Turbulence

Boeing and the State of American Workers and Managers

Greenberg Edward S., Grunberg Leon, Moore Sarah, Sikora Patricia B.

This timely book investigates the experiences of employees at all levels of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) during a ten-year period of dramatic organizational change. As Boeing transformed itself, workers and managers contended with repeated downsizing, shifting corporate culture, new roles for women, outsourcing, mergers, lean production, and rampant technological change. Drawing on a unique blend of quantitative and qualitative research, the authors consider how management strategies affected the well-being of Boeing employees, as well as their attitudes toward their jobs and their company. Boeing employees' experience holds vital lessons for other employees, the leaders of other firms determined to thrive in today's era of inescapable and growing global competition, as well as public officials concerned about the well-being of American workers and companies.

About the Author

Edward S. Greenberg is a member of the Political and Economic Change Programme, Institute of Behavioural Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, and professor of political science.

Leon Grunberg is professor and chairperson, Department of Comparative Sociology, University of Puget Sound.

Sarah Moore is associate dean of faculty and professor of psychology, University of Puget Sound.

Patricia B. Sikora is owner-principal, Sikora Associates, LLC, in Superior, CO.

Reviews

"Not the usual 'sanitized' business school case study, 'Turbulence' makes visible the contradictory forces at play as an iconic company lurches through wrenching change. Much of the story is told through the voices of employees and front line managers, giving the reader an insider's view of what corporate transformation can mean for people. The book is excellent for teachers who want to bring the subject of organizational change vividly and powerfully to life for their students" – Linda Smircich, Professor of Organization Studies, Isenberg School of Management University of Massachusetts at Amherst

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