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#Written by David Tam, 1997.           #       
#davidkftam@netscape.net Copyright 1999#
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David Tam
Thursday, April 10, 1997

                             Business Press Review
                             =====================

"Will success spoil Dilbert?". The Globe and Mail. (The Economist, London).
Tuesday, April 8, 1997. B13.   ------------------

    This article talks about the author of the Dilbert cartoon.  These cartoons
illustrate, in a humorous way, many of the problems faced by employees in the
modern large corporation.  The popularity of this cartoon is immense because
readers can identify with the anecdotes presented by the characters.

    These situations have very close ties with the areas of human resources.
The cartoons deal with three growing trends in among employees in North
America: the mounting obsession with work, growing fear in the workplace, and
mounting skepticism with the growing number of management fads.  Compared
against the 1960s, employees now work four more weeks per year.

    Oddly enough, many managers love the Dilbert cartoons and even praise it.
The author, Scott Adams, thinks that some managers use these cartoons are a way
for employees to relieve stress.

    I think that these cartoons clearly bring out employee issues and problems
that managers have ignored or believe to have been solved.  Perhaps the reason
for Dilbert's popularity is because many employees are not happy with their
jobs.  Perhaps human resource departments in many corporations are not
fulfilling their roles.  These departments should take a serious look at these
cartoons to help identify problems in their own companies.