EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES January 2004

The article reveals eight current and emerging workplace trends and offers recommendations for the future, as of January 01, 2004. Due to uncertain economic conditions, organizations are rethinking how to grow and be profitable. Changes include streamlining structure and becoming more flexible, networked, flat, diverse, and virtual. Two new marketplaces for e-suppliers should be health care and financial services. Since outsourcing has revved up, a growing concern among trainers is job security. But many predictors believe that practitioners who were laid off will be rehired by outsourcing firms.