HR homework chapter 1
Can employees in all occupations be evaluated by 360-degree feedback systems? What are some advantages and disadvantages of these systems?
A 360 degree feedback is an assessment that evaluates the performance of an employee. The people that are involved in the assessment may include managers, subordinates, and customers. All the people around you are evaluating you which gives you a full perspective on the type of employee you are. I think that for the most part, all employees can be evaluated by the 360 degree feedback system. There are obvious advantages and disadvantages to using the 360 degree approach. The first advantage is that individuals gain more input about how they are perceived by others. The feedback also provides a rounder view of their performance. Upper management also benefits from the 360 degree approach by getting to know their need for development. They can begin to plan ahead and look toward accomplishing their business' future goals. Lastly the feedback that is given is more valid and objective because it come from diverse sources. With these advantages come some disadvantages. Even though others' opinion may be heard, they may not be well liked. This may cause the employee to disregard the feedback. Another factor that may threaten the employees normal work routine is stress. Stress is dangerous and must be monitored so that individuals stay on task, stay motivated, and continue to be satisfied in their job role. One may even become over reliant on technology, which may cause laziness that leads to errors. However, I believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. What every employee needs deep down is the truth about their work performance. That is exactly what the 360 degree feedback gives them.
250-500 word article on modules and 3 sites. After visiting 3+ sites, summarize your findings on what you understand HR to be, along with any key HR items you found interesting or weren't already aware of, and/or any differences you learned regarding HR in the public sector vs. private sector. Include the links to the 3+ sites you referenced. Then comment on two peers, should be 100 words each.
According to an article written by Susan M. Heathfield titled What is Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management is the function within an organization that focuses on the recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in an organization (Heathfield). The culture of an organization depends on the human resources department. This department is responsible for ensuring that their organization constructs necessary teams and provides inspiration so that employees feel empowered and satisfied. According to Investopedia, a human resources department is an essential, if not critical, component of any business regardless of the organization's size. It focuses primarily on maximizing employee productivity and protecting the company from any harmful actions that may jeopardize the workforce. Some of the responsibilities include informing employees of compensation and benefits, recruiting, firing, and adapting to any human resources laws that may impact the company (Investopedia). Audra Bianca, who is a specialist staffer in production planning control, laid out the 7 major goals of human resources. The first is to design performance incentives. This keeps employees motivated and working at their best. The second goal is to boost employee morale so that workers stay positive and optimistic even when times are tough. Another goal is to increase accountability so that employees are directly impacted by how hard and effectively they work and how much effort they are putting into their job daily. The next goal is to develop leaders by providing support and training so that managers can acquire leadership skills. Increasing organization learning is essential so that workers can utilize their own creativity to perform their jobs better and share their inspiring ideas to the rest of the organization. Recruitment is another goal that is necessary so that people are brought in to the organization, properly screened, and then trained. And finally the last goal of HR is to increase efficiency. This may require the analysis of small working components and routines so that details are refined and finely tuned. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/ https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-human-resource-management-1918143 http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/7-major-goals-human-resources-1338.html
Module 2 Discussion A Consider the four generations of workers now in the workplace. Identify a worker you know from each generation. How do they fit into their generational stereotype? How do they differ? Are there reasons other than age that accounts for the similarities and differences in workers?
An example of the oldest generation of workers would be my grandfather's generation. He was born in 1926, which makes him 91 years old today. During his life he drove tanks in WW2, owned 12 garages in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that was a family owned business, and worked in the steel mill occasionally to put extra food on the table due to his large family. The stereotype of the generation from the 1920s-1940s is the men were hard working and rule oriented, they respected authority, and did not think that education was as important as it is today. My grandfather fits all of these characteristics for the most part. He dropped out of high school when he was a junior, was an army man and respected authority to its fullest, and respected the rules to society. The next generation consists of people that were born in the 1940s to the 1960s, which are otherwise known as the baby boomers, and I will use my dad as an example. Lucky for him, my grandfather made enough money to put him through college. After college my dad worked his way up in the plastics industry. He is currently the head sales manager for his company and has over 50 people working under him. He loves talking with people, provides much value when he is needed, and works extremely hard to support his family. Again this fits most of the stereotype for this generation which includes your education being a birthright, being a team player, and being optimistic and involved towards people. After the baby boomers follows the people born from the 1960s to the 1980s. An example of someone I know from this generation would be my 2nd cousin named Luke. Luke is more skeptical about people. He recently got laid off at his job and is living at home with his parents. Luke fits the stereotype of being skeptical and direct towards people and having work be a difficult challenge him and people in his generation. However, one way he is different than his generation is that he is not cautious or conservative. The last generation consists of people born from 1980-2000. An example of a person I know who fits this criteria is my first cousin, Alex. Alex went to Indiana University Bloomington, is an extremely social and confident young man, and his life is completely balanced. He fits the generational stereotype of having a fun personality, being culturally caught up with technology, and balancing his work with family. He currently is a salesman for a steel company in Alabama and is working his way up in the company. The reasons why these generational stereotypes are mostly true is because a majority of the population tries to fit in with their age group because they want to be socially accepted. However, everyone does have their difference in personality and opinions which makes them unique in their own way.
Based on your reading, what are some of the organizational benefits associated with having volunteer programs? What are some of the organizational disadvantages? Do you believe the benefits outweigh the disadvantages? Explain your answer.
Based on this weeks discussion topic, there are plenty of organizational advantages and disadvantages to having volunteer programs. One of the primary advantages is that volunteer work is rewarding and is meant to make an individual feel good about themselves. The rewards are more emotional and spiritual rather than financial. Another advantage is that it improves a person's health status overall. By volunteering, a person's metabolism, physical activity, and positive outlook increases. This can help reduce blood pressure in the long term and increase life expectancy. For students that are currently enrolled in school, volunteer work serves as community service hours that may help kids achieve scholarships. The last advantage of having volunteer programs within an organization is personal growth. Skills and interests tend to arise once a person gets more involved with volunteer work. People tend to get pleasantly surprised by discovering they are good at doing things they did not know they could do. This boosts a person's confidence level and self-esteem so that they can further develop more useful skills. However, with all of these advantages, there are some minor disadvantages. The main con in my opinion is that volunteer work is a major time commitment. As you begin to do your job as a volunteer, you will eventually be asked to do more. This can lead to scheduling problems down the line, which leaves less time for other activities. Emotional involvement can be a disadvantage if you get too attached to something that has a good chance of failing. In my opinion the advantages outweigh the disadvantages because volunteer programs help you and others substantially. Volunteering does more good than bad overall.
benefits
Benefits are an extremely vital part of human resources management for many reasons. All recruiters and business professionals should take the necessary time and effort to fully understand the general concept of benefits. Benefits affect employee performance, motivation, satisfaction, and loyalty. They are designed to cut costs for clients giving the most value to job candidates. Some benefits that are commonly given to employees are dental, medical, life insurance, 401K plans, paid time off, and retirement plans. Some companies even offer gym memberships, organizational memberships, tuition reimbursements, paid parking, discounts on auto expenses and insurance, and many other perks. It is important for recruiters to understand benefits management because they are the ones who are trying to influence people to join their organization. By listing all the benefits that the organization offers, potential employees will more likely be swayed to take the job. By knowing the benefits of the company, recruiters can effectively negotiate job offers that make candidates and clients happy. Just by understanding the basics of benefits, recruiters can keep their new hires working. Understanding the benefits package is important so that they can inform the candidates during the interview process and prepare new employees during the job transition process. As of recent the US government is increasing regulating benefits packages. Professionals in the human resources department must be vigilant of any of the latest government changes in regulations regarding benefits such as 401K plans, medical insurance, and paid time leave. The importance of benefits cannot be stressed enough, and they are the main reason why people tend to join an organization.
Module 6
For the job position to evaluate on O Net Online, I chose a bank teller. I am currently a bank teller at a small local bank located in Northwest Indiana, and some of the skills that were listed on O Net go hand in hand with what I do on a daily basis. For example, I am frequently cashing checks, examining them for endorsements, and then paying out the money correctly to customers. In addition, I make deposits and withdrawals to and from accounts. I have to consistently make sure that the currency, coin, and checks in my cash drawer and in the vault is balanced correctly. A bank teller must also be efficient in using computers and other technological devices that count money. The skills that were on the website were active listening, speaking, critical thinking, mathematics, reading comprehension, service orientation, monitoring, social perceptiveness, judgement and decision making, and writing. The only skills that surprised me out of those ten were reading comprehension and writing; I have had to do very minimal reading during my six months of employment, and the only thing I have written has been account numbers and the amount of money customers have in their account. Other than those two skills, the website does a great job of accurately reflecting of what a bank teller's job should entail. I think that the most important skill that can be challenging at times as a bank teller or any customer service job would be to actively listen and speak clearly and concisely. Also, understanding the language of a job is vital. Once you do that, the job becomes a lot easier overall.
From an employee perspective, what are three advantages of working in a unionized organization? What are three disadvantages? From a management or HR perspective, what are some advantages of a unionized organization? What are some disadvantages?
From an employee perspective, there are several advantages and disadvantages of working in a unionized organization. The main advantage that employees have is job security because the union is in charge of disciplining or terminating its employees. Employees can also file complaints with union representatives if they feel the need to. Lastly, employees tend to receive more raises and benefits the longer they work with a union. This includes health coverage, sick leave, vacation time, and many more perks. Along with employee advantages, there are management advantages. The primary advantage for management is that agreements with unions create a set agreement that cannot be in dispute until the contract expires. This allows the costs to become more predictable and achievable. Turnover occurs less causing employee training to be a valuable investment. However, along with all the advantages of unionized organizations, there are disadvantages. The negative aspects can be serious if they are not dealt with appropriately. The primary concern rests in the possibility of a strike occurring. This happens when management and union representatives cannot reach an agreement. All employee must go on strike if the majority of employees vote in favor of it, which can cause a lot of concern and may lead to financial hardship. From a management perspective, unions can be a frustrating topic to deal with at times especially if the relationship with its employees is not up to par. This can lead to a resistance to follow management's orders and can cause employee discipline or termination. Lockouts may also occur which are limited to unionized organizations and they are initiated by management. This act is meant to force employees to agree with an offer. In my opinion, unions have more advantages and provide millions of jobs to Americans that need them.
responses
Hello Amy, I really enjoyed reading your post about the websites listed in the discussion forum and gaining your perspective on the subject. Training opportunities are everywhere, you just need to know where to look. That is exactly what these websites are for, and they do a tremendous job of providing the necessary information when in regards to job training. Some topics that were discussed within the website were hiring and managing employees, implementing and effective screening and security process, and boosting performance by motivating employees to their fullest capacity. All websites did and great job of portraying the true image of job training. Great post!
response to post
Hello Ciara, I found your post to be extremely informative and accurate. The responsibilities of the HR department include determining benefits, training, recruiting, structuring company policies, and increasing employee morale. I did not know that the organizational objectives of the public and private sector were so different. The financial resources and performance evaluation methods vary, which cause the two sectors to operate differently. The last thing I found interesting about your post was the details about at will employers. I was not aware that public sector organizations cannot be dismissed by an employer for any reason and without warning. I learned a lot from your HR summary and great post!
response discussion A
Hello Ciara, I really enjoyed your post and found it very informative. I like how you broke down the 4 different generations into an organized manner. For the traditionalists I used my grandfather as well. However, he is not caught up with the recent technology and has had trouble adjusting to all the new innovations of the 21st century. For the baby boomers, I chose my dad as an example. He is a sales manager for a plastics company and is very optimistic and easy to work with. For generation X, I chose to use my 2nd cousin, Luke. I would label him as more of a slacker, and he tends to find it difficult to keep a job for a long period of time. The most recent generation are the millennials. These are the most technologically advanced people, and my 1st cousin, Alex, fits the stereotype. He is social, team oriented, and hard working. I thought it was extremely interesting to break down each generation, and I really enjoyed reading your perspective on each generation.
Responses module 3 discussion A
Hello Ciara, most if not all of the jobs I have held in the past and present has dealt with technology in some capacity. Being a Warehouse Lending Processor must be very interesting. I am currently a bank teller at a community bank, and there was one instance where the technology around us failed for the day. It was an absolute mess and made it nearly impossible for all the bank employees to fulfill their job requirements. Lastly, your Amazon job must have been filled with technological innovations. That must have been an awesome experience to see one of the biggest commerce company advance their technology firsthand. Great post!
response Discussion B
Hello Edward, for the oldest working generation I used my grandfather. He worked extremely hard in the steel mills and owned 12 garages during his middle ages. I believe he does fit the stereotype because he respected authority, was rule oriented, and very conservative. I used my dad as an example for the baby boomer generation. He fit the stereotype because of his ability to work with people and his outgoing personality. Luke, my second cousin, is considered a part of generation X. He is over critical and has a hard time keeping a stable job, which fits the stereotype. And lastly, there are the millenials. My first cousin, Alex, fit the stereotype due to his team oriented personality and technological wits. I enjoyed comparing both our posts, and I enjoyed reading your post.
response Discussion B
Hello Edward, you analysis of economic productivity in the air transportation industry was extremely informative. The major downfall of air transportation occurred after 911 occurred in 2001. I did not know that since then air transportation has been responsible for more than 5% of the US GDP growth and has around 9 million flights per year. I agree that the effects of globalization has a major impact in that growth and other technological advances. It was very interesting to see how productivity has been rapidly increasing since 1990. The way in which the data was measured and computed by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics was extremely interesting. Great post!
response to post
Hello Jaida, your post about human resource management was helpful in understanding why it is a vital portion of an organization. Like you stated, HR is responsible for delegating and hiring people who will increase the company's work efficiency, while also influencing the desire of other employees to work at their highest capacity. Human resource representatives strategically plan, assess analytical skills, inspire creativity, and develop future employees into potential leaders. HR is a long process that takes a long period of time to master. I was not aware that one of the main goals for the public sector was to modernize human resources. This would update policies and make the necessary adjustments so that companies would be able to afford benefits, compensation, insurance, health care, and retention of employees.
response discussion A
Hello Mackenzie, I found your analysis of the article on long-term disability insurance access, cost, and trends to be very interesting. I was not aware that 92% of the employees are not required to pay into their LTDI plans, which forces the employer to cover these costs. I think that this article is very important to understand because of all of the healthcare issues that have arisen in the past years. I personally believe that low quality jobs that do not pay as much should not be required to cover LTDI plan, but high quality jobs that do pay a significant amount should cover LTDI costs. Overall, I found your post to be extremely informative. Great post!
response to equity question
Hello Steven, I really enjoyed reading your post about the different types of equities. In my post I said that internal equities are most important because people our age need the assurance that the future company that is our employer treats and pays its employees fairly. If they do not, then employees will be tempted to leave that organization. However, you brought up some interesting points about external equity and its importance. When looking for a job, you are evaluating and comparing external equities of different companies. This gives recruits an idea on what job will best suit them. Great post!
Module 3 Discussion A Discussion A: Think about a job you have had recently (part-time or full-time, previous or current role). How has technology impacted or changed your role? Share any initiatives that your company has established to meet technology challenges.
I currently work at American Community Bank, which is a smaller size bank with 4 branches that is located in Hammond, Indiana. I can truly say that technology has had a major impact on the job that I do. Everything we do at the bank, such as deposits, withdrawals, and closing and opening accounts are all done on the computer. I have been an employee of the bank for six months and during my second month, we changed the database that we do our work on. The change was difficult for employees to adapt to, but once everyone got more comfortable with the database, everyone agreed that it was much more efficient than the previous database system. One thing I have learned when it comes to technology is that people fear change because technology is not always the easiest thing to adapt to. If I had to guess, roughly 70% of employees of the bank did not want to change systems, but the board of directors felt it was necessary in order to be more efficient with customer transactions. One other interesting experience I had with technology during my time of working at a bank is when all the technology around me failed for an entire work day. The entire database system crashed at our branch, and the bank's IT manager was on vacation for that day so we had to go the entire day with writing everything on paper. We could not complete some of our normal responsibilities such as printing out money orders, checks, or our customer's account balances. It was an extremely stressful and long day that was inconvenient for everybody. It is interesting to think about how much we depend on technology. Most jobs, if not all, use technology in some capacity, and I could not imagine the world without it.
Module 4 - discussion A
I currently work at a local community bank where there are equal employment opportunities. There are a wide variety of different ethnicities that currently work for the bank, and since I has been only one discrimination issue that I have noticed. Through the three jobs that I have been employed at, there has always been one person who gives all the employees a hard time or causes continuous conflict within the work environment. At this particular job it happens to be the IT manager who has been working at the bank for 25 years. It is clear and evident that he shows men more respect than women in the workplace. He treats women as if they were children, and he can never seem to remember any of the women's name. However, when it comes to the men working under him, he is a completely different person and treats them with the upmost respect. There have been two instances since I have been employed at the bank where two different female employees have gotten into altercations regarding these issues. I personally have never had an issue with the IT manager, and he has always been courteous to me, which is a clear sign that he discriminates. Other than this one individual, everyone at the bank treats every other employee with the dignity, respect, and equality they deserve. In order to fix this issue, I think that the president of the bank should sit down with the IT manager and tell him that if he continues to discriminate, he is going to have to take disciplinary action. Hopefully, this will change the manager's attitude so that everyone feels like they are being treated as equals.
Module 4 - Discussion B Does their website provide comprehensive information on the types of discrimination that fall under the EEOC's jurisdiction? If so, is the information written in a way that would be clear to individuals who are unfamiliar with the topic? What recommendations would you make to clarify the content?
I do believe that the EEOC website does provide comprehensive information on the types of discrimination that fall under the EEOC's jurisdiction. The website gives a clear list of the laws that prohibit job applicants for asserting employment discrimination rights. There are several examples of these unlawful acts or protected activity such as: being a witness to a EEO investigation or charge, discussing an employment discrimination issue with a manager, answering questions regarding an employment investigation, refusing orders that results in an equality issue, and inquiring about discriminatory wages to managers. The website then goes into the possible solutions with dealing with an EEO issue. It lists about 7 consequences, which range from giving them a performance evaluation to demoting the employee to a less desirable position. The information in the article could be written more clearly because it is a little difficult to understand if you are unfamiliar with the topic. I had some trouble understanding the beginning of the article and the whole retaliation process. One way to simplify the information and make it easier to understand is to give examples of EEO issues, and then explain how the commission would effectively handle the problem. By providing real life examples, the reader can gain a better perspective on different EEO issues and how to handle them accordingly. Other than applying a few examples of real life situations, I felt that the website provided relevant and useful information regarding the responsibilities of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Discussion B: Visit the Association for Talent Development, the Society for Human Resource Management, and the International Personnel Management Association-HR websites. What training topics are being discussed? Are there similar topics or different ones? Which topics are the most interesting to you
I found that the Talent Development, the society for Human Resource Management, and the International Personnel Management Association-HR websites discussed very interesting topics that were both similar and different in many ways. The Association for Talent Development was the best designed and easiest to navigate in my opinion. The website does a great job in portraying a clear image of the scope of job training. It provides the reader with many options and programs that allow potential employees to be trained at the highest level. The IPMA website also provides many training exercises and activities that help in the development of employees. I think it is the second best organized out of the three listed in the discussion forum. Through delivering a diverse package of information, the IPMA website is able to communicate more efficiently with potential employees. Its primary goal is to hire and manage employees, implement secure workplace policies, and motivate their employees so that their job performance continues to increase. The last website, the Society for Human Resource Management, provides much of the same information the other two websites offer. The website definitely portrays a broader aspect of training in regards to employee development. Some topics that are listed throughout the site are technology, employee relations, global HR, communication, compensation, and benefits. These topics create a baseline for basic job training. Because each of the websites deliver valuable information regarding job training, I believe that more job applicants and job trainers should take the time and read them so they can become even more knowledgeable on the subject.
3 articles
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, idealist.org, and nonprofitjobs.org have many similarities and differences between them. One thing that each website is designed to do is to help people search for jobs that interest them. However, each website is unique in its own way and is organized a little bit more differently than the others. The Chronicle of Philanthropy in my opinion is the most useful site, which offers the most resources and guidance when pertaining to jobs. It also lists a number of fundraising and philanthropy articles that are an interesting read. The Chronicle overall is an attractive looking website that would really benefit a subscriber that is looking for a job. The Idealist has a much simpler set up than the Chronicle. It is definitely the most user friendly site because of its level of simplicity and organization. It has a search bar at the type of the website where you enter a keyword that relates to a job that interests you, and then it has a location search to locate jobs near you. The idealist does not have any articles, but it is very clear cut on how to search for jobs that interest you. The last website, nonprofitjobs.org, was another helpful website in searching for jobs that's relatively easy to operate around. It allows you to narrow down your search to specific skills you have. It allows thousands of users and subscribers to bring new opportunities to an organization or a career. Each website has a specific strength and pattern that helps advertise the jobs they offer. The websites have many similarities and differences, but in my opinion they all have a positive impact on the recruitment and selection process.
types of equity
The definition of equity is the quality of being fair and impartial, and there are three types: external, internal, and employee. External equity deals with the compensation system and pay structure of a company. Companies have to usually pay a specific amount of money, which is called the market rate, in order to hire efficient employees. Internal equity is the worker's responsibilities, rewards, and conditions that are compared to other employees that work within an organization. This keeps employees motivated and working hard so that they can move up in their organization. The last type of equity is employee equity. Employee equity is when employees are offered different stocks based on their role in the company. Examples of employee equities are restricted stock and options which are issued to employees for purchase. Each type of equity is important in its own way, but I feel like internal equity is most important to me. At the stage I am at in life, my goal is to find a well paying job and to move up in the organization that recruits me. Internal equity is going to be very important because I need to ensure that the business that hires me is offering me fair pay for my services and responsibilities that I conduct on a daily basis. If I feel like my internal equity is being undervalued then I will be tempted to take my employment somewhere else. A honest and straightforward payment system must be adopted so that employees are being evaluated and treated equally.
Module 3 Discussion B- Conduct online research to identify 3 HRIS systems, and indicate the companies who developed them. Summarize what you believe to be the benefits of each system, and any notable differences between the systems, based on what you've learned HR encompasses (from your online research in module 1).
The first HRIS system I will summarize is Kronos Workforce. Kronos started when it was developed by an MIT graduate by the name of Mark Ain. His goal was to make it easier to record employee time transactions. By the late 1970s, Kronos delivered the first time clock that recorded employee hours and transformed the working industry forever. Kronos then expanded internationally in the 90s and eventually became one of the fastest growing companies in the 21st century. It helps global industries develop and maintain an engaged workforce regardless of the location or type of business. By introducing an entirely web-based workforce management solution and implementing employee scheduling, labor analytics, payroll, and hiring capabilities, Kronos became one of the hottest HRIS software applications ("Kronos History"). The next HRIS system I have decided to analyze is Sage Payroll. Sage is mostly used by small to midsized companies that allows employees to be paid through direct deposit, paycards, or company generated checks. The Sage Group was founded in 1981 by David Goldman, Paul Muller, and Graham Wylie to develop an accounting software for a small business. A company called Campbell Graphics produced the first version of Sage accounts. Some systems such as Sage 50, Sage 100, and Quickbooks are known to combine time and attendance solutions to keep better track of PTO, Overtime, and tardiness ("Sage Payroll Software"). The last HRIS system I will discuss about is Ascentis. Ascentis is a human resources software that tracks an employee's recruiting, performance, and benefits. Ascentis was established in 1975 as a co-operative scheme between universities and colleges of further education. These colleges were not happy with the standard qualifications of the university so they created their own. OCNW (Ascentis) was what they called it, and it responded to the requirements of all its customers while providing a consistently high standard of service to learners all over the globe. AscentisAO. "Welcome / About Ascentis." Ascentis. 01 Sept. 2017. Web. 23 May 2017. "Kronos History." Our History of Innovation; About Kronos | Kronos. Web. 23 May 2017. "Sage Payroll Software." Software Advice™. Web. 23 May 2017.
Module 2 Discussion B: Visit the Monthly Labor Review Online (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Review the recent articles (see right-hand side of the website), and select one article. What topic is discussed, and why does the author think it's important? Explain your answer
The topic that I chose to discuss about in the Monthly Labor Review is how the employment expansion continues to grow, but at a slow pace. Employment took a massive hit during the Great Recession in 2008, and it is slowly making a comeback. Occupations involved in education, health services, and business services have grown at a progressive rate the past two years. Payrolls have increased by 2.9 percent, which is the largest annual percentage increase since 2008, and consumer prices increased 2.1 percent over the same period ("Employment Expansion Continues but at a Slower pace : Monthly Labor Review"). These economic trends reflect the growth of employment in certain industries. About 25 percent of all nonfarm jobs added in 2016 were in education and health services. health care added about 32,000 jobs per month in 2016 ("Employment Expansion Continues but at a Slower pace : Monthly Labor Review"). Professional and private businesses also grew at a significantly slow pace and added 534,000 jobs. Help services were the weaknesses that contributed to the slower growth. Leisure and hospitality added 331,000 jobs in 2016, and it experienced the smallest over-the-year increase since 2010 ("Employment Expansion Continues but at a Slower pace : Monthly Labor Review"). Construction added 155,000 jobs, and the growth has been focused in residential construction industries. Retail trade, which includes general merchandise, furniture, motor vehicle, and clothing stores have grown by 203,000 in 2016. Financial activities added 176,000 jobs due to the increase in credit intermediation, insurance carriers, and real estate ("Employment Expansion Continues but at a Slower pace : Monthly Labor Review"). Losses in 2016 included mining and manufacturing. Though most industries had slow and steady increases, it is still a positive that employment expanded. Overall 2.2 million jobs were added, and it will be vital that job growth remains constant so that the unemployment rate continues to decrease. "Employment Expansion Continues but at a Slower pace : Monthly Labor Review." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 16 May 2017.
As an employee, what topics discussed concern you the most, and why? From an employer's perspective, what topics concern you the most and why? In what ways are they similar, and in what ways are they different?
When I visited the Employee Benefit Research Institute's website there were a lot of topics that were concerning from an employee and employer standpoint. The first detail that caught my attention was that the savings for health care has continued to increase over the past several years due to drug costs. Medication expenses are rising every year, and a lot of Americans are unable to afford the necessary treatment. The overspending on medical costs makes it extremely difficult to save money and retire comfortably and a desired age. Another statistic I found to be eye opening from an employee standpoint was that only 18% of employees are confident and truly ready to retire. It is frightening that even if an employee takes the necessary steps during his employment with an organization, he or she might still worry about retiring. By creating a 401k, budgeting your money and managing your funds smartly, and saving a significant part of your paycheck, everyone should be comfortable retiring when they desire. However, that is sadly not the world we live in. Because medical costs are extremely high and the cost of health insurance in America is one of the highest in the world, people have a hard time saving money for later in life. From an employers standpoint, it is important to layout and provide the best benefits they can offer to potential employees. If they do not do this, then they risk losing these employees to other organizations who are willing to offer better benefits.