|
Server : Apache/2.4.62 System : FreeBSD fbsdweb2.web.rcn.net 14.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE releng/14.1-n267679-10e31f0946d8 GENERIC amd64 User : www ( 80) PHP Version : 8.3.8 Disable Function : NONE Directory : /domains/highlandlabs/cqi-bin/ALFA_DATA/alfasymlink/root/domains/hrahg/hru/otj/ |
Upload File : |
<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 6.0">
<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
<title>HR - On the Job</title>
<style>
<!--
li.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-top:0in}
h1
{margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single; margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-top:0in}
h5
{margin:6.0pt 0in; text-align:justify;
text-indent:.25in;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
font-weight:normal}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
span.SpellE
{}
span.GramE
{}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<p align="center"> <img border="0" src="../graphics/hronthejob.jpg" width="504" height="54"></p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PEOPLE
MANAGEMENT</font></b></h2>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>
FIVE FACTS AND SEVEN MYTHS </b></font></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<span style="font-size:22.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Managing
your business and the people you have chosen to work with can be difficult and
complicated. Many of us are looking for answers to complex problems and
all too often the answers we find are just as complex. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">When
we do find answers that are expressed in simple logic, we tend to say to ourselves
�Of course, how obvious. That�s so basic, why didn�t I see that?�
Often the information we needed was right there in front of us, but in a scattered
mixture of jigsaw pieces that seemed too complex to sort out.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">So
when someone does sort them out, understands the full picture and can explain
it in that simple logic, we can often find answers that help us to better manage
our business and our people. In his book �It�s Okay To Be Boss� author
Bruce Tulgan has sorted out many of those jigsaw pieces and has expressed them
in a refreshingly simple set of logical observations. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�The
biggest problem in the workplace today is not tough bosses� says Tulgan, �it�s
under-management�. And it�s affecting managers at all levels of the organization�.
His first message to managers is the five facts of people management that must
be recognized.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
Five Facts</font></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">You
must:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Tell people exactly what to do</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Tell them how to do it</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Monitor and measure performance constantly</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Correct failure quickly</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
5.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Reward success even more quickly</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Simple,
logical, obvious and basic. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Now
let�s look at his observations on the seven myths of people management.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
Seven Myths</font></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Don�t
believe:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1.
The Myth of Empowerment</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�The
way to empower people is to leave them alone and let them manage themselves.�</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>The
reality</u> is that almost everyone performs better with more guidance, direction
and support from a more experienced person. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.
The Myth of Fairness</font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�The
way to be fair is to treat everyone the same�</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>The
reality</u> is that what�s truly fair is doing more for some people and less
for others, based on what they deserve, based on their performance.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>3.
The Myth of the Nice Guy</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�The
only way to be strong is to act like a jerk, but I want to be a �nice guy� </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>The
reality</u> is that it�s not about �you�, it�s about them and getting their
job done. Real �nice guy� managers do what it takes to help employees
succeed so they can deliver great service for customers and rewards for themselves.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.
The Myth of the Difficult Conversation </font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�Being
hands-off is the way to avoid confrontations with employees�</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>The
reality</u> is that being a weak manager makes these confrontations inevitable,
whereas being a strong manager means these confrontations rarely occur, and
when they do happen they�re just not so painful at all. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>5.
The Myth of Red Tape</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�Managers
are prevented from being strong because there are so many things beyond our
control; red tape, corporate culture, senior management, limited resources etc.�
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>The
reality</u> is that you should not be focusing on what you cannot control.
Focus on factors <i>that are</i> within your control, that�s how you develop
your strength as a manager. Meanwhile learn the rules and the red tape
and how to navigate within and around them. That�s developing management strength
too. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>6.
The Myth of the Natural Leader</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�I�m
�not good� at managing. It doesn�t come natural to me�. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>The
reality</u> is that the best managers are people who learn proven techniques
and practice those techniques diligently until they become skills, and to continue
practicing them until they become habits.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>7.
The Myth of Time</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�There
isn�t enough time to manage people. I�m just focusing on doing my job�.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>The
reality</u> is that if you�re a manager, managing people <i>is</i> your job.
Since your time is so limited, you definitely don�t have time to deal with all
the things that go wrong when you don�t spend enough time doing the up-front
people managing.</font></p>
<hr>
<h2 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center">
<font face="Verdana" color="#008000">Have an employment question?</font></h2>
<h3 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><font face="Verdana">Send it to
<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">
[email protected]</a></font></h3>
<p style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="2">
Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company
identification will be kept confidential.</font></b></p>
<hr>
<h2 align="left"><b><u><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hitchhiking on the Information
Highway</font></u></b></h2>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font
size="4" color="#FF0000">Dateline: May 2007</font></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Note. Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first
of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several
monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information
as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be
released.</font></i></p>
<p> </p>
<table border="0" width="100%" height="3729">
<tr valign="top">
<td width="100%" height="3702">
<blockquote>
<div align="center">
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
Changing U.S. Workforce</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
world and everything in it is always changing. Nothing in nature
is stagnant; everything is in motion, all the time. To see where
you are going to be in the future, you need only identify where you
are now and the direction in which you are going. Draw a line
from where you are and extend it through the direction you are going
and you will see where you are going to be. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">So
much is changing in our American workforce that it is worthwhile to
occasionally look at some those changes we can identify and get a
glance at where we might be. A recently published research by
two Southern California professors, James O�Toole and Ed Lawler entitled
�Work In America� compares the workforce of the early 1970s with today�s
workforce. The authors conducted a similar study in 1973 and
have compared the results.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><b> </b></p>
<div align="left">
<table border="0" width="94%" id="table21" cellpadding="2">
<tr>
<td width="68" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><b>1973</b></i></font></td>
<td valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>Most
workers were caucasian, male and working for the employer they
intended to be with for life. One third of all women were secretaries.</i></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="68" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="5">2006</font></b></font></td>
<td valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Women
make up the majority of the workforce and in at least 5 states
Caucasians are in the minority. 70% of all new entrants into
the workforce are women, minorities and immigrants. Women make
up more than half of all supervisors, all new nusiness owners
and college graduates. </font>
<hr>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="68" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><b>1973</b></i></font></td>
<td valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>The
majority of all workers surveyed said that they�re jobs were
�dull, repetitive, seemingly meaningless tasks offering little
challenge� and �are causing discontent among workers of all
levels�</i></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="68" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="5">2006</font></b></font></td>
<td valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
direct contrast to media reports of employee dissatisfaction,
90% of workers report that they are happy or satisfied with
their jobs. Most of the tedious , dull tasks have been automated
or outsourced. Most employees actually state that they are now
happier with their jobs than with their personal lives. A major
part of this increased satisfaction is because women and minorities
have made high strides in career opportunities and pay. </font>
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Their
research leads them to believe that the longer hours most
workers put in are actually because they like their jobs and
are more focused on the development, social interactions and
rewards of their work than on family, hobbies or personal
health. Also e-mail and other modern technology has made it
easier to take their work with them.</font></p>
<hr>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="68" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><b>1973</b></i></font></td>
<td valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>Companies
intended to keep their employees forever so they trained them
broadly. They may provide tuition aid for almost any type of
education. They offered more complete benefit packages providing
full medical coverage. They recognized longer years of service
and rewarded that as �loyalty�. Retirement plans had a guaranteed
amount at retirement. It was not a very large retirement but
it was guaranteed.</i></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="68" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="5">2006</font></b></font></td>
<td valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">After
the explosion of technical knowledge in 1981, employees became
more loyal to their technology and careers as the best trained
among them found that their earnings increased tremendously
as they moved on to companies that were more technologically
advanced. Today most companies know if . they train employees
in skills and knowledge outside the companies needs, they�re
more likely to lose them sooner. </font>
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Also
today companies are more likely to base pay on performance.
Bonuses Profit sharing and stock ownership plans are tied
to results. And guaranteed retirement amounts have pretty
much been replaced by 401 (k) and savings retirement plans,
which have the potential to make retirees millionaires. </font></p>
<hr>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="68" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><b>1973</b></i></font></td>
<td valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>1973
Unions represented about 25 percent of all U.S. Workers. This
was down from about 35 percent in the late 1940s. The big union
hammers were safety, benefits, job protection and wages</i></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="68" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="5">2006</font></b></font></td>
<td valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2006
Unions today represent about 8 percent of the private industry
workforce and that number continues to go down nationally. As
the government laws that unions demanded resulted in the government
taking most of the control over safety, Benefits, job protection
and wages. The only segment of the American workforce where
union membership is growing is in government workers. As the
number of government workers increases at all levels (federal,
state, county and municipal) so does that segment of union membership.
</font>
<hr>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:60.0pt"> </p>
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table17" cellpadding="2" height="102" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="78">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�If your
dream is a big dream, and if you want your life to work on the
high level that you say you do, then there�s no way around doing
the work it takes to get there�</font></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-Joyce
Chapman</i></b></font></h3>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h1 align="center" style="text-align:center"> </h1>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Changes
In The World Workforce </font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Beyond
the research cited above, there are other changes of interest in today�s
global workforce. Here are a few examples:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>Paid
Leave for Dogs </u></font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
the United Kingdom there is a growing trend toward paid time off to
tend to your pets.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>Immigrants
<i>to</i> Ireland?</u></font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Faced
with a booming economy and low unemployment, Ireland will issue its
first green cards to attract workers to their industries such as construction,
health care and financial services. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>Maybe
They Don�t Talk Very Well</u></font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Job
cuts in the media were up 88 percent in 2006. This trend is
expected to continue. Actually the heaviest cuts were in the
print media as media organizations shift their focus to electronic
communications, primarily the Internet.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>Alaska
Jobs Going Begging</u></font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
main attraction to moving to Alaska has traditionally been the extremely
high wages. However, as the wage rates and salaries in the lower
48 have, in the last 8 years, risen to meet Alaskan wage rates, that
is no longer a big draw. And as their workforce ages and is
beginning to retire its once premium packages can no longer attract
that relocation.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>America
Slipping?</u></font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">As
the media is convincing Americans that we are all working too hard
and need more paid time off, earlier retirements and more fun at work,
it appears that we are actually paying attention. Although we
are still one of the world�s top two most productive nations (Australia
passed us up in 2005), our productivity rate began falling behind
in 2006. We were number six on the productivity growth ladder
behind Finland, Japan, Germany, Britain and France. Although we still
were more productive than all of them, their rate of productivity
growth for 2006 surpassed ours.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p>
</div>
<span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<div align="center">
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table19" height="87" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td height="109" valign="top">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�To become
different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what
we are�</font></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-Eric
Hoffer</i></b></font></h3>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> </p>
</div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center"> <b><font size="5" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Women
Hate Marriage?</font></b></h2>
</span>
<div align="center">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in"><b>
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">As
we seem to be bashing the media this month, let�s finish up here by
putting in one more jab. The media in print and TV reported
excitedly in January that women no longer seemed to want to be married
due to the confined restriction of marriage and the lack of any need
for men in their lives. The announcements were from a study
conducted by The New York Times wherein they reported that 51 percent
of women, as of 2005, have no spouse. They announced that married
couples in the U.S. are now in a minority. They observed that
women are delighting in their newfound freedom. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
lengthy article quoted several women who felt that the restrictions
and burdens of family life make it a very undesirable choice for women
today. The report suggested that government laws, public policy
and the American workplace should no longer be designed around the
concept of marriage. Reading the headlines and watching the TV sound
bites seemed to announce a revolution against marriage and family.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">However,
Thomas Sowell, an economist, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute
and the author of several books on economics and social issues decided
to read the fine print in the study and discovered something that
was not in the sound bites or had been buried in that fine print.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Sowell,
reports that the study included girls from age 16 and up. It
also included women who were widowed and divorced and women whose
husbands were in the military or in prison. At age 16
few girls are married yet. Widowed and divorced women had been
married and many had been so many times. Wives with husbands
in the military and in prison were in fact married. But the
headline �<b>51% of Women Live Without A Spouse</b>� and the first
few quotes from the doomsayers presented a different story.
In reality, Sowell stated, only one fourth of women, including the
16 year olds, have never been married.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Sowell
also pointed out the fallacy of another widely accepted media myth,
that more than half of all marriages end in divorce. Those figures,
he reported are based on the comparison between the number of marriages
and the number of divorces in one specific year. In that year,
there were half as many people who filed for divorced as there were
people who married. That, he stated, has no bearing on the vast
numbers of people who are married and who are divorced. In the
following year, there may well be more people who marry than who file
for divorce. The reality, says Sowell, is that far more marriages
last than end in divorce.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table20" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�The family
is the nucleus of civilization�</font></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-Will
Durant</i></b></font></h3>
</td>
</tr>
</table></div>
<blockquote><hr width="75%">
<p></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<table border="0" width="33%">
<tr>
<td width="64%" valign="top">
<div style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1; padding-left: 4; padding-right: 4; padding-top: 1; padding-bottom: 1">
<p align="left"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Minimum Wage:</b></font></p>
</div>
</td>
<center>
<td width="100%" valign="top">
<h3><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$5.15/hr.</font></h3>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr>
<td width="13%" valign="middle" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Average
Income:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber4" height="76">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="76">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber5">
<tr>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Hourly</font></b></td>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weekly</font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber6" height="50">
<tr>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <u><font size="-1"><b>January</b></font></u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
2006</u></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$16.05</font></td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <b>
<font size="-1"><u>January</u></font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
2007</u></span></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$17.09</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>January</b></font></u><b><u>
2006</u></b><br>
</font></span>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
$555.33</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<b>
<font size="-1"><u>January</u></font><u>
2007</u></b></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$577.64</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="20%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<table border="0" width="99%" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="40" colspan="2">
<h3 align="center"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Federal<br>
Poverty Level:</b></font></span></h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><b><u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">One
(1) Person<br>
</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$10,160</font>
</td>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Family
of Four</font></b></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$19,806</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
</font><table border="0" width="100%">
<b></b><tr>
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<td width="37%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>IRS Mileage Allowance :</b></font></p>
</td>
</font></b><center><b></b><td width="63%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<div align="left"><b>
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">48.5</font><font face="Verdana" size="-1">
cents</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
per mile</font></b><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><br>
</font></font></b></div>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Postage:</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="68%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">1 oz.</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.39</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Each additional ounce</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><i>Postcards</i></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="38%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
</table>
<table border="0" width="98%">
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b><u>Population:</u></b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="82%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>World</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">6.5 Billion</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>U.S.</b></font></td>
<td width="82%" valign="top">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">300
Million</font>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>One
birth every 8 seconds<br>
One death every 13 seconds<br>
One new immigrant every 30 seconds<br>
Net gain = 1 person every second</i></font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="1" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr> <b>
<td width="48%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">U.S.
Workforce</font></b></p>
</td>
</b>
<center>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u>
<font size="-1">
January
2006</font></u></b></font></td>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <u><span style="font-weight:700">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
January
</font></span> </u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
<b> 2007</b></u></font></td>
</b>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">U.S. Civilian Workforce</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">123,062,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">124,767,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font size="-1">Number Employed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">118,075,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
119,767,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Number Unemployed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">5,072,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
5,141,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Unemployment Rate</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.1</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.1</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="43%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1" height="38">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="-1">2005
Absentee Rates </font></b></font></td>
<center>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="38"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="31">
<font size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Men
</font></span> </font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="31">
<div align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="27">
<font size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Women</font></span></font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="27">
<div align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.4%</font></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="23">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Total</b></font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="23">
<h4 align="center"><font size="-1"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3.3%</font></b></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<h4><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRODUCTIVITY
OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE</font></b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours
it took to produce it)</font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1992</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1993</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1994</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.3%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1995</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1996</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1997</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1998</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1999</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2000</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2001</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.1%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2002</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2003</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4.5%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1"><b>2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1">4.0%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2006</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3.0%</font></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="21"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font face="Verdana" size="2">� William J. Cook</font></p>
</body>
</html>