Introduction

Globalization and its effect on economic systems are at the centre of debates of all kinds in this fin de siècle. Its consequences, as we will see, are usually discussed at the level of global economies (expansion, recession, massive unemployment), or of individual economies (an uncertain future, unemployment and the related human drama, forced displacement, the redefining of work tempos and so on). Both the impact of these phenomena on the workplace, on the ‘company’ in the largest sense, and our ability to control and manage that impact have not really been dealt with, no doubt because these aspects are less visible and consequently much more difficult to talk about. These are the issues which this book intends to place at the centre of debate, that is, how the emergence of a globalized, postindustrial society has affected organizations – that is to say, private, public, or para-public businesses – organizations which, as the century draws to a close, provide the goods and services which people need, an assertion which many authors are currently debating.