Turkey and Career Development with a Side of Stuffing, Please!

Posted on by Maribeth Gunner

Good gravy! Why are we connecting Thanksgiving and Career Development? Well, they are both special occasions celebrated in November. In fact, all of November is National Career Development Month. Another important similarity regarding these celebrations is the perfect opportunity each offers to reflect on all you may be thankful for: supportive people in your life, good health, steady work, educational achievements, comfortable lifestyle and more.

Yet despite the mutual commonalities, there鈥檚 also a few differences between these celebrations. Thanksgiving occurs once per year, while Career Development Month highlights an evolving lifelong process. A more notable difference is the awareness of each event. Most Americans are well-versed regarding all aspects of the Thanksgiving holiday and its reverence, history, and customs. In contrast, career development does not claim the same notoriety or universal understanding of its value. Not everyone invests significant attention in the concept, and few mark the occasion on their calendars. Some people experience career development by chance, engage in it partially, or maybe not at all. Others pursue it proactively but often without a clear direction.

How would do you describe your career development? Does it deserve a bigger spotlight? Learning more about the career development process is a beneficial and empowering way to steer your career onto a path of satisfaction and success.

听

The Career Development Process

听Career development is an integral part of your lifelong journey. It includes the process of exploring, evaluating, choosing, and acting on educational and occupational roles and options as you move through various life stages. It is interwoven with your personal development and holistic; it draws upon biological, psychological, sociological, and cultural factors across your lifespan.

Although complex in many ways, there are a few basic concepts that help define the career development process and break it down into manageable steps. Here鈥檚 the four main steps in the process:

  1. Self-Assessment 鈥� identifying your skills, abilities, values, and interests to make informed education and career decisions.
  2. Career Exploration 鈥� researching key occupational areas and market trends based on self-assessment results; gaining experience in your desired field to make meaningful career decisions.
  3. Decision Making 鈥� using critical thinking and reasoning to evaluate and choose options that will establish a path/direction of your desired career outcomes.
  4. Developing and Executing an Action Plan 鈥� planning and following a series of short-term and long-term goals you have identified to target and attain your career aspirations; creating a flexible action plan to follow

The career development process is ongoing and sequential. Yet, it is also fluid, meaning you can move back and forth between steps at any time. It is important to note that because everyone has different life circumstances, everyone experiences the career development process in their own unique way. If you鈥檙e pursuing your first job, or re-entering the workforce, it might best to first conduct some self-assessment to clarify and/or confirm your direction. If deciding on a career change or job search, you may repeat all or part of the process. Or, you can begin with career exploration to discern the next best opportunity.

By taking the time to conduct a self-assessment, and explore what opportunities are available, you can determine if additional education or training is needed and target your preparation and planning. Your educational choices will influence your career trajectory. Exploring options and requirements for your field of interest will help link your academic and career goals.

In addition to self-assessment and career exploration, setting goals, making decisions, and creating an action plan are also essential elements of the career development process. Some people tend to overlook or bypass the decision making and planning aspects of the process. This is comparable to embarking on a sailing adventure in a boat without a rudder, aimlessly floating without direction. The rudder helps control the direction of the sailboat and balance the wind in the sails. Likewise, planning is an essential component of the process, and strengthens your navigating abilities. It鈥檚 worth the time and energy to consider your routes and map your course. The quality of your career development plans impacts your entire lifestyle, your self-concept, your educational and occupational choices, your social circle, and where you reside.

Be Ready for the Future

In today鈥檚 workplace changes are a constant. Chances are you will most likely refine your career direction several times during your life. You may need to re-examine your goals, and revise your career plan to take advantage new opportunities. Globalization, changing industries, and increased technology can have a disruptive impact on careers. Many jobs that exist today may be reconfigured or become obsolete in the future. For some occupational fields, there are jobs that do not even exist yet, and new jobs are created every year. You can best prepare for, and embrace, these changes by using the career development process as a guidepost when needed.

Enjoy and Give Thanks!

Whether you are in the beginning, middle, or later stages of your career, actively engaging in your career development will increase your ability to live a fulfilling lifestyle with meaningful work.

So, this November, while relishing your turkey and cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving, remember to reflect on all the personal and professional accomplishments you have amassed 鈥� and those you aspire to achieve. You have the steps you need to create your own destiny. Now that is something to be thankful for.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy Thanksgiving, and a wonderful Career Development Month!

听

Maribeth Gunner Pulliam, MS Ed

Director of Career Services

听Visit the to access the many resources and services that can assist in every step in the career development process.

 

 

Tomorrow鈥檚 World: Challenge, Change, and Career Readiness in Logistics

Posted on by John Coy

In this series of articles titled 鈥淭omorrow鈥檚 World,鈥� members of the Excelsior College faculty reflect on the changes taking place in their field and consider how those changes might impact someone planning a career in that discipline.

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not represent the views or opinions of my employer.

Transportation, logistics, and operations management are at the core of the global supply chain, encompassing manufacturing, distribution, retailing, recreation, and national security industries. There is a growing demand for professionals capable of executing and overseeing the procurement, warehousing, and transporting of goods in an increasingly global market and business environment. Logistics management is the process of planning, preparing, implementing, and evaluating all logistics functions that support an operation or activity.

career readiness in logistics

Logistics Future Challenges: The Growth of Global Demand

One of the largest challenges in logistics is the current growth rate of jobs. According to the U.S Department of Labor, 270,000+ logistics-related job openings will need to be filled every year from now until 2024. These openings will keep pace with projected industry growth and equate to 2.16 million job positions nationwide. These positions fall into six separate categories, including logistics operations; industrial engineering; warehousing and distribution; trucking; freight rail; and air cargo supervisor.

The Skills of the Logistician

Maintaining the proper skill set is challenging, and for logisticians, those skills need to be able to transfer into multiple areas like air, rail, road, and sea movement. In addition, logistics professionals require skills in supply chain management, including addressing global supply chain challenges. Logistics skill sets include transportation and inventory management; transportation sector requirements (road, air, rail, water, and pipeline) and challenges; reverse and lean logistics; warehousing; distribution; logistics technology, economics, and globalization; and intermodal or multimodal movement.

听Career Readiness in Logistics

In this dynamic, ever-changing business-technological environment, there is a need for organizations to integrate business, process management, and technical skills to solve challenging logistics problems. 鈥淯.S. businesses spent $1.3 trillion on logistics-related costs to make all this commerce flow鈥� (U.S. DoL, 2015). Moreover, the average salary for supply chain and logistics professionals has been steadily increasing and reached $115k annually in 2015 (Logistics Management 30th Annual Salary Survey, 2015). Finally, our nation鈥檚 7,600+ educational institutions currently generate more than 75,000+ formally trained, degreed, or certified logistics workers each year. These trained workers are expected to fill only approximately 28 percent of the logistics-related job openings that are projected to be available every year (Logistics Management Annual Salary Survey, 2015).

听Certifications and Credentials of Competence

Learners who enter the workforce with industry certifications bolster their resume and present a willingness to learn more about a specific subject matter. Most industry certifications target a specific job role or skill set. Potential partnerships with notable industry associations and certifications include:

  • Institute of Supply Management (ISM庐).
    • Certified Professional in Supply Management庐 (CPSM庐)
    • Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity庐 (CPSD鈩�)
  • American Society of Transportation and Logistics
    • Global Logistics Associate (GLA)
    • Distinguished Logistics Professional (DLP)
    • Transportation & Logistics (CTL)
    • Professional Designation in Logistics and Supply Chain Management Professional Certification (PLS)

Careers in Logistics for Tomorrow鈥檚 World

The demand for logistics professionals is not going away in the near or distant future. On all geographic levels, projections estimate faster-than-average growth for logistics occupations. Government-affiliated organizations list logisticians and logistics managers as 鈥渂right outlook鈥� occupations. According to Logistics Management鈥檚 30th Annual Salary Survey, some of these professions and their average salaries (equivalent degree-level requirements) include logistics director/manager professional ($109,760 鈥� bachelor鈥檚 to master鈥檚-level degree), supply chain director/manager ($114,275 鈥� bachelor鈥檚 to master鈥檚-level degree), operations manager ($98,235 鈥� bachelor鈥檚 to master鈥檚-level degree), purchasing/procurement director/manager ($85,070 鈥� bachelor鈥檚-level degree), warehouse director/manager ($84,730 鈥� bachelor鈥檚-level degree), traffic manager $69,480 鈥� associate to bachelor鈥檚-level degree), and coordinator/analyst ($67,000 鈥� associate to bachelor鈥檚-level degree).

These professions are projected to grow faster than average, have 100,000+ job openings, and are new and emerging fields. Excelsior College helps learners meet the demands of the industry with its logistics management concentration in its business program. The program prepares students in supply chain management; lean logistics; project management; quality control; and transportation, warehousing, and distribution. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that logistics jobs that require these skills will grow at a faster-than-average pace, estimating 22 percent job growth between 2014 and 2024. This growth trend reveals that it is a prime time for learners to acquire crucial logistics skill sets. Click here to learn more about Excelsior College’s Business Degrees.

 

References

Bright Outlook Occupations: Logistics. O*NET Online. http://www.onetonline.org/help/bright/

Logistics Management鈥檚 30th Annual Salary Survey. Retrieved from http://www.supplychain247.com/article/logistics_managements_30th_annual_salary_survey

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016). Occupational Employment Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oes/

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016). Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oes/ooh/杏吧原创/Occupational-Information-Included-in-the-OOH.htm/

U.S. Department of Labor (2016). Employment Trends in the Logistics Industry Cluster. Retrieved from doleta.gov/performance/results/AnnualReports/docs/2016_State_Plans/Economic_Reports/

 

 

 

Course Feature: Caring For Our Nation’s Heroes

Posted on by Jenna Kerwin

In honor of Veteran鈥檚 Day, we thought we鈥檇 introduce you to a course especially designed to teach health care workers of the needs of military members and their families.
NUR 340 Caring for Our Nation鈥檚 Heroes and Their Families is an 8-week, 3-credit elective course that provides critical insights and skills that are required to assess the unique healthcare needs of the military, veterans, and their families, and ensure they receive culturally sensitive and superior health care. The course takes a deep look at the military and veteran culture, the military and veteran health care systems, veteran health care resources, and the military family. It explores veteran-centric health-related topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder, transition issues, poly-trauma, homelessness, women veteran health issues, LGBT topics, and applicable theories.
鈥淭he content on the military family is important, especially for nursing students, as nurses provide holistic care,鈥� says Patti Cannistraci, assistant dean of the School of Nursing, who oversees the RN-BS & MS nursing programs. 鈥淭he nurse is providing care for an entire family unit with the focus being the patient.鈥�

Students needn鈥檛 be a nurse, however, to take advantage of what this course offers. Anyone with an interest in understanding military and veteran culture more deeply would benefit, says Cannistraci. 鈥淓ven for students who just work alongside veterans鈥攖hose students would be significantly enriched by the course content,鈥� she adds. The course is important to nursing students, though, because it allows them to expand their thinking skills to be a better care provider to veteran patients and families.

So far, course evaluations show students have 鈥渓oved this class!鈥� and thought it is 鈥渁 great course.鈥� One student said, 鈥淚 found this course to be very interesting and I found myself wanting to learn more. It is surprising that others are not wanting to learn of our military. It has to be that others are not aware of this course. This is a class I would definitely recommend.鈥�

The inclusive learning environment may be a contributing factor to students鈥� high approval ratings. Cannistraci points out that veteran students are encouraged to bring their own experiences to the discussion boards. She explains, 鈥淭his type of sharing can facilitate the civilian student as seeing their own world as 鈥榦ther,鈥� and they may begin to change assumptions as they develop a better understanding of the military and veteran culture and experiences.鈥�
With all the discussion surrounding veteran health care, it is important that our health care workers and nursing professionals be prepared to aid this population. One faculty member who recently taught NUR 340 said, 鈥淚 love this course and think that every nurse, especially those in direct care, should take this course.鈥� So, what are you waiting for? for Caring for Our Nation鈥檚 Heroes and Their Families as your next elective!

Dr. Bonny Kehm from School of Nursing Is A Finalist for March of Dimes, Nurse of the Year Award In Education

Posted on by Nursing Staff

Congratulations to Dr. Bonny Kehm, Faculty Program Director in School of Nursing. She is one of 11 finalists for the March of Dimes, Nurse of the Year Award in Education.

According to the March of Dimes, Nurse of the Year events recognize and honor distinguished nurses for their outstanding contributions. Hundreds of applications in categories ranging from Advanced Practice to Surgical Services are reviewed and scored by high-ranking nurse leaders. Through this competitive process, finalist within each category are then determined. The March of Dimes is proud to announce and honor the 2017 Nurse of the Year finalists.

EDUCATION
Amy Reed 鈥� Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Angela Andrews 鈥� Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Bernadette Henrichs, PhD, CRNA, CCRN 鈥� Washington University Saint L
Bonny Kehm听鈥撎�Excelsior College
Christopher D Boyer 鈥� Mercy Hospital 鈥� St. Louis
Emily Gunn 鈥� St. Louis University School of Nursing
Geralyn Frandsen 鈥� Maryville University
Joanne Kern 鈥� Maryville University
Kathy Williams 鈥� St. Anthony鈥檚 Hospital
Mykale Elbe 鈥� Maryville University
Stephanie Torrence 鈥� Barnes-Jewish Hospital

The nominating committee looked at:

  • How you鈥檝e made an impact on the lives of your patients, colleagues, or students.
  • How you demonstrate serving diverse and underserved populations.
  • How you demonstrate leadership in order to impact positive change in the profession.

At the award banquet on November 18, 2017, they will announce the Nurse of Year from each specific category.

Good Luck Bonny!

Were you seen? Nyquist Leadership Series on Open Education and College Readiness

Posted on by Mike Lesczinski

On October 18, policy makers, advocates, and researchers convened in Albany, New York for the event: Creating College-Ready Students Through Open Education. Panelists and attendees engaged in a thoughtful discussion on practices and policies to help traditional and adult learners transition to college and attain higher education success, including the benefits of open educational resources (OER), strategies for successful implementation of OER across college curriculum, and obstacles to mainstream OER adoption.

Dan Fuller, NYS Assistant Secretary for Education, served as the moderator. Panelists included: Jason Bryer, PhD, Executive Director, Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (DAACS), Excelsior College;Elizabeth Johnston, PhD, Associate Professor, English Composition and Literature, Monroe Community College; Frank Crocco, PhD, Director, (OWL), Excelsior College;Gerard L. Hanley, PhD, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Academic Technology Services; Executive Director of MERLOT, California State University; and, Mark McBride, Library Senior Strategist, SUNY System Administration.

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Tomorrow鈥檚 World: Challenge, Change, and Career Readiness in Cybersecurity

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

In this series of articles titled 鈥淭omorrow鈥檚 World,鈥� members of Business & Technology faculty will reflect on the changes taking place in their field and consider how those changes might impact someone pursuing a career in that discipline. In this article, Dr. Andrew Hurd, the faculty program director for cybersecurity, considers challenges and changes in the field of cybersecurity and suggests how students should be career-ready for tomorrow鈥檚 world.

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not听represent the views or opinions of my employer.

Cybersecurity can be considered one of the oldest disciplines in the computing world; the evolution of cybersecurity has developed from the merger of computer security and information security. It has evolved from the early days when government officials feared foreign nationals were stealing secrets off computers, to the modern day where the Office of Personnel Management was hacked (Finklea et al., 2015). These threats are real and candidates entering the workforce need to be prepared to handle problems that may not exist today. Educating students of problems that don鈥檛 exist is a difficult task for educational institutions; preparing them to think creatively, and to be agile in their approach to problem solving is a challenge. A major goal of Excelsior College is to facilitate students to not only think about the problem at hand, but also what the problem can turn into, and how to solve that new problem.

Cybersecurity鈥檚 Future Challenges: The Internet of Things

One of the biggest challenges for cybersecurity is the Internet of Things (IoT) (Manral, 2015). The myriad devices that have been introduced onto the technology scene pose a large and constantly changing landscape for the people trying to protect the information stored. The ability to problem-solve in ways that most people do not recognize is important for cybersecurity specialists. The financial implications in cybersecurity are large and growing (Moore, 2010). It is difficult to predict, or even quantify, the cost of a security breach. People entering the workforce, or transitioning jobs, have a difficult time estimating the cost associated with breaches.

The expansion of IoT increases the possibility of breaches, the types of those breaches, and their complexity (Markowsky, 2015). If the IoT continues to grow, and manufacturers continue to put out devices with minimal security and unchanged default configurations, challenges for cybersecurity specialists will continue to rise. The challenge is that security specialists must understand how these devices connect and communicate with each other before they can secure the information. Individuals in the industry must stay up-to-date with their skillset. The IoT plays an important role in individual鈥檚 personal identifiable information (PII), which has direct correlations with health care and many other financial entities. A great example of this is the Equifax breach that just happened. We as a collective will feel the repercussions from this breach for years to come.

The Skills of the Cybersecurity Specialist

Maintaining the proper skillset is challenging, but exciting. The world of cybersecurity is fast-paced and cybersecurity specialists need to be informed and vigilant. Middle and high school technology programs are preparing learners with the proper skillset to be successful in college (Simon and Banford, 2017). Programs like Project Lead the Way have been instituted to help young learners develop beneficial skills earlier in life. They can expand tthese skills throughout college and into their careers (Cahill, 2016). Initiatives into STEM programs become increasingly important because individuals within these areas will be working with cybersecurity specialists to safeguard information, or some of the individuals within these programs will go on to become cybersecurity specialists (Eberle, 2010; Cherinka and Prezzama, 2015).

Career Readiness in Cybersecurity

Some institutions are focused on bringing career readiness into their curriculums (Lui and Murphy, 2017). There are many ways for learners to try and keep their skills current and up to date. Some can continuously take college classes. Others can enhance their knowledge through industry certifications; still others may receive on the job training. The biggest competencies for cybersecurity workers are the ability to learn and the willingness to do so. Understanding how to evaluate risk and learning the techniques of risk mitigation play a large role in incident response and cybersecurity threat analysis.

Certifications and Credentials of Competence

Many believe that industry certifications are the best way to prove proficiency in the cybersecurity field (Evans and Reader, 2010; Morgan, 2016). Those who have industry certifications entering the workforce bolster their resume and present a willingness to learn more about a specific subject matter. Most industry certifications target a specific job role or skillset. Learners can specialize in areas that are of interest to them. Educational institutions that partner with entities like CISCO and become training academies offer a proven curriculum to their students. Training academies adopt the materials that are put forth by the manufacturer and learners get access to discounted exam vouchers for the industry certifications. This is a nice feature to promote career readiness and to offer a benefit to workers who are investing in the educational programs. There are five major industry certification vendors for IT and cybersecurity: (ISC)2, CompTIA, EC-Council, CISCO, and ISACA. Each specialize in their own areas and in many instances, there is an overlap of skills between vendors and certifications. Each vendor offers the assurance that if a student holds a certification with their company credentials, then they have an increased competency in the given area.

Large institutions like ABET and the ACM have been trying to figure out where cybersecurity can be integrated into their strategic goals (Greenlaw, Phillips, and Parrish, 2014; Chesnais, 2012). The door is wide open to workers of all levels to be part of a future cybersecurity landscape.

Careers in Cybersecurity for Tomorrow鈥檚 World

The demand for cybersecurity is not going away in the foreseeable future. If there is money to be made, then there is a need for specialists in cybersecurity. At Excelsior, the baccalaureate degree, the master鈥檚 degree, and the credit-bearing undergraduate and graduate certificates in the business and technology programs recently underwent revisions. The bachelor鈥檚 degree meets all the guidelines for the Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD). Excelsior College is designated as a 4-year CAE-CD by the National Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security. The credit-bearing courses institute the philosophy of hands-on, virtualized learning where applicable. The courses still contain foundational theoretical concepts, but the student must demonstrate their proficiency with the technical skills that align with the knowledge. The degrees also incorporate the development of soft skills that employers are looking for, such as the ability to work in groups and to present information to a group of people. These soft skills and the hands-on experience are essential to prepare students for careers in the industry. They prepare students to be agile and handle any given task while preparing them to tackle the problems of the future.

References
Cahill, J. (2016). Project Lead the Way鈥擝ridging the College and Career Prep Divide: How to Provide Youth with Hands-On Experiences That Help Prepare Them for Their Careers.听Young Adult Library Services,听14(4), 26.
Cherinka, R., & Prezzama, M. J. (2015) Innovative Approaches to Building Comprehensive Talent Pipelines: Helping to Grow a Strong and Diverse Professional Workforce. Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, Volume 13, Number 6.
Chesnais, A. (2012). ACM’s annual report. Communications of the ACM, 55(1), 9鈥�13.
Eberle, F. (2010). Why STEM education is important.听Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society Publications. Retrieved from https://ww2.isa.org/standards-and-publications/isa-publications/intech-magazine/2010/september/why-stem-education-is-important/.
Evans, K., & Reeder, F. (2010).听A human capital crisis in cybersecurity: Technical proficiency matters. Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Finklea, K., Christensen, M. D., Fischer, E. A., Lawrence, S. V., & Theohary, C. A. (2015, July). Cyber Intrusion into US Office of Personnel Management: In Brief. Library of Congress Washington D.C. Congressional Research Service.
Greenlaw, R., Phillips, A., & Parrish, A. (2014). Is it time for ABET cybersecurity criteria?. ACM Inroads, 5(3), 44鈥�48.
Liu, X. M., & Murphy, D. (2017). Are They Ready? Integrating Workforce Readiness into a Four-Year College IT/IS Curriculum. Retrieved from http://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=sais2017.
Manral, J. (2015). IoT enabled Insurance Ecosystem-Possibilities Challenges and Risks.听arXiv preprint (arXiv:1510.03146).
Markowsky, L., & Markowsky, G. (2015, September). Scanning for vulnerable devices in the Internet of Things. In听Intelligent Data Acquisition and Advanced Computing Systems: Technology and Applications (IDAACS), 2015 IEEE 8th International Conference on听(Vol. 1, pp. 463-467). IEEE.
Moore, T. (2010). The economics of cybersecurity: Principles and policy options.听International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection,听3(3), 103-117.
Morgan, S. (2016). One million cybersecurity job openings in 2016. Forbes. Retrieved from https://pcage.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Forbes-Cybersecurity-Article-1.pdf.
Simon, N., & Banford, M. (2017, March). Cyber Crime Investigators: Pathways from High School to Cybersecurity Careers for First Generation College-Bound Students. In听Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education听(pp. 717-717). ACM.

 

Perspectives: “Good Living” by Blue Lemay

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Excelsior College will be hosting social media discussions all this week surrounding the popular Netflix documentary, What The Health. We asked a few of our subject matter experts to give their thought-provoking commentary on the documentary and the topics surrounding the issue.

*Please note that the author’s opinion is their own.

鈥淓ven if this documentary is only 60% correct, what would that mean?鈥� 听This was the first question I asked after watching What the Health. Other than a few colds in my life, I鈥檝e never been ill, and so serious questions about health had never really occurred to me. This was the first documentary, however, that clearly showed how health is not simply a personal concern; rather, personal health issues are intimately connected to the social and economic health of our nation. From the documentary, it鈥檚 clear that big business has vested interests in industrializing food through huge corporate farming to sell us processed foods. What matters to them is not the damage to the environment, the treatment of animals, or the toxic exposure to certain communities, but their profit. Pharmaceuticals don鈥檛 care about preventing illness, but selling pills. We may think cancer, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems are the inevitable results of genetics and our family history, but well-known doctors across the country state that nutrition is the biggest factor in determining our health. So, after watching numerous other health documentaries, my wife and I began to shift over to a plant-based lifestyle.

After two months, what did we find out? Well, we鈥檙e not dying. I鈥檓 not dying because I lack protein just because we don鈥檛 eat meat. Plus, I eat more of a variety of vegetables and foods than I have ever eaten before. Most importantly, though, it鈥檚 really made us examine what is important to us. Do we really want a lifestyle that is so busy, so full, and so exhausting that we need to constantly rely on quick and easy processed foods? What I did not expect to find, then, is how much I began to value food. We signed up for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), and we began to plan our meals around what a local farmer shared with us, thereby supporting our local economy. My wife and I spend more time together in the kitchen now, and that just feels good. That鈥檚 what good living means to us. Good and just living depends not only on my health alone, but how we invest in our relationship with each other and with other Americans.

Written by V. Blue Lemay, Program Director for Humanities, School of Liberal Arts

Book Review: 鈥業nvisible Influence: The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior鈥� by Jonah Berger

Posted on by William Trevor

This book review is an article originally published in the Journal of Business and Technology, produced by the School of Business and Technology at Excelsior College.听

听

Following the success of his best-selling book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On (2013), marketing professor Jonah Berger of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, has published Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior (2016).听 A work that looks at the social forces that guide our thoughts and actions.听 Berger is one of those contemporary 鈥榬ock star鈥� academics, like Dan Ariely, and fellow Wharton faculty Adam Grant, who have moved beyond limiting their ideas to the pages of peer-reviewed journals and succeeded in making them accessible to a wider audience through social media and the TED format. But it should not be forgotten that Berger also has a reasonable corpus of scholarship behind him that upholds his academic credentials and the rigor of his published works.

The author opens by describing one of his earliest forays into studying social influence when he bicycled around a particularly 鈥榯ony鈥� neighborhood in Silicon Valley to place a survey on the windshield of every BMW that he could find (p2).听 Berger was trying to unearth the reasons why someone bought a BMW and so, quite logically, he went to where you would expect to find them.听 Berger concluded that the owners of these status symbol cars did believe that societal influence plays a part in whether someone bought a BMW or not, they just didn鈥檛 believe that such forces had any effect upon them.听 Social influence was, therefore, something that people acknowledged as acting upon others, but were reticent to accept the evidence of any effects upon themselves.

To illustrate this further, Berger鈥檚 book challenges the reader to think about a recent choice, whether one as mundane as choosing a place to eat, or as important as selecting the next President of the United States and to question the cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors that give rise to that choice.听 In suggesting that we ascribe personal thoughts and opinions as the driving force behind our decision-making, Berger downplays this notion and instead concentrates his focus upon the impact of others as the key influence on what we choose to do and the decisions that we make.听 And in driving home his point, he provides illustrations of how, for example, the influence of the voting intentions of others encourages us to do the same or how the presence of someone alongside us at the gym, spurs us to run faster on the treadmill.

He groups the societal influences upon behavior into several categories, around which he then provides accessible examples that illustrate them more fully, whether that is differentiation, mimicry, avoidance or imitation.听 One of the more prominent examples of the latter, which Berger gives in the book is the novel, The Cuckoo鈥檚 Calling (2014), written by an unknown debut novelist, Robert Galbraith (p54). While it had initially seen modest sales, after three months had passed it was certainly not a best seller, languished at the bottom of the charts, and facing obscurity.听 All of that changed, however, when Robert Galbraith was revealed to be none other than J.K. Rowling, the creator of bestselling fictional children鈥檚 character, Harry Potter.听 While the content and the writing remained the same, the perception of the book and the reaction of the buying public changed and created an overnight sensation.

With his captivating style of storytelling, Berger is heir apparent to Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point (2002) and Outliers (2008), amongst other works, whose findings the Wharton scholar has previously challenged, while simultaneously acknowledging a debt to both Gladwell鈥檚 narrative style and his ability to popularize previously dry topics (Sacks, 2013).听 But if Berger was a little known scholar before he penned Contagious, he certainly has a higher profile now, even if he is yet to reach the stature and the acclaim afforded to Gladwell.听 While the book taps into Berger鈥檚 extensive research, it does not strive to be a piece of academic writing that explores the data in a scholarly way, rather it self-consciously aims to be a practical manual that helps the individual to make better decisions in the light of its insights.

Ultimately Berger seeks to explain what we do and why we do it, whether that decision happens to be political, emotional, or economic.听 While he acknowledges our ability to think independently and to act accordingly, his focus is upon societal influence and the way in which our thoughts and deeds are often inextricably linked with our response to others.听 And in developing the thesis of the book, he dexterously draws upon the eclectic academic output of a range of scholarship, whether that is the social sciences, marketing, psychology, or the field of education, which may suggest that the analysis is spread too thinly in places for specialists within some of those disciplines.

The knowledge and the accessibility of the examples should, nevertheless, appeal to a range of audiences and to readers from different backgrounds.听 With a focus upon improving decision-making, this book will appeal to the general reader of business non-fiction, but there is also sufficient rigor behind the narrative style to appeal to the scholar.听 It will resonate with readers seeking to apply its ideas to fields as diverse as management and HR, consumer behavior, marketing, and those who seek to gain a greater understanding of why we make the choices that we do. Ultimately the book doesn鈥檛 seem to have the focus and the purpose of Contagious and its breadth could be perceived as giving it less substance than his first title, but it remains a very readable and engaging book for all that.

 

References:

Berger, J. (2013). Contagious: Why Things Catch On. New York, Simon and Schuster.

Galbraith, R. (2014). The Cuckoo鈥檚 Calling. New York, Mulholland Books.

Gladwell, M. (2002). The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can make a Big Difference. New York, Little, Brown and Company.

Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Sacks, D. (2013, 03). Fifty Percent Of ‘The Tipping Point’ Is Wrong.” Jonah Berger Shows You Which Half. Fast Company. Retrieved 10, 2016, from https://www.fastcompany.com/3006693/fifty-percent-of-the-tipping-point-is-wrong-jonah-berger-shows-you-which-half.

 

Book Title: 鈥業nvisible Influence: The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior鈥�

Author: Berger, Jonah

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Year of Publication: 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4767-5969-2

Price: $26.99

Dr. Ted Lehmann and the Geopolitics of Energy

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Dr. Timothy (Ted) Lehmann, the faculty director for the Social Sciences in the School of Liberal Arts, recently published a book on the international politics of energy: . The book features research from leading energy experts across the world, and addresses timeless questions about the way in which our ever-growing need for energy intersects with the interests of governments and corporations. Such questions include:

  • How are the world鈥檚 societies shaped by the designs and investments of the largest energy actors?
  • What happens when the most powerful energy actors fight among themselves?
  • How do states and corporations decide which resources to develop, and what are the social, environmental, and strategic consequences of these decisions?
  • Is it likely that the world will transition away from fossil fuels to more sustainable forms of energy, and how might this be accomplished?

to the book include a weighty chapter looking at American energy policies since World War II. In this, Dr. Lehmann argues that the U.S. has pursued twin goals since WWII: maintaining North American energy independence, and controlling Middle Eastern energy sources to influence the independence of others, particularly in East Asia. Other scholars in the volume address the world-leading developments on renewable energy in Germany and Japan, as well as China鈥檚 expansion into the South China Sea in search of oil and gas, and the prospects of developing the Arctic鈥檚 oil and gas resources.

Dr. Lehmann has developed a class on some of these topics for Excelsior College called POL320 The Geopolitics of Energy and Global Climate Change. 听This class looks at the ways in which the dependence on traditional energy resources and the reality of climate change have shaped and continue to shape social, economic, and strategic developments across the world. This is a topic of enormous importance, and its consequences are transforming our world.听 Because the course uses open educational resources, students can complete the class without purchasing a textbook or any other materials.

The Social Sciences program at Excelsior offers a wide variety of other cutting-edge classes on American and global politics, all of which use open educational resources, including: POL351 War and Peace After the Cold War; POL363 Order and Disorder in the Middle East and North Africa; POL370 American Political Behavior; and POL390 The Rise of China and the Pacific Century.

Students in the Bachelor of Science in the Social Sciences degree program can also choose a concentration in Human Services, Environmental Studies, or International Relations.

Excelsior Introduces the Professional and Technical Writing Concentration

Posted on by Jenna Kerwin

To help meet its goals for student career readiness, Excelsior College has approved a concentration in Professional and Technical Writing (PTW), within the Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts (BSL) major. Excelsior graduates with strong professional writing skills are poised for employment and advancement in areas including health care, technology, pharmaceutical, government, science, and the military.

 

The PTW concentration is designed for 1) students who want to enhance their writing skills for career advancement or career change; and 2) students who want to add a credential to their BSL. The PTW concentration is an attractive Liberal Arts option for students with applied course credits and with existing experience in technology, business, health sciences, medical, and the military.

 

The market for graduates with a professional and technical writing credential is well-documented. O*Net projects that technical writing jobs will grow faster in 2012-2022 than average (15% to 20%) with 50,000 employees and 22,600 job openings (2015).

 

Employers report that all employees need solid writing skills. For example, a January 2015 report by Hart Research Associates on behalf of the Association of American Colleges & Universities notes that 鈥渆mployers say that when hiring, they place the greatest value on demonstrated proficiency in skills and knowledge that cut across all majors. The learning outcomes they rate as most important include written and oral communication skills鈥�.” (p. 1). Further, 鈥溾�mployers nearly universally agree that to achieve success at their companies, a candidate鈥檚 demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than his or her undergraduate major鈥� (p. 6).

 

As part of Northeastern University鈥檚 2013 annual innovation poll, 60% of business hiring decision-makers indicated that softer skills such as oral and written communication are most important for recent college graduates. The National Association of Colleges and Employers 2015 Job Outlook survey showed 73.4% of respondents chose written communication skills as the third most asked-for attribute after leadership and ability to work on a team.

 

Students enrolled in the Professional and Technical Writing concentration will take an introductory course in business writing and five more additional writing courses鈥攐r their equivalent鈥攁t the advanced, upper level. Those courses could include a career planning course called Careers in Professional Writing, Professional Editing, and Scientific and Technical Writing.

 

For more information about the innovative Professional and Technical Writing concentration, contact the School of Liberal Arts.

New Courses in Leadership

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

鈥淚f I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.鈥� This statement, made by Martin Luther King Jr., reflects the personal humility and social responsibility that is sometimes needed to be a transformative leader. Who are transformative leaders? What are their characteristics, ethics, and challenges? What other type of leaders are there and what motivates them? Who failed at leadership and why? Students explore these questions and more in COMM 423 Leadership and Team Building or MLS620 Philosophies of Leadership.

In COMM 423 Leadership and Team Building, students delve deeper into leadership theory and practice successful leadership models.听Simultaneously, they build teamwork skills, which depend on working with different but complementary points of view to achieve challenging objectives to reach a common goal. This course may focus on leaders, but it provides anyone with more effective skills to succeed in life. Leadership and Team Building does not require pre-requisites, and uses interactive self-tests, free open educational resources, and case studies using Storyline Interactives.

In MLS 620 Philosophies of Leadership, students study the philosophies and practices of great thinkers and leaders from the ancient world to present day. They鈥檒l also draw on past leaders鈥� ideas to develop their own, personalized leadership philosophy. In the process, students will consider questions like, 鈥淒o I have to be a good person to be a good leader?鈥�, 鈥淒o great leaders make history or does history make great leaders?鈥� and 鈥淲hat does it mean to act by not acting?鈥� Philosophies of Leadership is designed for graduate and advanced graduate students who want to be leaders in any field, from business to government, the military to the non-profit sector.

You can find more information on these courses through the听Course Search听听on our website. Speak to your advisor to see if they will fit with your degree plan.

Statement by Excelsior College President James Baldwin on the Decision to End DACA

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

Excelsior College President James Baldwin has issued a statement on the decision to end DACA.

I am saddened and troubled by the decision of the President of the United States to end DACA.

DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, has provided some 800,000 recipients a pathway out of the shadows. These individuals were brought to the United States as minors and have grown up here. DACA represents a humanitarian effort to allow them the opportunity to live and work in the United States while deferring any government action that would result in their deportation. To qualify, the federal government subjected these individuals to background checks and required them to apply for renewal every two years.

DACA is about opportunity. The opportunity for undocumented immigrants to pursue a higher education and earn a degree. The opportunity to find meaningful work, contribute to the economic and social welfare of our communities and our country by paying taxes, and serving in the military.

DACA recipients may not be American citizens, but they embody the American spirit. They are law-abiding members of our communities. They grew up here. They were educated here. They are our neighbors. They are skilled workers. They are aspiring citizens. They are America鈥檚 鈥渄reamers.鈥�

Some of these dreamers may call Excelsior home. And we will continue to stand with them during this difficult time. Education is a transformative experience and we will never turn our backs on those who seek to improve their lives and take control of their future through hard work and a commitment to personal growth.

Immigrants built America. And they remain the backbone of this great nation.

As a community, we call on Congress to affirm our shared commitment to equality and opportunity by moving quickly and unconditionally to provide DACA recipients with protection and a pathway to citizenship.