Managing in the Modern Corporation
The Intensification of Managerial Work in the USA, UK and Japan

This books is an examination of the effects of organizational restructuring in large corporations.

John Hassard (Author), Leo McCann (Author), Jonathan Morris (Author)

9780521189873, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 3 March 2011

288 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.43 kg

Review of the hardback: 'This important book takes us inside thirty large corporations in America, Britain and Japan to examine the experiences of middle managers dealing with the realities of restructuring and organizational change. In-depth interviews with 200 middle managers and 50 senior executives provide a compelling picture of the politics of corporate life and the human costs of restructuring. The contrast of restructuring in different cultural contexts illuminates similarities and differences in corporate response to international competition. This book is required reading for anyone concerned about the dignity and meaning of work in large organizations today.' Robert Perrucci Professor of Sociology, Purdue University and co-author, with Carolyn Perrucci, of America at Risk: The Crisis of Hope, Trust, and Caring (2009)

In recent years, widespread organisational change in large corporations has almost invariably led to work intensification and increased stress for managers. Managing in the Modern Corporation explains how and why large companies have changed their organisational structures and philosophies, focusing in particular on how these changes affect the careers of middle managers. Based on in-depth interviews with over two hundred middle and senior managers working in large corporations in the USA, UK and Japan, it shows how the working lives of managers have been subjected to major disruption, involving work intensification and reduced opportunities for career progression. Furthermore, it argues that such widespread overwork and poor treatment of highly skilled and highly motivated staff has created a major international problem that must be addressed. The book presents a range of solutions to this important problem, suggesting that there are possibilities for saner, less brutal organisational environments.

Acknowledgements
About the cover
1. Going under the knife: downsizing and delayering the modern corporation
2. Exploring corporate life: a realist view on management restructuring
3. Living in the house that Jack built: management restructuring in America
4. Maximising shareholder value: management restructuring in Britain
5. New world of the salaryman: management restructuring in Japan
6. Fighting back? Addressing the human costs of management restructuring
Appendix
Bibliography
Author index
Subject index.

Subject Areas: Organizational theory & behaviour [KJU]