For today’s class, you read Stuart Leung, âHere Are the Soft Skills Most Important to Your Business,â https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2014/08/business-soft-skills.html, and Joyce E. A. Russell, âBusiness Capital,â http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/2014/03/14/ccd6725c-aa21-11e3-9e82-8064fcd31b5b_story.html.
In both articles, the writers are talking about the importance of so-called “soft skills.” In your summary memo for today’s beginning of class writing assignment, I would like you to begin by defining what soft skills are and what these two articles say are important about them for today’s job seekers. Post your summary memo as a comment added to this blog post.
TO: Professor Jason Ellis
FROM: Naveeda Akhtar
DATE: October 28, 2015
SUBJECT: Importance of So-Called âSoft Skillsâ
Soft skills, also known as interpersonal skills, are necessary in any business setting since working on teams and collaborating with one another is an important skill to obtain. Being able to communicate clearly and efficiently can help prevent confusion and prevent any mistakes being made in the profit of the company. Employers believe that âsoft skillsâ are just as important as hard skills (knowing the basics of how to perform a task). Therefore, more people need to practice soft skills as well as hard skills.
According to the article,âHere Are the Soft Skills Most Important to Your Business,â by Stuart Leung, and the article,âBusiness Capital,â by Joyce E. A. Russell, the main point elaborated in both articles is that soft skills are really important to know in any field. That these skills must be taught early on in colleges and schools, just like they teach individuals how to conduct any other job, so that people can be prepared early on. Being able to communicate and have a positive attitude for working on a team will increase your chances of getting a job compared to somebody who has more qualifications than you but does not know how to communicate properly. Therefore, soft skills must be made a top priority for everyone to know.
To: Jason W. Ellis
From: George Gordon
Date: October 28th, 2015
Subject: Soft Skills
Soft skills are the skills that donât pertain you do doing your job efficiently but skills that are needed in general in a work environment. You may be the very best at what you can do but if you canât work well with others or cannot complete work on time, you will not have the best chance at being hired. Hard skills are essential in the job market but so are the soft skills.
The Washington Post article uses integrity, work ethic, adaptability, communication and critical thinking as these so called soft skills. However, these skills may not be taught to students, they might not be informed of how valuable having soft skills can be. The other article at Sales Force, reiterates this, with discussing how important collaboration, communication, and utilizing social media are essential soft skills. Employers are encouraged to not only look at someone’s resume but how they function, how they act and speak and if they can work as part of a team.
To:Prof J Ellis
From:Narayani Natasha Armstrong
Date:10/28/15
Subject:Soft Skills
In the following articles you can tell that whenever you work in a bigger cooperation regardless if it’s in a office or a hospital, you will have other employees you will have to collaborate with. And by working with them under one project we will have to accept each other’s idea. Yes sometimes the other person might have a better idea than you, but that doesn’t mean you should shut them off because you want your idea to work. It takes great minds to create something and if we seem to cut off each other and not respect each other’s ideas than, that’s gonna hurt us down the road with our employees and managers nowadays employers are not just seeking out for candidates who have the qualifications but also employees who can respect their staff and listen to their higher command, be able to work together with others so that where they work their customers or clients can feel comfortable in that zone.
To: Professor Jason Ellis
From:Robert Smith
Date:10/28/15
Subject: âImportance of So-Called âSoft Skillsââ
The article, âHere Are the Soft Skills Most Important to Your Businessâ by Stuart Leung, focuses on why soft skills are important to businesses, and how you can make sure your workforce has the personal skills that are necessary to be, and remain, successful. Soft skills are skills that determine an employeeâs ability to communicate, form relationships, and how well they prioritize tasks or assignments that are given to them. The article explains that while technical skills are very important to a business, social skills are still very essential for an employee to have. The article tells how 1.5 million students graduate with a bachelorâs degree, but some will not get a job due to their lack of soft skills. The employee must know how to do 3 things: cooperate, communicate, and coordinate, well with others. Differences in experience, age, and culture usually would have to work together, since, as a business, they would have the same end goal. Soft skills will allow goals to be met more smoothly due to being able to work well with others. Something employeeâs would have to be aware about is Signal Amplification Bias, which can be very dangerous. In short, Signal Amplification Bias is when the words you say are interpreted differently by the person you are speaking to. Professionals should be aware of how communications are received to avoid misunderstands, and delays in projects/tasks. Employees must be taught to avoid assumptions, everything must be spelled out so the recipient can fully understand what is being said. Business need collaboration to achieve goals. Employees must be able to accept criticism in a mature way so a mutual agreement can be met. Soft skills make collaborations work efficiently and make the employees worth more to a business. The article also says that companies do not train employees how to prioritize, since this is a skill that they shouldâve picked up in college. The article concludes that employees must get along with each so everyone can benefit.
In the other article, Capital Business by Joyce Russell, it explains WHAT soft skills employers are usually looking for in an employee. This article also realizes that technical skills are vital to choosing employees, however, soft skills are almost just as important. The article states that leaders tend to spend a majority of their time getting colleagues to work together or treat others with respect, which can understandably, be frustrating, since no work is being accomplished in that time. Soft skills employers are usually looking for are: Integrity (their ethical reputation and their honesty), work ethic (how hard of a worker the person is), a team player (how well they work with others to achieve their goal), attitude (is this person an optimist or pessimist?), adaptability (can this person work just as hard if they are placed in a different work environment?), communication and confidence (can they voice their opinions freely, while respectfully listening to others voice their opinions), constructive criticism (how do they react to feedback, and will they make the changes needed to improve their work), creative thinking (thinking outside the box), critical thinking and problem solving (analyzation of information and put the collected information together), negotiation and collaboration (effectively addressing conflicts as they arise, able to persuade and influence others). This article ends by stating that an employer would rather hire someone with a 3.6 GPA and strong soft skills, than a person with a 4.0 GPA who has little or no soft skills. This only shows how much of an impact soft skills can have in being employed, and how important it must be to a company.
To: Professor Jason Ellis
From: Mereoni Rabukawaqa
Date: 28 October, 2015
Subject: Importance of So-Called “Soft Skills”
Seeking employment today is a task already made difficult by the declining economy, without the knowledge that there are many other people just as qualified, if not more so, for a job you may want to apply for. What can set the average worker apart from any other Joe with the same exact degree and experience as them? Soft skills have often be touted as inconsequential to acquiring a job because they don’t get the job done the way “hard skills” do. But having soft skills – different positive traits of character such as being a team player, having integrity, having a positive attitude, being able to think outside of the box, being confident, charismatic, etc – are a crucial part of participating in a work environment.
Having good character traits sets you apart from other workers who share the same kind of credentials as you. Joyce E. A. Russell, the author from the Washington Post article, offers the example of hiring a doctor – while the technical skills would show the employer how each candidate has the experience and the degree to get the job, the soft skill would distinguish which one would be more likely to listen carefully to the patients concerns and based on their ability to communicate effectively, which would be able to clearly communicate with the patient and help them understand what they need to know. Stuart Leung from the salesforce article also presents the important point that we very much live in not just a technological age but a time ruled mostly by social media, making being able to collaborate with others, communicate with customers or team members very important.
TO: Dr. Jason Ellis
FROM: Anika Aarons
DATE: 10/28/2015
SUBJECT: Importance of So-Called âSoft Skillsâ
Soft skills are a combination of your personality traits, social abilities, communication skills, interpersonal skills, personal habits, that overall characterize relationships with other people. A personâs soft skills are important essentials of an individualsâ contribution to the success of an organization. In both articles âHere Are the Soft Skills Most Important to Your Businessâ by Stuart Leung and âBusiness Capitalâ by Joyce E. Russell discusses the importance of soft skills. In the first article âHere Are the Soft Skills Most Important to Your Businessâ by Stuart Leung, highlights on the differences between hard skills and soft skills. Going on to explain that someone who has all the degrees and requirements still might not be able to successful get the job done based on the lack of interpersonal skills and experience (soft skills). In the second article âBusiness Capitalâ by Joyce E. Russell briefly explains that the concept of âsoft skillsâ are considered âfluffâ not needed in any way. Russell goes on to explain that all business employers should look for the most important soft skills such as: integrity, work ethic, team player, enthusiasm, positive attitudes, flexibility, and most importantly communication.
TO: Dr. Jason Ellis
FROM: Valentina Pineda
DATE: October 28, 2015
SUBJECT: âHere Are the Soft Skills Most Important to Your Business,â and âBusiness Capitalâ summary
Soft skills can be defined as an individual’s characteristics in personality and their behavior that allows them to work and socialize successfully with others. Both of the articles talk about the importance of having strong âsoft skillsâ for landing a professional job. It is of importance to have all the technical skills a job requires however, it is vital for an individual to be able to work well with others by having great soft skills. As mentioned in the articlesâ âMany recruiters have told me that they would rather hire an applicant with a 3.6 GPA who has strong soft skills, than an applicant with a 4.0 who has no soft skills or no extracurricular or leadership activities,â. While institutions do a great job preparing college students with all technical skills needed for a job they lack in preparing them with soft skills that would distinguish them from other skilled candidates. some soft skills recruiters are looking for are Integrity,work ethic,Team player,positive attitude, adaptability, effective communication and confidence. It is advised for an individual to look for training in bettering their soft skills as the workforce gets more competitive by the years and this could be their one skill that highlights them from the rest.
TO: Prof. Ellis
FROM: Reazul Hassan
DATE:10/28/2015
SUBJECT: Business Capital and importance of Soft Skills
In the article âHere are Soft Skills Most Important to Your Businessâ the author talks about the importance of non-technical skills in a business. Hard Skills aren’t enough for success in a business. There is more to employment than just know how to do the job itself. Soft skills also mean interpersonal skills. Such as understanding people and personalities in an work environment. According to the article Mark Murphy stated that 46% of hires fail in a job environment within the first 18 months of employment and of the them 89% fail due to attitude issues. The author states that 77% of employers say soft skills are just as important as hard skills. The soft skill is basically understanding of all perspectives of people. Such as the giverâs perspectives and the receiverâs perspectives. Not understanding how information can be received can lead to miscommunication, delays and confusion. This miscommunication costs US and UK an average of $37 billion dollars of losses, thatâs $26k per employee. These are just few reasons to why soft skills should be a priority for businesses.
The article âCapital Businessâ by Joyce E.A. Russell also talks about the importance of soft skills in a work environment. The skills are as followed; Integrity, Work ethic, Team player, Positive attitude and enthusiasm, Adaptability and flexibility, Effective communication and confidence, Openness and receptivity to feedback, Creative thinking, Critical thinking and problem solving, Collaboration, conflict management and negotiation skills.
TO:Dr Jason Ellis
FROM: Ryan Doherty
DATE: 10/28/2015
SUBJECT: Importance of So-Called âSoft Skillsâ
Soft skills are the necessary interpersonal skills that employees should know. Examples are work ethic, integrity, attitude, communications and creative thinking. According to the articles soft skills are just as important to employers are the technical skills but are often overlooked and underestimated by job seekers. In many cases soft skills are one of the determining factors in whom an employer hires. These skills help employees function in the workplace and work with their co workers, and supervisors. Be able to communicate with your peers in a respectful manner, and be able to share your ideas and opinions with them are important skills to have when collaborative work is necessary. At time workers must prioritize one project over others, but lack the critical thinking skill to make make a decision without supervision. Due to social media becoming a major part business life it is more necessary for workers to have the right attitude when dealing with both customers and co workers. Work ethic, integrity, and your receptivity to feedback inform the employer what kind of worker you are.
To: Dr. Ellis
From: Kary Martinez
Date: October 28, 2015
Subject: Soft Skills
Soft Skills are other skills other than technical skills like the ability to communicate, create relationships with others, and collaborate well. When evaluating an employer’s performance soft skill can be an extremely important factor. The reason for this is because when working with a team project collaboration is requires many of these skills in order to succeed . We usually undervalue the power of soft skills but in the professional world soft skills can determine if you are capable of being able to work in a place where collaboration and performance.
TO: Jason W. Ellis
FROM: Christopher Navarrete
DATE: October 28, 2015
SUBJECT: Importance of So-Called âSoft Skillsâ
âSoft skillsâ are considered to be interpersonal skills that help achieve our goal in the workplace. According to Joyce E.A Russell, they include having integrity, a good work ethic, adaptability, and being team player among others. Russell describes its importance as she states that project managers and leaders know failing to have these soft skills will cause ââpeople problemsâ in their company [and] drain their energy.â Despite this, several individuals believe employers only look for those with great âhard skills;â or technical skills that relate to the job at hand.
Stuart Leung also proves the importance of soft skills as he states, based on a recent AOL study, that â77 percent of employers say that soft skills are just as important as hard skills.â One soft skill that Leung singles out is being great at collaborating. This is important to have as â86% of executives identify ineffective collaboration and communication as a major cause of failure in businessâ (Leung). Overall, although hard skills are important to have, they shouldnât be the only skill one has.
TO: Jason W. Ellis
FROM: Albert Hemmings
DATE: October 28, 2015
SUBJECT: Soft Skills
Soft skills also considered as interpersonal skills that help employees work cohesively in the workplace. Straits such as communication, the ability to form relationships and prioritizing task are the basis of soft skills. Even though these skills are often overlooked, they are very important because business are built and thrive on collaboration. It is a necessity to not only have hard skills but also soft skill because those are often the decided factor in whether you get hired or get a promotion. Like the example used in the Washington Post, if you had to pick between two equally competent doctors but one listens more to your concerns, who would you want your doctor to be?
TO: Dr. Jason W. Ellis
FROM: Yulduz Saidinova
DATE: October 28, 2015
SUBJECT: Importance of So-Called âSoft Skillsâ
Soft Skills are much different than technical skills. Soft skills are very important because it is more about communication, language, managing people, being able to lead other people to specific task. It is more about relationship that person has with others. Being able to understand other people and their needs.
In the article âHere are the soft skills most important to your businessâ by Leung talks about how the softs skills are important when it comes to business. It talks about that hard skills by itself is not enough for business. Workers has to be able to understand each other and be flexible with different type of people since our country is more diverse now. Also right now we are in communicational age. We have to be able to step outside from our mind and be able to put ourselves into other people’s shoes. Only then we will have better quality of communication between employees and customers when it comes to business. Also business is built upon collaboration. In the business most of the time many employee work and they all have their own way of thinking. If the employees cannot share their thoughts, collaborate with each other and make decisions together it will cause business a damage. It is really important to make sure in the business that workers have interpersonal skills. Business owners has to make sure their employee have collaborative skills. Nowadays many workers fail to prioritize properly. Because companies that hire them donât give them proper instruction how to prioritize, they assume workers trained to do so in the college. But neither college does gives instructions, they will assume students will adapt to their environment at their job in future. Best way to avoid this problem is through a mentor-protege relationship, so employees can teach new people. Also having social media is very helpful for business unless you have workers that does not know how to represent their company in calm, peaceful and efficient way. Soft skills are very important for business or in any other work place because being able to handle tough situations, understand other people or customers are very beneficial for business. When you hire new employee you have to make sure to get to know them and how are their soft skills are.
In the article by Joyce E.A. Russell, I learned that most of the people, patients or customers will pick any employee that are easy to understand, problem solver, who listens to their problems and shares information with them. Nobody would want any employee that canât help them and have bad attitudes. But yet we often dismiss soft skills as fluff and we donât need them. Leaders and project managers often say that trying to make employees work together in efficiency way usually drains their energy. They think that workers with soft skills most important factor. Some of the most important soft skills are integrity, team player, positive attitude, flexibility, creative thinking and so on. Many recruiters would hire low GPA and high soft skilled person than high GPA and non soft skill person. Soft skills plays main role in the work environment. There are places that teaches how to gain good soft skills and they can built their skills there. We should not forget about soft skills not only at work but anywhere, because I think it is the main personality of the human being.
TO. Prof. Ellis
FROM: Reazul Hassan
DATE: 11/2/2015
SUBJECT: âConducting Researchâ
In the article the author talks about conducting research and the steps that are needed to do it properly. You have to always question your sources of information. A good place to start a research is at the library perhaps. Primary research is the use of interviews, observation and analysis or even surveys. This requires you to verify the information that you take from the sources such as the internet.