The Brazilian Workers’ ABC: Class Conflict and Alliances in Modern São Paulo . By John D. French. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992. Pp. xvi, 378. Map. Photographs. Notes. Index. $47.50.)
A wide gap between the needs of employees and the business needs of firms is a key stylized fact in the field of human resource management. Policies are often classified as either peopleor business-oriented, with the implication that both needs cannot be served simultaneously. In The Healthy Company, Robert Rosen challenges that received assumption by illustrating the bottom line implications of a "people-oriented" approach. His premise is that the success or "health" of a company is directly related to the mental and physical well-being of its employees. Thus, the focus of his discussion is not on product markets or market strategies, but instead on approaches that develop and change people. There are no value chain analyses or data flow diagrams in this book. The topics at center stage are building employee trust, demonstrating respect for employees, the value of diversity, and the benefits of continuous employee learning. The methods outlined in this book, which together constitute a revolutionary approach to defining and attaining business success, are not all of Rosen's own devising. Contributions are drawn from a wide array of academic and practitioner-oriented sources. Rosen's considerable achievement is to pull together these diverse sources to create a compelling argument. The first several sections of the book are dedicated to explaining the author's reasons for writing it and outlining what he sees as its significance to the business community. Not until well into the book does Rosen begin to concentrate on specifics. This organization may leave some readers unsatisfied in the early stages as they wait for the author to get to the point. Even in the first chapters, however, a great variety of anecdotal evidence from the corporate world should keep most readers interested and entertained. Also enlivening is the book's highly original visual presentation, which includes (for example) striking versions of company logos in the margins.