Book Description

Robbins and Coulter's best-selling text demonstrates the real-world applications of management concepts and makes management come alive by bringing real managers and readers together. As it successfully integrates the various functions of management, the book establishes a dialogue with managers from a variety of fields. The authors examine managerial issues concerning defining the manager's terrain, planning, organizing, leading and controlling. For managers of all kinds.

Reviews (1)

introduction to management
It very details and have many examples but if the summary could included more key element, it would be better. ... Read more

Book Description

The most exciting, practitioner-based introduction available to the field of advertising. Exceptionally real-world in focus—with examples, issues, and applications interlaced throughout—this best-selling introduction to both the theory and practice of advertising provides important insights into how advertising is done, who does it, and the critical questions that must be resolved. It provides a focus on what principles and practices make advertising effective—and the volume's rich and extensive support package make the teaching/learning process not only exciting, but more effective as well.The volume examines advertising foundations, environment, background, planning, and strategy, advertising media, creating advertising and marketing communication elements.For those interested in effective advertising. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Nice
I got this book within two days, exactly when I needed it. It arrived on time and in good packaging. I would like to thank el felix for sending the book. I am anxious to use it.

easy guide for advertising students.
Every step expains the advertising basic component. It can help you understand the advertising. ... Read more

Book Description

Over two million copies in print of the classicpersonal wealth parable

Millions have been helped by the famous "Babylonian parables," hailed as the greatest of all inspirational works on thrift,financial planning, and personal wealth. In language as simple as the Bible's, this modern classic shows the way to the road to riches. ... Read more

Reviews (227)

An Old Book with a Fair Amount of Wisdom
I often give this book out as a gift whenever a person younger than me asks for my advice on money. I always present this book to them saying "if you read it and do as it says, it will work magic." It really contains excellent, time tested advice, and would make a good gift for someone in their early 20s who is on their own for the first time, and struggling.

The book is a series of parables about money written in the 1920s by George Clason. They were written as individual essays of a few thousand words, but the theme throughout them is consistent -- save 10% of your money, give 10% away, use 10% to reduce your debt load, and live on the remaining 70%.

The stories in the book are entertaining; they are reminiscent of some of the parables in the Bible, such as the Prodigal Son or the story of the Workers in the Vineyard. I think this is intentional on the part of the author; certainly readers in the 1920s had an appreciation for "old fashioned stories with a moral" that people today seem to have lost. I enjoy the book greatly, though, and any thoughtful person who reads the book should find it interesting, especially if they are trying to get their finances in order.

This knowledge is Golden and Timeless
This book is so beautiful in its simplicity. It provides the quintessential, capitalistic concept that the majority seem to miss- on saving and investing. This book is not the in-depth 21st century read about investing wisely in today's markets, rather it is the all time read to acquiring and investing your wealth. It shows how everyone, even a lowly trashman can one day retire comfortably as long as he learns the "ways of money". It provides the basic concepts and you apply your current scenarios. Every time, without fail, you will come up with one thing: how to build your wealth. This is the TRIED AND TRUE method to increasing your worth. This IS NOT the get rich quick book you might be expecting. This book teaches you how to save, make your money work for you and in general how to be a lord of your wealth (or wise in the ways of money), as opposed to your money ruling you. Timeless and priceless knowledge that every single person not living under totalitarian or communistic rule should know so that they can seek their own financial freedom.

Timeless, simple truths...
This incredible little book was recommended to me for many years because of the texts inspirational qualities, in terms of offering timeless simple truths concerning thrift, financial planning and the value of a good work ethic. The formula offered for financial independence is highly practical and workable. Promoted as success secrets of the ancients, the text is written in parable form, similar to the bible, which gives the entire work a credible quality. I know from personal experience, that with persisitence, a good work ethic and a strong will to succeed; one can achieve a modicum of financial prosperity. Which, by the way, includes enjoying the fruits of one's labours. "Enjoy life while you are here. Do not overstrain or try to save too much...live otherwise according to your income and let not yourself get niggardly and afraid to spend. Life is good and life is rich with things worthwhile and things to enjoy." (20) In other terms, the lesson offered is a practice in moderation, not letting one's behavioural pendulum swing too far either way, but earning well and living well in the mean is a key to achieving a happy life. If you read any 'financial success' book this year, let it be this one.

Simple wisdom but SO powerful
First published in 1927 this is a parable, a story set in ancient Babylon, focusing on the simple ways to set yourself up for financial success. Excellent book.
Lori
www.communecate.biz

A book worth reading over and over
I think that some people underestimate this book due to it's small size. This is NOT a book that you will want to read only once and put away, you will NEED to read this over and over untill the ideas saturate both your conscious and subscious minds and untill the ideas become habits. Then you will achieve some real results. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is well known for its coverage of modern topics (Game theory, Economics of Information, and Behavioral Economics), clarity of its writing style and graphs, and integrated use of real world examples. The emphasis on relevance and application to both managerial and public-policy decision-making are focused goals of the book. This emphasis is accomplished by including MANY extended examples that cover such topics as the analysis of demand, cost, and market efficiency; the design of pricing strategies; investment and production decisions; and public policy analysis. Economists and strategists looking to stay current with economic information.

Reviews (17)

Unneccessarily Long
This textbook takes microeconomics which can be explained in a technical, exact manner and makes it abstract and foreign.

This textbook's sentences run-on and lose their direction, confusing the reader...If a reader had a firm understanding of economics prior to this textbook, after reading it, it is certain that they will no longer have the understanding of economics, that they did previously.

It is a travestly when a textbook designed to teach the reader about a certain subject, actually makes them less knowledgeable of the subject.

I must also ask why it is being used to teach university students in different years and programs, when it should not be, for example in my university it is being taught in the following programs

IBBA - Year 1
BBA - Year 2
BAS - Year 3
MBA - Year 1

A good book for intermediate level students
Organization of the books is good. Topics are discussed with enough clarity and graphs and illustrations are describing enough. The level of algebra and math is at an intermediate undergraduate level (economics major). I think it is a complete book for anybody who wants to have an understanding of microeconomics. I am a Ph.D. student of economics now and if I am going to teach an undergrad micro course, I will certainly choose this textbook.

Its clearly written, however laughable as an inter. Text
The book is clearly written, however, I found that it is to simple and somewhat weak as a intermediate level text. I agree with most of the other comments that it would be more suitable as an entry level Economics text. This book would probably be better suited for students who are buisness or non-economics majors taking the intermediate course.

translated from klingon?
Perhaps one of the worst written textbooks of all time.The convoluted sentences contain multiple sub clauses and prepositional phrases.The graphs are inadequately labeled and do more to confuse than clarify.Couldn't the publisher at least have hired a Wall Street Journal editor to give it a rewrite?They might as well have printed this in ancient Sumerian.The accompanying study guide reiterates the key topics in plain English, but contains typos.Politically speaking, the book displays a strong libertarian, anti-regulation, anti-worker bias.

Book Review
I found this book to have clarity in the major topics of microeconomics which could help you to understand the basics. However this should only be used as basis reading and other books should be used to cover the various topics in more depth, such as Koutsoyanis and others which give more insight on specific topics. All in all it is a good solid core text book which can give you the basic knowledge needed in microeconomics. ... Read more

Book Description

This market leading text offers proven, comprehensive, applications-oriented approach. Written by authors who are highly regarded in the field, the text provides sound methodological development. The discussion and development of each technique is presented in an application setting, with the statistical results providing insights to decisions and solutions to problems. Statistics for Business and Economics, 9e offers proven accuracy that has led instructors to adopt it simply for its superior examples and exercises alone. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Not only Beyond Bullet Points...Beyond PowerPoint too!
Caution!The information presented in this book has applications far beyond PowerPoint.If you read this book you may find yourself inspired to think outside of the "text" box.You may think of innovative ways to use this information to become a better salesperson, a better organizer or a better communicator in general.

At least, that was my experience.

I recently used the principles in Cliff's book to organize the 3-year cirriculum for my company's new corporate university.Using the story template ensured that each course was tied to the strategic goals of the company.I just wish I had discovered his book at the beginning of the project!By the way, my "meta-story" template is posted on Cliff's blog at www.beyondbullets.com.Be sure to check it out!

I've also used the story template as a guideline for writing a letter (to convince a client to see something my way) and to structure a talk I gave in church recently.

I'm even convinced that the principles in this book can be used for non-persuasive presentations (i.e. technical training, informative presentations, etc.) and I plan to prove it.I'm working right now on re-vamping several of my technical training classes using this approach.I've written several of the story templates, and I can already see the improvement!

Order the book!Visit the blog!Get ready to change the way you communicate!

Maybe Not
For those wanting the add FX to their PP presentations - this isn't the book.The PP stuff is 101 level.For those looking for a format for their presentations - this offers one.Will it fit all, or even most, circumstances?Not in my experience of coaching business presentations for 20 + years.

Stop putting your audience to sleep!
I can't count the number of boring bullet point presentations I've sat through in my life. Unfortunately, my audiences probably say the same thing! With the help of Cliff Atkinson's Beyond Bullet Points, hopefully my audiences won't have to endure yet another boring bullet point presentation.

If you are looking for a book to teach you PowerPoint or looking to transform yourself into a PowerPoint "power user" look elsewhere. If you want to learn to develop effective presentations that engage your audience and not put them to sleep, Beyond Bullet Points is a great book.

The book presents Cliff Atkinson's three step approach to presentations: Focus, Clarify and Engage. The method is based on story telling with a few twists to compensate for the complex nature of presentations.

Chapter 1 starts with a fictional presentation which the book will transform from a boring bullet pointed presentation to one that engages the audience.

Chapter 2-3 (focus) guides the reader as Cliff describes the process of writing the script for the new presentation.

Chapter 4-6 (clarify) builds upon the previous chapters as the reader is guided through the process of clarifying the presentation's ideas.

Chapter 7 lays out the groundwork to create an engaging script that will certainly bring life to your presentation.

Appendix A summarizes Richard Mayer's excellent research on multimedia learning.

Appendix B discusses Cliff's excellent tool, Beyond Bullet Points Storyboard Formatter.

While PowerPoint is used as the tool in presenting Cliff's idea of storyboarded presentations, the concept is certainly beneficial to anyone that uses alternate tools.

This book has transformed my business
I am a professional speaker and workshop leader. People have always told me I am good. But now I look at my presentations and think, "I cannot believe I used to present this garbage and people responded." The ideas I got from this book have completely transformed my business.

That may sound like a lofty claim but let me explain. I have never met Cliff Atkinson. Didn't know him from "Boo" before a month or two ago. I saw Cliff's book mentioned on a blog I read and began reading some of his posts. They were very useful and had a lot of great ideas. When this book was released, Cliff made an offer to do a makeover on a few presentations so that he could publically show people the results on his blog and in the discussion forum on his book site. When I saw that, I jumped at the chance.

My sales presentation drives the majority of my revenue. Why wouldn't I? If I could make it better, great. If I didn't like the result, I could always stick with what I had been doing.

Like it? Wow! The transformation has been amazing! You can see for yourself. Go to his blog and you can see my entire makeover process or you can see just a few before and afters in some of Cliff's blog posts. Look for Kim's makeover. I think you will agree the difference is truly amazing.

But it didn't stop there. What Cliff is really teaching is a structure for presenting information. Storytelling is one of the most powerful communication tools out there. I was a good story teller - but my stories weren't tight. They were not concise. The Beyond Bullet Point approach gives my audience exactly what they need to keep them interested and answer their questions - no more, no less. It puts you in their shoes.

I took Cliff's story structure and began to apply it in other areas. I have not only put it to work in other presentations, I tried a little experiment. I wrote one of my sixty second radio spots using Act 1 of Cliff's story structure. It began airing this week and right out of the gate it looks like it may be one of the best pulling ads I have ever run.

But it didn't stop there either. I have been working with an ad agency to develop a positioning statement (some would call it a tag line) and a jingle. We had been going back and forth on the positioning statement. Nothing popped. After I finished the story template I used for the sixty second spot, I sent it over to the creative guy at the ad agency and we instantly knew we had a positioning statement. It came naturally right out of Cliff's story structure.

So that is my story. I have never posted a review on Amazon before. I am an avid reader but I have no time to post reviews. For this book, I made time. I give this book my highest recommendation, which I will also do to readers of my newsletters and blog. I hope it is as powerful for you as it was for me.

This book teaches some essential writing skills!
This book is the most pragmatic book on developing presentations, not just PowerPoint presos. It borrows from the craft of Hollywood that knows how to capture our attention, keep us entertained and influence us in more ways than we realize. The book is based on proven techniques used by the greatest storytellers for centuries and the author has boiled this down into a few principles that are easy to remember and use.

I have already employed the techniques and I see a huge difference; my colleagues say so! Get this book and you will be guided to think a lot more critically about your audience, your message and more importantly your desired outcome. The Word template provided at the author's website is an awesome power tool, once you understand the concepts. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Once again using an astutely written fictional tale to unambiguously but painlessly deliver some hard truths about critical business procedures, Patrick Lencioni targets group behavior in the final entry of his trilogy of corporate fables. And like those preceding it, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is an entertaining, quick read filled with useful information that will prove easy to digest and implement. This time, Lencioni weaves his lessons around the story of a troubled Silicon Valley firm and its unexpected choice for a new CEO: an old-school manager who had retired from a traditional manufacturing company two years earlier at age 55. Showing exactly how existing personnel failed to function as a unit, and precisely how the new boss worked to reestablish that essential conduct, the book's first part colorfully illustrates the ways that teamwork can elude even the most dedicated individuals--and be restored by an insightful leader. A second part offers details on Lencioni's "five dysfunctions" (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results), along with a questionnaire for readers to use in evaluating their own teams and specifics to help them understand and overcome these common shortcomings. Like the author's previous books, The Five Temptations of a CEO and Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, this is highly recommended. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (51)

Help for Dysfunctional Teams
Patrick Lencioni has written an exceptionally interesting fable on optimal team performance. He has prescribed guidelines for team success and applied them in an interesting, easy to read story with a twist. He has defined easy to follow principles that with practice can lead any group or team, large or small to be great.
The book begins with a story of a potentially great company with a dysfunctional executive staff. Even though this company assembled some of the best executives and attracted top tier investors (compared to their closest competitors), the company was on a downslide. Morale was slipping and key employees were leaving. The CEO (and co-founder) was relieved of his title by the board and the search for his successor began.
This company, Decision Tech, was a high profile, two years old company with much at stake. The chairman of the board pushed for hiring Kathryn, an ancient fifty-seven years old by Silicon Valley standards. Employees and the executive staff were stunned with the news of the new hire.
The story develops by weaving Lencioni's team dysfunctions into its web. The fable is enticing and not typical of your "how to produce" guidelines book. The author keeps your interest while at the same time introducing and teaching his methods.
At the end of the story, Mr. Lencioni reviews all levels of team dysfunctions and summarizes and reiterates each. Therefore reinforcing his principles and eliminating confusion.
This is the first book I have read by this author. I found it entertaining, yet very informative. I enjoyed the novel format while receiving important informational steps for success in a team or group.
I would highly recommend this book to any person or group seeking to improve or turn around the team in which they belong. It would be a great tool for corporate teams or even the local high school basketball team. All teams would greatly benefit from Mr. Lencioni's advice.

Insight Made Easy
In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni attracts and captures your attention with his intriguing business story. Before going into thorough details of the five dysfunctions, Lencioni tells the story of a fictitious executive team working to revive a technology company near Silicone Valley. The characters are as realistic as can be and extremely easy to relate to. The story is quite simple to understand and keeps a quick pace. Typically, I have found educational books to drag on and only share stories that few people could relate with. However, this book leads readers through a reasonable, professional journey. The dysfunctions are practical and truthful. Often teams and groups feel that they have all of the possible resources necessary in attaining and mastering their goals, when in fact, they have a plethora of various hidden problems holding them back. Lencioni breaks apart each of these difficulties and explains how it will deny the team of their full potential. I felt that Lencioni's method of applying knowledge prior to teaching a lesson was much more effective than the traditional method of teaching then applying. When the author is finally "teaching" the lessons towards the end of the book, it seems as if you have already learned the information. Patrick Lencioni also provides a useful team assessment and a thoroughly detailed model of the dysfunctions. Insightful suggestions on overcoming the dysfunctions are included as well. Overall, this short, quick book is packed full of invaluable knowledge that can be applied to teams at all levels.

Highly Recmmended!
Patrick Lencioni offers a satisfactory fable about an executive wrestling to take hold of a company and create a smoothly functioning executive team. The narrative moves right along as he addresses the problem of feckless teamwork with the fictitious Decision Tech company as a test case. The novel is interesting, and you can read through it easily, getting to know the characters and participating in their business decisions. However, if you just want to learn about better teamwork quickly and leave, skim to the final chapters. Here, the author outlines a detailed model for diagnosing the five dysfunctions of a team and provides exercises and techniques to ameliorate those dysfunctions. The advice is complete and concrete. We recommend the meat and potatoes diagnosis and solutions as well as the cake and ice cream story, but how much narrative you want to read may depend on what shape your team is in when you start, as well as on your taste for tales.

Things to look for and fix on teams at all levels
This book is great because the simple narrative makes the 5 different disfunctions more concrete by showing exactly how they can manifest in a team. These are common issues not only executive-level teams, but also teams of lower-level folks like myself, working on individual features of a product. Some of the higher-level concepts like understanding what your 'first team' are a little bit less relevant, but most of the book is still very pertinent and easy to directly apply.

The worksheets and exercises he has in the back are also great, no-nonsense ways to bring your team back on track. The only things I might've liked to see are some more information around what can go wrong when you try to "correct" the particular issues and maybe some more concrete details on what it means to be a leader by his definition. It's a bit vauge in places and seems to be more a matter of reporting structure than technical / feature leadership (i.e. a team of all true peers but where one person is the technical / business expert), though he works to call out some of the details at the end.

Inspirational
According to Lencioni, "the ultimate test of a great team is results," and in this fable told in the style of similar books, such as The Goal, and The Present, the author discusses how to build and profit from teams. This book is not about teamwork, so much as the deliberate creation of teams to analyze and resolve problems within an organization. The book is highly readable and informative for any executive aspiring to learn about teams or share an inspirational book with his or her workforce.

Lencioni identifies 5 reasons teams fail: lack of commitment, failure to embrace conflict, lack of results focus, lack of accountability, and lack of trust. The author concludes his book and his philosophy with the statement success is a matter of "embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence."

Read this book and share it with your fellow employees. I would also recommend you read Goldratt's book The Goal (ISBN: 0884270610) in conjunction with this book. ... Read more

Book Description

When it was initially written in 1987, few could have predicted that The Leadership Challenge would become one of the best-selling leadership books of all time. Now, faced with the new challenges of our unpredictable global business environment, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner--two of the country's premier leadership experts--have completely revised and updated their classic book. Building on the knowledge base of their previous books, the third edition of The Leadership Challenge is grounded in extensive research and based on interviews with all kinds of leaders at all levels in public and private organizations from around the world. In this edition, the authors emphasize that the fundamentals of leadership are the same today as they were in the 1980s, and as they've probably been for centuries. In that sense, nothing's new. Leadership is not a fad. While the content of leadership has not changed, the context has-and in some cases, changed dramatically.

... Read more

Reviews (33)

Guidelines and Parameters for the Perilous Journey Within
I recently re-read this brilliant book before proceeding to Kouzes and Posner's more recently published Encouraging the Heart. I highly recommend both and suggest that they be read in the order in which they were written. Those of us who presume to review books such as this one can merely indicate their breadth and depth of substance as well as their stimulation of thought about the material presented. For example, Kouzes and Posner identify what they call "five leadership practices common to successful leaders" and then suggest ten "behavioral commitments" among those leaders studied. Here they are:

Practice: Challenge the process
Commitments: (1) Search for opportunities and (2) Experiment and take risks

Practice: Inspire a shared vision
Commitments: (3) Envision the future and (4) Enlist others

Practice: Enable others to act
Commitments: (5) Foster collaboration and (6) Strengthen others

Practice: Model the way to the desired objectives
Commitments: (7) Set the example and (8) Plan small wins

Practice: Encourage the heart of everyone involved
Commitments: (9) Recognize individual contribution and (10) Celebrate accomplishments

Those who conduct "360 Feedback" programs could do much worse than to base evaluations on criteria suggested by these practices and commitments. They provide the thematic infrastructure of the material which Kouzes and Posner present within seven Parts. The first introduces key concepts and terms: "Knowing What Leadership Is Really All About." Each of Parts Two-Six is devoted to one of the five Practices. Kouzes and Posner conclude with Part Seven, "The Beginning of Leadership', followed by two appendices which enable the reader to complete "The Personal Best Questionnaire" before reviewing "The Leadership Practices Inventory."

There are dozens of outstanding books on leadership and this is one of the best. I am especially impressed by the balance Kouzes and Posner maintain throughout between theory and practice. More specifically, they introduce and explain various core concepts and then draw upon real-world situations to illustrate those concepts. Obviously, "Encouraging the Heart" (Part Six) introduces ideas which Pouzes and Posner develop in much greater depth in a sequel volume which bears the same name. They conclude this book as follows: "We have said that leaders take us to places we have never been before. But there are no freeways to the future, no paved highways to unknown, unexplored destinations. There is only wilderness. If you are to step into the unknown, the place to begin is with the exploration of the inner territory." Those who agree (as do I) with these final remarks are urged to check out David Maister's Practice What You Preach, Tim Sanders' Love Is the Killer App, David Whyte's The Heart Aroused, and Larry Davis' Pioneering Organizations.

Had to read this one again
I read the original book a few years ago and found the information very inspirational. I was happy to see the updated printing has chapters on corporate downsizing and covered the loss of jobs due to increased technology in the workplace. Now more than ever companies have to work smarter with fewer employees and this book has the insight on getting that job done. I also recommend reading Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life by JoAnna Carey a great week-by-week guide to motivating employees.

A wonderful thesis on the leadership practices
This is a book about bringing out the best in oneself and in the other people. A must read for anyone trying to achieve self-fulfillment and improve their impact on the world.

Most other books on this topic talk about well-known personalities, but this one focuses on the underlying leadership practices using examples of ordinary people as the leaders, in turn emphasizing that each one of us can choose to become a leader. Some books are for a sail-through reading while others are for digesting. "The Leadership Challenge" requires slow chewing and a deliberate assimilation of the teachings and research presented, for the new learnings to become an acquired habit or a second nature. My top-most learning is that leadership is not a place or a peak to be conquered, but rather a skill with which the journey through one's life can become far more fulfilling. The Leadership practices as presented are independent of one's position in an organization, and can be exercised at all levels.

It is about interactions, relationships and what one does to inspire others for uplifting their performance and efficiency. Similarly, it talks about practicing leadership skills in one's own personal life by credible communications, setting standards and expectations, and following fair means to achieve these. Leadership is indeed everyone's business, to seek continuous improvements and not become stagnant in one's life.

"The Leadership Challenge" book stands apart from others by giving examples of ordinary people who overcame their own adverse circumstances to make a differences to others around them. If everyone learns and practices the art of Leadership as presented, it will provide an inner fulfillment by realizing one's own full potential while improving the overall state of affairs in the world.

"Unequivocally superior book on leadership"
As other reviewers have commented; there is a ton of information in this book. I will add; tons of fantastic information! This is a book I have been reading sporadically for the past nine months. Why have I taken so long to read it? I will read it for a while, put it aside, read another book, then return to this one. It is profound. The only book on leadership better than this (maybe): Principle Centered Leadership.

The copy I read was the first edition. I've skimmed through this edition and found that the authors have added websites and other informative stuff to keep it up to date.

Each time I've returned to this book I wonder: why did I ever put it down? If you are a manager or an aspiring leader, like me...Read this one. You'll be glad you did. I know for a fact, this book is required reading for certain business majors.

The foundation for all the others
I know that it's a cliche to call anything other than the Bible, a "Bible," but this is The Leadership Bible, nonetheless. If this is not in your library and a large part of your leadership journey, you are way way way behind the curve. Kouzes and Posner have been conducting some of the most significant leadership reasearch on the planet for over 20 years--and you'll find all that accumulated wisdom in this book. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive book offers an engaging look into new and traditional strategic management topics. Its thorough coverage helps readers develop an understanding of the wide range of theories and research available in this field—from competitive strategy and industry analysis to environmental trends and ethics. Integration of international issues throughout provides an essential understanding of global economics and its impact on business activities in any location. KEY TOPICS 43 timely and well-researched corporate cases examine real companies at all stages of development.For directors of strategic planning, competitive intelligence analysts, and strategic planners. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Common sense for those that know business concepts well...
Although one may learn new terms, most of the concepts laid out in this book are fairly common sense, if you've had any type of job in your life where you had to do payroll, forcast sales, or any other "strategic" processes of doing business. This is not to talk down at the book....it is an excellent book that covers the topic(s) that it set out to quite well. In the real business world, you would always try to figure out the most cost effective way to increase profits, decrease costs, and simultaneously maintain workplace efficiency. I didn't really need a textbook to tell me that.

I originally bought this book on the advice of bain4weeks.com which recommended this as the text of choice to successfully test out of the Excelsior College Exam ECE Business Policy and Strategy. 120collegecredits.com did not have a study guide for this test at the time . While I merely scanned through a few of the pages, I ended up getting a "B" on what was supposed to the the "capstone" business degree class. The test was all essay response, which made it sound hard, but to be honest, it was probably one of the easiest tests I've taken. It took all 3 hours, but it was kind of hard to fail that exam. AS LONG AS you put something down for an answer, and it made sense to the senario. It was very open-response and more or less asked for your opinion on the best way to solve the particular case study.

I strongly recommend anyone wishing to get 3 required upper level semester credits in Business Policy/Strategy to register NOW for that ECE exam; it will be discontinued in Sept 2004. Grab the Strategic Management book if you feel you'll need a good review of what would be unfamiliar business concepts for you. TECEP does have a version of the Business Policy test as well . But I'd try to take the Excelsior version while I can. outlines the whole credit-by-examination process and how to finish your degree a lot faster.

See your business as an integrated whole
I originally used an older version of this book in 1991 when I took Wheelen's class "Strategic Management and Business Policy". The value of this book is Wheelen's methods of taking all the parts of a business and integrating them into a workable whole--the physical tool to enable such a transformation is the strategic business plan. I was only 20 when I read this book, and I was awestruck.

This was the most valuable book I read in college. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

international economics
This book describes in a very detailed way all the general theories of economics concerning trade. It is very well done as there are many examples and it is optically inspiring. Your eyes won't get tired too quickly, as the layout is done fine. The content of the book is fine, a good book for students of economics, even though it is advisable to read more down the line. But for the overview of a topic it serves allright.

The Undergraduate International Economics Standard
Well, I will start off by saying that the book really probably only deserves somewhere between 4-4.5 stars, but I'll give it 5 to offset some of the questionable reviews below.

No, the book is not perfect. However, it is an academic standard at pretty much any major college or university for teaching undergraduate International Econ/Trade theory, and for good reason. The book makes a clear a concise presentation of basic theory and policy, perhaps in points it is a little too simple. As pointed out, while I'm not sure about the 6th edition, there were some diagrammatical mistakes in the 5th...I bet, however, these were done by a graduate student. A quick bit of reasoning and a second of thought should yield the appropriate picture, however. And yes, I think a bit of Krugman's bias comes through, though its not terribly off-putting.

The book could use a bit more math I think. The real equations and difficult problems are few and far between, and are, for the most part, pretty straight forward. At the very most it would take a basic understanding of calculus, but the majority of the problems and equations can be explained and done without it. I have read a number of undergraduate economics books with far more intensive math. Despite this lack, however, the intentions come across pretty well.

No, this book is not for beginners to economics. At least an undergraduate course or reading in both micro and macro are needed, and really and truly, an intermediate level in each is probably better if one wants to get the most out of the book.

If you find the subject matter within to be terribly math intensive and you cannot get motivated to read the subject matter because it doesn't use "pizza and beer" (and um...I don't think I'd want an imported pizza anyway, but thanks), well I guess the subject and this book are not for you. However, if you are trying to enrich your understanding of economics at a very basic level, this book provides a good way to do so.

And, if you want graduate level book, and like Obstfeld, I recommend he and Rogoff's book.

Not a bad book.... Too bad its a bit baby
Having taken a class on Commodity Flow Theory (Micro) and a seperate class on Int'l Finances (Macro), I can say that I enjoyed the former much more then the latter. I used Krugman's latest edition for the former and thought it was adequatly written for the scope of the class.
I really wish they would make undergraduate Economics more rigirous as I believe many undergrads who have taken 2 or 3 university math courses (up to the linear algebra level) could easily understand most of the mathematics found in "high brow" Economics theory.
Seeing I've only had the pleasure of reading two textbooks on the subject (and different sections of each respective book), I am not in a position where I can make a relative judgment on the quality of the material.
I felt Krugman's writing (I am assuming the majority of the micro section is his writing) was mostly neutral. I found, from my reading, the only section that could have been biased was the section on political economy, but since I am unfamiliar with that field in general I cannot make a more descriptive comment.
Overall, I liked the fact that their was some mathematical indexes at the end of the chapter (something my other int'l economics textbook lacked). I've come to expect the option of a more quantiative treatment in most modern textbooks (both my intermediate macro/micro and econometrics text were layed out in this fashion).
So in conclusion, the text was easy to understand, well organized, and perhaps abit biased.... However, if you are just being introduced to the matter, I doubt you will notice much of the bias since the majority of what he covers in the book are well established models and theories.

Save your money!!!!
This guy is an idiot!!! Either he is confused about economic theory or he trying push some sort of an agenda. He repeatedly contradicts himself in a way that undermines his crediblity. A word of advice Mr. Krugman--STICK TO THE NY TIMES EDITORIALS and stay out of academia.

Save your Money--Get the Caves, Jones, et al World Trade...
Krugman et al constantly contradicts earlier statements throughout the text in the international trade section, it will give you a headache. The finance side is better. If you really want to learn international trade and finance (for undergrad), get the Caves, Jones, Frankel text.... I learned the hard way and had to pay restocking fees (etc) when I wanted to exhange it for Caves et al. Krugman should stick to writing editorials for the NY Times b/c this text needs some serious help!!! ... Read more

Book Description

The world's most exciting, fastest-growing new market? It's where you least expect it: at the bottom of the pyramid. Collectively, the world's billions of poor people have immense entrepreneurial capabilities and buying power. You can learn how to serve them and help millions of the world's poorest people escape poverty.

It is being done-profitably. Whether you're a business leader or an anti-poverty activist, business guru Prahalad shows why you can't afford to ignore "Bottom of the Pyramid" (BOP) markets.

In the book and accompanying CD videos, Prahalad presents...

Why what you know about BOP markets is wrong A world of surprises-from spending patterns to distribution and marketing

Unlocking the "poverty penalty"

The most enduring contributions your company can make Delivering dignity, empowerment, and choice-not just products

Corporations and BOP entrepreneurs Profiting together from an inclusive new capitalism

"C. K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they dobusiness in developing countries if both sides of that economic equation areto prosper. Drawing on a wealth of case studies, his compelling new bookoffers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability." Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect,Microsoft

"The Bottom of the Pyramid belongs at the top of the reading list forbusiness people, academics, and experts pursuing the elusive goal ofsustainable growth in the developing world. C. K. Prahalad writes withuncommon insight about consumer needs in poor societies andopportunities for the private sector to serve important public purposes whileenhancing its own bottom line. If you are looking for fresh thinking aboutemerging markets, your search is ended. This is the book for you." Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State

"Prahalad challenges readers to re-evaluate their pre-conceived notionsabout the commercial opportunities in serving the relatively poor nations ofthe world. The Bottom of the Pyramid highlights the way to commercialsuccess and societal improvement--but only if the developed worldreconceives the way it delivers products and services to the developingworld." Christopher Rodrigues, CEO, Visa International

"An important and insightful work showing persuasively how the privatesector can be put at the center of development, not just as a rhetoricalflourish but as a real engine of jobs and services for the poor." Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme ... Read more

Amazon.com

Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice--nonanalytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are "littlepeople," mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. It's not just sustenance to them; it's their self-image. Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they've found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese, and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out.

Dr. Johnson, coauthor ofThe One Minute Manager and many other books, presents this parable to business, church groups, schools, military organizations--anyplace where you find people who may fear or resist change. And although more analytical and skeptical readers may find the tale a little too simplistic, its beauty is that it sums up all natural history in just 94 pages: Things change. They always have changed and always will change. And while there's no single way to deal with change, the consequence of pretending change won't happen is always the same: The cheese runs out. --Lou Schuler ... Read more

Reviews (1208)

Well worth your time
This little book is right up there on the New York Times best-seller list. A short read (one hour at most) on how to deal with change in your life.

Four mice named Sniff Scurry, Hem and Haw live in a Maze and look for cheese to nourish them to stay happy. The Maze is a metaphorical place where you look for what you want in life. The mice, it turns out, act like people and the cheese is a metaphor for whatever it is you want out of life.

In this charming story, the mice are faced with unexpected change because their cheese disappears. Some of the characters are able to deal successfully with this change and some are not. One of them (the successful one) writes about what he learns from this disaster on the walls of the Maze and thereby hangs the gist of this short, sweet tale. Among the "writings on the wall" are:

"If you do not change. you can become extinct." "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" "The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese." "Old beliefs do not lead you to new cheese." "Noticing small changes early helps you adapt to bigger changes that arc to come."

Well worth your time. Give a copy to your kids or grandkids. Promise (them money if thev read it, but make them write you a book report to prove they really read it...

gourmet cheese between two slices of moldy bread
Who Moved My Cheese? is divided into three sections: A Gathering, The Story, and A Discussion.

The Story is about Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw, four unique characters who live in a maze and look for cheese to survive. When their familiar source of cheese dries up, each character handles the situation differently.

The Story on its own is brilliant -- a simple illustration that allows the reader to assess their own reaction to change in their life. It could almost be considered (alongside Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go!) as a classic primer for recent graduates, displaced employees or budding entrepreneurs who know that today there is no such thing as "job security".

Where this book falls apart is in A Gathering and A Discussion. These two sections assume that the reader is not smart enough to figure out The Story's metaphor on their own, and are jammed with shameless infomercial-type dialogue.

This book has great content if you stick to the middle section. Five stars for The Story, less one star each for A Gathering and A Discussion.

Larry Hehn...

A Modern Day Parable
Some people just don't get "Who Moved My Cheese?" This is prefectly acceptable, because it will not work for everybody. Just like biblical parables, it is often interpreted in different ways. If you have not read it, I suggest that you give it a chance.

I first encountered the book in graduate school and enjoyed it a great deal. Only recently, has my cheese been moved. Although prepared for my cheese to be moved, I find myself looking for my new cheese. The theme of the book deals with the adjustments or adaptations we must make in our lives periodically. All facets of life are really based in social darwinism, or survival of the fittest. While you may not like the book, you must agree that adaptation is the key to success and satisfaction in life.

The best parable for dealing with change
I have read lots of books on change management. Most of them are dry and boring. This book shows you various reactions to change and how one arrives at the right response. How mice deal with supplies of cheese provides an entertaining and educational context for this topic. The book is well worth the investment. I would recommend reading it in conjunction with Optimal Thinking--How To be Your Best Self. Optimal Thinking is the "mental software" to make the most of any situation and will help you deal with all the emotions and thoughts that stop you from making the most of change.

Outstanding selection
This is a ourstanding book. The story or parable is set up to give the reader the information they can use to come up with a lesson for themselves. A story that we can all understand. You can almost let your children read it as a childrens book. That is how universal this book is. I've given away several copies of this book and everyone has found some value in it. I consider this to be one of the best Self help books out there. You might to. read and heed it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Textbook, but easy to follow
We used this textbook for several courses in my Organizational Behavior program. Of all the texts we've used, this one has been the most valuable. The text is easy to read and is interesting, and the book offers a great deal of case studies to really emphasize the points. Overall, I think this is a great textbook and it is very versatile in business courses. ... Read more

Book Description

Kreitner and Kinicki's Organizational Behavior, 6th Edition, continues its tradition of being up-to-date, relevant and user-driven.Kreitner and Kinicki's approach to organizational behavior is based on the authors' belief that reading a comprehensive textbook is hard work, but that the process should be interesting (and sometimes fun).Thus, they consistently attempt to find a way to make complex ideas understandable through explanations, contemporary examples, and/or learning exercises.

The cover again depicts the well known visual brand of Wolves.This remains a central theme because Kreitner and Kinicki see wolves as an instructive and inspiring metaphor for modern Organizational Behavior.Wolves are dedicated team players, great communicators, and adaptable.These are key success attributes in today's workplace. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Common sense in a bound volume
This book discusses a topic that is a grab bag of different disciplines and has nice illustrations but i dont know if it is worth close to $100. Anyone who has significant work history intuitively knows a bulk of the material in this book. The book could be condensed to include the hard data and scientific findings and leave out much of the intuitively obvious commentary. This book is no worse than scores of similar textbooks on 'soft'topics but with the way prices are going many students are captive buyers,forced to buy textbooks at the teacher's request for perhaps questions used in the book for grading purposes while the general info can readily be found in college libraries.

Scholar's choice
The book may be a good choice for a scholar of OB. If you are a graduate student like I am, you may find it difficult to follow and overloaded with scientific terms. To my mind, the simpler the better, which this book is not. ... Read more

Book Description

The tenth edition of Strategic Management is a current, well-written strategic management book with the most up-to-date compilation of cases available. Designed in functional four-color, it offers a popular practitioner-oriented perspective, focuses on skill-building in all major areas of strategy formation, implementation, and evaluation, and weaves three very contemporary themes throughout each chapter—globalization, the natural environment, and e-commerce. 46 Experiential Exercises, and 43 cases are included. The author provides and overview of strategic management, as well as strategy formulation and implementation, strategy evaluation, strategic management case analysis, 46 Experiential Exercises and 43 cases including service company cases and manufacturing company cases. For management professionals, small business owners and others involved in business.

Reviews (5)

A good book, but not spectacular
This is a good, step-by-step book for strategic management.

It lays out the steps very well, but it could use a bit more information.

The financial ratios section could use more information, and the case studies are often unequal in the types of information that they carry. This makes it difficult to do competitor comparisons.

How do you rank a company's workers policy when only one case has information on it and the other does not? You cannot simply discount such information when it could be an important competitve factor.

Essentially, this is a good book for teaching you a process, but it could use some work on giving you more details.

A Wealth of Information
This book provides you with numerous analytical tools that can be used to quantify the strategic decision making process. Not a real page turner but the models are useful and the case analysis provides real world examples of companies entering strategic crossroads. Overall I think it provides the reader with a pragmatic way of managing the abundance of information involved in the strategic decision making process.

Strategic Management: Concepts & Cases
It is a helpfull book, especially for anyone who deal with the strategy formulation. This book provide some valuable tools for analyzing the organization's environment, both external and internal, which is something special with this book that make it different with the other.

An up-to-date book on strategic management
This book was the text for my strategic management class, and it was one of my favorite textbooks. The authors of this book tried to explain the concepts of strategic management. The case studies were very interesting, and the book gave insight into successes and failures of some companies. It may be wordy, but it's packed with useful information and analysis.

Need a College textbook
Great introduction into strategic management.A lot of topics about global strategic management. ... Read more

Book Description

The complete toolkit for pre-foreclosure investing

Finding, researching, inspecting, negotiating, buying, and reselling pre-foreclosure properties is a lot of hard work. But it can be very lucrative for investors who know what they’re doing, are well organized, and have the persistence it takes to succeed. The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor’s Kit is a comprehensive resource full of ready-to-use worksheets, letters, checklists, notices, forms, and agreements. With step-by-step instructions and practical, no-nonsense advice, readers will learn how to find great pre-foreclosure deals, perform due diligence on target properties, accurately estimate the market value of properties, negotiate effectively, and maximize profits.

Thomas J. Lucier (Tampa, FL) has been a real estate investor since 1980. He is a widely published real estate expert whose advice has appeared in such publications as the Wall Street Journal and Commercial Real Estate Investment magazine. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Until the early '90s, project management was definitely located somewhere near the unsexy end of the business spectrum. But now, with the rise of downsizing and outsourcing, it has become one of the hot disciplines. Professional membership of the U.S.-based Project Management Institute has quadrupled in the last decade, and Microsoft claimed recently to have over 2 million users worldwide of its project-management software. The reasons for this growth are simple. Project management is about managing "projects," that is, unique pieces of work (as opposed to ongoing operations). Downsizing, outsourcing, and the accelerating pace of change have meant that, increasingly, work is carried out on an ad-hoc, one-off project basis. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management is designed as an advanced textbook for businesspeople with a grasp of the basics and insufficient time (or inclination) to go back to school to learn more. Written by Eric Verzuh, president of the Versatile Company, a leading project-management consultancy, this is not a heavy academic text.

Like the rest of the Fast Forward series, this book is designed to let the reader extract maximum information in minimum time. There is a strong use of graphics with tables, charts cross-heads, and bullet points. Important passages are flagged in bold and/or emblazoned with the words key concept. When you read it, you realize that there is nothing magical about project management, just the application of careful common sense. The book covers all the basic stuff like planning, time-tabling, quantity and price estimation, resource allocation, and scheduling. But it also acknowledges that there is inevitably a political dimension to every project, no matter how small. So it has important sections on how to ensure that all the stakeholders in the project are kept "on board" and the importance of communication.

As Verzuh states in his introduction, "Every project participant from part-time team member to executive sponsor, becomes more effective once he or she understands the basics of project management." Really, this is a book about management that every manager should read, whether he or she has a project or not. --Alex Benady ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Great reference
This book is a great desk reference particularly for those less experienced. There is a good balance of focus on the three main areas of PM: timeliness, quality and cost and - unlike other books on the subject - enough focus as well on the actual execution processes of a project.
I've used this as a reference for a number of years (first edition) and highly recommend it.

Very good starter book on project management
First of all, let me tell you that you will not become a Project Manager just by reading this book. Project Management is a field that requires three things in equal proportion: training, mentoring, and job experience.

What this book _will_ do for you is that it will give you an excellent overview of project management. You can use this book to read through and get an idea for the field. Then, if you are interested in pursuing further training, you ought to sign up for a series of training courses such as those offered by ESI International. Simultaneously, you would seek out a mentor, and opportunities for on-the-job experience.

I wish the author had aligned his terminology better with the PMBOK Guide 3rd edition. While the content is top-notch, the terminology used does not necessarily match the PMBOK Guide. This means that people cannot _easily_ use it as preparation material for the PMP certification exam.

With these caveats out of the way, I would have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending this as an introductory book, especially to aspiring Project Managers. The price point of this book is marvelous -- there is more relevant content here than tomes that cost 5-6 times as much.

The leadership Centre Says
As an Executive Coach, Management Team Builder and Leadership Development Trainer I read and studied several books on project management before selecting this one from which to create the nucleus of a Project Manager Training Program for my client. This is a complex and diverse subject and Verzuh takes his own advice to project managers by breaking it down into many bite sized, easily digestable pieces. F