Fat and Mean

Fat and Mean: The Corporate Squeeze of Working Americans and the myth of managerial "downsizing" by David M. Gordon

The two themes of the book are how American corporations are both fat and mean. Corporations are fat by having bloated levels of management. And, they are mean by having a heavy-handed, top-down approach to management that he calls the "stick approach" and is comparatively adversarial with labor.

Though the book is now somewhat dated, it's message seems more relevant than ever. Though it seems there are still pockets of companies that work cooperatively with their employees, it still seems like these are exceptional. In fact, I would guess that even most employees, much less the average manager, can't fathom that things could be much different.

Some interesting quotes:
"Low road companies try to squeeze the last ounce out of older capital equipment, " Bennett Harrison observes, "rather than steadily retooling and upgrading their technical capabilities."