Expert urges global firms to be ready for any crisis
What the world faces today affects corporate strategies, says Patrick Dixon, a futurist and chairman of trends forecasting company Global Change.
He held out this warning toward the end of the 8th Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF-2015).
Companies will have to act speedily in providing jobs in the future, and to develop alternative plans and explore future prospects in accordance with the development, he said.
Dixon spoke about the severe financial and economic crises suffered by the United States and the European Union, and the appropriate ways of dealing with these problems.
He highlighted the stunning progress of the Kingdom in all sectors, while they should also take note of the economic transformation that the county may witness.
Dixon said each country had its own natural resource, such as oil, water, etc., a source for their strong economy, and create strong competitiveness, supported by investments in new companies and factories for providing job opportunities.
There are lots of investment opportunities available across Saudi Arabia, which were not available in the past five years; however, these opportunities are not in all sectors, but only in specific sectors, he added.
At the session on “How can we build partnerships that maximize knowledge transfer to a society,” Ding Shaohua, Huawei vice president, cited the company’s experience in India by adopting training programs and developing Indian cadres in over 108 centers owned by the company to develop human resources.
He said: “The same policy are being implemented by us here, where Huawei is linked to a number of partnerships with institutions and universities that seek the transfer of knowledge and the development of national cadres.” He cited the company's experience in the technology transfer to China.
Other experts underlined Turkish and Ireland’s experience. They dwelt on the importance of the role of firms in the transfer of knowledge and exchange of experiences, so that everyone would benefit from the technology, and raise the competitive efficiency, as well as the role of foreign investment through multinational companies in the provision of better economic future, and to support young people and expand job opportunities.
In this context, Ilker Ayci, president of investment support and promotion agency of Turkey, stressed the need for strong cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Turkey in the field of investment and transfer of knowledge, and that his country benefited from the successful experiences in those fields.