ABSTRACT
As organizations move into the twenty-first century, they face a critical challenge: how to compete globally and survive. The world has truly become a global village, and ultimately organizational survival will occur beyond national boundaries. Sources for productivity improvement and enhanced performance have become global commodities that can be acquired and sold on the world market. Organizations and their people are no longer constrained by national boundaries. Trading blocs such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) [and its proposed replacement, Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA)] and the European Union have significantly reduced tariffs and barriers to both trade and individuals' mobility. Free market economies struggle to replace the previous command and control economies of Central and Eastern Europe, with competitive advantage increasingly defined as a more effective utilization of a firm's human resources.
