From Turmoil to Triumph

Marks's litany of woes is numbing. ``Fortune 500 companies employed 3.7 million fewer workers in 1991 than in 1981 . . . fully half of the 1980 Fortune 500 companies were absent from the 1990 list.'' The author argues that mergers, acquisitions and downsizings (``organizational MADness'') plus an assortment of such managerial programs as total quality management and continuous improvement, have a profound negative impact on workers. Marks, a corporate transitions consultant, crafts an organizational recovery plan for a workforce he terms ``unable or unwilling to garner the physical or psychological energy necessary to make a run at business opportunities.'' His ideas on restoring faith and creating hope are on target: articulate a vision and translate it into a mission; hold ``venting'' meetings and massage egos; supply performance incentives, etc. This is a useful manifesto for managers concerned about workplace turmoil. Illustrations. (July)