Stay Competitive

“Outsourcing activities are no longer unreachable for small to medium sized organizations. The traditional maxim that enterprise should aim for maximal integration has become obsolete. There are two explanations for the disintegration of the enterprise.”

Firstly, knowledge has become increasingly fragmented and specialized. As a result, knowledge has grown more expensive and it is increasingly difficult to maintain sufficient critical mass within the company for each important task. Unless used regularly, knowledge rapidly deteriorates. Continuing an activity that is only rarely used by the company is a surefire guarantee of incompetence.

Secondly, the internet and e-mail have practically eliminated the physical costs of communication. This has meant that cooperating with other companies has often become the most productive and profitable form of organization, causing the company to be less integrated.

Multinationals in the year 1913 were defined by ownership, unlike multinationals in the year 2025, which will probably be defined and controlled by strategy. Although ownership will naturally still have a part to play, the building bricks of a business will increasingly be alliances, joint enterprises, minority status, know-how agreements and contracts.”

Peter F. Drucker

Managing the next society