In a world where even human survival is uncertain, how can HRM professionals contribute to the well-being and prosperity of humans, organizations, and the planet?
Some decades ago, professors Pfefferand Salancik noted that people who acquire power and influence in big enterprises are those who can help them overcome their major problems. If in the middle of the 20th century, the desired goal for business competitiveness was industrialization, then it was engineers who gathered power and influence. In the late 20th century, businesses entered a time where competition through marketing was increased, hence more professionals from this field took center stage. More recently, the need for businesses to operate on an international level (e.g. penetration in the markets of China, Russia, and India) led many politicians to occupy top business ranks.
It is therefore useful to examine the needs of businesses today, and especially humanity’s major issues in order to consider the opportunities and responsibilities of HRM professionals in our times.
In one of his interviews, theoretical physicist and cosmologist Steven Hawking expressed concern about the consequences of globalization and the acceleration of technological change[i]. Firstly, inequality appears to be expanding. Wealth is still amassed in the hands of the few, especially those who own the power and the knowledge of technology. Secondly, automation and artificial intelligence are rapidly decimating jobs. According to the World Economic Forum, the 4th Industrial Revolution is underway. Studies foresee that in the next 20 years about 40% of today’s jobs will be lost due to developments in technology, especially artificial intelligence. To cite an example, a Japanese company replaced its insurance appraisers with robots while museums resort to the use of robots as art critics! Inequality and technological progress are very likely to cause painful social conflicts on a global level, according to the leading thinker Noam Chomsky