https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFYHbOovSo8
During the first Alumni Membership Forum at Universidad ORT Uruguay, three experts discussed the challenges the country will face in the post-pandemic era and the lessons to be learned.
The event “Uruguay in the World | Post-Pandemic Challenges,” organized by the ORT Graduate School of Business Alumni Association, was held in a HyFlex® format on Thursday, October 7, 2021.
The speakers were Dr. Eduardo Levy Yeyati—full professor at Torcuato Di Tella University, dean of the School of Government, and academic director of the Center for Evidence-Based Policy (CEPE-Di Tella)—, Francisco Ortega, Esq.—senior partner at McKinsey & Company and the firm’s leader for Hispanic Latin America—and Bruno Gili, CPA— Bruno Gili—who holds a Diploma in Advanced Studies from the University of Valencia (Spain), is a partner at CPA/Ferrere, a member of the Project Evaluation and Monitoring Committee at the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII), and a professor of Business Consulting at ORT—.
The experts mapped out these accelerating trends, new areas of conflict, and drivers of growth, as well as the policies needed to navigate these changes.
Workplace Inclusion and Democracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GotNEm6-ivE
Eduardo Levy noted that Latin America is facing political and economic challenges in the wake of the pandemic, which has led to economic stagnation and exacerbated existing social inequality.
“Many of the jobs lost during the pandemic will not return. The pandemic has pushed job insecurity to a whole new level. There is no way to have a strong welfare state without job creation, simply because it creates an unsustainable imbalance between those who receive benefits and those who contribute,” the expert added.
“How can we address the situation when the population has been so severely impacted by the pandemic? Labor inclusion is a top priority for many Latin American countries. There is a challenge that involves shifting toward a less macro-level approach to the economy. We need to implement regional policies that are specific and difficult to carry out. We must embrace this shift toward a more micro-level way of thinking about the economy.”
Another challenge, according to the expert, “dates back to before the pandemic and has to do with a political and economic debate, with the fact that liberal democracy is under threat.” This leads to “discontent and diminished expectations among the population.”
“We tend to think of democracy as the defaultsystem ,” he concluded. “That is a mistake we have been carrying with us since the 1980s. The truth is that, if you look at the map, full democracy is a minority. Unfortunately, I think it will continue to be so. All attempts to export democracy to Africa and the Middle East have failed miserably. Returning to Latin America, what this implies is that our situation is very different from that of the Asians. Singapore was able to grow, in part, because it had a dictatorship, just as Korea did before it became wealthy, but we have to deal with both aspects. That is to say, we cannot impose things on the population; we cannot force them to postpone the fulfillment of the rights demanded by the people; and, on the other hand, if we rush to meet those demands, we’ll end up limping along.”
“Democracy is an integral part of Latin American society, and meeting those demands within a democratic framework is doubly difficult.”
Lessons from the pandemic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5EV6gub8mw
Francisco Ortega noted that the pandemic taught us five key lessons:
1) Consumer habits have changed. “Some habits will stick, while others will gradually return to their previous levels. For example, we’ll go back to watching soccer at the stadium, attending live concerts, and traveling—but we’ll likely travel less for business and more for leisure.”
2) Automation and digitization have accelerated . “The future of work has accelerated and requires coordinated action by companies and institutions to optimize the transition.”
3) New ways of working were adopted. “It has been shown that remote work is possible, although new challenges in talent management must be addressed.”
4) Work speed increased. “Myths about the time required to bring about change in organizations were debunked. For example, implementing remote work was expected to be a process that would take years, but in many cases, it took only days.”
5) There was a growing awareness of the climate crisis. “The pandemic has encouraged more sustainable behavior among consumers, with a trend toward prioritizing brands that care about the environment.”
Digital Transformation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jUtCC-Hvok
“Our ability to adapt lags behind the pace of technological change. We struggle to adapt—whether it’s the government, businesses, or individuals. What you see when you look at different countries is that when there’s a stronger foundation in place—whether in terms of human capital, infrastructure, or policy—society is more resilient in the face of challenges. When that foundation is lacking, the impact is severe,” said Bruno Gili.
“The world has changed,” the expert noted, adding, “It’s impossible to imagine a business in the 21st century without the technologies available today. For example, artificial intelligence.”
The expert explained that, as a result of COVID-19, global trends have shifted—whether in terms of globalization and value chains, the environmental crisis, demographic, technological, and behavioral changes, or growth, wealth, and inequality.
Finally, he concluded that customers today have higher expectations than in the past. “They are increasingly demanding when it comes to the personalization of products and services and their ability to meet their needs, adapt to their lifestyle, and create memorable experiences. A deep understanding of user behavior is the key to successfully designing new lines of business and redesigning existing ones.”