Synopses & Reviews
Enough of the imbalance that is causing the degradation of our environment, the demise of our democracies, and the denigration of ourselves. Enough of the pendulum politics of left and right and paralysis in the political center. We require an unprecedented form of radical renewal. In this book Henry Mintzberg offers a new understanding of the root of our current crisis and a strategy for restoring the balance so vital to the survival of our progeny and our planet.With the collapse of the communist regimes of Eastern Europe, Western pundits declared that capitalism had triumphed.
They were wrong—balance triumphed. A healthy society balances a public sector of respected governments, a private sector of responsible businesses, and a plural sector of robust communities. Communism collapsed under the weight of its overbearing public sector. Now the “liberal democracies” are threatened—socially, politically, even economically—by the unchecked excesses of the private sector.Radical renewal will have to begin in the plural sector, which alone has the inclination and the independence to challenge unacceptable practices and develop better ones. Too many governments have been co-opted by the private sector. And corporate social responsibility can't compensate for the corporate social irresponsibility we see around us
“They” won't do it. We shall have to do it, each of us and all of us, not as passive “human resources,” but as resourceful human beings.Tom Paine wrote in 1776, “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” He was right then. Can we be right again now? Can we afford not to be? Synopsis
Enough of the imbalance that is causing the degradation of our environment, the demise of our democracies, and the denigration of ourselves. Enough of the pendulum politics of left and right and paralysis in the political center. We require an unprecedented form of radical renewal. In this book Henry Mintzberg offers a new understanding of the root of our current crisis and a strategy for restoring the balance so vital to the survival of our progeny and our planet
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With the collapse of the communist regimes of Eastern Europe, Western pundits declared that capitalism had triumphed.
They were wrong--balance triumphed.
A healthy society balances a public sector of respected governments, a private sector of responsible businesses, and a plural sector of robust communities. Communism collapsed under the weight of its overbearing public sector.
Now the "liberal democracies" are threatened--socially, politically, even economically--by the unchecked excesses of the private sector.
Radical renewal will have to begin in the plural sector, which alone has the inclination and the independence to challenge unacceptable practices and develop better ones. Too many governments have been co-opted by the private sector. And corporate social responsibility can't compensate for the corporate social irresponsibility we see around us "They" won't do it. We shall have to do it, each of us and all of us, not as passive "human resources," but as resourceful human beings.
Tom Paine wrote in 1776, "We have it in our power to begin the world over again." He was right then. Can we be right again now? Can we afford not to be?
Synopsis
Our world is out of balance and the consequences are proving fateful: the degradation of our environment, the demise of our democracies, and the denigration of ourselves, with greed having been raised to some sort of high calling. Legendary management scholar Henry Mintzberg here brings his formidable analytical powers to bear on how we can renew our troubled societies. Mintzberg argues that there are three pillars of a healthy society: the public (government), the private (business), and the plural (nonprofit). Communism collapsed because the public sector overwhelmed the others. Capitalism is in crisis because the private sector has come to dominate, particularly in the United States. Large corporations have attained positions of entitlement, justified by the prevailing economics dogma of our day: that greed is good, property is sacrosanct, markets are sufficient, and governments are suspect. It is in the neglected plural sector Mintzberg believes hope lies. Radical renewal will have to begin on the ground, within communities of people who exhibit the inclination and the independence to tackle difficult problems head on. We may vote in the public sector and consume in the private sector, but we are the plural sector. We are it, and because it is the way forward, we are the way forward. He offers specific steps for increasing the power of the plural sector, curbing the excesses of the private, and restoring the public to its proper role.
Synopsis
Our world is out of balance, says Henry Mintzberg, and the consequences are proving fateful: the degradation of our environment, the demise of our democracies, and the denigration of ourselves, with greed having been raised to some sort of high calling. But we can set things right. Mintzberg argues that a healthy society is built on three balanced pillars: a public sector of respected governments, a private sector of responsible enterprises, and what he calls a plural sector of robust voluntary associations (nonprofits, NGOs, etc.). Communism collapsed because the public sector was overbearing--balance triumphed in 1989, not capitalism. But that misunderstanding has led to the private sector becoming overbearing in many countries, especially the United States, and this imbalance is wreaking havoc. Many governments are now so co-opted by their private sectors that they won't be able to lead the process of renewal. And corporate social responsibility, however laudable, cannot compensate for the corporate social irresponsibility we see all around us. So Mintzberg offers specific ideas for strengthening the plural sector, which has the inclination and the independence to lead radical renewal by challenging unacceptable practices and developing better ones. This means change must be led not by some "them" but by each of us and all of us--if we care about our planet and our progeny.
Synopsis
+ National publicity campaign targeting The Economist, strategy+business, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Financial Times, Fast Company, Globe and Mail, and Wall Street Journal+ Promotion in conjunction with author speaking engagements at Academy of Management and European Group for Organization Studies
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About the Author
Henry Mintzberg is the Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has won numerous awards from prestigious business, government, and academic institutions and is the author of the bestselling books Simply Managing, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, Managers Not MBAs, and Mintzberg on Management.
Table of Contents
Internationally renowned bestselling author Henry Mintzberg offers an original and compelling analysis of the roots of our current political and economic crisis and lays out a roadmap for restoring balance and renewing capitalism and democracy.