Civic Engagement

Making Good: How Young People Cope with Moral Dilemmas at Work

After studying more than a hundred young people launching their careers, these longtime researchers of good work—work that is both skillful and honorable—find unsettling answers. Although young workers know what it takes to do good work, they don't always feel they can follow the ethical route. "Later, when I'm successful," is their implicit promise. Making Good explores the choices confronting young workers who join the ranks of three dynamic professions: journalism, science, and acting and looks at how the novices navigate moral dilemmas posed by a demanding, frequently lonely, professional life. The authors also uncover striking comparisons between these young professionals and the veterans in their fields—most notably, older workers recall inspiring models and mentors, while today's beginners see themselves as on their own. With extensive insights into how young workers view their respective domains, the nature of their ambitions, the sacrifices they are willing to make, and the lines they are prepared to cross, this study will prove instructive to young employees and employers alike, as well as to those who wish to understand the shifting moral and social character of the working world. ISBN: 9780674018303

Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet

What does it mean to carry out "good work"? This is just one of the probing questions posed in this new edition. The authors have added a new afterword, Good Work in 2002, in which they reflect on their work in the light of recent events and report on their continuing studies of strategies that allow people to maintain moral and ethical standards at a time when market forces have unprecedented power. ISBN: 978-0465026081