Explain how today’s business workforce and the nature of work itself is changing.

Instructions:

After watching the video, explain how today’s business workforce and the nature of work itself is changing. What role does technology play? Will Do you think outsourcing will continue to play a role?

STUDENT 1:

Good morning Classmates!

I find this video to be fascinating because I see this so often at work. I technically fall in to the Millenial group though I can fully relate to both my generation and that which came before me. When I go to work today and look around the office it is easy to see how much the workforce has changed as well as the way in which we actually complete the work. When I first started travelling to Bentonville to visit the Home Office for meeting in 2008 the vast majority of the people I would see in and around the office had 20+ years of experience with the company and had been in the same or similar positions/departments for the majority of that time. Today however, there are still quite a few 20 and 30+ badges, but in my division the majority of the associates have 2 years or less and are mostly new college graduates. This has led to a whole new way of thinking about how we do what we do better, faster, smarter, and more efficiently. What is really entertaining is that at 31 with 13 years of experience, I am one of the most tenured and “senior” people in my department. How scary is that?

One of the things that is so great about the changing workforce is that, as the video pointed out, the younger generations that are entering the workforce are so technologically savvy that they are able to automate and innovate the old ways of working and make it something newer and better. While it is true, some of these technological improvements will automate people, including those who design them, out of work, it also means that companies will be able to do more and expand faster than ever before. From a work perspective, it is quite interesting that I work for the largest retailer in the world and yet my job has nothing to do with retailing anymore. We have entire departments that have the sole purpose of figuring out how to change retail, rather than do what we’ve always done. This is just one example of how companies are changing the work to align to the desires of innovative work and challenging concepts that the younger workforce wants rather than the same 8-5 “basic” office job that it has always been.

From an outsourcing perspective, I believe this will continue for the foreseeable future. Why should a construction or retail company spend time, money and precious resources on an IT department, as an example, when they can outsource this type of work to a company that specialized in IT only? This specialty company will typically charge less than an internal department would cost, due to their own efficiencies and ability to service multiple customers. I don’t see this changing any time soon. Especially as most companies are doing everything they can to eliminate overhead and reduce costs to be able to maintain profit.

Hope you all have a fantastic week!

Brian

STUDENT 2:

Class

Today’s business workforce is and has been changing for many years. Technology and social trends have changed and affected the business world as a whole. These huge advances in society have also affected the generations that are coming up next in the business world. According to Office Principles in the video, they stated that millennials are the future for business and that they understand technology easier, while being able to multitask more efficiently than the generation Boomers. The video also states that 65% of boomers said that millenials came to them for advice. It was interesting to see this statistic, and it is very true, because of how much I went to them for advice. I went to my grandpa and father for advice because of the experience they went through. The way society and generations were can really benefit a younger learner coming into the workforce, because knowing how much things have changed from a personal perspective can really push the point across of how much society has changed. Technology has changed the world for the better, but has complicated things for generations that were forced to adapt. Generations before the millennials have been forced to adjust their old way of thinking and do things in order to keep their jobs. This can be a difficult thing, but is crucial because of how much of an importance there is on technology when it comes to competition. Competition involved with technology has been the newest and best way to market to the consumer. I understand that outsourcing can be an effective tool to save money, but not taking care of business internally is a waste of training and experience for employers. Outsourcing will probably always continue to play a role because of how easy and accessible things can be for employers outside of the business, but it can be avoided by utilizing new generation employers to use the internet to benefit the company.

References

Office Principles, “The Next Generation Workforce”(Video File). Retrieved from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeE11jb5gBI&feature=youtu.be