Emerging Theme Spring 2019

Emerging Theme Spring 2019

Emerging themes are explanatory ideas, which are identified from the data in the initial stages of the analysis. These data are given codes which define them, and the concepts with similar meaning confined into a category to form a theme. Such ideas are present in today’s world of business. The world of business is evolving, and is under constant changes. New economic policies, and advancements in technologies have put the business world at radical transitions. The complacent business leaders in this type of competitive environment risk extinction from the global market. There is also a shift in the various political concerns, matters of globalization, social equality, and workplace diversity. For purposes of maintaining or improving under such a competitive environment, the organizations must adjust to remain viable and maintain their competitive advantages. This maintenance requires the companies to apply the four pillars of emerging themes, which include organizational culture, innovation and technology, industry relevance, and the emerging society. The organizations must critically evaluate the current impacts of the emerging industry and market using the four pillars of emerging themes, and the relevant thematic examples in relating the various theories in real-world situations for sustainability.

Section A

The four pillars of emerging themes critical to this report include organizational culture or work environment, innovation and technology, industry relevance or sustainability, and the emerging society in terms of the customers’ experiences.

Organizational Culture

The work environments have witnessed drastic changes in the past decades. Such changes relate to the structure, the type of employees, and the general operations. The Multinational Companies are highly affected by the organizational culture because they have to remain relevant in the ever-changing global market environment (Schläfke, 2012, pg. 110). Such changes are concerning globalization, emerging employment relations, information technology, knowledge in management, and the changing workforce. In recent days, organizations have changed the styles of their working styles, and try to spread globally. The ideas of tapping the new market places in various ventures, reducing cost via specialization, emerging technologies are the reasons behind the motivation of organizations to integrate more global approach mechanisms. The changing needs in the organizations have informed the emerging employee relations issues in various organizations in the coming decade. The management must understand these issues for effective management. Organizations like the Alibaba Group, and Amazon have worked tirelessly to improve employer-employee relations (Wilson, 2010, pg. 157). In this regard, Alibaba Group welcomed the participation of the lower level employees, and welcomed the upward communication matrix among its management.

Factors like the labor shortages, immigration, and the aging populations have impacted on the organizational culture (Schläfke, 2012, pg. 111). This type of a changing workforce has shed light on what the management on what is expected in the next ten years. The decline of workers in the middle age has caused companies to invest heavily in training, and compensation for younger and older workers. For example at Apple Inc, training the young interns produced the company $35.44 per individual per hour. The settlement, on the other hand, caused the company to part with an average of $150,545 on compensation schemes for older workers (Khan, 2015, pg. 967). For this reason, several companies have shifted into employing many interns, who even though there is high training cost, they will have long term service agreements as opposed to the older workers. This aspect of the employment rationale informs the knowledge of management in every company’s portfolio. Due to the understanding of management, most companies have integrated the use of information technology in the daily running of the company’s business. Emerging trends in the field of technology have opened new ways of conducting business.

Innovation and Technology

Technological change is an emerging theme in the market. Every company wants to maintain its global relevance by integrating the use of various technologies in their operations. Technology has also affected the composition of the organizational workforce, and the culture is shifting towards a workforce which is highly innovative, and can withstand various technological advancements (Taticchi, 2010, pg. 10). Innovation and technology have encroached the e-commerce sectors and has resulted in high levels of competition between firms. For example, different banking sectors have invested in the e-commerce sector for money transfer. PayPal, Skrill, and Pioneer are some of the online transfer platforms with high competitions. The world of electronic money transfer is gaining momentum, and the various organizations must adjust in terms of the age of the workforce. These online money transfer platforms have opened ways for the e-commerce sector. Several purchases on Amazon and Alibaba can be made online upon making the orders. In 2017, PayPal’s CEO Dan Schulman opened talks with Amazon concerning the payment partnership for increased revenue growth (Wu, 2015, pg. 512). Any industry or organization which is focused on making profits can remain relevant for decades. Profits are realized because of the flexibility of the organization in terms of matching the existing trends required for sustainability purposes.

Industry Relevance

Industries remain relevant in both global and domestic market depending on the quality of products or services rendered, which match the existing market trends. Industry relevance is of great importance during the market analysis. Industry relevance and technology go hand in hand in ensuring an organization clinches the required signatures in the global market (Zott, 2011, pg. 1023). Due to the advancements in technology, the e-commerce sector has strived to remain relevant for decades. The trend is not likely to change any soon. In the year 2017, PayPal strove to remain relevant by itself becoming a universal online money transfer platform. The goal of making PayPal a universally accredited money transfer method led to partnerships with card networks such as MasterCard and Visa. The overall revenue after these partnerships grew by 21% by the third quarter of 2017 fiscal year. PayPal had the required workforce, who is skilled in managing the e-commerce platform, this the right organization structure. The relevance of an industry or the level of its sustainability should focus on the merging society and its composition.

Emerging Society

The society in which we live today consist of individuals who will not only mentioned their technological prowess but also put it in real practice. The generation is shifting at an alarming rate from the analog world into the digital world where technology is everything. Let us consider such advancements in the transport sectors (DaSilva, 2014, pg. 382). The emergence of autonomous vehicles has singled the future trends in the future world of transport. Countries like the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, and Canada have legalized the use of these self-driven vehicles. Human safety has been the central question as a demerit for these vehicles. Some of them have been attributed to road accidents, while others create unnecessary traffic congestions. These are machines remotely controlled, and any failure can occur. However, the rate of technology innovation will not let anything for chance. Even if they have demerits, several advancements are underway to make these machines universally accepted (Zott, 2011, pg. 1041). If the autonomous vehicles are put in heavy for the next decades, the transport sector will experience one of the most significant changes. Business growth in the transport sector will be a reality since a single person can control more than one vehicles to deliver goods in real-time.

Emerging Industries and Markets

Emerging industries are groups of companies or organizations in a business line informed by a new idea or new product in the initial stages of its development (Garcia-Cicco, 2010, pg.28). The concept of emerging industries and markets is not only pertinent to the developing countries but also the developing countries. The fast pace of the technological innovations in the industries and markets have made the world of business an interesting place. The emerging markets in the field of business management lead to the growth of the income levels of the population. The emergence of autonomous vehicles is an example of an emerging industry. Others include virtual reality and artificial intelligence. The emergence of autonomous cars in the early stages was seen as science fiction. These vehicles are fast becoming a reality (Bharadwaj, 2013, pg. 473). Companies such as the ride-sharing services, tech companies, and the auto manufacturers are on the race to develop safe autonomous machines, which are also reliable. The sprouting of such industries increases the cash flow in the markets, and many individuals get employed in these companies.

The commuting and the transportation industry will be significantly transformed because of the rise of mobility services. Many people in the cities will no longer need their cars, and they can rely on driverless vehicles. However, the oil industry will be significantly affected (DaSilva, 2014, pg. 387). The management of the giant oil producers such as shell will experience an economic downturn because of the low fuel consumptions. According to Forbes, the autonomous vehicles will reduce fuel consumption by close to 44% for both passenger vehicles, and trucks by 2050. The US uses a total of 140.43 billion gallons on average annually. Besides, there is a constant increase in the prices of fuel since 2016. Therefore, there has been a likelihood that the next five years in the US will experience low fuel consumption among American drivers.

Section B

Task 1: Emerging Themes Relevant to HR

Organizational Culture

Companies operating within the fast-paced technological world must have a comprehensive HR which identifies the relevant workforce and the type of the required organizational culture (Kotter, 2013, pg. 9). The management of a company is key to its organizational culture, which forester proper economic planning, and innovation. One of the industries where the HR considers the utmost requirements of the organizational culture is the giant internet search engine ‘Google.’ Google has grown to become a global after a few years of its establishment due to diligent innovation, and focus on customer needs. The organization culture within Google values the prevailing wisdom. Google has a management approach, which is highly participative and free reign (Bharadwaj, 2013, pg. 476). The nature of the organizational structure adheres to the evolving modern culture of society. When conversing new ideas, the management of Google supports dissent, and agreements, which focuses on creating new values in the organization.

Culture plays critical roles in the everyday operations of the organizations through HR. Such roles include leading the desired changes, within an organization, leadership development, learning, and innovations, and facilitating the architecture of the intangible variables. There is reported critical importance of the management of the intangibles in an organization (Prajogo, 2012, pg. 516). There are seven key intangibles, which must be natured for the success of an organization. They include talent, speed, shared mindset, collaboration, accountability, learning, and quality of leadership. The CEO of General Electric (GE) Jack Welch is well-praised for his methods of building the intangible values among his colleagues (Bharadwaj, 2013, pg. 480). He created trust through his promises, and the shares of the GE zoomed. Jack Welch communicated his plans to the shareholders, customers, and employees, which led to the overall well-being of the workers within the company.

Industry Relevance

Every HR in an organization always wants the best for his or her company. The HR work around the clock in ensuring the industry upholds or increase its relevance in the global market (Lunenburg, 2011, pg. 3). The emerging markets and industry require HR to up their game concerning industry relevance. HR is responsible for recruiting, managing, and giving directions to the employees on what is required of them for the success of an organization. HR is concerned about employee motivations, organizations, training, benefits, safety, wellness, compensation, and performance management. The strategic role of managing people and the workplace culture give the organization the overall direction for decades. The future of the competitive originations is heavily reliant on the effectiveness of the HR. The changing world of business requires the minds of the strategists, and the futurists. The HR at Shell applied Scenario planning by developing various models for decision-making processes (Vaccaro, 2012, pg. 37). Since the 1970s, Shell has been on the move overtaking multiple companies within the fuel and gas sector. The scenario planning at Shell gave a projection of the market 50 years from the time of its establishment. The overall forecast was enough to see the company through hurdles as it navigated the harsh economic environment full of competitions.

Task 2: The Impacts on the Future Business

Organizational Culture

The impacts of the organizational culture in business management can be so detrimental or useful for the business depending on the type of HR (Tannenbaum, 2017, pg. 77). Organizational culture has impacts on the attitudes, behavior, and the existing systems and processes.

The culture of an organization integrates the attitudes and beliefs of the employees based on their experiences. The experiences can influence a person’s involvement in work, or they can also inform a person’s rejection of the existing systems of work. If the HR does not intervene promptly, then the future impacts of organizational culture may be detrimental. Culture change is critical for future planning. An organization with old workers is likely to experience slow business growth. Studies attribute this low growth to lack of innovative mindsets, techno-savvy individuals who at one point become risk aversive persons. Good organization culture calls for unprecedented changes in its structure. Change is positive and inevitable (Tannenbaum, 2017, pg. 75). The old folks in any organization need to pave the way for the new generation especially if things are not working the right way for a business to thrive.

The leadership of an organization determines whether culture changes will occur or not. The decision to amend the specific aspect of the organizational culture change is informed by the required adjustments in various fields of the production process in an organization. Leadership attitudes also will determine the level of business operation in any organization. Optimistic leaders always see possibilities in every opportunity (Aguinis, 2011, pg. 309). The decision-making process for such organizational leaders is majorly based on the optimism approach. Organizational culture as an emerging theme in the world of business management calls for the management of such organizations to foster learning and innovations. Customer needs and business purpose are intimately intertwined. Therefore, fresh earning and innovation is key to realizing new product designs, and the facilitation of services (Tannenbaum, 2017, pg. 82). This would require a high degree of learning and inquisitiveness. Innovations hold the keys for the future developments of any business enterprise. It must be accompanied by the right learning approaches, which identify unique activities for future investment.

Industry relevance

The sustainability of industry is one of the critical aspects of consideration if the investors and the overall management need to identify the business course. As mentioned before, competition in both the domestic and international markets must produce quality goods and services (Bharadwaj, 2013, pg. 481). The HR of such industries is in constant market search for any existing gaps. Several industries apply the use of modern technologies for the efficient production of goods and services, which match the required international standards. A relevant industry must exhibit some of the modern forms of technology. Technology plays a pivotal role in expanding the scope of the business. Nevertheless, not every employee of an organization may ready for such technological moves. In this regard, these future impacts may come as challenges (Wu, 2015, pg. 506). The HR will be required to adjust swiftly and source for individuals who can drive the company goals.

Several businesses have been anchored to the global competition by the substantial investments in technology. An example of such businesses is the aviation industry in New Zealand. This one of the first countries whose aviation industry used biometrics to speed-up the check-in process (Taticchi, 2010, pg. 12). Since the launch of the biometrics, several airlines across the globe have been inventing various technological approaches, such as the use of the Beacons technology at Miami International Airport. Beacon technology is a mobile app, which provides information about the navigation of the entire airport. All these aviation industries are trying to remain relevant by offering some of the most modern technology-aided services. The future of the business is brighter with increased technology (Aguinis, 2011, pg. 311). More business opportunities will arise and consequently more innovations. The airline industry is a perfect example, which is considering the inventions of various technologies by 2030. Advanced technologies such as the beacon provide a lot of opportunities for travelers. The travelers can navigate the whole airport in real-time. Besides, blockchain technology ensures the safety of the travelers’ data and improves efficiency in the entire security systems.

The disadvantages of the industry relevance can be attributed to the loss of jobs among the older employees who may be subjected to costly pension plans. The industries targeting the new technologies as a competitive advantage may have subjected the more former employees who may not meet the required thresholds to survive in the modern world of business.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The four pillars of emerging theme have given a blueprint for organizations to critically analyze the current impacts of the emerging industry and market. Using relevant thematic examples in relating the various theories in real-world situations, various businesses strive to remain relevant in the global business arena by using various technologies. The pillars of the emerging theme for considering in the report include organizational culture, innovation, technology, the relevance of the industry, and the emerging society. The continued existence of a business is the rationale for gauging the effectiveness of emerging themes.

For the various business management to exist in a competitive environment, there has to be a contestant investment in education and learning among the staffs. Training the staffs regularly ensures they get familiar with various technologies in the organization. Annual training for the junior and senior staffs is necessary. Some technologies like Blockchain Technology in the aviation industry require proper training. Additionally, an organization should work within its plans to hold at least a seminar in a month where various stakeholders from relevant firms are invited for exchange programs. Such programs are educative and informative. The well-being of workers is a question which has been in sake for some manufacturing companies. Various organizations must readjust their policies to cover the heath of the workers even if the laws of that country do not provide such. Employees will be willing to work in companies with comprehensive methods of health cover such as adequate health insurances, and other premium benefits for motivation purposes. Internal auditors must be engaged to shed light on the profile of an organization in terms of the workforce structure. Necessary recruitments informed by the internal audit report will follow as recommended by the HR.

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