Recent analyses of creativity in the North American economy have underscored the importance of city-regions in the generation of economic dynamism. These studies have been concerned with at least two principal assertions. The first assertion is that the social dynamics of city-regions constitute the foundations of economic success. The second assertion is that the distribution of human capital (talent) is a crucial element in regional economic prosperity; yet the distribution of human capital across cities is uneven. Therefore, the question emerges: what factors influence the locational choices of talented individuals? In recent years, this question has received considerable scholarly attention. This thesis has identified two existing gaps within this field of inquiry. Conspicuously absent from studies in this area are theoretical insights offered by cultural geographers in the field of whiteness and race. Economic geographers have created an essentialized reading of racial diversity in the economic performance of city-regions. Moreover, work in this area has been constrained by a quantitative focus and a lack of empirical evidence. Accordingly, the purpose of this thesis is to develop a more nuanced understanding of how social processes and institutions underlie and are shaped by the economic performance of city-regions. This is achieved by drawing on insights from an empirical study of 44 semi-structured interviews with academic talent in the City of Kingston, Ontario and 12 interviews with community insiders. The results on the one hand reveal complex dynamics linked to why academics live in particular places, but on the other hand point to one overriding explanation for why academics locate where they do: namely, academics are attracted to Kingston, first and foremost, because of academic jobs, not urban amenities or other characteristics of place. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2009-07-22 11:33:21.839

The purpose of this field study is to gain an increased knowledge and understanding regarding how Western Cape-based companies work with Employer Branding towards black students by describing, analyzing and concluding the included processes. To reach this purpose a qualitative method was used by interviewing three different representatives from Western Cape companies and one consultant agency working with the concept of employer branding as well as focus group discussions with students from universities in Western Cape. The theoretical framework involves an own-designed model including the different concepts relevant for our study: Talent Management, Diversity Management and Employer Branding in which the latter has been given the most focus. The empirical data includes how the participants perceive the Employer Branding work towards students in a Western Cape context: the black talent challenge. The analysis chapter follows the structure of the theory chapter and the empirical data is compared and analyzed from to the different concepts in the theoretical framework. The analysis demonstrates that companies in Western Cape tend to overestimate their Employer Branding efforts in terms of resources and variety. Our findings show that the black students in our study felt dissatisfaction with the Employer Branding efforts from Western Cape companies. The analysis show clear patterns that Employer Branding in the Western Cape area have a strong ethnicity diversity focus and especially around fulfilling legal requirements. The collaboration between companies and universities in Western Cape could improve drastically according to our empirical findings. Finally this thesis provides a few recommendations for further research as well as for the Western Cape companies.

Lärarbristen är ett utbrett problem i Sverige. Vikten av att kunna attrahera samt behålla lärarnas kompetens är därför stor. Syftet med denna studie är att få en förståelse för hinder som påverkar möjligheten att attrahera samt behålla lärare. Studien bygger på lärare vid grund- samt gymnasieskolor i Borlänge och deras uppfattningar kring vad som är attraktiv respektive oattraktivt i yrket. Detta genom mer djupgående intervjuer för att komma åt bakomliggande motiv och tankemönster. Resultatet visar att det lärarna främst uppfattar som attraktivt i sitt arbete är att yrket upplevs som viktigt och meningsfullt, är varierat och ombytligt, innehåller mycket social kontakt samt goda relationer och ger dem en erkänsla genom att vara eftertraktad. De faktorer som lärarna främst lyfter fram som oattraktiva är att lönerna i kommunen är för låga, arbetsbördan och stressen är stor, ledarskapet och kommunikationen brister samt konflikter med elevernas föräldrar som ställer orimliga krav och lägger sig i undervisningen. / The lack of teachers is a widespread problem in Sweden. The importance of being able to attract and retain their expertise is therefore great. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of obstacles that affect the ability to attract and retain teachers. The study is based on teachers at elementary- and upper secondary schools in Borlänge and their views on what is attractive and unattractive in the profession. This through more in-depth interviews to access underlying motives and thought patterns. The result shows that what the teachers perceive as attractive in their work is that the profession is deemed as important and meaningful, is varied and changeable, contains a lot of social contact and good relations and gives them a recognition by being sought after. The factors that teachers mainly emphasize as unattractive are low salaries, heavy workload and great stress in combination with lacking leadership and poor communication, as well as conflicts with the students’ parents who place unreasonable demands and interferes in the teaching in a disturbing way.

Researchers and practitioners have both acknowledged the importance of attracting the right employees. The study aims to explore and analyze how Swedish gaming start-ups attract talent. The authors investigated eight gaming companies based in Sweden, conducting semi-structured interviews with founding team or management team that were responsible for talent attraction in their respective companies. Study draws on theory of employer brand and examines how game development start-ups overcome their challenges in employee attraction context. Results of the research show that most gaming companies offer variety of employment benefits described in employment brand theory, but for them to have a competitive advantage, they should incorporate innovative new ideas in talent attraction. We propose an ‘employer innovation matrix model’ that can be a strategic talent attraction planning tool for companies.

M. Tech. (Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences): Vaal University of Technology / The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of employee rewards on talent attraction and talent retention. Furthermore, the study intends to unearth the influence of rewards on employee attraction and retention and to suggest strategies that could be employed by FET colleges in Gauteng in the Sedibeng district of Gauteng. The attraction and retention of employees continues to be a key priority not only of human resource professionals but also of FET colleges generally in South Africa and in the Gauteng province in particular. The most valuable asset available to an organisation is its people, and consequently, retaining employees in their jobs is crucial for any organization. In South Africa, the retention of highly skilled employees is critical, particularly because of the need to contribute to economic growth, innovation and poverty eradication. Owing to the competition for scarce skills, the attraction and retention of quality employees has emerged as the biggest challenge in human capital management and this phenomenon has also arisen in FET colleges. To attract and retain employee, organisations need novel reward systems that satisfy employees. This study employs a quantitative research paradigm and a survey method was used to investigate a sample of 154 academic employees at Sedibeng FET College, Gauteng. A personal method was used to collect data using semi-structured questionnaire and the results of the correlations shows that employee rewards are significantly positively related to talent attraction and talent retention. Findings and recommendations of this study are important to employers as they are supposed to design a remuneration package that attract and retain the best candidates and satisfies their employee’s expectations, in that it is fair, equitable and free of bias. A remuneration package is one of the most important factors that influence people to take up employment and stay with the organization.

<p>Bakgrund: Vikten av att attrahera rätt personal är stor då företag söker långsiktiga konkurrensfördelar och stora resurser läggs idag på arbetet med denna viktiga uppgift. För att attrahera potentiella arbetstagare använder sig företag idag framförallt av direkt och riktad information till de individer och formella grupper av individer som bedöms som intressanta. Denna typ av kommunikation kan ses utelämna stora delar av den omgivning som inom socialpsykologin anses ha stor påverkan på individens val och agerande. </p><p>Syfte: Att söka förståelse för och vidareutveckla teorin kring hur talent attraction kan ske genom att tilltala individen emotionellt, via den sociala omgivningen och genom att se till individens identitetsskapande. Metod: Genom ett expert- och snöbollsurval har 8 experter inom det valda ämnesområdet identifierats och intervjuats. Formen för intervjuerna har varit av diskussionskaraktär. </p><p>Resultat: Vi har i uppsatsen presenterat stöd för att omgivningen påverkar individens val av arbetsgivare, att val av arbetsgivare har en påverkan på individens identitet och att även emotionella faktorer har inverkan vid individens val av arbetsgivare. Dessa resultat menar vi innebär att potentiella arbetstagare bör ingå som en intressent till varumärket. Detta medför en förändrad syn på hur arbetsgivare kan arbeta med talent attraction då emotionella och symboliska faktorer utgör ett komplement till de rationella och kompensatoriska faktorer som vi sett dominera dagens teoribildning.</p>

Bakgrund: Vikten av att attrahera rätt personal är stor då företag söker långsiktiga konkurrensfördelar och stora resurser läggs idag på arbetet med denna viktiga uppgift. För att attrahera potentiella arbetstagare använder sig företag idag framförallt av direkt och riktad information till de individer och formella grupper av individer som bedöms som intressanta. Denna typ av kommunikation kan ses utelämna stora delar av den omgivning som inom socialpsykologin anses ha stor påverkan på individens val och agerande. Syfte: Att söka förståelse för och vidareutveckla teorin kring hur talent attraction kan ske genom att tilltala individen emotionellt, via den sociala omgivningen och genom att se till individens identitetsskapande. Metod: Genom ett expert- och snöbollsurval har 8 experter inom det valda ämnesområdet identifierats och intervjuats. Formen för intervjuerna har varit av diskussionskaraktär. Resultat: Vi har i uppsatsen presenterat stöd för att omgivningen påverkar individens val av arbetsgivare, att val av arbetsgivare har en påverkan på individens identitet och att även emotionella faktorer har inverkan vid individens val av arbetsgivare. Dessa resultat menar vi innebär att potentiella arbetstagare bör ingå som en intressent till varumärket. Detta medför en förändrad syn på hur arbetsgivare kan arbeta med talent attraction då emotionella och symboliska faktorer utgör ett komplement till de rationella och kompensatoriska faktorer som vi sett dominera dagens teoribildning.

Background. Human capital, often referred to as talent, has become a key source of competitive advantage. Due to the scarcity and competition for such talent scholars and practitioners are constantly trying to find new ways to attract, engage and retain highly soughtafter employees. The recent recession and economic slow-down has, however, led to diminished financial resources which has meant that talent management strategies have had to shift with greater focus being placed on non-financially centred offers to attract talent. Such non-financial offers include employer branding (EB) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Research Purpose. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employer brand and organisational attractiveness perceptions. To achieve this aim, two research objectives were set. The first objective was to establish whether statistically significant positive causal relationships exist between perceptions of CSR, employer brand and organisational attractiveness (OA). The second objective was to estimate the relative importance of CSR and employer brand amongst other typical financial and non-financial reward elements or factors, i.e. when trade-offs need to be made. Research Design and Methodological approaches. An experimental research design was utilised and primary quantitative data was collected by means of convenience, i.e. nonprobability sampling. A realised sample of n=137 was obtained. To address the objectives stated above, a two method approach was utilised. Firstly, a 22 or 2 (CSR present or not present) x 2 (employer branding present or not present) full-factorial experiment was utilised to investigate the causal relationships with organisational attractiveness (the dependant variable). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions and perceived level of attractiveness measured after being exposed to one of four fictitious recruitment posters in which the CSR and employer brand were manipulated. The validity and reliability of the organisational attractiveness scale was assessed using Principle Components Analysis (PCA) and calculating Cronbach α coefficients, respectively The data were then analysed using descriptive statistics and a 22 within-subjects Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). To address the second objective, a fractional experiment was used to estimate the relative importance of CSR when randomly manipulating several typical financial and non-financial total reward factors or elements, i.e. those typically offered to prospective employees to attract them, including remuneration, benefits, work-life balance, performance and recognition, and development and career opportunities. This was done by utilising Choice-based modelling (CBM) or choice-based conjoint analysis. The Preference Lab software was used to conduct this experiment and collect the data. Part-utility worths were then calculated to assess the relative importance of each of the six attributes. Finally, the conjoint utilities were then used to identify distinct cohorts of respondents using two-step cluster analysis. Results. The results of the 22 within-subjects or full factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed statistically significant main effects, as well as statistically significant interaction effects. Moreover, the CBM revealed that, in relation to the other four attributes (i.e. renumeration, work-life balance, career development and advancement and, performance management and recognition) CSR and employer branding were ranked as the third and fifth most important attributes, respectively. When identifying distinct cohorts of respondents, using cluster analysis, a 2-cluster and a 3-cluster solution was found. Findings. It was determined that when CSR is present there is an increase in organisational attractiveness and, when a desirable employer brand is present there is an increase in organisational attractiveness. Additionally, renumeration and work-life balance were ranked as relatively more important than CSR and, renumeration, work-life balance, CSR and, career development and advancement were ranked as relatively more important than employer branding. Contribution of the study. The present study hopefully contributes to a better understanding of the role of CSR and employer branding in talent attraction and so adds to the available literature in this field of study, as well as provides further theoretical perspectives on the importance of CSR in the field of reward- and talent-management. Practically, the insights gleaned from the data could be used by organisations to inform talent attraction strategies, practices and policies which may assist in attracting highly sought-after human capital and subsequently positively impact on organisational performance and sustainable organisational success. By better understanding the positive causal effect of CSR on employer brand perceptions and desirable organisational outcomes such as organisational attractiveness, this knowledge can be used to make a compelling business case for CSR. Augmenting the argument that CSR “..is the right thing to do” on the one hand, with evidence that CSR makes good business sense, makes for a compelling win-win argument for organisations to make greater social investments with obvious benefits for communities and society at large.

O desafio das empresas tem sido manter sua competitividade em um mercado de rápidas mudanças e com um consumidor/cliente cada vez mais exigente. Ter competência e rapidez nas respostas representa hoje um grande desafio que exige recursos diferenciados. São as pessoas que podem garantir o desenho e a implementação da estratégia por meio de uma gestão competente, gerando produtos e serviços com qualidade para atender a esse novo consumidor. Por esta razão, as empresas necessitam de profissionais qualificados, tanto para as posições mais estratégicas, na tomada de decisão, como na operação. Entretanto, a área de gestão de pessoas, responsável pelo recrutamento e seleção, vem demonstrando preocupação com a capacidade do mercado brasileiro e, em especial São Paulo para ofertar profissionais qualificados e atender à demanda das empresas. Esta questão tem emergido e, com isto, surgiu o termo \"apagão de mão de obra\". Entretanto, é preciso entender o quanto este apagão é real e o quanto este fato pode tornar o mercado de profissionas tão competitivo quanto o mercado de consumo, a ponto de as empresas disputarem profissionais como disputam consumidores/clientes. Este contexto gerou duas reflexões: a primeira é o quanto a área de gestão de pessoas está preparada e tem desenvolvido uma estratégia efetiva para a atração de talentos; e, na sequência, o quanto a área de marketing, com a sua experiência em lidar com mercados competitivos, pode contribuir com a área de gestão de pessoas, compartilhando as ferramentas utilizadas para atrair os consumidores. Assim, optou-se, por um estudo exploratório com metodologia qualitativa para entender a percepção dos profissionais de gestão de pessoas sobre o \"apagão de mão de obra\" e identificar o quanto as ferramentas de marketing podem contribuir para a atração de talentos. Os resultados revelaram que é percebida uma escassez de profissionais qualificados no mercado, e que o chamado \"apagão de mão obra\" ocorre em áreas específicas, dependendo do segmento da empresa, e não de forma generalizada. O resultado da pesquisa identificou similaridades entre os mercados de profissionais e de consumo, assim como a possibilidade de aplicação das ferramentas: employer branding, posicionamento, segmentação e marketing de relacionamento na atração de talentos. Foi identificado, também, que este tema ainda é tratado de forma operacional e reativa, faltando à área de gestão de pessoas uma atuação mais estratégica e orientada para o mercado de profissionais. / The corporate challenge has been to maintain its competitiveness in a rapidly changing market and with an increasingly demanding consumer/client. Being competent and timely response represents today a major challenge that requires special feature. Only people can ensure the design and strategy implementation through a competent management, providing quality products and services to meet this new consumer/client. For this reason, companies need qualified professionals, both for strategic positions in decision-making, as in operation. However, the area of people management, which is responsible for recruitment and selection, has been showing concern about the ability of the supply of qualified professionals, in Brazil and in particular in the State of São Paulo, to meet business demand. This issue has emerged and, with this, the term \"labor blackout\". However, one must understand how much this blackout is real and how this fact can make the professional market as competitive as the consumer market, to the point where companies compete as professionals disputing consumers/clients. This gives rise to two thoughts: the first is how much the area of people management is prepared and has developed an effective strategy for attracting talents; and, as a result, how much the marketing area, with its experience in dealing with competitive markets, can contribute to the area of people management, sharing the tools used to attract consumers. So, it was decided, preliminarily, for an exploratory study with qualitative methodology to understand the perception of professionals people management on the labor blackout and identify how much the marketing tools can contribute to attract talents. The results revealed that a shortage of qualified professionals in the market is perceived, and that the so-called \"labor blackout\" occurs in specific areas, depending on the segment of the company, and not generally. The survey results identified similarities between the professional and consumer markets, as well as the possibility of tools application: employer branding, positioning, segmentation and relationship marketing in attracting talent. It was also identified that this topic is still treated as operational and reactive, being the area of people management short of a more strategic performance and market-oriented.

O desafio das empresas tem sido manter sua competitividade em um mercado de rápidas mudanças e com um consumidor/cliente cada vez mais exigente. Ter competência e rapidez nas respostas representa hoje um grande desafio que exige recursos diferenciados. São as pessoas que podem garantir o desenho e a implementação da estratégia por meio de uma gestão competente, gerando produtos e serviços com qualidade para atender a esse novo consumidor. Por esta razão, as empresas necessitam de profissionais qualificados, tanto para as posições mais estratégicas, na tomada de decisão, como na operação. Entretanto, a área de gestão de pessoas, responsável pelo recrutamento e seleção, vem demonstrando preocupação com a capacidade do mercado brasileiro e, em especial São Paulo para ofertar profissionais qualificados e atender à demanda das empresas. Esta questão tem emergido e, com isto, surgiu o termo \"apagão de mão de obra\". Entretanto, é preciso entender o quanto este apagão é real e o quanto este fato pode tornar o mercado de profissionas tão competitivo quanto o mercado de consumo, a ponto de as empresas disputarem profissionais como disputam consumidores/clientes. Este contexto gerou duas reflexões: a primeira é o quanto a área de gestão de pessoas está preparada e tem desenvolvido uma estratégia efetiva para a atração de talentos; e, na sequência, o quanto a área de marketing, com a sua experiência em lidar com mercados competitivos, pode contribuir com a área de gestão de pessoas, compartilhando as ferramentas utilizadas para atrair os consumidores. Assim, optou-se, por um estudo exploratório com metodologia qualitativa para entender a percepção dos profissionais de gestão de pessoas sobre o \"apagão de mão de obra\" e identificar o quanto as ferramentas de marketing podem contribuir para a atração de talentos. Os resultados revelaram que é percebida uma escassez de profissionais qualificados no mercado, e que o chamado \"apagão de mão obra\" ocorre em áreas específicas, dependendo do segmento da empresa, e não de forma generalizada. O resultado da pesquisa identificou similaridades entre os mercados de profissionais e de consumo, assim como a possibilidade de aplicação das ferramentas: employer branding, posicionamento, segmentação e marketing de relacionamento na atração de talentos. Foi identificado, também, que este tema ainda é tratado de forma operacional e reativa, faltando à área de gestão de pessoas uma atuação mais estratégica e orientada para o mercado de profissionais. / The corporate challenge has been to maintain its competitiveness in a rapidly changing market and with an increasingly demanding consumer/client. Being competent and timely response represents today a major challenge that requires special feature. Only people can ensure the design and strategy implementation through a competent management, providing quality products and services to meet this new consumer/client. For this reason, companies need qualified professionals, both for strategic positions in decision-making, as in operation. However, the area of people management, which is responsible for recruitment and selection, has been showing concern about the ability of the supply of qualified professionals, in Brazil and in particular in the State of São Paulo, to meet business demand. This issue has emerged and, with this, the term \"labor blackout\". However, one must understand how much this blackout is real and how this fact can make the professional market as competitive as the consumer market, to the point where companies compete as professionals disputing consumers/clients. This gives rise to two thoughts: the first is how much the area of people management is prepared and has developed an effective strategy for attracting talents; and, as a result, how much the marketing area, with its experience in dealing with competitive markets, can contribute to the area of people management, sharing the tools used to attract consumers. So, it was decided, preliminarily, for an exploratory study with qualitative methodology to understand the perception of professionals people management on the labor blackout and identify how much the marketing tools can contribute to attract talents. The results revealed that a shortage of qualified professionals in the market is perceived, and that the so-called \"labor blackout\" occurs in specific areas, depending on the segment of the company, and not generally. The survey results identified similarities between the professional and consumer markets, as well as the possibility of tools application: employer branding, positioning, segmentation and relationship marketing in attracting talent. It was also identified that this topic is still treated as operational and reactive, being the area of people management short of a more strategic performance and market-oriented.