The Success Machine by Henry Slesar

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Author Slesar, Henry, 1927-2002
Title The Success Machine
Credits Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Summary "The Success Machine" by Henry Slesar is a satirical science fiction novella written during the late 1950s. It presents a futuristic corporate environment centered around a machine called the Personnelovac, designed to evaluate employees and streamline the hiring and firing process. The main topic of the book explores the consequences of over-reliance on technology and the effects of mechanical decision-making on human resources. The story follows Ralph Colihan, a personnel manager at General Products, as he grapples with the unexpected and brutal efficiency of the Personnelovac, which often produces "pink cards" recommending employee dismissals based on its cold, analytical results. As the number of firings escalates, Colihan begins to question the machine's infallibility and the implications of its lack of human touch. The tension builds as he worries about becoming the machine's next victim. Ultimately, the story culminates in a poignant revelation about the dangers of relying solely on mechanistic evaluations that fail to account for human nuances, leading to Colihan's eventual dismissal as he becomes a casualty of the very system he has operated within. Through humor and irony, Slesar critiques the depersonalization of corporate culture and the inherent flaws of allowing machines to dictate human fates. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Language English
LoC Class PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
Subject Science fiction, American
Category Text
EBook-No. 26168
Release Date
Most Recently Updated Jan 3, 2021
Copyright Status Public domain in the USA.
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