Contemporary Workforce

Abstract

In this article I have put light on the aspect of Contemporary Workforce in the United States and how to discussed the solution for managing the issues of Contemporary Workforce in the United States. For this reason analysis has been done on the survey of Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Contemporary Workforce

Introduction

In the United States, the unemployment rate is estimated by a household survey called the Current Population Survey, conducted monthly by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed persons by the size of the workforce and multiplying that number by 100, where an unemployed person is defined as a person not currently employed but actively seeking work. The size of the workforce is defined as those employed plus those unemployed.

The labor force participation rate is the ratio between the labor force and the overall size of their cohort (national population of the same age range). In the West during the later half of the 20th century, the labor force participation rate increased significantly, largely due to the increasing number of women entering the workplace.

A long-term strategy for facilitating communication: mentoring

Contemporary organizations are increasingly turning to mentoring programs as a vehicle for creating opportunities for open communication between employees and for assimilating newcomers into the institutional culture (Webb, 1995). As it occurs naturally, mentoring is a relationship between a senior organizational member (the mentor) and a more junior organizational member (the protege). Mentoring can be viewed from different perspectives such as management, communication, education and career development The focus here is on communication because mentorship can help influence and socialize the protege.

Owing in part to its current popularity as an organizational socialization technique, mentoring can initially appear as a panacea, a ready solution for many organizational communication problems. However, one must remember that any type of effective management of diversity requires organizational change on at least three levels: cultural, structural and behavioral. Cultural change involves changes that alter the organization's basic assumptions, values, beliefs and ideologies that define its view of itself and its environment. Structural change involves changes in the grouping of positions and departments within the organization. Behavioral change involves changes in behaviors, attitudes and perceptions among individuals and work groups (Ragins, 1995). While this multi-level approach can be applied as an antidote to numerous organizational ills, Ragins emphasizes that all three levels of organizational change must occur before mentoring can be implemented effectively and operated optimally. For example, management must encourage the process by publicly announcing and backing mentoring programs (cultural level). Then management must ensure that there are enough experienced hands on board to serve as mentors, especially during times of corporate downsizing (structural level). Finally, the mentor must be willing to share his/her hard-earned experience and wisdom with a younger or less experienced colleague, without expecting anything in return and the protege must not be afraid to ask questions, no matter how stupid or embarrassing such questions may appear (behavioral level).

Mentoring is a practice that serves a number of ...