Vehicle Automation on Mobility Behaviour

Discuss about the Vehicle Automation on Mobility Behaviour.

Introduction

The manufacturing industry globally has experienced tremendous change especially in its assembly line of services as a result of increased automation. Many manufacturing companies have embraced the use of automated machines in a bid to meet the increasing consumer demand as well as improve on their efficiency and productivity (Chui et al. 2015, p. 5). This will in turn help the companies gain a competitive advantage in the industry.  The main reason behind the introduction of automation in the manufacturing industry was to improve the productivity of the industry and increase market or industry competitiveness by focusing on satisfying consumer demands and needs. Therefore many managers in the manufacturing industry are of the perspective that investing in automation is non-reversible and holds the future growth of the company long term investments. However, the increased automation in the manufacturing industry and also in other industries has led to increased loss of job opportunities.

Despite the growing need to improve on productivity, increase competitiveness in the industry as well as the need to meet consumer needs and demands, it is also important for the companies to recognize the need of human resource input and their contribution to achievement of business goals and objectives (Nica, 2016, p. 68). With increased automation, a report published by Mckinsey Global Institute predicted that between 39 million to 73 million jobs will be lost in the US in near future as a result of Automation. The same effect is predicted to occur in our company of analysis, the Hyundai Motors Corporation. The company is seeking to increase their capacity of using automated machines to increase or improve on their productivity in a move that will reduce the company human resource development strategies (Lamb, 2016, p. 7). The research proposal aims at providing an understanding of the impact of automation on job opportunities with special reference to our case organization or company, the Hyundai Motors Corporation.

The organization of this research proposal will include section 1, giving a brief introduction to the key issues in the analysis, section 2 showing the research problem statement, section 3 showing the aims, objectives as well as the research questions, section 4 showing the justifications and the potential outcomes and section 5 outlining the conceptual frameworks of the research as well as development of hypothesis. Lastly we have section 6 which provides a detailed approach of the research methodology.

Research Problem Statement

Automation is defined as a process of creating and applying technology to monitor and control company operations or production activities as well as the delivery of goods and services. The process involves the use of designed control systems such as robots or computers and information technology to perform different tasks by replacing human workforce (Arntz et al. 2016, p. 01). Different researchers have focused on developing studies to evaluate on the general impact automation in business as well as different companies. However, less focus has been given in understanding the correlation between automation and increased loss employment opportunities in manufacturing companies. Therefore, this project aims at providing an understanding of the impact on automation on job opportunities in Hyundai Motors Corporation, a South Korean Multinational automobile manufacturing company. This is because the company has increased their capacity to acquire more automated machines in a move to improve their productivity, meet consumer demands and increase their competitiveness in the industry globally

The aim of this research is to investigate the increased usage of automated machines in the Hyundai Motors Corporation and is impact on the future job opportunities for the employees working in the company. The project aims at identifying the key factors contributing to the increased adoption of automated machines in the company as well as its impact to future job opportunities.

The research or project proposal will be guided by the following research objectives which will help us enhance the scope of our project. The first objective of the project will be to determine the current rate of usage of automated teller machines in Hyundai Motors Corporation. The project also seeks to determine the benefits of automating the manufacturing facilities in the company and the impact it has created on future job opportunities for the employees (David, 2015, p. 27). It is also the objective of the project to determine the factors influencing the choice of automated machines over the human labour in the company. Lastly, the project will help in developing effective strategies that will help the company sustain future human workforce in the workplace in midst of growing technological innovations and developments.

RQ1. Does automation impact employment opportunities negatively or positively?  If any, how?

RQ2. Does the current automation strategies promote the growth of employment opportunities or contributes to loss of job opportunities?

RQ3. Des the productivity of the company depend only on the effective use of automated machines or is dependent on human workforce or is depended of both factors?

RQ4. Are there strategies which can be developed to incorporate both automated technology and human workforce in enhancing the company productivity and efficiency?

RQ5. Are the benefits of automation in the company greater than the benefits of using human workforce to conduct the various operations?

Justification and Potential Output of the Research

Through the analysis of different scholarly journals and articles, it is identifiable that most scholars have developed their studies in understanding the impact of automation in enhancing a company or business productivity, on enhancing service delivery to their customers by satisfying their needs as well as the impact of automation in enhancing business competitiveness in the industry. For instance, (Brenner & Herrmann, 2018) have developed a study to provide more information on the benefits of automation in the automotive industry in the modern corporate world. Therefore, there is a literature gap about the impact of automation on the future employment or job opportunities in the automotive manufacturing industry. This research will therefore be important in understanding the impact of automation to the increased unemployment rates characterized in the manufacturing industry as well as the factors contributing to the increased adoption of automated machines in most operational activities in the company (Trommer et al. 2016, p. 12). The research will help the management of the company to develop effective strategies of creating a balance between automation technologies and human workforce in the company since both factors are key determinants to the company performance.

All the research questions concerning the impact of automation on employment or job opportunities as identified in this research proposal shall be answered from the results of data collection, finding s and analysis by the end of the research. The research findings or outputs will be therefore very relevant in enhancing research development by helping to fill the existing knowledge gap and also for other end users such as the company management team (Healy et al. 2017, p. 21). The research findings will help in facilitating effective decision making by the company management team with regard to acquisition of various technological innovations as well as the human resource team to help them develop strategies that will help in retaining employees at the workplace.

Automation can be defined as the creation and application of designed technological systems or devices and apparatus to monitor and control an organization production activities as well as the delivery of products and services to respective consumers (McClure, 2017, p. 08). Automation involves the use of control systems such as computers and robots specifically designed through integration of information technology techniques to perform different functions by replacing human workforce in the company. Hyundai Motors has therefore embraced the use of automated machines to enhance their productivity in the industry and help them meet the consumer demands. In most cases the company used automation technology in the assembly service line and especially in handling tasks which repetitive, straining and time consuming for human. However there are increased concerns over the future job opportunities of the company employees due to the increased dependency of the company on automated machines even in the simple task which require human creativity (Hoang et al,. 2017, p. 7). This has forced the human workforce in the company to either lose their jobs with the company or move to roles that require soft skills such as communication, problem solving and collaboration. Most of the assembling activities and process in the company are conducted using automated machines and even in assembling the automobile parts, detection of faulty parts in automobiles as well as maintenance which were previously done through the use of human workforce.

Impact of Automation on Job opportunities

The new developments in production technologies have accelerated the growth or adoption of automated machines in most manufacturing industries or companies. The global idea of machines replacing humans has contributed to increased anxiety of losing jobs for both the developed and developing nations (Bloomfield, 2017, p. 31). The company has therefore embraced the use of automated machines to perform the tasks which were likely been conducted or performed by those employees with less skill. Therefore the proportion of employees with fewer skills is more likely to lose their jobs compared to those with advanced skills. The company since adoption of automation technologies has experienced growth in terms of their production efficiency. The transition from the annual to the automated systems has enabled Hyundai Motors Company to develop a PR management system (Schöggl et al. 2017, p. 1615). Such technology has led to reduction in hours of working by 77 percent, allow employees to work more efficiently, saves time for both the PR management team as well as to the customers.

 However the development of automation systems in the company has led to job loss for most junior workers in the company. The production activities which were performed by human power such as total quality control, total production management are now performed by the though the use robotic and automation science (Wells 2017, p. 97). Tasks such as switchboard operators in the company as well as operational electronic operators have now become automized in a move to reduce the increasing labour costs and increase efficiency. Automation of the tasks which were previously performed by the employees has contributed to decreased morale among the current staff. The continued anxiety is negatively affecting the company in terms of productivity (Ledford & Gast 2018, p. 27). According to report released by UNCTAD in 2017, it showed that around 1.6 million robots have been manufactured and the number is estimated to grow to 2.5 million. Therefore the human physical work, mental and cognitive work which involved human workforce in the company has now been replaced by the Artificial Intelligence.

The success of the company in achieving its set goals and objectives will however depend on the ability of the company to develop effective strategies which will moderate the use of automation technologies to enhance productivity and efficiency. There is a need therefore for the management of the company to develop effective strategies which will incorporate both automation as well as the human workforce in enhancing the company productivity since both play a vital role (Cuervo?Cazurra et al. 2017, p. 13). The best way to reduce unemployment in the company due to automation will be through investing in retraining of the employees to equip them with the necessary skills to avoid overreliance on the automated machines.

Hypothesis Development

Hypothesis 1	Ho; Automation does not have any impact on future job opportunities Ha; Automation has both positive and negative impact on job opportunities
Hypothesis 2	Ho; Automation does not have positive impact of industry competitiveness Ha; Automation contributes positively to increased competitiveness
Hypothesis 3	Ho; automation does not contribute to increased customer relations Ha; automation contributes to increased customer relations
Hypothesis 4	Ho; automation of the current strategies have no impact on the current loss of job opportunities Ha; automation  of the current strategies have impacted the current loss of job opportunities

For effective analysis and development of this study, the research proposal has employed the use of both qualitative and quantitative approach as the research methodology.  This is because the data used in this study involves the analysis of both numerical and numerical data (Brannen, 2017, p. 17). There are two types of data to be used in this study including both primary and secondary data. The primary data will be collected from the company staff as well as employees while the secondary data is collected from various journals, company websites as well as from the government journals. The data will then be analyzed by the use of both quantitative techniques as well as qualitative techniques to provide solutions or relevant findings for the end user.

Proposed data collection and analysis techniques

 The targeted group for this study is the staff working with the Hyundai Motors Company as well as the management of the company through which the decisions to acquire and implement automation techniques  result from in the company. The population is aimed providing their real life experiences and their concerns about the development of new technologies and impact on their future job opportunities in the company. The number of participants for both the staff as well as the company management team is 50 participants.

The method of sampling used in this research is the cluster sampling. This involves dividing the population sample into different groups for instance one group representing the staff whiles the other cluster group having the company management team. Each cluster group will therefore consist of 25 participants.

The purpose of this research proposal is to establish the impact of automation on job opportunities in Hyundai Motor Company. The dependent variable in this case is the job or employment opportunities while the independent variable is automation. For effective analysis of the variables, the qualitative data will be analyzed through the use of exploratory analysis while the quantitative data will be analyzed through the use of correlations techniques to present facts and figures.

The research project proposal will or research will be organized as follows;

Chapter one; will deal with the outlining of the research proposal as outlined in this assignment

Chapter two; a description of the Hyundai Motors Company and its automation technologies strategies or developments

Chapter Three; will include the details of methodology – literature review, data series and surveys (data collection methods), observing key indicators of recession and data analysis methods.

Chapter Four; will report the Findings and Analysis of the proposed research.

Chapter Five: will summarize the important findings and discuss their implications in deign thinking and strategies to improve the current situation

Budget, Project Activities and Gantt chart

For the research to be concluded effectively and within the appropriate time there is need to develop a budget for the research participants. The time frame provided for the research is exactly three months from the date of proposal development. The research will require an estimated budget of $ 5000. The budget has been developed specifically for literature review through which some cost will be incurred to access the secondary data from the various journals, the government and other relevant articles. The other cost will be incurred to data restructuring and analysis while the last amount will be used for conducting interviews and organization of the research materials.

The budget of this project proposal has been set for the specified reasons;

Literature review = $ 2000, Data collection = $ 1000 and Data Analysis= $ 5000

This is summarized in the following table;

Purpose	Estimated Amount to be used
Literature review	$ 2000
Data collection	$ 1000
Data analysis	$ 2000
Estimated total budget	$ 5000

Table 2: Time Plan for the Project Process

Task Name	Duration taken	Completion deadline
Identification of research problem and background research	One week	1st week of June
Literature review	Two weeks	Mid of  June
Data collection for primary data	3 weeks	1st week of July
Data collection secondary data	1 week	2nd week of July
Creating a conceptual framework and methodology	2 weeks	The end of July
Conducting critical review  and submission of first report	2 weeks	Mid of August
Qualitative data analysis	2 weeks	End of August
Quantitative data analysis	2 weeks	Mid of September
Final report	1 week	Mid of September
Submission of Final Report	1 week	End of September

Gantt chart

	June	July	August	September	October
Research problem identification
Literature Review
Primary Data Collection
Secondary Data Collection
Methodology and research progress
Findings and Analysis
Report Submission

List of References

Arntz, M., Gregory, T. and Zierahn, U., 2016. The risk of automation for jobs in OECD countries: A comparative analysis. OECD Social, Employment, and Migration Working Papers, (189), p.0_1.

Bloomfield, G.T., 2017. The world automotive industry in transition. In Restructuring the global automobile industry (pp. 19-60). Routledge.

Brannen, J., 2017. Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches: an overview. In Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research (pp. 3-37). Routledge.

Brenner, W. and Herrmann, A., 2018. An Overview of Technology, Benefits and Impact of Automated and Autonomous Driving on the Automotive Industry. In Digital Marketplaces Unleashed (pp. 427-442). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

Brenner, W. and Herrmann, A., 2018. An Overview of Technology, Benefits and Impact of Automated and Autonomous Driving on the Automotive Industry. In Digital Marketplaces Unleashed (pp. 427-442). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

Choi, Y. and Baker, B., 2017. The Impact of Automation on Business and Employment in South Korea. IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management, 14(4), pp.23-37.

Chui, M., Manyika, J. and Miremadi, M., 2015. Four fundamentals of workplace automation. McKinsey Quarterly, 29(3), pp.1-9.

Cuervo?Cazurra, A., Mudambi, R., Pedersen, T. and Piscitello, L., 2017. Research Methodology in Global Strategy Research. Global Strategy Journal.pp. 13.

David, H., 2015. Why are there still so many jobs? The history and future of workplace automation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(3), pp.3-30.

Healy, J., Nicholson, D. and Parker, J., 2017. Guest editors’ introduction: technological disruption and the future of employment relations.pp. 21.

Hoang, X.L., Fay, A., Marks, P. and Weyrich, M., 2017, September. Generation and impact analysis of adaptation options for automated manufacturing machines. In Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation (ETFA), 2017 22nd IEEE International Conference on (pp. 1-8). IEEE.

Lamb, C., 2016. The Talented Mr. Robot: The impact of automation on Canada’s workforce. Brookfield Institute for Innovation+ Entrepreneurship.pp. 7.

Ledford, J.R. and Gast, D.L., 2018. Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences. Routledge.pp.27.

Linnéusson, G., Ng, A.H. and Aslam, T., 2018. Towards strategic development of maintenance and its effects on production performance by using system dynamics in the automotive industry. International Journal of Production Economics, 200, pp.151-169.

McClure, P.K., 2017. “You’re Fired,” Says the Robot: The Rise of Automation in the Workplace, Technophobes, and Fears of Unemployment. Social Science Computer Review, p.0894439317698637.

Nica, E., 2016. Will technological unemployment and workplace automation generate greater capital-labor income imbalances?. Economics, Management and Financial Markets, 11(4), p.68.

Schöggl, J.P., Baumgartner, R.J. and Hofer, D., 2017. Improving sustainability performance in early phases of product design: A checklist for sustainable product development tested in the automotive industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, pp.1602-1617.

Swan, M., 2017. Is technological unemployment real? An assessment and a plea for abundance economics. In Surviving the Machine Age (pp. 19-33). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Trommer, S., Kolarova, V., Frädrich, E., Kröger, L., Kickhöfer, B., Kuhnimhof, T., Lenz, B. and Phleps, P., 2016. Autonomous Driving-The Impact of Vehicle Automation on Mobility Behaviour.pp. 12.

Wells, P., 2017. Alternative business models for a sustainable automotive industry. In System Innovation for Sustainability 1 (pp. 90-108). Routledge.