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The biggest change that has happened in the last fifteen years is the monumental growth in technology. This has played a huge role in changes for students, individuals and organizations.  The most drastic change has happened within organizations, as they have had to adapt the entire organization to technological changes.  Changes such as this can sometimes be quite a challenge, especially when things change at such a fast pace as the growth of technology within the past few years. .

Businesses and Business Managers can view these technology changes as obstacles or opportunities. These changes should be viewed as opportunities that will be both beneficial to current employees and the entire organization.

The evolution of change started about 15 years ago with the growth of technology.

Early Technology:  Organizations were driven by less savvy technology which  allowed for a very traditional workforce and did not offer much flexibility to embrace Global Expansion. 

  • Landlines
  • Typewriters
  • Fax Machines

Technology In the mid 1990’s: Set the path for moving toward embracing a global workforce. The introduction of more advanced technologies set us on the path toward a much more global workplace. 

  • Internet
  • Web 1.0
  • Cell phones

Present: Allows for the growth of a global workforce. The advancement of the following technologies put the mainstream workforce directly in the path to expand globally. 

  • Technology Growth
  • Web 2.0
  • Smart Phones
  • Growth of Freelancers

Near Future: Will allow all to totally embrace a global world.   Some of the more advance technologies that are in the works now will set us all on a path to the ability to become a totally global workforce. 

As technology grows organizations have to grow with them and Business Managers are in a unique position to make this happen if they take the necessary steps needed to create and embrace change, especially when they seek to find a franchise opportunity to expand into. With any new growth there will be challenges and benefits for all involved, including Business Managers.

Challenges:

  • Technology Expansion
  • Cultural Barriers
  • Time Differences

Technology Expansion: The initial challenge that would have to be tackled is to ensure that we are, as an organization capable of handling the technology needed to expand into a global workplace.  With a few additions to our technology and someone to oversee the changes there should be a smooth transition.

  • Skype: Offers a way to communicate online with people from all over the world.
  • Google+ Is a way for teams to communicate by using the popular Hangout teleconferencing feature.
  • Smart phones that are equipped with Internet
  • Laptops and or Tablets for mobile communication

Cultural Barriers: Sometimes cultural and language barriers can be an obstacle with expanding globally. This can be overcome with training and proper staffing.

Time Zone Differences: When dealing with states there has to be an ability to adapt to time zone differences.  So when going global this will be a challenge as well.  Time zone differences also can be overcome with proper planning and staff.

Benefits:

  • Diversity in the workplace
  • Global Employment Capabilities
  • Expanding Global Reach

Diversity in the workplace: When we open the doors to different types of people, it brings a different perspective to projects. This is an essential function if we want to compete and excel in an increasingly global world.

Global Employment Capabilities: When we select to expand our global reach we really open the door to finding amazing talent beyond just our local area. We can add team members from any county in the world. That is HUGE.

When we select to bring in people from different countries and cultures, it offers a different perspective to our projects and environment.  This could act to give a wide variety of unique, creative and diverse views within our organization. A fresh approach in business will give us a competitive edge and that is beneficial to organizational growth and increased sales.

Expanding Global Reach: When we expand our employment capabilities this allows us to expand our global reach.  This is a direct result of the growth of technology, which allows us to reach beyond just our local tri-state area. We can now extend our organizational capabilities to many other areas. This could increase our company reach, expose our brand to new clients, increase sales and allow us to explore a totally different market.

Conclusion:

The world is an ever changing place and we are becoming a much more global world. It is very beneficial to embrace these changes for the greater good of current employees, future employees and the organization as a whole.