Human Resource: July 2005

Sunday, July 31, 2005

Sizing the emerging global labor market

The topic of offshoring generates extreme differences of opinion among policy makers, business executives, and thought leaders. Some have argued that nearly all service jobs will eventually move from developed economies to low-wage ones. Others say that rising wages in cities such as Bangalore and Prague indicate that the supply of offshore talent is already running thin.

To a large extent, these disagreements reflect the confusion surrounding the newly integrating and still inefficient global labor market. Much as technology change is making it possible to integrate global capital markets into a single market for savings and investment, so digital communications are giving rise to what is, in effect, a single global market for those jobs that can now, thanks to IT, be performed remotely from customers and colleagues.

Complete article at : McKinseyQuarterly

Friday, July 22, 2005

Creating a Positive Professional Image

n today’s diverse workplace, your actions and motives are constantly under scrutiny. Time to manage your own professional image before others do it for you. An interview with professor Laura Morgan Roberts.

As HBS professor Laura Morgan Roberts sees it, if you aren't managing your own professional image, others are.

"People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace," she says. "It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish."

There are plenty of books telling you how to "dress for success" and control your body language. But keeping on top of your personal traits is only part of the story of managing your professional image, says Roberts. You also belong to a social identity group—African American male, working mother—that brings its own stereotyping from the people you work with, especially in today's diverse workplaces. You can put on a suit and cut your hair to improve your appearance, but how do you manage something like skin color?

Roberts will present her research, called "Changing Faces: Professional Image Construction in Diverse Organizational Settings," in the October issue of the Academy of Management Review.

Read the interview at : HBS

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Designing Better Employee Benefits

Health care costs are rising so quickly that they threaten to eclipse profits in many Fortune 500 companies.
Given the impact of benefits costs, you might think that senior executives would be doing everything possible to control them and make the most of this investment in the workforce.
But in fact, most companies have failed to approach benefits with the same rigor they bring to other major investments, such as research and development.
Benefits plan managers should view employees as internal consumers and conduct research to learn how to deliver the most value at an affordable price.
Complete article at McKinsey Quarterly
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