Europe ready and flexible, businesses and people are not

Stories / possible developments

• Europe flourishes due to the competative work environment.
• Margers and acquisitions as companies wish to impose their technology standard on the industry.
• Oracle purchases SAP to obtain strong foothold in the lucrative European market.
• Foreign investment is at an all time high as the EU economy grows.
• Fight for greater share of the marketplace decreases prices.
• Russia joins the European union as high liberization of the job marketproduces more jobs.

Arjan

• The EU finally fully opens it labour market to the new 10 former east-european member states
• the use of new cheap labour and highly motivated workers in the "old europe" has a positive effect on its people and the european economy in general, causing strong growth
• talks about membership are started again with croatia, serbia (after the extradiction of Karadzic and Mladic), bosnia and herzegovina, turkey, the ukraine, and georgia
• russia is allowed in during important round tables of eu and national officials
• the fast movements in the mobile market cause different strategic decisions of european telcos regarding mobile standards
• this is being enhanced by the takeover of telenor and teliasonera by NTT docomo who know has almost the entire scandinavian market and plans to expand to the rest of europe using new advanced japanese hsdpa-based technology
• after the surprising election of a new liberal president following all kind of electoral struggling in the usa, and the expansion of the bolivian-venazuelan-cuban socialist pact in latin america the EU plans to create a more integrated foreign policy, creating the stepstone to more integration
• although many new workers from eastern europe come to work in the west, western workers (apart from the entrepeneurs) are hesistant to leave their home place, while not being enforced to do so by the static organisations as well

Jasper

• A new road-pricing (pay-as-you-drive) law is being accepted by many members of the EU which causes decrease in car usage throughout Europe.
• After years of protest against nuclear energy by environmentalists, a new European law is accepted which prohibit the use of nuclear power throughout Europe.
• As a direct result of the previous two factors the environment shows signs of improvement.

ron

• Employment regulation will change towards more flexible work, that can be carried out collaboratively at anytime and anyplace.
• When people (businesses) are not ready there won’t be happening much in the area of the corporate workspace. Ultimately, corporations need evidence that a high mobile workforce and mobility will lead in doing better business (creating more shareholder value). Can corporations organise themselves around people that are working from anywhere, anytime, and will that increase work product quality, time-to-market, service quality, R&D, etc.? Because of all technological innovations the world already has become “smaller”, for the next years ahead the benefits of physical contact will also prevail above working from anywhere anytime.

Sander

• EU forces companies to have a more 'mixed' workforce, resulting in companies having problems with cultural issues

Developments in short per category

Political

Over the years the European Union integrates more and more. New members are permitted and within years these countries enroll. Liberation of labor laws within Europe becomes high, leading to an open labor market

Economical

Europe flourishes due to the competitive work environment, European integration and the open labor market.

Society

The open labor market and addition of new members to the EU causes mixed reactions amongst society. Many people are hesitant to leave their home countries and rather live in the safe home environments

Technological

Technology continuous to develop according to Moore’s law. Large technology company drive the market and try to impose their standards. There is great difference in the standards used in Europe, Asia and the USA.

Environmental

The environment is a huge issue in the EU and due to the acceptance of a few new laws, the environment shows signs of improvement.

A scenario for the coming 5-10 years

After the disappointing results with the European constitution referenda in France and the Netherlands, the EU decides to change it course. Improvement of the relationship with the European citizens, better promotion campaign and a fresh look at the European constitution are high on the agenda. The fear of negative effects on the European economies proof to be unjust, as economies actually show slow signs of improvement. Europe seems to have come out of the slope of economical decline of recent years.

The fast movements in the mobile market cause different strategic decisions of European Telco’s regarding mobile standards. This is being enhanced by the takeover of Telenor and Teliasonera by NTT Docomo who know has almost the entire Scandinavian market and plans to expand to the rest of Europe using new advanced Japanese HSDPA-based technology. Several mergers and acquisitions occur as companies wish to impose their technology standard on the industry. Consequently, there are several proprietary standards which all capture market share in the already crowded mobile market.

A new road-pricing (pay-as-you-drive) law is being accepted by many members of the EU which causes decrease in car usage throughout Europe. After years of protest against nuclear energy by environmentalists, a new European law is accepted which prohibit the use of nuclear power throughout Europe. As a direct result of the previous two factors the environment shows signs of improvement.

After several European meetings the EU sets sail for a new course in which the European citizens are given more and better insight in the daily governing of the EU. Furthermore, a new and improved constitution is accepted and Russia is allowed in during important round tables of EU and national officials in order to give European integration a leg up. The EU fully opens it labor market to the new 10 former East-European member states. Talks about membership are started again with Croatia, Serbia (after the extradition of Karadzic and Mladic), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Ukraine, and Georgia. After the surprising election of a new liberal president following all kind of electoral struggling in the US, as well as the expansion of the Bolivian-Venezuelan-Cuban socialist pact in Latin America the EU plans to create a more integrated foreign policy, creating the step stone to more integration

Several mergers and acquisitions of European companies by Asian and American companies occur in order to obtain strong foothold in the lucrative European market. Foreign investment is at an all time high as the EU economy grows. The use of new cheap labor and highly motivated workers in the "old Europe" has a positive effect on its people and the European economy in general causing strong economical growth. Employment regulation will change towards more flexible work, that can be carried out collaboratively at anytime and anyplace. The fight for greater share of the marketplace decreases the price level and inflation is at an all time low.

Although many new workers from Eastern Europe come to work in the West, western workers (apart from the entrepreneurs) are hesitant to leave their home place. Additionally, they are not being enforced to do so by the static organizations. EU forces companies to have a more 'mixed' workforce, resulting in companies having problems with cultural issues. The traditional static organization have difficulties accepting the Eastern European workers.

More and more western people and organizations struggle with the rigorous integration of the EU. People and businesses are not ready for taking the next step towards the future workspace. As long as this is the case there won’t be happening much in the area of the corporate workspace. Ultimately, corporations need evidence that a high mobile workforce and mobility will lead in doing better business (creating more shareholder value). People much be convinced of the opportunities of the future workspace and be open to these developments. The integration of the EU and all the technological innovations have made the world to become “smaller”, but people and organizations hold on to the benefits of physical contact and this prevails above working from anywhere anytime.