Cutting Out the \'Middleman\' Identify

Cutting out the 'middleman'

Identify the significant catalysts for change.

Once upon a time, so-called 'middlemen,' such as professional agents, retailers, publishers, and other disseminators of products and culture were seen as cultural innovators. Middlepersons enabled artists and manufactures to reach wide audiences, which would have been impossible in previous eras. Much larger profits could be generated for both the 'talent' as well as for the 'middlemen.' Middlemen could also help package a product to render it palatable to a wider demographic of consumers.

Modern, industrialized technology enabled greater standardization during the Industrial Revolution. But today, technology in the form of the Internet is facilitating greater customization. Artists can purvey their products directly on the web, to reach a particular market segment. There is no filter, no need to edit an artistic product for an agent, a record company or a publishing house. A businessperson can also sell a radical, new product online on a shoestring budget by simply setting up a website.

Define the functions that are served by organizational structures

However, it could be argued that much has been lost, in this abandonment of traditional organizational structures. Firstly, there is a loss of quality, as anyone will see who reads a website that is unedited and written by a non-professional writer, versus a high-quality online newspaper like the New York Times. "Despite its liberating effects, it's far from clear whether disintermediation is an unalloyed good when it comes to artistic production. There's no question that cheaper means of production and distribution grant artists important new ways of expressing themselves outside traditional channels that have often worked to stifle innovation and expression. Yet there's also no question that, as in more strictly economic exchanges, various sorts of brokers often add significant value to cultural offerings, especially for the audience" (Gillespie 2000, p.1). The question is not simply one of talent, but the need for a wide array of procedures and people with professionalism and expertise to perform specific functions, such as fact-checking and grammar-checking. Organizational structures can also produce a more standardized and consistent product, in terms of quality of manufactured goods -- a handmade sweater or cookie varies from item to item, versus one made in a factory, made according to a formula.

Define the functions that are served by the LACK of organizational structure

However, while much may be gained through standardization, much is also lost. The freewheeling forum of the Internet allows 'the people' to notice and promote new talent, by commenting on an interesting You Tube videos and promoting them by 'liking' them on Facebook. Even within formal enterprises, like Google, there is recognition that ordinary people, including lower-level employees, can have valuable input into the direction of the company. Google distains hierarchies and encourages employees to pursue their own, independent ideas on 'company time' as well as allows ordinary workers to eat side-by-side with company executives in the (free) company cafeteria. Organizations are employing more innovative methods of leadership, such as creating 'matrix- style structures, rather than top-down chains of command. This creates a greater flow of idea in more personalized 'cells' of human connection.

Compare and contrast the functions performed by firms today with the functions firms of the future will perform