THE FIFTH SPHERE
One of the barometers helpful in spotting trends is the emergence of
small regional newsletters dealing with one topic.
A new one has just hit my desk. It's called The Fifth Sphere and it
deals with "telecommuting," the buzz word for moving work to the
workers (as opposed to moving workers to their work).
The definition of the Fifth Sphere was originally conceived by the
Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the
government b bureaucracy generally given the credit for the rise of
Japan Inc. This is its vision of the 21st Century lifestyle. It
explains the "spheres" like this:
1, Age of the First Sphere. Prior to the transition to modern
society, there was one, single human environment. The "home" and
"workplace" were combined in one place and formed a single sphere.
The age of the first sphere continued for a long time.
2. Division into the Second Sphere. As industrialization and
modernization progressed after the industrial revolution, separation
of the "workplace" from the "home" accelerated and the workplace became an independent "second" sphere; that is, "home" and "workplace"
were divided.
3. Emergence of the Third Sphere. As modernization of industry and
society advanced, a third sphere -- "recreation" -- emerged in
addition to home and work as an independent realm, distinct from the
first two and functioning in its own right. The importance of this
sphere is rising steadily in everyday life; this sphere, in some
ways, typifies the modern urban environment.
4. Increasing Demand for a Fourth Sphere. Developed nations that
build sophisticated, industrialized societies, were able to attain
great convenience and comfort in life but, at the same time, suffered
the drawback of centralized control. Urban residents now find it
necessary to liberate themselves from the psychological and physical
stresses and to restore health by escaping from everyday life and
immersing themselves in nature for a certain length of time. Combined
with the diversification of lifestyles and values, the need for
resorts, for extended stays is rapidly growing.
This new development can however, be interpreted as only a transfer
of the third sphere in time and location and an extension of
conventional lifestyle -- not really a fourth sphere in the true
sense of the word.
5. Leap to the Fifth Sphere. The attainment of a 21st Century
lifestyle requires an environment that is not residential or industrial in function or convention and resort oriented. It must have
all the elements of the four spheres but at the same time be a city
not classifiable under any one of them -- or, in other words, it
must be a creation of a fifth sphere, a new type of city.
After setting the above definitions, the Japanese are moving ahead
with plans for such a new $50 billion city they call a "multifunctionopolis" to be located near Adelaide, South Australia. The
final decision has just been announced. This is the grandest scheme
for this concept but Chiba Prefecture, Japan already boasts an
established research and development park of 250 acres with Fijitsu,
the largest computer company in Japan, setting up a million-squarefoot facility to accommodate 10,000 new age workers. This and all
such future developments world-wide will quite likely be linked
together.
When a concept like telecommuting takes off, growth is slow at first.
Then it explodes. Another example of an economic effect that is
happening but perhaps not slipping into public consciousness for
years.
I have been telecommuting for 14 years. For me it is definitely the
way to go.
When I started, few people except artists and writers were doing the
same. Now a reported 17 percent of the working population in western
Canada is telecommuting; 10 percent in eastern Canada.
And it is developing in ways many would consider strange: New York
Life is having application and claim forms processed by telecommuters
in Ireland (they can't find enough people who can spell in New York).
Large credit card companies are having client chits processed in the
Caribbean. You can get income tax and accounting now done in Madras,
India for a fraction of the cost here. Those that operate from here
realize their market is no longer merely local or regional but the
whole five billion people on the planet are doing very well.
For more information on which sphere you might be living in tomorrow,
contact:
Richard Petrich or Larry Youngquist,
The Fifth Sphere,
The Tele-work Center, Inc.,
22845 N.E. 8th, Suite 115,
Redmond, Wash., USA 98053.
Phone: 206/654-1332. Fax: 206/868-3310.
Subscriptions are currently free.
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