In this book about deception and self-deception in and beyond
the workplace, Stein portrays a psychological, ethical, cultural,
and spiritual crisis that cannot be reduced to a business crisis.
He shows how the language of economics shrouds loss, dread, rage,
despair, and brutality in the guise of rational business necessity.
For example, the act of ridding a workplace of thousands of people
has become magically, "euphemistically" transformed into an
impersonal, bottom line based exercise in downsizing and
outsourcing. As Stein explores the role of euphemism in the
official doctrines and public claims of business, he also portrays
how people experience the trauma of repeated mass layoffs, and the
constant turmoil over shifting workroles and uncertain job
security. Stein shows how the inner experience of downsizing,
reengineering, and corporate medicine becomes part of a person's
very essence and structure, not some unfortunate epiphenomenon.
Three extensive case studies--one of downsizing (and related
social engineering concepts), one of managed care, and another of
the U.S. prairie's adaptation to life afterthe Oklahoma City
bombing--provide the evidence for his interpretation. Stein
supplements these with telling analyses of the concept of spin, the
popularity of Scott Adams' "Dilbert" cartoons, George Orwell's
trenchant use of euphemism in his novels, and the web of words on
which the Nazis' extermination program was spun. He shows how our
priorities have created long-term massive social casualty for the
sake of short-term gain. Further, he shows how a widespread
cultural ethos of scarcity and callousness transcends the
boundaries of workplace and business. He calls for an ethical
awakening from our self-deceptions and the social harm we have done
in the name of good business, and for direct, honest language that
expresses our feelings and intentions.
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