What The Digital Future Holds

The relationship between management and digital technology: experts present a new agenda for the practice of management. Digital technology has profoundly affected the ways that businesses design and produce goods, manage internal communication, and connect with customers. But the next phase of the digital revolution raises a new set of questions about the relationship between technology and the practice of management. Managers in the digital era must consider how big data can inform hiring decisions, whether new communication technologies are empowering workers or unleashing organizational chaos, what role algorithms will play in corporate strategy, and even how to give performance feedback to a robot. This collection of short, pithy essays from MIT Sloan Management Review, written by both practitioners and academic experts, explores technology's foundational impact on management. Much of the conversation around these topics centers on the evolving relationship between humans and cognitive technologies, and the essays reflect this—considering, for example, not only how to manage a bot but how cognitive systems will enhance business decision making, how AI delivers value, and the ethics of algorithms. Contributors Ajay Agrawal, Robert D. Austin, David H. Autor, Andrew Burgert, Paul R. Daugherty, Thomas H. Davenport, R. Edward Freeman, Joshua S. Gans, Avi Goldfarb, Lynda Gratton, Reid Hoffman, Bala Iyer, Gerald C. Kane, Frieda Klotz, Rita Gunther McGrath, Paul Michelman, Andrew W. Moore, Nicola Morini-Bianzino, Tim O'Reilly, Bidhan L. Parmar, Ginni Rometty, Bernd Schmitt, Alex Tapscott, Don Tapscott, Monideepa Tarafdar, Catherine J. Turco, George Westerman, H. James Wilson, Andrew S. Winston

Digital Technology and the Contemporary University examines the often messy realities of higher education in the ‘digital age’. Drawing on a variety of theoretical and empirical perspectives, the book explores the intimate links between digital technology and wider shifts within contemporary higher education – not least the continued rise of the managerialist ‘bureaucratic’ university. It highlights the ways that these new trends can be challenged, and possibly changed altogether. Addressing a persistent gap in higher education and educational technology research, where digital technology is rarely subject to an appropriately critical approach, Degrees of Digitization offers an alternative reading of the social, political, economic and cultural issues surrounding universities and technology. The book highlights emerging themes that are beginning to be recognised and discussed in academia, but as yet have not been explored thoroughly. Over the course of eight wide-ranging chapters the book addresses issues such as: The role of digital technology in university reform; Digital technologies and the organisation of universities; Digital technology and the working lives of university staff; Digital technology and the ‘student experience’; Reimagining the place of digital technology within the contemporary university. This book will be of great interest to all students, academic researchers and writers working in the areas of education studies and/or educational technology, as well as being essential reading for anyone working in the areas of higher education research and digital media research.

Becoming a Digital Unicorn: 5 Steps to Set Yourself Apart in a Competitive Economy. The continuous wave of digital disruptions is demanding something new from each of us, whether you work for a large corporation or a small business, own a startup, or are a recent graduate looking to break into the industry. Your ability to think beyond what's possible and solve problems with a different lens is the secret sauce that will set you apart-and increase your uniqueness in the market. Becoming a Digital Unicorn is your personal pocketbook masterclass, providing you with a practical, step-by-step approach to reinvent yourself and secure your future by cultivating your unique mindset, purpose, gifts, and the digital skills needed to thrive in this rapidly changing economy. Today's needs are great with no shortage of problems to solve-and the digital universe is wide open. Where you go, and how far, can largely-if not completely-be driven by you.

How organizations can adapt to a constantly changing business environment by being flexible but focused, embracing change, and moving fast. In the new digital world, the unknowns are never-ending. Our ability to embrace the demands of change has become a prerequisite for success. It's not easy. We don't work the way we did last year. Next year, it will all change again. If an organization doesn't embrace the realities of change, it will be under siege from those that do. Who Wins in a Digital World explains how organizations can adapt to a constantly changing business environment by being flexible but focused, embracing change in all its messiness, and moving fast. In articles that originally appeared in MIT Sloan Management Review, experts from business and academia discuss digital adaptability, explaining how both organizations and individuals need the ability to excel in what their roles will become as technology and their competitive ecosystem evolve. They highlight strategies and mindsets that can foster change, including boldness in the face of digitization, a focus on collaboration, and an artificial intelligence game plan. And they explore the need for speed, with one contributor declaring: “Implement first, ask questions later (or not at all).” Once an organization accepts the fact that technological change is ongoing and inevitable, it becomes more about opportunity and less about challenge. This book shows that change can be stimulating, exhilarating, and something to be welcomed. Contributors Stephen J. Andriole, Jacques Bughin, Thomas H. Davenport, Nathan Furr, Lynn J. Good, David Kiron, Edward E. Lawler III, Vikram Mahidhar, Paul Michelman, Jeanne Ross, Paul J. H. Schoemaker, Andrew Shipilov, Charles Sull, Donald Sull, Philip E. Tetlock, Stefano Turconi, Nicolas van Zeebroeck, Peter Weill, Thomas Williams, Stephanie L. Woerner, Christopher G. Worley, James Yoder