A. Over the next 10 years, there will be a dramatic increase in the use of electronic systems to accelerate employee learning, augment decision making, and monitor performance. Proponents of these systems argue that they enable employees to learn their jobs faster, provide workers and managers with immediate performance feedback. B. Today, college grads and professionals are just as likely to send in an electronic resume as a traditional paper-based document. And HR departments often squirrel the information in a database, which allows them to later search for applicants based on specific criteria—education or skills set, for example. The entire process-without paper, mail and filing-is faster and far more efficient. C. Work methods and functions are no longer permanent and immutable structures; they are fluid processes that require workers to adapt continuously. Organizations will be forced to question many of the "stable state" assumptions under which they’ve traditionally operated, such as who their competitors are and who their potential customers may be. D. Multimedia combining voice, image, text, and data redefines industries and competitors and creates new markets. Suppliers can act alone or in combination to market and sell goods in new ways directly to customers while bridging cultures, improving service, and collapsing cycle time. E. Now payroll and tax processing is entering the world of electronic commerce. Thanks to the Internet, companies now can zap financial data off to a bureau. Once there, the service can handle payroll calculations, spit out transaction reports, issue paychecks or manage direct deposits, complete year-end tax filing and more.

A. Technology convergence is transforming education, medicine, materials, core competencies, whole enterprises and even the definition of industries.