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1.1Thefutureofhumanresources1)Ithinktheproblemisthatinthelastfifteenyears,employershaven'tshowntheiremployeesmuchloyalty.They'vehiredandfiredprettymuchatwill,accordingtowhetherthemarketdictatedthattheyneedtoincreaseorreducetheworkforce.Theflipsideofthisisthatemployeesnow,particularlythoseinthe25to35agegroup,don'tfeelmuchloyaltytotheiremployereither.Developingstrategiestoholdontohighlyskilledandhighlyqualifiedpeoplehasbecomethenumberonepriorityinhumanresources-inallbigcompanies,infact.2)There'snodoubtthatinthenexttenyearstherewillbeamoveawayfromtheninetofiveoffice-basedmodelofwork.Infact,it'salreadyhappeningwithwomen,whooftenfinditchallengingtobalanceworkanddomesticschedules.Thiscouldmeanmore'teleworking',inotherwordsworkingathomeandbeinglinkedtotheofficebycomputer;oritcouldmeanshorterworkingweeksorjustmoreflexiblehours,Unlesscompaniesofferthesepossibilities,alotofpeoplewilllookforalternativetypesofwork.3)Companiesarefindingthatgraduatesandschoolleaversaren'twellenoughpreparedforworkinglife.Thisisgoingtodrivetwochanges,Ithink.Oneisagreaterco-operatingbetweencompaniesanduniversitiesorcollegestoensurethatatentryleveltothecompany,peoplehavetherightskills.We'llalsoseemoreinvestmentincorporatetraining-corporateuniversitiesandsoon-sothatemployees'skillscanbemouldedtotheneedsofthecompany.4)Asthebirthratedecreasedandlifeexpectancyincreases,therewillbeshortagesinthejobmarket.Consequently,alotofex-employeeswhothoughttheyhadfinishedtheircareersat60orwhatever,willbecalledbacktowork.Thiswillsuitthecompanies,butitwillsuittheemployeestoo,becausetheirpensionswillprobablybeinadequatetofundtheirlongerretirement.5)Atthemomentpeopleintheir50sand60sare,onthewhole,verypoorlyvaluedincompanies.Firmswanttorecruityoungeremployeeswhoarecheapertoemployandmoreadaptabletoachangingbusinessenvironment.Butasthesupplyoftheseyoungerworkersdriesup,we'llhavetoconsiderolderstaffdifferently.Ihopethatinfuturethewisdomandexperienceofthisgroupwillbecomemorevalued.1.2AnenvironmentaccidentJ=JournalistS=SpokespersonJ:So,canyoutellmehowthishappened?S:Well,itwasaveryunfortunatecombinationofevents.Asyouknow,weatherconditionshavebeensevereintheeasternAtlanticforthelastcoupleofdays.Theship'scaptainreportedthattheshipwasintroubleat11pmlastnightandwasorderedtomakeforportasquicklyaspossible.At2:30pmhereportedthatshewasgroundedonsomerocksjustofftheCornishcoast.J:Butthisisn'tthefirsttimethisparticularshiphasbeeninanaccident.isit?S:Shehasbeeninvolvedintwoincidentsinthepast,butthesehadnothingtodowithhersea-worthiness,Sheisawell-maintainedshipinexcellentworkingorderwithanexperiencecrewonboard.J:Andwhatareyouintendingtodotolimitthedamagetotheenvironmentnow?S:Unfortunately,whileconditionsremainsohostile,thereisverylittlewecando,butthemomentthestormssubsidewewillbemountinganoperationtotransfertheoilofftheshipusingtugs.J:Doyouthinkthatthiskindofaccidentisacceptable?S:Ithinkitneedstobeputintoperspective.Accidentsatseaarefarlesscommonthanrailorroadaccidents.Theproblemisthattheyattractmuchmorepublicity...J:Well,yes,Whicheverwayyoulookatit,it'saPRdisasterforyourcompany,isn'tit?S:AsI'vesaid,thistypeofincidentdoesattractalotofmediaattention.Ijusthopethatthepubliccansee...2.1ThePeopleSofttakeoverCOMMENTATORIthinkyoucouldsumupPeopleSoft'sapproachtotheiremployeeslikethis:Wewantyoutobehappy,wewantyoutodothethingsyou'vegoodatandthatyouenjoydoing.'VeryfewbigITconsultingcompaniesarelikethat.Theyusuallythrowpeoplestraightinatthedeepend:putthemonjobswheretheydon'tnecessarilyhavemuchskillorexperience,arguingthatit'sgoodforthemtolearn.ButIthinkthatalthoughtheyhavetalkedalotaboutcaringfortheirpeopleandhavingfun,PeopleSoftputalotofresponsibilityonthemtoo.Liketheyweresaying,'Here'sajobyoucandoandwillenjoydoing,butyou'llbeaccountablefortheresults.'Toenforcethattheygenerallystartedpeopleonlowsalaries-andImeanlow-andexplainedthatgreaterrewardswouldcomeintime.Infairness,itwasdirectandhonest.InDecember2004,whenOracletookover,alotofemployeesdecidedtoleave.Forastart,thefeelingwasthattheirapplicationsjustweren'tasgoodasPeopleSoft's-infacttheywereprobablyjustmoredifficulttouse-andsecondlypeoplethoughtthatOracledidn'trespectemployeesasmuch.TheCEOofPeopleSoft,DaveDuffield,hadaverypaternalisticapproach-heusedtosignhisemails'DAD'(whichwerehisinitials).Itwasn'twell-paidworkbutpeoplefeltvalued,whichisoftenmoreimportant.Alsotherewasarelaxedatmospherearoundthecompany.Themomentthemergerwasannounced,thatkindofevaporated.Itseemedtobecometense,peoplewonderingifthenewCEOwasgoingtoliveuptohisreputationforwieldingtheaxe.And,inretrospect,youwouldhavetosaytheywererighttobeworried!INDUSTRYANALYSTOraclegetsalotofflakbecauseofitsaggressivegrowthstrategy,buti'mafraidinthissectoronlythebigguysaregoingtosurvive.ThemergerwithPeopleSoftwasabusinessnecessity.Itdidn'thappenbecausethetwocompaniesweresoalike-theircultureswereverydifferent.AtOraclethere'sagreatersenseofurgency...It'sastressfulenvironment,buttherewardsarehuge.Iknowsomerepstherewhoaremakingmillionsofdollars.Sure,ifyoudon'tcutit,you'vetoastprettyfast,butthat'sbus