A well-organized, nimbly written, and insightful book that should be a key resource for corporate leaders.
A useful playbook for managing an intergenerational workforce.
Corporate consultant Grubb (Planes, Canes, and Automobiles, 2015) draws on her management experience at numerous firms to focus on the challenge of employing people from different generations in the same company. She aptly points out, for example, that managers must respect each person as an individual rather than assigning him or her to a generational stereotype. She also mentions the phenomenon of baby boomers “prolonging their time in the workplace,” which can result in a “generational culture clash” with younger staff. Grubb delves deeply into distinct generational characteristics to provide managers with clear understandings of various age groups; the book’s chart of “Generational Influences and Attributes” offers a tidy overview of how baby boomers, Generation Xers, millennials, and Generation Zers think, feel, and act in a workplace. For instance, boomers are said to be “team oriented,” “optimistic,” and “informal,” while Generation Xers are “self-reliant,” “cynical,” and “informal.” This kind of valuable insight from an executive who’s managed multigenerational teams brings a practical, hands-on perspective to the book as a whole. In addition to making a strong case for “creating an age-diverse culture,” Grubb offers specific advice for managing and motivating employees. Readers will find a portion of this material, including discussions of goal-setting, evaluating employee performance, and managing employee expectations and career development, to be familiar from more general management books, but the author does a solid job of slanting the content to address generational divides. Some of the more engaging sections address “managing workers older than you,” recognizing different styles of learning and communicating, and highlighting the difference between “work-life blending” and work-life balancing. Six case studies at the end of the book depict how specific companies have addressed issues surrounding company culture, recruitment, career development, and benefits as they relate to employees of all ages.
A well-organized, nimbly written, and insightful book that should be a key resource for corporate leaders.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-119-21234-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Wiley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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