Impending Crisis is written for business leaders and managers seeking solutions to look beyond the present and prepare for the future. This book is filled with research to backup the assertions and recommendations. More than 50 figures are used to support critical points. And, an extensive bibliography of valuable references is provided.
Reading Impending Crisis is not like reading many other business books. It is drawn from the research and experience of the authors who obviously know the subject and who care deeply about the issues facing the workforce and business.
I recommend this book to human resource professionals, business leaders, and students seeking to understand the workforce of tomorrow. Read it; discuss it; use it! The crisis is impending. So is the solution. Read the book; discover solutions!
Reviewed December 22, 2002 by John L. Bennett
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My dissatisfaction of this book has to do with high level of alarm this book raises based on speculation. The subtitle of this book is "Too many jobs too few people". Due to the demographics (which is impossible to alter in a short period), it is certain we will have too few people in the work force by 2010. The question is will there be too many jobs by 2010? Even the author concedes it is impossible to forecast the economy in the next 5 years, let alone the next 10. Hence, the author's conclusion of pending doom of massive skilled worker shortage by 2010 is speculative.
In fact, many prominent economists will argue that the economy will falter BADLY after 2010 because the consumer spending will drop like a rock due to the aging population (people over 55 spend considerably less). The actual scenario might be "too few jobs too many people".
Finally, the reliability of author's statistics are somewhat questionable (they are from the government after all). For example, according to the author, there are more than 3 million jobs right now than the number of people to fill them. In reality, however, the job market has been the toughest it has been in years, and many people are being laid off without work for over 6 months or more. When statistics conflict with reality, then ALWAYS trust the reality.