"Digital Work Model"

Transformation of Business Management and Work Style with IT

The theme of this year's Global Information Summit is "Digital Work Model". With great help of information technology (IT), various efforts are being geared in the business community towards bringing forth a system composed of a new work-style as well as a new type of an organization that stimulate employees' creativity and thereby enhance corporate value. We call such a system "Digital Work Model".

Information technology is nowadays integral to corporate management and exercises its power in streamlining operation and optimizing corporate strategy as well as organization per se. On the first wave of IT utilization, office work-style is drastically changing. Cellar phones and wireless LAN have enabled people to work 'anytime, anywhere'. Meanwhile a creative work-style, in which employees discuss and share their information, wisdom and ideas with their colleagues and people outside their companies through a digital network and bring forth new corporate value, has begun to disseminate. A management way to enable a corporate organization to fully draw employees' abilities attracts therewithal close attention.

How should a creative and delightful work-style be? It can be predicted that the new work-style might henceforth have an effect on corporate strategies as well as individual life-style such as "work- life balance".

GIS 2006 will highlight this challenging issue associated with all the people working in a contemporary society. During the Summit, topics such as a new management way of organization, a new work-style and effects of IT will be discussed by inviting world renowned opinion leaders in academic and business societies as speakers and discussants.

The present Summit will place more emphases on discussion among forum participants in a form of a round-table meeting than in the past Summits. It will be also managed in such a way as to take advantage of comment and suggestions gathered from audience at the venue as well as through the Internet. Prior to the Summit, a net-conference in which opinion leaders inside and outside Japan participate will be held.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun is cordially looking forward to your participation in the Summit