After AmazonGo opening their doors for customers to the Cashier-free automated grocery store premises at Seattle on a trial basis, it is predicted and evident enough that America is also going to lose around 900 000 cashier jobs in grocery stores and malls.Again loss of jobs due to technology, jobs eliminated by technology or call it jobs lost to automation.
Prepare for Change or Perishwas the slogan in the 'Business Today - MindRush 2018' on it’s 13th Jan 2018 discussion. The panel discussion highlighted that
Change is constant and organizations should be looking at it all the time. Mr. J. Sinha, Chairman - Asia Pacific, BCG, said that
when you cannot predict or shape the future, you need to be agileand added that
inaction is sure death
Is this true? Will theyall lose their jobs? Is this fear justifiable? Can this be converted to your competitive advantage?
Believe me. People had voiced similar concerns (about technology and jobs) 50 year ago and 100 years ago, whenever there was a development of a disruptive technology or a product. Subsequently, in time, their fear vanished and they had adapted to the new change.
Then how is it different now? Globalization and technology has brought countries and continents together. Advancement in communication system makes the whole world know about what is happening in any corner of the world within seconds. Maybe, the world has never changed so fast before. But, that is true for all time, whenever the change occurred. One
can see this in the book Abundance : the future is better than you think
written by space entrepreneur turned innovation pioneer Peter H. Diamandis
and award winning science writer Steven Kotler
. Can this be converted to your absolute advantage?
Now, will people get affected by this change? Will this be the cause of unemployment? What does the theory of competitive advantage say? What if technology brings in comfort for people and more productive & automotive jobs or good jobs (let us call it technology jobs) to replace the less productive & bad jobs. Should we worry?
Let us look at it this way. Technological progress leads to the following.
- The Technological progress has cut the prices of most of the commodities like medicine, cars, food, household articles like TV, Mobile, household and kitchen appliances etc. Technology has shifted consumption to more luxuries. It has changed the service sectors with challenges to update themselves to adopt newer technologies to give better services. This has made people more comfortable.
- Technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed. In some sectors like medicine, education, and professional services, the technology has raised productivity and has created new employment at the same time. It has boosted jobs in knowledge-intensive sectors.
- In addition, the fall in price and raise in wages has increased the purchasing power of the people. This has allowed the people to spend more on personal services and caring jobs thereby creating new employment.
- Overall, the hard, dangerous and dull jobs have been declined and are replaced consistently with easier, safer and ‘high-productive & smart’ jobs.
Change is inevitable
. We have to get ready and adapt ourselves in confidence to the coming change. Prepare ourselves for the new, highly-productive and smart jobs which involve learning of newer and smarter tools and techniques.
A new tool can soon become outdated and useless to the new challenges, but, a human brain can adapt to any change, and continue to find newer tools to address the new challenges.
We all should believe that “The quicker we adapt ourselves to the change, the faster we will be on the progressive track”.
