More Workplace News

Study Indicates Sources for Teenage Spending

As a follow-up to the last column about teenage workers, a study by the Harrison Group and reported in USA Today (3/15/07), indicates that the purchasing power of teens (ages 13-18) totals almost $200 billion annually. The top spending categories are clothes, food, cars, movies and cell phones.

The source for this money comes from parents either as part of family expenses (over 50 percent) or allowances based on “chores” (about 10 percent). Earnings from jobs accounts for less than 20 percent of teens disposable income.

Knowing that school achievement studies suggest that students who work have less success at school than their non-working counterparts, does it make sense for teenagers to work? Does having less than 20 percent discretionary income to spend on the aforementioned categories make a teen’s life incomplete?

Again the key question remains: are communities really interested in promoting academic achievement or do they prefer a cheap labor force?

(Note: teens that work to support family financial needs are not the targets of this curiosity. And there’s a good chance those teens were not the subjects of the above study. Asking teens to carry the burden of helping families pay for food or a utility is a community issue that needs a solution. Otherwise, communities are guilty of promoting generational poverty that will continue adding to the ranks of under-educated and under-prepared persons unable to cope with requirements of the service economy.)

Growing Business

An annual survey of CEOs completed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers revealed the following regarding how they plan to grow their respective businesses:

~~ Over half (57 percent) will focus on new markets, mergers and acquisitions, new products and innovation;

~~ About a fourth (23 percent) will focus on better penetration of existing markets for existing products; and,

~~ About 16 percent will focus on better customer service and employee retention.

What this data should suggest, if you are currently employed and want to advance (or if you are unemployed and want to be hired), that you need to focus on creating or exploiting opportunities that builds new business for your employer. Clearly, 80 percent of CEOs want ideas to improve the financials of their company by increasing customer base.

CEOs are not saying they want leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, more communication skills or other such ideas commonly promoted in business literature or by “gurus”. They want to know how to “get” and sell to customers.

This means you need to be creative and exploit technology to expand the number of customers. Or, use your creativity to develop the next social network website, the next video gaming system or the next high performance, high mileage car.

Companies focus on the bottom line so prepare to address that basic need. Here’s a hint: look at social trends. For example, the US Census projects that the number of people ages 65 and older in the labor force will double over the next 10 years. How would you get your company ready to absorb workers represented by this age group? If you are unemployed, how do you position yourself as an expert to offer training and development for people who want to return to the workforce?

Staying employed and enjoying a satisfying lifestyle is easy if you know how to create profit!

You Knew This!

The estimated number of hours the average American spends using various types of media is:

TV @ 1555 hours

Radio @ 974 hours

Internet @ 195 hours

Reading a newspaper @ 175 hours

As long as TV, with its ever increasing time devoted to commercials promoting the insatiability of consumerism, dominates people’s free time, can we really expect this country to maintain its position as a major economic and critical thinking power?

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC

TEEN AGE WORKERS

Too Many Activities Affecting Achievement

According to a study in the March 2007 issue of Pediatrics, US teenagers 14-18 are working an average of 16 hours per week, many times after 7 pm on school nights and in jobs that violate federal law, such as serving alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately parents don’t see this as a problem because it fits the profile of the American work ethic. Parents with working teenagers view this as a source pride and include their child’s employment in conversations when describing them to friends.

In his book Beyond the Classroom, Professor Laurence Steinberg states that work competes with school. It is not the complement to school many parents believe it is. His research revealed that students will take easier courses so school doesn’t interfere with their job (isn’t that backwards?). The title of chapter nine in his book is All Work and All Play Makes Jack a Dumb Boy and places the blame of low achievement not with schools or teachers but what students do after school. Think about how many times you have heard over the past year that boys are under-achieving in school and not going to college at the same pace of previous generations. Do you think the lure of earning $100 a week and living in the parent’s basement may have anything to do with that trend?

The average teenager now spends up to 80 hours a week on activities that have no relationship to school or achievement (for example, jobs, social activities, gaming, TV, Internet). That’s almost 50 percent of all available hours during the school year. A person under 18 first impulses is to have fun and today’s distractions don’t help keep them focused.

If these kids sleep 8 hours per night, that only leaves 32 hours for school and related activities. If you did the math, your conclusion is they are not getting 8 hours of sleep per night since school takes up about 40 hours per week. Can you picture these kids snoozing, dozing and sleeping during school hours? Even if they can stay awake, fatigue will prevent them from concentrating and achieving excellence in school activities. Not getting a full night of sleep is extremely counter-productive and can be dangerous.

America is the only industrialized country with this imbalance towards work and school. It is ironic that the US public school system was created at the beginning of the 20^th century because it was politically the best way to get young children out of sweat shops. Parents wanted their kids to work to help support the family and businesses liked the cheap labor provided by these kids. The law requiring attendance at school settled the issue.

So now in the 21^st century, a kid with a part-time job means that parents don’t need to provide spending money (allowance) and businesses have a plentiful source of cheap labor. Working students that have a steady amount of discretionary income means these kids fuel the American economy (they are called the greatest consumers in the world). Isn’t 14-18 the target demographic for TV advertising? And of course, once they roll past 18, let’s be sure to bombard them with credit cards so we can keep them hooked on being good consumers.

It would seem the US has a choice if it is serious about improving scholastic achievement: either make working under 18 illegal or make going to school beyond age 14 optional. The country can’t have it both ways.

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC

PERSONAL INVESTMENT

Reading is Control

In a survey of nearly 2000 workers, 47 percent said they would improve their employment opportunities by either getting a degree or by learning new skills. Certainly this is a noble and expected sentiment but it is a recipe for personal failure and disappointment.

First, companies are abandoning their most useful educational tool, the corporate ladder. There was a time before Wall Street estimates dominated corporate thinking that everyone had an opportunity to grow with the business. With few exceptions, everyone was hired as a beginner. He or she was given initial responsibilities and assigned to a department manager who would be responsible for teaching the corporate culture and needs. This investment of time and learning may take years to complete but as the older workers retired, the new leadership was in place. And it was very important when it became necessary to move into new products or services quickly.

Now, bottom line thinking dictates that results need to be instant; there is no time for this longitudinal process of learning. People are hired with the expectation they can deliver immediately. The corporate world believes that a person with a college degree is somehow magically ready to perform.

Middle management, individuals in the learning process, are terminated regularly. The continuum of work ready employees has been dismantled for the past 25 years and thousands of companies have disappeared. Yet, CEO’s still use termination of workers as their first response to lower earnings. As a result, companies now have a life span shorter than the average human being. The blame game about failure keeps gurus and colleges in business.

Second, if education was doing its job, it would make sure that people have access to a library of just-in-time learning modules. That means 5 to 10 minute instructional vignettes that people can learn quickly, regularly review and employ in the workplace. Instead, the traditional model of attending classes and spending hours and years in the classroom dominates adult learning. By the time people finish these classes and earn a degree or certificate, the world has moved on rendering the new graduate obsolete. Compounding the problem are instructors/professors that teach what they know, not what is needed in the workplace. An in-house training department would be much more effective, but that kind of service costs money and is the first on everyone’s list for termination.

Finally, people need to stop embracing passive learning that is predicated on attending classes and allowing someone to spoon feed learning. Of course, that is the result of the US education system. Teachers teach and we learn what they teach or at least that is how it is sold. Yet, every study that attempts to measure learning concludes that people learn best when they can direct their learning.

Hence, as an adult, you can direct your learning. Start by devoting an hour everyday to reading. Read books and journals that will support your career. Search the Internet for sites that support your need for information. Ignorance is a personal choice.

Success is defined a being disciplined. Turning off the TV and reading is your choice. Very few people have ever become financially successful by watching sitcoms, sports or movies. If you are interested in entertainment, help create more by learning how to write scripts, compose music or learn to act.

The faster you realize that TV is a mass control mechanism to dull peoples’ desire and keep them from achieving, the faster you can find success. Your brain is your key to success and it is your choice.

Political Integrity

We elect persons to represent us in government because we believe that he or she is a leader and will act in our best interests. Politicians are our source of reason in a country based in capitalism. And to be sure capitalism works but it is best served when governed. In other words, politicians are the bridge between business greed and personal need. Societies throughout history thrive when there is a balance between wealth and sharing.

As voters we need to do our job and elect people who are dedicated to preserving a society dedicated to health, education and the eradication of poverty and homelessness. It is disconcerting when politicians pander to special interest groups. Most of the time these special interest groups are only interested in promoting narrow thinking and are of little interest to the majority of Americans.

We want leaders and not everything a leader does will be supported or popular. At least be consistent; you won’t be faulted for creating an agenda that benefits a country of people and not just a fraction. For example, don’t state what a terrible job we are doing with scientific discovery and at the same time support “intelligent design.” Science has proven methodology that promotes empirical evidence and can be replicated anywhere in the world. “Intelligent design” is personal faith and each faith based group has its version of creation. Support scientific discovery and leave faith to personal choice.

John McCain and Hillary Clinton are early favorites in their respective parties. Over the next year, pay attention to the consistency of their messages. If they both continue to change their convictions from speech to speech, why should either one be trusted as our leader?

All politicians deserve our respect and support. They carry a heavy responsibility to model leadership behavior to Americans and the world. If they betray our confidence or their convictions, look for someone new.

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC

SIMPLICITY

We’re Not Dumb, Just Overwhelmed

Do you look at your cell phone, MP3 player, software for your PC or the remote control for your new HDTV and wonder “where do I start?” With every new device, more features are added, the manual becomes a little bit thicker and the learning curve seems to get steep again. And just when you thought you had everything under control!

The economics of business is straightforward: either charge high prices for your product or find more customers. In consumerism, many of the things we buy go down in price over time unless more features are added. Companies can’t always charge more so they try to appeal to customers with a litany of options. Hence, more buttons, more menu options and an increased likelihood that we’ll never use all the options.

To be honest, we have to feel fortunate that until the mid-1980’s, there was only one communication company (AT&T) and basically, one computer company (IBM). By having a monopoly, AT&T set the standards for all phone calls. Regardless if you were calling across the street or across the world, the communication standard was set and quickly understood. Think about it: with one finger, you could instantly make a phone call from anywhere in the world even if you had no idea how to understand the native language. The numbers, the circular wheel to dial the numbers and the receiver were all standard. Making a call was simple; expensive but simple.

We are fortunate that there was only one standard for telephones. If it was hard to complete calls in the early 1900’s, people were too busy working to bother learning seemingly useless devices. In early 20^th century America, everyone you wanted to talk to was either with you or down the street! A complex telephone would have disappeared and radically changed the next 100 years.

The easy-to-use telephone and its singular standard allowed the adoption of the device to proliferate. There was no battle of VHS versus Betamax, HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray or Apple versus PC. The telephone was simple and quickly learned even by 3 year olds. When AT&T was dismembered into the “baby bells”, the standards didn’t change. As a result, consumers didn’t need to re-learn how to use the phone. But they did benefit from more competition and lower prices.

Recently I purchased a new portable phone for my kitchen. The manual was less than 4 pages and what I needed to do first was obvious. After charging the battery, I connected one wire, placed the phone on the wall mount and stated making phone calls. A very simple process taking only minutes of my time to complete.

Compare that scenario with our household buddy, the PC. Most PC experts warn that if I wanted to upgrade my current operating system to Windows Vista, I should expect that it will take 6 to 8 hours. I can also anticipate that it may not load properly or that older programs or devices may no longer be compatible. Yikes; no wonder there’s a Geek Squad!

Do I really have time for this? The wiring in my home is at least 15 years old and the copper wiring that connects my house to the rest of the world could be even older. Yet my “fresh out of the box” phone worked immediately after the battery was charged. Simple and I didn’t feel stupid.

The point is that we are not dumb but victims of unnecessary complexities. Do we really need a cell phone that comes with a 100-page user manual? The personal PC has been around for over 25 years. By now it should be simple enough for anyone at any age (at least over age 3) to use it for email.

But let’s not pick on PC’s as the cause of our newfound dumbness. Niche marketing and products have made everyday shopping a time-consuming challenge. Have you shopped for toaster or a pair of pants recently? There are lots of choices and in most cases too much information to make a quick decision. Even my simple phone purchase was part of the 800 or so available online.

How much research do we need to do everyday to make our choices? Can’t you picture someone sitting in their car trying to filter all this information and feeling paralyzed? Do you feel like you are running out of time?

I am not advocating monopolies or living a deprived life. But the next time you are feeling overwhelmed, start your recovery by limiting your time and effort regarding your choices. The difference in quality or features doesn’t justify your anxieties of feeling dumb!

Health Tip

Sleep is important. Lack of sleep is linked to mental illness, heart disease and accidents. People fail to get enough sleep any given night because of many reasons (see story above as an example).

For people who live in cold climates, one significant reason for having a hard time falling asleep is because of cold feet (no, not personal commitments but the actual parts of you body). When the body is attempting to “wind down”, it attempts to evenly distribute heat to keep you warm while sleeping. If your feet are cold, the body reacts as though it is launching into survival mode hence keeping you awake.

You need to keep your feet warm prior to bedtime. You can double up on socks, wear insulated slippers, keep a blanket over your feet or keep them near a hearting source. A very relaxing technique is a warm foot soak, maybe in one of those small, portable whirlpool devices. Whatever you choose, get those feet warm!

Next, make sure you don’t lose body warmth. Use a blanket warmer (not an electric blanket that can overheat you) on your bed to gently warm the sheets (flannel sheets are an excellent choice in cold weather). Make sure it has an automatic timer so it shuts down during the night. You don’t want to overheat your body. Many blanket warmers come with a 10-hour timer so you can start it several hours before bed and will continue several hours after you have fallen asleep.

If the blood circulation to your feet isn’t as good as it once was you may need to wear wool-blend socks to bed. Again depending how well you retain body warmth, flannel pajamas may also be necessary.

Ironically, while your bed needs to be warm, keep your bedroom cool. This contrast in temperature helps with breathing and your body’s ability to control its temperature. If your room is too warm, you will wake up in a cold sweat and may not get back to sleep very easily.

Finally, your bed is your friend. Don’t use it to toss and turn, run the day’s activities through your mind or formulate a to-do list for tomorrow. See it as one of the best moments of the day as you crawl into the gentle warmth of your cocoon.

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC

ANOTHER POLITICAL MYTH

Science Degrees on the Rise

Since 2001 and the beginning of the No Child Left Behind legislation, political leaders have insisted that more needs to be done to attract students into science and mathematics. Politicians contend that America is falling behind other world powers because too few students are graduating with science degrees. It appears that data from the National Science Foundation may take exception to this notion of a science brain drain.
According to the NSF, the number of doctorate degrees awarded in science and engineering has hit an all-time high. In 1996, there were 27,240 doctorate degrees awarded; by 2005, the number rose to 27,974, nearly a 3 percent increase. Plus, during that 10-year span, the number of doctorate degrees awarded was over 270,000. The data seems to indicate that there are plenty of science and engineering graduates.
In fact, it would be counter-productive to “flood the market” with science and engineering graduates. This curriculum is the most demanding and the most expensive in higher education. Graduates typically have debt in the hundreds of thousands of dollars after devoting as much as 7 years to earn their doctorate degree. These students need high paying jobs in order to dent that kind of debt. Flooding the market would only drive wages lower and make it less attractive for students to enter the field. Of course, political people who back big business’ profits want to flood the market in order to drive down wages. Switching gears --
Until there is a “true labor shortage” it would seem advisable to scale back the number of all college degrees. For example in K-12 teaching, there are more graduates than jobs every year. Plenty of qualified and enthusiastic K-12 graduates are denied any teaching opportunities and instead take service industry jobs so they can begin paying back their college loans.
In a recent year (2005) in Pennsylvania, over 13,000 students graduated with teaching degrees yet less than half were offered jobs. Despite that, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell established a “blue ribbon committee” to study how to get more middle school students interested in the teaching profession. From a government standpoint, with more teachers available in the pool, a school district can drive down wages and benefits, making teaching a less attractive profession from a wage standpoint.
Because of the low pay of these service industry jobs, students are forced to move back in with their parents in order to pay bills. The community/neighborhood sees that these bright and intelligent students who have devoted 4 to 5 years at college are now doing jobs designed for high school graduates. How do you motivate the next generation of high school graduates to apply themselves and get ready for higher education when they see the outcomes? Too many graduates are counter-productive to student motivation.
So as this school year begins to wind down for the next set of high school graduates, communities should ask if a goal of 60 to 70 percent going on to college is really a worthy objective. Why not take the bulk of this number of students and invest in vocational training? At least these kids will have a trade to earn some money while they figure out if college is the right move for them.

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com
GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC