Research Paper on Job Growth in the U.S.

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Searching for jobs in this economic climate is harder than ever; nearly every young professional around the country has had difficulty finding work since the Great Recession of 2008. Below is a sample research paper written about job growth opportunities and how individuals can hope to attain employment in the contemporary job market.

How to Get a Job in Today's Economy

Social media as a job finding tool

Two job-seeking sites that a person can use nowadays to look for employment are Monster and LinkedIn.  These sites have completely different feels to them. The choice between which of these two websites one should use to find employment over the internet is personal. It depends on what a person is looking to do. The two sites go about the employment process in two separate ways.

Monster.com

Monster is a more traditional job finding website. It is set up much like a classified section of a newspaper. The site asks the user to enter the type of job that they are looking for and then to select a city and state for the job. It then pulls all relative ads that are related to the job search and are within a specified area to the location entered. This site also allows a user to post their resume on it so that recruiters and potential employers can see what a candidate has to offer quickly. However, the primary function of this site is more to have a user find a job they are interested in and reach out to it.

LinkedIn 

LinkedIn works differently than Monster to help a user find employment. LinkedIn is a much more social connection website. A user will make a profile on the website and then can make connections to professionals that are relevant to the user’s area of expertise. This site has a better user interface that gives it a feel of almost being a social media tool aiding the formation of interpersonal relationships instead of a job searching website. It is a better use for the user that is looking to make professional contacts as well as find employment.

How to choose?

The selection of one website over the other is a matter of personal preference. Businesses are increasingly relying upon social media in both hiring and in day to day operations, but, if you are on a website such as these, there is a distinct chance that you are looking for immediate employment. I would select Monster. The site is a quick and easy way to see what jobs are immediately available in the area. The use of this site does not require a user to build a profile; it is simply a tool for someone to find companies offering employment.

If a user were to be more interested in appealing to a specialty group and create contacts, though, the clear-cut choice is to go with LinkedIn. Either way, both sites face some legal concerns with recruiting, as do all Internet job sites.  Recruiters have to take resumes found at face value because anyone could post a resume and it is not subject to fact-checking. A potential candidate for a job could lack the necessary experience or even be lying about something as important as their name or past history. Internet job search sites have the potential for risk on the part of both employer and employee, but represent an invaluable tool nonetheless.

Employee Training Methods 

One of the most important phases for new employees is the onboarding sequence. This lets the new employees figure out the ins and outs of their position while effectively learning what is expected of them on a day-to-day basis. Companies have differing approaches to this process. Many companies offer unique ways to train and teach new employees.  

Wente Vinyard

One such company employing a unique approach to employee training is Wente Vineyards. Unlike companies that will give out handbooks, show training videos, or give lectures to the new employees, Wente Vineyard's vice-president Dan Carroll has a different way to teach his employees.  His company gives an interactive training seminar utilizing blended learning practices in which employees get to both learn and discuss techniques related to their work with their peers and superiors.  This form of on-boarding is much better as it helps to retain the trainees’ attention throughout while still providing important details that they need to learn and remember (Gallo).

This company goes with a hands-on technique that engages its employees’ minds and still appeals to their age demographic.  Being a company that employs trainees predominantly in their twenties, the seminars have multimedia aspects to keep attention and seem relevant. Within the orientation program are utilized:

• Movie clips 
• Scenes from concerts 
• Humorous photos
• Miniature pop-quizzes

These elements help to generate discussion and make sure that important information is remembered and identified to the trainees (Gallo, 2010).

The value of interactive programs to job training

These methods seem to be the most effective way to onboard new employees. A standard lecture or power point presentation will likely only be seen as boring to which little attention is given. By keeping an interactive experience, however, a company creates an environment where trainees are forced to pay attention and can have an enjoyable experience by connecting to both their peers and superiors. This means that employees will be the most receptive to the new ideas and will be able to recall the important process of onboarding to a new employer.       

Management

MBO programs

One of the most effective techniques and leadership styles a company can employ is the Management by Objectives (MBO) program. This process allows for the management to set objectives that their subordinates, as well as themselves, are trying to reach.  This process is an effective means of management because it has several distinct advantages:  

1. Goals are clearly defined from the beginning of a task to all that are involved in the process.  By clearly stating an objective at the onset, any and all questions can be immediately addressed and resolved about what the overall goal of a process is.  
2. This process allows for direct involvement of both management and the subordinates.  

If workers have a part in setting a goal this approach acts as a form of employee motivation where they will feel a deeper sense of commitment to seeing that goal completed.

Hewlett-Packard as a management example

Many different companies have their style for using an MBO technique, and an effective MBO strategy is both useful and important for a business to adapt if it wants to get maximum efficiency from its employees. One notable company using this approach is Hewlett-Packard (HP). This company has a widely known management style in which every level of the company develops objectives to be completed and then integrates those into the entire company. This management style employs the following steps:

1. Workers provide written plans about what they need to achieve
2. These plans are shared with those working at the corporate level
3. Goals are coordinated
4. These goals provide the makeup for the overall company plan HP then follows (The Economist, 2009) 

By implementing this technique, HP has been able to see wild success from a business perspective. HP employees know exactly what is expected of them, and they follow their procedures, provide input in defining their goals and feel commitment to honoring them. Because of this management technique, HP has continued to be a leading company in the design and distribution of computer, computer accessories, and other such services. 

Compensation for performance

One of the best ways to motivate employees is to introduce an individual based performance payment plan.  By determining the amount of money an employee receives based on the amount and level of work that he or she performs is an excellent way to get the employees of a company to work to maximum levels of effort. Those that want to receive more money are forced to work harder and care more about their level of detail they put into their work. If an individual is to complete a high amount of work but with inefficient levels of quality or a low volume of work with satisfactory levels of quality, their pay will be less than that of a person that is putting out a high output at an effective level of quality.   

Coca-Cola's performance based salary structure in the job market

One company that is currently trying to introduce a payment structure that is based on personal performance is the Coca-Cola Company. This plan of action is to reward workers that hit their top targets and to provide profit markups for those that do. The company policy would simply recoup the costs for workers that do not perform, so there is no real worry for the workers to lose money if this plan is put into action. However, the top-working employees could see profit markups that are as high as 30% providing they reach their top targets. Coca-Cola wants to make sure that all its employees are compensated for the work they perform; however, they want to give extra incentive to work for peak efficiency as well as to reward their workers that are consistently hitting their top marks and performing at a high level (Mullman, 2012).

Benefits of innovation

The implications of this system give Coca-Cola the benefit of having less uncertainty with product delivery and distribution as they can predetermine the amount of effort a venture will take. By doing this, the bargaining process between Coca-Cola and its distributor can be streamlined as the two companies will have a point of reference as to how long and the amount of effort a service will take. The distributor then knows what its expected goals are and can work towards topping those marks and making an additional profit (Mullman, 2012).

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Conclusion

In the ever expanding and evolving job market, it is necessary to constantly innovate and adapt, both on the part of the employer and the employee. Prospective employees seeking the all-important job after leaving college can benefit greatly from this information. Social media has begun taking over the hiring process, while multi-media has changed the way companies view training employees. Management styles have begun to evolve to be more inclusive and beneficial to the common employee, finally beginning to chip away at the stigma of the heartless corporate machine. In the near future, similar changes will continue it will be important for all companies to share a similar desire to see their employees holistically improve their lives upon being hired.

References

11 guidelines for preventing and addressing workplace violence. (2012). Business Management Daily, Retrieved from http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/30857/11-guidelines-for-preventing-and-addressing-workplace-violence

Gallo, C. (2010, Feb 02). Improve your employee training sessions. Bloomberg Businessweek, Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2010/sb2010021_434293.htm

Management by objectives. (2009, October 21). The Economist, Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/14299761

Mullman, J. (2012, April 27). Coke pushes pay-for-performance model. Advertising Age, Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/news/coke-pushes-based-agency-compensation-model/136266/