Along with Peters’s list, consider some other phenomena of
the age:
- The Internet and the World Wide Web.
- Cable TV and satellite transmissions.
- Single-parent families, working mothers, one-person
households, and non-traditional families. - Exploding housing costs such that only one in five families
can afford to buy a house, in many parts of the country. - HMOs, rising patient dissatisfaction, and exploding health
and medical costs. - E-commerce.
- The litigious, adversarial character of society.
- Fractured and fragmented constituencies.
- Rising non–English-speaking and illiterate population.
- Persistent poverty, drug abuse, and homelessness.
- International terrorism.
Since the organization is now the primary social, economic,
and political form, and since business is a dominant cultural
force in America, organizations in general and business in par-
ticular must deal with these sweeping and profound alterations
in American society. Many new organizations and businesses
have been, to lesser and greater degrees, designed to function
effectively in this volatile climate. But the last great overall
transformation in American business took place between 1890
and 1910, when the modern corporation was forged. It had two
primary characteristics: multiple operating units and manage-
rial hierarchies. Clearly, it is time for another transformation,
and the key to such a transformation is the organization’s atti-
tude toward its workers.
Organizations Can Help—or Hinder