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Cargando... Executive Suite (1952)por Cameron Hawley
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Distinciones
Five ambitious executives vie for the top job at a major corporation after the president suddenly drops dead in this classic business novel Fifty-six-year-old Tredway Corporation president Avery Bullard is getting into a taxi after a business lunch in Manhattan when he collapses from a cerebral hemorrhage. Although his body isn't immediately identified, the reverberations of his death will soon be felt in the boardrooms of every branch of his company. In the minutes before he died, Bullard had finally decided on whom to appoint as his executive vice president--but he never got the chance to announce his selection. Now, with no successor in place, five corporate VPs--comptroller Loren P. Shaw, treasurer Frederick W. Alderson, design and development director Don Walling, manufacturing chief Jesse Grimm, and head of sales J. Walter Dudley--compete for the top position. Who will ascend to the executive suite? From the long-simmering resentments to the startling power plays, insider trading to rapid business decisions and personal dramas, Executive Suite is a riveting novel as well as an authentic and timeless depiction of how a corporation operates and what it takes to succeed in business. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)813.087208054Literature English (North America) American fiction By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Mystery fictionClasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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Adding to the suspense is the unusual structure in which the author narrates the story literally minute by minute and hour by hour over the two days in which the events occur. Through brief glimpses into the lives of a few important characters, and in some cases their wives, the reader is provided context for the decision-making and corporate politics that are rapidly leading to the resolution of the fateful situation the death of the Corporate President has placed them.
Gradually the character of the main players in this business drama emerge through their actions both in the past (related through flashbacks) and in the moments of the two days that culminate in the choice of a successor to Avery Bullard. Loren Shaw, the comptroller, comes to the fore through his knowledge of the numbers behind the corporation and his ability to manipulate them; however, his ability to manipulate his peers seems to falter. The most senior of the Vice-presidents, Frederick Alderson lacks the will to take on the top job himself, but strives to manipulate others into the position. Most interesting of all the Vice-presidents is MacDonald (Don) Walling. His mind is described by his wife:
"Don's mind worked in such a different way from her own that she could never reconstruct the pattern of his thinking. Actually, as she often told herself, Don did not think--at least not in the sense that she thought of thinking. He disliked the orderly setting down of fact against fact, and seemed to instinctively side-step any answer that was dictated by logic and reason. . . the end result was often a brilliant flash of pure creative imagination" (p 201)
Don's "truly creative mind" had served him well in his move up the ladder to Corporate Vice-president and he exhibited an individualist view that set him apart from his peers. Even though he was not the closest to the former President, his understanding of Avery Bullard's mind was another of his many assets. Whether he would choose to seek the Presidency or others would coalesce around his leadership is one of the important questions that contributed to the uniqueness of this novel. There are other important characters including an astute corporate secretary, an unlikely Italian-American elevator operator, and the granddaughter of the founder of the Company, Julia Tredway Prince. Ultimately she would play perhaps the most key role of all.
Cameron Hawley is impressive in his ability to develop characters through their actions which demonstrate, not just corporate "types", but individuals who have reasons, some good and others faulty or even bad, for their actions. They are people who are complex, like Don Walling and his wife who think very differently but appreciate each other. The result of this mix of character with the added speed and suspense of the novel's structure makes for both a great book about the nature of business and a great novel. ( )