Amanda Volk's Blog

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/entrepreneur/human_resources/article.jsp?content=20061019_145640_5628

PROFIT magazine came up with an article in 2006 describing how businesses need to improve their hiring recruiting strategies in order to attract talented employees.  As the baby boomers begin to retire, it will become difficult to find workers with the appropriate skills to fill open positions.

Although this article isn’t new I found it very interesting what they were forecasting for the future.  If their prediction is correct, then there should start to be a major need for positions to be filled in the job market.  I found it fascinating that it seems right now that it’s difficult for people to find jobs, however the article suggests not necessarily that there’s a lack of people applying for jobs, but that there is a lack of people with the necessary skills and experience.

http://www.expresspros.com/ca/extra/2007/09/

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2010/09/30/walmarts-south-africa-play-storm-clouds-ahead/

Shoppers in South Africa are generally excited for the possibility of Walmart coming to South Africa because it will allow them to shop somewhere where prices are much lower.  Unions in South Africa on the other hand are against Walmart.  They feel that Walmart has a reputation of exploiting workers and they don’t want to welcome that kind of company.

When I heard in class that Walmart was planning to bid over $4 billion for Massmart in South Africa I thought it was crazy.  Walmart may be one of the largest retailers in the world but it seems pretty risky to put that much money into an expansion that is not supported by South African unions that have significant influence.  I think Walmart should rethink this decision or at least make more of an attempt to smooth things over with the unions so that they don’t have a powerful influence rooting for them to fail right from the start.

http://stylerspeaks.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/cbs2-kcal9-starts-now/

Female workers sue banking firm Goldman Sachs over sex discrimination

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/09/17/femaleworkers-sue-banking-firm-goldman-sachs-over-sexdiscr.html

Goldman Sach Group Inc is a “global investment banking, securities and investment management company.” (http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:GS)

On Wednesday September 15 they had a lawsuit filed against them by three females who used to work for the company.  These three females felt that women in the company were discriminated against and were not getting the same opportunities as men for promotions.

Discrimination of women in the workplace is a reoccurring issue. Data collected from the US Department of Education showed that on average in all professions females earn only 80 percent of what males do. (http://www.newsweek.com/2010/03/18/are-we-there-yet.html) Ethics tells us what actions are right and wrong and I believe it is wrong to pay a male different than a female if they are doing the same job and have the same qualifications.  It is hard to predict whether another lawsuit displayed in the media will have any impact on the issue because there have been many in the past, but I think its important for individuals to stand up for something they feel entitled to and to try to bring equality to the workplace.

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.femaletraveller.co.uk/images/19319.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.femaletraveller.co.uk/dealing-with-sexism-while-travelling.html&usg=__LVNg9OiWLrjmwOvYszoXInEh154=&h=260&w=200&sz=14&hl=en&start=60&zoom=1&tbnid=yQIg1q1MCt9PRM:&tbnh=148&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsexism%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1259%26bih%3D611%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1340&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=153&vpy=255&dur=3167&hovh=208&hovw=160&tx=106&ty=77&ei=oVCRTMfsCYO8sAPv-8zhAg&oei=gVCRTPfCHIeCsQOO0bW9Ag&esq=4&page=4&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:60&biw=1259&bih=611

http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2010/03/24/womens-history-as-seen-on-newsweek-covers.html