Paton stated that change will not disappear or dissipate. Technology, civilizations and creative thought will maintain their ever accelerating drive onwards. Managers, and the enterprises they serve, be they public or private, service or manufacturing will continue to be judged upon their ability to effectively and efficiently manage change. Unfortunately for the managers of the early twenty-first century, their
ability to handle complex change situations will be judged over ever decreasing time scales. The pace of change has increased dramatically; mankind wandered the planet on foot for centuries before the invention of the wheel and its subsequent technological convergence’ with the ox and horse. In one short century a man has walked on the moon; satellite orbit the earth; the combustion engine has dominated transport and some would say society; robots are a reality and state of the art manufacturing facilities resemble scenes from science fiction; your neighbor or competitor, technologically speaking, could be on the other side of the planet; and bio-technology is the is the science of the future. The world may not be spinning faster but mankind certainly is!
ability to handle complex change situations will be judged over ever decreasing time scales. The pace of change has increased dramatically; mankind wandered the planet on foot for centuries before the invention of the wheel and its subsequent technological convergence’ with the ox and horse. In one short century a man has walked on the moon; satellite orbit the earth; the combustion engine has dominated transport and some would say society; robots are a reality and state of the art manufacturing facilities resemble scenes from science fiction; your neighbor or competitor, technologically speaking, could be on the other side of the planet; and bio-technology is the is the science of the future. The world may not be spinning faster but mankind certainly is!
