Values at Work is an analysis of organizational dynamics with wide-ranging implications in an age of market globalization. It looks at the challenges businesses face to maintain people-oriented work systems while remaining successful in the larger economy. George Cheney revisits the famous Mondragón worker-owned-and-governed cooperatives in the Basque Country of Spain to examine how that collection of innovative and democratic businesses is responding to the broad trend of marketization.
The Mondragón cooperatives are changing in important ways as a direct result of both external pressures to be more competitive and the rise of consumerism, as well as through the modification of internal policies toward greater efficiency. One of the most remarkable aspects of the changes is that some of the same business slogans now heard around the globe are being adopted in this set of organizations renowned for its strongly held internal values, such as participatory democracy, solidarity, and equality. Instead of emphasizing the special or unique qualities of the Mondragón experience, this book demonstrates the case's relevance to trends in all sectors and across the industrialized world.
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About George Cheney
Reviews for Values at Work
Jacquelyn Yates, Kent State University
International Journal of Politics and Ethics
Cheney's book offers practical guidelines for value-based organizations engaging in today's market, who want to preserve their social integrity.
Organization Studies
Critically examines how one business... is dealing with external pressures to compete in the global market while working to revive its long-held values of workplace democracy within the new configuration of the customer-centered or market-driven firm.
Journal of Economic Literature
Values at Work is an ambitious theoretical and research study.... This is a worthwhile and interesting study, full of bright ideas about the future of work and employee participation.
Peter Ackers, Loughborough University
American Journal of Sociology
In this thoughtful, well-written book Cheney eschews simplistic answers in favor of complex, thoughtful analysis. He raises important questions about the ability of socially conscious companies to operate in a world economy dominated by an ethos of unbridled competition. Rather than adopt a 'good-guys' versus 'bad-guys' approach, the author leaves it to the reader to weigh the long term consequences of unchecked economic development.
Choice
Values at Work is a landmark contribution to our knowledge about workplace democracy. The clarity of writing, the richness of data, and the careful analysis make this book a must read for anyone interested in democratic participation in an organizational setting.
Francois Cooren, University at Albany, SUNY
Management Communication Quarterly