In 1993, BP Exploration Operating Company Limited, the $13 billion division of British Petroleum Company that explores for and produces oil and gas, outsourced all its information technology operations in an effort to cut costs, gain more flexible and higher-quality IT resources, and refocus the IT department on activities that directly improve the overall business.

Once the rage of Western capitalism, leveraged buy outs have lost their glamour and much of their respectability. Although some LBOs have deserved the criticism they have received, the overall perception about them is distorted, contend.

The planning, control, and information systems that have helped managers deal with growth for the past 50 years also inhibit employees' creativity and initiative. In "Changing the Role of Top Management: Beyond Systems to People," Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal argue that the challenge for top-level managers today is to engage the knowledge and skills of each person in order to create what they call an individualized corporation.