The Basics of Reinsurance
Insurance is a tool which helps individuals protect themselves and diversify their risks. The concept of insurance is based on the fact that the risks will only affect certain individuals during a given period of time. Hence, if money is pooled by all individuals and paid out to a few, the risk can be mitigated. […]
What is Agile Methodology and Its Game Changing Promise for the Digital Age
Introduction to the Agile Methodology These days, there’s much buzz around what is known as Agile Method of Working or the Agile Methodology as applied to all types of organizational processes and modes of working. While initially, Agile was introduced for the Software and Technology Development and Release cycles, it has now become a method […]
Schramm’s Model of Communication
After learning the Shannon weaver model, let’s find out about Schramm’s model of communication which has its roots from the Shannon weaver model itself. Wilber Schramm proposed the model of communication in 1954. Information is of no use unless and until it is carefully put into words and conveyed to others. Encoding plays a very […]
Setting Up a Virtual Team
The early phase of development of a virtual team is crucial for its success. Just like the foundation defines the strength of the building, the steps involved in establishing a virtual team goes a long way in contributing to its successful functioning in later stages. The two basic questions give skeleton to this phase – […]
Black Swans and White Knights: Risks of Operating in a VUCA and Global Environment
Global Businesses operate in an international environment that is volatile, unpredictable, uncertain, and accelerated. The term VUCA or Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity is used to describe to the global environment in which multinational firms operate. In addition, a PESTLE or Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environment framework can also be applied to understand […]
Every era brings with its own share of risks for organizations and other entities. While the Industrial Era was marked by risks in the form of Employee Unions, Labor Strikes, and the ever present threat of competition and environmentally damaging operations, the Services Era brought with it the risk of too much globalization leading to a Race to the Bottom as well as the peculiar and unique challenges posed by local conditions and risks.
The present Digital Age too is characterized by several risks, not the least of which is the Threat from Rapid Obsolescence due to Accelerating Technological advancements.
For instance, take the case of Apple and the iPhone and we have a situation where it has to release a new version every Six Months or so, or risk losing ground to its competitors.
This is something that applies to other Verticals as well where rapid technological changes mean that organizations have to be always alert to fast changing business trends.
In addition, business leaders also have to worry about how Data is the New Oil and hence, the battles in the Corporate Landscape of the 21st Century are all about Access and Control to the sources of Data.
Moreover, even if a particular organization has humungous amount of data at its disposal, it has to ensure that such data has been collected in ethical ways and has to safeguard it against Hackers and other nefarious elements who might want to lay their hands on the precious data and profit from it.
Take the case of Facebook and Google both of which collect personal data on a large basis.
As can be seen from the recent scandals concerning the controversial methods by which these entities collected user data as well as shared it with Third Party entities, it is not hard to see how in future, business leaders have to be wary about being Gung Ho Pirates who can collect personal data and consumer data at will and share the booty with others.
As for protecting the data, it is clear that leading corporates and their leaders fret and worry about where and who the next target of hacking would be.
Thus, as can be seen from the preceding discussion, the Digital Age is giving organizations and business leaders sleepless nights.
What adds to the potent mix of threats and risks is the very real threat from the 24/7 news cycle keeping them on their toes as unless they respond to the constant drumbeat of news channels upending their carefully planned strategies, they would risk Losing the Narrative.
Moreover, with the proliferation of Social Media and the constant buzz of Tweets and Facebook posts, business leaders and organizations have nowhere to run or hide as any small or big event brings with it a barrage of both praise and criticism.
As can be seen from the incessant Trolling on Twitter and Facebook, organizations need to be always on the lookout for defamatory and derogatory streams of information.
Having said that, organizations are also at risk from plain old fashioned threats such as Attrition and a labor market that has become an employer’s nightmare.
This is especially the case in the United States where the economic boom of recent years has ensured that there are more jobs than jobseekers and consequently, organizations and their Human Resource Managers have to confront the risks from the asymmetric and the lopsided job market.
In addition, this glut of jobs has resulted in some potential candidates not turning up for work after selection and this trend known as Ghosting where employees absent themselves from work and disappear as well as do not join the organizations on the date of commencement of employment.
Moreover, there are also instances of employees stealing data and other confidential information with relatively old fashioned methods of carting away such organizational data on Pen Drives and other memory storage devices.
A key threat for organizations and business leaders in the Digital Age is on how to anticipate the next business trend and identify the risks and mitigate them and plan accordingly.
The use of AI or Artificial Intelligence powered technologies and software leads to both greater efficiency as well as the risk of the Machines Taking Over.
In other words, while Automation might be good for profitability, it is also a key threat since runaway AI can simply override the humans in the organization and lead to apocalyptic outcomes.
This was seen recently when a flight originating from Thailand crashed mainly because of the software overriding the Pilots commands and despite a Heroic battle between Man and Machine, the latter won with tragic consequences.
This is the reason why many leading business leaders are calling for enhanced supervision of automated operations so that the ultimate decisions are made by the humans and not the machines.
Lastly, as mentioned in the introduction, each era has its own threats and risks.
However, what is different in the Digital Age are the Speed and the Depth of such threats coming together at the same time creating a Perfect Storm of events that can bring down the entire organization and who knows, the world itself.
With the interconnected web of people and the speed at which information flows, organizations have seen more threats than before.
To conclude, it is imperative for organizations to anticipate the risks to the best of their abilities and mitigate them as well.
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