depend on traditional values and qualifications such as those for accountants, lawyers, engineers, mathematicians or computer programmers. With the new opportunities resulting from globalization and the internet, the accepted forms of success are losing ground to scenarios drawing on innovative ideas. Here there is an increasing need for artists, designers and creative authors to contribute not only to product design but also to business management and strategic planning. Areas deserving particular attention are related to three key developments: Over-supply For the past 15 or 20 years, the Western economies (Europe, North America) have experienced a situation of fully dependable supply of basic goods, including round-the-year abundance of agricultural produce, with the result that a significant proportion of households have begun to look for more than just the basic necessities. Families now look for goods which extend beyond the basic norm such as organic foods or sophisticated digital television sets, mobile phones and cars with four-wheel drive, cruise control or integrated navigation systems. Outsourcing Given the low costs of labour in developing countries such as China, India and the Philippines, American and European companies are now outsourcing or offshoring an ever-increasing proportion of their production, manufacturing or service tasks to foreign countries. As a result, job opportunities in the West are slowly moving away from routine tasks such as accounting, telephone support services, computer programming and electronic component manufacturing. The efficiency of outsourcing has also been improving as the internet continues to provide increasingly reliable and ever faster global communications links. Automation In industry too, the development of robotics and automated manufacturing facilities means that opportunities for traditional jobs in industries such as automobile manufacturing and food processing are also diminishing. Ever higher levels of qualification are now required to contribute to operations that are largely computerized. New areas of opportunity Partly a result of the above factors, a wide range of new facilities and opportunities has begun to emerge. These include: the development of appealing new internet-based facilities for sales and services, transportation logistics for better coordination of component supply and product distribution, customer-oriented interactive travel guides for more efficient and often cheaper travel abroad, value-added products combining a number of services, often into one small unit, computerized courseware to enhance on-the-job training, and sophisticated design tools for greater production efficiency. Virtually every area of industry can benefit from developments of this kind both to improve the products themselves and