HR online research and reporting skills: New alliances between library sciences, information technology and human resources education

Boudreau, J.W. & Basefsky, S. (1999). HR online research and reporting skills: New alliances between library sciences, information technology and human resources education. Panel participant, “The New Frontier of Electronic Media and Teaching: Agents, Collaborations, and Partnerships.” Innovative Teaching in HR and IR Conference, Atlanta, June, 1999.

Based on the following:

FOR RELEASE: May 4, 1998
http://www.newswise.com/articles/students-do-online-queries-for-real-clients

Contact: Darryl Geddes 
Office: (607) 255-9735 
E-Mail: djg9@cornell.edu 
Compuserve: Bill Steele, 72650,565 
http://www.news.cornell.edu

ITHACA, N.Y. -- There's no doubt that most students can surf the web and understand the etiquette of chat rooms, but how many can navigate the electronic superhighway and other online resources to do meaningful research with applications in the corporate world?

Online research courses are still uncommon these days, despite the ubiquitous computer terminal. Usually what's offered is a workshop or two geared toward helping a student research a term paper. But at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), a recently developed three-credit, human resource studies course is enabling students to learn the ins and outs of online research by conducting information searches for corporate clients.

The course was recently recognized by the ILR School as a significant "innovation in instruction" impressing both corporate America and graduate students who have deemed this a welcome addition to the curriculum.

The course, HR Online Research and Reporting Methods, teaches students advanced methods for using the electronic and hard copy sources of the ILR School's Martin P. Catherwood Library -- the largest and most comprehensive university collection of employer-employee relationship material in North America. Students learn how to use the Internet, Lexis-Nexis, CD libraries and other online databases.

"It's likely that what we will see is increasing availability and access to these sorts of tools outside the university setting, but that doesn't mean the expertise will match the availability," said John Boudreau, professor of human resource studies, who team teaches the course. "Professionals in this field who have an awareness and capability of what information is out there and how to get it are going to be ahead of the game. This course is giving our students an advantage."

The course begins with an intensive five-week training session in which students navigate a sea of online resources and other reference materials. After several mini-case studies, students are paired into teams and begin to research actual assignments from corporate executives. Corporations participating in the course are members of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS).

Examples of recent searches include:

-- An oil company requested information on ways to mitigate attrition when relocating a business unit;

-- A major corporation sought information on best practices in performance management;

-- A pharmaceutical giant requested a report on current policies in place among peer companies regarding adoption, such as whether companies are helping to pay agency fees, etc.

-- A major financial institution requested information on how "flexible work" arrangements work in a highly client-centered business.

"Answers to these questions aren't found by simple research," said Stuart Basefsky, an information specialist at the Catherwood Library who also teaches the course. "If one doesn't have the skills necessary to do in-depth online research, finding materials to answer these requests in a timely manner would be difficult, if not impossible."

Students had 10 days to complete their assignments and report back to their corporate clients. Before starting the searches, students interviewed their corporate contacts to find out more about the requests. Once the searches were conducted and the information gathered, students drafted reports and executive summaries that were forwarded to the corporate clients.

"Conducting the search is only one aspect of what students here are learning," Basefsky said. "Once you have all this information, you must decide the best way to present it to your client; that can be a real challenge."

But students are up to it -- and they have testimonials to prove it. A Corning executive used a 21-page report on diversity profiles among Fortune 500 senior executives, along with an executive summary and a bibliography of article abstracts he received from a student, as the focus of a presentation he delivered to Corning senior human resource executives.

Boudreau and Basefsky believe that arming these students, many of whom will enter the human resources field, with the skills to accomplish such extensive online searches provides them with an essential ingredient for success in the marketplace.

"The explosion in information technology and the availability of online resources makes information research an essential skill for future human resource professionals," Boudreau noted. "An individual who can enter an organization with this set of skills and knowledge base will be extremely valuable."

WORK WITH INFORMATION: THE ILO WAY, 1998 -- Stuart Basefsky is featured along with the Catherwood Library and the ILR School

Work with information: the ILO way [video]
Geneva : Produced by B2 Productions for the ILO, 1998.
written and directed by Lydia Breen ; narrator, Jan Powell.
see-- https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/3160245

Summary:
Offers an overview of the information services provided by the International Labour Office (ILO) and the role of information in industrial relations, labor law, personnel management, and industrial safety throughout the world. The Catherwood Library at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, is featured; Catherwood reference librarian Stuart Basefsky speaks on the importance of ILO information for business planning and for academic research.

Description:
1 videocassette (21 min) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.

The following is from:
World of Work: The Magazine of the ILO, No. 28, February 1999, page 34
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/dwcms_080627.pdf

“Work with information – the ILO way” A videocassette produced for the ILO Library 21 minutes – PAL and NTSC versions The ILO houses the world’s most important resources for information on workplace concerns. But many people are not aware that ILO information products and services are available to users around the world. This 21-minute videocassette gives an overview of a wide range of services, including the ILO’s Web site offerings, the ILO Library and the ILO’s network of documentation centres around the world, ILO publications, ILO statistical, legislative and bibliographic databases, and many more. The film goes on to show a wide range of users of ILO information in workplaces, in labour ministries, in multinational corporations, in trade unions, in universities, and illustrates how the ILO has helped each of them to get the information they need.... Each of these users found that sometimes, the information you need may be as close as a phone call or an e-mail. The film is available free of charge to users in libraries, research centres, governments, and labour-related institutions. Please contact the ILO Library, International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22 (Switzerland) (Fax: +4122/ 799.65.16 ; E-mail: bibl@ilo.org) and include the your organization’s full name and address, and the type of institution (government, trade union, etc.) Available in English, French and Spanish.

Founder and originator of "ILR IN THE NEWS"

Stuart Basefsky was the founder and originator of ILR IN THE NEWS.

Prior to the development of a strong Communications and Marketing Office for the ILR School, Stuart took the initiative of developing the service known as "ILR IN THE NEWS."

At first the service was run via e-mail for internal purposes and to inform Alumni about the impact faculty and alumni were having in the public policy arena. The service was made possible by Stuart acquiring access to LEXIS for the ILR School. Starting in July 2004, the service was converted into a Blog format. The archives of this Blog can be found at

http://ilrinthenews.blogspot.com/

This service was to turned over to the Communications and  Marketing Office in July 2010 [note that each posting after that date comes from the ILR School at the bottom of each story instead of from SBasefsky]

When Stuart moved to Gainesville, FL [May 2011] where he continued to work for the ILR School as a lecturer and Director of the IWS News Bureau, the ILR IN THE NEWS service continued on his Blog until September 8, 2014. On that date, the ILR School took the service under its wing where it can now be found at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/news/ilr-news

C.U. Library Now U.N. Depository [International Labour Organization (ILO) Depository] [Basefsky] in The Cornell Daily Sun, February 22, 2002

The following article can be found at
https://wayback.archive-it.org/2566/20140830225002/http://cornellsun.com/blog/2002/02/26/cu-library-now-un-depository/

C.U. Library Now U.N. Depository

FEBRUARY 26, 2002 7:00 PM0 COMMENTS

Archives

The Martin P. Catherwood Library in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) has been designated as an official depository library by the International Labor Organization (ILO), making it the only library in the country, besides the Library of Congress, to serve this function.

The ILO is a specialized United Nations agency, which studies a wide variety of labor issues and creates international labor standards by working with representatives from governments, employee groups and employer groups.

Normally, each country only has one depository library for ILO documents, so “we had to make a case for why we should be a second depository,” said senior reference librarian Stuart Basefsky.

Basefsky had established a relationship with the ILO and has been arguing to make the Catherwood Library a second depository since 1996.

“It is a result of Stuart’s relationship and persistence that we have be able to make this relationship more formal,” said Gordon Law, director of the Catherwood Library.

The library was finally selected because of its quality collection of workplace and labor related issues in the United States, its large international clientele and its ability to provide a broad range of resources via the internet.

The Catherwood Library has been ordering ILO documents since the ILR school was established. However, now “nobody will have to order them. They will come automatically.” Law said. “This assures us that we won’t miss any documents,” he added.

The library will receive all ILO documents for free now, which will save the library between $5,000 and $10,000 per year, according to Basefsky. This will allow the library to use those funds to purchase other resources.

Furthermore, Basefsky believes that the new relationship established by the library and the ILO will also make it easier for researchers in ILR to get research grant approvals. “This gives us a natural partnership,” Basefsky said.

The ILO documents will also benefit various departments in the College of Agriculture and Life Science and the College of Arts and Sciences which are interested in labor relationships.

“Anyone who has used our resources almost can’t avoid using ILO material,” Basefsky said.

The Catherwood Library will archive, catalog and make all the documents it receives available to the public.

Right now, the Cornell Law Library serves as a mirror site for the ILO website, providing an exact copy of all website content. This website already includes the documents that the Catherwood Library will be receiving. However, obtaining paper copies is very important according to Basefsky, since printed material is still the best way to preserve material for future use without the need to worry about any changes in electronic storage formats.

Archived article by Luke Hejnar

Sound Advice for a Raise - You can get more pay, but you have to ask - politely [Stuart Basefsky] in Daytona Beach News-Journal, December 5, 2005, page 12A.

Sound Advice for a Raise - You can get more pay, but you have to ask - politely

Daytona Beach News-Journal, The (FL) (Published as Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)) - December 5, 2005

·         Author/Byline: DONNA CALLEA - BUSINESS WRITER

·         Edition: Final

·         Section: Section A

·         Page: 12A

DAYTONA BEACH -Attention average worker.

If you've been doing an average job for your employer, and your employer is about average when it comes to compensation, you can expect an average pay raise of about 3.6 percent in 2006. That's what several recent market studies conclude.

But what's that, you say?

You're not average? You're well above average - not to mention highly reliable, with skills, talents, stamina and/or other qualities that make you deserving of more?

Well then, you'd better ask if you want to receive, advises Stuart Basefsky of the Institute for Workplace Studies at Cornell University in New York.

"People still do ask for raises," he said in a telephone interview. And they should - assuming they've honestly and fairly evaluated their worth to their employers, investigated the going rate for workers such as themselves, and concluded they're underpaid. In today's working world, nothing is automatic - including receiving just rewards for jobs well done, he pointed out. And employees no longer pledge themselves to companies for decades on end, if they think they can do better elsewhere.

"It used to be that people were loyal to their firms, and firms were loyal to their workers. There used to be quid pro quo," Basefskysaid. But with downsizing and other cost-cutting measures, "workers have lost confidence and trust in companies." They may feel as if they're just a commodity. And "if you're a commodity you might as well act like a commodity," he said. Especially in times such as now, when unemployment is very low.

Of course, no one is irreplaceable. "Employers say everyone can be replaced, and they can," Basefsky acknowledged. "But the cost of turnover can be a problem." Depending on the sector and the timing, it may be difficult and expensive for companies to fill vacancies.

Still, asking for a salary increase isn't an easy thing for most people to do.

"It can be intimidating," acknowledged Wayne Green, a 39-year-old construction masonry worker from DeLand, who successfully negotiated a raise about three weeks ago.

The rising price of gas and increasingly high cost of his commute to work prompted his request. But the important thing was, his employer "knew I was a good worker," said Green. "I had a good work history, and that boosted my confidence."

He asked for a dollar more an hour, and got 50 cents. "It was a compromise," he said.

Gerda Winger, 79, a part-time hostess at Mr. Dunderbak's in Volusia Mall, still vividly recalls the first time she asked a boss for a raise.

She was in her early 20s, working as a fashion model in Sweden, and it wasn't all glamour.

"I told the owner I'd like a raise. And he said: 'What for?' I said: 'You're working me to death. If you don't give me a raise, you can kiss my heinie,' " Winger recalled with a chuckle. And he did. Give her a raise, that is.

That approach, however, is not generally recommended by human resources experts. "You want to be respectful," Basefsky said. "You don't want to ever threaten (to walk)." Sometimes an employer may truly not be able to afford to pay more money, but can offer other perks such as more flexible hours or better working conditions.

The bottom line, though, is employees are "remiss if they don't ask for rewards for their loyalty and increasingly good performance," he said.

Getting a Raise

Here are tips from experts on asking for a raise.

*Be respectful and make a request rather than a demand.

*Back up your request with facts about your performance.

*Do your own market research (available at many employment sites on the Internet), and point out what the going rate is for people in your position in your industry in your geographical area.

*If you're in a supervisory position, emphasize the success of those who report to you.

*Emphasize any additional training, education, certification, awards or praise you've received.

*Saying you need more money because of your personal situation isn't an effective argument and typically doesn't cut any ice.

SOURCE: News-Journal research

·         Dateline: DAYTONA BEACH

·         Record: 409476877

·         Copyright: Copyright, 2005, The News-Journal Corporation

New Database Brings Congress to Cornell [Stuart Basefsky] in The Cornell Daily Sun, Friday, October 21, 1994, page 3.

When Stuart Basefsky moved from Duke University to Cornell University, he brought access to the Washington Alert Service created by Congressional Quarterly (CQ) with him.

A GIFT FOR BOYNTON [Origin of Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI)] in The Ithaca Journal, Wednesday, April 20, 1994, pages 3A and 4A

Stuart Basefsky and his family (Claire Germain, wife, and Nicolas Germain, son) became the catalyst for the formation of the Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) with their donation to Boynton Middle School which is documented in the article below.