Welcome to the September 28, 2005 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

Tune in to PA Cable Network (PCN) on October 6 at 8:00 P.M.***, the weekly (PA) Commonwealth network show Journalists' Roundtable when featured guests, Ira Wolfe - Contributing Editor, "Business 2 Business", Ted Byrne - Managing Editor, and Steve Cornibert - Contributing Columnist return to the air for a discussion on high priority issues affecting business in PA. It will air again on Sunday, October 9 at 7:00 P.M. and 11:00 P.M.

What's Inside:

1. Class of 2009: Starbucks, CNN, and Bushes

Students arrived at colleges around the country just a few weeks ago. Before the end of this decade many of these students will enter the workforce. Who are these students?

Each year Beloit College releases the Beloit College Mindset List, which offers a world view of today's entering college students.

On average, these members of the Class of 2009 will be 18 years old, which means they were born in 1987.

What is most important about this list is these events create the milestones and reference points much different than any generation that preceded them: Starbucks has always been around the corner, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” has always been on the air, and men named George Bush have been president for more than half of their lives.

What other events have influenced the mindset of the Class of 2009:

1. Andy Warhol, Liberace, Jackie Gleason, and Lee Marvin have always been dead.
2. They don't remember when "cut and paste" involved scissors.
3. Heart-lung transplants have always been possible.
4. Wayne Gretzky never played for Edmonton.
5. Boston has been working on the "The Big Dig" all their lives.
6. They never had the fun of being thrown into the back of a station wagon with six other kids.
7. They are more familiar with Greg Gumbel than with Bryant Gumbel.
8. Philip Morris has always owned Kraft Foods.
9. Al-Qaida has always existed with Osama bin Laden at its head.
10. They learned to count with Lotus 1-2-3.
11. Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker have never preached on television.
12. Voice mail has always been available.
13. "Whatever" is not part of a question but an expression of sullen rebuke.
14. Condoms have always been advertised on television.
15. They have always had the right to burn the flag.
16. For daily caffeine emergencies, Starbucks has always been around the corner.
17. Money put in their savings account the year they were born earned almost 7% interest.
18. Bill Gates has always been worth at least a billion dollars.
19. American Motors has never existed.
20. "Baby M" may be a classmate, and contracts with surrogate mothers have always been legal.
21. They never saw the shuttle Challenger fly.
22. Black Americans have always been known as African-Americans.
23. Tom Landry never coached the Cowboys.
24. CNBC has always been on the air.
25. Reindeer at Christmas have always distinguished between secular and religious decorations.

(Source: Beloit College)

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #453 to 456

Don't miss day-to-day updates on Perfect Labor Storm. Save the Perfect Labor Storm blog to your favorites.

Fact #453:Compliance with the Family and Leave Act (FMLA) cost employers $21 billion in 2004, according to results of a new study from the Employment Policy Foundation (EPF). According to the survey, 14.5 percent of employees took leave in 2004 with 35 percent of those taking leave more than once during the year.

Fact #454: The U.S. currently produces about 25,000 doctors a year. To keep up with demographic trends, we'll need between 3,000 and 10,000 more per year. (Source: USA Today)

Fact #455: As recently as 2000, the Journal of the American Medical Association predicted the U.S. would have 165,000 more doctors than the nation would need. Due to Baby Boomer retirement and a growing aging propulation, by the year 2020, the U.S. will face a shortage of as many as 200,000 doctors. (Source: USA Today)

Fact #456: The nation now has 800,000 doctors. That won't be enough when the current generation of physicians reaches retirement age. (Source: Council on Graduate Medical Education)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3.  Take the Age Test.

1. Name the four Beatles.

2. Finish the line: "Lions and Tigers and Bears, ____ ____!"

3. Hey Kids, what time is it?

4. What do M & M's do?

5. What helps build strong bodies 12 ways?

6. Long before he was Mohammed Ali, we knew him as ________ _____.

7. You'll wonder where the yellow went, ______ ____ _______ ______ ______ ____ ____________.

8. Before his role as Skipper's little buddy, we knew Bob Denver as Dobie's best friend __________ __ _______.

9. Brylcream, _____ _____ _____ ___ ___.

10. Bob Dylan advised us to never trust anyone over __.

Click here for Answers to the Age Test.

4.  Managing the Generation Mix

No doubt about it. The newest diversity issue in the workplace is age diversity. Many organizations have finally figured out how to recruit young talent only to watch them drive down a collision course with seasoned employees over issues like work ethic, respect for authority, dress code and every work arrangement imaginable. To learn what you can do about dealing with Generational Conflicts:

Order  Managing the Generation Mix.

Order  Managing Generation Y

Order  Managing Generation X

5.   Generational Style Assessment

Test your ability to communication with Gen X, Gen Y, Boomers, and Traditionalists. Our NEW Generational Style Assessment evalautes the communication or relational style you typically apot when interacting with individuals or groups of people from different generations. It then provides you insight into those styles that work for you, and what to do about the styles that don't. This self-scoring workbook includes the questionnaire, response sheet, how to interpret your results, and how to understand the different styles.

Order the Generational Style Assessment today.

Ira S. Wolfe. 2005 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

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