TABLE OF CONTENTS If, in the 1950s, you had asked someone whether change was unusual a disruption to the everyday routine the chances are that they would have said yes . During the 1950s people talked about having a steady job , and many jobs followed a predictable routine. Of course, changes did take place organizations moved premises, people were promoted, new product lines were introduced and so on. But these could be identified as departures from the normal established pattern, to which everyone would return as soon as possible.
The situation today is very different. In all walks of life, in all trades and professions, it is very difficult to define normality. It has become normal to expect regular announcements about the following.
Mergers and takeovers.
If we want to keep up with who owns whom we must be keen students of the financial press. (Is your local electricity company now under German control? Or is it part of the same organization that delivers your water?)
Businesses closing down or opening up.
These result in many redundancies on the one hand or many new jobs on the other.
Political and economic changes, affecting millions of people.
The process of globalization, in which multinational corporations move their operations around the world and individuals travel and communicate with one another across frontiers with ease, means that events in one country can immediately affect people in other countries as never before.
| Note | Nowadays, the only thing you can say with certainty about... |
