In an age when large corporations dominate the economic and political landscape, it is tempting to think that their power goes largely unchecked. Originally published in 2007, Contesting the Corporation counters this view by showing that today's corporations are driven by political struggle, power plays and attempts to resist control. Building on a wide range of theoretical sources, Fleming and Spicer present an analysis of the different ways in which power operates within the modern workplace. They begin by building a theoretical perspective that synthesizes previous investigations of power and resistance, identifying struggle as a key concept. Each chapter illustrates a different dimension of workplace struggle through an array of original empirical studies relating to sexuality, cynicism, new social movements and new-wave trade unionism. The book concludes by demonstrating that social justice claims underlie even the most innocuous forms of resistance, helping to transform some of the largest modern corporations.

We're now within the golden age of bullshit and whether we like it or not, we are being constantly bombarded with lies, fakery, and spin. This is especially true of the workplace. By using humor as well as test cases like Enron, this book exposes the techniques used by liars and shows how damaging they are to business. Find out about the various degrees of deceit, how to spot a liar, and how lying is used at every level at work. If you think your company is fraud-free, then you'll be one of the 80 percent of companies who believe that's the case. The only problem is that in a recent study, some 45 percent of companies found cases of fraud within their own staff. There's a bullshitter sitting near you now . . .

Tackles the nuts and bolts of communication at work in a no-nonsense way with startling honesty and practical tips. The authors' views are supported by comment from an impressive line up of experts whose communication strategies drive a range of successful organizations. For all those who struggle to make themselves heard in the business world

Many managers are frustrated by a bewildering array of advice about what works in the workplace. This volume contributes to a growing consensus about effective workplace practices. The collection combines detailed studies of single industries (automobile assembly, apparel, and machine tools) with cross-industry studies of financial performance. Compared to most past investigations, the research here has better measures of both workplace practices and organizational performance. The contributors find that systems of innovative human resource management practices can have large effects on business performance. Success does not come from any single innovation, but from a coherent system encompassing pay, training, and employee involvement. Although a majority of contemporary US businesses now have adopted some innovative work practices, only a small percentage of businesses have adopted a coherent new system. A concluding chapter outlines barriers to diffusion and discusses public policies to remove barriers and enhance dissemination of effective management.

How to Leverage Talent You Don't Own Campbell Soup Company and PepsiCo seek advice from anthropologists to understand customer tastes and preferences. Google and Intel engage experts in social science and biomechanics to assess how people think about and use technology. Companies are gaining advantage through a new capability--strategic use of external experts--made possible by technology and the globalization of talent. Leaders everywhere recognize that "lean," "agile," and "fast" strategies require new ways to access and leverage--without owning--key talent to fill critical gaps. As managers seek nontraditional sources of strategic talent and experiment with fast, flexible ways of engaging these experts, they need a new roadmap. This book delivers that roadmap. It tells you how to assess, choose, attract, develop, support, and retain your external talent. Authored by thought leaders and bestselling authors in leadership and talent management who teach and consult globally, Agile Talent reveals how companies such as Apple, Uber, Airbnb, Google, IBM, and Bain Capital organize and manage new forms of talent in innovative ways. Supported by survey data and packed with tools and templates for applying these ideas, this book is the ultimate guide for winning the next war for talent.

Inspired by the work of the philosopher Judith Butler, influenced by Marx's theory of alienation and intrigued by theories of death, this book develops an anti-methodological approach to studying working lives. Distinctions are drawn between labour (the tasks we do in our jobs) and work (self-making activities that are carried out at the workplace): between the less than human, zombie-like laborer and the working human self. Nancy Harding argues that the experience of being at work is one in which the insistence on practising one's humanity always provides a counter-point to organisational demands.

Doch die Kunst des Fragens als Grundkompetenz fur Fuhrungskrafte ist ein unterbelichtetes Feld. Andreas Patrzek, Fuhrungskraftetrainer, Berater und Dozent, hat immer wieder festgestellt, dass es Fuhrungskraften an einer effektiven Fragetechnik mangelt. Die richtigen Fragen sind jedoch Grundlage jeder strategisch wirksamen Gesprachsfuhrung. Jenseits manipulativer Ansatze, die es in der Managementliteratur genugend gibt, geht es Patrzek um ein Verstandnis dessen, was wir wirklich tun, wenn wir kommunizieren. Gut Fragen will gelernt sein.

One of the start-up world's most in-demand executive coaches-hailed as the "CEO Whisperer" (Gimlet Media)-reveals why radical self-inquiry is critical to professional success and healthy relationships in all realms of life. Jerry Colonna helps start-up CEOs make peace with their demons, the psychological habits and behavioral patterns that have helped them to succeed-molding them into highly accomplished individuals-yet have been detrimental to their relationships and ultimate well-being. Now, this venture capitalist turned executive coach shares his unusual yet highly effective blend of Buddhism, Jungian therapy, and entrepreneurial straight talk to help leaders overcome their own psychological traumas. Reboot is a journey of radical self-inquiry, helping you to reset your life by sorting through the emotional baggage that is holding you back professionally, and even more important, in your relationships. Jerry has taught CEOs and their top teams to realize their potential by using the raw material of their lives to find meaning, to build healthy interpersonal bonds, and to become more compassionate and bold leaders. In Reboot, he inspires everyone to hold themselves responsible for their choices and for the possibility of truly achieving their dreams. Work does not have to destroy us. Work can be the way in which we achieve our fullest self, Jerry firmly believes. What we need, sometimes, is a chance to reset our goals and to reconnect with our deepest selves and with each other. Reboot moves and empowers us to begin this journey.

Twice as Good is a guide for women of color to harness their power to lead across all areas of work life, take a stand on issues that matter to them and leverage their distinctive capacity for building inclusivity and community now. With the emergence of the #MeToo, #TimesUp, and #BlackLivesMatter movements, as well as the election of the most diverse and female Congress in history, America is experiencing a referendum on what power and leadership looks like. Women of color are the answer to that referendum and uniquely positioned to assume powerful roles in the country. But first, is to be honest about the misogyny and racism that women of color experience at work and in their lives. In Twice as Good, Dr. Mary J. Wardell, an expert on diversity in the workplace and women of color in leadership, writes a stirring call-to-action for women of color who are ready to step into their power. Twice as Good shows women of color: Why their work community needs them to be the courageous leader The truth about why others fail to recognize the leadership capacity of women of color Ways to bring their passion and perspective into work to advance their leadership Stories from women of color who successfully aligned their personal power and cultural identity into their leadership Practices for taking the necessary steps to becoming a leader

A common metaphor for modern life is "keep the plates spinning," but it is becoming increasingly hard to balance professional and private lives, and this takes its toll. The authors examine the working relationship between the organisation and employee, and establish new ways that managers can broker a better deal for all concerned.

In an age when large corporations dominate the economic and political landscape, it is tempting to think that their power goes largely unchecked. Originally published in 2007, Contesting the Corporation counters this view by showing that today's corporations are driven by political struggle, power plays and attempts to resist control. Building on a wide range of theoretical sources, Fleming and Spicer present an analysis of the different ways in which power operates within the modern workplace. They begin by building a theoretical perspective that synthesizes previous investigations of power and resistance, identifying struggle as a key concept. Each chapter illustrates a different dimension of workplace struggle through an array of original empirical studies relating to sexuality, cynicism, new social movements and new-wave trade unionism. The book concludes by demonstrating that social justice claims underlie even the most innocuous forms of resistance, helping to transform some of the largest modern corporations.

This sweeping survey of the history of work, from hunter-gatherers to dotcom telecommuters, deftly compresses thousands of years of human evolution into an incisive volume that the Toronto 'Globe & Mail' calls "a page turner of a book." It is a book about work, about the organization and management of work, but it is also a book about people.

Furious customers? Missed deadlines? Failed products? The problems your business faces may stem from a single issue: lack of empathy. Being empathetic at work means seeing the situation from another's perspective, and using that vantage point to shape your leadership style, workplace culture, and branding strategy. Pairing her knowledge as a branding expert with proven research and fascinating stories from executives, change-makers and community leaders, Maria Ross reveals exactly how empathy makes brands and organizations stronger and more successful. Ross shows why your business needs to cultivate more empathy now, and shares the habits and traits of empathetic leaders who foster more productivity and loyalty. She gives practical tips, big and small, for how to align your mission and values and hire the right people, cultivating a more empathetic-and innovative-workplace culture. Finally, she gives you the goods on building your empathetic brand in an authentic and proactive way, and shows how doing so results in happier customers, innovative work cultures and increased profits. In this practical playbook for businesses of all types, Maria Ross proves that empathy is not just good for society-it's great for business, and may transform you at a personal level, too.

'A howl of feminist rage, but also one that is pure fun' Stylist The wives here are different. They are living proof that women can have it all: successful careers, loving families, beautiful homes. Their husbands are different too. They are living proof that men can do just as much as women. They can remember the kids' schedules, use an iron and notice when the house needs dusting. Nora thinks she's found the perfect new home for her family. But when she agrees to get involved in a wrongful death case in the neighbourhood, Nora becomes convinced that there's a dark secret at the heart of this perfect world. For these women, it seems the secret to having it all is worth killing for . . . 'This gender-swapping Stepford Wives story is as creepy as it is delicious' Good Housekeeping

Straight-talk at work Grumblings in offices everywhere suggest that we crave more, but don't get often enough of it. "Beyond Bullsh*t" reveals the dynamics of bullsh*t and why it has become the corporate etiquette of choice. It also explains how telling it straight contributes to personal well-being and business success.
After decades of research and consulting, Samuel A. Culbert is convinced that straight-talk at work "is" possible. But it requires more than luck and willing people. Straight-talk is the product of thoughtful, caring relationships, built upon trust and commitment. There's no greater contribution to operational effectiveness and success than conversations in which people with conflicting viewpoints discuss their differences forthrightly.
Readers will be engaged and delighted as the text demystifies the obstacles to getting beyond bullsh*t and guides them in developing straight-talk relationships. Further details are available at www.straighttalkatwork.com.

The expanding application of Concept Mapping includes its role in knowledge elicitation, institutional memory preservation, and ideation. With the advent of the CmapTools knowledge modeling software kit, Concept Mapping is being applied with increased frequency and success to address a variety of problems in the workplace. Supported by business application case studies, Applied Concept Mapping: Capturing, Analyzing, and Organizing Knowledge offers an accessible introduction to the theory, methods, and application of Concept Mapping in business and government. The case studies illustrate applications across a range of industries--including engineering, product development, defense, and healthcare. The authors provide access to a free download of CmapTools, courtesy of the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, to enable readers to create and share their own Concept Maps. Offering examples from the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, Brazil, Scotland, and The Netherlands, they highlight a global perspective of this dynamic tool. The text is organized into three sections: 1. Practitioners' Views--supplies narratives, guidance, and reviews of applications from career Concept Mappers 2. Recent Case Studies and Results--presents in-depth examinations of specific applications and their results 3. Pushing the Boundaries--explores what's possible and where the boundary conditions lie Applied Concept Mapping facilitates the fundamental understanding needed to harness the power of Concept Mapping to develop viable solutions to a virtually unlimited number of real-world problems.

A lone inventor and the story of how one of the most revolutionary inventions of the twentieth century almost didn't happen. Introduced in 1960, the first plain-paper office copier is unusual among major high-technology inventions in that its central process was conceived by a single person. Chester Carlson grew up in unspeakable poverty, worked his way through junior college and the California Institute of Technology, and made his discovery in solitude in the depths of the Great Depression. He offered his big idea to two dozen major corporations -- among them IBM, RCA, and General Electric -- all of which turned him down. So persistent was this failure of capitalistic vision that by the time the Xerox 914 was manufactured, by an obscure photographic-supply company in Rochester, New York, Carlson's original patent had expired. Xerography was so unusual and nonintuitive that it conceivably could have been overlooked entirely. Scientists who visited the drafty warehouses where the first machines were built sometimes doubted that Carlson's invention was even theoretically feasible. Building the first plain-paper office copier -- with parts scrounged from junkyards, cleaning brushes made of hand-sewn rabbit fur, and a built-in fire extinguisher -- required the persistence, courage, and imagination of an extraordinary group of physicists, engineers, and corporate executives whose story has never before been fully told. Copies in Seconds is a tale of corporate innovation and risk-taking at its very best.

Employment Relations is widely taught in business schools around the world. However, an increasing emphasis is being placed on the comparative and international dimensions of the relationships between employers and workers. It is becoming crucial to consider today's work and employment issues alongside the dynamics between global financial and product markets, global production chains, national and international employment actors and institutions, and the ways in which these relationships play out in different national contexts. Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy addresses this need by presenting a cross-section of country studies - including the UK, Germany, USA, Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa - alongside integrative thematic chapters covering essential topics such as theoretical approaches, collective representation and employment regulation. This second edition benefits from: Careful updates to theory and real-life developments Fuller treatment of topics such as labour migration, gender and discrimination, global value chains and corporate governance A more logical ordering of chapters, with globalization issues appearing earlier This textbook is the perfect resource for students on advanced undergraduate and postgraduate comparative and international programmes across areas such as employment relations, industrial relations, human resource management, political economy, labour politics, industrial and economic sociology, regulation and social policy.

Straight-talk at work Grumblings in offices everywhere suggest that there is not much that we crave more, but don't get often enough. Beyond Bullsh*t reveals the dynamics of bullsh*t and why it has become the corporate etiquette of choice. It also explains how telling it straight contributes to personal well-being and business success. This book is for people who wonder what it's going to take to get rid of the constant deception and obfuscation that, at the end of the work day, leaves them feeling beaten up, confused, and even a little dirty. It is also for the people greeting them at home, wondering, What's going on that takes such a toll? Pressed for an answer, many explain it's all the bullsh*t I have to endure. Even people who disdain deception find themselves involved in it. They bullsh*t at work. After decades of research and consulting, Samuel A. Culbert is convinced that straight-talk at work is possible. But it requires more than luck and willing people. Straight-talk is the product of thoughtful, caring relationships built upon trust and a commitment to look out for one another's success. Culbert describes this brand of truthfulness as a caring, other-sensitive, candor-on-demand, loyalty-producing, intimacy-escalating, give-and-take relationship, leading to enhanced personal and organizational productivity. From an organizational perspective, there's no greater contribution to operational effectiveness and success than conversations in which people with conflicting viewpoints discuss their differences forthrightly. Readers will find this book personal--which is unusual for a business book; they will think that many of the stories are about them.They will be engaged and delighted as the text demystifies the obstacles to getting beyond bullsh*t, and guides them in developing straight-talk relationships at work. N.B.: One pending blurb--Robert Sutton

70% of the American workforce is disengaged. With every tick of the clock, millions of people inch closer to their breaking points-a growing epidemic of apathy and anxiety in the workplace that is affecting life outside of the office. But meaningful work-life integration is possible. In Shift the Work, Joe Mechlinski, the New York Times bestselling author of Grow Regardless, shares his personal journey to find purpose, and how it influenced him to take a deeper dive into the science of human behavior. Inspired by neuroscience research about the connections between the brains in the head, heart, and gut that drive human perspectives and conduct, Joe shares how everyone can re-engage with their work and impact the world. Shift the Work is filled with actionable strategies and inspiring true stories. It is an indispensable guide that motivates readers to seek fulfilling opportunities, reconnect with their passions, and recognize their power to make a difference.

A step-by-step workbook to turn any job into your dream job In Own It. Love It. Make It Work., renowned productivity consultant Carson Tate revealed why many of us are not engaged in our jobs-and offered a new strategy to take ownership of our careers, lives, and happiness. Now, she shows you exactly how to put her ideas into practice with a companion workbook that clearly guides you through the process. Designed to work hand-in-hand with Own It. Love It Make It Work., the Workbook supplements each chapter with exercises, guidance, and tools to execute Tate's strategy seamlessly. You'll navigate through each concept based on your own situation and personal career goals. In addition to complementary material, the workbook also features entirely new content, including: * Questions to help you clarify your career goals and what you need to be engaged and fulfilled * Concepts that you and your colleagues can explore together * A revealing quiz that will show you which action step to take first, second, third, until you have your dream job * Hands-on practices to cultivate happiness and well being * How trust and purpose can become the bedrock of your professional life A practical tool kit to leverage your unique strengths, skills and talents and custom-build your career, this all-new workbook offers you a refreshing opportunity for a radical realignment of your work, your goals, and your entire life.

Although work furniture has had so much more attention recently there is a long way to go before this is translated into action in the wider world. Increased international concern for the health and safety of people at work is one of the driving forces behind this book.; The Science of Seating brings together researchers in ergonomics and posture with industrial designers, to review and assess the current state of chair design, with implications for cultural, behavioural and occupational aspects of health. The contributions are a significant step in the science of seating and should lead to a better understanding of the mechanics, dynamics and the effects of seating on the sitter.; They point to ways in which seats might become easier-to-use and adjust, offering both comfort and postural support without compromising freedom of movement: and in the not-too-distant furture, "the intelligent chair" will "remember" the sitter's preferences for position, cushiness and so on.; Topics covered include: Adjustability, Anthropometics, Posture, Back Pain, Biomechanics, Seat Pressure Distributions, School children, Special Needs of Users, Design Applications, Industry Perspectives, VDT Standards.; It is aimed at researchers and practising seating designers, ergonomists, design engineers, occupational health workers and physiotherapists and furniture manufacturers.

People at Work is noted sociologist Marjorie L. DeVault's groundbreaking collection of original essays on the complexities of the modern-day workplace. By focusing on the lived experiences of the worker, not as an automaton on an assembly line, but as an embodied human of flesh and bone, these essays offer important insight on the realities of the workplace, and their effects on life at home and in communities. With contributions from some of today's top scholars, each essay is a detailed case study of a different aspect of the working world.

Compelling, lively, and sometimes chilling, the contributors address issues from disability rights to immigrant labor, welfare reforms to budget cuts, competition to personal motivations. Each one valuable on its own, the essays in People at Work combine to illuminate the hurdles that workers of all backgrounds struggle with and, more broadly, the impact of change on workers' lives in the new, increasingly global, economy.

Gaining a thorough understanding of today's complex workplace is of vital importance to both business professionals and academics-not only because it leads to a deeper understanding of individual motivation in the work context, but also because it reveals ways in which work practices can be improved. This requirement for both understanding and action has become especially pressing in the area of "learning in organizations" as businesses have become ever more "knowledge-based." There is now an urgent need to comprehend how people and organizations learn, and then to store and transfer the resulting new knowledge to facilitate the design of work environments and practices. Learning from Work directly addresses this growing workplace need by examining how people communicate and learn in one of the most complex of industry structures: the automobile industry. It is the very nature of this industry's complexity that makes this study so valuable. The combination of global scale, plus the nature of the relationships between the manufacturers and the dealerships (the dealerships are independent businesses that are only loosely coupled to the manufacturers) make the barriers to communication and learning quite high, and make the solutions to overcoming them applicable in many different work environments. Anne Beamish suggests that the only way is to increase learning and improve collaboration and communication in complex organizations is to apply design thinking. This is the only comprehensive method, she claims, that can unleash the kind of innovative and effective solutions required to overcome the inherent structural, procedural, and political barriers.