Workforce Week®

	www.workforce.com
	December 9 - 15, 2007 Vol. 8 Issue 49

In This Issue ...

Workforce News of the Week
Feature: United Technologies Seeks Intangibles With Education Plan

Feature: The Silent Treatment: 'Just Be Quiet About It'

Forum Post: Defining Culture

NEW BLOG: Books@Work

Blogs: Wal-Mart—So Flexible They Provide a 1-800 Number to Call In Sick

The HR Capitalist: What Are HR Certifications Worth?

Commentary: Give Young Workers the Straight Dope on Retirement Savings

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Workforce News of the Week:

Brocade HR Chief Convicted in Options Backdating Trial: A federal jury has convicted Stephanie Jensen, the former head of human resources at Brocade Communications, of two counts of criminal fraud for her role in the backdating scheme.
Click to read more. >>>
DOL Investigated for Non-Competitive Grants, Millions Given Out Without Proper Documentation: The Labor Department's Office of Inspector General has found that the Employment and Training Administration did not adequately justify decisions to give out non-competitive awards for the High Growth Job Training Initiative.
Click to read more. >>>

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Quick Takes:
Retirees, Moms Most Highly Sought to Plug Labor Gap
Click to read more. >>>

Job Site, UNLV Want to Know 'Best Companies' for Older Job Seekers
Click to read more. >>>

USA Today: Airlines Need to Step Up Safety Training for Employees
Click to read more. >>>

SHRM/Rutgers Report Paints Gloomy Picture of U.S. Services, Manufacturing
Click to read more. >>>

Randstad Woos Vedior
Click to read more. >>>

Continuing education
Feature: United Technologies Corp. Seeks Intangibles With Education Plan

The company's Employee Scholar Program is a comprehensive tuition reimbursement initiative, initiated in 1996, that finances upfront every penny of an associate, bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree. Graduates can receive up to $10,000 in UTC stock.

Deadly culture
Feature: The Silent Treatment: 'Just Be Quiet About It'

A culture of fear keeps doctors and other health care workers from speaking out about medical errors and dangerous practices. Efforts to improve health care quality have slammed up against a reluctance among medical workers to report preventable errors.

Discussion
Defining Culture

Posted in the Work Views Forum:
A reader writes: "What's the difference, if any, between corporate culture and collaborative culture? I'm working on the culture section of the first employee handbook for a small (50 employees), high-tech startup, and I don't want to sound too corporate in the message."
Join the discussion >>>

Blogs: The Business of Management
Who Needs a Private Work Space, Anyway?

I hate that I come off sounding like a dinosaur whenever I say this, but I've been around long enough to see more than my share of dumb workplace trends. Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, they seem to come and go with an eerily predictable degree of regularity.
Read the Business of Management blog. >>>
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Contributing blogger
The HR Capitalist
Termination 101—When Direct Reports Vote a Manager Off the Island
Read the HR Capitalist blog. >>>
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Workforce Washington
Bills May Move Overnight as Congress Again Crams for Finals
Read Workforce Washington. >>>
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Global Work Watch
China's Safety Net Challenge
Read Global Work Watch. >>>
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NEW BLOG
Books@Work

Ever wonder if there is anything good in the mountain of business books published every year? Workforce Management's new Books@Work blog reviews and previews all manner of workforce management-focused books, including those on topics like employee leadership, workforce dynamics, the HR profession, corporate culture, legal issues and management. We also point you to classic books you might have missed, as well as books that are not your typical management tomes but still have something thoughtful or interesting to say about workforce concerns. The blog is written by the editors and reporters of Workforce Management.

The inaugural blog posts features reviews of three books, Mistletoe and Misery, The Power of Belonging and Silence Kills: Speaking Out and Saving Lives.

Read the Books@Work blog >>>

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The HR Capitalist
What Are HR Certifications Worth?

If you've wondered whether the PHR or SPHR certifications are worth the paper they're printed on, read on. Kris Dunn breaks it all down for you, focusing on the exclusivity of the certification, the effort required to pass the exams and—of course—the critical question of ROI.

Read more about HR certifications.>>>

Also:
Take the Quiz: Does Your HR Job Stink? >>>
All-Around HR Players: Knowing It All >>>
Has HR Finally Arrived? >>>

Commentary
Give Young Workers the Straight Dope on Retirement Savings

A 30-year-old tells employers why his colleagues need a kick in the rear when it comes to saving for retirement: "Lock us in a room during that first day on the job and tell us we can't leave until we agree to contribute something to a 401(k)."
Read more about informing younger workers about retirement savings. >>>

Also:
Retirement Benefits: Getting Employees in the Game >>>
Retirement Plan Proposals Abound >>>
Latest 401(k) Feature: Debit Card to Tap Retirement Savings >>>
Life-Cycle 401(k)s Overly Optimistic >>>

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