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News from Worker Development, Industry, the Economy, Education, Science, and much more! |
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Lack of Immediate “Big Win” Puts Improvements in Worker Development on Chopping Block…For Short-Term Focused Management Cultures |
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
Let’s face it, discussing the desperate need for worker training to build consistent performance, increased worker output and compliance, is a hard sell in any boardroom. The first question is usually, “how much is this going to cost us?” Not “what is the investment and how will we realize the return?” Since accountants, who are not trained in any aspect of worker development, have more weight in this type of showdown, guess who wins.
Shareholder gains are measured in terms of quarterly profit margins; try explaining the merits of building a stronger, more resilient and retained workforce and the value of increasing worker capacity, increasing work quantity, quality and compliance over yawns and disinterest. It usually takes decades of unintentional or intentional neglect to weaken a firm’s workforce; it stands to reason the solution won’t bring exciting monetary returns in a quarter.
There is plenty of shared blame for this state of disconnect. Human resource professionals, training and development experts, and education in general have focused their workforce development solutions promotion on products they have – the quick and simple classroom and online products. It makes sense. That is the domain they are strongest. These products are great for pre-employment core skill development and post-hire core and general technical skill (if properly aligned), but these represent transfer of knowledge, not transfer of task-based expertise.
It is hard to draw a line from completion of a knowledge transfer course to improvements in a worker’s performance. Sometimes it is due to the lack of fit with the actual need, sometimes to relevancy of the content. And courses just happened to be priced in “seat time” units, which fits an accountant's “cost” definition well. As easy as it is to list cost in a budget, it is just as easy to delete it from the budget.
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“Quiet Quiting” on a Collision Course with “Quiet Hiring;” How to Make Matters Worse. |
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
“Quiet Quitting” and “Quiet Hiring” may be new names, but both phenomena have been around as long as there has been work to perform and someone hired to perform it. The media seems to believe they discovered the trends and named them, like explorers “discovered” new lands…that were inhabited. Like every other impending crisis named, there seems to be manufactured pressure to respond to it - spawning a wave of “expert” opinions that often overshoot the intended target and sometimes complicating matters further.
In an article, What to Do About Quiet Quitting: 3 Ways to Reframe the Narrative, the author comments, “You’ve seen the term splashed across headlines and igniting social media. It isn’t a new phenomenon, but it’s coming into sharper focus – like a bullseye – as employees return to the office. Quiet quitting, or “quitting in place” or, simply, “disengagement,” is the latest viral catchphrase that reminds us of one single, inexorable truth: That the pandemic has left workplaces reimagined and workers forever changed. And it’s a wakeup call for employers.”
Disengagement is defined as “the action or process of withdrawing from involvement in a particular activity, situation, or group," which can be hidden or overt. It can be a simple difference between a worker minimally doing their job to take home their pay and no more, to someone doing that and harboring growing resentment towards their manager, the company and/or their coworkers but lacking the skills and confidence to move on. If left unchecked, it can poison the work environment and, worse, may lead to workplace confrontations.
While many employers lack the strategy, will or awareness to reengage demoralized workers, often employers exacerbate the situation by doubling down on the neglect or provoking an escalation. Years of not balancing the inputs of competitive performance by foregoing the development of tools and expertise to facilitate enhanced, sustained performance - coupled with simmering worker detachment - sometimes leads employers to accept advice that is more momentarily convenient rather than appropriate when results seem less than expected. Pushing unrealistic performance goals on a fragile organization only fans the simmer to a boil. Read More
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Training Issue or Attitude Issue? Understanding the Difference |
Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S., Proactive Technologies, Inc.
If you spend some time in the Human Resources Department office, you often witness a supervisor or manager trying to explain why the new-hire isn’t working out. “Why do you believe that?” asks the HR Manager. The supervisor thinks a moment and says, “He just doesn’t act like he wants to learn.” The issue seems to be attitudinal. The HR Manager doesn’t bother to ask for any empirical evidence since it usually doesn’t exist, so the decision is made to terminate the new-hire and start all over...again.
Some, more forward thinking, human resources departments concluded that assessing job prospects might reduce the amount of hiring turnover. It certainly does help do that if the job classification was properly analyzed and the assessment instruments were aligned to the data for “job relevance.” However, even with the best screening potentially good employees might be lost. Knowing how to recognize the difference between attitude and training-related issues may save good employees from being lost due to misdiagnosis.
Whether a challenge to learning or performance is attitudinal is not easy to determine. Attitudes fluctuate from day to day, throughout the day. They can be affected by personal issues such as health of the individual, health of a family member, financial issues, relationship difficulties at home and the work culture (e.g. relationship with coworkers, supervisor and company management). Rather than hastily concluding any issue of worker development is attitudinal, I find it easier to eliminate the obvious and more common influence on worker learning and development; whether proper training has been conducted. After all, employee insecurity caused by feeling expendable while a 90-day probationary period clock is ticking can, in itself, affect anyone’s attitude and personality. If proper training is not available or worker development is conducted in an unstructured, haphazard and inconsistent manner, this is a major contributor to worker attitudes toward the company, themselves and others in the workplace.
Assuming that the offered wage and benefits are competitive, there are four essential considerations to the hiring and keeping the best workers; Read More
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Confusion Over What Constitutes “Training” is Stumbling Block to Effective Worker Development Strategies |
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
For the anyone searching for information to help them choose a worker development strategy, a web search of “ on-the-job training methods” might produce thirty or forty informative, but confusing, charts. The search result is a mixture of domains, methods, philosophies – one seemingly in conflict with the other. A non-practitioner of workforce development strategies can gather from this search result alone why there is a perpetual state of confusion between even “experts,” marked by decades of employer and trainee disappointment in the lack of recognizable strategies and outcomes, which are often devoid of meaningful results.
Over the years, approaches and methods have evolved out of their ineffectiveness, many diverging from the basic principals of workforce development. Markets for products to address these approaches grew and well-funded marketing began to find unaware customers. The notion of “training” morphed into branded versions of “learning,” selected not so much on their basis in logic, but more on the lack of "smart" choices and how well the marketing effort worked.
"A great first step is to clearly differentiate between "learning" and "training." The strategies, methods of delivery and outcomes for each are very different. Without such clarity, one might mistakenly invest heavily in a strategy to accomplish worker development objectives that, instead, uses up vital resources and scare opportunity, and sours the organization's attitude toward training for years to come."
The acceleration started around 40 years ago. Prior to that, job classifications did not change much and were relatively simple in structure. Then panic set in over the approaching “skills gaps,” as computers were introduced into every aspect of our lives. Fear of baby boomers nearing retirement, taking their technical expertise with them, added to the challenge. Solutions started to appear out of academia, based on the world they knew and not as much on the world they were trying to improve, as they would have liked to think.
Did these methods address the workforce development challenges of their time? In 2023, employers are still concerned with the “skills gap” phenomenon. Read More
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Proactive Technologies, Inc. Worker Development News
Industry News
Financial News
International News
International Trade News
Education and Workforce Development News
Training and Organizational Development News
Quality News
Science
Cyber and IT News
Human Resources Management News
Environmental, Health & Safety News
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Economic Analysis |
Gross Domestic Product, Fourth Quarter and 2022 (Second Estimate)
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, after increasing 3.2 percent in the third quarter. The increase in the fourth quarter primarily reflected increases in inventory investment and consumer spending that were partly offset by a decrease in housing investment. Read Report
Personal Income and Outlays, January 2023
Personal income increased $131.1 billion, or 0.6 percent at a monthly rate, while consumer spending increased $312.5 billion, or 1.8 percent, in January. The increase in personal income primarily reflected an increase in compensation. Government social benefits decreased in January, reflecting a decrease in "other" benefits that was partly offset by an increase in Social Security. The personal saving rate (that is, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income) was 4.7 percent in January, compared with 4.5 percent in December. Read Report
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of the Census |
Advanced Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
New orders for manufactured durable goods in January, down two of the last three months, decreased $13.0 billion or 4.5 percent to $272.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. January 2023: -4.5° % Change; December 2022 (r): +5.1° % Change. Read Report
Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
New orders for manufactured goods in December, up four of the last five months, increased $10.0 billion or 1.8 percent to $552.5 billion. December 2022: +1.8° % Change; November 2022 (r): -1.9° % Change. Read Report
Household Pulse Survey
What is the Household Pulse Survey?
The U.S. Census Bureau, in collaboration with multiple federal agencies, is in a unique position to produce data on the social and economic effects of coronavirus on American households. The Household Pulse Survey is designed to deploy quickly and efficiently, collecting data to measure household experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. Data will be disseminated in near real-time to inform federal and state response and recovery planning. Read Data
Small Business Pulse Survey
The Small Business Pulse Survey (Business Pulse) measures the effect of changing business conditions during the Coronavirus pandemic on our nation's small businesses. Business Pulse complements existing U.S. Census Bureau data collections by providing high-frequency, detailed information on the challenges small businesses are facing during the Coronavirus pandemic as well as their participation in federal programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program. Read Report
Monthly State Retail Sales
The Monthly State Retail Sales (MSRS) is the Census Bureau's new experimental data product featuring modeled state-level retail sales. This is a blended data product using Monthly Retail Trade Survey data, administrative data, and third-party data. Year-over-year percent changes are available for Total Retail Sales excluding Nonstore Retailers as well as 11 retail North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) retail subsectors. These data are provided by state and NAICS codes beginning with January 2019. The Census Bureau plans to continue to improve the methodology to be able to publish more data in the future. Access Tables
Economic Indicators
A composite of many of the requested domestic facts and figures. Visit Table
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U. S. Department of Labor Statistics |
Consumer Price Index
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.5 percent in January on a
seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.1 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 6.4 percent before seasonal adjustment. Read Report
Producer Price Index
The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.7 percent in January. Prices for final demand goods advanced 1.2 percent, and index for final demand services moved up 0.4 percent. Prices for final demand rose 6.0 percent for the 12 months ended January 2023. Read Report
Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Job openings rates increased in 10 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 1 state on the last business day of December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires rates increased in 4 states. Total separations rates increased in 7 states and decreased in 6 states. Nationally, the job openings rate increased in December while the hires and total separations rates showed little or no change. Read Report
Unemployment Rate for States
Unemployment Rates for States, Seasonally Adjusted. Read Report
Civilian Labor Participation Rate
For a 20 year chart of the U.S. Civilian Labor Participation Rate. Read Report
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U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index |
University of Buffalo - School of Management
The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI) assesses job quality in the United States by measuring desirable higher-wage/higher-hour jobs versus lower-wage/lower-hour jobs. The JQI results also may serve as a proxy for the overall health of the U.S. jobs market, since the index enables month-by-month tracking of the direction and degree of change in high-to-low job composition.
By tracking this information, policymakers and financial market participants can be more fully informed of past developments, current trends, and likely future developments in the absence of policy intervention. Economists and international organizations have in recent years developed other, complementary conceptions of job quality such as those addressing the emotional satisfaction employees derive from their jobs.
For the purposes of this JQI, “job quality” means the weekly dollar-income a job generates for an employee. Payment, after all, is a primary reason why people work: the income generated by a job being necessary to maintain a standard of living, to provide for the essentials of life and, hopefully, to save for retirement, among other things. Read Report
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4 Oil Companies Had Total Sales of $1 Trillion Last Year |
MoneyWatch – Irina Ivanova
Global oil companies have rebounded since the pandemic to post their highest ever profits since people started using petroleum.
Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon and Shell all reported record profits in 2022 — a year in which Russia's war on Ukraine collided with the post-pandemic economic recovery to drive oil prices to their highest levels in history.
Together, the four companies saw $1 trillion in sales last year, a sum greater than the total economic output of Colombia, South Africa or Switzerland. TotalEnergies and BP are set to report their 2022 financial results next week. Read Article
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‘It Can be Scary’: How Corporate America is Hitting Back Against Unions |
The Guardian - Michael Sainato
Employers are using heavy-handed tactics to prevent workers from organizing, and US labor union density is falling as a result
Workers at a Trader Joe’s store in Louisville, Kentucky, are now pushing to become the third store at the trendy US supermarket chain to unionize since 2022.
Starbuck Union Rally in New York<br>epa10358152 Starbucks workers and their supporters participate in a rally to mark the first anniversary of the Starbucks Workers United's first election victory, outside of City Hall Park in New York, New York, USA, 09 December 2022. According to Starbucks Workers United, more than 250 stores have won elections to unionize since the first store in Buffalo, New York.
Connor Hovey, a worker and organizer at the Louisville store, said unionizing efforts began as other high-profile union organizing efforts such as at Louisville’s Heine Brothers, a local coffee shop chain, were taking off. Like those workers, the Trader Joe’s organizers sought to address issues stemming from inadequate corporate policies and safety precautions, and how workers have been treated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read Article
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Laid-Off Foreign Tech Workers Are Set to Find New Jobs in Chicago |
Bloomberg
More than 35 firms in the region are hiring H-1B visa holders as City says it is being open to immigrants is a competitive advantage.
Chicago is looking to attract a myriad of foreign workers laid off by technology giants as companies in the city and its suburbs seek to lure top talent and fill thousands of open positions.
More than 35 firms in the Chicago region are willing to hire workers on H-1B visas, given to foreign employees in specialty occupations such as software engineering. The companies have teamed up with the city and P33, a nonprofit organization founded by former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, to build a job-listing website that debuts on Wednesday. Read Article
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Finland-Based Kempower Plans Durham County, North Carolina, Manufacturing Center |
Area Development
Kempower Inc., a manufacturer of charging stations for electric vehicles, will establish operations in Durham County, North Carolina. The $41 million project is expected to create 300 jobs.
The new facility will produce NEVI compliant DC fast-charging units in 2023 allowing the company to directly supply its customers in the U.S. Production is scheduled to begin in 2023.
“We think North Carolina is a perfect location for us and fulfills our high ESG requirements. I would like to thank the State of North Carolina for the fantastic support during the thorough evaluation process. Read Article
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The US Auto Industry Doesn’t Have a Supply Problem. It Has a Demand Problem |
IndustryWeek - Warren Browne
CEOs are still lamenting supply constraints, but the fact is, the market’s fundamental economics have turned very sour.
The light vehicle market has been going through a significant transformation since last June. Starting in the third quarter of 2022, the demand-supply structure of the market moved from a supply shortage into a serious demand problem that will have marketing teams scrambling to fix it.
The vehicle market has been supply-constrained over the past two years. That’s not new information. What seems odd is that many CEOs are still using supply constraints as an excuse for not meeting sales targets or earnings objectives.
Memo to the board of directors: Those days are over. There are certainly pockets of supply constraints when looking at specific models. And the level of inventory is not ideal for consumers who want to roam the lots for the right vehicle and haggle on price. However, these minor supply problems are now overwhelmed by the fact that the fundamental economics driving the vehicle market have turned very sour. Read Article
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Shyft Group Expands Charlotte, Michigan, Operations |
Area Development
Shyft Group, a manufacturer of delivery and specialty vehicles, is expanding to produce electric commercial vehicles in Charlotte, Michigan. The $16 million project is expected to create 680 jobs.
The company will make site improvements, infrastructure upgrades and add new equipment related to EV production at its current location. With the investment Shyft will have the capacity to produce up to 3,000 EVs per year in Charlotte. Read Article
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A Service Economy Is No Substitute for Manufacturing Innovation |
IndustryWeek - Stephen Gold
The benefits of product and process R&D spill over across society, and the standard of living rises.
Since the 1980s, when Japan Inc. started challenging America’s hegemony in making stuff, economists have questioned the need for us to make anything at all anymore. Case in point: Jagdish Bhagwati of Columbia University, who denigrated those pressing for a stronger American factory sector as suffering from a “manufacturing fetish.”
The rationale is always the same: Western nations have “matured” into service economies and can purchase goods from overseas.
If I have a manufacturing “fetish,” so be it. There’s a fundamental reason why a nation’s manufacturing base remains an important societal goal: Innovation is the key to productivity; productivity is the key to higher living standards – and nothing drives innovation or productivity more than domestic manufacturing. Nothing. Read Article
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Manufacturing Firms Net 19,000 New Hires as Unemployment Falls to Half-Century Low |
IndustryWeek - Ryan Secard
Nondurable goods manufacturing takes the lead in net new hires and significantly increasing wages.
Hiring jumped in the United States last month. The national unemployment rate dropped one tenth of a percentage point to 3.4%—a 54 year low, according to the Commerce Department—as the private nonfarm economy hired more than half a million people in January. Manufacturing also benefited, adding about 19,000 new jobs with remarkably strong gains in the nondurable goods production sectors. The Department of Labor’s January report showing strong hiring numbers and historically low unemployment comes as many areas of business—manufacturing included—have reported significant trouble with hiring new workers. Read Article
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Ford to Build $3.5 Billion Michigan Battery Plant |
IndustryWeek - Laura Putre
A Chinese company, CATL, will furnish the technology to build the LFP batteries, currently only used in Tesla models.
Ford Motor Co. announced plans on Monday to spend $3.5 billion on a new plant in Michigan to manufacture lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries for electric vehicles.
BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, which could be up and running by as early as 2026 with 2,500 employees, would be the first LFP battery plant in the United States backed by an automaker. The site of the plant is Marshall, a city of about 7,000 located in the south central part of the state near Battle Creek, about 90 minutes west of Detroit on I-94. The 2.5 million square foot battery facility is slated to rise on 1,900 acres of farmland that the state has pegged for a project of this size. Read Article
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Companies' Plans for Hiring Permanent Staff in First Half of 2023 |
Robert Half Talent Solutions
- 58% plan to add permanent positions; 72% expect to bring in more contract staff
- Greatest demand is for technology, finance and accounting, and legal professionals
MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite market volatility, companies across the country have plans to hire early this year and are scrambling to staff up, research from talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half shows. According to the company's State of U.S. Hiring Survey of more than 2,000 hiring managers, 58% of respondents anticipate adding new permanent roles during the first half of the year, up from 46% six months ago. Another 39% expect to hire for vacated positions. Managers in technology (64%) and finance and accounting (62%) have the greatest full-time staffing needs.
Good Hires Are Still Hard to Find
While many companies are eager to hire, 9 in 10 managers said it's challenging to find skilled professionals, on par with results from the prior State of U.S. Hiring Survey. Employers also reported it can take up to 11 weeks, on average, to hire for an open position, up from 7 weeks in 2021. Read Release
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Former GM Cadillac Assembly Plant To Be Turned Into Apartment Building |
Assembly Magazine
DETROIT—Per a recent report from Automotive News, Greatwater Opportunity Capital purchased the former Cadillac plant last April to the tune of $3.35 million. The renovations to transform the industrial building into a new apartment are expected to cost $27 million, and will retain some of the historic components. However, portions of the building that were added later in its history and not deemed historic will be removed. The building’s windows will be replaced with contemporary units that maintain a degree of historic accuracy in terms of aesthetics. Building demolition will kick off in the spring, with renovation expected to begin sometime this summer. The construction process is expected to take roughly 12 months to complete. Read Article
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Colorado and 10 Other States Consider ‘Right to Repair’ for Farming Equipment |
CPR - The Associated Press, Jesse Bedayn, AP/Report for America
On Colorado's northeastern plains, where the pencil-straight horizon divides golden fields and blue sky, a farmer named Danny Wood scrambles to plant and harvest proso millet, dryland corn and winter wheat in short, seasonal windows. That is until his high-tech Steiger 370 tractor conks out.
The tractor's manufacturer doesn't allow Wood to make certain fixes himself, and last spring his fertilizing operations were stalled for three days before the servicer arrived to add a few lines of missing computer code for $950.
"That's where they have us over the barrel, it's more like we are renting it than buying it," said Wood, who spent $300,000 on the used tractor. Read Article
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Ingersoll Rand’s M&A Machine Is Still Humming |
IndustryWeek - Geert De Lombaerde
The company has signed letters of intent to buy 11 companies that would add at least $200 million to its top line.
The leaders of industrial giant Ingersoll Rand aren’t taking their foot off the gas when it comes to buying companies to add to their product and technology portfolios.
Speaking to analysts after presenting Ingersoll Rand’s fourth-quarter results, Chairman and CEO Vicente Reynal and CFO Vik Rini said their team has signed 11 letters of intent to buy businesses that, if brought into the fold, would add between $200 million and $300 million annually to the top line. Read Article
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Classes alone will not close the "skills gap," but structured on-the-job training can...every time! |
Under-capacity of workers is an enormous source of untapped value and unrealized return on worker investment. In addition, standardizing expert task performance -between workers and shifts - can add to worker ROI through lower scrap and rework.
- Increased worker capacity, productivity, work quantity, work quality and compliance (specifications, ISO/AS/IATF programs and safety mandates);
- Decreased internal costs of training
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Higher return on worker investment! You would be surprised how small of an investment is needed to unlock enormous returns.
If budgets are tight, Proactive Technologies, Inc. can be an extension to your training department, with our technical implementation support - included with every project!
There's nothing to lose by taking a minute to contact us to learn more. Copyright © 2019-23 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™
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Kanye West, Tom Brady, Jared Kushner, Reese Witherspoon, Other Celebs Had Millions in PPP Loans Forgiven |
Mercury News – Martha Ross, Bay Area News Group
Despite being worth millions of dollars, Kanye West, Tom Brady, Khloe Kardashian, Reese Witherspoon and other celebrities not only obtained Paycheck Protection Program loans for their companies through the federal government’s COVID-19 stimulus package, they had much or all of those loans forgiven, according to a new report.
Businesses connected to Trump administration senior adviser Jared Kushner’s family and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, also received PPP loans and then were let off the hook in paying the loans back, according to a Daily Mail report headlined, “It Pays to Be Rich.” Read Article
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41% of Mid-Market CFOs Will Pursue an ESG Strategy in 2023 |
CFO.com - Adam Zaki
That number is up from 36% a year ago, according to a new BDO survey.
Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) regulations have increased, not only as a topic of conversation, but as a legitimate corporate strategy point for a significant number of organizations. And CFOs have begun to view ESG regulations as inevitable. While nearly all tax leaders have started preparing for these regulations, the “resilient middle market” is also implementing ESG-inspired changes at an increasing rate.
New data from BDO’s 2023 BDO CFO Outlook Survey, which surveyed 625 CFOs with revenues ranging from $50 million to over $3 billion, found 41% of these CFOs will continue to increase efforts toward ESG. A majority (80%) of those CFOs said they will continue their ESG efforts regardless of how the global economy may impact their business. BDO’s survey was conducted in October 2022. Read Article
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Inside Wall Street's Gloom-and-Doom Racket - If an 'Expert' is Warning you that the Market is About to Crash, Check Their Math |
Business Insider - Neil Dutta
The Wall Street Bull stands to the left of the image, casting a long shadow in the shape of a roaring bear.
A new ecosystem of alarmist analysts is using low-quality data to push a narrative of stock market doom and recession gloom.
Beyond popping up as talking heads on cable news, Wall Street analysts and economists serve an important purpose helping to guide the financial decisions of a wide array of investors — from average Americans worried about retirement to large institutions deciding where to put billions of dollars. At its best, Wall Street's coterie of experts is supposed to translate the shifting sands of the economy into a cogent, useful investment view.
I've been a sell-side economist for over 15 years, helping clients and the public understand the shape of the economy and what it means for the markets. I've always tried to be clear and allow the data to shape my thoughts, rather than fit it into my preconceived notions. But over the past few years, and especially since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, I've noticed that more and more analysts are relying on low-quality, prepackaged narratives to drum up fear about the direction of the economy and stock market. Read Article
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78% of CFOs Say Quiet Quitting is a Problem: Weekly Stat |
CFO.com - Adam Zaki
Strategies around talent recruitment and retainment are a principal focus for CFOs, according to a new study by CFO.
Competition for talent, primarily financial, has never been more intense. Alongside industries like private equity reporting fierce battles in finding and keeping talent as of late, CFOs, regardless of company size or industry, have felt also the impact of a supply-constrained labor market. In addition, although trends such as remote work and salary transparency have proven beneficial to the way companies operate, gauging productivity is still proving to be extremely difficult for many executives and their teams.
Among the labor-induced hurdles for CFOs, over three quarters (78%) of CFOs surveyed in the CFO 2023 Outlook report released on Wednesday indicated “quiet quitting,” or employees doing the bare minimum of work to remain employed, is a problem for their company. Read Article
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There’s a Surprising Culprit Behind Mass Layoffs, Says a Prominent Management Professor at Wharton |
Fortune Magazine – Sheryl Estrada
Most bosses blame layoffs on economic downturns, a decline in demand for services, or even overhiring. But one Wharton professor has a different view: It’s how U.S. accounting rules force companies to classify human capital that makes them seem like an expense to be cut, rather than an asset to be protected.
Peter Cappelli, the George W. Taylor professor of management at the Wharton School, is the author of the new piece, “How financial accounting screws up HR,” published in Harvard Business Review. Cappelli argues that employers have gotten bad at managing employees and U.S. financial reporting standards are in part to blame. Read Article
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How Financial Accounting Screws Up HR |
Harvard Business Review - Keith Negley, Peter Cappelli
It distorts hiring, training, and benefits practices.
Summary. Many HR practices in the United States are bad for companies, employees, and shareholders. Firms skimp on training and development, for instance, and tightly limit head count even when they’re understaffed. They increasingly move work to nonemployees,...more
Many common practices for managing employees are hard to explain. Why do companies obsess over cost per hire but spend so little time trying to see if they make good hires? Why do they provide so little training when we know it improves performance and many candidates say they’d take a pay cut to get it? Why do firms delay filling vacancies and let work go undone? Why do they spend so much money leasing personnel from vendors rather than hiring their own?
One answer to those questions is the peculiar way that financial accounting in the United States treats employment costs (which differs from the way that international standards treat them). Despite all the rhetoric about “investing in our people,” training and development aren’t considered investments; they’re categorized as a current expense, a type of fixed cost—just as carpeting is. So are other employment costs such as wages and salaries for all administrative work. Given that U.S. companies enjoy considerable freedom to lay off workers, treating such expenditures as fixed costs that can’t be reduced during economic downturns makes little sense. Along with other rules, it helps explain why more and more firms are shifting work to nonemployees, a trend that begins in cost accounting. By transferring work away from employees, companies get rid of fixed costs and move employment costs into another accounting category. In short, the financial accounting system distorts business decisions in ways that are worse for everyone—investors, employers, and employees. Read Article
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Utilities’ Emergency Costs Spark Surge in Ratepayer-funded Recovery Bonds |
Market Place - Lily Jamali
More than half of states have legislation allowing utilities to use securitization to pay off massive one-time expenses.
Consumers across America saw their power bills balloon by 14.3% on average last year. Those rising costs aren’t expected to reverse any time soon. Utilities are trying to finance all kinds of costs, like repairs for damage done by the storms that have hit much of the country this winter.
To pay those expenses, utilities are increasingly turning to something called “securitization.” You may recall securitized mortgages played a big part in the run-up to the Great Recession. In the utility sector, the first major experiment with securitization traces back more than two decades, when the now-defunct Texas energy giant Enron and other power traders manipulated California’s newly deregulated electricity markets. Read Article
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4 Regulatory Developments to Follow in 2023 |
CFO.com
Federal government regulators are taking aggressive stances to protect workers, ensure fair markets, and keep investors informed.
High levels of scrutiny and aggressive enforcement are what lawyers, executives, and regulators themselves expect CFOs will be up against in 2023.
From the Public Company Accounting Standards Board to the Federal Trade Commission to the Securities and Exchange Commission, federal agencies want to be seen as tougher watchdogs.
Speaking to an audience of auditors last December 12, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Chair Erica Williams indicated that all the challenges and uncertainties companies face now — including remnants from the pandemic — means “incentives for fraud are heightened” and auditors’ vigilance “must be higher.” Read Article
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Opening the Books on Pay-versus-performance: Are You Ready? |
CFO Dive - Ramona Dzinkowski
The new disclosures are meant to help investors compare executive compensation with company performance. It’s turning out to be a heavy lift for some companies.
Many companies will shortly be making their first attempt at showing why their senior executives are worth their salt.
The newly required disclosures stem from the pay-versus-performance disclosure requirements adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission in August. Under the new rule, large U.S. public companies are now required to include a table within their filings that discloses the relationship between executive compensation and their organization’s financial performance. Read Article
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Great Depression vs. Great Recession: How They Compare |
CFO.com – Ted Jackson
The Federal Reserve’s response to both events was one of the factors that resulted in two significantly different outcomes.
Since so many economists and C-suite execs are predicting a recession for the U.S. economy, now seemed like the right time to compare two of the worst economic periods in modern history: the Great Crash of 1929 and the deep depression that followed and the mortgage finance market panic and the Great Recession of 2008. The unprecedented crisis of 2008 posed a very serious threat to the global economy, but it did not produce results anywhere near as bad as those of the Great Depression, which created a high of 25% unemployment. During the Great Recession, the unemployment rate’s peak was 8.5%.
Responding to Panic
One of the lucky things during the 2008 mortgage crisis, which actually began in 2007, was that Ben Bernanke was at the helm of the Federal Reserve. Read Article
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IRS Proposes Point-of-sale Tip Reporting |
HR Dive - Laurel Kalser Contributor
Dive Brief:
- The IRS has proposed a voluntary, point-of-sale tip reporting program for service industry employers that could help them avoid compliance reviews, the agency announced Feb. 6. It would include “monitoring of employer compliance based on actual annual tip revenue and charge tip data from an employer’s point-of-sale system.”
- The Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement is designed to take advantage of technology advances in point-of-sale and time and attendance systems, which can be used to track and improve tip reporting, an IRS synopsis explained. The SITCA would replace three existing compliance programs available to service industry employers that have continued largely unchanged since the 2000s, the agency said.
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To demonstrate compliance with the SITCA and reduce the need for an IRS review, participating employers would have to submit an annual report at the close of the calendar year, according to the announcement. Employers that comply with the SITCA would receive protection from liability under IRS rules that define tips as part of an employee’s pay, the announcement said. Employers may comment until May 7. Read Article
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The Story of "Monopoly" and American Capitalism |
NPR Planet Money - Rund Abdelfatah, Ramtin Arablouei, co-host and co-producer of Throughline, Laine Kaplan-Levenson, Julie Caine, Victor Yvellez, Anya Steinberg, Yolanda Sangweni, Casey Miner, Cristina Kim, Devin Katayama, Amiri Tulloch
Monopoly is one of the best-selling board games in history. It's been an iconic part of American life: a cheap pastime during the Great Depression; a reminder of home for soldiers during WWII; an American export during its rise as a global superpower; and a best-seller during the pandemic.
The game's staying power may in part be because of strong American lore — the idea that anyone, with just a little bit of cash, can rise from rags to riches. Mary Pilon, author of The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game, dug into the origin story that was once included with every box of the game: A man named Charles Darrow was unemployed and came up with the game to pass the time. He brought Monopoly to the game company Parker Brothers in 1934 and eventually became a millionaire.
But there's another origin story – a very different one that promotes a very different image of capitalism. Hear Podcast
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5 Questions CFOs Should Ask About Talent Strategy |
CFO.com - Elaine Mak
Answer these questions to start building a culture that integrates people, performance, and profits.
As we enter 2023, businesses across industries are shifting from a “growth at all costs” mentality to one of profitability and operational efficiency. And in this new climate, today’s C-suite must understand that a company’s financial management is as much about cash flow as it is about people.
According to Gartner’s “CFO Perspective on the 2022 CEO Survey,” the workforce ranked number three on the list of CEOs’ top 10 strategic business priority areas for 2022-2023, up 32% from the previous year. And while talent has not historically been the primary focus for CFOs, it is becoming increasingly so. CFO’s own CFO Insights survey reinforced this, with 77% of CFOs either agreeing or strongly agreeing that the CFO plays a substantial role in supporting talent strategy development across the enterprise.
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A Potential Stock-market Catastrophe in the Making: The Popularity of These Risky Option Bets has Wall Street on Edge |
MarketWatch - Joseph Adinol
‘It’s like picking up pennies in front of a steamroller.’
Professional and amateur traders are flocking to a risky type of equity option that some have likened to lottery tickets, drawn by the opportunity to reap massive returns in the span of just a few hours.
They’re known as options with zero days until expiration, or “0DTEs.” Named because they have less than 24 hours left in their lifespans, traders see them as a way to place tactical bets around potentially market-moving events like economic data releases and Federal Reserve meetings.
Some on Wall Street are concerned that the growing popularity of 0DTEs is making U.S. stock markets more volatile and more fragile as outsize daily swings in the largest, most liquid equity indexes, like the S&P 500 SPX, -0.28%, become more frequent. Read Article
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PBGC Approves Supplemented SFA Application for Sheet Metal Workers Plan |
Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced today that it has approved the supplemented application submitted to the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program by the Sheet Metal Workers Local Pension Plan (Sheet Metal Workers Plan). The plan, based in Massillon, Ohio, covers 1,649 participants in the construction industry. Read This and Other Releases
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Why a Looming Recession Is No Reason to Cut Training Budgets |
CFO.com - Eric Lloyd
Preserving training budgets is a proactive way to help employees take on new responsibilities and perform at their peak.
The layoffs just keep stacking up, raising fears that we’re on the brink of a recession. Google-parent Alphabet let 12,000 people go, mere days after Microsoft and Amazon announced that they were slashing 10,000 and 18,000 jobs, respectively. These announcements come on the heels of recent big-time layoffs at heavyweights like Salesforce, Meta, and Twitter.
Conventional wisdom holds that when things get tight, finance executives should look to trim costs wherever they can, and one of the first items that wind up on the chopping block is training budgets. This approach is misguided for several reasons and can actually wind up doing more harm than good.
Even if a company lays off 5% or 10% of its workforce, the overall amount of work in the organization doesn’t magically disappear. That work will likely pile up on an employee that might not have the skills to get the tasks done. That’s where training comes in. Read Article
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It’s Time to End the Medicare Advantage Scam |
The Nation - Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Mark Pocan and Wendell Potter
It is long past time for Congress to give consumers better information about their health care options.
On December 7, the 2022 open enrollment period for Medicare—the time of year when millions of seniors can choose the best Medicare plan to meet their health care needs—closed. But the truth is that for too many seniors, the choice can be both overwhelming and confusing. One of the main contributors to this confusion is a scheme by private insurance companies to prey on seniors and profit off of the Medicare brand, all in the name of padding their corporate profits and shareholder returns.
The scheme is called Medicare Advantage. But in reality, so-called “Medicare Advantage” is neither Medicare nor an advantage. It’s actually just private insurance that uses the trusted Medicare name to trick seniors and people with disabilities into enrolling, then profits by denying coverage for necessary medical care. Read Article
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Financial Book Reviews For Our Time |
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
In a time of rampant misinformation about ways of growing your money, Burton G. Malkiel’s gimmick-free investment guide is more necessary than ever. Whether you’re considering your first 401k contribution or contemplating retirement, the fully updated, fiftieth anniversary edition of A Random Walk Down Wall Street remains the best investment guide money can buy.
Drawing on his experience as an economist, financial adviser, and successful investor, Malkiel shows why an individual who saves consistently over time and buys a diversified set of index funds can achieve above-average investment results. He addresses current investment fads and critically analyzes cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and meme stocks. Malkiel reveals how to be a tax smart investor and how to make sense of recently popular investment management techniques, including factor investing, risk parity, and ESG portfolios.
Investors of every age, experience level, and risk tolerance will find the step-by-step guidance they need to protect and grow their dollars. Read Review
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Mexico, Latin America, South America and the Caribbean |
Mexico Looks to Giant Solar Park in the Desert to Assuage Carbon Concerns
Area Development – Reuters, Stefanie Eschenbacher
PUERTO PENASCO, Mexico, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The first power from a giant solar energy park in the desert of northern Mexico will enter the country's electricity grid in April, officials said on Thursday, as the nation aims to burnish its green credentials with the flagship project.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has hailed the $1.6 billion project - set to be Latin America's largest solar park - as key to reaching Mexico's goal of producing at least 35% of all energy consumed from clean and renewable sources by 2024. Read Article
Puerto Rico Approved to Receive Federal Funding Through the State Small Business Credit Initiative to Support Small Business Financing Programs
U.S. Department of Commerce
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Puerto Rico will receive up to $109 million in funding under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Treasury has now announced the approval of state and territory plans corresponding to over $6 billion in SSBCI funding to support small business and entrepreneurship and expand access to capital. Read Release
Dealing with Debt: Less Risk for More Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean
InterAmerican Development Bank
Debt has dramatically increased in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years, increasing the vulnerability of our region to economic shocks and sudden changes investor sentiment.
Our new flagship report investigates the reasons for such increase and discusses ways our governments can reduce their debt burden to ensure sustainable growth for years to come. Download Report
Mexico Economic Outlook, December 2022
Deloitte Insights - Daniel Zaga, Mexico; Alessandra Ortiz, Mexico; Guillermo Guerrero, Mexico
While the economy is having a better-than-expected 2022, prospects for 2023 look less promising. The focus in the short term should be on creating conditions that attract foreign investment.
More resilient than expected
In the third quarter of 2022, the Mexican economy grew 4.3% year over year (YoY), a number that doubled expectations at a time when the world economy is decelerating.1 This uptick in growth saw the GDP reaching 18.4 billion pesos (920 billion US dollars), the same level registered in the fourth quarter of 2019, prior to the onset of the pandemic. Therefore, this expansion, eleven quarters after the pandemic, marks an important milestone in Mexico’s postpandemic recovery process.
The uptick was mainly driven by robust growth in manufacturing activities and private consumption throughout 2022 (figure 1). Read Article
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Canada, Europe and Great Britain |
Hundreds of Thousands Protest Across France Against Pension Reform, Unions Vow to Ramp Up Strikes
France24
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in France on Saturday in a fourth day of action against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, with unions planning to ramp up strikes if the plan is not dropped.
Unlike on the three previous protest days there was no call for a day of nationwide strikes, although air traffic controllers at Paris' second airport staged a surprise walkout that resulted in the cancellation of half of flights.
Macron and his government face a two-way fight to implement the plan to raise to pension age from 62 to 64 by overcoming resistance on the streets and also pushing the legislation through parliament.
The CGT union said that 500,000 people were protesting in Paris alone, higher than the 400,000 it counted on the last protest day on February 7. Read Article
Nicola Sturgeon Says Time is Right to Resign as Scotland's First Minister
BBC News - Glenn Campbell, Political editor, BBC Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she is resigning as Scotland's first minister after more than eight years in the role.
The Scottish National Party leader said she knew "in my head and in my heart" this was the right time to step down.
Ms Sturgeon said she would remain in office until her successor was elected.
She is the longest-serving first minister and the first woman to hold the position. Read Article
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The Civil War in Myanmar: No End in Sight
Brookings Institution - Yun Sun, Nonresident Fellow - Global Economy and Development, Africa Growth Initiative
Editor's Note: This piece is part of a series titled "Nonstate armed actors and illicit economies in 2023" from Brookings's Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors.
The second anniversary of the February 2021 coup d’état in Myanmar has just passed, and the abysmal state of armed conflict, insurgency, chaos, and anarchy has only been deteriorating. Despite the repeated calls by regional organizations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and by the United Nations to stop the violence, protect human rights, and respect the democratic process, the Burmese military junta has demonstrated no appetite for political concessions or negotiation with the resistance movement. With the uncertainty associated with the postponed general elections this year — which most speculate will be neither free nor fair nor legitimate — the civil war inside Myanmar is likely to only escalate in 2023. There is no end in sight.
BACKGROUND
Strictly speaking, the civil war in Myanmar has been ongoing since 1948. Read Article
Brazil's Lula Proposes Mercosur Trade Deal with China After EU Accord
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – Reuters
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday that he favored an agreement between Mercosur and China in a plan to modernize and open the South American trade bloc to other regions.
On a visit to Uruguay to dissuade its government from reaching a deal on its own with China, which would undermine the Mercosur customs union, Lula said the long-awaited Mercosur accord with the European Union must be completed urgently. Read Article
China, Ecuador Set to Sign Free Trade Agreement
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – Voice of America, Agence France-Presse
QUITO — China and Ecuador will sign a free trade agreement after almost a year of negotiations, Ecuador's president said Tuesday, with the deal expected to boost growth in the South American country.
"Good news to start 2023. The FTA negotiation between China and Ecuador has been successfully concluded," President Guillermo Lasso said on Twitter.
"Our exports will have preferential access to the largest market in the world, our industries will be able to acquire machinery and inputs at lower costs." Read Article
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Asia, India and Australia |
Cyclone Gabrielle Touches Down in New Zealand: What You Need to Know
RNZ
After several days' warning, Cyclone Gabrielle is here, bringing severe weather to the North Island - particularly Northland, Auckland, Coromandel and Tairāwhiti.
For the latest on Monday, check RNZ's live blog.
Here's what has happened so far, and what to expect over the coming days.
Despite being downgraded from a tropical cyclone as it started to affect New Zealand, officials have said Gabrielle should not be taken lightly. Ahead of its arrival, MetService warned: "Based on the position and intensity of Gabrielle, this system poses a very high risk of extreme, impactful, and unprecedented weather over many regions of the North Island from Sunday to Tuesday." Read Article
Air India's Airbus Deal Set to Revive Airline's Fortunes
DeutscheWelle - Andreas Spaeth
After multiple mergers, a privatized Air India is set to become the region's dominant airline once again. A record aircraft deal is intended to renew the airline's fleet after decades of government neglect.
When Asian airline expert and journalist Vasuki Shastry took an Air India flight in January this year, he found India's re-privatized flag carrier to be "exactly the opposite of what many passengers have come to expect in recent years."
The flight took off ahead of time and the crew performed "with a quiet confidence evident in more established global carriers," the journalist wrote in an article for the US magazine Forbes, adding: "It wasn't so much surprising as it was shocking." Read Article
More Undocumented Indians Attempt to Enter the United States
DeutscheWelle - Shabnam Surita
The arrivals of Indians without visas at the US border shot up drastically in 2022. With India growing its middle class, what is drawing more people to take the risk?
During a speech in January, Georgia Congressman Rich McCormick said that Indian Americans are "some of the best citizens we have in America" and called for a "streamlined" immigration process for those who have come to the United States to "obey the law, pay their taxes and be the most creative and productive in society."
Although Americans of Indian origin are often presented in this manner as "model" migrants, an increased number of Indians sought unauthorized entry to the US in 2022, according to US Customs and Border Patrol data. Read Article
The Adani Group has Denied Allegations of Financial Fraud
BBC
A US research firm's allegations of fraud against billionaire Gautam Adani's business empire have sparked a political row in India.
Opposition leaders stalled the functioning of parliament for a second straight day on Friday as they demanded an investigation into the claims.
The research firm accused Adani Group firms of stock manipulation and financial fraud last week, sending its shares into a sharp fall. Read Article
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Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia |
Turkey Earthquake: Where Did it Hit and Why Was it So Deadly?
BBC News - Pallab Ghosh, Science Correspondent
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and scores more injured by a huge earthquake which struck south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, in the early hours of Monday morning.
The earthquake, which hit near the town of Gaziantep, was closely followed by numerous aftershocks - including one quake which was almost as large as the first.
Lebanon Central Bank Governor Faces Corruption Charges
BBC News
Riad Salameh, who has led the Banque du Liban for 30 years, denies any wrongdoing
Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh has been charged with money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment, the state news agency says.
Public prosecutor Judge Raja Hamoush has also filed charges against Mr Salameh's brother Raja and an adviser, according to the National News Agency. The brothers deny any wrongdoing. Read Article
Wagner Group Offshoots Spread Russian Influence in Africa
DeutscheWelle - David Ehl
The Kremlin-backed private military contractor is using shady business ventures for unofficial Russian diplomacy across the African continent, researchers say.
At first, their presence is often just a rumor. Later, it's an open secret. Thousands of mercenaries with Russia's Wagner Group are active in several African countries.
In the Central African Republic, for example, 1,890 "Russian instructors" are supporting government troops in the ongoing civil war, according to the Russian ambassador. In Libya, up to 1,200 Wagner mercenaries are believed to be fighting on the side of rebel leader Khalifa Hifter. In Mali, the pro-Russian, anti-Western military junta has also brought hundreds of Wagner fighters into the country, where they are also accused of serious human rights violations. Read Article
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Proactive Technologies' Project Partners |
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Frank J. Gibson Consulting |
"One thing is certain... nothing is certain!"
The rate of change affecting work, the worker, management and the educational institutions that service all three has been accelerating - made worse by the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic. The economy, the consumer, supply chains and operational strategies have all been disrupted in the short-term, casting doubt on the long-term.
Rapid adaptation is the key to survivability, sustainability and growth. Sometimes an experienced outside advisor can help facilitate needed improvements to take the worry out of change and the fear out of growth. Frank J. Gibson Management and Workforce Excellence Advisor
- Business Development & Growth
- Workforce Development and Optimization
- Training and Cross-Training
- Local,/Regional Workforce Development Projects and Community Development
- Facilitated Problem Solving
- Process Improvement Cross-Functional Leadership Coaching and Mentoring
- Internship and Apprenticeship Projects
- Strategic Doing/Strategic Planning
Copyright © 2023 Frank J. Gibson
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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PTI Systems
International, Inc.™
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- Affiliated with Proactive Technologies, Inc. for projects outside the United States;
- Workforce development partner for employers, and education/ training providers who support employers, to ensure every worker can be trained to full job mastery;
- Experienced with governmental, IDB, GIZ and economic development agency sponsored projects;
- Experienced in assuring multinational employers expanding to the U.S. have the skilled workforce they need.
- PTI Systems International sets-up complete worker development and performance management systems, and provides technical implementation support;
- We provide strategies for our project's transition to local management.
- Speakers for seminars and conferences.
Don't complain about a "skills gap," deliberately develop every worker to full job mastery!
© 2018-23 PTI Systems International, Inc.™
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“A goal without a method is cruel.”
American engineer, statistician,
professor, author, lecturer, and
management consultant
1900 - 1993
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself"
Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist; 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature
1856 – 1950
“If you do not change direction you may end up where you are heading”
Ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher
6th-5th Century BC
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Economic Analysis |
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, December and Annua 2022
The U.S. monthly international trade deficit increased in December 2022 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $61.0 billion in November (revised) to $67.4 billion in December, as imports increased and exports decreased. The goods deficit increased $7.4 billion in December to $90.6 billion. The services surplus increased $1.0 billion in December to $23.2 billion. Read Report
U.S. International Transactions, Third Quarter 2022
The U.S. current-account deficit narrowed by $21.6 billion, or 9.1 percent, to $217.1 billion in the third quarter of 2022, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The revised second-quarter deficit was $238.7 billion. The third-quarter deficit was 3.4 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product, down from 3.8 percent in the second quarter. Read Article
New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States
The statistics on new foreign direct investment in the United States provide information on the acquisition, establishment, and expansion of U.S. business enterprises by foreign direct investors. Read Reports
BEA International Trade and Investment Country Facts
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of the Census |
Monthly Wholesale Trade
December 2022 sales of merchant wholesalers were $687.8 billion, virtually unchanged (+/- 0.5 percent)* from last month. End-of-month inventories were $932.9 billion, up 0.1 percent (+/- 0.2 percent)* from last month. December 2022: +0.1* % Change in Inventories; November 2022 (r): +0.9 % Change in Inventories. Read Report
Manufacturing and Trade Inventory and Sales
U.S. total business end-of-month inventories for December 2022 were $2,483.5 billion, up 0.3 percent (+/- 0.1 percent) from last month. U.S. total business sales were $1,819.0 billion, down 0.6 percent (+/- 0.2 percent) from last month. December 2022: +0.3 % Change in Inventories; November 2022 (r): +0.3 % Change in Inventories. Read Report
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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
U.S. Data versus the World
Find, compare and share the latest OECD data: charts, maps, tables and related publications. Access Data
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International Trade in Services
Trade in services records the value of services exchanged between residents and non-residents of an economy, including services provided through foreign affiliates established abroad. This indicator is measured in million USD and percentage of GDP for exports, imports and net trade. Services include transport (both freight and passengers), travel, communications services (postal, telephone, satellite, etc.), construction services, insurance and financial services, computer and information services, royalties and license fees, other business services (merchanting, operational leasing, technical and professional services, etc.), cultural and recreational services, and government services not included in the list above. Trade in services drives the exchange of ideas, know-how and technology, although it is often restricted by barriers such as domestic regulations. All OECD countries compile their data according to the 2008 System of National Accounts (SNA). Access Data and Tables
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New Year, New Rules for German Businesses as Supply Chain Act Comes Into Force |
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – Politico
From 2023, German companies must ensure that human rights are respected along their supply chains. In the new year, German companies will be forced to monitor their supply chains more strictly.
On January 1, the new Supply Chain Act comes into force, a piece of legislation that dates back to Angela Merkel's time as chancellor. As a result, companies with more than 3,000 employees will be required to comply with certain obligations for their entire supply chain.
According to the Development Ministry, about 900 German companies will be affected. From 2024, the law will also apply to companies with more than 1,000 employees. Read Article
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Trade Deals Need to Reconsider Supply Chain Risks – GAO Report |
Coalition for a Prosperous America – Kenneth Rapoza
U.S. trade agreements “historically focused on trade liberalization and maximizing economic efficiency” rather than on supply chain resiliency, USTR officials told the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a report published this month.
The old approach pretended free trade with low tariffs would fix everything with cheap imports while turning a blind eye to weak environmental rules from the exporting country, geopolitical risks, forced labor, and subsidies. But some in Washington, especially those inside the U.S. Trade Representative office, are saying that other fair trade and labor rules, supply chain risks can no longer be ignored.
The 36-page report by the GAO was published this month in response to the February 2021, Executive Order 14017 requesting a review of U.S supply chain resilience. Read Article
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Why Are We Still Following the Myth of Free Trade? |
IndustryWeek – Michael Collins
Benefits flow to capital and the costs to labor. For working Americans, it has become a race to the bottom.
For decades, economists have claimed that free trade delivers the greatest good to the greatest number of people. Good for workers, corporations, shareholders and the country. This idea has been accepted by both Democrats and Republicans and is based on the principle of comparative advantage.
Dating back to the 19th century, the principle assumes that when two countries trade, both will achieve higher national incomes because each will specialize in areas where they have a cost advantage. They can abandon industries where they are less efficient (like, for instance, manufacturing) and move workers to industries where they are more efficient. Read Article
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Trade Deals Need to Reconsider Supply Chain Risks – GAO Report |
Coalition for a Prosperous America – Kenneth Rapoza
U.S. trade agreements “historically focused on trade liberalization and maximizing economic efficiency” rather than on supply chain resiliency, USTR officials told the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a report published this month.
The old approach pretended free trade with low tariffs would fix everything with cheap imports while turning a blind eye to weak environmental rules from the exporting country, geopolitical risks, forced labor, and subsidies. But some in Washington, especially those inside the U.S. Trade Representative office, are saying that other fair trade and labor rules, supply chain risks can no longer be ignored.
The 36-page report by the GAO was published this month in response to the February 2021, Executive Order 14017 requesting a review of U.S supply chain resilience. Read Article
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US Trade Deficit Widens in 2022 to Record on Strong Imports |
IndustryWeek - Agence France-Presse
The latest figures come as households shift more spending to services instead of goods, with consumers grappling with persistently high inflation.
The U.S. trade gap widened to a record in 2022, though expanding less than expected in December, government data said Tuesday, capping off the year on robust imports and strong spending.
The overall trade gap grew $103.0 billion from 2021 to $948.1 billion last year, Commerce Department data showed, on a surge in goods imports ranging from crude oil to consumer items including pharmaceuticals and household products. Read Article
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China Trade Surplus Hits New Record |
Coalition for a Prosperous America – Andrew Heritage
Key Points
China ran a record-high trade surplus in 2022 of $878 billion, equivalent to about 4.8% of its GDP.
China continues to rely on beggar-thy-neighbor export growth reliance. Last year China exports grew 7% while the domestic Chinese economy only grew at 3%, indicating that despite the talk in Beijing, China has not meaningfully boosted domestic consumption.
The U.S. is the largest market for China’s exports. Yet, partial decoupling with the Chinese economy is apparent, as exports to the U.S. grew by only 1.1% in 2022. However, some products may be shipped to the U.S. through third countries especially in Southeast Asia.
China is boosting its exports to other markets, especially those in Southeast Asia, thus transmitting imbalances and thus instability to other countries. Read Article
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Plastics Dialogue Hails Substantive Progress, Sets Path Towards Achieving Concrete Results |
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – World Trade Organization
Plastics talks have made great strides in 2022 and work will intensify in the year ahead with the aim of achieving concrete results in curbing plastics pollution no later than the next Ministerial Conference (MC13), said co-sponsors of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade at a stocktaking meeting on 7 December. A workshop on 6 December focused on promotion of effective and environmentally sustainable substitutes and alternatives, with participants seeking common understanding and trade approaches to increase uptake of alternatives and minimize use of harmful plastics. Read Release
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EU Lines up 70 Projects to Rival China’s Belt and Road Infrastructure Spending |
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – Politico, Barbara Moens
China has invested nearly $2.3 trillion into nearly 4,000 overseas investment and construction projects since 2005.
The European Union’s riposte to China’s web of trade and infrastructure projects spanning the globe is finally getting real.
Europe's flagship Global Gateway projects seek to offer developing countries an alternative to China's strategic largesse in the Belt and Road Initiative, through which Beijing projects its power along strategic trade routes via port developments, energy schemes and telecoms networks. Read and Hear Article
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Trade Policy Implications of a Changing World: Tariffs and Import Market Power
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Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – International Monetary Fund, Adam Jakubik ; Alexander Keck ; Roberta Piermartini
Summary:Economic theory suggests that countries’ tariff commitments in trade agreements reflect their import market power at the time of negotiations. However, as countries grow, their market power in different sectors can change in unforeseen ways and their commitments may no longer reflect changed economic conditions. Using a newly built dataset of pre-Uruguay Round applied tariffs and relying on the theoretical framework of the terms-of-trade motive for trade agreements, we estimate hypothetical tariff commitments under current levels of market power and compare them with actual tariff commitments. We find that lower tariff commitments required to reflect current economic conditions would amount to a reduction in annual tariff costs of up to $26.4 billion – equivalent to nearly 10% of global tariff costs. Our results reveal substantial heterogeneity between countries and sectors. The sectors with the largest potential tariff cost reductions are vehicles (HS 87) and machinery and appliances (HS 84-85). Download Working Paper
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Why Medicine Costs So Much Money, Despite Imports from Low-Cost Nations |
Coalition for a Prosperous America – Kenneth Rapoza
How can it be that for more than 10 years now the United States has increased imports of generic drugs from India and China, yet prices of many of these key, basic drugs, like insulin, continue to rise?
No one will give you a failing grade for not knowing what pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) are – the middlemen that really dictate drug pricing in America. But the Senate took that entire healthcare sub-sector to task in a Commerce Committee hearing on Feb. 16 titled “Bringing Transparency and Accountability to Pharmacy Benefit Managers.”
“If given the choice, would you eliminate PBMs?” asked Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
“They should be regulated the same way the rest of us are as healthcare providers. They’re part of the healthcare system,” said one of the four witnesses, Ryan Oftebro, CEO of Seattle-based independent pharmacy Kelley-Ross Pharmacy Group. Read Article
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Education And Workforce Development News |
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Adopting Skills-first Approach, Cleveland Clinic Removes Some 4-year Degree Requirements |
HR Dive – Ginger Christ, Reporter
The health system revised more than 260 job descriptions, also aiming to improve DEI efforts.
A new case study at Cleveland Clinic shows how the nonprofit healthcare system is putting DEI initiatives to work.
Cleveland Clinic in December 2020 made a commitment to develop a skills-first workplace and establish equitable career pathways, according to a Jan. 25 case study by Cleveland Clinic and two partners — OneTen, a coalition helping Black workers without four-year degrees secure careers, and Grads of Life, an organization helping companies promote DEI efforts. Read Article
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Report: Walsh to Resign as Labor Secretary, Lead NHL Players’ Union |
HR Dive – Ryan Golden, Senior Reporter
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh listens to U.S. President Joe Biden deliver remarks about unions and pensions on Dec. 8, 2022. Walsh will resign to lead the NHLPA, multiple sources reported Tuesday. Chip Somodevilla / Staff via Getty Images
Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh will step down from his role in the Biden administration to become executive director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association, Daily Faceoff, a hockey publication, reported Tuesday. Bloomberg Law confirmed the news.
DOL did not immediately respond to an HR Dive request for comment. Read Article
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Building Guardrails for ChatGPT |
Brookings Institution - Michael J. Ahn, Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs - University of Massachusetts Boston; Yu-Che Chen, Isaacson Professor, School of Public Administration - University of Nebraska at Omaha Director - Digital Governance and Analytics Lab
The recent release of GPT-3, the state-of-the-art language model developed by OpenAI, has sparked a renewed interest in chatbot technology. One of the most notable developments in this area is ChatGPT, a chatbot that utilizes GPT-3 to perform a wide range of language tasks, such as text generation, language translation, text summarization, and conversation simulation. In its current form, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with technology, offering a wide range of applications from computer coding, customer service, and virtual assistants to language translation and content creation.
One of the key advantages of ChatGPT over traditional search engines is its ability to provide contextualized and processed information. ChatGPT can understand the context of a search query and provide results that are relevant and specific to the user’s needs by using natural language processing techniques. It can also interpret the intent behind a user’s query, even if it is phrased in a casual or conversational way, which makes it easier for users to ask questions and get the information they need. Read Article
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Community College Daily News – William Foley
Alexis Krug has a 4.0 grade-point average as a student in the physical therapist assistant career program at Butler County Community College (BC3), pays the college’s out-of-county tuition rate and expects to graduate from the Pennsylvania college debt-free in May.
To make it more affordable, Krug stays in a 28-foot-long camper near BC3’s main campus to avoid a round-trip commute of four hours to BC3. She recently received a $500 scholarship from an academic consortium recognizing her learning commitment. Read Article
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Training And Organizational Development News |
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To Gain an Edge in a Looming Recession, Focus on Employee Development, McKinsey Says |
HR Dive – Laurel Kalser, Contributor
Dive Brief:
- Companies with a dual focus on developing human capital and managing workers well have the edge in performance and rank among the most profitable firms in their industry, Feb. 2 research from the McKinsey Global Institute showed. Those employers also are earnings resilient and successfully attract and retain talent, McKinsey said.
- Top employers have several practices in common, the research found: They create opportunities for employees to keep learning and reinventing themselves, such as by providing more than 70 hours a year of training per employee, and by making promotions and internal transfers readily available. They also deliver a better day-to-day work experience. In addition, they promote a culture of “intrapreneurship,” where employees can collaborate and share expertise and ideas across functions. They also set the standard for inclusivity by, for example, having the lowest gender pay gaps.
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Strong performance management starts with clarifying expectations and incentives and using a dynamic approach to achieving them, the report said. Companies also should have mechanisms for recognition, such as financial rewards and gestures that can make employees feel appreciated, it added. The transition can be a “difficult undertaking that requires sustained engagement and a willingness to change familiar patterns,” the researchers cautioned. “But companies that do shift in this direction have a lot to gain,” they said. Read Article
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How Are Economic Developers Partnering to Solve Workforce Challenges? |
Area Development – Louise Anderson, Director of Research, International Economic Development Council
Companies can expect to find help from forward-thinking economic development organizations in fulfilling their labor force requirements.
The landscape of talent supply and development is almost unrecognizable compared to a decade ago. In 2013, labor was plentiful as people and communities were still working to recover jobs lost in the Great Recession. In the early 2020s — amid the third year of a pandemic, the baby-boomer retirement wave, and rapid technological change — we are living with the tightest labor environment in living memory.
Access to talent is the number-one concern for employers today, making it a top concern as well for economic development organizations (EDOs) that seek to attract, retain, and expand businesses in their communities. As they aim to create a competitive advantage for their regions, many EDOs are forming partnerships to help meet employers’ talent pipeline and training needs.
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5 Things to Look for in Your Future Leaders |
IndustryWeek - Jay Richards
Bosses tend to be more about the power of their position, while a good leader looks at the influence of their position.
One of the main reasons employees leave their companies is because of their boss. Note that there is a difference between a “boss” and a leader.
When you have too many bosses and not enough leaders, you probably have a higher-than-normal turnover rate and a constant churn of new hires impacting other metrics such as quality, production, delivery and safety. Not to mention your organization’s reputation.
These bosses can wreak havoc with both your current employees and your labor pool. Social media apps such as Glassdoor, Indeed and LinkedIn let potential hires not only see your dirty laundry, but smell it, too. Your reputation as an organization now goes beyond the borders of your community. Read Article
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As Skills Become Obsolete at a ‘Breathtaking’ Pace, Risk and Project Management Remain Solid L&D Investments |
HR Dive - Ginger Christ, Reporter
L&D leaders should consider time-to-skill, skill value and skill longevity when making investments, a report says.
Dive Brief:
- Skills like risk management and project management are solid investments because the cost to develop these skills is high but the payoff can last as long as a person’s entire career, according to a Feb. 9 Skills Compass Report 2023 from Coursera and The Burning Glass Institute.
- “Thirty-seven percent of the average job’s skills have been replaced just over the past five years,” Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, said in a blog post. “Such a breathtaking pace of change makes it very difficult to determine which skills to invest in or how different training options will pay off.”
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The report used data from more than one million people and millions of job listings to identify the top skills to invest in in the workplace based on time-to-skill, skill value and skill longevity. Read Article
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Putting the Pieces Together |
EHS Today - Nicole Stempak
Sometimes, how you approach one problem is similar to how you approach an entirely different one.
One of the better parts of the COVID-19 pandemic was discovering I liked to do jigsaw puzzles—at least those 1,000 pieces or fewer; I do not have the talent or patience for anything larger or 3D.
But since life has picked up the pace again, I don’t attempt puzzles as often. Even when I have the time, I always find other ways to fill it, usually boring things like laundry and paying bills. So, it was a rare treat to do a puzzle over the holidays.
If you’ll indulge me in listening to my puzzle process, I think you’ll find it may be similar to how you approach the challenge of improving workplace safety. I suspect we may also experience a similar emotional journey. If so, that presents opportunities to learn from one another. I’ll share my experiences. Feel free to write to me and share your own. Read Article
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Training Employee Helps Your Bottom Line and Theirs |
EHS Today
Companies that train their employees have more consistent earnings.
A new report, released on Feb. 2 from McKinsey Global Institute, “Performance through people: Transforming human capital into competitive advantage,” discovered that when companies invest in people, it pays off for workers.
The survey found that skills learned on the job contribute 46% of the average person’s lifetime earnings. Furthermore, companies making these investments will likely “propel their employees into higher earnings brackets over the course of a career.”
As is the case with any investment a company makes the question, a key concern is a return on investment. It turns out that companies that train their employees have more consistent earnings. Read Article
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Leadership on Point: You’ve Set the Strategy, Now Ace the Alignment |
IndustryWeek - Carolyn Hendrickson
Empowered execution is key—people on the front line have to understand the priorities of the company and be ready and able to make decisions that make a difference.
At this point in the year, most businesses have set their goals, are putting final touches on their strategic plans, completing their strategy offsites, and rolling this year’s plan out to employees. Game on!
Jim Hardy, chief operating officer at Traeger Pellet Grills, told me 2023 is “mission critical” for companies like his that saw extraordinary gains during the pandemic. His leadership team is “pushing our strategy deployment down to the lowest levels of the organization”, he said. Read Article
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L&D’s Influence is Increasing — But is it Growing Fast Enough? |
HR Dive - Kathryn Moody, Senior Editor
Skill needs are changing rapidly and employers may not be proactively building their organizations to reflect that reality, LinkedIn said.
While L&D pros may have more C-suite access and influence than in previous years, L&D efforts are moving “at a snail’s pace,” according to LinkedIn’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report.
“Their influence in the C-suite continues to rise, and executives seem newly aware of the competitive advantage that comes with an engaged, adaptable, and growth-minded workforce,” LinkedIn said in a Feb. 15 blog post announcing the report. Read Article
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Access Proactive Technologies' Recent "Proactive Technologies Workforce News" Article Quicklinks |
Located on the left panel below, this includes articles on structured worker development, achieving worker "full job mastery," engineering/quality/safety compliance, ISO/TS/AS quality program support and compliance, and many other contemporary worker development and management topics. |
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Recent Proactive Technologies News Article Quicklinks |
February
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Frank Gibson, Workforce Development Advisor, retired from The Ohio State University – Alber Enterprise Center
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
January
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
December
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Dr. Dave Just, formally Dean of Corporate and Continuing Education at Community Colleges in MA, OH, PA, SC. Currently President of K&D Consulting
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
November
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Frank Gibson, Workforce Development Advisor, retired from The Ohio State University – Alber Enterprise Center
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
October
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc
by Dr. Dave Just, formally Dean of Corporate and Continuing Education at Community Colleges in MA, OH, PA, SC. Currently President of K&D Consulting
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
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Proactive Technologies, Inc. Partners With Educational Institutions, Workforce/Economic
Development Groups, Government Agencies
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Structured on-the-job training attracts and engages employers in workforce development partnerships...some projects sustainable for more than 18 years!
This creates a steady need for your related technical instruction, services and a pathway for employment.
These partnerships:
- enhance your institution's opportunity to market your products and services to incumbent workers;
- allow your organization to include structured on-the-job training as a capstone to preemployment preparation;
- document a trainee-to worker's increasing value to the employer - the key to retention - rather than leaving it to chance;
- properly aligns workforce development resources and maximizes the impact and results; allows you to engage an employer's facility, equipment and staff in the training process;
- provides the best, sustainable infrastructure for apprenticeships and internships that last!
- is a win for the trainee, win for the worker, win for the employer, win for the institution and win for the community!
This approach has continued to prove itself since 1988, and does not compete with your school's or agency's products and services; it adds to your efforts the clear, tangible, measurable advantage that employers seek.
Copyright © 2015 - 2023 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Tri-Rivers Career Center - Adult Education provides lifelong, continuous learning for a diverse adult population. We utilize practical skills with an eye toward technological advancement.
We partner with state agencies and employers to provide targeted skill development to future and incumbent workers.
Our RAMTEC (Robotic and Advanced Manufacturing Technology Education Collaborative) facility - one of many throughout the state - offers advanced technical training in specialized areas such as robotics, robotic welding, and engineering technology.
Copyright © 2022 Tri-Rivers Career Center - Adult Education - RAMTEC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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PROACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CLIENT SERVICES |
To supplement onsite PROTECH™ system of managed human resource development classes, these regularly scheduled webinars are available to the registered staff of clients:
- Structured On-The-Job Training Instructor Certification
- Structured On-The Job Training Checklist Administrator Certification
- Management Structured On-The-Job Training Project Support Briefing
- Integrating Support for Plant-Wide ISO/AS/IATF Quality and Safety Systems with PROTECH Workforce Development System
- Supporting "Pay-For-Value" Systems
- Promoting Continuous Process Improvement While Implementing the PROTECH System for the Accelerated Transfer of Expertise™
- PROTECH Onsite Lead Trainer and System Administrator Certification
Contact US t o attend one of these seminars and we will send you an e-reservation. Include your client ID, name and user ID number and which webinar you would like to attend.
Copyright © 2019-23 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Drug, Blood Pressure Medication Recalls: Full List of FDA Recalls Since 2012 |
USA Today – Bianca Pallaro
More than 1,321 recalls were issued last year for human drug products that were defective or violated laws enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It’s the highest figure in the past three years, a USA TODAY analysis of FDA data found.
Are your medications on the list of drugs removed from the market, relabeled, destroyed, or otherwise dealt with by the manufacturer since 2012? Search our database below to find out.
Almost 90% of 2022 drug recalls were for problems the FDA said could cause a temporary health issue and posed only a slight threat of a serious nature. Read Article
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A Dollar Today Is Worth More Than a Dollar Tomorrow: |
Quality Magazine
According to MasterControl’s 2022 Digital Quality Maturity Study conducted by Cicero research, the majority of quality organizations are going digital, have plans to go digital within the next five years, or believe this is where they need to go to achieve compliance and remain competitive. However, a high number of companies still design quality management systems around manual, paper-based, or hybrid processes which are error-prone, disconnected, and cause delays. Believing that most of their competitors are more digitally mature than they are, and that they need to digitally transform to get ahead, companies still hesitate to implement software solutions.
Regardless of their size, the primary barrier that quality organizations face is the belief that the cost of an advanced quality management system (QMS) outweighs the benefits that come with it. Unfortunately, this is the costliest mistake that companies can make at a time when industry leaders are continuing to invest in software solutions, especially those that support emergent technology, which is a dramatically and rapidly changing industry itself. Pharmaceutical companies, for example, are investing in more patents related to artificial intelligence (AI)[i]and hiring more talent skilled in AI to prepare for, develop, and monitor this technology than any other sector.[ii] Mentions of AI in pharmaceutical company filings increased 105% between 2016 and 2021.[iii] Read Article
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US Justice Dept. Investigating Tesla Self-Driving Features |
IndustryWeek – Agence France-Presse
The California Department of Motor Vehicles filed a complaint against the company last year for using advertising language that could make its products seem more capable than they are.
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Tesla’s driver-assistance features, the company said Tuesday in a financial document.
The filing comes amid an ongoing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) review of the electric carmaker’s “Autopilot” system.
“The company has received requests from the DOJ for documents related to Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD (full self-driving) features,” the Securities and Exchange Commission filing said Tuesday. Read Article
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Leaving Continuous Improvement in Good Hands |
IndustryWeek – Larry Fast
“I’m pleased to see others stepping up to continue the sharing of best practices with new insights we can all learn from," says Larry Fast, lean leadership columnist.
Editor’s Note: Larry Fast has penned our Ask the Expert: Lean Leadership column for the past 10 years. This is his last installment as he enjoys a well-deserved retirement, and with his parting words, he examines his greatest career challenge -- the difficult experience of righting the ship at a struggling company and instilling a strong sense of continuous improvement across the enterprise. No doubt many of you have faced similar challenges and joys. On a more personal note, Larry has been a friend to IndustryWeek, and to me, for many years. We and the entire IW manufacturing community have benefited from his insights. -- Jill Jusko, Executive Editor
When I left Belden Wire & Cable Co. in 1997, I moved from a $400 million business and signed on with the fourth-largest wire and cable company in the world -- $4.1 billion General Cable Corp., based in Highland Heights, Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati. The General Cable board had recently hired a former GE senior executive as the new CEO. He was a relentless critic with very high expectations, sometimes too high. The entire organization was frustrated at the speed at which he wanted everything done when, in most cases, it simply was not possible. He would raise all kinds of hell without considering that the system infrastructure was inadequate.
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Roaches in the Operating Room: Doctors at HCA Hospital in Florida Say Patient Care Has Suffered from Cost Cutting |
NBC News - Gretchen Morgenson, Anna Schecter and Cynthia McFadden
Doctors allege unsanitary surgical instruments, an overflowing ER, roaches in the OR and anesthesiology errors that resulted in patients waking up during surgery.
On Dec. 7, 2021, more than a dozen surgeons convened a meeting at their hospital, HCA Florida Bayonet Point in Hudson, Florida. Their concerns about patient safety at the 290-bed acute care facility owned by HCA Healthcare Inc. had been intensifying for months and the doctors had requested the meeting to push management to address their complaints.
Unsanitary surgical instruments, inadequate monitoring of ICU patients, an overflowing emergency department, anesthesiology errors that resulted in patients waking up while in surgery — all were allegations ripe for discussion. Read Article and See Video
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Tesla Recalls 360,000 Vehicles on Driver-Assistance System Issues |
IndustryWeek - Agence France-Presse
The recall comes as U.S. regulators investigate Tesla's driver assistance programs on a number of fronts.
Tesla is recalling nearly 363,000 electric vehicles because of problems with their driver-assistance technology that heighten crash risk, according to a U.S. regulatory announcement seen by AFP Thursday.
The recall affects a range of Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y Tesla autos from between 2016 and 2023, equipped with "Full Self-Driving Beta" technology, said a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notice.
Problems with Tesla's FSD Beta system mean cars could undertake maneuvers that "could potentially infringe upon local traffic laws or customs, which could increase the risk of a collision if the driver does not intervene," said an NHTSA notice. Read Article
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Ford Halts Production and Shipments of its Electric F-150 Lightning Due to Potential Battery Issue |
CNBC - Michael Wayland
KEY POINTS
- Ford Motor has paused production and shipments of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup due to a potential battery issue.
- The EV truck is being closely watched by investors, as it’s the first mainstream electric pickup on the market and a major launch for Ford.
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The production halt adds to ongoing “execution issues” detailed to investors earlier this month by Ford CEO Jim Farley. Read Article
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Is Individual Recognition Hurting Your Lean Initiative? |
IndustryWeek - David Rizzardo
Too much emphasis on rewarding heroics can set back continuous improvement efforts.
Who and what you recognize sends a clear message to the workforce about what is important and valued in your organization.
If your recognition practices are aligned with lean principles and desired behaviors, they can be powerful enablers of lean culture. Conversely, if your recognition is not aligned, your lean strategy will suffer. The hypocrisy will be obvious, and trust will be lost.
Let’s look at two typical recognition targets and how they fall short of lean principles. We’ll also look at how each type of recognition can be approached differently to align with lean. Read Article
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Fires From Exploding E-bike Batteries Multiply in NYC — Sometimes Fatally |
NPR Weekend Edition – Mathew Schuerman
NEW YORK — Four times a week on average, an e-bike or e-scooter battery catches fire in New York City.
Sometimes, it does so on the street, but more often, it happens when the owner is recharging the lithium ion battery. A mismatched charger won't always turn off automatically when the battery's fully charged, and keeps heating up. Or, the highly flammable electrolyte inside the battery's cells leaks out of its casing and ignites, setting off a chain reaction. Read Article
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As the Colorado River Shrinks, Washington Prepares to Spread the Pain |
The New York Times – Mira Rojanasakul
WASHINGTON — The seven states that rely on water from the shrinking Colorado River are unlikely to agree to voluntarily make deep reductions in their water use, negotiators say, which would force the federal government to impose cuts for the first time in the water supply for 40 million Americans.
The Interior Department had asked the states to voluntarily come up with a plan by Jan. 31 to collectively cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado. The demand for those cuts, on a scale without parallel in American history, was prompted by precipitous declines in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which provide water and electricity for Arizona, Nevada and Southern California. Drought, climate change and population growth have caused water levels in the lakes to plummet. Read Article
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How Much Energy do Countries Consume When We Take Offshoring Into Account? |
Our World in Data - Hannah Ritchie
How do energy footprints compare across the world when we adjust for the goods that we import from overseas?
Think about how much energy you use. Some common things come to mind: electricity to keep the lights on; heating to warm your home; the car or bus you might take to get to work.
But there’s also the energy needed to produce the goods we buy in the first place. Sometimes these goods are produced in our own country – and so that energy is reported in our country’s energy use data. But when we buy goods from overseas, this energy is included in their accounts. It’s missing from ours. Read Article
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Asteroid Hits Earth Hours After Being Spotted, Meteor Turns into 'Beautiful' Fireball Over Europe |
USA Today - Jordan Mendoza
An asteroid hit Earth hours after it was discovered Monday, turning into a dazzling fireball that was spotted throughout Europe.
Around 12:18 p.m. ET Sunday, astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky detected an asteroid – initially dubbed Sar2667 – at the Piszkéstető Observatory in Hungary, the European Space Agency said in a news release. After a second observation was made minutes later, it was reported to the International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center. Read Article
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One of the Strongest Types of Solar Flares Erupted on the Sun. This is How it Affected Earth. |
USA Today - Jordan Mendoza
A massive solar flare erupted from the sun over the weekend, causing radio blackouts on Earth – and more could be on the horizon.
The sun emitted the solar flare on Saturday, peaking around 10:48 a.m. EST, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center. The flare, which came from a part of the sun named active region 3217, was designated a X1.1 flare, one of the strongest types of flares the sun can produce. Read Article
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NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework Plants a Flag in the AI Debate |
Brookings Institution - Cameron F. Kerry, Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Distinguished Visiting Fellow - Governance Studies, Center for Technology Innovation
The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) issued Version 1.0 of its Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF) on January 26, 2023 – a multi-tool for organizations to design and manage trustworthy and responsible artificial intelligence (AI). As the United States and other leaders develop policies to address the possibilities and problems of AI, this framework adds coherence to evolving U.S. policy on AI and contributes to ongoing international debate about AI policy and development.
First, a word about NIST, and a personal acknowledgment. NIST is part of the Department of Commerce and, as a former leader there, I am enthusiastic about its work. The agency has its origin in the Constitution’s conferral on the federal government of the power “to fix the Standard of Weights and Measures,” and in the establishment of a federal Superintendent of Weights and Measures in 1836, followed by NIST’s lineal predecessor the Bureau of Standards in 1901. Read Article
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Russia Delays Launch of Rescue Spacecraft After Second Coolant Leak Issue |
CNN - Jackie Wattles
Officials at Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, have opted to delay the launch of a spacecraft meant to replace one deemed not safe enough to transport astronauts after a second vehicle — a cargo ship — sprang a leak on Saturday, according to NASA.
Once cleared, the replacement spacecraft, Soyuz MS-23, will transport three astronauts currently stationed at the International Space Station back to Earth. NASA announced Wednesday that the replacement vehicle is now “under review.”
The vehicle originally assigned to the mission, Soyuz MS-22, was found in December to be leaking coolant. Read Article
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Smaller, Safer, Cheaper? Modular Nuclear Plants Could Reshape Coal Country |
Area Development – Washington Post, Evan Halper
WISE, Va. — As Michael Hatfield scanned the landscape from atop the abandoned mine where he once worked, he saw more than a patch of Appalachia left behind by an energy economy in transition. He saw a launchpad for the next nuclear age.
The nuclear power plants Hatfield has in mind are not what you think. No massive cooling towers, miles of concrete, expansive evacuation zones. The nuclear industry and the Biden administration are pitching coal communities on small, adaptable plants that promoters boast are safer, cheaper and capable of being deployed all over the country in the effort to cut the power sector’s contribution to climate change. Read Article
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Cyber Security And IT News |
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98% of Organizations Worldwide Connected to Breached Third-party Vendors |
CFO Dive - David Jones, Reporter
Dive Brief:
- A total of 98% of organizations worldwide have integrations with at least one third-party vendor that has been breached in the last two years, according to a report released Wednesday from SecurityScorecard and the Cyentia Institute.
- Third-party vendors are five times more likely to exhibit poor security, the report found. Half of organizations have indirect links to at least 200 fourth-party vendors that have suffered prior breaches.
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The information services sector maintained on average 25 vendor relationships, which is the largest number of any sector and more than double the overall average of third-party vendors, which was 10. Healthcare averaged 15.5 vendors and the financial services industry averaged the lowest number, with 6.5. Read Article
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Nissan North America Reports Consumer Data Breach |
IndustryWeek – Dennis Scimeca
The breach occurred through a third-party vendor hosting consumer data on a public cloud server.
Here is your most current reminder that every third party with access to a manufacturer’s data represents a potential avenue for cyberattack.
Nissan North America on January 16 reported to the Office of the Maine Attorney General a data breach that affected 17,998 people (785 of which live in Maine). According to the report, the breach originally occurred on June 21, 2022, and was discovered on September 26, 2022. Customer notifications began going out December 19, 2022.
According to BleepingComputer and as reported by Nissan in said customer notifications, the breach originated with a third-party software development vendor that had used Nissan’s customer data for development and testing purposes. Read Article
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Getting a Divorce? How to Safely Remove an Ex From Shared Accounts |
USA Today – Kim Komando
When a relationship ends, tech lives also need to be untangled.
When you host a show on over 400 radio stations in the U.S. about all things tech, this question comes up quite a bit: “How can I tell if my partner is cheating?”
My best advice is to have an honest conversation with your partner, with the support of a couple’s therapist. Still, cheating does leave a ton of tech breadcrumbs. You have to know where to look.
When a relationship ends, tech lives also need to be untangled. Read Article
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Ransomware Attack Against Yum! Brands Follows Several Incidents Targeting Restaurant Industry |
Cybersecurity Dive – David Jones, Reporter
Criminals see restaurants and mobile ordering apps as ripe targets for credential stuffing and financial fraud.
Fast food provider Yum! Brands disclosed a ransomware attack forced the company to shut down almost 300 restaurants in the U.K., the company said in a Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
After detecting the incident, it immediately took containment measures, which included taking certain systems offline and enhancing its monitoring technology, according to the filing. The firm is actively working to restore affected systems and expects that process to be completed in the coming days. Read Article
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A Ransomware Negotiator Shares 3 Tips for Victim Organizations |
Cybursecurity Dive – Matt Kapko, Reporter
This is no time for knee-jerk reactions. “Take a deep breath and slow things down,” said Drew Schmitt, principal threat intelligence analyst at GuidePoint Security.
Part of the role of a ransomware negotiator is to bring calm to a situation that can feel like a waking nightmare for the victim organization.
Coordinating a response in the aftermath of such a volatile incident puts a company’s finances, reputation and longevity on the line.
“When the actual ransomware attack is occurring, I think the biggest thing is [to] take a deep breath and slow things down,” said Drew Schmitt, principal threat intelligence analyst at GuidePoint Security. Read Article
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Threat actors Lure Phishing Victims with Phony Salary Bumps, Bonuses |
Cybersecurity Dive - Matt Kapko, Reporter
Multiple campaigns underscore threat actors’ ability to shift tactics and target employees by exploiting current events and themes.
Multiple threat research firms have uncovered a spate of phishing campaigns targeting professionals with details about salary increases, benefits changes and updated employee handbooks.
Proofpoint, as early as Jan. 10 and as recent as Wednesday, said it observed emails containing phishing links purportedly from HR.
Email subject lines and messages contained information about pay raises, missing timesheets, password resets, above-limit expense claim figures and corporate cybersecurity training, according to Proofpoint’s threat research team. Read Article
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VMware Ransomware Evolves to Evade Data Recovery, Reinfects Servers |
Cybersecurity Dive - Matt Kapko, Reporter
The new strain has reinfected more than 1,150 VMware servers and represents more than 4 in 5 live infections, according to open-source ransomware data.
A new variant of ESXiArgs ransomware has infected more than 1,250 VMware servers, according to data compiled by Ransomwhere, an open-source ransomware payment tracker.
The original strain hit at least 3,800 targets and compromised at least 2,250 machines since the spree started spreading on Feb. 3.
The slightly tweaked version of the malware encrypts data more effectively and prevents data recovery, according to Brett Callow, threat analyst at Emsisoft. Read Article
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Economic Volatility to Exacerbate Cyber Risk in 2023 |
Cybersecurity Dive - Matt Kapko, Reporter
Dive Brief:
- A broad expectation for economic headwinds and continued market volatility exacerbates risks across the cybersecurity sector, the Bipartisan Policy Center said in a report released Sunday.
- Difficult decisions about personnel and budgets can create or increase cybersecurity risks by reducing spending or deferring costly but important updates to operating environments and corresponding controls, the Washington-based think tank said in the report.
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Lagging corporate governance, vulnerable infrastructure and a lack of investment and preparedness are among the top macro risks most likely to impact organizations this year. Read Article
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Journalist Says he Had a Creepy Encounter with New Tech That Left Him Unable to Sleep |
CNN Money
New York Times technology columnist Kevin Roose has early access to new features in Microsoft's search engine Bing that incorporates artificial intelligence. Roose says the new chatbot tried to get him to leave his wife. See Video
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What’s Known About the ESXiArgs Ransomware Hitting VMware Servers |
Cybersecurity Dive - Matt Kapko, Reporter
An initial strain affected thousands of devices before a new variant emerged. The latest burst of attacks hit Saturday.
A global spree of ransomware attacks targeting organizations using VMware ESXi has confounded cyber authorities and experts.
The initial access vector for ESXiArgs ransomware has yet to be confirmed and independently verified. The identity of potential victims and the extent of damage caused also remains unknown.
The bulk of activity thus far occurred between Feb. 3 and Feb. 11, according to threat researchers. Read Article
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GoDaddy Source Code Stolen as Part of a Multiyear Campaign |
Cybersecuriry Dive - Matt Kapko, Reporter
An investigation into the root cause of the incident is ongoing. The web hosting provider declined to say how many potential customers are impacted.
GoDaddy’s source code was stolen and systems were infected with malware by an unknown threat actor in a breach the web hosting company linked to a multiyear campaign.
The company, responding to customer complaints about intermittent site redirects starting in early December 2022, discovered unauthorized access to its cPanel shared hosting servers. Read Article
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Dole Hit by Ransomware, North America Operations Briefly Disrupted |
Cybersecurity Dive - David Jones, Reporter
Dive Brief:
- Dole was recently hit by ransomware, the company said Wednesday, but the incident had a limited impact on its operations.
- The company released the statement following a CNN report saying Dole had to temporarily shut down food production plants in North America and suspend food shipments to grocers, citing a company memo sent to grocery stores.
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In the statement, Dole said it quickly moved to contain the threat and brought in third-party cybersecurity experts to help Dole’s internal team remediate the issue and secure the company’s systems. Dole notified law enforcement and is cooperating with the investigation into the ransomware incident. Read Article
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How to Avoid Chinese Tech That May be Spying on You |
USA Today - Kim Komando
Color me surprised that TikTok hasn’t been banned in the U.S. yet. Can’t stop using it? Take this simple step to keep your data from going back to China.
It's not just apps. More than a third of the world's electronics are produced in China. There's a difference between products made in China and those made by companies with ties to the Communist Chinese government. Read Article
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Human Resource Management News |
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Sheetz Ends ‘Smile Policy’ That Drove Employee to Quit |
HR Dive Compliance - Ryan Golden, Senior Reporter
The discontinued policy prohibited stores from hiring applicants with “obvious missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth (unrelated to a disability),” according to Business Insider.
Sheetz has discontinued a “smile policy” that drove a former employee of the convenience store chain to quit her job last month, Stephanie Doliveira, executive VP of people and culture at Sheetz, said Wednesday in an email to HR Dive.
The policy had drawn media attention in recent weeks after the former employee published a Jan. 9 Facebook post that included a video recording of a conversation between herself and a Sheetz manager prior to her departure. In the video, the employee is asked to provide a timeline for a procedure to have her dentures replaced. She explains that her insurance provider will not cover the cost of temporary fillings and that it will take nine months total to receive new dentures. Read Article
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Addressing Burnout in the Workplace |
IndustryWeek
These are challenging times. It’s time to show workers you care about their mental and physical well-being.
Individuals are burning out at alarming rates.
People feel a constant demand to deliver, so they’re burning out or they’re leaving their jobs. COVID-19, the Great Resignation and economic uncertainty have amplified the burnout rate given the number of changes in the workplace and at home, especially among working parents.
For EHS professionals, there typically isn’t an option to work remotely, as the pandemic increased demand for on-site health and safety products and protocols. EHS all-stars were part of the front line, risking their lives every day to keep manufacturing plants and warehouses open—and keeping the country going. These demands have led to increased stress and burnout among EHS personnel. Read Article
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Why CFOs Should Be Cautious About ‘Quiet Hiring’ |
CFO.com - Chris O’Sullivan
When looking at the causes of this new workplace trend, the unmistakable truth is businesses need to dial up their investments in talent.
Over the past few years, the workplace has been defined by buzzwords. From the “great resignation” to “quiet quitting” and beyond, these terms have shaped the narrative around the employer-employee dynamic in an attempt to better understand the disconnect within organizations. The latest term to grab headlines is “quiet hiring,” which has the potential to put tremendous consequences in front of executives if not addressed.
Let’s take a step back and understand what “quiet hiring” actually means. While there are nuances to how people define it, the general consensus remains the same: to help fill immediate, acute business needs, employees are given more day-to-day responsibilities without the benefits that would come with a traditional promotion, such as recognition for their work, salary increases, and more. Essentially, it’s a way for executives to get the skills and resources they need to increase capacity and meet company goals without adding any new overhead costs. Read Article
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Mid-size Businesses Plan for ‘Aggressive Hiring’: Report |
CFO Dive - Elizabeth Flood, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
- The rate of year-over-year employment growth for mid-sized companies jumped to an all time high of 11.1% in 2022, according to the National Center for the Middle Market’s Year End Middle Market Indicator.
- Nearly a quarter (23%) of middle market businesses — those with revenues from $10 million to $1 billion — said that the current size of the workforce remains insufficient for market conditions, and over half (57%) plan to “aggressively hire” into 2023, the report said.
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Between the hot labor market and the current macro environment, businesses of all sizes are vying for the same talent, said Doug Farren, managing director of the NCMM in an interview. “The question becomes, is this hiring growth going to be achievable because of some of the pressures and headwinds that they face when it comes to the labor market?” he said. Read Article
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Tesla Fires Dozens of Workers One Day After Launching Union Campaign |
TechCrunch - Kirsten Korosec, Rebecca Bellan
Update: This article has been updated with Tesla’s response to allegations that it fired workers in retaliation for unionizing.
Tesla fired more than 30 employees who work at its factory in Buffalo, New York, in retaliation for union organizing, according to a complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
The firings and complaint were first reported by Bloomberg. Read Article
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Younger Workers at Odds with Companies Over Value Systems |
EHS Today - Adrienne Selko
Gen Z workers have different ideas about capitalism, work ethic and purpose in the workplace. As the number of layoffs, both in the tech and other sectors, continues to increase each week, younger workers, especially Gen Z are paying close attention.
“Roughly 60% of Gen Z workers are choosing to launch their own businesses or work in the gig economy rather than secure a full-time position with an established organization,” said Adam Gefkovicz, co-founder and co-CEO of talent recruiting platform Untapped, an online recruiting company that opened in 2018, and has secured more than 17,000 job offers for candidates with an average hiring time of just four weeks.
“That tells us that younger workers don’t believe that the corporate sector shares the same values as they do and have so little trust in corporate leaders that they would rather take on the riskier proposition of working for themselves,” Gefkovicz says. Read Article
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Accessing Worker’s Personal Emails May Violate Federal Privacy Laws, Appeals Court Warns |
HR Dive - Laurel Kalser, Contributor
Dive Brief:
- A South Carolina company may have violated the Stored Communications Act (SCA) when it accessed a former worker’s private email account after inadvertently discovering the messages following her termination, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Feb. 9 (Carson v. EmergencyMD LLC, No. 22-1139 (4th Cir. Feb. 9, 2023)).
- With the company’s approval, the worker used her personal Gmail account for her job, according to court documents. After she was terminated, she joined an alleged competitor, and the company and her new employer filed claims against each other in state court for unfair competition and misappropriation of trade secrets, court documents said. During the litigation, the company discovered, reviewed and allegedly printed out emails from the worker’s Gmail account, which had been left open on the web browser of a company computer. The emails discussed joining the new employer and bringing company employees and information with her. The company published the emails in state court, and the worker sued it for violating the SCA.
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A federal district court granted summary judgment to the company, but the 4th Circuit reversed and sent the case back for trial. The SCA prohibits intentional and unauthorized access of stored electronic communications, the appeals panel explained. Here, there was no evidence the company’s initial discovery of the emails was intentional, but its subsequent conduct raised jury questions over whether it intentionally accessed the emails without the worker’s authorization, the panel held. The SCA doesn’t define “authorization,” but “the term is commonly understood to involve knowing, intentional action,” the Fourth Circuit said. Read and Listen to Article
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Environmental, Health & Safety News |
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Regulatory Update: Dollar Store Safety Fines Hit $15 Million |
EHS Today - Staff
In the past 11 months, OSHA inspections at 19 stores in Alabama, Florida and Georgia have identified dozens of similar violations.
Safety violations keep racking up for Dollar General Corp.
Based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC operate about 18,000 stores and 17 distribution centers in 47 states and employ more than 150,000 workers.
Just weeks after being cited with federal safety violations, the company has been charged with exposing workers to unsafe conditions, at two store locations in Florida and another in Alabama. Read Article
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FMLA Turns 30, But US Doesn’t Have National Paid Leave Policy |
EHS Today- Staff
The federal government can remove barriers for employers that are unable to self-fund this vital benefit in order to retain top talent, says SHRM.
While celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) on Feb. 5, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993, The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) said it would like to see the U.S. have a national paid leave policy.
The FMLA requires qualified employers to grant up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to eligible employees recovering from a medical condition, caring for sick family members or bonding with a newborn or adopted child. Read Article
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Is This the Year We Learn How to Teach Gen Z? |
EHS Today - Adrienne Selko
Gen Z prefers experience-based safety training as opposed to traditional classroom learning.
Whatever ideas one might have about Gen Z (those born between 1997-2012), exhaustive research done by Roberta Katz, senior researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavior Sciences, has uncovered interesting traits that safety professionals should be aware of.
What she finds most surprising, as noted in an interview withStanford News, is that when asked what type of communication Gen Z prefers, nearly all respondents answered that they prefer “in person.”
In fact, a previous study from talent recruiting firm Bridgeworks found that 40% of Gen Zers want daily interactions with their boss and think they’ve done something wrong if they don’t have these interactions. I would venture to guess that older generations would think something is wrong if their bosses want to talk to them that much. Read Article
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Ohio Train Derailment: What Went Wrong? |
EHS Today - Staff
The ongoing environmental disaster in eastern Ohio, sparked by a Feb. 3 train derailment, continues. Several publications from our parent company, Endeavor Business Media, deal with safety, transportation, water systems and other topics relevant to the situation.
The following stories reflect what we know now about the situation in East Palestine, Ohio, from the point of view of those industry experts:
Ohio EPA Asserts Low Contamination Risk from Train Derailment—WaterWorld details the latest news from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, declaring contamination from the chemical releases contained. Read Article
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One Worker Killed, at Least 13 Injured in Metal Factory Explosion, Fire in Ohio |
USA Today - April Helms, USA Today Network, and Thao Nguyen, USA Today
AKRON, Ohio – A maintenance worker was killed in explosion at an Ohio metals plant that sparked a large fire and sent more than a dozen people to hospitals, with at least two in critical condition, authorities said.
The blast and three-alarm blaze rocked the I. Schumann & Co. alloy factory in the Cleveland suburb of Oakwood Village shortly before 3 p.m. Smoke from the explosion was seen for miles as emergency crews responded to the scene. Read Article
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Food Safety Company Pays $1.5M After DOL Finds Child Labor Violations |
HR Dive - Ryan Golden, Senior Reporter
The violations involved at least 102 children employed at meat processing facilities across eight states, the agency said Friday.
Wisconsin-based Packers Sanitation Services Inc. paid $1.5 million in civil money penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found that at least 102 children were employed at meat processing facilities in violation of federal child labor laws, the agency said in a press release Friday.
The children, who ranged from ages 13 to 17, used hazardous chemicals and cleaned meat processing equipment during overnight shifts, DOL said. At least three suffered injuries while working for PSSI. The agency’s investigation found violations at 13 facilities across eight states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee and Texas. Read Article
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Having trouble finding, selecting, training and keeping the skilled workers you need? Are your employee turnover costs a concern?
Let's start with what we already know:
- Classes alone will not train workers to perform your tasks...
- Quality Control policies and Process Documents are not a substitute for task training...
- Putting 2 people together and hoping for the best is not a training strategy...
- Wishing and hoping won't develop the skilled workers you need...
The cost of one worker malperformance or one worker's under-capacity or under-performance - due to lack of proper training - can more than justify the investment to train all your workers properly!
AND, unstructured, uncontrolled, undocumented task training is going on all day, every day. But if you cannot explain the process, you surely cannot measure and improve it.
Proactive Technologies's approach to structured on-the-job training takes place where, and while, the work is performed. You need no additional staff and structured on-the-job training does not interrupt your work schedule like unstructured, haphazard and ad hoc training or classroom learning does.
You probably have most of the pieces are already in place; they just need structure around them to make the training experience work for everyone through the accelerated transfer of expertise™.
As part of every project, Proactive Technologies provides the support to set-up, implement, manage, document and revise the worker development system so you can stay focused on business.
Copyright © 2019-23 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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EMPLOYERS!
If your organization sees training as a cost, not as an investment, maybe you should consider another approach!
- Cuts the employer's internal costs of training;
- Lowers the costs associated with turnover;
- Drives new-hires and incumbent workers to "full job mastery;"
- Increases worker capacity, work quality, productivity and compliance (ISO/AS/IATF training and records requirement, engineering specifications and safety mandates);
- Creates framework for cross-training, retraining and worker certification;
- Establishes the framework for employer specific/job-specific apprenticeships and internships - registered or not;
- Builds career development tracks and succession plans for hourly (and salary) workers;
- Ensures the increased and maintained "Return on Worker investment" through any type of change...
ALL OF THIS FROM ONE APPROACH!
This structured on-the-job training is performed where, and while, the work takes place!
You need no additional staff, and this will not disrupt your work schedule or burden your existing staff!
If your firm is partnered with local career and technical educational institutions, use of shared employer's equipment, facilities and paid wages of trainer(s) and trainee(s) are attractive match for potential grant assistance.
for more information.
Copyright © 2019-23 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Copyright © 1988 - 2023 Proactive Technologies, Inc.TM
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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