There are four critical areas causing business plans to change. All are changing trends in the business environment. The four areas we will examine are: 1) government trends, 2) economic trends. 3) technological trends and 4) cultural trends. Each one causes a specific impact on our decisions and requires us to make adjustments. Some changes are dramatic and require dramatic reactions to minimize their effect on our business.
First are government trends. There are several different sources caused by changes in regulations, tax policies and new legal precedence. Most of these are not a direct result of what we are doing in our business, but are the result of political and social shifts. On the legal side, changes result from court cases. It is absolutely necessary to address these changes because of both the financial and legal jeopardy. The result will be changes to not only our business plans but also our business conduct.
Second are economic trends. These changes occur because the local, national and international environment changes. Typical of these trends are changes in inflation rates, interest rates and the comparative value of currency (foreign exchange rates). Notice that all of these changes are directly and indirectly effects of government actions. These trends require us to adapt our business plan to the new conditions.
Next are technological trends. The amount of effect that these trends have on our business depends on how directly the changes impact our present operations. For instance, if we are making vacuum tubes when integrated circuits arrive, we will have to make some major changes. Note that the changes in our business plan may mean acquiring or learning new technologies, retraining our people, or seeking new customers and products. Inventors, with changes in product lifecycles or adopting new ideas, normally trigger these trends. We can prepare for these changes by keeping up-to-date with trends, new advances and what our competitors are doing. It may mean new sources of raw materials, different marketing techniques, or perhaps the loss or emergence of a new market.
Finally, cultural trends have a direct impact on our business plan and the business environment. The demographics of our customers may change, new social concerns can arise and new lifestyles evolve. If our customers move from the cities to the country, our business will be affected not only in what we sell, but also, in how we deliver it. Too, as social consciences change, acceptable business practices will change. These could include environmental and social programs. For example, government might require a business to provide a certain level of retirement benefit. These trends often burden businesses with new and unplanned costs but must be assimilated into the business plan to remain a viable enterprise.
Notice, these trend types have definite impacts on our business plan. They are all threats to present business operations and also present new opportunities. If we make changes in our business operations to become environment friendly, employee friendly, or technologically modern our business accrues new public interest leading to new sales. Too, we receive free publicity that positively impacts our business credibility and stature. Regardless of the fringe benefits to our business, we must continually be aware and open to new directions so that our business plan and operation doesn’t stagnate or become less functional in the changing environment.
If there is one thing that this world will never stop needing, it’s people who work to find other people jobs, or employment agents. This can be a very challenging and rewarding job. If you have the right personality and can get the most out of both ends of the equation involved, you can make a nice living as an employment agent. What you’re about to read is a brief description of what’s involved.
Obviously, as an employment agent, your job is to find other people jobs. But the obvious doesn’t always really tell the whole story of what’s involved with a job. Being an employment agent is no exception. The best way to explain the challenges of an employment agent is to give you fictional example of the process.
A guy comes into your office and says he’s looking for a job. The first thing you do is have him fill out a very long questionnaire. This will give you a good idea of the person’s background and what they’re looking for. The agent will take some time to look over the application and then call them into the office to talk.
The conversation that follows is more to get a sense of the applicant’s personality than his skills. Those things are all on paper. The agent wants to get a feel for the person’s confidence level with his skills. A big part of getting an applicant a job is knowing the applicant’s strengths and weaknesses. You need to be able to play up the strengths and downplay the weaknesses when presenting the applicant to a perspective employer.
It is during this interview that the agent will ask the applicant what he’s looking for specifically and then what he would settle for as far as position and money. Ideally you want to be able to get him what he wants but in a competitive market this isn’t always possible. It is the agent’s responsibility to explain to the applicant that he can’t be too choosy, especially if he has been out of work for a while.
After the interview is over, the agent then gets on the phone with as many companies as he can that are on file with the agency where the job description at least closely matches what the applicant is looking for. In these phone calls it is the agent’s responsibility to “sell” the applicant to the company. This is not easy to do, especially when you’re representing somebody who has limited skills. This is where you have to be a real sales person.
If the agent manages to find a company willing to meet with the applicant for a job interview, the next step is for the agent to call the applicant back in and prepare him for the interview. This is where the agent instructs about dress, what to say, what not to say, how to behave, etc. The agent must leave nothing to chance. He’ll then give the applicant directions for the interview as well as what time to be there.
Hopefully, when the process is over, the applicant will get the job offer and accept it and the agent will receive his commission. Yes, most agents work on a commission basis. You can make a lot of money doing this. You can also starve to death if you’re not good at your job.
Being an employment agent requires incredible social skills and patience and it’s not for everybody. But if you think you have what it takes and like the excitement of having to sell another human being to a big corporation, this may be just the job for you.
Privacy issues around words such as “Personal”, “Private”, “For the Eyes of Department Management Only”, “Privileged” and other words requesting Privacy in communications need to be very seriously considered.
It is incumbent upon managers in business, education, and industry today, to be very sensitive and forthright in their communications, and in response to privacy requests regarding communications from their employees. To be less than totally forthright can result in some very unsavory results from disenfranchised employees.
Let’s face it. Management is about decisions, and decisions as to what you do with “Private” communications can have long ranging results. If the communications relates to discussions of harassment and/or sexual harassment, or other discrimination issues, some very difficult decisions must be made. As any investigation of these matters will result in multiple persons being made aware of the situation, it is probably best for the manager to stop the party divulging the information, and make them aware of the aspects of the process of investigating the claims which will likely not be supported in the concept of “privacy.” Let the accuser make the choice, continue without privacy being assured, or decide not to continue with the statements being made.
While the issues of privacy in discussions of harassment and sexual harassment are quite clear, there are other areas of management communications much less clear, but still problematic. Matters relating to personnel issues might be one such case. An employee complaining about the actions of another employee, might request “privacy”. The manager in this case should try to find other means of substantiating the claim without divulging the identity of the complainant. If this will not be possible, then another conversation with the complainant is indicated, in which you might indicate that a problem has been identified, but taking action on that problem will probably implicate the complainant as the one that divulged the issue. Then let the complainant decide whether “privacy” or “solving the problem” will be the course of events that best suit the complainant’s needs.
In many other privacy matters, the singular choice should be to honor the request for Privacy. Totally!! Completely!!
To do less than that could take several negative paths. Certainly the employee, whose “privacy” request has been abused, will seek ways to get even. Any practices of the agency or group that may be less than correct, or possibly even illegal, will make good means of getting even if the disenfranchised employee chooses. If it is in a case relating to any of the forms of discrimination, including harassment and sexual harassment, then abuse of the privacy issues, can easily be considered retaliation. One article I recently read indicated that retaliation cases are some of the easiest discrimination cases to win.
As a manager in Business, Education or Industry, take very serious consideration as to any and all decisions you make when “privacy” is an issue on the table.
Bill Barger
Barger Specialties LLC
Information and resources on Harassment and Sexual Harassment are available through my web site at: http://www.sexualharassmentresources.com