cover of episode Who Moved My Cheese?

Who Moved My Cheese?

2024/10/10
logo of podcast If Books Could Kill

If Books Could Kill
AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
People
M
Mike
专注于摄影设备历史和技术的博客作者和播客主持人。
Topics
Peter和Mike对《谁动了我的奶酪？》一书进行了深入的批判性解读，指出该书内容荒谬，逻辑混乱，却在1998年的裁员浪潮中成为企业管理层的宣传工具。他们认为，该书将复杂的经济和社会问题简化为简单的个人责任，鼓励员工被动接受裁员，并将其视为个人挑战，而非公司政策的结果。他们分析了20世纪80年代和90年代股东价值模型的兴起及其对职场的影响，指出裁员并非总是有效的经济策略，反而可能降低效率，损害员工士气，并最终导致工资水平下降。他们认为，该书的流行反映了当时社会对裁员的普遍接受和无力感，以及管理层试图通过积极思维等手段来掩盖裁员的负面影响。 Peter和Mike通过对《谁动了我的奶酪？》作者Spencer Johnson生平和创作背景的分析，揭示了该书的意识形态根源。他们指出，Johnson本人从医生转型为商业励志作家，其作品迎合了企业管理层的需求，为裁员行为提供了一种看似合理的解释。他们还批判了书中将员工比作老鼠，而将管理层比作具有复杂思维能力的人的设定，认为这种设定本身就反映了权力不平衡和对员工的轻视。他们认为，该书的成功与其宣传的意识形态密切相关，它并非真正帮助员工应对变化，而是为裁员行为提供了一种虚假的安慰和合理化。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The hosts discuss the popularity and impact of "Who Moved My Cheese?", noting its unusual rise to bestseller status and the wave of parodies it spawned. They highlight the book's short length and simple language, setting the stage for a critical analysis.
  • The book was a massive bestseller, selling up to 20 million copies.
  • It was widely adopted by corporations and organizations for training purposes.
  • The book's simplicity and use of illustrations are noted.
  • The hosts express skepticism about the book's value.

Shownotes Transcript

What should workers do when they get laid off? In 1998 a bleak, asinine bestseller told them to find another whey.  **Where to find us: **

  • Peter's other podcast, 5-4)
  • Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase)

Sources:

  • Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America)
  • Downsizing in America)
  • Temp:  How American Work, American Business, and the American Dream Became Temporary)
  • The Disposable American)
  • Spencer Johnson, ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ Author, Dies at 78)
  • What was the New Economy?)
  • Boss, Employees Share Large Cheese Platter)
  • Tarpon's big cheese has aides reading)
  • Why doesn’t downsizing deliver?)
  • On the Battlefields of Business, Millions of Casualties)
  • Shareholder Value and Workforce Downsizing, 1981-2006)
  • Long-Term Earnings Losses Due to Job Separation During the 1982 Recession)
  • Does Employee Downsizing Really Work?)
  • Layoffs, Top Executive Pay, and Firm Performance)
  • Emerging Conceptions of Work, Management and the Labor Market)
  • A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Why Organizations Downsize)
  • Organizational Downsizing: Constraining, Cloning, Learning)
  • The Decline and Fall of the Conglomerate Firm in the 1980s)

*** ***Thanks to Mindseye) for our theme song!