MGT444 SP11

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is the state government agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. For employers, TWC offers recruiting, retention, training and retraining, and outplacement services as well as valuable information on labor law and labor market statistics. For job seekers, TWC offers career development information, job search resources, training programs, and, as appropriate, unemployment benefits. While targeted populations receive intensive assistance to overcome barriers to employment all Texans can benefit from the services offered by TWC and our network of workforce partners. The Texas Work & Family Clearinghouse provides information and links to resources on work-family programs and policies for employers, employees, policymakers, and the public. They use the TWC as their researching source. They are funded by the federal tax revenue and are a free service for Texans. Because they are funded by the federal government, it leads me to believe that they have credibility about the reliability of the site and its information. Does the site have built in bias? For example is the Web page an advertisement for a product or service? I really didn't see any advertizing or political agenda for this site.

Twiga, which is Swahili for giraffe, is a non-profit organization founded in 2005 "promoting family consciousness in the home, workplace, and community." The website discusses involvement and support for work and family related projects around the nation. Also its success is measured by the partnerships from different organizations. The site offers many links to other websites dealing with similar ideas like Twiga. They also offer consulting services in health and wellness, workplace flexibility, and other helpful tips. The intended audience for this website includes families, employers, employees, and any individual who wants to learn a healthy life balance. The website offers proof of their dedication with projects and articles written. Twiga makes sure you can contact them for consulting services regarding anything from family to work and overall health. Twiga's website seems to be informing as well as educating it's intended audience. The URL (.org) also indicates the legitimacy of the organization. The website gives the audience all the contact information needed to reach the staff. Twiga is an authentic organization with a legitimate website. The website is an advertisement for their company improvement services but it's informative to say the least. The founder and President/CEO, Patricia Kempthorne, has a degree in business management and has a lot of experience in her field as well as her staff. This website was very well organized and easy to follow. It's amazing the time and effort people put into an organization that helps the balance of work and family. I think this is a great company to be involved in regarding not-for-profit companies.

I am impressed with the drive that Patricia Kempthorne and fellow founders had to start up such an organization that has thrived. The overall appeal catches the viewer's eye and the organizational structure of the website is user friendly and logically organized. This website seems similar to the AWLP website I reviewed in the fact that both organizations in nature are created around the premise of helping those in the workforce to handle issues that conflict between family and work. I appreciate the links to consulting services that the organization lists that help provide a good opportunity for those looking to gain help with their issues. Go Twiga!

The name caught my attention, but the site kept it. I was really impressed with this site and think that the giraffe metaphor fits their purpose nicely. Although, they have a small staff, they seem to be very involved. I particularly like that their focus is on trying to mesh everything together to make it work rather than taking the approach of changing one thing and assuming that will solve the issues. I noticed on a couple of the site reviewed that there is big spotlight on health and nutrition. I find that interesting and this site was no exception. The "Health and Wellness" section had a lot of really good information/reminders. So often, this aspect of life is overlooked, but balancing your health is an important component to help balance the rest of work and life.

This EAP (Employee Assistance Program) is provided by Partners HealthCare which is a non-profit integrated healthcare delivery system in Eastern Massachusetts. They serve the employees of Partners HealthCare and some other healthcare providers in Eastern MA. They provide support for any work/life issue such as: Balancing work and family, childcare, eldercare resources, and family and marital concerns. Partners EAP is made up of volunteers who provide free services to include: short-term counseling, workplace based consultation, and information and referral programs for employees and their household members. All of the counselors are licensed professionals and the Partners Healthcare EAP was awarded accreditation by the Council of Accreditation, a hallmark of excellence for EAP providers that has been earned by less than 5% of EAPs internationally and the 2009 EAP Digest/Employee Assistance Professional Association Quality Award. In 2007 They were awarded the Corporate Award for EAP Excellence by the Employee Assistance Society of North America. All of the counselors and licenses held is also listed. The website for Partners EAP listed several resources for their employees. Some of the resources listed were for elder care, child care, and healthy living. Each resource had a link to the respective service website with address and phone numbers. Some of the resources contact information hadn't been updated for a few years but all the links that I tried worked. There is also a schedule for events that Partners EAP is hosting to include seminars on eldercare, nutrition, and childcare. Overall the website provided good information to their employees. I liked how the site guided you through steps on how to assess your situation and then provided a link to different providers that could help you. What I learned from this site is that resources are out there you just have to look for them. Partners EAP services are ALL free for their employees. They are also a

Hi Heather, Excellent resource. I've only used EAP once before and it was valuable. I know that most organizations offer EAP as part of their benefits package, but find that like FMLA it is not used very often by employees. Unlike FMLA, however, there isnt any downside to using the support, it doesnt really require much time and the service is free. I wonder what the correlation is between its use versus other options that employees have difficulty using due to limitations such as not receiving pay during FMLA?

I agree, this is a very handy site. Tons of information, well formatted, and a wide variety of issues. I have worked for the company I with currently with for a total of about 4 years and only recently utilized the program they offer that is similar to this one. Once I finally took the time to poke around and see what they offered, I was amazed at some of the information I found. It really opened my eyes and helped me realize that I should be appreciating and taking advantage of these benefits more.Although indirectly related, I really liked the "Financial Resources" section and found some good tips and information. Good review!

The National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center (NCCIC) is a website devoted to providing childcare information to parents for the development of their children and information to those in the childcare field. NCCIC provides information for childcare companies and parents that are the target audience for NCCIC material. The information that I reviewed from the website was very relevant to childcare and offered information that I found to be very useful. The NCCIC provided a searchable library that can help a user find articles and information on work and family issues. It also provided information for professional development in the child care field. I found the NCCIC site to be very credible because it is sponsored only by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. One of the more interesting observations about the website is the information for the licensing for child care providers. The website did not have any advertisement and sponsors and is fully owned by the U S Health department. This leads me to believe that the site does not have a bias and is strictly there to provide information. There we not any links to take users to websites to join to further a political agenda. This in my opinion is always a great sign. The only issue that I have with the site is that it is too much information. This can be overwhelming to typical users and such. The library to pull research and articles is a bit difficult to use. However if I was interested in child care and wanted to develop a further understanding of finding out about the procedure to become a licensed child care facility, this would be a place I would recommend.

I agree there is a lot of information on this site. It is designed primarily for educators and they really like their information all in one place. Wow, there is a lot of links and references, so many that for the average reader, it is overwhelming. But Wow, there is some great information on this site, like early learning guidelines and school readiness information. I can see how this would be a very useful place to get regulations and information for any child development education setting. As a parent, I could use this site to make sure they are meeting the expectations of the minimum governmental standards. This would have been nice 15 years ago and I am glad to see it now for all the future parents.

This is truly a great website. I have saved to my favorite and know that I will be referencing this many times throughout my life, both as a parent (one day) and (hopefully) as a childcare center owner. I am actually surprised that I have not already come across this site throughout my searching, but am definitely glad to know about it now. I agree with all of your critiques about the site. I do think that the target audience is aimed mainly at educators and providers, but is a great resource for anyone interested in the abundant topics they address. It is well organized and easy to use, so finding a specific topic shouldn't be a problem.

The Center for Work and Family originated in 1990 with a purpose of guiding employers in balancing personal/professional with success in the work place. There "vision is that companies and communities will work together to ensure their mutual prosperity and the well being of employees and their families." The website discusses informative news and studies conducted. Also they provide membership information. The site reveals the faculty involved and corporate partners sharing a common interest. The intended audience is big business organizations to become members. The website gives contact and membership information as well as a survey to help a business with work/life culture. Boston College is in the top 35 business schools where the CWF was founded. The credibility of information on this educational website is very high. The individuals involved including professors, deans, marketing, human resource directors are the legitimate "brains behind the operation". This organization is filled with hundreds of members affiliated with the college and member who are not. The website also provides a survey including specific elements to helping an organization with work/life success. Since the college offers this organization, you can argue that this site is an advertisement. The CWF has a social agenda regarding the bridge of academics, efficiency, and professionalism. This website was very interesting regarding the time and effort into helping big named companies work more efficiently with employees. The fact that Boston College backs this organization helps the success rate.

I liked your review Nikki. I have much admiration for Center for Work tryin to join together companies and communities. Often times businesses may be located in a community and not connected sharing the mutual prosperity that you speak of in your review. From you review I like the fact that Center for Work and Family discuss informative information that lets the viewer know a little more about the company and then update them with current studies that have been conducted and other additional news. This website relates to my own life and the company I work for. Caterpillar may be one of the top companies in the world, but still is involved in the Peoria area community and keeps the area up-to-date with current events and business operations that could have somekind of impact on our community.

I think having the backing of Boston College does them well. Given the institutional support of knowledge and research to feed into your organization how can you go wrong. I think a website that offers the convience of such life balancing solutions is way of the future giving immediate response to issues that your employees or organization may require.

The Council on Contemporary Families is a non-profit organization that provides the most recent research and studies about American families. They cover why families are changing, how these families are changing, and the different challenges they are facing everyday. The audience that can be members of this site seems to be strictly professionals, such as family therapists, doctors, or historians. However most of the articles are available to the public to view. The site states that there are forums that are open to the public, and also a weekly newsletter for the public. The site seems to be very credible. I am not familiar with this site or it's creators, but the .org lets me rest easier about its credibility. The directors are also professionals with degrees from prestigious schools such as University of Illinois and Berkeley. Because the members are strictly professionals, the articles are written and critiqued by these professionals that know their subjects, rather than the public hashing out their feeling about topics without knowing the facts. There does not seem to be any item or product that this group is advertising besides their work. There is an option to donate to the organization for the funding for their conferences. The site does not seem to have any certain bias. From this site I learned that professionals will sometimes use words and phrases that the public does not understand which makes sites like these somewhat trying to read. However, these professionals are full of knowledge of these subjects and are giving us facts learned from hours of study, work, and research, and we must respect that. It is sometimes easier to understand different ideas and points of view then they are coming from a professional, rather than an upset parent because you aren't feeling that bias.

Hi Brooke, very interesting read. I was particularly interested in Coontz' article on "Benefits of marriage elude needy." I was disappointed at her recommendation that lower income individuals should consider marrying more on the grounds of economic cooperation rather than on finding a "soul mate." It seems to be putting the cart before the horse. I cant remember which reading it came from this semester, but, I believe that finding an individual that can help someone make their best decisions resulting in situations such as financial stability is, in fact, part of what defines a soul mate.

The Military Family Research Institute was founded in 2000 through a cooperative agreement with the Office of Military Community and Family Policy in the Department of Defense. This organization is one of the leading organizations in the nation with the mission of conducting research regarding military families. As stated in the website the overall goal of this organization is to conduct research on the connection between quality of life for families and outcomes of interest to the military: job satisfaction, performance and retention. The overall intended audience is directed towards those individuals who are a part of the military and the families that are connected to the military as well. This organization directs five strategic goals to help support military related individuals by supporting the military infrastructure that sustains families, growing the capacity of communities to assist military families, generating new knowledge about the experiences of military families, influencing the policies, programs and practices supporting military families and creating and sustaining a vibrant learning organization. The Military Family Research Institute offers enough information on their website to proof their validity as a credible source. Information regarding their contact information, funding information and links to their national involvement throughout the country are present in their website and can be found publicly as well. Video links to military based work and events are present within this website. Military life can be biased by our government to showcase our proudest moments and hide moments that can hinder national moral. Information shown in this website I believe is not biased based on the fact that this organization is trying to provide relief to those who have to struggle with the hardship involved with the military. The .edu also states a link to Purdue, and educational institutions especially the University of Purdue has the reputation o

Hi Luke, I agree with the websites approach to community involvment. Quite a few of my friends are in the military and I dont see as much community support at the enlisted ranks. Although there seems to be plenty of support at the officer ranks, I would like to see non-military communities take on a greater role assisting military families...if only their employers might permit it.

The Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University researches military families for military families. Founded in 2000 by the Office of military Community and the Family Policy in the Dept of Defense. In 2007 MFRI received funding from a Lilliy Endowment grant, the organizations has grown to include the "development and delivery of outreach activities for the military" they also work with civilian organizations that support military families. The MFRI is guided by the belief that researchers and practitioners should work in together to improve outcomes. The web site is primarily directed towards military leadership and civilian professionals who work with military personnel and of course to the military personnel themselves. There are resources available on the site but the raw research data is not presented. A great deal of resource is spent on how families cope with extended and or repeated deployments that separate families for extended time periods. Credibility is aided by the easily recognizable and highly respected partners and grant providers such as the Lilly Endowment, the Dept. of Defense, Zero To Three and the Sesame Workshop. There seems to be no built in bias other than that of being military centric which is plainly stated and there are no advertisements found on the site other than those that support their mission statement. I learned that whatever problems civilians have with work-family, military personnel have those same issues and added to that they must find ways to cope with being away from their children for extended time periods. Worse yet is the idea that being a single parent is not an justification for not being deployed so in the worst case you may have your children looked after by strangers for up to six months at a time, at which time you may have only two weeks leave to spend with your children before being shipped out again. One can only imagine the types of recurrent support that would be required over a career.

Terry - It is definately a priority in my family to support the military and their families. I really enjoyed your review and this site. This site provides a huge number of resources for military service persons and their family and that is the focus of the site. There is a tiny fund raising spot, way down at the bottom of the main page, where you can donate funds. This says alot about the site, they are interested in helping those in need and provide lots of resource links. Supported by Purdue University gives it a lot of presence and hopefully funding for the programs.

I think that's a great asset for many military families as they struggle with the challenge of deployments. It's difficult enough to pay bills and raise a family but with one spouse having to serve remotely for an extended period of time they take on many more issues than the average family. I hope that our government continues to support families with this need to ensure those that do deploy are comfortable that their family is being assisted.

Corporate voices for working families a business membership that is dedicated to helping public and corporate organizations discusss working family issue. It is clearly lead by private and publicly traded companies. I believe that the intended audience for this site is both corporate managers and working families that have hourly and non exempt worker. The corporate voices for working families work on 5 key issues and they are workforce readiness, workplace flexibility, family economic stability, work and family issues and legislative issues. Overall I think the website offered some great information as to how managers can implement more family friendly policies. I also thought the website is non partisan because it has section dedicated to Congress men and women that have helped to advance the work/family issue. In reading some of the information the site provide one of the things that I really enjoyed reading was the idea of helping make hourly employees just as successful as non hourly employees. One of the things comapnies forget that their hourly employees are just as important as non hourly employees. The website does provide documentation as to who are the corporate partners are and in my opinion does not have a hidden agenda. It seems to care about issues that working families face and how to improve work/life issues for hourly employees. There are several issues that I learned about in reading the website. First is that companies need to be concerned about work family issues not just for managers and exempt employees but also hourly workers. Many companies only look at work life from an exempt employee point of view and not hourly workers that are just as critical. I also learned about lactation programs for working mothers. I also learned about work place development. That at a time when there is so many having economic hardship that now is not the time to eliminate work for development programs. One of the best things that I learned in readin

Ernest - I really like this site. What impressed me is the annual report that is on the site which lists 64 corporate sponsors and included the full board member list and their corporate affiliation. The site is going on my favorites list. I especially like the area they call workforce readiness where they offer information about our education system and the changes needed to get our young person's ready to join the workforce. The brochures are a nice touch that highlights the corporate sponsors that helped to evaluate or study the area covered in each handout. This really showcases the corporate involvement in the community.

The National Organization for Women better known as NOW was organized in 1966 and supports women in general across many different fronts including reproductive rights, economics, sexual discrimination, lesbian rights, diversity and ending violence against women. The website is geared towards those who believe direct action is the best course on many different issues concerning women's rights although it is not specifically geared toward families. Everything shown on the site would indicate that it is intended for the general public with direct action available at almost every click. It would appear to have a certain political appeal at first glance but further inspection reveals that it is true to character and every item is truly a women's issue and by extension a family issue. The credibility of this particular web site is unquestionably solid and in fact is renowned for its parent organization's ability to achieve progress on women's issues. There are of course detractors of the type of equality that this site promotes but even the detractors don't question the site or parent organization's credibility though they might question their politics. It is well know that this group has been at the forefront of legislation to protect the rights of women and has a long string of impressive victories to its credit including EEOC, ERA, Row V Wade, women's studies courses, Title IX, FMLA, VAWA and a whole slew of more minor but equally important successes in both passing legislation and protecting that legislation when it invariably came under attack. Predominantly what I learned from this site was that change comes slowly but inexorably and sometimes we even slip backwards and have to regain lost ground. In particular check out the history of NOW under the "about" tab and read through their remarkable history, it's truly overwhelming for anyone who believes in activism. But it should also fill one with a spirit of hope and a recognition that with persev

NOW is a great organization that supports many rights that we sometimes take for granted. Any organization that supports an individuals human right as opposed to the religious or political views of a group is needed. The right of each person to choose their own lifestyle, which includes sexuality, religion, and reproduction, needs to be protected and cherished by every human. The credibility of the site is well documented and I am encouraged when a group like this is posted. Nice Choice!

The MIT Workplace Center collects baseline date from these sectors such as demographics and work-family policies and practices. The second prong to their approach is to work collaboratively with the organization at all levels to create alternative structures, work redesign, and other appropriate initiatives. The intended audience is scholars and decision makers who recognize an all encompassing approach to dealing with work-family balance. Although the site is accessible and easily read by the layman. There is a variety of evidence that supports the credibility of this site and its information. Not only does this project consider that policies need to be amended, but it goes so far as to intervene and suggest, in addition to policy changes, that organizational structure may need to change and that work processes be updated. I was quite impressed with the information provided, interviews, impacts on employees, down to the approach of specific work restructure. Ann Bookman, with whom we are familiar from readings in our class, is Executive Director of this program and give it credibility with her positions in the Clinton Administration, publications, and involvement in family and medical leave issues. This organization originates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It gathers information from a number of sources such as post secondary institutions and its own studies. What I find interesting is that the focus in not on the statistics, but on the hands on approach that the organization takes. It doesn't hide behind theory development or ideology, they are part of the organizations that they study. They gather information, advise on implementation, and track results. At last, a website worthy of adding to a favorite list as a valuable resource. It seems apparent to me know that jumping into the workplace and actually experiencing the difficulties in a systematic approach is the best way and if we can create benchmarks for each industry, at least we

Your review seems to capture the essence of the MIT Workplace quite well. I like the fact that this organization seeks out opportunities to show action rather than rest on research and studied information. I am a factual person and can relate to approaches based on demographics and other work-family based statistics that can show a more complete picture. From your review I gather that MIT Workplace Center has a well thought out strategy with appropriate goals that help provide beneficial change to company structures and workplace initiatives.

AWLP was found in 1996 as an organization to advance work-life effectiveness as a business strategy. The overall goal was to enhance engagement and productivity though the integration of work, family and community. AWLP makes it a top priority to help define best practices and innovation while enabling users to have a website that encourages open dialogue. Each year, AWLP leads this effort to encourage every employer to take stock of their current work-life progress, celebrate, and then raise the bar. The resources AWLP offers include: History of Senate Resolution 210, Workplace Ideas for Celebration, Sample Internal Communication and Media Release, Success Stories, Articles and Reports, and finally online capability for highlighting the ideas of any and all employers' successes and progress The overall intended audience is clear cut and simple. No matter what work-life perspective you have they would like to know you opinion, whether or not you are a work-life professional, employer, employee or a service provider it does not matter. Depending on which work group you fall into, they separate out links and information that are more pertinent to your own situation. I give a lot of credit to the amount of detail this website puts forth to make every individual feel like their own opinion matters, which I truly believe the whole organization does care. AWLP is a legit organization and has enough proof to show it. The website showcases the awards they have won and also awards they give throughout communities. Not only can you find contact information, information can be found about their organization in any public library. Video clips throughout the news have been tagged to their website to also show their involvement throughout the past decade. In 2007, AWLP established the Work-Life Certified Professional (ALWP®) designation in 2007. This website offers links to businesses/organizations that offer the same kind of support/someone to talk to about t

The Civic Practices Network is a group of civil servants from educators, doctors, community organization leaders, and environmentalists to name a few that are working together to empower families and develop new strategies for solving problems that families are facing everyday. Their mission is to tell inspirational stories, research, and wisdom in order to educate other about the ever changing world we live in. This site brings in an audience from a truly diverse range of people. The publications are open to the public and each article or page is able to be printed and reviewed by anyone. The site seems to be credible in that it is backed by many universities and professionals. The editors and partners are also back by educated professionals. I did not notice advertising for any products or items. There are materials, tools, and case studies that can be viewed online or printed off, there are not any materials that need purchased. From this site I learned that it is important to have partners. From this site I was introduced to several other organizations that are also working towards a goal of family, work, and community improvement. It is great that they are working together and are able to help each other reach as many people as they can.

Brooke, I enjoyed your article, I just found that the CPN website was a little light on information but, the did offer a good guide on Sexual Harrassment. I have to admit I am still a ittle unclear as to who the site is geared towards and what exactly they do but, the Sexual Harrassment Guide is very good and offered some information that is relevant.

Brooke, I also enjoyed your article. I agree with Ernest in that the CPN website had little information. Sexual Harrassment is such a big topic these days so maybe their focus on that guide is well appriciated. That would apply to a lot of people and would answer the quesiton of who it is geared toward.

When work works "When Work Works is a nationwide initiative to bring research on workplace effectiveness and flexibility into community and business practice. It is a project of Families and Work Institute in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for a Competitive Workforce and the Twiga Foundation, with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation It seams that the site is very user friendly and is intended for the general public. It is a site that provides links to information on topics concerning workplace effectiveness and workplace flexibility. There is no certain level of knowledge assumed. When Work Works has grown from eight community partners in 2005, to having locations today that span the country that covers nearly one third of the total U.S. population. Families and Work Institute's National Study of Employers (NSE) is the most comprehensive and far-reaching study of the practices, policies, programs and benefits provided by U.S employers to address the changing needs of today's workforce and workplace. Conducted in 1998, 2005 and most recently in 2008, the NSE provides trend data on changes that have occurred over the past ten years. Any group can give itself an official sounding name or logo. What beyond surface credibility gives you clues about the reliability of the site and its information? I am not really sure. I know there was a lot of links to very interesting articles. Is the sponsoring organization involved in research and/or does it provide supporting documentation to back up its points? The whole organization is involved in research as a group. Does the site have built in bias? For example is the Web page an advertisement for a product or service? No, there were actually no advertisements. Does it have a particular political or social agenda? (Please see table 1 following these instructions for websites you can refer to about evaluating the credibility of web page sources.) Ther