Well, the Financial Times just confirmed what I have been saying all along: Businesses SAY they want a certain type of worker, but they really aren't hiring those that meet the criteria. In the article written by Stefan Stern, there were a number of studies done looking at what attributes were being advertised for (in this case the article focused on entrepreneurship) and what managers and HR personnel actually chose.
While many businesses want a sense of independence and creativity, what they chose was a person that fit the company personality (conformity). Quoting Alan Bennett, Stern says that most companies have the attitude "I am all in favour of free expression provided it is kept rigidly under control." This is a good explanation for why social networking and other Web 2.0 are not readily accepted by many businesses: like those with an entrepreneurial spirit, communication and the dissemination of new ideas can't be managed or kept under control, not to mention covering the company from possible risks associated with the networking of ideas both inside and outside of the company.
1 comment:
So basically, yet another way in which organizations pay lipservice. I saw a recent SHRM study that said that most HR people (almost 70%) do NOT think it's important for entry level workers to have leadership. How, exactly, do they think that they'll be grooming leaders if they aren't hiring people with those qualities? Fascinating and frustrating.
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