Universities can offer promises of employment. According to an article in Inside Higher Education DePauw University has a 95% student placement rate and now is promising full job placement; even with a liberal arts degree. As a Methodist based school of 2,200 it promises that students will either get a job within 6 months or get another semester of tuition absolutely free. There are other things universities might be able to do to offer this guarantee without taking huge risks in the process. What can schools do to learn from this offer?
Offering jobs is not really the main business of universities but more along the lines of educating people to expand their knowledge base and helping them fully develop their minds so they can be highly functional people in society. The job is a result of this higher knowledge and functioning that often leads to employment and better pay. There has been a greater push in years to ensure that students that graduate are actually able to achieve full employment even though much of this is based on the attributes of both the graduate and the labor market.
To offer guarantees of employment means that universities would have to act a little more like job agents and recruiters. They will need to have a very strong job placement and career development department that actively seeks to attract businesses and promote their graduates to potential employers. There will need to have much more active engagement in the labor market beyond job postings, job search engines, and job interview skills.
The second method would be to improve corporate-university partnerships to fuel curriculum development and fill job gaps. The university would need to engage with these employers and offer them real value to develop potential employees based on their specific needs. Corporate engagement in the curriculum development and university performance would be a new way of thinking about how higher education functions and teaches. Of course there are a few detractors to this approach not discussed here.
For some universities promises are not hugely expensive if what they are offering is a free semester of school. Consider a student who graduates and then leaves to go find a job. Even a free semester may not necessarily draw them back to the school so only a small percentage of people who can't find a job would likely return to create a liability for the school. Alternatively, it is possible to offer free job finding seminars, submission of resume to job search engines, or even limited-time partnership with recruiters to help those students who are having difficulties.
The "job guarantee" can be helpful in recruiting potential students and raising the standard of the university. Because this is an important government initiative and something that impacts universities nation-wide it can be helpful to provide these types of guarantees without necessarily impacting the financial security of the school. While some students may be holding out for a high paying offers, may not want to actually get a job because they are self-employed or homemakers, or simply don't have the motivation or skills to get past the interview offering a secondary placement service could be helpful for those who want but cannot find employment.
Monday, March 12, 2018
New "UFO' Sighting----Well Maybe or Maybe Not
I'm definitely not a UFO guy. Never thought much about them other than it is possible and plenty of rumors and conspiracy theories for decades. Of course no one can say one way for sure either way. It is all theoretical and hypothetical. I'm still thinking it could be some technology developed somewhere else but it does sort of open a lot of questions. December saw a previous releasing.
The Innovative Importance of Supporting Small, Medium and Large Businesses in the Political Process
Somewhere in our political process we began to focus on large companies and their needs for economic growth. While well intentioned, our political leaders may not be seeing the bigger picture of why small and medium size companies also need to be encouraged through appropriate legislation to create the best long-term performing economy. Reorienting their perception is helpful so they can understand how all three levels of business interact to create maximum growth and should ensure legislation aligns well to ensure all three thrive.
Small business provides innovation. Entrepreneurs start businesses based on new ideas they believe the market is lacking. While many of these businesses may fail, some will move onto become star performers. Others will be bought out by larger companies and others will have their ideas and patents bought out. The entire process leads to new knowledge being dispersed throughout the system.
Medium level businesses have reached a critical stage where they are growing. Often these are the business that hire lots of employees as they speed up production to meet needs. Their expansion efforts lead to economic growth in the region as they seek to become star performers and large companies. Retaining them in an area, even if they expand globally, leads to higher benefits in the area.
Large companies are currently successful but as their structure grows to support their business operations they often begin to slow down in innovation and development. They move through stages that eventually need to be rejuvenated or they begin to decline. Small business are often incorporated into their operations to enhance their current products and services.
Such mamouth companies often invest in supply chain and other innovations that help them coordinate their large structures. This is where the magic happens as companies begin to coordinate their efforts, anchor around major producers, and develop/draw human capital into the area. They eventually solidify clusters into a working unit.
Small business provides innovation. Entrepreneurs start businesses based on new ideas they believe the market is lacking. While many of these businesses may fail, some will move onto become star performers. Others will be bought out by larger companies and others will have their ideas and patents bought out. The entire process leads to new knowledge being dispersed throughout the system.
Medium level businesses have reached a critical stage where they are growing. Often these are the business that hire lots of employees as they speed up production to meet needs. Their expansion efforts lead to economic growth in the region as they seek to become star performers and large companies. Retaining them in an area, even if they expand globally, leads to higher benefits in the area.
Large companies are currently successful but as their structure grows to support their business operations they often begin to slow down in innovation and development. They move through stages that eventually need to be rejuvenated or they begin to decline. Small business are often incorporated into their operations to enhance their current products and services.
Such mamouth companies often invest in supply chain and other innovations that help them coordinate their large structures. This is where the magic happens as companies begin to coordinate their efforts, anchor around major producers, and develop/draw human capital into the area. They eventually solidify clusters into a working unit.
Governments sometimes focus on the big businesses because of ease of discussion and their visibility. Large companies can contribute significantly to candidate elections, provide available research findings, and in general can negotiate with government. Thus they have an inherent advantage in the system and can skew the political process. Therefore, politicians need to understand that supporting these big businesses is helpful but they must ensure they are also supporting small and medium businesses for the long-term viability of their economy. There should be a balance between all three that leads to maximum growth potential.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
China Views the US as a Mature Economy but The U.S. May Be Moving to a Higher Performance Platform
China is following suite with the American economy. While their growth is higher they seek to raise overall consumption and appear to be opening up their borders to more imports. At least this is in theory. They are seeking to mimic the American economy in many ways but the U.S. is poised to move onto the next level of economic development in the next decade.
While Chinese technology and innovation has risen they are still primarily using cheaper labor and costs to attract manufacturing work. The American manufacturing environment is more expensive but also more advanced.
While we can't say the American economy is stagnant we can say that it doesn't experience as high growth as emerging economies. This stagnation may change the way we invest our income in technology and labor efficiencies.
We should first consider that we have low level of unemployment and so labor will get more expensive as wages rise. It is a basic law of supply and demand. This pressure will push manufacturers to invest in technology.
That investment will also require different types of infrastructure that can support more data for block chain processing, artificial intelligence, digitization, and higher levels of data streaming. More money will move into changing these data highways for more capacity.
The next economy improve labor efficiency and profit margins with increased productivity across multiple sectors of society. The greatest value will be created through design and innovation and not necessarily through simple labor power. Big data will become part of this game as it creates and adjusts with ever more sophistication to the market.
While Chinese technology and innovation has risen they are still primarily using cheaper labor and costs to attract manufacturing work. The American manufacturing environment is more expensive but also more advanced.
While we can't say the American economy is stagnant we can say that it doesn't experience as high growth as emerging economies. This stagnation may change the way we invest our income in technology and labor efficiencies.
We should first consider that we have low level of unemployment and so labor will get more expensive as wages rise. It is a basic law of supply and demand. This pressure will push manufacturers to invest in technology.
That investment will also require different types of infrastructure that can support more data for block chain processing, artificial intelligence, digitization, and higher levels of data streaming. More money will move into changing these data highways for more capacity.
The next economy improve labor efficiency and profit margins with increased productivity across multiple sectors of society. The greatest value will be created through design and innovation and not necessarily through simple labor power. Big data will become part of this game as it creates and adjusts with ever more sophistication to the market.
Consistency and Pace are Key in Fitness
I'm sitting with a good friend having breakfast and he discusses how he hasn't been to the gym in a while. He is a good natured fellow but very much overweight. As I ordered eggs, whole grain bred and a little meatball I noticed he jumped right to the crepes, fries, and pigs in a blanket. He discussed how his trainer has him do really heavy weights and he is so sore he can't move the next day.
It got me thinking. I think his trainer is very wrong and possibly could end up injuring him in the long run. At this stage he should focus on his eating, moderate weights and significant amount of cardio. So he asked for some advice and I gave it.
Not that I am an expert in this field but I can say that first you have to manage your eating. That is 70% of the battle. If you are eating fatning foods and lots of carbs and dairy you are going to gain weight.
Second advice was split his time between cardio and weights. Don't just go to the weights because it is "manly" and your trainer is a body builder. It isn't necessary. Cardio will help improve his cardiovascular health and his weight.
Third, focus on medium weights that are just a little difficult on the 10th rep. He wants to ensure that he is burning calories and still being able to push for moderate growth. Pain in soreness is a red flag your body can't handle it. Slow repetitions will ensure you are maximizing muscle engagement.
It got me thinking. I think his trainer is very wrong and possibly could end up injuring him in the long run. At this stage he should focus on his eating, moderate weights and significant amount of cardio. So he asked for some advice and I gave it.
Not that I am an expert in this field but I can say that first you have to manage your eating. That is 70% of the battle. If you are eating fatning foods and lots of carbs and dairy you are going to gain weight.
Second advice was split his time between cardio and weights. Don't just go to the weights because it is "manly" and your trainer is a body builder. It isn't necessary. Cardio will help improve his cardiovascular health and his weight.
Third, focus on medium weights that are just a little difficult on the 10th rep. He wants to ensure that he is burning calories and still being able to push for moderate growth. Pain in soreness is a red flag your body can't handle it. Slow repetitions will ensure you are maximizing muscle engagement.
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