Creating the "Can Do" Attitude In Your Workplace

The "Can Do" attitude can do wonders for your business and its bottom line. Human Resource managers are generally stumped about how to create an atmosphere that encourages performance. The complex nature of motivation is based upon many different factors some of which are the way in which think about the purpose of their actions, the resources needed to act on goals and how they view themselves in relation to others.

Purpose is important because without purpose there is no reason to act. If a goal has a purpose and has value to the people within an organization they are more likely to take positive actions toward that goal but also sustain necessary actions over a longer period time. When goals don't have a deep purpose they are often discarded quickly.

It is also important for a person to have resources to act on achieving a goal. If someone doesn't have the education, motivation, ability, or other resources to act they will likely not act. Each person makes an evaluation of alternatives and decides that acting is something they want to do and can do.

The "Can Do" attitude is social by nature. Self-efficacy and self-esteem are internalized social constructions. How we view ourselves is based on how other people interact with us and the cues they give us. Leadership and followership dynamics are based on how people view themselves within their social networks. Those who believe in themselves also believe in their ability to get things done.

Human Resource professionals and managers should create a purpose, ensure the necessary resources, and foster the belief they can get things done. The "Can Do" attitude is largely individualized but based upon the cues and resources of the organization. Positive attitudes are culturally based and organization leaders should do what they can to create the right environment.

Investing in Firm Specific or General Human Capital Development

Learning new skills is an additive process that begets more complex skill. Organizations are faced with trying to develop either firm-specific or general human capital capacities to create competitive advantages. Knowing whether to invest training resources into firm specific or general skills helps to create stronger competitive advantages. Where to invest in training depends on the type business and its products.

The discussion should first start with understanding the nature of broad versus firm-specific skills. Broad skills as contained within a degree like engineering that can be applied across many different businesses and industries.  It is a general battery of knowledge that is necessary to create a foundation of specific knowledge. 

Firm-specific skills are more focused on that which directly benefits the firm and applies to the unique nature of that company. Specific skills, like using a proprietary tools,  are generally not seen as transferable to other businesses. They are often taught in job specific training and practice. 

It is believed that there is a current global underinvestment in firm-specific human capital that creates competitive abilities (Coff & Raffiee, 2015). This is because of the transient nature of employment, a long term recession that limited training dollars, and a general migration to relying on formal higher education. 

Investing in firm specific skills is beneficial when the firm has a unique service/product that requires specialized firm-specific knowledge to maintain. Such firms may hire for general knowledge but use that knowledge to create specific skills needed within their proprietary environment. At its core, all learning, even on the micro level, can be applied to other places due to the additive process of learning. Investing in firm-specific or general knowledge will depend on the competitive offerings of each firm to determine its return on investment value.

Coff, R. & Raffiee, J. (2015). Toward a theory of perceived firm-specific human capital. Academy of Management Perspectives, 29 (3). 

Friends Influence Your Studying Habits and Chances of Completing College

Friends are an important part of having a healthy college life but it also influences the overall likelihood of getting good grades and completing college. College is a new experience and people are open to meeting all types of new people. Your friends will influence how you view school and your purpose for being in school. A few tips can help you stay on track.

When entering college for the first time you may not have a large friendship network and are naturally motivated to meet new people. This makes you open to new relationships and this is great! Make sure you evaluate the quality of those friends before moving from acquaintance to friend status.

It is important to find people who have an interest in completing college and have goals in their lives. Such friends will spend their time studying, socializing with others, and enjoying the college experience. They have a solid balance between work and play but always keep their eyes on their goals.

Your friends will also influence where you live, the things you do for fun, and the type of people you meet. Putting a positive spin on your college experience also means ensuring that you are hanging around with people who support you and enjoy similar activities. Good friends will help you stay focused on your studies and keep you out of problems.

Your friends will influence how much time you spend studying, class attendance rate, and the activities you will be completing. Making sure you got the right friends from the start will make a big impact on your whole college experience and potentially influence your graduation rate. Do yourself a favor and get in with the right friends right away to give yourself the extra support you need.

Researchers Say People are Dying from Not Finishing Their Degrees!

Will getting a degree help you live longer? According to a study publish in PLOS ONE Journal people who have obtained a higher education live longer. Annual deaths association with education are 145,243 not having a high school diploma, 110,068 for people who have only some college, and 554,525 for all people who don't have a BA degree. Who thought not reading would kill you?

It seems almost ridiculous that attending courses and reading books somehow translates into saving hundreds of thousands of lives but this is exactly what is happening. The reasons why this is the case will make a little more sense after you understand all the confounding variables in the study. It isn't necessarily the education but the lifestyle choices.

Higher education is a pathway to understanding and processing information. It impacts everything from our social networks to how we feel about ourselves. If we don't have the right connections, ability to handle our complex world, understand nutrition, motivation, healthcare access, etc... then we are limiting our potential. We die from an inability to navigate our environment or make proper choices.

Our lifestyle determines how long we will live. Higher education helps us increase our lifestyle and handle situations as they occur. We make better choices and understand the consequences of those choices. In the end, all of these small choices add or detract from our life expectancy. Life appears to be a bunch of baby steps that add up to some end. Higher education isn't only about books but also about our lifestyle!

Kruger, et. al. (2015). Mortality attributable to low levels of education in the U.S.. PLOS ONE http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131809#abstract0

Harvard Panel Advocates Education to Industry Needs

The Harvard Business School Association of Boston recently held a panel with industry stakeholders to discuss the need to include more experiential curriculum in education at all all levels including private, k-12, and post-secondary levels. The focus is more on technical and technology training for skilled positions at the middle level. There are a number of benefits for such programs.

First, it is important to understand that not everyone needs a Ph.D to succeed. Higher education has been focused on theoretical understands and research that furthers the intellectual capacity of the nation. Even though this great it does come with a cost when the masses are being trained for something they do not necessarily need.

An economy is much like a business. If you don't have the right skill in the company you will need to either train existing workers, hire new ones, or outsource. American companies are finding themselves outsourcing work and hiring workers from overseas because they don't have enough home grown talent in the right places.

A huge percentage of jobs are in the middle income levels but require specific technology, STEM, and industry knowledge to compete. This is where schools can do a better job at preparing students to take on these jobs at a higher level than other nations. Focusing efforts on the middle helps ensure that people are finding gainful employment while still receiving a solid education.

It also helps the nation continue to adjust higher education to the needs of the economy. There has been some criticism that higher education is not really preparing people for jobs that they can actually take. Focusing more closely on industry needs ensures that education stays relevant and people are finding employment.

Improving the intellectual and human capital of the nation is an important affair. There is a balance between creating knowledge and applying that knowledge. Some will be researchers that expand intellectual capacity while others will be users of that knowledge. Universities that infuse a little more industry knowledge into their curriculum will find it to be relevant and practical. Starting people at a younger age learning the right kind of skills can make an impact throughout their educational paths.

Eating for Higher Grades! The Link Between Food and Intelligence

Don't feel guilty eating for grades! Spend a little time thinking about your food before you crack open your book. What goes into our body determines how we feel and think. Those who eat lower quality food can score around 8 points lower on an IQ scale than those who eat higher quality food (Summ, 2012). In this case, you are what you eat!

Oily fish foods, tomatoes, lean meats, whole grains, vegetables, blueberrys, liver, spinach, bananas, nuts and  tea improve your brain function, memory and focus. The very same foods that encourage a healthy body weight also seem to encourage better brain functioning while protecting against cognitive diseases.

Why eat healthy foods? Beyond simple health it is beneficial for your test taking, memory and recall. By providing the right nutrients the brain can obtain enough oxygen and other materials it needs to  keep neurons firing to collect, store, and recall information.

Another benefit of eating for intelligence is that foods like vegetables, berries and tea can actually protect your cells through the removal of free radicals. These high antioxidant foods are working in the background to clean up any toxic mess that could lead to diseases later.

You might be tempted to jump for the chips and candy when your hungry. Think about your tests and schooling and how food can actually help you get a higher grade. By eating the right foods a day or so before you have a big exam and while you are studying is likely to help you store and recall important facts and figures when you need it. Eat away...just eat right!

Stumm, S. (2012) You are what you eat? The association between food and cognitive ability. Educational Journal, 143.

Improving Performance by Market Segmentation

Companies will decide whether or not they want to focus on market segementation or try and create a broad based approach that nets as many customers as possible. Organizational performance is often dependent on the strategic approach the company takes. Effectiveness and productivity concerns revolve around 1.) links between segmentation, performance and measurement and 2.) productivity gains from full segmentation implementation (Dibb & Simkin, 2009).

It can be hard to determine whether higher performance can be realized simply by focusing on a specific segment. The right kind of measurements will need to be developed that ensure improvements are realized. This requires a level of research and analysis to pull off and understand the market and potential segments.

Let us assume for a minute that 60% of your customers make purchases for $15 but 40% make purchases around the $45 dollar range. Further analysis shows that the lucrative $45 purchase price customers have some similarities in characteristics that can be defined into a segment. Pushing to gain more of those customers can pay a company higher returns on investments.

Not only will the marketing approach need to change but the very way the business conducts its daily operations will need to change to make it happen. Everything the company promotes and offers should adjust towards its most lucrative customer base. As the company becomes aware and successful in this approach they should be able to reap more of the financial rewards.

Segmentation should be considered carefully. Sometimes the market is too small and at other times the company has a value proposition such as cost effective manufacturing but can switch its operations to follow broad trends. Each company is unique and the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities of each company should be reviewed to determine whether or not segmentation will work for them. 

Dibb, S. & Simkin, L. (2009). Editorial: bridging the segmentation theory/practice divide. Journal of Marketing Management, 25 (3/4).