...a day throughout the country and is how some people “go” to work every day. Being able to work from home, hotel, or anywhere you can think of, is telecommuting or teleworking. Decades ago you might not have imagined anyone outside the sales staff being able to work from anywhere but the office building. However, with the advances made in technology, specifically that of the internet, people can potentially work from almost anywhere they might wish. The idea of working from home may be viewed as being fundamentally instinctive. William R. Mattox Jr., the vice president of the Family Research Council said, “technologies such as computers and fiber optics could create a ‘neo-agrarian technical revolution’ that would put workers back in their homes, as they were before the 19th century Industrial Revolution lured them away from their farms (Clark).” In essence, telecommuting can be viewed as a natural process by which we have functioned historically and are now in the process of reverting back to our natural ways. Advances in technology have closed the gaps between homes, offices, towns, cities, and continents by building electronic bridges using the information super highway to catapult society into the Information Age. The transition from office to home must be transparent to the customer (Business Plugs into Telecommuting: Bringing Work to People rather than People to Work) and can be completed by ensuring the individual has all the amenities of the corporate office,...
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...MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR WORKING FROM HOME Jimmy Mulcahy 12/11/2011 Translating Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to the 21st century to include new types of employees (stay at home employees). Technology has advanced how companies do business today but despite technological advancements, a company’s still can only run as well as the people in the system. The popular trend is to cut overhead and allow employees to work from home. The reduced overhead cost is supposed to help the company look more profitable. It may help with profitability but it also causes other problems. Maslow created an outline for managers to help keep employees motivated and enthusiastic about work but Maslow did not plan on people working from home with little to know face-to-face interaction with their manager and peers. Hiring employees to work from home creates a managerial nightmare. Managers are now trying to apply Maslow’s theories in a new way. Manager’s will have to find a new way to measure productivity, motivating an employee will have its challenges, and creating a sense of belonging and teamwork will prove to be another obstacle. The benefit that organizations are trying to take advantage of is minimizing overhead costs with technology. Specifically, computers have allowed employees to get work done without showing up to the office. This allows companies to cut back the amount of buildings required to run day to day operations. This reduces a company’s...
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...Virtual Work Definition: Virtual Work is “work performed away from the traditional physical workplace by using information technology” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013, p. 21) Summary: The article entitled “The Third Wave of Virtual Work” written by Tammy Johns and Lynda Gratton discusses how virtual work has evolved in three different waves over the past thirty years. The first wave of virtual work started in the mid 1980’s and created a demand for freelancers/independent contractors with limited skills sets. As technology continued to advance in early 2000, the second wave allowed full-time employees to work anytime from anywhere. Although there have been significant cost savings for companies that allow their employees to telecommute, important elements of physical interaction were taken for granted. Heidi McCullough saw a need to fill the physical interaction gap and created “The Urban Hub”. The Urban Hub is a virtual work space were telecommuters of different companies and backgrounds get together to do their own virtual work and also interact and inspire each other. Several companies have taken the “The Urban Hub” approach to doing business and are experiencing significant growth. Discussion: The text and article both mentioned the growth companies have experienced by having a virtual workforce. One area of growth was due to improved productivity. Virtual work has increased productivity for many companies because the amount of time an employee would...
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...Role Play 2 Rhonda: Bonnie thanks for meeting with me today, I’m looking forward to you going back to Stellar College and recruiting new members of our team. Bonnie: I am excited and nervous; I really want to get rid of the stereotypes of selling. And show students what a great career path Upland can be for them. Rhonda: We can defiantly discuss that because it is a common misconception from graduates. Bonnie: Great Rhoda: Make sure let students know Upland provides favorable working conditions such as telecommuting with a virtual office. This will really appeal to graduates. They don’t have to work a 9-5 job. Bonnie: That’s a great point I know the flexibility really attracted me to Upland. Rhoda: Another really great point is the high salary potential. Bonnie: Yes I know starting salaries for graduates can be low, however here at Upland my salary potential can grow quickly. Rhoda: We can hire good student’s right out of college and they have a high salary potential and also have excellent opportunities to advance in their career. Bonnie: Yes which keeps me motivated to sell; I wanted to advance to a district manager. Rhoda: I think you will be able to. Bonnie: Another great aspect of working at Upland is that I don’t feel too closely watched by a supervisor. I have only been here for two weeks but already I’ve been able to work with customers. And I feel the freedom of not having a supervisor watch my every move. Rhoda: Yes that is a...
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...Travel and Alternatives to Travel in Work Environment 2013 TRAVEL AND ALTERNATIVES TO TRAVEL IN WORK ENVIRONMENT Research Methodology Professor: ROSE Janna By Anand VISHWA Ankur SONKAR Mohnish Rai HANDA Saketh Varma KUCHAMPUDI MIB 35- Group A 1 Travel and Alternatives to Travel in Work Environment 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Sr.No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. TOPIC Introduction to Topic…………………… Literature Review………………………. 2.1. Cost Benefits………………………. 2.2. Accessibility………………………… 2.3. Evolution Of Technology…………… 2.4. Deficiency In Technology…………. 2.5. Stress………………………………… Research Question……………………… Methodology……………………………… Results……………………………………. 5.1. Indian View………………………….. 5.2. Egyptian View………………………. 5.3. Brazilian View………………………. Conclusion……………………………….. References………………………………. Annexes………………………………….. 8.1. Invitation……………………………. 8.2. Questionnaire ……………………… 8.3. Focus Group Transcript…………… Page No. 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 2 Travel and Alternatives to Travel in Work Environment 2013 1. INTRODUCTION We are trying through this research the possible effective alternatives of travel in a corporate environment, in order to save time that would be spent while travelling as well as to increase one’s working efficiency. In short to create a new value stream map concerning travels within the corporate world and to possibly recognize the value added and non-value added activities. This purpose of this paper is to talk about the relevance...
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...Confidential Information for Representatives of the Coronet Management Depending on the size of the group, the negotiating team should comprise representatives from: • Finance • Personnel • Sales and Marketing Your plans are to convert the whole company to a “home-office” working environment over the next four years. You are convinced that this policy would considerably reduce costs and greatly increase efficiency. Tremendous cost savings have already been achieved on the production side of the business, but there is now very little potential for further improvements there. It is on the sales and administration side that you must be looking to reduce costs; dispensing with the overheads of the regional offices (whilst retaining the personnel) is the way to go. Achieving this change within your four-year timeframe is an important goal for senior management. Any compromise including a continued office presence in Bodø that you may reach in the forthcoming negotiation ought to have a strict time limit placed on it. Since you realise that the planned switch to home offices is likely to meet resistance from the staff, you were not initially planning to make the changeover quickly. However, the excellent offer you recently received from a real estate agent for the Sjøgata premises in Bodø has changed the situation. If you can persuade the Bodø employees to agree a home-office solution now, you could 1) sell the Sjøgata premises at well over market price, and 2) use...
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...Telecommuting: will it change the world? Telecommuting will have major effects in the worlds of work and family life. However, its biggest effect will be in the area of individual freedom, responsibility, and time management. Work and workplaces will alter dramatically. Offices may become smaller, as fewer desks are needed. There will be greater need for high-bandwidth connections to link the office and the home, and even homes to other homes, as other employees and supervisors also begin working at home. Hours spent commuting, traffic jams, and fights for parking should diminish, as workers make fewer journeys or work staggered hours. Family life will also change. Workers, both husbands and wives, can arrange their work around family commitments such as taking children to school, cooking, leisure activities, etc. However, households will also have to set aside areas for work - particularly if both spouses are telecommuting. However, although the ideas of more time at home and less time traveling are attractive, there are some drawbacks to telecommuting. People may feel unable to escape their work, and may even work longer or more unsocial hours. The quality of work may suffer because of the reduced face-to-face interaction with other employees. There may be delays if other workers are not immediately available. Telecommuters may feel isolated or unmotivated, or insecure about decisions. A major change will be in the way people think about work as a place or an institution...
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...Introduction During the last 40 years, the nature of employment has changed. The percentage of women in the working area has doubled and working hours are now flexible. Gone are the days when men were the sole bread winner of the family. Shorter Oxford dictionary defined change as a ‘substitution or succession ranging from one thing in place of another to alteration in the state or quality of anything. Change can be large or small, evolutionary or revolutionary, sought after or resisted’ (cited in Hayes 2007 p.3). When change occurs in any environment, it makes us do the unexpected so Institute of Industrial Engineers explained change as ‘something that presses us out of our comfort zone. It is destiny-filtered, heart grown, faith built. Change is inequitable; not a respecter of person’ (IIE, 2010). Also change is often said to be the only thing that is constant in life (Armstrong 2009 p.424). The nature of work can be explained as the way people feel about work and work is the ‘exertion of effort and the application of knowledge and skills to achieve a purpose’ (Armstrong 2009 p.252). Knowing what change and the nature of work is all about; we can now understand what it means to have change in the work environment. This essay will be looking at three various types of changes that occurred in the working environment such as flexibility in the work system, working from home and an increase in women population in the working environment. It will also look at why these changes occurred...
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...to perform their jobs away from the traditional physical workplace. The most common form of virtual work, called telecommuting or teleworking, involves working at home rather than commuting to the office” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2010, p. 22). Summary: In his article, “Unilever Moves Employee Telecommuting to a New Level,” Gary M. Stern writes about how most employers today offer telecommuting and some go beyond that. Unilever is a consumer goods company that in 2010 launched a program titled “Agile Working” that allows its employees to telecommute anytime anywhere. With a 30% participation rate, employees are encouraged to work as long as they are making results. Stern alludes to various advantages of telecommuting such as avoiding commuting, flexible scheduling, and changing work environments. Advantages for the company include cutting global travel costs, office overhead, and achieving a higher level of talent in its employees. “Agile Working” is a flexible virtual work program that offers its employees flexibility, mobility, and challenges them in return (Stern 2012). Discussion: Virtual work is helping employees essentially blur the line between work and home. By letting employees use information technology and do their jobs away from the workplace they can be connected at home, on the road, or in a coffee shop. Research shows advantages of telecommuting include potentially reducing stress in employees, increase in employee productivity, and of course less pollution...
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...Survey report May 2012 Flexible working provision and uptake Contents Summary of key findings Flexible working provision – employers’ policies and practices Formal/informal flexible working arrangements Flexible working and the law Right to request flexible working Flexible working regulations and tribunal claims Access to and uptake of flexible working among employees Employee perceptions of the flexible working arrangements provided by employers Uptake of flexible working Flexible working uptake, by size of organisation worked for Flexible working uptake, by seniority of employees Employees that would like to work flexibly if given the opportunity Benefits of flexible working Benefits of flexible working: employees Satisfaction with work–life balance and employee engagement Satisfaction with work–life balance support Barriers to introducing flexible working Flexible working trends Background to the report Conclusions 2 4 7 9 10 14 15 15 16 18 18 18 21 22 24 25 27 30 33 34 Flexible working provision and uptake 1 Summary of key findings Background to the survey This report is based on survey responses from more than 1,000 employers and 2,000 employees. The employer survey is weighted to be representative of industry in the UK in relation to size, sector and type of business. The employee survey is weighted to be representative of the UK workforce in relation to sector and size (private, public, voluntary), industry type and full-time/part-time working by gender...
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...GS1145 Trends in the Workplace Environment 5/19/14 My paper will be discussing the association with working as a professional in an organization related to the professional field. I will also be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of working with people in an office versus working from home. A professional organization and a professional field differ in many ways. A professional organization is usually a nonprofit group of individuals looking to further seek a particular profession. This group’s focus is usually directed towards developing a solution for a common outcome. The professional field is a concentrated area of work in which an individual directs focus upon. This is usually the profession that a person is directly involved with. Both of these areas are relatable in that they both require the proper educational credentials in order to achieve each primary outcome. Working in an office compared to working at home can have its pros and cons. When working in an office environment an individual can work with other people to complete a project and gather ideas. This can be beneficial for people that have creative jobs and need to brainstorm ideas. Being in an office environment can keep an individual from procrastinating by providing a certain amount of pressure in order to get objectives completed. This can also be a form of distraction always having people demanding completed assignments. Working from home can be beneficial because of the lack...
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...TCP1* English Composition II (UG 0214) | | Topic: Work Place Productivity Research Question: are employees more productive when working from home? Thesis Statement: Research suggest that employees are more productive at home because they have less distractions, are more comfortable and are able to achieve work life balance. References: 1. O’Leary, M. B. (Mar 15, 2013). Telecommuting Can Boost Productivity and Job Performance Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/03/15/telecommuting-can-boost-productivity-and-job-performance. A. Companies should not require all employees to work on site all the time. While telecommuting is popular, it is not something that's run amok and–when well managed–it boosts productivity, commitment, work-life balance and retention. Presented by Michael Boyer O'Leary is an assistant professor of management, Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. Relevance based on the authors review of the actualized benefits of some workers working from home B. This article is about the benefits of some employees working from home. The argument is that some not all teleworkers do see a boost in productivity, employee retention and work life balance. Mr. O’Leary an assistant processor at the prestigious Georgetown University, Directly sites Yahoo’s recall of employees back to the office as an example of a mistake. The author uses research from Stanford University, The US census and the Harvard school of business...
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...Elephant by Polly Clark Everybody is born with a dream or something they hope one day will come true. Nobody sits at home and think it would be cool to sit there for the rest of their life. So everybody have to work hard. Lay some vigour in life. Before it can become fun and make it into your dream, you must have done some preliminary. Many people with a dream have some kind of an idol. A person they look up to and get the inspiration or they get the inspiration from the outside when they walked around. Almost every man, women, child or baby have it that way but not William. He was a man of few spoken words and worked with famous pop-singers. The story Elephant starts right into media-res, we are put in to a scene and a telling about this man William. He is homeworking man who is married to his wife Ginny. Ginny is working at an offices and is counting on that William can arrange his day after her needs just because he I working from home. ““I’m on my way” she said”” – she calls him in the middle of the day and is making him throw everything from him to just do what she wants. William writes biographies of pop singers I real he wanted to write film stars but he was not quick enough before someone quicker than him. William writing is not really approved of anyone. Through the text we get a feeling that William never really feel that what he is doing makes sense for him. He feels absent and not in contact with his whole life. This text is a normal day for William “The house...
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...As one of TheLadders' original 20 employees, AMANDA AUGUSTINE knows first-hand how rewarding and challenging a job at a startup can be, especially when you're new to the workforce. Play your cards right and you will learn more in one year than your friends will pick up in five or more working at larger, more traditional organizations. The media likes to sensationalize the perks and fun of working at a startup, but startup life is no day at the beach. You'll find that most operate with a "work hard, play hard" mentality. While you'll enjoy plenty of happy hours and ping pong tournaments, you'll also find the work intensely demanding -- likely, far more than anything you've previously experienced. Here are seven tips I've learned over the years to help you not only survive, but thrive at a startup: 1. Embrace the mission. The most successful entrepreneurs are incredibly passionate about their work. It's the fire in their bellies that drives them to succeed. Similarly, if you're going to commit to working at a startup, you have to believe in its mission. Look for organizations that are doing something you're interested in. You won't make it at a business if you're not genuinely excited about the work. 2. Acknowledge the long hours -- and accept them. If you're going to make it in the startup world, you first need to acknowledge that the hours will be long. The second step is to accept this fact. In the beginning, it wasn't unusual for my team to work more than twelve...
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...and the improvement of their companies would be stimulated by these workers. Therefore, how could employees get through different method to achieve work-life balance, there are a couple of examples, flextime on work, reduced hours/ part-time, compressed work weeks, job sharing and telecommuting. Nowadays, work- life balance in telecommuting becomes a very popular topic. Simultaneously, it is a method that employees could utilize some basic mobility equipments such as laptop, smart-phone, power cords, and web-cam, etc. to achieve communication for accomplishing their job. There is around 79% growth for utilization of telecommuting in last a decade based on researches. Hence, we determine that the trend for future utilization of telecommuting could increase in near future. To support our conclusion, the following report is planning to demonstrate that there is a potential increase trend for work-life balance in telecommuting in near future via the analysis of its advantages and challenges. To be briefly, telecommuting is work arrangement that employees could work in differnet location. We think that there are 6 major benefits as advantages for utilization of telecommuting. Firstly, the telecommuting can increase the employment opportunity, especially for some special groups such as the disables,...
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