Rating: 
Summary: Superb Resource for College Seniors
Review: A book that helps college seniors understand the shifting patterns of employment, but also the shifting meaning of employment in peoples' lives. The book remains very readable, even entertaining, as it presents the historical background on how the meaning of work changed from the 1700s forward, and sociological data on current work and employment patterns. It makes the world of work come alive as a place of opportunity, risk, and disappointment. By its vivid narratives, it helps college students understand that their uncertainty and anxiety are appropriate to the world they are entering, but also encourages them in a spirit of healthy adventure. Super
Rating: 
Summary: "Corroded" and proud of it!
Review: According to Sennett, I am one of those "soul-less, disposable employees with no stability and no career." I never worked anywhere for more than 18 months, and in fact can not remember off hand how many times I changed jobs. Some of my former companies no longer exist; others have turned over completely, with no original people left.
And guess what? I like it this way. I enjoy what I do, and love to learn new things. I make no long-term career goals, and it would be a folly to try since nobody knows what the world will be like in 20 years. When I am not learning anything new, it is time to leave. Does it make me selfish and disployal? Not at all, because my loyalty is to individuals - colleagues, and even more importantly, FORMER colleagues, - not to an abstract entity called a "company". When they need help, such as new business contact, I help them, and they help me. I a word, I am a Free Agent, knowing my own own worth, and negotiating the best deals with those who need my services. (Actually, a consulting company does the negotiations, bargaining not being my strong suit.) And contrary to the "greedy workaholic" image, "best deal" does not necessarily mean "more money". Some weeks I work only 30 hours, to spend more time with my family. And no, I do not believe that delayed gratification is necessarily virtuous (although often necessary). "Live as if you were to die tomorrow, study as if you were to live forever." Sennett seems to yearn for the world of yesteryear, where one went to school, joined a company (and a labor union), rose through the ranks, then went on pension and died. All your life company took care of you in exchange for being an obedient wheel. I suspect only someone who spent his whole life in academia can admire the mind-numbing stupefaction of such "traditional career".
For a balanced view of the changing nature of workplace and the real power of skilled individuals, read "Free Agent Nation" by Daniel Pink.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Sociological Critique of the New Capitalism.
Review: Amidst the cacophony about the wonders of globalization and the new millennium's everlasting prosperity and bull market, Richard Sennett has the intellectual courage to present some of the negative consequences of global capitalism on a vast number of workers whose skills and dedication the economy and markets depend upon. Jobs are replaced by "projects" and "fields of work" and the moto for organizing working time is "no long-term". As workers are forced to go from one job to another, the new capitalism increases the risk of the workers in choosing employment, while it robs them of the sense of security enjoyed previously and, in Sennett's words, corrodes their character. The book covers the trends and nuances of the new capitalism and with many examples illustrates the decline of job security of both workers and managers, the fact that the fastest growing sector of the labor force is those working on temporary jobs, often called "permatemps", and that the frequent turnover in employment increases the risk of choosing a career or even a job. Richard Sennett correctly concludes that the new order does indeed corrode the worker's character.
Rating: 
Summary: For anyone who works in a large corporation
Review: I thought this book would be interesting, but I didn't think it would be as relevant to my own career as it turned out to be. Sennett examines the new model of businesses, that of loose networks and short-term assignments, and the effect it has on the psyche of the everyday in-the-trenches worker, everyone from plant workers to middle management. He documents the shift from the corporate family model (the old 1950s "company man" ideal) to the new mercenary, hired hand mentality. The basic theory Sennett proposes is that we need a continuous narrative in our lives. We need to believe that we are progressing, that we accumulate experience and are moving toward successful careers. But with the new economy, there is no narrative. Corporations have a "What have you done for me lately?" mentality. Past successes are less important. Employees work in makeshift teams, per assignment, and individual responsibility becomes nebulous. Our narratives are disjointed, more like a collection of short stories than the novel we want. The only thing I didn't agree with was Sennett's conclusion that the biggest negative effect of this displacement is that it bruises our egos and encourages us to withdraw. I think the greater consequence is our uncertainty, which breeds fear and leads to anger and bitterness.
Rating:
Summary: Great book.. the tiltle is over bloated, though
Review: London School Of Economic's Richard Sennett (no relation to Mack Sennett of Keystone Kops fame) has written an important and eminently readable short book (a long essay, really) about the personal consequences of work in the "new capitalism." His book, titled THE CORROSION OF CHARACTER (1998), explains in clear and compelling terms how things have changed for the worse in the workplace, and how this has affected workers negatively. Sennett begins by explaining how personal character is attacked by the "new capitalism". He states that routine was an evil of the old capitalism, and that in recent times, the workplace was made "flexible" by means of the restructuring of time (flextime, part time jobs, increased use of swing and graveyard type shifts, etc.). He then asserts that modern forms of labor are difficult to understand (he calls them "illegible"), and implies, persuasively, that the very murkiness of these new forms has enabled employers to victimize employees in new ways. Author Sennett goes on to discuss the subject of risk, much ballyhooed and heavily sold as a good thing in recent times. Sennett disagrees. He states that risk-taking has become disorienting and depressing in today's world and workplace. Sennett goes on to say that the work ethic has changed for the worse, and that workers have become enmired in inevitiable and depressing failure. He describes the various ways workers caught in all this have tried unsuccessfully to cope with failure, and seems to be headed for a sad ending to his book. However, the last chapter of THE CORROSION OF CHARACTER offers some hope. It is titled "The Dangerous Pronoun," and in it, Richard Sennett explains why community is the best remedy for the ills of work people presently suffer on such a wide and unrelieved basis (despite all the politicians' claims of how wonderful everything at present because Wall Street and its stock market are doing very well). This is a brilliant book. Everybody should read it and encourage others to do the same. Author Ralph Keyes of Yellow Springs, Ohio, wrote a similarly brilliant book in 1972 titled WE THE LONELY PEOPLE, also calling for more, not less, community in American life. Keyes book made a big splash and started Keyes on a career as a big time author. But his book went out of print, and is now largely forgotten. This is a shame. It was Keyes' best book (and Keyes wrote many good ones thereafter). Richard Sennett has written a wonderful book about an important subject. Only time will tell if people are intelligent enough to listen, and move appropriately to make the corrections he calls for.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT ESSAY ABOUT THE IMPACT OF TODAY'S WORKPLACE ON AMERICA
Review: London School Of Economic's Richard Sennett (no relation to Mack Sennett of Keystone Kops fame) has written an important and eminently readable short book (a long essay, really) about the personal consequences of work in the "new capitalism." His book, titled THE CORROSION OF CHARACTER (1998), explains in clear and compelling terms how things have changed for the worse in the workplace, and how this has affected workers negatively. Sennett begins by explaining how personal character is attacked by the "new capitalism". He states that routine was an evil of the old capitalism, and that in recent times, the workplace was made "flexible" by means of the restructuring of time (flextime, part time jobs, increased use of swing and graveyard type shifts, etc.). He then asserts that modern forms of labor are difficult to understand (he calls them "illegible"), and implies, persuasively, that the very murkiness of these new forms has enabled employers to victimize employees in new ways. Author Sennett goes on to discuss the subject of risk, much ballyhooed and heavily sold as a good thing in recent times. Sennett disagrees. He states that risk-taking has become disorienting and depressing in today's world and workplace. Sennett goes on to say that the work ethic has changed for the worse, and that workers have become enmired in inevitiable and depressing failure. He describes the various ways workers caught in all this have tried unsuccessfully to cope with failure, and seems to be headed for a sad ending to his book. However, the last chapter of THE CORROSION OF CHARACTER offers some hope. It is titled "The Dangerous Pronoun," and in it, Richard Sennett explains why community is the best remedy for the ills of work people presently suffer on such a wide and unrelieved basis (despite all the politicians' claims of how wonderful everything at present because Wall Street and its stock market are doing very well). This is a brilliant book. Everybody should read it and encourage others to do the same. Author Ralph Keyes of Yellow Springs, Ohio, wrote a similarly brilliant book in 1972 titled WE THE LONELY PEOPLE, also calling for more, not less, community in American life. Keyes book made a big splash and started Keyes on a career as a big time author. But his book went out of print, and is now largely forgotten. This is a shame. It was Keyes' best book (and Keyes wrote many good ones thereafter). Richard Sennett has written a wonderful book about an important subject. Only time will tell if people are intelligent enough to listen, and move appropriately to make the corrections he calls for.
Rating:
Summary: A piercing look at the influence of work on character
Review: Perhaps the most interesting of Sennett's ideas involve the concept of evolution of self. He argues that the new Capitalism of the global economy of change doesn't provide us with a satisfactory model for living. Deeply-rooted core values like loyalty, sacrifice, authority, community, and dependence on others are chipped away bit by bit through the actions, attitudes, and machinations of the "flexible corporation". Loyalty is outmoded, generosity outdated, long-term vision outmaneuvered. Drawing on his experiences, direct and indirect, with IBM, New York advertising agencies, and the upper echelons of the Business elite, he paints a disturbing and thought-provoking portrait of work gone awry. In his words, the critical question of character is "Who needs me?" While this question may appear trite at first, consider how irrelevant it is to the modern workplace, or even to society today. Now consider how relevant it should be. Whether you agree with him or not, reading this book will challenge you to clarify your own thoughts on what work means, and should mean, both to the individual and to society as a whole.
Rating: 
Summary: People, like capitalism, can adapt.
Review: Richard Sennett's little book includes many worthy insights. His analysis of risk-taking and community is particularly good. It appears true that in the private sector a short term focus is widespread. For many individuals, life narratives are perhaps getting lost amidst fragmentary episodes of work. Personal character no doubt suffers. But whose fault is this? Sennett seems to imply that workers are passive victims of institutional structure. Such structures, however, are always changing. Workers may be more resilient than he gives them credit for. Personal narratives are probably intact even though many of them are so different from those of, say, their parents as to be unrecognizable. Then, too, in changing times one may simply have to exert more effort to understand and develop a life narrative. On the basis of Sennett's small sample, assuming too much about the workforce as a whole may be unwise. Do foreign service officers, Oklahoma bankers, Iowa farmers, physicians in Oregon, and school teachers in New Mexico suffer from a diminished sense of identity because of the new capitalism? I felt swayed by Sennett's argument until I read on p. 116 that, "The classic work ethic of delayed gratification and proving oneself through hard labor can hardly claim our affection." In fact, it does. Even under new circumstances, working hard and delaying gratification in order to achieve a larger goal produces a sense of accomplishment, of self-worth. Similiarly, human beings have a way of seeking out or creating the communities they need. If the office doesn't provide it, or the neighborhood, churches and voluntary associations of all kinds do. Some people simply opt out of work situations which do not provide or allow them the kinds of communities they need. Capitalism is infinitely changeable and dynamic, but most people are quick to see their options. Quicker perhaps than Mr. Sennett.
Rating:
Summary: Todays changing workplace
Review: Richard Sennetts book entitled The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consquences of Work in the New Capitalism is a well written and informative book about the economic changes and conditions going on in America's workplace today. Sennett uses examples in his book about janitors, IBM workers, and Boston bakers as case studies to get some of his points accross. He paints a picture of how each of these professions has changed over the years. These examples are deeply thought out and explained in detail. He even makes the examples so easy to understand that even a young adult can follow along. The only downside to his book is that the author gives no soloutions to the problems inour changing workforce. He just explains why things are the way they are. If you are intrested in learning about the changes in our workforce, this is a book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Antidote to Who Moved my Cheese
Review: Thankfully, after browsing in a bookstore through the huge and often intellectually bankrupt variety of management, success and business books the thoughtful reader may find solace by stumbling upon a book by Sennett.
In Corrosion of Character, Sennett exposes the reality on new capitalism and how its emphasis on flexibility has changed the nature of work. flexibility is being encouraged to fight the rigid bureaucracies of the past - and typical of public sector jobs. The 'Career'is a thing of the past. Sennet shows how the emphasis on flexibility is affecting character as expressed by loyalty and committment and ultimately the decline of values and personal traits that are desirable in society. This book is moving in that it shows the negative repercussions of the present - ideologically unchecked - renegade capitalism are eroding human character and life. It is also a warning to those societies that have yet to leap in the totality of the Reagan-Thatcherite economy to resist making the leap.
You might find yourself humming the Internationale and appreciating the color red more after finishing this easy to read book.
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