'Let Market Decide Fate Of Bad Assets'

Last year, global consultancy PwC did something it would have never done a decade ago. It acquired a drone company and added a commercial drone services division in an attempt to position itself as a technology-driven company. This transformation is being done because technology is a bigger disrupter than globalisation for countries, corporations and societies, PWC’s global Chairman, Robert E. Moritz, tells Business Today’s Joe C. Mathew & Rajeev Dubey. Here are the edited excerpts:

- Joe C. Mathew & Rajeev Dubey

Is the idea of globalisation under threat?

It is under threat depending on the angle you take. Globalisation has brought billions of people out of poverty. Has it done enough to reduce income inequality? No, there is more to be done there. But let’s not blame globalisation for that (inequality). When you look at employment, and this is an issue in even this country, job creation is happening in a big way, but there is also a lot of skill mismatch when you look at the implications of technology. In developed countries, jobs are being replaced by robotics and artificial intelligence and technology in general. How do you deal with disruption caused by technology? It seems our politicians, media and citizens are more focused on globalisation than technology. I would argue that technology will have a bigger impact than globalisation.

How can we tackle the situation?

There are several options. We think technology has displaced a lot of jobs. During industrial revolution, too, a lot of jobs were displaced. There was job displacement but an equal or additional job creation too. So, if you see how many coders we need to deal with this (technology disruption), perhaps we need more. So many countries are struggling with shortage of engineers. If you believe there will be a lot of job displacement, and I am not convinced myself, you should think of a social support system. And there are positives and negatives here too. So, it is important for governments and businesses to watch the trends carefully and come up with the right policy support.

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