In this thesis, the researcher will discuss on the nature of the aging process, the decline of various physical, psychological and cognitive abilities as well as their unique capacities that complement their inadequacies.On the other hand, this research is also an exploratory study about ageism, demographics of the American workforce, various theoretical viewpoints in the understanding the nature of the individual in the late adulthood years, problems and challenges of possible labor shortage, and practicable interventions.This study describes, explains and elucidates the aging years in terms of work capabilities in contrast with actual work expectations. In this research the main question is: Will there be a labor shortage in the American business due to the aging workforce?To be able to answer this very broad question, some research objectives or sub-questions were formulated and limitations are made.
The most important limitation is The Aging Workforce reaches retirement years in approximately three years: the prevalence is high resulting in a void that needed to be filled. The other sub-questions are: what are we best and worse at? What are our success and weakness factors? What advantages and disadvantages do we have? What are our major opportunities and threats?The research methodology is an exploratory-descriptive study, and its purpose is to put the strategic planning in the anticipation of the loss of human resources in business organizations that will trigger a possible threat to the economy.It also structured in sections inserting sub-headings relating to nature of the stage of development in late adulthood, nature of the demands of the business workforce, demographics of the workforce, and other aspects that might be put in place as interventions.Basically secondary data was used. The literature review was written using published material.
The study then will comprise of the meta-analysis of various published materials.Chapter One IntroductionThere is a lot about human personhood that becomes a source of curiosity to everyone. Of all mammals, human beings are the most immature at birth, requiring the longest period of learning, development and interaction with others before they are self-sufficient. In general, the more complex an organism’s nervous system is, the longer the time required to reach maturity.An infant monkey is dependent on its mother for several months, a chimpanzee for several years.
Even a chimpanzee will be on its own long before a human child is born on the same day (Atkinson, 1993).There are definite stages of development and each stage has its own characteristic features which distinguishes it from another stage (Atkinson, 1993). Development does not end once a person reaches maturity, but continues throughout life. Developmental psychologists seek to describe and analyze the regularities of human development across the entire life span (Atkinson, 1993). The developing person sits at the throes of a changing phenomenon; referring to him/herself as well as in the context of he organization vital to his/her perpetuation. Work then is significant because it is one of a person’s source of satisfactions, meaning other than livelihood (Halonen & Santrock, 1996).
We are in the epoch of organizational reform and innovation. Our time is marked with rapid changes in the demography of workforce, changing corporate culture, and changing institutions. In the light of the rapid shift in today’s organizations, the skills required of human resource managers, beginners in the profession and even aspiring students in the discipline, rest on the foundation of knowledge on the whole gamut of human resources and organizational development.Corporate America is not without its complications. When the company “succeeds,” there is with it (the success) a corresponding notion of responsibilities and liabilities.
Organizations thrive today because of the policies and guidelines they have managed to fixed firmly in their set-up and translated into their day to day affairs.Big businesses have the competitive edge over others – i.e., over small entrepreneurs, because they have arrived at their positions in the market place by securing certain parameters in the many facets that comprise their organizations.
This is especially true on government laws and regulations (Aldrich, 1979).Occupational health and safety are significant developments in the workplace in the modern century industry. In this vein, the individual age and his capabilities are thus considered. In a world so vain about youthfulness, the role of age and issues with it such as ageism is thus usually emphasized.This paper is geared then towards a) designing and developing the argument that explains the facts about being and getting “old” and its repercussions in the workplace including the issue of ageism; b) the adverse impact of the trend in such a crucial time when in barely a few years, a lot of those in the world of work will soon be retiring or face the inevitabilities of having a much older workforce; c) the profile of business organizations with an aging workforce; d) and the responses of these business organizations (Aldrich, 1979).The researcher believes that business enterprises or organizations are not adequately prepared for the eventual labor shortage with the bulk of workers at this particular stage in their lives and unless various business organizations fully comprehend about the adverse impact of this aging workforce on the supply, the difficulties will perhaps be too much to handle when the effects start to roll in.This paper describes the problem or issue concerned, ascertains the strategies to address the problem, explains the rationale of preparing to meet the shortage of labor, and discusses the administration, and evaluation that automatically must follow after its implementation.
