By Douglas Rushkoff, Special to CNNSeptember 7, 2011 9:33 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Douglas Rushkoff: U.S. Postal Service new example of human work replaced by technology
He says technology affecting jobs market; not enough workers needed to run the technology
He says we have to alter our ideas: It's not about jobs, it's about productivity
Rushkoff: Technology lets us bypass corporations, make our own work -- a new model
Editor's note: Douglas Rushkoff is a media theorist and the author of "Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age" and "Life Inc: How Corporatism Conquered the World and How We Can Take it Back."
(CNN) -- The U.S. Postal Service appears to be the latest casualty in digital technology's slow but steady replacement of working humans. Unless an external source of funding comes in, the post office will have to scale back its operations drastically, or simply shut down altogether. That's 600,000 people who would be out of work, and another 480,000 pensioners facing an adjustment in terms.
We can blame a right wing attempting to undermine labor, or a left wing trying to preserve unions in the face of government and corporate cutbacks. But the real culprit -- at least in this case -- is e-mail. People are sending 22% fewer pieces of mail than they did four years ago, opting for electronic bill payment and other net-enabled means of communication over envelopes and stamps.
New technologies are wreaking havoc on employment figures -- from EZpasses ousting toll collectors to Google-controlled self-driving automobiles rendering taxicab drivers obsolete. Every new computer program is basically doing some task that a person used to do. But the computer usually does it faster, more accurately, for less money, and without any health insurance costs.
We like to believe that the appropriate response is to train humans for higher level work. Instead of collecting tolls, the trained worker will fix and program toll-collecting robots. But it never really works out that way, since not as many people are needed to make the robots as the robots replace.
And so the president goes on television telling us that the big issue of our time is jobs, jobs, jobs -- as if the reason to build high-speed rails and fix bridges is to put people back to work. But it seems to me there's something backwards in that logic. I find myself wondering if we may be accepting a premise that deserves to be questioned.
I am afraid to even ask this, but since when is unemployment really a problem? I understand we all want paychecks -- or at least money. We want food, shelter, clothing, and all the things that money buys us. But do we all really want jobs?
We're living in an economy where productivity is no longer the goal, employment is. That's because, on a very fundamental level, we have pretty much everything we need. America is productive enough that it could probably shelter, feed, educate, and even provide health care for its entire population with just a fraction of us actually working.
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, there is enough food produced to provide everyone in the world with 2,720 kilocalories per person per day. And that's even after America disposes of thousands of tons of crop and dairy just to keep market prices high. Meanwhile, American banks overloaded with foreclosed properties are demolishing vacant dwellings to get the empty houses off their books.
Our problem is not that we don't have enough stuff -- it's that we don't have enough ways for people to work and prove that they deserve this stuff.
Jobs, as such, are a relatively new concept. People may have always worked, but until the advent of the corporation in the early Renaissance, most people just worked for themselves. They made shoes, plucked chickens, or created value in some way for other people, who then traded or paid for those goods and services. By the late Middle Ages, most of Europe was thriving under this arrangement.
The only ones losing wealth were the aristocracy, who depended on their titles to extract money from those who worked. And so they invented the chartered monopoly. By law, small businesses in most major industries were shut down and people had to work for officially sanctioned corporations instead. From then on, for most of us, working came to mean getting a "job."
The Industrial Age was largely about making those jobs as menial and unskilled as possible. Technologies such as the assembly line were less important for making production faster than for making it cheaper, and laborers more replaceable. Now that we're in the digital age, we're using technology the same way: to increase efficiency, lay off more people, and increase corporate profits.
While this is certainly bad for workers and unions, I have to wonder just how truly bad is it for people. Isn't this what all this technology was for in the first place? The question we have to begin to ask ourselves is not how do we employ all the people who are rendered obsolete by technology, but how can we organize a society around something other than employment? Might the spirit of enterprise we currently associate with "career" be shifted to something entirely more collaborative, purposeful, and even meaningful?
Instead, we are attempting to use the logic of a scarce marketplace to negotiate things that are actually in abundance. What we lack is not employment, but a way of fairly distributing the bounty we have generated through our technologies, and a way of creating meaning in a world that has already produced far too much stuff.
The communist answer to this question was just to distribute everything evenly. But that sapped motivation and never quite worked as advertised. The opposite, libertarian answer (and the way we seem to be going right now) would be to let those who can't capitalize on the bounty simply suffer. Cut social services along with their jobs, and hope they fade into the distance.
But there might still be another possibility -- something we couldn't really imagine for ourselves until the digital era. As a pioneer of virtual reality, Jaron Lanier, recently pointed out, we no longer need to make stuff in order to make money. We can instead exchange information-based products.
We start by accepting that food and shelter are basic human rights. The work we do -- the value we create -- is for the rest of what we want: the stuff that makes life fun, meaningful, and purposeful.
This sort of work isn't so much employment as it is creative activity. Unlike Industrial Age employment, digital production can be done from the home, independently, and even in a peer-to-peer fashion without going through big corporations. We can make games for each other, write books, solve problems, educate and inspire one another -- all through bits instead of stuff. And we can pay one another using the same money we use to buy real stuff.
For the time being, as we contend with what appears to be a global economic slowdown by destroying food and demolishing homes, we might want to stop thinking about jobs as the main aspect of our lives that we want to save. They may be a means, but they are not the ends.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Thursday, November 18, 2010
New Management Competencies
For all managers human skills are becoming increasingly important. In a survey of managers on their views of how the Internet has affected management, for example, the majority considered communicating effectively, retaining talented employees, and motivating workers to be essential management skills for the Internet world. Although these abilities have always been important to managers, they take on added significance today, particularly when employees are dispersed and working in a virtual environment.
Today's best managers give up their command-and-control mindset to embrace ambiguity and create organizations that are fast, flexible, adaptable, and relationship-oriented. Leadership is dispersed throughout the organization, and managers empower others to gain the benefit of their ideas and creativity. The model of managers controlling workers no longer applies in a workplace where employee brainpower is more important than physical assets. Moreover, managers often supervise employees who are scattered in various locations, requiring a new approach to leadership that focuses more on mentoring and providing direction and support than on giving orders and ensuring that they are followed.
Rather than a single-minded focus on profits, today's managers must recognise the critical importance of staying connected to employees and customers. The Internet has given increased knowledge and power to customers, so organizations have to remain flexible and adaptable to respond quickly to changing demands or competition. In some e-commerce organizations, managers have almost totally ignored profits in favor of building customer relationships. Although all organizations have to be concerned with profits sooner or later, as managers of numerous failed dot-coms learned, the emphasis these companies put on developing customers and relationships is a reflection of trends affecting all organizations.
Team-building skills are crucial for today's managers. Teams of front-line employees who work directly with customers have become the basic building block of organizations. Instead of managing a department of employees, many managers act as team leaders of ever-shifting, temporary projects.
Success in the new workplace depends on the strength and quality of collaborative relationships. Partnerships, both within the organization and with outside customers, suppliers, and even competitors, are recognized as the key to a winning organization. New ways of working emphasize collaboration across functions and hierarchical levels as well as with other companies. E-business models that digitally link customers, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders require managers to assess and manage relationships far beyond the confines of the traditional organization.
An important management challenge in the new workplace is to build a learning organization by creating an organizational climate that values experimentation and risk taking, applies current technology, tolerates mistakes and failure, and rewards nontraditional thinking and the sharing of knowledge. Everyone in the organization participates in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, improve, and increase its capability. The role of managers is not to make decisions, but to create learning capability, where everyone is free to experiment and learn what works best.
Today's best managers give up their command-and-control mindset to embrace ambiguity and create organizations that are fast, flexible, adaptable, and relationship-oriented. Leadership is dispersed throughout the organization, and managers empower others to gain the benefit of their ideas and creativity. The model of managers controlling workers no longer applies in a workplace where employee brainpower is more important than physical assets. Moreover, managers often supervise employees who are scattered in various locations, requiring a new approach to leadership that focuses more on mentoring and providing direction and support than on giving orders and ensuring that they are followed.
Rather than a single-minded focus on profits, today's managers must recognise the critical importance of staying connected to employees and customers. The Internet has given increased knowledge and power to customers, so organizations have to remain flexible and adaptable to respond quickly to changing demands or competition. In some e-commerce organizations, managers have almost totally ignored profits in favor of building customer relationships. Although all organizations have to be concerned with profits sooner or later, as managers of numerous failed dot-coms learned, the emphasis these companies put on developing customers and relationships is a reflection of trends affecting all organizations.
Team-building skills are crucial for today's managers. Teams of front-line employees who work directly with customers have become the basic building block of organizations. Instead of managing a department of employees, many managers act as team leaders of ever-shifting, temporary projects.
Success in the new workplace depends on the strength and quality of collaborative relationships. Partnerships, both within the organization and with outside customers, suppliers, and even competitors, are recognized as the key to a winning organization. New ways of working emphasize collaboration across functions and hierarchical levels as well as with other companies. E-business models that digitally link customers, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders require managers to assess and manage relationships far beyond the confines of the traditional organization.
An important management challenge in the new workplace is to build a learning organization by creating an organizational climate that values experimentation and risk taking, applies current technology, tolerates mistakes and failure, and rewards nontraditional thinking and the sharing of knowledge. Everyone in the organization participates in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, improve, and increase its capability. The role of managers is not to make decisions, but to create learning capability, where everyone is free to experiment and learn what works best.
Crisis Management
Managing Crises and Unexpected Events
Dealing with the unexpected has always been part of the manager's job, but our world has become so fast, interconnected, and complex that unexpected events happen more frequently and often with greater and more painful consequences. Crisis management is an emerging need that places further demands on today's managers. Some of the most recent thinking on crisis management suggests the importance of five leadership skills.
Stay Calm. A leader's emotions are contagious, so leaders have to stay calm, focused, and optimistic about the future. Perhaps the most important part of a manager's job in a crisis situation is to absorb people's fears and uncertainties. Leaders have to suppress their own fears, doubts, and pain to comfort others. Although they acknowledge the danger and difficulties, they remain rock-steady and hopeful, which gives comfort, inspiration,and hope to others.
Be Visible. When people's worlds have become ambiguous and uncertain, they need to feel that someone is in control.
Put People before Business. The companies that weather a crisis best, whether the crisis is large or small, are those in which managers make people and human feelings their tip priority.
Tell the Truth. Be straightforward with employees and the media.
Know When to Get Back to Business. Although managers should first deal with the physical and emotional needs of people, they also need to get back to business as soon as possible. They company has to keep going, and most people want to be a part of the rebuilding process, to feel that they have a home with the company and something to look forward to. The rejuvenation of the business is a sign of hope and an inspiration to employees. Moments of crisis also present excellent opportunities for looking forward and using the emotional energy that has emerged to build a better company.
Crisis management is an important aspect of any manager's job, particularly in today's turbulent times. This is a challenging time to be entering the field of management. Throughout this book, you will learn much more about the new workplace, about the new and dynamic roles managers are playing in twenty-first century, and about how you can be an effective manager in a complex, ever-changing world.
Dealing with the unexpected has always been part of the manager's job, but our world has become so fast, interconnected, and complex that unexpected events happen more frequently and often with greater and more painful consequences. Crisis management is an emerging need that places further demands on today's managers. Some of the most recent thinking on crisis management suggests the importance of five leadership skills.
- Stay Calm
- Be visible
- Put people before business
- Tell the truth
- Know when to get back to business
Stay Calm. A leader's emotions are contagious, so leaders have to stay calm, focused, and optimistic about the future. Perhaps the most important part of a manager's job in a crisis situation is to absorb people's fears and uncertainties. Leaders have to suppress their own fears, doubts, and pain to comfort others. Although they acknowledge the danger and difficulties, they remain rock-steady and hopeful, which gives comfort, inspiration,and hope to others.
Be Visible. When people's worlds have become ambiguous and uncertain, they need to feel that someone is in control.
Put People before Business. The companies that weather a crisis best, whether the crisis is large or small, are those in which managers make people and human feelings their tip priority.
Tell the Truth. Be straightforward with employees and the media.
Know When to Get Back to Business. Although managers should first deal with the physical and emotional needs of people, they also need to get back to business as soon as possible. They company has to keep going, and most people want to be a part of the rebuilding process, to feel that they have a home with the company and something to look forward to. The rejuvenation of the business is a sign of hope and an inspiration to employees. Moments of crisis also present excellent opportunities for looking forward and using the emotional energy that has emerged to build a better company.
Crisis management is an important aspect of any manager's job, particularly in today's turbulent times. This is a challenging time to be entering the field of management. Throughout this book, you will learn much more about the new workplace, about the new and dynamic roles managers are playing in twenty-first century, and about how you can be an effective manager in a complex, ever-changing world.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Learning Organization
Management and the New Workplace
The world of organizations and management is changing rapidly. The primary characteristic of the new workplace is that it is centered around information and ideas rather than machines and physical assets. In the new workplace work is free-flowing and flexible. Empowered employees are expected to seize opportunities and solve problems as they emerge. The workplace is organized around networks rather than rigid hierarchies, and work is often virtual. The valued worker is one who learns quickly, shares knowledge, and is comfortable with risk, change, and ambiguity.
Forces on Organizations
The most striking change now affecting organizations and management is technology. Organizations are increasingly using digital networking technologies to tie together employees and company partners in far-flung operations. One of the biggest technological advances is the Internet, which is transforming the way business is done.
The internet and other new technologies are also tied closely to globalization, another force that is significantly affecting organizations. Customers today operate globally and they expect organizations to provide worldwide service. Managers must understand cross-cultural patterns, and they often work with virtual team members form many different countries. Generational diversity is another powerful force in today's workplace, with employees of all ages working together on teams and projects. Also, Generation X employees are having a profound impact on the workplace.
In the face of these transformations, organizations are learning to value change and speed over stability and efficiency. Managers must rethink their approach to organizing, directing , and motivating workers.
The Learning Organization
The learning organization can be defined as one in which everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, change, and improve, thus increasing its capacity to grow, learn, and achieve its purpose. In the learning organization all employees look for problems and help solve them.
The world of organizations and management is changing rapidly. The primary characteristic of the new workplace is that it is centered around information and ideas rather than machines and physical assets. In the new workplace work is free-flowing and flexible. Empowered employees are expected to seize opportunities and solve problems as they emerge. The workplace is organized around networks rather than rigid hierarchies, and work is often virtual. The valued worker is one who learns quickly, shares knowledge, and is comfortable with risk, change, and ambiguity.
Forces on Organizations
The most striking change now affecting organizations and management is technology. Organizations are increasingly using digital networking technologies to tie together employees and company partners in far-flung operations. One of the biggest technological advances is the Internet, which is transforming the way business is done.
The internet and other new technologies are also tied closely to globalization, another force that is significantly affecting organizations. Customers today operate globally and they expect organizations to provide worldwide service. Managers must understand cross-cultural patterns, and they often work with virtual team members form many different countries. Generational diversity is another powerful force in today's workplace, with employees of all ages working together on teams and projects. Also, Generation X employees are having a profound impact on the workplace.
In the face of these transformations, organizations are learning to value change and speed over stability and efficiency. Managers must rethink their approach to organizing, directing , and motivating workers.
The Learning Organization
The learning organization can be defined as one in which everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, change, and improve, thus increasing its capacity to grow, learn, and achieve its purpose. In the learning organization all employees look for problems and help solve them.
To develop a learning organization, managers make changes in all the subsystems of the organization. Three important adjustments to promote continuous learning are shifting to a team-based structure, empowering employees, and sharing information.
Team Based Structure. An important value in a learning organization is collaboration and communication across departmental and hierarchical boundaries. Self-directed teams are the basic building block of the structure.
Employee Empowerment. Empowerment means unleashing the power and creativity of employees by giving them the freedom, resources, information, and skills to make decisions and perform effectively.
Open Information. Easy access to information is crucial to make a learning organization work.
Managing the Technology-Driven Workplace
The shift to the learning organization goes hand-in-hand with the current transition to a technology-driven workplace. Ideas, information, and relationships are becoming more important than production machinery, physical products, and structured jobs. New electronic technologies also shape the organization itself and how its is managed. Knowledge management refers to the efforts to systematically find, organize, and make available a company's intellectual capital and to foster a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing so that a company's activities build on what is already known. A complete knowledge management system includes not only the technology for capturing and storing knowledge for easy access, but also new management values that support risk-taking, learning, and collaboration. Today's most successful managers cherish people for their ability to thing, create, share knowledge, and build relationships.
Managing the Technology-Driven Workplace
The shift to the learning organization goes hand-in-hand with the current transition to a technology-driven workplace. Ideas, information, and relationships are becoming more important than production machinery, physical products, and structured jobs. New electronic technologies also shape the organization itself and how its is managed. Knowledge management refers to the efforts to systematically find, organize, and make available a company's intellectual capital and to foster a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing so that a company's activities build on what is already known. A complete knowledge management system includes not only the technology for capturing and storing knowledge for easy access, but also new management values that support risk-taking, learning, and collaboration. Today's most successful managers cherish people for their ability to thing, create, share knowledge, and build relationships.
Leadership Versus Management
There are distinctive qualities associated with management and leadership that provide different strengths for the organization.
- Visionary
- Passionate
- Creative
- Flexible
- Inspiring
- Innovative
- Courageous
- Imaginative
- Experimental
- Initiates change
- Personal Power
Manager Qualities
- Rational
- Consulting
- Persistent
- Problem-Solving
- Tough-minded
- Analytical
- Structured
- Deliberate
- Authoritative
- Stabilizing
- Position Power
Management and leadership reflect two different sets of qualities and skills that frequently overlap within a single individual. Ideally a manager develops a balance of both manager an leader qualities.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Five Rules For Making Hiring Decisions
1. Look at a number of potentially qualified people.
2. Think hard about what each candidate brings to the position and the organization.
3. Have a variety of people get to know the candidate-as a person.
4. Discuss each of the candidates with several people who have worked with them.
5. After the hire, follow up to make sure the appointee understands the job.
2. Think hard about what each candidate brings to the position and the organization.
3. Have a variety of people get to know the candidate-as a person.
4. Discuss each of the candidates with several people who have worked with them.
5. After the hire, follow up to make sure the appointee understands the job.
Friday, November 12, 2010
How to Brand Yourself
1. Create a Robust Online Presence. Create a blog!!
2. Flaunt High-Quality Affiliations. If you have well-known connections, flaunt them and leverage them.
3. Give Public Speeches. Start with Rotery and the local Chamber of Commerce and work your way up to associations, conferences and in-house gigs for major corporations
4. Appear on T.V. Create a media kit (with you bio, some writing you have done, and some topics you can comment on and send them to tv producers. You can follow them on twitter and strike up a conversation.
5. Win Some Awards.
6. Publish a Book.
What other techniques do you use to brand yourself?
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