Introduction: The Making of the Modern Organisation: From the First to the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Business organisations are not abstract philosophical concepts. They comprise people who direct, manage, and work to achieve agreed goals or objectives. They have systems and processes that operate in diverse structural forms. And they flex and change in response to both internal and external forces. It is towards this latter point that attention is being turned because a Fourth Industrial Revolution is transforming almost every aspect of economy and society in a new phase of development in the modern capitalist world. Clusters of powerful technologies are spawning new industries and reshaping others. It is a time for innovation and reimagining how people live and work, the type of organisation in which they work, and the business model by which value is added. The Making of the Modern Organisation will chart the course of organisational dynamics in business enterprises over the first Three Industrial Revolutions and will seek points of learning in respect of design as organisations face the challenges of the Fourth.