The Company of the Future (Hardcover)

~ Frances Cairncross (Author) "CAN YOU IMAGINE a job more complex than managing a business?..." (more)
Key Phrases: personal communication with author, unstructured information, United States, Dell Computer, Cisco Systems (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To survive in the years ahead, companies must put technology at the very heart of everything they do. That's the central argument offered here by the Economist's management editor Cairncross (The Death of Distance), who explains why in step-by-step fashion. Part of what she is lobbying for is now accepted wisdom. Today, most senior managers readily accept the idea that information technology needs to be central to their company's knowledge management, communication and collaborations both in and outside the corporation. But saying it should be integral to everything from marketing to managing talent may raise some eyebrows. Internally, she argues, almost every business process involves information in some form. Externally, the price of technology has fallen so low and the Internet has become so pervasive that it is absurd not to use it more extensively. By arguing that IT should be central to the organization of the future, Cairncross recognizes that management will have to think differently about their corporation's structure. "The benefits of Internet technologies depend not on their wizardry alone (which, in the coming years, will seem remarkably ordinary and natural, just as the phone does now). Companies will reap the full benefits only if they have appropriate structures and cultures. Creating those calls for skillful leadership." It will be interesting to see which companies if any make those changes.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Cairncross’s book displays the iconoclastic intellectual rigor one would expect from a long-time editor of The Economist." -- Newsweek Online

"It deserves to be a key text for future social and business historians of the dotcom saga." -- Financial Times, January 2002.

"Offers an optimistic outlook about the power of open communication to reduce costs and drive innovation." -- Harvard Business Review, March 2002.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Press; 1st edition (January 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578516579
• ISBN-13: 978-1578516575
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,140,978 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The future is here, June 25, 2002

By	B.Sudhakar Shenoy (India) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Internet is often compared with the railways of the nineteenth century. The railway too had its initial hype where people overestimated its impact and drove its stocks to dizzy heights. Public memory is short; we have seen the repetition of this phenomenon during the last five years and this time the craze was the Internet. Railways have since survived and flourished bringing in prosperity and transforming the industrial landscape. That was in a physical world but in the new era it is the seamless flow and abundance of information that determines and controls business decisions.

While working on supply chains, what strikes me most is the proverbial "Weakest link". In most cases the structure and functioning of these chains is stunted by the lack of connectivity and information sharing between the participating entities. In dealing with such distributed systems that are outdated and hierarchical, we often tend to automate existing processes by linking isolated legacy systems rather than inventing radically new processes that are made possible by the technologies of computing and communications. To give another example, even after the advent of electric power and electric motors, the shop floors were designed to install machines as close to the source of power - the legacy of steam power! Unlearning at times is more difficult than learning.

Think of water as an important resource for survival. You are living in a self-contained village that has a small lake, which supplies just enough water for the current needs. Look at another village close by. It is on the banks of a perennial river that in addition to meeting the basic needs of water for drinking, washing and agriculture allows you to navigate and trade goods with far flung towns. Soon this village is bubbling with activity and becomes a major hub for trade. It then builds a port and also needs a small fleet of coast guard to police the lucrative waters. Now you have two options. Either migrate to the port town or connect your lake to the river with a canal to attract the excess traffic and have a small share of the business. But new businesses need new skills. You acquire some and hire the others. A quiet village is suddenly transformed. This analogy came to my mind while reading a chapter in this book that compares the internet with a flowing river that can be harnessed to ones advantage.

The best part of the book is that each chapter is devoted to a certain topic- Knowledge Management, Supply Chain, Customer Relationships, Human Resources, Corporate structure, Corporate culture and Leadership - and the impact of the Internet on these Organizational facets. "The Company of the Future" finally emerges as a multidimensional and interconnected global entity, never in isolation on any aspect of business.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rehash of "new economy" jargon, July 5, 2002

By A Customer

... Cairncross is a very good writer whose prose is effective and lucid regarding the Internet's impact (and future) in business strategy. However, the author doesn't shed any new insights concerning the Internet's effects and value-creating abilities... Once again, I read about the marvelous Dell Computer's JIT process and how the Internet is leveraged to deliever superior value (vs. Company/HP). Who, having been up-to-date on business literature & strategy, hasn't touched on the Dell process?

Bottom line: Good refresher course on the Internet's impact, nothing extraordinary about the book's conclusions.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, Thought Provoking, Great Read, March 1, 2003

By	Roger E. Herman (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As a futurist, concentrating on workforce and workplace trends, I was eager to read this book. The author is the Management Editor at The Economist magazine and resides in London. Interesting...British author published by Harvard. I discovered that the book very effectively bridges American and British concerns, and much more. It's a global look, even in the generic sense of the word, at what companies will look like in the years ahead. The metamorphosis will be evolutionary, but many of the concepts of tomorrow will be revolutionary compared to where most employers are today.

The organization of this book-the chapters and the order in which they're presented, reveals the emphasis Cairncross believes will characterize companies in the future. Right out of the box, she focuses on management, information, and technology. Throughout the book, she observes that the development and increasing use of the internet will change the way we do business. The importance of knowledge, decision making, and innovation are emphasized early on, along with recognition of the vitality of customers and brands in the years ahead.

The human side of enterprise is well covered, though Cairncross doesn't really engage this topic until chapter 4. Since my personal bias is that people are the most important component, I found this curious, but then noticed how she concentrated on different parts of this aspect in chapter 4 (Recruiting, Retaining, and Training), chapter 5 (Communities and Corporate Culture), chapter 8 (Corporate Structure), and chapter 9 (Leading and Managing). So, the field is well-covered in these interwoven chapters, but her book organization puts people just a step behind information, innovation, and technology.

Chapters on purchasing and strategic suppliers bring out the growing importance of alliances and new relationships in the company of the future.

In the beginning of the book, Cairncross suggests that readers with time constraints read chapters one and ten first to gain a perspective of her views. When more time is available, the reader can delve into the other chapters. While that strategy would be effective, there is a richness of potent observation, vivid warnings of challenges to come, and a plethora of thoughts to stimulate your thinking throughout the book.

The Company of the Future is quite well-written, as you might expect from an editor of an internationally-acclaimed magazine. This is the kind of book you'll want to read first, then share with colleagues in your own organization...and in organizations where you have existing or developing alliance relationships. The book has an index, notes, and readable text-no graphs, pictures, or other tools of book designers. This one is pure, welcome, high-grade content.