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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Sociologist Best (Damned Lies and Statistics) dissects the dangerous hula hoops of business, medicine, science and education in this light exposition on institutional fads. According to Best, American attitudes toward progress (colored by optimism, competitiveness, a belief in positive change and a fear of being seen as old-fashioned) serve as kindling to the fire of the next big cure, technological revolution, business management secret or teaching method. Best delineates stages of the fad life-cycle ("emerging," "surging," then finally "purging") and identifies conditions and players essential to creating a successful fad (a problem needs a solution, which is then proposed by originators and pushed by promoters), and though he makes an intuitive and immensely readable case, his book suffers from a dearth of hard data and case studies (the hypothetical "Dr. Michael" and "Professor Alice" used to illustrate Best's points feel contrived and simple). Similarly, his five rules for "fad-proofing" will work well for an individual, but those who adhere to his principles and swim against the tide in a large organization may find themselves reading this book in the soup line.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Best is author of Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists (2001) and several other books that take a fresh look at social trends. Although the title might suggest a whimsical look at the pop-culture fads that we all love to make fun of, this book focuses on a much lesser- but more insidious version: the institutional fad. Institutional fads occur in business, education, government, and medicine whenever normally rational people embrace novel solutions just because they are the latest, greatest thing. Since the definition of a fad is something that catches on and then quickly fades away, these passing solutions waste a lot of resources and can even leave damage in their wake. Some institutional fads that may not be all they were cracked up to be include multiple-personality-disorder diagnoses, business management systems such as Six Sigma, and the No Child Left Behind program. Best examines the life cycle and dynamics of fads and suggests some basic adages for becoming "fad-proof," such as "remember last time." David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
Sociologist Best (Damned Lies and Statistics) dissects the dangerous hula hoops of business, medicine, science and education in this light exposition on institutional fads. According to Best, American attitudes toward progress (colored by optimism, competitiveness, a belief in positive change and a fear of being seen as old-fashioned) serve as kindling to the fire of the next big cure, technological revolution, business management secret or teaching method. Best delineates stages of the fad life-cycle ("emerging," "surging," then finally "purging") and identifies conditions and players essential to creating a successful fad (a problem needs a solution, which is then proposed by originators and pushed by promoters), and though he makes an intuitive and immensely readable case, his book suffers from a dearth of hard data and case studies (the hypothetical "Dr. Michael" and "Professor Alice" used to illustrate Best's points feel contrived and simple). Similarly, his five rules for "fad-proofing" will work well for an individual, but those who adhere to his principles and swim against the tide in a large organization may find themselves reading this book in the soup line.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Best is author of Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists (2001) and several other books that take a fresh look at social trends. Although the title might suggest a whimsical look at the pop-culture fads that we all love to make fun of, this book focuses on a much lesser- but more insidious version: the institutional fad. Institutional fads occur in business, education, government, and medicine whenever normally rational people embrace novel solutions just because they are the latest, greatest thing. Since the definition of a fad is something that catches on and then quickly fades away, these passing solutions waste a lot of resources and can even leave damage in their wake. Some institutional fads that may not be all they were cracked up to be include multiple-personality-disorder diagnoses, business management systems such as Six Sigma, and the No Child Left Behind program. Best examines the life cycle and dynamics of fads and suggests some basic adages for becoming "fad-proof," such as "remember last time." David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In the summer of 1958, our parents bought hula hoops, one for my younger brother and one for me. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pendulum image, new management scheme, fads spread, appraisal planning, educational fads, management fashion, management fads, late adopters Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Professor Alice, Professor Bertram, Teaching Math, Six Sigma, United States, Provost Elaine, Thirdtier College New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
In the summer of 1958, our parents bought hula hoops, one for my younger brother and one for me. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pendulum image, new management scheme, fads spread, appraisal planning, educational fads, management fashion, management fads, late adopters Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Professor Alice, Professor Bertram, Teaching Math, Six Sigma, United States, Provost Elaine, Thirdtier College New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 94
books:
See all 94 books this book cites
- Translating Organizational Change (De Gruyter Studies in Organization, 56) by Barbara Czarniawska-Joerges in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Social Problems by Burton Wright in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Organizational Change (Human Resource Management series) by Professor Patrick M B Dawson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Future Shock by Alvin Toffler in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness (P.S.) by Virginia Postrel in Back Matter
See all 94 books this book cites
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