New
types of organizations, new ways of doing business, new economic
sectors – all these are happening. And all these changes
will be accompanied by new challenges, new learning needs, and
new stresses, such as the following: 
Organizations
will develop or die, and it will take constant correction to
find the course needed to survive. Internet startups, new
venture capital firms, e-commerce, and other new forms were
according to some observers going to relegate traditional
business to dinosaur status, but now some see these
new types as in fact facing extinction. But however this works
out, it is clear that organizational change is a given.
Organizations will have to pay more
attention to people problems. Currently every employer has
to face the reality that good employees cannot be hired and
retained unless the organization appropriately involves and
treats all its members. While in part this situation could be a
temporary labor market trend, there can be no doubt that the
concept of "a job" has changed and that, just as
customers have become more aware and demanding, so have
employees.
Organizations will need to communicate
better. The speeded
up pace of communication and the information overload that keeps
growing have resulted in stress that negates much of the
potential afforded by new technology. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that in ten out of
ten organizations communication is considered a big problem.
Organizations will be required to
develop new management practices.
The future highly educated and
informed workforce will take
empowerment and continual learning for
granted. The organizations that
succeed will be those that promote the
most involvement and the most
challenges, not simply those that
offer the most compensation and the
most benefits.
These changes and needs necessitate a 21st
century form of management consulting and organizational
development. While traditional methods such as morale and
motivation programs will still be needed, new methods such as
whole system planning, reinventing work, and dialogue will also
be needed. All employees will be more aware of, and become
themselves skilled in, management tools, facilitation and
consultation.
The importance of external consultants will
increase as these new challenges occur.
But instead of just solving problems and developing
programs, external consultants will primarily have a role of
building a better organization. As internal consultation and
related abilities are fostered, continual learning and
improvement will be the means of keeping the successful
organization on a course where it know how to deal with
challenges that will not only be seen as inevitable but even
welcomed as driving forces toward success and growth.
