Over the last year, the LEF has been developing a new domain of research that seeks to understand IT’s impact on the management, organization and culture of the firm. Through this work, we will address important long term questions such as: What does it really mean to be a networked firm? How will executive leadership and decision-making change in complex environments once social networking tools and methods become pervasive and mature? How can firms use technology to encourage more engaged and committed employees?
In this lead-off session, David will discuss the work we have done thus far and present our research findings and observations. He will also explore the many interconnections between this new research domain and our ongoing work in consumerization, business/IT relationship management, risk management, and the evolution of the enterprise IT function. Particular emphasis will be given to the need to develop new ways of nurturing employee, customer and societal trust.
For more than a decade, business thinkers have theorized about how technology will change the shape of organizations. In this presentation, based on his landmark book, The Future of Work: How the New Order of Business Will Shape Your Organization, renowned organizational theorist Thomas Malone provides a powerful blueprint for actually designing the company of the future.
Based on twenty years of groundbreaking research, The Future of Work foresees a workplace revolution that will dramatically change organizational structures and the roles employees play in them. Current notions about decentralization merely scratch the surface of what will be possible as technological and economic forces make ‘command and control’ management less and less useful. Exploring the skills managers will need in a workplace in which the power to decide belongs to everyone, Thomas Malone will show how we can help create a world that is not just richer, but better.
Like all multinational organizations, Unilever has its share of complex challenges including the need to keep its employees connected to the business in a way that makes them feel valued and highly engaged. Unilever understands that by tapping into the rich seam of experience and knowledge of its workforce, the answers to many of the problems and opportunities it faces may well be found.
Chris Turner, Unilever’s VP Strategy and Planning and Chief Technology Officer, will share his perspective on how Unilever see the importance and challenges created by the new wave of consumer and web-based technologies and their role in bringing about greater levels of employee engagement, innovation and organizational agility.
To glimpse into the future it is sometimes helpful to look at the past. W L Gore is one such company. This global engineering giant is described as a big company that behaves like a start-up and is repeatedly listed in the Fortune top 100 as one of the companies to work for.
Famous for tearing up the management rulebook, Gore operates without bosses in an environment where trust, freedom and innovation are prized. Little surprise then that the hi-tech pioneer’s staff are so loyal. A workplace without managers, where no one tells you what to do and everybody is expected to voice their opinions, may sound like utopia for employees. But at Gore it has been reality for more than 50 years. Chief executive Terri Kelly comments: “Gore is designed around trying to drive individual ownership and empowerment”.
In this session, Ulrich Loth will describe how Gore has managed to sustain such remarkable success, providing insights into the role of IT and how it supports the core values of the company which drive everything they do.
Faciltated by Alan Matcham, Director, Leading Edge Forum
IT organizations are used to coping with waves of technology change – mainframes, minis, PCs, Web, and so on. But in today’s market, it often feels like the waves are coming in faster and bigger than ever. They are. Consumerization, mobility, social networking and the pervasive internet cloud will have effects which exceed those of previous IT eras. The pace of IT industry change continues to accelerate.
These changes are affecting both the IT organization and the modern workplace in a number of important ways. Central IT will increasingly need to shift from providing IT services to enabling them. Firms will need to accept that employees are not just users, but a collective source of value and innovation. And finally, organizations will strive to increasingly make all manner of invisible information and connections much more visible and actionable. In this session, Doug and Simon will show how firms and their IT organizations are learning to surf these massive changes to create the IT-driven workplace of the future.
The IT function is being asked to support the new technology-enabled work styles, while also maintaining the necessary control and standards. Many CIOs are now deploying some of their most senior people in a business relationship management (BRM) role. These managers are expected to promote relevant new technologies and partner with the business on their strategic change programmes, while also ensuring the reliable delivery of IT solutions and services. LEF research suggests that many organizations are struggling to develop, staff and support this demanding role, a role that is also being impacted by new work styles, and by a user who is much more IT-aware and less willing to be led than in the past.
In this session, Kirt Mead and Alex Mayall will present the results of the LEF’s most recent research in this area. They will then facilitate an interactive discussion with participants regarding their experience with the BRM role, observed impacts of the new working culture, and other issues that they face.
Since the early 1970s, a more knowledge-based economy has been developing and it will be knowledge-based sectors that lead recovery in the 2010s. This creates both a challenge and an incredible opportunity. The challenge is to maximize the growth of knowledge-based sectors and firms in the teeth of both rising societal distrust and sharp reductions in public spending growth. The opportunity is to embrace the acceleration of scientific and technological advances, opening up an unprecedented range of new business opportunities.
An ever-widening range of ‘General Purpose Technologies’ are transforming societal infrastructure in combination with the rise of ‘experiential consumption’ which demands ever more sophisticated goods and services. To adapt to these changes, an innovation ecosystem needs to emerge, supporting everything from small firm formation and market creation to innovation in large companies. Getting this right is the key to maximizing employment growth and wealth creation in what otherwise might be a difficult decade.