In Competitive Advantage through People, Pfeffer demonstrates why a loyal and intelligent work force is now the critical element of sustainable competitive advantage-and examines why so few companies cultivate one. He reviews traditional factors associated with strategic success-such as product and process technology, protected and regulated markets, access to financial resources, and economies of scale-and reveals why they're no longer sufficient to sustain a competitive edge.
Then, Pfeffer probes the barriers to change to determine why managers fail to take responsibility for improving relationships with their people. The reasons are found in a complex web of factors based on perception, history, legislation, and practice that clings to outdated notions of management thinking. By exploring the history of labor relations, he illustrates how a legacy of distrust and confrontation between firms and their workers developed. He also explains why long-disproved theories of human behavior are still woven into the fabric of many corporate cultures, undermining the fabric of many corporate cultures, undermining the manager/employee relationship even today.
Part 1 Performance through People
Part 2 Barriers to Doing the Right Thing
Part 3 Prospects for Change