READING
guru answers
21st_century_workplace.pptxThe 21st Century Workplace
Preparing for the
new definition of success
The Key Drivers for Changing Nature of Work (national Research Council)
#1 Increasing pressures on organizations to be more competitive, agile, and customer focused—to be a "lean enterprise."
#2 Communication and information technology breakthroughs, i.e. mobile technologies and the Internet.
Key organizational changes- Structure
Reduced hierarchical structure
Cumbersome and cannot respond quickly to changing market demands, such as pressures for reduced cycle time and continuous innovation.
Being replaced by cross unit organizational groupings with fewer layers
Greater decentralized decision making.
Key organizational changes- Structure
Blurred boundaries
Boundaries begin to breakdown as different parts of the organization need to work more effectively together.
Greater need for task and knowledge sharing.
Key organizational changes- Structure
Teams as basic building blocks
Resulting from pressures to make rapid decisions,
To reduce inefficiencies,
To continually improve work processes.
Key organizational changes- Organization and purpose
New Management Perspective
Workers asked to be committed to organizational goals and mission.
Employees gain more decision authority and latitude
Managers become more social supporters and coaches rather than commanders.
Key organizational changes- Organization and purpose
Continuous change
Organizations are expected to continue the cycles of reflection and reorganization.
Kling and Zmuidzinas identify three types of change
“Metamorphosis" (far reaching, fundamental change)
“Migration" (shifts toward a new form)
“Elaboration" (changes that enhance some aspect of work)
Think of the changes to the telephone industry. You can see all three changes in the last 10 years alone.
Greater Emphasis is being placed on your ability to work with others
Collaborative work environments
Team work and collaboration
Conflict resolution and negotiation skills are essential
Conflicts about group goals, work methods, assignments, workloads, and recognition.
Relationship development and networking
Focus on development of reciprocity and trust.
Sharing important information, fulfilling promises, willingness to be influenced, and listening
Leads to greater commitment to attaining mutual goals, helping one another through difficulties, and willingness to share and develop new ideas.
Learning and growth
Organizations strive to be learning
Learning relationships build on joint problem solving, insight sharing, learning from mistakes, and working closely together
Learning also develops from mentoring relationships
Just Being Good at your work tasks is not enough
How Work is Changing for Individuals and Groups
Increased complexity of work
Workers need to know more to work effectively with others on teams.
Knowledge-based tasks require sound analytical and judgment skills to carry out work with few rules and structured ways of working.
Even administrative tasks require more independent decision making and operational decision making.
Continuous competency development
Need to keep their technology skills up to date
Need to be continuous learners in field and with business strategy.
Reading and attending training classes essential for all workers.
Different ways of thinking
Kantor describes "kaleidoscope thinking," the ability to see alternative angles and perspectives and to create new patterns of thinking that propel innovation.
Also need to be able to synthesize disparate ideas in order to make the cognitive leaps that underlie innovation.
How Would You Adapt TO Be Competitive??
Collaboration
Connecting, Networking
Continuous Learning
Larger Workload
Creativity and innovation
How will this impact your work life experience?
To sum It up… the workplace has changed
Increased use of teams and cross unit work
More pressure for communication and information flow
Greater use of dispersed work groups—often global
Continual reorganization and restructuring
Reduced costs/more efficient space use
Improved quality of work life and attraction of new workers
How will you be ready?
The following slide identifies 5 key content areas that are necessary for success in the 21st Century workplace.
This is your opportunity to develop your own personalized action plan. Use the following slide to define ONE goal for each Modern Career Competency
Remember, successful goals are:
S - specific
M - measurable
A – action oriented
R - realistic
T – time focused
Personal action plan
The modern career competencies are:
1- Develop knowledge base
2- Develop critical thinking/analysis skills
3- Develop business/organizational knowledge
4- Develop creative, alternative thinking
5- Develop teamwork and leadership skills
What do you need to do to maximize
your skills in each competency area?
