In our current turbulent economic environment, to be successful, firms must be flexible. They must be able to shift production and resources to meet changing markets and customer demand. Therefore, they must have employees that possess the skill and training to perform a variety of different tasks. Historically, a lack of employee flexibility has been the cause of the downfall of a number of organisations.
On a broader front, the implementation flexible workforce, or lack there of, could be the difference in competing on the international stage, particularly with the advent of globalization. Thus, 'labour market flexibility,' as a theoretical framework, is an issue that holds great significance in the analysis and assessment of the impact of globalization on labour market changes.
From the Australian perspective, labour market flexibility has become more evident through the decentralisation of the industrial relations system, the reduction of collective arrangements, the declining density of trade unions, the rise in numerically flexible employment arrangements and the erosion of the "model" employer role of the government.…
