Skill Wars shows how to increase productivity and profits by making investments in human capital development. It addresses the disparity between the available jobs and available workers. By education and training only 20% of all American workers can fit well into our demanding high-tech workplace. How do we train the 80%? Skill Wars defines the race between advanced technology investment and human resources investment and shows managers how to measure that investment. It introduces a Human Capital Scoreboard of seven new business management/measurement tools including a more accurate calculation of ROI (Return on Investment) for employee performance improvement programs. It also provides case studies of how quality training can deliver on more problem-solving/thinking skills. It has a foreword by Joseph Boyett, author of The Guru Guide and Workplace 2000. Skill Wars is a "basic workplace performance primer" that presents complex issues in a simple language and format that will move both business leaders and the American public to give their popular support. There are few viable alternatives. Gordon believes that, "Only at great peril can Americans continue to largely ignore the workplace as an important arena that helps structure learning for life."

Two historians--one American and one British--examine the ways in which rivalries and personality conflicts among Allied commanders adversely affected the D-Day invasion and its aftermath.In anticipation of the 75th anniversary of D-Day comes this fresh perspective on the Normandy invasion -- -the beginning of the end of World War II. The book highlights the conflicting egos, national rivalries, and professional abilities of the principal D-Day commanders who planned and executed the OVERLORD Operation and its aftermath. Two historians, one American and one British, show how lack of cooperation and bad decisions lengthened the war, increased casualties, and allowed the later Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.From their in-depth analysis of past D-Day literature, primary and archival sources, the authors provide insightful answers to the many controversies that have long surrounded the OVERLORD campaign. Among the questions addressed are: What caused the two-month delay for the Allied breakout from the Normandy beachhead. Why did the bulk of the German army escape from the Falaise Pocket? Who stopped Patton's August 1944 advance into Germany? Why did it take so long to open the Port of Antwerp needed for securing the required supplies for the Allied advance into Germany?The evidence presented in this book makes it clear that the problems raised by these questions and many other difficulties could have been avoided if the Allied commanders had been less contentious, a factor that sometimes led to catastrophic battlefield outcomes. Complete with maps that illustrate the campaign's progression and photographs of the commanders and the forbidding battlefield terrain, this new examination of the war in Europe makes a major contribution to our understanding of the decision-making behind these pivotal historic events.

Skill Wars shows how to increase productivity and profits by making investments in human capital development. It addresses the disparity between the available jobs and available workers. By education and training only 20% of all American workers can fit well into our demanding high-tech workplace. How do we train the 80%? Skill Wars defines the race between advanced technology investment and human resources investment and shows managers how to measure that investment. It introduces a Human Capital Scoreboard of seven new business management/measurement tools including a more accurate calculation of ROI (Return on Investment) for employee performance improvement programs. It also provides case studies of how quality training can deliver on more problem-solving/thinking skills. It has a foreword by Joseph Boyett, author of The Guru Guide and Workplace 2000. Skill Wars is a "basic workplace performance primer" that presents complex issues in a simple language and format that will move both business leaders and the American public to give their popular support. There are few viable alternatives. Gordon believes that, "Only at great peril can Americans continue to largely ignore the workplace as an important arena that helps structure learning for life."

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. America's low unemployment rate overshadows the fact that more that 20 million Americans are still unemployed. Moreover, more than eight million jobs are vacant because employers cannot find qualified candidates. It is projected that if this imbalance between available positions and skills is not quickly addressed, more than 14 million jobs will be vacant by 2020, and that many more people out of work. In Future Jobs, historical economist Edward E. Gordon explains how increasingly complex technologies, global demographic shifts, and outdated education-to-employment systems are converging and may imminently cause a labor-market crisis. How can we ensure that enough people possess the skills necessary to holding the jobs of today and tomorrow? This book points to a solution gaining traction across the United States: Regional Talent Innovation Networks (RETAINs), alliances of businesses, educators, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations that successfully bridge the talent gap. Additionally, it provides information on the most promising jobs and careers of the next decade for early-career job seekers and for workers who are looking to change career paths.

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

In this era of high stakes testing, teachers across America are struggling with the demands of raising student achievement. Tutoring programs can become important learning strategies that will assist students in learning to solve problems, collaborate with others, and think creatively. All these are part of the creative thinking process important for students to master since a greater percentage of high school graduates enroll in some form of post-secondary education. This guide gives teachers specific instructional methods to help students raise their skills and critical thinking abilities. It provides step-by-step guidance on: Designing a tutoring program, Training tutors, Conducting meaningful assessment and evaluation. Peer Tutoring offers a wide variety of success stories drawn from published research that describes how ordinary teachers have successfully used peer and cross-age tutoring in a wide variety of elementary, high school, and college applications. Sample forms are also included that teachers can adapt for their needs. The Internet opens a whole new world of information, ideas, and experiences to students. What most teachers lack are successful ways of framing the art of teaching to take advantage of this new resource-rich environment. This book will help teachers co-construct knowledge with students to help classroom learning become more "student-centered."

Ed Gordon marshals a vast amount of data to illustrate how various trends are converging to create a labor vacuum—with potentially disastrous consequences for economic competitiveness and individual opportunity. He sounds a wake-up call to business leaders, policymakers, educators, and concerned citizens, employees, and parents—anyone with a stake in our economic future. Moreover, he highlights innovative initiatives in training, education, and community development in the United States and around the world that can serve as models for positive action. Ultimately, The 2010 Meltdown is an optimistic book about social change, setting an agenda for reforms in education, policy, and business investment that will promote economic freedom, renewal, and prosperity. It's the economy, stupid, is a refrain the United States will never live down, and not without reason. The relentless march of technological development and globalization continues to put pressure on all national economies, providing opportunity for some and marginalization for others. Around the world, nations will need to overcome twin economic shocks: a wave of baby boomers will retire and leave the workforce, while too few young, well-educated people will be available to fill a rising tide of high-skill, technology-related jobs. Ed Gordon marshals vast amounts of data to illustrate how these trends are quickly converging, creating a labor vacuum—with potentially disastrous consequences for economic competitiveness and individual opportunity. In the United States, for example, major studies agree that the majority of the jobs now being created require skills possessed by only 20 percent of the current workforce; meanwhile, a large pool of under-trained workers are seeing their jobs exported to developing countries, automated, or outsourced, while millions of high-paying jobs, in such fields as engineering, computing, and health care are going unfilled. In The 2010 Meltdown, Gordon sounds a wake-up call to business leaders, policymakers, educators, and concerned citizens, employees, and parents—anyone with a stake in our economic future. Beyond the demographic issues, he notes that such cultural factors as Wall Street's obsession with short-term results (which favors cost-cutting over long-term training) and neglect of math and science skills at school are contributing to a fundamental mismatch between labor supply and demand. But the news is not all grim. Gordon highlights innovative initiatives in training, education, and community development in the United States and around the world that can serve as models for positive action, and he outlines a plan for reversing the destructive trends before we reach a crucial crossroad by the year 2010. Ultimately, The 2010 Meltdown is an optimistic book about social change, setting an agenda for reforms in education, policy, and business investment that will promote economic freedom, renewal, and prosperity.

This book is the first comprehensive history of how the American people achieved varying degrees of literacy from early colonial times to the modern era. The authors demonstrate that literacy education is not synonymous with schooling. By focusing on people rather than statistics, including literacy among women and minority groups, they explore the literacy agents, methods, and materials used at different times and places throughout the history of the country. The authors define literacy as the degree of interaction with written text that enables individuals to be productive members of their societies. Family literacy is essential to awakening the personal responsibility and motivation necessary for children to develop a love of reading. This effort requires more intensive collaboration procedures between the home and the school, some of which are detailed here. Based largely on primary materials, this historical survey reveals important lessons from the past that can be applied to achieve higher levels of 21st- century literacy.

This book picks up where the well-received "Futurework" (1994) left off. It builds a strong case for workplace trainers treating their work as research. The nine chapters are designed to prepare readers to become workplace consultants. The authors present their workplace training program of research as well as a mastery learning model. By presenting ideas from instructional psychology, cognitive science, mastery learning, and performance based assessments, and then relating these findings to the workplace, the authors offer a new way to look at learning in the workplace. Considerable focus is given to the need to enhance diversity within workplace settings. Suggested readings are included with each chapter.

This book picks up where the well-received Futurework (1994) left off. It builds a strong case for workplace trainers treating their work as research. The nine chapters are designed to prepare readers to become workplace consultants. The authors present their workplace training program of research as well as a mastery learning model. By presenting ideas from instructional psychology, cognitive science, mastery learning, and performance based assessments, and then relating these findings to the workplace, the authors offer a new way to look at learning in the workplace. Considerable focus is given to the need to enhance diversity within workplace settings. Suggested readings are included with each chapter. This is a fine text for instructors teaching courses in workplace training and development, and for graduate and undergraduate students pursuing degrees in corporate training and development.

The authors offer proven skills, training, and educational applications that develop individual employee thinking for total quality management, ISO 9000, or other quality-team business programs. It develops the great potential of using cognitive-based learning to empower people for quality and workplace leadership, systems that move beyond traditional behavior-based training techniques. The authors explain what can and cannot be done to increase "creative thinking", insight, and adult intelligence. They provide bottom-line measures for assessing the effectiveness of training procedures and show how a commitment to substantive life-long employee education can build a stronger business and corporate presence in the marketplace of the future.

For the first time, a user-friendly handbook has been written on America's workplace literacy gap. Work Force Education has become the quintessential human resource issue of the 1990's. Its impact is now felt by more than 80 million adults, and carries an annual $300 billion price tag in lost employee productivity. This unique book offers readers a complete review of past, present, and future adult literacy programs. It provides essential context on how this training/educational issue suddenly appeared. Also considered are how current programs consistently fail to close an ever-widening workplace education gap. The book does not talk around potential solutions. Instead, it gives practical, real-life case study examples, from successful on-site company programs conducted by the authors. A blueprint is outlined on how to offer Work Force Education for any business large or small. This book will provide insights to senior executives, human resource/training and development managers, or adult educators. They will obtain a clear understanding of how to organize a multi-level, cost-justified Work Force Education program that meets America's 21st century international productivity requirements.