Executive Summary

What are the implications of self service in the labor market and towards other stakeholders involved with it? Advancement of technology and expansion of economies have been key contributors to the rise of self service in the society. The implication of self service on the labor market seems to be negative. However, for the stakeholders involved it can either be positive or negative depending on which party is involved. Among the goals to be encompassed in the research is the extent to which self service has been adopted, present and future effects of self service and identifying the stakeholders involved. Some of the important definitions that will run through the research include labor market and self service. Liberal theory will also surface in trying to show how self service brings a negative effect on the society. This is based on the knowledge that it would hinder equality in a variety of ways. The research is expected to bring forth a variety of results. Among them is that self service has been adopted on a wide array. This is evidenced by the number of sectors in the economy using these systems. Another result is on the negative implications that the system brings in the labor market. The labor force tends to suffer more, as a result. Results would also show that the stakeholders involved would be affected in different ways if the systems continued to persist. It would be inconclusive not to mention that at the end of the research it would not be clear on whether self service has a negative or positive effect on service work. This is because the stakeholders involved are affected differently. The relevance of the topic to the course is based on the fact that it touches on society. It becomes more intriguing since adoption of self service systems has both social and economic impacts on the society.

What are the implications of self service in the labor market and towards other stakeholders involved with it? Self service is an aspect that has been on the rise for some time now. A variety of occurrences have contributed to this realization. Advancement of technology and expansion of economies have been key contributors to this occurrence. Its implication on the labor market seems to be negative. This is because it might result to surplus labor supply hence giving businesses autonomous control of the labor market (Coughlan, 2009). When it comes to the stakeholders involved, there is no general comment on whether the implications are negative or positive. This is because all stakeholders experience different effects with its implementation. /Some benefit while others tend to suffer based on which side of the divide an individual is associated with. The aspect goes contrary to the liberal theory which advocates for equality in the society. A research to the topic would help in providing desired information in answering this question.

Several goals will be encompassed in this research. Among them is trying to find out the extent to which self service has been embraced in the society. There will be a comparison between how things are at the moment and how they were some time back. Instances that contributed to these changes also need to be outlined. This will help in getting a clear picture of how the aspect of self service will affect the society in future. Stake holders involved with self service concept also need to be involved in the research. They are the key contributors to this occurrence. Without them, none of the activities being conducted would have had the ability to grace the society. Stakeholders in this sector include businesses, employees and consumers. All of them play a different role in this realization. They have different opinions and ideologies, but have to work towards a similar realization. The differences that exist between the stakeholders try to bring out a variety of challenges in the implementation process. Identifying people that have been affected more will be of paramount importance. Another goal that the research aims at addressing is the present and future effects of embracing self service in the society. Here, the question to answer is whether its impacts have been positive or negative. It will also try to answer whether it is a favorable approach for future prospects or should it be abandoned all together.

The research will make use of important definitions and theories that are relevant to the research topic. They include labor market, self service and liberal theory. Self service is an occurrence whereby a consumer is expected to serve himself or herself in provision of a certain good or service. Businesses adopt this model to ensure that consumers get involved in the purchasing process on a higher level. The main areas that have embraced the self service concept are the ATMs, call centers, library catalogues and web based transactions among others. According to Palm (2006), Call centers have been more prevalent in India. In this country, they come along as elements of outsourcing from different organizations. Organizations curtailed with these operations tend to take advantage in order to make more profits.  Individuals from other countries have been viewing this scenario with a great insight. Over the years, they have managed to replicate some aspects and initiated them in their countries (Krishnamurthy, 2004). The realization has had both negative and positive effects.  Jones (2010) asserts that for businesses this is a great advantage. Once consumers have embraced the ideology, there is no need of employees at these spots. This means that there will be reduced costs hence increased profits. However, this is not a similar case to employees and consumers. Many employees end up losing their jobs, as a result. Consumers on their part do not get the desired service due to lack of personal appeal that is usually provided by employees.

Labor market on the other hand, is a nominal market where employees are in search of paying jobs and employers are in search of willing workers for the prevailing wage rate. The labor market may be international or local based on its scope. Adoption of self service has brought many changes in this market. The available labor force is the one being affected more. Labor force is the number of people qualified to work and willing to work at wage rates being provided in the market. Adoption of self service systems has resulted in reducing job opportunities available. Businesses have resulted in deploying machines since they are cheaper to maintain compared to employees’ remuneration. The levels of wage rates are dropping as time passes by. For employees that want to gain employment, they must be willing to take minimal wages. This does not look good for the future.

\In addition, self service is not out rightly supported by some theories like liberal theory. Liberal theory is founded on ideas of equality. It tries to bring the society to an understanding that no one is more special than the other. Initiating self service means that some people will benefit while others will face challenges in the process. Businesses benefit in terms of increased profits while employees suffer job loss and reduced wages. Women also tend to suffer more compared to their male counterparts. According to various reports, they make up the highest percentage of call center jobs and other service works (Belt, Ranald & Juliet, 2002). This has been attributed by the feminine social skills that they posses. Adopting usage of machines in these areas would mean that more women get displaced in comparison to men. According to liberal theory, this does not show any form of equality. It tends to affect one side of the gender divide compared to the other. As more women lose their jobs, they tend to assume other roles in the society. The immediate and readily available job to them is being housewives. This spearheads the aspect of male chauvinism. In the long-run, it becomes impossible to empower women. The ultimate result of this occurrence is that women will continue being suppressed in the society hence reinforcing inequality.

The research is expected to bring forth a variety of results. Most of the results are based on the research goals involved. Among the expected results is that self service has been adopted on a wide array. Most businesses have put forward systems that enable people to serve themselves as they enjoy their preferred goods and services. It has been embraced in almost all sectors. ATMs are among the popular systems that have tried to adopt self service. In most countries, they are distributed in those areas with high population. The areas must be involved with certain business activities hence developing their need. Their adoption has been quick and wide. Call centers are also experiencing several changes with this regard. Initially, employees were being employed for this service work. Stocker (2007) asserts that now they are being replaced with different machines that have been fitted with appropriate programs and software. Consumers get directions from these machines on the way forward. Modern libraries are also using catalogue as source of information regarding the material entailed within. This has rendered void most of the work that was being conducted by employees in these institutions. Some of them have had to be laid off. The system has gone far as to gain acceptance in gas fueling stations. Consumers only need to make the payment and everything is set to go. Booking of flights and obtaining other relevant tickets is also being done through the internet by customers themselves. These are just but few instances that show how the society has adopted self service in the service work industry. From the examples, it is clear that the adoption rate is very high. Almost every sector of the economy has embraced this ideology. Need to create efficiency in business has been the main contributory in the adoption. Every business out there wants to maximize on its available resource while minimizing cost at the same time. Only time will tell whether this is only a fad or the current trending technology in the global economy. If it is a fad, it might not last for long, but if the opposite is true, it is there to stay.

Another expected result is that self service brings about negative implications in the labor market. Various reports indicate that the world’s population continues to grow now and then. Increase in population means that the number of people entering the labor market tends to increase as time passes by. As the labor force increases, efforts should be put in place to ensure that more jobs are being created. However, initiating self service systems would mean that employment prospects are minimized even further. In the long-run, labor supply in the labor market will be extremely high compared to the labor demand (Coughlan, 2009). Aspects of unemployment will surface, as a result. This would give businesses an upper hand in controlling the labor market. They will come to be the ones coupled with setting wage rates for services being offered by employees. Forces of demand and supply will not have an effect since there is no existence of equilibrium (Coughlan, 2009). For businesses that are more oriented on profit making, they will result in exploiting the available labor force. Offering minimal wages will be the order of the day. Potential employees will not have any alternative, but to accept the jobs under those terms since the competition is high. The labor market will be left on the hands of a few individuals that will prompt to put their interests first. Economic forces would be rendered futile since the supply of labor outstrips the demand on an extremely high level. At this level, there is lack of a fair ground for the labor force and employers. Employers have an upper hand in deciding what employees will get once they offer their services without giving them a chance for negotiation. This goes against the liberal theory, which advocates for equality on all levels of the society.

Effects on the stakeholders involved would be different. Relevant stakeholders in this scenario include employees, customers and businesses. Businesses have nothing to lose with increased adoption of self service systems. These systems are coined to help bring efficiency on the side of businesses. They reduce costs involved in production or delivering services to consumers (Loveman, 2007). This means that their increased adoption would result to more profits in future. Employees usually contribute significantly to cost incurred by any businesses. Finding ways that might reduce their number is a blessing in disguise to the organization. For employees, these systems work against them. Initiating self service systems would mean that the services that used to be offered by employees are no longer required. Most of the employees tend to lose their jobs in the process. Those that are lucky enough, retain their employment contracts in the organization but under different terms. They are required to offer auxiliary services at a reduced wage rate. However, employees with the desired technical knowledge still retain their jobs. This is because self service systems do not work independently and need to be monitored time and again by individuals with necessary technical knowledge. To this type of employees, an employment opportunity is created. This brings in the paradox and dilemma on suitability of these systems. Consumers on the other hand, have mixed feelings regarding self service systems. On one hand, the systems bring efficiency in service delivery. They are able to get what they want within a short period of time (Palm, 2006). On the other hand, self service has no personal appeal. Personal appeal is very important to consumers. It is through the interactions with employees that they are able to raise their concerns and the problems get solved with immediate effect.

From the above outline, employees seem to be the most affected stakeholders on negative terms. Reduced employment would mean a lot to them. Funds that were initially available for consumption are no longer there. This would result to diminished living standards. Some of the people that lose their jobs would engage in social vices such as prostitution and robbery in order to get their daily bread.

Another result that would come from the research is that it would not be easy to give a general statement on whether self service has a negative or positive effect on service work. This is because the stakeholders involved are affected differently. There are those that benefit from the occurrence, and others that are afflicted with agony.  It would be prudent to lay down the facts to the society and let them make the ultimate decision. All sides of the coin should be analyzed in this quest.

This topic is relevant to this course on a variety of ways. One is that the topic is about self service and the changes that it has brought to the society. This course tries to analyze how the society is affected by changing business systems and economic cycles. The research will try to show that existence of self service systems have an effect on the society. Effect derived is both positive and negative based on the party being considered. It tries to bring out the relationship that exists among different stakeholders. Impacts of self service on the economy are vivid through the examination of labor markets. It is clear that the labor market would be affected negatively in future if these systems continue to grace the economy. However, there are also benefits that accrue to the organization as a result of embracing these systems. This shows the connection that exists between the topic and the course. Communication tries to outline the relationship that exists between the society and businesses. Some of the relationships tend to be beneficial for all parties while others only favor one party (Jones, 2010). Such occurrences have been identified while narrowing down on the topic. There are pitfalls experienced while instituting the self service systems. Among them is rejection on the side of consumers due to the fear of the unknown. The research will try and analyze whether the trends being observed are inevitable. If they are inevitable, then strategies of containing them must be devised. These are the things that this course tries to outline.

The topic is also related to the course based on the scope involved in communication. It is through communication that information is passed from one source to the other. Any information relating to the society is regarded to be important. It is particularly important when it concerns the economic viability of the people involved. Society’s economy is a backbone of many activities. It determines the living standards, social ties among other things. For this reason, the information needs to be handled with care. It is through various communication technologies that this information can be relayed to the society. Information regarding the implications brought about by self service need to come to the attention of the society. Suitable channels need to be used to ensure that it reaches all the desired individuals. The course helps in shaping individuals on ways that such information should be relayed. This helps in making sure that no misconception is experienced. Misconception usually arises when the people relaying the information use inappropriate channels or language. Tone is very critical when passing information from one party to another. All relevant facts regarding the issue should be tabled without any concealment. When the information is passed to the society, it is now upon them to make the decision on whether to continue using these systems or not. Based on this, it is easy to understand how the course relates to the topic.

There are several factors that propelled an interest in this topic. Among them is the social and economic aspect of the topic. There seems that adoption of self service systems has both social and economic impacts on the society. The social aspect arises on the fact that adoption of machines and software in various institutions would lead to displacement of a good number of employees. This might have been the only source of income to them. What that means is that their living standards will diminish significantly as they seek other ways of survival. High rates of unemployment have negative effects on the economy. It creates high levels of dependency from the population that is not employed (Stocker, 2007). As a result, the economy becomes stagnant. There are no aspects of development since the environment is not conducive. However, a contradiction that makes this topic more interesting is created. It is asserted that when most businesses use self service systems, they make more profits as opposed to when they are dealing with employees. This means that there will be more money available to the government from taxation. There will be enhancement of other sectors of the economy through the extra profits derived. In the long-run this will mean improved economic development. This contradicts the notion stated earlier that increased unemployment levels due to displacements would lead to stagnation of the economy. This makes the topic interesting and open for advanced research so as to grasp the actual reality.

Another factor that triggered this topic is the ignorance that the society has. The society adopts systems without having detailed information on the nature of effects they would bring. Most of the systems adopted are only devised to solve problems that exist during that particular period. Future implications only come to mind after the systems begin to operate. Research into this topic will try and show people that having all the relevant information while making a decision is necessary. This is because a system might be too good based on present conditions, but undesirable in future. Ignorance has been prevalent in many institutions and effects usually come afterwards. People tend to regret when it is too late and their actions cannot be reversed. A clear understanding regarding an issue is important if the decision making process is meant to be effective.

Bibliography

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Coughlan, Mary . “Review of Labor Market Programs.” Unemployment 11, no. 5 (2009): 23.

Jones, Thomas . “Self-Service That Really Serves.” Urban Development 9, no. 2 (2010): 19.

Krishnamurthy, Mathangi . “Resources and Rebels: A Study of Identity Management in Indian    Call Centers .” Anthropology of Work Review 25 (2004): 9-18.

Loveman, Gary. “Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work.” Service Work 3, no. 1 (2007): 17.

Palm, Michael . “Outsourcing, Self-Service and the Telemobility of Work..” Anthropology of         Work Review 27, no. 2 (2006): 1-9.

Stocker, Karen . “Changing Job Opportunities and Indigenous Identity in the Transition to a         Tourist Economy.” Identity as Work 23, no. 4 (2007).

Taylor, Bryan . “Postmodern Theory.” Organizational Communication 7, no. 3 (2004): 113-135.

 
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