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The economic environment and the business context have undergoneunprecedented core changes in advanced economies in recent decades. Theybegan during the economic crisis of the 1970s. They were a reaction to thecrisis period and had great influence on the subsequent development of theeconomic world and on all managerial functions in companies, including peoplemanagement, which connects them all. When characterising economicchanges, among other things, we build on the ideas of Chonchol (1996) andschematically summarise them in the following three facts:%u25aa globalisation tendencies around the world and the related deregulationand liberalisation of markets %u2013 in addition to the indisputable positive effects(internationalisation of investments and production systems, entry of nationalcompanies onto international markets, direct foreign investments, grouping ofcompanies), several unfavourable facts also gradually manifested themselves.The economic world began to be dominated by oligarchies formed by elitegroups, which in individual states gained great decision-making power andcontrol outside the legitimate political and social framework. After theeconomic difficulties, especially in the second half of the 1970s, the situationbegan to change radically in terms of the role of the state in the economy andits economic policy. The dominant Keynesian thinking that spread in theprosperous post-war period was replaced by neoliberal thinking, whichmoved the state from the position of protector and guarantor of the workingenvironment, tax, and redistribution system to a position where itsinterventions began to be significantly limited. This fact was also manifestedin the privatisation of entire sectors in national economies, even public servicesectors of general economic interest, such as education, healthcare, energy,postal services, and transport. Former planned economies also dynamicallyentered the mentioned processes at the beginning of the 21st century, whichcontributed to a certain degree of their identification with the liberalisationtendencies in the public services sector, but also by the normative support oftheir liberalisation by European institutions. This created a new space forbusiness entities where they could implement and contribute to themodernisation and development of these services, which were not in the bestcondition in most countries.%u25aa technological progress and the dematerialisation of the economy %u2013 thestrength of the economy depends more and more on scientific knowledge,high tech, information, communication, advertising, and less and less onmaterial resources such as land, natural resources, and production facilities.This characteristic also has its roots in the economic crisis of the 1970s,which was mainly caused by a rise in raw material prices. The natural reaction852.3 Managing People in Europe