America and the New Economy.

• Author: Nolan, Mary E.

Anthony P. Carnevale is the author of America and the New Economy, as well as several other works that comprise the research backdrop for the "Workforce 2000" and "Train America's Workforce" campaigns sponsored by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). The chief economist for the ASTD and a nationally recognized authority on economic issues associated with work and employment, he formerly served as director of government relations for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.

America and the New Economy differs from standard approaches to the world of economics by looking beyond statistics and second-hand data to describe the people and technology that create the dramatic economic changes we are experiencing not only in the United States but also worldwide. The first of the book's four sections, discussing America's economy in a global context, describes the hallmarks of success of trend-setting organizations and corporations: productivity, variety, quality, customization and convenience. It gives examples of multinational companies and shows how American companies that have not or are not willing to change are losing out.

The dynamics of technology are looked at, as well as the need to counterbalance the prevailing sense of technological dehumanization with the need to come full circle into a parity of man and technology interactively determining the future. In this present period, which has been dubbed the "post-industrial era," global economies are shifting from mass production manufacturing to information-based technologies.

How employees fit into future organizations also will be dramatically...