Can video game playing help organizations?

I don't know about anyone else out there, but the X-Box, PlayStation, etc. has passed me by, yet neither have I regretted not getting involved.

My son is mad on them and my negotiation skills have improved somewhat in getting him to stop playing short of raising my voice so that all the street can hear.

Despite limiting his use of video games it has often made me wonder if there is any further or wider value in young people (and many people not so old) spending so much time fixated with trying to get to what an outsider, like me, often sees as a rather pointless exercise.

Having said all of that, an article by BBC News (Technology) today suggests many organisations are considering ways of harnessing the skills and familiarity their employees have with virtual environments.

How can this work, then?

It is claimed in the article that this familiarity has driven many organisations to consider virtual worlds as places where employees can meet, mix and get on with the job.

What is more, it is believed that the formidable organisational skills required to be successful in virtual games - such as, run a game team or guild, organise raids involving perhaps 40 people and co-ordinate their different abilities to defeat a game's strongest foes - are all relevant to work.

I'm more convinced than I was before reading the article - When work becomes a game by Mark Ward.

Do skilled workers grow on trees?

I get really fed up when I see headlines such as one to be found on today's BBC's news website.

Just dwell for a second on the title - Skilled workers 'harder to find'.

Ask yourself, do workers grow on trees? Are they brought into the world by a stork?

Ultimately, for me anyway, it suggests British employers expect to be able to take on work, sometimes requiring very high levels of skill, sometimes requiring moderate levels of skill but in plentiful supply, and then expect to be able to click their fingers and expect workers to appear in their droves willing to work for average wages and be treated like some sort of liability.

Workers need training and in the main only employers can provide the training in the first place.

Employers - stop moaning and get your own house in order before criticising every but yourselves.

Work and regret

According to a survey published by the Chartered Management Institute, managers across the UK are plagued by a sense of regret, with many believing they have failed to reach their true potential.

Further findings suggest that organisations are failing to get the best from their employees. Fewer than half of those questioned (47 per cent) believe they are fully using their skills in their current job. Only 3 in 10 are adamant that they ‘play to their strengths’.

For more key findings visit - Management community lives with regrets as individuals fail to achieve potential (Chartered Management Institute).