|
 |
Businesses Get a "Se |
|
| Like animals, companies have always monitored changes in their environments. Historically, companies have moved slowly in response to changes. For example, if a retailer��셲 sales of red sweaters outpaced sales of green sweaters during the Christmas shopping season, the results would not be noticed until months later. By the time the retailer could react, the holiday season was over, and the insights might not be relevant to the following year. |
|
|
 |
The Decline of Labor |
|
| After decades of growth, union membership in the United States has been declining steadily for the past 20 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total membership peaked at almost 18 million people in 1980. By last year, according to The Charlotte News & Observer, that figure had dropped to less than 16 million, just 13 percent of the country��셲 workforce. |
|
|
 |
Open Innovation |
|
| At the same time that the open source movement is accelerating, the trend of open innovation is also picking up speed. This makes perfect sense because at a time when innovation is essential to the success of every business, few companies can afford to follow the traditional ��쐁losed innovation��� model that rejects any ideas that were ��쐍ot invented here.��� |
|
|
 |
Housing Boom Peaks O |
|
| We are in the midst of . . . the biggest world-wide housing boom ever,��� declared Robert Shiller, the Yale economist and author of Irrational Exuberance. In August 2004, sales of new homes went up by 9.4 percent, the biggest increase since December 2000. |
|
|
 |
Commuting Gets Off t |
|
| Today��셲 domestic air travel system is taxed to the breaking point. In 2001, 570 million people flew on commercial airlines, and U.S. aviation officials expect domestic airline traffic to double by 2010. That��셲 more people than the system can handle. |
|
|
[8]권 
