Modern Manors

By Sanford M. Jacoby

Book Overview

In light of recent trends of corporate downsizing and debates over corporate responsibility, Sanford Jacoby offers a timely, comprehensive history of twentieth-century welfare capitalism, that is, the history of nonunion corporations that looked after the economic security of employees. Building on three fascinating case studies of "modern manors" (Eastman Kodak, Sears, and TRW), Jacoby argues that welfare capitalism did not expire during the Depression, as traditionally thought. Rather it adapted to the challenges of the 1930s and became a powerful, though overlooked, factor in the history of the welfare state, the labor movement, and the corporation. "Fringe" benefits, new forms of employee participation, and sophisticated anti-union policies are just some of the outgrowths of welfare capitalism that provided a model for contemporary employers seeking to create productive nonunion workplaces. Although employer paternalism has faltered in recent years, many Americans still look to corporations, rather than to unions or government, to meet their needs. Jacoby explains why there remains widespread support for the notion that corporations should be the keystone of economic security in American society and offers a perspective on recent business trends. Based on extensive research, Modern Manors greatly advances the study of corporate and union power in the twentieth century.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691007438
• ISBN13: 9780691007434
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

A "WELL-MANORED" LOOK AT LABOR RELATIONS

It is not a very long book, but it contains a lot of information and insight. I guess that is why an academic jury awarded it the Taft Prize for Labor History. The book is all about how american businesses--three in particular: Sears, Thompson, and Kodak--used sophisticated welfare capitalist techniques (and the occasional resort to brass-knuckle tactics) to defeat union organizing drives. There are fascinating glimpses at business history, collective bargaining, the evolution of employee benefits, and a dollop of labor economics thrown in for good measure in this work. The writing is accessible, well-documented, and brimful of well-chosen anecdotes without being unduly folksy or slangy. The depictions of how Sears company officials and staff labor relations professionals worked hand-in-glove with fake company unions and the Teamsters (!?) to blunt the CIO's organizing efforts during and after World War II are particularly good. I have rated this at 5 stars because it was a rewarding read and I thought the (somewhat inadequate) 1 star review ought to be offset.

Sanford Jacoby did an excellent job

I read this book and thought the analysis was extremely accurate and the above commentor was extremely off and accomplished nothing except making this book look horrible