Page 87 - Professional Services Networks
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The Handbook: Law Firm Networks
among others. The accounting profession has seen the same changes. Technology has erased some of the
distance between the Big 4 and the other mid-size networks and firms. Both professions have been affected
by demographics, such as more women than men now attending universities,393 and lawyers and accountants
in their mid-20s having grown up using the Internet. Changes in attitudes translate directly to changes in how
organizations operate. Who would have thought outsourcing legal work to India and other locations would be
successful?394
Technology is now almost equally accessible to all accounting and legal firms. This includes strategic
technology. It is the result of the reduction in the performance price ratio.395 New models for obtaining and
containing data have been developed such as cloud computing.396 For firms seeking to compete with firms
that have considerably more resources, this is important. For networks seeking to maximize collaboration,
understanding and then acquiring these technologies is critical.
The universal access to information technology, the Internet, computers, and smart devices is changing the
culture in which the professional services companies operate. Teens, who will one day be partners in law and
accounting firms, now have access to more information than their parents did as this age. They feel
comfortable corresponding with peers located around the world. They recognize that technology rewards
those who take the initiative.397 Facebook has flattened the world, which has become a world of ideas rather
than raw power.
The Framework: Mechanistic, Synchronous, Asynchronous, and Organic
In networks of professionals, information technology is best viewed from its function, purpose, and
objectives that contribute to the network. Its function is to transmit all information, its purpose is to define
the information so that it reaches the appropriate person, and its objectives are to increase the level of
network collaboration and provide a cost-effective vehicle to achieve its goals and those of the members. It is
a means to an end and an end through a means. There are many terms used to define the different types of
technology. Commonly used terms are: mechanistic, synchronous, asynchronous, and organic.
Mechanistic technology398 can be thought of as more than support using technology as a simple tool. For
example, email is no different than a printed letter. It is simply cheaper to transmit. LISTSERVs allowed for
open-ended communications and discussion, but they were no different from a meeting in which everyone
has the opportunity to speak. It is, however, more efficient. There is very little that can organically develop
around a tool, because the tool does not produce a product.
Synchronous and asynchronous technologies are two different ways to view technology as it relates to time.
Asynchronous technology stores information for future use,399 e.g., emails, email attachments, faxes, videos,
and Internet calendars. Synchronous technology is the exchange of information in real time. Discussion
forums, instant messaging, video conferencing, team calendars, and live video streaming are synchronous
technologies. Today networks are able to use real time technologies that are easily accessible to all members.
393 Leaving Men Behind: Women Go to College in Ever-Greater Numbers, STUDY.COM (Nov. 13, 2007), education-
portal.com/articles/Leaving_Men_Behind:_Women_Go_to_College_in_Ever-Greater_Numbers.html.
394 Thomson Reuters purchased Pangea3, a major Indian legal services company for outsourcing legal services. Press Release, PR Newswire,
Thomson Reuters Acquires Pangea3 (Nov. 18, 2010) (www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thomson-reuters-acquires-pangea3-109038544.html).
395 In economics and engineering, the price/performance ratio refers to a product's ability to deliver performance, of any sort, for its price.
Performance Ratio, WIKIPEDIA, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price/performance_ratio (last visited Feb. 5, 2016).
396 Cloud Computing, WIKIPEDIA, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing (last visited Feb. 5, 2016).
397 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing G. P. Gruber, A Theory of the Effects of Advanced Information Technologies on Organizational Design,
Intelligence, and Decision Making, 15 ACADEMY OF MGMT. REV. 47, 47-71 (1990): “As expertise becomes critical resources then flow not to
hierarchical posts but to obvious centers of competence.”
398 THOMAS BURNS, THE MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATION (1961).
399 DuPont Legal Model, DUPONT, www.dupontlegalmodel.com/building-the-virtual-law-firm-through-collaborative-work-
teams/ (last visited Feb. 4, 2016).
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among others. The accounting profession has seen the same changes. Technology has erased some of the
distance between the Big 4 and the other mid-size networks and firms. Both professions have been affected
by demographics, such as more women than men now attending universities,393 and lawyers and accountants
in their mid-20s having grown up using the Internet. Changes in attitudes translate directly to changes in how
organizations operate. Who would have thought outsourcing legal work to India and other locations would be
successful?394
Technology is now almost equally accessible to all accounting and legal firms. This includes strategic
technology. It is the result of the reduction in the performance price ratio.395 New models for obtaining and
containing data have been developed such as cloud computing.396 For firms seeking to compete with firms
that have considerably more resources, this is important. For networks seeking to maximize collaboration,
understanding and then acquiring these technologies is critical.
The universal access to information technology, the Internet, computers, and smart devices is changing the
culture in which the professional services companies operate. Teens, who will one day be partners in law and
accounting firms, now have access to more information than their parents did as this age. They feel
comfortable corresponding with peers located around the world. They recognize that technology rewards
those who take the initiative.397 Facebook has flattened the world, which has become a world of ideas rather
than raw power.
The Framework: Mechanistic, Synchronous, Asynchronous, and Organic
In networks of professionals, information technology is best viewed from its function, purpose, and
objectives that contribute to the network. Its function is to transmit all information, its purpose is to define
the information so that it reaches the appropriate person, and its objectives are to increase the level of
network collaboration and provide a cost-effective vehicle to achieve its goals and those of the members. It is
a means to an end and an end through a means. There are many terms used to define the different types of
technology. Commonly used terms are: mechanistic, synchronous, asynchronous, and organic.
Mechanistic technology398 can be thought of as more than support using technology as a simple tool. For
example, email is no different than a printed letter. It is simply cheaper to transmit. LISTSERVs allowed for
open-ended communications and discussion, but they were no different from a meeting in which everyone
has the opportunity to speak. It is, however, more efficient. There is very little that can organically develop
around a tool, because the tool does not produce a product.
Synchronous and asynchronous technologies are two different ways to view technology as it relates to time.
Asynchronous technology stores information for future use,399 e.g., emails, email attachments, faxes, videos,
and Internet calendars. Synchronous technology is the exchange of information in real time. Discussion
forums, instant messaging, video conferencing, team calendars, and live video streaming are synchronous
technologies. Today networks are able to use real time technologies that are easily accessible to all members.
393 Leaving Men Behind: Women Go to College in Ever-Greater Numbers, STUDY.COM (Nov. 13, 2007), education-
portal.com/articles/Leaving_Men_Behind:_Women_Go_to_College_in_Ever-Greater_Numbers.html.
394 Thomson Reuters purchased Pangea3, a major Indian legal services company for outsourcing legal services. Press Release, PR Newswire,
Thomson Reuters Acquires Pangea3 (Nov. 18, 2010) (www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thomson-reuters-acquires-pangea3-109038544.html).
395 In economics and engineering, the price/performance ratio refers to a product's ability to deliver performance, of any sort, for its price.
Performance Ratio, WIKIPEDIA, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price/performance_ratio (last visited Feb. 5, 2016).
396 Cloud Computing, WIKIPEDIA, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing (last visited Feb. 5, 2016).
397 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing G. P. Gruber, A Theory of the Effects of Advanced Information Technologies on Organizational Design,
Intelligence, and Decision Making, 15 ACADEMY OF MGMT. REV. 47, 47-71 (1990): “As expertise becomes critical resources then flow not to
hierarchical posts but to obvious centers of competence.”
398 THOMAS BURNS, THE MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATION (1961).
399 DuPont Legal Model, DUPONT, www.dupontlegalmodel.com/building-the-virtual-law-firm-through-collaborative-work-
teams/ (last visited Feb. 4, 2016).
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