1.1Thefutureofhumanresources1)Ithinktheproblemisthatinthelastfifteenyears,employershaven'tshowntheiremployeesmuchloyalty.They'vehiredandfiredprettymuchatwill,accordingtowhetherthemarketdictatedthattheyneedtoincreaseorreducetheworkforce.Theflipsideofthisisthatemployeesnow,particularlythoseinthe25to35agegroup,don'tfeelmuchloyaltytotheiremployereither.Developingstrategiestoholdontohighlyskilledandhighlyqualifiedpeoplehasbecomethenumberonepriorityinhumanresources-inallbigcompanies,infact.2)There'snodoubtthatinthenexttenyearstherewillbeamoveawayfromtheninetofiveoffice-basedmodelofwork.Infact,it'salreadyhappeningwithwomen,whooftenfinditchallengingtobalanceworkanddomesticschedules.Thiscouldmeanmore'teleworking',inotherwordsworkingathomeandbeinglinkedtotheofficebycomputer;oritcouldmeanshorterworkingweeksorjustmoreflexiblehours,Unlesscompaniesofferthesepossibilities,alotofpeoplewilllookforalternativetypesofwork.3)Companiesarefindingthatgraduatesandschoolleaversaren'twellenoughpreparedforworkinglife.Thisisgoingtodrivetwochanges,Ithink.Oneisagreaterco-operatingbetweencompaniesanduniversitiesorcollegestoensurethatatentryleveltothecompany,peoplehavetherightskills.We'llalsoseemoreinvestmentincorporatetraining-corporateuniversitiesandsoon-sothatemployees'skillscanbemouldedtotheneedsofthecompany.4)Asthebirthratedecreasedandlifeexpectancyincreases,therewillbeshortagesinthejobmarket.Consequently,alotofex-employeeswhothoughttheyhadfinishedtheircareersat60orwhatever,willbecalledbacktowork.Thiswillsuitthecompanies,butitwillsuittheemployeestoo,becausetheirpensionswillprobablybeinadequatetofundtheirlongerretirement.5)Atthemomentpeopleintheir50sand60sare,onthewhole,verypoorlyvaluedincompanies.Firmswanttorecruityoungeremployeeswhoarecheapertoemployandmoreadaptabletoachangingbusinessenvironment.Butasthesupplyoftheseyoungerworkersdriesup,we'llhavetoconsiderolderstaffdifferently.Ihopethatinfuturethewisdomandexperienceofthisgroupwillbecomemorevalued.1.2AnenvironmentaccidentJ=JournalistS=Spok...
