Today in the United States, a company using its workforce as Ford did would find it tough to stay afloat. Such labor-intensive processes would be too expensive. And besides, people are generally more educated today and want work that’s more meaningful.What robots can’t do is the creative, team-oriented work that requires sophisticated communication and decision making. Managing creative teams is different from managing mechanical processes. Consequently, when the way the workforce operates begins to change, management’s thinking also needs to change. In many organizations, however, workers are constantly asked to change and upgrade their skills—only to be led by people using the same style of management that was in vogue fifty years ago.

Management’s job today is to build partnerships within organizations. In an information-based economy, no single group can be the sole purveyor of the “raw material” needed to manufacture the product. In fact, after decades of diversification, many businesses are actively reverting to their core business competencies and outsourcing those portions of their business that are not designed to satisfy their customers needs.