The Negative Impacts of Credential Inflation Essay Example for Free

The Negative Impacts of Credential Inflation Essay The Negative Impacts of Credential Inflation A market that is flooded with credential laden workers vying for a small number of jobs could tip the economy into a recession (Collins, 2002). This idea put forth by Collins seems prophetic when the current state of the economy is taken into account, and brings to light an underlying additional cause of the slow recovery being witnessed in the job market, credential inflation. This is the process by which educational or academic credentials lose value over time, partnered with lowered expectations of holding a degree in the job market. Credential inflation is increasing rapidly, causing larger debt among the workforce due to over-schooling, leaving college educated individuals with fewer jobs upon graduation, and resulting in employers requiring degrees for jobs where they were once not needed. This weakening of the belief in credentials has been a persistent trend in the last century in higher education, and has come to the forefront in recent decades due to technical job refinement, making its mark upon the job market as well. As students take on higher amounts of student loan debt because of the perceived advantages a degree warrants, the economic burden upon younger generations increases. Even with degrees in hand, students after graduation are continuing to find less well paying jobs that require a bachelors degree. More and more individuals are faced with the choice to gain additional education and incur more debt, or settle for a lower paying job and remain in student loan debt longer. Employers that at one time required high school diplomas now only hire individuals with bachelor’s or even graduate degrees. If this is the direction America’s economic and educational culture is heading without pause and reflections of outcome, than a resulting catastrophe is not just chance, but a real probability. The growth in credential inflation over the last twenty years, has accelerated, and when a moment is reached where higher education is commonplace, it becomes a vicious contest to receive the most amount of credentialing possible If a degree is seen as influential, and is depended upon to get the same jobs as previous non-degree holders, it follows that more education and a degree would benefit the individual in the future. Many studies show this ever increasing trend of the acquisition of higher education. In an analysis by The National Center for Educational Statistics (â€Å"Fast Facts,† 2011) on enrollment numbers in secondary education, † he percentage increase in the number of students age 25 and over has been larger than the percentage increase in the number of younger students, and this pattern is expected to continue. † The students in the 25 and over group between 2000 and 2009 saw an increase of 43 percent and in the next nine years can expect another 23 percent increase in college enrollment. This prevailing situation is compounded by the fact the more of the total population are seeking degrees, and that job creation has stagnated (NECS, â€Å"Fast Facts,† 2011). With an ever increasing number of degree holders entering the workforce with higher credentials, the number of actual jobs available to a credentialed workers declines. The prevailing thought is that an increase in education coupled with higher job entry requirements is necessary, because of heightened job complexity. Contrary to this is that, there is no evidence that the more educated the worker is, the more competent they will be (Collins, 1979). Brown’s argument is that students may simply be getting degrees to increase their chances of landing a job, rather than gaining the expertise, through a degree program, to do the job (2004). The evidence for this rears its ugly head, when degrees are fabricated by individuals to simply gain entrance into a job; a job they would not get without the proper credentials. Experts agree that credential inflation will continue, and the trend that started in the early Eighties and has increased ever since, is now the prevailing norm. Collins, states in his â€Å"Credentials Inflation and the Future of Universities†, that it could continue to increase, and in the future we will have a socialized system supporting education(2002). The expansion of credential inflation as an enduring trend cannot be denied, and the impacts upon the people and institutions influenced are threefold. The debt incurred by students upon graduation, is greater now then ever before. With increasing costs of higher education, compiled with the necessity of a degree to enter the workforce, recent students upon graduation are heavily laden with student load debt that vastly outweighs the debts incurred by the generations that preceded them. This debt, for the student, can be crippling personally, but is also a burden for the country. Collins (2002) writes that economic hardship because of the system, and its negative feedback loop, have become very expensive, both for the individual and for the nation. With student loan debt estimated at over a trillion dollars in the United States, it has surpassed even credit card debt. The average student leaving college after graduation possesses $25,000 in debt, and their parents an average of $34,000, with parental loaning up 75 percent since 2006 ( â€Å"Fast Facts,† 2011). Also reported is an 81 percent jump in people looking for student loan debt relief, for which there is little help. Devoting too much money and time to further education, seems to be digging a hole that people cannot pull themselves out of financially, and the resulting credentials one gains, are no longer the sure fire way to a successful career. A degree is not the guarantee of economic security it once was, and the amount in salaries among those with a higher level of education is less proportionate than those without, now more than in the past. This prevailing notion that an individuals success in their careers over the coarse of their lives hinge upon the certificates of school achievement, is part of what drives the whole process of credential inflation. A statistic on the rate of return of a degree holder over their life is of little consequence to those graduates who can’t find a job now. Put simply, if education is worth less, people are less likely to invest in it (Van de Werfhorst, Andersen, 2005), but the counter is also true. When education is seen as being worth more, people are more likely to invest in it. Whether or not this â€Å"being worth more† is true, the perception that one will indeed garner a higher wage as an outcome, is the prevailing notion at the present, and continues to drive up enrollment in secondary education. If achievement in finding a job and ultimate financial success revolves around education, and the cost increase becomes unbearable for the non-affluent, only the rich will have the availability to outpace credential inflation. As students in secondary education graduate from college at a faster and aster rate, they continue to find an ever decreasing amount of jobs available to them after graduation. The high school diploma, which once carried with it the credentials to secure a decent paying job, now has become a stepping stone to getting into college, and itself not used as a credential for jobs at all. Indeed, only 10 percent of the population in the United States does not carry a high school diploma. A market saturated with a certain credential sees that credential as a necessary step, but ultimately worthless. Is this the road a college degree is headed down, a worthless piece of paper that has strapped the holder with a debt they cannot pay back? As more people earn more degrees or educational levels increase, the inherent properties of that degree are proportionally lower. Not everyone who holds a similar certification will receive the same level of job. Take for example, if jobs for a hundred teachers holding bachelor’s degrees were needed, it stands to reason only a hundred people will receive jobs. Let’s say one hundred and fifty individuals receive teaching degrees, only one hundred of those will get hired. Competition among applicants will surely follow, and only people who can show they are above the fray will win out. To be successful in getting hired, many will invest in further education, and go on to earn a Master’s in Education. With this newly awarded credential in hand, they will then be able to apply with a considerable asset, which puts them ahead of those applicants with only the minimal job requirements. Incrementally, the Master’s graduates will obtain more of the jobs, while the displaced fifty will try to gain a foothold by earning their own Master’s degrees. The end result of this sequence of events is that every job, over time, will require a Master’s degree, as there will be no reason to hire a person who has a bachelor’s, if an over abundance of Master’s degree holding individuals are available. As credential inflation marches on, even MBA’s will find it harder to find jobs because of increasing job market saturation by like minded degree holders. Connolly states that the recent downturn of the economy has left fewer jobs upon graduation, and the salary premium for M. B. A. ’s has also taken a hit (2003). There are two opposing schools of thought that have tried to explain the recent upturn in educational expansion among the work force seen in recent years. Human capital theorists state that the growing complexity in the workplace has caused the growth of those seeking higher education. Theorists of social exclusion counter that the expanding intensive competitiveness between rivaling job market participants has caused credential inflation (McLean, Rollwagen, 2010). Either way, credential inflation is moving forward and fewer jobs are becoming available to those with less education. As more individuals become â€Å"educated,† employers are pushed to expand initial job requirements, even in jobs where such requirements were never needed before. Taking a deeper look into this trend, Vaisey (2006, p. 835) states that, â€Å"Using the 1972-2002 General Social Survey, I find that the incidence of over-qualification has increased substantially † He also hypothesizes that workers who have more educational attainments than needed for their jobs will be less satisfied with their jobs. Kariya (2011), sees a similar pattern and adds that as countries aim for higher levels of education for their populations, there is a persistent trend in the global markets to find cheaper labor. Phillip Brown, a lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent at Canterbury, agrees, showing that the acquisition of higher education and the thought that it leads to greater individual and national prosperity keeps it at the forefront of developed countries’ agendas in their quest for global relevance (1995). Countries are pushing citizens to further education, and like the United States, through financial aid programs, making the costs deferred to the future, while trying to secure credentials in the present. As costs for education go up along with an increasing education of the populace, a financial burden is attached to the individual to find a job to pay for such schooling. Unfortunately for these individuals, employers are looking for ways to find cheaper and cheaper labor, and not the reverse. Payroll being the number one controllable expense in a company, makes the ability to hire individuals with higher credentials at lower wages, because of credential inflation, optimal. If an overabundance of degree holders are available at lower wages, why would a company seek to hire less educated workers for the same cost? To save time and resources, companies will simply thin out the applicants by making a certain credentials necessary to even apply, no matter the job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides evidence that as a country the United States has produced too many degree holding graduates. The promise made to people about the success of those with a bachelor’s degree falls upon deaf ears when graduates find themselves employed where they could have gone without attending college at all. Not many graduates attended college with dreams of becoming a bartender or a bellhop, though statistics show both of these professions employ individuals with degrees in 16 percent and 17. 4 percent of their positions, respectively. As Brown, Lauder, and Ashton write in their book,. The global auction: The broken promises of education, jobs, and incomes,† even education alone will not be enough to escape unemployment, and individuals should weigh the costs and benefits of higher education carefully (2010). With credential inflation continuing on, we will see a time in the future where even the lowliest of jobs will be filled with college graduates. The future of credentialism paints a bleak picture for potential degree holders and future employees As credential inflation co ntinues to grow, its effects upon the debt of graduates and the amount of jobs available to them, has become more apparent.

Lebanon Essay -- essays research papers

Lebanon Lebanon, a nation that once proudly called itself the Switzerland of the Middle East, is today a country in name only. Its government controls little more than half of the nation's capital, Beirut. Its once-vibrant economy is a shambles. And its society is fragmented - so fragmented, some believe, that it may be impossible to re-create a unified state responsive to the needs of all its varied peoples. Lebanon lies on the eastern shore of the Mediterranea n Sea, in that part of southwestern Asia known as the Middle East. Because of its location - at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa - Lebanon has been the center of commerce and trade for thousands of years. It has also been on the route of numerous conquering armies. With an area of 4,015 square miles, Lebanon is one of the smallest countries in the Middle East. It is smaller than every state in the United States except Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Lebanon is sandwiched between Syria in the north and east and Israel in the south. The maximum distance from the nation's northern border to the southern one is only 130 miles. And the maximum distance from the Mediterranean Sea to the Lebanon-Syria border is 50 miles. In the south, along the border with Israel, Lebanon's eastern border is only 20 miles from the sea. Although a tiny land, Lebanon boasts a great diversity in its landscape which makes it one of the most picturesque countries in the world. The coast line is br oken by many bays and inlets of varying size. At some points, the mountains wade silently right into the sea - then climb suddenly tier on tier away from the Mediterranean to the sky. Because of the limitation of flat agricultural land, all but the steepest hillsides have been patiently and neatly terraced and planted with garlands of twisted grapevines. The mountains lend a great variety of hues - pale pink, rosy red, forest green or deep purple - to the landscape. Depending on the time of day, they never appear the same twice, and from time to time whipped white clouds hide all except their snow-capped peaks. Even on the darkest night, the lights of the villages perched on the mountains shine in small clusters as a reminder of their presence. On c loser view, the mountains become a jumble of giant gorges, many of them over a thousand feet deep, with rocky cliffs, steep ravines and awesome valleys. These unassa... ...anon. This system worked well enough for fifteen years. From 1943 until 1958 the nation's economy boomed and Beirut was transformed into the showcase city of the Mediterranean. The government seemed stable enough, but th ere were problems boiling beneath the surface and in the mid-1950s the system began to come apart. For one thing, the Moslems, especially the poorer Shiites, had a substantially higher birthrate than the Christians; many people believed that the Shiites had surpassed the Maronites in population. But the Christians would not allow a new census to be taken, for this would have meant a reallocation of the nation's political power, with the Moslem sects gaining at the expense of the Christians. With their hopes for political gains dampened, the Shiites became disenchanted. Why is this once prosperous nation on the verge of total collapse? There are a number of reasons, but the primary one is that the Lebanese people belong to at least fifteen differe nt religious sects and their loyalty to these sects is greater than their loyalty to a united Lebanon. Had the people's sense of nationhood been stronger, they would not have suffered the destruction of the past decade.

Change and Culture Case Study Essay

During the past decade the hospital industry has made profound organizational changes, including the extensive consolidation of hospital system through merger and the formation hospital systems (Evans & Gertler, 2012). The rules of health care are changing. Growth is not about just getting bigger. It is about developing all of the components needed for coordinated care and reduced costs. Health system reform has various incentives, such as those related to reducing readmission rates, and establishing an accountable care organization, but qualifying for them requires closer links to other parts of the medical care chain (Breakthroughs -Hospital merger and acquisition strategies, 2012). There is a definite value for growth opportunity through hospital mergers. Mergers occur for several reasons, a desire to increase size, to gain leverage for negotiations with managed care companies, the desire to penetrate new markets to attract additional customers, the need for improved efficiencies resulting from centralized administrative practices, and the desire to express value of promoting readily available comprehensive care. A merger is the combining of two or more corporate entities to create one new organization with one licensure, and one provider number for reimbursement purposes (Liebler & McConnely, 2008). Mergers and acquisitions in health care are increasing in numbers because of the increasing financial, socio-political and managerial challenges of decreasing reimbursement and increasing payor demand for quality-driven, patient-centered and cost-effective services to the community. Restructuring an organization through mergers, and affiliations are characteristic organizational efforts to achieve economies of scale, adapt, and survive. Two such specific reasons include: the need for improved efficiencies through administrative centralization, such as financial, and health information resources streamlining, and marketing intensification, and the desire to promote comprehensive, accessible are by keeping smaller community-based facilities from closing. Valley Care Health System of Ohio consists of the merger between Northside Medical Center, Trumbull Memorial Hospital, and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital. Valley Care Health System replaced Forum Health name as an affiliate. â€Å"Valley Care sums up our purpose to provide compassionate, quality health care for residents of the Mahoning, and Trumbull Valley† said David Fikse, chief executive officer of Northside Medical Center, and Valley Care Health System.† Each of our hospitals, and health care facilities has its own unique characteristics, but as the same time, we benefit by sharing our knowledge, our best practices, and our strengths across a system of providers† (Valley Care of Ohio, n.d.). Northside Hospital quality scores were down, and the hospital was on the verge of closure before Valley Care Health System purchased it. This essay will discuss the transition of the employees and the impact the merger will have on the culture of the new combined organiz ation and will address how systems will be developed as the new organization takes shape. Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital brings us best in class capabilities in inpatient and outpatient services. Blending these companies in a way that maximizes these capabilities and aligns our structure with our long-term strategy is a top priority. First, the managers will need to organize the new organization around the core business needs. These core business needs will form the nucleus of the new combined organization and each business unit will provide resources, decision-making authority, and direct control over matters critical to its success. Because each area is unique, the exact structure of what is contained in each business unit will vary somewhat. Middle management jobs have become more demanding. Technology means middle managers have to do more multi-tasking and are expected to be accessible to their staff. The middle manager of a health care organization that has merged with a competitor faces many challenges. Northside Hospital viewed Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital as an enemy that provided good quality of care to the community. Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital have very good inpatient and outpatient service programs in place to services the Mahoning and Trumbull County residents. Northside does not have good inpatient and outpatient programs in place. The key is to a successful merger is taking the best of all organizations to form the new organization. The cultural change of a merger between two competing hospitals is a major challenge. Incorporating two organizations into one disrupts operational, functional, and organizational elements at all levels of the organizations involved. This disruption produces stress in all stakeholders, and challenges all to achieve positives results during the transition period and beyond. The higher the change occurs in the hierarch of the organization the greater positive or negative effect on the company. These types of mergers bring about organizational change from the boardroom to the hospital floors, and the impact of integrating two distinct entities with different prior performance, mission, and values has a short and long-term ripple effect throughout the new organization (Evans & Gertler, 2012). An effective manager will foster trust with his or her employees through communication and commitment. A managers’ goal is to maintain a supportive role with the employees without causing chaos. The encouragement of employee participation will make he or she more likely to comply with changes because he or she will own part of the changes. Each organization has its own way of doing business. Employees are used to the way their organization currently works. However, job descriptions, and roles of many hospital employees will change as a result of the merger. Many challenges occur when a merger occurs; especially when it occurs among competitors merge two different organizations into one facility per se disrupts the operation and functionality on all levels involved within the organization. During this transaction, it is an opportunity to combine many knowledgeable individuals, introduce new styles of performing tasks, and introduce different styles of performance. Enhancing meaningful learning by integrating technology into instructional design is central to this project. The most influential theory associated with this process is the cognitive theory of multimedia learning proposed by Mayer (1997). It is based on the theory that humans have two ways or â€Å"channels† of processing information, auditory, and visual, otherwise known as the dual channel assumption. By leveraging both of these means, and by building both of these c onnections between multiple representations of the same information meaningful learning is more likely to occur (Ofverstorm, n.d.). Hence, hospitals are trying to cut costs and deliver care more efficiently, a goal of the 2010 federal health care overhaul; however some mergers can lock up local markets, leading to higher prices for patients and insurance companies with few other places to turn. This is known as an anticompetitive hospital merger (Kendall, 2012). ProMedica Health System, of Toledo, Ohio, tried to attempt a merger of this kind when they went after St Luke’s Hospital in Toledo, Ohio. The Federal Trade Commission ruled that this would eliminate competition in the Toledo Market therefore the acquisition was denied. Middle managers need to support the employees in handling of uncertainty, provide information, and struggle with changing the behaviors of the employees. A middle manager also experiences some individual complications, such as loss of network and reduces in responsibilities. Because middle managers are the carriers of the information, they have to deal with pressure within the organization, partly from the higher management and partly from the employees and manager below him or her. Employees affected by an organizational change require answers to reduce their uncertainty that has occurred with the reform. Employees may also intentionally or unintentionally work against the organizational change, which clashes with top management’s intentions and plans. The dilemma for the middle managers is that they have a large responsibility to execute the strategies put up by the top management, but have no actual authority over these strategic decisions that affects middle management and the employees. Those problems are particularly evident in mergers and acquisitions, which are seen as most dazing organizational changes (Ofverstorm, n.d.). References Breakthroughs -Hospital merger and acquisition strategies. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.healthleadersmedia.com Evans, A., & Gertler, P. (2012). Trends In Hospital Consolidation: The formation of local systems. Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org Kendall, B. (2012). Regulators Seek to Cool Hospital-Deal fever Retrieved from http://wsj.com Liebler, J., & McConnely, C. (2008). Management Principles for Health Professionals (5th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and BArtlett. Ofverstorm, A. (n.d.). A Middle Manager’s Dilemma in Mergers. Retrieved from http://arch.hhs.se Valley Care of Ohio. (n.d.). Valley Care Health System of Ohio. Retrieved from http://www.valleycareofohio.net

Ethical Issues And Values At Stake 7 - 1627 Words

Kathryn Bolkovac – whistle-blower; illegal conduct at UN mission in Bosnia Ethics and Public Values MADS 6604 V1 Abhishek Moadgil Aline Porcaro Harjot Kaur Harpreet Kaur Lovedeep Kaur Dhaliwal Instructor- Dr. Brenda Lyshaug 14th March 2016 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver Table of Contents Unethical conduct and the whistle-blower 3 Core ethical issues and values at stake 7 References 9 Unethical conduct and the whistle-blower Kathryn Bolkovac was a former police officer and she worked as a UN International Police Force monitor. She signed up with DynCorp, the private contractor providing American personnel for the UN mission in Bosnia. She is the one in whole officials, who had the bravery to tell the truth and fight for the victims of sex trafficking, prostitution, put her own life in the risk. During her United Nation mission in Bosnia, Kathryn discovered that people from the mission were involved in sexual slavery and exploitation of young girls that were trafficked mainly from Russia and Ukraine (Huffington Post, 2013). According to The Telegraph (2012), very commonly, the girls had taken jobs as waitresses or nannies in Bosnia, upon arriving they found out that those jobs were only baits to take them somewhere else, where they were sold, striped, abused and forced to be humiliated in brothels. The girls who mange to run away were severely punished by their pimp, theShow MoreRelated The Ethics of Xenotransplantation Essay examples1615 Words   |  7 PagesNov. 4, 2000 there were a total of 72,824 patients on the waiting list to receive replacement organs. Also, in 1999, UNOS reported that 6125 people died while on the waiting list to receive a transplat organ. 3. 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