21st CENTURY TRENDS

Synopsis: Last class we had presentations on 21st Century Organizational Trends. The presentation topics were on globalization, diversity, flexible, flat, and networked. These topics had to answer on how they have affected communication in the 21st century. Throughout the past century our communication has changed, not only due to different channels used, but also through the way we define what communication is. There are different forms of communication. There is the physical communication in which we can use our hands, mouth, etc. to express ourselves but there is also the possibility of non-physical and non-verbal communication. In this instance different signs, logos, pictures would be another way of communicating. As Chapter 5 points out, for different companies, communicating is not just what one says, it’s also one’s logo and what one does that makes one different and more competitive than others. In Chapter 6, we will face the subject of Media Relations. This part of the company brings investors, employees, etc. closer to the entity.

Personal experience: I have personally witnessed a change in communication even during my lifetime. The best example is the ability to send messages via internet. As I grew up in the 80’s, messaging was not a norm when communicating with friends or even teachers. In today’s world, I think I spend more time typing messages than talking over the phone. Even though the flow of information is definitely faster in today’s world, the “face to face” or “phone to phone” conversations are getting fewer. Another example is the work we do in school or on a job. We don’t hand write summaries anymore, but use computer for writing and calculating. Typing takes up less time for me, than writing, therefore my communication with others is faster.

References: http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/skills/effcomm5.htm

Globalization:
As the century turned, businesses realized that they must change the way they communicate in order to be successful in the new century. Business is becoming more and more globalized and boundaries are slowly disappearing. It refers to increasing global connectivity, integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological, cultural, political, and ecological spheres. As technology has developed, it has become easier for companies to become global. More companies are 24/7 with the help of technology. At one time a company may have thought they would just provide merchandise or services to the U.S.A. However, with the technology that we have, and as it continues to advance, it is more likely that companies that once thought U.S.A. were going to be there customers are finding out that they can provide merchandise and services around the world.

Personal experience: Globalization exists in our universities and colleges. More and more foreign and outstation students are attending schools in order to obtain a better education. The experience of working with them has been great n knowledgeable.

Diversity:
Since more companies have become global it just makes sense for them also to become more diversified. Diversity not only pertains to people from different countries, but also people who have different religious beliefs, different sexes and differences individually. It is important for a global company to make sure they have ideas from all over the world, from different cultures, and people with different values. These employees can bring different ideas to projects, therefore, coming up with better products or solutions. Diversity issues change over time, depending on local historical and dynamic conditions. Companies with diversity programs are usually national or international in scope, or are composed of large groups of workers who come from differing backgrounds. Labour market is also expanding to include the whole world and a company might not just draw resources from its own country, but the whole world. This leads to company diversity as well. Innovation will occur in the environment due to so many different types of people working together. It is an important trend that is coping with our ever diverse world.

Personal experience: During our marketing class we had case on big bazaar. To get information for my research I visited the store, where I came across many difference culture people working together. When I asked the manager about the diversity in the store, his response was that it was one of their reasons for success.

Flexibility:
As organizations continue to grow and develop, it is becoming more important for them to be flexible. As the new generation enters the work force these students have been exposed to technology all their lives. They have grown up with instant messaging, iPods, the internet and cell phones. Companies are going to have to become more flexible with how employees want to schedule their work hours, letting employees work from home if possible, providing different opportunities to these employees that we haven't seen before. The flexibility trend is a trend that deals with an increase in the diversity in the workplace especially the custom needs of employees and clients. It adjusts to meet the needs of employees such as telecommuting, job sharing, mommy tracks and paying the employee for their skills.

Personal experience: Flexibility existed in our team while working on the number group assignments with regarding to time factor, meeting deadlines, understanding one an others working abilities etc.

References: http://www.flexibility.com.au/

FLAT:
The flat trend is used typically in smaller companies. The communication among the company is direct and typically employees talk to each other on a personal level. There is a lesser need for middle management. The network trend is a strategic alliance with competitors and others. It brings your competitors into your house. There is a close coordination between firms and information sharing. The flat organization model promotes employee involvement through a decentralized decision making process. By elevating the level of responsibility of baseline employees, and by eliminating layers of middle management, comments and feedback reach all personnel involved in decisions more quickly. Since the interaction between workers is more frequent, this organizational structure generally depends upon a much more personal relationship between workers and managers. Hence the structure can be more time-consuming to build than a traditional bureaucratic/hierarchical model

References: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/organization_flat.html

Networking:
A computer network is an interconnected group of computers. Networks may be classified by the network layer at which they operate according to basic reference models considered as standards in the industry, such as the five-layer Internet Protocol Suite model. While the seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model is better known in academia, the majority of networks use the Internet Protocol Suite (IP). Communicating computer systems constitute a computer network and these networks generally involve at least two devices capable of being networked with at least one usually being a computer. The devices can be separated by a few meters (e.g. via Bluetooth) or nearly unlimited distances (e.g. via the Internet). Computer networking is sometimes considered a sub-discipline of telecommunications, and sometimes of computer science, information technology and computer engineering. Computer networks rely heavily upon the theoretical and practical application of these scientific and engineering disciplines.

Personal experience: My term did a presentation on networking; we learnt Vodafone helps a lot of companies like HP to communicate among its clients.

References: http://www.skyrme.com/insights/1netorg.htm

http://www.12manage.com/