(FORTUNE Magazine) – THE ECONOMY/COVER STORY 56 THE NEW WORKER ELITE Technicians are taking on a bigger role and commanding greater respect as the core employees of the digital Information Age. Companies that hope to gain a competitive edgeor hold on to onein this era of epochal change will have to harness their talents. FORTUNE offers some lessons in how to manage, motivate, and reward this new elite of the workplace. by Louis S. Richman

66 TIPS FOR HIRING TECHIES Employers must take the same care in hiring them as they would hiring managers.

MANAGING 70 WILL UNITED FLY? After a decade of constant turmoil, America's largest and newest employee- owned company is carrying heavy baggage. by Kenneth Labich

82 RAIDING A COMPANY'S HIDDEN CASH Pioneering managers are raising profits and efficiency by mining an overlooked trove --working capital. by Shawn Tully

EXECUTIVE LIFE 92 LEADERS LEARN TO HEED THE VOICE WITHIN In the fast-moving new economy, you need a new skill: reflection. Major companiesAT&T, PepsiCo, Aetnaare helping their employees to acquire it. by Stratford Sherman

94 A FIVE-MINUTE TEST OF SELF-MASTERY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 110 SET-TOP BOX WARS The battle for the interactive future is about to startright in your living room. The household device that receives and decodes digital data could determine which companies win control of the information superhighway. by Andrew Kupfer

POLITICS & POLICY 120 HOW TO DISARM HEALTH CARE'S HIDDEN BOMB Sure, competition is taming runaway medical costs. But the health plans with the sickest patients could go broke unless reformers get the incentives right. by Edmund Faltermayer

THE ECONOMY 124 STRATEGIES FOR THE NEW EXPORT BOOM America's big exporters are striking it rich overseasand so are thousands of smaller entrepreneurs. Here's how they're doing it. by Rob Norton

130 A NEW LOOK AT TRADE 130

DEPARTMENTS 6 EDITOR'S DESK 10 INDEX 16 NEWS/TRENDS The decline of Detroit's luxury cars, company givers get smart, Greenspan's gambit, and more.

23 FORTUNE FORECAST As the employment market heats up, can inflation stay cool?

by Vivian Brownstein

Economic Intelligence: A new debt binge, and more.

DEPARTMENTS 27 PERSONAL INVESTING Finding the stocks in today's market that will produce tomorrow's high yields. by Shelley Neumeier

Also: What to do when your mutual fund is being taken over, riding California's recovery, and Portfolio Talk with Christianna Wood of the Burridge Group in Chicago.

53 LETTERS TO FORTUNE

210 COMPANIES TO WATCH Atlanta's Medaphis, the largest medical office management firm, is taking the pain out of health care paperwork. by John Labate

Also: Fresh Choice self-service restaurants and Facelifters Home Systems of Brooklyn.

213 KEEPING UP Barbra's mother talks, unfree speech in Berkeley (or fair-housing follies), laughless on the Internet, and other matters. by Daniel Seligman

THE GLOBAL SERVICE 500 180 THE YEAR OF MIXED RESULTS Profits of banks and most retailers soared, but those of diversified service companies and utilities ran into headwinds. The Service 500 as a whole managed only a 2.3% increase in income for 1993. by Rajiv Rao

182 THE GLOBAL 500 RANKED BY SALES The world's largest service corporations.

192 DEFINITIONS, EXPLANATIONS,AND NOTES

196 THE SERVICE 500 RANKED BY PERFORMANCE The top 50 companies according to six measures, from sales to return on assets.

200 THE SERVICE 500 RANKED WITHIN COUNTRIES With 140 companies, Japan edged past the U.S. for the first time on this year's list, which includes each company's headquarters location and phone number.

207 INDEX

COVER: Mixon has made it his mission to seek challenging jobs that widen his expertise and allow him to grow. Photograph by John Harding.

ABOVE: American labor is being transformed by the rapid growth in the number of those who handle the equipment that will carry us into the future. Photo by John Harding.

FORTUNE (ISSN 0015-8259). Published biweekly, with three issues in October, by Time Inc. Principal office: Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020-1393. Reginald K. Brack Jr., Chairman; Don Logan, President; Joseph A. Ripp, Treasurer; Harry M. Johnston, Secretary. Subscriptions: U.S., possessions: one year (27 issues) $52.95; Canada: one year (27 issues) $53.73. Second-class postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Authorized as second-class mail by the Post Office Dept., Ottawa, Canada, and for payment of postage in cash. Member, Audit Bureau of Circulations. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FORTUNE, P.O. Box 30604, Tampa, Fla. 33630-0604. Customer inquiries: FORTUNE, P.O. Box 60001, Tampa, Fla. 33660-0001. Phone: 1-800-621-8000. ) (c) 1993. Time Inc. All rights reserved. FORTUNE is a registered mark of Time Inc. For subscription queries, call Customer Service at 1-800-621-8000. Time Inc. GST R122781974.