Leon Grunberg

I've been fascinated by how organizations conduct their business and the effects of their decisions and actions on workers for over three decades. My first study was on how and why multinational companies made the decision to close subsidiaries and the consequences for workers and communities (Failed Multinational Ventures: The political economy of international divestments). Studies on how the drive for productivity could often result in less worker safety in the car industry followed as did a study comparing worker cooperatives in the wood products industry to conventionally run firms on several outcomes (alcohol use, health, productivity and safety). The results of this research surprised me: worker-owned coops had worse productivity and possibly worse safety records. For the last 20 years, with colleagues, I've been following the Boeing story. How and why it changed its culture and business model and the effects this had on employees. The roots of the recent 737 Max tragedies can be seen in the cultural changes that followed the merger with MD that are described in the two books. I believe the best way to understand workplaces is by observing them closely and by talking and listening to those who work in them day after day.