Here are two articles from an e-mail newsletter I get from the Wharton
School of business/economics. One is on oil, so it relates to the
economic impact of this war, especially relevant since it talks about
the systemic effects of the war. Also, there’s an article about
re-training vs. layoffs which seems relevant to me in the dialogue about
the motive of some companies in implementing changes, examples of which
the Senge book talked.
These articles require that you register, so I’m going try to forward
them from the website in two following e-mails.
Thanks!
> The Outlook for Oil: What Lies Ahead?
>
> Surging oil prices are squeezing U.S. corporate profits, contributing to
> bankruptcies and forcing some companies, especially in the oil-dependent
> trucking industry, out of business altogether. With the threat of war in
> Iraq and a drastic cut in supply from strike-bound Venezuela, companies
> are braced for further increases soon. [email protected] looks at what
> to expect in the coming months.
>
> http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=13&articleid=704
> Human Resources
>
> Why Some Companies Retrain Workers, and Others Lay Them Off
>
> In today’s economy, the odds that employees’ skills will need to be
> updated have increased, says management professor Peter Cappelli. The
> question then becomes, is your employer going to reinvest in you through
> retraining or lay you off and hire someone new? As director of the
> school’s Center for Human Resources, Cappelli wanted to know why a few
> companies have remained committed to retraining, even as the ethos of
> American business has changed. The answer, as Cappelli explains in a new
> research paper, has a lot to do with what is termed “social capital.”
>
> http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=10&articleid=703