Organizations today are looking for faster ways to carry out their activities and processes, but above all to work in a more orderly and systematized way, to achieve this they have made use of technologies.
Previously, the information in organizations used to pass through many people before reaching fast and reliable results, but with the passage of time and the revolution of the digital age, these problems gradually ended.
However, at the time we are in, it is no longer enough to have that information at hand at the desired time, but rather that the digital culture has gone further, has entered all the processes of organizations, even people who work on them.
In this article we will analyze the most important competences that organizations must have to be able to adapt to the digital transformations that are happening at the moment.
General
(Martínez, 2000) The technological development that we have experienced during these years has been the greatest in all of history. Only a small sample is the implementation of satellites in space, the use of the internet anywhere, etc.
All this has had a great influence on the way in which people perceive the world around us, making it very evident that digital systems due to this growth have strongly changed our culture.
Before continuing, it is necessary to define the concept of culture since it has a very close relationship with the digital age.
(Tylor, 1975) He states that culture is: "… that complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, customs and any other habits and capacities acquired by man."
Digital age
The virtual network environment emerged during the 20th century thanks to the so-called digital era, where big business is due to telecommunications. This era no longer has citizens but customers, thanks to which globalization has become possible, businesses have evolved to an electronic eating and also appears the well-known cyberculture where you have a high degree of freedom of expression. (Martínez, 2000)
Several stages emerge from the digital age:
Digital prehistory
Where scientific events are linked to the theory of binary numbering and technological devices were able to gather information and present some results without having to have electricity.
It was computational
It contemplates the manufacture of electronic computers where it was possible to process data to obtain results. A very important element for this stage was World War II since it promoted the use of digital machines for the manufacture of warlike devices such as the Mark 1 and other computers were also created by the United States Navy to carry out operations in the Pacific.
For later years, in 1945, the United States continued with these devices and developed a new machine that weighed around 30 tons and whose already improved versions allowed the creation of the hydrogen bomb.
From then on, the improvement continued until the development of laptops as we know them today, this development was achieved thanks to the evolutions of basic elements such as the bulb, the transistor, integrated circuit and the microchip.
Information age or global network
This stage is extremely important as it has enabled the greatest information revolution to be even larger than the time the printing press was invented.
In this regard, the authors Vázquez and Cebrián comment: "No technological advance so far has changed human habits and behaviors so drastically." (Vázquez & Cebrián, 1998)
It is also worth noting the research that was conducted within the military and at US universities. since they were key elements for what is known today as the Internet.
Finally, it was the networks between computers and the HTML language developed by Tim Berners Lee in 1990 that made the explosion of the digital age possible.
The digital transformation of the environment
(Magro & Salvatella, 2014) Today we live in a completely digital world where hierarchies and power relationships between people and structures are questioned where information flows constantly and is always available anytime, anywhere.
We are facing a situation of technological transformation where the use of information has been rapidly adopted by society, giving way to a new economy that is unstable, complex but digital.
It should be remembered that digitization is not the main objective of organizations, but it is a process that requires profound changes but that also allows us to visualize and explore new opportunities.
The key, both for people and for organizations, is precisely to see these changes as opportunities and not as problems.
Organizations that have a correct culture and talent do not have any type of problems with the changes or obstacles that are presented to them, here the premise that to be competitive we must be competent is fulfilled.
In this way, the challenge of this transformation becomes a challenge for the talent of organizations.
Digital skills to transform business
(Magro & Salvatella, 2014) They mention eight competences that, applied individually, can make us better professionals, but if applied together they will have a great impact and thus allow us to face the digital challenge with assured success.
Digital knowledge
It is the ability that allows you to function professionally and personally within the digital economy.
Contributes to the organization
- It changes the way of managing talent and processes. It increases knowledge of the environment. It increases productivity and innovation. It generates security against changes and uncertainty. It improves flexibility, reaction capacity and anticipation.
Information management
Ability to search, collect, evaluate, organize and be able to share information digitally.
Contributes to the organization
- Facilitates innovation. Generates relevant knowledge. Helps brand positioning. Improves information circulation and process efficiency. Provides business intelligence and competitive analysis.
Digital communication
Another ability with which you can communicate, relate and also collaborate efficiently with tools and especially in digital environments.
Contributes to the organization
- It favors positioning and brand building. It increases the transparency and visibility of internal knowledge. It generates market and customer knowledge. It reduces the risks of brand crisis. It increases internal efficiency and productivity.
Networking
It is the ability to collaborate, work and cooperate in digital environments.
Contributes to the organization
- It promotes creativity and innovation. It improves the circulation of information and knowledge. It improves the sense of belonging and the alignment to strategic objectives. It improves the efficiency of processes. It favors informal learning among members of the organization.
Continuous learning
Ability that allows learning to be managed autonomously, knowing and being able to use digital resources as well as participating in learning communities.
Contributes to the organization
- It develops the internal culture of the organization. It facilitates the exchange of information and innovation. It improves efficiency and reduces training costs. It keeps the organization updated and competitive in the market. It favors the creation of internal learning networks.
Strategic vision
Competence to understand this digital phenomenon and incorporate it into the organization's project strategy.
Contributes to the organization
- It favors sustainability in the medium and long term. It motivates the organization. It guides the organization towards excellence. It opens business opportunities. It guides and gives meaning to the day to day.
Network leadership
Lead and coordinate work teams that are distributed in the network and in digital environments.
Contributes to the organization
- Distributed digital leadership to generate competitive advantages. It improves the efficiency of the processes. It favors the construction of the brand internally. It favors the optimization of resources and skills of the professionals. It improves the integration of work teams.
Customer orientation
It is the ability to understand, interact and meet the needs of customers in digital contexts.
Contributes to the organization
- It drives innovation and continuous improvement. It creates value-added experiences for customers. It is essential for the viability of the organization. It guides and focuses the same objective on the other competencies. It improves quality and promotes excellence. Digital transformation does not it is a technology issue but rather it is a topic that has to do with vision, strategy, culture of the organization and the design or redesign of processes.
Organizations, people and processes
Organizations
All current businesses are already a digital business, this transformation has modified production systems in a transcendental way.
Digital transformation has caused technologies to shape business but the same is true in reverse, business has influenced technologies.
Although more than technologies what organizations need are professionals who are connected in a network but also have the necessary and adequate competences.
Having professionals who are competent in the digital aspect is an important factor for the growth of organizations and their future sustainability.
Persons
Being more digital people does not make you more sociable since it means being part of a new culture characterized by small, almost insignificant barriers to shared knowledge, allowing collaborative conflict resolution and an abundance of information.
New clients are highly social since they are used to having an instant and automatic connection and above all to share their experiences through the internet.
These new clients are trained in technology issues and can easily change products, brands or companies if they dislike them because they handle large amounts of information in the selection and evaluation of the products they consume.
When organizations go digital, they also need to be more sociable, and this puts people back in view, since it is they who determine the direction of the company.
To achieve this, the drive and leadership in digital transformation is necessary, however, managers consider that in order to accelerate changes, it is necessary to acquire digital skills from the organization.
Digital skills model
Despite the changes achieved, organizations continue to consider and abide by analogical logic when developing talent and organizing internally. (Magro & Salvatella, 2014)
Digital Competencies Model
Illustration 1 Digital skills model
Professional digital skills are those necessary for organizations and professionals to take full advantage and exploit strategic and business opportunities that are brought about by digital transformation.
The eight competencies model is the result of combining an analysis and study of the phenomenon of digital transformation that has been acquired in recent years and that provide solutions to challenges and demands of organizations and teams.
Some of the competences mentioned as digital knowledge are new, while others are classic, such as information management, but most are common within the business sphere, such as digital communication, networking, strategic vision, digital leadership, continuous learning and orientation. to the client.
Observing competencies under a results-oriented approach transforms them into powerful business tools and, as mentioned so far, they are essential competencies for professionals of the new century.
conclusion
To be competitive, you have to be competent. This phrase is very important for the total understanding of this very interesting topic, since as we saw throughout the development of this article, certain competencies must be met for organizations to guarantee a future.
Since we live in a digital world characterized by social changes and continuous technological development, the process in which we are submerged is generating a new economic reality that is capable of offering new business opportunities.
The key to the success of organizations is to see digital change as a new growth opportunity and not as threats that allow it to advance and evolve.
References
- Magro, C., & Salvatella, J. (2014). Digital culture and transformation of organizations. Barcelona: Roca Salvatella.Martínez, VH (2000). Digital culture: advantages and disadvantages of the global network. http://www.razonypalabra.org.mx/.Tylor, EB (1975). The science of culture. Mexico DF: Economic Culture Fund. Vazquez, M., & Cebrián, M. (1998). The cyberworld. Dialectic of computer discourse. Seville: Alfar Editions.
EU: United States
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