“The National Center for Educational Statistics defines literacy as the ability to use printed information to function in society, increase knowledge and achieve goals” (Sessoms 2013). Who can really summarize how and what Americans know? How much information can we retain? 

Literacy, another name for “reading”, is a most common skill among Americans in the working class. It gives you a step higher than most people who do not have literacy skills. In my opinion, literacy also goes along with multitasking. We need literacy in order to function at work and/or school. A great example is the ability to read an email, or the ability to read a letter from an employer/employee.

Nowadays, technology has risen steadily in the past decade. With that saying, employers have a great use for employees with literacy skills on the computer. The ability to read and type fast. Moreover, I think literacy is a skill that everyone needs. Almost everything is an item to be read. Almost everything has instructions on how to do this or how to not do this. I think it is a really important skill to touch on.

Sources Cited

Sessoms, Gail. (2013). Effects of illiteracy on business. Chron. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-illiteracy-business-22898.html

It is nearly impossible to determine the role of textual literacy in the 21^st century workplace.  This is not because of the supposedly ill-effects of illiteracy on business, but rather, because no standard definition of literacy exists—just standard expectations.  We cannot understand the importance of professional literacy without first examining what it truly means to be literate and what it truly means to be illiterate.

The problem is simple; we do not have a universal definition of literacy, and without one, we cannot hope to understand what role it might play in the success or failure of a business.  All of the most accessible resources that attempt to define literacy contradict each other to an extent, or offer varied information: “According to the National Coalition for Literacy, adult literacy is defined as the ability to use ‘printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.’ The Chicago Literacy organization Literacy Works states that their mission is to ‘fulfill the promise of a basic human right: to read, to write, and interpret the world[…]’ Similarly, fellow organization Open Books states on their website that ‘Literacy skills are life skills, and there is a literary crisis in America’” (CITE).  Instead of asking ourselves why we need our employees to be literature, we should be asking, “But what do we really mean by ‘literacy?’” and trying to understand why, “Most of these adults have some reported reading ability, yet they are not considered a member of the group labeled ‘literate’” (CITE).

There is another question that we must ask ourselves: where is the line between literacy and illiteracy?  There is no clear distinction between the two, or even between literary deficiency and illiteracy, which makes it impossible to understand the role it plays in the workplace or otherwise.

We must consider “Those who are merely ‘functionally literature’ [who] may be able to complete a set of simple reading tasks or answer simple comprehension questions, but they may not have the literacy skills needed to operate in their daily lives as determined by a sector of society, whether this is the education system, the business world, or social groups.”  Where do these individuals fall on a universal illiteracy scale?  In the workplace, are they still considered to be deficient, even though they can read material and comprehend it at a basic level?  Or does the workplace view them as illiterate?  But the line between literacy and illiteracy is blurred even outside of the workplace; are their skills proficient enough for society to view them as literate, or do they fall short, despite the setting?

When attempting to evaluate the role of literacy in the modern workplace, “It is important to keep in mind that multiple literacies exist in the world and that people have the ability to be proficient in numerous literacies, using them in different facets of their lives (CITE). Until this sentiment is recognized and accepted as true, and universal definitions of literacy and illiteracy—as well as their boundaries and grey areas—are established, we will not be able to determine their importance in any capacity, but especially in a professional capacity.

WORKS CITED

Bond, Veronica. “What We Talk About When We Talk About Literacy: A Look into the Value, Measurement, and Power Hierarchy of Literacy.” DePaul University Mar. 2011. Web. 18 Sep. 2014.

When considering literacy in the workplace we must consider the demands and expectations of the workplace in question. For example, a general manufacturing workplace would not require the same level of literacy as, say, a corporate environment. It is evident that multimodal literacy is becoming necessary for all aspects of the workplace; single textual literacy is being phased out. For the purpose of this blog, I would like to explore the literacy requirements and potential changes need for general manufacturing. This includes non-college graduates, middle to lower class populations, and labor based employees.

For the past three years, I have worked at a Johnson & Johnson plant working with manufacturing specifications and employee training in the absorbable suture departments. The specifications (Specs) were technical in content, extremely lengthy, very reading intensive, and required a strong textual literacy. Other than the spec, digital based documents also were used. Employees were expected to have the literacy necessary to operate the digital documents and extract the information necessary to complete a manufacturing task effectively. After the manual task was complete, the employee was to enter data into a computer. The interface for the program was not exactly complicated to someone with a functional digital literacy; however, to the group of employee that did not have such skills, the task was almost impossible.

Though I completely agree with Glynda Hull’s assessment of the educational improvements of the youth, I find it a much more difficult endeavor to increase the nontraditional and necessary literacy of the current workforce. Hull explains the movement of education that focuses on the necessity of multimodal literacy; however, the current workforce, according to NAAL, is subpar when it comes to functional literacy. I find workplace literacy, in today’s world, to be a multimodal literacy.

The only way to improve the production and literacy of employees is to educate. Though that sounds simple, the actual process may prove to be difficult. The National Workforce Literacy Project, a project based in Australia, focuses on the improvement of workplace literacy through studies and application. The measures recommended and put into play by the NWLP consisted of condensed courses offered in-house and outside the workplace, workshops, and required literacy training as a condition of employment during the preliminary hiring process.

The NWLP’s research yielded preferred methods to increase literary in the workplace. The results, if implemented, would require the talents of a technical communicator. The top methods consisted of in-house literacy and numeric development, document redesign, and adjustment of expectations. Document redesign is especially interesting to technical communicators. The multimodal documents that are being used by employees may need adjusting to create an easier and more accessible flow of information. I am wary of adjusting the expectations due to the idea that illiteracy should be worked around as opposed to remedied.

Hull, Glenda, Ed. (1997). Changing Workers: Critical Perspectives on Language, Literacy, and Skills. Albany, NY: SUNY Press

“National Workforce Literacy Project.” A I Group. Australian Industry Group, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2014. <http://www.aigroup.com.au/portal/binary/com.epicentric.contentmanagement.servlet.ContentDeliveryServlet/LIVE_CONTENT/Publications/Reports/2010/8783_Workforce_Literacy_Project_Report.pdf>.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The Condition of Education 2007 (NCES 2007–064), Indicator 18