Technically Speaking

As our world progresses rapidly through the ever changing environment of technology, should we as a society question the true value of what invention and technology bring to consumers and how we really benefit?

It is hard to imagine life without all of the changes that technology has touched and impacted our lives. MP3 players, Cell Phones, the Internet, Computers, the list goes on and on. We’ve become so accustomed to what these gadgets and tools provide in making our life easier, faster, more informed, etc. How often do we think about the cause and effect of how technology has impacted the world’s economy?

On the positive note the Cell Phone business has contributed billions of dollars each year into coverage plans, software/hardware upgrades that consumers never get enough of. The same could be said for MP3, music downloads, flat screen televisions, the internet, all of which add billions of dollars of purchases helping to stimulate the sagging economy.

From a more negative perspective, technology upgrades have eliminated and reduced thousands of jobs across the world we live. Some of the most obvious would be car manufactures. The number of human hands that build and assemble automobiles is just a fraction of what it used to be, Travel Agents, Real Estate agents have all been impacted by the internet. At what point does technology cannibalize a consumer’s source of income preventing them from purchasing goods and or services that help keep our economy afloat?

A concept (not new) that the world is embarking on is the elimination of the UPC (Universal Product Code) and being replaced by RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). While this technology is not relatively new, the optimized use of this capability has not yet been completely developed. The cost of the RFID tag itself is what is preventing companies from thoroughly utilizing this breakthrough, as the UPC code was once thought of several years ago. It is just a matter of time when the cost of putting RFID chips/tags on all consumer goods packaging.

When this does happen, think of the impact on the number of jobs in retail, and supply chain businesses. Products can be checked out/paid for in seconds, Inventory information can be captured at the push of a button. The number of Sales Reps of these consumer goods companies will be cut to a fraction because of the information stored on the tags.

The US lost over 2MM jobs in 2008. Companies can do so much more with far less human capital. Have we potentially slipped into an environment that technology has outpaced our ability to develop jobs inline with our technology upgrades, thus severely impacting our economy? We may have….this world has not experienced this type of decline in many years….if ever.

Economic Headwinds

I am a 45 year old executive with a consumer goods company that I have been employed with for over 20 years. I have experienced significant changes over those 20 years, such as technology, consumer trends and most recently economic challenges that virtually affect every person in the world in some form or capacity.

The world continues to pull itself from one of the most challenging times in recent history. While I believe that we as a society will overcome this global depression, the question remains, how did we get to this point, and most importantly, how do we prevent it from happening again?

What led us to this economic slump, and for some people and businesses, economic catastrophe? Greed is definitely a factor in today’s hard times. As a society we have become engrossed in the “desire to acquire” without any regard for the necessary means to support such desires. How much is too much? We’ve become a society of confusing the core necessities of life with the desires of life, and take any steps necessary to acquire such things that have little impact to basic survival. Accumulating debt to drive a BMW or purchase a vacation home in Hawaii is not a necessity for survival, yet as consumers, we are drawn into believing that it is ok as long as the bank thinks it is ok.

We’ve become addicted to over-inflated lifestyles and there will come a time when we have to be detoxified from our addictions – always a difficult experience in all definitions of fighting an addition. The recent news of 800 billion dollar bailouts can be considered as a necessity to help save our economy, or could it be considered more fuel to feed the addiction? Much of the bailout funding was to enable the banks to begin loaning money again. Is this a good solution to one of the core problems? At what point do we pay off our debt? Comparing to other addictions – the alcoholic must stop drinking, the drug addict must stop taking drugs, the gambler must stop gambling. Consumers need to stop borrowing.

The next time you have the urge to pull out your credit card to purchase a flat screen TV with no-interest for 18 months, ask yourself, do I really need this item, do I really need to borrow this money? At some point we all have to pay our debt….maybe now is the time.