The boundaries of business: commentaries from the experts

The World Leadership Survey, which began a worldwide dialogue on a set of important issues facing managers in the 1990s, continues with commentaries from four recognized experts, each of whom addresses the survey results from a different perspective. Kenichi Ohmae, chairman of McKinsey and Company in Tokyo, addresses "The Perils of Protectionism." Ohmae argues that the old definitions of national boundaries and corporate interests reflect obsolete economic theories. The real test of national well-being, Ohmae suggests, should be the economic welfare of a nation's citizens. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, economist and former director of the Economic Policy Council in New York, analyzes the survey in terms of "The Human Resource Deficit." According to Hewlett, four principles should guide corporate strategies in the 1990s: human resource development should move up the scale of corporate priorities; a family-friendly workplace will attract and keep talented workers; companies will take limited direct responsibility for training and education; the private sector will promote public investment in social issues. James E. Austin, the Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business at the Harvard Business School, writes about "The Developing-Country Difference." In developing countries, Austin observes, managers display attitudes and follow practices that diverge from those in developed nations. In particular, the role of government, investments in education and technology, and environmental concerns set these nations apart. Michel Crozier, president of the Centre de Sociologie des Organisations in Paris, writes about "The Changing Organization." In the 1990s, Crozier argues, managers need to break from old management theories and practice, questioning hierarchy, control, distance, access to information-the whole managerial system.