Jennifer Norton
BUSM 533-A - 1209 - Managing Human Resources
Instructor: Steven Hood
October 30, 2012
Introduction:
It is no surprise that the workforce is on the move and changing at a growing rate. There are several factors that lead into the changing workforce and play important roles. There are the workers who are leaving, the ones who will be staying and the new ones who will be entering, all of which have an important role to play in the US economy. This topic is important but it seems to weigh a little more heavily during an election period like we are in now. When the unemployed rate is high and the national debt is at an unprecedented amount it makes me wonder, who will our job force consist of and how will it be changing?
Some of the important things that need to be considered when looking into how the workforce is changing is who is now entering the workforce that was not previously in it? How will this affect competition for jobs? Are education levels affecting the workforce? Childcare and Eldercare seem to be playing an increasing role in who works and who stays at home to care for their families, will this change? More minorities are also working in the US making a big change to the workforce, how does this play out with HRM and other parts of management?
All of the questions and statements above need to be answered in order to find out why the workforce is changing and who comprises the majorities now. The workforce today is much more different than just 20 years ago. It is important as a human resource manager to stay up to date on these things and to know what the coming trends are for who you might be looking to employ.
Significance of the topic to the field of Human Resource Management:
The effects of the changing workforce on Human Resource managers are quite large. As of 2007 in healthcare there are older workers than younger ones. The issues arise in HRM with this when the technology is changing and
References: Davis, N. M. (07, 2012 05). A global march toward an aging workforce. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/publications/hrnews/pages/globalagingworkforce.aspx Garbis, N. (01, 2010 06). Workforce planning makes for a smarter reduction in force. http://www.humanresourcesiq.com/business-strategies/articles/workforce-planning-makes- Wright, A. D. (06, 2009 01). Countries take action to enable the workforce of the future. http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/global/articles/pages/enableworkforceofthefuture.aspx