Herman Trend Alert: China’s Future Labor Market
From “Herman Trend Alert,” by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists GREENVILLE, SC — Over the past decade, China’s annual GDP increase has been nearly 10 percent and for 2007, that growth is nearly 12 percent. We have watched this growth with interest and concern. China’s striking rise to prominence is evident in
Herman Trend Alert: Retention Begins with Recruiting
A recently released study from The Bernard Hodes Group provides evidence of a belief that we at The Herman Group have long held — that employee retention begins in the recruitment process. The Hodes 2007 Workplace Study holds that two factors are critical to retaining valued employees. The first is choosing quality people, not settling for "warm bodies." The second is choosing people who have long-term expectations of staying with the organization.
Herman Trend Alert: Global Movement of Students Increasing
From “Herman Trend Alert,” by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists GREENVILLE, SC — Founded in 1919, the Institute of International Education (IIE) is an independent non-profit organization and a world leader in the global exchange of people and ideas. IIE administers more than 200 programs serving more than 20,000 individuals each year.
Herman Trend Alert: Agriculture Will Continue to Boom
With the growing demand for farm products, agriculture in the United States and elsewhere is booming. This boom in agricultural products, like corn, soybeans, wheat, produce, milk and poultry, translates to big profits for farmers and many others in related industries, including food processing plants, trucking firms, railroads and even equipment makers.
Herman Trend Alert: Global Attitudes Changing
Recently, the Pew Research Center released a landmark study of more than 45,000 people worldwide. Their findings, reported in a 144-page document titled "The Pew Global Attitudes Project," show that people "broadly embrace key tenets of economic globalization but fear the disruptions and downsides of participating in the global economy." People worry about losing their traditional culture and national identities, and feel their way of life needs protection against "foreign influences." In other words, they fear immigration.
Herman Trend Alert: Sabbaticals — The Right Way
From “Herman Trend Alert,” by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists GREENVILLE, SC — On numerous occasions in the past, we have written about sabbaticals. Originally offered to college educators, sabbaticals now provide employees of non-academic institutions with an opportunity to disconnect from their jobs for a period of between three months and
Herman Trend Alert: Sharing Language Resources in a Flat World
One interesting development of our increasingly flat world (thank you, Thomas Friedman) is the global expansion of business. We learned long ago the value of using the local language when speaking or training in a foreign country. Even the attempt to speak the local language (except perhaps in France) establishes an audience connection which, particularly for a speaker, is very valuable. When we visited Malaysia recently to speak for ETELS [Training Networks], we learned some Malay, the language of Malaysia, and used it in our workshop. While not everyone is a polyglot, anyone visiting a foreign country will benefit from learning the language before departing. Until now, your choices for learning were Rosetta Stone or other digitally-based programs or finding a local tutor. Now, there is an alternative, and the best part is — it’s free.
Herman Trend Alert: What Young Job Seekers Want — Besides a Job
A recent study from the Segmentation Co., a division of the market research firm Yankelovich, reports that 65 percent of 1,000 respondents aged 24 to 35 said they preferred to "look for a job in the place that I would like to live," rather than "look for the best job I can find; the place where it is located is secondary."
Herman Trend Alert: Internal Customers Make “Ethical Choices”
According to the recently released Cone Cause Evolution Survey 2007, more than two-thirds of Americans say they consider a company’s business practices when choosing or staying with an employer. The study, the culmination of 14 years of Cause Branding and corporate responsibility research, found a substantial increase in the number of workers who want their employers to be good corporate citizens and support a social cause or issue over their previous study.
Herman Trend Alert: More Single Women Buying Homes
This week, Herman Trend Alert looks at the growing rate of single women buying homes. Some say single women are taking a stand for "financial independence" and others say they say they are investing for the future. But, whatever the reason, this certainly is a growing trend.
Herman Trend Alert: The Effects of Fear
From “Herman Trend Alert,” by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists GREENVILLE, SC — Fueled by the publicity frenzy the press is enjoying, the current volatility in world financial markets is affecting many people at all levels of our societies. From the employees’ point of view, this uncertainty engenders insecurity. What will happen
From Herman Trend Alert: Discrimination in Hiring?
From “Herman Trend Alert,” by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists According to the "2007 Graduating Student Survey" conducted recently by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), white males had an easier time finding full-time positions upon graduation than female and minority graduates. Although there were no gender- or ethnicity-based differences