In the industrial age, mass production was mental, and its products were in large quantities, with standard specifications which continued for almost the whole of the last century.
In the current age of the knowledge economy, competitive advantage no longer depends on the concepts of serial production, intensive marketing, multiple distribution, and unified policies, because the key to business success lies in determining the specificity of each consumer, who is looking to produce good things and services tailored to their special needs and desires. This principle, in the belief of many, is a vital component in the approval of the wishes and needs of the consumer, the orderly principle of the labour sector in the age of the knowledge economy.
Consumers have become decision makers and opinion makers, and business has become more than just creating new products or adding new features to satisfy customers; it now requires comprehensive consumer experience and desires, accurate knowledge of every consumer, and all methods of maintaining competitive leadership.
From a business point of view, self-service applications are often a more useful way to serve customers than to push someone to do so, reinforced by the significant rise in self-service applications through the Internet, and artificial intelligence-oriented voice response systems.
Since traditional services and sales are replaced by e-commerce, this changes the recruitment areas from traditional sites to IT-skilled jobs, and in many cases to sites requiring higher mental capacities, so e-commerce is part of a local and international orientation that requires more skills in the workplace.
The twenty-first century marks the end of the era of the individual continuing to work for one company or institution throughout his or her working life, as many are forced to change their jobs, occupations, and workplaces continuously every three to five years, depending on the changes in the environment and the institution in which they work.
In the new work environment, organizations and departments consist of a small number of central employees and departments, and all else will be left to external suppliers, and many individuals will work according to “one institution”, i.e., they work independently and cooperate with other workers in a variety of disciplines.
A manifestation of the change in the labour patterns market is the presence of so-called common job sharing/participation in the information society, and reliance on telework, where some companies try the idea of working from home, by communicating electronically with the Office of the President, as well as temporary employment, growing by 15% per annum.
Most of the new jobs depend on professionals from science, computing, engineering, management, consulting, training, marketing, media and entertainment, and simple routines are replaced by technical automation (smart machines); the new type of job is rapidly shifting from the preparation of tangible products to creating information into problem-solving “knowledge”, and an individual’s assessment depends on how much he or she can learn, not how much he knows, and this is the hallmark of the knowledge workforce.
There are many features of working in the information economy and society, the most important of which is the increase in the economically active manpower in information activities, numbering in some developed countries more than 50% of the total workforce, more than the total workforce in traditional economic fields, so that the education sector is at the point of the harpoon in this information society, as well as the research and development, communications and information sectors, computers and machinery, and information services.
Otherwise, the use of information as an economic resource, where enterprises and companies use information to increase their capacity and efficiency, promotes creativity and innovation, and increases their effectiveness and competitiveness by improving the quality of the goods and services they provide.
The growing use of information among the public, so that information is used extensively by people in their activities as consumers, means that they also use information as citizens to exercise their rights and responsibilities, and to build information systems that provide education and culture to all members of society.
The emergence of the information sector as an important sector of the economy has also become a major economic activity in many countries of the world.
A basic specification required by the human resources labour market in the age of the knowledge economy is the ability to capture information and turn it into usable knowledge.
The ability to adapt and learn quickly, with the skills to do so, requires the mastery of computer-based information and technology and its applications in the field of work; the ability to collaborate and work in a team, master verbal, written and virtual communication skills, and to possess additional skills different from traditional skills in the routines that automation systems have become essential.
Furthermore, you must master more than one language so you can work in a global work environment, master work beyond time and space, and the ability to manage work, whether in traditional or virtual work environments.
Acquire the ability to identify the unique needs and desires of individual consumers or institutions and departments, as products/services with standard specifications are no longer suitable for all; have the ability to move quickly, change rapidly, the need to urgently follow up on changes and meet the needs of consumers, with knowledge of the enterprise’s culture, as well as the subcultures of its organizational structures and human resources, to facilitate dealing with them, and to reach the desired goals.
And to talk the rest.
Author : Manahel Thabet
Published April 23, 2018
Al Bayan Newspaper
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