Corporate Communication: 21st Century Communication Trends

Stephen P. Borgatti identifies five organizational trends:

Globalization

Diversity
Flexibility
Flat
Networked

Globalization means that organizations will become more and more active outside their national borders. This means that companies do not only compete nationally, but all over the world. From my point of view, a company in the 21st century can only survive if it has the ability to compete against international companies.Diversity means that companies nowadays have a more heterogeneous workforce, that they need to cope with different styles of clothing, interaction, presentations and the media... I think it is a good thing that companies diversify themselves, as this can lead to different thinking and different experiences within the company.

Flexibility means that the organization is flexible regarding processes, people, rules, procedures, autonomy etc. Flexibility is needed to stay competitive, to adapt to new situations, and to compete with other organizations.

Flat organizations enable discussions, decision making of employees and increasing motivation among employees. I think a flat organization can be more flexible and more competitive than an organization with more hierarchical levels, as communication is necessary to adapt to new situations.

Networks are necessary to deal with customers, competitors, the media and suppliers, as well as shareholders and all stakeholders included. Networks can be an important part in a company's gained success.

I will focus on globalization, and have the information that I found about Toyota and its business practices was interesting. Toyota has a globalization plan in affect since 1995. Toyota has focused on sales, manufacturing, research, and management and has improved greatly in each of these areas. They have used these areas to expand from 3 major markets, Japan, United States, and Europe, to markets all over the world, while keeping their globalization plan strong, so they can continue with their plan to reach their goals. They have used their plan, to create new vehicles, new manufacturing plants, and new sales offices. This globalization plan for Toyota has brought them up to the top of the ranks, sitting with GM and Ford.I think that globalization plays a huge role in Borgotti's theory because I think if a company sits down and creates a globalization plan; the other trends tend to fall into place. As the company sets up to follow the plan that they have paid out, diversity, flexibility, flat, and networked all become part of the plan that keeps the company rolling down the path to success.