Workforce Development - A Good Investment?

Ladies - The Design and Construction Industry Wants YOU!

AEC is becoming more diverse by the day.  This is evidenced by several publications dedicated to promoting women and minorities in the trades and engineering.  Here are two books “Cool Careers for Girls in Construction” and “Cool Careers for Girls in Engineering.”

If you're interested in seeing the life experiences of women in various AEC professions, you'll find these books informative and motivated.  Check them out!

Do We Understand How to Get to the Truth?

So many significant decisions are made in the workplace based on majority opinion or by the highest ranking person in the room.  Does this mean that the decisions are correct, or that the arguments presented are based on fact, or truth?

For that matter, where does one turn for education or guidance on how ethical decisions can be arrived at?

I recently reviewed, "The Fallibility Principle" author by T. Edward Damer, (the author of an earlier work entitled "Attacking Faulty Reasoning: A Practical Guide to Fallacy-free Arguments").

It is a relatively new  publication that seems to provide this type of guidance.   This book is written in such a way to give the reader the knowledge and insight to put forth good arguments as well as point out how to identify flaws in others.

Of particular interest is the author's focus on the quest for the truth, or as he puts it the most defensible position. While the techniques laid out in this book can be used to 'win' arguments, the focus in primarily on helping stakeholders find the truth.

Some leading education firms, like RedVector, specializing in the education needs of the Design and Construction industry, obviously think this is important.  They have several courses in their online catalog that stresses the importance of finding the truth and arriving at ethical business decisions:

• Ethics for Professional Architects Part I and II
• Ethical Decision Making for Engineers (3 part program)
• Ethics for Surveyors and Mappers
• 15 Hour Petroleum Engineer Package #1
• 15 Hour Mechanical Engineer Package #1
• 15 Hour Highway Engineering Package with Ethics
• 30 hour Business and Professional Development Package
• 8 hour Bridge Design Package with Ethics
• 15 Hour Civil Engineering Package with Ethics
• 15 Hour Structural Engineering Package with Ethics

I feel that in today's world, the truth of the matter is too often overshadowed by necessity or convenience.  Readers, what do you think?  Is additional education in ethical decision making a priority for you?

A Freebie on e-Learning to Start the New Year!

Dave Boggs and his team at The Online Training Content Journal have provided us notice about a free gift for those looking to explore the world of e-Learning technology further.

A Free e-Book is now available from The e-Learning Guild On "Working With e-Learning Tools..."

Just go to the post and click on 162 Tips and Tricks for Working with e-Learning Tools

Thanks Dave !

The "Second Generation" of E-Learning - What to Expect

The International Journal of eLearning is an excellent source of knowledge about what's happening in the e-Learning marketspace.  A recent review, entitled "Second Generation" E-Learning: Characteristics and Design Principles for Supporting Management Soft-Skills Development", discusses  the concept of "second generation" e-learning as a new paradigm for designing online learning environments.

The authors Jean Adams and Morgan Gareth argue that an absolutely new thinking about online learning compared to "first generation e-learning" is necessary and that is the reason why they called their research project "NewMindsets".

The research method represents an action learning methodology and evolved through the stages:

1. conceptualization,
2. rapid prototyping,
3. pilot implementation and
4. continuing refinenment and consolidation.

The results of the research is at first the distinction between "first" and "second generation" E-Learning:- "First Generation" E-Learning is ideal for:technical skill development,routinized learning for tasks where conformance is needed, e. g. following a safety procedure, installing a piece of software procedures where deviation can be illegal or lethal,memory based learning/preparing to pass information-based tests.-

"Second Generation" E-Learning is ideal for:

• soft-skill development
• personal,
• reflective learning, e. g., to do one's job more effectively,
• engage in critical thinking,
• cope with ambiguity,
• leadership development,
• innovation and performance-based learning, and
• addressing complex issues

The authors further explained 6 key characteristics and design principles of "Second Generation e-Learning" as a further research outcome:

1. Technology-driven versus pedagogy driven e-learning.  It sounds simple but it seems to be a major issue in the e-learning field. The "second generation e-learning" strives to create the potential for learning to become an inherently self-organisating process. Within the context of soft-skills development, it emphasizes on the need to consider the most important pedagogical drivers:- Learning styles: second generation systems can support a variety of learning preferences by tapping the nonlinear open-endedness of the web medium- Context-based learning: encouraging learners to exercise their abilities to judge the relevance of what they are learning- The importance of informal learning: advancing context-specific, unplanned, just-in-time performance-based learning- The importance of provoking new insights to open up possibilities: second generation approaches use provocation-based content as opposed to purely instructional content to invite and engage learning by opening up think-ing and enabling learners to decide for themselves what actions are most appropriate in their own situation.- The need for accelerated learning and performance improvement: Since time resources are always a constraint "second generation" approaches try to solve it by giving learnes the control of their own learning.
2. A linear-sequential logic with the instructor-in-control versus learner-in-control: The "second generation" puts emphasis on learner-in-control pedagogy understood as a highly learner-centered approach which is particularly relevant for developing soft skills where context-specific solutions requiring management judgment.
3. Evaluation based on repetitive practice and passing test versus self-assessment, reflective practice, and successful application in second generation approaches.
4. Engagement through visual animation versus engagement through provocation: content-based provocations generate deeply engaging learning that can provoke new insights and stimulate new knowledge sharing. The overall aim is to create "space" for learners to get involved.
5. Separation of theory and practice versus integration of theory and practice in real-time by using work issues, or other potential applications, supporting action learning as opposed to just conceptual learning.
6. Separate systems for learning and knowledge capture and dissemination versus integrated learning, knowledge creation, and knowledge sharing.

Overall, the research findings provide a convincing set of design principles for "second generation" e-learning approaches.

This insightful report on the future of e-Learning is available from the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.
P.O. Box 1545, Chesapeake, VA 23327-1545.
Tel: 757-366-5606; Fax: 703-997-8760;
e-mail: info@aace.org;
Web site: http://www.aace.org

The Visual-Spatial Learner

A wonderful new book by Linda K. Silverman, Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual-Spatial Learner, discusses the characteristics, strengths, and challenges faced by people who are right-brain dominant thinkers (a category that includes global learners).

The book is warm, funny, practical, and truly inspirational. If you have found yourself out-of-step with the educational mainstream in school or college, or you are a parent or a teacher who wants to do a better job of dealing with students who are, I strongly recommend this book. You can order it on-line from The Gifted Development Center or call the Center at (1-888-GIFTED1). 

We All Want To Work for A Company That Supports Us, Don't We?

I wanted to share this with you my readers.  I received this message from a close friend of ours, who also like myself is a vet.

My cousin sent this to me and I thought you all would like to know about it.  Happy holiday shopping!
Shannon

I know I needed this reminder since Sears isn't always my first choice. Amazing when you think of how long the war has lasted and they haven't withdrawn from their commitment. Could we each buy at least one thing at Sears this year? How does Sears treat its employees who are called up for military duty? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being called up.

Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called up reservist employees for up to two years. I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution.

I suggest we all shop at Sears, and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement it well deserves. Pass it on.

Decided to check this before I sent it forward. So I sent the following e-mail to the Sears Customer Service Department: I received this e-mail and I would like to know if it is true. If it is, th e Internet may have just become one very good source of advertisement for your company. I know I would go out of my way to buy products from Sears instead of another store for a like item, even if it's cheaper at that store.

This is their answer to my e-mail:
Dear Customer: Thank you for contacting Sears.The information is factual. We appreciate your positive feedback. Sears regards service to our country as one of greatest sacrifices our young men and women can make. We are happy to do our part to lessen the burden they bear at this time.
Bill Thorn
Sears Customer Care
webcenter@sears.com
1-800-349-4358

Please pass this on to all your friends. Sears needs to be recognized for this outstanding contribution and we need to show them as Americans, we do appreciate what they are doing for our military!!!

It's Verified ! By Snopes.com at: http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/sears.asp (shows the entire article)
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/sears.htm

Is use of "Best Practices" a common practice in your firm?

The term "best practices" is commonly bandied about in business.  "We use this 'best practice' or that one" some claim.  Matt Stevens in his blog "The New Business Model of Construction" gives us some good insight on how to leverage Best Practices in a practical way.

A "Best Practice" is a management idea which asserts that there is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. The idea is that with proper processes, checks, and testing, a desired outcome can be delivered with fewer problems and unforeseen complications. Best practices can also be defined as the most efficient (least amount of effort) and effective (best results) way of accomplishing a task, based on repeatable procedures that have proven themselves over time for large numbers of people.

Thus, one of the growth strategies for any successful business should be the identification and adoption of Best Practices.  There are numerous sources for these practices.  One of the challenges is finding practices that are relevant to your particular type of business. 

For example, take construction:  According to Matt Stevens of the Stevens Construction Institute, there are over 100 market sectors in the construction industry. F.W. Dodge reports in its construction permit data 30-odd categories and that is just the type of projects. Multiply that by the all the different types of contractors. The old CSI classification methodology outlines 16 divisions of work. Each division typically has several construction firm types occupying each of those.

Stevens has published over 140 best practices in the construction industry in a book entitled "Managing a Construction Firm on Just 24 Hours a Day" that helps contractors seeking to imporove their businesses with better techniques, construction methods, business processes, activity management, workplace incentives etc.

Check out the book and Matt's blog.  Both are filled with good information for Contractors.

The Upside to Assholes in the Workplace

Our colleagues over at Management-Issues always provide insight into the most compelling issues in todays workplace.  A recent article, entitled "Is there an upside to assholes" cited the contentious question posed in a thought-provoking manifesto by Robert Sutton, a professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford Engineering School and author of (the excellent) The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't (Warner, 2007).

The article discusses the unfortunate truth, Sutton concludes, is that, yes, there are advantages to acting like an asshole (just ask such famous assholes as Steve Jobs of Apple).  As sad as that is, it reminds me of a time when I as a typical precocious and somewhat rebellious teenager was confronted by my Dad who hit me with "Even though you're acting like a total asshole, I don't want you to think you're completely useless."  I couldn't believe in the middle of this verbal attack that he was actually making a supportive statement.  It didn't last however as he continued:  "You can always serve as a terrible example to others."  So, I discovered that being an asshole did in fact have a redeeming side to it.

Unfortunately, Sutton didn't appear to cover THAT specific aspect in his book.  Sad.

Tough Choices but Good Outcomes Await US

If you want to gain some real "between the eyes" insight into this labor market and how it's affecting all of us, you must read :   Tough Choices or Tough Times: The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, published by the Jossie-Bass publishing arm of John Wiley & Sons

Unfortunately, as anyone who regular reads this blog knows, America has been lagging behind on key educational indicators for quite some time. Nothing short of radical change will turn the situation around. The final report will propose a restructuring of educational priorities that will have a major impact on all levels of education – from preschool to college and beyond.

If you are concerned with the future of this country and the state of our schools and our job training systems, you will find this work compelling. It provides a well-researched analysis of the issues and a compelling set of proposals for changing our system of education.

e-Learning Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age

Marc Rosenberg has published e-Learning Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age
a work (circa 2000) that explains the basic principles of a comprehensive Web-based learning strategy—how to link your organization’s Web sites, Web-based training, courseware, and all the other components of online learning.

Thanks to our friend Dave Boggs over at the Boggs eLearning Journal for the tip on this book that will be helpful to anyone new to eLearning that is attempting to get a better handle on navigating the eLearning sea.

Change and the New American Workplace

Meg Montford is a Career Coach who helps people make radical career changes.  She also has a great blog called "Career Chaos".  She recently published a great piece entitled "New American Workplace" that cites the book "The New American Workplace" by James O'Toole and Edward Lawler.  Her article discusses a webinar presented by the authors that was hosted by the American Management Association) where they analyzed the changes, consequences and choices of today's organizations.

Meg has a number of great topics on her blog and is worthy of anyone considering a career shift or trying to understand the dynamics of how people address career changes in their lives.

Why "The Three Challenges of Successful Workforce Measurement and Management" are the key elements

The book "Three Challenges of Successful Workforce Measurement and Management" written by
by Mark A. Huselid, Brian E. Becker, and Richard W. Beatty, sets three critical components for establishing the important role that the workforce plays out in executing organizational strategy.

The Perspective Challenge	Do all managers understand how workforce capabilities and behaviors drive strategy execution?
The Metrics Challenge	Have we identified (and collected) the right measures of workforce successes, leadership, and workforce behaviors; workforce competencies; and workforce culture and mind-set?
The Execution Challenge	Do our managers have the access, capability, and motivation to use these data to communicate strategic intent and monitor our progress toward strategy execution?

It's simple, but many forget to do it

"Even the best managers often forget to craft a workforce strategy along with their overall company strategy, but the two really need to be linked."
This is an excerpt from the new book, The Workforce Scorecard.   If you haven't even thought about crafting a workforce strategy you probably need to get you hands on  The Workforce Scorecard: Managing Human Capital to Execute Strategy  written by Mark A. Huselid, Brian E. Becker, and Richard W. Beatty. and published by Harvard Business School Publishing.  It provides good information on how to start this important process....

Even the Asians are having problems

Ever get the impression that the majority of jobs that could be outsourced would end up in Asia?  Might want to rethink that.  According to a recent New Economist article entitled, "India's engineer shortage", there is a current and worsening shortage of resources in that part of the world that everyone thought had unlimited skilled talent, and an unmatched ability to produce talent to keep up with demand.
Clearly it begs a number of very obvious questions.  One of the issues that outsource companies are reporting is high levels of attrition, which we know is not unique to outsource firms.
Here are some positive steps excerpted from "21st Century Workforce Challenges - Strategies that Work" that can help any firm do a better job of keeping a competent workforce intact.

1. Check your "Vision". 
   Does your firm have a formalized Employee Recruitment and Retention “vision”?  Have you created and publicized a “roadmap” to all employees on how your firm intends to recruit and retain the best people?
2. Take a look in the Mirror. 
   Do your people understand that your firm’s reputation is built upon your ability to deliver services or projects consistently over time?  Do they understand their individual role in enabling the team to “win” (e.g. deliver on time and within budget) again and again?   Does management understand what they need to do to create the environment that will enable their team? (It’s much more than lip service).
3. Do a "Sanity Check".   
   Have your expectations kept up with today’s market reality?  Are you able to find workers with the basic skills of reading, writing, math, listening and speaking? 
   Do your knowledge workers have the thinking skills of creativity, decision-making, problem solving, visualizing, learning, reasoning and use of technology technology?
   If these skills aren’t where you want them to be, what are the resources you have available to develop these skills?
4. Understand What Is Controllable in This Labor Market and What’s Not. 
   There are many aspects that you as an employer can control, and many that are beyond your control.  Do you understand which are which.
5. Reassess your concept of "recruiting".
   For example, is recruiting a person who is a laid-off worker from an assembly plant going to make a good worker in the field where little repetitive work is a factor and where ability to take direction is essential? 
   Does your organization know how to define the jobs in enough detail to make sure you get the “right” worker, not just “any” worker? 
   Do you look at “best practices” in job structure and evaluation used across other industries?
6. Look at your suppliers and subcontractors critically.
   Do your suppliers and subs have the ability to maintain an adequate skilled workforce?  If not, and they fall behind in maintaining an adequately trained staff, does this also put you at risk? 
   What types of mechanisms have you put in place to prevent “delivery jeopardy” on the part of your suppliers and subs?
7. Take another look at the "older worker" in the marketplace.
   Training, recruitment costs and time spent learning are much lower for older workers
   Older workers are more prone to staying with a company—not quitting after a few years
   Turnover rate for workers over 50 is just one tenth that of those under 30
   Older people these days, especially baby boomers, realize the importance of keeping their minds active and alert
8. Understand “What does my firm have to Offer” from a candidate/employee perspective
   Start by making a list of what makes your firm different/unique and appealing to a worker.
   Consider how attractive your company is compared to your competitors.  Remember that in this tightening market for labor, your “labor competitor” may be in another industry. 
   It is imperative that you “brand” yourself.  Branding isn’t just for Home Depot and JC Penney --- it’s your unique “value” proposition and will become your “guiding principle(s) in the eyes of those who see it.
9. Invest enough in Training to make a difference.
   Unlike other forms of significant business risk, that can be insured, inability to maintain a competent workforce is an uninsurable risk.
   You probably already know from past experiences what the consequences of delays and non-performance are to your business.    However, another way of looking at and justifying your investment in training your workforce, is to consider the competitive advantage you obtain, over your competitors who can’t keep good workers. 
   By reducing your labor dependency, you can significantly mitigate your business risk and associated impact cost.
10. Know What To Expect From Your Training Investment.
    Be realistic of what to expect from the level and style of training you're providing for your people.  Everyone wants to see a quick impact of training on their P&L's but for most organizations this isn't reasonable, and may take years to accomplish.  Like all developmental objectives, there are specific steps, and observable outcomes by accomplishing each step.

Ten Ways to Stifle Innovation

In my days as a Booz-Allen management consultant, I was privileged to work with professionals within my firm and the clients that engaged us that were looking for and paying well to obtain the "distinct advantage" that would put their organization at the head of the pack.

In the years since, as competition gets tougher and markets more challenging, innovation in management practice has become an imperative for businesses around the world.   Yet why is it that there are still firms that just don't get it?

The July 2006 edition of the Professional Services Management Journal from PSMJ provides a fresh look at the ways that design firm leaders either intentionally or unintentionally hinder their firms from creating unique products or services.

In the book Leading for Innovation: & Organizing for Results, author Rosabeth Moss Kanter , considered among the “50 most influential business thinkers in the world” describes how many business leaders simply expect innovation to appear yet unknowingly create an invisible set of guidelines that discourage innovation. Kanter lists the ten biggest ways to stifle innovation:

1. Be suspicious of every new idea from below — because it’s new and because  it’s from below. (After all, if the idea were any good, senior people would have thought of it already.)

2. Insist that people who need your approval to act go through several other levels of management first. (Most will fade away before getting back to you.)

3. Ask departments or individuals to challenge and criticize one another’s proposals. (That saves you the job of deciding; you just pick the survivor.)

4. Express your criticisms freely, and withhold your praise. (That keeps people on their toes.) Let them know they could be fired at any time.

5. Treat identification of problems as signs of failure, to discourage people from letting you know when something in their area isn't working. (Fear of mistakes will reduce risks.)

6. Control everything carefully. Make sure people count everything that can be counted,      frequently. (That ensures a tight ship with nothing extra for unproven plans.)

7. Make decisions to reorganize or change policies in secret, and spring them on people unexpectedly. (That also keeps people on their toes).

8. Make sure that requests for information are fully justified; don’t give it out freely.

9. Assign to lower-level managers, in the name of delegation and participation, responsibility      for figuring out how to cut back, lay off, move people around, or otherwise implement threatening decisions you have made. And get them to do it quickly.

10. Above all, never forget that you, the leaders, already know everything important about this business. (Isn’t that why you’re in charge?)

Kanter adds, “To support innovation, the culture must encourage fast approvals, open communication, cooperation instead of combat across internal units, tolerance for uncertainty, and faith in people to try new things. A few reviews and checkpoints can be a good management tool, especially for ideas that are very risky or require high levels of investments.”

Where is your organization on the "scale" of encouraging or killing innovation?