Stephen P. Borgatti identifies five key organizational trends these trends include globalization, diversity, flexibility, flatness and networking. For businesses to be able to compete with the changing environment it is essential that they stay up to date in these five areas.
Globalization
Globalization is one of the more important aspects of business. There is now an increased global interdependence in the business world. Countries are depending on each other for success. Through the acquisition of materials, strategies, and new ideas for products and operations globalization can make companies more profitable. The United States holds only a fraction of the world’s population and only a fraction of the world’s wealth.http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1209
Globalization can drastically increase a company’s customer basis and help the company expand to bigger and more profitable business endeavors. Globalization can also increase a company’s ability to use newer and better technologies. There are a lot of countries that specialize in the acquisition and development of new technologies and through the globalization of your company; it will be easier to expose your company to these ideas and resources. Globalization can also help with outscoring. Outsourcing employees from other countries can help your company create a market for these other countries.
Diversity
Diversity is and always will be a focus within business in our society. http://www.professionalpractice.asme.org/SecuredModules/communications/diversity/0d.htm
It is important to keep your company’s employees and cliental very diverse. Diversity gives companies the ability to relate to their customers and employees. Everyone is not cut from the same mold and different types of people from different backgrounds relate to each other in different ways. It is important to have a “melting pot” mix of people that work for your company. Through your melting pot you will have many different people with different ideas of how to attract customers with similar backgrounds to become patrons of your company and how to treat and communicate with these individuals. In my opinion diversity is still somewhat of a legal issue, but it should not be because companies need people of different races, religions, sexual orientations, and other cultures because that is what our society is made of. Businesses must expand and hire all different types of people if they want to succeed in our society.
Flexibility
Flexibility can also be advantageous to a 21st century company. In the past, companies would focus more on one specialty with their products, employees, and operations. The problem with focusing on one specific task for your employees, or one specific product or service for your company is that it handcuffs your company and provides a very bland working environment. The company may become the premier producer of that specific product but the market changes quickly. So putting you company’s resources into one specific good or service can backfire in an instant. There are many benefits of having a very flexible company. You can attract more highly motivated and skilled employees. Because you attract more motivated employees there will be higher levels of productivity. http://www.jobaccess.gov.au/JOAC/Employers/Before_you_start/Preparing_and_modifying_the_workplace/How_to_provide_a_flexible.htm
Flexibility within operations also will help keep your workers pleased. So giving employees choices on how things should be done can help keep workers happy. A happier employee means that they will work harder for you and trust your company. Also, giving you employees choices and input within the company can encourage creativity and innovative ideas rather than the traditional “do as I say not as I do” mentality.
Flatness
Flatness is becoming more and more of a trend in today’s business. Taking away the traditional hierarchy of business can benefit corporations in many ways. It makes communication within the organization a lot easier for employees. There is no longer a chain of command within the communication system in which messages must be transmitted. Too many times messages have to be passed up the metaphorical ladder and the message gets distorted because of the people and the different channels it must pass through. Think back to when you were in elementary school and you played the old game telephone, when each student had to pass a message to the next. Every time the message got to the end it was different from when it started. This simple, fun principal can be translated to the business world. If a message has to be communicated through different levels of management the message will be distorted in some way. But, by limiting the levels within a business and corporation, it makes communication easier and much more efficient.
Networking
Networking is essential in today’s business. It has always been important, but is starting to be more of a point of emphasis within modern business. Networking is a very general term as it can be used in many situations. Networking can refer to keeping in touch with employees. Current, old, and potential employees are a great way to keep up on the actions and operations of your company and can lead to happier employees. Making contacts with other business can lead to new ways of operation, new products, and long term contacts that your company can use for different aspects of business. http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/a/networkingmm.htm
Networking can also mean reaching out and trying to attract new customers. Contacting more people and informing them about your company can lead to more customers or more investors. There are so many more channels of communication that can be used for networking, so companies are starting to focus a lot more attention on this aspect of communication. A simple rule for business is the more networking your company does the contacts you have and the more resources you gain thus the better your business.
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These 21st century trends are what helps businesses compete with the changing environment. The five areas are globalization, diversity, flexibility, flatness, and networking.
ReplyDeleteGlobalization is what helps a business combine economic, technological, social, cultural, and political forces. Globalization is often used to refer to economic globalization, that is, integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology. Globalization helps with outscoring employees, as well as marketing to other countries.
Diversity is what helps build a company. Having different ideas from different individuals expands the success. Today diversity in the work force is needed legally and ethically.
Flexibility is needed today in the work place. Employees need the freedom to work with less stress on them. Individuals cannot work to their best ability unless there is some individualism to their work. This leads to more motivated, determined, and skilled employees. If they feel they can put apart of themselves into their work this will lead to a higher quality of the product.
Flatness is what the business world is seeing today. With the communication channels being closed off to employees communicating with employers leads to distorted messages. All communication channels must be open in order to have a successful corporation.
Networking is important for the simple fact this creates business deals. This creates lifelong business contacts and relationships. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
These aspects are what keep corporations in business.
In identifying the trends of 21st century communication, Borgatti pointed out for the rest of us the world of conducting business is moving away from traditional rigid, hierarchical methods to flatter, more flexible methods. While it isn't exactly news that this is the trend, it is interesting to see how the process of conducting business has changed.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the most pervasive aspect of these trends is networking. There are many social-networking websites out there like MySpace and Facebook that are popular among the youngest generation to keep in contact between friends. However, it has also become trendy in business to use these sites to maintain business relationships, too. I've noticed recently that a the older members of my family are joining Facebook to keep in contact with their co-workers and other business associates. I had to laugh at this initially because most of them are lucky to know how to turn on a computer, much less understand the concept of Facebook. Now that I really think about it, though, it is really a shock that this once SOCIAL networking site has seeped into the area of business communication as well.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/66768.html?wlc=1240338973
http://www.rileyguide.com/network.html
http://www.businessknowhow.com/tips/networking.htm