One Future Challenge

Today's globalized world of advanced technology has had one most notable effect: the death of distance. The death of distance as a determinant of the cost of communications is and will likely continue to be the single most important economic force to shape society in the near future. With profound implications for both individuals and organizations; the ability to work 'anytime, anywhere' allows so called 'road warriors' to work without offices on planes, in hotels, or even from the comfort of their own home/office, and enables information workers to 'telecommute' from their homes rather than traveling to work.

This unprecedented flexibility serves as a double-edged sword to affected parties, who can work from wherever they choose but may never fully escape their 'virtual workplace'. Organizations choose this option to reduce overhead costs and boost productivity, but must quickly learn to manage a decentralized work force. Today these new telecommunications technologies are the 'electronic highways' of the international age, equivalent to the role played by railway systems in the days of industrialisation.

In accordance with the ideas of John Tomlinson, globalization (over the last several generations) has increased both literal and virtual travel. Tomlinson maintains that all forms of travel (and even the perception of all human senses) are however, mediated in some way or another. This mediation can be simply defined as, "a matter of bridging time and space in communication". He argues that the usage of modern technologies including telephones, computer networks and the mass media are all forms of mediated experiences.

He puts forward the notion that "the local face-to-face context is somehow 'pure' and thus the most valid form of communicative interaction, and that the direct and 'immediate' becomes privileged as the high moral ground of cultural interaction from which any degree of mediation seems an inevitable ...