A work that should inspire citizens and policy makers to reflect on where we are going and if we really want to go there.
Former Secretary of Labor Reich (Locked in the Cabinet, not reviewed) considers the promise and problems of the new economy.
Large-scale changes in technology have ushered in, as Reich puts it, “The Age of the Terrific Deal.” With the flick of a mouse, consumers now have within their reach an almost infinite bazaar of goods and services from which to choose. But such capability has bred enormous competitive pressure. In response companies have become lean and mean. Gone are large corporations with their steady jobs and dependable benefits, replaced by small, flexible enterprises that can respond quickly to consumer whims and technological innovation. Those with unique skills prosper, those without such skills do not; their incomes lag, their benefits whither. The result is an employment atmosphere of extreme uncertainty. Whether winners or losers, we all work harder and more intensely: the losers to keep up, the winners to avoid being losers. What is sacrificed in this epidemic of hard work is time for anything else, be it family, friends, or the community. What’s more, US society is increasingly dividing into enclaves of “haves” and “have-nots.” The haves segregate themselves and their offspring into the best neighborhoods, schools, recreational facilities, health-care programs, while the have-nots fall ever further behind. Reich argues that while few of us would give up what this new economy offers us as consumers, we must create new and innovative ways of regulating the marketplace and creating opportunity for all if we are to have any hopes of balanced, fulfilling lives and a stable, more just society. Much of what Reich discusses is not new, but few writers are as skillful at synthesizing knowledge and making the complex clear.
A work that should inspire citizens and policy makers to reflect on where we are going and if we really want to go there.Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-41112-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
A welcome contribution from a newcomer who provides both a different view and balance in addressing one of the country's...
A fresh, provocative analysis of the debate on education and employment.
Up-and-coming economist Moretti (Economics/Univ. of California, Berkeley) takes issue with the “[w]idespread misconception…that the problem of inequality in the United States is all about the gap between the top one percent and the remaining 99 percent.” The most important aspect of inequality today, he writes, is the widening gap between the 45 million workers with college degrees and the 80 million without—a difference he claims affects every area of peoples' lives. The college-educated part of the population underpins the growth of America's economy of innovation in life sciences, information technology, media and other areas of globally leading research work. Moretti studies the relationship among geographic concentration, innovation and workplace education levels to identify the direct and indirect benefits. He shows that this clustering favors the promotion of self-feeding processes of growth, directly affecting wage levels, both in the innovative industries as well as the sectors that service them. Indirect benefits also accrue from knowledge and other spillovers, which accompany clustering in innovation hubs. Moretti presents research-based evidence supporting his view that the public and private economic benefits of education and research are such that increased federal subsidies would more than pay for themselves. The author fears the development of geographic segregation and Balkanization along education lines if these issues of long-term economic benefits are left inadequately addressed.
A welcome contribution from a newcomer who provides both a different view and balance in addressing one of the country's more profound problems.Pub Date: May 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-75011-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
An informative and creatively multilayered Google guidebook from the businessman’s perspective.
Two distinguished technology executives share the methodology behind what made Google a global business leader.
Former Google CEO Schmidt (co-author: The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business, 2013) and former senior vice president of products Rosenberg share accumulated wisdom and business acumen from their early careers in technology, then later as management at the Internet search giant. Though little is particularly revelatory or unexpected, the companywide processes that have made Google a household name remain timely and relevant within today’s digitized culture. After several months at Google, the authors found it necessary to retool their management strategies by emphasizing employee culture, codifying company values, and rethinking the way staff is internally positioned in order to best compliment their efforts and potential. Their text places “Googlers” front and center as they adopted the business systems first implemented by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who stressed the importance of company-wide open communication. Schmidt and Rosenberg discuss the value of technological insights, Google’s effective “growth mindset” hiring practices, staff meeting maximization, email tips, and the company’s effective solutions to branding competition and product development complications. They also offer a condensed, two-page strategy checklist that serves as an apt blueprint for managers. At times, statements leak into self-congratulatory territory, as when Schmidt and Rosenberg insinuate that a majority of business plans are flawed and that the Google model is superior. Analogies focused on corporate retention and methods of maximizing Google’s historically impressive culture of “smart creatives” reflect the firm’s legacy of spinning intellect and creativity into Internet gold. The authors also demarcate legendary application missteps like “Wave” and “Buzz” while applauding the independent thinkers responsible for catapulting the company into the upper echelons of technological innovation.
An informative and creatively multilayered Google guidebook from the businessman’s perspective.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-1455582341
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Business Plus/Grand Central
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
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