Introduction
The prospects of the business, say in 20 or 30 years to come, will have to vary, especially with the current enormous impetus for economic growth. Besides economic growth, Gitman and McDaniel (2000, p. 115) opine that corporate futurists expect that businesses will actively pursue emergent opportunities capable of endearing them to economic growth strategies. The overriding prospects of the businesses will be to seek greater profitability to increase cash flow.
The business community also expects that the expansion of information technology will continue to influence the scope of business in the years to come. Moreover, efforts will be to create greater sales for both products and services that corporations offer to ensure that businesses can always guarantee competitive services and products to increase customer experience and to boost corporate efficiency.
Just like in any other endeavor, the business community expects greater demand for its products and services, and this point to greater need to improve operational systems while integrating their services to remain relevant to the emergent consumer needs (Hamel 2007, p. 56). Among the drivers that will shape the prospects of future business includes the need to embrace diversity, the need to improve environmental awareness, and the need to advance technology in the concept of doing business, among other things.
How the business will be like in 20-30 years from now
The world economic landscape keeps on shifting and rapidly becoming increasingly global, and in the next 20 or 30 years to come, it will be more diverse. Virtually, in every organization in the developing as well as in the developed economies, embracing diversity continues to be the hallmark of business survival. The greatest concern of the 21st century is rather how successful organizations are, especially at exploiting the evolving opportunities while tackling their underlying challenges as well (Hitt, Black, and Porter 2005, p. 56).
Achieving such a great feat will depend on how intelligent businesses are at observing as well as interpreting the dynamics of the societies under which businesses operate. Cultivating a global mindset, for instance, will be a key ingredient for nurturing corporate intelligence. The environment under which most organizations subsist will be more than ever before, complex, global, dynamic, extremely volatile and yet, highly competitive.
This trend is likely to expand, and even accelerate in the years to come, especially regarding the ever-changing market trends (Schirato and Webb 2003, p. 34). Apart from these external conditions, research documents that numerous businesses currently face many global challenges, especially those linked with talent flow, generational conflict – including the shortage of much-desired competencies (Fisher 2009, p. 348).
Business futurists hypothesize that among the major institutional challenges for most organizations is that their lifeline depends solely on their propensity and wish to be global. Within these facts, a business may have to outsource for a diverse employee base, which will, in turn, create jobs for prospective employees anywhere across the world (Gitman and McDaniel 2000, p. 145).
Moreover, businesses aspiring to be on the global map will have to be systematic, especially in managing their human resource capacities to infer greater economic appeal. Essentially, this aims at streamlining the organization in an attempt to improve the global household consumer experience. All these endeavors seek to secure organizational effectiveness and sustain a competitive advantage for businesses.
How will the economy, business, and society function
In every part of the world, businesses face an uphill task to conform to the laid down environmentally friendly practices. The increased economic activities in various parts of the world will result in the production of more energy to meet consumption demands. This massive production is responsible for environmental degradation experienced in various regions will continue to fuel fears that if things continue this way, the environment may not be able to sustain the demands of production.
The need for a sustainable approach to an organization’s environmental awareness, therefore, will continue to be the concern of environmentally friendly bodies that seek to perpetually remind organizations of their roles in making the business environments and our society safer (Perron, Cote and Duffy 2006, p. 557). Several businesses will have a duty to engage in environmentally friendly initiatives aimed at improving the quality of their environmental performance.
Organizational environmental awareness, according to King and Lawley (2013, p. 66), will help businesses to be mindful of the environment, thus assisting them in nurturing environmentally friendly practices. While this awareness is expected to inform the business of the numerous benefits to environmental awareness, the business will have no choice but to conform to the laid down environmentally friendly corporate ideals or face rejection from the authorities.
The benefits of environmentally friendly practices are varied, including reduced corporate liability and financial savings, among other factors, and business growth might be read on these lines in the future. However, Rollinson (2005, p. 50) opines that there several constraints might normally inhibit the full realization of responsible and environmentally organization, especially if there are no stricter jurisdictions to that effect. Some of the most notable constraints are concerns related to corporate culture, including change management.
According to Lussier (2006, p. 34), to overcome these concerns and succeed in the implementation of robust environmental conscious initiatives, the role of organizations in understanding the environmental needs will have to suffice above all other operations.
Moreover, there will be a great need for businesses to emphasize the importance of environmental awareness and training that seeks to produce responsiveness in business by training and popular participation that nurtures safer environmental commitment and understanding. Equipped with this awareness, organizations will amicably understand how their surroundings can affect and be, in turn, affected by their activities.
The type of jobs that will appear
The world over, marketing professionals constantly adjust their business strategy and tact to exceptionally reach out to the ever-changing customer demands (Lamarre, Galarneau, and Boeck 2012, p. 1). From this aspect, businesses have no option but to keep within the technological advancements that continue to drive business operations.
With the modern-day shift to adoption of media services in the concept of marketing, Khalifa and Shen (2008 p. 112) opine that mobility is rapidly becoming an ordinary way of life as well as a concept of doing business. Innovative business mind-sets that have effectively integrated e-commerce within their marketing strategy will not relent in their choices but to view mobile social media marketing as the next best-exiting business opportunity that must be upped through technological advancements (Lamarre et al. 2012, p. 3).
Mobile social media marketing will grow in stature and differentiate itself from the contemporary media marketing concepts in the years to come. This arguably will further grow through the highly interactive nature supplied by web browser advantages and mobile device interface will continue to make it possible for businesses to offer continuous services and access to the prospective customers, anywhere, anytime (Davis, Sajtos 2009, p. 16).
Technological advancements will effectively do businesses to suffice as robust, dynamic while offering personal mediums that will further shape the future marketing and consumption trends (Jadhav, Kamble, and Patil 2012, p. 48). Mobile social media marking has had the ability to integrate several forms of mobile device technology and practices such as the Internet, VoIP, mobile SMS, Bluetooth, mobile e-mail.
Other than these concepts, such as SMS marketing, mobile gaming, mobile advertising, online exchange, as well as location-based marketing have been the face of modern business (Lamarre et al. p. 5). Much is expected to change with changes and improvements in technology, and business futurists do predict with a precision that businesses that embrace technology will have a fair share of their bargain.
What my role will be
From the foregoing analysis, the prospects for the future scope of business will vary significantly. Naturally, my role to partake in the rapid business growth will depend on many factors already outlined here above. I seek to embrace diversity in my professionalism. Moreover, I endeavor to improve my environmental awareness, as well as the need to advance my technological know-how, especially in the concept of business.
My own question
While businesses futurists may predict the possibilities of the prospects of business in these realms, it is prudent to pose one question: What must I do to do the business worth its progression? Being already aware of the drivers for change in the concept of business, I endeavor to play a significant role in making these predictions positive by nurturing the ideals that might bring forth greater corporate efficiency.
As an individual, I recognize my role in cultivating corporate ethics, capable of endearing my business orientation to acceptable production practices that guarantee safer environments. Moreover, I remain cognizance of the fact that technological advancements guarantee the future scope of businesses; hence, it becomes necessary to keep with the changes in technological concepts.
References
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Gitman, L., and McDaniel, C. 2000, The future of business (Millennium ed.), South-Western College Publishers, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Hamel, G. 2007, The future of management, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
Hitt, M., Black, J. S. and Porter, L. W. 2005, Management, Prentice Hall, London.
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King, D., and Lawley, S. 2013, Organisational behaviour, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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Lussier, R. 2006, Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, and Skill Development (3rd ed.), Thomson/South-Western. Mason, Ohio.
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Rollinson, D 2005, Organisational Behaviour and Analysis (3rd ed.), FT/Prentice-Hall, New York.
Schirato, T. and Webb, J 2003, Understanding Globalization, Sage Publications, New York.