Knowledge Economy Blog

The University of Michigan is hosting a regional meeting called The Role of Engaged Universities in Economic Transformation on October 15-16, 2007 based on the National Academy of Science’s Rising Above the Gathering Storm report. The three major focus areas of the conference are:

1. How does a state or region that has had its economic focus on manufacturing transform itself into one based on a knowledge economy that maintains a complementarity to its traditional base?

2. What elements define the significant role of research universities (and of higher education in general) of the state or region in effecting and being engaged in such a transition?

3. What incisive collaborative steps must be taken as part of state or regional initiatives and university strategies to catalyze this transition?

Looks like a good program for folks interested in the Knowledge Economy.

Robert Reich has written several ‘ah ha!” books; books that so clearly explain what is happening or has happened with the world economy that as you read you say to yourself, “so this is what is going on!”

His latest work, The Future of Success describes the changes we are currently experiencing in the world economy. If it feels like earning a living has gotten more complicated, stressful and difficult, it is because that is exactly the case. We are working harder than ever before, working longer hours with less security than the previous generation of workers. What Reich describes as the new economy is taking a toll on our lives and health. Reich does not however take the position that we should return to the ‘good old days’; ever the realist, he knows all too well that there is no going back. Additionally, for all the challenges we face in adapting to this new economy, there are many opportunities open to those who have the skills and courage to capitalize on these opportunities.

It used to be that hard work and loyalty to a company assured you of a secure middle-class lifestyle. This lifestyle was driven by the financial security offered by your job to buy a house in the suburbs and a car on time. The new economy is based on an entirely different foundation: those with specialized skills and knowledge will succeed.

Reich explains that the current changes in our economy are driven by technological advances. Geography is no longer a determinant of where we do business; the world is truly one big market now. There are cascading consequences of this phenomenon; since consumers have access to world-wide markets, they can easily search for the ‘best deal.’ In turn, businesses have had to adapt to this new reality. In adapting, businesses have been forced to enter the global marketplace which is characterized by niche services, intense competition and an ever changing environment. While we as consumers have a much more diverse marketplace, there are a number of unintended consequences. These include the outsourcing of many repetitive jobs, the lowering of prices for goods and the concomitant lowering of wages, increased productivity in businesses, and the death of businesses that could not or would not adapt to the new way of doing things. The recent discussions about the value and cost of the ‘walmartization’ of the marketplace reflect this dichotomy of the quest for lower prices and access to a broad array of goods and the toll this takes on our communities.

It is not just the marketplace that is changing though. The very nature of work is changing. Reich observes that our traditional employment arrangement of individual workers working in an organization and performing specific duties is disappearing. The new work arrangements are increasingly ad hoc teams. Fluid organizations form to perform a specific project with the leader of the project gathering resources as needed. Reich refers to this type of worker as the ‘shrinks’. Shrinks are described as those who can read a situation and bring together the human and material resources needed to complete the task. The other primary type of worker in this new arrangement is called ‘geeks’. Geeks have a specialized skill needed for a particular project. Geeks must constantly keep current in their technology field.

If Reich is correct in his observations about the changes in our workplace, then the implication is that our own way of working will change dramatically also. Specialty skills, niche services, contract work, flat organizations will characterize employment in this new age. Perhaps one of the most dramatic changes will be in how we are compensated. If our work world does transform into ‘ad hoc’ teams who are compensated by the project, this means the end of our pay system characterized by regular paychecks and expected raises and benefits.

For Extension educators, it is important that we recognize the changes being experienced by our clientele. We are undergoing a seismic shift in how our entire world operates. We can help our clientele understand these changes and point them in the direction of finding ways to adapt.

Nancy Kukay

In an effort to stimulate my brain into getting some ideas for this first blog post, I began surfing through the latest posted issue of the Journal of Extension. I thought it might be nice to see how the rest of Extension is responding to this whole idea of a “Knowledge Economy”. What are they doing? What are they researching? What are the issues emerging across the nation?

Of course there were several articles that dealt with this whole idea of adapting to the technology at hand, but one in particular that stuck out to me and peaked my interest. That would be an article entitled The Virtual Extension Specialist by Charles Ray. The article starts out strong with a look at the need for a web-based system that they produced in response to the growing internet needs. One of their first comments that caught my attention and really got me thinking about our endeavors is this introduction:

“By now, everyone knows that Web sites that reflect a mirror image of the university’s organizational structure are not real popular. For most of the history of the Internet, public organizations seemed to feel that Internet sites were simply glorified directories for their units and programs. Directory information for an organization’s services is certainly one useful component of a Web-based approach to constituent interaction. However, that is just one (and perhaps a minor one) of the multiple products an Extension organization can offer its constituent base. . . So the really aggressive Extension specialists have leaped into the fray and developed tools (or on-line courses) that could be delivered on-line to their constituents. The specialized nature of these Extension tools often finds a large and willing user constituency, and Internet-based Extension tools may in fact be the most popular and representative face of Extension today. Here, however, we reach the outer limits of traditional Web-based Extension programming. For the Virtual Extension Specialist, however, this is just the beginning.”

By George, I think we are on to something here! Long story short, they go on to build the case for the Virtual Extension Specialist and a technology space that built called WoodPro.

These statements aren’t entirely new to me it just got me thinking about several things. So many of us spend all of our time hung up on the obstacles that are going to get in our way in implementing this type of technology in our lives, our work, and with our clients. But what if we took on a new way of thinking? What if we looked at it from another angle? (Now some of you will have to bear with me on this one.)

Try this on for size - What if tomorrow there was this colossal world event that meant that you no longer could have outside contact with the people you served? You also have come to the office only to find that there no longer is any paper. Yes, it has all vanished without a trace; you have no choice but to become a “Virtual Extension Educator”! What would you do? How would you connect with the people in your county? How would they know about you? How could you do your job? What would you do differently?

The reason I ask these questions is that I believe when faced with adverse circumstances we respond. We do what we can to find ways to carry on the things we value and find important. Sure, you can still have contact with your clients and you still have paper in the office; but if you didn’t you would be forced to make adjustments. So why not find ways to make adjustments regardless of such a colossal event? Sure, I know, there are people in your county that don’t even own a computer. Let me remind you, there always will be. The greater achievement is finding ways to move forward despite these obstacles.

Perhaps you still aren’t sure you want to head down that road. It all seems a little overwhelming and you aren’t completely convinced that there is a benefit to you, your county, and your client. Perhaps dollar amounts will sway you? In our county this year, as part of 4-H club enrollment we collected email addresses of family members who had them and were willing to receive their 4-H information via email (they signed a consent saying this is what they wanted and agreed to update us when their information changed). This one small process will save us over $5,000 alone for the current year. Who couldn’t use an extra $5,000 in their budget? We went from sending 815 newsletters every other month (only one per family) to sending 556 by email and 250 by regular mail. Considering postage, printing, paper and labor hours the overall saving will be in the ballpark of $5,559 for 2007. That is for 4-H newsletters alone! Never mind all of that other information that we have that is distributed similarly.

In addition to the financial benefits, there are many other reasons to convert our current efforts into “virtual efforts”. Finding ways to not only utilize this technology, but to utilize it in ways that are innovative and relevant to our clientele will become a necessity. So, can you survive without face-to-face contact or paper? If not, how will you get there?

Tricia Callahan