| A new era is upon us. Call it what you
will: the service economy, the information age, the knowledge society. It is all
translated to a fundamental change in the way we work. Already we've partly been
there. The percentage of people who earn their living by making things has
fallen dramatically in the Western World. Today the majority of jobs in America,
Europe and Japan (two thirds or more in many or these countries) are in the
service industry, and the number is on the rise. More women are in the work
force than ever before. There are more part-time jobs. More people are
self-employed. But the breadth of the economic transformation can't be measured
by numbers alone, because it is also giving rise to a radical new way of
thinking about the nature of work itself. Long-held notions about jobs and
careers, the skills needed to succeed, even the relation between individuals and
employers—all these are being changed. We have only to look behind us to get some sense of what may lie ahead. No one looking ahead 20 years possibly could have foreseen the ways in which a single invention, the chip (集成电路), would transform our world thanks to its applications in personal computers, digital communications and factory robots. Tomorrow's achievements in biotechnology, artificial intelligence or even some still unimagined technology could produce a similar wave of dramatic changes. But one thing is certain: information and knowledge will become even more vital, and the people who possess it, whether .they work in manufacturing or services, will have the advantage and produce the wealth. Computer knowledge will become as basic a requirement as the ability to read and write The ability to solve problems by applying information instead of performing routine tasks will be above all else. If you cast your mind ahead 10 years, information services will be predominant It will be the way you do your job. |