Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Depending on the complexity, a single bot can cost from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore to
develop.Earlier there were no alternatives but to throw bodies at mundane jobs. Now, bots are
taking over while humans move to better quality, higherthinking jobs.
Mindtree has reported the addition of 426 bots to its workforce.
There can be much fiery debate over bots snatching away humans’ jobs. But while
each bot is as good as, or better, than 2.5 human workers, it needs at least 5-7 people to
Leadership
Indian Railways to Use Emotional Intelligence To Serve Passengers Better:
After adopting artificial intelligence to serve better food, handle queries or even prevent
mishaps, the Indian Railways are now on the path of incorporating emotional intelligence to
improve customer service.
In an attempt to drive change through the process, structure and cultural reforms, the Indian
Railways have been pursuing emotionally intelligent leadership as a key strategy for
dramatic turnaround of Railways.
Workshops were arranged for top-level leadership using MHS EQI 2.0 as the anchor
instrument for driving emotionally intelligent leadership in measurable and replicable way.
Studies have shown that leaders with higher emotional intelligence are more effective
in their work. Coping with stressful or difficult situations and believing that one can
manage or influence situations in a positive manner is the main aim of the EI module.
AI can transform Indian Railways in terms of safety, passenger amenities, better revenues,
growth and efficiency. AI has to be harnessed to find digital innovations for better customer
interface and better service delivery. AI is about creating trains with brains.
Integration in Army
In terms of conventional war, the Army will strive to achieve integrated planning and
conduct of “networked theatre battles” through synergised application of land, air and
maritime components. All combat operations will be as IBGs.
The Army brass has already given the go-ahead for IBGs or integrated composite
brigades, with five to six battalions each and a mix of infantry, armoured, artillery, air
defence, signals and engineers, backed by attack helicopters, under the command of major-
generals.
Man Machine Managers In Future
If someone can do something, that you do, better and cheaper, you will cease to exist. You
may as well cannibalise your own revenue. Very soon, many value-added services of today
will start vanishing. In parallel, we need to start building other capabilities and being an
integral part of customer’s business.
From a service provider’s point of view, you can’t differentiate between being a
technology company and a business company? You need to have both tightly integrated in your
offering.
Asked to comment on the workplace of the future, Mr. Chandrasekaran refers to
Cognizant’s Future of Work team under the strategy function. A ‘man-machine manager’ is a
job profile in the future. Today, we have HR professionals in IT services firms and production
and operations managers in manufacturing facilities. We are beginning to see robots working
alongside humans. So there will be new roles to determine what jobs can be assigned to the
robot and which ones can be done by humans.
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Says Mr. Chandrasekaran, “We increased our investments, when competition
was trying to pull back in 2008-09. Talent acquisition was one such area. The crisis made
available a number of people who were not earlier available to us. In that period, we
hired some of the best talent from the market.”
One of the big shifts we will see in the next 25 years is going to be organisations transitioning
from being a business enterprise to being both a business and social enterprise. That is, how an
organisation could take on a larger purpose and be more relevant to society through the work
they do through. For us to be a truly social enterprise, we need the skills of our employees
to be enhanced so that everything that they do impacts both business and society and try
and bring in the culture of social consciousness among our employees. That is the reason
why our employee volunteering base, Outreach is so important. Most organisations who are
socially conscious do better in their business. If I look at our own attrition pattern, people who
are part of our volunteering program tend to stick around much longer. That is, how could an
organisation take on a larger purpose and be more relevant to society at large through the work
it does through its clients or the communities it operates in.
It was also our belief that BPO had to be an integral part of organisation. So we did not
set up a separate entity.
About five years ago, we were not working with any born-digital companies — these are
the largest of Silicon Valley companies. Now, we have publicly stated that we work with four
of the top five born-digital companies. More recently we said that two of them are amongst our
top ten clients today.
For many of these organizations, their business model is the underlying technology
platform. So when business and technology are probably two sides of the same coin, if you
don’t understand the business, then you are no longer relevant in the market.”
Cognizant is enabling both clients and communities address some of the toughest
problems in the marketplace.
“For a large company that is focused on agriculture, we are helping them apply next-gen
technology such as IoT and artificial intelligence to increase crop yield while reducing
water consumption.
We helped a pharma company in their clinical data management to accelerate the first
human vaccine for H1N1.
We are working with the Department of Health in the U.K. to use big data for gene
sequencing to find a cure for the rarest of rare diseases such as cancer.
For the University of New Castle in Australia, we are using augmented reality to help
students of midwifery learn neonatal resuscitation in high-pressure ICU environments.
The next-generation technologies of today help us impact larger societal issues. This will
get accelerated the coming years.And Cognizant believes that the nature of client
engagement has itself changed in the past quarter century.Earlier, client engagement was
about coordinating delivery and ensuring that we live up to our promise. Today, it is
about deep understanding of the customer business, bringing in thought leadership
proactively in any line of engagement and identifying opportunities that can lead to
downstream revenue opportunities. Earlier, a client partner was only expected to manage
client relationship; now that role is tagged with creating opportunities for engagement.
Unit 1
Five Parts of Organisations:
According to Mintz berg organisations are formed of five main parts:
1. Operating core: Those who perform the basic work related directly to the
production of products and services.
2. Strategic apex Charged with ensuring that the organisation serve its mission in an
effective way, and also that it serve the needs of those people who control or otherwise
have power over the organisation.
3. Middle-line managers Form a chain joining the strategic apex to the operating core by
the use of delegated formal authority.
4. Techno structure The analysts who serve the organisation by affecting the work of
others. They may design it, plan it, change it, or train the people who do it, but they do
not do it themselves
5. Support staff: Composed of specialised units that exist to provide support to the
organisation outside the operating work flow Pressures
Each of these five parts has a tendency to pull the organisation in a particular direction
favourable to them.
Impact of IT on organisations:
Control though IT: Uber drivers will now have to click a selfie before
accepting rides
Ride-hailing app Uber on Thursday launched a facial recognition ID approval system for
drivers that will require them to take a selfie before accepting rides.
The move is to avoid duplication of driver details and to curb impersonation by
unregistered drivers.
The features have been rolled out in cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai,
Pune, and Lucknow and will be rolled out to other cities too.
Many drivers in India take shifts to drive a cab 24x7 making it unsafe for passengers who
don't know the details or ratings of the driver who is ferrying them.
One nation, one tax department: I-T takes cue from GST
The one-nation, one-tax principle that underlines the goods and services tax (GST could be
adopted in a much more broader sense by the income tax department through a path-
breaking initiative on jurisdiction-free assessment.
This would mean that a taxpayer in Mumbai could be assessed by an income tax officer
located in Patna, a significant leap toward eradicating corruption by reducing the need for
face-to-face contact between citizens and tax officials to the absolute minimum besides
speeding up processing.
The move, which will require a change in the income tax law, would also end the
relevance of various geographic divisions in the form of wards and circles with the whole
country becoming one jurisdiction. This, it is hoped, will put an end to a system in which
bribery is said to be used as a tool to ease processes through human intervention.
A high-level internal report of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) recommended
the move, which is under active consideration.
The government may consider implementing the process in the next financial year.
The key catalyst for such a significant reform is the massive shift toward e-filing of
returns, which is already jurisdiction-free with returns going to the Central Processing
Centre in Bengaluru.
Multiple Benefits
Betting on nostalgia
Canon is offering more powerful zoom options.
Sony and Panasonic have teamed up with German rivals, including Leica
Olympus is pushing further into the medical equipment business as a leader in
endoscopes, which now eclipse camera sales.
Konica Minolta is going into print and optical devices.
Fujifilm has nearly put out of business by the drop in photo film sales, has also shifted
focus to health sector.
IT impact
Quote Delhi police examples such as Himmat, lost report app, automated eFIR etc that reduced
work burden and improved efficiency.
Desruptive Technologies
Internet by light promises to leave Wi-Fi in the shade
Connecting your smartphone to the web with just a lamp — that is the promise of Li-Fi,
featuring Internet access 100 times faster than Wi-Fi with revolutionary wireless technology.
French start-up Oledcomm demonstrated the technology at the Mobile World Congress,
the world’s biggest mobile fair, in Barcelona. As soon as a smartphone was placed under an
office lamp, it started playing a video.
two years down the line the technology can be commercialised and people can see its use at
different levels.” Analysts said it was still hard to say if Li-Fi will become the new Wi-Fi.
Artificial intelligence
The machines have taken over, almost Vast amounts of diverse data in disparate locations
can be accessed and analysed often in real-time R. Pradeep Nair
Traditionally, computing systems perform tasks that humans programme them to do. But
today, they can be trained to learn from their experiences and perform complex tasks.
This is possible as vast amounts of diverse data in disparate locations can be
accessed and analysed often in real time, giving us mind-boggling insights.
Not surprisingly, machine learning is being widely adopted. The government of Andhra
Pradesh uses Microsoft’s cloud-based predictive analytics service, Azure Machine Learning, to
find out the students who are at a high risk of dropping out.
Wipro Holmes, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform developed by the IT major, can
mimic human actions and is being used by financial institutions to automate tasks like
KYC and credit-risk appraisal.
IBM has opened up its Watson ecosystem for business in India, by announcing
partnership with two companies that will use cognitive technologies for tasks like identifying
employees with leadership capabilities.
Machines, a threat?
While artificial intelligence and cognitive computing have made our lives easier in many
ways, there is also concern as to where it will all end up. Physicist Stephen sounded a word
of caution. “Computers will overtake humans with AI at some point within the next 100
years. When that happens, we need to make sure the computers have goals aligned with
ours,”
Investor Elon Musk sees AI as a threat: “I think we should be very careful about artificial
intelligence.
The explosion in the number of banking and mobile related services has led to huge
deployment of ATMs and cellphone towers across various developing countries. These firms
see in IoT, a great technology to help in managing assets.
HSBC to close nearly half its India branches, focus on digital banking
HSBC will nearly halve the number of branch in India to 26 from the current 50 and turn
its focus to retail banking through digital channels. “This change reflects changes in
customer behaviour, who are increasingly using digital channels for their banking.
“We are investing in HSBC Premier in India to enhance the range of products and
services available to select customers with more sophisticated needs. We have a big focus on
digital and will be investing more in digital technologies, particularly in the payments space,’’
said an HSBC spokesperson in an e-mail response.
HSBC’s move comes after another foreign bank, Singapore-based DBS Bank Ltd,
announced a digital banking campaign last month, through which it will acquire and service
retail customers through digital channels rather than branches.
The race for digital supremacy in India comes as 11 payments banks are preparing to
launch operations. These banks will have the infrastructure and technology to provide digital
banking from day one. Private lenders and public sector banks have also stepped up their push
for use of digital channels.
Merits:
1. Efficiency and accuracy in working saving inputs costs.
2. Standardization and benchmarking of product and services.
3. 24 X 7 working. Saving of time.
4. Making predictions about environment, monsoon, rough weather conditions, mal-
functioning of plant, health condition etc.
5. Freedom from human errors and errors of judgment; frauds.
6. First mover advantage for the innovative organisation, environmental leadership.
7. Chitale Dairy uses IoT (RFID tags) to capture vital information about each cow or
buffalo and transmits this information back to the dairy’s data center. Farmers can
access this information about their animals from the company’s database using their
mobile phones. Farmers can use this information to track behaviour and the expected
levels of milk or when vaccinations have to be given. The feeding and breeding of
animals is now monitored by computers and by automating the collection of data from
each farm, they have improved animal health, leading to increased milk yield per
animal.
8. In healthcare, IoT would create the opportunity of remote patient monitoring that would
change the dynamics of healthcare treatment.
9. For Government IoT will not only just help in reducing costs and improve revenue by
plugging all the leakages, but will also help improve the experience of service delivery
tremendously. As the Indian government is actively pushing the concept of Digital India
and smart cities, there will be a huge focus on IoT.
Impact of Liquid workforce:In the future, talent will be contracted. There will be
outcome-bound contracts. Companies will be under greater pressure to deploy new talent
quickly in line with the changing demands of their clients. Assignment-based
employment will be on the rise. Companies will have a small core of permanent employees
and hire the rest based entirely on current needs.To keep its workforce liquid,
organisations have to create a culture of learning.
Trend today: During hiring most companies now look for hires with learning
agility. In IT recruiters focus: Does he have the technical foundation and programming
skills to move to a new language?
But, even in a VUCA world, there are certain constants. There is something irresistible
about an entity — company, a family or any other — that manages to have an unbroken link
Exciting additional assignments that push them to the limits and re-skilling programmes,
including sending them to technical and management programmes in premier institutions…
these may help impart greater meaning to their jobs.
Given that we are living in a VUCA world that is marked by speed and hurry, it’s a huge
challenge. But, at the end of the day, it is a challenge that is worth taking.
Org goals
How goals are achieved goal also matter, not just achievement.
In the past, when business cycles were fairly stable, meeting goals against expectations was
a good enough measure for managers to assess an employee's performance. As complexity
set in and businesses got intercepted with disruptions of a new kind, organisations are
changing the manner in which employee performance is measured.
Today, not only are organisations looking at what goals employees have achieved, but also
'how' these goals were achieved.
As per Vikram Bector, chief human resources officer, Group "At the end of the year, we
don't just measure the output, we also want to know how you achieved your goals. The
'what' part of outcome would be pretty clear from the financial sheet that would tell what
goals were achieved. The how part, however, is a matter of discussion and it involves a
360-degree approach."
In the past, it would be safely assumed that achievers who meet or exceeded their goals are
on their way to future success. Today, companies are closely measuring employee
behaviour as well. "An individual may have met all his or her targets, but destroyed
all relations with the team. Such an individual would not be able to claim a top rating.
If an employee is uni-dimensional in his/her approach, and only deals with the line manager
without collaborating with others in terms of sharing recognition and teamwork, it is not an
acceptable behaviour.
KPMG in India urges its employees to not only assess the 'what' and the 'how' but most
importantly the 'why'. If the individual purpose of an employee is aligned to the higher
purpose of the firm, it can only bring out the absolute best in an individual.
At Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL), too, the focus is not just on achievements
of the present appraisal cycle but also on the future potential of an employee and
whether he has the competencies to achieve the same.
Strategic Objectives:
Strategic objectives are long-term organizational goals that help to convert a mission
statement from a broad vision into more specific plans and projects. They set the major
benchmarks for success and are designed to be measurable, specific and realistic
translations of the mission statement that can be used by management to guide decision-
making.
Strategic objectives are usually developed as a part of a two- to four-year plan that
identifies key strengths and weaknesses and sets out the specific expectations that will
allow the company or organization to achieve its more broad-based mission or vision
statement.
Operational Objectives
Operational objectives are daily, weekly or monthly project benchmarks that implement
larger strategic objectives. Operational objectives, also called tactical objectives, are set
out with strategic objectives in mind and provide a means for management and staff to
break down a larger strategic goal into workable tasks. For example, achieving the
strategic goal of a 25 percent increase in sales revenue requires the completion of the
operational objective to develop and execute an effective advertising strategy along with
other operational objectives.
As with strategic objectives, operational objectives also should be measurable and
specific, though their focus is narrower.
Important Differences
The most important difference between a strategic and an operational objective is its time
frame; operational objectives are short-term goals, while strategic objectives are longer-
term goals.
Strategic and operational objectives also function differently in practice as strategic
objectives are still usually too broad to make sense as a specific set of daily tasks or
weekly projects. Operational objectives, on the other hand, are specific and short term
enough to be considered usable in everyday time and asset allocation.
Unit 3
Boundless Organization
Delhi police taking service of citizens for enforcement of traffic rules under Traffic
Sentinel service
Delhi Police on Thursday launched a mobile app through which residents can keep
tab on traffic violators and send their videos or photographs.
This will be an empowering tool in the hands of the common citizen who will get a
platform to report traffic offences occurring on the roads of Delhi to the authorities.”
BOUNDRYLESS ORGANISATION
US troops can use Indian bases: India and the US on have agreed "in principle" to a logistics
exchange agreement to enable both militaries to use each other's assets and bases for repair and
replenishment of supplies.
Unit 4
Mphasis to Decentralise its Decision-making Process
India is now working towards creating three new tri-Service organizations to handle
the rapidly-expanding challenges in the crucial domains of space, cyberspace and
clandestine warfare, which will be headed by two-star generals, in a synergised manner.
The ball will be set rolling by the creation of the Defence Cyber Agency (DCA), which
will be followed by the Defence Space Agency (DSA) and the Special Operations Division
(SOD). These will be "interim arrangements" till the full-fledged Cyber, Aerospace and Special
Operations Commands can take shape.
The need for unified structures to deal with threats in the new battlegrounds of space and
cyberspace, after the traditional ones of land, air and sea, has now become urgent. China, for
instance, has developed potent military space and cyberspace capabilities, ranging from
advanced ASAT (anti-satellite) and directed-energy laser weapons to cyber-weapons.
Some countries now even consider cyber-weapons to be the game-changing weapons of the
future, almost akin to use of nuclear bombs for the first time in 1945. The cyber domain also
offers an attractive option for asymmetric warfare in terms of offsetting conventional
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superiority. Further, attacks on critical ICT (information and communications technology)
networks can provide significantly higher military advantages than physical attacks.
Open System
Exchange strategy saves discoms Rs. 200 crore
While there has been no response from the Ministry of Power on surrendering expensive
electricity in Delhi as yet, power utilities have come up with an alternative to avoid buying it.
The distribution companies are now engaging in “power banking” which is helping them
save as much as Rs. 200 crore.
Power banking, which means exchange of electricity between different States is turning out
to be a popular means to avoid purchase from old and ailing generation stations. Under this
arrangement, discoms in Delhi have begun to export power to various States during the off-
peak winter months? of October to March and the same is imported back during the summer?
months of May to September.?
Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) has entered into power banking arrangements
with at least three States, including Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya and
Odisha among others. “Almost 200 MW to 250 MW of power is exported by TPDDL during
the off-peak months and the same is imported back during the peak summer months. There is
no money involved in this. It is plain barter system. It saved Rs. 200 cr.
For the period of October 2015 to March 2016, discoms have already tied up banking
export of around 1200 MUs, mainly with States like Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and
Chhattisgarh. Return banking against the same shall be received from May 16 to September 16.
DECENTRALIZATION
More powers to zonal railways for faster decision-making besides introducing
accountability. This includes defining key result areas (KRAs) for general managers and
divisional railway managers to evaluate their performance. A single official would be
made accountable for each train’s on-board experience to address passenger
concerns; even as a third party audit will be conducted to ensure the quality of services on
trains and stations.
Organizational Integration
The government has started the process to set up a National Committee on Trade Facilitation
(NCTF). The NCTF, which is in line with the government’s “Ease of Doing Business”
initiatives, is meant to institutionalise co-ordination on trade facilitation between the 35-
plus central government departments, private players and state governments. The
agreement is supposed to enable domestic manufacturers connect more easily to regional and
Global Value Chains.
However, the fact remains that there is a recurring trend of depot fires. Since 2000 there have
been at least six major fires in ammunition dumps killing scores.
Organization design
Now, an outside expert in railway board
In a big move to overhaul colonial-era railway bureaucracy, the Central government has
decided to allow lateral entry of external talent for one senior position in the railway
board, reorganise the top decision-making body on functional lines and rework the policy
of appointments of GMs and DRMs to eliminate discretion.
The Appointment Committee Cabinet (ACC) decided to create a post of Advisor
(resource mobilisation & development) which will be filled through lateral entry, aiming to
accelerate the modernisation efforts to revamp the state-run transporter.
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The ministerial panel, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also decided to
reorganise the railway board on functional lines by creating post of member
(infrastructure), member (rolling stock), member (traction).
At present, the board has members dealing with different departments such as
engineering, traffic, mechanical, and staff apart from the financial commissioner. Over the
years, inter-services rivalry has often resulted in blocking of key projects, impacting the
government's efforts to upgrade decaying rail infrastructure. While reserving the post of
members for different railway services, the panel also decided to create post of DGs in
railway board for three services - personnel, signal and telecom and stores-which don't
have representation as members.
The selection process for GMs and DRMs has also being changed drastically to eliminate
discretion in top level appointments which were mired in controversy during the UPA regime
due to alleged corrupt practices, highlighted by the arrest of railway board member Mahesh
Kumar and delay in filling large number of vacancies.
Lateral entry in Civil Services:
Centre has opened the highest echelons of the bureaucracy to skilled individuals from the
private sector and academia, inviting applications for ten candidates at the level of joint
secretary across various departments. Joint Secretaries play a crucial role in formulating and
implementing policy.
These lateral entrants into the civil service will be offered a three-year contract, which the
government can extend to five years depending on performance.
1) The lack of specialisation across the top tier of Indian bureaucracy is a concern that has
remained unaddressed until now.
2) Entry of seasoned professionals and experts into the service will cover deficiency of
administrative judgement and capabilities.
3) Career promotions in the IAS move along seamlessly with few impediments along the way.
Attempts to introduce ‘meritocracy’ hasn’t quite worked out. Bringing in experts from the
professional sphere is expected to shake the IAS out of their comfort zone.
4) This isn’t the first time that the government brought in professionals from the private sector
or academia into the top tier of government. Take a look at the Finance Ministry, Reserve Bank
of India and even the current NITI Aayog, which have hired the likes of Raghuram Rajan,
Arvind Subramanian and Arvind Panagriya to name a few.
5) With liberalization it has become more critical for the government to ascertain the impact its
policy decisions have on various stakeholders such as the private sector, non-profits, and
general public, i.e. those who have experienced government from the outside.
2) Candidates coming from the outside may not know the nuances of the system which can be
exploited against them in any number of ways.
3) The IAS establishment is likely to baulk at lateral entrants who haven’t made it through
probably the hardest open competitive exam in the world, but because of privilege and social
networks.
4) One of the distinguishing aspects that the current crop of IAS officers can hold up is their
experience in the field, serving some of the poorest districts in our hinterlands. Those entering
from privileged backgrounds and the private sector may have never seen a village school.
The four verticals are headed by four presidents — These overarching responsibilities will
continue. But under each of them, there will be a greater number of independent units.
The objective is to give its presidents more time to build CXO-level relationships and strategy
to improve sales, than be bogged down by internal operational matters.
This will help company in better market penetration and in client management.
Performance audit: The committee has also recommended a performance audit of the
role of non-combat organisations under the Defence Ministry. The organisations include
those dealing with defence estates and accounts, the Director- General of Quality
Assurance, the Ordnance Factory Board, the Defence Research and Development
Organisation and the NCC.
High attrition compelling startups to ensure candidates fit into their culture
Recent top-level exits and generally high attrition are compelling new-age companies to ensure
that the people they hire fit into their culture. Apart from technical skills, this aspect that
includes soft skills is now part of prerequisites for hiring and companies such as Big Basket.
o A majority of people who join the startup world are in it only for quick money; culture is the
last thing on their minds. But that seems to be changing with startups consciously absorbing
talent that fits best with their culture.
o A founder of Paalak.in, says: “The churn in a startup is so fast that in a 10-year window, the
entire workforce at the bottom and mid-levels would vanish, and only 20% would remain.”
These 20% are the ones who are actually wired and culturally aligned to its work.
o At Bengaluru-based Chumbak, designated employees interview candidates exclusively to
judge their cultural fit.
o While interviews are conducted by the departmental head and the HR team, the design brand
has specific people to quiz candidates about their interests and motivations. One of the
common questions they ask is: “If money were not an object, what would you be doing
instead?”
o Paytm invites candidates to spend a day at its office, attend sessions with employees and
engage in discussions. The company does not hesitate to turn down those who come with
necessary skillsets and technical knowledge but don’t fit with the company’s culture, said
senior vice president Amit Sinha.
o "People are realising that the startup world isn’t all money and glamour — it’s about hard
work, being able to take ownership and build something from scratch,” he said. “It’s
heartening that new-age companies are becoming more cautious and picky about the
candidates they want to hire."
In fact, a recent Price water house Coopers report predicts that 38% of all United States
jobs run the risk of being wiped out by automation by 2030. In India, the figure stands at
69%, according to a World Bank research.
Most organisations tend to ignore that tech disruption also adds new jobs and creates
more jobs than it erases.
Inflection point
These technologies, which are the result of the fourth industrial revolution, represent an
inflection point, which will prove to be the hardest ever.
The biggest inflection point ever witnessed by mankind was the time when motors
replaced physical human effort. Not only did this multiply the economy manifold, but it
also boosted the output like never before. Of course, jobs were lost, fear was high in
people’s minds, triggering protests from all segments. Yet, we are where we are.
The world is currently at the second such inflection point — when human thinking power
is poised to grow at an unprecedented pace — thanks to breakthroughs in technology like
quantum computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
This transition will be tougher than all the previous ones as the world’s population has
doubled, and this wave will disrupt the normal a lot more.
Reasons for hope
The anxiety around job loss among businesses and talent alike is not entirely
unfounded. However, organisations can take heart from these facts.
Even by a conservative estimate, the fourth industrial revolution will help create 250
million net new jobs by 2030. The third industrial revolution is testimony to the fact
that new jobs are created despite the growth in population; that era saw a doubling of
women in the workforce, in the West.
AI is expected to be a positive job motivator in the near future. According to a
Gartner study, the technology will create around 2.3 million net-new jobs by 2020,
and help generate $2.9 trillion in business value.
New roles
Business leaders will do well to remember that the challenge arising from the fourth
industrial revolution goes beyond mere ‘unemployment’ and extends into the realms of
‘different employment’. More than one third of the global workforce will find new
work that is yet to be defined or even named.
The ascent of AI and machine learning will eventually result in the creation of new roles
and redefining existing ones. The CIO’s role will be augmented by the appointment of
FSDC reconstituted
The government has reconstituted the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC),
the apex body of financial sector regulators, and made it more broad-based.