David Erdal's new book about employee ownership, BEYOND THE CORPORATION: Humanity Working is published on Thursday 3 March by Bodley Head with a launch event at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.
BEYOND THE CORPORATION, published by Bodley Head on Thursday 3 March 2011, is a book for our times. Offering inspiration and vision in the wake of financial meltdown, it is the story of ordinary people who share the ownership of the businesses where they work. David Erdal has a wealth of experience in the field: he led his family paper company Tullis Russell into all-employee ownership and as MD of Baxi Partnership he helped other companies make the same transition.
David Erdal is the author LOCAL HEROES: How Loch Fyne Oysters Embraced Employee Ownership and Business Success (Viking 2008; Penguin ppbk 2009). Spectator Business described this as 'a touching tale of struggle and triumph…Amid the gloom of the credit crunch and the glower of the Scottish weather, Erdal's book is a welcome beacon of hope.' Now in BEYOND THE CORPORATION: Humanity Working he tells the stories of success in many companies owned by their employees, in the UK, the US, Spain, Germany, Italy and other countries. Korean rights have already been sold to The Dong-a Ilbo.
Erdal takes a hard look at those who insist, in the teeth of the evidence, that shared ownership will never work. The book contains detailed case studies as well as interviews with a range of people whose inspiring stories of success fly in the face of received wisdom. These successes include high levels of productivity; sustained rapid growth; fast-moving, innovative responses to changing worlds; high levels of investment aimed at long-term prosperity; and, above all, the sheer happiness employees experience in working in businesses that they own together, sharing the wealth that they create. At a time when the 'orthodox' corporate economy has been badly shaken, BEYOND THE CORPORATION makes essential reading.
The event to accompany the launch will take place at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh on the evening of 3 March. For more information on the now sold-out event, click here.
Praise for BEYOND THE CORPORATION:
'This is by far the best book to explain democratic employee ownership to business people and to the owners of family firms who might be considering a sale to the employees. David Erdal has "walked the walk" by arranging for the successful sale of his large family business to the employees so he speaks with a convincing authority on the matter. He now works with other firms to make that transition so his narrative is further enriched with a wide variety of practical experience together with extensive interviews with managers and employee-owners. In addition, he masterfully spells out the arguments on economic, managerial, political, and social psychological grounds for democratic worker ownership. This combination of real world experience and interdisciplinary understanding of the issues makes this "the book" on democratic employee ownership.' -- David Ellerman, philosopher and economics expert, author of HELPING PEOPLE HELP THEMSELVES
