Book Description

An in depth look at the tremendous potential of this vital market with expert advice from one of the foremost authorities. The foreign exchange market is the world's largest and fastest growing financial terrain.Despite its high trading volume, it is also a market little understood and little regulated.This definitive resource brings the universe of foreign exchange within reach of every investor.The revised edition includescomplete comprehensive coverage of the euro and the latest historical and economic changes in the market.

Cornelius Luca, a renowned authority on international investing, draws on the insights of leading experts in diverse fields of specialty to explain every crucial aspect of foreign exchange.He provides investors with an arsenal of trading weapons, many on the cutting edge of technology.Demystifying the intricacies of these markets, the book includes:

Analysis of the mechanics of the market, the major players and markets, the pertinent risks, corporate trading, and methods of trading execution.

A thorough overview of foreign exchange instruments and major option strategies, with clear explanations of why currencies are traded and how to forecast currency behavior. An in-depth look at the three types of analysis: fundamental, technical, and econometric.Featuring 200 charts and graphics, TRADING IN THE GLOBAL CURRENCY MARKETS is an indispensable guide to a daunting yet promising financial playing field. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Trading in the Global Currency Markets
Loved Trading in the Global Currency Markets! While I only used it to brush up my FX knowldege, I had all my 5 FX traders read it to prepare them for this fast currency market. The book gives you everything you need, and then some. It's a very methodical book, leaving no stone unturned. It's also very objective. All other books on FX or technical analysis have "an angle". Not Luca's. In his book, he presents all facets of the industry. You just need to choose what's best for you.

Trading in the Global Currency Markets
"Trading in the Global Currency Markets" lands you smack in the middle of the currency markets and really makes you understand how all these FX traders maneuver money day in and day out. Due to the complexity of the subject I needed to take it easy, especially in the technical analysis sections. But I can now use the averages and MACD well enough to enter and exit successful FX transactions.

A 3rd Edition is called for . . .
In 2000, when this edition was released, it most probably provided a fair introduction and overview to the global forex market, but not for individual traders.

However, its use to traders, especially individual traders is limited. Since 2000, there has been an almost explosive growth in the number of forex market-makers and brokers, catering to the individual traders, making it possible and very easy for the individual to trade forex on the inter-bank system. One can now start trading a mini forex account with only $300 !!

These critical new developments in the forex trade, are unfortunately not covered in Mr Luca's book - hence my call for a 3rd edition. The amount of information contained in the various broker's websites - inclusive of "How to" sections, "FAQs", tutorials, and other background information, pretty much contains most of the info presented in Mr Luca's book, with the exception of forward contracts and options.

The Technical Analysis information presented, is similar to the stock market, but not covered extensivley. So, if you already have that knowledge, you wouldn't need to purchase this book to start trading forex. If you need to acquire this knowledge, then I would suggest any one of the excellent in-depth books on the topic of technical analysis available. These books, even though written for the equities market, will give any prospective forex trader most of the knowledge he/she will need to start trading forex.

Extremely informative!
Mr.Luca has out done himself. I am a 11 year veteran of the futures markets and I have written three book on futures trading. Mr.Luca's book exceeded my expectations. I read it and was completely enlightened at the chain of connections that drive the currency market. His technical analysis on forex trading was easily adaptable to my own strategies, plus I learned a few new tricks.

Mr.Luca's writing is very indepth and many beginners to forex trading will find a lot of information to wade through in order to find the nuggets they are looking for. That being said, any serious beginner will not have a problem with getting a thorough education in this fascinating subject.

Intermediate traders will see there mistakes and hopefully correct them by using this book.

Overall, this is a great book by Mr.Luca and I keep a copy as a refernce.

Great waste
There is nothing in this book. It's a waste of money and time reading it, and also even if it's free, you should not read it. ... Read more

Book Description

As U.S. organizations continue to explore overseas business opportunities, they will be challenged to adapt to the new market's local characteristics, legislation, fiscal regime, sociopolitical environment and cultural system. Riding the Waves of Culture shows international managers how to build the skills, sensitivity, and cultural awareness needed to establish and sustain management effectiveness across cultural borders. This revised edition is updated with new research and statistics.

More than an encyclopedia of cultures and customs, this essential guide:

• Describes successful and failed cross-cultural business transactions of multinational organizations such as AT&T, Heineken, Motorola and Volvo
• Offers techniques managers can use to anticipate and mediate some of the difficult dilemmas of international management
• Uses country-by-country graphs, examples, and other comparisons to illustrate how different cultures regard and respond to various management approaches
• Includes a CD-ROM of graphs, charts, and exercises to help readers evaluate their effectiveness as a global manager

Reviews (13)

Highly Recommended!
The results are in: All of those stereotypes that we've been told to forget are, in fact, true. At least, that's what a survey of 30,000 people from 31 nations suggests. The data paints some familiar pictures: the inflexible German, the vacillating Frenchman and the pushy American. The statistics from the survey support the conclusions reached by authors Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner in the earlier, first edition of this book: Don't base business decisions on the rhetoric that people are the same regardless of race, color or creed. They aren't! Academically organized, dense with anecdotes and, this time, thoroughly documented, Riding the Waves of Culture is entertaining at least, and possibly essential in this global age. We [...] recommend this book to any professional approaching an international management task, or overseeing a business that stretches across regional boundaries.

Why are those foreigners so hard to deal with?
Did you ever wonder why your international counterparts or customers are so hard to deal with?

If your work involves people from multiple countries and multiple cultures, this book is required reading. If your work involves understanding culture at all, it is definitely worth a quick read.

Authors Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner share their cultural insights based on broad research - 30,000 interviews and questionnaires so far - which puts this work on solid ground. They distinguish culture along a number of interesting axes, including relationships and rules, group versus individual, feelings, personal Involvement, status, time, inner directed versus outer directed, and national versus corporate culture.

The writing, while not exciting, is clear. And the statistical graphics further clarify and simplify many of the authors' points.

On a personal note, whenever the book authors ascribed a particular cultural aspect to Americans, I naturally tried to locate myself on the USA part of the graph. The surprising part was that although I was often squarely in the "right" place, this was not the case a good amount of the time.

A Great Introduction to Intercultural Understanding
At last from Europe, a clear, concise, readable explanation of the critical dimensions of international management. It places culture in a perspective that allows for applications internationally and within the diversity of single nations.

David C. Wigglesworth, Ph.D. is an international/intercultural human resource, management, and organization consultant and president of D.C.W Research Associates International in Kingwood, Texas, USA. He can be reached at dcwigg@earthlink.net

Riding the Waves of Culture
An excellent overview of culture and cultural differences. For a more specific look at Americans, read Working with Americans (Stewart-Allen/Denslow)

Needs more work and interesting
The authors cover a lot of bases and are very effective in making a reader more sensitive to differences in attitudes and value systems of various persons. Yes, I would say various persons rather than various nations - based on methodology and results of this book. A side note - anecdotal evidence presented in the book shows a lot more differences between the nations researched than the hard data from the authors' research.

Only on a few questions national groups of respondents from say Japan and USA have scored positively different (I mean vast majority from one country holds the same view as a small minority from the other). Having 80% of one country respondents support some principle vs. just 55% of the other(which on the graphs included seems like a lot of difference while it is basically still majority here and majority there) does not tell me really much about the way I should approach managers from the 55% country, does it ? (The authors do not express these doubts stressing differences rather than similarities). Even if the latter group responds not 55% but just 33%, thus widening the gap and making potential choices easier, I still need to clarify in a face to face meeting if this particular person belongs to her national group majority or minority because I have a 33% chance that I will approach that person with a wrong pre-conception.

On top of this the selection of respondents makes drawing conclusions even harder. As authors say, 75% from each country are managers, 25% are junior people. Why not focus on managers 100% for clarity? As a result we may have here a situation in which here and there some of a variance can be explained by the fact that managers have one attitude, while junior staff another one, while differences between managers from different countries are still smaller than graphs show.

In effect, quite surprisingly, for me this is more of an interesting and thought provoking book on different styles and values of people/managers in general, than a practical national-business culture guide, just because the data are so much inconclusive. ... Read more

Book Description

All eyes are on China. Home to a quarter of the world's population, China's rapid growth, expanding openness, and developing consumer market have made the region a hotbed of opportunity-and risk-for today's multinationals.

Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China offers a timely and insightful analysis of what it will take to successfully do business in twenty-first-century China. Featuring eight articles, each written by experts in Chinese business and culture, HBR on Doing Business in China explores issues including:

-The possibilities and pitfalls multinationals face in the newly opened Chinese domestic market

-The unique cultural and social factors that govern the buying preferences of Chinese consumers

-The deep-seated cultural traditions Westerners must understand to negotiate successfully with the Chinese

-The emergence of Chinese brands as powerful rivals in the global market

-Strategies for entering and winning in China as competition- both local and global-heats up

... Read more

Book Description

Emphasizing practical application and theory of international business law, this book shows how firms doing business between the more than 185 countries of the world are governed and regulated.This book provides full coverage of all the main topics dealing with international business law including foreign investment, financing, banking, environmental regulation, multinational enterprises, sales, service, labor, transportation, intellectual property, and taxation.For practicing international lawyers book who need a complete, easy-to-use, and up-to-date reference. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Globalization and need to know International Law
This book is essentially important for every business person dealing in international arena and every student seeking careers in multinational businesses. The author covers almost all aspects of governing laws related to international trade. My personal statement would be that this book is not to just read but to use it in everyday's practices as a desk reference.

Best help for international business law practitioners
This is the best book I've ever read about international business law. It is a very good guide to all issues concerning international law since the choice of a applicable law for a contract passing through contract contents, labor and taxes international legislation, ethics and finishing with the very new cyber law. This is a book to be read for specialists in both international law and international business, but also for practitioners of international trade. We have adodpted this book in our course of International Business Law at Universidad del Istmo in Guatemala. The best book I have consulted in the field. ... Read more

Book Description

A thoroughly updated new edition of the premier guide to international trade now features a special section on the e-commerce revolution. Dr. Carl Nelson’s acclaimed resource for beginners venturing into the import/export business is more timely and action-oriented than ever in this fully revised Third Edition. Showcasing an indispensable new chapter on the ins and outs of e-commerce and how to take advantage of all of cyberspace’s exciting possibilities, Import/Export also features a range of new material and guidance. Nelson’s practical, easy-to-follow approach covers all the basics, including choosing a product, making contacts, and cutting through government red tape. Carl E. Nelson (Chula Vista, CA) is the author of Global Success: International Business Tactics for the 1990s and Managing Globally:A Complete Guide to Competing Worldwide. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great book plus
This is a great book for its purpose, which is to step start into international trade. Nelson's book Exporting: A Manager's Guide to the World Market is the next step and is also available on amazon.com. Look it up and grow even more in this facinating and lucrative world of business.

Too basic
This book is definately for the beginner and was of no use to me. I have only been working as an importer for about a year and found the book useless. I would recommend it only for the novice. If you have any experience at all you have already heard this information.

Powerful book
This expanded and updated third edition Import/Export shows you how to tap into the E-commerce phenomenon, including a complete overview of this new global market opportunity, how to set up a successful home page, and tips to filling orders and getting paid over the Internet. New material also covers the Euro and the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, tricks of using Letters of Credit, new product standards, and how to navigate the business worlds of China and Africa. Plus, you'll find Dr. Nelson's 20 acclaimed and globally tested keys to international business success. Whether you're the owner of a small manufacturing firm, a businessperson in search of a second career, or a budding entrepreneur attracted by international trade's exciting potential, this third edition of Import/Export: How to Get Started in International Trade contains everything you need to reap the profits of today's booming world economy. Dealing with every aspect of exporting and importing, this totally revised and updated book cites helpful details and highlights scores of examples and success stories. Dr. Carl Nelson, a recognized global trade strategist, demystifies international trade to show you everything you need to get started and succeed. The book tells you how to: Write a business plan Choose a product Make overseas contacts Finance an import or export transaction Protect patents and trademarks Get through the customs maze Figure import duties Trade in Europe's single market CONTENTS THE COMMONALITIES Chapter 1: Success and the Trade Game Chapter 2: Launching a Profitable Transaction Chapter 3: Planning and Negotiating to Win Chapter 4: The Cyber Trader: Selling with E-commerce Chapter 5: Completing a Successful Transaction Chapter 6: How to Set Up Your Own Import/Export Business

THE DIFFERENCES Chapter 7: Exporting from the United States Chapter 8: How to Import into the United States

DOING BUSINESS WORLDWIDE Chapter 9: Doing Business Through World Trade Centers Chapter 10: Doing Business in the Americas and an Expanding NAFTA Chapter 11: Doing Business in an Expanding Europe Chapter 12: Doing Business in Africa Chapter 13: Doing Business in the Near East and Asia Chapter 14: 20 Keys to Import/Export Success

U.S. Chamber of Commerce and World Trade Center Association
What the experts say:

"During a time when international trade is growing to unprecedented levels Import/Export: How to Get Started in International Trade is recommended as a valuable tool for the business person who wants to take advantage of the opportunities and learn the techniques of world market entry." Tom Donohue, President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce "Import/Export: How to Get Started in International Trade by Dr. Nelson is one of the best resources available to those involved in world trade. It is factual, easy to read and understand, and up-to-date. I strongly recommend it." Guy Tozzoli, President, World Trade Centers Association, New York

I need this book.I want it in Spanish OK?
For me this is a better book about import and export that I Know .At this moment,I am studying Interational Marketing. I have English edition .But I need Spanish edition, because with it I can understand well.Due to the vocabulary is dificult for me, because I am Chilean and reading it in Spanish I'm sure I can learn very well and will be a good broker of international marketing. Thank you,

Gustavo G. Caro-Brown ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to international OB and management. Presented from a global, rather than a North American or Western European perspective, it offers a unique cultural perspective on the roots of organizational behavior around the world. Finally, the book acts as a guide to the changes that are not only reshaping organizations, but the ways we understand them as well. KEY TOPICS A six-part organization covers understanding international organizational behavior, managing it, its larger context, emerging issues, cases, and skills exercises.For any manager or professional interested in improving knowledge of the role of culture in organizations throughout the world—especially organization development specialists, expatriate managers, and human resource professionals. ... Read more

Book Description

The purpose of this text is to analyze the key financial markets and instruments that facilitate trade and investment activity on a global scale.It spans two key areas:First-the economic determinants of prices, price changes and price relationships in the major financial markets; Second-the policy issues that result from private enterprises and public policymakers. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not as good as other books on global investing
Too technical. Gets trapped into unecessary details. Sometimes theoretical, sometimes practical, but the mix makes it hard to read. ... Read more

Book Description

Lively, topical, and accessible, this text is written integrating culture early and often to allow all students to grasp difficult conceptual material. The inclusion of numerous interesting and diverse examples of the intersection of business and culture motivates students to read on and learn.  International Business: The Challenges of Globalization is the fastest growing international business book available today. It presents international business in a comprehensive, yet concise framework. Recent, real-world examples and engaging feature boxes really do bring the concepts of international business to life for readers. User feedback reveals that the reason this book is so popular is that it offers a fresh approach to international business that responds to the readers' requests and needs. A main goal in this third edition is to continue the progress made in the previous two–delivering the most readable, current, and concise international business book on the market. A must-read for anyone involved in International Business.

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Mundania
Good for research but not exactly coffee-table blurb. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (133)

In-depth look at the dark side of our modern global economy
A tremendous amount of research and analysis has gone into this informative study of the dark secrets behind the brands that dominate our lives in Western society. The neglect and deliberate lack of social responsibility, both alarming and disturbing, that has become a central element to the maufacturing and business activities of some of the world's largest and most recognizeable brand names is staggering. How can these self-proclaimed leaders of our economy be so callous? Klein details their motivation and the evolution of such nefarious practices, as well as the collusion of corrupt and greedy local authorities in developing nations, which serve to sustain and propogate such injustice. On the flip side, Klein offers hope through her exaustive examination of the counter-movements that have to a degree succeeded in keeping the rampant exploitation of the afore-mentioned multinationals in check and on their toes. The book is written in an open and accessible tone, with down-to-earth interpretations of the patterns of disdain for labourers and their rights as well as for the environment and our planet's dimishing natural resources, all in an unrelenting quest to reinforce the brand name and dominate the market share. I for one will never look at brand logos such as the Nike swoosh, the same again. For that matter, thanks to this important and timely book, I will carefully monitor such questions as freedom of expression and the control that such corporations as Wal-Mart have on the content of what we as consumers have access to.

Major flaw in growth rate analysis
With in a few pages of this book I found a glaring error that somewhat negates Kliens argument. I'm refering to the claimed "astronomical" increase in advertising by corporations over 19 years. Klien shows a graph of year versus advertising expense (in billions). It starts at 50 billion (in the mid 70's) and grows to just under 200 billion in the late 1990s' (1996 I think). Anyway any first year finance student with a financial calculator can calculate what kind of increase this is. (ie present value = 50, future value = 195, n= 19 solve for interest) This calculation gives compounding annual percent increase of about 7.5 %. This, dear Naomi, is not by any stretch of imagination, is an "astronomical" rate of increase. It is essentially the rate of inflation. This is what would expect for any company that their expenses would rise with inflation. Note that share price growth rates far outstripped these advertising expenses. Infact looking at her figure (1.1 i think) you see that advertising costs basically followed the economic cycle with less spent in reccessions and more in the good times. You could draw a similar graph for wages expense etc. etc. Unfortunately the arguments constructed on the basis of "astronomical" increases of advertising expenses are therefore wrong as they as based on an incorrect premise.

This glaring bit of ignorance on the authors part causes the reader to question how else other data and information is incorrectly presented or mistakenly interpreted. To be credible the journalist/researcher/Naomi has to take a dispassionate stance and see what the numbers are actually saying rather than what you want them to say. Any thing less, and your fooling yourself and misleading your readers.

I'm not finished the book yet and I hope not to find another howler like this or I won't bother to keep going.

Ps. I'm finding the book interesting, I'm just very dissapointed in such a dreadful error in logic occurring so early in the book.

Still Relevant
Although some of the material presented here is dated, I feel that this book is still very relavent today. Everyone should be aware of the level of infiltration these brands have made in our society and our everyday lives.

There were several ideas that I took away from the book that I felt were very important (and I hadn't really read about in depth before). I particularly liked the discussion of the 'brand and not product focus' idea. I didn't enjoy the discussion of culture jamming nor did I really like the way that she tended to revisit the same events over and over through the book (the McLibel Trial).

Overall, I liked the book and it stirred my interest enough in the subject to do some research of my own into these issues.

A great read, a wonderful find
Superb, powerful impact, well written, hard to put down. A truly important book discussing today's society and the corrosive impact we all knew existed, but couldn't describe. Klein does - extremely well. She has the insider's knowledge, the perspective of one not infected, and the intellectual analysis which lets us mere mortals peek into the steel souls and hearts of today's boardrooms and corporate cabals.

A book worth having. Don't lend it out! it will grow legs and disappear!

A book that should be more widely read
Despite having become modestly dated in its details (a updated edition or follow-up work would be welcomed), Naomi Klein's book No Logo remains an important work about the blurring boundaries between global business and global culture. Since its publication, much of the globalization furor directed at Kathy Lee, McDonald's, Nike, Shell Oil, Pepsi, and others has died down or been redirected at health, local impact (e.g., Wal-Mart stores) and other important but ancillary issues (take, for example, the movie Super Size Me). The fact that the noise has subsided does not, however, mean that the problems Ms. Klein cites have disappeared. More likely, the companies subjected to such scathing public rebuke have better learned how to play the game, managing their PR more effectively and hiding further and further behind layers of subsidiaries, contractors, sub-contractors, and locked factory gates.

No Logo is a significant work, deserving to be much better known than it is. American consumers -- that is, all of us -- need to reach a much better understanding of how brand management has evolved into culture management, how Starbucks and Nike and Gap and The Body Shop and so many other companies are infiltrating our subconscious and controlling our cultural dialogues. No Logo still serves as an eye-opener for those who have been spending so much time at the mall that they have not yet seen what is going on around them.

Sadly, No Logo is not the most approachable of books for the general populace. It is over-long and over-detailed, bogging down in topics that are probably exciting to radical activists (like billboard jamming) but are sleep-inducing to most readers. Like many people who are involved in activism, Klein sometimes loses the forest for the trees, giving us so much insider detail about causes and people we don't know that we lose interest in, and attention to, her real message. My rating of only four stars, while certainly positive, derives from Klein's tendency to preach too much to the converted and spend too little time educating the as-yet unconverted.

The book is divided into four sections: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs, and No Logo. The first two sections, encompassing the first eight chapters, are well worth the price of the book by themselves. Readers will come to a new understanding of how the public spaces around them are being manipulated by mega-corporate messaging, how those corporations hide behind a public face of social consciousness, and how violently they respond when anyone seeks to question their self-proclaimed high moral ground. I would recommend these eight chapters as required reading for every third- or fourth-year high school student in America. Chapter 16, "A Tale of Three Logos," is also a fascinating account of less than admirable behavior on the parts of Nike, Shell, and McDonald's, definitely worth reading.

I can only hope that Ms. Klein will someday revisit her subject matter again, perhaps to publish a more streamlined and updated version that will reach a wider audience. She deserves the audience, and the American public needs to hear her voice. Despite her understandable tendency toward one-sidedness (perhaps necessary in this case to avoid being drowned out by Nike and McDonald's commercials and Starbucks ads), Naomi Klein's No Logo is an important book that all consuming Americans should read. ... Read more

Book Description

The new edition of this popular text explores the realities of executing global strategies and helps students develop the knowledge, perspective, and skills they need in order to conduct global business successfully.

International Management Behavior, Fourth Edition is designed with students in mind. It has been thoroughly restructured and extended to increase coherence and incorporate the very latest management issues. The combination of text, readings and real-life case studies help students understand that international business success is gained by combining good business practice with an understanding of intercultural dynamics. The new features of this book include: Updated case studies covering a range of industries of different sizes, in countries around the world. A selection of new, up-to-date readings. Revised, user-friendly text. A new, field-tested framework for improving cross-cultural communications. ... Read more

Book Description

Case Studies in Finance, 4/e links managerial decisions to capital markets and the expectations of investors.At the core of almost all of the cases is a valuation task that requires students tolook to financial markets for guidance in resolving the case problem.The focus on value helps managers understand the impact of the firm on the world around it.These cases also invite students to apply modern information technology to the analysis of managerial decisions. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

WARNING-These are only cases, almost NO content
I bought this book to read outside of a class hoping to read through some really good case studies in finance, and hopefully apply several semesters worth of finance classes to some real world examples. However after receiving the book I realized that these were only cases, not case studies, meant to be discussed in a class. There is almost no content, and college professors would actually be better off building their own cases from current business publications.

Good Finance book
The cases in this book will make one think more than other books in this area.

Bravo to Bruner!
Case Studies in Finance and its instructors manual are absolutely the BEST of their kind in all the years I've been teaching finance and strategy. Bravo to Bruner! I've never seen an instructor's manual so complete. The At-a-Glance section has been very helpful when structuring a course design. Case Studies in Finance and its supplements are being used by the finance faculty at ESADE Business School, in Spain, as a guide to restructure their first year core finance course in the Full-Time MBA programme.

Excellent, made the subject practical
The book was excelleant, but I never knew if the answers I provided were correct, is there no model answers on the case studies that one could check one's answers against. I am a final year MBA student in South Africa with no real previous Finance experience and this book really assisted me in gaining a practical understanding. Please let me know about model answers ... Read more

Book Description

How have Japanese companies become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries, among others? What is the secret of their success? Two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, are the first to tie the success of Japanese companies to their ability to create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. In The Knowledge-Creating Company, Nonaka and Takeuchi provide an inside look at how Japanese companies go about creating this new knowledge organizationally.

The authors point out that there are two types of knowledge: explicit knowledge, contained in manuals and procedures, and tacit knowledge, learned only by experience, and communicated only indirectly, through metaphor and analogy. U.S. managers focus on explicit knowledge. The Japanese, on the other hand, focus on tacit knowledge. And this, the authors argue, is the key to their success--the Japanese have learned how to transform tacit into explicit knowledge.

To explain how this is done--and illuminate Japanese business practices as they do so--the authors range from Greek philosophy to Zen Buddhism, from classical economists to modern management gurus, illustrating the theory of organizational knowledge creation with case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, Nissan, 3M, GE, and even the U.S. Marines. For instance, using Matsushita's development of the Home Bakery (the world's first fully automated bread-baking machine for home use), they show how tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge: when the designers couldn't perfect the dough kneading mechanism, a software programmer apprenticed herself with the master baker at Osaka International Hotel, gained a tacit understanding of kneading, and then conveyed this information to the engineers. In addition, the authors show that, to create knowledge, the best management style is neither top-down nor bottom-up, but rather what they call "middle-up-down," in which the middle managers form a bridge between the ideals of top management and the chaotic realities of the frontline.

As we make the turn into the 21st century, a new society is emerging. Peter Drucker calls it the "knowledge society," one that is drastically different from the "industrial society," and one in which acquiring and applying knowledge will become key competitive factors. Nonaka and Takeuchi go a step further, arguing that creating knowledge will become the key to sustaining a competitive advantage in the future.

Because the competitive environment and customer preferences changes constantly, knowledge perishes quickly. With The Knowledge-Creating Company, managers have at their fingertips years of insight from Japanese firms that reveal how to create knowledge continuously, and how to exploit it to make successful new products, services, and systems. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Japanese Context...Global Relevance
There are already so many excellent books now available on this subject. What sets this one apart is suggested by its subtitle: "How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation." Decades ago, Japanese executives embraced and acted upon Deming's ideas about TQM. Only after many years later was Deming properly appreciated by corporate leaders in the United States. The same cannot be said about knowledge management (KM) and its most prominent advocates in the United States, such as Peter Senge. Nonetheless, there is much of value we can learn about KM from the Japanese.

According to the authors, "the success of Japanese companies is not due to their manufacturing process; access to cheap capital; close and cooperative relationships with customers, suppliers, and government agencies; or lifetime employment, seniority system, and other human resources management practices....Instead, we make the claim that Japanese companies have been successful because of their skills and expertise at 'organizational knowledge creation'. By organizational knowledge creation, we mean the capability of a company as a whole to create new knowledge, disseminate it throughout the organization, and embody it in products, services, and systems."

The material is carefully organized and developed within eight chapters:

1. Introduction to Knowedge in organizations

2. Knowledge and Management

3. Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation

4. Creating Knowledge in Practice

5. Middle-up-down Management Practice

6. A New Organizational Structure

7. Global Organizational Knowledge Creation

8. Managerial and Theoretical Implications

The chapters which I found most thought-provoking are 1, 3, and 8 but all are valuable. I agree with the authors that innovation can be (and is) achieved "by continuously creating new knowledge, disseminating it widely through the organization, and embodying it quickly in new technologies, products, and systems." I further agree that knowledge-creation "is no longer an enigma. ..[nor is the] process endemic to Japanese companies. It is universal." Leaders of any organization (regardless of its size, nature, or national identity) can derive great benefit from this book, one whose primary models and benchmarks may be limited to companies in only one country but whose relevance is indeed "universal."

An essential book on knowledge management
This is perhaps one of the most important books presently available on knowledge management. The authors demonstrate how 'knowledge' is vital to innovation within Japanese firms, with clear distinction made between 'tacit' and explicit' knowledge. An effort is made to distinguish the differences between Japanese and Western firms through an emphasis on the importance of 'tacit' knowledge and a 'middle-up-down' management process. Other than Chapter 2 (a review of philosophical background relating to epistemology which might put some readers off), this book has minimal jargons and complexities and would be an easy and enjoyable read even for non-academics. The arguments presented by the authors are well-illustrated with relevant industrial examples. Overall, this is a book that not only brings a new perspective to knowledge management but also raises questions for the ardent researchers who might ponder over its relevance to non-Japanese firms.

BEWARE! Digital version is only a 10 page summary!
Don't get caught like I did.

Why depend on inscrutable tacit- to- tacit info flows?
Too much reliance on mysterious "knowledge" flow (called tacit to tacit transfers by Nonaka). Yes tacit knowledge is extremely important, but not more so than explicit knowledge which is at least testable, analyzable, falsifiable, etc. And when tacit to tacit knowledge occurs, what is the neurophysiological mechanism?

How can you transfer personal(tacit) knowledge without an explicit channel? I hardly think your tacit knowledge can be useful in analysis because analysis requires precise analysis and systematic thinking-- not BLACK MAGIC and inscrutable mental models!!!

From information-processing machine to knowledge-creating co
This book is the classic in the organizational learning approach. But it¡¯s more than that. This book is not about lean production or Japanese kaizen system, but about how to enhance a firm¡¯s adaptability to turbulent environment through knowledge creation. with suggesting new concept of knowledge-creation as the tangible base of organizational capabilities or innovation, this book serves as the bridge between organizational learning school and resource-capabilities view.
As the being to survive in environment, the firm processes signals or information from environment. Knowledge is the framework to process info to interpret the state of environment. Up to 1980s, the company was viewed as information-processing machine. Indeed, firm is the flow of information. That kind of view has been justified against the business reality. Actually, it¡¯s the very picture of bureaucratic organization which culminated in GM¡¯s M-form model. Here, CEO like Jack Welch is the hero. Such an organization is effective when the environment is stable and predictable. But since 1970s, things have changed. Uncertainties have been amplified with the hypercompetition on global scale. Now the framework to interpret the signal from environment, itself should incessantly and systemically be adapted to turbulent reality. Knowledge and innovation have come the words of the day. Not surprisingly, there has been growing dissatisfaction with traditional organizational structure. Kao¡¯s CEO, Maruta put it in this way: ¡®The intelligence of a firm does not come from the president nor top management. That must come from the gathering of all knowledge of all members.¡¯ This book is about to how to build organization as the effective innovation site. To do so, all the available knowledge in and out of company should be able to be mobilized and freely flow throughout the firm. For instance, front line employees are constantly in direct touch with the outside world. They can obtain access to the up-to-date info on the market, technology, or competitors. But their knowledge is, in most cases, not able to be expressed in explicit way. Generally, it¡¯s the tacit knowledge. But to survive more and more intensified competition, the firm should be apt to mobilizing their tacit knowledge. To achieve such a goal, task force or bottom-up organizational model emerged. In those model, the creative knowledge worker, in Peter Drucker¡¯s term, is the hero. But in those models, knowledge tends to be confined to narrow front line, and comes and goes with creative employees. And worse, the firm can¡¯t react as an efficient unit to threats from environment. As a result, innovation is the haphazard event. So there should be some integrating mechanism like hierarchy. To be efficient unit, knowledge should flow all over the company. Here, authors rediscover the significance of middle managers. They play the role of midwife and amplifier of knowledge from front line employees and between various divisions in the firm. They coordinate the flow of knowledge and maintain the firm as a coherent knowledge-creating unit. In short, the firm should be organized as the melting pot of member¡¯s knowledge. Authors take examples from Japanese firms to illustrate what¡¯s like such a site. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

If you are holding or are thinking about holding a Kaizen event, then this book is essential. Step by step guide to conducting your own Kaizen event. Contains all the details, instructions, forms, checksheets and guidelines necessary to succeed. Contains a real life simulation exercise, with answers and suggestions on how to improve your events. How to determine where an event should be held. How many participants is best? what kind of preparation is needed? Who should be on the management team? Who should the participants be? What should be done about production during an event? How can we finalize the improvements and prevent regression? What about the next event: Where should it be? When should it be? Who should be on the teams?

These and other questions about holding an event are covered in this manual.

All applicable worksheets are included!

Also in the book is "The History of Lean," discribes where Kaizen originated. Plus a glossary of "lean" terms and "100 Years of Lean". ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Bell Helicopter
We have been looking for the appropriate training material to use to train our Lean Champions and Black Belts in the art of conducting Kaizen events. We have found the best available. It is the Kaizen Event Implementation Manual. This book is all you need. Follow the instructions, and do the simulation and everything falls into place. The other books skirt all around the details, this book gives all the answers to all the situations. Very well done!

Kaizen Event Implementation Manual
This book is by far the best, most informative book written about Kaizen events yet.
We were looking for the perfect guide book to assist us in our events, and this is it!
No worry about consistancy or concern about forgotten elements of the event.
With all the check-sheets and almost hour by hour tracking, we are certain to maintain consistancy from one event to the next.
The simulation is a must for anybody now doing Kaizen.
This IS the book to get!

The bible of Kaizen books
We are a major supplier to Toyota Motor Car Co. and we know a lot about Kaizen; this is the absolute best guide for conducting Kaizen events! It leaves nothing to guess-work. Consistantly using this manual guarantees that each event will be exactly as is should be with nothing forgotten or eliminated. It is like a pilot's preflight check-sheet.
The most shop floor oriented Kaizen book in the world!

Canada likes "Kaizen Event Implementation Manual."
Just received the "Kaizen Event Implementation Manual" second edition. This is THE book you must have to properly conduct a Kaizen event! Throw away the other books, this one will guarantee that you stay focused and on track. It's clear Mika is a real Sensei.
Don't expect narrative or story telling, this book leads you, team leader, team member, facilitator or top management, through the details of a successful event. Sensei Mika has conducted hundreds of events and his organizational expertise shows!
Canada recommends this book!

Too much filler and not enough meat...
I was disappointed with this book on a couple levels. First, I was expecting an "Event Implementation Manual." What I found was an exhaustive rehash of the history of not only Kaizen but a good chunk of the industrial revolution, a glossary of largely unrelated terms, about 50 pages of case study exercise, along with some tips and tricks for implementing a kaizen. The 70-some pages related to kaizen events is a good overview for someone familiar with this tool, but not geared for the beginner. The check sheets describing event preparation and follow up were most useful. On another level, I found the obvious lack of the use of an editor or proofreader very distracting. The kaizen event consulting rates listed in the back were the final straw. Stick to Laraia, Moody and Hall's "The Kaizen Blitz." This review refers to an earlier edition. ... Read more

Book Description

In order to ensure future success, financial advisors must find a way to compete for one of the fastest-growing segments of the investing population - the affluent.

Stephen D. Gresham and Evan Cooper, authors of Attract and Retain the Affluent Investor, show readers that by adapting current methods and learning how to provide a richer level of service, financial advisors will be able to capitalize on this opportunity and create greater client satisfaction. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This book is worth the money a thousand times over.
After 8 years in the financial service industry, I was forced to start over from scratch 2 years ago without a single client or even a list of prospects. This book has been my single most important guide in building a client base of over $160 million in assets, and I'm just getting started. While other fascinating reads focus on the "sales pitch" and aspects of identifying the wealthy and what makes them tick, this book goes way beyond simple needs-based selling and into the world of practice management. Every time I've hit a rough patch in building my practice or the market has dealt all of us in the financial service industry blow after blow that has shaken investor confidence and trust, I've simply read or re-read from passages from this book and have gotten right back on track. From specific questions to pose to the wealthy and client meeting action check-lists to bigger picture topics like the ideal number of clients and best practices from today's top advisors, the writers show they have done their homework. Best of all, this stuff works! I had one client specifically site the reason for hiring me was that the questions I asked in our initial meeting made her feel I had a broader vision of what she was trying to accomplish than any other financial service provider she had ever dealt with. Every question I posed to her came right out of this book. What's even more compelling is that I know her better than I think I've ever known clients in the past. That kind of win-win is rarely found in books, and I recommend this one highly.

Steve knows his subject cold
Steve Gresham has created a blueprint for the experienced Investment Management Consultant or Wealth Management Advisor to follow and propser from. His examples are clear and concise, his guidance has stood the test of time.

Any advisor who thinks she or he can properly advise 300 or 400 clients will come away from this book with a career altering experience.Steve shows what is important to the business owner as opposed to what the advisor may think is important.

Kudo's to Steve and Evan. Job superbly well done !

Straight Talk
There are two words missing from the beginning of this book's title..which should be "How to Attract and Retain the Affluent Investor[etc.]." Gresham and Cooper take a very forthright approach to their topic, and use modern [no, not distracting!] graphics to get their points across. Relevant "case studies" make up much of the text, with messages reinforced by way of checklists, boxes, and short paragraphs titled "Winning Tactics." There are lots of advice books around for financial advisors. This one's great for people who think they're too busy to read. You can read it through or open it almost anywhere, and learn something. What's more, the authors have come up with answers to questions you didn't even know you had!

A Wealth Advisor's Must Read!
Steve Gresham has really captured the information necessary to be successful in the ever changing financial services industry. He shares with you successful ideas from some of the industries most successful consultants and advisers. In addition, he tells you how to re-evaluate your business and assists directing you toward becoming very successful.

Steve demonstrates his indepth knowledge and expertice in the industry through all of the information provided in this book. If you are going to be successful as a "Wealth Advisor"in the financial services industry, this book is a must read! ... Read more

Book Description

This text covers the full range of topics in international money and finance, giving solid attention to 3 key areas - international finance, open-economy macroeconomics, and international money and banking. It consistently connects theory to real-world policy and business applications (and strikes a balance between business relevance and policy relevance), demonstrating to students the contemporary applications that can be explored, and that international monetary and financial economics is a dynamic and interesting subject area that has become of great importance for international affairs and business. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An econ book with real world uses!
Daniels and VanHoose have put together an easy to read, real world applicable textbook. The topics covered are upper level collegiate international finance, but it's presented in a down to earth, orderly fashion. While I would have wanted color graphs, the full examples of complex operations (derivatives hedging, theoretical currency exchange rates and the like) more than made up the difference. They separate the elitist mathematics from that which students want and need. As a college student without a lot of time, that's a huge help. The most important teaching tool used extensively throughout the book is historical data. Being able to show why in theory, give evidence, and then present the deviations takes effort. There is no easy way to explain how the central banks around the world use different tactics in thier policies, but they got through it. ... Read more

Book Description

Incoterms for Americans describes the thirteen International Chamber of Commerce Incoterms terms of sale in clear American business English, with proforma invoice illustrations.Fully revised for Incoterms 2000, this book is written for U.S. exporters, importers, freight forwarders, Customs brokers, foreign trade bankers and their overseas counterparts who wish to do business with them. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Definitive Work
No sane person reads about INCO terms for fun, and if your work requires that you understand the details of international quotes & shipping then this is a required reference work. The author, who sat on the international drafting committee, is perhaps as knowledgable on this subject as any American. He also teaches an excellent seminar on the subject.

Technical topic made easy to understand
After I first read Mr. Reynold's predecessor book on Incoterms I felt I finally understood this technical topic. The new book, fully revised for Incoterms 2000, follows the same format. Each chapter is devoted to one of the 13 Incoterms so it can be easily digested. Each chapter contains an easy to read scenario of how the Incoterm may be used in a real international trade transaction and how it affects all other phases of the transaction including the ability or inability to collect payment.

The most valuable feature is the ending section of each chapter, entitled "American Perspective." It discusses how Americans should or should not use this particular term, or at least be aware of any caution flags.

Incoterms for Americans is a valuable commentary on an important topic. ... Read more

Book Description

Make no mistake. Here is the original, best-selling guide to developing cross-cultural skills, now revised for the new millenium. With more than 100,000 copies in print and adopted by more than 200 Universities worldwide, this classic is praised as a 'bible of multiculturalism' (New York Times News Service)

It clearly shows how to develop the cross-cultural expertise essential to succeed in a world of rapid and profound economic, political, and cultural changes. While retaining the wisdom of the previous editions, this new edition provides leading-edge insights into work culture and globalization. In addition to a new chapter on 'Women in Global Business', this fifth edition describes effective cross-cultural strategies and policies that will help you:
* capitalize on expanding international markets
* improve cross-cultural business communication
* master the subtle important art of business protocol
* create a successful multicultural management program

Easy-to-read mini case histories, illustrations, exhibits, and country profiles supply guidelines to improve leadership skills for globalization, communications, negotiations and strategic alliances, cultural changes, cultural synergy, and diversity in the workplace.

'Managing Cultural Differences' continues to be the premier source of information on the dynamics of culture and business. Professors and trainers will benefit from the reorganized companion Instructor's Guide. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Full of misinformation and false [information]
Here are some of the MOST OBJECTIONABLE texts in this book on India -

India: Geography, Government, and People (adapted with permission from Venturing Abroad in Asia by Robert T. Moran International Management)

Page 444 - 8th paragraph

"There is not enough work for all their people, so poverty is prevalent. With an adult population of 326 million and official unemployment rate of 15 million, the last thing India needs is labor-saving modern equipment. Over the years, India has implemented intensive population control programs but none were successful. The high birth rate has been attributed to early marriage, the emphasis on bearing sons by the Hindu religion, the security of having children to take care of parents in old age, and the low level of education achieved by the rural masses.

Climate and culture contribute to the high incidence of disease and influence the patterns of work. The hot weather season brings constant dust, which results in various infections~ and eye irritations and also limits the outdoor physical activity. The cold, damp rainy season brings on colds, malaria and rheumatism. Their practice of vegetarianism contributes to malnutrition and protein deficiencies. The people of India have a general syndrome known as "weakness" brought on by their constant exposure to epidemic diseases such as cholera and typhus, and the malnutrition factor.

CORRECTION: This are very UNHEALTHY comments and illustrate pure ARROGANCE and IGNORANCE on the authors' part. They have NO MORAL right to blame India's culture and climate for its problems. Like everywhere else, people get used and adapted to the climate. And if they endure more, they should be stronger as they tend to develop immunity! Now, it has been proved that Vegetarian diet is as healthy (if not, more) as meat. For more info, please visit the link below -

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