William E. Halal is an American aerospace engineer, air force officer, academic, author, consultant, and speaker. He is Professor Emeritus of Management, Technology & Innovation at George Washington University[1] as well as the Founder and President of TechCast, a web-based system that uses knowledge to forecast breakthroughs on emerging technologies and social trends.[2]
Halal is most known for his work in the areas of emerging technology, strategic planning, and innovation, with a particular focus on strategic foresight, social evolution, knowledge, intelligence, consciousness, and institutional change. His research has been featured in newspapers, including Newsweek and The Washington Post.[3] He is the author of seven books including The New Capitalism, Internal Markets, The Infinite Resource, Technology’s Promise, Beyond Knowledge and 21st Century Economics.[4]
Halal began his academic career by joining San Francisco State University in 1970 while completing his Ph.D. This was followed by an appointment at the American University in 1971. In 1979, he joined George Washington University. He co-founded the Institute for Knowledge & Innovation as a joint effort between the GW School of Engineering and the School of Business. In 2010, he was appointed as Professor Emeritus of Management, Technology & Innovation at George Washington University.[1]
Halal is an Air Force veteran who served as an Aerospace Engineer on Apollo's Lunar Module and held the rank of Major during his time in the US Air Force. He is also the Founder and President of TechCast, a virtual think-tank that provides forecast and strategy reports related to critical global trends.[1]
Research
Halal's research on innovation, organization design, and knowledge management has won him the 1977 Mitchell Prize and a medal from the Freedom Foundation. He has authored numerous publications spanning the areas of institutional change, strategic planning, and forecasting emerging technologies including articles in peer-reviewed journals and books.[5]
Forecasting the digital revolution and its impacts
Halal has studied the digital revolution and the broader technology revolution covering all advances in science and technology. His work includes forecasting technical breakthroughs, social impacts and wild cards, as well as the resulting transformation of business, government and other social institutions. While analyzing the influence of information technology on the operation of corporations, Halal examined the idea of the electronic cottage, which facilitates remote work and fosters adaptable and dynamic business units, and explored the possibility of market mechanisms replacing bureaucratic hierarchies within corporations, allowing employees to function as partially autonomous entrepreneurs.[6]
Through a review of literature, Delphi survey, and interviews, his work presented a timeline of emerging technologies, including portable computers, superchips, public information networks, parallel processors, personal assistants, and expert systems, along with their projected economic impact, and graphically depicted the most plausible scenario anticipated to occur over the course of the next two decades.[7] He researched AI's impact on society, and concluded that the shift from knowledge-based to consciousness-related concerns, like beliefs and ideologies, could be essential to address the global crisis of maturity, which includes challenges like energy shortages, climate change, and weapons of mass destruction.[8]
Resolving the global megacrisis
Halal's research has focused on the interconnectedness of global crises, including climate change, energy shortages, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction. It was suggested that these crises are indicative of a larger, systemic failure in the global order that appears to be unraveling slowly, and concluded that while the recovery process may be protracted and challenging, the critical nature of this event may present an opportunity to address systemic institutional inadequacies.[9] His investigation into the Global MegaCrisis revealed that a significant deterioration could occur, leading to disaster or gradual worsening of severe problems. To address this, he proposed sustainable practices, renewable energy, and global collaboration as viable measures.[10] His further research found that factors like climate change and financial instability posed a high risk of significant global disasters or even civilization collapse in several regions across the globe. The findings of the study also suggested that green business, e-commerce, alternative energy, climate control, and AI could play a significant role in promoting a sustainable future.[11]
Progressive management
Halal has also done research in progressive forms of corporate and economic change. His book, The New Capitalism, outlined how the Information Age is transforming business and society by extending Western ideals of free enterprise and democracy into corporations and other social institutions.[12] His other book Internal Markets described the evolution of organizational systems operating under principles of free enterprise rather than hierarchy and central planning.[13] A seminal article, The Collaborative Enterprise, presented survey data showing the emergence of a stakeholder model of the firm uniting principles of profitability with responsibility and how they form a competitive advantage.[14] Coauthored with Kenneth Taylor, 21st Century Economics was published as an anthology containing essays by scholars anticipating political economy on this side of the Millennium.[15] He conducted a study, “Strategic Planning In the Fortune 500,”[16] sponsored by General Motors, and plotted the stages of technological development making up the Life Cycle of Evolution.[17]
His book, The New Capitalism, questioned current beliefs about the economy, society, and politics by discussing how certain unstoppable forces are influencing modern-day nations and institutions.[18] In his book review, Lawrence J. Lad, stated that The book is a rich and easy treatment of what's wrong with old capitalism and what's right about new capitalism in its flexible, client-centered symbiotic, network organized approach to business. The book also offers evidence of how the changes brought about by new capitalism affect other institutions, including healthcare, universities, the military, the legal system, public media, and organized religion.[19]
Knowledge, intelligence, and consciousness
Halal's extensive research on knowledge, intelligence, and consciousness has helped organizations to better understand and leverage their knowledge assets, leading to improved performance and competitive advantage. While exploring the significance of knowledge management amidst the ever-evolving business landscapes, he presented a conceptual model, namely "organizational intelligence," which comprised not only of the individual knowledge of members but also the collective knowledge of an organization, and suggested that this framework can facilitate better knowledge management practices and enable more informed decision-making for organizations.[20]
In his evaluation of the present state and future of knowledge management, his study concluded that knowledge management has been evolving towards an organic paradigm, which prioritizes three central notions including "self-organizing systems", "e-organizations", and "corporate communities", recommending that managers should cultivate these organic organizational structures, as they facilitate the natural generation and dissemination of knowledge with greater efficacy.[21] In his further research on knowledge management, he proposed the utilization of online learning and research systems, citing their resourcefulness for organizations in making well-informed forecasts, evaluating strategies, and reaching decisive conclusions. The study also highlighted their ability to collect implicit knowledge dispersed throughout the organization, thereby providing significant benefits to keep pace with the evolving market trends and maintain a competitive edge.[22] His latest book, Beyond Knowledge, was published in 2022. Drawing on a model of social evolution using historic data, the book shows how digital technology, smartphones, and AI are automating knowledge, thereby driving attention beyond knowledge into an Age of Consciousness.
Awards and honors
1977 – Mitchell Prize ($10,000 honorarium) Mitchell Corporation, the Society for International Development, the University of Houston, and the Club of Rome
1985 – George Washington Honor Medal, Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge for excellence in the study of enterprise
2003 – First Prize, AOL Competition, the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology
Listed in Macmillan's Encyclopedia as one of the World's 100 Most Influential Futurists.
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