1.2 Trends and Changes
Learning Objectives
- Discuss current challenges for OB.
- Discuss current opportunities for OB.
There are many trends within the workplace and around the globe that have and will continue to affect the workplace and your career. We are sure you have noticed many of these trends simply by reading newspaper headlines. We will highlight some of these trends along with the challenges and opportunities they present for students of organizational behaviour.
Ethical Challenges
Business ethics refers to applying ethical principles to situations that arise at work. It feels like it’s been one ethical scandal after the other. Enron Corp., AIG, Tyco International, WorldCom, and Halliburton Energy Services have all been examples of what can be described in terms ranging from poor judgment to outright illegal behaviour. The immediate response by the government has been the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which went into effect in 2002. This act consists of 11 different requirements aimed at greater accountability, which companies must comply with in terms of financial reporting. And while there may be some benefit to businesses from complying with these rules (Wagner & Dittmar, 2006), few see this as the long-term solution to dealing with unethical behaviour. The challenge is to continue to think about business ethics on a day-to-day basis and institute cultures that support ethical decision making. The opportunity for organizations to be at the forefront of ethical thinking and actions is wide open. OB research finds that the most important determinant of whether a company acts ethically is not necessarily related to the policies and rules regarding ethical conduct but instead whether it has a culture of consistently ethical behaviour and if leaders are committed to this ethical behaviour (Driscoll & McKee, 2007).
OB Toolbox: Take an Ethics-at-Work Audit
- Do you integrate ethics into your day-to-day decisions at work? It’s easy to think about ethics as something big that you either have or don’t have, but the reality is that ethical decisions are made or not made each and every day.
- Do you take the “front page” test when making important decisions at work? Thinking about how you would feel if the decisions you are making at work showed up on the front page of your local newspaper can help you avoid engaging in questionable behaviour.
- Do you role model ethics at work? Seeing others engage in unethical behaviour is the start of a slippery slope when it comes to ethics. Consider the decisions you are making and how they are consistent or inconsistent with how you would like to be seen by others.
- Do you consider whether rewards are distributed ethically at work? Situations in which there are “haves” and “have-nots” are breeding grounds for unethical behaviour. Maintaining pay equity can help keep everyone more honest.
- Have you held a “risk brainstorm” at work? If you ask those around you if they see any situations that challenge ethical behaviour, you can uncover some seriously risky situations and avoid them.
Lack of Employee Engagement
Studies suggest that fostering engagement, a concept related to passion, in employees has a significant impact on the corporate bottom line. Gallup, for instance, has been at the forefront of measuring the impact of what is called employee engagement. Employee engagement is a concept that is generally viewed as managing discretionary effort; that is, when employees have choices, they will act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests. An engaged employee cares about their work.
According to Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report, in the combined U.S. and Canada region, 52% of employees are not engaged in their work, and 17% are actively disengaged. That’s an enormous waste of potential. Job satisfaction studies in the United States routinely show job satisfaction ratings of 50%–60 %. But one recent study by Harris Interactive of nearly 8,000 American workers went a step further (Zinkewicz, 2005). What did the researchers find?
- Only 20% feel very passionate about their jobs.
- Less than 15% agree that they feel strongly energized by their work.
- Only 31% (strongly or moderately) believe that their employer inspires the best in them.
It is clear that engagement is both a challenge and an opportunity for OB.
Technology
Flattening World
Thomas Friedman (2005) makes the point that the Internet has “flattened” the world and created an environment in which there is a more level playing field in terms of access to information. This access to information has led to an increase in innovation, as knowledge can be shared instantly across time zones and cultures. It has also created intense competition, as the speed of business is growing faster and faster all the time. In his book Wikinomics, Don Tapscott (2006) notes that mass collaboration has changed the way work gets done, how products are created, and the ability of people to work together without ever meeting.
There are few barriers to information today, which has created huge opportunities around the globe. Of course, information by itself is not as important as having the right information at the right time. A major challenge for individuals in the flattened world is learning how to evaluate the quality of the information they find. For tips on how to evaluate the quality of information, see the OB Toolbox below.
OB Toolbox: ChatGPT: Is This the Future of Golf?
Recently, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has proven to help clubs with various work tasks. See the link below from the Fall 2023 article from Golf Business Canada Magazine
Sustainability and Green Business Practices
The primary role of for-profit companies is to generate shareholder wealth. More recently, the concept of the triple bottom line has been gaining popularity. Those subscribing to the triple bottom line believe that, beyond economic viability, businesses need to perform well socially and environmentally. While some organizations have embraced the concepts underlying the triple bottom line, businesses are also undergoing a great deal of “greenwashing,” which refers to the marketing of products or processes as green to gain customers without truly engaging in sustainable business practices. Sustainable business practices are those that meet the present needs without compromising the needs of future generations. The challenge is to reconcile the accountability that publicly owned firms have in generating wealth for their shareholders while attending to the triple bottom line. On the other hand, organizations also have an opportunity to leverage a proactive stance toward innovative processes that can result in even greater profits for their products.
Aging Workforce
The proportion of workers in Canada aged 55 and older increased from 10% to 21% of the workforce (Statistics Canada, 2019). This demographic trend presents both challenges and opportunities for organizations. While sectors like healthcare may benefit from increased demand, industries reliant on experienced workers, such as transportation and infrastructure, face potential labour shortages as seasoned employees retire. For instance, roles like air traffic controllers and truck drivers are projected to be in high demand due to mass retirements (Statistics Canada, 2024).
Projections indicate that Canada’s labour force will continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace. From 21.7 million participants in 2023, the labour force is expected to reach 26.8 million by 2041, assuming an annual admission of 500,000 permanent immigrants. However, the overall labour force participation rate has declined slightly since the early 2000s and is projected to stabilize around 65% until 2041 (Statistics Canada, 2024).
Exercises
- Share an ethical dilemma you have observed at work or school to someone in your class. What do you think should have been done differently and why?
- How has technology and the flattening world affected you in the last 10 years? Please share examples of this.
- Do you think the sustainability movement in business is a trend that’s here to stay or a business fad? Why or why not?
- Do you see the aging (and retiring) workforce as an opportunity or a threat for businesses? How do you think this will affect your career?
“1.5 Trends and Changes” from Organizational Behaviour by Anonymous is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
