Walter Kimmelmann and Friedrich Wolbring
The robotized cylinder head and engine assembly lines at the Opel car factory in Kaiserslautern, Germany, make it one of the most advanced of its kind in the world. Designed and…
Abstract
The robotized cylinder head and engine assembly lines at the Opel car factory in Kaiserslautern, Germany, make it one of the most advanced of its kind in the world. Designed and installed by ABB as a turnkey system, the project has set new standards for logistics, floor‐space requirements, economy and productivity. Zero‐defect production was given the highest priority during planning and realization of the assembly lines. Robot stations, special‐purpose machines and manual workstations have been combined in a way that optimizes the plant configuration and achieves maximum benefit for the plant operators.
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Marc Rücker, Tobias T. Eismann, Martin Meinel, Antonia Söllner and Kai-Ingo Voigt
The aim of this study is to investigate whether activity-based workspaces (ABWs) are able to solve the privacy-communication trade-off known from fixed-desk offices. In fixed-desk…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate whether activity-based workspaces (ABWs) are able to solve the privacy-communication trade-off known from fixed-desk offices. In fixed-desk offices, employees work in private or open-plan offices (or in combi-offices) with fixed workstations, which support either privacy or communication, respectively. However, both dimensions are essential to effective employee performance, which creates the dilemma known as the privacy-communication trade-off. In activity-based workspaces, flexible workstations and the availability of different spaces may solve this dilemma, but clear empirical evidence on the matter is unavailable.
Design/methodology/approach
To address this knowledge gap, the authors surveyed knowledge workers (N = 363) at a medium-sized German company at three time points (T1–T3) over a one-year period during the company’s move from a fixed-desk combi-office (a combination of private and open-plan offices with fixed workplaces) to an ABW. Using a quantitative survey, the authors evaluated the employees’ perceived privacy and perceived communication in the old (T1) and the new work environments (T2 and T3).
Findings
The longitudinal study revealed a significant increase in employees’ perceived privacy and perceived communication in the ABW. These increases remained stable in the long term, which implies that ABWs have a lasting positive impact on employees.
Originality/value
As the privacy and communication dimensions were previously considered mutually exclusive in a single workplace, the results confirm that ABWs can balance privacy and communication, providing optimal conditions for enhanced employee performance.
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Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya and Srikant Nair
The world is witnessing the advent of a wide range of technologies like machine learning, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, robotics, additive…
Abstract
Purpose
The world is witnessing the advent of a wide range of technologies like machine learning, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, robotics, additive manufacturing, augmented and virtual reality, cloud computing, Internet of Things and such others. Amidst this concoction of diverse technologies, the future of work is getting redefined. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to understand the future of work in the context of an emerging economy like India.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors undertook a qualitative research with a positivist approach. The authors undertook expert interviews with 26 respondents. The respondents were interviewed with a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire. The responses were content analyzed for themes. System dynamics was applied to explicate the phenomenon studied.
Findings
The authors found that the future of work has multiple facets. The authors found that in future, organizations would not only use automation for lower end routine manual jobs, but also for moderate knowledge-centric tasks. Future jobs would have significant data dependency, and employees would be expected to analyze and synthesize data for sense making. Another finding pointed out that in future, individuals would be constantly required for skills upgradation and thus learning would become a continuous lifelong process. In future, individuals would get short-term tasks rather than long-term secured jobs. Thus, job flexibility would be high as freelancing would be a dominant way of work. Organizations would reduce dedicated workspaces and would use co-working spaces to reduce office space investments. In future, jobs that are impregnated with novelty and creativity would remain. A finding of concern was that with the advent of automated technologies a larger portion of workforce would lose jobs and there could be widespread unemployment that might lead to social unrest. The provision of universal basic income has been advocated by some experts to handle social crisis.
Research limitations/implications
This research is based on an organization centric view that is anchored in the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities. The research contributes to the conversation of human resource co-existence with automated technologies for organizations of tomorrow. Thus, this work specifically contributes to strategic human resource with technology capabilities in organizations.
Practical implications
These research findings would help organizational design and development practitioners to comprehend what kind of interventions would be required to be future ready to both accommodate technology and human resources. For policy makers, the results of this study would help them design policy interventions that could keep the nation’s workforce job ready in the age of automated technologies through investments in automated technology education.
Originality/value
India is bestowed with one of the largest English-speaking, technically qualified young workforce working at lower salary levels than their developed county counterparts. The advent of automated technologies ushers in challenges and opportunities for this young qualified workforce to step into future. This is the first study from India that deliberates on the “future of work” in India.