Biblio
Printer-friendly version
] Filters: Term is Business [Clear All Filters]
(1997). Slaves of the Machine: The Quickening of Computer Technology (Bradford Book).
"Most of today's programmers are like lawyers who are concerned only with the law, not justice. Their letter-of-the-law, obey-or-you-will-be-punished tradition has the same problems in computing as it does in law." (P. 80)
(1997). Slowing down to the speed of life : how to create a more peaceful, simpler life from the inside out.
"See forgiveness as a process, and know that it will get easier and easier each time the memory comes to mind. If you see the value of forgiveness and are willing to forgive, each time the memory comes to mind while you are in a state of healthy psychological functioning, the experience will be a little less painful." (p. 135)
(1997). Thinking in the Future Tense.
"Psychologist Sheldon Kopp warned clients to plow the fields of their past if they wanted to be able to plant their own crops. Business consultant Peter Senge agreed: 'Structures of which we are unaware hold us prisoner. Once we can see them and name them they no longer have the same hold on us. This is as true for the organization as it is for the individual.'" (p. 41)
(1997). Work Abuse: How to Recognize and Survive It.
"There are five distinctions that will assist you to see the depth with which work abuse affects people...
1. The Abuse Itself...
2. The Inability to Protest the Abuse...
3. Being Blamed and Feeling Guilty for Reacting against Work Abuse...
4. Having to Deny the Ways that Abuse Affects You...
5. Feeling Guilty for Visible Symptoms that Develop..."
1. The Abuse Itself...
2. The Inability to Protest the Abuse...
3. Being Blamed and Feeling Guilty for Reacting against Work Abuse...
4. Having to Deny the Ways that Abuse Affects You...
5. Feeling Guilty for Visible Symptoms that Develop..."
(1997). Work for a Living and Still Be Free to Live.
"...humiliations from within and without were the chief complaints. Above all [Terkel] noted, 'To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us.'" (p. 8)
(1997). Firing back: power strategies for cutting the best deal when you're about to lose your job.
"...you may already be convinced that your co-workers, likable and helpful souls as they may have been during good times, are not really part of your protective, extended family. When the bad times came, many of them disappointed you. Either they weren't there for you or they weren't able to solve your problems. If they felt threatened themselves, they were running for cover. Even if they thought they were safe, they were probably showing you a side of themselves you hadn't seen before: a cold, distant, suspicious, or cruel side. But what made you think you were all part of a great big family?" (p. 207)
(1997). A higher standard of leadership: lessons from the life of Gandhi.
"As a leader...you bear a great responsibility. If you set the direction, analysis and support will appear throughout the organization even if you are wrong. Those who are not in positions of power will find it difficult to disagree—to be truthful—because they fear for their careers and their futures." (p. 113)
(1997). The psychic life of power: theories in subjection.
"If one is to oppose the abuses of power (which is not the same as opposing power itself), it seems wise to consider in what our vulnerability to that abuse consists." (p. 20)
(1998). Org Behv&perfm.
(1998). The Age of Unreason.
"Organizations are not by nature forgiving places. Mistakes are magnified by myth and engraved in reports and appraisals, to be neither forgotten nor forgiven. Organizational halos are for sinners as well as saints and last for a long time. The new manager must be a different manager. He, and increasingly she, must use what, in psychological jargon, is called reinforcement theory, applauding success and forgiving failure; he or she must use mistakes as opportunities for learning, something only possible if the mistake is truly forgiven because otherwise the lesson is heard as a reprimand, not an offer of help...The new manager has to be a teacher, counselor, and friend, as much as or more than he or she is commander, inspector, and judge." (p. 131)
(1998). Anger Kills: Seventeen Strategies for Controlling the Hostility That Can Harm Your Health.
"By allowing yourself a range of strategies—both asserting and deflecting options—you can balance your twin goals of preventing petty matters from riling you and remain focused on your legitimate rights and those of others. Sometimes you may choose to take a stand for what is right; at other times you may prefer to tune out the situation. Real injustices do exist in the world. The goal in learning to control your hostility is not to become insensitive to all injustices but rather to become more focused and selective." (p. 148)
(1998). The Bad Attitude Survival Guide: Essential Tools For Managers.
"A consistent, knee-jerk negative response to bad news or negative circumstances is a common occurrence and creates an unhealthy organizational culture. Many organizations are well known for shooting the messenger. Some managers have such a high negative emotional response to problems or bad news, their employees learn to avoid their manager in times of trouble or crisis. This is a deadly organizational circumstance because information that frequently could serve to eliminate a problem or stop a small crisis from escalation isn't shared up the ladder, as lower-level employees refuse to expose themselves to the inevitable wrath. The price the organization pays for allowing this negative culture is incalculable." (p. 79)
(1998). The Critical 14 Years Of Your Professional Life.
"What are the bosses' strengths and weaknesses?
We all have them. Usually, our weaknesses outnumber our strengths. When you do a strengths/weaknesses 'audit' of the boss, be prepared for the weakness column to extend beyond the strengths. Once I got savvy about the world of bosses, I considered it a major strength that the executive simply was breathing. The higher you put your standards for how bosses should act, the harder you're going to fall when a particular boss doesn't measure up. Remember breathing—it's a major strength." (p. 60)
We all have them. Usually, our weaknesses outnumber our strengths. When you do a strengths/weaknesses 'audit' of the boss, be prepared for the weakness column to extend beyond the strengths. Once I got savvy about the world of bosses, I considered it a major strength that the executive simply was breathing. The higher you put your standards for how bosses should act, the harder you're going to fall when a particular boss doesn't measure up. Remember breathing—it's a major strength." (p. 60)
(1998). Critical SHIFT: The Future of Quality in Organizational Performance.
"Sometimes the search for a position in your organization that matches your desires leaves you empty-handed. In this situation you must make the decision to leave the organization or stay and create a new position if you believe it will add value. If you decide to stay, do not be deterred by those who tell you it will be impossible to create a new role. Our parents taught us 'Where there's a will, there's a way.' "
(1998). Die Broke.
And if you want self-actualization, look for it in all that you do outside of your work. Be the best spouse, parent, child, neighbor, friend and citizen you can be, and you'll be far closer to reaching your true human potential than if you concentrated on being the best accountant you can be." (p. 29)
(1998). Disconnected: How Six People from AT&T Discovered the New Meaning of Work in a Downsized Corporate America.
"Surely the old social contract, that basic exchange of loyalty for security, has been destroyed....
Some business theorists envision a new workplace that will accomodate both organizational flexibility and individual fulfillment. In their hopeful vision, companies will offer opportunities; employees will provide labor and talent. Workers will shuttle between projects and employers while organizations add and subtract staffers in a seamless ebb and flow.
Can we allow ourselves any such optimism? If the experiences of these six people are any indication, this process will be messy, and the concomitant dislocation severe. 'I must manage my own career' is indeed the brave new rallying cry of today's company man, but it must be tempered by one basic fact: Power, as ever, resides with the organization." (p. 200)
Some business theorists envision a new workplace that will accomodate both organizational flexibility and individual fulfillment. In their hopeful vision, companies will offer opportunities; employees will provide labor and talent. Workers will shuttle between projects and employers while organizations add and subtract staffers in a seamless ebb and flow.
Can we allow ourselves any such optimism? If the experiences of these six people are any indication, this process will be messy, and the concomitant dislocation severe. 'I must manage my own career' is indeed the brave new rallying cry of today's company man, but it must be tempered by one basic fact: Power, as ever, resides with the organization." (p. 200)
(1998). Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work.
"Sometimes the criticism we receive is valuable, even helpful. Other times, it's utter nonsense. Either way, learning to see criticism as 'small stuff' is incredibly useful in our efforts to live a life of reduced stress." (p. 270)
(1998). Emotional Blackmail : When the People In Your Life Use Fear, Obligation and Guilt to Manipulate You.
"Fear of Disapproval
This fear may sound insignificant, but believe me, for many people it is excruciating. The fear of disapproval is much deeper than cringing if someone goes 'Tsk-tsk' over something you've said or done. It is interwoven with our basic sense of self-worth. If we allow other people's approval or disapproval to define us, we set ourselves up to believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with us whenever we incur displeasure." (p. 225)
This fear may sound insignificant, but believe me, for many people it is excruciating. The fear of disapproval is much deeper than cringing if someone goes 'Tsk-tsk' over something you've said or done. It is interwoven with our basic sense of self-worth. If we allow other people's approval or disapproval to define us, we set ourselves up to believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with us whenever we incur displeasure." (p. 225)
(1998). Exploring Ethics.
(1998). The Gift of Fear : Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence.
"The loss of a job can be as traumatic as the loss of a loved one, but few fired employees receive a lot of condolence or support." (p. 177)
(1998). The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First.
Pfeffer reviews studies that "make a business case for managing people right". Among the factors that cause trouble for companies trying to implement such change, are: "Demands for accountability and reproducibility in results and decisions that destroy the benefits of expertise, which is inevitably dependent on tacit knowledge." (p. 132)
(1998). Images of Organization: The Executive Edition.
"The groupthink phenomenon has been reproduced in thousands of decision-making situations in organizations of all kinds. It may seem overly dramatic to describe the phenomenon as reflecting a kind of psychic prison. Many people would prefer to describe it through the culture metaphor, seeing the pathologies described in all the above examples as the product of particular cultural beliefs and norms. But there is great merit in recognizing the prison-like qualities of culture." (p. 186)
(C)2014 CC-BY-NC 3.0, workcreatively.org