Review:
I have so many forgotten books laying around. I was at a work lunch talking to someone about their dissertation, which deals with employee retention, when I remembered that I still had several volumes of the Manga for Success series to read. This particular one, which deals with Organization Development, would have been perfect for the person I was talking to. It discusses how to handle workplace issues that are rooted more in the human side - motivation, trust, team relations, the energy and atmosphere of the workplace, etc.
As is the case for all volumes in this series, this alternates between text-heavy sections and edutainment manga sections that illustrate the principles discussed in the text. In the manga portions, readers follow Chuji Sakigake, a store manager at an automobile company who's been sent to a dealership branch that is doing well on the surface but that has deeper issues that are causing a lot of employee turnover and a general bad atmosphere. Sakigake works with Nanako Mizushina from the Organization Development Team to see the problem, hold a serious discussion, and then implement small changes in order to build towards a better future in which the dealership is in a continuously self-organizing state and work is more cooperative.
There were no magical beings or ghosts in these manga sections, which was a little disappointing (I could have used a little more wackiness). Instead, this turned out to be a pretty straightforward warm and fuzzy business story. Everything worked out neatly, and employee resistance was relatively easily overcome with a few discussions that led everyone to realize they were all on the same side, working towards customer satisfaction.
It's a decent enough book, just very, very earnest. At the end, the author says that it's primarily intended for managers and HR employees, which makes sense, considering how the Organization Development process is supposed to go.
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