Archive

December 2010

The sluggish U.S. economy is prompting more American corporations to look overseas to find new markets and boost profits. But these companies should plan carefully before they open overseas offices and hire local workers to staff them, human resources experts warn.

That’s because the business of human resources—finding qualified workers, hiring them, and providing salary and benefits—can vary greatly from country to country, experts say. And unless companies have a sound human resources strategy ready before leaping into a foreign country, they could fail.

News Updates
December 20, 2010

There are two things Vineet Nayar wants employers to know.

First, the author of the popular book, Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down (Harvard Business Press, 2010), says that “none of the ideas in the book are mine; I just vocalized it.”

Second, nothing in the book is “magic.”

News Updates
December 20, 2010

Leaders in India operate in the midst of a multifaceted and fast-paced environment, where the threads of culture are intertwined with the economic environment and India’s drive to be a significant player in the global economy.

Research
December 20, 2010

Think that American employers are the only ones suffering a talent shortage?

Think again.

Statistics show that in Canada, 50 percent of nurses employed in 2003 will retire within the next 15 years. Japan is accepting more foreign workers to help alleviate its labor shortages. In Germany the lack of engineers has become so severe that some of its top firms are giving science kits to toddlers to pique their interest in science and technology.

News Updates
December 15, 2010

As the worldwide economic recovery progresses, employers will shift their focus from cutting labor costs back to preserving talent and investing in key segments of their workforce, according to a new report about strategic workforce planning, released Feb. 12, 2010, by The Conference Board.

News Updates
December 15, 2010

As HR leaders grapple with myriad workforce planning issues post-recession, so too are they presented with a unique opportunity to enhance their hiring models to capitalize on changes in talent available in the labor market. In fact, given the strong focus that CEOs are now placing on enhanced people management strategy and processes, HR departments that do not adapt to the new hiring paradigm may risk their relevance, according to Michael Rendell, partner and leader of human resource services for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

 

News Updates
December 15, 2010

Cristóbal Conde talks about the core values needed to empower people and leverage human capital within companies. 

Videos
December 10, 2010

Robb E. Van Cleave is the Chairman of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Please click here to view this article on The Huffington Post.

News Updates
December 7, 2010

The first speaker at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation Thought Leaders Retreat was no longer an HR professional. And no wonder: Padma Thiruvengadam, a vice president of operations at Pfizer Oncology, used an extensive background in human resources to help lead the drug manufacturer’s oncology integration activities during a merger with Wyeth. Then, she moved on. She now drives performance of Pfizer’s oncology business units in the Asia-Pacific and Canada regions, and she offered strong words to HR professionals:

News Updates
December 5, 2010

Business guru Peter Drucker called management "the most important innovation of the 20th century." It was well-justified praise. Techniques for running large corporations, pioneered by men like Alfred Sloan of General Motors and refined at a bevy of elite business schools, helped fuel a century of unprecedented global prosperity.

News Updates
December 5, 2010

As CEOs ponder how deeply to cut costs during tough economic times, many are fine-tuning their internal operations, says a recent survey.

They are bolstering customer service, internal communications and the quality of the company culture, according to the 2008 Management Action Programs Inc. (MAP) Quarterly CEO Survey.

Managing internal change—any kind of change process that ties directly back to an organization’s goals—also is increasing in importance; it’s one of the top five greatest challenges CEOs face, according to survey results.

News Updates
December 1, 2010

The Post-Recession Workplace: Competitive Strategies for Recovery and Beyond presents the results of research conducted among SHRM members and HR practitioners around the globe about the business strategies that will define the post-recession workplace. This report also looks at innovative practices and staffing strategies for conducting business in the recovery economy.

Research
December 1, 2010