Change management in social and labor relations during the emergence of a new economy

This chapter explores how the forming of a network economy influences social and labor relations. In general, information technologies and a network economy significantly alter and complicate the structure of social and labor relations. Effective partnership and cooperation are becoming essential and increasingly important for actors in social and labor relations. The chapter identifies the organizational foundations and principles of social and labor relations in the emerging new economy. It reviews the influence of cultural values on how networked social and labor relations are formed. The chapter considers ways to solve problems in the field of social and labor relations on both organizational and theoretical levels. The way out of the puzzle, which a globalizing economy creates for employees, is self-organization. The chapter describes a new technique of understanding social and labor relations in an organization based on an extended systems approach.