Davos 2020: Are companies ready to embrace technological revolution that will change the way we work?

For several decades, companies have been focused on prioritising shareholder value and garnering profits above all else. But, as the corporate world gears up to embrace the fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, companies are aiming to utilise advanced technologies such as Internet over Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help propel their businesses forward while creating an environment of social responsibility.

At a panel discussion at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF), CNBC-TV18's Managing Editor Shereen Bhan spoke to representatives from Deloitte who highlighted key findings from their latest report on Industry 4.0 and offered insights into the readiness of companies across the globe in adapting to the imminent changes.

Some of the topics that dominated the discussion were:

Stakeholder capitalism: the notion that a company should focus on the needs of all its stakeholders; be it customers, employees, partners, and society as a whole.  While many cynics believe that stakeholder capitalism is a mere tool in a company’s PR arsenal to assuage public scrutiny, the report cites key steps taken to address this notion.  One of which took place in August 2019, nearly 200 CEOs from multinational corporations came together for a Business Round-table, publicly pledging to lead their companies for the benefit of customers, employees, suppliers, and communities in addition to shareholders.

Climate change: The report states that nine out of 10 C-suite executives expect climate change to have a negative impact on their organisations, and that they need to address the impending resource scarcity and environmental sustainability. In fact, 80 percent Indian executives believed that climate change will impact their business and that it is this generation’s responsibility to solve the issue.

Learning and training the workforce for Industry 4.0: With training becoming a top investment priority, more than 80 percent of CXOs said they have either created or are creating a corporate culture of lifelong learning, with another 17 percent planning to do so. In fact, 99 percent Indian executives already believe that their organisations have created a culture of lifelong learning.

Watch this video to find out more.