Article Preview
TopIntroduction
In today’s fast-moving markets, harnessing new technologies for competitiveness is imperative (Mezghani & Ayadi, 2016). Major paradigm shifts in industry are called “industrial revolutions” and the current shift to the fourth industrial revolution (I4.0) calls for a vertical, horizontal and end to end digital integration (Telukdarie et al., 2018). In other words, I4.0 is the movement and digitalization is the process through which the shift is achieved. Adapting to these shifts requires precise knowledge, financial resources, up-gradation of skills, and a flexible organizational culture (Bag & Pretorius, 2020). I4.0 not only changes industrial work processes but impacts employees at all levels (Harteis, 2018). The rapid rate of technological disruptions caused by I4.0 has created a significant gap between current skills of employees and the evolving requirements of their roles, and this forms the basis of paying more attention to effective approaches for talent development (Whysall et al., 2019; Bag, et al., 2021a).
Bangladesh is one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia-Pacific. With a GDP ranging from 6% to 8% during the last two decades, it is projected to be the twenty-eighth largest economy in the world by 2030 (Rumi et al., 2020). The integration of I4.0 will facilitate prompt management decisions to seize new opportunities. As a developing country, adapting to I4.0 through digitization is beneficial not just for production acceleration but also economic growth (Islam et al., 2018). Experts predict that businesses will be able to increase their productivity by about 30% using digitalization. Though the immediate impact might not be discernable, it will gradually bring about shifts that will transform the present production, jobs, businesses, and livelihoods (Bhuiyan et al., 2020).
However, to maximize benefits from I4.0, the government and decision-makers of private organizations need to act collaboratively so that I4.0 can be adapted and implemented in diverse industries (Bhuiyan et al., 2020). The Government of Bangladesh has already taken the Five-Year plan to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting favorable trade policies along with industrialization, digitization, and inclusive development (Rumi et al., 2021). Nevertheless, this goal also requires the active participation of educational institutions to raise awareness and train human resources with the new competencies. Additionally, companies in the private sector will have to develop the needed skills through specialized training (Rao et al., 2020).
The private business sector of Bangladesh is largely dominated by family businesses, representing 73.6% of large firms. These businesses have shown great resilience over the years and survived the previous paradigm shifts. Hence, it can be reasonably argued that, in facing up to the challenges of I4.0, family-owned businesses will be at the forefront.
As an interface responsible for all employees, Human Resources (HR) is particularly challenged by the imminent changes (Sorko et al., 2016). Of the eight priority areas for action outlined in the final report of the I4.0 working group, two of them are i) to implement a socio-technical approach for work organization which offers workers the opportunity to enjoy greater responsibility and enhance personal development (work organisation and design) and ii) to adopt strategies to foster learning, enabling long-life learning and workplace-based professional development (training and continuing professional development) (Matt et al., 2020). For companies, it is going to be crucial to develop an adequate HR management strategy as part of their corporate strategy. I4.0 presents the challenge of unemployment, although it has the potential to open new doors. It is therefore imperative that HR professionals remain relevant in the industry to keep their organizations up to date with the transition, as the implementation is unavoidable (Dhanpat et al., 2020).