A business journalist and New York Times best-selling author, George Anders, paid a visit to the Texas Tech University Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Wednesday evening.
The Rawls Raiders Alumni Network, a group created for career networking, organized the event. Attendees — including a bulk of business students and administrators, a few College of Media & Communication students, and curious locals — were given their respective nametags at the front door.
Following a 45-minute reception of food and friendly conversation, guests were ushered into a classroom.
The Texas Tech University Jerry S. Rawls College of Business welcomed business journalist and author George Anders and guests with a reception at the college Wednesday evening.
The topic of the evening centered on machine versus human labor. Former Wall Street Journal employee and present-day Forbes writer George Anders noted the last time he witnessed production at an automotive factory, he saw robotic-based assembly — not individual employees.
“If we are taking jobs out of manufacturing,” Anders began, “do we have a strong enough service sector that’s going to provide more jobs for people…in the core middle?”
Anders asked the audience how many people bought a car in the past year. Only a couple of people raised their hand.
The journalist then asked how many had gone to the gym at least once in the past year. How many had played a round of golf? A sweeping majority of people in the room put a hand into the air.
“There are 500,000 people who work in gyms and health clubs,” Anders said, mentioning it is the human interaction defining the experience. “You meet that nice person leading the Pilates class, or you meet that nice person a few mats over in the Pilates class.”
To contrast, Anders asked the room if anyone had human interaction the last time they turned in an expense report. Smiling, the crowd shook their heads “no.”
“(Business trends imply) there are a handful of pilot and managerial jobs,” Anders said, “and a lot of people handing out towels at a health club — and nothing in between.”
Business journalist and author George Anders speaks to a small audience at the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Wednesday evening.
According to Anders, he would not be giving this lecture if that were the case.
“That’s a misrepresentation of what’s going on,” Anders said. “There are a lot more positive things happening in the labor market.”
Using an example in the medical field, the journalist explained if a breakthrough drug was manufactured, there would still be a need for caring faculty to encourage patients to enroll in clinical trails.
“Physical therapist,” Anders began, listing occupational options, “sports therapist, nurses, financial planners — in every one of those jobs human interaction is critical.”
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