Origins and Concepts of Digital Literacy

Discuss about the Origins and Concepts of Digital Literacy.

Introduction

Both parties consider different favorable aspects when employing and when getting hired. What the employers and their employees believe is discussed in the paragraphs below. The first one refers to individuals or an entity which hire services of others to perform a task for the organization. On the other hand, employees apply to the servants who are recruited to perform duties and functions assigned by their employers (De Jong, and Den Hartog, 2007, p.56). The intention of this discussion is to bring out what these companies consider before giving someone a duty to perform for the benefit of the organization. They include skills, work experience and personal capabilities of an individual. The paper will also consider what graduates expect and look for in an organization to make an application to secure job vacancies in the firms. For example, wages and salaries, job security, and whether working for the enterprise will create a way for their future growth in the field they are working in. Such activities may conflict causing loss of jobs, resignation, and eventually the collapse of firms if the managers employ the wrong people to perform most delicate tasks such as preparing accounting and financial records.

Various writers identify some characteristics that graduate employees and employers are seeking in a job. Wawrose (2013, p.505.) Says that first of all, employers like to work with reasonable and professional employees who are easy to work with; educated, self-controlled, and ability to endure the adverse effects of the job (if any). These are personal characteristics which are essential for an employee to be able to fit in the organization culture, work well with others and be creative in problem-solving. Moreover, the company will assess whether the hired person will provide services which will assist the firm to make revenue since that is the main reason for employing servants. A manager, for instance, will look at the work experience and recommendations from previous employers. This will assist to know if the applicant is serious for a long-term working contract, or is just there to explore other opportunities. Furthermore, communication skills may be tested while going through the academic documents (CV). Chase, and Laufenberg (2011, p. 53) explain that a hirer wants digital-literate workers for social networking, an emerging issue in business. On the other hand, employees primarily look for compensation regarding salaries, allowances, commissions and overtime payment when getting employed. Furthermore, they will look for an exciting work, with less supervision. Workers can be more productive if they are left to do work on their own instead of being controlled by their managers. These make them free, open-mindedness and generate ideas on their own. Lastly, employees want a firm that is transparent, pays attention to their needs, has employed them on a long-term basis which will allow them to grow and have chances for innovation. However, some may be seeking jobs to get praise, recognition, be greedy of responsibilities and promotion. Such activities lead to unnecessary evils in the places of work.

There are numerous benefits for employers for developing criteria to understand employee to understand personal characteristics of employees when recruiting them. Such components may include excellent communication skills, self-control, and proper reasoning. Effective communication will help the employee to share information and conclusions, especially when making a decision in a meeting. Secondly, it will solve the misunderstanding problem and creates skilled teams (Bambacas, and Patrickson, 2008, p.65). The most important thing that hirers look for is how much value an employee will put towards the organization. In this case, during the recruitment exercise, resumes will be checked to know academic progress and work experiences. (Mason, Williams, and Cranmer, 2009. pp.14.) Say that they show the graduates’ strengths and capabilities in the profession they have studied for and they should be professionally skilled in the field they specialized in. Work experience shall prove capabilities of full-time job basis and will show that the recruit is personally developed concerning passion and interest in the career he or she has chosen. Moreover, the individual will have to answer questions as to why he or she abandoned the previous jobs; this will help the manager to understand the employee better. Lastly, employers advocate for digital literacy (computers, the internet, and networking) in the place of work which saves time, keeps them informed, inter-connects the world and assists in making decisions based on the current and emerging trends (Bawden, 2008, p.23).Employers need their servants to be online-literate to support them in encountering business challenges arising due to rapid development in technology. For example, companies dealing with software and web management such as Elcom Technologies in Australia, have to recruit high qualified personnel who can assist the firm to curb the cybercrime issue emerging due to newer technological devices and programs.

A variety of strategies is available for employers to develop the characteristics of selecting the best recruits. During the employment exercise, two methods; internal recruitment and the use of employment and recruitment agency can be employed. Orlitzky (2007, p.273)  describes the internal recruitment as the process through which an organization utilizes a suitable media to advertise job vacancies and then use the key personnel, for example, managers and directors to conduct the exercise. Different communication media such as posters, TV advertisements and memos are posted for the public to see. This creates awareness for qualified applicants to turn up to the recruitment process. Interviews and questionnaires are administered to collect data. In some cases, for example, banking organizations, participants are given small tests to assess them on their thinking and professional capabilities (Breaugh, 2008, p.109).This method is cost-effective and produces the best candidates required since the activity is done by the managers and directors who are more informed on what the organization wants. Alternatively, use of recruitment agency is necessary for the firm if it is too busy, does not have enough persons to do the exercise, or is new to the business. The organization may delegate all duties of advertising, running assessment tests, screening the documents and interviewing the candidates to an external agency. The agencies, having professional skills in the sector, will distribute the information all over to the public, get the candidates and interview them one by one. Although the method may be costly, it will present employees without bias, legally, and suitable individuals for the jobs (Sporton, 2013, p.447)

Conclusion

In conclusion, both employers and graduate employees consider various aspects in the workplace. Therefore it is the duty of the employers to select the best recruits using favorable strategies discussed in the above paragraph. People seeking employment should not be led by egos such as self-benefit, pride, and recognition but should rather be oriented towards achieving the best for the firm (Bridgstock, 2009, p.38). The organization is supposed to create a favorable environment for employees to work comfortably, for example, giving them much attention, offering exciting work and giving out commissions for a good job done. In this writer’s opinion, I generalize the essay by concluding that employers should be professionally trained to be able to identify the characteristics that they want from the employees. Similarly, graduate employees have to perform well not only in academics, but also in the major aspects applicable in the workplace for example good communication, respect, presentable code of dressing, and conflict management criteria.

Reference

Bambacas, M. and Patrickson, M., 2008. Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organizational commitment. Journal of Communication Management, 12(1), pp.51-72.

Bawden, D., 2008. Origins and concepts of digital literacy. Digital literacies: Concepts, policies and practices, 30, pp.17-32.

Breaugh, J.A., 2008. Employee recruitment: Current knowledge and important areas for future research. Human Resource Management Review, 18(3), pp.103-118.

Bridgstock, R., 2009. The graduate attributes we’ve overlooked: Enhancing graduate employability through career management skills. Higher Education Research & Development, 28(1), pp.31-44.

Chase, Z. and Laufenberg, D., 2011. Embracing the squishiness of digital literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(7), pp.535-537.

De Jong, J.P. and Den Hartog, D.N., 2007. How leaders influence employees' innovative behavior. European Journal of innovation management, 10(1), pp.41-64.

Mason, G., Williams, G. and Cranmer, S., 2009. Employability skills initiatives in higher education: what effects do they have on graduate labor market outcomes? Education Economics, 17(1), pp.1-30.

Orlitzky, M., 2007. Recruitment strategy. Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management, The, p.273.

Sporton, D., 2013. ‘They control my life’: the role of local recruitment agencies in East European migration to the UK. Population, Space and Place, 19(5), pp.443-458.

Wawrose, S., 2013. What Do Legal Employers Want to See in New Graduates? Using Focus Groups to Find Out. Using Focus Groups to Find Out (November 21, 2013). Ohio North University Law Review, 39, p.505.