World Economic Forum: Technology changing the face of business

gallery

It's not news that technology has sparked a revolution in how the world works - the laptops, mobile phones and other gadgets surrounding the average office employee offers enough evidence of this. But how these rapid changes are affecting relationships and individuals is less clear and is a focus for debate at this year's World Economic Forum event in Davos, Switzerland.

Several sessions have focused on - and used - new technologies, prompting discussion about potential effects to people's lives, business and identity.

"Exactly who are the winners and who are the losers in all this?" asked Richard Quest, an anchor from CNN International, during a session on the 'shifting power equation'. "And is this shift in technological change good or bad for society?"

Fellow panellist William E. Mitchell, the chairman of Arrow Electronics, said: "We tend to overestimate the short-term impact and underestimate the long-term impact of technology. There may be winners and losers, as in the past, but I would frame the issue as this: the ability of technology to cause changes is outstripping the ability of institutions to react to them."

Individuals are having problems keeping up with the pace of changes as well. "When people say 'I have read of you or heard about you but I don't know you'," described Daniel Shapiro, associate director of the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School. "The biggest shift concerns relationships - the fabric that holds boss and employee and friends in society together. I see technology moving so fast, and the virtual is enhanced but the human connection is lost."

In another panel debate, "Leading in a Networked World," Ben Verwaayen, chief executive of BT, said technology has changed the role of the chief executive, who can no longer be seen as the "macho" leader, but must find new ways to interact with employees and customers.

Ralph Shrader, chief executive of technology consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton, noted: "We have people at the lowest level who are much better at the new technology than the people at the top." Face-to-face contact is still the best way to put across a company's vision with executives and management teams, added Sullivan.

But younger generations may not feel the same way. In another well-received discussion, "Exploring Identity and the Communication Disconnect", two avatars - Mei, a woman under 25 and Al, a middle-aged man - were created to represent changes in identity. Panellists agreed that although people have multiple identities which are less tied to geography, the younger generation - the Meis of the world - are well connected with each other using digital technology, posting all aspects of their lives online.

David Sifry, founder of blog aggregator Technorati, asked what will happen when US presidential candidates can expect their lives since their teenage years to be publicly documented. Will such coverage mean some people stay away from politics? Will chief executives be judged on blog posts from their university days? "What I hope is that we are going to give each other a little bit more slack," he said.

Email to a friend

Print this page