Listening to Business Executives: Labor Concerns for Job Conservation and Business Investment

Abstract

The business community is especially concerned with labor issues because they are critical to the "bottom line, "-business profits. This article uses input from over 800 business leaders in Wichita, Kansas, to define the relative value of selected labor issues. In general, business leaders' first concern was meeting the short-run skill requirements of their businesses. Productivity was a predictable concern, but leaders clearly recognized that U.S. business ability to compete in world markets is being challenged. Surprisingly, few businesses defined high school preparation as an important labor issue. A portion of this devaluation of the role of high schools as a labor issue is related to quality control. Business leaders no longer feel that the high school diploma is a useful indicator of basic skills. Interestingly enough, business leaders did not define issues related to labor unions as being an important labor concern.