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Employment in the Networked Age
just family.” Unthinkable, right? But that’s essentially
what happens when a CEO describes the company as
a family, then institutes layoffs. Regardless of what the
law says about at- will employment, those employees
will feel hurt and betrayed— with real justifi cation.
In contrast, a professional sports team has a specifi c
mission (to win games and championships), and its
members come together to accomplish that mission.
The composition of the team changes over time, either
because a team member chooses to go to another team,
or because the team’s management decides to cut or
trade a team member. In this sense, a business is far
more like a sports team than a family.
Yet while a professional sports team ...