The Productive Edge – How U.S. Industries are Pointing the Way to a New Era of Economic Growth - Hardcover

Lester, Richard K

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393045749 ISBN 13: 9780393045741

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co., 1998

Synopsis

Compared to the early 1990s, when concerns about the global "competitiveness" of US industries reached an anxiety-laden peak, the later years of the 1990s have looked much better. But the overall rate of productivity growth has been stuck at a low level since the 1970s, leaving many Americans with little or no improvement in their living standards. Recently, however, significant new productivity gains have been reported in important industries. In this book, an authority on this issue searches five recent success stories for clues on shaping new strategy for economic growth. These reports point to a new agenda for growth, tailored to the volatile, unpredictable conditions that will persist in the American economy for the foreseeable future. At the heart of the agenda is a proposal for a "new economic citizenship" - a new view of the rights, responsibilities and resources that shoud be accorded to those who will contribute their ideas and labour to the new century.

About this title

From the Publisher

Early reviewers' comments on The Productive Edge:
"The Productive Edge is a fascinating tale of America’s industrial comeback—how it happened, where it happened, and what must be done to make it last. An artful blend of facts, analysis and storytelling, it is a must read for corporate leaders, investors, public officials, and anyone else concerned about America’s future." —Jeffrey E. Garten, dean of the Yale School of Management

"If you want to understand the fundamentals of America’s economic and competitive status, where it’s been, and where it could (and should) be headed, this book is required reading. Lester has written a stunningly readable book, the single best source I know of about the issues and dilemmas facing U.S. industry as it approaches the millenium." —Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California, and author of Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration

"An important book on a critical issue by a particularly clear writer and thinker. Anyone interested in America’s future competitiveness in world markets should read Richard Lester’s thoughts on productivity, and discover why this measure of industry is the key to continued economic success." —William Spencer, Chairman, SEMATECH

"A nation’s standard of living depends mainly on its own productivity. Richard Lester takes a fresh and penetrating look at how some American firms have turned themselves into highly productive competitors. There are vital lessons here for everyone." —Robert M. Solow, Institute Professor of Economics, Emeritus, MIT (Nobel laureate, 1987)

"The Productive Edge, by Richard K. Lester and his team at M.I.T., points to the need for flexible and ‘creative’ organizations in the fast-moving global markets of the 21st century. American industry, which has an amazing capacity to reinvent itself, would do well to study this book and implement its recommendations." —Gordon E. Forward, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chapparral Steel

From the Author

Living with Ambiguity: A New Agenda for Economic Growth
"The scare over 'economic insecurity' in the mid-1990s was no chimera. It was rooted in real and fundamental changes in the nature of the economy. To dispel it will take more than the expansion phase of one business cycle. Rather, our society must accept the inevitability of a significantly higher level of economic ambiguity and volatility than in even the recent past; we need to recognize that this will be a normal condition of our economic existence for the foreseeable future. The challenge is to find a way to grow and flourish in such an environment, rather than just wishing it away. As I will try to show in this book, success will require a basic rethinking of many of our most cherished business practices and public policies-- a formidable task that is only just beginning." -- from the Introduction.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0393045749
• ISBN 13: 9780393045741
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368