Comments about ‘How change happens’

The writer fails to note that a side effect of all this streamlining was that the proceeds of the labor of those lucky enough to have not been cut went upwards to the very top, the "capitalists", and their wages have actually declined over the last few decades.

I can't quite bring myself to see that as a good thing.

The great majority of corporations showing so far in the black didn't get that way by elbow grease at the top. They got there by being in bed with the government--huge mergers, bailouts and subsidies, not to mention competition-eliminating regulations skewed in their favor. This is the new American capitalism.

And as far as downsizing goes, surveys have shown it not to be the sure-fire profit builder it's purported to be. One study revealed that less than half of the companies who downsized profited from the layoffs in the first year. And on the other end of the scale, the well-known Sears Roebuck study indicated that every 5% increase in employee commitment produced a 1.3% rise in the level of customer satisfaction and a 1/2% increase in revenues. It's no coincidence that members of the "Best Companies To Work For" lists consistently turn out higher levels of revenues, profit growth, and greater share values than competitors. Mutual trust between employees and management is connected to the bottom line.