Category: Human Relations

How Companies Can Attract, Hire, and Retain Good Workers in a Population Challenged Future

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 1 Comment

Men and women across much of the world are failing to have enough children to maintain the workforce in their nations. Around 2050, the world population will begin to decline. How can companies attract, hire, and retain enough high-quality workers in the population-challenged future?

By Mark D, Harris

The future of HR is inexorably tied to the future of demography and technology in the United States and throughout the world. Cultural changes will also play an important role. These changes are overwhelming in their power and even in their novelty. Chief executives who wish for their companies to succeed will have to lead their companies and their communities through these daunting challenges. How can they do that?

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Political Correctness and Cultural Sensitivity

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Sensitivity to others’ needs is good, but living life with good will is better. We should try not to give offense, but also accept that people make mistakes. If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven.  

Since you cannot have a discussion without first defining what you are talking about, let’s begin with definitions:

Merriam Webster online suggests that Political Correctness means “conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated.”

Wikipedia suggests that “Cross cultural sensitivity is the quality of being aware and accepting of other cultures. This is important because what is acceptable in some countries can be rude or derogatory in others.”

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Government Service Civilian Personnel Discipline

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Sometimes positive actions do not suffice to prevent or remedy unacceptable behavior. In these cases, disciplinary action is indicated. The following table contains useful suggestions for the manager in a government setting who needs to punish an employee.

Government Service Civilian Personnel Discipline

Religion and the Workplace

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What is the role of religion in the workplace? The answer is not none…

A coworker was disciplined for asking people in his section how he could pray for them. Another was rebuked for having Bible verses on his desk. Does religion, especially Christianity, make the work environment hostile for others? How do we balance the freedom of speech for all involved. We must begin with a definition of religion. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, religion is:

1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power(s) recognized as the creator and governor of the universe. 2. A particular integrated system of this expression 3. The spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognizes the existence of a supernatural power(s) 4. An objective pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion

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Discrimination

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Whether discrimination is good or bad depends entirely on the basis for making the choice. Groups, employers, and individuals rightly choose to avoid the indolent and the violent. The wrong comes when we discriminate against someone solely on the basis of race, sex, or something like that.

I was having dinner with two Caucasian women in the division dining tent in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2004. One was the division JAG (legal) officer and the other was another staff officer. One of them turned the conversation to discrimination and racial profiling, with the women relating stories from their experience. Our warm joviality cooled like hot cider on a snowy day. The staffer related a time when, while in the Miami airport, someone spoke to her in Spanish. She replied with exasperation, “couldn’t he just have looked at me and known that I couldn’t speak Spanish”. Growing weary of the conversation I replied, “No, because that would have been racial profiling.” The cooling relations froze like dry ice and we departed. We got along famously before and after, but that topic was relational poison.

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