Human Centered Management

5 Pillars of Organizational Quality and Global Sustainability

Maria-Teresa Lepeley

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781000097610
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Ethics
• Index: Business

We have never had more freedom to acquire information to make decisions, and organizations have never been so pressed to demonstrate accountability as they communicate with better informed customers and users. People who work IN an organization must also work FOR the organization to accomplish its mission. In this environment, humans are no longer just a resource; they are the reason an organization exists. New constructs are needed to ensure this human-centered paradigm shift.This book sets out the rationale for this shift and stimulates the discussion and the discovery of effective approaches and solutions to innovate for social and environmental good. Written by an expert in quality standards, the book offers a coherent model which synchronizes the organizational structure with the talent required to develop resilient and agile work environments. New strategies to develop talent will be critical, and multidisciplinary approaches from scholars and practitioners from around the world will be required to effectively collaborate and articulate the solutions. The proposition in the book focuses on continuous improvement and interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners across different industries, sectors, and national borders in order to address the unavoidable disruptions in the global VUCA environment.

Part I

Why Human-Centered Management?

1

A long-overdue paradigm shift

We live among global disruptions that require constant organization innovation (Maria-Teresa Lepeley)

The 2015–2016 Global Competitiveness Report has been launched at a pivotal time for the global economy. On the one hand, economic development is characterized by the “new normal” of higher unemployment, lower productivity growth, and subdued economic growth that could be derailed by uncertainties such as geopolitical tensions, the future path of emerging markets, energy prices, and currency changes. On the other hand, recent developments show great promise. The so-called fourth industrial revolution and new ways of consuming, such as the sharing economy could lead to another wave of significant innovations that drive growth. Across countries we are witnessing economic policymaking become increasingly people-centered and embedded in overall societal goals (Richard Samans).¹

At the 2016 World Economic Forum (WEF) Klaus Schwab, one of its founders, predicted the advent of a Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR) driven by technology. He emphasized that its unprecedented scale, scope, and complexity would transform the way people live, learn, work, and relate to one another. Schwab did not forecast how this fourth IR would unfold but he stated that solutions need to be integrative, comprehensive, and involve all in society—from academia to industry and both private sectors—to have a positive impact on the global economy and civil society.

Schwab argued that this fourth IR would build on the digital revolution that began last century. Instead of being segmented, as the previous one, it would integrate technologies that void divides between physical, digital, and biological spheres in cyber-physical systems.

Change would develop exponentially, causing major disruptions in management, organizations, education, industry, and government in every country (Schwab, 2016). In positive terms, he highlighted that leaders and organizations able to anticipate and manage disruptions with resilience and agility would find ample opportunities for performance improvement in competitive local and global markets. Conversely, disruptions would be detrimental for complacent organizations reluctant to change and regenerate.

Need for change and global initiatives

The European initiative Europe 2020² focuses on strategies to become smart and sustainable, fostering an inclusive economy to meet the challenges of a changing global environment with higher employment, productivity, and social cohesion. To this end Europe is targeting continuous improvement in five fundamental areas: education, innovation, employment, social inclusion, and climate/energy, all to be reached by 2020.

In 2005 Jeffrey Sachs wrote the book The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Sachs, an adviser for the United Nations who has worked extensively with mandataries of developed and developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, went on to predict that extreme poverty would be eradicated by 2015 (Sachs, 2005). In the Preface of his 2015 review of The End of Poverty he revised this date to 2030, based on evidence that “the world is not trying hard enough to attain the objective”.³ Sachs, who participated in developing the United Nations 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has stated that these goals will attain the target by 2030.

The 17 SDGs were adopted in September 2015 and represent the UN “world to-do list between 2016 and 2030”.⁴ The goals are a shared agenda to end poverty, promote peace and opportunities for all, and protect the planet; they are identified in Figure 1.1.

• Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms and everywhere

• Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

• Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages

• Goal 4. Ensure inclusive quality education for all to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

• Goal 5. Achieve gender equality empowering all women and girls

• Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

• Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

• Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

• Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

• Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

• Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

• Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

• Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

• Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

• Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

• Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

• Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development⁵

FIGURE 1.1 Sustainable Development Goals

The Global Infrastructure Initiative

Since 2012, McKinsey & Company’s Global Infrastructure Initiative (GII) has convened the world’s leaders in infrastructure to identify opportunities to optimize $9 trillion of annual investments. The GII was created as a vehicle to help unlock recurring infrastructure bottlenecks, explore new frontiers, and drive change in the infrastructure industry.

The goal of this initiative is to deliver essential infrastructure quickly and at a lower cost to support economic growth and contribute to building more resilient, stable, and secure communities.

GII has hosted three summits (Istanbul in 2012, Rio de Janeiro in 2014, and San Francisco in 2015) and a series of regional roundtables around the world, laying the foundations for a community of infrastructure leaders committed to pioneering real change. The most recent GII Summit in San Francisco (November 18–20, 2015) explored how innovation and technology can disrupt and improve infrastructure delivery. The fourth GII Summit is scheduled to take place in Singapore in 2017.⁶

People: The DNA of change

It may sound redundant to argue that the human being should be at the center of management and organizations in the 21st century. But despite arguments in favor of positioning people at the center, there is considerable discrepancy between words and deeds; within education, organizations, the economy, and broader society, more attention continues to be paid to other interests beyond the needs and expectations of the people these institutions serve.

Emerging technology created by human talent—the very technology responsible for propelling the speed and extent of global connectivity—is changing the world and affecting the way people live, think, learn, and interact, both socially and in organizations with a significant impact on the economy and society. People have never before had greater opportunities to obtain information so quickly, easily, and cost effectively when making all kinds of decisions.

Around the world at this very moment, human ingenuity is pushing advances in science and technology, fueling innovation, disrupting organizations, propelling economic growth, and reshaping the present and future at an unprecedented speed.

Proper management of data, analytics, semi-conductors, e-commerce, and cyber security are issues that must be effectively managed to optimize potential benefits—and minimize the costs of disruptions—if organizations want to help people.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has ignited an unparalleled wave of data analytics, connectivity, and transparency that is radically altering organizations and the way producers and consumers in markets behave and interact across the globe (Turber et al., 2015).⁷

Many say that data analytics will allow us to predict the future along with semi-conductors, which are frequently overlooked as enablers of many ongoing technological developments, fueling innovation with new features, functions, and devices.

Although an exponential amount of information is transmitted over the Internet, security concerns grow and cyberattacks become of critical concern to people and organizations on a global scale.

Companies are preparing for the post-PC world. The exponential growth of mobile devices surpasses any previous form of human communication technology and connectivity. Furthermore, smart and intelligent environments that go beyond space and time enable different human interactions (Follmer, 2015).

Despite the extensive impact of technology, there is increasing awareness that in the digital age, success comes not from technology itself, but from people, and how people use and interact with technology (Accenture, 2016). Indeed technology may be very useful, but only when people can indeed use it to best effect. The most important technological challenge for the future is how people and organizations can evolve in symbiosis with developments in technology.

Disruptions are the rule today, not the exception, so people, organizations, and the workforce must learn to become agile, updating skills on a constant basis to optimize tech support. According to Accenture (2016), people are the DNA of technology and the engine of change in organizations.

Where people are the DNA of the talent society, sustainable economies, human capital, social corporate responsibility (CSR), national happiness indexes, and inclusive societies, education has a central role; any improvement begins with quality education. In addition to technological skills “Soft Skills” are also needed.

Worldwide, the main gaps in national productivity are rooted in the disconnect between education and the productive sector. Lack of synergy between the supply from education (graduates) and the demands of the labor force (values, attitudes, skills, capacity to solve problems and provide solutions in the workplace) has grown in recent decades because the pace of change and innovation in education lags far behind th...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Figures and tables
• Preface
• Part I Why Human-Centered Management?
• Part II Four (Of the Five) Pillars of Human-Centered Management
• Part III Human-Centered Management and Sustainable Quality (SQ)
• About the author