NetWorks: Workplace Change in the Global Economy: A Critical and Practical Guide (NetWorks S)

Product Description Networks: Workplace Change in the Global Economy primarily discusses how sociology may be applied to the Global NetWork Economy and the changing workplace. It demonstrates how the sociological perspective has both explanatory power and extraordinary practical applicability to the world of work and employment in the emerging global economy. Finkelstein argues that it is more accurate to think of work organizations as NetWorks, a new form of organization that links individuals, groups and organizations of all kinds in a vast web of relationships that may span locations around the world. Thus, the jobs of the future (and many of the present) will involve a new kind of work: NetWork!In order to understand how NetWorks have emerged, Finkelstein assumes that the workplace is socially constructed, meaning that we should see jobs and work as the product of the decisions people have made throughout history and in particular social contexts. The book argues that we should not take current workplace arrangements as a given. This is why it offers a way to understand the world of work both critically and practically.Networks presents alternatives to rigid bureaucracies and divisive hierarchies, and the practical steps that can be taken to create workplace change, arguing that such changes must not only be organizational but also societal and on a global scale. Review FinkelsteinsNetWorks: Workplace Change in the Global Economy: A Critical and Practical Guide offers a unique perspective on, and adds a rare proposition to, the discussion of how the global economy impacts the American workplace: He proposes that we indeed have control over how that process unfolds and influences our work environment Finkelstein more than achieves his goal it is rare to find a book that promises as much practical value asNetWorks. Marjukka Ollilainen, Weber State UniversityIt is rare to find a book that promises as much practical calue asNetWorks. In fact, it may dind its greatests impact offcampus, in workplace training that often favors the less critical management approaches. It is high time sociology as a critical perspective made itself accessible and applicable to those students who also are in a position to translate their nelygained insights into workplace action. For that end,NetWorks provides and excellent starting point. Teaching SociologyThis is a wellconceived and wellwritten book. It is clearly written and reflects considerable expertise. It makes an important scholarly contribution to sociology as a whole and to several subfields, principally formal organizations, the sociology of work and occupations, and social and cultural change. Its two chief assets are (1) the manner in which a large amount of relevant material is brought together and organized and (2) its emphasis on application. Together, these make it a unique contribution.The author is an applied sociologist, which is both commendable and obvious from his approach. Also noteworthy is the manner in which the author integrates the narrative on the nature of work and workplace change with basic sociological principles and with the fields theoretical foundations?both classic (Weber, Durkheim, etc.) and contemporary (Zuboff, Ritzer, etc.). Another key feature is the authors skillful use of material on globalization to elucidate industrial trends, and industrial change to explain the globalization process. Jay Weinstein, Eastern Michigan University Journal of Applied SociologyThis is a wellconceived and wellwritten book. It is clearly written and reflects considerable expertise. It makes an important scholarly contribution to sociology as a whole and to several subfields, principally formal organizations, the sociology of work and occupations, and social and cultural change. Its two chief assets are (1) the manner in which a large amount of relevant material is brought together and organized and (2) its emph