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...

A portrait of a young man's poignant, painful, and occasionally playful coming of age, Rock Bottom Days introduces the reader to the trials and tribulations of Bernie Karf who navigates his world without a compass. Set in Binghamton, New York in the 1970's, it recaptures a bygone era through the stilted lens of a dreamer, and carries us through his unique relationships with people, and the landmarks of his beloved city, including the abandoned Rock Bottom Bridge, across from his apartment. As the novel winds along, it picks up the accumulating detritus of Bernie's contacts with his world,...