Journal (October-December 2019)

October - December 2019 Issue : 4 The Chartered Secretary

Volume : XXI

4IR : ARE WE READY?

October-December 2019

INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED SECRETARIES OF BANGLADESH (ICSB)

Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) was established under an Act of Parliament i.e. Chartered Secretaries Act 2010 and is the only recognized professional body in Bangladesh to develop, promote and regulate the profession of Chartered / Company Secretaries in Bangladesh.

The Institute was initially established under a license from the Ministry of Commerce in 1997 as the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Managers of Bangladesh (ICSMB) and subsequently was converted to Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB).

The affairs of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) are managed by a Council consisting of thirteen elected members and five nominees of the Government. The President is the head of the Institute.

The major contribution of a Chartered Secretary is crucial in the corporate sector.

Chartered Secretary is the requisite qualification to become a Company Secretary.

Company Secretary is an important professional, aiding the efficient management of the corporate sector. Company Secretary is a Statutory Officer under the Companies Act 1994. According to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), all the listed companies should have a Company Secretary.

Company Secretary is the compliance officer of the company, who has to interact, coordinate, integrate and cooperate with various other functional heads in a company.

THE COUNCIL 2019-2022

EDITORIAL BOARD

SUBSCRIPTION RATE

Muzaffar Ahmed FCS Mohammad Bul Hassan FCS Md. Selim Reza FCS Salim Ahmed FCS Mohammad Sanaullah FCS Itrat Husain FCS Mohammad Asad Ullah FCS Akhter Matin Chaudhury FCS M. Naseemul Hye FCS Md. Azizur Rahman FCS Mohammad Nurul Alam FCS Md. Sharif Hasan FCS Md. Shafiqul Alam ACS Md. Shakhawat Hossain, Additional Secretary, GoB Mohammad Manzarul Mannan, Joint Secretary, GoB Dr. Mohammad Mohiuddin, Joint Secretary, GoB Khandaker Kamaluzzaman, Commissioner, BSEC Md. Zakir Hossain, Registrar, Additional Secretary, RJSC, GoB

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Editor Mohammad Shahajahan, FCS Members Itrat Husain FCS Kazi Ashiqur Rahman FCS Subash Chandra Moulick FCS Md. Monowar Hossain FCS Md. Shiful Islam FCS Mir Shariful Bashar ACS Md. Noor-Ul-Alam ACS Mohammad Abir Islam ACS For Students Others

: per copy Tk. 100; per year Tk. 350 : per copy Tk. 150; per year Tk. 560

President Senior Vice President Vice President Treasurer Immediate Past President Past President Past President Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member

IN THIS ISSUE Editorial

3

The Council 2019-2022

4

Message from the President

5

Institute News

6

ARTICLES Company Secretary and 4IR in Pursuit of Governance -Bipul Kumar Bhowmik FCS

25

4IR: Shifting Governance and Professionals’ Thinking -Mohammad Shahajahan FCS

26

Taxation and Fourth Industrial Revolution -Dr. Sams Uddin Ahmed Responding to Fourth Industrial Revolution: An Analysis on Online Food Delivery Business in Bangladesh -Salma Akther Key Inventions in Transition From 1st Industrial Revolution To 4th Industrial Revolution -Sharif Dilnewaz Hossain ACS

31 35 40

Industry 4.0: Readiness & Challenges for Bangladesh to face the transition -Mir Shariful Bashar ACS

44

The views and opinions expressed in the articles published in this Journal are those of the writers only.

Readiness towards Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR): Professionals’ Views -Md. Saiful Islam ACS

49

ADMINISTRATIVE MINISTRY Ministry of Commerce Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

4IR: Potential Perils and Opportunities for Chartered Secretaries -Md. Noor-Ul-Alam ACS

53

INSTITUTE OFFICE Padma Life Tower (8th Floor) 115 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue Bangla Motor, GPO Box No. 3100 Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Phone : +88 02 933 9957, 933 4878, 933 6972, 4831 5338 +88 02 4934 9578, 933 6901 (Extn.-101-108) Fax : +88 02 933 9957 Mobile : 01708 030804 E-mail : secretary@icsb.edu.bd, icsb@icsb.edu.bd Web : www.icsb.edu.bd

The Impact of Fourth Industrial Revolution on Us -Kazi Md Miraj Hossain ACS

58

Industry 4.0: Future Technologies & its Impact -A.B.M. Kalim Ullah ACS

60

Fourth Industrial Revolution: the Adoption of Cyber-physical Systems and Impact on the Corporate Compliances -Razia Sultana

64

Shaping the 4IR: A day in the life of Tomorrow’s Citizen -Md. Anower Hossin

66

NOTIFICATIONS

69

PUBLISHED BY Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB)

(Established under Chartered Secretaries Act 2010 (Act No. 25 of 2010)

CAMPUS Padma Life Tower (7th Floor) 115 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue Bangla Motor, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh Design & Print

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EDITORIAL

this issue...

4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONTHE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

4

Industrial Revolution (4IR) is considered as a synthesis of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. It is expected to impact all disciplines, industries, and economies and hence it is disrupting almost every industry in every country and creating massive change in a non-linear way at unprecedented speed due to the velocity, scope and systems impact of the changes of the 4IR. The United Nations has acknowledged the power of technology, and the 4th industrial revolution recognizes technology in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015 by member states. th

4IR concentrate on the integration and interoperability of cyber-physical systems for enhancing communication and collaboration between man and machines.

Technologies like cloud computing, Internet of Things, Internet of Services and Internet of Energy are being playing an important role.

Telecommunication technologies and infrastructure like broadband and other internet technologies provide digital connectivity for effective communication, collaboration and integration of people, systems and machines. Disruptive changes to the labor market due to 4IR which is assumed to increase the demand for highly skilled, innovative and technological expert which has huge impact on education system. Hence research and development become increasingly important to meet the demand of production of innovative products, business models and production techniques driven by technology.

Technologies are rapidly developing around the world, irrespective of development of new governance systems to manage the use of these technologies.

The speed of technological breakthroughs, the pervasiveness of scope and the tremendous impact of new systems and emerging technologies are enormous in modern age. The breadth and depth of the techno-digital transformation in the era of 4IR demands

rapid changes in entire systems of production, management and public governance. The response to that rapid changes cannot be left to state institutions alone but requires the active engagement of citizens, the private sector, the academy and civil society. Policymaking cycles and processes used previously became inadequate due to the pace of technological development, its characteristics and quicker scale of emerging technologies comparing to previous industrial revolutions. In this circumstance governance model should consider the speed of technological shifts, flexibility to respond rapidly to changing circumstances, quick develop ideas, its time bound implementation, quick experimental and lessons learned as feedback into the policy-decisions-making process, inclusiveness of the views and inputs of multiple stakeholders and openness.

Therefore, new governance model like agile governance can proactively help to shape and direct how technologies impact people and communities in a malleable way through an iterative process.

So governance expert need to pay attention to details, be patient, open-minded and humble that impact largely on regulation and legacy. Public and Private Universities, Professional and Governance Institutions need to update their education systems and competency framework that best fit to face the rapid changes and disruptions are being occurred due to the 4IR. Lifelong learning programs, digital literacy, recent technology development and knowledge on their underlying private rules, certification schemes, standards, social norms or policies, risk of the potential misuse of data, General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) etc. become crucial for updating the governance professional.

Finally, collaboration, synchronization of practices and sharing learning of professional and governance institutions with other national and global organizations working on the similar issues will help to capitalize the benefits of new technologies in 4IR.

Mohammad Shahajahan, FCS Editor

October -December 2019 | 3

The Council 2019-2022

President Muzaffar Ahmed FCS

Senior Vice President Mohammad Bul Hassan FCS

Immediate Past President Mohammad Sanaullah FCS

Vice President Md. Selim Reza FCS

Past President Itrat Husain FCS

Treasurer Salim Ahmed FCS

Past President Mohammad Asad Ullah FCS

Council Member M. Naseemul Hye FCS

Council Member Md. Azizur Rahman FCS

Council Member Mohammad Nurul Alam FCS

Council Member Md. Shakhawat Hossain Additional Secretary, GoB

Mohammad Manzarul Mannan Joint Secretary, GoB

Council Member

Council Member Dr. Mohammad Mohiuddin Joint Secretary, GoB

Council Member Md. Sharif Hasan FCS

Council Member

Secretary in Charge to the Council

Md. Shamibur Rahman ACS

4 | October -December 2019

Council Member Akhter Matin Chaudhury FCS

Council Member Md. Shafiqul Alam ACS

Council Member Md. Zakir Hossain Registrar (Additional Secretary), RJSC&F, GoB

Assalamu Alaikum.

Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year!

I would like to convey my best wishes and sincere thanks to all of you as we wrapped up an eventful year 2019 and shifted our attention towards the year 2020. The past twelve months have been marked by noteworthy achievements and changes. If we ruminate on the past year, I strongly believe that we have many reasons to have enormous pride in our accomplishments and look forward with enthusiasm to this year.

As professionals, representing corporate governance specialists, we have been delivering strategic leadership, adding significant value as a vital organ of the nation.

In many respects, we have similar attributes and most closest with the top management of the organization. As such we always need to update us on contemporary professional side by side leadership qualities of humanity, high intelligence, an understanding of Board discussion agendas, negotiation and a tough resilience in dealing with everyday issues.

Keeping it in mind the present Council has decided to do necessary re-engineering on the existing syllabus to deal with the upcoming challenges through ‘Professional Progression in a Digital Era’.

I am happy to share that last quarter had been eventful for us which witnessed a big event, 6th ICSB National Award 2018 for corporate governance excellence. Thirty two listed companies have been recognized for

their excellence in governance from eleven different sectors. My heartiest congratulations to the entities which won the award and hope that others will be inspired witnessing the success of others. We also met high profiled dignitaries specially Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Commerce, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Chairman, BSEC and Chairman, FRC during the period to mark the growing engagement of ICSB in the corporate sector.

They highly appreciated ICSB’s contribution towards establishing good governance in the corporate sector.

Some of our challenges are still there to be resolved. Let’s work together to coordinate National Board of Revenue (NBR) to allow us to work as ITP and to incorporate our suggestions to make the Companies Act 1994 more pertinent and pragmatic by pursuing all the concern ministries and regulators. We have formed a new ‘Land & Infrastructure Development Committee’ in order to carry on our own campus at Aftabnagar.

May Allah help us to do all good things for our beloved Institute.

Muzaffar Ahmed, FCS

PRESIDENT

October -December 2019 | 5

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

D

ear Professional Colleague,

INSTITUTE NEWS October-December 2019

I

INTERNAL MEETINGS

•

Secretarial Practice Sub Committee meeting was held on November 2, 2019;

Meetings of the Council and Standing Committees

•

Following meetings of the Council and Standing Committees were held during the quarter:

Public Relations Sub Committee meeting was held on November 5, 2019;

•

The Council meetings were held on October 5, October 17 and December 18, 2019;

International Relations Sub Committee meeting was held on November 16, 2019;

•

The Corporate Governance Committee meetings were October 24 and November 25, 2019;

Syllabus & Curriculum Review Sub Committee meeting was held on November 17, 2019;

•

The Executive Committee meetings were held on October 26 and December 12, 2019;

Information Technology Sub Committee meeting was held on November 30, 2019; and

•

The Education Committee meeting was held on November 2, 2019;

Seminar & Conference Sub Committee meeting was held on December 14, 2019.

New Office Bearers of ICSB

•

•

•

•

•

The Examination Committee meetings were held on November 11 and November 30, 2019; and

•

The Membership and Registration Committee meeting was held on December 10, 2019.

Meetings of Sub Committees Following meetings of the Sub Committees were also held during the quarter: •

Professional Development Sub Committee meeting was held on October 27, 2019;

•

Journal and Publication Sub Committee meetings were held on October 28, November 13, November 26 and December 11, 2019;

•

Members Welfare and Recreation Sub Committee meeting was held on October 30, 2019;

•

Dhaka Regional Chapter Sub Committee meetings were held on October 31 and November 28, 2019;

•

Corporate Laws Review Sub Committee meetings were held on November 2 and December 7, 2019;

6 | October-December 2019

The newly formed Council of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) in its 58th meeting held on October 05, 2019 elected unanimously the following Office Bearer of the Institute: Muzaffar Ahmed FCS

President

Mohammad Bul Hassan FCS

Senior Vice President

Md. Selim Reza FCS

Vice President

Salim Ahmed FCS

Treasurer

From Left: Salim Ahmed FCS, Treasurer, Mohammad Bul Hassan FCS, Senior Vice President, Muzaffar Ahmed FCS, President, Md. Selim Reza FCS, Vice President of the Institute.

The Council of the Institute, at the same meeting also elected Mohammad Bul Hassan FCS, as the Senior Vice President. Prior to this new assignment, he was the Senior Vice President of ICSB for the term 2016-2018 and was the Treasurer for the term 2013-2016. He is working as the Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of Siemens Bangladesh Limited.

Md. Selim Reza FCS has been elected as the Vice President of the Institute. Prior to this new assignment, he was the Vice President of ICSB for the term 2016-2019 and contributed significantly as a Council Member of the Institute. He is a partner at ARTISAN, a practicing Chartered Accountants firm.

The Council has also appointed Salim Ahmed FCS as the Treasurer of the Institute. Prior to this new assignment, he was the Council Member of ICSB for the term 2016-2019. He has been serving as Company Secretary, Eastern Housing Limited.

The President emphasized that the Corporate Secretaries, as a part of its responsibilities are signing Financial Statements and as such looking at the compliances to various laws and regulations including FRS. He assured that the ICSB would provide required support to the FRC. The ICSB President emphasized that inclusion of one representative of ICSB in FRC would assist the Council in better knowing the application of Financial Standards from practical point of view. The ICSB President also stated that ICSB & FRC can move forward through mutual collaboration. The Chairman of FRC gave a patient hearing to various activities of the Institute and appreciated the role of ICSB towards the development as well as promoting the Chartered Secretaries profession in the country. He also assured about the continuous support from him.

The Council Members thanked the Chairman for giving his valuable time and hoped that his continued support and guidance will help the Institute to move forward to achieve its objectives.

Mohammad Bul Hassan FCS, Senior Vice President, Md. Selim Reza FCS, Vice President, Salim Ahmed FCS Treasurer, Md. Azizur Rahman FCS, Council Member, Md. Sharif Hasan FCS, Council Member and Md. Shamibur Rahman ACS, Secretary in Charge of the Institute were present during the meeting.

Discussion Meeting with the Students of Executive Level-l of ICSB

The newly elected Council Members of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) led by its President, Muzaffar Ahmed FCS called on CQK Mustaq Ahmed, Chairman, Financial Reporting Council (FRC) on October 10, 2019 at his office. On behalf of the Council the President introduced the newly elected Office Bearers’ and Council Members to the Chairman and apprised him of various activities that ICSB undertook for professional development as well as its future plans.

A discussion meeting with the Students of Executive Level-l of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) was held on October 19, 2019 al 6.00pm at ICSB campus. Muzaffar Ahmed FCS President and other Office Bearers of the Institute participated in the discussion meeting with the students of Executive Level-l. President of ICSB discussed regarding the development of the Institute gave a brief motivational speech for their reinforcement. He talked about the different types of problems faced by the students and received some feedback from the students to solve those problems.

ICSB delegates with Chairman of FRC

Discussion Meeting with the Students of Executive Level-l

ICSB Council Meets with FRC Chairman

October-December 2019 | 7

INSTITUTE NEWS

Muzaffar Ahmed FCS is the Founding President and a Fellow Member of ICSB and served previously as President of the Institute for the term 1997-2004. He is a known personality in the Accounting, Banking and Financial Sector of Bangladesh. Starting his career as university teacher, he served many national and international organizations in various capacities. He is also the founder of the first ever multinational credit rating agency in the country CRISL and he is now the President and CEO of the company.

ICSB Council Meets with Commerce Secretary The newly elected Council Members of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) led by its President, Muzaffar Ahmed FCS called on Dr. Md. Jafar Uddin, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat on October 23, 2019. On behalf of the Council the President introduced the newly elected Office Bearers’ and Council Members to the Secretary and apprised him of various activities that ICSB undertook for professional development as well as its future plans.

The President requested the Commerce Secretary to provide adequate budget and allotment of land for the Institute’s campus. The Commerce Secretary gave a patient hearing to various activities of the Institute and appreciated the role of ICSB towards the development as well as promoting the Chartered Secretaries profession in the country. He also assured about the continuous support from him.

ICSB delegates with Commerce Secretary The Council Members thanked the Commerce Secretary for giving his valuable time and hoped that his continued support and guidance will help the Institute to move forward to achieve its objectives.

Md. Selim Reza FCS, Vice President, Salim Ahmed FCS, Treasurer, Mohammad Nurul Alam FCS, Council Member, Md. Sharif Hasan FCS, Council Member, Md. Shafiqul Alam ACS, Council Member, Dr. Mohammad Mohiuddin, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, GoB and Council Member and Md. Shamibur Rahman ACS, Secretary in Charge of the Institute were present during the meeting.

Discussion Meeting with Professional Level-II Students

Newly

Qualified

The President of ICSB Muzaffar Ahmed FCS and Office Bearers of the Institute had a meeting with the newly qualified Professional Level-II students of the Institute at Council Room of ICSB on November 2, 2019. The president of ICSB congratulated them. He also briefly

8 | October-December 2019

discussed on the guidelines for internship programme and emphasized to maintain the internship criteria. In his speech, he advised to seek guidance from the Council and Senior Fellow Members when they feel it necessary.

Snapshot of the Meeting ICSB Council Meets BSEC Chairman The newly elected Council Members of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) led by its President, Muzaffar Ahmed FCS called on Dr. M. Khairul Hossain, Chairman, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on October 27, 2019.

The President introduced the newly elected Office Bearers’ and Council Members to the Chairman and apprised him of various activities of the Institute.

The ICSB President apprised that ICSB has been focusing on the promotion of Corporate Governance in all sectors of the national economy. The time is now ripe to review the role of Independent Directors, Shareholding Directors vis a vis the contribution of Corporate Secretaries in various sectors of the national economy. The President highlighted that the services of the senior members of the institute may be utilized as Independent Directors in the board of various companies which will greatly assist to improve the governance in the corporate sector. Muzaffar Ahmed FCS also cordially invited him to grace the forth coming ICSB 6th Corporate Governance Excellence Award 2018 to be held on December 21, 2019 as Special Guest.

The BSEC Chairman gave a patient hearing to various activities of the Institute and appreciated the role of ICSB towards the development as well as promoting the Chartered Secretaries profession in the country. He also assured continuous support from him. He hoped that through the activities of ICSB Good Corporate Governance could be established in corporate sector of Bangladesh.

The Council Members present thanked the BSEC Chairman for giving his valuable time and hoped that

INSTITUTE NEWS ICSB delegates with Chairman of BSEC his continued support and guidance will assist the Institute to move forward to achieve its objectives.

Mohammad Bul Hassan FCS, Senior Vice President, Md. Selim Reza FCS, Vice President, Salim Ahmed FCS, Treasurer, M. Naseemul Hye FCS, Council Member, Mohammad Nurul Alam FCS, Council Member, Khondoker Kamaluzzaman, Council Member and Commissioner of BSEC, respected Executive Directors of BSEC and Md. Shamibur Rahman ACS, Secretary in Charge of the Institute were present during the meeting.

Presentation of Internship Report Multimedia presentation programme on internship report of the Interns was held on November 16, 2019 at the ICSB Campus.

All registered students of the internship course participated at the presentation programme.

Mohammad Bul Hassan FCS, Chairman, Education Committee of ICSB, inaugurated multimedia presentation programme on internship report for the interns upon completion of the course. Council members of the Institute were also present in this

important event.

They observed everyone’s presentation and gave their valuable feedback accordingly. All the students were attentive to feedback of the council members.

Discussion Meeting with Professional-l & II of ICSB

the

Students

of

A discussion meeting with the students of Professional-l & II of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) was held on November 20, 2019 at 6.00pm of ICSB. Muzaffar Ahmed FCS President of ICSB and other Office Bearers of the Institute attended the discussion meeting with the students of Professional-l & II. As a Professional/final level student, it is high time to acquaint with real life practical experience of secretarial department of a reputed company which will be helpful for their overall development. To implement this initiative a professional level student may attached with a Chartered Secretary firm or have a mentorship of a senior member of ICSB who is working in secretarial department of reputed company. The initiative was really appreciated by the present students and they said that they will send an interest list.

Evaluators & Participants in a Frame

October-December 2019 | 9

Chartered Secretaries must therefore prepare for disruptive changes in technology, by continuously refining their strategic role in governance, compliance and management.

Md. Selim Reza FCS, Vice President, ICSB and Md. Shafiqul Alam ACS, Council Member, ICSB were the designated discussant.

Snapshot of the Programme ICSB Organized Workshop Progression in a Digital Era"

on “Professional

Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh organized a workshop on ‘Professional Progression in a Digital Era’ on November 23, 2019 at Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), TCB Bhaban, 1 Kawran Bazar, Dhaka.

From Left: Md. Selim Reza FCS, Vice President, ICSB, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Robi Axiata Limited, Muzaffar Ahmed FCS, Session Chairman and President of ICSB, Md. Shafiqul Alam ACS, Council Member, ICSB and Salim Ahmed FCS, Council Member & Treasurer, ICSB.

Muzaffar Ahmed FCS, Session Chairman and President of ICSB presided over the workshop, delivered the address of welcome and summed up the session. He focused on the need of the members of ICSB to keep them abreast of the changes taking place in both social and corporate arena and to update their knowledge on the requirement of the changing role of the Corporate secretaries, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Robi Axiata Limited presented the Keynote Paper. He explained that the digital era has already begun, where technology is an important enabler. He said that new technology will significantly increase productivity as all routine and repetitive jobs, which account for 70-80% of all jobs today, will disappear. In order to leverage the benefits of this emerging technology, mindset and behavior must concomitantly change. Emerging technology, based on Artificial Intelligence, has already put many traditional professions at risk.

10 | October-December 2019

During the Question & Answer session, Members of the Institute discussed different aspects of professional progression in a digital era. The keynote speaker answered the questions. A large number of Chartered Secretary Professionals, Qualified Chartered Secretaries participated in the workshop.

At the end of the program Salim Ahmed FCS, Council Member and Treasurer, ICSB offered a vote of thanks on behalf of ICSB. ICSB Council Meets with Commerce Minister The newly elected Council Members of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) led by its President, Muzaffar Ahmed FCS called on Mr. Tipu Munshi MP, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Commerce, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat. On behalf of the Council the President introduced the newly elected Office Bearers’ and Council Members to the Minister and apprised him of various activities that ICSB undertook for professional development as well as its future plans. The President expressed his sincere gratitude to the Hon’ble Minister for his gracious presence during the 9th Anniversary of Enactment of Chartered Secretaries Act, 2010 and Members’ Night-2019 Programme of ICSB.

ICSB delegates with Commerce Minister The president specially briefed the Hon’ble Minister about the upcoming “6th ICSB National Award for Corporate Governance Excellence-2018” to be held on December 21, 2019 and invited him for his kind consent to grace the occasion as the Chief Guest. The President also requested the Commerce Minister to provide

of the souls of the martyred of Liberation War and peace, progress and prosperity of the country.

The Commerce Minister gave a patient hearing to various activities of the Institute and appreciated the role of ICSB towards the development of corporate governance through promoting the Company Secretaries profession in the country. He assured about the continuous support from him. Along with, he also gave consent to be the Chief Guest at the 6th ICSB National Award for Corporate Governance Excellence-2018.

The Chief Guest, Anisul Hoque appreciated ICSB for organizing such a patriotic event. In his passionate speech delivered in the tale of Bangladesh and its birth.

He mentioned that Victory Day was a matter of great pride for the Bengali nation. On this day, we got our victory from the brutal Pak invaders of Pakistan through the surrender under Muktibahini. This independent Bangladesh was the dream for the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Independent Bangladesh is today recognized globally as a role model of development under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu.

Now new generation has responsibility to take this Bangladesh forward. The children present in the program were advised to know about Bangabandhu, real history of the country and to work for the country accordingly.

Md. Selim Reza FCS Vice President, Salim Ahmed FCS, Treasurer, Itrat Husain FCS, Council Member, Akhter Matin Chaudhury FCS, Council Member, Md. Sharif Hasan FCS, Council Member and Md. Shamibur Rahman ACS, Secretary in Charge of the Institute were present during the meeting.

ICSB Celebrated the 49th Victory Day with Joy and Enthusiasm Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) celebrated the 49th Victory Day on December 16, 2019 at ICSB premises to pay deep homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the country. The celebration begin with the hoisting of National Flag early in the morning just after the sun rises followed by singing the National Anthem. In the second part of that day, a discussion session, cultural programs and Art competition for the member’s children were arranged.

Anisul Hoque, Associate Editor of the Daily Prothom Alo graced the occasion as Chief Guest. The programme was started by offering prayers seeking eternal peace

Md. Zahangir Alam Manik FCS, Chairman, Dhaka Regional Chapter Sub Committee (DRC) welcomed everyone to present on this auspicious victory day celebration.

Muzaffar Ahmed FCS, the President of the Institute in his speech said that for the people of Bangladesh, December 16, our Victory Day, holds great significance that cannot be described in mere words. People made their utmost sacrifices to make us victorious against the autocratic Pakistan regime. We deeply remember the contribution of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to make independent and sovereign Bangladesh. In our Institute, each year we celebrate Victory Day and Independence Day. We all

Chief Guest, Anisul Hoque, Associate Editor of the Daily Prothom Alo, Muzaffar Ahmed FCS, President of ICSB, Md. Selim Reza FCS, Vice President, Salim Ahmed FCS, Treasurer, Md. Sharif Hasan FCS, Council Member, Md. Zahangir Alam Manik FCS, Chairman, Dhaka Regional Chapter Sub Committee (DRC) and Md. Shamibur Rahman ACS, Secretary in Charge of ICSB.

October-December 2019 | 11

INSTITUTE NEWS

adequate budget allocation and allotment of land for the Institute’s campus.

are working to develop our nation as our freedom fighter dreamt of. In last 48 years we improved our economy and social life. In association we developed in health, education, trade, ICT and mass transport system.

An art competition for children of the members on the occasion were inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Anisul Hoque. Children took part in the competition in two groups. Of the participants, 06 participants (03 from each groups) were selected for prizes and other participants also received consolation prizes. Anisul Hoque handed over the prizes to the winners.

The programme was organized under the initiative of Dhaka Regional Chapter Sub-Committee (DRC) of ICSB. Among others the Md. Selim Reza FCS, Vice President, Salim Ahmed FCS, Treasurer, Md. Sharif Hasan FCS, Council Member and Md. Shamibur Rahman ACS, Secretary in Charge of the institute were also present. A large number of Members, their Spouses and children and officers & staffs of the Institute participated in the programme spontaneously.

6th ICSB National Award for Corporate Governance Excellence, 2018 Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) organized its 6th ICSB National Award for Corporate Governance Excellence, 2018 on December 21, 2019 at Grand Ball Room, Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden where 32 Companies were recognized for good Corporate Governance based on the evaluation criteria set by the Institute along with transparency and accountability in the overall management of the company during the year 2018.

The award giving ceremony was also addressed by special guest Dr. A B Mirza Md. Azizul Islam, Former

12 | October-December 2019

Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Planning, Post & Telecommunications, Caretaker Government of Bangladesh and Md. Abdul Karim, Former Principle Secretary, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Muzaffar Ahmed FCS, President of ICSB chaired the Award giving Program. The special guest presented crests and certificates to winning companies in 11 categories covering all listed companies under DSE & CSE. Among the awardees in the Banking sector Bank Asia Limited achieved the Gold while BRAC Bank Limited and Eastern Bank Limited obtained Silver and Bronze respectively.

Similarly, in Non-Banking Financial Institutions category, Delta BRAC Housing Finance Corporation Limited achieved the gold while IDLC Finance Limited and IPDC Finance Limited achieved Silver and Bronze respectively.

Likewise, in Insurance Companies category, Green Delta Insurance Company limited received the gold while Reliance Insurance Limited and Prime Insurance Company Limited ensured Silver and Bronze respectively.

In the Pharmaceutical and Chemical Companies category The IBN SINA Pharmaceuticals Industry Limited awarded the gold while Square Pharmaceutical Limited and ORION Pharma Limited won Silver trophy jointly.

In Textiles and RMG Companies category, Matin Spinning Mills Limited got the gold and Paramount Textile Limited and SHASHA DENIMS Limited bagged Silver and Bronze respectively.

In IT, Telecom Companies category, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited won the gold while Grameenphone Limited and BDCOM Online Limited achieved the Silver and Bronze respectively.

In Engineering Companies category, Singer Bangladesh Limited obtained the gold while BSRM Steel Limited and BBS Cables Limited bagged Silver and Bronze respectively.

In Manufacturing Companies category, British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company Limited won the gold on the other hand RAK Ceramics Bangladesh Limited and Premier Cement Mills Limited achieved the Silver and Bronze respectively.

In Fuel & Power Companies category, MJL Bangladesh Limited got the gold award while Linde Bangladesh Limited and Summit Power Limited achieved the Silver and Bronze respectively.

Finally, in Services Companies category, Eastern Housing Limited got gold award while Unique Hotel & Resort Limited achieved the silver.

While extending heartiest congratulation to all award recipients, Akhter Matin Chaudhury, Chairman, Corporate Governance Committee, ICSB underscored the present government’s commitment to ensure good governance and corporate culture in the listed companies of Bangladesh. He applauded the role of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh for developing professional skills in the corporate sector.

President of the Institute Muzaffar Ahmed FCS emphasized that practicing good Corporate Governance is the need of the time. It requires the whole hearted commitment of all individuals working in the company for the purpose of sustainable development and maximization of the share value in particular. Good Governance practice helps to improve employees’ morale and high productivity and also ensure long term goals of the business. Introduction of Corporate Governance Code 2018 is one of the bold and timely step of BSEC which will definitely help to develop Corporate Governance practices.

October-December 2019 | 13

INSTITUTE NEWS

In Food and Allied Companies category, Golden Harvest Agro Industries Limited achieved the gold trophy. Gemini Sea Food Limited and AMAN FEED Limited bagged Silver and Bronze respectively.

Glimpses of the 6th ICSB National Award for Corporate Governance Excellence, 2018

14 | October - December 2019

October - December 2019 | 15

INSTITUTE NEWS

Speakers of the 6th ICSB National Award for Corporate Governance Excellence, 2018

Gold Awardees of the 6th ICSB National Award for Corporate Governance Excellence, 2018

Bank Asia Limited

Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Limited

Green Delta Insurance Company Limited

The Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical Industry Ltd.

Matin Spinning Mills Limited

Golden Harvest Agro Industries Limited

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited

Singer Bangladesh Limited

British American Tobacco Bangladesh Limited

MJL Bangladesh Limited

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Eastern Housing Limited

Brac Bank Limited

IDLC FInance Limited

Reliance Insurance Limited

Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Orion Pharma Limited

Paramount Textile Limited

Gemini Sea Food Limited

Grameenphone Limited

BSRM Steel Limited

RAK CeramicsBangladesh Ltd.

Linde Bangladesh Ltd.

Unique Hotel & Resorts Limited October - December 2019 | 17

INSTITUTE NEWS

Silver Awardees of the 6th ICSB National Award for Corporate Governance Excellence, 2018

Bronze Awardees of the 6th ICSB National Award for Corporate Governance Excellence, 2018

Eastern Bank Ltd.

IPDC Finance Limited

Prime Insurance Company Ltd.

Shasha Denims Limited

Aman Feed Limited

BDCOM Online Limited

BBS Cables Limited

Premier Cement Mills Limited

Summit Power Limited

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October - December 2019 | 19

INSTITUTE NEWS

Media Coverage of CGE Award

SUCCESS GREETINGS F-0095

Mohammad Nurul Alam FCS Mohammad Nurul Alam has been appointed as a member of the Global Assembly of the Institute of Internal Auditors Inc. for two years’ term from 1 January, 2020 till 31 December, 2021.

Alam has also been appointed a Director in the Board of Directors of Prime Islami Securities Ltd.

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Abdus Sabur Miah ACS Abdus Sabur Miah ACS an Associate Member of the Institute became AVP & Head of Branch, Moghbazar Branch of Bank Asia Limited. Prior to this, he was AVP & Manager Operations of MCB Banani Branch of the same organization.

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Sweety Akhter ACS Sweety Akhter ACS an Associate Member of the Institute promoted to Company Secretary in Kay & Que (Bangladesh) Limited which is a publicly listed company of Multimode Group. Prior to this, she was Assistant Manager (Company Secretariat) of Multimode Group.

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F-0233

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Md. A. Halim Sarker FCS Accounts Executive Rahimafrooz Distribution Limited

Md. Muniruzzaman FCS Deputy General Manager, Audit Head of Audit Division Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) Limited

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Ananta Kumar Sarker FCS Senior Manager CCP Project Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited

Babul Meah FCS Executive Manager BASIC Bank Limited Khatunganj Branch

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Mohammad Ashraf Uddin Chowdhury FCS Company Secretary & Financial Adviser M & H Telecom Limited

Partha Protim Das FCS Company Secretary Walton Group

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Mohammad Emarot Hossain FCS Chief Financial Officer Provita Group

Mohammad Hasnat Mukul FCS Senior Auditor Internal Oversight, Executive Director Division,

icddr,b

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Mohammed Abu Salam FCS Deputy Secretary & Regional In Charge The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) Chattogram Regional Office

Md. Atiqur Rahman FCS Company Secretary Ekushey Television Limited

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Md. Oliullah Khan FCS Executive Vice President (Share, Investment & Board) Green Delta Insurance Company Limited

Mohammed Harun-Ar-Rashid FCS General Manager - MIS (A&F) Beximco LPG Unit-1 Limited

October - December 2019 | 21

INSTITUTE NEWS

Newly Elevated Fellow Members during the 4th Quarter of 2019

Newly Admitted Associate Members during the 4th Quarter of 2019

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Tanmoy Kumar Ghosh ACS Assistant Manager MGH Group

Mohammad Jahirul Islam ACS Senior Principal Officer, Company Affairs & Board Division Sonali Bank Limited

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Md. Salahuddin ACS Senior Principal Officer, Board and Company Secretariat Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited

Imran Ahamed ACS Deputy Company Secretary First Finance Limited

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Sharif Mohammad ACS Senior Officer Rupali Bank Limited

Kazi Md. Miraj Hossain ACS Former Officer (Retail & SME Banking) Estern Bank Limited

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Md. Ibrahim Khalil ACS Lecturer, Department of Management National University, Bangladesh

M. Umair Karim ACS Assistant Manager, Corporate Affairs eGeneration Limited

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Md. Asaduzzaman ACS Company Secretary Electro Group

A.B.M. Kalim Ullah ACS Manager, Business Process Reengineering Project (BPR) Prime Bank Limited

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Kazi Zahirul Islam ACS Senior Executive Officer & Branch Manager Premier Bank Limited Baluchar Branch

Mir Ariful Islam ACS Head of Research & Fund Manager Prime Finance Asset Management Company Limited

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A-0565

Rashed Alam Raihan ACS Consultant (Tax & Company Affairs) MAB Business Linkers Limited

Ganapati Kumar Biswas ACS Principal Officer Pubali Bank Limited

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Joynul Abedin ACS Executive Officer Company Secretariat Division United Commercial Bank Limited

Julas Biswas ACS Chief Financial Officer Nahee Aluminum Composite Panel Limited

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Mohammad Rukonul Islam ACS Company Secretary Bangladesh Eye Hospital & Institute Limited

Munshi Fahima Rahman ACS Manager (Accounts & Corporate Affairs) Jasmin & Associates

October - December 2019 | 23

INSTITUTE NEWS

Newly Admitted Associate Members during the 4th Quarter of 2019

Articles

October-December 2019

ARTICLE

COMPANY SECRETARY AND 4IR IN PURSUIT OF GOVERNANCE Bipul Kumar Bhowmik FCS

T

he first major change came about as a result of using steam and water to power production. The second industrial revolution was notable for mass production, division of labor, and electricity. The third industrial revolution took place at the turn of 1969, with automated production and the emergence of computing and electronics. The fourth will be as a consequence of the digital transformation, a result of the fusion of technologies that is breaking down the limits between the digital, physical, and biological spheres.

This reality, which is becoming increasingly evident—especially in certain production sectors—frightens many people, perhaps because of the examples we have seen in fiction. Far from heading toward a grim future in which machines decide to turn against human beings, and contrary to all kinds of pessimistic predictions with regards to the mass destruction of jobs, let us look at the consequences that previous industrial revolutions had on humanity as a whole. Just think that every technological advance has improved working conditions for the majority of people, making the world a progressively more humane place, which tells a different story from those mechanized and dehumanized societies that have sometimes been portrayed in cinema and literature. As an example, our relationship with robots will not be like that shown in “Terminator,” but more like the one we saw in “Star Wars” with R2D2 or C3PO. Such advances in artificial intelligence won’t result in a fight against robots, as we have seen so many times in films, but more a gradual decline in manual labor. Thanks to this collaboration with robots, people will enjoy a greater ability to balance both their professional and personal life, as well as to spend more time innovating, developing new products and services, and making more informed decisions. Robotics will have a decisive impact on the consumer sector, not only in product development but also in production, storage, and distribution phases.

However, to achieve this harmonious future, it will be necessary to maintain a degree of ethical control and responsibility in the development of artificial intelligence and robotics, paying close attention to the advice given by influential persons in the technological world—such as Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk—who have raised the importance of keeping powerful technology under control to ensure it is not allowed to turn against humankind.

It is well said that automation potential must be distinguished from automation adoption. While a high

number of tasks might be technically automatable, the adoption of particular technologies will depend on a complex interplay of factors including the cost of manpower; levels of education and skilling; legal frameworks for innovation; manpower protection policies; the availability of supporting infrastructure; and the social and cultural norms that shape attitudes towards technological change and innovation. Getting ahead of these coming challenges will mean investing in the sector’s capacities to become more agile and adaptive to new changes in their ecosystems.

Getting ahead of the Fourth Industrial Revolution also means deepening foresight and critical understanding of the impact of digitization and emerging technologies through knowledge sharing. The last two centuries of human society have produced unprecedented technologies, but we still need society independent and companies to keep our industrial revolutions human-centered.

Our enterprises should stay ahead of the curve in understanding the impacts of the fourth industrial revolution, identifying future challenges and possibilities and ensuring tailored governance whereas business intelligence is required to understand the impact of the fourth industrial revolution to find out the side effects of the technology along with its benefit in business. The fourth industrial revolution will add unpredictability to the future work, requiring people’s opportunities and well-being to be localized and re-examined.

Corporate professionals suggest to do emphasis on digitalization of businesses and cyber security to face the challenges. Company or chartered secretaries as corporate professionals stressed the need for a minimum standard of compliance in governance and believes that audits with special emphasis to secretarial audit should be responsibly carried out by the recognized and authorized professionals as well. Company/chartered secretaries also believe that global corporate governance standards should be maintained in-house and for clients to ensure sustainability of business values with a comment that artificial intelligence would make it easy to do business, so skilled professionals would be highly sought after.

» About the Author Fellow Member of the Institute

October -December 2019 | 25

4IR: SHIFTING GOVERNANCE AND PROFESSIONALS’ THINKING Mohammad Shahajahan FCS

I

ntroduction

Now-a-days technologies became indispensable in every sphere of life and devices are interlinked and interconnected through cyberspace which enables communication, education, hiring car, letting residence, online shopping, online trading, medication, consultation, online conference, meeting, presentation, research, etc. Multinational companies and chaebols are increasingly promoting the networking tracking devices to enhance corporate and business performance. Public sector in Bangladesh has adopted e-filing for enabling virtual office, iBAS++ for real time financial management and governance and digitalization of most of the public services for transparent and smooth public service delivery. The private sector is also deploying and implementing the most recent technologies to sustain in competitions. The modern age is differentiated by the speed of technological breakthroughs, the pervasiveness of scope and the tremendous impact of new systems and emerging technologies. The breadth and depth of the techno-digital transformation in the era of 4th Industrial Revaluation (4IR) demands rapid changes in entire systems of production, management and public governance. The response to that rapid changes cannot be left to state institutions alone but requires the active engagement of citizens, the private sector, the academy and civil society. Policymaking cycles and processes used previously became inadequate due to the pace of technological development, its characteristics and quicker scale of emerging technologies comparing to previous industrial revolutions. This paper aims to evaluate the 4IR and its influence to shifting of governance, desired governance model and changing role of company secretary as governance professional during 4IR and finally, to recommend the preparedness of education and governance institutions in Bangladesh to ensure adequate measures at the pace of technological development during the 4IR.

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4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) The first industrial revolution involved changes of agrarian societies to greater industrialization due to the consequence of the steam engine and other technological developments, the second industrial revolution expanded the industries and mass production due to the electricity and technological advances, the third industrial revolution expanded human activity due to modernization in cyberspace i.e. computers and networking. The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR)/ Industry 4.0 is the current and developing environment of disruptive technologies and trends which are changing the way we live, work and relate to one another due to the adoption of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI). In factories and workplaces, smart technologies are being used to connect machines to interact, visualize the entire production, supply chain and make decisions autonomously. This revolution is expected to impact all disciplines, industries, and economies and hence it is disrupting almost every industry in every country and creating massive change in a non-linear way at unprecedented speed due to the velocity, scope and systems impact of the changes of the Industry 4.0.

According to Professor Klaus Schwab- the new age is differentiated by the speed of technological breakthroughs, the pervasiveness of scope and the tremendous impact of new systems. The breadth and depth of the transformation demands changes in entire systems of production, management and public governance. Responding to the changes requires active role of state institutions, the active engagement of citizens, the private sector, the academy and civil society. With the pace of rapid technological development the data protection regulations also became a prime concern to protect the risk of data misuse especially after high profile data security breaches at AOL Inc., Sony, Yahoo, etc.

ARTICLE Shifting of Governance The 4th Industrial Revolution is complex, transformative and distributed nature. Therefore, a new type of governance is required to address the interlinked dynamics of the pace and synergistic nature of emerging technologies, the transnational impact of technologies and broader societal implications and the political nature of technologies.

Policymaking cycles and processes used previously became insufficient and outdated due to the pace of technological development, its characteristics and quicker scale of emerging technologies comparing to previous industrial revolutions. Emerging technologies build on and diffuse over digital networks, which enable them to mature at a pace and on a scale previously unseen. Technologies are rapidly developing around the globe, irrespective of development of new governance systems to manage the use of these technologies. Besides, as these technologies mature, they converge and combine, creating ever stronger and impactful ecosystems, which can become self-governing by algorithms, coding rules and internal dynamics independently of human action and decision. Therefore, for achieving a shared and common objective, a time bound decision and action should be taken to shape the configuration and impact of technologically driven systems.

Secondly, the use of new technologies has global scope and broad societal impact as these diffused technologies have impact on surrounding systems, including investments, organizational strategies, productivity, consumption and human behaviour. As disruptions to labour markets, the environment and human interactions is obvious due to emerging technologies, they challenge the governance of technologies themselves.

So new policies, approaches and social protection mechanisms are become crucial to manage the emerging technologies.

Laws to preserve democratic participation, national and international interventions to influence the power of emerging technologies, rules and policies to ensure that the human labour and creativity are augmented rather than replaced, and development of new processes to facilitate synchronization and learning between governments in undertaking similar issues are felt to be in place without any delay.

Thirdly, the political nature of emerging technologies impact the society. Therefore, for equally impact in society rather than supporting either ‘right wing’ or ‘left wing’, the neutrality, values, assumptions and principles of technologies should be ensured fairly at the time of its development, deployment and

implementation. From artificial intelligence (AI), it has seen clearly that the ideas going into them. So the ideologies of the developers creating AI, the norms and values in the context within which AI is developed and deployed all have an impact on its applications and outcomes. The racial biases, gender discriminations, ethics in editing genome etc. need to consider in this context. National vision and understanding should be fairly shaped by the political nature of the emerging technologies and their governance should be based on building economies, societies and global views.

Desired Governance Model during 4IR With the pace of the emerging technologies, powers are being shifted away from governments towards companies and non-state actors, simultaneously, the traditional view of governance is also being shifted and expanded as a concept. Due to the dynamics and facts of the 4IR, humanity is facing the innumerable challenges which cannot be solved by any single sector alone. Therefore, it is suggested that governance must become a multi-stakeholder endeavour and this shift in governance is also occurring because governments and policy-makers are increasingly forced to be reactive to the speed of technological innovation which creates a new role for the private sector and academia working alongside public officials to provide expertise on the technologies they are developing, deploying and potential consequences of technologies. Powerful technologies produced in private sector and their dissemination have a fundamental influence on social and economic structures i.e. from AI to autonomous vehicles to the confluence of systems underlying the gig economy.

These technologies and their enabled systems are rapidly shifting behaviours and creating new rules for human interaction due to the incentives and boundaries built in design of the technologies. Though lack of a political mandate, technology pioneers are increasingly developing private rules, certification schemes, standards, social norms or policies that end up, by default, governing the way people live, work and interact and often without being restricted by national borders or limited to a single jurisdiction.

The benefits of emerging technologies are welcomed while their disruptive elements of such emerging technologies need to bring to the minimum level as desired. Therefore, it is required to address their interlinked dynamics, their impact on trans-nations and societies and their political nature.

Traditional governance models are being disrupted by technologies (Arnaldo P. Vanesa W. Maria M. Fred C.

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2019). The following ASEAN principles for national and regional governance during 4IR are prescribed: Speed: Policy makers must recognize that the process of making rules and setting standards must keep up with technological shifts.

Agility: Government organizations, regulators and policy makers must have flexibility to respond rapidly to changing circumstances, without losing sight of the overarching goals and values.

Experimentation and iteration: Policy makers will need to develop ideas quickly, implement these ideas in time bound and experimental settings, learn lessons quickly and steer this feedback into the policy-decisions-making process.

Inclusivity and multiple stakeholders: Truly effective policymaking and regulations will require inputs and views from multiple stakeholders.

Openness: The 4IR is a global phenomenon. Hence, policies and regulations should continue to support collaboration, sharing and exchange between countries within a region and across regions.

New governance models must highlight and integrate the fact that the responsibility for governance does not lie purely with the public sector. Instead, it must harness the insight and influence of the private sector while ensuring that citizens are protected from the negative and disruptive elements of emerging technologies.

Therefore, agile governance can proactively help to shape and direct how technologies impact people and communities in a malleable way through an iterative process. The pace, scope, scale and political nature of the 4IR and its human-centred impacts suggested that agile governance model is being effective. It is necessary to rethink and redesign policy processes by acknowledging that the changes and disruptions are much faster and more complex than before they forced.

Secondly, the concept of political nature of technologies suggested for agile governance in the area of developing emerging technologies, their applications and their consequences. This includes identifying where and how values are formed in the development and use of technologies and determining the optimal political frameworks for integrating values in both spheres.

Thirdly, agile governance is best fit for positioning values that promote societal benefit and well-being as

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priorities. It can direct the development and use of emerging technologies and to whom they offered benefit.

Changing Role of the Company Secretary as Governance Professional during 4IR The success of the 4IR is depended on leadership from all sectors working together to leverage the opportunities and address the challenges of the 4IR. Political leadership is responsible for developing and implementing an environment that enables digital transformation and innovation. Business leadership is responsible for leading think tanks and the much-needed innovation in the 4IR. Social leadership should play an important role in preparing society for the changes brought by the 4IR (M. Ickson Manda, S. Ben Dhaou. 2019).

The Governance Professionals have relevant competencies to work to enhance the governance in the organizations or companies for achieving the business’s commercial interest, safeguarding the interest of stakeholders, creating values and ensuring social responsibilities. Following the global financial crisis, giant corporate scandals and the high profile data security breaches at AOL Inc., Sony, Yahoo, etc. the increased and new regulations and emphasis on governance across all sectors and organizations throughout the world demanded for skilled corporate governance professionals like chartered secretaries, chartered accountants, cost & management accountants, legal experts, auditors etc.; and it is anticipated that this demand will be remained high for decades even in the era of 4IR. Over the years, despite the changes in the industry, especially in the movement to the fourth industrial revolution, the role of an efficient Company Secretary fundamentally remains the same because the modern company secretary should be a business solutions provider, and an expert in negotiation, communication, stakeholder engagement, etc. They have to pay attention to details, be patient, open-minded and humble that impact largely on regulation and legacy (C. Rollini, 2018).

With regulation, company secretary is needed to summarize it as the pace of changes in that area and the ever increasing complexity which impact many aspects such as suitability, accountability, segregation of duties between a board and an Executive Committee, the license to operate, risk management, shareholders/ stakeholders relationship, any other aspects which require a company governance to be constantly assessed, reviewed and adapted (C. Rollini, 2018).

ARTICLE With legacy, company secretary is needed to continue as the relatively recent approach consisting in reassessing companies past activities, behaviours, statements, etc. in the light to today’s criteria and set of values, which forces to consider how something will be perceived in ten or more years’ time, in order to mitigate potential futures risks (C. Rollini, 2018). As with the pace of technological development the risk of potential data use has already emerged, he/she also need to have vast knowledge on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which is now the first requirement to protect the benefits of both business houses as well as existing and potential consumers.

Company secretary should be careful enough to provide timely and relevant contextual information to enable the Board to make equally timely and relevant decisions. The decisions and discussions should be properly set in minutes and effective follow up should be done by the company secretary for achieving the strategic objectives of the organization. As governance professional, he/she should assume robustly, ask for solution by keeping things simple and should establish his/her reputation and credibility, not only among the Board members but also throughout the organization as a trusted dialogue partner, advisor and solution provider. By using the emotional intelligence, he/she needs to engage, both individually and as a team, with the Board members in between the meetings to get to know them and better understand the way they work. As much as possible, he/she is needed to expect and anticipate the unexpected thing that may make Board members surprised and irritated (C. Rollini, 2018).

Preparedness of Governance Institute: Bangladesh Perspective

Professional

Emerging technologies of the 4IR create ways of developing, exchanging and distributing value across society with faster changes and hence, the organizations and individuals are experiencing the uncomfortable pace of change. These changes are challenging as today we have to address a range of 21st-century challenges, armed with 20th-century mind-sets and 19th-century institutions (Elmi & Davis 2018).

The changes by the 4IR are affecting knowledge systems and it will continue over the coming years.

Critical changes for research include new data-driven technologies that will allow governments’ access to real time information. Development of processing and synthesis skills, promoting digital literacy, ensuring data reliability and inclusiveness and data privacy are

required to respond to the change. Professional and education institutions, in collaboration with governments and industry, need to prepare lifelong learners, emphasising critical thinking and collaboration skills. Policy experimentation through open innovation platforms at different levels by including citizen participation and collective action strengthened by new digital technologies will be more recognized and used as a way to test policy solutions.

Professional knowledge require much more integration of skills, digital literacy, data protection and reliability, ethics, participation and collaboration which as legitimate elements of knowledge systems. So, as knowledge institution, Governance Professional Institutions should adopt policies that can foster- 1) a strategy to govern the techno-digital transformation and 2) a strategy to support leadership and human development capacity (Lee, M. et al. 2018).

In middle-income country like Bangladesh, investment in knowledge systems and fostering interactions among their core components is very highly recommended as it gives scope to education intuitions to prepare researchers and civil servants who are responsible to adapt and adopt new technologies to address the specific economic and social problems of their countries. They are responsible to design the required enabling environment to increase productivity and strengthen competitiveness to ensure a sustainable and inclusive economic growth benefits for all.

Similarly, the middle income country like Bangladesh should highly prioritize the investment in research systems to building a national research culture for strong local innovation, citizen and professional lifelong learning and knowledge which are important to successful implementation of any changes. This will help middle-income countries like Bangladesh to take advantage of the benefits of the 4IR to strengthen their economies as well as their social development (Arnaldo P. Vanesa W. Maria M. Fred C. 2019).

Therefore, public and private universities in Bangladesh, professional institutions (Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh-ICSB, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh-ICAB and Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh-ICMAB) and other governance institutions in Bangladesh need to update their education systems and competency framework that best fit to face the rapid changes and disruptions occurred due to the 4IR. Professional institutions need to employ their endeavours to update their members with much more integrated skills, digital literacy, big data analysis

October -December 2019 | 29

ability, knowledge on data protection and data reliability, ethics, capacity for participation and collaboration. Lifelong learning like Continuous Development Programs covering the recent changes, techno-digital transformation, shifting governance model, Sustainable Development Goals, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), etc. should be convened regularly to update the members of the professional institutes to make them confident to implement the technological changes and manage its consequences within the organizations. Governance professionals need to acquire knowledge and skills on powerful technologies produced i.e. Artificial Intelligence, and their fundamental influence on social and economic structures i.e. the gig economy. They also need to be familiar with technology pioneers, their private rules, certification schemes, standards, social norms or policies (which are by default building in technologies) that are governing the way of living, working and interacting and impacting globally.

Therefore, governance and professional institutions need to affiliate with other national and international organizations with a view to collaborate, synchronization of practice and sharing learning between organizations nationally and globally working on the similar issues.

Conclusion and Recommendations: The 4th Industrial Revolution is complex, transformative, distributed and disruptive nature.

Emerging technologies of the 4IR create ways of developing, exchanging and distributing value across society with faster changes and hence, the organizations and individuals are experiencing the uncomfortable pace of change. Rapid development of technologies, global scope and broad societal impact of these diffused technologies and the political nature of emerging technologies’ impact on society suggested that agile governance model is best fit to exploit the benefits of emerging technologies while minimising the disruptive elements of such emerging technologies. Therefore, huge investment in education and research system is highly recommended in middle income country like Bangladesh to building a national research culture for strong local innovation, citizen and professional lifelong learning and knowledge which are important to successful implementation of any

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changes and to take advantage of the benefits of the 4IR to strengthen their economies as well as their social development. Public and Private Universities, Professional and Governance Institutions need to update their education systems and competency framework that best fit to face the rapid changes and disruptions is being occurred due to the 4IR. Lifelong learning programs, digital literacy, recent technology development and knowledge on their underlying private rules, certification schemes, standards, social norms or policies, risk of the potential misuse of data, General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) etc. are required for updating the governance professional.

Finally, collaboration, synchronization of practices and sharing learning of professional and governance institutions with other national and global organizations working on the similar issues will help to capitalize the benefits of new technologies of 4IR. References: 1. Arnaldo P. Vanesa W. Maria M. Fred C. (2019): State Capability, Policymaking and the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Do Knowledge Systems Matter?

2. C. Rollini, 2018: Fourth Industrial Revolution: How has it changed the Role of a Company Secretary?

3. Elmi, N. & Davis, N. (2018): How governance is changing in the 4IR, World Economic Forum.

4. Lee, M. et al. (2018): How to respond to the fourth industrial revolution, or the second information technology revolution? Dynamic new combinations between technology, market, and society through open innovation.

5. M. Ickson Manda, S. Ben Dhaou. 2019: Responding to the challenges and opportunities in the 4th Industrial revolution in developing countries 6. World Economic Forum, 2018: White Paper- Agile Governance Reimagining Policy-making in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

» About the Author Fellow Member of the Institute

ARTICLE

TAXATION AND FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Dr. Sams Uddin Ahmed

A

bstract

One of the major challenges of the fourth industrial revolution is taxing the virtual economy worldwide. The issue is not less important for the developing countries like Bangladesh. Virtual world is going hand in hand with the real world and is impacting our lives in many substantial ways. Virtual economy is vibrant and generating considerable amount of income that has tax implications. Countries like the USA, South Korea, and the United Kingdom have framed legislations to tax virtual economy. This is also time for Bangladesh to think seriously about the taxation issue of the virtual economy. Tax administrations of Bangladesh should be ready to accept this challenge of the fourth industrial revolution.

Key Words: 4 IR, Taxation, Virtual world, Virtual economy, Tax administration, Bangladesh Introduction Fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is changing our lives in a very fundamental way (Fox and Vlodia, 2019).

Schwab (2016) states, “Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.”

Regarding 4IR McGinnis(2018) states, “It’s a fusion of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other technologies. It’s the collective force behind many products and services that are fast becoming indispensable to modern life.”

Inventions of 4IR includes artificial intelligence, block chain, new computational technologies, virtual reality (VR), biotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, IIoT, energy capture, storage, and transmission. While innovations of 4IR have the ability to impact business and human lives to a great extent, it has some challenges to face.

The purpose of this article is to discuss one major challenges we are supposed to face and the challenge

is how to tax the gains harvested from 4IR. The article addresses the issue of taxing the economy of VR by the contemporary tax administrations of the developing countries like Bangladesh. The article is arranged as follows. While part I gives an introduction, part II defines VR and other related issues. Part III discusses the taxing mechanisms of income earned through VR activities in developing countries with special reference to Bangladesh. Part IV makes suggestions how to tax VR and finally part V makes some concluding remarks.

Virtual Reality and Virtual Economy Virtual worlds refer to three dimensional environments in which one can interact with others and create objects through their interaction. VR ranges from to choose from fantasy to sport, historical and science fiction.

Walpole (2008) states, “The concept of a virtual world is unlikely to be clear to all readers. The types of virtual worlds discussed fall broadly into two types – “unscripted worlds” and “scripted worlds”. A scripted world is one in which a member of the world acquires the form of an avatar which interacts with the virtual environment inside what is usually a computer game.

The example used in the literature is “World of Warcraft” a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game or “MMORPG”.” However, definition of virtual world has not yet been given universally acceptable shape.

Girvan(2018) states, “The development of virtual worlds, both in terms of technical features and the widening range of reported user experiences, has resulted in a fragmented understanding in the literature of what a virtual world is and is not. To further complicate this problem, within the educational research literature we find a variety of terms which are used to label the technology: virtual world (VW); virtual environment (VE); multi-user virtual environment (MUVE); massively-multiplayer online (role-playing) game (MMO(RP)G); immersive virtual world (IVW); immersive world; immersive online environment; 3D virtual learning environment; open-ended virtual worlds; simulated worlds; serious virtual world; social virtual world; synthetic virtual world; and virtual learning environment (VLE).” This abundance of terms might

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create conceptual misunderstandings putting a barrier in the development of the field (Girvan, 2018).

However, virtual economy on the other hand is related to the virtual environment. It exists in the virtual world for example against the background of internet games and so. The massive development and use of information and communication technology (ICT) has made possible the expansion of virtual economy. Nazir and Lui (2016) state, “The term ‘virtual economy’ (VE) refers to the process of exchanging virtual items and services with virtual currency within a virtual world. A virtual world (VW) is an avatar-based 3D platform, in which avatars represent real-world users.”

Lehdonvirta and Ernkvist (2011) delineates, “The widespread adoption of ICTs in everyday life has given rise to a massive new market for digital goods and services. Addressing the business op-opportunities in this market has traditionally required significant skills and infrastructure, putting them out of reach for most people in the developing world… And although digital resources in principle are unlimited, many online platforms have artificial scarcities built into them as part of their design. The demand for these scarce resources, their supply, and the markets where the supply and the demand meet, constitute a computer-mediated virtual economy.” The virtual economy generates huge revenue. For example in 2014 gross revenues of the third-party gaming services industry amounted to $3.2 billion. The bulk of this revenue was captured in the developing countries where these services were produced (Lehdonvirta and Ernkvist, 2011). The dimension of virtual economy is growing rapidly which cannot be ignored by any chance. In 2013, users created more than 2.1 million virtual items for sale in 2013, compared to just 28,000 items in 2004 and the gigantic virtual economic growth not only attracts the real world companies but also the individual entrepreneurs who seek to take the advantage of the economic opportunities created by the VR. Against the backdrop of such massive development in the virtual economy, it is worthwhile to think about the ability of the tax administrations how the huge revenue can be tapped and taxed. It seems a mountainous task for the tax administration of developing countries like Bangladesh.

Taxing Virtual Economy VR and VE are now reality. They impact lives of millions and as is observed generate huge amount of revenue.

Taxation of VR or VE is a novel issue. Taxation of such VE might be laughable at first blush. But it deserves serious attention considering the size of the economy.

As Huang (2015) noted, “The IRS began efforts to

32 | October -December 2019

address taxation of virtual economies in 2007, culminating in minor steps to effect compliance and a report by the Government Accountability Office released in May of 2013.” GAO (2013) contended, “Transactions within virtual economies or using virtual currencies could produce taxable income in various ways, depending on the facts and circumstances of each transaction. For example, transactions within a “closed-flow” virtual currency system do not produce taxable income because a virtual currency can be used only to purchase virtual goods or services. An example of a closed-flow transaction is the purchase of items to use within an online game. In an “open-flow” system, a taxpayer who receives virtual currency as payment for real goods or services may have earned taxable income since the virtual currency can be exchanged for real goods or services or readily exchanged for government-issued currency, such as U.S. dollars.” However, there are two main activities in the virtual world that provides financial benefit to the participants. The first one is the scripted type of world such as World of Warcraft which requires many hours to battle and achieve high points of power. The second one is the unscripted world like the Second Life. In Second Life avatars can spend Linden dollars for the premium account holders (Walpole, 2008).

Although the extent of tax non-compliance in VE is yet to be measured, it poses serious compliance risk for the tax administrations around the world. This is particularly true for a developing country like Bangladesh. It can be argued that the present capacity of the tax administration of Bangladesh is not good enough to deal with the issues of non-compliance in the field of VE. In a world where the tax administrations struggle to tax real income, someone might frown at the issue of taxing VE. Huang (2015) states, “Taxation of transactions within virtual worlds may have been laughable at the outset of virtual reality, but the idea merits serious attention today. Online video games have become a multi-billion dollar industry within the last decade. This is due in large part to the rise of the Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (“MMORPG,” or “MMO” for short). ” Although the VE taxation issue is gaining ground gradually, research in the field is not remarkable.

Huang (2015) mentioned the works of Professors Leandra Lederman and Bryan Camp, who focused on the taxation issue of in-game-traders. They put forward the initial theories of rationalities whether and why virtual worlds should be taxed and argued that in-game transactions relating to virtual assets and currencies should not be taxed whereas transactions involving real money should be (Huang, 2015).

ARTICLE Lederman (2007) states, “People generally pay to participate in virtual worlds, and many are there solely for the social and entertainment value. However, even in the course of playing structured games, participants often receive items, such as armor, weapons, or virtual currency, that have value within the game. Some participants accept real money in return for transferring such an item in-world. As a result of such real market trades, many items have ascertainable market values. Some of those values are quite high.”

The market value generates revenue and consequential tax incidence. According to Huang (2015) the most important issue is to identify taxable transactions and then the tax consequences. He attempted to identify the transactions as sale of virtual characters, sale of virtual gold and sale of virtual items like armor and weapon and things alike. Countries like the USA and Sweden are now taxing virtual economy.

The IRS in Notice 2014-21 states, “In general, the sale or exchange of convertible virtual currency, or the use of convertible virtual currency to pay for goods or services in a real-world economy transaction, has tax consequences that may result in a tax liability.” The IRS has specific guidelines for taxing virtual currencies generated through virtual transactions. IRS defines virtual currency as, “Virtual currency is a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value. In some environments, it operates like “real” currency (i.e., the coin and paper money of the United States or of any other country that is designated as legal tender, circulates, and is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of issuance), but it does not have legal tender status in the U.S. Crypto currency is a type of virtual currency that utilizes cryptography to secure transactions that are digitally recorded on a distributed ledger, such as a block chain, DAG, or Tempo.” The sale and exchanges of virtual currencies has tax consequences. For tax purposes, virtual currency is treated as property.

General tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency. A taxpayer who receives virtual currency as payment for goods or services must, in computing gross income, include the fair market value of the virtual currency, measured in U.S. dollars, as of the date that the virtual currency was received.

2020). The UK taxation authority currently imposes tax on crypto currencies and crypto assets. Regarding crypto currency the UK HMRC states that individuals that have crypto currency in the form of personal investment will be liable to pay capital gains tax at the time of disposal of their crypto currency. 'Disposal' refers to the following transactions:

In Sweden income from gaming sites are subject to taxation. Currently South Korea is planning to tax crypto currency and legislation is underway to that end. South Korea is an important market for crypto currencies and remains one of the top ten countries for total exchanges in virtual currencies (Stengarone,

Conclusion

•

selling crypto assets for money

•

exchanging crypto assets for a different type of crypto asset

•

using crypto assets to pay for goods or services

•

giving away crypto assets to another person

Taxation of Virtual Economy in Bangladesh Currently Bangladesh does not impose tax on virtual economy. Bangladesh tax administration is beset with multiple problems like narrow tax base, prevalence of informal economy, slow pace of digitalization, lack of tax culture and many others. So taxing virtual economy is a formidable challenge for Bangladesh. Among other things Bangladesh tax administration lacks capacity and trained human resources. Because of that the transfer pricing regulation in Bangladesh cannot be put in operation though rules were framed in 2012. So at the current situation it could be laughable if someone talks about taxing virtual economy in Bangladesh. But the issue is now a reality. Though there is no study or statistics regarding the number of VR users in Bangladesh, it can be assumed that given the extent of ramification of the VR worldwide, Bangladesh should not lag behind in the sector.

According to the statistics divulged by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Board, as of November, 2019, there are 99 million internet users in Bangladesh.

The number implies the extent of use of VR technology in Bangladesh. So it is imperative that Bangladesh tax administration gives serious consideration to the issue.

With that end tax authority should train tax personnel to gain appropriate knowledge regarding VE. It should develop the capacity to identify virtual transactions and assess the same for tax purpose. Best practice to date worldwide can be followed through sharing of knowledge among tax administrations.

The taxation of virtual economy is a new issue to address. Both the tax authorities and the researchers should come forward to delve into the issue of VE taxation. Switzer and Switzer (2014) state, “The taxation of virtual world economies is uncharted terrain,

October -December 2019 | 33

one that both researchers and government officials are just beginning to scrutinize. As the old saying goes, taxes are inevitable in the “real world,” but what about the increasingly lucrative virtual world economies?

With a first-quarter 2010 market for virtual goods and services of $160 million USD in Second Life alone, it is no wonder that governments are beginning to take notice.” Bangladesh tax administrations should take note of the burgeoning extent of the VE transactions and prepare and enforce appropriate legislations to address the taxation issue of virtual economy. Though tax researchers yet to be in full consensus regarding the issue of VE taxation, development in the field is not to be ignored. It is to be borne in mind that taxation of VE is very complicated issue and that should be addressed carefully. This remains one of the major challenges of the fourth industrial revolution in Bangladesh.

(HMRC) – 2020 (15 November, 2019). <https://koinly.io/guides/hmrc-cryptocurrency-taxguide/>.

Reference •

•

•

Fox, Eleanor and Valodia, Imraan. 2019. Business Day. (22 July, 2019). <https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/201907-22-neglected-challenge-of-the-4ir-debate/>.

Accessed 9 January, 2019.

Girvan, Carina. 2018. What is a virtual world?

Definition and classification, Springer. <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323022 301_What_is_a_virtual_world_Definition_and_clas sification/link/5a7cf43caca272341aed8284/downl oad>.

HM Revenue and Customs. Cryptoassets: tax for individuals (20 December, 2019). <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taxon-cryptoassets/cryptoassets-for-individuals>.

•

Huang, Byron M. 2015. Walking the Thirteenth Floor: The Taxation of Virtual Economies, Yale Journal of Law and Technology, 17, 224.

•

IRS. Internal Revenue Bulletin: 2014-16., (April 14, 2 0 1 4 ) . <https://www.irs.gov/irb/2014-16_IRB#NOT-2014-21>.

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Koinly Blog. Guide: Crypto currency Tax in the UK

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Lederman, Leandra.2007. Stranger than Fiction’: Taxing Virtual Worlds, New York University Law Review, 82, 1620 – 1672.

•

Lehdonvirta, Vili. & Ernkvist, Mirko, 2011.

Converting the Virtual Economy into Development Potential: Knowledge Map of the Virtual Economy, Washington, DC; infoDev / World Bank.Available at http://www.infodev.org/publications

•

Martin, Shwan. 208. Key Components of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Electronics 360. < https://electronics360.globalspec.com/article/1143 9/key-components-of-the-fourth-industrial-revolutio n>.

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Mcginnis, Devon. 2018. What Is the Fourth Industrial Revolution? Sales Force Blog. < https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2018/12/what-is-t he-fourth-industrial-revolution-4IR.html>.

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Nazir, Mohamed and Lui, Carrie Siu Man. 2016. A Brief History of Virtual Economy, Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 9(1). < https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/44215/1/44215% 20Nazir%20and%20Lui_published.pdf>.

•

Scwab, Klaus. 2016. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond. World Economic Forum. < https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourt h-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-r espond/>.

•

Stengarone, Troy. South Korea Works to Bring Crypto currency into the Mainstream, (The Diplomat, 3 January, 2020). <https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/south-korea-wor ks-to-bring-cryptocurrency-into-the-mainstream/>.

» About the Author

Commissioner of Taxes National Board of Revenue

ARTICLE

RESPONDING TO FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: AN ANALYSIS ON ONLINE FOOD DELIVERY BUSINESS IN BANGLADESH Salma Akther

A

bstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the present online food delivery mechanism in Bangladesh in relation to fourth industrial revolution (4IR). The review of literature shows that many online food delivery companies are now depends high-intensive automated operating system to run their business. This study utilized the secondary data. A detail explanation of current market situation provides the opportunity to find possible solution approach to run their business.Additionally, this study has developed an implementation plan. Each implementation plan is organized with result orientation which can helps to take the right business decision for each company to achieve their expected return from investment.

Keywords Fourth Industrial Revolution, Smart app, value creation.

Introduction Due to technological revolution and spectacular shift in lifestyle patterns in Bangladesh, online food business operations are now in the apogee. Daily life and professional life are interrelated. Fourth industrial revolutionary system can minimize the restrictions and brings a balanced life. We are now stand in front of such conversion that are totally unlikely compare to the past historical background of mankind. This phenomenon requires cohesive and inclusive response with due consideration of fourth industrial revolution (4IR) in every aspect. Food accessibility are not painstaking task anymore. Through the internet of things and internet of system, people can maximize expectation regarding food choice. Online food delivery systems are now using drones to robot system to provide their services. Acceptability rate are high due to this driverless food delivery concept into customers doorstep (Bruce, 2016). To provide more satisfaction to all the stakeholders of online food delivery business, this research designed to explore the current situation of industry with implementation plan which may have potentials to further research to attain long term goal.

Objectives Online food delivery services companies are not running their business without challenges and competition. Also, familiarization with this online food delivery system still infrequent in Bangladesh. In general, this paper explores present phenomenon for greater understanding of different dimension of this industry. Specifically, this paper examines the market responding capability in regard to 4IR and develop an implementation plan with possible results by which individual organization can make alternative approach to capture larger customer pool.

Methodology This study conducted by descriptive research. To get appropriate result, it has chosen secondary data resources which are concentrated on online food delivery services website, related journals, newspaper, books and so on. Afterwards the data are analyzed to make a reasonable concluding remark for the whole industry.

Literature Review Chang, Chou and Lo (2014) has mentioned that individual customers personal characteristics can influence online food buying process. Individual buying behavior shape the group buying behavior. Therefore, this group of buyers’ retake intention of online food delivery services greatly influence on respective firm performance.

Customer loyalty towards online food delivery services depends on different indicator like food quality, time-driven services etc. The study conducted on Indonesian online food delivery services supports the parameter. The researcher highlighted the e-service impact on the form performance (Suhartanto et al., 2009). However still there is a research gap to explore the preparation of online food services from the platform of 4IR. One study conducted on Malaysian online food delivery services which focused on operational efficiency

October -December 2019 | 35

measures of firms. Based on empirical research, it is indicated how customer order can influence by trustworthy websites, and service responsiveness of individual company (Zulkarnain et al.,2015). This research creates further scope to explore different dimension of 4IR which are involved in organizational performance.

The study conducted in Jordan in online food services identified factors that are significantly affect the customers satisfaction of e-based food business. A proposed role model are developed for tracking, rating and reviewing online food delivery system which can be used to achieve their organizational goal (Alalwan, 2020). Although, this research has lacks in depth connection of current consequences of 4IR Situation Analysis Macro Environment analysis To analyze the situation of whole online food delivery industry it is required to understand the macro-environment concept properly.

Target segments, customers demand and communication strategy with customers are the primary factors of macro-environment analysis.

The estimated population was 163.05 million till to 2019, whereas at 2013 it was 156.5 million in Bangladesh. It is clearly indicating that population growth rate is growing (World Bank Group, 2019).

Rural lifestyle dramatically shifts with urban lifestyle creates the keen interest for high-end products.

Presence of digitized product offerings and increasing tech-savvy people are supportive evidence to future growth to 75% (138 million users) by 2025 (Mahmud, 2018). Economic and sociocultural environment are more vital factors alongside the environmental, technological, political and legal factors (table 1) are critical to evaluate online meal delivery kit industry in Bangladesh. Overall GDP of Bangladesh has been increasing for the past 10years.It is also anticipated that the growth rate will continuously rising from 6% (2015) to 8% by the year 2019/2020 alongside purchasing power continuously increasing (World Bank Group, 2019).It has the exploring possibility of online food services. However, cost of raw materials, labor, and transportation in Bangladesh increased as well. Multiculturalism society proved high potentiality of online food services here. Active and healthy lifestyle, work-life balance are crucial factors for modern people. Consumption style are changing; therefore, people more tend to spend rather to saving.

The societal scenario has now demanded

36 | October -December 2019

personalized services for food choice. Capacity increase then necessary for the firms to fulfill customers expectation.

Table 1 Macro Environment Analysis Economic Environment: Evidently, the last 10 years to till date, Bangladesh has confirmed their growth performance in almost all sector.

The increased economic performance and high concentrated disposable income are acting as a highest motivation to explore the healthy life with healthy foods (Hossain,2010) D e m o g r a p h i c Environment: The fundamental reasons of growing online food takers are the increased population in Bangladesh for decades (Islam, 2019) Natural Environment: Still Bangladesh is in initial phase to adapt with organic food consumption. Due to the health safety, people are now more willing to take additive free and sustainable food for them (Ahmed & Rahman, 2015)

S o c i o c u l t u r a l Environment: Although Bangladesh known as a homogeneous country similarly it consists diversified cultural people.

Multiculturism influence the people to choose their product.

Increased percentage of youth people and large number of working professionals are wants to save their time.

Furthermore, nowadays active and fit lifestyles are in high demand list of society’s people. To achieve better performance in work and professional life people are reasonably demand the online meal delivery kits (Muntasir, 2019).

T e c h n o l o g i c a l Environment: Technological innovation facilitated the online food delivery companies in Bangladesh. Food making process time are minimized through mechanized services (Sarker, 2018).

Po l i t i c a l - l e g a l Environment: Online food delivery business in Bangladesh could be influenced by the rules and regulations set by Governmental body and other stakeholder. To ensure food safety, alteration of rules are required to minimize the health risk (Muntasir, 2019).

Note: Adapted from Marketing Management Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control (p.147) by Kotler.P, 1999, Prentice-Hall of India.1997 Prentice-Hall.

ARTICLE Industry Analysis Firstly, the ingredient suppliers are providing fresh, high-quality foods and vegetables. Basically, the ingredients are provided by local suppliers. The bargaining power of the supplier is high due to high dependency on high -quality ingredient. Therefore, the bargain power of suppliers are positively related to the quality appeal by online food delivery system. Switch on probability of consumers are easy which results high bargaining power of buyer. Compare to other food company, the online meal delivery company has lower number of customers pool, so to capture the satisfaction of each customer online food delivery service provider needs to ensure their value-based services. Entry barrier is medium and future barrier potentials are high. Internet facilities and increasing level of smart phone usage create the opportunity for new entrant in this industry. Also, there are threat of substitutes as some companies are offer food delivery services with cheap cost which are convenient for many people in Bangladesh.

share in online food business. Mostly urban and family-oriented people are in their customer pool. Uber eats is famous around the world. As the economy of Bangladesh is now in booming situation, people are now more sophisticated and variety seeker, and Uber eats perfectly pointing on this issue, arranged premium quality product with low prices. However, still Uber eats are underrated in terms of usage of their product.

Foodpanda and HungryNaki are running their business by offering healthy and locally made fresh product for their customer respectively. This two (Foodpanda and HungryNaki) companies are moderately influence the customers regarding the usage rate and price offerings of their product.

Market Position Analysis

The dominant competitors in online food delivery system in Bangladesh is Pathao Food regarding order receiving each day (hold 42 % market share), whereas Foodpanda holds 32% and HungryNaki presenting 8% and Shohoz foods continue with 8% market share respectively. Pathao food is the key role player in this market with largest consumer transaction pool and greater number of restaurant affiliation (Munastir, 2019).

Online food delivery companies must offer the diversified product offerings as well as act as a time saver for their customer (Pigatto et al., 2017). These two factors are helps to firm to take a distinctive position in the online food delivery market. In terms of market position, Pathao offers high-quality of ingredients compare to other competitors, but they possess a very low product variance. Pathao food value proposition defines that they are focused on urban inhabitants. These urban inhabitants has high inclinations on recipe variation, healthy food requirement in their daily life. However, they have time limitations for grocery from stores or physical outlet.

Pathao food capture this target customer and ensures a convenient and healthy meal box for them.

Market Segmentation

Implementation plan according to 4IR

Customers fundamental motives and behavioral mechanisms must be noticed from the corner of different market segments. Inconvenient situations like traveling obstacles, time consuming factors are some of the basic reasons for inclination of online food delivery services (Yeo, Goh and Rezaei, 2017). The market segmentation of aforementioned 4 online food delivery company in Bangladesh based on segmentations as benefits sought, usage rate, price sensitivity and lifestyle. The most significant factor is the benefit sought to diagnosis the relationship between the respective company’s product and customers.

Price sensitivity defines the point-of-purchase behavior of grocery shoppers.

Lifestyle patterns are different for everyone, which results different choice patterns for each product segment. Among the 4 online food delivery company, Pathao food provide the most convenient, cheap good quality ingredients in their food offerings, their product usage rates are high as they hold the highest market

4IR can helps to advance current service level of online food delivery company which results distinctiveness in the market. Combined initiatives of 3 phases, (figure 1 -Supervising and detecting the service places, analyzing the data in the decision-making stage, regulate the factors using smart app technology) with application of technology can produce fruitful result for individual food delivery company(Montresor, 2016).

Supervising and Detecting the Service Places Regulation of factors

Big Data, The Internet of things

Analysing data

Blockchain, Wearable Internet Figure 1: Three phase initiative program. Adapted from World Economic Forum, Industry Agenda, Fourth Industrial revolution.

Source: www.weforum.org.

October -December 2019 | 37

Supervising and detecting the service places can ensure the maximum level of services to the customer, minimize the possibility of failure to meet the customer order by establishment of tracking customer order system and provide instant solution for system failure.

Analyzing the data in the decision-making stage includes the data from supervising stage which can define the food delivery service requirement. The individual company can collect, synchronized and evaluate the data as big data at this phase which can ensure proper utilization of resources and take specific decisions. The collected information could further useful to examine market trend according to client preferences and results optimum level of performance in this industry.

Regulate the factors using smart app technology has taken into the 3rd phase in this process. The decided service place form the previous phase needs input for ensuring the services to the client. Proper tracking methods of drivers, root mapping applications are necessary to reach the food delivery services on time in required places.

Minimize staff handling difficulties, maintenance of food quality and freshness, limiting the waiting time of consumers are the driving forces to carry the operations of online meal kit delivery services under the concept of 4th industrial revolution. With consideration of velocity, scope and system impacts of 4th industrial revolution, the online food delivery companies can experience the exponential growth in every aspect of their business. These technological change mechanisms can transform the whole operating system. The following implementation plan illustrate in what way the respective company could respond according to 4th industrial revolution: Plan 1: Order-based method Three interactive body like client, restaurant, management are role player to implement successfully order taking method. Restaurants/home food makers are key role player in this system, respective food delivery company just respond to take the order from client. By taking the help from the IT, these three players could actively involve by using similar mobile app mechanism which can support the whole team (client, restaurant/home food makers, management) at a time. The following table A indicates the individual responsibility to run the app. However, online food delivery company is unable to track the restaurants/home food makers activities. In the one hand, it could minimize the food making cost for the

38 | October -December 2019

respective food delivery company but incur huge cost as probable goodwill crisis can emerge for no control over restaurants.

Table A Order-based Method Client -Receiving information -Order generation, administering, -Notify restaurants Management -Active order platform -Effortless payment operation -Plotting service root in app

Home-based food maker/Restaurants -Acknowledgement or cancellation of order -Oder explanations -Users background (non-compulsory) -Reporting time

Note. Adapted from IDLC Finance Limited Monthly Business Review 2018. Source: https://idlc.com/ Plan 2: Incorporation of order-supply method In this method (Table B) the food delivery company should take more protective measures as this method requires active and combined participation to complete the whole process. At this stage, app mechanism should develop with added feature which could ensure expected profitability. However, there must be some obstacles to run this method. With due care of challenges, the system could introduce place to place service pattern. This method can boost up the revenue generation as well as each stake holders can be benefitted according their aspect.

Table B Order-supply Method Client -Receiving information -Order generation, administering, -Notify restaurants -Leveling, Tracing, -Order placing with computer-generated support Drivers --Acknowledgement or cancellation of order -Users background (non-compulsory) -Reporting time -Map-reading - Security coding -Bank particulars

Management -Active order platform -Effortless payment operation -Plotting service root in app for driver -Active driver tracking platform Home-based food maker/Restaurants Acknowledgement or cancellation of order -Oder explanations -Users background (non-compulsory) -Reporting time

ARTICLE Plan 3: Food delivery by cloud-based method Without physical presence of the company is one of the significant features of the cloud system operation.

In this system individual food delivery company can run their business according to the specific requirement. Minimum resource requirement is advantageous for this business operation, however, each food delivery company could face the location disadvantages, as all the respective location sometimes cannot be controlled under their regular surveillance. Mobile app mechanism needs to merge the app services of management and restaurant owner to avoid any kind of inconvenience for customer services. This added feature could help to ensure the personified services and greater control over the all factors related to food delivery services directly toward customer. Table C represents all responsibility of respective body.

Table C Cloud-based method Client -Receiving information -Order generation, administering, -Notify restaurants - Tracing, -Order placing with computer-generated support - Social media partner

Drivers -Acknowledgement or cancellation of order -Users background (non-compulsory) -Reporting time Map-reading - Security coding -Bank particulars Restaurant Proprietor.

(Management) Acknowledgement or cancellation of order -Oder explanations -Users background (non-compulsory) -Reporting time Active order platform -Effortless payment operation -Plotting service root in app for driver -Active driver tracking platform

Note. Adapted from IDLC Finance Limited Monthly Business Review 2018. Source: https://idlc.com/ Possible results of implementation plan The above implementation plan supports the client to making their choices about food description by using the mobile app mechanism. Client can assess and rate each online food delivery company. The mobile app technology could provide the well-situated payment method for their client by which client can make safe transaction for getting their services. Furthermore, the time -driven option of mobile app mechanism could ensure the on-time services in all aspects like registration detail for food buying and payment methods etc.

Conclusion Fourth industrial revolution becomes more widespread and Bangladesh can’t avoid their impact on each industrial sector. Online food delivery business is one of the driving force and income generation source in today’s market in Bangladesh. It is now crucial to examine for each company’s business models whether fitting with the requirement of 4IR or not. Meeting customer demand and application of 4IR dimension in respective business model can generate gross revenue which helps to achieve the economical solvency in Bangladesh. Therefore, it is proved that automation in business is essential issue in this field.

The proposed implementation plan with results in this study may ensures further growth in this sector.

However, still we need to explore the problems and corrective measures of different problem regarding online food delivery services and from this research platform further advance level research can be arranged to eliminate present ambiguities.

» About the Author Assistant Professor Department of Management Studies Jagannath University

October -December 2019 | 39

KEY INVENTIONS IN TRANSITION FROM 1ST INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION TO 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Sharif Dilnewaz Hossain ACS

A

At present, lots of talking is going on regrading beginning of the 4th industrial revolution (4IR) and its possible challenges and impacts on us. We as a citizen of a middle income developing country - Bangladesh, that has the 7th highest economic growth rate in the World in the 1st quarter of 2019. So, we should aware ourselves about the challenges and threats of the components of the 4th industrial revolution. However, before directly going to the 4IR, here I have tried to understand the transition from the 1st industrial revolution (1IR) to the 4th industrial revolution (4IR) and I have tried to find out the components which are mainly driven the changes in different industrial revolutions period.

First Industrial Revolution: It took place in Europe and the USA between 1750 and 1830. Some key components which brought 1st industrial revolution were: (1) Introduction of New Manufacturing Processes.

(2) Transition from Hand Production Methods to Machines based Production.

(3) Introduction of New Chemical Manufacturing and Iron Production Processes.

(4) Increasing Use of Steam Power and Water Power.

Third Industrial Revolution: It is also known as Digital Revolution and it took place between 1950 and the key changes were: (1) Commercialization of the Use of Computers.

(2) Emergence of New Communication Technologies.

(3) Discovery of New Energy Sources.

(4) Invention of Renewable Electricity.

(5) Emergence of Sharing Economy concept. Etc. Fourth Industrial Revolution as per Theory & Scholars: As per Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, we are at the beginning of a revolution that is fundamentally changing the way we live, work and relate to one another, which he explores in his new book, The Fourth Industrial Revolution. It represents a widespread availability of digital technologies that were the result of the 3rd industrial revolution or digital revolution. The 4th Industrial Revolution is driven largely by the convergence of digital, biological and physical innovations over the 21st century (2000-2099).

Some of the Technologies that are driving the changes in the 4th industrial revolution are as follows:

(5) Development of Machine Tools.

(1) 3D Printing:

(6) Rise of Mechanized Factory. Etc.

3D printing is a way of creating three dimensional (3D) solid objects. 3D printing is done by building up the object layer by layer. Usually, 3D printers use plastic, because it is easier to use and cheaper. Some 3D printers can 3D print with other materials, like metals and ceramics, but they cost too much money for most people. 3D printers are useful because they can make new objects very fast and are good at making them very detailed. They are also useful for fixing parts made of plastic and for making toys, figures, and models.

Second Industrial Revolution: It is known as the Technological Revolution and it took place between 1870 and 1914 through rapid Standardization and Industrialization. Key innovations of the 2nd industrial revolution were: (1) Innovations in Manufacturing.

(2) Establishment of Machine Tools Industry.

(3) Development of Methods Interchangeable Parts.

for

Manufacturing

(4) Invention of the Bessemer Process to Produce Steel. Etc.

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Social impact is that using 3D printing most goods will be designed on computers and “manufactured” in the homes of consumers, thus reducing both the costs and environmental impacts of transportation.

ARTICLE (2) Artificial Intelligence (AI): Artificial Intelligence (AI) or machine intelligence is intelligence demonstrated by the machines. Any device (or intelligent agent) that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of successfully achieving its goals. Also, AI is often used by machines or computers that mimic "cognitive" functions of humans, i.e. "learning" and "problem solving".

Artificial intelligence was founded as an academic discipline in 1956. It is divided into 2 sub-fields, such as:

commissions, as is the case with current international money transfer and remittance solutions. Just as the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) constitutes the underlying protocol by which Internet users can send an email to each other in a seamless and interoperable way, regardless of their email provider, likewise, the Bitcoin protocol allows people to seamlessly transfer money to one another, regardless of their bank.

However, digital currency is an application which is enabled by blockchain technology. The four main kinds of applications in development are (i) Real-time Fund Transfer and Payments. (ii) Property Registries.

(a) "Robotics" or "Machine Learning".

(iii) Contractual Agreements &

(b) The use of logic or Artificial Neural Networks or Deep Philosophical Differences.

(iv) Identity Confirmation.

(3) Big Data: Big data is a term used for certain database systems.

It is used for a number of technologies which help to organize data. To classify as big data, at least some of the following items should apply: (a) There are huge amounts of data. (b) The data changes very often. (c) It is difficult to structure the data in such a way that other models can be used easily.

Impact on society is that Big Data will bring many quantified self-movement, consumers are able to track and monitor their every move and thus gain a better understanding of their own lives. But it will have an impact on the privacy of consumers.

(4) Blockchain: Blockchain (a distributed ledger technology) is a network software protocol that enables the secure transfer of money, assets and information via the Internet, without the need for a third-party intermediary such as a Bank (Swan, 2015). Transactions are validated, executed and recorded chronologically in an append-only tamper-resistant database, where they remain available on the Internet for on-demand lookup and verification.

A digital money system, such as, Bitcoin is the first and perhaps the most obvious application of blockchain technology. Money can be transferred immediately in real-time from one continent to another, at very low costs, and in a matter of seconds or minutes, instead of waiting days or weeks and paying high

The terms blockchain and distributed ledger technology are often used interchangeably. Distributed ledger is the general form of the technology, and blockchain is a specific form with an additional technical detail. Both refer to the concept of a ledger. A file that keeps track of who owns what. A distributed ledger has four salient features: (i) A Transaction Database shared among Network Members, that is (ii) Updated by Consensus, with (iii) Records Timestamped with a Cryptographic Signature, maintained in a

Unique

(iv) Tamper-proof Auditable History of all Transactions.

Blockchain will increases efficiency, reduces costs, and promotes transparency in organization and will have significant social impact.

(5) Cloud Computing: Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. The term is generally used to describe Data Centers available to many users over the Internet. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multiple locations from central servers.

Clouds may be limited to (i) A Single Organization (Enterprise Clouds) Or (ii) Many Organizations (Public Cloud).

Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence (or consistency) and economies of

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scale. It has positive impact on the business organizations as it increases the revenue and helps them to achieve the business goals. Companies normally prefer to use the services offered by the cloud rather than building their own infrastructure.

sensors and embedded systems. Traditional fields of embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, control systems, automation (including home and building automation) and others all contribute to enabling the Internet of Things.

(6) Crypto Currencies:

There are a number of serious concerns about dangers in the growth of IoT, especially in the areas of privacy and security.

A crypto currency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Crypto currencies use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.

The decentralized control of each crypto currency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial transaction database. Bitcoin, first released as open-source software in 2009, is generally considered the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since the release of bitcoin, over 6,000 altcoins (alternative variants of bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies) have been created.

Social impact is that Cryptocurrencies leverage blockchain technology to gain decentralization, transparency and immutability (Rosic, 2018).

(7) Cyber Security: Computer security or Cyber security or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems from the theft of or damage to their hardware, software or electronic data, as well as, from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.

The field is becoming more important due to increased reliance on computer systems, the Internet and wireless network standards, such as, Bluetooth and WiFi, and due to the growth of "smart" devices, including smartphones, televisions and the various devices that constitute the "Internet of things (IoT)".

(8) Internet of Things (IoT): The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

Internet of Things has evolved due to the convergence of real-time analytics, machine learning, commodity

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(9) Robotics: Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science that includes mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering, computer science and others. Robotics deals with the design, construction, operation and use of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback and information processing. These technologies are used to develop machines that can substitute for humans and replicate human actions.

Robots can be used in many situations and for lots of purposes, but today many are used in dangerous environments (including bomb detection and deactivation), manufacturing processes, or where humans cannot survive (e.g. in space, under water, in high heat, and clean up and containment of hazardous materials and radiation). Robots can take on any form but some are made to resemble humans in appearance. This is said to help in the acceptance of a robot in certain replicative behaviors usually performed by people. Such robots attempt to replicate walking, lifting, speech, cognition, or any other human activity.

Many of today's robots are inspired by nature, contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics.

(10) Virtual Reality (VR): Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world.

Applications of virtual reality can include entertainment (i.e. video games) and educational purposes (i.e. medical or military training). Other, distinct types of VR style technology include augmented reality and mixed reality.

Currently standard virtual reality systems use either virtual reality headsets or multi-projected environments to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that simulate a user's physical presence in a virtual environment. A person using virtual reality equipment is able to look around the artificial world, move around in it, and interact with virtual features or items. The effect is commonly created by VR headsets consisting of a head-mounted display with a small

ARTICLE October -December 2019 | 43

INDUSTRY 4.0: READINESS & CHALLENGES FOR BANGLADESH TO FACE THE TRANSITION Mir Shariful Bashar ACS

T

he concept of Industry 4.0 (4IR) assumes to be blurring the differences between the labor of people and the work of machines. Recent Technologies like: Analytics & Artificial Intelligence - is distorting the lines between virtual & Physical worlds. This revolution is going to transform largely the Industries, economics, society & individuals itself. It is a time when due to natural effects of the modern technology - man & machine come together & moreover, sometimes even competing each other seems to be taking over the places for obtaining results. Like: the first industrial revolution improved the operation of manufacturing, the second one introduced electricity into the industry and the third one automated the uniform tasks of line workers, and the fourth one improves information management and decision-making, which can be termed as the digital revolution. The fourth industrial revolution mostly differs from the previous ones with the fact that it relates to all the pitches of life. Within its own framework, the industry processes and commercializes the exchange of information among people, between people and objects and also among the objects themselves. The concept of the Internet of Things (IOT) allows for carrying out the order, production, implementation and delivery of the product without human participation at any time in the course of the process. So, the intention of this write-up is to present an approach to Industry 4.0, to indicate readiness for implementing the elements of this concept and to highlight the barriers as well as the challenges ahead - which may probably impede industrialization at enterprise level in the effective realization of a higher technological movement and organizational benchmark of success.

The term Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) was first coined by Prof. Klaus Schwab - which he explores in his book: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution”. According to his thoughts: “It is the Technological revolution that blurring the lines between the physical, digital & biological spheres”. If we break it down into our way technologies like AI, Autonomous Vehicle, IOT are becoming ingrained in our day to day lives and even our bodies. We may think of voice-activated virtual

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assistants, face ID recognition or health care sensors etc. In our time the creation of the internet and its multifaceted uses resulted in a major shift in business. Tom Goodwin, Senior Vice President of Havas Media, dictates these shift by saying, “Uber, the biggest taxi company in the world, has no taxis themselves. The world's biggest social media platform Facebook doesn't make any content themselves. Alibaba, the world's most important retail platform does not have its own storage. And the world's largest housing provider airbnb does not have any real estate itself. And for these reasons, Klaus Schwab - says that, all these changes are signs of the fourth industrial revolution. He however refuses to accept these changes as merely an extension of the third industrial revolution. Because if you talk about the scope, rate of growth or impact of these revolutions - none of it is comparable to what happened during the third revolution. There is no historical evidence of such uncontested growth and it can be said that these changes are happening at an exponential rate. And these changes are affecting every inch of our lives from 360 degrees angles of our periphery.

How the 4IR relates the Transformation of our Societies: The world is ever changing; in the nature we can see revolution everywhere that constructively supports the progress of the civilization in this universe from its very beginning. The upcoming technologies coming up with 4IR are bringing transformative impacts to the thinking, values, life and work of every person living in this society, enterprise, industry and nation in ways that have been massive until recently. These changes also evolve around every sphere of human life which includes the economic, social, cultural and psychological aspects. Every revolution in history established new norms and values that most suited & maintain legacy with each of those periods. This new revolution is a distinct one in terms of the ‘velocity, scope, and system’s impact.' It is said that the 4IR is encompassing every industry in every society; every country and the changes that are brought forth are

ARTICLE transforming the ‘entire eco-systems of production, management, and governance.'

The 4IR is profoundly affecting people’s lives as: AI and increased automation will see many types of jobs disappear. At the same time, entirely new categories of jobs are emerging. As the 4IR reshapes the future of work, sectors & industries must prepare their people for the new world order that lies ahead. This often means an increased focus on continual learning, building capacities and upgrades to new types of jobs, and a commitment to diversity. The societal impacts of the 4th Industrial Revolution also appear likely to be far-reaching, resulting not only in the social and economic impacts of the loss of many current jobs, but also fundamental - like: increasingly make it volatile and causes shifts in the nature of future jobs, and in the delivery models of public and private services. Here it may be mentioned that the new revolution will not only change the production and management process but will also change the way of life, thinking process, values and norms and overall psyche of mankind. So, we need to be extra careful regarding all its impacts.

What distinct the 4IR from the previous industrial revolutions, is that the pace of technological breakthroughs is unprecedented and the scale and complexity of the transformation are unlike any unseen before. The changes affect almost every industry in every country; the breadth and depth of the transformation demands changes in entire systems of production, management and public governance. The response cannot be left to state institutions alone but requires the active engagement of citizens, the private sector, the academy and civil society. People are likely to be healthier and live longer lives as our ability to modify human DNA continues to expand with due credits to the technological advancement. Moreover, it is anticipated that by 2040, robots will perform routine tasks in our homes and replace workers at our workplaces for hard, repetitive and dangerous production tasks. What these possible changes would mean in terms of policy - is a serious challenge: we have to find the human and financial resources to take care of a population that lives & works longer than before. Countries like Bangladesh will also face new employment and training challenges as the ways and purpose of working will transform and we can anticipate increased migration from countries that have lost the competitive advantage of their skilled labor. These changes are giving rise to what Susskind (2018) calls a digital-life-world: a new and different form of collective life, where technology affects social interactions, economy, human agency and the natural environment.

Impacts on overall Employment situations: The characteristics of the fourth Industrial Revolution are destined to bring about different impacts on employment, which are no longer confined to single industry, but all. At the same time, a lot of jobs will disappear, but there will be a lot of new job requirements. It is expected that more than 65% of children entering primary school today will end up working in completely new jobs segment that currently do not exist when they enter the work life 15 years from now. RMG sector – the major export earning sector with all other labor intensive sectors of Bangladesh will be significantly impacted by the waves of 4IR. So then, Who Loses, Who Gains?

Firstly, the jobs that are most at risk are those which “are on some level routine, repetitive and predictable”.

Secondly, jobs that were once regarded as secure jobs, such as office workers, administrative personnel, and even law, will be hit hardest. Future technological advances will enable people to work more flexibly allowing people to work at home or in the office, and during working hours or off-duty hours. Employers, on their part, are also happy to choose this kind of flexible work pattern to reduce office expenses.

Jobs requiring a level of human interaction or guiding robot behavior will be very popular in the future, such as first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers and first-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators.

The second area is occupations that involve building complex relationships with people, especially customer-facing jobs to supply personalized services, such as sales engineers, mental health counselors etc.

These jobs need high interpersonal skills, teamwork and leadership, which computers cannot go beyond, such as dealing with coordination of people and communication, and divergent communication etc. will gain importance.

Impacts of 4IR on the Economy: The 4IR is about a socio-technical transformation that has direct economic impacts. All the macroeconomic variables such as: GDP, Growth, Investment, Consumption, Savings, Employment, Trade and Inflation of a country will. affect it’s contiguous. The 4IR will change the nature of work across the industries and occupations. Economists have pointed out that the 4IR could create greater inequality in labor markets segments (Brynjolfsson & McAfee 2014). As automation substitutes the labor, the net displacement

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of workers by machines might widen the gap between returns to capital and returns to labor. On the other hand, it is also possible that the displacement mostly replace of workers by technology will result in a net increase of safe and rewarding jobs for employment (ibid.) The 4IR hence brings new tools for economic development, which creates both potential and poses risks for middle-income countries. However, due to the digital divide between high- and middle- or low-income countries, “discrepancies remain with regard to access to technologies but also with regard to effective use and socialization of big data and affiliated technologies” (Linkov et al. 2018: 3).

For a developing country like Bangladesh: Achievement of the SDGs is threatened by asymmetries in the collection and use of big data and power shifts between consumers and data driven organizations, as well as the widening knowledge and information gaps between high- and middle-income economies (ibid.).On the positive side, farmers could have better access to information on appropriate seed varieties (especially as climate change affects them), fertilizers, and pesticides could more easily optimize pricing with smoother access to market information.

Big data can more rapidly track diseases, thereby reducing health hazards. At the same time, many traditional occupations are at risk. For example, driving – which is a major employer globally – will likely be disappearing as autonomous and driverless vehicles become increasingly common (Herweyer et al. 2017).

Handling the division between Have & Have not: New technologies will change the means of social interaction. The pace and extent of data collection & usage has increased dramatically in recent years in people’s life. The exponential growth rate in computing and data analysis capacity is evident also in the development of world connectivity. Now the interesting question is, whether this faster rate of growth will continue or if we will reach a tipping point, where the poorer countries face obstacles for connectivity.

Currently, about approximately 60 per cent of the global population remains excluded from the internet and there is a clear gap between high-income and middle or low-income countries. So, Bangladesh needs to work on minimizing the division between Have & Have not of the modern skills, knowledge and easy & smooth access to new- technologies.

Policymaking with regards to 4IR: To reiterate a point we made in the last paragraphs, the changes brought by the 4IR are not inexorable forces

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of nature. They are actually tools “made by people for people” (Schwab 2016: 105), which people will use to make decisions, institute regulations and strengthen socio-economic development (Poole 2017). In order to reduce the negative effects of the transformation and create a more positive and equal future, governance systems need to react; they need to adapt and lead the transformation. Governments have to keep up with very fast technological and knowledge advances and handles the changes that occur simultaneously in multiple areas of economies and societies. This means subject to their structures and the levels of transparency as well as efficiency that will enable them to maintain their competitive edge. If they cannot evolve, they will face increasing disruption. However, legislators, civil servants and regulators struggle to make the shift from the IT and digital technologies of the Third Industrial Revolution to the multiple technological changes of the 4IR (Schwab 2016). The use of these new technologies in policy processes clashes with capability and institutional barriers. With the 4IR, politics and policymaking will have to change and adapt, as it will in other areas of social and economic life.

The challenge ahead for Bangladesh poses by 4IR: There are some challenges along with some opportunities to apply Industry 4.0 in Bangladesh. The challenges include poor infrastructure, maintaining the availability of cheap labor, and expensive installation of technologies, inadequate government supports and lack of knowledge. The rapid pace and the magnitude at which change is occurring in labor markets due to the impact of 4IR on individuals and countries in diverse ways. It can be noted that the ongoing debate on the future world of work is skewed towards developed nations, and identified few key challenges specifically to a developing country like Bangladesh: (1) being trapped in a low-productivity agriculture sector, with limited avenues for structural transformation; and (2) the presence of a large informal sector, consisting of low-productivity and low-paying jobs, which are likely to become the norm rather than the exception with emerging new forms of employment. How well Bangladesh could harnesses these opportunities will largely depend on policy responses, given the reality that the industrial development is not well-balanced throughout the country, in fact some remote areas of the country are yet to realize full dividends of the first three industrial revolutions.

As per the elements of Industry 4.0 devised by Boston Consulting Group, it has been identified that the

ARTICLE physical efforts of the human being would be reduced while face-to-face meeting is also not going to be required for the decision making in management level for any action. Industry 4.0 is described in different ways in order to present a manufacturing revolution; for example, it is called the ‘Manufacturing Renaissance’ in the US, whereas it is ‘made in China 2025’ in China (MAPI Foundation, 2015; BDI, 2016). Some experts have opined that people in countries who are new to the industrial sector are confused and are facing structural challenges over the term Industry 4.0; therefore, it has taken time to apply and adopt the elements of Industry 4.0 and to gain the benefits of this movement. However, like other developing and emerging countries, Bangladesh, is trying hard to adapt to Industry 4.0. Hence, we need to invest enormously in the latest technologies so that human resources can be integrated for the development of the production level. This is not an entirely new challenge. It has also historically taken required time to adapt the technological transformations and societal changes the industrial revolutions have brought about.

As cheaper labor is a competing factor for Bangladesh, which is considered another barrier for quicker automation in the manufacturing companies here and also another significant issue against the adoption of Industry 4.0. In addition, they were also similar in view in the case of the installation of technologies to gain the benefits of Industry 4.0, which is very expensive; therefore, the companies do not like to apply them in the factory sector so quickly, being another challenge for the application of Industry 4.0.

Successful industries in Bangladesh, such as the RMG industry, leather industry, and service industry, can take the benefits of Industry 4.0 first - because automation reduces the unit costs, improves communication efficiency, minimizes the risks of accidents and contributes to creating a sustainable economy.

Innovation and technology based development plays a vital role in each Sector. The progress in digital transformation and growing reciprocal connections poses new challenges for the organization since Industry 4.0 change products and production systems significantly concerning the design, processes, operations and services. Certainly, the implementation of this concept has further consequences for management and future jobs through creating new business models. These, in turn, has a large impact on the industry and markets while efficiently affecting the whole life cycle of the product, providing a new way of production and conducting a business, which allow for an improvement in processes and an increase in competitiveness of enterprises. In this digital era - maintaining data

privacy & protecting secrecy of people’s digital lives is a challenge we need to overcome. We also need to build capacity of coping with the faster changes in terms of technological updates & Knowledge Management issues.

Way forward for Bangladesh: It is understood that the ability of Bangladesh to deal with multifaceted challenges and tied-up emerging opportunities in the future world of business critically depends on the urgent formulation of a conclusive path and plan in preparation for the 4IR. The most demanding priorities includes further in-depth labor market diagnostics analyzing probable 4IR impacts, better devising of education and labor market policies with more focus on quality and protective mechanism for vulnerable employees, putting emphasis on employment maximization to avoid widening inequities and related threats, and fostering an open economy with more private-sector engagements. As 4IR can be collectively referred to as cyber-physical system, Bangladesh needs to formulate comprehensive policies in advance to face the challenges of the impending fourth industrial revolution (4IR). The existing industrial policies will fail to help out, so the government needs to address the policy issue immediately. Keeping the society 4.0 in mind, our education system has to be improved. The government is going to face huge challenge to educate the 50 million students of the country who are cued in the job pipelines come having technological breakthroughs.

Though in the coming days, the numbers of jobs will be shrinking in some of the manufacturing sector, youths will find jobs in other sectors - if they could prepare themselves properly and build up their skill sets anticipating the high-skill demands of future. Yes, here comes the role of the government to facilitate & help out the relevant sectors. Technology is helping Bangladesh to move into the middle-income country bracket; likewise advanced technology will help her become a higher income country soon. So, I believe job market will never shrink - rather, the advanced technology will create more opportunities for high-skilled workers to earn value added returns.

Bangladesh may go for Economic Zoning & Industrial Zoning concept to attract FDI from the rest of the world to be invested in modern technology based ventures.

Concluding remarks: It's really tough to not get excited with all these changes happening. The country is feeling the waves of the 4IR and yet a lot of us are unaware of it or can't comprehend it rightly. At its core, the 4IR is not actually

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a question of technology but largely of culture. These days sometimes we are over connected with every little thing on real-time through internet, smart phones, cable TVs etc; which leads people to be carelessly overloads with information. As it is an age of isolation, adoption of more from new Technologies & inclusiveness is much important for us. Technology is generally associated with responsibilities & rapid changes, and changes usually come up with greater responsibilities. So, we need to learn more of new technologies - and make thoughtful use of those experiences. We should try to add values to the information we collect in every steps of our day to day life, critically analyze and validate those to use effectively. We all should share the responsibility to change the world and ultimately it falls on the shoulder of the folks of the current generation - as we are belonging to. Right now on the verge of the 4IR -‘Human Potentials’ is the key thing for us to be focused on. Bangladesh should use Technology as an enabler to create desired changes through innovations. And we need to take extra caution about not to be over whelmed by technology & its usages, besides we need to go some extra miles in search of innovations. Society 5.0 is also on its way - just knocking our doors, so we need to prepare ourselves on this front with regards to enhancing capabilities of our Human resources to do better living in the knowledge based society. In fact, Bangladesh is far behind the Industry 4.0 in terms of her readiness. The challenges discussed above in this piece of writing should be overcome first to reap the benefits out of 4IR. Establishment of the manufacturing set-up with the elements of Industry 4.0 is crucial not only to increase the amount of production along with quality, but also to reduce the production costs to keep up competitive ourselves. For a country like Bangladesh Integrating and establishing Industry 4.0 is not only complicated, but also somewhat expensive, while other critical challenges are still existing with us .

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Therefore, it is important for the policy makers of the country being the top level of the government to be fully-adaptive to the Industry 4.0 - so that the country can utilize the maximum benefits of 4IR. If the companies of the newly industrializing counties like Bangladesh do not want to miss this trend, they should invest in modern technologies and research based management models in order to reach to the new customers and to ensure a new height of success in this changing business scenario. The corporate sector of the country also need to be proactive in terms of the governance approach to handle the changes bring is going to be occurred in by through the technological movements.

References: 1. INDUSTRY 4.0 – ARE WE READY? Ślusarczyk B.; POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES; 2018 Vol.17 No.1 2. Fourth Industrial Revolution and Bangladesh; Dr. Akhter Hussain 3. “Meeting Challenges in a New World of Work: How Prepared is South Asia for the Fourth Industrial Revolution?”; Published in Talking Economies by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Sri Lanka on Thursday 3 October 2019.

4. Discussion paper – “State Capability, Policymaking and the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Do Knowledge Systems Matter”; Arnaldo Pellini,Vanesa Weyrauch.

Maria Malho, Fred Carden 5. The Fourth Industrial Revolution; Klaus Schwab

» About the Author Associate Member of the Institute

ARTICLE

READINESS TOWARDS FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (4IR): PROFESSIONALS’ VIEWS Md. Saiful Islam ACS

A

bstract

In recent times Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) becomes most discussed topic in the Corporate World. This industrial transformation is going to affect every corner of life directly or indirectly. This article brings out the information to have better understanding about 4IR and its different wings about to affect through different dimensions. It has brought out the significance of the educators who can enables individuals, institutions, society, as well as the govt. to be fit with the transformation considering policy, infrastructure and continuous implementation. This article has also discussed about the upcoming futures and needed skills to face the future dimensions in line with synthesis of technologies. The discussion is covered the subjective and suggestive views of professionals which can play pivotal role in understanding 4IR, preparing against it, and stepping for next revolution.

1.0 Outset It’s about Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Innovative advancement and technological evolution have gotten to be a cornerstone in human intelligence across spectrums, so be it financial, social, economic. This industrial transformation is categorized by a synthesis of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological provinces. It introduces opportunities; developing nations can have leapfrog jumps towards developments and with the participation in developed markets by embracing the use of evolving technologies such as Artificial intelligence, knowledge data & analytics, and block chain procedure. The scope of 4IR is vast considering understanding, involvement, equipped, skilled, and implementation within time frame. Before participating to the flow of this revolution we have to have proper understanding and readiness to cope up with. How much ready our country, economy, govt., society, corporates, individuals towards the current disruptive technological changes of revolution? Like every pillar within the country, professionals’ can play pivotal role with their

view points as they are being treated as savvy individuals.

2.0 Knowing the 4IR This Fourth Industrial Revolution is essentially different from other previous revolutions. It is pigeonholed by a collection of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines of trade and traditions, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. It becomes very difficult to understand the theme of 4IR but the general participators will get its impact as it is already active in form. The professionals along with the expert has started to share their viewpoints that not only gears up the current revolution but also familiarize all disciplines with opportunities and challenges.

Elements which needs to be understood for getting 4IR closely. Elements which are driving technologies under the flow of 4th Industrial Revolution-Artificial Intelligence, Block Chain, Computational Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Bio technology, Robotics and IoT. Artificial Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence describes that devices can think like humans. Computers are now capable of recognizing complex pattern and issues, processing complex data, placing recommendations and above all drawing conclusions. In recent times, AI is used in different sectors which are ruled by human previously. Now-a-days, through AI, it is even possible to track, analyse and predict the upcoming steps of human.

BlockChain: On the other hand, with no need to rely on third party intermediaries, a secure, decentralized, and transparent way of recording and sharing data is called Blockchain. Digital currencies are the best known as Block chain application in the recent times. Through this application, the world can get multiple level of services through digitalization.

Robotics: Robotics alludes to the plan, make, and utilize of robots for individual and commercial

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purposes. Whereas we’re however to see robot associates in each domestic, innovative forces have made robots progressively complex and modern. They are being utilized in areas as wide-ranging as fabricating, wellbeing and security, and human help.

The Mechanical autonomy is now very common in every industry where critical issues are deliberately performed by the support of robotics assistance.

Internet of Thing (IoT): It describes the idea of everyday items. In recent times, there is hardly any areas where people are not being familiar with the facilities of internet and its growing rapidly. Now peoples of different nations are connected in different ways i.e. social medias, online portals, maps, networks, online marketing, online shopping, etc. More interestingly, personal information becomes public information and accessible in different means. People, product, services, theme, ideas, and thinking are common in access through searching portals; so it becomes very challenging and crucial to survive with innovative ideas, thinking, and implementations.

4IR is characterised by an amalgamation of existing and modern innovations that construct on the pieces of past Industrial revolutions, more so on the Third Industrial Revolution which saw the presentation of mechanization, computing and broadcast communications, etc. How the new revolution will impact the world, countries, societies? According to the World Economic Forum Technology Tipping Points and Societal Impact report, this revolution tipping points could occur by 2025:

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10% of people will wear clothes connected to the Internet

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The first robotic pharmacist

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The first 3D-printed car in production

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5% of consumer products printed in 3D

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90% of the population with regular access to the Internet

“Over the coming years artificial intelligence will continue to penetrate every major industry. From finance to healthcare, advertising, transportation, legal and education, almost every workplace and every job will be affected in some way. There’s no doubt that transformational change is on its way”, said Avi Ganon, World ORT CEO and Director General.

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Driverless cars

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The first transplant of a 3D-printed liver

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Over 50% of Internet traffic to homes for appliances and devices

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The first city with more than 50,000 people and no traffic lights

The pace of improvement and the massive run of advances accessible suggests that this is often not portion of the gradual innovative patterns that we’ve experienced within the past. Manufactured insights, Enormous Information, portable web, cloud innovation, robots in industry and the domestic, the web of things, driverless cars, lorries and taxis, rambles, 3D printers, nanotechnology, virtual reality, machine learning – all of these have begun to effect on society on a scale that's not reflected within the school educational programs.

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The first AI machine on a corporate board of directors

That is why we need educators in every phases of business, society, and government of the country. The 4IR presents a full set of challenges and opportunities that professionals/educators need to address aiming to minimalize the gap of losing concern and getting concern.

3.0 Impact of 4th Industrial Revolution Whether for great or awful, we are on the way of an Industrial Revolution that's drastically forming the way in which we relate to the world and to one another. The

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So, life is changing with more diversified ways. We may have better experience regarding the impact of 4IR through the five following queries. a) The 4IR is treated as the next big “wave” of economic activities and innovations for good. Could it end our addiction to fossil fuels? b) This revolution is as focused as the convergence of digital, human and physical domains: what will happen when software eats the world? c) The 4IR as a disruptor of existing power structures.

The question of who gains and who loses is far from settled. d) The Fourth Industrial Revolution as a radical shift in the future of work, education and skills. Isn’t it a game of man versus machine? e) The Fourth Industrial Revolution as the trigger for a new set of norms around technology and humanity.

We change technology, technology changes us.

Question is who changes whom?

ARTICLE Above all the revolution is happening and we have to move with its flow with positivity.

4.0 4IR and Bangladesh Bangladesh has long been a story of the aspiration, resilience and innovation of millions of youthful ladies and men over villages and towns. In brief, five-decade history, the nation has continually combat against normal and man-made catastrophes, and however has maintained good financial development. Nowadays, we are one of the fastest-growing economies all inclusive, growing at over 7% every year.

This fourth Industrial Revolution is so different because we are developing the ability to design and engineer the world around us using the atoms and molecules that compose it. However, this rapid increase in digitization, robotization, and intelligent automation has a significant impact on the current and future labour market. This will certainly create huge new job opportunities while billions of jobs will be threatened. It is quite challenging for both developed and developing nations. Developed nations would perhaps be able to cope with it because of their technological progress, and their skilled workforce with specialized know-how, training, and experiences.

The question normally arises: What will happen to developing nations like Bangladesh? Will we be able to create sufficient work openings in our country? The reply is very worrisome, however, the concern authorities are still lack behind to realize the theme and look after it. In order to adopt and adapt to the changes this will bring, there is an urgent need to create a skilled workforce and technology-focused employment sectors.

We have to identify where to start. Did we successfully sync with the 3rd industrial revolution? Answer is ‘No’ but we are trying so. Like other developed countries we are not habituated with the technology, we are striving for policy, skilled educator, influencer, infrastructure, and above all intensions. Interestingly, still we are damn busy with the man-made non-productive problems. Adaptation of 4IR should begin with the policy makers and should be end with the end consumers.

First, we have to seek the real intension of the policy maker to understand the importance of the current revolution including prospect and challenges so that it can drive the policy makers to initiate the strategic movements through law and regulations.

Second, the concern authorities need to circulate the govt.’s intension towards the revolution to the public so that throughout the country same message flows.

Third, capacity building towards new revolution should be entertained. From national level it should be identified that what are our objectives towards 4IR and how much we want to implement in line with the pace of the revolution. The objectives of the developed and developing countries will not be the same, however, capacity building through proper implementation can be a drive.

Forth, since Bangladesh is a thickly populated nation with a solid statistic profit, we must get this comparative advantage of statistic profit and change this gigantic youthful population into competent human assets for national improvement through appropriate technical and professional instruction preparing and different other expertise improvement programs. Still, question is who will be our educators?

5.0 Professional’s perception towards 4IR Experts remains in advanced position with support of their foresight regarding upcoming future having proper analyse of information of relevant market.

Professionals’ understanding regarding the 4IR not only helpful for countries but also for equally important for consumers. Let’s have a look the understanding of professionals against the flow of current revolution.

We are concerned about both scopes and challenges.

When handling the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), there are four essential components trade professionals ought to consider: a) Strategy: Mixing emerging technologies to advance vital objectives is one of the key challenges in planning for the 4IR. b) Growth: Growth is possible when unused innovation and competence comes forward with negligible disruption. c) Trust: Information powers the transformation. But customers’ eagerness to depend companies with touchy data around their lives and businesses pivots on the quality of encounter advertised to them and knowing their information is protected. d) Workforce: Demand for digital talent is at an all-time high, and companies cannot wait for there to be enough graduates or trainees to fill it. So, revolution not only cuts the job but also brings opportunities for skilled workforce.

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Upon getting the ideas in wider perspective of 4IR, it will be easy to understand the movement of progress of the revolution globally. With the advent of the 4IR, countries and companies have an opportunity to counter and potentially reverse the slowdown in productivity by diffusing and adopting technology at scale. In fast evolving and converging technologies for production, accelerated growth and maturity are occurring like never before. The latest developments of IoT allow for connecting and tracking asset performance in real time, as well as for integrating production and consumption processes. Professionals of the different sectors need to play role as an educator so that they can be frontier to make align with the revolution. Skills need to be set for 4th Industrial Revolution like following wise: a) Virtual Collaboration • Ability to work productively • Demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team b) Cognitive Load Management • Ability to discriminate and filter information for importance • How to maximise cognitive function c) Computational Thinking • Ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts • To understand data based reasoning d) Design Mind Set • Ability to represent and develop tasks • Ability to work process for desired outcomes e) Social Intelligence • Ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way • Ability to sense and stimulate reactions and desired interaction f)

Adaptive Thinking • Proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions • Ability to determine the deeper meaning of what is expressed

The above skills along with the participation with modern technologies may have a greater impact positively.

The experts have placed the ideas of strategic intelligence on 4th Industrial relations. They have given their highest concern on the following issues which may have drastic and exponential effect in business arena. Let’s have a look on that-

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•

Fusing of Technologies

•

Innovation and productivity

•

Security and Control

•

Disruption of jobs and skills

•

Disruption of Business

•

Inequality

•

Agile of Technology Governance

•

Ethics and Identity

Each category of intelligence consists of some other related components. So, the fact is that 4IR is a vast area to explore and in-depth analysis on it is highly expected from every level.

6.0 Concluding Observation We are on the revolutionary movements and it will continue to next revolution. This revolution will affect not only what we do but also what we are. The dramatic changes of this revolution will determine our identity, our relations in family and corporate sector, the societal structure where we live in. It will be a great compromise for our future generation if we are failed to assess the innovative technologies carefully, failed to control AI, and failed to adopt it with positive dimensions. The Educators (i.e. Professionals) may have that skills to make the things in line with the humanitarian ground rather artificial intelligent ground. Their suggestive actions may enable the policy makers to set policies time, resource, and skill oriented. Considering everything, we believe that this revolution will bring constructive outcomes for every corner of the world considering views, values, business, health, policies, and living conditions.

References: 1) Forum, W. E. (n.d.). Strategic Intelligence: World Economic Forum.

Retrieved from https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1Gb0000001 RIhBEAW?tab=publications.

2) Reilly, Colleen. “There Is A 4th Industrial Revolution And It Is Affecting Well-Being.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/colleenreilly/2019/11/11/there-i s-a-4th-industrial-revolution-and-it-is-affecting-wellbei ng/#22d9ce4f7655.

3) Goode, L. (2018). Everything Is Connected, And There's No Going Back. The Verge. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/17/16898728/ces-2 018-tech-trade-shows-gadgets-iot

» About the Author Associate Member of the Institute

ARTICLE

4IR: POTENTIAL PERILS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHARTERED SECRETARIES Md. Noor-Ul-Alam ACS

A

bstract

After being coined the word in Germany in 20111, the terms ‘Industry 4.0’ has attracted much attention in recent literature. In a market of uncertainty, with new technology evolving and the pace of change increasing, it is crucial to consider the business needs for the future. This article describes the conceptual thoughts of Industry 4.0 as well as potential peril and opportunities for Chartered Secretaries in the light of exponentially changing technology result in changing business environment. Besides, the article also tries to explore how Industry 4.0 may affect governance in corporate world with potential opportunities and set some guideline how the opportunities can be grabbed.

Keywords: Production, Industry 4.0, Disruptive Innovations, Gig Economy, Chartered Secretaries Introduction: Human society transformed with changes of scale of production from the dawn of civilization. In industrial revolutions, at the beginning came mechanization, steam and water power; then electricity and assembly lines; then computerization .So what comes next?

Some call it the fourth industrial revolution (4IR or Industry 4.0) or Second Machine Age, but whatever you call it, it represents the combination of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, and the Internet of Systems or networks.

With the changes of technology human activity changes, so do professions. Fourth industrial revolution is quite different than the three Industrial Revolutions that preceded it. Industry 4.0 encompasses a number of new technologies which automatically causes issues .Today we cannot foresee exactly what these will be. In the age of disruptive innovations and on demand / GIG economy Chartered Secretaries may need to up skill or shift their focus to a new areas to stay in the game.

Unfortunately right now, Bangladesh Government is not ready for Industry 4.0. So do professional institutes.

Aiming Industry 4.0, government budget for research and legislative measures can be safeguards for the professional bodies as well as business of the country.

Transformations based on production After learning how to grow food by men, human society changes with the changes of scale of production. On the whole, the changes in production are historic in terms of their size, speed and scope and always directly associated with the way of living of all human beings. If we look at the history, the maiden profound shift in the way of living of human being is the transition from foraging to farming – happened around 10,000 years ago and was made possible by the domestication of animals by our ancestors. Later, with the invention of wheel, man has started their journey to conquer time and became agrarian from foraging .In this stage they started to sale their surplus production.

Eventually they invented barter system, currency, bazaar and urban civilization. This time they invented division of labor and professions as well.

Subsequently, at the beginning of the second half of the 18th century, the agrarian revolution was followed by a series of industrial revolutions. Invention of steam engine in 1760 brought first industrial revolution when water and steam power were used to mechanize production instead of labor-intensive previous one. The first industrial revolution spanned from about 1784 to around 1870.Triggered by the construction of railroads and the invention of the steam engine, it ushered in mechanical production. The Second used electric

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power to create mass production. It started in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, made mass production possible, fostered by the advent of electricity and the assembly line. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. It began in the 1960s. It is usually called the computer or digital revolution because it was catalyzed by the development of semiconductors, mainframe computing (1960s), personal computing (1970s and 80s) and the internet (1990s).

Diagram: Navigating the next industrial revolution. 2

On the Third, now, a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the center of the last century. It began at the turn of this century and builds on the digital revolution. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. It is characterized by a much more ubiquitous and mobile internet, by smaller and more powerful sensors that have become cheaper, and by artificial intelligence and machine learning.

IR 4.0 or Second Machine Age: Industry 4.0 or Second Machine Age, whatever we call it, it represents the combination of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, and the Internet of Systems. Simply, it is an idea of smart factories in which machines are augmented with web connectivity and connected to a system that can visualize the entire production chain and make decisions on its own. This is the reason why Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee have famously referred to this period as “the second machine age”, the title of their 2014 book, stating that the world is at an inflection point where the effect of these digital technologies will manifest with “full force” through automation and the making of “unprecedented things” 3.

In essence, the fourth revolution is fundamentally unlike from the previous three, which were

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characterized mainly by advances in technology. It will connect billions more people and machines to the web, drastically improve the efficiency in levels undoing all the damage previous industrial revolutions have caused result in better asset management and regenerate the natural environment.

In this era, a range of new technologies combines the whole physical, digital and biological worlds. It comes forward with technology breakthroughs, covering wide-ranging fields such as Block chain, Cloud and Big Data, Artificial intelligence (AI), Robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), Autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Synthetic biology, Materials science, Energy storage and Quantum Computing etc .Though many of these innovations are in their early days now, they are already reaching an inflection point in their development and amplify each other in a fusion of technologies. Soon these new technologies will impact all disciplines, economies and industries, and even will challenge almost all of our ideas.

Industry 4.0 Consequences: As every revolution brings new technologies and novel ways of perceiving the world trigger a profound change in economic systems, social structures and professions, the fourth one is commencing towards us with overwhelming changes and reforms. The technologies of the 4IR will help us address some of our most pressing 21st century problem areas, including health, education, energy, economic inclusion and the environment. Consequences of the 4th Industrial Revolution would be like these• Post work era due to advanced means of production.

• On-demand economy or Gig Economy • Bounded Freedom , being watched • Bounded decision making by humans • Bounded nationalism • Bounded democracy • Redefining Identity, Morality and Ethics • Inequality increases • New Laws and ethics to regulate automation • Abundance of Artificial intelligence • Creating new psychology due to Human-Robot interaction

ARTICLE •

Customization of writing DNA

•

Editing biology and cell type

•

Genetically modified plants , animals and foods

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Disruptee

Disruptor

Mainframe computers

Personal computers

fixed line telephones

Cellular phones

Modifying the cells of adult organisms.

Hotels

Air bnb

•

Ageing becomes an economic challenge

Traditional taxis

Uber

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Autonomous weapons

Encyclopedia

Wikipedia/google

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Militarization of space

CD player

iPod/iTunes

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Rene Biological weapons

Local stores

eBay/Amazon

•

renewable energy

Long distance calls

Skype

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Nanotechnology

Cinemas/video rental

Netflix

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Biochemical weapons

In short, the Industry 4.0 will be blessed with reusable power and energy, automated road and transport, sustainable production and consumption, transparent land use management and technology enabled urban planning and design 4.

A Paradigm Shift with Disruptive Innovations Industry 4.0 is well on its way and will change most of our jobs as technological revolutions have been highly disruptive. At this moment, we are witnessing profound shifts across all industries, marked by the emergence of new business models, the disruption of incumbents and the reshaping of production, consumption, transportation and delivery systems. On the societal front, a paradigm shift is underway in how we work and communicate, as well as how we express, inform and entertain ourselves. Equally, governments and institutions are being reshaped, as are systems of education, healthcare and transportation, among many others. New ways of using technology to change behavior and our systems of production and consumption also offer the potential for supporting the regeneration and preservation of natural environments, rather than creating hidden costs in the form of externalities.

These days , the world’s largest company owns no taxis , the most popular media owner creates no contents , the largest accommodation provider owns no real estate ,the largest phone company owns no telephone infrastructure ,the world’s most valued retailer has no inventory ,the fastest growing bank has no actual money ,the world’s largest movie house owns no cinemas and the largest software vendor doesn’t write the apps .Let’s see how disruptive innovations replace the previous ones 5:

The rapidly changing world: If we look at history of human civilization and the pace of changes the transition from farming to first industrial revolution took almost ten thousand years, first industrial revolution to second one took almost eighty five years and second to third one took almost one hundred years. Now the world is changing rapidly; to reach one hundred million users telephone took seventy five years, and Instagram took two years while PokemonGo took only one month. Another example is given to show you the rapid changes; to reach fifty million users radio took thirty eight years, television took thirteen years and internet took four years while Facebook took less than half of a year 5.

Employments: Industry 4.0 has a lot to promise when it comes to revenues, investment, and technological advancements, but employment still remains one of the most mysterious aspects of the new industrial revolution. It’s even harder to quantify or estimate the potential employment rates.

Given the nature of the industry, it will introduce new jobs in big data analysis, robot experts, and a huge portion of mechanical engineers. In an attempt to determine the type of jobs that Industry 4.0 will introduce or need more labor in, BCG has published a report based on interviews with 20 of the industry’s experts to showcase how 10 of the most essential use cases for the foundation of the industry will be affected.

The following are some of the important changes that will affect the demographics of employment 6: •

Big-Data-Driven Quality Control

•

Robot-Assisted Production

•

Self-Driving Logistics Vehicles

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•

Production Line Simulation

•

Predictive Maintenance

•

Machines as a Service

Potential Perils for Chartered Secretaries According to the 2018 Global Trends report released

by LinkedIn, 76% of recruiters and hiring managers think that the 4th Industrial Revolution, or more specifically automation and AI, will have a significant impact on the recruitment industry. 7 It has always been the case that new innovation destroys some jobs, which it replaces in turn with new ones in a different activity and possibly in another place. But we must keep in our mind that industry 4.0 seems to be creating fewer jobs in new industries than previous revolutions.

Many different categories of work, particularly those which need repetitive manual labor, have already been automated. Many others will follow, as computing power continues to grow faster than ever.

If we consider the pace of changes that previously discussed, the work of professions such as lawyers, financial analysts, financial consultants, cost consultants, accountants and auditors may be partly or completely automated sooner than most of we anticipated. Automation in these fields will give them more time to concentrate on other fields like Corporate Affairs, Board Affairs and Compliance etc.

Consequently, they may share the core works of a Chartered Secretary, some have already been shared such as compliance audit and more will be in threat if the Chartered Secretaries are not properly guided and prepared for the potential challenges of industry 4.0.

Additionally, automation in tax collection along with the digitization in money market may unemployed more professionals of our counterparts.

Actually, the danger is that the fourth industrial revolution would mean that a winner takes- all dynamic plays out between countries as well as within them.

This may give rise to a job market increasingly segregated into lows kill/low-pay and high-skill/high-pay segments. In addition, the on-demand economy or Gig Economy is also raising serious issues it becomes much easier and attractive for transient workers. As digital technology knows no borders, individuals living abroad may share the opportunities created by digital marketplaces is another potential peril for the professional Chartered Secretaries. Thus even the notion of job may need to be redefined.

Furthermore, so far, the evidence is this: The fourth industrial revolution seems to be creating fewer jobs in

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new industries than previous revolutions.A recent study released by McKinsey Global Institute found that roughly one-fifth of the global workforce will be impacted by the adoption of AI and automation, with the most significant impact in developed nations like the UK, Germany and US. By 2022, 50% of companies believe that automation will decrease their numbers of full-time staff and by 2030, robots will replace 800 million workers across the world.1 Potential Opportunities for Chartered Secretaries Today, we cannot foresee exactly what the situation will be but we are convinced that many new positions and professions will emerge, driven not only by the fourth industrial revolution, but also by non-technological factors such as demographic trends and pressure, geopolitical shifts and altered social and cultural norms. As the 4IR is much more connected and global, global on-demand economy will make the works more effective and thus a great portion of the cost of trade will diminish, which will open new markets with new job opportunities and drive economic growth.

We know that a lot of low-skilled, repetitive jobs are being automated; starting in high-wage countries but quickly will spread to the developing world like Bangladesh. Now, recruiters in developed countries are being asked by clients to seek more technical and technology-focused candidates so that they can adapt to the constantly changing environment.6 and not all high-skilled jobs are unaffected either.

To be honest, the Job of a Chartered Secretary always consists of a bundle of tasks, and this is true for all skill levels of other jobs. As long as one of the multitude of tasks that a worker performs cannot be technically and economically automated, then that job is probably safe. And there are a lot of jobs like that. But, for sure, in the future, technological innovations will drop communication costs and long-term availability of data will make job of a governance professional semi-automated. Likewise, this will give them more time to widen their jobs going beyond their traditional roles by taking more responsibility on admin, HR, internal control, compliance, audit, financial analysis and machine generated financial statements too.

How we can grab the opportunities In reality, we must also identify the new global risks created by the 4IR which, if not properly addressed, could potentially threaten our well-being. We must strike the right balance between overly strict restrictions that can delay the potential benefits, and lax governance that can lead to irresponsible use and a loss of public confidence.

ARTICLE According to the 2018 Global Trends report , jobs that are highly vulnerable to automation, may need to up skill or shift their focus to a new discipline to stay in the game.7 But The skill-set in the market to cope with the demand of the environment is scarce now. One of the challenges that comes with modern technology is the new skills that are needed from employees to run the machines, code up new processes and the ability to fix new devices. Across the board, skills need to be developed.

If Bangladesh is to become a driving force for Industry 4.0, every professional body and Companies needs to get involved in skills development, understand the skills needed in the companies of tomorrow, and invest in the development of these skills today. Alongside recruitment into any role, there is also a need to up-skill those already in organizations.

As opportunities come in disguise, we need the ability to recognize them. For this we require knowledge and education. So Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) should change its syllabus to be relevant to Industry 4.0 technologies so that members can be equipped with cross-functional business knowledge and lead cross-divisional activities becoming master over financial statements as well, what many of them lack now. However, due to the longevity of creating up to date courses, it’s possible that the profession can fall behind.

Moreover, unfortunately, no universities in Bangladesh are ready for Industry 4.0 with dedicated courses and facilities.

So do other professional institutes right now.

Furthermore, in tomorrow’s world, the broad issue of legislation and compliance at the national level will play a determining role in shaping the ecosystem in which disruptive companies operate. This always leads countries to lock horns with each other. So like developed countries government can introduce graduation in Finance major Corporate Secretaryship, set legislative safe guards for the professional degrees of the country as well as business of the country. ICSB, being the Institute of Governance Professionals of the country, should work for drawing the attention of the Government in this regard.

Upon the realization that the role of its members in corporate governance related areas had greatly increased for them to continue with the “secretary” tag, the Institute in Australia changed its name in 2013 to Governance Institute of Australia. Following that the Institute in Canada has changed its name Governance Institute of Canada as well. Now, Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), UK and the institute in New Zealand were renamed as the Chartered Governance Institute (in September 2019)

and give their members duel degree recognizing them as Chartered Secretaries and Chartered Governance Professional simultaneously. Accordingly, Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) can take this idea and enable its members bestow with practical knowledge and presentation skills to keep face with the changing world. Only then the opportunities of industry 4.0 can be grabbed.

It is known, without development of practicing firms no profession survives. As such ICSB should immediately adopt some forward looking steps to increase number of practicing firms setting measures to connect more students and qualified chartered secretaries with them.

In line with that it is high time ICSB should redefine the pre-conditions for membership to make sure Industry 4.0 demands are met.

Final thoughts Indeed, Industry 4.0 is definitely a revolutionary approach to manufacturing techniques. The concept will push manufacturers worldwide to a new level of optimization and productivity in all respects. Not only that, but customers will also enjoy a new level of personally customized products that may have never been offered before. As mentioned above, the economic rewards are immense.

On the other hand, there are many challenges that we need to be tackled systematically to ensure a smooth transition to Industry 4.0. This needs to be the focus of ICSB, Companies and Government of the Country alike.

Pushing research, education and experimentation in such fields are badly in need. On top of all, Bangladesh cannot go forward and be a developed country by 2041 unless she will be in a position to lead the way for Industry 4.0.

References: 1. Schwab, Professor Klaus . (2016) . Book : The Fourth Industrial Revolution 2. Davis , Nicholas . Web:World Economic Forum 3. Brynjolfsson , Erik ,& McAfee , Andrew . Book: The Second Machine Age .

4. World Economic Forum. (2017). Report - Innovation for the Earth .

5. Mahomed , Nisaar , & Mabhida ,Moses . (2018) Article: The Fourth Industrial Revolution .( in SA) 6. Martin . (January 16, 2017) . Article : Industry 4.0 7. Brown , Maddison . (26 May 2019) Article:How Industry 4.0 Is Affecting Jobs 8. Different websites

» About the Author Associate Member of the Institute

October -December 2019 | 57

THE IMPACT OF FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ON US Kazi Md Miraj Hossain ACS

I

ntroduction

Technologies are emerging and effecting our lives. Artificial Intelligence, robots, genomics, virtual reality, and many other new technologies are running the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), sculpting and reshaping the way we work and live.

Scope of 4IR The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) demonstrate a progression of social, political and financial upswing that will unfurl over the 21st century. First Industrial Revolution was steam-fueled processing plants, the Second Industrial Revolution's use of science to large scale manufacturing and producing, and the Third Industrial Revolution's begin digitization, the 4IR's innovations, for example, man-made reasoning, genome altering, increased reality, apply autonomy, and 3-D printing, are quickly changing the manner in which people make, trade, and convey esteem. As happened in the past unrests, this will significantly change establishments, enterprises, and people.

Henceforth, this transformation will be guided by the decisions that individuals make today. In coming 10 to 15 years the world will owe a ton of its character to how we consider, put resources into, and send these incredible new advancements.

It is vital to appreciate that the 4IR involves a systemic change across many sectors and aspects of human life. The crosscutting impacts of emerging technologies are even more important than the exciting capabilities they represent.

Perhaps the most meaningful and underappreciated change from the industrial revolution will be that you will likely live much longer and spend most of that time more active and healthier than previous generations.

From genomics, lab grown organs, and smart cities life expectancy is expected to continue increasing, and very possibly exponentially. This is critical not only for retirement planning but also finding purpose and deciding what to do with your life.

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Effect of Automation and artificial intelligence (AI): Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are change agents in 4IR that will make certain groups of employees redundant, replacing them with new workers with the needed skills or with machines that do the job cheaper. With technological advances, jobs with these three qualities are most likely to be automated: repetitive in nature, centered on rules and limited involvement.

Consequence of 4IR on society 4IR has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for populations around the world. Those who have gained the most from it have been consumers able to afford and access the digital world; technology has made possible through new products and services that increase the efficiency and pleasure of our personal lives. Ordering a cab, booking a flight, buying a product, making a payment, listening to music, watching a film, or playing a game any of these can now be done remotely.

The 4IR, will change not only what we do but also who we are. It will affect our identity and all the issues related with it. Our sense of privacy, our notions of ownership, our consumption patterns, the time we devote to work and leisure, and how we develop our careers, cultivate our skills, meet people, and nurture relationships. It is already changing our health and leading to a “quantified” self, and sooner than we think it may lead to human augmentation.

I wonder whether the relentless combination of innovation in our lives could decrease a portion of our typical human limits, for example, empathy and collaboration. Our association with our cell phones is a valid example. Consistent association may deny us of one of life's most significant resources: an opportunity to delay, reflect, and take part in important discussion.

One of the best individual difficulties presented by new data advancements is security. We intuitively

ARTICLE comprehend why it is so basic, yet the following and sharing of data about us is an urgent piece of the new availability. Discussions about key issues, for example, the effect on our internal existences of the loss of command over our information will just increase in the years ahead. Likewise, the transformations happening in biotechnology and AI, which are reclassifying being human by pushing back the present edges of life expectancy, wellbeing, perception, and capacities, will propel us to rethink our good and moral limits.

All industrial revolution create and destroy jobs, but unfortunately there is evidence that new industries are created relatively fewer positions than in the past.

According to calculations by Carl Benedict Frey from the Oxford Martin Programmer on Technology and Employment, only 0.5% of the US work force is employed today in industries that did not exist at the turn of the 21st century, a far lower percentage than the approximately 8.2% of new jobs created in new industries during the 1980s and 4.4% of new jobs created during the 1990s.

Are we ready?

We have seen before that the industrial revolution makes a radical change in our life and in industry. As we have seen that software is performing several task within seconds and it is taking the place of many work forces. So, there can be a concern arises among the group of Chartered Secretaries (CS) that what extent 4IR will bring the distress in relation to job functionality of Chartered Secretaries and again might question arise regarding adoptability of how the CS approach will be to keep up with the pace of change and understand the likely social and economic impact of technological innovation bringing by 4IR. It is to be noted, that the job responsibilities of a Company Secretary is the strategic in nature apart from few routine work. The major role of Company Secretary is to provide right direction to the Board,

related to any Commercial rules and regulation. The 4IR will make faster both the regular and strategic task of Company Secretary. The Company Secretary could perform their job faster than before with the help of artificial intelligence. The Artificial Intelligence can never replace the position of a Company Secretary.

All previous industrial revolutions have had both positive and negative impacts on different stakeholders. Nations have become wealthier, and technologies have helped pull entire societies out of poverty, but the inability to fairly distribute the resulting benefits or anticipate externalities has resulted in global challenges. By recognizing the risks, whether cybersecurity threats, misinformation on a massive scale through digital media, potential unemployment, or increasing social and income inequality, we can take the steps to align common human values with our technological progress and ensure that the Fourth Industrial Revolution benefits human beings first and foremost.

Conclusion: The 4IR is therefore, not a prediction of the future but a call to action. It is a vision for developing, diffusing, and governing technologies in ways that fulfill more empowering, collaborative, and sustainable foundation for social and economic development, built around shared values of the common good, human dignity, and intergenerational stewardship.

Reference: https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/future-of-work/ https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2019.1620027

» About the Author Associate Member of the Institute

October -December 2019 | 59

INDUSTRY 4.0: FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES & ITS IMPACT A.B.M. Kalim Ullah ACS

I

ntroduction

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR), that has been taking shape since the late of the twentieth century, builds upon the third revolution and the digital innovation. 4IR commonly known as Industry 4.0, appears to be changing the way businesses function and, by extension, the stakes by which they are forced to compete. Organizations must decide how and where to invest in these new technologies and identify which ones might best meet their needs.

Without a full understanding of the changes and opportunities Industry 4.0 brings, companies risk losing ground. For business leaders accustomed to traditional linear data and communications, the shift to real-time access to data and intelligence enabled by Industry 4.0 would fundamentally transform the way they conduct business. Artificial intelligence, genome editing, augmented reality, robotics, Internet of things, and 3-D printing are the features of the fourth industrial revolution.

Technologies and Trend of the fourth Industrial Revolution Industry 4.0 can transform organizations’ processes and operations. In today’s world, one can place orders, pay bills, listen to music, get a ride, get directions, and monitor his/her own health through smartphone. Mobile advancements have changed the way people live and work. But did you ever think about the technologies behind your phone? There are wireless technologies, allowing you to connect to the Internet without a physical cable. There are mobile-friendly apps and websites, specifically designed to work on your phone.

It’s the same thing with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Just like the technologies powering your phone, there are 10 emerging technologies Changing the Physical World.

Biotechnology: Biotechnology already has had an enormous impact in medicine, agriculture, biofuel production, and the mitigation of environmental pollution. In biotechnology laboratories around the

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world, researchers have successfully edited defective genes that cause inherited diseases; reengineered the genomes of pigs with the goal of growing organs suitable for human transplantation; given people prosthetic limbs that can feel; helped blind people regain functional eyesight. The combination of biotechnology with robotics, computer interfaces, and new materials is leading to future innovations. It’s true that advances in biotechnology invite many ethical questions about genetically modified plants and animals, about changes to the human genome, and the unknown environmental consequences.

These questions are just as important as the advances themselves.

Robotics: Rapid advancements in robotics are leading to big changes. Robots can do all of these: harvest crops; build cars; move warehouse inventory; assist in surgery and vacuum your floor. With advances in technology, robots are becoming more intelligent, adaptive, and flexible. Researchers are developing prosthetics and improved cybernetic enhancements that merge more deeply with the human body to restore physical capabilities a person lost or even provide new capabilities.

As with biotechnology advances, robotics innovations raise ethical and practical concerns, particularly around augmenting the human body and the worry that robots replace workers, resulting in lost jobs.

3D printing: Medical professionals use 3D bioprinting to treat patients, bioprinting is a process to print a transplantable organ. 3D-printer technology creates a physical object by printing layer upon layer from a digital 3D drawing or model. This technology can produce everything from body parts to engine parts.

3D-printer can print shoes, cars, houses, and more.

And while 3D printing started with simple materials like plastic, advancements in materials are coming.

Imagine 3D printing with aluminum, stainless steel, ceramic, or even biological tissue. Potentially, manufacturers can use these printers to create products in a far more cost-effective and customizable way than they can now.

ARTICLE New materials: Graphene is neither a tiny graph and nor a graphite pencil. Graphene is: 200 times stronger than steel, 1 million times thinner than a human hair and an efficient conductor of heat and electricity.

Graphene is just one example of what’s called new materials. These are designed materials that are lighter, stronger, more readily recyclable, and more adaptive than materials we’re familiar with now. Some new materials are being developed with smart attributes, like the ability to self-clean or self-heal.

Imagine a metal that has a memory and can revert to its original shape, or ceramics and crystals that convert pressure into electric energy.

Internet of things (IoT): IoT-based systems are under development to manage manufacturing supply chains, remotely monitor a person’s health, safely drive autonomous vehicles, and measure soil properties to yield better crops.

New, higher-bandwidth infrastructure can possibly make sensor data available at almost any time and in almost any place around the world. In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the vast digital infrastructure has the potential to let new technologies penetrate nearly every aspect of our lives by layering these capabilities into the physical world around us.

Energy capture, storage, and transmission: Every industrial revolution to date has involved changes to energy production and use, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution is no different. The availability of clean, economical energy is important for the future of the planet and its citizens. Technological advances in renewable energy, fuel efficiency, and energy storage are already helping mitigate climate change and move us to a more carbon-free future. Of all the changes in technologies, energy technologies are possibly the most important for the world. While the first three industrial revolutions made us more dependent on fossil fuels, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has the opportunity to help transition to clean and sustainable energy.

Artificial intelligence (AI): In the future, AI is going to be even more pervasive, helping make every company and every employee smarter, faster, and more productive. Each of us can have our own AI-powered digital personal assistant that’s constantly listening and gathering relevant data to anticipate our needs and perhaps even take action on our behalf. But don’t fret about a robot revolution just yet. Intelligent machines can surpass human computational power and analytical speed, but it’s still human beings who are defining the capabilities of these machines. Today, AI is empowering human ingenuity not replacing it.

Blockchain applications: Blockchain is the new big data. Everyone is talking about it, and no one seems to really know what it is. Let’s start there. Blockchain is just a way of recording and sharing data in such a way that the same data is visible to everyone. Further, blockchain ensures that the data cannot be changed without everyone knowing exactly who did what.

Blockchain technology fosters trust between two parties, even if those people are anonymous. To say it more technically, blockchain is a shared, programmable, decentralized, cryptographically secure ledger for storing digital objects and transactions. No single user or institution controls blockchain applications. Anyone can scrutinize them.

For example, Bitcoin is an example of a blockchain application. Bitcoin is a digital currency, with a public ledger for all transactions. In addition to digital currency, blockchain technology can handle any transaction that is expressible as computer code.

New computational technologies: Our computers are getting smarter and faster, thanks to breakthroughs in material science and physics. New forms of computing, such as quantum computing, offer the possibility of creating computing systems millions of times more powerful than current ones. Today’s computers store information as 1s and 0s. Quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, to encode information as 0s, 1s, or both at the same time. This enables quantum computers to represent multiple values simultaneously, performing calculations millions of times faster than conventional computers. Quantum systems have the potential to supercharge AI, speed the discovery of new pharmaceuticals and materials, and model highly complex data models in seconds.

Virtual and augmented reality: VR offers immersive digital experiences that simulate the real world. Today, VR requires a bulky, expensive headset to enter the virtual world, but that is changing quickly. Over time, we can expect the technology to get smaller and less costly. So how is VR different than augmented reality (AR)? Well, VR allows you to explore a virtual reality, while AR merges the digital and physical worlds. With an AR-enabled device, you can walk down the street and see useful information pop up in your field of vision relevant to your location.

Impacts of Industry 4.0 One of the main effects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is increased human productivity. These Days, Customers Expect More. Customers today expect to get an answer anytime; on any channel they choose. The new technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are reshaping the economy:

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Transportation: In today’s times, do you need to own a car? Or can you simply share one?

Car-sharing services work across multiple industries—transportation, technology, insurance, finance—to provide a seamless customer experience from request to payment. In the process, they are disrupting the notion of car ownership.

What if you just need a ride? Services like Uber and Lyft have disrupted the transportation industry.

Advances in artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, clean energy, and other technologies can improve safety for drivers and pedestrians and potentially lead to greater use of public transportation and car-sharing services. This shift can result in reduced congestion and pollution, faster and cheaper commutes, and improved health.

Retail: In retail, personalization is changing everything.

The lines between sales, service, and marketing are blurring as experiences become more one-to-one, powered by artificial intelligence. Virtual customer service agents can perform day-to-day transactions and make smart recommendations to customers.

Machine learning algorithms can analyze billions of signals to route customer service calls to the most appropriate agent. Using augmented reality devices, such as smart glasses or other wearables, shoppers can look at a product in a store and see relevant data pop up into their field of vision.

Finance: Financial institutions use artificial intelligence to detect fraud and research equities. They are even using insights from machine learning to manage client relationships. For example, artificial intelligence helps financial advisors predict which prospects are most valuable in the sales cycle, decide next-best actions, and create highly personalized customer journeys based on the financial goals, life events, and other variables specific to each customer. The banking industry is going through major change. Branches are disappearing, new competition is entering the industry at a rapid pace.

Insurance: The insurance industry is looking at using data from wearable devices that monitor health, and sensors that track driving habits to determine pricing and encourage safer habits for policyholders. People with better health or driving records pay less for their policies. Sensors in cars can instantly alert drivers to any potential faults with their vehicles and insurance companies to collision damage, allowing them to instantly contact the driver to begin the claims process.

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Agriculture: AI-powered machine vision systems can measure crop populations and detect weeds or plant pests, and use robotic sprayers to precisely apply herbicides. Bioengineered plants are leading to greater crop yields and new medicines, such as antimalarial drugs produced from genetically modified tobacco plants.

Healthcare: Precision medicine helps doctors analyze a patient’s genome sequence, medical history, and lifestyle. That information, coupled with demographic data from groups of people with similar conditions, as well as the latest research, helps doctors create treatments and prevention therapies unique to an individual.

What should you do next?

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is changing how we live, work, and communicate. It’s reshaping government, education, healthcare, and commerce -almost every aspect of life.

In the future, it can also change the things we value and the way we value them. It can change our relationships, our opportunities, and our identities as it changes the physical and virtual worlds. There is little doubt that penetration of Industry 4.0 concepts in companies’ processes and operations will grow.

Information flow, advanced technologies, and materials in other words, the digital and physical technologies that comprise Industry 4.0 make it possible to access real-time information and insights throughout an organization to drive actionable insights.

As you consider your approach to Industry 4.0, you can take the following actions: Redesign work for technology and learning: To take effective advantage of technology, organizations will likely need to redesign work itself, moving beyond process optimization to find ways to enhance machine-human collaboration, drawing out the best of both and expanding across alternative workforces.

Organizational leaders should ensure that technology possibilities are connected to both customer and employee needs during work redesign.

Rethink your workforce strategy: More attention must be given to workforce strategy, collectively owned by the C-suite. A clear determination must be drawn between the business strategy and the workforce needed to execute it. Organizational leaders will benefit from using cognitive technology to identify the best ways to obtain the workforce capability they need.

ARTICLE Get immersed in innovation: Explore the art of the possible to push the organization to understand the application of various technologies and their potential impacts on the business. Understand what drives your need to differentiate and start to think about how to get there.

Build an ecosystem: Assess the organization’s digital maturity to understand what might be feasible, and what steps should be taken to build the necessary technological capabilities with the resources you already have in place, versus what new resources you might need to acquire to get there. Beyond the technologies themselves, consider the expert resources you may want to cultivate, either externally or internally, as part of your Industry 4.0 network.

Scale at the edges: At times, it makes sense to start with smaller stakes, where strategies can be tested and refined with relatively fewer consequences.

Selecting projects at the “edges” of the organization can provide greater latitude for building out Industry 4.0 at a broader scale, and can also help individuals feel less afraid to fail, which could ultimately lead to greater innovation.

Start with one or two transformations to prove it works: Prioritize areas that can unlock several waves of potential value, and consider then building on those successes for exponential growth. Initial successes can serve as proof points, leading to a greater willingness to take a chance on more substantive investments.

Don’t wait for perfect, and keep iterating: Industry 4.0 technologies seem to be rapidly evolving, and there is typically room to iterate. Learning from previous experiences can inform the next set of initiatives and help home in on the next list of priorities.

Conclusion The innovations in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, and other emerging technologies are going to redefine what it means to be human and how we

engage with one another and the planet. Our capabilities, our identities, and our potential will all evolve along with the technologies we create. In the coming decades, we must establish guardrails that keep the advances of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on a track to benefit all of humanity. We must recognize and manage the potential negative impacts they can have, especially in the areas of equality, employment, privacy, and trust. We have to consciously build positive values into the technologies we create, think about how they are to be used, and design them with ethical application in mind and in support of collaborative ways of preserving what’s important to us.

Governments, business leaders, the scientific community, and citizens need to work together to define the paths and direct the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in ways that minimize risks and improve the human condition for all. Change can be both exciting and scary. It’s understandable to feel uncertain about some or all of this.

References: •

Deloitte Insights has published detailed analyses on a number of these technologies; see www.dupress.deloitte.com

•

René Waslo, Tyler Lewis, Ramsey Hajj, and Robert Carton, Industry 4.0 and cybersecurity: Managing risk in an age of connected production, Deloitte University Press, March 21, 2017.

•

Laaper et al., The digital supply network meets the future of work.

•

Hood et al., Industry 4.0 engages customers.

•

Joe Mariani, Brenna Sniderman, and Cary Harr, “More real than reality: Transforming work through augmented reality,” Deloitte Review 21, July 31, 2017.

» About the Author Associate Member of the Institute

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FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: THE ADOPTION OF CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS AND IMPACT ON THE CORPORATE COMPLIANCES Razia Sultana

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he digital technology is an indispensable part of today’s social, professional as well as biological life. More specifically, the connected devices are capable to make communication easier in every aspect like office work / attend academic classes through video conferencing / Skype, catch a cab, online shopping, health check up and so on. Currently, businesses are strongly influenced to invest on latest information strategies in order to boost efficiency. Several researches reported that by 2019 maximum number of multinational companies (MNCs) will sponsor the utilization of the wearable fitness tracking devices for better corporate performance.

Here it has to be noted that with the fast moving technological development the data protection regulations should also a prime concern to protect the risk of data misuse. Alternatively, after high profile data security breaches at AOL Inc., Sony, Yahoo, etc. the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is now the first requirement of both business houses as well as existing and potential consumers. In order to enter into the GDPR, the European Commission already have issued the new laws and enforced from May, 2018 and all companies are now required to comply the processing of data for the EU citizens. On the other hand, over 11 states of the United Sates (US) have been introduced 21 privacy laws since constituents have failed to introduce federal rules and regulations.

Fortunately, good news is that Companies have been taken considerable initiatives to adopt privacy laws in order to secure data through digital transformation.

Besides data security, several changes of the fourth industrial revolution will be challenging and a snap of those are – Effect on the scope of employment – due to increase of automation there will be a significant effect on employment numbers and it will be inevitable that the nature of job and required skills to perform those jobs will change radically. A recent research reported that 60% of the existing job nature will become automated soon. Consequently, a large number of jobholder will have a need of finding new job along with to learn new

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job skills and it will significantly effect on social inequality as well as unemployment. Moreover, legal reformation and its combination while partnerships with the government agencies, academia along with business houses will be required to ensure new scope of job opportunities and insufficient resources will harnessing those opportunities.

New compliance challenges due to technological and commercial advancements – this has the potential risk to expose businesses because a particular role to contribute efficiently through automated modes but violation of anti-discrimination laws at workplace shall require human-based decisions. Conversely, with the advancement of first industrial revolution the Intellectual Property patronized innovation significantly and now at the commencement of a new industrial revolution protection of both the innovators along with the users of innovation is essential to ensure its successful growth.

Challenges to protect the fundamental right to privacy – the new revolution in the law is in need of new developments in order to ensure the primary law and regulations and their effect on the companies to protect entire employees as well as companies data and what would be the stiff penalties for the non-compliant companies. Moreover, a uniform legislation system would be beneficial for a specific geographical area like EU. For example, in South Africa, the data protection law is enacted as the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and motto of the law is to – i) protect personal information of the common people, ii) ensure fundamental right to privacy in order to stop being hacking of individual ID as well as money from the bank account, etc. The prime objective of any legal reformation should be enough competitive so that the legislative framework would capable to take into account the changes brought by the new industrial revolution. Additionally, the newly developed markets as a result of the fourth industrial revolution should have sufficient scope to meet the increased need for the services of the legal as well as compliance profession.

ARTICLE Effect of the Bulk Data – though already there have few solution regarding bulk data-related challenges a sound legal outline is till in need. Elaborately, the existing legal framework is not adequate capable to adopt the new data mining technology where better, cleaner and richer data therefore, specific areas of the existing law would not be user friendly during tracking the broad industry trends related to the strategic planning, business development along with mass data mining.

Challenges and remedies for the Bangladeshi Industries– Compare to the earlier industrial revolutions, the fourth industrial has facilitated rapid changes in the intelligent automation, robotization, etc.

Therefore, it will notably impact on the exiting as well as future job market. A research report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) stated that by 2030 globally approximate 800 million people could lose their jobs where about 5.70 million unskilled Bangladeshi labour / people are under threat since one machine / automated process alone is capable to beat more than 10 people / workers. So, lack of technological skills is a great threat for the Bangladeshi industries and manufacturing concerns at the same time by adoption of technology-focused employment opportunities would create a skilled workforce and hence relevant corporate compliance issues could able to take place to establish good governance along with adoption of a safer artificial intelligence. Now, it has to be noted that key business areas of Bangladesh those patronize the national economy for the last three decades are – a) knitwear and oven (readymade garment), b) plastics products, c) leather and goods made by leather, d) light engineering, e) export of human resource, f) pharmaceuticals, g) ship building, h) tourism, i) ceramics, j) agro-processing, k) IT and ITES related outsourcing, l) personal effects through small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and so on where readymade garment is the second export earning sector as well as global competitor. In order to adopt the cyber physical systems and outline probable corporate compliances with privacy issues first of all the strong demographic dividend along with densely population of Bangladesh is required to provide both technical and vocational training on a variety of skill development programs. Though major portion of this huge population is young, government and the private sector in together have golden opportunity create

numerous platforms. On the other hand, international global online portals namely, Alibaba, Amazon, etc. can promote and patronize the e-commerce in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to overcome the upcoming challenges in Bangladesh.

Last of all, in order to manage probable disruption along with seize the opportunities over the next couple of years the Chief Executives of top branded Companies shall have key concentrate on – a) consumer oriented, b) innovation of newly customized products, c) invest in the disruptive technologies, d) involvement with external entities, e) visible transformation into different outlook and so on. On the other hand, the Chief Executives specially, the Compliance Officers should have concentrated on the regulations in attachment with probable tax compliances. Moreover, the MNCs have to pay attention on their global operations as well as restructure their supply chain management in order to minimize the reputational risks. Conversely, legal and compliance have to focus on value-added services through peer network communities that might be ensure knowledge sharing with best practices though the technological advancement would be a threat for the legal and compliance profession. Additionally, the upcoming super technology has strong potentiality to be empowered by an augmented intelligence hence the legal and compliance profession will in need to grasp sharper insights then before. In conclusion, though machines are tactical but the human being is strategic to guide the processes speed up as well as make onerous tasks easier by machines.

Sources –

1. The power of trust and values in the Fourth Industrial Revolution; available at: < https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/power-trust -and-values-fourth-industrial-revolution/ > [Accessed on October 18, 2018] 2. Risk & Regulation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution; available at: < https://www.ghy.com/trade-compliance/risk-regulation -in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/ > [Accessed on October 18, 2018]

» About the Author Student of ICSB

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SHAPING THE 4IR: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF TOMORROW’S CITIZEN Md. Anower Hossin

O

Origination:

Right now, 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) is one of the most discussed issues in Bangladesh. Seminars, conferences and round table discussions are organizing by different stakeholders on 4IR & its problems and prospects. Scholars are trying to make stakeholders aware about 4IR concept and inspiring entrepreneurs to adopt newer technologies to get advantages out of it. They are reminding that businesses are to adopt 4th & 5th generation technologies to remain them up-to-date with concurrent market demands.

Recently a fascinating Bangladeshi couple, Rini Ishan and Rakib Reza have quietly been manufacturing commercial robots in Bangladesh, including a 3D concrete-printing robot. So far in 2018, their company Planetary Limited has exported 11 robots to South Korea. We can now proudly say that Bangladesh is also in the age of robotics and 3D printing.

Thousands of young Bangladeshi people have already put the country on the global IT freelancing map. We feel gratitude to the passion, imagination and steady work of a few, ‘Digital Bangladesh’ is now a reality, contributing to the transformation of our social and economic landscape at the grassroots. For instance, 4,554 Union Digital Centers, more than 100 simplified public services, e-procurement and smart health cards, digital job platforms, online open course wares are leading Bangladesh down the 4IR path.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR): Global society is undergoing dramatic and transformative changes driven by the rapid evolution of technology in, what is sometimes called, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).We are a nation of innovators. Throughout our history, we have seized the day to create a better future for ourselves. The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate

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production. Now, a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.

Shaping the 4IR: Millions of young people around the world are unemployed or underemployed, while employers have jobs, they cannot fill. It is a challenge partially rooted in the growing mismatch between youth’s skill and employer needs. If unaddressed, the problem will likely intensify as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) characterized by the marriage of physical assets and digital technologies-transforms society, Economies, Jobs and people’s personal lives.

The possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, are unlimited. And these possibilities will be multiplied by emerging technology breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing.

Already, Artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us, from self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants and software that translate or invest. Impressive progress has been made in AI in recent years, driven by

ARTICLE exponential increases in computing power and by the availability of vast amounts of data, from software used to discover new drugs to algorithms used to predict our cultural interests. Digital fabrication technologies, meanwhile, are interacting with the biological world on a daily basis. Engineers, designers, and architects are combining computational design, additive manufacturing, materials engineering, and synthetic biology to pioneer a symbiosis between microorganisms, our bodies, the products we consume, and even the buildings we inhabit.

A day in the life of Tomorrow’s Citizen: A visionary thought While it is difficult for anyone to judge fully the impact of all these 4.0 technologies on humanity, the following futuristic walkthrough will help us to better appreciate some of what is to come and what might be a typical day for an ordinary citizen in the future. We are sleeping restfully with sensors adjusting the ambient room temperature as well as managing humidity levels throughout the night ensuring us get the best sleep possible. Our alarm clock has monitored our sleep over several days and decided on its own as to the best time to wake us up, ensuring we are not late for work. Sensors gradually brighten the room so as not to shock our system. At the same time, our shower has started and it is automatically adjusting the water temperature to our preference, as it has learned from our past showering habits.

As we approach our closet freshly showered, our closet suggests what to wear based on our office dress code and weather conditions outside.

Meanwhile downstairs, our coffee has been brewing in our kitchen and our refrigerator has made suggestions on what to eat based on what is inside the fridge and what is most fresh. Our TV or computer screen has activated and pulled up programming in the order that we normally watch during breakfast. After our breakfast, our driverless car is getting ready in the garage. It has adjusted the inside temperature based on weather conditions and has programmed the optimal route to our work place after monitoring live traffic patterns. As we are whisked away to work, our house has already turned off lights, adjusted the thermostat, checked the fridge to see what’s low and put in an automatic order for essential groceries with the local supermarket and has also autonomously cleaned itself. Our time spent traveling to work is recaptured as productive time. In this sense, our car has become a mobile office, wired and equipped with all the capabilities of the office setting, allowing us to get much work done before even setting foot into the office.

Our car will assimilate all built-in road sensors which will automatically change the speed limit when the roads are bad or when there has been a snarl in traffic.

Up-to-the-minute data will be fed to the car’s dashboard. Audible reports will be made through the car’s sounds system and text reports will be fed to our mobile device as well as those of our loved ones. Once we get to the office, our car will auto-park, or take itself to the automated car wash if it needs a clean after letting us out. The office doors will scan our unique biometric signature and let us in. All this time our IoT (Internet of Things) health wearable device has been monitoring all our vital signals and reminds us to drink water and take our blood pressure medication. Once we open our computer, the AI program we asked last night to perform analysis of company data walks us through the conclusions it reached through a VR headset, interactively allowing us to investigate simulations as well as the sources of information it used and the logic behind its decisions. We hold a virtual meeting with colleagues and clients in another city to discuss the findings in a ‘smart meeting room’, allowing all of them to be present in the same room, sharing and displaying work through the augmented reality.

For lunch, we decide to go out of the office for a stroll.

Our augmented reality glasses give us suggestions on where to eat based on our diet plan and reminds us to pick up dinner on the way back home. As we pass by a local convenience store, relevant information for items us need at home are displayed to us with a discount voucher arriving on our smart device. We put in an online purchase for the goods, enter our address and we are done. Payment has been taken securely from our bank account and the goods will be delivered by drone to the safe delivery box at our home. We remotely access our home delivery box telling it to expect a drone delivery and give it access through a uniquely shared one time access code.

After lunch, our doctor calls us as he has noticed our blood pressure has been alarmingly high during the same time period over the last week. He asks us to put on the IoT blood pressure monitor in the office and checks our blood pressure remotely. He decides to prescribe additional medication which the local pharmacy will deliver to us within the next hour at work.

Towards the end of the working day, we get some reminders of social commitments we have that night.

We sit in our autonomous car which puts on relaxing music and dims the light, allowing us to get some rest before getting home, navigating itself through traffic and detours with no effort. While we were at work our IoT sprinkler system didn’t need to come on because it rained the night before. Our home is at the temperature we like and the shower is ready.

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After showering, we open the safe deposit box to find the items we had ordered earlier, along with other essential groceries that our refrigerator automatically ordered for us which we had run out of. Our phone alerts us that we have to pick up our son from soccer practice. We speak to our car through our smart phone and tell it to pick him up from his school location. The car picks him up safely while we put away the items that were delivered. We realize that we've forgotten to order dinner and ask the home AI system to give us suggestions. It checks what we’ve had for dinner over the past few days and provides meal options taking into consideration food preferences and the health history of each of our family members.

To close out the evening, someone suggests watching a movie but the decision is difficult considering all the different interests in the room. A simple solution is to let our TV wall screen make the choice. But this is no ordinary screen. It’s a paper thin, hardened screen which covers all the walls in our home. Through the home AI system, it has access to data from all of our family members. It knows heart rates and blood pressure; it knows preferences in past programming they consumed. It knows emotional and mental health history. Instantaneously it makes several good suggestions. The movie is displayed on the wall we choose. As we’re watching the movie, all surrounding walls change color to match the type of movie we are watching to create a better ambience.

After watching the movie, our home AI system suggests us sleep based on our breathing patterns and oxygen levels. Our bedroom is adjusted automatically for comfort, the alarm is automatically set, all doors and windows locked and our home AI goes into monitoring mode, protecting and monitoring us and our family for another night.

previous three revolutions, and we should take both comfort and instruction from the way that societies successfully managed those past instances of technological disruption. Key barriers still exist, including the cost of infrastructure, varying levels of global interconnectivity and variable cost of data accessibility.

Perhaps the greatest fear for many is that 4IR, particularly AI, will eliminate jobs and lead to massive growth in inequality. Previous revolutions have ultimately led to greater wealth and opportunity, and this one will be no different, but this generalization glosses over the experiences of workers who lived through those transitions and offers little insight into how to manage the inevitable disruptions that accompany these changes.

Summing up: In consequence, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us, and our economy, society, and politics will change in dramatic ways, for better and for worse. How painful the transition is, and who benefits and how much, depend on choices that we have yet to make.

And as in the previous industrial revolutions, understanding the technologies reshaping our world and building new policies and institutions for the future will be essential to maximize the benefits of technological change and minimize its risks and costs to the world. The speed of technological updates often surpasses the speed at which current & future talent can be upskilled and trained, leaving a gap between skills and the skills available.

The ways Bangladesh can participate in the 4IR:

Bangladesh is now gradually experiencing the effects of the wave of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

But building an efficient labour force remains the biggest challenge for Bangladesh due to our technological incompetence.

Our backdated education system needs to go through a reformation so that enough awareness is created about the global skills in demand and so that our labour force is trained to excel in IT, 4IR tools and interpersonal skills. Only then will we be adequately equipped to face the effects of the 4IR.

Risks & Opportunities in the 4IR:

Achieving this level of alignment requires a shared value mindset, effective implementation of strategies and a mechanism for systemic integration and iteration. Therefore, we urge policy-makers, the public, private sectors and civil society organizations to work together.

1.

Enhancing accessibility to technologies and infrastructure 2. Making technology more affordable 3. Developing 'future-proof' skills 4. Identifying niche opportunities 5. Introducing enabling and mitigating policies and regulations 6. Harnessing the potential of partnership

Technological progress has always meant change, and with change comes uncertainty. When that uncertainty begins to cloud issues as fundamental as humans’ basic utility within society—as AI is now doing for many workers—it is understandable that people demand answers from our leaders about where 4IR will lead. Similar fears have accompanied each of the

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NOTIFICATIONS OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2019

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