Chpt 1 & 2 The changing concept of employment
Global changes now and in the future
1. Ever-increasing economic globalization has led to the emergence of what he
labels “Earth Inc.” An integrated holistic entity with a new and different
relationship to capital, labor, consumer markets, and national governments
than in the past.
2. The worldwide digital communications, Internet, and computer revolutions
have led to the emergence of “the Global Mind”, which links the thoughts and
feelings of billions of people and connects intelligent machines, robots,
ubiquitous sensors, and databases.
3. The balance of global political, economic, and military power is shifting more
profoundly than at any time in the last five hundred years—from a U.S.-
centered system to one with multiple emerging centers of power, from nation-
states to private actors, and from political systems to markets.
, 4. A deeply flawed economic compass is leading us to unsustainable growth in
consumption, pollution flows, and depletion of the planet’s strategic resources
of topsoil, freshwater, and living species.
5. Genomic, biotechnology, neuroscience, and life sciences revolutions are
radically transforming the fields of medicine, agriculture, and molecular
science—and are putting control of evolution in human hands.
6. There has been a radical disruption of the relationship between human beings
and the earth’s ecosystems, along with the beginning of a revolutionary
transformation of energy systems, agriculture, transportation, and construction
worldwide
HR consequences of global change
1. From a production- to a service-economy.
2. Fragmentation of labour-arrangements (contracts)
- Application of types of labour-contracts increases rapidly.
Before 2008 the labour-contracts in the Western world were dominantly “fixed
labour”contracts (for an indefinite period with legal protection(in case of firing)
and social security arrangements included like: pension-arrangement;
disability insurance; health insurance)
- In this period there’s a rapid growth of:
Temporary labour-contracts
(contracts from a couple of months to several years)
Agency temporaries (from agents like “Randstad” see the next slide)
(contracts from several weeks to several months)
The workers of an agent are employees of that agency and the responsibilty of
the HRM-department of that agency.
The company that contracted the agency only evaluates the price/value offer.
This is normally the responsability of a the procurement discipline/department
Sub-contracting (arrangements with other companies to realise part of the
core business-processes)
for example (Apple subcontract the production of
i-phones and i-pads to Foxconn in China)
3. Fast speed of (technological) developments changes the perspective of
international companies
4. Concentration of Multi National Companies
5. Fragmentation of structure & labour in companies (outsourcing & off-shoring)
Concentration of companies
Examples in various industrial branches:
Steel industry:
Car industry:
Building Airplanes
Conglomerates
Global changes now and in the future
1. Ever-increasing economic globalization has led to the emergence of what he
labels “Earth Inc.” An integrated holistic entity with a new and different
relationship to capital, labor, consumer markets, and national governments
than in the past.
2. The worldwide digital communications, Internet, and computer revolutions
have led to the emergence of “the Global Mind”, which links the thoughts and
feelings of billions of people and connects intelligent machines, robots,
ubiquitous sensors, and databases.
3. The balance of global political, economic, and military power is shifting more
profoundly than at any time in the last five hundred years—from a U.S.-
centered system to one with multiple emerging centers of power, from nation-
states to private actors, and from political systems to markets.
, 4. A deeply flawed economic compass is leading us to unsustainable growth in
consumption, pollution flows, and depletion of the planet’s strategic resources
of topsoil, freshwater, and living species.
5. Genomic, biotechnology, neuroscience, and life sciences revolutions are
radically transforming the fields of medicine, agriculture, and molecular
science—and are putting control of evolution in human hands.
6. There has been a radical disruption of the relationship between human beings
and the earth’s ecosystems, along with the beginning of a revolutionary
transformation of energy systems, agriculture, transportation, and construction
worldwide
HR consequences of global change
1. From a production- to a service-economy.
2. Fragmentation of labour-arrangements (contracts)
- Application of types of labour-contracts increases rapidly.
Before 2008 the labour-contracts in the Western world were dominantly “fixed
labour”contracts (for an indefinite period with legal protection(in case of firing)
and social security arrangements included like: pension-arrangement;
disability insurance; health insurance)
- In this period there’s a rapid growth of:
Temporary labour-contracts
(contracts from a couple of months to several years)
Agency temporaries (from agents like “Randstad” see the next slide)
(contracts from several weeks to several months)
The workers of an agent are employees of that agency and the responsibilty of
the HRM-department of that agency.
The company that contracted the agency only evaluates the price/value offer.
This is normally the responsability of a the procurement discipline/department
Sub-contracting (arrangements with other companies to realise part of the
core business-processes)
for example (Apple subcontract the production of
i-phones and i-pads to Foxconn in China)
3. Fast speed of (technological) developments changes the perspective of
international companies
4. Concentration of Multi National Companies
5. Fragmentation of structure & labour in companies (outsourcing & off-shoring)
Concentration of companies
Examples in various industrial branches:
Steel industry:
Car industry:
Building Airplanes
Conglomerates
