Since mid-1990, there have been many signs that politics--especially relationships between middle management and the troops--have changed from annoying but rarely lethal to Mean, as in ornery, ugly, and sometimes downright grisly. Part of this has to be recession-related, but part comes from top management's attention having been diverted to survival issues. The loser has been the individual contributor in the organization. In laying out the reasons for this distressing turn of events, the author provides clear-cut advice on how to overcome it.
自1990年年中以来，有许多迹象表明，政治——尤其是中层管理人员与基层人员之间的关系——已从令人厌烦但很少致命转变为恶劣，即脾气暴躁、丑陋，有时甚至极其可怕。部分原因与经济衰退有关，但部分原因是高层管理人员的注意力已转向生存问题。组织中的个体贡献者成了受害者。在阐述这一令人苦恼的事态转变的原因时，作者就如何克服这一问题给出了明确的建议。
