The Challenge of the 21st Century: Managing Technology and Ourselves in a Shrinking World

The population and technology explosions are shrinking the world to a system in which everything is interactive, forcing us to transcend traditional modes of thinking. In this book, the authors set forth the concept of multiple perspectives: technical, organizational, and personal. They begin the book with a multiple-perspective examination of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, a case that foreshadows the intensifying problem of managing hazardous technology in the coming decades. They then apply this approach, on a much larger scale, to the United States in the evolving global setting. Included in the discussion are issues such as the balance between short-term and long-term concerns and between individual and societal responsibilities. The interdependence and inseparability of the three perspectives is reflected in the focus on technological superiority, organizational rethinking, and imaginative personal leadership. This book will help managers and students in business, engineering, science, and policymaking break away from exclusive concern with the technical perspective and thus help prepare them for the challenges of a new era.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures List of Tables Foreword Preface Part 1: Introduction 1. Hedgehogs or Foxes? Part 2: The Alaska Oil Spill 2. Technical Perspectives 3. Organizational Perspectives 4. Personal Perspectives 5. Implications Part 3: About Multiple Perspectives 6. T, O, and P Part 4: The U.S. at the Edge of the 21st Century Introduction 7. The Technical Perspectives 8. Linking Technical and Organizational Perspectives 9. Linking Organizational and Personal Perspectives 10. Linking Technical and Personal Perspectives 11. The Inseparability of T, O, and P Part 5: Complexities and Imperatives 12. Accepting the Challenge Appendix A: A Sampling of Ways to Integrate Perspectives Appendix B: Ten Guidelines for Multiple Perspective Users Notes Index