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The Fourth Wave: Business in the 21st Century - Softcover

Maynard Jr., Herman Bryant; Mehrtens, Susan E.

 
9781576750025: The Fourth Wave: Business in the 21st Century
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1576750027 ISBN 13: 9781576750025
Verlag: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1996

Inhaltsangabe

Applying the concept of historical waves originally propounded by Alvin Toffler in The Third Wave, Herman Maynard and Susan Mehrtens look toward the next century and foresee a "fourth wave," an era of integration and responsibility far beyond Toffler's revolutionary description of third-wave postindustrial society. Whether we attain this stage of global well-being, however, will depend on how well our business institutions adapt and change.
The Fourth Wave examines the ways business has changed in the second and third waves and must continue to change in the fourth. The changes concern the basics-how an institution is organized, how it defines wealth, how it relates to surrounding communities, how it responds to environmental needs, and how it takes part in the political process.
Maynard and Mehrtens foresee a radically different future in which business principles, concern for the environment, personal integrity, and spiritual values are integrated. The authors also demonstrate the need for a new kind of leadership-managers and CEOs who embrace an attitude of global stewardship; who define their assets as ideas, information, creativity, and vision; and who strive for seamless boundaries between work and private lives for all employees.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

HERMAN BRYANT MAYNARD, JR., is an international consultant on personal and organizational transformation and a licensed Master for delivery of “Avatar” (Star’s Edge International), a course designed to assist individuals in taking conscious command of their lives.
His specialties include business turnarounds and transformation of business cultures. Now a member of the growing international network of businesspersons and consultants who are pioneering a new business paradigm, Maynard serves on the board of directors for the World Business Academy, the World Trust, and the International Center for Organizational Design. He has been co-chairman of the National Learning Foundation and a guest speaker at the Stanford Business School, and he spent twenty-two years with Du Pont, holding a number of professional and managerial positions in manufacturing, research, marketing, sales, product management, new business develop- ment, and administration.
SUSAN E. MEHRTENS is president of The Potlatch Group Inc., a research organization specializing in the analysis of business trends related to global evolution and social change. Since establishing the business in 1987, she has undertaken a wide variety of research projects for clients that range from the Fortune 500 (AT&T, Du Pont, General Motors, Sears) to smaller businesses, schools, and private foundations, such as the Institute of Noetic Sciences, World Business Academy, International Management Institute, Saybrook Institute, and Schweisfurth Foundation.
After receiving her Ph.D. from Yale University, Mehrtens taught at Queens College, City University of New York, and the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, in the fields of environmental studies, marine studies, medieval studies, his- tory, Latin, and Greek.

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Applying the concept of historical waves originally propounded by Alvin Toffler in The Third Wave, Herman Maynard and Susan Mehrtens look toward the next century and foresee a "Fourth Wave", an era of integration and responsibility far beyond Toffler's revolutionary description of Third Wave postindustrial society. Whether we attain this stage of global well-being, however, will depend on how well our business institutions are able to adapt and change. The Fourth Wave examines the ways business has changed in the Second and Third Waves and describes ways it must continue to change in the Fourth. The changes concern the basics - how an institution is organized, how it defines wealth, how it relates to surrounding communities, how it responds to environmental needs, and how it takes part in the political process. The authors also demonstrate the need for a new kind of leadership - managers and CEOs who embrace an attitude of global stewardship; who define their assets as ideas, information, creativity, and vision; and who strive for seamless boundaries between work and private lives for all employees.|

Applying the concept of historical waves originally propounded by Alvin Toffler in The Third Wave, Herman Maynard and Susan Mehrtens look toward the next century and foresee a ""Fourth Wave"", an era of integration and responsibility far beyond Toffler's revolutionary description of Third Wave postindustrial society. Whether we attain this stage of global well-being, however, will depend on how well our business institutions are able to adapt and change. The Fourth Wave examines the ways business has changed in the Second and Third Waves and describes ways it must continue to change in the Fourth. The changes concern the basics - how an institution is organized, how it defines wealth, how it relates to surrounding communities, how it responds to environmental needs, and how it takes part in the political process. The authors also demonstrate the need for a new kind of leadership - managers and CEOs who embrace an attitude of global stewardship; who define their assets as ideas, information, creativity, and vision; and who strive for seamless boundaries between work and private lives for all employees.

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TO MEET THE CHALLENGES posed by a world that is changing at an ever-increasing pace, we must let go of values, beliefs, and practices that have or shortly will become anachronistic and reformulate new ones that are congruent with changed circumstances. The first step in this process is to become acquainted with the changes that are occurring. Because change is omnipresent, it is especially important to identify those trends that promise transformative change. In this chapter we describe seven trends that we believe underlie the emergence of a new worldview.

Shift in Consciousness

Increasing numbers of people around the world are concluding that consciousness is primary, that the mind or spirit has a reality comparable to material objects (Harman 1988; Renesch 1991; Cook 1991; Rothschild 1991). Many have had transformative experiences (life-changing dreams, journeys inward that reveal new vistas, near-death experiences, series of intuitive knowings [Porter, n.d.]) that have led them to realize they are more than their physical body and logical mind—that there are levels of reality beyond what can be seen, touched, tasted, and smelled.

In reexamining the assumptions, values, and directions of their lives, people are beginning to see themselves as the creators of their realities. They are placing emphasis on interconnectedness and wholeness—of everyone and everything—and affirming the central role of inner wisdom and inner authority (Harman 1988, 1992). More often than not, they are committing themselves to make a difference in the world.

Our discussions with successful people in business, coupled with a study of scientific and contemporary literature, affirm that this global shift in consciousness is not mere New Age hype but the expression of a new worldview. For example, Nobel Prize-winning scientists Roger Sperry (1978), Sir John Eccles (Eccles & Popper 1977), Eugene Wigner (1967, 1982), Sir Arthur Eddington (1929), James Jeans (1943), and Brian Josephson (1985) have all concluded that a worldview based on consciousness emerging from matter (the brain) does not account for all that we see and experience. Such noted business consultants and futurists as George Land, Robert Theobald, and Willis Harman have discussed this in large public forums. It is on the lips of political figures such as Václav Havel, who, standing before the United States Congress as president of Czechoslovakia, reminded us that “consciousness is primary” (Havel 1990, 37). And there is even talk among sober, sensible businesspersons of a global mind change occurring in the world (Rose 1990).

The shift in consciousness is more than just rapid and profoundly challenging; it is paradigmatic, representing a fundamental change that calls into question our entire worldview and all the conscious and unconscious assumptions on which that worldview rests. Each of the remaining trends we identify is a natural companion to or consequence of this shift in consciousness.

Disenchantment with Scientism

There is a growing disenchantment with scientism, the tendency to reduce all reality and experience to mathematical descriptions of physical and chemical phenomena. From this perspective, a Beethoven sonata would be described by focusing on the constituent parts (cats’ guts, horses’ tails, wood, metal, rubber, felt) of the musical instruments involved, the amplitudes and frequencies of the sound waves produced, and the mechanisms of auditory perception (ear, brain). This, however, gives us little, if any, sense of the feeling quality of the experience of listening to beautiful music.

Since the time of Descartes, we in the West have stressed rational truth: it has been widely accepted that science and scientific processes are the way to determine truth and that rational intelligence and logical thought are the most valuable abilities we have. But these attitudes are now being questioned in the light of growing evidence that there are many experiences and events that cannot be explained if what is “real” is only that which can be touched or measured (Harman 1988). It is increasingly accepted that such phenomena as feelings and intuition expand the range of human potential to find answers (“Seize the Future” 1990), making both rational and nonrational processes legitimate components in the search for knowledge and understanding.

Inner Sources of Authority and Power

The growing credence accorded those processes and experiences we cannot explain or measure is reflected in an increased reliance by many people on an inner source of authority and power, “unconscious knowing” (Harman 1988). This unconscious knowing is revealed to us through such familiar experiences as inspiration, creativity, revelation, and intuition; for some people it may be communicated through a higher self or inner self-helper (Damgaard 1987; Speck 1935).

This new appreciation of “authority from within” is being reflected in the desire of many persons to live and work to their full capacity. People are exhibiting increasing reluctance to have others make their decisions for them or to determine how they are to live and work. And increasing numbers are waking up to the fact that they can give legitimacy to or withhold it from the various institutions of society (Burton 1990; Natale & Wilson 1990; Kelly 1992). For instance, environmentally destructive practices by both corporations and governments are coming to be regarded by the public as irresponsible and therefore illegitimate and intolerable.

Recognition that power and authority lie in the hands of individuals, not institutions, is fomenting revolution in the workplace (Rifkin 1992; Stroh, Reilly & Brett 1990; “The Battle for Control” 1992) and in the global political landscape. Democratic processes are being adopted in growing numbers of workplaces, and in the past several years oppressed peoples of the world have been successfully demanding representational processes and self-determination.

Table 1. Hallmarks of a changing world

Shift in Consciousness
Consciousness is primary: we create our realities and seek wholeness.

Disenchantment with Scientism
Intuition and other nonrational processes complement reason in the search for knowledge and understanding.

New (Inner) Sources of Authority and Power
We decide ourselves how we live and work and take steps to ensure that our institutions serve us.

Respiritualization of Society
We are engaged in a search for meaning, purpose, truth, love, compassion, self-worth, wisdom, and unity—and the means to express them.

Decline in Materialism
Intangibles such as honesty, openness, courage, conviction, personal fulfillment, caring, cooperation, and justice are the dominant forces guiding our actions.

Spreading Political and Economic Democratization
No room is left for political or economic imperialism.

Movement Beyond Nationality
Global interdependence is unavoidable.

Respiritualization of Society

Many in the Western world are responding to the lack of a sense of balance, purpose, and personal power by bringing spirituality into their lives and work (Harman 1988; Harman & Hormann 1990). People are increasingly engaged in a search for such things as meaning, purpose, inner authority and peace, truth, love, compassion, self-worth, dignity, wisdom, a higher power, and a sense of unity with others—and the means to express them.

This respiritualization of society is manifested in various forms, including participation in traditional religious forums (Western and Eastern), New Age pursuits, self-designed modes of personal quest (meditation, for example), and spreading efforts to incorporate spiritual...

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Verlag
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Erscheinungsdatum
1996
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
1576750027
ISBN 13 
9781576750025
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
240
Kontakt zum Hersteller
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