Competing in the Information Society: European Telework Status, Development and Issues

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Competing in the Information SocietyEuropean
Telework - Status, Development and Issues

• Horace Mitchell
• European Telework Development
• http//www.eto.org.uk
• eto-info_at_eto.org.uk

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European Telework

• Telework in perspective
• Enterprise perspective
• Focal role of electronic networking
• Factors affecting take up
• Wide range of outcomes
• Differentiation - key to success

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Telework in Perspective
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Enterprise Perspective
Teletrade opportunities
Teleworkopportunities
The Enterprise
Governments etc
Telecooperation opportunities
Talented Individuals
Other Enterprises
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Enterprise Perspective
Teletrade
Telework
The Enterprise
New ways to work . . .
and electronic commerce
Governments etc
Telecooperation
Talented Individuals
and services for the citizen
Other Enterprises
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Focal role of electronic networking
Step 1
People are electronically networking within the
company
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Focal role of electronic networking
. . .then with customers, suppliers, partners
Step 2
People are electronically networking within the
company
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Focal role of electronic networking
. . .then with customers, suppliers, partners
People are electronically networking within the
company
. . .then with the market
Step 3
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Response to new ways to work is affected by

• local take-up of ICTs
• local cultural/social attitudes
• relative local prosperity
• local employment/unemployment levels
• and, all other things being equal
• legal, regulatory, tax, insurance constraints or
  drivers
• buoyancy and confidence of the enterprise/communit
  y

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Local market impacts . . .

• Economic aspects (example)
• Denmark GDP per capita 29,873
• UK 18,849
• Portugal 9,851
• Poland 2,797
• affecting ICTs take up
• Social/cultural differentiation (example)
• Denmark population in workforce 55.8
• Austria 48.3
• France 45.0
• Malta 36.1
• affecting attitudes to new ways of working

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. . . and local take up differences
Source EITO 1998, data for 1996
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Domestic (same language, same culture) market
opportunity
(millions)
Source EITO 1998, data for 1997-8
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Telework range of outcomes
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Different places, different cases

• gt70 of e-commerce etc wisdom derives from the
  USA market and experience
• Other countries and regions are different today
  and will be different tomorrow
• The global networked economy is here, is growing
  and will continue to grow - it is the basis for
  phenomenal opportunities
• But local strategies and tactics must derive from
  local as well as global realities

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• Local means
• a particular company or
• a particular town or a particular country or
• Europe as opposed to (say) USA or Australia or
  Japan

Dont follow the herd!
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The issues

• Workers in most developed countries fear loss
  of work opportunities to countries with low
  earnings
• Governments in some most developed countries
  fear loss of trade/revenue opportunities to
  countries with large, less-employed populations
• Local enterprises, workers and administrations
  fear erosion of opportunities to distant
  competitors through globalisation
• Countries with low GDP fear exclusion from the
  Networked Economy and the Information Society

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Fear? or Confidence?
Fear of the new and fear of change are based
on uncertainty, lack of confidence in our present
strengths and our ability to cope with the future.
Knowledge Experience Competence

Confidence
But most Europeans have zero experience of the
Internet/InfoSoc
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• For all of us, the core need is to accelerate
  take up, awareness, understanding, and use - we
  can only learn by doing
• For each of us, how we address that core need is
  and should be different
• But we can learn together and benefit by sharing
  our different needs and experiences

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The Fifth Framework programme integrated
approach provides a new opportunity to inform all
Europes enterprises, citizens and politicians
what is available now and what is coming . . .
. . . closer synergy with the structural funds
and programmes is an essential element of
building knowledge, experience and confidence . .
.
. . . and all our efforts must be open to
novelty, surprise and the unlikely, so that
European approaches and global successes can
emerge!
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European Telework Online

• Learning point and meeting point for
  telecooperation, telework and teletrade
• http//www.eto.org.uk - eto-info_at_eto.org.uk
• 19 countries in present network - and open to
  others to join
• Online information source
• Online dialogue with experts, practitioners and
  users - http//www.eto.org.uk/discuss/discuss.htm
• Special forums for new initiatives etc