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Here are five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms to start off your work week. I'm pointing you to articles about the new abnormal, what to call "lean" manufacturing, Sizzler on the comeback trail, management practices, and Italy.

From Business Week: The New Abnormal
"Americans are broke and depressed—and also swilling $3 lattes and waiting in line for iPhones. Welcome to the schizophrenic economy."

Wally's Comment: Business Week looks at the US economy with PIMCO CEO Mohamed El-Erian's "new normal" as a starting point. Here's a pointer to El-Erian's more recent take, as reported by CNBC: "Weak Revenue Growth Feeds Economic Fears." And there's "Consumer confidence falls ahead of back-to-school shopping season " with some analysis of recent reports on consumer confidence.

From Industry Week: Why Call It 'Lean Manufacturing'?
"Three well-known company improvement initiatives are, in my opinion, very badly named. It’s almost as if the developers of each of these initiatives sat down and asked, “What can we call this that will cause the most confusion about the method, not to say, animosity toward it?” The three initiatives are Self-Directed Work Teams, Six Sigma, and Lean Manufacturing."

Wally's Comment: I think it's always worthwhile to examine "commonly accepted" definitions and that's what this article does. For some more perspective, check out Ralph Keller's article on lean manufacturing from 2006 and a Wharton article on whether lean can co-exist with innovation .

From SmartBusiness LA: Kerry Kramp keeps Sizzler relevant
"Maybe you were staring at the six-panel menu on the wall at a Sizzler restaurant when a 6-foot-2 man sidled up next to you and asked how you were making your meal decision. Maybe he asked why you even chose the fast-casual steak, seafood and salad restaurant chain in the first place. If so, you’ve met Kerry Kramp, who took over Sizzler USA Restaurants Inc. in June 2008, inheriting sales declining as much as 20 percent year-to-year."

Wally's Comment: If Kramp can pull off the turnaround, it will be a very good story. But he's up against a host of competitors selling steak (especially giant cuts of steak) as the core of their menu. There's Outback, of course. And Lone Star Steakhouse, Longhorn Steaks, Logan's Roadhouse, Barbwire, Montana Steak, and Buffalo Ranch are just a few of the rest of the pack.

From Chief Learning Officer: U.S. Workers Say Management Practices Need to Change
"While Americans who work at larger organizations are optimistic about their companies' prospects and express a commitment to helping management identify and solve problems, most workers say management practices need to change if their companies are to meet future challenges. In fact, American workers identified a disconnect: The majority say it's rank-and-file employees, as opposed to top management, who bear the greatest responsibility for ensuring the quality of products and services to customers, but they say company leadership values employees the least, compared with customers and top management."

Wally's Comment: There are a host of interesting contrasts among the findings of this random-digit-dial phone survey. For example, "83% of American workers still believe their companies will emerge from the downturn as industry leaders" and "39% of employees in their 30s describe the mood among colleagues as one of pessimism and uncertainty." The most important material here is about how workers feel like they're treated.

From the NY Times: Is Italy Too Italian?
"Like much of the Italian economy, the Carlo Barbera factory is struggling, for reasons that academics say reveal much about what ails Italy."

Wally's Comment: This is a wonderful piece about the interplay of the world economy and Italian culture and values. It's also a prime example of how strengths in one arena can be weaknesses in another.

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to check back on Wednesday when I select five excellent posts from the week's independent business blogs. Last week I highlighted posts on curiosity, starting fast with a new team, a vision of the future, gender-related management issues, and engagement evidence.

Finally, be sure to find out more about my latest book, Ruthless Focus: How to use key core strategies to grow your business or just jump right over to Amazon and buy a few .