Marc S. Mentzer

The Canadian Experience with Employment Equity Legislation

Employment equity, a term originating with the Employment Equity Act of 1986,is a concept roughly analogous to affirmative action in the United States. Thelegislative history of employment equity in Canada is discussed, including theevents leading to the passing of revised legislation, the Employment EquityAct of 1995. A description follows of provincial-level initiatives in Ontario,where employment equity legislation was repealed due to a change inlegislative control.

Scientific Management and the American Hotel

Abstract In the early 20th century, the values associated with Frederick Taylor and scientific management affected the American hotel industry through three different avenues: Modern architecture was regarded as the reification of theTaylorist ideal, and secondly, the internal management of hotels reflected theTaylorist ethos.Thirdly, the occupation of traveling sales representative (commercial traveler), who comprised the key market niche for many hotels, grew in numbers and became more tightly organized due to a combination of legal developments and shifts in management philosophies.Numerous large hotels were built in American cities, reflecting the confluence of these three currents in scientific management.

The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth

The article presents a review of the book “The Innovators Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth,” by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor.

Irrational optimism in a declining industry: Sir Adam Beck's interurban railway proposal

Abstract Sir Adam Beck, best known for his advocacy of publicly owned electric utilities, in 1920 sought to build a network of electric interurban railways in southern Ontario. Such ‘interurbans,’ often referred to as ‘radials’ in Ontario, were essentially long-distance trolleys and would have been entirely separate from conventional railways. Beck failed to recognize that the interurban industry was already in a state of decline by 1920, and the resulting controversy pit Beck against Ernest Drury, Premier of Ontario, who successfully blocked the plan. Beck’s proposal illustrates the phenomenon of irrationally optimistic responses to the decline of an industry.

The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences

The article reviews the book “The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences,” by Louis Uchitelle.

A Blueprint for Corporate Governance: Strategy, Accountability, and the Preservation of Shareholder Value

The article presents a review of the book “A Blueprint for Corporate Governance: Strategy, Accountability, and the Preservation of Shareholder Value,” by Fred R. Kaen.

Organization theory as ideological battleground in the year 2000

Organization theorists have always been divided among departments of political science, public administration, business, and so on, but they have traditionally shared a common acceptance of the natural science model as the vehicle for building new knowledge. The growth of nontraditional approaches to organization theory has led to conflict between mainstream and dissenting theorists on two levels: First, is the choice of topics to be studied a value-neutral decision, or is it a subtle way of promoting a traditional ideological agenda? Second, is the scientific method itself a vehicle for subtly introducing a bias into organization theory scholarship? The gap between mainstream and nontraditional scholars is wide and becoming wider; sadly, the prospects are bleak for a synthesis of these two approaches.