| May 19, 2012 | 8 users online |
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OBSERVER COLUMN FOR Friday, October 31, 1997 POLITICS AND THE NEW WORK ORDER Utterance by Leahcim Semaj Two years ago I coined the term The New Work Order. This was the result of examining the trends that were unfolding in the world of work and business. Since then, I have been updating my database on a daily basis, by observing a steady flow of information confirming the permanent nature of the transition that we now find ourselves in. The trauma associated with this transition is not unique but because it took place so long ago, during the first industrial revolution, we have no collective memory of it. All the signs are now clear, our choices quite straightforward - understand the nature of the transition taking place to benefit from it or, ignore it and experience the perils of it. THE MANIFESTOS The NDM’s manifesto is now available and we are awaiting those from the People’s National Party and the Jamaica Labor Party. I am a little concerned that the public will not get a chance to truly evaluate the positions of the parties. Recently when the NDM released their Reform Agenda and their Economic Agenda as well as their Covenant with Jamaica. Even though both television stations covered the launch, the news report dealt mainly with the cuss cuss based on questions raised by a reporter. The details presented in the documents were not communicated. The concept of a covenant, which they defined as "not a promise nor a policy but a sacred pact with the people" did not come across at all. How many people who read both daily newspapers, listen to the news on radio, watch those on television, have any idea what the ten items listed in the NDM’s covenant are? What are the things that they have identified in the covenant as mandated to take place within the first six months, by the end of the first year, by the end of the second year? I doubt if five percent of our population could identify fifty per cent of these things, because the media has not seen fit to share concrete information but instead to major in cuss cuss. Unless we are able to get pass this major stumbling block we will not be able to truly evaluate the parties on what it is that really matters, in my case, it’s which one can lead this nation into The New Work Order. THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL POLICY Last year, the government published a National Industrial Policy in which they outlined development policies for six areas - the manufacturing sector, agriculture, tourism, mining and chemicals, information technology and the entertainment industry. The New Work Order makes it clear to us that the agriculture and manufacturing sectors have a limited future based on their current configuration. Information technology, tourism and entertainment have unlimited potential, what we can produce, what we can deliver? However I don’t get a sense that this society realizes that. The recent bad news about bananas has served to remind us that we’re living on borrowed time. What we must now ask ourselves is where will we get the guidance and leadership to bring about the transformation required in our educational system to start creating the human capital capable of taking advantage of the information age in which we now live. I hear talk of manufacturing with no clear plan to identify areas in which we can actually lead as opposed to waiting for the droppings from other people’s tables. In tourism we don’t hear of concrete plans for maximizing on our unique and special destination. It is still lip service to entertainment, even though all the data shows that were we to put effort into what we currently have, we would be world beaters. Some talk about the information industry but fail to go beyond just data entry. Hopefully, I will get a chance to examine all the party manifestos for myself because I’m convinced that the media will not facilitate a true evaluation of the options. TELL THE PEOPLE THE TRUTH As I look at the parties from this perspective, I will be examining them to see which one will be willing to tell people some of the brutal truths about the world that is evolving. Truths such a - no more commitment to lifetime employment. The reality is that persons will have to be trained and prepared to evolve into new jobs as they arise. The projection is five or six different careers in one’s lifetime. I’m looking to see who will let people understand that the creation of a job is first and foremost the individual’s responsibility not the government’s, not some godfather. If you are really bright, you should be able to create a job for yourself and one for someone else. I will be looking to see who will tell the people that we can no longer for time or the activities that they do, but that payment will be on results. We also will be looking to see which political party will be bold enough to identify areas that are dying and to help to direct individuals and the nation away from them and identify directions for future progress into which we can evolve. THE DEATH OF THE TYPIST To understand how profound the nature of the change is, how areas of work will be affected, one just has to look at the two most recent software programs - Naturally Speaking by Dragon and Via Voice by IBM. These programs offer a significant breakthrough in dictation software. It is now possible to talk to your computer in normal tone, and dictate at a rate of up to 140 words per minute while the computer directly transfers these words into text on your screen. The time required to produce a document is now cut significantly. The program is designed to be trained to recognize your voice pattern. It comes with a basic vocabulary of about thirty thousand words. I have ordered the Via Voice program for US$99. The implication of a program like this is mind boggling. The era of the copy typist is ending; many organizations will no longer use secretaries. Recently I meet with someone from the World Bank who stated that for the last two years project directors in her division have had no secretaries. Each person has a cellular phone, a computer with e-mail and a pager and you handle all your information flow in and out. COUNT OUT THE ACCOUNTANTS These are the kind of dramatic quantum shifts that will be taking place in the world of business over the next five years. The recent redundancies at the University of the West Indies bursary could have been predicted. The data shows that the capability of accounting software will result in seventy percent fewer accounting positions by the year 2000. It is not accidental then that the top six accounting firms in the world have been repositioning themselves by mergers, now there are four. These companies are trying to broaden themselves into one- stop shops to compensate for the significantly reduced need for their service. So, in addition to my previous concerns about representation and what individual members of parliament stand for, I will be looking to see which party is bold enough to lead this country into The New Work Order. POLITICS AND THE NEW WORK ORDER
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