Workplace Learning

There are several Office trends I see happening within the next couple of years.
1.) Mobile and Wireless Trends- The explosion of popularity in the iPhone provided a big boost in this concept. People want phones to help them find customers and services (example sending messages to phones about lunch specials) There have been a number of companies making applications for iPhone and Blackberry Storm to attract customers and make life easier for them. Business people can keep up-to-date with emails, stocks, clients, etc easier and more efficiently. The internet is more accessible than ever before on a phone. http://www.m-trends.org/2008/01/mobile-and-wireless-trends-for-2008.html

2.) Virtual Office- No more long trips to work. Well yes and no. Virtual office setting can help business especially smaller businesses with travel reduction costs. Not only will it reduce costs they will be able to meet almost whenever or where ever they are without having to wait for the other party to arrive. This concept boosts social networking to help all people from all over to contribute to projects and business relationships. http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/articles/2006/10/01/virtual_office_is_what_you_make_it/

3.) Going Green- Its not all about cars anymore. Businesses are finding new economic friendly methods for their business. Most economic methods deal with less energy costs, because the technology they integrate uses less energy. The fear of Global Warming is still fresh in people's minds. People more than ever are attracted to economic friendly products so it may also attract new customers to the business. I just makes since to use less resources. http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/article191852.html

4.) Social Networking- Its all the rage now days in the digital world. What make it so appealing? Web sites like YouTube, twitter, and facebook have grown tremendously to the point that almost no one hasn't heard of them. This generation is hungry for some social networking. Social networking can also help businesses. It can allow people to search for jobs, contacting managers or people they meet over the internet. Social networking has so many possibilities. It’s just like have "inside sources" you build up with others over the internet. In the NorthJersey.com article they state that 65% of business professionals use professional social-networking sites, and 35% of individuals use networks to find and assist them with finding a job(such as careerbuilder.com). http://www.northjersey.com/education/tow/37055159.html

5.) Reconstructing the Workplace- Corporations are seeing a reduce level of supervision and emphasis on a “team approach to business”. This modifies the chain of command. Traditional “ranks” are nonexistent makes it harder to press “grievances.” Trend is also a shift of Human Resources Departments moving from an Administrative to Strategic. The very concept of “workplace” is being redefined with the help of telecommuting. People would rather work from home then meet and work at central locations. Article Here

6.) Going back to school- Websites such as http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/workforce/wrkRetrain.php usually belong to university either online or in actual location. They help people that are unemployed to learn their positions they work in, to better qualify themselves to be in the position for employment opportunities. Businesses today are very picky, especially with economy the way it is, and want to help their business succeed in this time of crisis.

7.) Training home business- Home business are growing by leaps and bounds every day, be it selling items on eBay, Amazon, programming, etc. #2 and #4 focus on the areas needed for successful home business; Social networking and Virtual Office abilities. Websites such as http://www.homebasedbusiness.sbdc.com.au/ help people become better and more profitable. People are beginning to realize that in order to make money they have to be organized, educated, and wise. Going back to school is a wise thing to do.

8.) Better training for employees- Most business today are follow the flow of sending their employees to “camps,” group “therapy” (worker trust and functionality), and classes. Companies have realized that if the employees are up to par the company is up to par. http://www.act-eap.com/

9.) E-Learning- Can help people of all background grow in knowledge and move away from the "one size fits all." The computer, database, and internet are huge resources to the users disposal providing growth in knowledge. E-learning eliminates the need for training teachers to teach students. And it can reduce costs. Article Here

These topics cover the main points in all 10 webpages.