Team: Ángela Gallifa

The evolution of the economy is subject to changes in the environment and in companies. These changes entail the need to adapt by seeking new forms of organization. Knowing the trends, the problems and the company’s real economic environment is an imperative need for business professionals.

The development of technology allows new organizational forms that give rise to decentralized phenomena such as temporary employment, telework or home employment. These forms create challenges for processes of selection, recruitment, training, maintenance, evaluation and development of people comprising part of the organization. Research on defining these challenges and how best to handle them can contribute to preventing failures that hinder the use of such employment forms in an appropriate manner.

What do we recommend?
Companies must adapt to changes in the market through new organizational formulas facilitated by the use of new technology that give rise to different interpersonal relations and, consequently, new problems in management systems. The flexibility necessary to respond to accelerated change and the need for agile structures urgently call for networks, outsourcing and temporary labor relations. Proof of this is the boom of Temporary Employment Agencies, telework and home employment... These innovative forms of employment and organization also influence people motivation processes. Knowing about these changes is an indispensable requirement for improving management performance.

Solutions
Concern about these phenomena is expressed in the following research projects at IRCO:

• Analysis of the effects of new work forms, especially telework, in processes of profile design, selection, types of employment contracts, maintenance, evaluation, promotion, etc.

• Analysis of internet organization and outsourcing, their effects on individual motivation, interpersonal relations and management processes. The problems of communication via internet and the effects of over-saturation of information.

• Study of the motivation of temporary workers and especially of workers provided by temporary employment agencies.

• Along the same lines, analysis of motivational problems and their effect on interpersonal relations in home employment and telework.

• With respect to the two matters described above, how can we integrate employees in this situation into the organizational culture? And is the current motivational paradigm valid?