Eastern Europe has strengths like intellectual capital and strategic location but also weaknesses like underdeveloped infrastructure and corruption. The IT industry and renewable energy sector show promise for future growth. Western perception of Eastern Europe is mixed, seeing cheap labor but less skilled workforce. To improve, Eastern Europe countries should shift focus from consumer goods to intermediate products and rebrand their image. The future of Croatian IT lies in educated workforce, industry growth, and supportive laws. Key sectors for companies are R&D, IT, and controlling to maximize productivity and profits.
[Challenge:Future] CroTNT: The Future of Work- Malcolm in the middle
1. CRO TNT
THE FUTURE OF WORK
“MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE”
•Eastern Europe Countries (Croatia)
•Team leader: Domagoj Vukojević
•Team members: Domagoj Vugrin, Iva Zorić
•Country: Croatia
• School: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics &
Business
2. Characteristics of Eastern Europe
• Highly capable intellectual
capital
• Natural potentials
ADVANTAGES • Strategic location
• ICT infrastructure
• Cheap labour
• Low turnover
•Underdeveloped infrastructure
•An incomplete transition from central
planning -has led to an insufficiently
integrated economy and disparities in
wealth distribution, geographically and
DISADVANTAGES demographically
•Corruption
•Unefficient bureaucracy
• Lack of transparency & regulation
•Low production efficiency
•Weak judicial and law system
SOURCES:
http://www.buyusainfo.net/body2.cfm?srow1=25&id=0&dbf=ccg1&secondline=1&fontsize1=2&fontsize2=1&fontface=1&logic=and&loadnav=no&a
var=19919;https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/lh.html; http://iab.worldbank.org/;http://www.liaa.gov.lv/invest-
latvia/competitive-advantages/skilled-and-motivated-workforce; http://www.investlithuania.com/en/why-invest/talent-pool
3. IT industry
-estimated average
growth per year of IT
Renewable energy industry in Eastern
technologies Europe is 6,8%
-expansion of EU to the
Eastern European
countries, will require
from a new members Plan is to increase the
Agriculture affirmation of a “Green share of renewable
paper” energy to 20% and to
-spare land is plentiful in make a 20%
parts of Eastern Europe improvement in energy
and Russia, and the efficiency till 2020.
scope for increasing
productivity by
reducing losses and
raising yields is high
SOURCES:http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y3557e/y3557e08.htm;
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/strategies/2006/2006_03_green_paper_energy_en.htm; Buchan David: EE energy challenge: meeting its EU
climate commitments; http://www.poslovni.hr/tehnologija/idc-u-2013-ocekuje-rast-it-trzista-24-posto-a-u-2014-godini-od-85-posto-220715
4. Western perception
Interviews with our international colleagues (Finland, Sweden,
Germany, France) gave us some frame to judge their perception of
Eastern Europe. Some of our findings are:
Corruption is moderate
Labor force is less skilled than Western
They expect cheap products
Macrostability is dependant on EU stability
Average problems with bureacracy are expected
5. Conclusion from interviews
Eastern Europe has poor perception
Well known fact is that consumers rely heavily on emotions and
perception
Because all of that our opinion is that Eastern Europe countries
should shift their focus from producing consumer goods to
producing intermediate products
6. IT industry in Croatia
Croatia ranks 40th
in the latest IT
Industry Highly educated human
Competitiveness resources
index 39 000
Quality of math
and science
workers in IT
Estimated growth of education (WEF sector
IT industry in future Global
Competitivenes
years in Croatia will s Report)-grade
be around 8.5% per 5 out of 7 Development of
leaving behind
year Croatian IT sector
countries like
GER, USA, RUS, is enhanced by
GBR and introduction of
56% of IT companies beating all EE Investment initiation
in Croatia will countries
and investment
continue to hire surroundings
experts in this field improvement Law
Future
growth
SOURCE: http://globalindex11.bsa.org/country-table/; http://www.moj-posao.net/Vijest/71274/Hrvatskoj-nedostaje-kvalitetnih-ICT-strucnjaka/2/;
http://www.datapult.info/en/content/quality-math-and-science-education-wef-globalcompetitivenessreport-2010-11;
http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/107354/ict-industrija-hrvatska-biljezi-izuzetne-rezultate-ali-mogla-bi-i-puno-bolje;
http://www.profitiraj.hr/edukacija/it-kompanije-zaposljavati-ce-preko-32000-hrvata-do-2013-godine/
7. • Shallow and flexible
• Decentralization with centralized control allows development of IT
Organizational
structure • Shorter chains of command
• Small enterprises
• Medium enterprises
Size
• General Partnership
• Limited Partnership
Ownership
structure • Limited Liability Company
SOURCE:Drucker, P. F.: Management challenges for the 21st century, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford,1999.; Sikavica, P.,
Bahtijarević-Šiber, F., Pološki Vokić, N.: Temelji menadžmenta, Školska knjiga, Zagreb, 2008.
8. SECTORS IN THE
It will help to ensure that
COMPANY THAT WILL BE objectives and
MOST IMPORTANT accomplishments are
consistent with one another
throughout an organization.
It leads to preventing
unnecessary costs
Controlling
The task of product
research and development
will be to come up with
the goods and services
IT that meet the needs of
tomorrow's customers
R&D Goal: maximize
productivity as well as
profit
10. “MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE”
We say, REFOCUSING!!... Eastern Europe should produce more
complex products than Far East and more cheaper products than
West.
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Benjamin
Franklin