Woolworths: How AI and Technology Will Change Jobs in the Future

This essay analyzes the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly focusing on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics will transform jobs at Woolworths, an Australian supermarket chain. The essay examines various aspects of this transformation, including digital hiring practices, the implementation of smart buildings, the rise of a digital workforce, and the emergence of new job roles requiring different skills. It explores the impact of an 'always-on culture', the use of advanced machinery, and the importance of creative and critical thinking. The essay also highlights the significance of customer satisfaction and the role of technology in shaping future employment opportunities within Woolworths. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of proactive technology implementation by management to achieve future goals and objectives.

Essay

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Industrial Revolution refers to a process in which the transition is done to new
manufacturing processes (Arntz, Gregory and Zierahn, 2016). In the Fourth Industrial Revolution
the technology has developed a lot and Artificial Intelligence and Robotics is being used widely.
This essay will focus on Woolworths. It is an Australian chain of supermarkets. In this essay,
detailed focus will be made on the way they will transform the jobs in the future.
MAIN BODY
Artificial Intelligence is a process through which the machines are able to perform
human-like tasks in an effective manner by making effective adjustment to new inputs (Au-
Yong-Oliveira and et.al., 2019). Thus in this way they make the lives of human beings easier and
ensure that the costs are reduced. In Woolworths they can make a substantial contribution by
doing different tasks which are performed by human beings.
Robotics is a process through which the robots are used in an effective manner for
different tasks in the organization (Bernardez, 2017). In Woolworths this process can be used so
that overall transformation of the business processes can be done effectively.
Business Environment of an organization is quite dynamic in nature. Woolworths is a
company which adjusts quite effectively to dynamic requirements which the Business
Environment has (Eichhorst, 2017). Due to frequent changes which have been witnessed in
technology, an impact has been created on the jobs of the future. It can be explained as follows in
the context of Woolworths-
Digital Hiring- In the future, the jobs will be transformed as Digital Hiring will become
the priority of the companies. Thus for the companies it is is important to give priority to it. In
the future, the HR department in the companies will be required to make sure that they make the
right use of job portals so that they are able to identify the right candidates for the various job
roles in the future. Thus in Woolworths the HR department will give priority to hiring through
the digital channels so that skilled and efficient candidates can be hired.
Smart Buildings- In the future, the companies will implement the relevant technologies in
their overall system and processes which will ensure that a new-age workplace is created in an
effective manner. In the future, Woolworths will transform itself as a digital workplace which
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will be quite helpful for the workers. Therefore, the employees will be able to make use of their
skills and capabilities in a more effective manner.
Rise of Digital Workforce- In the future, the companies will be required to focus on the
digital workforce (Leopold, Ratcheva and Zahidi, 2017). This will be helpful for them because in
this way they will be able to save on the costs of hiring. Also the robots are more skilled and
productive in their work which will be very much helpful for the firms. Thus Woolworths will
make use of the digital workforce so that they are able to increase overall efficiency and
effectiveness of their different tasks in the future.
New Jobs and New Skills- In the future, there will be plenty of new jobs and also there
will be different types of skills which will be required for them (Peha, 2019). In Woolworths,
new jobs can be created by identifying the scope of new roles in the organization. Thus new
skills will be required from the employees to be hired for these roles.
The Always on Culture- In the future, the job roles will require the employees to be
always ready to work as the work can be done anywhere (Pfeiffer, 2018). Thus this will offer
convenience to the workers so that they are able to productively work from anywhere with the
desired level of flexibility. In Woolworths, this culture will enable the employees to be able to be
flexible in performing their duties.
New Age Machinery- Advanced machines will be used by the companies in the future
and they will make the job of the companies even more easier (Rainie and Anderson, 2017). In
Woolworths, the use of new machines can be made so that an overall transformation of the
processes can be done in an effective manner. This will change the future of jobs in the company
because the employees will be required to ensure that they are skilful and trained enough to
handle these machines effectively and efficiently.
Use of creative thinking- In the future, there will be more use of creative thinking by the
companies. Woolworths will ensure that they give a boost to the creative thinking which will
enable the employees to think out-of-the-box ideas and make sure that they are implemented in
the processes in future. Thus this skill will be quite valuable for the employees in the future.
More employment opportunities- In the future, more employment opportunities will be
available for the companies. In Woolworths, there will be more opportunities which will be
available for different employees. This will enable them to be able to earn more by making a
good use of their capabilities and skills.
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More focus on customer satisfaction- Customer satisfaction will be boosted by the
companies in the future if they put more focus on it (Stevens, 2016). Woolworths will make sure
that with the advent of new technology customer satisfaction can be boosted so that an
opportunity of better serving the customers is available with the organizations.
Focus on critical thinking skills- In the future, the focus will be on critical thinking skills
so that the right analysis and interpretation can be done in an effective manner (Vashisht and
Rani, 2019). In Woolworths, this will shape the future of jobs as they will require the workers to
think critically about the impact which they can create.
Use of advanced technology- New technology will be readily available for the employees
to use in the future so that work can be done more effectively and efficiently. In Woolworths,
this will shape future jobs as the company will require its employees to be able to make use of it
in the right manner.
CONCLUSION
From the above essay, it can be concluded that in the future technology will play a major
role in shaping the jobs. Thus it will be required from the management of the companies that it is
able to quickly implement the technology and ensure that they are able to effectively and
efficiently achieve the future goals and objectives.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Arntz, M., Gregory, T. and Zierahn, U., 2016. The risk of automation for jobs in OECD
countries.
Au-Yong-Oliveira, M. and et.al., 2019, April. The Role of AI and Automation on the Future of
Jobs and the Opportunity to Change Society. In World Conference on Information
Systems and Technologies (pp. 348-357). Springer, Cham.
Bernardez, M., 2017. The Future of Jobs and the Jobs of the Future: A Decade of E‐Performance.
Performance Improvement. 56(10). pp.33-42.
Eichhorst, W., 2017. Labor market institutions and the future of work: Good jobs for all? (No.
122). IZA Policy Paper.
Leopold, T. A., Ratcheva, V. and Zahidi, S., 2017. The future of jobs and skills in Middle East
and North Africa: Preparing the region for fourth industrial revolution. In World
Economic Forum.
Peha, J., 2019. Robots, telework, and the jobs of the future.
Pfeiffer, S., 2018. The'Future of Employment'on the Shop Floor: why Production Jobs are Less
Susceptible to Computerization than Assumed. International journal for research in
vocational education and training. 5(3). pp.208-225.
Rainie, L. and Anderson, J., 2017. The Future of Jobs and Jobs Training. Pew Research Center.
Stevens, Y. A., 2016. The future: Innovation and jobs. Jurimetrics, pp.367-385.
Vashisht, P. and Rani, N., 2019. Automation and future of garment sector jobs: A case study of
India (No. 385). Working Paper.
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