The Virtual Boss

What would happen if a software system were developed to act as everyone's perfect manager? In the second of his darkly humorous novels about corporate life, Floyd Kemske has invented a software system that learns each employee's needs and weaknesses and then exploits them in order to make the employee as efficient and effective as possible. If all you need is a reminder now and then, that's all you get. However, if fear and abuse are what it takes to get you to work, the computer makes your life hell. The Virtual Boss is the story of three people at Information Accuracy, Inc.: Linda, the software specialist who created the system, but is managed by it; Arthur, whose life is a nightmare of intermittent reinforcement, and punishment; and the company president, Donald F. Jones, whose experiences as a manager were so frustrating and ludicrous, he created a company without any human managers at all.

Floyd Kemske is the author of five novels, including four "corporate nightmares"—novels that use fantastic situations to approach the realities of office politics, reorganizations, and, especially, the management of people by other people. He lives in Pepperell, Massachusetts.