Net-Works: Workplace Change in the Global Economy: A Critical and Practical Guide

by Marvin Finkelstein

Overview

Net-works: Workplace Change in the Global Economy primarily discusses how sociology may be applied to the Global Net-Work 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 Net-Works, 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: Net-Work!
In order to understand how Net-Works 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. Net-works 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742519107
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/08/2004
Series:	Net-Works S
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.06(w) x 8.84(h) x 0.47(d)

About the Author

Marvin Finkelstein is professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He received his Masters Degree in Labor and Industrial Relations and Ph.D. in Sociology from Michigan State University. He was President of the Faculty Senate at SIUE and is Executive Director of the Labor Management Committee Southwestern Illinois. He developed an Applied Sociology Program in Employment Relations in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies at SIUE. He established the SIUE Problem Solving Center that helps groups solve problems more effectively using cutting edge computer software. He has been an advisor, consultant, and trainer for labor and management for over 20 years. He has coordinated the Construction Foreman Development Program at SIUE for five years and has been an instructor in that program since 1995. He has published several articles focusing on employment and workplace change in the global economy, and is the author of Workplace Change in the Global Net-Work Economy (forthcoming).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Workplace is Socially Constructed Chapter 2 You and Your Workplace Chapter 3 Culture Can Make Your Dreams Come True Chapter 4 Teamwork Trumps Individualism at Work Chapter 5 Diversity Defines the Workplace 6 Technology: The Gift of Fire Chapter 7 Labor Management Cooperation and the New Labor Relations Chapter 8 Work and Family in the Global Community Chapter 9 Guideposts for Workplace Change

Editorial Reviews

Finkelstein’s Net-Works: 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 as Net-Works.

Marjukka Ollilainen

This is a well-conceived and well-written 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 field's theoretical foundations-both classic (Weber, Durkheim, etc.) and contemporary (Zuboff, Ritzer, etc.). Another key feature is the author's skillful use of material on globalization to elucidate industrial trends, and industrial change to explain the globalization process.

Journal of Applied Sociology - Jay Weinstein

It is rare to find a book that promises as much practical calue as Net-Works. In fact, it may dind its greatests impact off-campus, 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 nely-gained insights into workplace action. For that end, Net-Works provides and excellent starting point.

Teaching Sociology

This is a well-conceived and well-written 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 field's theoretical foundations—both classic (Weber, Durkheim, etc.) and contemporary (Zuboff, Ritzer, etc.). Another key feature is the author's 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 Sociology

This is a well-conceived and well-written 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 field's theoretical foundations—both classic (Weber, Durkheim, etc.) and contemporary (Zuboff, Ritzer, etc.). Another key feature is the author's 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 Sociology