Synopses & Reviews
Worka process familiar to almost everyone has radically changed over the centuries. Most of these changes have involved revolutionary steps, significantly influencing the way people live and behave. Two of thesethe agrarian revolution and the industrial revolution were watersheds in the evolution of work. A third revolution is occurring now in the way we work and live, driven this time by new technology. This sweeping global, narrative history examines early societies, slavery, the guilds, the creation of trade secrets, and the influence of religion on work. The author investigates the ideas of several theorists, including F. W. Taylor, Max Weber, Mary Parker Follett, and W. Edwards Demming, and the impact they have had on our lives. Blood, Sweat and Tears challenges the work ethic on behalf of all those whose lives have increasingly become subsumed by the demands of employers, asking the question: Why do we do it?
Review
[A]n ambitious, wide-ranging history of the changing nature of work. (The Economist)
Synopsis
Work -- a process familiar to almost everyone -- has radically changed over the centuries.
Most of these changes have involved revolutionary steps, significantly influencing the way people live and behave. Two of these -- the agrarian revolution and the industrial revolution -- were watersheds in the evolution of work. A third revolution is occurring now in the way we work and live, driven this time by new technology.
This sweeping global, narrative history examines early societies, slavery, the guilds, the creation of trade secrets, and the influence of religion on work. The author investigates the ideas of several theorists, including F. W. Taylor, Max Weber, Mary Parker Follett, and W. Edwards Demming, and the impact they have had on our lives. Blood, Sweat and Tears challenges the work ethic on behalf of all those whose lives have increasingly become subsumed by the demands of employers, asking the question: Why do we do it?
Synopsis
Blood, Sweat & Tears is a captivating history of work, from prehistoric times to the present day. It offers fascinating and intelligent analyses of the individuals, assumptions, theories, developments, and practices that have so much changed work. Based on detailed research from around the world, the author examines early societies, slavery, the guilds, the creation of trade secrets and the influence of religion on work (such as the humanist ideals of the great Quaker industrialists). Donkin also investigates the ideas of the theorists, such as F. W. Taylor, Max Weber, Elton Mayo, Mary Parker Follett, and W. Edwards Demming, and the impact they have had on our lives. And, controversially, the author challenges the work ethic on behalf of all those whose lives have increasingly become subsumed by the demands of employers, asking the question: Why do we do it?
About the Author
Richard Donkin is a leading columnist and writer on the Financial Times newspaper, specializing in work and management topics. He regularly appears on radio and contributes to leading magazines on issues relating to business. He lives in London with his wife and children.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Warren Bennis Acknowledgments Introduction 1.Hands to the Grindstone 2.Fettered Lives 3.Job Creation 4.The New Religion of Work 5.The Most Important Pile of Bricks in the World 6.Secrets of the Dumb Steeple 7.The Silent Monitor 8.The Last Puritan in a Nation of Amateurs 9.The Yellow Dog Unleashed 10.The Philadelphia Catechism 11.Modern Times 12.Western Electric Discovers Motivation 13.Unnatural Selection 14.Arbeit Macht Frei 15.Whatever Happened to Homer Sarasohn? 16.Managing the Corporate State 17.The Wanting Animal 18.Sharp-suited Philantropists 19.The End of Management 20.Melting the Frozen Assets 21.The Road to Panama 22.One Life. Live It Postcript: New Century, New Ethic Notes Index