Book Description

Executives in all industries prize innovation as a key ingredient in market relevance, brand awareness, and bottom-line growth. Toooften, though, innovation is relegated to traditional cradles of creativity like R & D and marketing. Now this important new book shows how innovationcan be a boon not just to a company's product line, but to every facet of its business.

"Doing innovation" company-wide requires not only an attitude of innovation from every individual, but a corporate commitment to a new organizationalmodel, in which every department is expected to innovate. Empowering companies toward that end, the author discusses:

* idea generation, creating new models, and breaking rules* the roles of individuals, groups, and corporate culture in innovation* assessing the organization's infrastructure and resources* overcoming resistance and identifying what makes innovations fail* and every other component of creating economic value through innovation. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent text on innovation
This text is a great treatment of the topic of innovation. Innovation often seems as a random event or personal characteristic. Mr. Gaynor's book describes a more structured framework by which innovation can be approached, encouraged, and fostered. It describes how organizations can be formally, although possibly unconsciously, resistant to innovation in products and processes. The first chapter is required reading and the chapter on the Innovation Prevention Department would be funny if it did not ring so true. A keeper.

Excellent text on innovation
This book is an excellent treatment of the topic of innovation. Innovation is a difficult subject to address because it is believed that innovation is a characteristic that either exists or does not. Mr. Gaynor's book put structure to it and describes ways that organizations are formally, even if unconsciously, opposed to innovation and how it can be remedied. The first chaper should be required reading and the chapter on the "Innovation Prevention Department" would be funny if it did not point out painful realities. A keeper. ... Read more

Book Description

TBD ... Read more

Reviews (13)

No secrets
I borrowed this book from a friend because I couldn't believe the inflamatory title.Well no surprise, nothing new.If you're investing in this day and age and you don't want to pay attention to the activity in your brokerage account or you don't feel like you have the intelligence to understand the market, pay a management fee, get a discretionary account, and have the broker direct the investing.As a regular investor, I'm responsible for the decisions I make and the stocks I purchase. I think it is insulting and highly unethical to sue just because you lost money in the market. Don't bother with the book.

Insight & Assistance for the Beleaguered & Bewildered
Most investors in the stock market lack the sophistication to really understand what their broker is doing�or not doing�with their hard-earned money. If brokers are not well- trained in how to serve their clients and/or they�re more focused on lining their pockets rather than their clients� pockets, investors can lose their shirts�and then some. When their world crashes around them, these troubled people go to professionals like Daniel Solin.

During this painful time, investors learn what they should have known long before. Sometimes they can recoup some of their losses, sometimes not. Understanding the playing field before suiting up means a considerably better chance at winning the game (or at least playing well). Solin teaches readers�in page after high content page�what brokers do to damage their clients. Unconditional trust in your broker may not be the wisest move. The potential for fraud is rampant. You�ll learn about churning, frontrunning, unauthorized trading, and a host of other malpractices that create risks beyond the market itself for the unwitting investor.

Solinis a trial attorney with over three decades of experience. He has recovered millions of dollars for investors who have been mistreated by brokers�even those employed by well-known and respected brokerage firms. He doesn�t always win, so readers should not get the idea that Solin is some sort of guardian angel. The good, the bad, and the ugly are presented in stories and case studies, with the outcomes explained. Reading this book will help you protect yourself. An educated buyer is a wiser and safer buyer.

The book is almost a page-turner, but not quite. It wasn�t written to be a fun read. You�ll probably want to do some highlighting, some page-turning, and some note-taking. As a result of using this book as an educational tool, you�ll be better equipped to ask questions, to insist on certain information, to protect yourself just a bit better than the average guy or gal with money in the market.

A glossary, index, and solid explanations of risks and arbitration make this book a valuable resource.

Retail Investors...IF you think you have a claim...
...you should read this book. If not, Dan Solin's book, DOES YOUR BROKER OWE YOU MONEY? is an excellent primer for those wanting to understand the 'inside skinny' of the brokerage business, responsibilities of brokers, alternatives to aggreived investors and possibilities for recovery if damaged.

I've been in the litigation consulting game (as a consulting and testifying expert) for close to a decade now, primarily in securities, and can say that Solin's book is the first book I've run across bringing all the pieces together in a cogent manner. While other books are out there and new ones arriving daily, Solin's book stands out as the cream of this crop. {Solin, a plaintiff's attorney, has been in the game for 30+ years. There will be and are many who will think this is his personal soapbox to drum up more business. I fervently disagree. Solin presents a solid, fact-based picture of many of the misdeeds inflicted by unscrupulous brokers. There is very little fluff here.}

Solin walks the reader through most aspects of a relationship with a broker as well as identifying the "warning signs" within the relationship for any investor to observe. In the first chapter, "Your Broker Just Might Owe You Money," Solin describes the 'chatter' many brokers use to market themselves and pick off unsuspecting investors. He then goes on to describe areas of broker fraud and NYSE/NASD/SEC violations, which he details in later chapters.

If there is one chapter I would strongly suggest most retail investors read and reread, it is Chapter 4, "Unsuitability: What's a Good Investment Strategy for You?" By and large, most lawsuits I've consulted/testified in have allegations of unsuitable investments. Simplisticly, unsuitability can be defined as a broker's disregard for an investor's risk tolerance and investment objectives. This disregard is primarily manifested in recommendations from a broker to buy a stock considered outside the risk paramters and investment objectives. For instance, many retired individuals have an IRA or 401(K) account with a broker. In most cases, these accounts are very conservative and thus, have a risk profile of 'conservative' and investment objectives to match (i.e. 'safety of principal' and 'income' are the primary investment objectives). An unsuitability claim would arise if a broker induced/encouraged/suggested a stock considered outside these parameters, say, ones fitting the 'growth' profile or 'aggressive growth' profile. In any event, this practice, particularly during the "Bubble" was prevalent as many investors wanted to participate in the market boom and were easy prey to rougish brokers.

In later chapters, Solin describes the lawsuit process, which is actually an arbitration process. Significantly all investors, when signing their new account papers with a brokerage house, agree to binding arbitration to settle disputes as opposed to having their dispute heard state or federal court. The arbitration process is simpler, quicker (in most cases), and less formal...but don't be mistaken, it is still a lawsuit and the stress and high intensity is still omnipresent. Solin does an excellent job of describing the process beginning with contacting an attorney and ending with the arbitration panel's decision. Within these chapters, Solin describes those investors wishing to "go it alone," filing a suit without an attorney. Solin gives this a fair level of play, which I admire in an attorney however, he strongly suggests (and I stronlgy concur) that anyone seeking compensation under a securities lawsuit hire the best attorney one can find.

Finally, Solin provides an excellent glossary and bibliography, one that should be used for future reference.

After reading this book, I easily rate this book 5 stars for it's clear and concise explanation, one appealing to the leity and professionals alike. Several reviews of this book describe Solin as a "talking head" or the champion of those not wishing to take responsibility for their own actions. While there is credence in the fact that many investors, while losing their proverbial shirts, are solely responsible for their losses, there are many, many investors who have been duped and even defrauded by their brokers and brokerage houses (remember the 4/28/03 SEC settlement with the 10 large brokerage houses?). Contrary to these reviewers, I believe Solin gives fair play to those responsible for their own losses and those not responsible. In any event, in my practice, I have no interest in frivolous cases and reject cases lacking merit. Inasmuch as I didn't find Solin's book unconscionable, I don't believe it to be fodder for the attorney lobby.

A very good read.

Does Your Broker Owe You Money Hits Home
Dan Solin has provided a very nice primer with detail to the person who is wondering if they lost money due to the market or due to their broker.When the market meltdown began in March 2000, the bad habits and unrestrained greed of unprofessional brokers became as transparent as handi-wrap. The customers who were lured into unsuitable investments due to the way in which commissions were paid is exposed for what it is in this book.
Whether trying to recover losses for mutual funds or simple stock transactions, Dan Solin hits the mark and provides plenty of illumination on an otherwise private and hard to understand business. This is a must read for anyone who is beginning to invest or trying to determine how to recover monies lost in the meltdown.

A Vital Resource For Any Brokerage Client
The financial services industry, especially its retail brokerage arm, operates at a level of training, competency, and ethical imperative that would be unacceptable in any other profession.It is a sad fact that most retail brokers are completely ignorant of the basics of financial economics; it is as if the average doctor had never taken courses in basic anatomy, pathology, and pharmacology. At any one time, millions of clients are receiving advice that is profoundly misinformed, as well as a gross conflict of interest, and suffer accordingly.

Dan Solin has produced a valuable resource for anyone who have been damaged in this manner.It focuses largely on the arbitration process; it is the best description of its mechanics that I have seen. This book is a must for any retail brokerage customer. ... Read more

Book Description

Mallor, Barnes, Bowers and Langvardt’s, Business Law: The Ethical, Global, and E-Commerce Environment, 12th Edition, is appropriate for the two-term business law course. The cases in the 12th edition are excerpted and edited by the authors.The syntax is not altered, therefore retaining the language of the courts.As in the 11th edition, the 12th edition includes a mix of actual AND hypothetical cases.The title has been changed to reflect a new focus of the book – the global and Internet environment.Business Law: The Ethical, Global, and E-Commerce Environment, 12e includes new pedagogy such as opening vignettes and new-boxed features such as “Ethics in Action” and “Cyberlaw in Action.”This combined with case briefs and concept reviews, along with some reorganization of the text results in a more complete, relevant and user-friendly text. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not reader friendly, not study friendly, not friendly....
I understand Jane Mallor to be top in her field. But since this book is geared toward a non-law student - a business student, I give this book a 1, and a zero if I had the chance.

This book - textually speaking - is so poorly arranged. Key terms are imbedded in the text, there's no review at the end of the chapters, it's written in terrible legal-ease. "Down to earth" (non lawyer legal-ease) examples are difficult to come by, since most of the examples are actual cases that go on for pages (and they're "briefs"). To compound the matter, I spent $$$ on the study "guide" because the book is so unfriendly for studying. And guess what? The study guide has NO ANSWERS! What kind of a guide is that? How does that guide you? If you want it to be an "additional exercises" book, then call it that. But STUDY GUIDES ALWAYS have the answers. I hope your Prof. is better than the book they assign. "Business Law Today" is worlds better and easier to read and study, and better outlined and formatted for the "lay" person. ... Read more

Book Description

The quintessential story of the American dream played out in the late 1990s market mania
In the volatile, fast-paced Internet industry, you can go from being a hero to losing it all in a nanosecond. Stephan Paternot knows this all too well. The poster child for Internet excess, his name became synonymous with the
market mania of the late 1990s. This fascinating book is the inspirational story of how one man's wildest dreams came true as well as the dramatic chronicling of the inception and evolution of an entire industry. Packed with behind-the-scenes details and little known facts, the book reveals the personal and professional motivations that inspired Paternot to found theglobe.com with partner Todd Krizelman at the age of twenty. Theglobe.com marked the beginning of enthusiastic funding, the high-flying stock prices, and incredible IPOs. A Very Public Offering is a positive, inspirational account of a dream that survived the birth and maturation of an industry. It is a riveting narrative that is part adventure story, part romance, and part documentary of an era that business will never experience again.
Stephan Paternot (New York, NY) cofounded theglobe.com in 1994, the company that would be the first to experience IPO euphoria, setting off the outrageous stock and valuation phenomena that followed in the industry. The company has been ranked a top fifty site worldwide by MediaMetrix and has accumulated $30 million in revenues in 2000. Andrew Essex (New York, NY) is the articles editor for Details magazine and continues to publish articles in the New Yorker, Harper's, Elle, Details, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times. ... Read more

Reviews (31)

A great story
I really enjoyed this story. Having grown up in the same time I could relate with the description of reality as the writer describes. He is clearly not a writer by profession, which makes the book seem even more genuine and accurate. This book is a keeper!

excellent book!
I just finished reading this book and I just wanted to say that I think this story is very fascinating. It was akin to reading a private diary. ( I wish I could write like that too.) To be so young and hit it big is the sort of thing that people dream of, myself included. I am 30 years old and so I can relate to some of the things he went through. As was pointed out, on the one hand, Steph and Todd had to conduct themselves as mature businessmen running a company. And on the other hand, he wanted to act the way other 23-year olds act, fun-loving and party-going, with boundless energy.

The last chapter, The Second Coming, was my favorite, as he poses self-searching questions about what new direction to take with his life. I find myself in the same position at this very moment. Good for him that he found his calling--- writing and acting. Hope to see the movie when it comes out.

Internet mania
I am 29 years old and was looking for a book to read by an author of my generation. And I stumbled across this one by Stephan Paternot. His true story almost reads like a novel because it sounds so exciting and adventurous. Being about the same age as the author and having been swept through Internet mania and lost my share of money, I found his story very engaging. I saw the review in salon.com after reading the book and was rather disappointed that the reviewer did not share my enthusiasm. Apparently, the book did not meet the reviewer's high intellectual standards, when in fact, Paternot's writing style was (I felt) a major strength in the book. It's as if the negative reviews (from other websites) I have seenare not so much about his book as they are begrudging of Paternot who possesses youth, movie-star looks, worldly upbringing, entrepreneurial family heritage, and Ivy League schooling. So his company failed. But other than maybe Michael Dell or Bill Gates when they were starting out, how many under-30 CEOs do you know have the poise and savvy to lead a highly publicized and publicly-traded company?

An interesting story...
This book tells the story of the rise and fall of theglobe.com, told by one of its founder, Stephan Paternot.The story is interesting, as it details the greed and excess that characterized the days of the internet boom.Unfortunately for Paternot, I feel that he and his partner badly bungled and sent the company in the wrong direction which led to its ultimate downfall.If you want an interesting, fast read about the internet heyday, pick up a copy of this book, as it is enjoyable.

An excellent story...
While this is not Shakespeare- it is an excellent story about the dot.com boom and bust. Paternot uses the same language that you would expect to hear on the street, and that is refreshing- especially when the author went to Cornell, and was worth $98,000,000 (on paper) for one day.

The only failing for the book is that he did not go into as much detail as I would have liked him too- the book could have lasted another 100 pages and it probably would of been better if it had. Regardless, I recommend this book if you are interested in the dot.com boom and bust... ... Read more

Book Description

"This excellent, pioneering book is a must-read as we enter the new millennium." --David J. Farmer, State University of New York Comprehensive and timely, Postmodern Management and Organization Theory provides a critique of postmodern theory as it stands today. The text gives an overview of issues as they relate to management and organization theory and its history and assembles in one volume a variety of important works on postmodern philosophy--including feminist, cultural, and environmental philosophies. The contributors address the future of postmodern advancement in management and organization theory and method, establishing an agenda for future research. This thought-provoking book will be useful to scholars, researchers and upper-level students in organization theory, organization behavior and change, management, and industrial psychology. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A MUST READ!
Forget Tom Peters and the other self-aggrandizing gurus and prophets of management whose insights into theoretical and social changes are as deep as a sheet of paper. David Boje has established himself as THE leadingthinker in management and organization theory. Almost single-handedly,through his prolific writing and public talks, Boje has transformed theparadigms of the business world. Boje is to business and managment whatCarl Sagan was to science: not only a gifted thinker and writer, but alsoan indispensible popularizer of crucial disciplinary changes. This book,co-authored with prestigious colleagues, brings the business world intocontact with feminism, critical theory, ecology (here Gephart offers majorcontribuions), and postmodernism in a sparkingly lucid manner. By now,every academic discipline has taken a postmodern turn, even business andmanagement. This anthology explains what is at stake and offers the newmaps and compasses for negotiating changes in advanced global capitalismand for democratizing the workplace. It is an invaluable teaching resourcefor all those interested in the paradigm shifts altering the theory andpractice of business and management, and is fully accessible to anonacademic business audience who want to keep apace with current changes.Indeed, anyone interested in postmodern theory and how it is hardly apassing "fad" would profit from understanding how postmoderninsights play out in this field. From my own disciplinary standpoint inphilosophy, I learned a great deal and I highly recommend this work. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A Company of Paradoxes
No one denies Dick DeVos is a great seller of soap or would question his right to do so. The book presents us with a paradox, however. Dick would have us believe Amway salesmen aren't like other salesmen: they don't bear false witness, they are consistent in word and deed, treat others according to the golden rule, are humble, courageous, disciplined, and stand for freedom. You have to decide if he is deceiving you or not. If he is, then Amway's approach is deceptive and sales practices based on this deceptive doctrine are deceptive. If he is not, then he is violating the constitutional rights of the sales force. They have the right of freedom of speech, an implied right of privacy, freedom of religion or lack of it; in short, the right to make their own choices about how to live and feel and think without Amway telling them how they better do it. Moreover, even in Dick's own religion, he is paradoxical. The path of spirituality has never been through riches.

Should be required reading!
DeVos inspires us to take charge of our lives, to live it to the fullest. Outlines principals and values we all should be living by. If we all did, this world would be a better place to live and work.

Essential Reading. This one should be a school textbook!
There are many great books in our local libraries and on booksites around the world. No doubt this is one of them. This is a book not only worth buying, reading, re-reading and applying. It is a book worth sharing!

During turbulent times such as these in our schools: crime, drugs, alchol abuse, teenage pregnancies, and now even MURDERs are becoming commonplace. We must rediscover those values which have made our country great.

Adults and youth alike are scrambling to find themselves in counter cultures and in personal liberties. Ask the Chinese, where personal liberties get them. Personal freedoms are important but as Mr. DeVos shares with us, freedom for all is much more critical. If we are to be a country of individualists, than we will be subject to lie in the bed we have made for ourselves. More accurately, we will be subject to sleeping with those FEW individuals whom are driving their own agendas.

My hope is that we (together) strive to uphold the vision our forefathers provided: to make our bed of universal freedoms -- a comfortable bed indeed.

A "Must Read" for ALL Americans...Great High School Hx Text
I was pleased that the book was NOT another GREAT AMWAY oracle. Practical applications outlining true leadership qualities we all should aspire towards. Coming from the "Business Community" a real breath of fresh air!

Great book! Devos is a great American role model .
Every American should read this book. Devos talks about the issues that are hurting our country and what we need to do to change. His background and business history preceed him as a man who practices what he preaches. ... Read more

Book Description

With funding for nonprofits shrinking and global markets shaky, our business and social sectors are both confronting an increasingly uncertain future.Many organizations are searching for innovative strategies that will counter the mounting pressures felt by communities and corporations alike. Common Interest, Common Good argues that forward-looking businesses and social sector organizations (both nonprofit and government) can solve many of their problems by working together-while serving the common good in the process.

According to Shirley Sagawa and Eli Segal, alliances between for-profit and the not-for-profit industries yield enormous benefits for both.Businesses can boost their bottom line by leveraging a nonprofit partnership to enhance their image, reach new markets, increase consumer loyalty, and build a positive reputation with current and prospective employees.The upside is just as powerful for nonprofits, because an alliance with a corporation can provide crucial funds and visibility while helping to attract new volunteers and donors. Common Interest, Common Good showcases many such successful partnerships, from corporate sponsorships and cause-related marketing to employee volunteer programs and school-to-work initiatives.The authors also offer some much-needed guidance for avoiding many of the pitfalls that can undermine even the best alliances.

A convincing, deeply felt book by two authors who have devoted much of their careers to helping public and private sectors find profitable new ways of working together, Common Interest, Common Good is a guided tour of the progressive new strategies that can contribute to the purpose of our businesses and the prosperity of our communities. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great book from a business perspective
This is a great book for businesses looking for unique opportunities to both make a difference and raise their community standing. It is comprised of real, powerful examples of how these partnerships can and do work. This book should be read along with Bill Shore's, "The Cathedral Within."

Creating Great Value for Companies and Communities
Every company I know is interested in getting and providing a great deal. Every nonprofit I know is committed to the greater welfare of the society. But almost no companies and nonprofits know how to link together to multiply their effectiveness in achieving their purposes.

This book provides outstanding examples and a superb template for creating partnerships of great value for all involved: companies, their employees, nonprofits, and the communities that everyone serves. Based on the examples in this book, it looks like the benefits can easily be 20 to 1 in the near term from the time and money invested. That kind of return is hard to find in business, philanthropy, or social entrepreneurship. The reason it happens is that the company can add value that the nonprofit cannot, and vice versa. The strategic partnership is not unlike the strategic alliances that companies create all the time with comapnies that offer unique strategic capabilities.

The reason these benefit are so large (and growing) is because customers and employees are ever more responsive to promoting a social cause, companies are getting better at partnering with outside organizations, and the expertise of nonprofits is growing.

Businesses can gain by getting low-cost recognition from customers that will increase sales, obtaining low-cost resources, making work more meaningful to employees (helping to retain them), attracting employees more easily, and learning how cause-based leadership can transform an organization. When you look at it from a dollar and cents point of view, these partnerships would pass any accounting test you want to use. Not to seek out these partnerships is to waste potential for growth and profits in your company. Corporate boards should be asking company CEOs to develop these partnerships!

Nonprofits can gain by learning how to increase outcomes they care about, gaining access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable, getting more exposure, and finding improved ways of meeting their missions.

Communities will gain by getting more resources, expertise, and attention from social entrepreneurs in companies and nonprofits.

So this is a win-win-win world, but somebody has to get it going. Chapter ten is excellent on that subject: It proposes a 5 step model for the nonprofit -- self assess, identify a partner, connect to that partner, test the relationship idea, and grow the relationship.

Although the initiative can come from the company, it usually won't. The executives already have other agendas, are receiving hundreds of requests for assistance, and don't know what many nonprofits can do for them. You can add some corporate executives to your nonprofit board who will understand companies to help you make these connections. The biggest hurdle will be the lack of corporate experience of your nonprofit's staff. Nonprofits are used to looking for a check, not a partnership. But that reliance on gifts alone is stalled thinking that will hold back the development of the public good.

The case histories include Home Depot and KaBOOM! (building playgrounds), Microsoft and the American Library Association (adding computers and Internet services to libraries in low-income areas), Denny's and Save the Children (raising money for poor children), BankBoston and City Year (sponsoring volunteers in community work), Ridgeview, Inc. and Newton-Conover Public Schools (creating better public schools and better parent involvement from employees with children), and Boeing and Pioneer Human Services (creating airplane parts by employing those with disadvantaged backgrounds). I found all of them to be interesting and well analyzed. Each one gave me ideas for how to pursue opportunties like these for the nonprofit on whose board I serve.

I especially recommend this book to company leaders, human resource executives, purchasing managers, and marketing planners. On the nonprofit side, this book will be a revelation to staffs and board members.

After you have read this book, please join the board of a nonprofit (if you are not already on one). Then, please use the processes in this book to create a strategic partnership with your company or another one in your community. You will gain strategic partnering skills and a sense of a job well done. The others will gain the benefits described above. If we each did this, our communities would soon be far more wonderful places to live and work.

Powerful thinking
Common Interest, Common Good represents powerful thinking that has already withstood many challenges and overcome many barriers. Corporate executives will benefit greatly from the book's clear and cogent lessons on the benefits of corporate/social sector partnership. This book is proof that goodness can endure.

Common Interest, Common Good
I'd strongly recommend this book both to corporate executives looking to improve corporate image and morale and to non-profit leaders seeking new funding mechanisms. Although the hokey title evokes past clichés like "doing good by doing well," the book is actually a practical, hard-headed approach to making companies run better by working with non-profits -- either through straight philanthropy, employee volunteer efforts, or joint ventures.

A most useful book
As a former corporate executive and a former member of the boards of directors of several non-profits, I can only wish this book could have been available years ago. Just think what I could have accomplished! I certainly recommend it for people in similar positions now.

In contrast to so many business oriented books, this one is engagingly written and eminently readable ... Read more

Book Description

Up-to-date and challenging, this best-selling text is a practical manual that helps future and current professionals deal with ethical issues that they will confront at the various stages in their development. The authors provide readers with the basis for discovering their own guidelines within the broad limits of professional codes of ethics and divergent theoretical positions. They raise what they consider to be central issues, present a range of diverse views on these issues, discuss their position, and provide readers with many opportunities to refine their own thinking and to actively develop their own position. The authors explore such questions as: What role do the therapist's personal values play in the counseling relationship? What ethical responsibilities and rights do clients and therapists have? What considerations are involved in adapting counseling practice to diverse client populations? ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Issues and Ethics: In helping professions
My order never was received, and I got a refund

The Best Ethics Text on the Market to Date
As a Counselor Educator and Counseling Psychologist, I feel that "Issues and Ethics In the Helping Professions" is one of the most nicely organized and well-written texts on counseling ethics ever written. I cannot think of another text I would choose over it to teach ethics to developing counselors. This text serves as an excellent source for the overview of ethical issues in counseling and related fields, as well as a guide to further reading. Corey, Corey, and Callanan expect readers to become involved in learning to deal with ethical and professional issues most directly influenced by the actual practice of counseling. The authors produce numerous useful examples for thought and discussion as well as well designed activities for the classroom setting. Even an instructor selects another text for her or his ethics course, the student should definitely consider purchasing this text as an ethics resource. This edition has also put more emphasis on the learning needs of School Counselors than past editions, although I hope to see it develop in this arena in the 6th edition.

Required or not, read this book!
This book was required in my graduate psychology ethics course, and I found it to be extremely helpful. Covers such topics as confidentiality, multiple relationships, diversity issues, and personal values as they relate to the counseling profession. Extremely helpful were the pre-chapter self-inventories for each topic, which give you a chance to think about what is written after them from your own frame of reference. This book dealt with issues that I had never even considered before, and I consider myself to be fairly well-educated in the subject of counseling psychology. I recommend it to anyone who is in a graduate program, to undergraduates who plan to enter the field, and to anyone currently practicing who was sent out to work with little or no formal ethics training. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Global view on sustainability
Do not expect from this book practical guidelines to become "sustainable" as some reviewers seemed to have expected. This book explains in detail what sustainability involves, three majors fields: economical, social and environmental that the author called the triple bottom line. Each field has been for long separated from each other and the new trend for sustainability is to make them working together. How? There are no answers in this book. This book does not want to offer solutions but just to show us that this so-called revolution has already started, based on existing facts and where these changes are taking places.

Low on content and little practical guidance
This book is bogged down in useless metaphores and imprecise, whooly language - well suited neither for practical decision-makers nor serious academics. Claims are not explained sufficiently well, and we are left guessing how to solve - or even understand - the important problems that this book claims to adress.

a guide to get from here to there
Elkington has created an awesome nuts and bolts description of where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. If The Ecology of Commerce (Paul Hawken) lays the visionary groundwork, this book is the next step. It adds in a lot of detail, bringing to light many cases and ideas about specific problems. It is a slow read but well worth the time.

The bible of sustainability
You can expect a complete perspective from the head of an organisation called SustainAbility on sustainability. That is what you get. John Elkington makes a useful classification of Non Governmental Organisations. The polarisers don't want to have anything to do with business. Business is in principle bad and should be watched and harassed. The integrators try to add two additional dimensions to business, environmental and social responsibility. Discriminators differentiate between good and bad businesses and the non-discriminators do not. This book is for the discriminating integrators. John Elkington believes that it is possible and necessary to get all businesses to act responsibly concerning profit and social and environmental issues- the triple bottom line. The book provides an excellent historical perspective of why businesses are moving on from the Friedman doctrine stating that the only social responsibility of a business is to make a profit. A business that wants to move in the sustainability direction can use the book to find out where it is on the path to full sustainability. The book also makes many practical suggestions on how to move forwards. The book is equally useful for NGOs, and public policy makers.

Count the Silver
Long term sustainability has become a topical issue not just for politicians, but also for executives. For the executive, the key lies in the question: "How do we serve the shareholders in the short term, yet leave behind a long term legacy with which to be remembered?"

While these two aims appear contradictory, they are linked via the organisation's system of shared values.

Values work in the present and the future. They set the framework for consistent decision making, yet remain with an organisation long after its physical assets have depreciated. Values also link the organisation to the society in which it operates and to its social agenda, namely the creation of wealth, the protection of the environment, and the support for social equity.

It is in the context of the social agenda that John Elkington asks us whether capitalism is sustainable, and whether it has made progress over the last hundred years. "Is it progress", he asks, "if a cannibal uses a fork?"

Not that we expect progress to be uniform. Lenin measured progress as two steps forward, and one step back, and even that is steeped in the paradigm of central planning. Free enterprise progresses by many steps in many different directions. Yet the record shows that de-central systems make progress, less systematically, but perhaps more surely than central ones.

However, the random nature of such progress generates many deceptive examples, where the same instance may be used to support contradictory theories. Thus, The Body Shop and Shell become symbols of corporate responsibility, but also corporate duplicity, while Nike and Intel become examples of corporate greed but also corporate responsiveness. Unplanned progress appears as a subtle, difficult to navigate, terrain.

Yet the pitfalls are great. We live in a world, where renewable resources such as trees are "mined rather than harvested". We find children on the one side of the planet working as slaves to produce fashion items for consumers on the other side. Furthermore the public, ever more aware of social and environmental issues, mobilise suddenly and to dramatic effect as ABB, Intel, Monsanto, Shell, Nike, and Texaco and many others testify.

To help us navigate, Elkington introduces his triple bottom line, which comprises of social, economic, and environmental measures. He uses this to expound on 'the seven revolutions affecting sustainability': Markets, Values, Transparency, Life-cycle Technology, Partnerships, Time, and Corporate Governance. He looks at the need for regulation, but also for regulatory frameworks "which operate, as far as possible, through market processes and are intrinsically pro-competition". The triple bottom line becomes his yardstick for corporate values.

When people start talking of values, said Mark Twain once, it is time to count the silver. Since the early sixties environmentalists have told us that "things will go very well and then suddenly collapse". Yet this proved indistinguishable from the prediction that "things will go very well, and then even better". The predictions of our demise have proved to be greatly exaggerated.

Yet, 'Cannibals with forks' raises all the relevant issues. If you are in an industry, which is subject to the whim of public pressure, or if you are trying to solve the riddle of long term sustainability, then 'Cannibals with forks' will make an interesting and profitable read. ... Read more

Book Description

This book reviews corporate social responsibility (CSR) work and suggests a cooperative CSR strategy which creates prosperity for both corporations and the people they serve. It addresses these issues by arguing that it is good for business and essential for future prosperity and stability. It presents the case for a worldwide agreement, or "planetary bargain", between private and public sectors and discusses the implications of such an idea. The book also contains case studies of international companies who have adopted socially responsible programs and analyzes research in this area of the past two decades. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

superb review of corporate social responsibility
easy to read, hopkins has captured the essence of this new field of the social responsibilities of business, I cant think of another book that covers the field so well

JA ... Read more

Book Description

This latest volume in the acclaimed Ruffin Series in Business Ethics brings together the contributions to the annual Ruffin Lecture series, in which some of the leading scholars in business ethics addressed the question: Can business, and business education, be considered one of the humanities, or is it in a class by itself? At a time when business is coming under attack for its apparent transgressions, this book iluminates the special values that inhere in the business world. Arguing all sides of the issue, the distinguished contributors include Richard DeGeorge, Ronald Green, Thomas Dunfee, Robert Solomon, Edwin Hartman, Peter French, Patricia Werhane, Clarence Walton, W. Michael Hoffman, David Fedo, Kenneth Andrews, Joanne Ciulla, Manuel Velasquez, and George Brenkert. The editors contribute an informative Introduction and an Epilogue to set the debate in its proper context. ... Read more

Book Description

Give employees effective telephone skills and you will see what a powerful business tool the phone can be. Everything from voice inflection to follow-up calls is covered in this course. Understand customers' needs. Ask effective questions. Master proper telephone techniques.

Learning Objectives:To describe the basics of providing high-quality customer service.To explain proper telephone skills.To explore the importance of understanding customer needs.To explain the essential role customer service plays in creating a favorable impression of the company. ... Read more

Book Description

In this elegant critique, Amartya Sen argues that a closer contact between welfare economics and modern ethical studies can substantively enrich and benefit both disciplines.He argues further that even predictive and descriptive economics can be helped by making more room for welfare economic considerations in the explanation of behavior, especially in production relations, which inevitably involve problems of cooperation as well as conflict. The concept of rationality of behaviour is thoroughly proved in this context, with particular attention paid to social interdependence and internal tensions within consequentialist reasoning. In developing his general theme, Sen also investigates some related matters; the misinterpretation of Adam Smith's views on the role of self-seeking; the plausibility of an objectivist approach that attaches importance to subjective evaluations; and the admissibility of incompleteness and of 'inconsistencies' in the form of over completeness in rational evaluation. Sen also explores the role and importance of freedom in assessing well-being as well as choice.Sen's contributions to economics and ethics have greatly strengthened the theoretical bases of both disciplines; this appraisal of the connections between the two subjects and their possible development will be welcomed for the clarity and depth it contributes to the debate. These essays are based on the Royer Lectures delivered at the University of California, Berkeley. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Sen - But not at it's best
This short book consists of three lectures.

In the first lecture Sen mainly argues that economic agents shouldn't be modelled as completely self centered. He argues that real individuals don't behave that way. I think that's fairly obvious and the reason people have often be modelled as egoistic is technical convenience. Other than that, he argues that rationality should mean more than consistent actions. Point taken. Since more work is done today that isn't based on selfcentered individuals, the lecture is of somewhat minor importance. But if you think all people act in an egoistic fashion (at least in an economic environment), read that part.

The second lecture is IMO the best one. Sen looks on the impact utilitarianism had on economics at identifies the parts utilitarianism is made of. He the goes on to argue that these parts are independent and that their merit should be judged independently. He shows several roads one can take without accepting utilitarianism in its totality.

In the third lecture Sen takes a look at the proper scope of social choice theory and things that should be incorporated but aren't yet. It's fairly good but nothing spectacular.

Apart from the rough outline given, the worth of the book lies in little remarks Sen makes on a number of topics. These remarks make one think and reconsider ones position.

Can a thermometer cure the illness?
Amartya Sen makes a number of specific criticisms of utilitarianism which are his own. The most significant of these is the criticism of “utility” as a measure of well-being. He rightly points out that “functioning” is a more rational measure of well-being than opulence â€" command over a mass of commodities, or utility â€" the value of desired objects. People can use things they command, whether purchased or enjoyed by nature, in order to achieve a level of functionality in life, but the level of functionality achieved is dependent on numerous factors over and above the things used. A landless peasant may be very “happy” at getting a pile of straw to sleep on for the night, and may have no “desire” for crepes suzette, but neither fact contributes anything to a measure of their well-being. Functionality, however, is amenable to perfectly objective measurement: life expectancy, freedom from illness, level of education, freedom, access to love ones, etc.. Measurement of expenditure on food, medicines, educational services, transport etc., indicates only the effort taken under given conditions to achieve a level of functionality, but this may be as much inversely related to the degree of functionality achieved as directly related. The more a person is subject to crime, the more they spend on crime prevention, the more unhealthy a person is, the more they spend on medicine. Public policy can therefore only measure its own success by the summation of functionality or capability.

On top of this, Sen points out that even the level of functionality achieved is not a proper measure; in the first place, someone may not want to achieve a certain functionality, and in the second place, such a capability (such as the ability to do violence to other people) may not be morally valued by the community as a whole. Therefore, the more ephemeral capability is the true measure of well-being, rather than achieved functionality.

Utilitarianism is a justification for free-market capitalism. The phenomena described in the dot points above are all too familiar phenomena of the action of the free market. They are not just “anomalies” for utilitarianism, they are its unambiguous expression. The point of utilitatarianism is simply to prove that all these abominations are “the best of all possible worlds” ridiculed three hundred years ago by Voltaire.

It is clear enough that utilitarian ethics is simply a justification for free-market economics which has the superficial appearance of intuitive validity. So there is value in criticising utilitarianism, in exposing its fraudulent character, and in trying to produce an alternative measure of the goodness of a state of affairs. Such a measure could be used to legitimise public policy which is not aimed just at maximising the accumulation of capital.

“Green economics” has had a similar aim, to encourage governments to keep statistics on values which are external to the economy (such as forests and rivers, clean air and so on) so that the government has available a measure of its success or failure, alternative to the calculation of GDP.

The great advantage of utilitarianism in its most naïve and primitive form, is that it fairly well captures the real ethic of capitalism. That is, it is very poor ethics, but reasonably good economics. (I say “reasonably good” because of course no real person ever acts as the narrowly self-interested infinitely well-informed computer which utilitarian economic assumes them to be.) The definition of the free economic agent which constitutes the definition of the person for utilitarianism is the basis for the exchange of commodities at their value, and constitutes the ideal condition for the accumulation of capital.

Sen raises the deeper question raised by the critique of utilitarianism as public policy, as to what, if any, justification is there for presuming that in a community there is any agent having the legitimacy to choose one state of affairs over another and determine public policy accordingly, at all. Or, more specifically, where such legitimacy may lie. To construct a theory of capability-utilitarianism still supposes that the agency which collects the data on capability and enforces laws aimed at maximising it has the legitimacy to do so.

And incidentally, the project also raises the question of the capability to do so.

Utilitarianism in its naïve form was nothing but an apology for the naked rule of capital, whose function is to advise governments to let the market do its work without interference, to justify self-seeking by “proving” that the greatest good for the greatest number is achieved by unfettered individualistic self-seeking. As a guide to public policy therefore it was simply an advice to do as little as possible, within the limits imposed by avoiding or suppressing riot, revolution and war.

Once we say that, actually, the market does not produce the greatest well-being for the greatest number, or any version of social justice at all, then the provision of a measuring scale is a fairly marginal contribution to doing something about the problem.

On the one hand we have an economic system, capitalism, based on the free exchange of commodities at their value, whose outcome is the concentration of economic and therefore political power in the hands of a few, and on the other hand a state and governmental machine which aims to measure and regulate this economy. Perhaps being in possession of a sound critique of utilitarian ethics makes it easy to interfere in the market with a good conscience, but we are still a long way short of an ethic which can implement a general improvement of living capabilities.

The thermometer can tell the doctor when you have a fever, can cannot cure the illness. Most people don’t need a thermometer to know when they have a fever.

ethic
ethi ... Read more

Book Description

Businesses that produce bioscience products—gene tests and therapies, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical devices—are regularly confronted with ethical issues concerning these technologies. Conflicts exist between those who support advancements in bioscience and those who fear the consequences of unfettered scientific license. As the debate surrounding bioscience grows, it will be increasingly important for business managers to consider the larger consequences of their work.

This groundbreaking book follows industry research, development, and marketing of medical and bioscience products across a variety of fields, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and bio-agriculture. Compelling and current case studies highlight the ethical decisions business managers frequently face. With the increasing visibility and public expectation placed on businesses in this sector, managers need to understand the ethical and social issues. This book addresses that need and provides a framework for incorporating ethical analysis in business decision making. ... Read more

Book Description

When people think of ethics, they often think of personal values. While that is a large part of ethics, because of the rapid advancement of information technology a redefinition of ethics must occur which includes the non-human element and what it represents - the computer. The purpose of ethics in information security is not just morally important; it equals the survival of your business. A perfect example of this is Enron. Enron's ultimate failure due to a glitch in the ethics systems of the business created the most infamous example of an ethics corporate breakdown resulting in disaster. Ethics is no longer a matter of morals anymore when it comes to information security; it is also a matter of success or failure for big business. Enron went from being a visionary corporation to the butt of jokes throughout corporate America. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

This could have been better
I really wanted to like this book.There are a lot of good things in it, but the negatives outway them.

Problems:
* No bibliography, refrences or pointers to further reading/research.There have been other books on it/computer ethics, this is not the first.
* The slant seems too much toward ethics as it relates to security and security-related matters.There's more to it/computer ethics then that.
* No mention of the several professional organizations of IT/ITSEC people!!!Slight mention is made of ACM & IEEE, but no mention of SAGE (the System Administrators Guide at www.sage.org) which is THE professional association of sysadmins, who have spent YEARS developing a professional code of ethics.This code should have been included in the book.And what about the several professional groups of ITSEC people, like ISSA (Information Systems Security Association at www.issa.org) which also has a code of ethics, Computer Security Insitute (www.gocsi.com), and so forth??They should have been mentioned.(and since SANS, the authors group, did stuff with SAGE, ignoring them is pretty bad).

Don't know right from wrong? This book isn't going to help.
Have you ever wondered if you are doing the right thing?Is is okay to steal from work?How about downloading pirated music using the company network? Do the rules apply to everyone? Can I do whatever I want if I'm a system administrator?

These are real topics covered in "IT Ethics Handbook". Sadly, each answer comes in two varieties: Conservative and liberal (each of which get their own font!).If you don't like one answer, you can just choose the other.The (long) list of contributors put their heads together to come up with rationalizations for both sides.

I tend to think that if you have to ask the question, you already know the answer, and if you truly don't, asking your friends, boss, or co-workers will clear it right up.Heck, the employee handbook might even answer them.The book doesn't really lay a foundation for ethics, but sticks to specifics questions.Indeed, it seems to ignore the idea that ethics isn't an absolute, and may vary between different groups and cultures.They merely mention all that stuff in the introduction, but then quickly discard it.

Some other paraphrased questions, in case you still think you need this book.You can quickly find a rationalization for the right and wrong of each and apply the answer that you like best.

• Can I write malicious virus code for profit?
  
• Should I use somebody else's login and password?
  
• Can I use company resources for personal gain?
  
• Can I videotape my co-workers having sex in the hallways? (real question)
  
• Do I have to obey the law?
  
• Can I be lazy?
  
• Can I spy on employees?
  
• Can I take revenge on a co-worker?
  

Clear cookbook for common ethical dilemmas
I'm glad that we are finally starting to see books like this. This is a good one but I would like to see more emphasis on this area with even better books.

The book is organized into chapters based on various roles and functions within and organization. Then within each chapter there are various ethical dilemmas which are discussed. The dilemmas is defined, then both liberal and conservative takes on the matter are described and the item is closed with an explicit stance on the issue.

This issues discussed are wide ranging, from storing personal files on work machines, to whether a workplace affair can be tolerated. This wide ranging discussion is one of the problems I have with the book. If the issues had been more focused on IT concerns then each item could have been covered in more depth.

Another problem with the book is it's layout. I found that the layout of the text and the material distracted from the contents. There was too much formatting.

I liked the book because I found the material compelling. If not the discussions themselves, which were too brief. It stretched my mind to think about these issues and to take input from different sides of the fence. I hope this book will be revised so that it is even more readable and valuable. In the meantime it is still worth the look for those in the IT field with ethics concerns.

How Do You Truly Define Ethical Right and Wrong in IT?
When do we as information technology professionals cross the line ethically? Who us to say what is right or wrong? Are there absolutes? Or is everything just relative. These are some of the questions posed by Stephen Northcutt in IT Ethics Handbook - Right and Wrong for IT Professionals ( 648 pages ; Syngress, 2004). The only problem is that for this reader, the book left me with more questions than it answered, though I found the many examples and "case studies" included would provide good references for discussion purposes.

The first thing that caught my attention was the author's identification of "moral relativism" as one of the dominant "religious thoughts" in the world today. The author also boldly states that in many cases "moral relativism" will "rapidly get you fired in the workplace". This latter statement may or may not be true, but itstruck me more as an ethical goal in a perfect world than as statement of fact. And there is no way in the world that this reader would consider "moral relativism" a stream of religious thought because it has no grounding in religion at all. It is a by-product of the drive for a secular society in today's world. It seems that the author does acknowledge to some degree that moral relativism is a culprit in the ethical quandaries of today, it serves as the framework for the discussion of each ethical issue raised, casting answers in a "conservative" and "liberal" point of view to show the extremes of the answers to different scenarios.

It is here that the readers of this book would need to be very careful, as is the challenge in looking at any case study, since nothing is always cut and dry since a scenario does not always include all the factors that can drive it. The author does acknowledge this and states that every case study and answer set offered may or may not be applicable to given organizational circumstances.

All of this being said, I would not recommend this book for anyone expecting to find cut and dry answers that they can apply to their organization. I would recommend it as a desk reference to use for ethics training session or to find information for the starting point of discussions for ethics issues that may arise at any given time in the workplace. The price is not that expensive that you would not get at least some value out of the book, even if it just challenges your thinking about what issues really fall under the realm if "IT Ethics" or how you would approach a given situation.

The Business Controls Caddy Scorecard: Even on a Par 4

Uneven and irrelevant throughout...
Over the last couple of months, I've been reading a book titled IT Ethics Handbook by Stephen Northcutt (Syngress).I'd like to say I spent all that time examining ethical issues, when in reality it was just a hard book to finish...

Chapter list:System Administration and Operations; Audit; Vulnerability Disclosure; Digital Postmaster; E-mail Scams; Information Security Officers; Programmers and System Analysts; Database Administration; Information Service Providers; Brother's Keeper; End-user and Employee Computer Security; Customer Ethics; Trusted Assistant; Ethics and Contractors/Consultants; Telecommuting and Mobile Computer Security; Personal Computer Users; Penetration Testing; Content Providing; Privacy; Management/Employer Ethics; Conclusion

Each chapter is made up of a brief discussion of ethical matters in that particular area, followed by vignettes where you have to figure out what you'd do.The author gives a "conservative" and "liberal" answer to the dilemma, followed by a summary of what they consider the right answer to be.While there's some benefit to be gained from thinking through some of the scenarios, the content is just far too uneven and in some cases irrelevant.It took me a number of attempts to find where the author explains what is meant by the conservative and liberal "answers".They are so extreme as to be comical in some cases.Apparently the author uses them as "guardrails" to set the boundaries of the issue.Even then, the author's answer is often too liberal for my tastes or just wishy-washy.In one scenario, the question is asked if IP spoofing is acceptable if it causes no damage (since it's a way for super hackers to show off).The author feels that at best it helps shore up security, and at worst it eats up resources and causes destruction.So what?Is it right or wrong?

In the Personal Computer Users area, the first scenario is being unable to stop playing FreeCell when your husband asks you to come to bed and not play past midnight.For the life of me, I don't see how this has anything to do with IT ethics.The whole Trusted Assistant chapter has nothing to do with IT.It's basically about what an administrative assistant should or should not be able to do.Fine for general business, out of place for IT ethics.And as a final nit, the chapter on Information Service Providers has the term misspelled at the top of each page ("Information Sercive Providers").

While it's possible to get some value from this book, I feel it could have been much better. ... Read more