Book Report Part 1

            For my book report I am reading, “The Culture of New Capitalism.” The book begins by giving an overview of the leftist view of the sixties of wanting to make a move away from big business and the strength associated with businesses. The book then leads into a discussion of the boom of business during this period and the creation of wealth associated with growing business. Along with this wealth however, also came a growing gap of economic inequality in the country.  The fact that our country experienced this abrupt change in business had far reaching social implications. According to the book it created a situation where rather than relying on having a single skill or trade for people to make a living, they instead are valued for their knowledge and potential contributions to be made to a company. This creates a highly volatile system in which people are constantly moving around in the workforce. The book lists three traits that are essential for prosperity in this “fragmentary social condition.” The first is how to manage short term relationships and oneself while moving from job to job, task to task and place to place. Second, you need to know how to develop new skills and mine potential abilities as realities demands shift. Also, it is necessary to let go of the past. Although it may not seem apparent at first, all of this is very relevant to the ideas we have been discussing in class the past few weeks. The basis of the book’s discussion is the effects of globalization as well as the evolution of the business world. The first trait necessary for success relates directly to our discussions on teams. It is necessary to be able to quickly adapt to the relationships you will have to create an efficient work environment. This is because you will constantly be encountering new individuals and team members, and these teams may be short lived as you are assigned to different tasks and projects. This also serves as an explanation of why you need to be able to manage short term relationships. Another topic we have discussed this relates to is diversity in teams and the workplace. With such a diverse workforce in the United States it is important to be socially aware and be able to effectively communicate with diverse individuals as well as be willing to accept ideas other than just your own. The third characteristic needed may seem confusing at first but is very logical after further explanation. The justification for needing this attribute is that even though you may have worked at a company for a very long time, it seems to be increasingly frequent that this does not hold any value. Although you may have been with the company for a long period of time, you may be just as disposable to the company as a new hire. When you think of this possibility it is somewhat worrying. I feel that this is not always the case in the real world but I do see the point the author is trying to convey. I feel that his main point is that in the ever changing work environment there is always the possibility of being replaced. Overall I think that there are several good points made in this book so far. It is important to take into consideration the fact that the global job environment is changing so much. With all of these new changes come new opportunities as well as new obstacles to success. It is necessary to carefully examine one’s environment so that they can be successful in today’s business world.