ORGANIZATION THEORY BOOKS

You won't find these in your college bookstore

1999- Corporate Predators by Mokhiber and Weissman -  Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates' net wealth -- $51 billion -- is greater than the combined net worth of the poorest 40 percent of Americans (106 million people). Hundreds of hospitals are "dumping" patients who can't afford to pay...  Down on Nike? Chinese political prisoners allegedly make Adidas products...  This is the price paid for living in corporate-dominated society. Wealth disparity, megamergers and the resulting consolidation of corporate power, commercialism run amok, rampant corporate crime, death without justice, pollution, cancer and an unrelenting attack on democracy (press here).
1997- The Corporate Planet : Ecology and Politics in the Age of Globalization by Joshua Karliner. Review -`Increasingly flagless and stateless,'' Karliner charges, the transnational corporations ``weave global webs of production, commerce, culture and finance virtually unopposed.'' In making his case that such unrestricted power is a bad thing, Karliner relies too heavily on rhetoric and abstraction; he writes purplishly, for instance, of ``our  Blue Planet--home to untold cultural and biological diversity, to clear, raging rivers and majestic, ancient forests, to a plethora of civilizations, nations, tribes, and idiosyncratic communities.'' More statistics and less gush would be welcome in such instances. When he gets down to cases, Karliner is much better (Press here) for Amazon.com info.

FADS AND GURUS - Micklethwait, J., & Wooldridge, A. (1996). The witch doctors: Making sense of the management gurus. New York: Times Books. (press here) Management theory is a worldwide growth industry these days. Terrified of falling behind, business executives flock from one management guru to another in search of a competitive edge. Catchwords such as "chaos," "excellence," and "quality" echo in corporate halls and bounce around boardrooms the world over. Which ideas and theories are sound, and which are ultimately useless fads? Economist editor, Micklethwait, and writer, Wooldridge, contend that much management theory is driven by fear and greed. The motivational speakers, heavily hyped consultants, and business school professors who promote trite theories obscured in jargon are witch doctors. The authors examine recent management ideas of witch doctors and other theorists by asking three questions: Is it intelligible? Starting with Peter Drucker and Tom Peters, the authors examine the major ideas and their proponents, focusing not only on corporate implications but on social consequences as well.Does it add more than common sense? Is it relevant? The result is an analysis of management fads and genuine management initiatives. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Questioning Technology  (press here) - by Andrew Feenberg , 256pp. ISBN: 0415197554 - An introduction to the study of the philosophy of technology, arguing that technological design is central to the social and political structure of modern societies. Shows that technology is the medium of daily life, and demonstrates how every major technical change reverberates at the economic, political, religious, and cultural levels.

Hand's End: Technology and the Limits of Nature by David Rothenberg (press here) ISBN: 0520080556 Publisher: University of California Press 1995 - Through history, says David Rothenberg, our view of the natural world has changed continually according to the new ways society has invented to use it. Tools extend our presence in the world while reconfiguring nature according to human understanding. As we extend the hand in different ways, we perceive anew whatever we touch.

The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, Vol. 1  Martin Heidegger  William Lovitt (Translator), 224pp. ISBN: 0061319694 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, Incorporated 1977 (press here).

7/18/99 Technology. Who needs it? -(press here) - Review of other books on technology that give a new twist to organization theory as it is currently untaught (press here). The twentieth century is quickly coming to an end and the strangle hold technology has on our very existence has never been more evident. For the past two years I've been writing columns which mostly celebrate technology and laud its accomplishments and ingenuities. Like with most exuberant waves of social thought, there is always a backlash.