BrazenMuse
06-01-2008, 02:18 PM
Thought you might find this interesting...share it!
People can be annoyed with having to write all they want to...corporate America doesn't want to have to spend all that money teaching you something you should have learned years earlier:
Excerpts:
Poorly written job applications are a figurative kiss of death, and corporations spend several billion dollars annually improving writing among employees, according to a business survey released here today by a blue-ribbon group worried about the quality of writing in the nation's schools and colleges.
The report, Writing: A Ticket to Work . . . Or a Ticket Out, A Survey of Business Leaders (.pdf/356k) (http://www.writingcommission.org/prod_downloads/writingcom/writing-ticket-to-work.pdf), concludes that the ability to write opens doors to professional employment. It was prepared by the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges, which surveyed 120 human resource directors in companies affiliated with Business Roundtable (http://www.brt.org/), an association of chief executive officers from U.S. corporations with combined annual revenues of more than $4 trillion.
"Writing is both a 'marker' of high-skill, high-wage, professional work and a 'gatekeeper' with clear equity implications," said Bob Kerrey, president of New School University in New York and chair of the Commission. "People unable to express themselves clearly in writing limit their opportunities for professional, salaried employment," he said.
The survey found that advanced technology in the workplace plays a significant role. "With the fast pace of today's electronic communications, one might think that the value of fundamental writing skills has diminished in the workplace," said Joseph M. Tucci, president and CEO of EMC Corporation and chairman of the Business Roundtable's Education and the Workforce Task Force. "Actually, the need to write clearly and quickly has never been more important than in today's highly competitive, technology-driven global economy."
and
"While trying to improve math, science, and technology in our schools, we've neglected writing," said Commission member Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, which founded the Commission. "Writing is a fundamental professional skill. Most of the new jobs in the years ahead will emphasize writing. If students want professional work in service firms, in banking, finance, insurance, and real estate, they must know how to communicate on paper clearly and concisely."
Among "hourly" (i.e., nonprofessional) employees, writing expectations are not as high as they are for "salaried" workers, according to survey results. Even among hourly workers, however, between one-fifth and one-third of employees in fast-growing service sectors have some writing responsibility, says the Commission. "Not surprisingly, we found that e-mail has had a big effect on who communicates in corporate America and how frequently," noted Caperton. "The very clear message we received is that more employees are writing about more things more often."
"I believe that much of what is important in American life depends on clear oral and written communication," noted Kerrey. "This survey confirms everything we believe about how the ability to present oneself persuasively and articulately on paper is a big part of individual opportunity in the United States," Kerrey said.
The Commission points to three key policy issues highlighted by the survey results. Since writing is a "marker" attribute of high-wage work, schools and colleges interested in preparing students for rewarding work should worry about student writing. Writing is also a "gatekeeper," says the Commission, a conclusion with significant implications for the communications skills of English-language learners and the poor, who may be consigned to low-wage, dead-end work without attention to their special needs around communication and writing. Finally, writing skills cannot be developed quickly or easily, but should be the focus of school and college attention across the curriculum, from kindergarten through college.
The National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges is a blue-ribbon group of leaders from public schools, higher education, and the business and writing communities. Commission members are committed to doubling the amount of time students in American schools and colleges spend writing. Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of more than 150 leading American corporations with a combined workforce of more than 10 million employees in the United States and combined annual revenues of $4 trillion.
Link: http://www.writingcommission.org/pr/writing_for_employ.html
People can be annoyed with having to write all they want to...corporate America doesn't want to have to spend all that money teaching you something you should have learned years earlier:
Excerpts:
Poorly written job applications are a figurative kiss of death, and corporations spend several billion dollars annually improving writing among employees, according to a business survey released here today by a blue-ribbon group worried about the quality of writing in the nation's schools and colleges.
The report, Writing: A Ticket to Work . . . Or a Ticket Out, A Survey of Business Leaders (.pdf/356k) (http://www.writingcommission.org/prod_downloads/writingcom/writing-ticket-to-work.pdf), concludes that the ability to write opens doors to professional employment. It was prepared by the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges, which surveyed 120 human resource directors in companies affiliated with Business Roundtable (http://www.brt.org/), an association of chief executive officers from U.S. corporations with combined annual revenues of more than $4 trillion.
"Writing is both a 'marker' of high-skill, high-wage, professional work and a 'gatekeeper' with clear equity implications," said Bob Kerrey, president of New School University in New York and chair of the Commission. "People unable to express themselves clearly in writing limit their opportunities for professional, salaried employment," he said.
The survey found that advanced technology in the workplace plays a significant role. "With the fast pace of today's electronic communications, one might think that the value of fundamental writing skills has diminished in the workplace," said Joseph M. Tucci, president and CEO of EMC Corporation and chairman of the Business Roundtable's Education and the Workforce Task Force. "Actually, the need to write clearly and quickly has never been more important than in today's highly competitive, technology-driven global economy."
and
"While trying to improve math, science, and technology in our schools, we've neglected writing," said Commission member Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, which founded the Commission. "Writing is a fundamental professional skill. Most of the new jobs in the years ahead will emphasize writing. If students want professional work in service firms, in banking, finance, insurance, and real estate, they must know how to communicate on paper clearly and concisely."
Among "hourly" (i.e., nonprofessional) employees, writing expectations are not as high as they are for "salaried" workers, according to survey results. Even among hourly workers, however, between one-fifth and one-third of employees in fast-growing service sectors have some writing responsibility, says the Commission. "Not surprisingly, we found that e-mail has had a big effect on who communicates in corporate America and how frequently," noted Caperton. "The very clear message we received is that more employees are writing about more things more often."
"I believe that much of what is important in American life depends on clear oral and written communication," noted Kerrey. "This survey confirms everything we believe about how the ability to present oneself persuasively and articulately on paper is a big part of individual opportunity in the United States," Kerrey said.
The Commission points to three key policy issues highlighted by the survey results. Since writing is a "marker" attribute of high-wage work, schools and colleges interested in preparing students for rewarding work should worry about student writing. Writing is also a "gatekeeper," says the Commission, a conclusion with significant implications for the communications skills of English-language learners and the poor, who may be consigned to low-wage, dead-end work without attention to their special needs around communication and writing. Finally, writing skills cannot be developed quickly or easily, but should be the focus of school and college attention across the curriculum, from kindergarten through college.
The National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges is a blue-ribbon group of leaders from public schools, higher education, and the business and writing communities. Commission members are committed to doubling the amount of time students in American schools and colleges spend writing. Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of more than 150 leading American corporations with a combined workforce of more than 10 million employees in the United States and combined annual revenues of $4 trillion.
Link: http://www.writingcommission.org/pr/writing_for_employ.html