You, the enterprise & AI – Part 3

The Enterprise Questions?

The first edition of this newsletter we considered the introduction the concept of artificial intelligence as relates to the individual and the enterprise.? The second edition exposed us to the variance between artificial intelligence?and data science as relate to individuals and the enterprise. In this third part, our goal is to answers some business questions which include the following: What are the possible requisites for organization’s survival in the 4th revolution? Do organizations require Data Science & AI? Why should an organization be data – driven? How should data culture be implemented in an organization??

It is not out place to state that some performing organizations in the world today could be consumed by global event waves traceable to technology evolution. This had happened and its happening, to various organizations over and over. Lot of organizations went with the previous industrial changes that engulfed the world.?

The global developments come with lot of promises for better future or greater potential peril. The current business leaders are encumbered in traditional, linear thinking, or too absorbed by?multiple crises demanding their attention, to think strategically about the forces of disruption and innovation required to shape the future. ?

The fear of Job loss?

The future ends with people and values. The organization that would survive the revolution must be oriented towards people and values. The future that places people at the forefront is key, therefore there is need to empower human resources.?Despite the fact that the fourth revolution places robots at its heart at the expense of human. It should be noted that robot cannot be creative, empathize, and provide stewardship. This offers an opportunity for people to imbibe collective and moral consciousness. The latter should the focus of people. It is therefore, required of an organization that would perform in the dispensation to focus on people and values.?

It is apparent that the development of robots and other related technologies has brought some form of fear to an average person, as such, its seen as a vice to take away people’s jobs.?It should rather be seen as an opportunity to entrench us into the realm of professionalism. While robots could be produced to take care of the repetitive tasks, especially the mundane ones, people would now have efforts on the results.?

?The 4th Industrial revolution & organizations’ survival?

The high-level requirements of your organization's survival of the 4th industrial revolution include but not limited to the answers to the following questions:?

Is there a strategy, in place, to either disrupt or withstands disruption when it happens? Disruption inevitable especially where competition is keen, as such, it important that the following are in place:?

• Digital transformation strategy and architecture?
• Business transformation framework?

Is there capacity and capability towards developing and deploying innovative and differentiated products or services? Attracting and retaining the appropriate skill sets is key because people are likely to move to areas where things are much more comfortable.?

• Establish the capabilities required by the organization to be competitive in line with the organization's goals.?
• A clear focus on those capabilities would ensure that gaps are nonexistent. It is normal for people to ?
• Capability maturity should be measure periodically.?

Is there a framework for detecting growth opportunities in existing products and services? There are growth values in every organization’s existing product(s) and service(s). ?

• Process(es) for exploiting these opportunities should be made as part the strategies. ?
• Focus on value delivery throughout the organization’s transformation journey.?

Is the organization socially responsible? Most organization today keep working on customer experience. However, improving customers’ experience alone can only deliver a part of the expectations. In order to withstand the storm created by industry 4.0 revolution there is need for a focus on both customer and employees’ experience and their contribution to the society.?

• A right balance between profit and business purpose should be established.?
• Focus on the?customers and employees’ expectations, not just the customer.?
• Implement initiatives that supports environmental sustainability.??

Is the business model agile and flexible? Technology changes has now become a consistent issue. It is therefore required of any organization that would survive the 4th industrial revolution to ensure that continuous evolution is part of the journey.?

• Implement a digital road-map that is agile and flexible enough to accommodate technology change imminence.?
• Ensure consistent investment in employees to reduce turnover.?

Does your organization requires Data Science & AI practices??

The following include the accrued benefits of having a data culture in an organization:?

1. Increases business productivity and enhanced efficiency.?
2. Possibility of forecasting a disaster or an issue or risk before it crystallizes.?
3. Drastic reduction in errors associated with human beings.?
4. Automation of various complex and repetitive tasks encourages human being to concentrate on other functions including professionalism.?

Is your organizations data – driven??

In order to establish the position of your organization the following signs should be evident:?

• There must be a culture where everyone at all levels across the organization has access to the data that they require, in a simple and explicit way to do their jobs with contacting a data expert or technology department.??
• The organization’s executives and senior managers wholly rely on data to make decisions.?
• There exists data governance policy and framework that explicitly state the responsibilities of all data actors, their access levels and security.?
• Meetings, at all levels, are held with data at the center.?

?When do we apply AI to a process??

The thought towards applying artificial intelligence to a process should have?

• When a quick decision is required and time is of essence.?
• When a process is required to be precised.??
• When a task is complex and repetitive such that automation is required.?
• When risk management is an issue, and mitigation need to be handy.?
• When there is need to logically take a position on an issue.?

?How to implement Data – Driven culture in the enterprise?

1. Tone from the top: The executive management should set the tone by creating policy around data governance. Associated governance framework should be implemented.?
2. Eliminate boundary between Data Scientist and the managers: There is need for continuous collaborations between data scientists and the business managers. It is much more interesting and productive when data analysts and scientists understand the business processes.?
3. Data Issue resolution speed: Issues related to data should resolved as a matter of urgency. Difficulty around resolving complaints from data users would likely kill?the culture.?
4. Risk Quantification: There is no organization without risk profiles. All risk should be quantified irrespective of their nature, sources and possible levels of crystallization.?This is a good step to gain the attention of the executives.?
5. Employee Training: Specialised training should be done for employees,?with some specific tools to assist them in their day-to-day business tasks with data.?
6. Employee Analytics: Decisions around employees should come from analytics and not just customers. This would possibly expose the various temperatures levels within the organization.

From the this and the past two editions of this series, we have explicitly answered some salient questions in the minds of the individuals and organizations. ?

Next Edition?

The title of the next edition is: Retain that customer. We shall explore every aspect of customer retention using data and artificial intelligence. This would come with some practicable tips for improving customer service delivery.

Photo by Carlos Muza and Andy Kelly on Unsplash

Further Reading??

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/?