Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Beyond Transfer of Training or Dining Room and Banquet Management

Beyond Transfer of Training: Engaging Systems to Improve Performance

Author: Mary L Broad

Did you know that an average of only 100f training resulted in changing or enhancing an employees performance on the job. So, why train? Picking up where her first book, the landmark Transfer of Training, left off (and retaining some of the most salient sections and strategies), this completely updated take on the topic shows trainers and performance professionals how to:



• Gain and maintain effective performance in complex systems.

• Find and engage clients and stakeholders in transfer of learning efforts.

• Support transfer of learning in E-environments.

• Evaluate the success transfer of learning interventions.



Order your copy of this essential guide today!



Table of Contents:
1Organizations as complex systems5
2Stakeholders and support for performance25
3The performance consultant49
4Developing stakeholder strategies to improve performance81
5Evaluation to measure and support performance113
6Partnering and consulting with managers137
7Sleuthing out performance consulting's best partners159
8Implementing transfer of learning to performance in a complex international system185
9E-learning and support for performance207

New interesting textbook: Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way or Living Well with Depression and Bipolar Disorder

Dining Room and Banquet Management

Author: Anthony J Strianes

This text is for the introductory course in a hospitality management program that covers dining room and banquet management. Its emphasis is on the service aspects of a business that will distinguish an outstanding dining experience. The text includes the history of dining room and banquet service, the proper techniques of service, sanitation requirements, and important merchandising concepts. Information about reservations, priority seating, and reservations systems is also included. This new edition is updated with a number of new features. The most noteworthy are the "Chefs' Choice" professional profiles that spotlight noted individuals in the hospitality industry. These profiles cover the essentials in creating and maintaining a successful dining room and banquet operation. Each chapter also has been updated with key words and terms, more thorough objectives, and numerous discussion questions to help students retain the material. And finally, Dining Room and Banquette Management 5E now offers an electronic instructional support CD-ROM that includes PowerPoints, Computerized Test Bank, Instructor's Manual and Lesson Plans.

Booknews

This third edition of the text includes a history of dining room and banquet service and more explanations of the rationales behind various service techniques, as well as expanded discussion of sanitation. There is new material on setting guarantees for an event, wine and wine service, and the use of grazing stations and combination meal plates. This edition also features new quotes from notable chefs and managers. Improved pedagogical features include objectives and chapter summaries, plus updated scenarios and case studies. B&w photos on almost every page illustrate correct and incorrect techniques. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)



Fundamentals of Futures and Options Markets or The Knowledge Management Yearbook 2000 2001

Fundamentals of Futures and Options Markets

Author: John C Hull

Again, John Hull has done a great job revising and updating this best-selling book. Changes in the fifth edition include:

  • A new chapter on credit derivatives (Chapter 21).
  • New! Business Snapshots highlight real-world situations and relevant issues.
  • The first six chapters have been -reorganized to better meet the needs of students and .instructors.
  • A new release of the Excel-based software, DerivaGem, is included with each text.

A useful Solutions Manual/Study Guide, which includes the worked-out answers to the "Questions and Problems" sections of each chapter, can be purchased separately (ISBN: 0-13-144570-7).



Read also Big Book Unplugged or Mindful Eating 101

The Knowledge Management Yearbook 2000-2001

Author: James Cortada

The Knowledge Management Yearbook is the most current and comprehensive resource available for knowledge management professionals; no other source of information so thoroughly surveys the state of the knowledge management discipline and industry and how they impact businesses and other organizations. Featuring both definitive articles and cutting-edge knowledge management techniques and research contributed by authorities, The Knowledge Management Yearbook covers the nature of knowledge and its management, knowledge-based strategies, knowledge management and organizational learning, and knowledge tools, techniques, and processes.

The reference section includes a set of up-to-date directories detailing on-line knowledge management resources, KM publications and organizations, and notable KM Quotes. The glossary of KM terms is increasingly perceived by the industry as a benchmark by which this evolving discipline is defined. The Knowledge Management Yearbook is an indispensable volume for any professional helping to shape his or her organization's knowledge strategy.

A one-stop resource to the field of knowledge management
Includes best practices and cutting-edge insight from leaders in the field

Booknews

Articles from magazines and journals provide current information on the most useful ideas, techniques, and case studies in the field. Emphasis is on application of knowledge management principles. Part I presents work on theory, including classic articles, and Part II discusses implementation strategies. Part III looks at organizational learning, the collection and codification of knowledge, and the use and transfer of knowledge, and offers case studies. Part IV covers IT and knowledge management techniques, and Part V lists and describes online and print resources. Includes a calendar of meetings and conferences taking place through March 2001. Cortada is a consultant at IBM. Woods is president of a company that specializes in developing quality management and business publications. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)



Table of Contents:
Part One - The Nature of Knowledge and its Management; Part Two - Knowledge-Based Strategies; Part Three - Knowledge Management and Organization Learning; Part Four - Knowledge Tools, Techniques and Processes; Part Five - Knowledge Reference Materials.

Macroeconomics Reader or Taking Trade to the Streets

Macroeconomics Reader

Author: Brian Snowdon

A Macroeconomics Reader brings together a collection of key readings in modern macroeconomics. Each article has been carefully chosen to provide the reader with accessible, non-technical, reflective papers which critically assess important areas and current controversies within modern macroeconomics. The book is divided into six parts, each with a separate introduction highlighting the relevance of the ensuing articles. The areas covered include: Keynes's General Theory, Keynesian economics and the Keynesian revolution, monetarism, rational expectations and new classical macroeconomics, real business cycle approach, new Keynesian economics, and economic growth.

Booknews

Collects 27 articles on recent developments and debates in macroeconomics. Subject areas include new and old Keynesian economics, the influence of monetarism, the new classical contribution, the real business cycle approach to economic fluctuations, and the renaissance of economic growth analysis. Selected for intermediate undergraduates, the articles are accessible, predominantly nontechnical, and reflective. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.



Book review: Chasing the Flame or Fire Fighters

Taking Trade to the Streets: The Lost History of Public Efforts to Shape Globalization

Author: Susan Ariel Aaronson

In the wake of civil protest in Seattle during the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting, many issues raised by globalization and increasingly free trade have been in the forefront of the news. But these issues are not necessarily new. Taking Trade to the Streets describes how so many individuals and nongovernmental organizations came over time to see trade agreements as threatening national systems of social and environmental regulations. Using the United States as a case study, Susan Ariel Aaronson examines the history of trade agreement critics, focusing particular attention on NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States) and the Tokyo and Uruguay Rounds of trade liberalization under the GATT. She also considers the question of whether such trade agreement critics are truly protectionist.

The book explores how trade agreement critics built a fluid global movement to redefine the terms of trade agreements (the international system of rules governing trade) and to redefine how citizens talk about trade. (The "terms of trade" is a relationship between the prices of exports and of imports.) That movement, which has been growing since the 1980s, transcends borders as well as longstanding views about the role of government in the economy. While many trade agreement critics on the left say they want government policies to make markets more equitable, they find themselves allied with activists on the right who want to reduce the role of government in the economy.

Aaronson highlights three hot-button social issues--food safety, the environment, and labor standards--to illustrate how conflicts arise betweentrade and other types of regulation. And finally she calls for a careful evaluation of the terms of trade from which an honest debate over regulating the global economy might emerge.

Ultimately, this book links the history of trade policy to the history of social regulation. It is a social, political, and economic history that will be of interest to policymakers and students of history, economics, political science, government, trade, sociology, and international affairs.

Susan Ariel Aaronson is Senior Fellow at the National Policy Institute and occasional commentator on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition."



Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Becoming a Mega Producer Real Estate Agent or Managing Financial Institutions

Becoming a Mega-Producer Real Estate Agent

Author: Bob Herd

BECOMING A MEGA-PRODUCER REAL ESTATE AGENT: PROFITING FROM A LICENSED ASSISTANT will help real estate agents become even more successful. RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974) and other consumer-related disclosure requirements are increasing at a frantic pace, and requiring overwhelming amounts of paperwork and record-keeping for real estate agents and loan officers. The time spent on these activities can have a negative effect on the income and lifestyle of a highlyproductive real estate agent or loan officer.



Table of Contents:
1. Make a True Assessment of Your Time: What's it Worth?
2. When is the Right Time to Hire an Assistant?
3. The Art of Transitioning
4. Hiring a Licensed Assistant
5. Training the Licensed Assistant
6. How to Effectively Work with Your Licensed Assistant
7. The Five Deadly Sins, or How to Lose a Good Licensed Assistant
8. Operational Issues
9. It's A Family Affair: The Husband and Wife Team
10. Conversations with Two Top Agents Who Have Assistants
11. Conversations with Two Licensed Assistants
Appendices: Sample Employment Forms and Checklists from Mega-Producers Index

Interesting book: Chinese Dim Sum or Vegan Gourmet

Managing Financial Institutions

Author: Mona J Gardner

This dynamic text allows learners to analyze and apply theory to managing performance for financial institutions. It is up-to-date, including new types of financial institutions and the evolving nature of the financial services industry. Not only does this text include risk management of financial institutions, it includes managing and analyzing different types of financial institutions. Additionally, this text provides the necessary institutional detail that learners need to know to be successful in the management of financial services firms. Numerous applied cases are included so learners can better understand how the concepts are applied. Targeted at the MBA corporate finance course, this book can also be used for both a banking course and financial institution management course.



Ethics of Redistribution or Organizational Learning

Ethics of Redistribution

Author: Jouvenel

In this concise and elegant work, first published in 1952, Bertrand de Jouvenel purposely ignores the economic evidence that redistributional efforts sap incentives and are economically destructive. Rather, he stresses the commonly disregarded ethical arguments showing that redistribution is ethically indefensible for, and practically unworkable in, a complex society.

A new introduction relates Jouvenel's arguments to current discussions about the redistributionist state and draws out many of the points of affinity with the works of Buchanan, Hayek, Rawls, and others.



Look this: The Supermarket Diet or Edible Art

Organizational Learning: Creating, Retaining and Transferring Knowledge

Author: Linda Argot

Organizational Learning: Creating, Retaining and Transferring Knowledge describes and integrates the results of research on factors explaining organizational learning curves and the persistence and transfer of productivity gains acquired through experience. Chapter One provides an overview of research on organizational learning curves. Chapter Two introduces the concept of organizational 'forgetting' or knowledge depreciation. Chapter Three discusses the concept of organizational memory. Chapter Four argues that analyzing small groups provides understanding at a micro level of the social processes through which organizations create and combine knowledge. Chapter Five describes results on knowledge transfer. Chapter Six discusses various tensions and trade-offs in the organizational learning process.

Booknews

What factors account for production differences across a company's pizza franchises? Is the assumption that learning is indefinitely cumulative correct? Such issues have anchored the research of Argote (industrial administration, Carnegie Mellon U.) in studying reasons for organizations' differing learning curves, the neglected area of knowledge depreciation, and knowledge transfer within and across organizations. Theory is grounded in field studies and comparative outcome data on the production of aircraft and ships as well as pizza. She also maps directions for future research on trade-offs in the learning process. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)



Table of Contents:
Preface
1Organizational Learning Curves: An Overview1
2Organizational Forgetting35
3Organizational Memory67
4Micro Underpinnings of Organizational Learning99
5Knowledge Transfer in Organizations143
6Tensions in the Learning Process and Future Directions189
Index207

Organizational Behavior or Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior: Integrated Models and Applications with Other

Author: William B Zachary

Organizational Behavior: Integrated Models and Applications directly addresses many of the current trends in the market and approaches OB from a non-traditional perspective. Rather than trying to cover the broad spectrum of OB topics found in a survey text, a carefully selected list of topics is dealt with in greater detail. Particular emphasis is placed on application of these topics in real world settings. This text has been specifically designed for use in an Organizational Behavior course in which the instructor makes a conscious choice to place major emphasis on the four higher levels of learning in Bloom's taxonomy.



Interesting textbook: Principles of Antitrust Law 1993 or Family Time

Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts

Author: Robert P Vecchio

In response to the need for an alternative to broad-coverage organizational behavior books, Bob Vecchio has written Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts, 5th Edition. With solid coverage of theory, research, and practice, this new edition provides the foundation for understanding micro and macro views of organizational behavior.

Booknews

The fifth edition of this introductory text continues to strike a balance between coverage of theory and practice and treatment of classic and contemporary concepts, and adds new chapters on organizational theory. Material progresses in traditional fashion from the individual to the group level, with chapters on perception, motivation, leadership, decision making, communication, and cultural influences. Learning features include objectives, vignettes and boxes based on real organizations, examples of issues in real businesses, and cases. The text can be used in undergraduate and introductory MBA courses. Vecchio teaches management at the University of Notre Dame. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)



Table of Contents:
Preface
Pt. 1Individual Processes1
1An Introduction to Organizational Behavior2
2Personality and Perception24
3Changing Employee Behavior Through Consequences48
4Motivation68
5Enhancing Employee Motivation Using Rewards, Goals, Expectations, and Empowerment88
Pt. 2Interpersonal Processes119
6Power and Politics120
7Leadership142
8Decision Making178
9Group Dynamics208
10Managing Conflict228
11Managing Stress and Employee Job Satisfaction248
Pt. 3Organizational Structure and Dynamics283
12Communication284
13Organizational Design and Environmental Influences306
14Cultural Influences330
15Managing Organizational Change and Development354
Glossary375
Notes385
Index413

Monday, December 29, 2008

The Medical Malpractice Myth or Marx Went Away but Karl Stayed Behind

The Medical Malpractice Myth

Author: Tom Baker

American health care is in crisis because of exploding medical malpractice litigation. Insurance premiums for doctors and malpractice lawsuits are skyrocketing, rendering doctors both afraid and unable to afford to practice medicine. Undeserving victims sue at the drop of a hat, egged on by greedy lawyers, and receive eye-popping awards that insurance companies, hospitals, and doctors themselves struggle to pay. The plaintiffs and lawyers always win; doctors, and the nonlitigious, always lose; and affordable health care is the real victim.

This, according to Tom Baker, is the myth of medical malpractice, and as a reality check he offers The Medical Malpractice Myth, a stunning dismantling of this familiar, but inaccurate, picture of the health care industry. Are there too many medical malpractice suits? No, according to Baker; there is actually too much medical malpractice, with only a fraction of the cases ever seeing the inside of a courtroom. Is too much litigation to blame for the malpractice insurance crisis? No, for that we can look to financial trends and competitive behavior in the insurance industry. Point by point, Baker—a leading authority on insurance and law—pulls together the research that demolishes the myths that have taken hold and suggests a series of legal reforms that would help doctors manage malpractice insurance while also improving patient safety and medical accountability.

The Medical Malpractice Myth is a book aimed squarely at general readers but with radical conclusions that speak to the highest level of domestic policymaking.

Publishers Weekly

In January 2005, President Bush declared the medical malpractice liability system "out of control." The president's speech was merely an echo of what doctors and politicians (mostly Republicans) have been saying for years-that medical malpractice premiums are skyrocketing due to an explosion in malpractice litigation. Along comes Baker, director of the Insurance Law Center at the University of Connecticut School of Law, to puncture "the medical malpractice myth" with a talent for reasoned argument and incisiveness. He counters that the real problem is "too much medical malpractice, not too much litigation," and that the cost of malpractice is lost lives and the "pain and suffering of tens of thousands of people every year"-most of whom do not sue. Baker argues that the rise in medical premiums has more to do with economic cycles and the competitive nature of the insurance industry than runaway juries. Finally, Baker offers an alternative in the form of evidence-based medical liability reform that seeks to decrease the incidence of malpractice and also protect doctors from rising premium costs. Having worked with insurance companies, law firms and doctors, Baker brings experience and perspective to his book, which is sure to be important and controversial in future debates. (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Baker (director, Insurance Law Ctr., Univ. of Connecticut Sch. of Law) has written a serious text, the central thesis of which is that there is "an epidemic of medical malpractice, not malpractice lawsuits." Citing major studies mostly from medical and legal literature, he debunks a litany of perceived myths around malpractice lawsuits and convincingly makes the case that malpractice lawsuits actually improve patient care and that big payments are the rare exception, not the rule. His stated goal is to reframe the discussion about medical malpractice lawsuits, and in each of the eight chapters, he covers both the myth and the reality of medical malpractice. Unlike Harvey Waschman's more readable Lethal Medicine: The Epidemic of Medical Malpractice in America, few case histories are presented here, and Baker assumes a degree of legal knowledge on the part of readers. A glossary, then, would have been helpful to define such terms as tort liability. A more comprehensive title is To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, edited by Linda T. Kohn and others, available both in print and freely available online. Well researched with more than ten pages of references, Baker's timely book is appropriate for public, medical, and academic libraries. (Index not seen.)-Martha E. Stone, Treadwell Lib., Boston Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.



Table of Contents:
1The medical malpractice myth1
2An epidemic of medical malpractice, not malpractice lawsuits22
3An insurance crisis, not a tort crisis45
4The malpractice insurance companies' secret68
5Why we need medical malpractice lawsuits93
6The goods on defensive medicine118
7Dr. Bill may be gone, but Dr. Jane is here to see you140
8Evidence-based medical liability reform157

See also: GI in Your Pocket or Health Insurance Resources

Marx Went Away--but Karl Stayed Behind

Author: Caroline Humphrey

When it appeared in 1983, Caroline Humphrey's Karl Marx Collective was the first detailed study of the Soviet collective farm system. Through careful ethnographic work on two collective farms operated in Buryat communities in Siberia, the author presented an absorbing--if dispiriting--account of the actual functioning of a planned economy at the local level.

Now this classic work is back in print in a revised edition that adds new material from the author's most recent research in the former Soviet Union. In two new chapters she documents what has happened to the two farms in the collapsing Russian economy. She finds that collective farms are still the dominant agricultural forms, not out of nostalgic sentiment or loyalty to the Soviet ideal, but from economic and political necessity.

Today the collectives are based on households and small groups coming together out of choice. There have been important resurgences in "traditional" thinking about kinship, genealogy, shamanism and mountain cults; and yet all of this is newly formed by its attempt to deal with post-Soviet realities.

Marx Went Away will appeal to students and scholars of anthropology, political science, economics, and sociology.

"The book should be on the shelf of every student of Soviet affairs." --Times Literary Supplement

Caroline Humphrey is Fellow of King's College and Lecturer in Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge.

Library Journal

Originally published as Karl Marx Collective: Economy, Society, and Religion in a Siberian Collective Farm, this volume was dubbed a fascinating and detailed study by LJs reviewer. Humphrey explains the Buryats, a group of farmers on Siberias Lake Baikal who have developed a distinctive communal approach to social life, politics, and culture. This edition has been updated to include the authors most current analysis. Her work remains valuable for the research collection. (LJ 9/1/83)



Literacy in the Information Age or Favored Flowers

Literacy in the Information Age: Inquiries Into Meaning Making With New Technologies

Author: Bertram C Bruc

This is a collection of 32 Technology Departments from the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy covering the 1998 to 2002 volume years. The pieces examine various aspects of new literacies and their implications for teachers and students. Web use, and other experiences with new digital information and communication environments.

The volume is organized conceptually into the following six sections: Historical Perspective, New Media Practices, Personal Meanings, Ethical and Policy Issues, Learning Opportunities, and Community. The book also addresses issues such as credibility, access, and privacy, and most centrally an understanding of what new media mean for teaching, learning, and literacy development.



New interesting textbook: Fear of Wine or Sweet Spot

Favored Flowers: Culture and Economy in a Global System

Author: Catherine Ziegler

Billions of fresh-cut flowers are flown into the United States every year, allowing Americans to choose from a broad array of blooms regardless of the season. Favored Flowers is a lively investigation of the worldwide production and distribution of fresh-cut flowers and their consumption in the New York metropolitan area. In an ethnography filled with roses, orchids, and gerberas, flower auctions, new hybrids, and new logistical systems, Catherine Ziegler unravels the economic and cultural strands of the global flower market. She provides a historical overview of the development of the cut-flower industry in New York from the late nineteenth century to 1970 and on to its ultimate transformation from a domestic to a global industry. Along the way, she describes how consumer behavior and choices have changed over time and how they are shaped by the media, by the types of available flowers, and by flower retailing.

About the Author:
Catherine Ziegler teaches history and anthropology at Parsons



Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments     vii
Introduction     1
Tastes, Traditions, and Trade, 1870-1970     15
Favored Flowers: Growers and Traders, 1870-1970     33
Fresh Flows: Global Flower Growing, 1970-2005     55
State and Structure: Floriculture in a Global System     74
Cultivating the Global Garden: Local Growers in a Global System     97
Specialty and Abundance: Middlemen in a Changing System     130
Risk and Relationships: Middlemen Strategies     163
Self and Signs: Flower Consumers     192
Conclusion     227
Notes     235
Bibliography     277
Index     291

Amazonian Indians from Prehistory to the Present or Yankee Dont Go Home

Amazonian Indians from Prehistory to the Present: Anthropological Perspectives

Author: Anna Roosevelt

Amazonia has long been a focus of debate about the impact of the tropical rain forest environment on indigenous cultural development. This edited volume draws on the subdisciplines of anthropology to present an integrated perspective of Amazonian studies. The contributors address transformations of native societies as a result of their interaction with Western civilization from initial contact to the present day, demonstrating that the pre- and postcontact characteristics of these societies display differences that until now have been little recognized. CONTENTS
Amazonian Anthropology: Strategy for a New Synthesis, Anna C. Roosevelt
The Ancient Amerindian Polities of the Amazon, Orinoco and Atlantic Coast: A Preliminary Analysis of Their Passage from Antiquity to Extinction, Neil Lancelot Whitehead
The Impact of Conquest on Contemporary Indigenous Peoples of the Guiana Shield: The System of Orinoco Regional Interdependence, Nelly Arvelo-Jiménez and Horacio Biord
Social Organization and Political Power in the Amazon Floodplain: The Ethnohistorical Sources, Antonio Porro
The Evidence for the Nature of the Process of Indigenous Deculturation and Destabilization in the Amazon Region in the Last 300 Years: Preliminary Data, Adélia Engrácia de Oliveira
Health and Demography of Native Amazonians: Historical Perspective and Current Status, Warren M. Hern
Diet and Nutritional Status of Amazonian Peoples, Darna L. Dufour
Hunting and Fishing in Amazonia: Hold the Answers, What are the Questions?, Stephen Beckerman
Homeostasis as a Cultural System: The Jivaro Case, Philippe Descola
Farming, Feuding, and Female Status: The Achuara Case,Pita Kelekna
Subsistence Strategy, Social Organization, and Warfare in Central Brazil in the Context of European Penetration, Nancy M. Flowers
Environmental and Social Implications of Pre- and Post-Contact Situations on Brazilian Indians: The Kayapo and a New Amazonian Synthesis, Darrell Addison Posey
Beyond Resistance: A Comparative Study of Utopian Renewal in Amazonia, Michael F. Brown
The Eastern Bororo Seen from an Archaeological Perspective, Irmhilde Wüst
Genetic Relatedness and Language Distributions in Amazonia, Harriet E. Manelis Klein
Language, Culture, and Environment: TupÐŽ-GuaranÐŽ Plant Names Over Time, William Balée and Denny Moore
Becoming Indian: The Politics of Tukanoan Ethnicity, Jean E. Jackson



Books about: Grand Design or Advanced Derivations Pricing and Risk Management with Hands On Programming Applications

Yankee Don't Go Home!: Mexican Nationalism, American Business Culture, and the Shaping of Modern Mexico, 1920-1950

Author: Julio Moreno

In the aftermath of the 1910 Mexican Revolution, Mexican and U.S. political leaders, business executives, and ordinary citizens shaped modern Mexico by making industrial capitalism the key to upward mobility into the middle class, material prosperity, and a new form of democracy-consumer democracy. Julio Moreno describes how Mexico's industrial capitalism between 1920 and 1950 shaped the country's national identity, contributed to Mexico's emergence as a modern nation-state, and transformed U.S.-Mexican relations.

According to Moreno, government programs and incentives were central to legitimizing the postrevolutionary government as well as encouraging commercial growth. Moreover, Mexican nationalism and revolutionary rhetoric gave Mexicans the leverage to set the terms for U.S. businesses and diplomats anxious to court Mexico in the midst of the dual crises of the Great Depression and World War II. Diplomats like Nelson Rockefeller and corporations like Sears Roebuck achieved success by embracing Mexican culture in their marketing and diplomatic pitches, while those who disregarded Mexican traditions were slow to earn profits.

Moreno also reveals how the rapid growth of industrial capitalism, urban economic displacement, and unease caused by World War II and its aftermath unleashed feelings of spiritual and moral decay among Mexicans that led to an antimodernist backlash by the end of the 1940s.



Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction1
1Liberalism, the State, and Modern Industrial Capitalism in Postrevolutionary Mexico16
2Spreading the American Dream: Information, Technology, and World War II45
3Prophets of Capitalism: The Growth of Advertising as a Profession and the Making of Modern Mexico82
4Advertising National Identity and Globalization in the Reconstruction of Modern Mexico112
5J. Walter Thompson and the Negotiation of Mexican and American Values152
6In Search of Markets, Diplomacy, and Consumers: Sears as a Commercial Diplomat in Mexico172
7Industrial Capitalism, Antimodernism, and Consumer Culture in 1940s Mexico207
Conclusion229
Notes235
Bibliography283
Index309

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Wireless Computing or Construction Claims

Wireless Computing: A Manager's Guide to Wireless Networking

Author: Ira Brodsky

Wireless Computing A Manager’s Guide to Wireless Networking Ira Brodsky Pagers, cellular phones, and high-flying satellites have radically altered the modern work place and forever changed the way business gets done. But in his forward-looking new book Wireless Computing, industry expert Ira Brodsky convincingly documents the fact that the wireless revolution has actually just begun. Wireless Computing is a comprehensive guide to each of the elements of the new wireless universe. Chapters provide detailed analysis of topics such as:

  • The wireless workplace and radio Local Area Networks (LANs)
  • Cellular phones, including a complete discussion of the migration from analog to digital cellular technology
  • Paging and personal messaging services
  • Infrared: "Fiber optics without the fiber"
  • Bandwidth, including a full tour of frequency ranges and how each is currently used
Beyond merely summarizing the latest wireless advancements, Brodsky suggests ways companies of various sizes and industries might integrate them into their internal communications networks. As the battle rages over which standards and technologies will win marketplace superiority, Wireless Computing offers provocative insights that corporate IT and communications managers, network administrators, equipment and software vendors, and others responsible for staying ahead of the communications technology curve are sure to find invaluable.

Booknews

Considers the commercial and operational aspects rather than the technology itself of wireless workplaces, radio LANs, cellular phones and their conversion from analog to digital, paging and personal messaging services, infrared as fiber optics without the fiber, and the ever-more-popular bandwidth along with a tour of frequency ranges and what they are currently carrying. Includes a glossary, but no bibliography. The ink was already, though barely, dry when Wiley bought Van Nostrand Reinhold, so the ISBN printed in the CiP data is the old one. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.



Table of Contents:
Cyberspace Without Wires.
Using the Spectrum.
Cellular Data Solutions.
Personal Messaging.
Wireless Data Networks.
Wireless Bandwidth-on-Demand.
The Wireless Workplace: Radio LANs.
Fiberless Fiber Optics.
Wireless Computing in the Sky.
Wireless Software.
Mobile Devices.
Batteries: Cutting the Final Cord.
Being Wireless.
Glossary.
Index.

See also: Getting Stronger or Natures Cancer Fighting Foods

Construction Claims: Prevention and Resolution

Author: Robert A Rubin

Praise for the Second Edition . . .

"A basic, how-to guide . . . for all those involved in the construction industry."—The Construction Lawyer

"This book is indispensable for any contractor who, against his better judgment, bids a fixed price contract . . . highly recommended."—David S. Thaler, The Daily Record

"Particularly useful to the construction contractor [and] also instructive to owners and design professionals."—Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities

"Practical advice on how to prevent a dispute—from the moment that the contract preparation begins through performance by the contractor and administration by the owner."—Concrete International

Over two successful editions, Construction Claims has become the sourcebook of choice on the subject for construction professionals from all areas of the industry. Now extensively updated, the Third Edition includes new material on design/build implications for construction; dispute review boards and their proper use; partnering to avoid disputes; and federal and relevant state environmental regulations.

Written by a prestigious and experienced author team, it uses an accessible, step-by-step approach that follows the contracting process from start to finish, with detailed coverage of provisions of the law, "red flag" contract clauses, and documentation issues and procedures. It also addresses the key aspects of prosecuting and defending claims, from claims presentation to formal dispute resolution. Complete with dozens of new forms and checklists, plus case histories, mini-cases, and more, this edition is an essential resource for anyone involved in construction and the law.



Alternatives to Capitalism or Theories of Political Economy

Alternatives to Capitalism

Author: Jon Elster

The essays in this provocative collection survey and assess institutional arrangements that could be alternatives to capitalism as it exists today. The agreed point of departure among the contributors is that on the one hand, capitalism leads to unemployment, a lack of autonomy in the workplace, and massive income inequalities; while on the other hand, central socialist planning is characterized by underemployment, inefficiency, and bureaucracy. In

Part I, various alternatives are proposed: profit-sharing systems, capitalism combined with some central planning, worker-owned firms in a market economy, or the introduction of the elements of market economy into a centrally planned economy as has occurred recently in Hungary.

Part II provides a theoretical analysis and assessment of these systems.



Table of Contents:

Notes on the contributors;

1. Introduction;

Part I:
2. Internal subcontracting in Hungarian enterprises;
3. Profit-sharing capitalism;
4. The unclearing market;
5. Strong unions or worker control?;
6. The role of central planning under capitalism and market socialism;

Part II:
7. Are freedom and equality compatible?;
8. Self-realisation in work and politics: the Marxist conception of the good life;
9. Public ownership and private property externalities.

Books about: Chef Manager or Marketing Leadership in Hospitality and Tourism

Theories of Political Economy

Author: James A Caporaso

"Political economy" has been the term used for the past 300 years to express the interrelationship between the political and economic affairs of the state. In Theories of Political Economy, James A. Caporaso and David P. Levine explore some of the more important frameworks for understanding the relation between politics and economics, including the classical, Marxian, Keynesian, neoclassical, state-centered, power-centered, and justice-centered. The book emphasizes understanding both the differences among the overall frameworks of the theories and the issues common to them.



Business Economics and Managerial Decision Making or Performance Drivers

Business Economics and Managerial Decision Making

Author: Trefor Jones

Written primarily for students taking courses in managerial economics in Britain and Europe, The Business Economics and Managerial Decision Making analyses the growth and development of privately owned firms and also the decisions made by firms operating in both private and public sector enterprises. Coverage is clear and concise, and avoids specialist techniques such as linear programming, which in a European context tend to belong in courses dealing with operations research. The book also avoids straying into areas of industrial economics, instead retaining a sharp focus on relevant issues such as the theory of the firm and the varying objectives that may be adopted in practice. Key sections are supported by case studies of real firms and actual decisions made.



New interesting book: Trigger Men or Worried Sick

Performance Drivers: A Practical Guide to Using the Balanced Scorecard

Author: Jan Roy

A Practical Guide to Using the Balanced Scorecard performance drivers Nils-Goran Olve, Jan Roy and Magnus Wetter Since the groundbreaking work of Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, the concept of the Balanced Scorecard has achieved increasing popularity in the business world. Previously, many organizations had built their business objectives around financial targets and goals that bore little relation to a long-term strategic vision. Typically, this leaves a gap between the development of a company's strategy and its implementation. The business scorecard, however, provides a more 'balanced view' by looking at not just-financial concerns, but also customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth. But it is not just a system of performance measurement - by focusing on future potential success it can be used as a dynamic management system that reinforces, implements and drives corporate strategy forward. In this book, the authors draw on their extensive experience with scorecard projects to provide a step-by-step method for introducing the Balanced Scorecard into an organization. This is done through the use of some of the most important practical examples in existence, with case studies from ABB, Coca Cola, Electrolux, British Telecom, Nat West, Skandia and Volvo. The desired strategic control system using scorecards that is presented focuses on creating and communicating a total comprehensive picture to all members of the organization from the top down, a long-term view of what the company's strategic objectives really are, how to make use of knowledge gained through experience and the required flexibility of such a system to cope with the fast-changing businessenvironment. This book will provide senior and operational managers, consultants and business academics with a comprehensive view of emerging Balanced Scorecard practice supported by both business advice and a theoretical foundation. Reflections on the relations between the Balanced Scorecard and other areas, such as TQM, information systems and intellectual capital and knowledge management are also made. Business Strategy



Table of Contents:
Preface
Overview of the Book
Pt. IIntroduction and Background1
1Why a Balanced Scorecard?3
2The Balanced Scorecard - Strategic Control12
Pt. IIBuilding a Balanced Scorecard35
3The Process of Building a Balanced Scorecard37
4Cases From Different Industries84
5Important Issues in the Building Process115
6Scorecards as Management Control146
7Measures and their Causal Relations189
Pt. IIIImplementing a Balanced Scorecard227
8Systems and IT Solutions for Scorecards229
9Towards a Learning Organization253
Pt. IVAdditional Uses279
10Using Scorecards to Inform Outside Parties281
11Scorecards in the Public Sector296
Pt. VConclusion309
12Making the Scorecard Process a Success311
AppExamples of Measures in the Different Perspectives327
Interviews334
References336
Index340

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Common Labor or Groupthink in Government

Common Labor: Workers and the Digging of North American Canals, 1780-1860

Author: Peter Way

Canal construction played a significant role in the rise of industrial America opening up new markets, employing an army of workers, and initiating the ties between capital and government that remain important to this day. The work went forward using simple tools and the brute strength of men and animals, with diggers working twelve-hour days and suffering the ravages of disease and injury. In this highly acclaimed study, Peter Way challenges conventional views of the part these workers played in the early republic and of the culture they created.

Increasingly made up of Irish immigrants, Way explains, the work force was housed in shanty towns hastily thrown up along the path of canal construction. Unlike the vibrant, proud working-class communities so beloved in labor history, these towns were the scene of considerable off-hours vice and violence. As wages fell throughout the 1830s, workers' discontent mounted to the point where riots were frequent and militia units often descended on the towns to enforce order. Common Labour traces a dark picture of powerlessness, depravity, and rage in the lives of America's canal diggers.



Books about: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Workbook or Instant Relief

Groupthink in Government: A Study of Small Groups and Policy Failure

Author: Paul T T Hart

Why do groups of talented and experienced individuals make disastrously bad collective judgments, such as the Kennedy administration's flawed decision to proceed with the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961? In his pioneering research on collective decision making, Irving Janis introduced the concept of "groupthink"--a deliberately Orwellian neologism--to describe such occurrences. Now, in the first book-length study of groupthink since Janis's work, Paul Hart has provided a rigorous and systematic version of this influential theory which opens several new avenues for research.

Booknews

't Hart provides a systematic version of Irving Janis' influential theory, opening several new avenues for research and examining the circumstances most likely to produce or counteract groupthink. He applies the theory to issues such as leadership style, risk taking, accountability, and prevention. His case study of the Iran-Contra scandal demonstrates the continuing relevance of groupthink theory in the analysis of flawed decision making. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)



Understanding Electric Power Systems or Investments

Understanding Electric Power Systems: An Overview of the Technology and the Marketplace

Author: Frank Delea

The Enron scandal notwithstanding, it is important for professionals in the electric power industry and related positions gain a solid understanding of electric power systems and how they work. Written by two veteran power company managers and respected experts, this is a real-world view of electric power systems, how they operate, how the organizations are structured, and how electricity is regulated and priced.

A comprehensive overview of the electric power industry from the inside
Covers electric power system components, electricity consumption, generation, transmission, distribution, electric utility operation, electric system control, power system reliability, government regulation, utility rate making, and financial considerations.

Includes an extensive glossary of key terms used in the U.S. and also definitions for terms used worldwide



Book review: Body Talk or Hunger Free Forever

Investments: Analysis and Management

Author: Charles P Jones

This bestseller teaches readers not only how to identify successful investment opportunities, but how to anticipate and deal with investment problems and controversies. Jones carefully and gradually develops key concepts, while covering all the necessary background material. Only essential formulas are included. It's one of the most readable, comprehensible investments titles available!
* Details the variety of securities available, the markets in which they are traded, mechanics of securities training, and insight into the important concept of risk and return.
* Examines portfolio analysis, valuation and management of stocks and bonds.
* Complete discussion of Exchange Traded Funds, operations on NYSE and NASDAQ, margin trading, electronic communication networks, global investing, and technical analysis.



Table of Contents:
Pt. 1Background
1Understanding Investments1
2Investment Alternatives24
3Indirect Investing51
4Securities Markets82
5How Securities Are Traded111
Pt. 2Portfolio and Capital Market Theory
6The Returns and Risks from Investing139
7Portfolio Theory172
8Portfolio Selection199
9Asset Pricing Models220
Pt. 3Common Stocks: Analysis, Valuation, and Management
10Common Stock Valuation248
11Common Stocks: Analysis and Strategy282
12Market Efficiency312
Pt. 4Security Analysis
13Economy/Market Analysis342
14Sector/Industry Analysis368
15Company Analysis386
16Technical Analysis423
Pt. 5Fixed-Income Securities: Analysis, Valuation, and Management
17Bond Yields and Prices448
18Bonds: Analysis and Strategy477
Pt. 6Derivative Securities
19Options504
20Futures540
Pt. 7Investment Management
21Portfolio Management565
22Evaluation of Investment Performance587
Glossary611
Interest Tables619
Index629

Facing Up to the American Dream or The Social Meaning of Money

Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation

Author: Jennifer L Hochschild

The ideology of the American dream--the faith that an individual can attain success and virtue through strenuous effort--is the very soul of the American nation. According to Jennifer Hochschild, we have failed to face up to what that dream requires of our society, and yet we possess no other central belief that can save the United States from chaos. In this compassionate but frightening book, Hochschild attributes our national distress to the ways in which whites and African Americans have come to view their own and each other's opportunities. By examining the hopes and fears of whites and especially of blacks of various social classes, Hochschild demonstrates that America's only unifying vision may soon vanish in the face of racial conflict and discontent.

Hochschild combines survey data and vivid anecdote to clarify several paradoxes. Since the 1960s white Americans have seen African Americans as having better and better chances to achieve the dream. At the same time middle-class blacks, by now one-third of the African American population, have become increasingly frustrated personally and anxious about the progress of their race. Most poor blacks, however, cling with astonishing strength to the notion that they and their families can succeed--despite their terrible, perhaps worsening, living conditions. Meanwhile, a tiny number of the estranged poor, who have completely given up on the American dream or any other faith, threaten the social fabric of the black community and the very lives of their fellow blacks.

Hochschild probes these patterns and gives them historical depth by comparing the experience of today's African Americans to that of white ethnic immigrants at theturn of the century. She concludes by claiming that America's only alternative to the social disaster of intensified racial conflict lies in the inclusiveness, optimism, discipline, and high-mindedness of the American dream at its best.

Publishers Weekly

Drawing on a rich lode of polling data, policy studies and popular journalism, Hochschild, professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton, probes the essential questions suggested by this book's title. She focuses on the dichotomy in which whites increasingly feel racial discrimination is ``slight and declining,'' while blacks believe the opposite. Both blacks and whites value the American dream; both groups believe that hard work should bring success. Paradoxically, the growing black middle class-in part, because of reality's failure to live up to the high expectations inspired at the peak of the civil rights movement-is more skeptical of the dream than poor blacks. However, the author observes that many poor African Americans ``only sort of'' believe in the American dream, while many of the ``estranged poor''-her preferred term for the ``underclass''-reject it. She notes that most of the oft-stigmatized white immigrants from 1880 to 1920 were transformed by civic tides into believers in the dream. Without new politics to alleviate race and class injustice, she warns, we face abandonment of the dream, perhaps leading to a formalization of American hierarchy and a separatist black nationalism. (Sept.)

Library Journal

At the center of U.S. ideology rests the promise that all Americans have a reasonable chance at success, however defined; Hochschild (What's Fair?: American Beliefs About Distributive Justice, Harvard Univ. Pr., 1990) demonstrates how that promise now faces severe challenge from real and perceived barriers of race and class. Using survey data, essays, ethnographies, and memoirs, Hochschild exposes paradoxes in black and white values and visions. Focusing on blacks, she uncovers a disillusioned, bitter middle class but a lower class that persists in believing in the American dream. Overall, she shows that shared disaffection and hardening black and white views of each other threaten to rend the nation's social fabric. Her work demands thoughtful reading and earnest discussion. Highly recommended for all collections on the United States.-Thomas J. Davis, SUNY at Buffalo



Table of Contents:
Tables and Figure
Preface to the Paperback Edition
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction3
Ch. 1What Is the American Dream?15
Ch. 2Rich and Poor African Americans39
Ch. 3"What's All the Fuss About?": Blacks' and Whites' Beliefs about the American Dream55
Ch. 4"Succeeding More" and "Under the Spell": Affluent and Poor Blacks' Beliefs about the American Dream72
Ch. 5Beliefs about One's Own Life91
Ch. 6Beliefs about Others122
Ch. 7Competitive Success and Collective Well being141
Ch. 8Remaining under the Spell157
Ch. 9With One Part of Themselves They Actually Believe174
Ch. 10Distorting the Dream184
Ch. 11Breaking the Spell200
Ch. 12The Perversity of Race and the Fluidity of Values214
Ch. 13Comparing Blacks and White Immigrants225
Ch. 14The Future of the American Dream250
Appendix ASurveys Used for Unpublished Tabulations261
Appendix BSupplemental Tables267
Notes271
Works Cited341
Index399

Interesting book: Farewell to the Factory or Staffing Organizations

The Social Meaning of Money: Pin Money, Paychecks, Poor Relief, and Other Currencies

Author: Viviana A Zelizer

A dollar is a dollar--or so most of us believe. Indeed, it is part of the ideology of our time that money is a single, impersonal instrument that impoverishes social life by reducing social relations to cold, hard cash. Arguing against this conventional wisdom, Viviana Zelizer, a distinguished social scientist and prize-winning author, shows how people have invented their own forms of currency, earmarking money in ways that baffle market theorists, incorporating funds into webs of friendship and family relations, and otherwise varying the process by which spending and saving takes place.



Friday, December 26, 2008

Farewell to the Factory or Staffing Organizations

Farewell to the Factory: Auto Workers in the Late Twentieth Century

Author: Ruth Milkman

This study exposes the human side of the decline of the U.S. auto industry, tracing the experiences of two key groups of General Motors workers: those who took a cash buyout and left the factory, and those who remained and felt the effects of new technology and other workplace changes. Milkman's extensive interviews and surveys of workers from the Linden, New Jersey, GM plant reveal their profound hatred for the factory regime--a longstanding discontent made worse by the decline of the auto workers' union in the 1980s. One of the leading social historians of the auto industry, Ruth Milkman moves between changes in the wider industry and those in the Linden plant, bringing both a workers' perspective and a historical perspective to the study.
Milkman finds that, contrary to the assumption in much of the literature on deindustrialization, the Linden buyout-takers express no nostalgia for the high-paying manufacturing jobs they left behind. Given the chance to make a new start in the late 1980s, they were eager to leave the plant with its authoritarian, prison-like conditions, and few have any regrets about their decision five years later. Despite the fact that the factory was retooled for robotics and that the management hoped to introduce a new participatory system of industrial relations, workers who remained express much less satisfaction with their lives and jobs.
Milkman is adamant about allowing the workers to speak for themselves, and their hopes, frustrations, and insights add fresh and powerful perspectives to a debate that is often carried out over the heads of those whose lives are most affected by changes in the industry.



Interesting textbook: Secret Lives of the First Ladies or Blood Brothers

Staffing Organizations

Author: Herbert G Heneman III

Heneman and Judge's book is based on a comprehensive staffing model. The model has been revised somewhat in this edition to reflect the growing importance of staffing strategy and to incorporate retention management into the staffing domain. Components of the model includestaffing models and strategy, staffing support systems (legal compliance, planning, job analysis), core staffing systems (recruitment, selection, employment), and staffing system and retention management. Up-to-date research and business practices are the trademarks of this market leading text. In-depth applications (cases and exercises) at the end of chapters provide students with skill-building and practice in key staffing activities and decision-making.



Table of Contents:
Staffing Organizations, 5e
Part One; The Nature of Staffing
Chapter 1 Staffing Models and Strategy
Part Two; Support Activities
Chapter 2 Legal Compliance
Chapter 3 Planning
Chapter 4 Job Analysis and Rewards
Part Three; Staffing Activities: Recruitment
Chapter 5 External Recruitment
Chapter 6 Internal Recruitment
Part Four; Staffing Activities: Selection
Chapter 7 Measurement
Chapter 8 External Selection I
Chapter 9 External Selection II
Chapter 10 Internal Selection
Part Five; Staffing Activities: Employment
Chapter 11 Decision Making
Chapter 12 Final Match
Part Six; Staffing System and Retention Management
Chapter 13 Staffing System Management
Chapter 14 Retention Management

Personal Finance or A Corporate Solution to Global Poverty

Personal Finance

Author: E Thomas Garman

Personal Finance teaches students how to save and invest, manage student loans, decrease credit card debt, find reliable financial online and much more. Throughout the text, students receive advice from personal finance experts, and encounter a variety of real-life scenarios featuring people facing a wide range of financial challenges. The Eighth Edition also includes an easy-to-use guide to recent changes in tax laws, updated graphics and a more sophisticated color scheme, and coverage of the latest trends and topics.

  • "Golden Rules of Personal Finance" boxes appear on the second page of every chapter. Each list provides concise advice on making good personal finance decisions early in life to avoid financial hardships later.
  • "Advice from an Expert" boxes are co-authored by some of the nation's most renowned personal finance authorities.Topics include Money Mantras for a Richer Life, How Inflation Affects Borrowing, and Buy Your Retirement on the Layaway Plan.
  • Group discussion issues appear as end-of-chapter activities, offering students an opportunity to share some of their personal finance experiences with others in the classroom.
  • Chapter 19 has been rewritten to cover the basics of estate planning and focuses on actions newly employed college graduates should take to secure their assets.



Book review:

A Corporate Solution to Global Poverty: How Multinationals Can Help the Poor and Invigorate Their Own Legitimacy

Author: George Lodg

World leaders have given the reduction of global poverty top priority. And yet it persists. Indeed, in many countries whose governments lack either the desire or the ability to act, poverty has worsened. This book, a joint venture of a Harvard professor and an economist with the International Finance Corporation, argues that the solution lies in the creation of a new institution, the World Development Corporation (WDC), a partnership of multinational corporations (MNCs), international development agencies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

In A Corporate Solution to Global Poverty, George Lodge and Craig Wilson assert that MNCs have the critical combination of capabilities required to build investment, grow economies, and create jobs in poor countries, and thus to reduce poverty. Furthermore, they can do so profitably and thus sustainably. But they lack legitimacy and risk can be high, and so a collective approach is better than one in which an individual company proceeds alone. Thus a UN-sponsored WDC, owned and managed by a dozen or so MNCs with NGO support, will make a marked difference.

At a time when big business has been demonized for destroying the environment, enjoying one-sided benefits from globalization, and deceiving investors, the book argues, MNCs have much to gain from becoming more effective in reducing global poverty. This is not a call for philanthropy. Lodge and Wilson believe that corporate support for the World Development Corporation will benefit not only the world's poor but also company shareholders as a result of improved MNC legitimacy and stronger markets and profitability.

Foreign Affairs

The late Milton Friedman once wrote that the corporation's soleresponsibility is to maximize profits for its shareholders. The authors of this extended essay take sharp exception. On the contrary, they argue, firms that neglect public sentiment lose legitimacy and invite hostility and blame for all the alleged evils of globalization. Among a range of social objectives that firms should recognize, the authors focus on global poverty. Reducing poverty is an important international aim, but multinational corporations (MNCs), which in fact provide many new jobs in developing countries, typically do not include the reduction of poverty in their cost-benefit analyses for new overseas investments, nor does any international mechanism exist for evaluating and monitoring claims of poverty reduction or for giving credit where it is due. The authors make some dubious assertions in arguing that the social impact of MNCs is overwhelmingly positive, and they underestimate the practical difficulties of convincingly measuring the total social impact of any new activity. But they make a persuasive case that MNCs should broaden the range of issues they take into account in making decisions on their increasingly conspicuous activities, if for no other reason than to restore and maintain their legitimacy in the eyes of the public. The authors also advocate the formation of a new global institution, made up of governments, corporations, and nonprofit advocacy groups, to facilitate this broadening of objectives -- and to award kudos when it is merited.



Table of Contents:
1Introduction9
2The legitimacy of business21
3NGOs and the attack : critics, watchdogs, and collaborators45
4The corporate response71
5International development architecture90
6The emerging international consensus117
7The options for business contributions137
8A world development corporation155

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Media Terrorism and Theory or Human Resource Management in Construction Projects

Media, Terrorism, and Theory: A Reader

Author: Anandam P Kavoori

Over the past few years, media outlets have spotlighted coverage of terror attacks. Drawing on both popular and academic articles, Media, Terrorism, and Theory analyzes the larger issues surrounding media's portrayal of terrorism. From such diverse fields as political science, media studies, architecture, and information science, each contributor brings a distinctive perspective. Answering a growing need to understand media discourse on terrorism, this volume complements readings in upper-level mass communication courses and will appeal to scholars of international media and terrorism.



New interesting book:

Human Resource Management in Construction Projects: Strategic and Operational Approaches

Author: Marti Loosemor

Although construction is one of the most labor-intensive industries, people management issues are given inadequate attention. Furthermore, the focus of attention with regards to HR has been on the strategic aspects of HRM function - yet most problems and operational issues arise on projects. To help redress these problems, this book takes a broad view of HRM, examining the strategic and operational aspects of managing people within the construction sector. The book is aimed at project managers and students of project management who, until now, have been handed the responsibility for human resource management without adequate knowledge or training.



Table of Contents:
List of illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
1Introduction: the challenges of managing people in construction1
2The development of modern organisational and management theory15
3Human resource management theory: strategic concepts and operational implications32
4Strategic approaches to managing human resources in the construction industry49
5The mechanics of human resource management in construction: resourcing, development and reward77
6Employee relations114
7Employee participation, involvement and empowerment in construction143
8Workforce diversity, equal opportunities and work-life balance in construction171
9Employees' health, safety and welfare211
10Strategic human resource development253
11The HRM implications of management thinking, trends and fads: cross-cutting HRM themes for the new millennium287
12Conclusion: SHRM as a route to improved business performance303
Bibliography318
Index340

Essentials of Practical Real Estate Law or Organization

Essentials of Practical Real Estate Law

Author: Daniel F Hinkel

This Essentials edition of Practical Real Estate Law employs the same user-friendly approach in introducing important real property law concepts. This concise, yet thorough version focuses just on the most critical areas of real estate law. Students will be given the same exposure to case summaries that allow them to practice their analytical skills and see how concepts are applied in practice. The text also includes case problems that reinforce the content and real-life examples that make the material accessible. The numerous forms and checklists also facilitate understanding of each concept and ensure the student is well prepared to work as a professional in this practice area.



Interesting book:

Organization: Contemporary Principles and Practice

Author: John Child

This exciting sequel to John Child's classic text, Organization, provides a current, comprehensive guide to organizational management in today’s world, with additional teaching website supports.
Written in an approachable style, and featuring new international examples, this is a major contemporary guide to the role of organizations and people in business success.



• A revealing account of new internal organizational forms and the evolution of organization to meet new demands

• Makes state-of-the-art principles and practice available to students and practitioners.

• Covers a broad range of topics, from integration, control, reward policies, outsourcing, flexibility and strategic alliances, to trust, learning, and corporate governance.

• Draws upon recent research and good business journalism.

• Features new international examples.

• Each chapter contains summaries of key points, lists of practical guidelines, questions for discussion, and suggestions for further reading.

• Fully supported by web-based Instructor Manual with teacher notes and powerpoint slides; visit blackwellpublishing.com/child



Table of Contents:
Ch. 1Introduction to organization3
Ch. 2New conditions, new organization25
Ch. 3Simpler structures59
Ch. 4Achieving integration79
Ch. 5Control111
Ch. 6Questions of reward137
Ch. 7Payment systems156
Ch. 8Outsourcing179
Ch. 9Virtual organization196
Ch. 10Strategic alliances222
Ch. 11Organizing across borders240
Ch. 12Effecting organizational change277
Ch. 13Organizing for learning309
Ch. 14Generating and utilizing trust337
Ch. 15Corporate governance in new organizational forms356
Ch. 16Making sense of organization377

Human Relations or Real Estate Sales Handbook

Human Relations

Author: Marie Dalton

This contemporary text will connect you with the current human relations issues and challenges you will encounter in the twenty-first century and will prepare you to confidently put proven theory into action-so you get the results you want. Authors Dalton, Hoyle, and Watts use a unique approach that gives you the opportunity to experience and analyze firsthand the contemporary issues of human relations in the twenty-first century. By weaving their varied professional backgrounds and knowledge into every chapter, they provide the insight and awareness that comes only from experience. Based on the sound content and research of the previous edition, HUMAN RELATIONS, 3rd aims to deliver a dynamic and real-world perspective to human relations.

Booknews

Dalton (San Jacinto College), Hoyle (NASA), and Watts (a consultant) draw from their various professional backgrounds and experiences in order to introduce current human relations issues and theory. The book covers basics like teamwork, communication, diversity, and problem solving. Specific chapters address topics like motivation, group dynamics, labor unions, goal setting, leadership, power, change, ethics, substance abuse, and employee rights. They spotlight the impact of technology, the Internet, and globalization. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)



New interesting book: Video Game Art or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Best Practices

Real Estate Sales Handbook

Author: Gail Lyons

This 10th edition has been updated to reflect trends in the industry, including real estate as an investment, computer technology, and expanding your services beyond residential sales. An indispensable guide!



Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Microsoft Office 2003 or Capitalism and a New Social Order

Microsoft Office 2003

Author: Timothy J OLeary

Tim and Linda O'Leary are the well-known husband and wife author team behind Microsoft Office 2003 Applications . Their goal is to give students a basic understanding of computing concepts and to build the skills necessary to ensure that information technology is an advantage in whatever career they choose in life. The O'Leary Office XP and Office 2003 texts are crafted to be the true step-by-step way for students to develop Microsoft Office application skills. The text design emphasizes step-by-step instructions with full screen captures that illustrate the results of each step performed. Each Tutorial (chapter) combines conceptual coverage with detailed software-specific instructions. A running case that is featured in each tutorial highlights the real-world applications of each software program and leads students step-by-step from problem to solution.



Books about: Ultimate Dog Treat Cookbook or Healthy Crockery Cookery

Capitalism and a New Social Order: The Republican Vision of the 1790s

Author: Joyce Oldham Appleby

In 1800 the Jeffersonian Republicans, decisive victors over what they considered elitist Federalism, seized the potential for change in the new American nation. They infused in it their vision of a society of economically progressive, politically equal, and socially liberated individuals. This book examines the fusion of ideas and circumstances which made possible this triumph of America's first popular political movement. When the Federalists convened in New York to form the more perfect union promised by the new United Sates Constitution, they expected to build a strong central government led by the revolutionary members of the old colonial elite. This expectation was dashed by the emergence of a vigorous opposition led by Thomas Jefferson but manned by a new generation of popular politicians: interlopers, ?migr?s, polemicists-what the Federalists called the mushroom candidates. They turned the 1790s into an age of passion by raising basic questions about the characters of the American experiment in government. When the Federalists defenders of traditional European notions of order and authority came under attack, they sought to discredit the radical beliefs of the Jeffersonians. Although the ideas that fueled the Jeffersonian opposition came from several strains of liberal and libertarian thought, it was the specific prospect of an expanding commercial agricutlure that gave substance to their conviction that Americans might divorce themselves from the precepts of the past. Thus, capitalism figured prominently in the Jeffersonian social vision. Aroused by the Federalists' efforts to bind the nation's wealthy citizens to a strengthened central government, the Jeffersoniansunified ordinary men in the southern and middle states, mobilizing on the national level the power of the popular vote. Their triumph in 1800 represented a new sectional alliance as well as a potent fusion of morality and materialism.



The Experiential Student Team Consulting Process or The Houghton Mifflin Brief Accounting Dictionary

The Experiential Student Team Consulting Process: A Guidebook for Students, Clients & Instructors

Author: Ronald G Cook

This book provides a ground-breaking model for the experiential team consulting process. Our model allows for a conceptual understanding of the consulting process and the interactions between and among students, the team, the client, and the instructor. It also provides a hands-on guide to completing the consulting project, with clear examples from a number of award-winning engagements. Experiential courses are multi-disciplined learning experiences and this book will be most helpful for the integrative demands of such a course.



Table of Contents:
Chapter One - Introduction
Chapter Two - The Process of Student Team Consulting
Chapter Three - Student Teams
Chapter Four - Client Issues
Chapter Five - Project Development
Chapter Six - Project Completion
Chapter Seven - Evaluations
Chapter Eight - Epilogue
Appendices A- Confidentiality and Participation Agreement
B- Background Information Forms
C- Company Contact Sheet
D- Activity Log
E- Questions for Analysis
F- Letters of Engagement
G- Team Progress Report
H- Data Sources
I- Quality Checklist
J- Final Report Table of Contents
K- Thank You Letter
L- Evaluations
M- Sample Syllabus

Books about: Cold Mountain or The Little Book of Quitting

The Houghton Mifflin Brief Accounting Dictionary

Author: Houghton Mifflin Company

Written by the same author team as the prestigious American Heritage Dictionary, this dictionary offers definitions in clear, accessible English along with word entries, sample sentences, phrases, formulas, and equations taken from best-selling Houghton Mifflin accounting texts. The Accounting Dictionary also features a pronunciation guide, grammar usage coding, and ample illustrations.



Organizational Communication or International Marketing

Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes (with InfoTrac?)

Author: Katherine Miller

Write one description, describing the BOC/book store and/or instructor experience, that will be read by customers and also by reps. This will populate almost EVERYTHING we do! Miller's text presents organizational communication from both a communication and managerial perspective. Her writing style and consistent use of examples and case studies results in a text that undergraduates students will find easy to understand.



Look this:

International Marketing

Author: Brad Kleindl

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING is an ideal resource for anyone seeking success in the business world! It combines the basics of marketing with the realities of the global marketplace and provides industry-specific examples (international economics, promotion, technology, and professional sales) that will prepare you to conquer any challenge that you may encounter.



Table of Contents:
1. Introduction to International Marketing. 2. Environment of International Marketing. 3. The Cultural Environment of International Marketing. 4. The International Political Economy. 5. Assessing Global Market Opportunities. 6. International Marketing Strategies. 7. Product and Brand Management. 8. International Marketing Channels. 9. International Marketing Communication. 10. Pricing and International Market Payments. 11. International Marketing Strategies. 12. International Marketing Management.

Decent People Decent Company or Pastoralists

Decent People, Decent Company: How to Lead with Character at Work and in Life

Author: Robert L Turknett

Lays out a proven path and inspiring ideas for revitalizing attitudes and behavior, unleashing leadership integrity, and reinvigorating organizations.

Soundview Executive Book Summaries

How To Lead With Character At Work And In Life
The authors of Decent People, Decent Company write that the "headiest economic boom in history has dissolved to reveal a shocking poverty of corporate ethics and leadership." To help leaders, middle managers and individuals within organizations develop the character for leadership, executive leadership coach Robert Turknett and organizational sociology expert Carolyn Turknett have refined their ideas of "Leadership Character." In Decent People, Decent Company, they teach the skills for leading with integrity and show readers how to lead with character and courage. They explain that the best leaders - Lincoln, Churchill and Mandela - have confidence in themselves and respect for others, and have a sense of ownership of and responsibility for their entire organization.

Character and Integrity
The Turknetts begin Decent People, Decent Company by stating that they believe "the foundation of leadership must be character, and that the foundation of leadership character must be integrity." They point out that although the mistakes of leaders can be overcome, failures of integrity cannot.

When companies create trust, treat everyone with respect and encourage leadership at every level, they are much more successful than companies that don't, the authors write. The individual and the organization are not separate in how they behave or grow, and if you lead with character, no matter where you are in the hierarchy, you can help to build an organization in which:

  • All participants are aware of their contributions and willing to challenge the ethics of any action.
  • Everyone takes responsibility for and ownership of success.
  • All members treat each other with decency and respect, feel they all have a seat at the table and want to enthusiastically invest their energies.

The Leadership Character Model
To help people create better relationships with their colleagues and reduce the number of obstacles between them and their goals, the authors have created the "Leadership Character Model." This model is depicted as a common scale. The base of the scale is integrity: an essential to behaving with honesty, decency and authenticity.

The two sides of the scale represent respect and responsibility, which are two key leadership qualities one must always strive to keep in balance on the foundation of integrity. The authors write that respect describes the sense of partnership, participation and equality you want to feel in your organization. The core qualities of respect, which are represented in the model as weights on the respect platform, are empathy, lack of blame, emotional mastery and humility.

The other side of the scale is responsibility, which means dependability and full engagement. It represents the willingness to hold both yourself and others accountable with fairness and objectivity. The authors explain that when you are responsible, you are assertive, willing to take risks and accept the consequences of your actions. Self-confidence, accountability, focus on the whole and courage are the core qualities of responsibility.

Throughout the rest of Decent People, Decent Company, the authors show how the Leadership Character Model can guide your process of growth, help you understand and improve relationships, and create a vibrant organizational culture. They also point out that when you develop your own leadership character, the integrity of your organization also grows. By describing dozens of case studies of leaders and employees who were able to focus on respect and empathy, and improve their organizations along the way, the authors show how mistakes can be fixed and organizations can be improved with the Leadership Character Model. They also provide a collection of tools for building an individual's integrity as well as an organization's integrity. ~

Why We Like This Book
The authors of Decent People, Decent Company have a gift for being able to describe the importance of integrity when balancing the shifting weights of respect and responsibility. By providing readers with eye-opening research and expert advice, along with the stories from others who have struggled to create better working environments, the Turknetts offer effective ways for people and organizations to grow, become more effective and succeed. Copyright © 2005 Soundview Executive Book Summaries



Go to: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass or Blackwater

Pastoralists: Equality, Hierarchy, and the State

Author: Philip Carl Salzman

Drawing upon the author's extensive field research among pastoral peoples in the Middle East, India, and the Mediterranean, and on more than 30 years of comparative study of pastoralists around the world, Pastoralists is an authoritative synthesis of the varieties of pastoral life. At an ethnographic level, the concise volume provides detailed analyses of divergent types of pastoral societies, including segmentary tribes, tribal chiefdoms, and peasant pastoralists. At the same time, it addresses a set of substantive theoretical issues: ecological and cultural variation, equality and inequality, hierarchy and the basis of power, and state power and resistance. The book validates "pastoralists" as a conceptual category even as it reveals the diversity of societies, subsistence strategies, and power arrangements subsumed by that term.



Table of Contents:
1Introduction : pastoralism and pastoral societies1
2Agency and adaptation : pastoralists of Iran17
3Equality and anarchy : segmentary tribes43
4Hierarchical image and reality : tribal chiefdoms77
5Accommodation and resistance to the state : peasant pastoralists103
6What can we learn from pastoral peoples about equality, freedom, and democracy?125
7The dynamics of pastoral worlds137
AppMasters and masterworks of pastoral studies159