September 17, 2006 (slightly delayed August edition)
Every month, in collaboration with the Institute of
Workplace Studies (IWS), CAHRS identifies the ‘Top
10’ news items from the IWS News Service covering
key workplace issues that would be of interest to
CAHRS sponsors. Now CAHRS and the HR
Division have agreed to distribute this information as
another benefit of HR Division membership.
These news items are carefully selected, covering
areas such as emerging workplace trends,
compensation, executive training and development,
technology enabled HR services, important policy
announcements impacting people practices,
employment related macro economic data and top
line general economic data, significant court
decisions relating to employment law and any other
issue of potential significance to human resource
managers.
The content is sourced from U.S. Government and
international agencies, public and private bodies,
consultancies and knowledge services firms, industry
associations, unions and select academic institutions.
Because the links below are sometimes to
copyrighted materials, you may be asked to sign in to
a proprietary website (for example Business Week
online) after following the link. However, once you
have signed up for these free services, you will be
able to find the complete article. Our goal is
to
provide you with information about up-to-date issues
in HR.
The CAHRS Top Ten
1.
Tap Ex-Employees’
Recruitment Potential [July 2006], by HR
Magazine
Summary: Many organizations overlook a
huge potential resource for recruitment in their
former employees. Both through re-hiring people who
have exited the organization and through utilizing
former employees to channel new recruits, many
companies are discovering and reaping the benefits
of maintaining close ties with the organizational
alumni which include reduced training and recruitment
costs.
2. Waking Up on the Wrong Side of
the Desk: The Effect of Mood on Work Performance
[July 2006], [July 2006], by Knowledge at
Wharton
Summary: While a lot of research has been
done in the past two decades on work-family
conflicts, few studies have looked closely at how
mood affects workers' performance. This article
reports that the mood you bring with you to work
has a stronger effect on the day's mood -- and on
work performance -- than mood changes caused by
events in the workplace. Additionally, positive moods
were found to have a more profound effect on
performance than those that are negative,
suggesting that organizations may actually benefit
from employees who bring other aspects of their lives
to work with them.
3. Shifting Alliances May Mean
The World Isn’t So ‘Flat’ After All, [June 2006],
by Knowledge at Emory
Summary:A new book asserts that, in
contrast to the message put forth by Thomas
Friedman’s The World Is Flat, the world economy will
exist as three large trading blocs instead of a single,
global market. Largely responsible for this conclusion
is the aging of markets in advanced economies and
their accordant need for exposure to new markets to
fuel expansion. Additionally, the book’s author,
Jagdish Sheth, posits that cultural proclivities will
play a significant role in the formation of the world’s
economic configuration.
4. Here They Come, [July 2006],
by Carolyn Hirschman, Human Resource Executive
Summary: The millennials—people in their
20s—
are just now entering the workforce, bringing with
them new promises and challenges for HR, not to
mention a whole new way of working. Largely due to
a rapid increase in the proportion of the workforce
composed by these new entrants into the labor
market and perceived differences between the
workplace desires of baby boomers and younger
workers, many companies are exploring ways to
accommodate both groups’ perceptions of what work
should be in aspects as varied as office design and
benefits. Also addressed are differences in
recruitment practices and management methods.
5. Promises, Lies, and Apologies: Is It
Possible to Restore Trust?,[July 2006], by
Knowledge at Wharton
Summary: In the workplace, trust is
essential to day-to-day business, whether it's one
colleague trusting that another will do her share of a
project, an employee trusting that his boss will
reward him for working long hours to meet a deadline,
or a customer trusting that a company will fill an
order correctly and deliver it on time. The
intertwining issues of trust, deception, apologies and
promises are explored.
6. The Employment-
Based Pension System: Evolution or Revolution?,
[July 2006], by Employee Benefit Research Institute
Summary: At a recent conference of the
EBRI and AARP, a continuance of the large swing
from defined-benefit plans toward defined-
contribution plans was predicted. Global competition,
private-sector economic pressures, lack of automatic
sign-up for 401(k) plans, and a general decline in the
social compact have all been designated as holding
key roles in the shift as well as the future evolution
of pensions in the United States.
7. Organizing for Successful
Change Management, [July 2006], by The
McKinsey Quarterly
Summary: This recent survey examines what
exactly makes an organizational transition a success.
Tackling topics such as transformation goals, current
and future organizational health, organizational
energy, mobilization, and the aspects of
organizational success most affected by transition
efforts, the survey provides key insights for any
organization in the midst of, or considering, sweeping
change.
8. Industry Surveys: A Review of the Best (Parts I,
II, and III),
- http://www.exp
atica.com/source/site_article.asp?
subchannel_id=165&story_id=30028
- http://www.exp
atica.com/source/site_article.asp?
subchannel_id=165&story_id=30294
- http://www.exp
atica.com/source/site_article.asp?
subchannel_id=165&story_id=30394
Summary: This 3-part series reviews a host
of surveys conducted by major consulting firms with
a special focus on expatriate employees. Topics
addressed by the review include work-life balance,
talent management, international transfers and
assignments, global relocation and mobility, and
employee engagement. Special thanks to Yvonne
McNulty.
9. Building a Nimble
Organization, [June 16,
2006], [July, 2006], by The McKinsey Quarterly
Summary: This survey examines the
perceived importance of agility and speed to
organizational success and finds that, for the
majority of organizations, the ability to respond
quickly to market changes is a valued attribute that
has become more important in recent years. In
addition, this work addresses the any measures that
combine to improve an organization’s speed and
10. Repurposing Metrics for HR, [July
2006], by Karen M. Kroll, HR Magazine
Summary: According to the author, key
financial measures—namely, revenue and income per
full time employee (FTE)—can provide human
resources practitioners with valuable insights with
regard to management of compensation, training, and
staffing. Despite the significant amount of attention
paid to these measures by some, there appears to be
a great deal of room for education among those in
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