The world of work is changing and there is growing evidence to
support the need for companies to adapt their organisational systems
(slightly scary video, from a human perspective, but shows where
technology is heading)
Labour movement - the joys and drawbacks of being able to work
from anywhere. Article in The Economics describing nomadic working -
very different from telecommuting (April 2008)
The New Organisation - article in The Economist describing how
the way we work has changed dramatically but few companies have
changed to keep up (January 2006)
Business Week online survey, October 2005, suggests 40% of us
spend more than 75% of our working day doing things we don't like
doing. Why do so many choose to accept that working life
should be toil?
The
Cluetrain Manifesto argues for change but acknowledges the
problem: "Command and control is widely perceived as dysfunctional,
but it's a hard habit to break."
Do we hate our jobs? (Blog post - October 2005)
'The Elephant and the Flea' - by Charles Handy:
"Perhaps we are all naturally inclined to be fleas of one sort or
another, shoved against our instincts into logical boxes by our
organisations, persuaded by our schooling to elevate reason above
human nature."
Management / Leadership
Treating the Organisation as a Prototype - by Bob Sutton,
highlighting how the best leaders have the courage and confidence to
act on what they know right now, and the humility and cognitive
flexibility to doubt what they know (May 08)
Innovative Management Interview with Gary Hamel - cracking
article by McKinsey, describing the challenges facing management in
the 21st Century and why change is essential if busineses want to
survive and prosper (Nov 2007)
Log Off and Get To Work - article in the New York Times about
how organisations are now blocking social networking sites to
prevent their employees 'wasting' company time. (Nov 2007)... and my
corresponding blog post -
Web Naivety - about why such an approach is usually the wrong
one
Identity management - blog post by Joel Spolsky talking about
his management method, which includes everyone having lunch together
(August 2006)
Here's an Idea: Let Everyone Have Ideas - New York Times article
describing how organisations have benefited by opening up their
decision-making process. One example: a cmpany that let employees
vote on product ideas, one of the products now accounts for 30% of
total sales (March 2006)
Crashing with
the nose up - great presentation by James Crow, explaining why
management-by-objectives don't work (KM World, 2001)