Content area
Full Text
Abstract:
In recent years, in the debate both of economic arena and the trade unions institutions, we witnessed an increased awareness about the role of organisational change within the firms in as crucial factor for firm competitiveness in national and international markets. Various authors pointed out that those changes are connected to the transition from a complex, rigid and hierarchic enterprise to a flatter organisation, where interactions between firm divisions and top management become stronger. Such a new typology of organisation, also named learning organisation, is more reactive to external changes and able to anticipate and influence changes in the market where it operates. It adopts policies directed to the enrichment and development of competencies owned by its personnel. The increased awareness of the importance of organisational changes has contributed to emphasise the role of human resource management (HRM hereafter) and of labour as a factor of production in general.
Keywords: Organizational innovation; Organizational change; Human resource management, Organizations, employees.
There is an ongoing international debate over the way globalisation and intensified international competition are leading to a restructuring of management practices in Europe in order to achieve greater flexibility and cooperation at the workplace. A key focus in this debate has been on the diffusion of the 'lean' or 'high-performance' model, which is often presented as a new 'one best way' destined to replace fordism which emerged as the dominant organizational paradigm in the decades after the World War II .[1]
In recent years, in the debate both of economic arena and the trade unions institutions, we witnessed an increased awareness about the role of organisational change within the firms in as crucial factor for firm competitiveness in national and international markets.[9] Various authors pointed out that those changes are connected to the transition from a complex, rigid and hierarchic enterprise to a flatter organisation, where interactions between firm divisions and top management become stronger. Such a new typology of organisation, also named learning organisation, is more reactive to external changes and able to anticipate and influence changes in the market where it operates. It adopts policies directed to the enrichment and development of competencies owned by its personnel.[10] The increased awareness of the importance of organisational changes has contributed to emphasise...