Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Fun works; creating places where people love to work, 2d ed.
Using examples from successful companies like Southwest Airlines and Prudential Insurance, Yerkes shows how creating an atmosphere of fun in the workplace can bring impressive results in the areas of productivity and profitability. All of the original cases have been updated for the second edition. The volume concludes with a "Fun/Work Fusion Inventory" self-assessment. Consultant Yerkes is also the co- author of 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The real wealth of nations; creating a caring economics.
Having gained some reknown for her analysis of the origins of patriarchic power in The Chalice and the Blade, Eisler (president, Center for Partnership Studies) here turns her attention to economic power. Instead of conventional models, she advocates for a "caring economics" that rests on five foundations: recognition of the life-supporting activities of households, communities, and nature; cultural beliefs and institutions that value caring and care- giving; caring economic rules, policies, and practices; inclusive and accurate economic indicators; and economic and social structures that support partnership rather than domination. She seeks to demonstrate how this caring economics combines the best elements of capitalism and socialism but is superior to old capitalist, socialist, communist, and anarchist models. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Reset; changing the way we look at video games.
Having been involved in video game design and writing about video games since at least 1994, it is no surprise that DeMaria doesn't share the negative perceptions about the dangers of video games to childhood development mouthed by Hillary Clinton and other politicians, but rather than spend the bulk of his time seeking to debunk negative stereotypes about video games, he prefers to reflect on the positive social and educational aspects of many current games and the potential of video games to be developed further in these directions. In the midst of presenting his argument he also offers a primer on the world of video games to the neophyte and a guide to some of the popular games on the market. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Salsa, soul, and spirit; leadership for a multicultural age.
Consultant Bordas describes a multicultural model of leadership that incorporates traditional Latino, African American, and American Indian concepts and practices. She describes eight core leadership principles that are common to all three cultures. These include (for example) generosity, community conferred leadership, and universal kinship. The material is based in part on interviews conducted with such visionary leaders as Ada Deer (first woman to head the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs) and Raul Yzaguirre (founder of the Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility). Bordas is President of Mestiza Leadership International. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Speechless; the erosion of free expression in the American workplace.
Barry (management and sociology, Vanderbilt U.) outlines the legal, ethical, and managerial contours of free speech rights or the lack thereof in the American workplace. He discusses the constitutional "state action" doctrine that defines how rights apply differently in public and private settings and US labor law's "employment-at-will" system as key underpinnings of employer control over expressive activity. He then describes the legal evolution and status of free speech in government and private sector employment. He also explores connections between workplace speech and issues of civil rights, information technology, and work performance. He concludes that constraints on free speech by employers is a threat to more than workplace culture and individual liberty, arguing that it also poses risks for the health of civil society and deliberative democracy. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
