Technological and societal changes will shape the nature of work dramatically and irreversibly
Shifts in technology and in the ways people want to work are leading the charge into new-found paths. Emerging digital technologies such as machine learning and distributed ledger technology (DLT) are disrupting the workplace. Talent itself wants more flexibility in how, when, where, and for whom it works. Workers with the most in-demand skills are […]
From organizations as “machines” to organizations as “organisms”
McKinsey describes “traditional” and “agile” organizations as follows: The dominant “traditional” organization (designed primarily for stability in a factory-like environment) is a static, siloed, structural hierarchy — goals and decision rights flow down the hierarchy, with the most potent governance bodies at the top. It operates through linear planning and control to capture value for […]
Knowledge work will gain in importance in an ever more digitized and connected world
Jamie Johnson defines knowledge workers as the “people who are developing new strategies and coming up with ideas for new products and services” and are “individuals with a high level of education and experience. The main focus of their job is to use and apply knowledge in a creative and innovative way.” She further describes […]
Traditional work arrangements will slowly die out, giving rise to the global human cloud of knowledge workers
The World Economic Forum, in a study on the ‘digital enterprise’, defines the motivation of employees in the digital age as follows: “Employees will likely still want security, predictability, and status, but in different forms and in a different context: one of learning, impact, and purpose. Security becomes less about lifelong employment and more about […]
Lower transaction costs make intermediation by central authorities, such as traditional organizations, increasingly obsolete
Three fundamental structures govern the nature of all economic activity: consumers, producers, and the way — the mediating infrastructure — in which value is exchanged between them. Traditional organizations, like firms, introduced a central authority and assumed a function of coordination and communication. With high transaction costs present, it was expedient to concentrate those functions […]
The future of globalization is all about arbitrage of labor services
“To date, the gains and pains of globalization and automation have been felt mostly by the manufacturing sector. In the future, the gains and pains will be felt by […] service-sector jobs. That’s because digital technology is going to lower the third constraint to globalization as arbitrage: the cost of moving people around, or facilitating […]
Routine work will be automated
What determines vulnerability to automation is not so much whether the work concerned is manual or white-collar, but whether it is routine (The Economist). McKinsey estimates that about half of the activities (not jobs) carried out by workers will be commoditized and automated. Similarly, the OECD argues that one in seven could disappear due to […]
Non-routine knowledge work is about creative problem-solving in teams
Creative problem solving requires skills that robots can’t automate. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report concluded that “human” skills like originality, initiative, and critical thinking are likely to increase in value as technology and automation advances. Knowledge work is location-independent, intangible, and can be shared at zero marginal cost. Non-routine knowledge work requires […]
Heterogeneous teams best solve complex problems
Eric Schmidt, former chairman of Alphabet, said, “diversity is key to innovation”, and, “with a blend of different points of view, you’re much more likely to get the kind of innovation that pushes things forward.” Teams and, in particular, diverse teams are smarter when it comes to solving complex problems. An optimal mix of mind, […]
Talent is equally distributed, access to opportunities is not yet
Today, many organizations and their teams are still mostly homogeneous. Talent is equally distributed; access to opportunities is not yet. Biases (incl. pedigree and credentials) and information asymmetries are largely self-imposed constraints that limit the global reach [of intellectual output] and prevent optimal solutions. The power of digital knowledge work is that everyone is connected […]
