSA is ascribed to two factors, namely:
The mentorship process was linked to the NLSA’s employment equity programme, which revealed a need to accelerate the development of high- potential employees from previously disadvantaged groups.
The author conducted empirical research for a Masters Degree in Infor- mation Science on the topic of mentoring as a method of human resource development in the context of the library and information science pro- fession.
The NLSA’s project was a groundbreaking exercise because the use of structured mentoring is a relatively uncommon method of staff development in the library and information science profession in South Africa.