Thursday, September 22, 2011

Clean Technica, September 22, 2011, Thursday

Clean Technica

September 22, 2011, Thursday

Clean Technica (full article)

US Solar Industry Adds Jobs at 6.8% Pace

Green LMI joined with The Solar Foundation to produce the report, while Cornell University provided technical assistance.

“By using high-quality research methodology, we can ensure that these numbers are as accurate as possible,” explained John Bunge, associate professor in the Department of Statistical Science at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations. “Using both primary and secondary data sources, along with careful statistical analysis, gives us high confidence in the results.”

The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2011, Wednesday

The Wall Street Journal

September 21, 2011, Wednesday

The Wall Street Journal (full article)

Even Hints of Layoffs Decay Morale

The extended timelines given by most banks for their cuts—HSBC Holdings PLC said its 25,000 cuts would finish in 2013—will make it more difficult for employees to move on and continue being productive, said Kevin Hallock, Joseph R. Rich '80 Professor of Economics and of HR Studies. "A lot of workers will sit around worrying if it will be them, and some workers will [preemptively] say they're going to leave," he said. Those who are able to find new jobs are the ones managers typically want to stick around, he added. A spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment.

Forbes, September 20, 2011, Tuesday

Forbes

September 20, 2011, Tuesday

Forbes (full article)

Mean Girls Make More Money

“A new study finds that agreeable workers earn significantly lower incomes than less agreeable ones. The gap is especially wide for men.

The researchers examined “agreeableness” using self-reported survey data and found that men who measured below average on agreeableness earned about 18% more—or $9,772 more annually in their sample—than nicer guys. Ruder women, meanwhile, earned about 5% or $1,828 more than their agreeable counterparts.

“Nice guys are getting the shaft,” says study co-author Beth A. Livingston, Assistant Professor of Human Resource Studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Memphis Commercial Appeal, September 18, 2011, Sunday

Memphis Commercial Appeal

September 18, 2011, Sunday

Memphis Commercial Appeal (full article)

RCA came to Memphis promising thousands of jobs, left 5 years later

“The incentives offered RCA in Memphis were chump change compared with what goes on today,” author Jefferson Cowie wrote in an e-mail message.

RCA’s move to Memphis was part of its decades-long search for a low-cost, compliant workforce, Cowie, a Cornell University labor historian, wrote in his 1999 book “Capital Moves: RCA’s Seventy-year Quest for Cheap Labor.”

Inside Higher Ed, September 16, 2011, Friday

Inside Higher Ed

September 16, 2011, Friday

Inside Higher Ed (full article)

Where Universities Can Be Cut

“This notion that higher education has an obligation to try to reduce administrative costs to preserve the academic core of institutions as a way of trying to pull down tuition increases is very important,” says Ronald G. Ehrenberg, a professor of industrial and labor relations and economics at Cornell University and director of the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute. “Tuition cannot go up forever.

"In the public sector, where we depend on state support and states are facing serious financial pressures, we have a very serious obligation to show that we are being a very responsible steward of the public’s investment.”

Time, September 15, 2011, Thursday

Time

September 15, 2011, Thursday

Time (full article)

Come Again? American Auto Workers Get Signing Bonuses?

“It’s better than nothing,” says Arthur Wheaton, Director, Western NY Labor and Environmental Programs, at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, adding that the payments will give the economies in the regions around auto plants a boost as auto workers spend their money. “Most of them haven’t seen a raise in (around) six years.” Unlike a raise, “you get it once and it’s gone,” he adds.

UAW members have gotten these payments in lieu of higher wages since the 1980s, when Detroit began its long decline and wages began to stagnate. Automakers, however, need to preserve the status quo in which workers hired within the past five years will never earn more than their more seasoned counterparts. This system, which Detroit argues is critical to its revival, can present some awkward situations.

“Many of them are getting (about) half the wages as the person standing next to them doing the same job,” Wheaton says referring to UAW members.

HR Magazine, September 15, 2011, Tuesday

HR Magazine

September 15, 2011, Tuesday

HR Magazine (full article)

HR Most Influential 2011

Patrick Wright, William J. Conaty GE professor of strategic human resources in the ILR School (Industrial and Labor Relations), Cornell University

"His work on the role of the CHRO is constantly challenging"

Patrick Wright teaches, conducts research and consults in the area of strategic human resource management (SHRM), particularly focusing on how firms use people as a source of competitive advantage. He has published over 40 research articles in journals as well as over 20 chapters in books and edited volumes.

He has co-authored two textbooks titled Human Resource Management: Gaining competitive advantage (now in its third edition) and Management of Organisations. He has co-edited a special issue of Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management titled Strategic Human Resource Management in the 21st Century and guest-edited a special issue of Human Resource Management Review titled Research in Strategic HRM for the 21st Century. He served as the lead editor on the recently released book, The Chief HR Officer: Defining the new role of human resource leaders.

Wright has conducted programmes and/or consulted for a number of large organisations including Comcast, Royal Dutch Shell, KennaMetal, AstraZeneca, BT and BP. He serves as a member on the board of directors for the Cornell Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) and the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR). He is a former board member of HRPS, SHRM Foundation and World at Work (formerly American Compensation Association).

MarketWatch, September 14, 2011, Wednesday

MarketWatch

September 14, 2011, Wednesday

MarketWatch (full article)

Job seekers, get ready for personality tests
More employers are using pre-hire assessments

“Sometimes companies will put in a kind of nonsense question to make sure people are paying attention,” said John Hausknecht, Associate Professor of Human Resource Studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Tests don’t have the final say

“Bombing” a personality assessment won’t necessarily lose you a job, experts said.

“For companies that manage their staffing system well, personality tests are going to be a small part of the process,” Hausknecht said. With assessments, “there is no one magic bullet that works for all people and all jobs. Personality tests might be combined with an interview, plus some kind of a work sample.”

HR Magazine, September 13, 2011, Tuesday

HR Magazine

September 13, 2011, Tuesday

HR Magazine (full article)

Experts: Prepare Now for Aging Workforce

Yet what most U.S. companies don’t realize, experts say, is that they need to reduce the chance of financial and legal problems arising with these employees—a group more subject to disabilities than younger workers.

“Workplaces must be ready to accommodate these employees, or there will be more disability claims,” warned Susanne M. Bruyere, director of the Employment and Disability Institute, Industrial and Labor Relations School, Cornell University, during a webinar Aug. 30, 2011.

Men's Health, September 7, 2011, Wednesday

Men's Health

September 7, 2011, Wednesday

Men's Health (full article)

Convince Your Co-workers

“Our research shows that these feelings of being uncertain tend to stifle people’s ability to judge creative ideas,” says Jack Goncalo, Ph.D., the study’s co-author and an assistant professor in organizational behavior at Cornell University. “This can be problematic when encountered in an everyday business scenario, especially if people are going to dismiss new concepts for the practical, obvious solution.”

But even though people may have a bias against your creativity, you can still convince them to hear you out. Try these methods of persuasion the next time you pitch a great idea.

CNNMoney, September 2, 2011, Friday

CNNMoney

September 2, 2011, Friday

CNNMoney (full article)

Not quite the union label

Richard W. Hurd, associate dean of the ILR School at Cornell University
, studies and surveys professional workers and has written about hybrid organizations. Professionals "do want a voice at work, because of their education, their grasp of the field" they specialize in, he says. But "it's not clear what form it will take. Alliances are in some sense experimental forms."

While professional workers are deeply concerned about such issues as layoffs and jobs being sent overseas, Hurd believes it isn't clear whether those concerns will lead them to seek full-blown unionization.

NPR, September 1, 2011, Thursday

NPR

September 1, 2011, Thursday

NPR (full article/listen)

Labor's Criticism Of Obama Grows Louder

At a recent breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor newspaper, Trumka criticized Obama, saying without bolder action on the economy, the president "doesn't become a leader anymore. He's being a follower."

That criticism didn't surprise Kate Bronfenbrenner, a labor expert at Cornell University.

"The labor movement sees that he [Obama] keeps on acting as if he just moves further to the center, maybe then Republicans will stop being so intractable," she said.

WorldatWork's workspan magazine, September 2011

WorldatWork's workspan magazine

September 2011

An monthly column in workspan® applying scholarly research to the "real world" by ICS Director Kevin Hallock.

Say on Pay and Compensation Design
Year One of Say on Pay

Mail & Guardian, August 30, 2011, Tuesday

Mail & Guardian

August 30, 2011, Tuesday

Mail & Guardian (full article)

Diversity leads to better companies

According to Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), "Workplace diversity is a people issue, focused on the differences and similarities that people bring to an organization. It is usually defined broadly to include dimensions beyond those specified legally in equal opportunity and affirmative action non-discrimination statutes."

"As a concept, diversity is considered to be inclusive of everyone. In many ways, diversity initiatives complement non-discrimination compliance programs by creating the workplace environment and organizational culture for making differences work. Diversity is about learning from others who are not the same, about dignity and respect for all, and about creating workplace environments and practices that encourage learning from others and capture the advantage of diverse perspectives."

Reuters, August 29, 2011, Monday

Reuters

August 29, 2011, Monday

Reuters (full article)

Verizon seen winning healthcare union fight

Negotiations between Verizon and the unions representing its wireline workers are expected to resume on Wednesday after both sides last week agreed on a new framework for bargaining. About 45,000 technical and customer service workers -- roughly half of Verizon's wireline workforce -- returned to work last week after a two-week work stoppage.

"With the workforce returning to work, both sides realize that an extended strike would be very costly and they're both backing down," said Professor Harry Katz, a labor specialist at Cornell University. Katz added, however, "Verizon is going to get meaningful concessions in the negotiations. They're just not going to get the extreme draconian concessions they were after."

Nature.com, August 26, 2011, Friday

Nature.com

August 26, 2011, Friday

Nature.com (full article)

Thrift in store for US research

The result is that universities are increasingly subsidizing grants from their own funds (see 'Footing the US research bill'). Between 1969 and 2009, the proportion of research funding supported by institutional money rose from 10% to 20%, according to the US National Science Foundation. Public universities and all but the wealthiest private ones are increasingly taking that money from tuition fees. "The cost of research gets passed on to undergraduates," says Ronald Ehrenberg, an economist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a member of the panel. This erodes public support for research universities — a trend that the panel hopes to reverse with its recommendations.