From: Checkered Daemon <cdaemon@goblin.punk.net>
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 09:18:36 +0800
To: jamesd@echeque.com (James A. Donald)
Subject: RANT re: National Socio-Economic Security Need for
In-Reply-To: <199608150629.XAA03193@dns2.noc.best.net>
Message-ID: <199608152226.PAA23432@goblin.punk.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


James A. Donald opines:
 
> At 06:24 PM 8/13/96 -0700, Checkered Daemon wrote:
> > a)  Knowledge jobs require tremendous capital investment, as in degrees,
> > training, continual updating of skills, etc.
> 
> But they do not require much capital investment by the boss.  That is 
> to say the key corporate assets are increasingly owned by the employees,
> 
> At some point one would expect this to lead to a change in business 
> structure, but I see no signs of this happening.

One large change, which has been discussed previously on the list, is that
management is becoming more and more a function of specifying WHAT is to
be done, rather than HOW it is to be done.  This leads to a business model
based more on the independent contractor (whether it's a single individual,
or a business that does 'outsourcing' work) than the traditional industrial
assembly line.

Add ubiquitous high-speed data communications networks, and suddenly
national governments become not only irrelevant, but actual impediments
to a free market economy.  Potholes, if you will, on the information
superhighway (attribution to T. May).  

The structural changes are many.  Worldwide regulatory and tax arbitrage.
Elimination of the entire job category of 'middle management'.  Capital
in the form of knowledge and reputation rather than fixed physical assets.
Intentionally temporary organizational structures.  Individual responsibility
for what used to be called 'benefits'.

I'm a networking consultant.  My father had three jobs in his entire
lifetime.  I had three jobs this morning.  If that's not structural change,
I don't know what is.

-- 
Checkered Daemon                              cdaemon@goblin.punk.net

Delirium:  There must be a word for it ... the thing that lets you know that
           TIME is happening.  IS there a word?
Sandman:   CHANGE.
Delirium:  Oh.  I was AFRAID of that.