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Prevention of Skill Obsolescence

Technological change can quickly cause skills to become obsolete, especially in fields like engineering and computer science where knowledge is considered obsolete after just a few years. To address this, companies should invest in preventing skill obsolescence through activities like ongoing training, encouraging employees to learn new skills, and tying skills and knowledge acquisition to performance reviews and rewards. For example, Hewlett-Packard works to prevent obsolescence by partnering with universities to allow employees to take courses and continue expanding their knowledge. As the rate of technological change continues to increase, addressing skill obsolescence will remain an important issue for companies.

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332 views2 pages

Prevention of Skill Obsolescence

Technological change can quickly cause skills to become obsolete, especially in fields like engineering and computer science where knowledge is considered obsolete after just a few years. To address this, companies should invest in preventing skill obsolescence through activities like ongoing training, encouraging employees to learn new skills, and tying skills and knowledge acquisition to performance reviews and rewards. For example, Hewlett-Packard works to prevent obsolescence by partnering with universities to allow employees to take courses and continue expanding their knowledge. As the rate of technological change continues to increase, addressing skill obsolescence will remain an important issue for companies.

Uploaded by

sajid bhatti
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Prevention of Skill Obsolescence

Technological change is often a cause of skill obsolescence in engineering,


science, and the professions. Because of the rapidity of change, the
knowledge half-lives in electrical engineering and computer science are five
years and two and one-half years, respectively.41 In addition, other
professionals and managers run a risk of having their skills become
obsolete because of changes in technology and methods. Technological
change appears to affect individuals differently, as some grow and develop
along with new technology while others fall behind.42 Because technological
obsolescence can limit an organization’s strategic alternatives,
obsolescence in this area can be devastating and companies should have a
strong incentive to invest in its prevention. Page 26 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT Section One A model using both expectancy theory and human capital
theory has been developed to explain such differences in individuals’
responses to changing technology. Given the critical strategic impact of
technological change, such explanations should be of value to strategists.
The model identifies motivation, along with individual, organizational, and
external factors as determinants of whether individuals will develop the
skills needed for new technology. Employees’ expectations of their ability to
acquire new skills and the perceived reward instrumentality of such skills
help explain employees’ motivation for skill acquisition. Such motivation is
also related to the expected costs of investing in skill acquisition and the
length of time for returns to be accrued. Nonetheless, the payback period
can be misleading as there are several individual difference variables, such
as breadth of interests, education, aptitude, and personality variables, that
also affect individuals’ acquisition of new skills.43 A number of suggestions
have been offered for the prevention of obsolescence. One suggestion is to
provide challenge, particularly of a technical nature for technical specialists,
in all phases of their careers. Individuals who face such challenges are less
likely to become obsolete in later career stages. Likewise, responsibility,
authority, participation, and employee inter-action also appear to be
related to the prevention of obsolescence. Periodic reassignments requiring
new learning also help to
Page 27 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Section One
prevent obsolescence and facilitate development. It is important to prevent
employees from becoming overspecialized. Although the organization may
benefit in the short term, excessive specialization may be exploitative and
not be in either the individual’s or the organization’s long-range best
interests. Organizations can explicitly encourage employees to stay abreast
of developments in the field by incorporating knowledge acquisition
activities and accomplishments in performance evaluation and reward
systems. Organizations also can set goals for updating knowledge and
reward such goal accomplishments. In addition to these suggestions,
funding attendance at conferences and providing time to read professional
literature can help to prevent obsolescence.44 An example of one
company’s intensive efforts to prevent obsolescence is provided by
Hewlett-Packard. The company’s approach with its engineering workforce
has involved the establishment of cooperative programs with universities.
In one year alone, 1,000 Hewlett-Packard employees were able to take
courses at Stanford University while another 200 took courses at California
State University, Chico. Although Hewlett-Packard is a company involved at
the leading edge of rap-idly changing technology, it also will be important
for other companies in lower-technology industries to make investments in
their current employees.45 As the rapid rate of technological change Page 28
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Section One continues, the problem of
obsolescence will need continued attention.

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