In his visionary analysis, Charles Heckscher argues for "associational unionism", a model outside the tradition of American labor law. Rejecting the usual boundary between workers and management, Heckscher defines a genuinely new system of representation that encourages multilateral negotiation involving management, different groups of employees, and other interested parties such as consumers or environmentalists.

What is wrong with bureaucracy? What does the post-bureaucratic organization offer in the way of improvement? These and other such questions are addressed in this volume which critically examines the implications of the transformation of organizations from bureaucratic to post-bureaucratic.

Beginning with a definition of the 'ideal' post-bureaucratic organization, the book then critiques some of the fundamental assumptions of bureaucratic organizations such as, the ethic of individual merit, decision-making roles and coordinated effort. It also analyzes the process of change from...

This book focuses on the transition faced by business organizations and their stakeholders as they move from protected markets to open competition, and it explores how these changes can be facilitated by outside interveners/agents. The four authors--two from Europe and two from the United States--have worked separately as consultants with leaders of many companies and unions facing these challenges including AT & T, Lucent, Electricite de France and the Italian State Railways (Ferrovie dello Stato). The reader is thus afforded an unusual insight into the process of change in a large...