Appendix D: Examples of Theme-Wide Functions, Issues, Concerns, and Technological Knowledge and Skills

Note: This appendix contains representative examples to assist in designing a thematic curriculum. They are not intended to be exhaustive source lists. Examples may have been revised, updated, or otherwise changed since this document was published.

D.1 -	Industry-Wide Functions and Issues
D.2 -	Common Functions, Issues, Concerns, and Technological Knowledge and Skills
D.3 -	Criminal Justice/Protective Services: Trends and Concerns
D.4 -	Health and Human Services: Trends and Concerns
D.5 -	Business: Trends and Concerns
D.6 -	Marketing: Trends and Concerns

D.1 Industry-Wide Functions and Issues

An education for all aspects of the industry does not focus on one aspect of an industry; rather, it focuses on broad-based learning with an emphasis in each of the following areas:

1. Structure and Organization: This area relates to the functions and contributions of the industry in the economy, and how an industry is organized for the production of its primary products and services.
2. History: This area deals with the evolution of an industry, the forces that impacted the development, and those that are likely to shape future development of the industry.
3. Technology: The content of this area concerns the principles of technology that drive the production process in an industry, how such technology has changed over the years, and how it is likely to change in the future.
4. Economics: This aspect addresses the functional mode of an industry (locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally) and how industries relate with each other.
5. Human Resources: This aspect identifies the human resources that work within an industry, what they do, and what they need to know in order to work successfully in an industry. It includes learning about how workers learn and the ins and outs of the workplace social system.
6. Government: The content area includes business transactions with, and the interaction between, an industry and local, state, federal, and foreign governments.
7. Health and Safety: This area relates to the health and safety concerns associated with an industry, its work environment, and its products.
8. Environment: Questions that relate to the interaction between an industry and natural, built, and social environments are answered within this area.

Source
American Vocational Association. (1990). The AVA guide to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990. Alexandria, VA: Author.

D.2 Common Functions, Issues, Concerns, and Technological Knowledge and Skills

A study to identify functions, issues, concerns, and technological knowledge common to various industries and fields was conducted by the Instructional Materials Laboratory at the University of Missouri-Columbia. These industries and fields included the following:

• Agricultural Production
• Marketing
• Health Services
• Transportation Maintenance
• Construction
• Personal Services
• Food Services
• Child Care
• Electrical/Electronics
• Printing/Graphic Arts/Drafting
• Agricultural Business
• Metals
• Office Occupations
• Computer/Data Processing

The following are the common functions, issues, concerns, and technological knowledges identified for these industries and career fields:

• Industry planning and products
• Transportation delivery system
• Societal impact of the product
• Market trend, including the global market trend
• Expansion plan, and plan to accommodate change
• Corporate chain of command, corporate culture, decisionmaking process, and management styles
• Customer satisfaction
• Leadership opportunities
• Financing and budgeting
• Business liability and protection costs (insurance)
• Relations with suppliers
• Materials purchasing
• Mark-up and profit
• Negotiation skills
• Time management techniques
• Computer use
• Problem-solving skills
• Team player skills
• Technical and general information
• Technology change and upgrading skills
• Worker's rights and responsibilities
• Customer rights and responsibilities
• Quality improvement programs
• Worker-employer relationship
• Benefits
• Career advancement
• Training opportunities
• Labor treatment
• Professional organizations
• Cultural sensitivity
• Health care
• Company's contribution to community
• Community's contribution to company
• Public perception and industry image
• Environmental impacts and long-term health hazards
• Waste disposal
• Regulatory compliance
• Safety training
• Stress management
• Ergonomics
• Crisis intervention
• Drug testing procedures
• Attitude, ethical conduct, personal discipline, good grooming, and appearance
• Harassment and right to privacy

Source
Instructional Materials Laboratory. (1993). Methodology used in the project "All Aspects of the Industry" for vocational education programs. Columbia: University of Missouri-Columbia. (ERIC Document Reproduction Series No. ED 367 818)

D.3 Criminal Justice/Protective Services: Trends and Concerns

• Increase in older population
• Increase in immigrant population
• Increase in cultural diversity in the workplace
• Increase in violent offenders
• No-parole policies
• Harsher treatment of offenders
• Increase in numbers and complexity of individual property protection systems
• Increase in community-based corrections
• Inmate payment for custodial upkeep
• Computer technology
• Increase in educational requirements for corrections employment
• Increase in workloads/caseloads
• Civilian workers in jails
• Auxiliary programs
• Increase in attendance by private citizens at criminal justice academies
• Community college credit for completion of academy curriculum

Source
Virginia Community College System. (1996). Occupational analyses: Health and human services. Richmond: Virginia Vocational Curriculum and Resource Center, Author.

D.4 Health and Human Services: Trends and Concerns

• Technological advances
• Lasers replacing handpieces
• New vaccines
• Cosmetic procedures
• Disposable equipment
• Separation of waste
• Staff health/safety consciousness
• HIV post-exposure testing for staff
• Needle stick protocol/Infection control
• Paperwork increase (yearly OSHA update)
• Malpractice suit increases
• Patient confidentiality issues
• Regulatory climate changes
• Stress management skills courses/seminars
• Time management skills courses/seminars
• Crisis/emergency procedures
• Increase in the use of ultrasound procedures
• Increase in need for versatile employees who integrate skills from different departments through cross-training
• Cultural diversity awareness/Inclusion (Americans with Disabilities Act)
• Downsizing/Rightsizing (job security loss)
• Hospitals becoming more business oriented rather than service oriented
• Increase in temporary/part-time employment
• Increase in female domination of field
• High burnout rate
• Increase in government intervention
• Increase in establishment of specialized centers (separate from hospitals)
• Equipment becoming smaller, more portable
• Emerging use of CD-ROM technology
• Emerging use of teleimaging technology
• Home healthcare
• Decentralization
• Increased patient focus
• Stricter occupational certification requirements
• Workplace education incentives
• Office automation (electronic mail/faxes/voice mail)
• Team environment emphasis
• Employee empowerment emphasis
• Low-paying entry jobs
• Increased hiring of older persons
• Political correctness/sensitivity to cultural diversity
• Awareness of sexual harassment issues
• Impact of safety, health, and environmental regulations
• Impact of Fair Labor Standards Act
• Greater dependence on volunteers
• Shrinking budgets
• Public/private partnerships
• Demands for field to become more customer-driven/more revenue-producing
• Emphasis on high quality
• Privatization
• Social issues (substance abuse, school dropouts, family lifestyles, etc.)
• Tendency for public to think of recreation as the solution to social ills
• Pressure to achieve measurable results

Source
Virginia Community College System. (1996). Occupational analyses: Health and human services. Richmond: Virginia Vocational Curriculum and Resource Center, Author.

D.5 Business: Trends and Concerns

• Personal liability
• Negotiation skills courses/seminars
• Decisionmaking skills courses/seminars
• Re-engineering/downsizing
• Changing technology
• Lifelong learning emphasis
• Cultural diversity awareness
• Project management/teamwork
• Seasonal work
• Sedentary working conditions
• On-line services skills
• Computer literacy requirements
• Home computer use
• Movement toward wireless communication devices
• Movement toward directory services
• Accountability issues
• Multimedia/digitized media
• Work station design
• Security emphasis
• Outsourcing corporation services
• Telecommuting/satellite communication
• Interactive networking
• PEN-based computing
• Cross-training

Source
Virginia Community College System. (1996). Occupational analyses: Business clusters. Richmond: Virginia Vocational Curriculum and Resource Center, Author.

D.6 Marketing: Trends and Concerns

• Growth of consumerism
• Increase in government regulation
• Effective use of natural resources
• Developing new and better products
• Increased use of scientific marketing research
• Global marketplace/international trade increase
• Changing demographics
• Consumer satisfaction/decisionmaking processes
• Market segmentation
• Changing competition
• Broader marketing applications
• Recognized need for professional development/employee education programs
• Marketing applications of technology
• Employee and employer ethics
• Social responsibilities of companies

Source
Burrow, J., & Eggland, S. (1995). Marketing foundations and functions. Cincinnati: South-Western Publishing.