Introduction

The impacts on organizations and policies of a growing 'Global and European Polity', the main subject of this book, are related to questions of business and policy innovation. Of course, the very existence or development of such polities is disputed and needs further analysis. And although the overall impact of such different phenomena as globalizations and internationalizations are uncertain, there is no doubt that they will influence the human condition (Bauman 1998). On the global and international scale there are challenges that cause contingencies relevant to all types of organizations; private businesses, non-profit businesses and public institutions have no other way to go than to deal with these contingencies in an explicit way. This urges them to take account of the dependencies in the wider environment and to deal with these as strategically as possible. Nowadays, a substantial part of the core business of complex organizations is the organization, management and performance of its reciprocal relations to the ever changing context. In business, as well as in politics and government, and in spatial and environmental policy, the well-known decision-making models of the past - which invariably were based on a rather homogeneous conceptualization of problems and goals, of solutions and effects – no longer suffice. The Weberian bureaucracy is no longer the only model of reference for the style of administration in complex organizations. Concepts and approaches like just-in-time management (JIT), lean production, portfolio management, and business process redesign attempt to deal with the new challenges in the context of the organization. Administrative innovations, developed under the label of New Public Management and on private business administration and other economic instrumentalism, are to make public policies more effective. And, next to the ideology of 'corporate governance', 'government governance' seems to be promoted. Of course, in politics and public administration the responsiveness, the legitimization and the accountability of the policy are still key issues. However, in managing complex organizations – public as well as private – one can no longer discard the private goals, aspirations and well-being of the 16personnel. Therefore, getting people to say 'yes' is as important in business as it is in public policy. In order to be successful top-down policy-making and hierarchical corporate structures are being replaced by flexible structures and negotiating procedures. New concepts like autopoiesis, selfcontrolled steering, concerted action, the learning organization, open planning, mediation strategies, and win-win situations are introduced like new fashion lines.