The paper was presented at the Polish Logistics Congress “Logistics 2000 – Meeting the logistics challenges of the 21st century”. Poznań, June 1-2, 2000.
Reflecting on the direction of changes in business operations over the next dozen or so years, one thing is certain – the foundation of success will be information resources and the way they are managed. These changes are determined by significant progress in telecommunications, ubiquitous computer technologies, the use of multimedia, and the knowledge economy. In the future, the end of multinational corporations and the emergence of global labor exchanges based on the internet are predicted. Managing organizations will require in-depth knowledge of organizational culture and methods of motivating employees. The current mega-enterprise, organized vertically and controlling the entire value chain, will break down into independent parts collaborating to create a final product. One can imagine four types of enterprises:
Introduction
Reflecting on the direction of changes in business operations over the next dozen or so years, one thing is certain – the foundation of success will be information resources and the way they are managed. These changes are determined by significant progress in telecommunications, ubiquitous computer technologies, the use of multimedia, and the knowledge economy. In the future, the end of multinational corporations and the emergence of global labor exchanges based on the internet are predicted. Managing organizations will require in-depth knowledge of organizational culture and methods of motivating employees. The current mega-enterprise, organized vertically and controlling the entire value chain, will break down into independent parts collaborating to create a final product. One can imagine four types of enterprises:
-
enterprises specializing in product development and knowledge-based intellectual work, managed similarly to small internet companies;
-
enterprises focusing on physical production, where economies of scale and material resource management methods are utilized; strict control should be an essential element here;
-
enterprises involved in distribution, which is currently undergoing evolution; perhaps distribution will be based on a physical network supported by an IT network;
-
enterprises whose key competence will be managing customer information and providing high-quality service.
Greater access to information, which is visible today, will mean that the source of competitive advantage for these often virtual companies (as federations of smaller firms) will be the specific skills of their leaders: the ability to persuade people to realize a vision, as well as to create it, the ability to create a market that does not yet exist, and to use one’s own personality to do so. Emotional intelligence will play a decisive role, including self-control and self-actualization, empathy, and teamwork skills.
Full article in PDF format.