Turbulence: Boeing and the State of American Workers and Managers

This timely book investigates the experiences of employees at all levels of Boeing Commercial Airplanes during a ten-year period of dramatic organizational change. As Boeing transformed itself, workers and managers contended with repeated downsizing, shifting corporate culture, new roles for women, outsourcing, mergers, lean production, and rampant technological change. Some employees welcomed these changes, others wilted, but almost none escaped the ill effects associated with the rapid and extensive workplace change.

Drawing on a unique blend of quantitative and qualitative research, the authors consider how management strategies affected the well-being of Boeing employees, as well as their attitudes toward their jobs and their company. Boeing employees' experiences hold vital lessons for other employees, the leaders of other firms determined to thrive in today's era of inescapable and growing global competition, as well as public officials concerned about the welfare of American workers and companies.

Edward S. Greenberg, Ph.D., is Professor of Political Science and a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Leon Grunberg, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of Comparative Sociology at the University of Puget Sound.
Sarah Moore, Ph.D., is Associate Academic Dean and Dean of Graduate of Graduate Studies at the University of Puget Sound.
Patricia B. Sikora, Ph.D., is principal of Sikora Research, LLC, providing organizational and marketing research services to businesses and nonprofits throughout the United States.