Carolyn Black's List: Module 3 Project HRM

• Generation X came of age in an era of two-income families, rising divorce rates and a faltering economy. Women were joining the workforce in large numbers, spawning an age of “latch-key” children. As a result, Generation X is independent, resourceful and self-sufficient. In the workplace, Generation X values freedom and responsibility. Many in this generation display a casual disdain for authority and structured work hours. They dislike being micro-managed and embrace a hands-off management philosophy.
• The Generation X mentality reflects a shift from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. The first generation to grow up with computers, technology is woven into their lives.
• Thus, Generation X is less committed to one employer and more willing to change jobs to get ahead than previous generations. They adapt well to change and are tolerant of alternative lifestyles. Generation X is ambitious and eager to learn new skills but want to accomplish things on their own terms.
• members of Generation X work to live rather than live to work. They appreciate fun in the workplace and espouse a work hard/play hard mentality. Generation X managers often incorporate humor and games into work activities.

2 more annotations...

• Baby Boomers are predominately in their 40s and 50s. They are well-established in their careers and hold positions of power and authority
• Baby Boomers are extremely hardworking and motivated by position, perks and prestige. Baby Boomers relish long work weeks and define themselves by their professional accomplishments.
• Since they sacrificed a great deal to get where they are in their career, this workaholic generation believes that Generation X and Generation Y should pay their dues and conform to a culture of overwork. Baby Boomers may criticize younger generations for a lack of work ethic and commitment to the workplace.
• Baby Boomers are confident, independent and self-reliant
• Baby Boomers are achievement-oriented, dedicated and career-focused.
• Since Baby Boomers equate work and position with self-worth, they are quite competitive in the workplace. They are clever, resourceful and strive to win. Boomers believe in hierarchal structure and rankism and may have a hard time adjusting to workplace flexibility trends. They believe in "face time" at the office and may fault younger generations for working remotely.

4 more annotations...

• Different Organizational Faces

   

  The wholesale exiting of baby boomers from the workforce over the coming decade will leave many organizations with huge holes to fill in the talent and skills department. Businesses' abilities to fill essential job roles will be severely tested in the coming years. This employment reality is a gathering storm. In fact, it's already a budding problem for numerous organizations in both the private and public sectors.
• In the imminent future, many enterprises will encounter critical talent vacuums unlike anything they've experienced before. Finding individuals with the requisite educational backgrounds, temperaments, and abilities to assume indispensable jobs and occupations is guaranteed to be a huge challenge. This widening skills chasm on the employment frontlines is why coaching and mentoring methodologies are more important than ever before.
• Unlike traditional management approaches, coaching and mentoring methods instill in employees knowledge and skills that not only perform admirably in the present, but neatly bridge to the future as well. Ideally, coaches and mentors educate individuals under their patient and far-sighted tutelage to be the movers and shakers of tomorrow.
• these are the skills urgently needed to both start successful companies and build on existing ones.
• They are the skills that ensure the efficient and effective running of all kinds of organizations. They are leadership skills. They are, alas, skills that are in shorter and shorter supply with each and every tick of the clock.

3 more annotations...

• President Barack Obama announced a new initiative to combat outsourcing. The so-called 'in-sourcing' initiative would push a series of policies that would create jobs in the United States, including inviting more foreign companies to invest in U.S. jobs. Some of the suggested policies include tax breaks for companies that create jobs in the U.S. and tax disincentives for companies that continue to engage in outsourcing.
• n a letter, Bishop urged the President to consider the "U.S. Call Center and Consumer Protection Act," the bipartisan bill he sponsored to bar corporations that outsource U.S. call center jobs from receiving federal grants and loans, as a framework for Executive action to encourage the retention and growth of call center jobs in America.

• • Business investment is up, growing by 18 percent since the end of 2009;
   
  •   We're exporting more goods and services to the rest of the world. As of October, American exports totaled $2 trillion -- an increase of almost 32 percent above the level in 2009; and
   
  •   Perhaps most importantly, the manufacturing sector is recovering faster than the rest of the economy. Through the course of the past two years, the economy has added 334,000 manufacturing job, and that's the strongest two-year period of manufacturing growth since the 1990s. 
• We know labor costs are lower in places like China, but in many cases, costs in those countries are going up. At the same time, American workers, who have always been more productive than those in other countries, are becoming even more efficient.In the first quarter of 2009 alone, productivity rose nearly 13 percent.