The New American Workplace" (2006, Palgrave Macmillan) has a lot to live up to given the ringing endorsement the book receives on its cover from management guru Warren Bennis. "It would be impossible to understand the 21st-century workplace without this book," he writes. "Certainly the management book of the year; probably the decade."
Only time will tell whether this tome reaches the status of a "must-read" management book. However, authors James O'Toole and Edward E. Lawler III definitely tackle "must-address" topics in their examination of the American workplace, including outsourcing, offshoring, immigration, compensation, public policy and work/life issues.
They conclude their book with several possible scenarios for the future of the American workplace. There is the "ever-present risk that the United States will be left behind in the new global competition." However, "a virtuous circle of actions can prevent that from happening: entrepreneurial initiatives, sound corporate management practices, supportive government investments in education and research, and the collective efforts of the American workforce."
