CHANGES IN THE LABOUR MARKET

BDP301

CHANGE OVER THE YEARS

To fully understand how labour affects the economy, you must look at the significant changes over the past thousand years

1. Agricultural Age:

•Started 12,000 years ago

•Emphasis on hunters and gatherers from the past were no longer favoured

•Permanent settlements and a reliable source of food became favoured

•From agriculture, cities and civilizations grew, putting food supplies on demand

•This lead to population explosions (from 5 million ppl 10,000 years ago, to over 7 billion today)

TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED

•Food storage techniques

•Irrigation

•Plant/crop specialization

•Entrepreneur related to this time period: Daniel Zohary, who highlighted the importance of three main cereals (rice, wheat, millet) and suggested the importance of domesticizing them.

INDUSTRIAL AGE

•After the agricultural age came the industrial age

•Begin in the 18th Century, fueled by coal mining

•Inventions such as: steamboats and locomotives- this made transportation much faster

•Industrial Age is defined by: running water, mass production (factories), modern medicine and the rise of the nation state (more people moving near and working in cities).

•There is a shift away from manual labour and horse labour and machines began to do more work

•The living conditions of the majority of people underwent sustained growth

•Entrepreneur of the time period: Thomas Edison invents the electric light bulb in 1879. He had over 1000 patents for inventions

INFORMATION AGE

•Characterized by the idea that information can be shared freely and easily

•Instant access to information that in the past would have been hard or impossible to get

•There is a shift from traditional industry (factories and machinery) to an economy that is based on the manipulation of information

•New technologies: computers, the internet, global communication

•Entrepreneurs of the time period: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs

CURRENT ENTREPRENEURIAL TRENDS Internet Businesses: solely web-based, or traditional businesses with online components

Service Businesses: intangible things businesses do for us that enhance our lives e.g. dry cleaners

Home-based Businesses: self-employment from home (made easier through high-tech technology)

Socially Responsible/Non-profit businesses: starting a business to better society

Focus on Technology: a critical component of business today

Outsourcing: contracting with other companies, tapping into outside expertise

Strategic Alliance: a partnership with another company to supply a product/service that is not a part of the core of your company

Corporate Venture: new venture started inside a larger corporation, small company spin-off of a larger company.

ASSIGNMENT

•Read the Venture Profile on Christine Cushing and answer the accompanying questions.