“The last dimension…plays off the others…increasing diversity.…We will see [it] within the demographic sense, but more importantly in the diversity of cultures that are embraced by a single organization. The notion that we have learned in the past decade of the single homogenous workplace culture sharing values simply is no longer valid. With this needs to come probably a healthy dose of sensitivity training to keep us going–at least in the short run, because these organizations are diverse on every dimension that you can think of–the demographic ones, as well as the cognitive ones.”
John E. Van Maanen, Erwin Schell Professor of Organization Studies
Growth of an e-lance economy
“One of the most significant developments in the 20th century was the dramatic improvement in technologies for communication starting with the telegraph, telephone, radio, television, and most recently, the Internet. These technologies enabled radical decreases in the costs of communication. These decreases will, in turn, enable us to organize work, government and societies in very different ways in the next millennium.
“I think we will see a significant increase in the decentralization of decision-making in businesses. One example of this phenomenon, I believe, will be an increase in the number of people who work as independent contractors. These electronically connected freelancers–e-lancers–will in the future do much of the work that is today done by employees of large companies.”
Thomas W. Malone, Professor of Information Systems
Casual culture: No more neckties
“Gentlemen will stop wearing neckties. As firms such as consulting and accounting, integrate with technology firms and venture capital that have already incorporated a casual culture, neckties will become less common.”
Simon Johnson, Associate Professor; The Michael M. Koerner ’49 Career Development Professor of Entrepreneurship
The demise of Social Security
“The issue that is close to my heart and I feel is a time bomb for future generations is the collapse of the Social Security system. This system was arranged in the 1940s and built on the pay-as-you-go method. This method is unreliable and wasteful. The pay-as-you-go system is based on the growth of income and population. Since the population structure is slowing down, promises cannot be maintained, and there will be no financial reserves for the future. I recommend a new system that will gradually replace social security and is guaranteed by the government. The funded system depends on contributions from the government and is invested in the market receiving a higher return of approximately 7 percent. With this system, retirees can have hope for a pension.”
Franco Modigliani, Nobel Laureate and Institute Professor Emeritus
New perspectives: thinking differently
“I think the evolution of the brain in the new millennium will greatly impact the 21st century. Already, my grandchildren think and process information differently than I do, since they’ve grown up in the Information Age.”
Edgar H. Schein, Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus
Corporate responsible for planet’s future
“Global warming is a clear indicator that we may really be putting limits on the planet beyond what it can bear. In the last century, the corporate and public arenas realized a greater general awareness and increased environmental regulation that resulted in a shift towards being more ecologically efficient. In the next century, corporations will have to become even more responsible about the planet’s future. Whether this is voluntary or via increased regulations or societal pressures is yet to be seen.”
Rebecca M. Henderson, Eastman Kodak LFM Professor of Management
Technology shaping financial decisions
“Financial technology has forever changed the way we make financial decisions and has given us the ability to plan our futures in ways that were impossible a decade ago. The challenge for the next millennium is to educate individual investors in the uses and abuses of such powerful technologies.”
Andrew Lo, Harris & Harris Group Professor; Director, Laboratory for Financial Engineering
Valuing employees while pursuing profit
“Over the course of the 20th century, we have witnessed an ongoing effort to improve the welfare of employees at work and to provide protections against the worst excesses of an unrestrained market. During some periods, the market has seemed ascendant while at other times society has pushed back against it, either through government regulation or through employee organization. This is likely to be an on-going theme of the next century.
“The old solutions may not work well because the new realities of competition have to be recognized. However, it is very unlikely that we, as a society, will accept for any extended period of time a vision of the economy in which human welfare is secondary to profits. The trick will be to find a way to accommodate both impulses while recognizing that in the end the market is embedded in a larger social system that must be valued.”
Paul Osterman, Professor of Human Resources and Management
Changing ideas of economic development
“The idea of economic development will change in the next century. In the 20th century, most people have come to believe that no nation is destined to be always poor. The idea that any nation can become rich has had a profound impact on both international relations and domestic policies.”
Richard Schmalensee, Dean, Sloan School of Management
Globalization transforming capital markets
“There is a movement toward the globalization of capital markets. For most of the 20th century, countries had their own fragmented markets. In the last 20 years, we’ve seen a resurgence toward integrating capital markets as firms become more international and must disclose to their investors what they are doing. As capital markets become more global, laws will change, more information will be released, and accounting standards will change. One result of this is MIT will become more global, with no geographical boarders.”Simon Johnson, Associate Professor; The Michael M. Koerner ’49 Career Development Professor of Entrepreneurship
Unprecedented access to information
“Information storage and retrieval technology has evolved throughout the 20th century, moving from bound chronological volumes to undimensional vertical filing to two-dimensional punched cards to multi-dimensional computer databases. As this technology evolved, communication and information practices evolved with it.
“At the end of the 20th century, we now have the World Wide Web and related search engines, which allow us to store and retrieve information along almost infinite dimensions, but which also require us to filter information more in order to avoid being overwhelmed. The advanced accessibility of information is leading us once again to reshape communication and information practices.”
JoAnne Yates, Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management
