Economic Environments of the West: Problems, Puzzles, and the 4th Industrial Revolution

In a change of pace, as least in terms of the multimedia activities, we apply an essay question format for this assessment. The following parameters apply. 

• This short-answer essay-quiz tests your general understanding of the issues reported in Economic Environments of the West: Problems, Puzzles, and the 4th Industrial Revolution as they bear upon managing operations in the global business environment.

• The expected length of an effective response is 300 to 400 words. Please review Essay Quiz, Profile for a general profile of effective short answer essay answer. Similarly, you are encouraged to review Essay Questions, Samples and Standards, Multimedia Activities for an illustration of ideal short answers to the sorts of essay questions contained in the multimedia essay assessments.

• Given the multimedia nature of this assignment, the questions are geared toward checking your understanding of the basic features of a particular profile as well as ideas that span the multimedia module.The latter ideas, by the way, typically are alluded to in the Overview of the particular assignment.

• Operationally, this quiz contains 3 sets of 2 short answer essay questions-choice questions. You need only choose and complete 1 question from each set for a total of 3 questions. You may take this quiz one time.

• Improving the usefulness of this activity has led me to develop a bank of questions that reports an “ideal” response to a particular question. That response then serves as a general standard for the evaluation of your answer. I have configured Canvas to grant you access within in three days to review this standard relative to your particular response. My apology for the delay, but that is the time necessary to grade this set of essay quizzes. 

I unconditionally expect people will perform honorably and not try to find ways to circumvent the system by sharing scenarios with classmates. 

Question 1  

The so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by a range of new technologies: Ubiquitous, mobile supercomputing. Intelligent robots. Self-driving cars. Neuro-technological brain enhancements. Genetic editing. Collectively,these technologies are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human.

Expectedly, these technologies will influence outcomes differently in different places. In your estimation, please explain who you think will likely benefit more from the Fourth Industrial Revolution: the established economies of the West, such as United States, Japan, and Germany, or emerging economies of Asia, Africa and South America.

Question 2

Artificial intelligence, if headlines are anything to go by, promises to herald either a wonderful new age of possibility or harkens the beginning of the machine world —and once set in motion, one eventuality will happen, either with or without us

Some see a day where “robots,” powered by artificial intelligence, move from the factory floor into the C-suite—essentially, One can see a scenario where a robot, turbocharged w