The Road to Co-operation

'I simply loved reading this book. While some of the subject matter was familiar territory (as a former Chief Executive, for eleven years, of the New Economics Foundation), I thought it was wonderfully written with a deft touch and very great authority. The result is something that is a real contemporary classic, in terms of articulating the case for an economy that, as the title echoes, can generate shared and sustainable freedom.' Ed Mayo, Secretary General, Co-operatives-UK 'In an era when management is celebrated and damned in equal measure, it is exciting to find a book which offers sensible but radical suggestions for actually doing something about it. Gordon Pearson's diagnosis of the problems of short term shareholder focus and management greed are spot on, and this is a book I would recommend to anyone who wants to build a collective and fairer future.' Professor Martin Parker, Warwick Business School, Warwick University. 'For anybody who thought that maximising shareholder value is and should be the main focus of our understanding of governance and business, think again! Pearson provides a cogent, entertaining and thoroughly compelling critique of governance and corporate policy while offering practical alternatives for a post credit crisis world'. David Leece, Professor of Financial studies, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School 'Gordon Pearson's The Road to Cooperation is a lucid critique of the cult of neo-liberal economic orthodoxy and its celebration of 'maximising shareholder value'. Particularly telling is the contrast with the view of Adam Smith that self-interest should be gauged over the longer term. I unhesitatingly recommend this book.' Philip Whiteley Subject Matter Expert for the Chartered Management Institute. 'Pearson mounts a convincing critique of the neoclassical economic foundations of management theory and makes a compelling case for a new cooperative economic paradigm. This should be required reading for business academics and practitioners seriously interested in reversing the damage done to business and society by erroneous theory and practice.' Peter Lawrence, Emeritus Professor, Keele Management School 'This fascinating book offers a provocative reappraisal of the role of enterprise management in the worlds advanced and advancing economies. Eschewing economic rhetoric, Gordon Pearson provides a refreshing re-analysis of the theory and practice of management in which, on the one hand, he confronts head-on the nature of greed in corporate life and, on the other, suggests opportunities arising for, and the virtues of, increased cooperation. Characterised by clarity, depth and insight the book should be required reading for those who seek to shape and regulate the economic environment.' John Hassard, Professor of Organizational Analysis, Manchester University