Perceptions of the role of human interventions in economie transactions have changed. Appreciation of an individual's physical labour and ability to regulate and coordinate has made way for an emphasis on potential contribution to knowledge productivity. Of the products manufactured and services rendered by organizations, material items (such as commodities), capital and labour, are less significant than the combination of knowledge embodied in the product or service. Mankind is surreptitiously abandoning the traditional economy of commodities, capital and labour in favour of a knowledge based economy.