White-collar blues

Charles Heckscher interviewed over 250 middle managers from a wide array of firms, including Honeywell, General Motors, Pitney-Bowes, Dow Chemical, Figgie International, Du Pont, and AT&T. To his surprise, he discovered that, in most cases, managers remained loyal to their firms even after substantial downsizing and, in some instances, brutal layoffs.

Yet this loyalty helped neither the managers, who felt increasingly bewildered by changes that made no sense, nor the companies, which, in trying to preserve loyalty, found themselves increasingly avoiding harsh realities.

Heckscher points out that for more than half a century, large corporations have struck a bargain with their managers: near-total lifetime security in exchange for near-total subordination of individuals to the corporate will. That bargain, which Heckscher characterizes as paternalistic, has provided comfort to managers and stability to bureaucratic organizations. Most managers would still like to hold on to it.

But, according to Heckscher, the more successful companies are moving beyond the paternalistic exchange. He found four organizations that have transformed the old ethic of loyalty into a "professional ethic" - a new form of community built around a shared purpose and mission.

Heckscher suggests that this shift, if it is to spread beyond a few hothouse examples, must be supported by fundamental changes in corporate management, government policies, and social institutions - changes as deep as those that accompanied the rise of corporate bureaucracy early in the century.

White-Collar Blues offers companies guidelines for managing change and for making the new corporate culture benefit not only the corporation but also its workers. The book also tells how individuals can prepare themselves for the new realities in the workplace and maximize their chances for success, given the certainty of uncertainty.