Learning the Skills that Match San Diego's Employment Needs

San Diego is a hot and trendy place these days (no pun intended) and draws a lot of motivated young people soaking up good times and seeking exciting employment opportunities. Many of these young people come from different places of the country and the world and have decided to place a shingle on San Diego's coastline. Ensuring that they have the "right skills" to succeed on the local market and feed growing local businesses is important for regional development.

The beauty of young people is that they are motivated and adaptable. A company could take in a fresh face and over time train them to successfully navigate their work environment. Corporate training can instill new knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) to ensure they can operate, build and/or sell new products/services. Young people seeking careers are willing receptors for knowledge.

Outside of corporate training students may come with a college degree that certifies that a level of knowledge has been obtained. That education will come with both general skills and industry specific skills. General skills apply to multiple industries and often focus on skills such as mathematical and writing while specific skills are focused more on those that are most applicable to their chosen industries.

Each regional area is comprised of various kinds of businesses that need their own type of skills. In San Diego you will find industries in blue technology, pharmaceuticals, military, science, micro-manufacturing, hospitality, tourism, and technology making the biggest industry employers readily apparent. Those employers need qualified talent that can fill their needs without adding significantly to their training budget.

The problem of misalignment between jobs and skills is not unique to San Diego. However, by encouraging the development of basic skills in high school and more specific skills in college the gap doesn't need to be as wide. Corporations will be required to train graduates to the specific needs of their company.

Some cities have put in place work oriented programs that retrain displaced and unemployed workers to fill local needs. At other times, corporations may band together and sponsor training programs that help them recruit top talent from the area. A few cities may actively seek specific skills by targeting people from other areas that work in related industries.

Developing skills locally by partnering with community colleges and universities helps in creating a home grown pool of talent. Where gaps still exist training should take precedence that encourages the closing of the skills gap. Feeding San Diego's businesses with qualified talent helps ensure that future investment and growth are possible when the time rises."Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset."- Tom Hopkins

Is the Standardization of International Business Curriculum Around the Corner?

International business curriculum is on its way and may someday be a standard by which universities judge themselves. As the world integrates and international workers gather around needed knowledge sets international business curriculum will become more common. A paper in the International Journal of Social Sciences & Education begins to discuss their evaluation of accreditation bodies (Nzeh, 2014).

International businesses are common and seek qualified talent that can effectively work in cross-border commerce. Up until this points most business schools focused on curriculum that was national in orientation and represented the needs of local stakeholders. As the nature of international commerce and employment changes so will the educational process that meets those needs.

According to the authors a review of business school accrediting bodies such as ACBSP, AACSB, and IACBE found that many of them contain similarities of themes that set a foundation for standardized international business curriculum. Other accrediting agencies in Europe and Asia also share foundational similarities with American accreditation agencies.

Knowledge doesn’t exist in a bottle and curriculum from different localities borrow from each other to generate market relevancy. As the needs of international business become easier to define and online education grows there will be a subtle push toward standardization. Such standardization is likely to be formal but could work equally well on an informal basis.

There will be certain underlying needs of international businesses that will apply to equally to each of them. International students may need additional training in systems thinking, multicultural communication, and international management but don’t often get these skills from local colleges. Developing international curriculum helps ensure that the global mindset is created among new recruits.

Nzeh, O. (2014). The new paradigm shift-internationalizing business education curriculum. International Journal of Social Sciences & Education, 5 (1).

Poor Service Quality Impacts Customer Perception of Businesses

Service quality can make or break your business if you don't keep track of customers impressions. Business often focus on the physical appearance, atmosphere, cost, and offerings but sometimes fail to see the underbelly of what will make their place a success. Service quality can have a huge impact on customer retention and make or break whether a business can stay open.

Consider a restaurant that has a trendy name, great atmosphere and is all the rave among core crowds. The owners spend a great deal of time advertising and putting everything together but failed to train their staff on how to treat customers. The lines are long, the staff is rude, orders are messed up, and the price is high.

People may love what your business has to offer but they are not likely to return if their experience was poor. This is one of the reasons why trendy businesses are popular one year and close their door the next.  Proper service is like frosting on the cake even though it is the smallest part of the whole offering. Missing the frosting and you really don't have much of a cake.

Customers get an impression when they first walk into a restaurant. It may a positive first impression but if everything falls apart soon after that they will remember their disappointment for a long time. Reasonable mistakes can be expected in any business but customers service mistakes that lower the value of the guest are almost never forgiven.

 Training staff on human interactions and service operations help to create positive impressions with speedy recovery. No matter what is included in training it should focus on the importance of the customer. Anything that veers from this customer perception will dis-confirm the value of the business and may create a level of resentment among visitors.

Service management training doesn't always need to be intensive but does rely heavily on human to human social skills. All interactions should be positive and oriented toward the needs of the customer. Any time behaviors or actions do not focus on the need of the customer the entire experience can be hampered. A single rough rub and the perception of the entire business goes in the wastebasket.

La Mano Mencia Roble Red Wine 2012

La Mano Mencia Roble 2012 is a red wine grown in Northwestern Spain. A smooth and wet wine with pepper and fruit tastes it maintains soft tannins. Aged in oak barrels for at least three months it provides quality for the price. The aroma is fruit and berry mixed. As a wine it has a wet and low level aftertaste which raises its appeal. 

This wine was one of the specials you find in Trader Joes or other trendy stores and sold for $3.00 putting it in most people's price range. It normally retails for around $10. The special display that runs consistently offers an excellent opportunity to try trendy wines without breaking the bank. 

Considering that it has won the Los Angeles Wine & Spirits Competition awarded the 2011 vintage Gold Medal and the Mundus Vini awarded Gold you won't be disappointed. I have a personal preference for wines that are easy on the palate and are either wet or slightly dry. I am not really into the heavier wines unless it is blended and cured just right. 

This is the type of wine that will go well with most meals. When eating steak, burgers, or other greasy foods you might want to get something a little heavier. The heavier food will coat the taste buds. However, for general table wine you will like their offering. Toasting to good times doesn't mean spending a fortune before you actually earned it. 

The Benefits of Creating Win-Win Strategies as San Diego Goes Global

San Diego has decided that it is going to make a firm commitment to the global economy. An initiative of 30+ companies, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, UC San Diego and the City of San Diego want to expand growth opportunities in the area by creating more export opportunities. Those export opportunities result in higher wages and more jobs but will rely heavily on win-win strategic outcomes.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer describes the Going Global initiative as "Opportunities and innovation abound in San Diego and it's time to tell the world (1)." The goal appears to be about getting products out of San Diego and into the global market while drawing investment into the region to capitalize on the core competencies of life sciences, blue technology and cyber knowledge.

According to the Go Global San Diego initiative San Diego is the 17th largest U.S. metro city, ranks 61st in terms of export intensity and 49th in terms of foreign-owned firms (2). San Diego has not fully capitalized on its inherent intellectual and human capital skills. The resources of many of the businesses that have global potential could be put toward exportation.

According to the Go Global San Diego site they will do this through a number of broad strategies:

-Catalyze growth of advanced industries.
-Drive Innovation through Talent: strengthen the workforce of today, deepen the workforce of the future.
-Realize CaliBaja’s potential through connections with priority and emerging markets.
-Mainstream global activity as a key component of regional business retention and expansion efforts.
-Maximize infrastructure assets.

The advantages of focusing on advanced industries is that they offer an opportunity to tap into a fast growing markets that spur additional investment. They also rely on a broad base of knowledge that supports medium and small businesses in the area. Wages are likewise higher in advanced industries raising the standard of living for local employees.

To truly do this well means the area will need to develop a brand that can sell the city as both a pro-business investment mecca and as a place where the quality of living is high. Local government should seek to draw in public and private stakeholders while ensuring decisions are based on bi-partisan strategic logic that creates the most winners. No need to create fights where no benefits are to be found.

There are advantages to getting everyone on the same page that isn't found in many cities across the country. When people can formulate a shared image of a city that helps them draw their self-interest the system becomes much more efficient through thousands of small actions aligned around that image. This will require not only business to succeed but also foster skill based income growth of motivated employees. Economic development that creates win-win outcomes will find support among investors while reducing inherent risks associated with uncertainty in regulations, labor allocation, governance, and socio-political turmoil.

You can read more at http://www.sandiegobusiness.org/goglobalsandiego

How Technology is Narrowing the Gap Between Business and Academia

Someday we might be looking back at those old laptops and cell phones and blow the dust off the keyboards as you would the cover of some rare hard bound book. Across the nation educational platforms are changing bringing with it uncertainty about the future of higher education. As technology disrupts the foundation of business colleges there will be a closer alliance between businesses and academia to generate new solutions that improve the skill sets of graduates.

According to a Business Education Jam session it is possible to use technology to narrow the gap between academic and industry stakeholders (Freeman, 2014). The traditional gap that exists between academic knowledge and business knowledge is narrowing as stakeholders and universities take advantage of new technologies that offer a chance to connect at multiple levels.

Technology has advanced to the point that communication is moving at a much faster pace than in the past. New generation technologies and the way these technologies are used socially are impact the platforms of higher education (Rajesh, 2015). Higher education is adjusting to the new methods of communication to foster knowledge transference and this will have a natural impact on business-academia relationships.

Greater partnerships between employers and higher education can provide greater relevancy in curriculum development. Students should be learning skills that truly encourage greater ability to work in the modern market and develop systems thinking that can influence their ability to understand organizational operations.

The caveat being the courses that may not be directly career oriented but do support the general understanding of human nature and life. Greater communication will help industry stakeholders understand that ethics courses, philosophy, humanities, are not wasted courses when applied appropriately to human behavior and management. A shared understanding between colleges and employers can be found through perspective sharing.

The differences of perspective between the hallowed halls of higher education and the nitty gritty of corporate life will become more blurred in the future as communication technology advances and create permeability within these borders. Communication will influence the way leaders in both sectors think about challenges and opportunities. This increased level of communication doesn't need to be purposeful to create influence but implementing a more focused approach to sharing perspectives can lead to faster conclusions. 

Freeman, K. (2014). The call for innovation in business education. People & Strategy, 37 (2).

Rajesh, M. (2015). Revolution in communication technologies: impact on distance education. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 16 (1).

Snow Valley Mountain Resort Offers Plenty of Black and Blue Runs

Snow Valley Mountain Resort keeps alive the ancient Scandinavian activity of Skiing. Experience Alpine life the way it should be by making your way up to a 7,841 foot peak and pushing yourself off Nord Valley run. Plenty of Black diamond and blue diamond runs even for seasoned people.

At such heights it seems like you can see the whole earth. Even as late in the winter as March most of their lifts are open for use and people are attending in droves to make sure they get a few moments of skiing before surfing season begins.

It may be one of the smaller resorts in the area but I like their offerings. It is easy to find parking with their huge lot and getting through the process of renting and getting a lift ticket is fairly easy. Even on a weekend it only took under 15 minutes to buy your ticket and hit the lifts saving your time for cruising the mountain slopes.

 

If you are looking to buy used versus rent you can get a pair of skis on the way out and they will deduct your lift ticket cost. Considering the $700+ you will pay for new equipment $75 will get you the used basics. That can save you a lot of money if you plan on going more than a few times a year.

Skiing is something I have enjoyed doing since I was young. In Southern California you typically have only one real season. They say winter but when the weather is still above 60 degrees and your from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan you scoff. One of the attractive aspects of San Diego is that in a couple hours you can move from surfing to downhill skiing and get back in time for supper.

Snow Valley Mountain Resort
35100 CA-18
Running Springs, CA 92382
http://www.snow-valley.com/