The Network Society

Developed countries are rapidly moving towards a network society. For a hundred years, all developed countries have steadily moved towards a society of companies with salaried employees. Now, developed countries led by the United States are quickly shifting to a network society in terms of relationships between companies and their workers, as well as relationships between companies themselves. Most people who sell their labor in the US work for a company. However, they increasingly do not belong to the salaried workforce of that organization. They are contractors, part-time workers, temporary workers. And the relationships between organizations are changing just as quickly as the relationships between organizations and the people working for them. The most obvious example is outsourcing, where a company, clinic, or government agency entirely transfers work to an independent company specialized in that activity. Perhaps even more significant is the trend towards forming alliances. Individual specialists and managers will need to learn to take responsibility for applying their abilities. This means they must know their strengths and consider themselves as "products" that need to be marketed. TIP OF THE DAY Make a list of ten qualities that make you an attractive partner in an alliance.