Posted on 07/04/2007 5:34:34 AM PDT by ruination
You could lose your job to a foreign worker—not because he’s cheaper but because he has better workplace skills and discipline. That’s the message Labor Secretary Elaine Chao hears from U.S. executives who are worried about America’s competitive future. While losses are low thus far—one study estimates that only 280,000 jobs in the service industry out of 115 million are outsourced each year—that could change. Beyond the cheaper cost of labor, U.S. employers say that many workers abroad simply have a better attitude toward work. “American employees must be punctual, dress appropriately and have good personal hygiene,” says Chao. “They need anger-management and conflict-resolution skills, and they have to be able to accept direction. Too many young people bristle when a supervisor asks them to do something.”
As for our job future, Chao notes that most of the fastest-growing jobs today are in industries requiring advanced knowledge and skills and are “very high or high wage.” But critics say we’re not doing enough for those without a higher education. “Today, only 30% of the workforce has four years of college,” says Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute. “Instead of factory slots, there are slots for security guards and food-prep workers.”
When someone says, "It's not about the money," it's about the money. Lowlife employers would get even better attitude from slaves... they'd be really scared. How about our guys leaning how to manage people - managing through fear is easier - but never better.
Great guy, it's a very good place to work.
Sure, maybe young people think the world owes them something, but that is not at all peculiar to American young people.
I don’t think the purpose of Chao’s statements were to encourage Americans to shape up or change their ways, I think they were to soften resistance to the administration’s scheming on immigration policy.
LOL - Americans are racist, lazy, and dirty. And that’s just how our officials view us!
Perhaps this is somewhat true for the younger generation. I am an attorney for the military and work in the personnel field. I have worked overseas. I don’t think this applies to most Americans.
Most Germans have good work ethics, but that is eroded by the massive unemployment and other socialist benefits. Also, they don’t take baths every day over there.
“But critics say we’re not doing enough for those without a higher education.”
I fear that this is true. Our personnel office could not find enough skilled workers in several fields like welders. The HS dropout rates are so high in some areas, and those that drop out generally don’t get the trade skills. I’m not sure what they do unless they join gangs or work in construction.
You guys are too touchy. I had a company in Omaha when the unemployment rate got down to 2%. We had many problems with those who came for jobs. When you scrape the bottom of the barrel you get lots of excons and addicts.
Sounds like you have some good kids.
As a side note: Somebody can through our neighborhood last night and egged a bunch of cars. My next door neighbor’s was hit and he was grumbling as he cleaned it. I said “Look at the bright side - they could have been using a BB Gun.”
The resorts along the east coast are full of young workers from Bosnia, Bulgaria and other nations. There are not enough Americans to fill the jobs.
We, humans, do this kind of "seeing" in everything. We have biases, presumptions, those biases affect what we see. If we think of a given job as a cost, the well-dressed high-paid worker in it will be seen as only an average dresser. The low-paid worker, dressed in average clothes appears as, well, very nicely dressed!
No business ever grew by cutting costs. Businesses grow by increasing profits, increasing sales.
The trick -- and this is a real trick -- is to see every employee as a profit center. And then to go from that positive stance to the analysis of how to improve, how to motivate, how to cut. It's easily done with salesmen, but gets harder and harder with every level removed from the sale, or from the actual production a a good or service.
What to do? Structure the business so that "overhead" departments are tiny or non-existent. Put the producing teams and sales teams in the lead -- let them hire and structure their own support services, even when this creates what would appear to be duplication of functionality. That duplication of support efforts -- IT, logistics, legal -- can be actually a real asset. How? By fostering intra-company competition and diversity of ideas, of how to attack and master common support issues.
That was my thought too. "Let 'em eat cake" from the fish's head on down.
And she's probably one of the better employees. I've worked in IT for years, and every IT worker I've ever worked with who had a degree was pathetic. All of them, with the exception of one, probably couldn't install an operating system without asking for help. In my experience, the people in IT with an 'IT degree', are good at talking about the job. The people who have the experience and certifications can actually do it.
My company debated opening a new factory in the US or in Singapore. It is a high tech business where labor is an insignificant cost of the product (6%). The company chose Singapore because the employee pool there is better educated.
American workers have been raised to believe that the World owes them a living, and that all their problems are the result of evil, greedy management.
Love your screenname. LOL
A college degree doesn't mean much from what I heard on Hannity's show yesterday during the "on the street" section. A kindergarten teacher was interviewed about the meaning behind the 4th of July.
She was asked why we celebrate it. Her answer was to celebrate our independence.
She was ask, our independence from what or who......her answer was our independence from France.
She was asked when we fought for this independence.....her first answer was "WW1", then changed it to "the civil war".
She was then asked who wrote the Declaration of Independence.....and her first answer was George Washington, then changed it to Abraham Lincoln.
I still can't believe what I heard. Hannity suggested she not ever teach history.
A lot of people of her kind, smell pretty funny to us too. I live next door to some filipinos. they fry fish and everyone in the neighborhood feels like they need to throw up.
She has no place telling americans who spend billions on hygene products annually that wel smell.
We all bathe, not so sure she does.
Got any phone numbers for those kids?I’ve still got a LOT of hay to bale and stack.
i was also surprised to hear that there are 115m service jobs. i have heard there are about 140m total jobs in the US... that doesn't leave to many for non service.
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