Article by Charles Handy on how employers' perception of employees as assets will turn corporations into project group networks, or corporate condominiums, and the possible results of that transformation. Handy begins the article discussing how Microsoft’s human capital--specifically, the imagination of its workers--forms its only real asset, how Tom Peters proclaimed the end of the industrial age, and how Peter Drucker described the means of production as being in the heads and hands of the workers, all of which affirm the predictions of Karl Marx. According to Handy, such a development turns traditional capitalism on its head, as those with money have owned the means of production and then hired people to put those means to work. However, as he notes, one cannot own another’s brain or prevent workers from leaving their current job for another. So, according to Handy, people must be invested in, developed, and given scope for their talents. He proceeds to note that emphasis on loyalty to organizations is increasingly rare, while workers have become more self-interested and expect organizations to earn their loyalty. With current trends, Handy predicts that the growing importance of people as assets will increasingly turn corporations into networks of project groups or corporate condominiums. This arrangement will allow organizations and individuals to stay alert, and remain innovative, while stagnant corporate empires will start to crumble. Handy concludes his analysis with the hope that the new corporate condominiums will develop standards and become a way of life.
Handy, Charles B Marx, Karl, 1818-1883 New York times Drucker, Peter F. (Peter Ferdinand), 1909-2005 Microsoft Corporation General Motors Corporation Ryan, Willie Capitalism Innovation Loyalty Human capital Institute of Directors Peters, Tom, 1942-
Source
Article by Charles Handy on how employers' perception of employees as assets will turn corporations into project group networks, or a corporate condominium, and the possible results of that transformation, 1993; Charles Handy Papers; Box 20, Folder 7; 1 page
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