Doing business is getting more and more complex. Globalisation has changed the structure and pace of corporate life; the saturation of traditional markets is taking companies to more risky places; the shift towards a knowledge economy is eroding the importance of ‘place’ in the business world; new business practices such as offshoring challenge companies to manage at a distance; and new forms of accountability, such as corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, put added pressure on companies to match their words with deeds, wherever they are operating. One response has been the shift from functional to matrix structures, where companies organise themselves into teams with diverse skills and expertise to solve specific business problems, power is devolved to the local level, and effective management relies on being able to work across the organisation through trusted networks rather than the official channels.
