Since the end of the Cold War -- symbolized by the collapse of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989 -- "globalization" has become the world's most controversial subject. But what does "globalization" mean?

For corporate management, the key elements of globalization include the following: (1) the need to prioritize and allocate scarce resources strategically in the face of fading political boundaries and expanding market opportunities around the world; (2) demand-side factors, including the need for companies to respond quickly and effectively to heightened consumer and user requirements; (3) supply-side factors, including competitors' accelerating pace of mergers, consolidations, joint ventures and strategic alliances; (4) government policies, especially liberalization and deregulation; (5) rapid technological advances, especially in information technology; and (6) changes in the labor market.

Although much attention has been devoted to the political, economic and technological aspects of globalization, relatively little serious attention has been given to the "soft," human dimensions of the subject. In many ways, however, the globalization of the workforce is profoundly important, both as a cause and as an effect of globalization. That is, globalization is leading to rapid changes in the labor market, but these changes themselves are in turn accelerating globalization.