Values and Careers for the 21st Century

Career choices are directly linked to the influence of Values and Worldviews on individuals in society.  This in turn links to the competitive impact of values within that society as outlined in the ValuesNEWS #8 of 3 May, 2002.

"Values and Careers for the 21st Century" is to be an on-going series to be carried in the ValuesNEWS in the coming months.  We will appreciate your input and thoughts on this as we go forward on this very practical applied project.

Historical Perspective
Linking Values to careers the Industrial Revolution brought previously farming folk into industry ( Purple / Red / Blue ) with the funds being supplied by those with the capital ( Blue / Orange ).  Over time as the production process became more sophisticated certain factory owners began to improve the lives and working conditions of their workers which were generally extremely poor and had resulted in the formation of the Trades Union movement to protect the workers. 

As conditions improved in the factories of Europe and North America enlightened employers began to maximise their production processes resulting in the need for skilled craftsmen to operate the new machines.  These craftsmen were extremely proud of their newly acquired skills and a new craft elite began to form ( Blue ).

The Age of Mass Production - 1900 to 1960's
During the first half of the 20th Century factories became more mechanised with the owners of capital / entrepreneurs developing new process methods.  Taylorism was a direct result of this move to improve productivity. During this period it was realised that training of workers provided significant productivity gains and thereby increased profits for the owners of capital (Orange).

Over the period covering the two World Wars employment patterns were generally stable other than during the Great Depression with employees in many European countries and in Japan being virtually guaranteed "lifetime employment" during their working lives ( Blue ). It was during this period the concepts of careers became accepted and organisations often took the responsibility for career planning for their employees (Blue/Orange).

The Dawn of the Information Age - 1970 to 2000
The first computers started to be used in companies in the late 1950's and early 1960's. These computers were very large and had very limited capabilities compared to the modern machines.  However, it was realised that more sophisticated computers would result in increasing gains in productivity and also additional profit for owners of capital (Orange ).

With the introduction of the computer, brainpower became more important than musclepower and many middle and senior managers were provided with formal training in business management techniques. This in turn created a new class of qualified managers and skilled technicians with intellectual skills that could be relatively easily transferred from one employer to another.  This new class of employee had a similar worldview to the owners of capital (Orange). 

Career paths have also become less formalised in this period as with ever increasing technology in our lives companies have downsized significantly by the innovative use of technology.  This has resulted in developed countries having a skilled elite based on knowledge and not just capital.  The terminology   "intellectual capital" is an orange worldview.  

In this rapidly changing world it is also important to note that not only does capital move rapidly around the world, but also the mobility of well qualified and educated people is becoming equally easy.

Careers in the 21st Century
What are the careers that are likely to be attractive in the 21st Century.  This will of course depend on the values systems present in a particular country or region. However, it is certain that those countries that embrace new technologies will be more successful in the 21st Century than those that cannot.  This will be due to either a lack of education in the population or values systems that do not match the wider requirements of the globalised economy in which we all live.

The Developed Economies
The countries of the post-modern world have an on-going demand for goods and services.  These countries are moving away from heavy industry and more into the services sector. This partly due to the education levels of the population where in Europe immigrants from North Africa and Turkey among others are  filling the jobs which European citizens are not prepared to do.  In the US these jobs are often filled by Hispanics from Mexico and other countries. 

At the same time since the events of 11 September, 2001 there has been a regression in values systems in Europe where much concern is now showing on issues such as immigration from outside Europe and crime ( Blue / Orange ).  

In Europe and North America the educated sectors of the population are in the professions and technology sectors, often working for themselves in small entrepreneurial start-ups.  Silicon Valley is a good example of this. Qualified intellectual resources can move very easily and as jobs decline in the formal sector so the amount of self-employed individuals increase.  Generally these societies operate in the Blue/Orange/Green/Yellow spectrum in the high technology sector of the market.  Due to longer life span and more leisure time and disposable income many people in the developed economies are travelling to distant countries, particularly to eco-tourism destinations.  GNP per capita for this group of countries is normally in the range US $ 15 000 to US $ 30 000 per annum.

Newly Emerging Economies
These economies include China as well as many countries of the previous Eastern European block including Russia. Others include Brazil and Chile in South America, Malaysia, India and South Africa. These countries have dual economies with a strong vibrant First World component.  India is a good example where it is estimated that the managerial and professional class amounts to over 45 million. At the same time a large base of  people is present in the population of these countries with low skills and high expectations for rapid improvements in their living conditions ( Red/Blue/Orange ).  These expectations are prompted by the good life viewed by billions on global television channels. 

Many of these economies have large mineral resources such as gold, iron ore and steel plus other resources such as agricultural products which are sold on world commodity markets.  In addition to these products, many of these countries produce clothing and footwear and other similar low tech type products requiring relatively low skills and where "sweat shop" conditions often apply. 

The prevailing values systems in these countries often ranges from Red through Blue to Orange.   In many cases negative Orange produces corruption and nepotism closely resembling Red.  GNP per capita for these countries is in the range between US $ 3 000 to less than US $ 10 000 per annum.

The career mix in these countries is the high-tech ones such as computer programming and software development plus accountants, engineers, scientists and other specialised functions.  In this regard it is interesting to note that India has a thriving software and IT industry sector servicing many global clients in the developed economies.  In addition there are many people working in the unskilled sector of the economies as well as large numbers of unemployed with low skills.

In these economies tourism is becoming a big revenue earner as people in the developed economies have more time and money available for leisure and are travelling to these countries.  As a result Eco-tourism is now one of the big money spinners in these countries (Green ) with the services being supplied from the Blue / Orange values spectrum.

Underdeveloped Economies
Many underdeveloped countries still exist around the world including many in Africa, Central America and South East Asia.  These countries are often non-democratic in Western terms and are often ruled by military or other dictators.  These countries include some of the most undeveloped on the globe including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola, countries with enormous potential but with highly unstable regimes due to many years of civil war and unrest.

Other countries include Zimbabwe with a declining economy due to purely political considerations.  The predominant values systems existing in these countries is predominantly Purple/Red/ Blue with the economies being mainly agricultural and resource based with a very small Orange component.  GNP per capita for these countries ranges from  around US $ 100 to US $ 400 per annum.

In many of these countries consultants often try to transplant sophisticated First World systems and often wonder why these attempts fail.  Too often  the system congruent with the pre-dominant values systems present is not used which results in failure to make the required improvements.

Potential for the Future

In considering the types of jobs that will become available at the three different levels of development it is clear that the challenge in the Newly Emerging Economies is to develop a wider technological base. This will require better education and training from both a public and private sector perspective.

In the Underdeveloped Economies there is an urgent need to stabilise the political systems which in turn will lead to the development of a sound foundation  on which to build the formal economy.  This in turn will allow many of these countries, particularly those with natural resources to move to the next level of development or Newly Emerging status having Blue/Orange/Green values.

In many ways the underdeveloped economies can be compared to some of the present developed economies in the early 20th Century.   However, the role of technology will allow those economies to catch up at a much faster rate providing stability and sound socio-political approaches to development are employed.  A good example is cellular technology which allows underdeveloped countries to modernise and catch up in terms of modern communication networks and systems as well as in other technology areas.   

Summary
It can be seen from the above that the career options available at different levels of the global economy vary significantly across countries.  We will be using the  ideas outlined above and will be expanding on these to further develop thoughts on the careers of the future at the different levels of the world economy.  We look forward to your comments and input in the coming weeks.

Alan Tonkin  CEO: Global Values Network
10 May, 2002