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.

The best-kept secret in corporate life is the vanishing act of women on their way to the top. Despite massive attention to the issue the number of women in top positions remains shockingly low. This book shows what women themselves can do to optimize their careers and how this can bring benefits to the companies and organizations they work for.

Distributed networks such as the Internet have altered the fundamental way a record is created, captured, accessed and managed over time. Law and ethics provide the major sources of regulatory controls over participants in such networks.

This book analyses the interrelationship of recordkeeping, ethics and law in terms of existing regulatory models and their application to the Internet environment. It proposes an Internet model based on the notion of a legal and social relationship as a means of identifying the legal and ethical rights and obligations of recordkeeping participants in networked transactions. Medical, business and governmental relationships within communities of common interest based on trust illustrate the practical application of the model. As legal relationships have their basis in the law of obligations found in common and civil law systems, as well as archival science, the model has a broad-based application. The relationship model also provides a unique ethical and legal approach to property, access, privacy and evidence. Most importantly, the book provides an interdisciplinary approach to Internet regulation, which contributes to closer ties between those who research, teach and work in fields of ethics, law and archival science.

Employee and manager rebellions occur more often than you might think. This book argues how important it is to take these protests seriously. The authors demonstrate that when middle managers rebel, they aren't just letting off steam, and that their acts of creative protest can even produce benefits for their companies. Rebellion can pay off!

Why is it that many women believe that working with other women is harder than working with men? A clue: it's not because women actually are harder to work with. After decades of working to help women to succeed at work, Andie Kramer and Al Harris noticed the same thing over and over again: Women's relationships with other women are causing conflict in the workplace and this is hindering careers across the board. Their research demonstrates that at the root of these clashes lie stereotypes, toxic assumptions and societal expectations about how women should behave. Through extensive research and hundreds of interviews, Andie and Al have identified the most fraught scenarios of women working for, working with, supervising, and collaborating with other women. It's Not You, It's the Workplace provides practical, immediately usable techniques that will allow women to develop strong networks that will foster their career success and organizations to structure their policies and practices - unlocking the potential of women in team situations. The companies that succeed in the future will be those where bias no longer blocks women's career satisfaction or advancement to leadership.

This book is about the "leadership illusion"; the habit of writers, researchers and leaders, when considering causes of success or failure, to focus mainly on the individual and often the context but rarely both. This book argues that context and individual are inextricably linked and we first must make sense of the context in which leaders operate.

Corporate social responsibility has become a heavily discussed topic in business ethics. Identifying some generally accepted moral principles as a basis for discussion, Individuals, Groups, and Business Ethics examines ethical dimensions of our relationships with families, friends and workmates, the extent to which we have obligations as members of teams and communities, and how far ethics may ground our commitments to organisations and countries. It offers an innovative analysis that differentiates amongst our genuine ethical obligations to individuals, counterfeit obligations to identity groups, and complex role-based obligations in organised groups. It suggests that often individuals need intuitive moral judgment developed by experience, reflection and dialogue to identify the individual obligations that emerge for them in complex group situations. These situations include some where people have to discern what their organisations' corporate social responsibilities imply for them as individuals, and other situations where individuals have to deal with conflicts amongst their obligations or with efforts by other people to exploit them. This book gives an integrated, analytical account of how our obligations are grounded, provides a major theoretical case study of such ethical processes in action, and then considers some extended implications.

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.

This is a comprehensive, practical and engaging book designed to help readers to recognise bullying behaviour at work and identify and select inter-personal strategies for handling bullying behaviour.

In the bestseller A Woman's Place is in the Boardroom the authors described the problem, gave comprehensive views of how it looked from both sides, and presented the arguments for positive change. This book is all about the 'how to'. It takes all the arguments and analysis of the first book, and focuses on how to apply it and what to do.

This book from the acclaimed management writer Adrian Furnham, explores the dark side of leadership and how and why leaders can have a negative impact upon their companies and organisations. It asks why too often people do not speak out but instead ignore the problems they are causing.

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.

Do you want to acquire the knowledge and skills to give you greater influence in political situations at work? Perhaps you want to make sense of the political behaviour you see around you. Or maybe you want to acquire a set of effective tools to help you work more productively in a political workplace. If so, this book is for you.

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.

No Fear highlights two challenges we face in the workplace, and in our daily lives. Firstly,how to free ourselves from fear and secondly, how to avoid managing through fear. This extraordinary book is a journey through fear, and how to dispel it, that will help the reader recognize the emotion in the workplace as well as in their own lives.

Growing numbers of us work not only from home, but from anywhere; job flexibility has become a key requirement for employers and workers alike. This, in turn, has created new challenges for architects and designers - many of whom themselves start out working from home - who are tackling demand head on with innovative solutions that allow clients to transform their spaces to suit a wide range of needs, from multifunctional studios to homes that seamlessly combine work and family life. Divided into five thematic sections, this book explores the exciting variety of ways that the workplace can be integrated into the domestic environment. From stand-alone multifunctional furniture to mobile room dividers and dynamic solutions that fold out or pop up to create new work areas, each design addresses the unique needs of the space, client and working practices for which it was required, and tackles new questions about the rapidly evolving relationship between work and domestic life in the 21st century. This essential and timely resource for homeworkers and practitioners offers fresh ideas for how to strike the perfect balance between living and working at home.

The authors review Chinese values and characteristics using Western strategic thinking to understand the new perspective. This book will enable the global practitioner, Western or Eastern, to develop this new world-view and to avoid only taking leads from global standardization, especially of regulatory and legal environments.

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.

This book is specifically aimed at German-speaking secretaries, PAs, and management assistants who need to speak English in their daily work. This book enables you to deal with a range of challenging situations in the most effective and efficient way. It provides guidelines, models, and expressions contextualised in realistic situations that you can dip into on a need-to basis.

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.

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.

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.