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Book Cover
E-book
Author Barley, Stephen R

Title Gurus, Hired Guns, and Warm Bodies : Itinerant Experts in a Knowledge Economy
Published Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2011

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Description 1 online resource (353 pages)
Contents Cover; Title; Copyrights; Contents; Preface; Chapter 1 Unlikely Rebels; Itinerant Experts; The Unraveling of Permanent Employment; The Legal Context of Contingent Work; Estimating the Size of the Contingent Workforce; Making Sense of Contingent Work; The Study; Organization of the Book; Part I: Setting the Stage; Chapter 2 Clients; Why Do Clients Hire Contractors?; How Do Clients Hire Contractors?; Conclusion; Chapter 3 Contractors; Why Do Contractors Become Contractors?; What Kinds of Contractors Are There?; The Roles Contractors Play for Clients; Conclusion; Chapter 4 Agencies
Sales Culture and Technical CultureWhat Types of Staffing Agencies Are There?; Conclusion; Part II: Life in the Market; Chapter 5 The Information Game: Finding Deals; What Contractors Do; What Clients Do; What Staffing Agencies Do; Conclusion; Chapter 6 Making the Deal; Hiring Manager Evaluations; Negotiating the Terms of Employment; Closing Deals; Conclusion; Part III: Life on the Job; Chapter 7 Contractors as Commodities; Maintaining a Task Orientation; Delegating Management Responsibilities; Creating Outsiders; Conclusion; Chapter 8 Contractors as Experts
Integration: Creating Team MembersDependence; Conclusion; Chapter 9 Navigating between Respect and Resentment; Tales of Respect; Tales of Resentment; Forming an Identity; Part IV: Living the Cycle; Chapter 10 Temporal Capital; The Temporal Patterns of Contracting; The Rhetoric and Reality of Flexibility; Chapter 11 Building and Maintaining Human Capital; The Danger of Obsolescence; The Risks of Learning; Strategies for Remaining Current; Conclusion; Chapter 12 Building and Maintaining Social Capital; Reach; Reputation and Occupational Circles; Reciprocity and Referral Cliques
Networking: Building and Maintaining NetworksChapter 13 Itinerant Professionals in a Knowledge Economy; Itinerant Experts: The Contracting Life; The Ambiguities of Self-Reliance; Itinerant Experts and the Social Order; The Occupational Dimension; Supporting Itinerant Professionalism; Epilogue; References; Appendix: Cast of Characters; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z
Summary Over the last several decades, employers have increasingly replaced permanent employees with temporary workers and independent contractors to cut labor costs and enhance flexibility. Although commentators have focused largely on low-wage temporary work, the use of skilled contractors has also grown exponentially, especially in high-technology areas. Yet almost nothing is known about contracting or about the people who do it. This book seeks to break the silence. Gurus, Hired Guns, and Warm Bodies tells the story of how the market for temporary professionals operates from the perspective of the
Notes Print version record
Subject Information services industry -- United States -- Employees -- Case studies
Information technology -- United States -- Employees -- Case studies
Electronic data processing consultants -- United States -- Case studies
Independent contractors -- United States -- Case studies
Self-employed -- United States -- Case studies
Temporary employees -- United States -- Case studies
Part-time employment -- United States -- Case studies
Information services -- United States -- Employees -- Case studies
Electronic data processing consultants
Independent contractors
Information services industry -- Employees
Part-time employment
Self-employed
Temporary employees
United States
Genre/Form Case studies
Form Electronic book
Author Kunda, Gideon
ISBN 9781400841271
1400841275
1283291010
9781283291019