tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9279394.post114608814318324393..comments2023-10-06T08:53:14.731-04:00Comments on Eternal vigilance: OwnlifeRicketsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02579799843541826447noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9279394.post-1146605551740965912006-05-02T17:32:00.000-04:002006-05-02T17:32:00.000-04:00Re Ownlife:Ah, 1984. Maybe that's why the word mad...Re Ownlife:<BR/><BR/>Ah, <I>1984</I>. Maybe that's why the word made an impact on me. <BR/><BR/>Re Taylorism:<BR/><BR/>Sounds like it is alive and well at Whole Foods:<BR/>http://www.alternet.org/story/31260/Ricketsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02579799843541826447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9279394.post-1146515088678939332006-05-01T16:24:00.000-04:002006-05-01T16:24:00.000-04:00Thanks, Adam.In most service jobs, I've seen just ...Thanks, Adam.<BR/><BR/>In most service jobs, I've seen just the opposite, Robot Economist. Bosses are increasingly trying to push the ethos of "professionalism"--being dedicated to one's job, and to the glorious mission of serving the customer, 24/7--even in low-paid unskilled workers. And all the new management theory fads about flexibility and empowerment are mainly lip service; despite all the empowerment rhetoric, management turns them into Taylorism/Fordism in practice. You may well be right that structural pressures will make this a losing strategy. But if so, corporate management will kick and scream to the end.<BR/><BR/>BTW, "ownlife" was a Newspeak word for the unfortunate tendency to want to follow solitary pursuits instead of spending the weekend on a community hike or putting in another evening at the community center.Kevin Carsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07525803609000364993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9279394.post-1146496108940548192006-05-01T11:08:00.000-04:002006-05-01T11:08:00.000-04:00What portion of workers actually work in the "new ...What portion of workers actually work in the "new economy"? I get the impression that it applies to very few workers who didn't go to college, and still only a fraction of Americans with 4-year college degrees (~1/3 of Americans, last time I checked).Ricketsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02579799843541826447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9279394.post-1146495465051256362006-05-01T10:57:00.000-04:002006-05-01T10:57:00.000-04:00Motivational books are relics of the Fordist econo...Motivational books are relics of the Fordist economy, where employees were expected to perform repetitive, mind-numbing tasks and needed continual motivation. Most of the time, employers tried to motivate their employees by establishing an espirit de corps. <BR/>They also inducted them into a parent-child relationship by promising to take care of them with extensive pensions, health-care and regular promotion.<BR/><BR/>The "new economy" is different though. Employees work to build experience and seek advancement both vertically and horizontally. Their jobs aren't as repetitive or dull and they don't need to see the business as central to their lifestyle. Businesses that don't embrace this concept are doomed to fail - just look at the slow collapse of Japan's life employment system as proof.Robot Economisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15462962401593301110noreply@blogger.com