But it has achieved all it can in that respect and any further improvements would be marginal. The next frontier for it is the non-routine work that lends itself less readily to automation - and here the talk is of 'augmentation': helping people come to decisions more quickly, and helping support any consequent action. With knowledge workers, such as managers, who deal with non-routine kinds of work, the idea of productivity is different. As (management guru Peter) Drucker pointed out, you don't pay them by the hour but by results,' says Lopez. 'The question is: how do you help that class of worker become productive?'

Restrictive Polices vs. Capturing Productivity

The promise of all forms of interactive communication including those defined as Web 2.0 and form the foundation of social networking have the potential to significantly increase productivity, yet these technologies are "open" in terms of who one can communicate with. Many employers restrict the use of company e-mail systems for personal use, as this opens up legal liabilities to them and also can significantly impact e-mail system performance. There's a balance what is needed between...

This shift from restrictive policies or a lack of new technology to adoption is seen in the rapid growth of Instant Messaging in companies, and with that, the exponential growth of Twitter as a means of microblogging and interactive communication. The following syndicated article from Knight Ridder News Service illustrates this transition in terms of Instant Messaging (Sostek, et.al.):
The appeal of the software, its users say, is its immediacy. Rather than an e-mail that might sit ignored in an inbox, an IM invitation pops right up on the computer screen, flashing until it gets attention. Once the request to chat is accepted, the pop-up window stays open until the users log off, allowing for steady back and forth communication.

If there's a deadline, we can get more done using IM than e-mail," said Ms. Crandell.

The appeal of IM also highlights some of the flaws of e-mail, the backbone of corporate Internet