Adapting to Technology and Competition: A New Industrial Relations System for the 21st Century

Abstract

Increasing international competition and rapid technological change are demanding a new organizational form that is lean, flexible, and functions as a network. Twenty-first century firms will not only need to possess the flexibility and efficiency to compete in the global economy, but they will need to assure a secure, mobile, and well-trained work force that can respond to these organizational challenges. Management, workers, and unions will need to adapt and develop new mechanisms for dealing with these new structures. This article traces the emergence of the dynamic organization and suggests the shape of the new industrial relations system that network organizations will require.