From the Golden Age to a Gilded Age: Reflections on the Shortcomings of Business Management Worldwide

Strictly speaking, the American nation has only existed for 240 years. But the swift rise of this people to global superpower status is one of the most remarkable in world history. The Puritan Gift by Kenneth Hopper & William Hopper illuminates the cultural forces and national spirit which underpin the American miracle, and traces them through America's history. It also includes some caustic criticism of the way the value of US corporations and other organizations has been twisted in the past 40 years. In particular, the book singles out the increasing instrumentalism and elitism of the managerial class for special censure.

The book carries important messages for Chinese companies.

While looking at The Puritan Gift, readers could also take the opportunity to read Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.