A pervasive disconnect exists between the job/career culture and the present economic reality in America. This book offers powerful strategies for stemming the employment crisis and proposes comprehensive solutions for businesses, government, and job seekers alike. More than 30 million Americans are unemployed, underemployed, or have given up on looking for a job. Undoubtedly, the massive economic downturn after the financial crisis of 2007-2008 is a key factor in this situation. But the U.S. job market has stalled because our nation is failing to produce workers with the right skills, not because we cannot create enough jobs for the workers. Future Jobs: Solving the Employment and Skills Crisis offers an economic and historical perspective on the evolution of jobs and careers, explains how technology has permanently altered the U.S. job/labor market, and provides practical information for businesses seeking qualified workers, educators preparing students for careers, unemployed or underemployed individuals, and those interested in changing careers. The book examines the problem of the mismatch between individuals' skills and employers' job needs from the perspectives of both employers and employees or prospective employees, offering comprehensive regional solutions to the issues each group faces. The author reveals the most promising jobs and careers of the next decade for early-career job seekers and workers with established careers looking to change their path, and provides potential solutions to the jobs and skills disconnect in America, including education reform, business and government policy changes, and regional public-private partnerships. Explains how the current job skills crisis stems from a broad structural failure of the education-to-employment system and has sweeping societal and economic consequences Identifies the "hot jobs" of the current decade and the requisite skills and educational preparation needed to obtain them Describes how digital technology has permanently altered the nature of the U.S. and global job/labor market Provides information critical to a wide audience: businesses seeking to fill vacant jobs, community organizations and governments trying to attract new enterprises and retain current businesses, educators preparing students for careers, and students and parents concerned about job and career options

Has your enterprise tried everything from Total Quality Management to Process Reengineering and Six Sigma, only to remain chained by functional silos and command-and-control hierarchy? Are you ready to put frustration and bureaucracy in the rearview mirror? In The Future is Fluid Form, author Ord Elliott discusses eight steps to building a more effective organization that breaks through the bureaucracy.

The fluid form organizational method relies on having the right people in the right place at the right time. It unlocks productivity, freedom, and high performance by removing the anchors that keep your enterprise from maximizing its investment in people and technology. It: Creates robust cross-functional teams and reduces silos Flattens organizations Gets more accomplished by fewer people in less time Provides more flexibility in an enterprise From Procter and Gamble, General Electric, Allied Signal, Shell Oil, and Pacific Gas and Electric, to the high-tech world of Intel, Philips, Cisco Systems, and Silicon Valley start-ups, Ord has deployed most of the well-known methodologies. He has seen what works and what doesn't. Immersed with real-life examples from world-renowned companies, The Future is Fluid Form demonstrates a new way to organize your people, your business, and your future.

It is very easy for organizations to ignore or overlook the impact of social and commercial change-of increased pressure to deliver profit (above all else) and of transformation in the ways in which we are now working-on the mental health and, consequently, the performance of their employees. And yet there is plenty of evidence that in many workplaces, performance is down, stress is up and professional employees are struggling to balance their home and work lives. This collection, while looking at individuals, places the spotlight on organizational initiatives to support the development of attitudes, values, character and behaviors in employees. The aim of these initiatives is to increase our resilience to those experiences and events which impact on performance. There is a particular focus on managerial and professional jobs where employee discretion and commitment are critical. The Fulfilling Workplace extends the themes developed in early titles in the Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of Risk Series deeper into organizations; to explore the organization's role in coming to grips both with human frailties and toxic workplaces-both destructive to individual and organizational health.

How has social work changed over the years? What are some of the best social work teams doing differently to meet the complex practical and emotional needs of service users? What practical tools and approaches can social work managers implement with their teams? Dr. Judy Foster examines good social work practice and the supporting factors that are essential to underpin social work teams - coherent policies; well-qualified and motivated staff; good management support structures; delegated autonomy and discretion for social workers; and mental space to allow reflective and creative problem solving. She illustrates the dilemmas and rewards of social work relationships through personal stories from her own career as a social worker, manager and teacher - and interviews with social workers and managers. These examples show the relationship between 'doing' something for someone and 'being' emotionally present to empower a service user to manage better. The book is intended to help social work managers improve the support environment for their teams - and hence their effectiveness - and to inform students and others in related professions interested in learning more about social work. It will also have a wide appeal to an international social work readership.

Applying a comparative analysis on law and practices, combined with extensive data, this book considers the legal consequences for public servants who make unauthorised disclosures of official information and the protections available for whistleblowers. The author provides an in-depth treatment of the law of unauthorised disclosures in the UK to explore the protections available and discusses the theoretical and legal justifications for the making of disclosures, as well as the arguments for maintaining official secrecy. The book discusses the legal consequences of leaking information and a full assessment of the authorised alternatives, providing recommendations for reform throughout. This book will be of interest to academics working on whistleblowing, as well as their students. The various recommendations provided in the book will be of use to whistleblowing NGOs, policymakers and Members of Parliament.

Since its first issue in 1988, much interesting and inspiring material has been published in Groupwork. Most of this still says much of use to today's groupworkers, and there is a steady stream of requests for reprints. We are therefore making back volumes of Groupwork available in volume form. Authors in this volume include leading academic figures in the field as well as practitioners working in the field. Any groupworker will find this material of enduring interest.

This book investigates the relevance of Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a theory of motivation, whilst taking into account variances in culture and individual experiences and perspectives. Focussing on higher education, the book responds to the call for providing alternative conceptual models, other than those originating from the Anglo-Saxon world. The authors take a contextual approach and use the case of Saudi Arabia to understand motivation in a collectivist, highly religious and conservative society of the Middle East. Providing empirical findings from a study carried out at two Saudi universities differing in their religious outlook, this book reveals a hierarchy of needs that is significantly different from the theory proposed by Maslow. Religion, culture and gender are explored in detail as the authors investigate the relevance of Maslow's theory in a region that is of growing interest to policy-makers and practitioners in North America and Europe, offering a truly insightful read to an international audience.

Designed as a comprehensive text for advanced courses in personnel selection and classification, the three volumes that comprise The Economic Benefits of Predicting Job Performance take a different approach than that taken in most previous works on the subject. While most texts focus on selection and psychological measurement to the exclusion of classification, these volumes summarize the major theories and research findings in both areas and provide a thorough treatment of classification processes. This is the first text providing more than a chapter on classification since Cronbach and Gleser's historic work in 1965. Cecil D. Johnson and Joseph Zeidner discuss the central topics involved in the practical prediction of job performance, including validity and utility models and research strategies and designs. Based on their analysis, they introduce a new theory, the differential assignment theory, and illustrate the mathematical principles that govern its use in personnel classification. Throughout, the authors are concerned with the realistic applications of specific procedures to maximize both selection and classification efficiency.

This volume begins with an overview that describes the major issues and highlights important findings and conclusions. Volume 2 begins with a taxonomy of personnel selection, classification, and placement--going on to address the measurement of classification effectiveness and ways to improve it. The use of model sampling and simulation as a tool for measuring utility, potentially available from personnel classification, is described. This volume concludes with a glossary and list of references.

This edited collection provides a structured and in-depth analysis of the current use of quota strategies for resolving the pressing issue of gender inequality, and the lack of female representation on corporate boards. Filling the gap in existing literature on this topic, the two volumes of Gender Diversity in the Boardroom offers systematic overviews of current debates surrounding the optimisation of gender diversity, and the suggested pathways for progress. Focusing on sixteen European countries, the skilled contributors explore the current situation in relation to women on boards debates and approaches taken. They include detailed reflections from critical stakeholders, such as politicians, practitioners and policy-makers. Volume 1 focuses on eight European countries having adopted quotas and is a promising and highly valuable resource for academics, practitioners, policy makers and anyone interested in gender diversity because it examines and critiques the current corporate governance system and national strategies for increasing the share of women not only on boards, but within companies beyond the boardroom.

This book is an exploration into the ways in which friendships, isolation and enemy-ships influence and affect our experience of work. The theme of the research volume is 'Alienation to Suffocation'; canvassing issues from loneliness and isolation through to the positive aspects of a friendly workplace.

This book offers a first-hand look at the importance of human resource management (HRM) processes to not just one public agency but a large group of public administration entities that rely on a public HRM agency (the Personnel Board of Jefferson County) for its HRM processes. More specifically, the book describes a more than three-year effort undertaken by the author as a federally-appointed court receiver to reform (or what some have referred to as "transform") a public HRM agency from a model of inefficiency to one now considered "best in the business". The book provides the details of the reform or transformation effort in addition to offering suggestions on how to bring about similar civil services and HRM reform in particular and government agencies in general. The book is intended to fill a gap in the current literature while serving as a key work that highlights the importance of bringing about change in a public HRM entity. Timely and topical, the book will be of great interest both to public administration personnel in general, and others in the fields of HRM and public sector management, and to management practitioners and others keen to inform their ability to bring about successful change. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1 A General Overview of Change Management, Reform, and the Personnel Board. 2 Civil Service Reform and Public Human Resource Management. 3 The Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Alabama: A First Look. 4 Understanding the Situation at the Personnel Board: The Diagnosis and Receiver's 90-Day Report. 5 Restructuring the Personnel Board. 6 Infrastructure Reform: Revamping the Personnel Board's Policies and Procedures. 7 Implementation of a New Human Resource Information Management System at the Personnel Board. 8 HRD Efforts at the Personnel Board. 9 Consent Decree Compliance (Developing and Administering Lawful Selection) Procedures. 10 The Five-Year Classification and Compensation Survey Project. 11 Renovating the Personnel Board's Physical Facilities. 12 Transition of Leadership from the Receiver to the Three. Member Board, Personnel Director and the Citizens Supervisory Committee. 13 Epilogue: Post-Receivership and Keeping the Personnel Board Reform Momentum Going. References.

"This book is not only a page turner; it also shares some very valuable information. I look forward to the follow up adventures of Joe and Betty." --D. Dale, Owner, Wayne Manufacturing

Over the years, Joe and his wife, Betty, have built a successful plumbing business, but it's at a crisis point--all because of interpersonal relationships. Joe faces an ultimatum from his managers: fire Betty, or they will quit.

In Communication Tools for Any Trade, authors Layton Park and Myrna Park tell Joe and Betty's story while exploring the key skills and traits of successful business and personal relationships. Using information gained from their personal experiences of starting and running businesses and from examples encountered consulting with clients, the Parks present a guidebook for overcoming communication challenges that many businesses face.

Focusing on the importance of both verbal and nonverbal communication, Communication Tools for Any Trade presents an informative guide to DISC behavioral styles and values in business and explores ways to recognize, remember, and use them. This business parable provides insight in the how and why of relationships and illustrates the fundamental principles necessary to succeed in business and in life.

Learn more at www.chameleoncommunicator.com.

In times of growing talent shortage, companies have to find new ways to fill their strategic positions from the outside. This book presents useful and competitive solutions for hiringtalented and motivated employees. The author presents four concrete fields of action to achieve this and provides the reader with definitions of strategically relevant key and bottleneck functions. The book emphasizes the fact that employers must sell relevant functions just like they would as part of an employer branding strategy. Employers are moving towards active sourcing strategies beyond job ads and headhunting. They must maintain and manage relations with promising talent once they have been identified. Finally, employers must ensure a positive candidate experience. This book serves as a handy reference for HR managers and talent recruiters."

The contributing authors of this multidisciplinary text agree that workplace learning truly is extraordinary when it is marked by structural congruence and a positive synergy among the intended and formal preparation of professionals, that tacit learning occurs within the hidden curriculum, and that the subsequent demands, both formal and tacit, are embedded in subsequent workplace settings. Thus, for this text, these authors explore research and practice literature related to curriculum, instruction and assessment of professionals' learning in the workplace and the implications for best practices. But what makes this book truly unique is that the authors examine that literature in the context of four professions-education, nursing, medicine and clergy-at the point of those professions wherein students are learning during the degree program stages of their education.

"Extraordinary Learning in the Workplace" is broken into four main sections. Part I explores curriculum, both formal and hidden. Part II focuses on conceptions and theories of learning and instruction and is intended to inform the work of educators with regard to components of professional education that occur in the practice settings of the workplace. Part III covers assessment, using medicine as its example to argue that assessment has remained largely unchanged for years, thus making the multiple choice questions tests introduced in the 1950s the "de facto" gold standard for "quality" assessment. And Part IV focuses on the training of the instructors, visiting the three key themes of relationships, activities or tasks, and work practices."

One of the most difficult questions facing human resource managers in both the public and private sectors is how to determine the relative worth of different types of jobs and to set compensation accordingly. A recent innovation developed at the Bell System and field-tested by Northwestern Bell offers the most comprehensive and practical approach to this problem yet devised. Occupational Job Evaluation (OJE) reduces job content to a numerical scale that provides a common denominator for evaluating diverse positions. Written by a human resources specialist who was directly involved in the development and testing of OJE, this book offers a complete analysis of the system together with data on its application and potential uses outside the telecommunications industry.

Leadership is motivation and motivation is leadership, say the authors of this important and unique study. The two elements are inseparable, but until now no one has actually conceptualized motivation in a useful way to demonstrate and analyze the connection between it and leadership. The key for leaders is dealing with the emotions that underlie and activate motivation. Maddock and Fulton provide a highly successful, proven, and replicable approach not only to motivate people, but also to train them to lead others. The authors develop an 11 level structure of human motivation that defines and describes motivation in simple, graphic, all-inclusive language. They then show how leaders can use this motivational hierarchy to solve complex problems in the workplace. The result is a blueprint to help executives in all types of organizations manage more effectively, and as they do so, to motivate and truly lead the people who depend on them for guidance and direction.

Maddock and Fulton offer several scenarios to show how their ideas work in practice. In the vertical fix they demonstrate how motives that get out of synch with each other can be re-aligned, eliminating the chaos that would otherwise occur. In the lateral fix they show how a person who may be functioning at the extreme edge of motivation can be moved back toward the center, a place where the person's effect on others is most and best felt. Well documented throughout, their book will be important reading for training and development professionals, specialists in organizational behavior, and executives at all levels in public and private sectors.

Despite our national preoccupation with achievement, little attention seems to be paid to the pursuit of excellence on an individual basis. For while it's easy to talk about the collective excellence of an organization, Seth Allcorn argues, no one really wants to be threatened by the superior individual performance of another. In this work, Allcorn examines the paradox of human nature that places individuals of distinction in the position of being rejected and ostracized by their peers. He explores the psychological underpinnings of this phenomenon and suggests ways of revising organizational culture to foster individual excellence.

Focusing on the psychological aspects of people and the workplace, Allcorn divides his study into three sections. The first offers an introduction to the search for excellence and discusses the identification of workplace superstars. Also examined are the organizational trends that inhibit individual achievement, the interaction between the superstars and others, and the psychology of office behavior. Section two details the different types of superstars found in organizations and their approaches to achieving excellence. Finally, section three explores some possibilities for adapting current organizational structures to allow and encourage greater pursuit of personal excellence. With its basis in the author's practical experience in middle management, this volume will be a valuable resource for students and professionals in human resource management as well as the management and business fields.

1. 1 Background of the Study: Ef?ciency in Cross-Cultural International Business Management Ef?cient business management is crucial in achieving corporate (national or int- national/multinational) goals such as higher value, comprehensiveness, corporate governance, etc. Ef?cient business management can be achieved by resolving agency problems existing among different stakeholders in corporations. In inter- tional business, agency problems may exist between managers, owners, staff, and other stakeholders who come from different cultures. Therefore, there is a need in designing ef?cient management of international business by in?uencing the factors (the convergence factors) which cause differences in the interests and cultures of different stakeholders. International business refers to all commercial transactions between two or more nations. Because it comprises a large and growing portion of current world business practice, international business has received considerable attention in academic research (Daniels and Radebaugh 1998). International bu- ness differs in important ways from business conducted within national borders, and poses additional challenges to managers and investors in foreign countries (Mahoney et al. 1998). In this context, Black et al. (1999) state that effective management is increasingly recognized as a key determinant of success or failure, arguing that the success of international business in multinational companies depends most signi?cantly on the quality of management systems (Stroh and Caligiuri 1998). As international business involves people from different cultures, every business function including managing a workforce, marketing output, and dealing with regulators, has the potential to involve cross-cultural problems (Zineldin 2007).

Effective Human Resource Management (HRM) methods are essential in tackling today s employment challenges and changes. As Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) continue to flourish, identifying HRM strategies and practices are necessary for these organizations to obtain a competitive management model. Effective Human Resources Management in Small and Medium Enterprises: Global Perspectives addresses the issues of HRM in SMEs by providing a channel of communication to disseminate knowledge; including management philosophies, culture, and management practices. With innovate theories and the latest research, this book is useful for academics, researchers, managers, engineers, and other professionals interested in matters of HRM, specific to SMEs in both private and public sectors."

Interactive systems are growing in the last decade because of the amount of fields in which this kind of application can be used as a test bed to experiment in medicine, training, education, and so on. book highlights the knowledge of several researchers in the field of interactive systems to offer an overview of the different parts of the environment that must be taken into account to develop a quality interactive system from the software engineering discipline. The book is oriented to developers of interactive systems, as well as researchers in the field of virtual environments. This book will be an important pillar in the way this kind of software will be developed.

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) isn't just an HR exercise - it can make a real different to your team performance too. By making everyone in your team feel like they belong, you'll be able to boost motivation and productivity. Everyone Included helps you make inclusion, belonging and wellbeing central to your team. By helping everyone feel that they belong, your team will foster genuine inclusion and be ready to adapt and evolve in the future. With a step-by-step plan to design and implement a diversity and inclusion plan that brings results: Where are you now? - Understand your team profile now by conducting a belonging Audit to identify your how inclusive your team is. What do I do next? - Design a D&I plan, including a business case to win support, and identify key metrics to measure its effectiveness How do I keep going? - Ensure your programme continually improves and remains relevant by creating measurements and feedback loops Everyone Included is your comprehensive, step-by-step guide to creating a diversity and inclusion strategy that delivers results for your team.

Job migration across international boundaries and jobless economic "recoveries" are the latest disruptions in the workplace's human equation. To help policy makers, employers and employees to address these issues, DiVanna and Rogers propose a more rigorous approach to human capital. They point out that the emergence of stronger measures, management techniques and balance sheet valuations was a key enabler to the emergence of dynamic financial capital markets and international exchanges. This book puts forth a framework for measuring, managing and negotiating issues of human business value. It looks at how policymakers, employers and employees can achieve common ground when productivity threatens job loss or avoid the zero-sum view that pits international trade against domestic employment.