Investigating the effects of the New Economy on Canada's workers and their families, this study examines the promises made by the advances of technology and globalization versus the challenges that face workers today. The changes that have been made in the working world have not been the predicted boon for laborers, the book explains, leading instead to under- and unemployment and a rehash of an old, exploitative system.
Reimagining our global economy so it becomes more sustainable and prosperous for all Our global economic system is broken. But we can replace the current picture of global upheaval, unsustainability, and uncertainty with one of an economy that works for all people, and the planet. First, we must eliminate rising income inequality within societies where productivity and wage growth has slowed. Second, we must reduce the dampening effect of monopoly market power wielded by large corporations on innovation and productivity gains. And finally, the short-sighted exploitation of natural resources that is corroding the environment and affecting the lives of many for the worse must end. The debate over the causes of the broken economy—laissez-faire government, poorly managed globalization, the rise of technology in favor of the few, or yet another reason—is wide open. Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy that Works for Progress, People and Planet argues convincingly that if we don't start with recognizing the true shape of our problems, our current system will continue to fail us. To help us see our challenges more clearly, Schwab—the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum—looks for the real causes of our system's shortcomings, and for solutions in best practices from around the world in places as diverse as China, Denmark, Ethiopia, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Singapore. And in doing so, Schwab finds emerging examples of new ways of doing things that provide grounds for hope, including: Individual agency: how countries and policies can make a difference against large external forces A clearly defined social contract: agreement on shared values and goals allows government, business, and individuals to produce the most optimal outcomes Planning for future generations: short-sighted presentism harms our shared future, and that of those yet to be born Better measures of economic success: move beyond a myopic focus on GDP to more complete, human-scaled measures of societal flourishing By accurately describing our real situation, Stakeholder Capitalism is able to pinpoint achievable ways to deal with our problems. Chapter by chapter, Professor Schwab shows us that there are ways for everyone at all levels of society to reshape the broken pieces of the global economy and—country by country, company by company, and citizen by citizen—glue them back together in a way that benefits us all.
Former insider turned critic Wendy Liu busts the myths of the tech industry, and offers a galvanising argument for why and how we must reclaim technology's potential for the public good. Former insider turned critic Wendy Liu busts the myths of the tech industry, and offers a galvanising argument for why and how we must reclaim technology's potential for the public good. "Lucid, probing and urgent. Wendy Liu manages to be both optimistic about the emancipatory potential of tech and scathing about the industry that has harnessed it for bleak and self-serving ends." -- Naomi Klein, author of On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal "An inspiring memoir manifesto...Technologists all over the world are realizing that no amount of code can substitute for political engagement. Liu's memoir is a road map for that journey of realization." -- Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized and Little Brother Innovation. Meritocracy. The possibility of overnight success. What's not to love about Silicon Valley? These days, it's hard to be unambiguously optimistic about the growth-at-all-costs ethos of the tech industry. Public opinion is souring in the wake of revelations about Cambridge Analytica, Theranos, and the workplace conditions of Amazon workers or Uber drivers. It's becoming clear that the tech industry's promised "innovation" is neither sustainable nor always desirable. Abolish Silicon Valley is both a heartfelt personal story about the wasteful inequality of Silicon Valley, and a rallying call to engage in the radical politics needed to upend the status quo. Going beyond the idiosyncrasies of the individual founders and companies that characterise the industry today, Wendy Liu delves into the structural factors of the economy that gave rise to Silicon Valley as we know it. Ultimately, she proposes a more radical way of developing technology, where innovation is conducted for the benefit of society at large, and not just to enrich a select few.
Now in its second edition, this reader presents a critical examination of the changing structure of work in Canada and abroad. Its focus is on the role of Canadian labour in the globalized world. Contributors include David Livingstone, Pat Armstrong, Meg Luxton, Dave Broad, and other prominent Canadian scholars. Each of the seven themed sections begins with a contextual introduction by Vivian Shalla and concludes with critical thinking questions and suggestions for further reading. New to this edition: All new content: 14 up-to-date chapters reflecting the current state of research on work in Canada New section on informal care work More workplace-based chapters that provide a view ""from the shop floor""
Technology leadership is changing - fast. The CIO is quickly losing their traditional power base focused on the ownership of physical assets. The basement stuffed full of 'kit' is no more. In this environment, only the fittest - or smartest - will survive. Reboot: leading IT in the information age presents findings from the frontline of business technology. Leaders at several organisations, from British Airways to Marks & Spencer and the UK government, discuss how they are dealing with the new realities of technology management and their vision for the future.
Interrogating the New Economy is a collection of original essays investigating the New Economy and how changes ascribed to it have impacted labour relations, access to work, and, more generally, the social and cultural experiences of work in Canada. Based on years of participatory research, sector-specific studies, and quantitative and qualitative data collection, the work accounts for the ways in which the contemporary workplace has changed but also the extent to which older forms of work organization still remain. The collection begins with an overview of the key social and economic transformations that define the New Economy. It then illustrates these transformations through examples, including essays on wine tourism, the regeneration of mining communities, the place of student workers, and changes in the public service workplace. It also addresses unions and their responses to the restructuring of work, as well as other forms of resistance.
The disconnect between our experience of the world and the economic model used to explain it has given rise to angrynomics. In a powerful and passionately argued analysis, Eric Lonergan and Mark Blyth offer a set of radical and innovative policies that might just help the world to be a less angry place.
How do we make sense of the social problems that continue to plague Canadian society? Our understanding of issues such as poverty, racism, violence, homophobia, crime and pollution stems from our view of how society is structured. From the dominant neoliberal perspective, social problems arise from individuals making poor choices. From a critical perspective, however, these social troubles are caused by structural social inequalities. Disparities in economic, social and political power — that is, relations of power based on class, race, gender and sexual orientation — are the central structural element of capitalist, patriarchal, colonialist societies. The contributors to Power and Resistance use this critical perspective to explore Canadian social issues such as poverty, colonialism, homophobia, violence against women, climate change and so on. This sixth edition adds chapters on the corporatization of higher education, the lethal impacts of colonialism, democracy, the social determinants of health, drug policy and sexual violence on campus.
The tech revolution will hit us all soon. How can any organisation survive and thrive? Headlines predict that whole industries will be decimated by Artificial Intelligence and automation. Some bosses and bankers are rubbing their hands at the prospect of cost savings and staff cuts. But there is another way. New technology can also empower teams, fuel creativity and make people happier. At Simply Business, twice voted the UK’s best company to work for, big data and automated systems are being harnessed to generate positive growth, staff are currently trialling a four-day week in their Northampton office. In this bold blueprint, CEO Jason Stockwood – named by the Sunday Times as the UK’s best leader – shows how any organisation can think freshly and benefit from technology by putting its people first.
