Corporate Fitness Requires More Than `Liposuction'

International Readers Report

CORPORATE FITNESS REQUIRES MORE THAN `LIPOSUCTION'

The Hamel-Prahalad analogy of business downsizing as "`Corporate anorexia"' (Books, Sept. 19) would be apt if the typical belt-tightening within organizations were across-the-board. Actually, the kind of cost-cutting we observe is more akin to corporate liposuction. The surgical removal of fatty tissue will indeed reduce weight and perhaps enhance appearance, but it will not likely improve the functioning of the body.

James K. Ho, Professor

Information & Decision Sciences

University of Illinois

Chicago