The dominant form of globalisation, i.e. financial globalisation, is the biggest challenge for employees and their representations of interest. If it remains largely unregulated, not only the natural resources will be destroyed, but also social sustainability will be prevented. The negative effects of this development are first of all to be felt on the local and regional level. It is here, therefore, where counter initiatives and strategies have to start. The quality of life and working-life has not necessarily increased through globalisation and the New Economy, though the possibilities of improved communication via email and Internet were positively acknowledged. The biggest challenge is the increasing inequality on a global scale, which is produced so far by the New Economy. As education contributes to enlarge this gap, it has to be adapted to the new social needs to overcome this polarisation. The ongoing development must be reversed: Real needs demand more spending for public than for private consumption. Intermediate organisations can play a positive role in this process.

This book is published during a phase of crisis and transformation for the automobile industry across the world; this crisis is particularly acute in Europe and the United States. The book is written especially for the non-specialist with more than a passing interest in the sector, such as experts of other sectors, trade unionists, representatives of the corporate world, policymakers and public managers who deal with industry, commerce and public planning. The authors provide up-to-date information and assessments of what is actually taking place, with particular attention paid to the sub-supply companies. The main focus lies on four European countries, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Italy, each of which is significant for its different experiences. Finally, three important non-European situations, the United States, Brazil and Japan, are examined.

Given the catastrophic history of the 'short 20th century' (Hobsbawm), the crucial question facing the new millennium-all over the world-is that of the future social as well as political development. At the centre of our engagement with this question should lie reflections on participatory forms of democratisation in as many societies around the globe as possible, so as to make globalisation more than simply an economic theme. Such reflections - as the contributions in this book show - from this perspective would also examine the possible ways in which relations might be constituted within political socialisation, participation and education. These concepts are in turn to be explored in the substantive discussions of 'democracy' and 'democratisation' in relation to individuals as well as political systems. If educational policy is social policy, if a democratic society demands citizens who are educated and thus capable of political action, the themes 'Political Education' and 'Political Socialisation' need to be addressed anew, and this is equally important for a rethinking of the future of the 'political' more generally. The contributions to the book contribute to a challenging debate.

Frankfurt/M., Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien. Work - Technology - Organization - Society. Vol. 17 General Editors: Wiking Ehlert and Gyorgy Szell

This book presents the best contributions and some more invited papers of a Conference which was organised at the University of Durban-Westville in South Africa by the Research Committee 10 � Participation, Organisational Democracy & Self-Management of the International Sociological Association, and the South African Sociological Association, from 1 to 5 October 2000. The nineteen contributions come from Africa, America and Europe and cover the topic in an interdisciplinary way. A major concern within the process of globalisation being democratic participation and cultural diversity. A critique of this process and alternatives to it are presented with a number of case studies. Contents: Dasarath Chetty: Betwen Neo-Liberalism and Empowerment of the People in South Africa - Gyorgy Szell: Securing South Africa's Future - A View from Outside - Richard L. Harris: The Democratisation of the State and the State Bureaucracy: A Global Perspective - Antonio Lucas: El Trabajo en la Nueva Sociedad de la Informatcion (Work in the New Informational Society) - Johann Maree/Shane Godfrey: The Relationship between Participation and Performance in a South African Fish Processing Enterprise in a Context of Cultural Diversity and Globalisation - Claude Beauchamp: Cooperation, participation, culture et mondialisation en Afrique Noire (Co-operation, Participation, Culture and Globalisation in Black Africa) - Richard RuE; ika: Participation and Entrepreneurship: After Ten Years of Transformation - Volkmar Kreiig: Privatisation and the Development of New Middle Classes in Transforming Societies - A Comparison between the New Lander of Germany and Russia - Pitika P. Ntuli: Participation,Globalisation and Culture in the Era of the African Renaissance: An Overview - Heinz Sunker: Democracy, Participation and Education - Martina Hartkemeyer/Johannes F. Hartkemeyer: Dialogue - A Different Approach for Learning - Ari Sitas: Globalisation and Participation - the South African Dilemma - Louis Molamu: Black Exclusivism and Trade Unionism in South Africa: The Case of the Black Allied Workers' Union, 1973-1984 - David Hemson: Top Concord and Casual Labour - Globalisation and Livelihoods in the Durban Docks - Nora Tager: The Role of Information Technology in the Implementation of Poverty Alleviation Programmes - Priya Narismulu: On the Fringes of Democracy: Women's Participation in the Community Life of Urban Informal Settlements - Sultan Khan/David Hemson: Youth Participation in the Labour Force: Globalisation and some Critical Junctures for Youth Employment Policies in the Post-Apartheid South Africa - Fernand Sanou: La mondialisation et l'avenir de l'humanite (The Globalisation and the Future of Humanity) - Alain Chouraqui: Actors' Participation at the Core of Societal Changes and Global Challenges.

Japan has dominated over many years the discussion on corporate governance, and has even served as best practice and benchmark in this regard until the end of its Bubble Economy in the 1990s. This model was characterised as Lean Management or Toyotism. On the other side, in Europe, has the model of the Rhenanian Capitalism, i.e. Germany, largely influenced the European corporate governance structure and debate. Its main feature is its participatory approach by codetermination, Mitbestimmung, which has found its European dimension in the European Works Council, the European Society, the Social Dialogue etc. With the support of the newly constituted EU-Institute in Japan, Tokyo Consortium, located at Hitotsubashi University, the first EU-Japan Workshop on Corporate Social Responsibility took place at the Sano Shoin Conference Centre in Tokyo on 26/27 November 2004. More than 40 experts from six EU Member States (Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Sweden) as well as from Japan took part. A special focus was directed on changing wage systems as well on the role of trade unions.