The Leader - September/October 2008 - (Page 24) th e fu tu r e o f the W o rkp lace : W hat’ s Ne xt I s he re Jazz: Complexity managed by ‘marketizing’ decision processes managed by an independent body that aligned free market forces and private enterprise with social and environmental goals, by focusing on the need for deliberate social choices and meeting basic human needs. The effective creation, use and dissemination of knowledge became keys to this success. The success of enterprises, and of national economies, became increasingly dependent on the information infrastructure that gathers and utilizes knowledge. By 2020, cities, communities and organizations, particularly in Europe and Asia, began to harness the knowledge economy and society with the development of advanced ‘univer-cities’ and ‘employee villages.’ Focus was now being placed on life-long and life-wide learning; rather than unruly economic expansion. The univer-city is a remarkable development offering opportunities to live and learn in healthy well-designed communities. It has become the showcase for innovative and creative approaches to equitable education, work, connectivity and sustainable planning. The role of the facility manager has grown within this city. Facilities have been consolidated to provide value added services to all sectors, government, health, education, recreation, justice, police, and social services. Shopping and recreational areas have been transformed to give people access to real-time data and sophisticated, accessible facilities. A smart card called the ‘community card’ has been developed for general services in the city, notably transport, access to sports facilities, the library and laundry facilities, as well as providing a wireless connection. From these cities, workers at all levels in this 21st Century knowledge society have become lifelong learners, adapting continuously to changed opportunities, work practices, business models and other forms of economic and social organization. As a way to harness this, the corporate world is cultivating the employee village. These villages focus on a greater mixture of land use types; integrate biodiversity plans in design; promote transit supportive development; preserve open space, facilitate a more economic arrangement of land uses; and encourage a greater sense of community. Such workplaces are healthier, more productive and allow people to work to live rather than living to work. This new approach to knowledge and workplace development is driven by a primary need to think globally and act locally in the preservation and conservation of the environment, development of the economy, social cohesion, equity and quality of life. For Europe, positive dramatic changes occurred in these areas from 2010 – 2025. The public sector became a guiding light assisting individuals, firms and civic associations to undertake their share of responsibility for the community and environment by incorporating the values of sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and shared responsibility into their goals and objectives. Finance for research, development and innovation increased enormously. In 2007, the EU was behind the U.S. and Japan in research and innovation performance. EU Heads of State agreed a target to increase its R&D performance to 3 percent of GDP by 2012, overtaking both Japan and the U.S., with two-thirds of the increase coming from business. Job creation and economic growth was fueled by the successful achievement of this goal. It created a knowledge driven competitive advantage across all sectors of the integrated economy, particularly areas such as health, education and the environment. The following ten major trends are characteristics of the Wise Counsels workplace and are listed as follows: n The workplace is increasingly supported by ICTs, meaning workers can be virtually and directly connected with community peers and have access to whatever knowledge or expertise they need to carry out their tasks n The digital company card has emerged as a popular tool that encourages workers to go into local communities and check into office space n Workplaces are seen as communities that are propelling the shift from hierarchical management structures towards self-organized, self-managed teams that are stimulated and motivated to ensure a much higher level 2 0 0 8 th e le aDe r 24 septemBer / octoBer
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