Fast Food Nation.
Eric Schlosser. 2001. New York: Houghton Mifflin College. 288 pages.
Reviewed by Cynthia lngram, St. Mary’s College of California
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser is about the business of the
fast-food industry. Americans spend more money on fast food than on higher
education, personal computers, computer software, or new cars (p. 3).
Schlosser’s intent is to explain why he feels that fast food has
changed the American diet, landscape, economy, work force, and popular
culture (p. 3). He indicates that the basic thinking behind fast food
has become increasingly widespread and has wiped out many small businesses
(p. 5). He even feels that the fast-food mentality has become so widespread
that it has even affected the way health care is delivered (p. 5).
In this account, Schlosser details the beginnings of the fast-food industry
and how the business of fast food has changed the way many businesses
today are run. He also discusses the way the fast-food industry has changed
eating habits globally. The work force and the exploitation of many employees
in the fast-food industry are also characterized. Schlosser describes
the changes that have occurred in the agriculture and meatpacking industries,
as well as the business of artificial flavorings that has developed over
the years. Schlosser feels that “In some cases (mailing and sprawling
of the West) the fast-food industry has been a catalyst and a symptom
of a large economic trend. In other cases (such as the rise of franchising
and the spread of obesity) fast food has played a more central role.”
The author does an excellent job of thoroughly describing how the fast-food
business is run. At times, he seemed to get off-track, and it was difficult
to tie the information he was using back to fast food. Overall, however,
readers should be able to see the connection. The bottom line is that
we are pawns in a game. By doing an excellent job at marketing, the fast-food
industry has been able to change our tastes and way of eating. Schlosser
blames the fast-food industry, but it did not come about until the automobile
became popular. Could it be that the automobile made us more sedentary
and changed the way we wanted to eat, view movies, or do our banking?
Could the same then be said for the automobile that is being said about
fast food?
Although the author discussed many different fast-food entities, his focus
was McDonald’s. It appears from Schlosser’s accounts that McDonald’s
has been a pioneer in many of the processes that are used routinely by
all fast-food restaurants today. In 1937, the McDonald brothers opened
a drive-in. In 1948, they closed the drive-in and opened a new restaurant
with new methods of preparing food. The new methods were used to increase
the speed of service, to lower prices, and to raise sale volume (p. 19).
The McDonald brothers decreased their menu by 67 percent. They did away
with anything that needed an eating utensil and began using only paper
products to serve food. It is at this time that the concept of assembly
line food preparation began (p. 20). Many copied the McDonald brothers.
One man, Ray Kroc, offered them the opportunity to expand. He would do
the work, and they would get part of the money (p. 35).
Schlosser goes on to compare Ray Kroc and Walt Disney. Both of these men
had an excellent ability to sell intangibles to children (p. 42). Ray
Kroc and Walt Disney both realized that a person’s loyalty to a specific
brand might begin as young as age two (p. 43). This has caused other companies,
such as clothing stores and restaurants, to begin targeting children.
By joining forces with toy manufacturers, the fast-food companies can
double or triple weekly sales volumes of children’s meals (p. 47).
This type of marketing benefits both the fast-food industry as well as
toy manufacturers. There is now an entire set of marketing companies and
marketing magazines designed to target children.
The selection of where to put the next restaurant also became strategic.
Ray Kroc used to fly in a small plane to find schools and locate restaurants
nearby (p. 66). This developed eventually into computer software that
automated site selection. This program is called Quintillion and is now
used by fast-food chains as well as retailers (p. 66).
Schlosser details the work force and the working conditions of many fast-food
restaurants. Two-thirds of the workers are under age 20 (p. 68). Because
food preparation is done in an assembly-line fashion, employees can be
easily replaced and retrained. One-sixth of the nation’s restaurant
workers speak English as a second language. Of those, one-third speak
no English at all. Schlosser notes that fast-food companies receive federal
subsidies for training workers. The companies receive $2400 per new low-income
worker hired, as long as the person works only 400 hours per year. Employee
turnover in a fast-food restaurant is about 300 percent to 400 percent
per year. The fast-food industry is adamantly opposed to unions. McDonald’s
has gone so far as to close restaurants or tear them down and build another
restaurant a few blocks away. It makes sure not to hire those who signed
up with the union (p. 77). The restaurant industry lobbies extremely hard
to keep minimum wages down and unions out of their restaurants, which
in turn flows to other industries.
The fast-food industry turned franchising into a business model and retail
stores soon emulated (p. 95). Franchises began with automobile companies.
Many different fast-food companies set up their franchises differently.
The McDonald’s Corporation makes its money by being a landlord. The
corporation buys the land and builds the building, and the tenant (franchisee)
then pays rent with a 40 percent markup.
The fast-food industry also had a hand in revolutionizing the agriculture
industry. Again, McDonald’s was the first company to use frozen French
fries to ensure uniformity and to cut costs (p. 115). Because of the reduced
cost, fries became one of the most profitable items on the menu. Frozen
fries are bought for about 30 cents a pound and sold for about $6 a pound.
Only about 2 cents of a $1.50 order of fries goes to the farmer (p. 117).
When McDonald’s changed the oil mixture used to cook fries, it changed
the flavor of them. Because people complained, McDonalds had to reinstate
the same flavor by using artificial beef flavoring. There is another market
altogether for manmade additives that give food its flavor. About two-thirds
of the flavors used in foods in the United States are processed in one
small area in New Jersey (p. 121). The same company that manufactures
the fragrances of colognes also manufactures the flavorings for foods
such as ice cream and cereal (p. 122). While this was an interesting portion
of the book, this reviewer really did not see how fast food had much to
do with fragrances and colognes.
McDonald’s is the largest purchaser of beef. Because of the influence
of the fast-food industry in the meatpacking industry, consolidation has
occurred. Ranchers’ share of every dollar of cattle sold has fallen
from 83 cents to 46 cents (p. 138). Only four companies control 20 percent
of live cattle (p. 138). The same goes for the poultry industry. Eight
chicken processors control 67 percent of the nation’s market (p.
139). McDonald’s is the second largest purchaser of chicken in the
United States, behind Kentucky Fried Chicken (p. 140). With these accounts,
Schlosser provided a good description of how corporations in the United
States have taken over ranching.
Two chapters detail what is wrong with the meatpacking business, including
how meatpacking plants have become assembly-line production companies,
how they have hired unskilled labor, and the dangers of working in a meatpacking
plant. Again, this was very interesting, but not directly related to the
fast-food industry.
Schlosser discusses food safety—in general, in fast-food restaurants,
in private homes, and in school cafeterias. Again, there doesn’t
seem to be a need for this much detail.
Although many organizations have “gone global,” including many
in the fast-food industry, Schlosser fails to mention how or why the fast-food
industry was instrumental in this trend. The author does take the time
to prove that the way people eat and the increase in obesity are directly
related to the consumption of fast food (p. 242).
In the last chapter, Schlosser gives credit to some of the purveyors of
fast food that have tried to stay true to themselves and their workers.
In-and-Out Burger began the same year as McDonald’s. Over the years,
the company has remained family owned. The founder passed away, and his
wife, at age 80, still runs the company (p. 259). The part-time workers’
wages start at $8 an hour, and full benefit packages are offered to full-time
workers. The ground beef is fresh, as are the potatoes. In-and-Out ranked
highest in food quality in a survey conducted by Restaurants and Institutions
in 2000; the lowest quality was McDonald’s.
Despite exploring tangential subjects, such as the bad meat served in
school cafeterias, Eric Schlosser did what he intended to do, which was
to show the dark side of the fast-food industry. Like many people, this
reviewer’s first job was at a fast-food restaurant. Thus, it was
interesting to discover that some important information doesn’t come
from inside the firm. Often, it is not until investigating from the outside
that employees know the truth about their company.
Power Plays: Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership and Management.John O. Whitney, and Tina Packer. 2000. New York: Simon & Schuster. 293 pages.
Reviewed by Cheryl Stockton, Saint Mary’s College of California
Shakespeare and the business management world meet in this book. Lessons
in power and politics, taken from Shakespeare’s plays, can teach
lessons of effective leadership. These lessons have been designed with
the authors’ intention of mixing the practicality of business with
creative artists. This book is Whitney and Packer’s contribution
to that collaboration.
“There is hardly a topic under the sun that Shakespeare didn’t
explore. Brilliantly,” writes Whitney. “Good and evil, love
and hatred, justice and mercy, pride and humility, guilt and innocence,
war and peace. But the one subject he returns to again and again is leadership”
(p. 11). The lessons in this book are about leadership and how the characters
in Shakespeare’s plays succeed or fail in leadership situations.
This book doesn’t disappoint. The combination of Whitney and Packer
collaborating on a book is dynamic. Once in awhile, jumping back and forth
between the two can be confusing to readers; however, it is fairly easy
to understand each author’s unique style. Whitney, leading professor
at Columbia Business School and former president of Pathmark Supermarkets,
offers his experiences and lessons learned. Tina Packer is the founder,
president, and artistic director of the critically acclaimed theater group,
Shakespeare & Company.
The book is organized around three major themes. Part I deals with power.
Part II reviews the crucial business skills of effective communication
and persuasion. Part III deals with values and how to reconcile what people
believe in as moral agents with what they need to do as leaders with responsibilities
to bosses, boards, stockholders, and employees (p. 17).
There are so many interesting stories in this book! In Part I, where there
are lessons in power, topics covered include: understanding power before
using it; promotion and transfers; new hires; finding a dedicated and
trusted lieutenant; abuses of perks; pay and privilege; and women and
power. Whitney and Packer tell stories that have to do with being a good
leader and making decisions regardless of how popular those decisions
might be. Was it Richard II or Henry IV who deployed his forces in the
battle of Shrewsbury saying, “Advantage feeds him fat while men delay”?
Who said, “I wasted time, and now time doth waste me”? Jumping
to modern times, these Shakespearean stories are compared with Ford Explorer’s
head start on the SUV (sports utility vehicle). Ford jumped into the market
early, making the General Motors Bravado, Lincoln Navigator, and Cadillac
Esplanade eat its dust (p. 46).
Part II centers on leadership and business as being a theater. According
to Whitney and Packer, “Leadership is a theater. The way a manager
walks into a room, the clothes he or she wears, the way his office is
designed, the props he uses when addressing his aides, employees, or stockholders—these
are key components of his effectiveness” (p. 143). Also, great actors
and great leaders need three ingredients: energy, mental focus, and physical
stamina (p. 155). Writes Packer, “Infecting the troops with your
energy, listening hard, speaking with conviction, being emotionally available,
empathic without sentiment, and able to keep going for long periods of
time, sorting, distilling, disseminating—if you can do these things,
you will be a great CEO” (p. 155). She knows. After all, we hear
again and again, what a great businessperson she is, managing the thriving
Massachusetts Shakespeare Company (p. 156).
Packer and Whitney agree that being a persuasive communicator is the number-one
tool of leadership. “No matter how good a leader’s ideas are,
they mean nothing if he cannot communicate them to his followers”
(p. 166). They further explain as an actor-playwright-producer, Shakespeare
recognized the importance of getting people into the theater and being
glad they came. With this idea they used three of Shakespeare’s most
famous speeches to show persuasion is not just a matter of what you say
or even how you say it, but of properly assessing your relationship with
your audience and then choosing an appropriate approach to accomplish
your goals (p. 166). In Henry V, Julius Caesar, and Troilus
and Cressida, Shakespeare points to two requirements for persuasive
communication: what you say must be simple but compelling (p. 166).
Using Henry V as an example, Whitney tells the story (p. 166).
The English Army was heading across the Channel to invade France. Henry
is at the head and receives the French ambassador who conveys a message
of welcome with a box of tennis balls. Henry is insulted by the gift and
decides to complete his mission of the invasion. Henry’s troops fight
hard. They break through a wall and take the town of Harfleur. The French
realize they are up against a tougher army than they thought. But now
Henry’s army has been fighting a month and they are tired. On the
eve of their next battle, the Battle of Agincourt, Henry needs to rally
his troops. They are exhausted, hungry, and dispirited. His words need
not convey what they know, such as the fact that they are outnumbered.
Instead he rallies his men with words of “honor” and “brotherhood”
(p. 166). The remarks Henry uses, according to Whitney, “... inspire
one of the most focused speeches of all of Shakespeare” (p. 168).
He writes,
... No, my fair cousin:
If we are marked to die, we are enough
To do our country loss, and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
...But if it be a sin to covet honour
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God’s peace, I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more, methinks, would share from me
For the best hope I have. O do not with one more!
Henry creates this picture of his men returning from battle and living as heroes. Feasts and festivals will be named after the victorious brave men. Henry has pumped his men up and given them reason to fight bravely. Through Henry, Shakespeare describes how posterity will also remember the veterans of Agincourt, in three of the most famous lines ever written.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother...
Whitney explains that Shakespeare uses Henry’s speech to show that
a great leader must persuade followers that they are part of a team with
a joint mission (p. 170). Whitney says most employees want to be inspired
and they prefer their work to have meaning (p. 170). Who wouldn’t
run to battle next to his or her new brother, the king?
In the lessons on public speaking, Whitney and Packer suggest the following
(p. 180):
- Know the audience.
- Know the topic.
- Be well prepared.
- Deliver the speech in a conversational style so that the audience will think that it is spontaneous.
Lessons like these are reviewed in this book. Creative storytelling by Whitney spiced with Packer’s insight delight readers with practical advice. Moving from lessons from Shakespeare’s plays to Whitney’s experiences at various business turnarounds holds readers’ attention.
The Nordstrom Way: The Inside Story of America’s #1 Customer Service Company (2nd edition).Robert Spector, and Patrick D. McCarthy. 2000. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 244 pages.
Reviewed by Catherine Loren Comen, Saint Mary’s College of California
It is a well-accepted assumption that the Nordstrom department store
chain “wrote the book” on customer service. This updated second
edition, written by Robert Spector and Patrick McCarthy, some of Nordstrom’s
top salespeople, is based on interviews with the Nordstrom family, salespeople,
management staff, and board of directors. The book tells the secret of
Nordstrom’s success and about its unique approach to customer service.
In addition, the last chapter has been revised to bring readers up to
date on the changes that have taken place during the past five years and
the organization’s plans for the future.
Superior customer service separates Nordstrom from its competitors. This
book outlines how it has managed to do what other department store chains
cannot. Nordstrom has created an environment were highly motivated salespeople
live by the golden rule of retail sales: “The customer is always
right.” Motivation comes in the form of commission sales, profit
sharing, and other benefits. However, other department store chains have
tried this approach and failed. The difference is that Nordstrom’s
salespeople are allowed to operate as if they are running their own small
business within a business. “These salespeople have the opportunity
to be successful because Nordstrom gives its employees the freedom to
make decisions. And Nordstrom management is willing to live with those
decisions” (p. 23).
The concept is successful because it is how the Nordstrom family has always
done business. “With the Nordstrom family holding the largest single
portion of the stock of this publicly traded company, the continuity of
family management is one of the most important reasons for Nordstrom’s
success” (p. 31). Readers learn from the story of a family business
that began at the turn of the century with a small shoe store. John Nordstrom
and his sons went on to create a retail powerhouse that is based on hard
work, high quality, and competition. Its unique entrepreneurial culture
is greatly admired by corporations everywhere.
The Nordstrom culture is one that empowers its salespeople. The organization’s
structure is an inverted pyramid with the customers at the top, and the
board of directors at the bottom. Department managers begin their careers
on the sales floor, as do all the family members in the business. “Managers
are encouraged to have a feeling of ownership about their departments.
They are responsible for hiring, firing, scheduling, training, coaching,
nurturing, encouraging, and evaluating their sales team” (p. 103).
In The Nordstrom Way, Spector and McCarthy demonstrate how Nordstrom’s
salespeople learn to respond to their customers’ needs, which will
keep them coming back. The book is stocked full of interviews with top
salespeople who give many examples of what exactly constitutes excellent
customer service. “Today’s busy consumers want retailers to
save them time by providing them with convenience, reliability, efficiency,
and, most importantly, merchandise that represents good value for the
price” (p. 201).
Readers also learn how Nordstrom responds to increased retail competition.
Nordstrom, like other major retailers, offers private label merchandise.
Its salespeople can offer their customers everything from shoes to shirts,
and all are available in a full range of sizes, and have the value, quality,
and exclusivity of the designer lines. Another is through the creation
of Nordstrom Rack, which is a chain of retail outlet stores that sells
out-of-season clearance merchandise.
The lessons in this book are about how Nordstrom created a culture based
on superior customer service, and carved out its unique place in the retail
department store industry. In the final chapter, Spector offers readers
a look into the future of this organization and where it is heading in
order to stay competitive. For example, in 1998 Nordstrom launched its
own Web site, nordstore.com. It has since spun off with its catalog and
become a new subsidiary, Nordstrom.com. “We are convinced that online
shopping will be a major part of our future,” co-president Dan Nordstrom
said. In particular, those retailers who offer their customers a fully
integrated combination of stores, catalog, and Internet shopping will
have a significant service advantage” (p. 212).
Overall, this book is an excellent example of how Nordstrom has created
America’s number-one service company. In addition, it does not leave
out the problems that it has endured along the way such as labor disputes,
labor union problems, or locations where the Nordstrom strategy has not
worked (Alaska).
High Five! The Magic of Working Together.Ken Blanchard, Sheldon M. Bowles, Don Carew, Eunice Parisi-Carew, and Kenneth V. Blanchard. 2000. New York: William Morrow & Co. 224 pages.
Reviewed by Dawnel Scott, St. Mary’s College of California
Ken Blanchard and his team of authors set out to identify the four key
ingredients that comprise winning teams. Working from the concept of “None
of us is as smart as all of us” (p. xi), the authors tell a story
that will motivate readers to become better team players, and by doing
so, become stronger individual contributors (p. x).
The authors use the sentimental story of Alan Foster—a puck-hog,
fired from his long-standing job for not being a team player—who
learns about teamwork while coaching his son’s hockey team. The authors
work through the elements of why teams are important and what individuals
and organizations can do to build successful ones. By tying team building
in the workplace to the dynamics of sports teams, the authors make their
points in a fun and easy manner. Their message is simple—by using
a few common-sense ideas, an organization or individual can understand
what it takes to build, motivate, and sustain a winning team. All too
often, people in business and sports begin to believe their production
is essential to the team when, in fact, their production is breaking down
the team. Because the story is engaging and a bit of a tearjerker, it
is easy to forget the motivations behind it. The authors have done an
excellent job of using the story to stir readers’ emotions and then
bring them back by continually reinforcing the key ingredients of team
building.
Being fired for not being a team player is a concept with which many individuals
struggle. The main character in High Five! is no exception. As
a high-performing individual, who had received several awards under the
“old” management, Alan Foster was terminated because he did
not “fit the mold.” The new management was not only looking
for employees who were good individual producers, but those who were also
team players—ones who made the team successful (p. 7). With no job,
Foster takes on the coaching duties of his son’s hockey team—a
rag-tag bunch of kids who can barely skate. Because he knew nothing about
teamwork, the library became his best friend. Foster read books on team
building and teamwork (p. 15). All this newfound knowledge made him understand
why he was let go from his job. But it was not until one of the players
was injured and taken to the emergency room (ER), that Foster really understood
the importance of teamwork. As he watched the ER members work together,
sometimes without talking, he realized the strengths of teams and teamwork
(pp. 32–37).
Understanding the importance of teamwork and being able to teach the fundamentals
of teamwork are two widely different things. Not making much headway with
the team, Foster recruits the retired girl’s basketball coach from
his high school to help the hockey team learn to be a team. It utilizes
her concept that teams are more that just a collection of people. When
those people release their egos and put others first, a dynamic happens
that creates something more powerful, productive, and successful than
the individual themselves. One short sentence of 10 words sums up the
dynamics of teamwork—“None of us is a smart as all of us”
(p. 103). By putting individual needs on hold, team needs and pride move
to the forefront (p. 60).
The four key ingredients of successful teams support this overall concept
of “None of us is as smart as all of us:” (l) a sense of purpose
and shared goals and values; (2) the development of high skills; (3) synergy;
and (4) repeated reward and recognition. These components make an easy-to-follow
model for coaches and team leaders alike.
The first key to successful teams is a sense of purpose and shared goals
and values. When individuals understand the purpose and share common goals,
they are more willing to trade self for selfishness—putting the good
of the group above themselves (p. 69). Business initiatives to reach predetermined
heights, just like a sports team’s commitment to win a division title,
focus the efforts on the purpose rather than the individual.
Having a shared goal is not enough. To make it real, high skills must
be developed. This is the second key to successful teams (p. 78). A team
can’t perform if it doesn’t know what it is doing. Commitment
to improvement is fundamental, as is measuring the improvement. Being
able to measure, compare, and provide feedback for improvement is essential
in the development of skills. Team leaders—coaches and managers alike—must
look for opportunities to reward team members with positive feedback.
No negative feedback is allowed; only suggestions for improvement (p.
85). Oftentimes what looks like a skill problem could be masking something
else—a lack of confidence or some other such issue (p. 86).
The third key to successful teams is synergy—the dynamics of working
together and sticking to the plan. In teams, just because a player or
an employee can do something better than another, doesn’t give that
person the right to deviate from the team plan. The essence of the team
is collective power (p. 96). Collective power of the group outshines the
individual. A player may have a chance to make a goal, or an employee
may have the chance to look good in front of a manager, but if the focus
is on looking good, the team will not be effective. When everyone pulls
together, the results are far greater and far more rewarding. This once
again reinforces the concept of “None of us is as smart as all of
us.” By focusing on the game plan, even players/employees with lesser
skills contribute because they are following the plan. Less-skilled individuals
who work together can outperform a single individual. If the focus is
on the team, even the best of the best can be beaten (p. 103).
The fourth key to team success is repeated reward and recognition. This
element is key to coaches, team leaders, and managers as they must be
aware of and look for ways to recognize and reward adherence to the first
three keys (p. 126). People repeat performance that garners reward and
recognition (p. 126). All too often, coaches and management focus on catching
people doing things wrong. If the team is doing twice as many things right,
when the occasional wrong happens, it isn’t so significant (p. 127).
By focusing on the good, there are more opportunities to find more good
and convert bad into good. When the focus is on the positive, team members
develop the habit of doing things right (p. 128). Using these fundamentals
inspires individuals to achieve their personal best and experience the
dynamics of teamwork.
As the book comes to a close, the rag-tag hockey team is transformed into
a winning team though it doesn’t win the championship. The game ends
in a tie. Alan Foster has learned so much about teamwork that his name
is passed around as a top-notch consultant on teamwork. Ironically, his
former company hires him to give a keynote speech.
Douglas McGregor, Revisited: Managing the Human Side of the Enterprise.
Gary Heil, Warren Bennis, and Deborah C. Stephens. 2000. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 197 pages.
Reviewed by Heidi Story, St. Mary’s College of California
The authors wrote this book to discuss the late Douglas McGregor’s
ideas about the changing nature of work, of a person’s place in the
workplace, and why business uses actions that don’t work well with
human behavior. They believe Douglas McGregor’s writings were significant
in applying a better understanding of how people behave in the business
world, and that his writings are relevant today. The authors state they
“hope this book will start a conversation about why we (management)
take actions that are often so inconsistent with what we know about people”
(p. viii).
The book is divided into two parts. The first part, titled “Why McGregor
Matters,” is divided into 10 chapters. The second part, titled “Selected
Essays of Douglas McGregor,” devotes four essays written by the late
Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor as well as one essay written
by one of the book’s authors.
Throughout the first part of the book, the authors quote extensively from
McGregor’s essays focusing on his theory X and Y concept. They apply
what McGregor wrote in the 1950s to early 1960s to what business practices
are doing in the twenty-first century. McGregor challenged managers to
think of human organizations more as a biologist than a mechanic.
Some of the questions that the authors ask now, that McGregor would have
asked if he was still alive, are: “If employees are truly our most
important asset, why is it that the training budget is the first thing
cut when money gets tight? And why is our first concern in developing
a policy not usually whether it’s good for the work force but whether
it’s legally defensible?” (p. 40).
One of the questions that McGregor would ask his students was: “How
do you motivate employees?” The interesting thing was that McGregor
wasn’t looking for a specific answer, he just wanted people to think.
He wanted people to know that there was no right or wrong answer to this
question or the many other questions he posed, he just wanted people to
think. What was hard for management during the time McGregor was alive
and even today, is that many managers want a right answer. They won’t
change their behaviors unless they know that theirs will be an increase
in production, revenue, supplies, or whatever. One chapter is devoted
to building an intrinsically motivated organization. The use of extrinsic
rewards is not on the to-do list.
The book explains the pitfalls of performance appraisals and how businesses
can change how they review employees’ work. Working with teams is
also explored and why sometimes teamwork doesn’t work.
An important idea that McGregor had is one that he borrowed from the psychological
theorist Abraham Maslow concerning self-actualization. This is a running
theme throughout the book; man’s self-actualization in the workplace,
and management’s responsibility to coach employees to achieve higher
reaches toward self-actualization.
This reviewer found the second part of the book a bit choppy and uneven.
It was difficult to tell when the authors were discussing the essay or
when the essay began or ended (pp. 144–145). While the ideas expressed
in the essays are profound and exude truth, there needs to be a better
delineation of the authors’ words and McGregor’s words. This
reviewer believes the authors wrote this book with the assumption that
readers are familiar with McGregor and his writings.
