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WORK & ORGANISATION SYSTEMS

The Changing Nature


of the Workplace
Assessment 1
Mona AlAdham

Word count: 1100 this includes introduction, body and conclusion excluding
headings

Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................... 2
References............................................................................................................. 3

Introduction
The speedy advancement in technology has affected all aspects of life resulting
in major changes in lifestyle, habits, environment and even in the way humans
perceive things. The nature of the workplace has also been dramatically affected
by this development , starting by automation and moving to the casual setting of
organization and finally the remote connectivity that resulted from the global
demands that require people from around the world to work closely, yet remotely
(Spencer 2015).
It is a fact that this wheel of change is not stoppable; organizations are aware of
the continuous nature of this development and actually anticipate them so they
can be ready to ride the wave. However, each change would definitely
accompany a few challenges to which individuals and organizations should
foresee and be ready to either conquer or adapt. Perhaps, the anticipation of
changes in the workplace is one of the main duties of managers in this era.
Managers need to be ready and make sure their staff is prepared to rise up to the
challenge in order to maximize the benefits of this development and minimize
the drawbacks (O'Donnel 2014).

Current Changes
Due to many factors, a number of changes happened in the workplace of the 21 st
century comparing to how it used to be twenty years ago. However,
automation is considered one of the main factors that caused these change
especially in the Manufacturing and service industries.
The video How the Tesla model S is made| Tesla motors part1 (2013) illustrates
how the process of manufacturing cars is almost entirely automated which
caused many changes in the conditions and nature of work. Below is a few
among others:
1- Faster pace of work: having robots dominating almost the entire process of
car production has hugely affected the speed of work. Robots are able to
produce 1 part every six seconds while it might take humans full day to
produce three or four. Working at such a quick rate enables manufacturer
to increase the production size as much as the market needs which
implicitly means more sales, more revenue and more importantly no profit
loss due to supply shortages.
2- Undefeatable accuracy and precision: Robots can check the geometry of
the body shell to the nearest one-hundred of a millimetre, which is
something humans can never do. When it comes to manufacturing
vehicles, precision adds a lot to the end product. This can be seen in the
range of options added to new vehicles such as having separate A/C unit
to each seat and to the safety features modern cars have such as SRS and
ABS. In short , the high quality of items produced by robots is something
people cannot really compete with and thus having robots in
manufacturing facilities is not an option anymore.
2

3- Versatility: The same robot can be used in many phases within the
manufacturing process due to its ability to apply different technology. This
leads to better utilization of time and cost without compromising efficiency
or quality. In fact, automation has effectively increased reliability in the
manufacturing process which gives peace of mind to both manufacturer
and customers.

Future Changes
Due to the rapid change in technology, more and more changing is anticipated in
workplaces. Although some of these anticipations are far from reality, other
expectations are soon to be witnessed such as:
1- People cloud: similar to the idea of having the enterprise software hosted
in cloud server on remote server via internet and the idea of having virtual
server dedicated for the enterprise, the world is heading towards
employees open movement in which people can work for different
companies at the same time. People cloud is also called open-source
talent sharing as the idea revolves around utilizing the peoples time and
skills by many companies to serve those companies according to the
market demand. The idea of sharing people is very similar to the idea of
Uber and Airbnb where companies offer services through outsourced unexclusive resources (Spencer 2015). Pg31
2- Fourth industrial revolution for high-skill professions: nowadays, the fourth
industrial revolution or what is called the internet of things - has already
replaced roles with routine such as manufacturing and clerical positions.
Although the digital technology has already started to take over few tasks
from Skilled workers, they are still considered safe in their positions but
this will not be the case for too long. Potter (2015) pg 27 argues that
machines are soon to replace professionals and skill workers even in
positions that require decision making. Potter believes train and vehicle
drivers, pilots, health technologists and economist are to be displaced as
well.
3- Abundance rather than scarcity: in contrast to all expectations, utilizing
technology in all aspects of life and thinking outside the box will move
workplaces from subtractive manufacturing to additive manufacturing.
Industry will eventually stop depending on traditional limited resources for
energy as technology is utilizing natural renewal energy more and more
resulting in unlimited quantities in production in addition to new types of
job that will help in solving the problem of unemployment (Spencer 2015,
p.31).

Implications of workplace changes


Just like everything is life, nothing comes without a cost. Although revolution
brings many advantages to the workplace, it also results in a number of
disadvantages. In their article The digital workforce and the workplace of the

future, Colbert, Yee and George (2016) discuss a number of drawbacks and here
are a few:(Colbert, Yee & George 2016)
1- Lack of interpersonal and communication skills: As employees increasingly
depend on technology for communication, they tend to lose the
opportunity to develop important personal skills such as self-expression,
presenting positive critique, one-on-one meetings and even to behave
authentically. Pg733
2- Decreased productivity Work overload and negative multi-tasking: due to
the new open nature of work, employees are constantly distracted while
doing their jobs. Whether it is work related distractions e-mails, social
media eye catching posts or Whatsapp messages the employees always
have another thing at the back of his head other than the task they are
performing. Those kind of distractions and continuous connectivity to the
outer world, leave the employees overloaded, exhausted and eventually
lead to less productivity.
3- Digital literacy in young generation: generations who were born after the
fourth industrial revolution have high competency when it comes to digital
literacy. Those kids who spend hours on their electronics gain develop a
number of unseen skills beside the obvious ones such as digital fluency.
Online games develop important teamwork and leadership skills.
Managing such a competent young generation may feel pretty challenging
to managers of the older generation.

How to adapt to the new environment of the workplace


Successful managers should be able to foresee the coming changes and set new
strategies to quickly adapt to these advancements. Managers should always
attempt to emphasize development benefits and reduce negative side-effects. X
(2015) suggests the following techniques to adapt to workplace innovation:
1- Continuous engagement v mindfulness: being 24/7 engaged through tools
and means of communication drain the energy of employees rather than
making them more productive. Managers need to encourage mindfulness
to avoid overwhelmed employees who end up quitting their job due to
high level of stress(O'Donnel 2014).
2- Advance incentive structure: managers should come up with
comprehensive incentive structure that keeps their teams continuously
motivated. Motivation in the current and future workplace needs more
than annual raise and financial rewards, motivation needs high level of
recognition system that would keep people willing to learn more, engage
and come up with creative ideas(Brandi & Iannone 2016).
3- Hierarchical v leaner structure: organizations need to adapt to leaner
structure that focuses more on team building where people can share
knowledge and experience in agile way. The organization structure should
be flexible and easy to reconfigure according to the operational properties
rather than having fixed leveled units where the employee is tied to one
manager(Harris 2015).
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Summary
Technology has caused numerous changes in the workplace that affected the
work environment, practices, structure, work conditions and demands.
Automation is one of the main factors that contributed to those advancements
resulting in massive production, easy customization, and the ability to deliver
high quality products with uncompetitive precision. However, each change
comes with challenges which organizations need to adapt to. Managers and
workers need higher level of competencies; they should constantly keep up with
new technologies and learn new skills. Moreover, the new communication tools
are keeping people continuously connected is a main source of distraction that
push employees to multi-task and end up with high level of stress.
Nevertheless, as more development is expected, employers are able to foresee
the future of the workplaces and are capable to adopt new strategies and
techniques to adapt to the modern workplace. Engagement, recognition, and
organizational structure are three important issues which managers should think
of. Mangers need their team members to be fully engaged during working hours,
however, this engagement should not leave employees overwhelmed. In
addition, motivation should remain top priority in the increasingly competitive
workplace and the best way of doing that is by having comprehensive
recognition system which can manipulate various factors and evolve according to
the work needs. Finally, the traditional hierarchal structure is too rigid for the
future; organizations should start thinking in leaner manner where the employee
can be part of flexible teams that can be rearranged according to the business
needs.

References
Brandi, U & Iannone, RL 2016, 'Learning strategies in enterprises: empirical
findings, implications and perspectives for the immediate future', European
Journal of Education, vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 227 - 43.
Colbert, A, Yee, N & George, G 2016, 'The digital workforce and the workplace of
the future', Academy of Management Journal, vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 731 - 9.
Harris, R 2015, 'The changing nature of the workplace and the future of office
space', Journal of Property Investment & Finance, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 424 - 35
How the Tesla model S is made| Tesla motors part1 2013, WIRED, video file,
published 30 July 2013, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEReFPI4jSc>.
O'Donnel, P 2014, 'The future workplace', Unum, pp. 1 - 36.
Potter, B 2015, 'Man v machine: robots with ambition', Technology, pp. 27 -9.
Spencer, F 2015, 'The new rules: seven shifts in the age of opportunity', Rotman
Management, pp. 30 - 3.

References
Brandi, U & Iannone, RL 2016, 'Learning strategies in enterprises: empirical
findings, implications and perspectives for the immediate future', European
Journal of Education, vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 227 - 43.
Colbert, A, Yee, N & George, G 2016, 'The digital workforce and the workplace of
the future', Academy of Management Journal, vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 731 - 9.
Harris, R 2015, 'The changing nature of the workplace and the future of office
space', Journal of Property Investment & Finance, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 424 - 35
O'Donnel, P 2014, 'The future workplace', Unum, pp. 1 - 36.
Spencer, F 2015, 'The new rules: seven shifts in the age of opportunity', Rotman
Management, pp. 30 - 3.

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How the Tesla model S is made| Tesla motors part1 2013, WIRED, video file,
published 30 July 2013, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEReFPI4jSc>.

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