ABSTRACT
There is near unanimous agreement in the management literature that new forms of work organization are emerging, and that these have been facilitated by the application of new information and communication technologies. Emergent and rapidly increasing forms of production based on telework and virtual teams have created fundamental challenges for the organization of work and its application to the enterprise. This chapter provides a framework for understanding the political, social and economic forces that have mediated the impact of new technology on the contemporary workplace. The first section raises some key issues about the spread of telework and its impact on occupations and work organization. The second section reviews the contradictory implications for organizational design and governance of computer mediated communication and distributed work settings. These assessments are intended to provide a more measured approach to the costs and benefits of the new virtual organization for the innovative capacity of both workers and the enterprise.
