A presentation on how to navigate in the present Covid19 pandemic aligned VUCA world under Industry 4.0.

1. Ramesh Kumar Nanjundaiya
July 11, 2020
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2.  This is touted as a period of overall global
disturbances, curtailments of global travel,
restrictions in global business, supply chain
and a complete change in education
delivery. At the same time, a period of
ongoing hectic research for vaccine, health
testing, new social norms, digitization
activities and the fast developing Industry
4.0 situation affecting the market and the
economy. Education 4.0 is the name of the
game.
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3.  Recently the IMF has projected a 3% drop in the
global economy this year and its repercussions
going forward for the next 18 months atleast.
 Since the last 4 months, the Higher Education
system (as well as others) in both the
developed and developing economies globally
has undergone a major “focus change” as it has
undertaken some hectic short term “change
management” resulting in a major paradigm
shift in Higher Education delivery via online
virtual classes.
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4.  The impact has been simply dramatic all across the globe and for all levels
of education notwithstanding the various challenges being faced by
institutions, training centers, government regulators, universities, colleges,
schools, students, etc including new issues as infrastructure, time
management, connectivity, communication, navigating new online learning
platforms, teaching methods, student engagement and financing.
 The global intellectuals and education decision makers however think that
there is a “silver lining” for Universities. It is generally understood that
Universities across the globe are of the opinion that with generally mature
college going students, they can hopefully undertake the rigors of sudden
shift to online education and that students are savvy enough to engage
themselves to learn and gain knowledge in a different setting.
 How to enter the dynamic job market confidently and contribute to the
current economy is the moot point?
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5.  Extensive research studies have indicated that
experiential learning will bring in better learning
outcome. Or what they call, the application
oriented education by taking advantage of
technology.
 The next stage of technology development for
online education will be "immersive learning"
under Education 4.0 which will be a hybrid
experience for learners where virtual learning is
coupled with highly interactive learning.
Example: A virtual car racing game with real time
knowledge inputs.
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6.  Immersive learning places individuals in an
interactive learning environment, either
physically or virtually, to replicate possible
scenarios or to teach particular skills or
techniques. Simulations, role play, and virtual
learning environments can be considered
immersive learning.
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7.  It is a new approach to learning that aligns itself with
the emerging fourth industrial revolution.
 For universities to continue to produce successful
graduates, they must prepare their students for a
world where these cyber-physical systems are
prevalent across all industries. Example: IT
companies have directed their staff to “work from
home”.
 Teaching students about this technology will be part
of the curriculum, changing the approach to learning
altogether, and utilizing this technology to better
improve the university experience is the ultimate aim.
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8.  This is also happening currently side by side
 Virtual Higher Education Marketing provides
customized, analytics-driven marketing solutions
for schools, colleges and universities through
effective digital strategies, including Google and
Social Analytics, lead generation, content strategy
and development, virtual examination tools,
exbranding and web design, and social media as
Zoom classes, interactive “case studies” etc.
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9.  The above 3 things that come to mind: This
combination is already leading to a variety of
automation services that one must adapt themselves
to.
 What does it tell us. It is an economic imperative that
re-skilling and up-skilling will be the name of the
game not only for University lecturers and students
but for all levels of the population and users of
technology at large.
 Immediate Tasks: How to electronically monitor
attendance, conduct online assessment &
examination. How not to copy, no proxy, how to
respect time allotment norms for exams and
assessments. These are some of the basic questions
being researched.
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10.  Today the advances made by such technologies as block
chain, Artificial intelligence (AI) promises great potential to
advance digital and virtual communication, business
process improvements and streamlining as well as
improving quality of lives.
 Education 4.0 is therefore aligning with Industry 4.0 to
make education meaningful at all levels, Education 4.0 has
to align with Industry 4.0. A robot may be your teacher of
the future.
 Artificial intelligence is based on the principle that human
intelligence can be defined in a way that a machine can
easily mimic it and execute tasks, from the most simple to
those that are even more complex. The goals of artificial
intelligence include learning, reasoning, and perception.
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11.  It is therefore mandatory that Universities,
faculty, students, support staff, technology
companies join in collaboratively to explore how
machine learning will impact the future.
 Example: For Business students, AI could assist
to development of a new curriculum covering the
implications and adaptation of AI technology,
competitive strategy, new virtual learning tools
and its impact on society which is to be run
collaboratively worldwide through enhanced
education and communication to help develop
new competencies for students. So how should
the present day student absorb knowledge:
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12.  Key competencies mapping is being researched
across the globe to study the ability to withstand
after effects of the current pandemic.
 One of the research areas has been to
understand the concept of “Global Intelligence”.
This is defined as “the ability to understand,
respond to, and work toward what is in the best
interest of and will benefit all human beings and
all other life on our planet” and to make living
sustainable. The planet needs to be made
environmentally friendly. Are we ready to
contribute.
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13.  In today’s world, speed is of prime important as mankind
is faced with many threats as disruptions, terrorism,
nuclear war, trade wars, currency wars, environmental
demolition, covid19 pandemic, manufacturing & services
contraction, unemployment, business risk management,
etc. We need to arise from all these by working and
collaborating together to respect nature.
 Many experts argue that the changes could be through
education. Not just education that are found in today’s
school and colleges but more so education about different
religion, culture, languages, customs & norms,
communication, barriers, critical thinking and behaviours.
 One needs to create an atmosphere to learn not just local
issues but also global as things are closely interconnected.
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14.  Risk is an inherent element of running a country,
country rating is a major risk, currency
devaluation, barriers for imports & exports.
Organization risks include operations, market,
people, finance and projects. These must be
regularly identified, assessed, and mitigated.
Different organizations have different risk
profiles and varying levels of intelligence and
support requirements. At the country level,
Global Intelligence plays a vital diplomatic role
and for which the need of quality sources,
thoughtful analyses and contextualized insights
are a must. For Example: Visit of Trump to India
during February 2020.
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15.  Collectively working to bring in change. Our
interaction with one another and with respecting
nature, we might be able go one step closer
towards reducing various global threats.
 Thanks to VUCA, Industry 4.0, Artificial
Intelligence, the covid19 pandemic, the globe has
taken notice of various scenarios unfolding for
the growth in “developing global collective
intelligence systems” as a response to the
potential global threats and thereby to create a
better future for mankind. While countries do this
activity, individuals need to do this as well.
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16.  To understand the concept of Global Intelligence
one needs to examine, the meaning of “A Global
Mindset”.
 Let’s first define it: The ability to recognize, read
and adapt to cultural signals, both overt and
subtle, so that your effectiveness isn't
compromised when you're dealing with people
from diverse backgrounds under the present
VUCA World.
 The way forward is:
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17.  Once you graduate and get ready for your career, you are
responsible for the decisions about the new parameters that define
how you and your organisation can operate for the overall benefit.
 The increase in volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity
means that you and your business must seek new orientations and
take a fresh approach to managing your work flows. Only then can
you guarantee positive results in the current dynamic and changed
circumstances.
 The VUCA world under Covid19 Pandemic challenges you to find
your own way. You will need to understand the psycho-logic and
develop empathic behaviour – in short, to be more concerned with
humans and their needs.
 Thus “meaning and purpose” take a central role in all business, trade
and relationship activities.
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18.  A global mindset is defined as the ability to recognize, read, and
adapt to cultural signals, both overt and subtle, so that your
effectiveness isn’t compromised when you’re dealing with people
from different backgrounds.
 This requires you to know yourself, your work style, and your
leadership style, and then learn to recognize behaviours in
others and what those might mean in the workplace.
 If you have enough self-understanding and cultural awareness,
you’re then able to adapt your styles for greater success when
working in a diverse environment.
 Put simply, personal development is at the core of a global
mindset. Be ready to adapt yourself to work in any situation, any
region, any country where your talent may be needed.
 For example: In the USA, 10,000 people retire from service daily.
There will be huge potential for talent globally going forward.
 Example: Environmental Mindset, Entrepreneurial Mindset.
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19.  Recognize Your Own Cultural Biases and
Preferences
 Appreciate that Other Cultures, Customs,
Languages - Have Values and Behaviours
Different from Your Own
 Learn to Recognize Culturally-Based Behaviours
 Learn About the Cultures of the People You’re
Working With
 Develop Personal Strategies to Adjust to Different
Cultural Styles
 Be Open to Continuous Learning and Diversity
Appreciation
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20.  Someone who identifies with being part of an
emerging world community and whose
actions contribute to building this
community’s values and practices.
 Such a definition of global citizenship is
based on two assumptions:
 (a) that there is such a thing as an emerging
world community to which people can
identify; and
 (b) that such a community has a fresh set of
values and practices.
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21.  Today the forces of global engagement are
helping some people identify themselves as
global citizens, meaning that they have a sense
of belonging to a world community. This growing
global identity in large part is made possible by
the forces of modern information,
communication, and transportation technologies.
 Try and understand different cultures, customs,
norms, language, importance of geographic
locations.
 Ask yourself: Can I adapt myself to any new
situation soon, Can I contribute as Life is going
to be tough many challenges have to be solved
very regularly.
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22.  Technology is big enabler.
 In increasing ways technologies are
strengthening our ability to connect to the
rest of the world: via internet; participation in
the global economy; through the ways in
which world-wide environmental factors play
havoc with our lives; through the empathy we
feel when we see pictures of humanitarian
disasters, civil conflicts and wars in other
countries; or through the ease with which we
can travel and visit other parts of the world.
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23.  1) Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
 2) Community and Collaboration
 3) Technology Skills
 4) Adaptability
 5) Cross-Cultural Awareness
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24.  COVID-19 has demonstrated that the world is at great risk of
disruption by pandemics, cyber attacks or environmental tipping
points.
 The corona virus crisis provides insights into how leaders can
better prepare for such pandemic and associated cyber risks.
 Per available data, most of the world is currently experiencing
highly atypical living conditions as a result of COVID-19. At the
height of the pandemic, more than 2 billion people were under
some form of lockdown, and 91% of the world’s population, or
7.0 billion people, live in countries with border controls or travel
restrictions due to the virus.
 Can you fathom - One aspect - Social Distancing is actually a
“Major life change experience”., today.
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25.  Why does cyber security matters more than ever during the
corona virus pandemic
 COVID-19 is not the only risk with the ability to quickly and
exponentially disrupt the way we live. The crisis shows that the
world is far more prone to disturbance by pandemics, cyber
attacks or environmental tipping points than history indicates.
 And a cyber pandemic is probably as inevitable as a future
disease pandemic. The time to start thinking about the response
is – as always – yesterday. So first priority “stay safe and be safe”.
 To start that process, it’s important to examine the lessons of
the COVID-19 pandemic – and use them to prepare for a future
global cyber attack to protect your hard earned savings.
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26.  1. Customer service
 As Covid-19 continues to impact the way companies do business, strong
customer service skills remain extremely vital.
 2. Leadership
 Being able to project clarity, credibility and self-confidence — the
characteristics of a well-developed executive presence — amid stressful
and uncertain circumstances is quickly becoming table stakes in our new
world of work.
 3. Communication
 Communication skills are even more important as Covid-19 has led to a
dramatic increase in employees working remotely, a change that is likely
to stick around after the pandemic fades. Also, brushing up on your
body-language skills will help you more effectively communicate, and
empathize, with your colleagues and managers in a newly digital
workspace.
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27.  4. Problem-solving
 The world is now more confusing and overwhelming than ever, and well-
developed problem-solving skills — like critical thinking and rational analysis —
will be vital in navigating the demands of a post-Covid workplace.
 5. Operations and project management
 As companies struggle with the complexities brought on by Covid-19 — from
team members working remotely to staff shortages brought on by furloughs or
layoffs — mastering important operational and management concepts like scrum
and Six Sigma will be key.
 6. Marketing
 Covid-19 has started to reveal which of today’s brands have this staying power
and which do not, which brands are so well-defined and executed they can outlast
even a pandemic that has dramatically altered how customers view and interact
with the products and services they use. Spending time learning these skills, which
will be necessary to thrive in today’s ever changing world of work, will help career
starters get ahead as the economy recovers. And consider making it a habit.
Lifelong learning can bolster your resilience in economic downturns as well as
advance your career.
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28.  Suggesting some of the new courses that could be developed at
the university level in such areas as:
1. Strategic Management including Predictive Models and health
issue affecting productivity.,
2. How to digitize small businesses, tools, and services aspects.
3. Supply chain management for home delivery of products,
4. Role of Courier companies, new logistics, communication,
tracking mechanism.
5. A course on data analytics including basic coding experience like
Hadoop.
6. A course on Meta5 trading platforms, bitcoins, and its
implications,
7. BlockChain technology deep dive in Business process and
Finance.
8. Knowledge Management
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29.  The current period of Remote Working:
 Just as marketers and educators use gamification
to create contests, generate excitement, and
increase usage, knowledge managers can do the
same for knowledge sharing. By integrating
gaming elements like leaderboards,
collaboration, reward points, or achievement
badges into your knowledge sharing strategy,
you increase the likelihood of not only users
participating in knowledge sharing, but also
enjoying the experience of doing so.
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30.  A mistake companies often make is
implementing gamification in a vacuum, without
considering the overall business goal of
leveraging gamification.
 To avoid this pitfall, avoid mere “pointification,”
which is adding gaming elements without
connecting them to goals of the business,
department, and employee.
 Rewarding points alone will not encourage an
employee to create content and use company
knowledge on projects; they should be aware of
how their participation in these activities helps
them achieve their and their team’s goals.
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31.  Today the job market needs this. Some are hard skills,
which are teachable and easy to quantify, like being fluent
in another language or foreign language. Some are soft
skills, which are harder-to-quantify skills like time
management. Transferable skills can be hard or soft skills.
What sets transferable skills apart is that they can be used
in multiple career fields.
 Let us list out the skills:
 1. General Skills
 2. Interpersonal Skills
 3. Management Skills
 4. Clerical Skills
 5. Research and Planning Skills
 6. Computer and Technical Skills
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32.  Reliance’s digital unit Jio Platforms attracted not just private equity and
sovereign wealth funds but also Google and Facebook, a strong
endorsement for an enterprise that until a few years ago focussed
largely on oil refining, yarn business, polyester trading, etc.
 Some industry watchers equate Reliance’s digital plans - which extend
from online shopping and cloud computing to telecom and digital
payments - to China’s Alibaba and Tencent, companies Reliance itself
calls “global peers”.
 Reliance has a track record of disrupting rival businesses. With cheap
smartphones and data plans, its telecom venture Jio has in three years
dethroned market leaders Vodafone, Idea and Bharti Airtel to become
the largest telecom operator in India.
 Reliance is developing education and healthcare solutions via its JioMeet
video conferencing tool that saw 5 million users within days of its launch
this month. JioMeet has a starkly similar design to its rival, U.S. based
Zoom Video Communications.
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33.  Today, forward looking organization, large manufacturing
companies, multinationals both in the developed and
developing countries has its top priority to make
knowledge one of their most important assets.
 Emphasis is being given to form a strategy for not only
how the company will generate, use, share and reuse
knowledge, but also how to encourage employees to do
the same.
 Artificial Intelligence implementation into knowledge
management systems is still at nascent stage and thus
importance is being given to the evolution of Knowledge,
Gamification of Knowledge Management and Storytelling.
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34.  Business graduates who can pro actively explore
and contribute to the new “evolved world” by
learning and exploiting these technologies will be
sought after.
 What is needed is business creativity and
innovation during these times. Businesses that
have planned and ready to be able to come up
with new ways to deliver services virtually or shift
to new product development will be able to
weather the storm and empower forward-looking
graduates.
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35.  Mr. Nanjundaiya Ramesh Kumar, a citizen of India, holds two Master's degrees in Industrial Economics from
Brussels University, Brussels, Belgium, and in Business Administration from Boston University, Boston, US. He is
well versed in the French language as he had lived in Brussels, Belgium for 7 years. He has spent almost 3
decades overseas. A career International Banker with over 32 years of solid work experience which he has
gained in well-known International Banks in such countries as Greece, Belgium, UK, Egypt, UAE, Oman, Saudi
Arabia, and India.
 A widely traveled person across various continents and with a deep interest in finance, banking, communication,
academics, graduate students mobility, education tourism, and consulting. His forte is franchise promotion and
exploring bilateral trade and investment avenues. To this end, he has developed a global mindset. Well versed
with foreign delegation visits, etc., he specializes in International Trade and Marketing and International
Banking. His passion is to advise banks on the best business strategy fit in Corporate Banking to increase
business and improve portfolio relationship management efforts. He is also an Honorary Director in IETO,
Bengaluru, a think tank organization that specializes in International Trade and assists in developing bilateral
relations with various countries.
 He was (period 2016-17) - the Advisor – Overseas Centre for Foreign Students (OCFS) at the Karnataka State
Higher Education Council – KSHEC (Department of Higher Education), Government of Karnataka, Bengaluru and
was promoting Karnataka State globally as an attractive Centre for Internationalization of Higher Education.
 Academics: He has also been teaching diverse master's degree students for almost 10 years now. His passion is
to motivate students and to see them eventually as global citizens. To this end, he teaches diverse subjects to
M.Com & MBA students at well-known Educational Institutions in Bengaluru, India by sharing career
experiences, imparting knowledge, and empowering students by using innovative pedagogy. From time to time,
he is invited as "Chief Guest" to various institutions (including at a University in San Jose, California, US during
early 2020) to motivate and encourage college graduates and lecturers in general skills and strategy per the
current business environment in the areas of innovation management, navigation in the covid19 pandemic filled
VUCA world, handle current Industry 4.0 challenges and face the services sector and government agencies.
Currently on sabbatical in Sunnyvale, California.
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