For several years, the issue of trust has drawn the attention of organizational theorists for the study of intra and inter organizational relations. Trust is also of interest to practioners because it could possibly improve the social climate within enterprises, reduce complexity and uncertainty, andallow better predictions. In this article, the authors briefly present Giddens' work (1) and establish the link between trust, management practices and surveillance (2). They then develop an explanation of the transformation of social organization in modernity (3), explain and qualify the efforts to build trust in modernity and late modernity (4), examine trust in late modernity (5), and analyze management practices in the light of modernity's forces and institutions (6). In conclusion, the authors critically reassess trust and reflect on possible future research hypotheses and interventions to sustain the development of trust in organizations.