ABSTRACT
The environmental disturbances described in the first chapter obviously have a considerable impact on human resources (HR). Combined with the Western phenomenon of an increasingly female, qualified and aging workforce, they have led to a new desire among workers for consideration, independence, communication, information and participation (Fabi, 1991; Audet and Belanger, 1994). In addition, the last ten years have seen a loss of impetus and indeed a progressive decline of unionization in Western countries, a phenomenon that is closely linked to the development of new management practices in the area of human resources (human resources management, or HRM). Small businesses offer less scope for, and are often opposed to, union ideology, and the new jobs created in large numbers by small and medium-sized businesses have generally not been unionized (Belanger and Mercier, 1994).
