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Publishers Weekly Review

Cooperative rather than adversarial manager-employee relations are the mark of today's innovative and successful companies, reports Garfield ( Peak Performance ) in this somewhat long-winded but unfailingly cheerful account. At America West Airlines, Semco and Preston Trucking, among other companies, he observes that managers have become coaches, factory hands are planners and designers and clerks double as public relations experts--all with decision-making authority. With compensation based on results and profits ``only one goal among many,'' self-managed employee teams develop or revise products and services, usually having sought input from suppliers, retailers and consumers. In an ongoing conversion ``from machines to living systems,'' such new-breed firms, says Garfield, embrace ethnic and gender diversity, support high ethical and environmental standards and espouse community concerns. 40,000 first printing; major ad/promo; author tour. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

In near-storytelling prose, Garfield (University of California, San Francisco) demonstrates a superb ability to communicate hard-to-understand ideas. He offers vivid examples of several different approaches to building a strong organization through people. Emphasizing creativity and teamwork, the author guides readers through a surprisingly diverse array of organizational problems and successfully articulates interconnection among those problems. Like that of Tom Peters (Thriving on Chaos, CH, Mar'88), Garfield's vision is one of transforming organizational structure from the traditional mechanistic design to an adaptable organic one. One of the most striking features of Garfield's presentation is his ability to translate much of modern management thinking into understandable language. Highly readable, interesting, informative, and perhaps even inspirational. Recommended for undergraduate, public library, and corporate collections.-L. J. Cumbo, Emory and Henry College

Booklist Review

Several years ago Garfield wrote Peak Performers: The New Heroes of American Business (Morrow, 1986), a study of high achievers based on research he had conducted. He has continued his research, and here he profiles companies that perform well. Garfield reports that successful companies are those that facilitate, rather than decree, change in order to adapt to our radically transforming environment. Another common characteristic among successful companies is that they "put people first." Everyone--employees, customers, suppliers--is a fully participating member of a team. With unrestrained enthusiasm and optimism, Garfield describes innovation, teamwork, customer service, training, and motivation programs and stresses the importance of employee diversity, ethics, and education at companies he has studied, from Cincinnati Milacron to Avon. ~--David Rouse