A far-reaching transformation is taking place in the US in the relationship between employers and employees. The lessons learned from Japan and from "best practice" companies like IBM about how job security, training, and internal development can improve employee commitment and performance have given way to a new set of lessons about how companies can redue fixed costs, increase flexibility, and improve performance by eliminating the elaborate employment systems that prepared employees for long careers in the company. Where the old arrangement protected employees from outside market forces, the new ones drag the market right back in through downsizing, contingent workforces, hiring on the outside for new skills, and compensation contingent on overall organizational performance. New work systems that reengineer processes and empower employees "flatten" the organizational chart, cutting management jobs in particular and reducing opportunities for career development. The new arrangements shift many of the risks of business from the firm to the employees and make employees, rather than employers, responsible for developing their own skills and careers. They also increase the demands placed on workers while reducing what they receive back for their efforts. While morale is down and stress is up, employee performance seems to be rising largely because of fear driven by the shortage of good jobs. Change at Work explores the theme that employees have paid the price for the widespread restructuring of American firms as illustrated by reduced security, greater effort and hours, and reduced morale. In this important study--commissioned by the National Planning Asociation's Committee on New American Realities--the authors consider how individuals and employers need to adapt to the new arrangements as well as the implicatioons for important policy issues such as how skills will be developed where the attachment to the firms is sharply reduced. The future is uncertain, but the authors argue that the traditional relationship between employer and employee will continue to erode, making this work essential reading for managers concerned with the profound impact corporate restructuring has had on the lives of workers.

Change at Work

Business & Money

Cappelli, Peter

Knoke, David

Useem, Michael

Bassi, Laurie

Osterman, Paul

Katz,Harry

Economics

Oxford University Press

A comprehensive and insightful look at the modern workplace and how employees are managed, where the new approach is driven by the quirks of financial accounting to the detriment of employees and the long-term success of the organization.\nReal wages have stagnated or declined for most workers, job insecurity has increased, and retirement income is uncertain. Hours of work for white collar employees have increased steadily, opportunities for advancement have withered, and evidence of the negative effects of workplace stress on health continues to accumulate. Why have jobs gotten so much worse?\nAs Peter Cappelli argues, these issues are not a result of companies trying to be cost effective. They stem from the logic of financial accounting--the arbiter for determining whether a company is maximizing shareholder value--and its fundamental flaws in dealing with human capital. Financial accounting views employee costs as fixed costs that cannot be reduced and fails to account for the costs of bad employees and poor management. The simple goal of today's executives is to drive down employment costs, even if it raises costs elsewhere.\nIn Our Least Important Asset, Cappelli argues that the financial accounting problem explains many puzzling practices in contemporary management--employers' emphasis on costs per hire over the quality of hires, the replacement of regular employees with "leased" workers, the shift to unlimited vacations, and the transition of hiring responsibilities from professional recruiters to more expensive line managers. In the process, employers undercut all the evidence about what works to improve the quality, productivity, and creativity of workers. Drawing on decades of experience and research, Cappelli provides a comprehensive and insightful critique of the modern workplace where the gaps in financial accounting make things worse for everyone, from employees to investors.

Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting is Bad for Business and Employees

Business Culture

Employment Relationships: New Models of White-Collar Work (Cambridge Companions to Management)

The second half of the twentieth century witnessed a quite dramatic shift in the nature of white collar employment, from lifetime tenure, often in a very hierarchical work structure, to a new model defined by flatter organizations, job insecurity, shorter tenures, declining attachment between employer and employee, and contingent work. Managing employment relations has become an issue of huge strategic importance as businesses struggle to respond to the pace of change in management systems and working practices. Employment Relationships: New Models of White-Collar Work traces developments in employment arrangements drawn from a number of business contexts. These include the rising role of outside hiring and lateral moves in shaping and managing careers, increased career uncertainty, and much greater variety in organizational structures - even within industries and professions - as employers struggle to meet the diverging demands of their product markets.

Management & Leadership

Cambridge University Press

In this thought-provoking book, the author argues that the relationship between employees and employers--an association that both defines and drives the American workplace--is in a state of profound transition. Organizations that once provided long-term job security and lifetime career development are abandoning these programs in favor of market-based employment transactions: short-term contracts, temporary staffing, and outsourcing. Peter Cappelli explores recent developments in employment relationships and causes us to rethink our long-held assumptions about managing people. He reveals that the new arrangement shifts many of the risks of business from employer to employee, as individuals must now assume responsibility for developing their own skills and careers. Yet when internal development programs are reduced or nonexistent, how can employers retain the employees they need and secure the commitment and specialized skills that so many projects demand? Cappelli's conclusions make for important and compelling reading for employees, managers, policy makers, and anyone concerned with the market forces that shape the American workplace.

The New Deal at Work: Managing the Market-Driven Workforce

Harvard Business Review Press

This synopsis of a major work commissioned by NPA's Committee on New American Realities and published by Oxford University Press examines the forces that are significantly changing the workplace and work organization. It outlines the far-reaching workplace transformation taking place in the United States and its important implications for businesses, employees, and the nation's economic performance.

Change at Work: Executive Summary

National Policy Association

The Transformation of the Industrial Relations and Personnel Function

Kochan, Thomas A.

History

Andesite Press

Executives everywhere acknowledge that finding, retaining, and growing talent counts among their toughest business challenges. Yet to address this concern, many are turning to talent management practices that no longer work--because the environment they were tailored to no longer exists. In today's uncertain world, managers can't forecast their business needs accurately, never mind their talent needs. An open labor market means inevitable leaks in your talent pipeline. And intensifying competition demands a maniacal focus on costs. Traditional investments in talent management wind up being hugely expensive, especially when employees you've carefully cultivated leave your firm for a rival. In Talent on Demand, Peter Cappelli examines the talent management problem through a radical new lens. Drawing from state-of-the-art supply chain management and numerous company examples, he presents four new principles for ensuring that your organization has the skills it needs--when it needs them. In this book, you'll discover how to: · Balance developing talent in-house with buying it on the open market · Improve the accuracy of your talent-need forecasts · Maximize returns on your talent investments · Replicate external job market dynamics by creating an in-house market that links available talent to jobs Practical and provocative, Talent on Demand gives you the ideas and tools you'll need to match the supply of talent to your demand for it--today and tomorrow.

Talent on Demand: Managing Talent in an Age of Uncertainty

Your organization needs older workers more than ever: They transfer knowledge between generations, transmit your company's values to new hires, make excellent mentors for younger employees, and provide a "just in time" workforce for special projects. Yet more of these workers are reporting to people younger than they are. This presents unfamiliar challenges that--if ignored--can prevent you from attracting, retaining, and engaging older employees. In Managing the Older Worker, Peter Cappelli and William Novelli explain how companies and younger managers can maximize the value provided by older workers. The key? Recognize that boomers' needs differ from younger generations - and adapt your management practices accordingly. For instance: · Lead with mission: As employees age, they become more altruistic. Emphasize the positive impact of older workers' efforts on the world around them. · Forge social connections: Many older employees keep working to maintain social relationships. Offer tasks that require interaction with others. · Provide different benefits: Tailor benefits--such as elder-care insurance programs or discount medication--to older workers' interests. Drawing on research in management, psychology, and other disciplines, Managing the Older Worker reveals who your older workers are, what they want, and how to manage them for maximum value.

Managing the Older Worker: How to Prepare for the New Organizational Order

Novelli, Bill

Human Resources

Exploding growth. Soaring investment. Incoming talent waves. India's top companies are scoring remarkable successes on these fronts - and more. How? Instead of adopting management practices that dominate Western businesses, they're applying fresh practices of their ownin strategy, leadership, talent, and organizational culture. In The India Way, the Wharton School India Team unveils these companies' secrets. Drawing on interviews with leaders of India's largest firms - including Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Narayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies, and Vineet Nayar of HCL Technologies - the authors identify what Indian managers do differently, including: Looking beyond stockholders' interests to public mission and national purpose Drawing on improvisation, adaptation, and resilience to overcome endless hurdles Identifying products and services of compelling value to customers Investing in talent and building a stirring culture The authors explain how these innovations work within Indian companies, identifying those likely to remain indigenous and those that can be adapted to the Western context. With its in-depth analysis and research, The India Way offers valuable insights for all managers seeking to strengthen their organization's performance.

The India Way: How India's Top Business Leaders Are Revolutionizing Management

Singh, Harbir

Singh, Jitendra

Harvard Business Press

The decision of whether to go to college, or where, is hampered by poor information and inadequate understanding of the financial risk involved. Adding to the confusion, the same degree can cost dramatically different amounts for different people. A barrage of advertising offers us new degrees designed to lead to specific jobs, but we see no information on whether graduates ever get those jobs.In Will College Pay Off?, Peter Cappelli, an acclaimed expert in employment trends, the workforce, and education, provides hard evidence that counters conventional wisdom and helps us make cost-effective choices. Among the issues Cappelli analyzes are:What the real link is between a college degree and a job that enables you to pay off the cost of collegeWhy the most expensive colleges may actually be the cheapest in the long runHow parents and students can find out what different colleges actually deliver to students and whether it is something that employers really wantInsightful and informative, Will College Pay Off? helps students and parents make smart financial decisions and provides the foundation for students to succeed in the real world.

Will College Pay Off?: A Guide to the Most Important Financial Decision You'll Ever Make

Personal Finance

Tantor Audio

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cappelli, Peter. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Cappelli, Peter