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If you have ever felt like you don't have any influence, then look at this infographic. Young adults 18-24 are on the top of the influence pyramid. How do their new languages and behaviors inspire people that are both younger and older than them? How is the incredible power of today's youth directly related to those who came before them? What relevance does this have for organizations and managers? We All Want to be Young infographic

The Census Bureau’s Pathways After a Bachelor’s Degree looks at 13 different bachelor’s degree majors. For each major, you can see the estimated work-life earnings at each level of education. Below is the infographic for business. Those in management were more likely to be employed full time, year-round. People working in business earn more than the average of $2.4 million earned in a work-life. Also, people who major in business earn more than average. How important is what you choose to study in college? How important is the the career you choose after college?

"Getting and keeping talent!" is priority #1 for CEOs participating in PricewaterhouseCooper's 2012 Global CEO Study . More than 1250 company leaders from 60 countries were interviewed. Skills gaps are seen as a threat to business expansion. Thus, CEOs are changing talent management strategies. Of those CEOs surveyed, 79% already have or will have their human resources directors as one of their direct reports. See the attached infographic. How can HR managers become more strategic?

All employees at the asset-management unit of Aviva PLC, Britain's second-largest insurance company, were mistakenly sent an email which said , 'I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and wish you all the best for the future.' Many of the employees thought that they had just been fired by email. This story became news around the world. In reality, the employee was not fired by email, but had been laid off and the email was a follow-up message. Quickly, the manager realized what had happened and recalled the email. An apology email was sent. The costs - both human and financial - of a poorly handled termination can be extremely high. The rise in wrongful termination suits is due, at least in part, to mismanagement of the termination process. When asked, many terminated employees report that they sued their former employer because of the way they were treated, rather than for any financial gain. Regulations that apply to termination include: Age Discrimination in Employment Act Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Civil Rights Act Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1991 Fair Labor Standards Act Family and Medical Leave Act Immigration Reform and Control Act National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Pregnancy Discrimination Act When a terminated employee sues the organization, both parties lose. For the organization, the loss includes legal fees, time and energy of key personnel, internal morale, and external public relations. The terminated employee loses time and energy that could have been directed to the job search. Termination Action Plan Once the decision to terminate an employee has been made, the manager should develop an action plan. A pre-termination planning decision to release an employee, who no longer fits the organization's needs, enhances an organization's development objectives. Schedule the termination as soon as possible. Move as quickly as possible to a termination date. List the resource people (for example, human resources (HR) representative, lawyer, and outplacement consultant) available to provide support or assistance in the termination. A HR representative can outline the terms of the severance. Also, he or she can serve as a witness to what was actually said during the termination conference. An outplacement consultant assists the terminated employee in conducting an effective job search. As a result of this service, outplaced employees make a career transition more rapidly, with less overall stress, and have a distinct advantage over non-outplaced job seekers. The organization benefits from reduced severance packages, reduced likelihood of lawsuits, maintenance of morale and productivity of remaining employees, and increased community support for the actions of the organization. Outline the primary reasons for the termination. Explain the reasons for the termination clearly, concisely, and candidly. In addition to performance issues, reasons for the termination might include change in strategic direction, mismatch between skills and job, reorganization, new technology, or change in ownership. Develop a security strategy. If the individual has access to sensitive information, take precautions. For example, change computer passwords and secure documents. Arrange for the individual to separate out, under supervision, personal effects from organization property. Personal effects can be forwarded after a qualified person has had the opportunity to evaluate their contents. Point out that these actions are designed to protect the individual as well as the organization, so that no one can be falsely accused of removing confidential documents. Determine time and location. If the termination is held in the individual's office or in a neutral location, not your office, you can control the length of the meeting and avoid a prolonged discussion or debate. Plan internal and external announcements. Determine how the news will be communicated inside and outside the organization. A formal internal announcement concerning the departure and replacement of the employee is appropriate. Notify key external suppliers and/or customers with whom the individual had regular contact of the individual's replacement. Should employees always be terminated in face-to-face meetings? OR should email be used? Explain.

Bhutan, a country east of India, measures their country's progress based upon " Gross National Happiness ." In 1972, the Bhutan government started to develop a system for measuring the happiness of their people. The basic elements measured are: physical, mental and spiritual health; time-balance; social and community vitality; cultural vitality; education; living standards; good governance; and ecological vitality. Similarly, the International Institute for Management (IIM) developed the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Survey . The survey asks participants to rate their satisfaction (from 0-10 , with 0 being very dissatisfied, 5 being neutral and 10 very satisfied) in 7 areas: Economic satisfaction (savings, debt and purchase power) Environmental satisfaction: (pollution, noise and traffic) Workplace satisfaction (job satisfaction, motivation, ethics, conflict, etc.) Physical health (Severe illnesses, overweight,..) Mental health (usage of antidepressants, self-esteem, positive outlook..) Social satisfaction [including family and relationship satisfaction] (domestic disputes, communication, support, sex, discrimination, safety, divorce rates, complaints of domestic conflicts and family lawsuits, public lawsuits, crime rates, etc.) Political satisfaction (quality of local democracy, individual freedom, and foreign conflicts, etc.) Companies are measured by revenue and profit. What would be the advantages and disadvantages if managers started measuring GNH using "Bhutanese" type of measurements?

Retirement is one of the last things on young employees' minds. But it should be top-of-mind, because time and the power of compounding are huge advantages in building retirement savings. The high cost of labor has resulted in firms replacing traditional pensions with 401(k) programs. This shifts the responsibility for saving for retirement from the employer to the employee. According to the 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey , employees' confidence in their ability to retire comfortably is at historically low levels. (See attached Fact Sheet.) Thus, baby boomers , born between 1946 and 1964,may become the first generation to never retire. Just as scanning the environment helps managers make better decisions; it can help individuals make better decisions. Let's look at the environmental elements of social/cultural , political , and economic . Demographics are important to the social/cultural element in environmental scanning. The approximately 76 million baby-boomers are beginning to retire from the workforce. But, since they haven't saved enough money, they may delay retirement. If they do retire, the huge numbers will affect the political element. Congress could raise the retirement age from 66 to 70. If not, the government will have to print money to pay for social security. That will affect the economic element. Printing more money will trigger inflation and devalue the currency. Interest rates will move higher. Many baby boomers will work longer, consume less, and save more. How can young employees and managers meet the challenge to balance the cost of retirement with the quality of work?

Can employees be fired for posting or commenting about work-related topics on social media sites? Well, it depends. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has published two reports that summarized recent cases involving social media issues (August 2011) and updates (January 24, 2012) in this area of law. (The latest report is attached.) The reports underscore two main points: Employer policies should not be so sweeping that they prohibit the kinds of activity protected by federal labor law, such as the discussion of wages or working conditions among employees. An employee's comments on social media are generally not protected if they are mere gripes not made in relation to group activity among employees. Lawyer Kelly Shoening wrote, "Social media use in the workplace is a continuously evolving area of law. The cases in the NLRB's latest report illustrate that questions surrounding employee social media posts and employer policies are extremely fact-specific. In devising a social media policy, employers should avoid using overly broad language and should clearly define key terms so that the policy is not construed as restricting lawful employee activity." Barry Judge, the Chief Marketing Officer at Best Buy, discusses (in this video) the different ways Best Buy uses social media. Find Best Buy's Social Media Policy at http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Welcome-News/Best-Buy-Social-Media-Policy/td-p/20492 . What would the lawyer think about this policy?

Young adults have the most difficulty finding a job, according to recent analysis released by Pew Research Center . Pew based its findings on a December 2011 phone survey of 2,048 adults, as well as data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics . Adults ages 18 to 34 are less likely to be employed than at any other time since the government began collecting this data in 1948. The 18 to 24 age group is the most affected. Kim Parker , associate director of Pew's Social & Demographic Trends project said, "Young workers are on the bottom of the ladder, and during a recession like we've had, it's often hard for them to hold on. They are clearly less satisfied with their current circumstances than they were before the recession. This may be where some of the anger and frustration being expressed in the Occupy movement is rooted. They have a long way to climb back, and a lot of displaced workers to compete with." As a result of the tough job market, many young adults are underemployed, working in jobs they don't want in order to pay their bills. Some are working in unpaid internships. While others have gone back to college. What does unemployment mean for the future of young people?