MANAGING THE AGING WORKFORCE - CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Managing the Aging Workforce is one of the crucial topics for many of the world?s enterprises. The increasing average age of populations does not only affect social systems, countries and communities, but also has a strong impact on the work of businesses and companies.

The decline in demographic fitness will not only hit countries like the U.S., the Western European countries, or Japan, but also the upcoming societies in China or in the Eastern European countries. In many of these countries, during three or four decades the average age will grow from about 40 years now to about 50 years. Where experts are needed, this may result in an increase of the workforce's age of between 5 and 10 years in only one decade.

For companies thus, a number of challenges arise that have to be overcome fast and continuously. The main topics in this field will be new strategies in leadership, new concepts in health management, new ways in knowledge management and learning, as well as new models how to drive ideas for diversity and innovation.

On the one hand, enterprises therefore will have to invest in their aging employees for supporting their talents, helping them to learn and keeping them in the company. On the other, they will have to increase productivity, keep on searching for new products, and integrate experts from abroad. This has to be combined with new ways of strategies and HR management.

This book presents an analysis of the present and upcoming situation, and an introduction into the strategic concepts enterprises will need to survive in aging societies.

Marius Leibold is a Business Consultant in Innovation & Strategy Management, and Professor in Strategy at Stellenbosch University and at the Netherlands Business School. His research focuses on new business models and innovation for global competitiveness, incorporating strategic fitness, systemic innovation and talent management approaches applied in various industries and companies. He is author of several managerial books and various articles on innovation and strategy, and is a Director of the WISE Program, a collaborative research program between academic and business organizations in the USA, Europe, Africa, and Asia. He advises CEO's, directors and executives on innovative business models and responding to technological, societal and economic trends. He can be contacted at: ml@leibold.cc

Sven C. Voelpel is the Director of the research group WISE (for Wisdom - Innovation- Strategy - Energy) and Professor of Business Administration at the Jacobs Center for Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development of the International University Bremen (IUB), Germany. His research explores these fields of Wisdom, Innovation, Strategy and Energy and has contributed to these domains, including Change Management and Knowledge Management, with more than 100 publications in books and journals. His most recent book (co-authored with Thomas Davenport and Marius Leibold) is Strategic Management in the Innovation Economy (Wiley 2006). Currently Professor Voelpel is working on business models, strategies for survival and sustainability in the changing workforce arenas with particularly focusing on solutions for Managing the Aging Workforce. He has been serving with various (honorary) professorships around the globe, and as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University. He can be contacted at: s.voelpel@iu-bremen.de

Introduction.

PART I: THE CHALLENGE AHEAD.

Chapter 1. Critical Challenges of the Aging Workforce for Enterprise Sustainability and Survival.

Chapter 2. How Demographic Trends will Impact Economies, Industries and Enterprises.

PART II: MANAGERIAL OBJECTIVES.

Chapter 3. Company Objectives to Increase the Value (V) of the Aging Workforce for an Enterprise.

Chapter 4. The 5V-Framework to Increase both Productivity and Creativity of the Aging Workforce.

PART III: THE FIVE VALUE-ADDING FIELDS.

Chapter 5. The First V-Field: Mindset Change Approaches for the Aging Workforce.

Chapter 6. The Second V-Field: Knowledge Management (KM) Approaches for the Aging Workforce.

Chapter 7. The Third V-Field: Health Management Approaches for the Aging Workforce.

Chapter 8. The Fourth V-Field: Work Environment Approaches for the Aging Workforce.

Chapter 9. The Fifth V-Field: Human Resources Management (HRM) Approaches for Managing the Aging Workforce.

PART IV: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER.

Chapter 10. The 5V-Scorecard for Measuring the Performance of an Aging Workforce.

Glossary of Major Terms.

Notes.

Index.