Book Description

This classic text has remained a market leader for over 30 years because it covers all the conventional areas of international economics in an easy-to-understand manner.The 11th edition has been thoroughly revised and it continues to be accessible, flexible, and interesting to economics and business majors alike.Like earlier editions, it also places international economics events within an historical framework.The overall treatment continues to be intuitive rather than mathematical and is strongly oriented towards policy. Peter Lindert was recently awarded the University of California-Davis' Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

GREAT BOOK
Doesn't get too technical, but explains everything clearly. This book is one of the best economic books that I ever used.

Good Intro to International Economics
I used this book for my international economics undergraduate course and found it easy to understand; it doesn't use lengthy mathematical formulas but utilizes basic macroeconomic theories. The authors organized this book well; the later chapters build upon the beginning ones. However, it would be best to have taken Intermediate Macroeconomics before using this book because the last few chapters rely heavily on a good understanding of intermediate level material.

Paperback is not the same as hardcover
Hello, If you are looking for a paperback version for the hardcover book with the same name, this is not it. Actually the ISBN Number belongs only to the Study Guide to that book. I got it shipped and I am really upset about that.

It's economics....but, I've read better
I had to read most of this book for my International economics class... I think the book tells you what you need to know but it was very difficult to understand. I usually had to read over the same thing 2 or 3 times before I actually started to grasp it. If I was a professior of this class I would seriously consider changing textbooks. ... Read more

Book Description

This powerful, unsettling book gives us a rare glimpse behind the closed doors of global financial institutions by the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics.

When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including stints as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the World Bank. Particularly concerned with the plight of the developing nations, he became increasingly disillusioned as he saw the International Monetary Fund and other major institutions put the interests of Wall Street and the financial community ahead of the poorer nations.

Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition. ... Read more

Reviews (69)

Straight from the Guru
Bretton Woods - 1944. Keynesian economics was put into action in the form of two new global institutions - The IMF and the World Bank. Markets could no longer be relied upon to correct setbacks to economic growth, employment and development. Governmental intervention was found necessary to rebuild economies devastated by the Second World War. An international system to help governments in their fiscal expansions, employment generation, economic growth and stabilization while steering through rough economic weather was found necessary. While the IMF would concentrate on financing short term needs for governmental spending and also to help balance their foreign exchange positions, the World Bank would focus on developmental projects that would largely benefit people below the poverty line. In theory and in all good intentions, everything was perfect for international co-operation in moving towards economic prosperity.

Take a different route now. The financial community in Wall Street has a different set of priorities. This community aims at short cuts to prosperity in the process of playing with other people's money. This community is well entrenched in the Treasury Department of the world's most powerful nation. The Treasury in turn controls the IMF and the World Bank. Suddenly we have Global Institutions serving private interests of the Wall Street. Would there be a better prescription for disaster for the developing countries? It is this vicious circle that has been brought out clearly by Prof Joseph Stiglitz. Who could be a better person to bring out these facts than a Noble Laureate in economics!

Time and again the IMF dictates a "one size fits all" policy of Liberalization and Privatization, with the assumption that the "markets will do the rest". Growth and poverty are not on their agenda. When the prescription fails, its well trained and over paid staff find fault with the Countries' flaws in implementing these policies. The WTO is no exception to this policy of enriching the developed countries at the cost of the poor. Right from page No 1 of the book, Prof Stiglitz is on target in explaining case after case where the IMF has failed. Meanwhile lot of evidence is presented on how countries that have ignored IMF's advice have done better. Thus, we have Poland on the road to prosperity and Russia in a miserable state. Malaysia is better off than Thailand after the crisis of 1998. IMF led "Bailouts" in many cases were to bailout the foreign private banks to recover local debts and not in the interests of the local economy. IMF also forces nations to maintain currency exchange rates at artificial levels with the same objective. This coupled with high interest rates causes a tight monetary policy, cut in governmental spending, once again a straight dive into further disaster. The IMF for example blamed the East Asian economies for lack of transparency for the sudden melt down. But the fact is that the crisis occurred at higher levels of transparency than a decade before, fuelled by the sudden exit of speculative hot money. The dangers of unbridled liberalization (and speculation) proved more lethal than the gains.

The world's most powerful nation and the self proclaimed champion of market economics ultimately protects its own interests when it comes to free trade. It protects itself through its tacit support to cartels ( as in the case of aluminum and steel) and imposition of "anti dumping duties". Trade is good for this country as long as it serves domestic industries.

The pain of unemployment, increase in poverty and suffering due to the misguided directives of institutions like the IMF has led many to believe that Globalization is bad and that these institutions need to be scrapped. The "shock therapy" of market forces hurts. On the other hand we have also seen the collapse of economies and total denial of personal freedom and economic choice under the totalitarian regimes of the Communists. The best choice for sustained economic growth, freedom and eradication of poverty seems to be a combination of market forces with a paternalistic governmental guidance. Let us exercise this choice and make the world a happier place for all.

An excellent book on economics and a must read for Finance Ministers of all developing countries.

Rakes the IMF over the coals
There are actually at least four books published in the last eight years with the title "Globalization and its Discontents," and for Joseph Stiglitz's book the title is probably a bit misleading. This is NOT a general indictment of globalization. When it comes to international economics, Stiglitz is the consummate insider: he was recently the chief economist for the World Bank, for crying out loud! You won't find him protesting on the streets at the latest WTO meeting.

This book contains something better: a tightly argued, detailed critique of the ideologically-driven free-market policies that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been pushing down the throats of developing nation after developing nation. Stiglitz makes the following major points:

* The IMF has a deep faith in the power of free markets to solve all economic woes, and sees the primary historical effect of market intervention as stifling, rather than enabling, the development of truly free markets;

* This position of the IMF is, however, poorly supported by the bulk of economic evidence from the last three or four decades of globalization, and more nuanced models of free-market development (some of which were developed by Stiglitz himself) show that an active government role is typically crucial in the development of healthy indigineous free markets;

* The conditions under which the IMF makes loans to developing countries generally harm, rather than aid, the short- and long-term economic health of these countries for the lower- and middle-class populations;

* IMF-imposed conditions generally ARE good news for foreign investors, whose risk the IMF loans are in effect underwriting;

* The economic ministries and cabinates of developed countries themselves, such as the U.S., generally adopt policies much more moderate such as those of the IMF, casting doubt on whether the IMF is really the source of much economic wisdom at all.

All these points in a dense yet well-written book that covers cases of African debt, Russia after the fall of communism, the East Asian crisis, and more. The book takes some intellectual energy to read but it's well worth it. I learned a great deal about the last ten years of international economic development, and I recommend Stiglitz's book highly.

A must read
I have read over 50 books on topics related to economics, and the socio-political aspects of globalization, free-markets, and their history. This topic has, for years, fueled passionate debate among Keynesians and liaise faire economists to name a few. And today, with globalization affecting everyone of every walk-of-life, this debate is making its way into the local coffee shops and hair salons.
Of the 50+ books mentioned, there is not one that I would direct the general population to. Yet it is ever more crucial for the masses to understand how globalization drives the politicians they vote for, who in turn enact the laws that determine how globalization will affect us all.
Dr. Stiglitz's book requires at least a basic education in economics to follow references to John Smith, Keynesian economics, Marginal Utility, and the interplay of state taxes and interest rates, for example.
For those with a basic knowledge of such things, this book is a must read -- for two important reasons:
1) It was written by Noble Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, former economic advisor to the Clinton Administration and Chief Economist at the World Bank. You can no longer argue the topic as a learned individual if you don't read this book (agree with it or not).
2) Whether you believe Dr. Stiglitz has a bone to pick with the IMF, it is difficult to ignore his passion for doing what he believes is right. The overriding theme is Dr. Stiglitz's insistence that organizations driving developing countries toward globalization, through market liberalization, do so with transparency -- allowing proper and constructive critique and debate to play a democratic role in ensuring that scarce resources and the impoverished of the world aren't taken advantage of.
And finally, after reading this book, you will learn how the IMF, World Bank, and others work to indoctrinate developing countries into the world economy. In Dr. Stiglitz's view, reforms are prematurely accelerated to ensure that financiers receive their expected return on investment -- often at the expense of a heavily indebted nation.
Whether you believe this or not, it is plausible, and demonstrable, through history, that the interests of the wealthy have great potential for abusing resources and the less fortunate. With the stage set in this manner, coupled with secretive closed-door meetings at the IMF, it is a conceivable scenario that the IMF has, at times, made matters worse in a weakened economic and heavily indebted country. In researching my master's thesis on globalization, I have corroborated stories and case histories that support Dr. Stiglitz.
Well, heck, you should see how the creditors came after little-ole me when i lost my house to a flood in the same year that I was laid off from my job due to recessionary conditions! Financiers are not in the mercy business.

Inside the World of International Finance
Of all people Joseph Stiglitz is eminently qualified to write this book. His experience and background make him a clear authority on the issues at hand, those of course being the extreme ineptitude of the World Bank and IMF in handling international development. A little research reveals that these two organizations have not always chosen the best path but Stiglitz shows these economic actions with the background information that highlights a frightening level of incompetence.

Interestingly, this book points out that these two world powers ultimately only represent the interests of the bankers that control them and have consistently failed to help the poor that they were created to serve. In many cases they have even made bad situations worse using extremely questionable economic prescriptions. Stiglitz gives well referenced examples of spectacular ineptitude that make me surprised these organizations can even exist.

However, as the book wears on it becomes clear that Joseph Stiglitz has had a distinguished career as an economist for a very good reason. He knows what's going on and skillfully gives readers access to the seemingly insane inner workings of the World Bank and IMF. The first three chapters are introductory and bring the reader up to speed. This is where the book doesn't do so well. These chapters are boring and essentially repeat the same thing over and over again for three chapters. While I can see the necessity I don't think they work for their intended purpose. I may not have finished the book if it wasn't the only material available at the time.

While it misses in the beginning this book really picks up towards the end, the chapters on Russia and the East Asia Crisis are particularly good. Most importantly Stiglitz offers rational, straightforward ways to solve the problems that he outlines here. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the way international finance works. You may want to skip the first two or three chapters though...

Good critique of globalization
This is a well-argued critique of liberal ideology at the IMF. Stiglitz documents and explains the flaws and the mistakes that happens when ideology replaces proper economic analysis. Stiglitz however at times assumes a self-righteous stance which might be a reflection of his anger at the IMF. Nonetheless, it was a good analysis of present economic situations. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Must ...
This book is a must for every sales,logitics and shipping managers who intend to work seriouly on a worldwide basis. Incoterms are the keys of international commerce and must be understood by all parties involved.

The Official Guide
This book may not be the most enjoyable you've ever read, but it is the offical guide put out by the ICC. It is broken down by Incoterm and into each category of obligation by the seller and buyer. This is the book that will be translated into multiple languages for everyone in the world to read. You really can't ask for more. However, if you are new to Incoterms, don't expect to understand it after going through it only once. It's still not an easy subject to grasp for new exporters/importers.

For American exporters/importers I would definately recommend reading a supplementary book put out specifically for Americans. Incoterms are partially written with European countries in mind, so there are important considerations for countries with borders and exports laws similar to the USA. The best supplimentary book I've seen so far is "Incoterms for Americans" by Frank Reynolds, the USA representative to the Incoterms 2000 revision meeting. The 2000 version may not be officially out yet. I got it at a seminar.

Pretty good summary for a book written by a committee.
The subject of Incoterms is almost arcane in American jargon. The previous version was less readable even though the format was similar. I suggest that everyone trash their 1990 version and take advantage of the changes in format so that you can explain the meaning and impact of the Incoterms 2000 to your organization. ... Read more

Book Description

As a discipline of academy inquiry, International Management applies management concepts and techniques to their contexts in firms working in multinational, multicultural environments. Hodgetts and Luthans: International Management was the first mainstream International Management text in the market.Its 5th edition continues to set the standard for International Management texts with its research-based content and its balance between culture, strategy, and behavior.International Management stresses the balanced approach and the synergy/connection between the text’s four parts: Environment (4 chapters): Culture (4 chapters), Strategy and Functions (4 chapters) and Organizational Behavior /Human Resource Management (5 chapters). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good cultural coverage
Good book on the culture, risks, strategic planning issues of being an international manager. Case studies in the end of the chapter give in-depth views of the successful real-life situations. This book was used for a College-level course for juniors and seniors. They seemed to enjoy reading it.

The fifth edition was published in 2003. But one of the authors, R. M. Hodgetts passed away in 2001. Therefore, the info contained in this book is not updated. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Book Description

The King reader is a collection of articles on international economics by leading economists drawn from various scholarly sources (e.g., Foreign Affairs, The Brookings Institution, Finance & Development, Federal Reserve Publications, the Journal of Economic Perspectives).Written by the top economists in the field, all the articles are written at a level appropriate for undergraduates or masters students.The Reader makes an inexpensive supplement when packaged with any McGraw-Hill/Irwin text, or at a reasonable price when sold by itself. ... Read more

Book Description

This volume is both a lively introduction and practical guide to the main concepts and problems of intercultural communication. Viewed from within the framework of interactive sociolinguistics associated with Tannen, Gumperz, and others, the authors focus in particular on the discourse of westerners and of Asians, the discourse of men and women, corporate discourse and the discourse of professional organizations, and intergenerational discourse.

In this newly revised edition, the first chapter now includes a section that sets out the authors' distinction between cross-cultural communication and intercultural communication. Another section outlines the methodology of ethnography that is the practical basis of the authors' research. In the new final chapter, the authors return to this methodology and show how they and others have been able to use it and this book to do new research in intercultural communication and how this work has been used in conducting training and consultation programs.

While making use of research in pragmatics, discourse analysis, organizational communication, social psychology, and the ethnography of communication, this book presents students, researchers, and practitioners with a comprehensive and unified framework for the analysis of intercultural discourse. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Big Picture Missed
Currently I am a student of Professor Jones, one of the text's authors. The text is as drawling and insufficient as Jones' lectures. My first complaint is that there is a crisis of definition. Having only taken one economics course prior, I find that the text tends to move too quickly through topics of international economics, failing to provide illustrative examples so one can better understand how theory is put into practice. Second, the conceptual framework, as in all classical economic theory, is rooted in a place far from reality, a point Jones fails to make clear. The world is not perfectly competitive and does not contain countries equipped with fully developed capitalist institutions (like banking and credit), necessary to make internal economic adjustments in the face of free trade prices. I find the utility of the course to be very low, especially when free-trade is non-existent in the world. Discussions on the state of the contemporary world are sorely needed, if at least to serve as as comparison to the theoretical one constructed by this text. My last complaint is Jones' characterization of "anti-globalizers," those who he claimed "rioted" and were "violent" on the streets of Seatle in 1999 during the meeting of the WTO. The irony is that many of those protesters were advocating for FREER trade, pointing out that US farm subsidies cripple the economies of some underdeveloped nations who primarily produce agricultural commodities. The text's mypopic view of economics will not help those interested in learning how the world economy actually operates.

Very clear instruction on international trade and finance
I found this book to be a very good learning tool, as the course reader for an introductory international economics course. I find that most textbooks are good as reference, not as learning tools, but this book is an exception. In a very concise manner, it builds theory upon theory of international trade, until the student has developed a strong set of analysis tools. The portion on international finance is good intro as well, even though it does not compare with more specialized texts. This text is sufficient to prepare the reader for any advanced trade issues, with the exception of more mathematically based arguments (which the book does not develop, given its focus on beginners).

Thought provoking, intelligent textbook
This textbook for International Economics is a rarity. It's intelligent, exceptionally well written by the experts in the field. It does include a thorough review of the state-of-the-art theory of international trade and finance. To facilitate learning and yet challenge the reader, the authors equipped each chapter with really tough exercises. Only having solved them one might have an impression that he grasped the metarial really well. Good exercises are an indispensable companion of a student. Here we have one of the best I have ever seen. And I have seen a lot. Superior to other textbooks and highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

MULTINATIONAL MANAGEMENT: A STRATEGIC APPROACH uses strategy as its unifying theme to explore the global economy and the impact of managerial decisions. By examining comparative management issues thoroughly, this text reveals the strengths and weaknesses of competitors and how to adapt organizational practices. Cullen/Parboteeah also covers the key topics of formation and implementation of strategies in the global environment, the building of strategic alliances, negotiation and cross-cultural communication, international human resource management, and business ethics. ... Read more

Book Description

"A superb volume on the new economics of geography by three pioneers in the field. This lucid, elegant book is a must for any graduate course in urban economics." -- Edward L. Glaeser, Professor of Economics, Harvard University

Since 1990 there has been a renaissance of theoretical and empirical work on the spatial aspects of the economy--that is, where economic activity occurs and why. Using new tools--in particular, modeling techniques developed to analyze industrial organization, international trade, and economic growth--this "new economic geography" has emerged as one of the most exciting areas of contemporary economics.

The authors show how seemingly disparate models reflect a few basic themes, and in so doing they develop a common "grammar" for discussing a variety of issues. They show how a common approach that emphasizes the three-way interaction among increasing returns, transportation costs, and the movement of productive factors can be applied to a wide range of issues in urban, regional, and international economics. This book is the first to provide a sound and unified explanation of the existence of large economic agglomerations at various spatial scales. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A pretty good textbook with material not found elsewhere
If you are considering buying this book, you will probably want to do so. If you are interested in applying regional analysis or the "new" spatial economics that they present, you will have a good starting point. The necessary background is probably be a year of Ph.D. level economic theory. Specific high points are the exposition of the Dixit-Stiglitz model of monopolistic competition and the evolution of urban systems. All new Ph.D. students will have a use for chapter 4, which is an easy-to-read discussion of monopolistic competition. Further, the book is rigorous enough to be used in academic work. I recommend it to anyone interested in regional or urban economics. It is useful to students and practicing economists alike. Its rigor makes it academic, but its ease of exposition makes it useful for those without extraordinary math backgrounds. Compared to similar books, you get a lot of value for the price. ... Read more

Book Description

As the phenomenon of globalization continues to spark dynamic and controversial debates, managerial agendas around the world are being shaped.Businesses are pressed to respond to the challenges of globalizing competitors.They must enhance profits and generate returns for investors and do so by entering global markets, competing against international rivals, and finding opportunities in a continuously transforming world.Companies are expected to achieve these goals in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Extraordinary opportunities exist for those who can effectively answer the need to globalize, yet it is a complex enterprise with many associated risks.Renowned experts for the INSEAD-Wharton Alliance, Hubert Gatignon and John Kimberly, have collaborated to edit a non-partisan and comprehensive book that looks beyond the broad issues and focuses on the managers' response to the opportunities and challenges of larger, global markets. Relevant and timely as the outspoken debates about globalization continue, the contributors to this volume discuss crucial implications for managers, policy makers and non-governmental organizations. ... Read more

Book Description

The World Café is a flexible, easy-to-use process for fostering collaborative dialogue, sharing collective knowledge, and discovering new opportunities for action. World Café originators Juanita Brown and David Isaacs outline seven core design principles and provide practical tips and tools for convening and hosting "conversations that matter," even with very large groups. Each chapter features actual stories of Café dialogues from business, education, government, and community organizations across the globe, demonstrating how the World Café approach can be adapted to many different settings and cultures.Based on living systems thinking, this is a proven approach for fostering authentic dialogue and creating dynamic networks of conversation around your organization or community’s real work and critical questions––improving both personal relationships and people’s capacity to shape the future together. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

HOW TO LEARN, INNOVATE, AND MOVE TOWARD ACTION!
This book can help people break out of the linear, encapsulated world of every-day life, in which most are ensnared and help organizations and networks achieve collective intelligence and formulate future-focused plans.

The book provides a means for engaging with many others in exploring important issues at a variety of levels: group, corporate, community, national, or international. It presents the World Cafe Process (Cafe or WCP), which generally consist of three rounds of progressive conversation, each lasting about 20 or 30 minutes, followed by a dialog among the whole group.

This is the story of the discovery and evolution of the WCP, enabling people to foster constructive dialogue, access collective intelligence, and create innovate possibilities for action.

The process has seven core design principles: set the context; create hospitable space; explore questions that matter; encourage everyone's contribution; cross-pollinate and connect diverse perspectives; listen together for patterns, insights, and deeper questions; and harvest and share collective discoveries. Each chapter begins with a quotation, an illustration, and a question; these give you an overview of the book's themes.

Speaking as a consultant (FutureOrganization.com) I believe that business leaders will find the Cafe a potentially powerful process to increase organizational effectiveness and achieve change. One president of a pharmaceutical company, Yvon Bastien, reports how he successfully used the process to develop the company's long-range business plan. But this story is only one a vast array of successful experiences reported by leaders in all types of organizations.

Chapter 10 provides a guide to successfully hosting a Cafe; it is specific, to-the-point, and very helpful. Closing chapters provide stories of how leaders are using the Cafe, and its societal implications. For further information, the book concludes with a section on resources and connections.

The Cafe concept is very appealling and, from reports, works. It opens the door to learning, creativity and action through a powerful process that deserves consideration by all leaders. As a leader and faciliator of change, this is book you will want to read. At the very least, Cafe, as a dynamic process, is extremely alluring.

A Mechanism for Unlimited Use
A MUST READ for small or large groups seeking meaningful, interesting conversation -- whether in a business, or social setting! The Cafe system is easily applied to any situation where human discourse is encouraged and appreciated.It seems to generate a depth of sincerity and honesty not found in ordinary conversation, often leading to social action of benefit to community.

A practical & inspirational guide to dialogues that matter
If you are interested in facilitating conversations that matter in different situations, this is the book for you. Here you read and learn about a method that has been used all around the world, getting people together to have a deep dialogue around questions that matter to them and help them shape their world.

The authors describe many different situations where the World Café method has been used to create impressive results. The book also presents the seven basic principals underlying all deep and meaningful conversations and how to apply them to make your conversation a success.

The book is built on ten years of experiments and research, and has been tested in all parts of the world. It has been used with group as small as 12 and as large as 1200 participants. Knowledge and understanding is created by having deep and meaningful conversations and listen to different perspectives. The World Café facilitates this to happen in a natural, inspirational and pleasant way. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in shaping or creating something new in their world.

Conversations for Strategic Renewal
Congratulations Juanita and David for this wonderful book.
We have been hosting Knowledge Cafes in strategic processes in organizations since 1997, when David Isaacs and David Marsing hosted the first Knowledge Cafe in Israel.
It is a wonderful way to get many people involved in creating the future of organizations.
We have hosted Knowledge Cafes in Europe too, in conferences and in EU funded projects meeting. It is a great way to network, to explore opportunities, to collaborate, to build teams.
I highly recommend it for you - it will help you create your future too ! With best wishes,
Edna Pasher

A wonderful guide to enable menaingful conversations
This book is both a wealth of knowledge and a practical guide to start convening, facilitating and conducting conversations around questions that matter. Without a doubt this book written by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs is an extraordinary catalyst to generate significant conversations throughout the planet and specially in those places where there is a great need for humans to regain trust in each other and engage in a dialogue where all those who are involved look together in the same direction to explore common ways to face our most important challenges of today and to create together a better future.

I have used extensively and always with great success The World Café over the last 10 years as a basic approach to unleash the human potential of groups as small as 12 and as large as 900 people, in Mexico, the U.S., Spain, Belgium, India and Brazil and in such diverse activities as business, government, House of Representatives, Universities, Schools, NGO's, rural and indigenous communities and among friends and my own family.

It is difficult to believe what a group of individuals can discover, imagine and create in a small period of time given an appropriate space and the valuable process of the world café.

I encourage you to read it, benefit from it and help other benefit as well. It is a jewel! ... Read more

Book Description

Appleyard-Field’s International Economics 4e text is a mid-level International Economics textbook that offers a consistent level of analysis and treatment of the two main subdivisions of international economics—international trade theory and policy and international monetary theory and policy. Comprehensive and clear, the text helps students move beyond recognition toward and understanding of current and future international events. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

best introduction to international economics
I have taken a few international economics courses and of all the textbooks this was by far the easiest to read and understand. The authors do an excellent job of making the models clear by giving detailed examples. This is one book I am definitely not selling back to the bookstore at school.

A great resource
This text book is a wonderful resource for all wanting to learn more about economics in the international arena. It is packed full of facts, graphs, and explanations. One problem I did find in this book is that it tried cover too broad a field. If it would have concentrated on one specific topic like the international economics, and left out the finance, it could be a much stronger work. I grew tired of hearing "as you already know..." It could have not made so many assumtions about what students already knew and used the extra area to cover them. All in all, it was a helpful resource for extra learning, however, I would suggest looking further for a book that will stand alone in teaching an international economics course. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Management cliches extravaganza
Well having this book as course material in International Marketing, we have concluded that this book actually drained knowledge from us. The management cliche extravaganza in this book is abundant. Howabout: A successful global marketing program is preferrable to an unsuccessful one. Wow, this taught us lots. Ok, so the introduction states that the book is meant for CEO's, we guess their knowledge is far superior to us mere mortals, so this book makes sense to them.
Do not bother reading beyond chapter one, what is presented in this chapter is repeated throughout the book. In order to support what is presented, the book grabs examples from the air in order to fit the theory.
In conclusion, we recommend not to buy this book. If you want a couple of hundred pages saying basically nothing in management language, this is the book for you. ... Read more

Book Description

The landmark study of cultural differences across 70 nations, Cultures and Organizations helps readers look at how they think—and how they fail to think—as members of groups. Based on decades of painstaking field research, this new edition features the latest scientific results published in Geert Hofstede’s scholarly work Culture’s Consequences, Second Edition. Original in thought and profoundly important, Cultures and Organizations offers vital knowledge and insight on issues that will shape the future of cultures and nations in a globalized world.

Reviews (8)

Cultural conundrums
Culture matters - that is surely the case, but the issue is whether it matters in the specific ways posited by this book, and it is not at all clear that it does. Setting aside the problematic nature of the notion of "national" culture in multiethnic societies (plus issues of class, generation etc.), Hofstede argues on the basis of surveys given to IBM employees circa. 1970 that national cultures can be understood along four (or possibly five) dimensions. He has a tendency to invoke anecdotes as ex post rationalizations of whatever statistical result he obtains. Although Hofstede must be given his due as a pioneer in this field, subsequent research attempting to validate this analysis has yielded mixed results, and by and large Hofstede's IBM data has been superseded by the more extensive World Values Survey data. Readers with a more scientific bent who want to examine in detail the evidence that underlies (or does not underlie) the arguments that Hofstede makes are directed to the companion volume, "Culture's Consequences." Nevertheless, it is a fast and easy read, presumably one of its attractions in management courses.

Great: The jargon only prevents perfection
Together with Nancy Adler's 'International dimensions' is one of the best sources of cross-cultural social and business behaviour.In some points, the jargon is excessive though. Highly recommendable for cross-cultural analysts.

Wow!!!!Headache....
This book is excellent on showing how countries and states where influenced by each other. The only problem I had with it was it was a college level book and I am still in high-school. So i did have to go back and reread paragraphs every so often. But this book asks many important questions and gives great insight on how and why the different world cultures spread.

The most insightful studies of cultural differences ever
I found this book to be of tremendous value. I have had some experience with different cultures -- Italian, French and East African. This book helped me understand all of them better, and gave me a much deeper understanding of the problems I had encountered.

Each of the cultural difference dimensions is based on real research -- not just a theoretical idea. Each of them is introduced with a telling anecdote, that is almost as powerful as the statistical study.

I found lots of new information here, lots of new understanding. Most amazing to me is the fact that relatively close cultures have profound differences -- such as France and Sweden. Also amazing is the fact that these differences are of extreme duration -- reaching back thousands of years.

The author recognizes the problems that these differences bring to business and politics in an international setting. There do not appear to be any easy answers.

I highly recommend this book!

develops individual skills for a multi-cultural environment
An important book for developing the skills needed for an individual for working in a multi-cultural environment. Through the course of reading the book i realized a few things (in fact a lot of things) that will help me work better in a global organization. It is also useful as a tool if one plans to work with people from different cultures. In all, this book gives you revelent information in uderstanding this topic! ... Read more

Book Description

The book features an introduction to the structure and mechanics of repo, institutional practices and real-world examples. In addition the content includes necessary supplementary material such as bank asset and liability management, trading techniques, and a range of other applications of value in the global money markets.

Repo markets play a pivotal role in the world's economy. The Repo Handbook is the definitive, comprehensive guide to this most important element of the global debt capital markets. It describes the use, motivations and mechanics of the repo instrument, and features invaluable coverage of specific country markets and institutions. The reader is taken through classic repo, sell/buy backs and structured repo, as well as additional products such as the total return swap and securities lending. As important is the treatment of related areas, such as money markets, banking asset & liability management and the implied repo rate, vital to a full understanding of repo.

This book is the ultimate guide for bankers, repo traders and salespersons, money market participants, corporate treasurers, debt finance professionals and is organized into three parts:

Part I covers the repo instrument, and examines repo mechanics and use of repo. There is also a look at selected country repo markets around the world.

Part II of the book considers the institutional treatment of repo, with chapters on risk, netting, accounting, and legal issues. There is also a chapter on equity repo.

Part III looks at basis trading and the implied repo rate. This includes results of original research on the gilt bond basis, presented in accessible style.

* A complete guide to repo, including introductions to money markets and bonds
* Contains the author's personal anecdotes from trading
* Covers every aspect of repo for all participants including legal, tax, accounting and back office ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Very comprehensive coverage of Repo and money markets
This is a very good book on repo, money markets, and bank ALM. It is written in very accessible style and has very clear examples, descriptions, worked examples, and screen pictures. The author has also demonstrated how repo fits in with the other money markets. Highly recommended, a good guide to repo and stock lending.

Identity Crisis
It is interesting that most, if not all, of the 5-star reviews below appear to be written by the author's? aliases. For instance, the Oct. 7, Oct, 20, both Oct 22 reviews, and the Nov. 4 review all currently originate from X Moore from "John Rasheed", although in the past they've all shown London or Cape Town origin as "John Rasheed" sought to cover his tracks.

"Mr. Gagan Singh" writes several negative reviews of other books, but positive reviews of Mr. Choudhry's books. "Mr. Gagan Singh" wrote negative reviews of Ms. Stigum's "The Money Market" and alternately hails from NY, the USA, Capetown or from wherever next this chameleon chooses to hail as the reviews change.

"Matthew Bartlett" is another alias used on two book reviews of Fabozzi's "Collateralized Debt Obligations" book. One of the "Matthew Bartlett" reviews is signed "Moorad Choudhry" and praises the book with 5-stars, but the other review is unsigned and gives the book a one-star review. This is a serious identity crisis.

Great book - don't believe the negative hype
If you want to buy the best guide to repo and money markets, buy this book - forget what any US-based reviewers are saying casting ridiculous accusations about the author. The book is great - end of story. Buy it!

The ultimate guide to repo
comprehensive and well worth buying. covers all you need to know on repo and well illustrated with worked examples.

Surplus funds awaiting collection
My name is Adebayo Alotunde, I am second cousin of President of Nigeria. Please can everyone send me 10 copies of this book and I will send payment by return. ... Read more

Book Description

Click 'Additional Materials' for downloadable sample chapter

Understanding Global Cultures, Third Edition presents the cultural metaphor as a method for understanding the cultural mindsets of a nation, a cluster of nations, and even of a continent. This method involves identifying some phenomenon, activity or institution of a culture that all or most of its members consider important and with which they identify closely. Metaphors are not stereotypes; rather, they rely upon the features of one critical phenomenon of a culture to describe the entire culture. The characteristics of the metaphor then become the basis for describing and understanding the essential features of the culture. For example, the Italians invented the opera and love it passionately. Five key characteristics of the opera are the overture, spectacle and pageantry, voice, externalization, and the interaction between the lead singers and the chorus. These features are used to describe Italy and its cultural mindset. Thus the metaphor is a guide or map that helps such outsiders as students, travelers, and managers on short-term and long-term assignments understand quickly what members of a culture consider important.

New cultural metaphors for nations added to this edition:

- The Canadian Backpack and Flag

- The Danish Christmas Lunch

- French Wine

- China’s Great Wall and Cross-cultural Paradox

- The Singapore Hawker Centers

- Australian Outdoor Recreational Activities

- The Sub Saharan Bush Taxi

A unique feature of the third edition is that it develops a cultural metaphor for the base culture of China (the Great Wall), showing how it influenced both a unifying cultural metaphor among the large Chinese Expatriate communities living in various nations (the Chinese family altar) and the cultural metaphor for Singapore (the Hawker Centers). Another unique feature is the description of cultural metaphors for two continents, Africa and Australia. The Third Edition also groups these cultural metaphors by book parts into overriding themes or general types of cultures such as Authority Ranking, Equality matching, Market Pricing, Cleft, and Torn.

There is now a Web site that the instructor can use to obtain over 100 concepts, applications, and exercises that serve to enrich the learning experience associated with the third edition. It is tailored specifically to the Third Edition. Go to: ww.csusm.edu/mgannon

Book Description

Since 1990, the United Nations Development Program has been providing annual "Human Development Reports" that set out the basic social and economic indicators for the nations of the world.The "Arab Human Development Report," which is focused exclusively on the twenty-two Arab states, provides a comprehensive and comparative examination of the region.Filled with charts, tables, and sidebars, the book provides analysis of the current situation, compares Arab performance with other world areas, and provides an agenda for action.Past AHDRs have focused on the deficits of freedom, knowledge, and women’s empowerment that exist in the region; the 2004 edition focuseson freedom and good governance.

The Arab world finds itself at a historical crossroads. Caught between oppression at home and violation from abroad, Arabs are increasingly excluded from determining their own future. Freedom in its comprehensive sense, incorporates not only civil and political freedoms (in other words, liberation from oppression), but also the liberation from all factors that are inconsistent with human dignity. To be sustained and guaranteed, freedom requires a system of good governance that rests upon effective popular representation and is accountable to the people, and that upholds the rule of law and ensures that an independent judiciary applies the law impartially.

The report describes free societies, in their normative dimension, as fundamental contrasts with present-day Arab countries. The enormous gap that separates today’s reality and what many in the region hope for, is a source of widespread frustration and despair among Arabs about their countries’ prospects for a peaceful transition to societies enjoying freedom and good governance. Moreover, persisting tendencies in Arab social structures could well lead to spiralling social, economic, and political crises. Each further stage of crisis would impose itself as a new reality, producing injustices eventually beyond control.

The Arab world is at a decisive point that does not admit compromise or complacency. If the Arab people are to have true societies of freedom and good governance, they will need to be socially innovative. Their challenge is to create a viable mode of transition from a situation where liberty is curtailed and oppression the rule, to one of freedom and good governance that minimises social upheaval and human costs, to the fullest extent possible. History will judge this a transcendent achievement through which the region finally attained its well-deserved freedom. ... Read more

Book Description

Now beyond its 11th printing and translated into twelve languages, Michael Porter's The Competitive Advantage of Nations has changed completely our conception of how prosperity is created and sustained in the modern global economy. Porter's groundbreaking study of international competitiveness has shaped national policy in countries around the world. It has also transformed thinking and action in states, cities, companies, and even entire regions such as Central America.

Based on research in ten leading trading nations, The Competitive Advantage of Nations offers the first theory of competitiveness based on the causes of the productivity with which companies compete. Porter shows how traditional comparative advantages such as natural resources and pools of labor have been superseded as sources of prosperity, and how broad macroeconomic accounts of competitiveness are insufficient. The book introduces Porter's "diamond," a whole new way to understand the competitive position of a nation (or other locations) in global competition that is now an integral part of international business thinking. Porter's concept of "clusters," or groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in particular locations, has become a new way for companies and governments to think about economies, assess the competitive advantage of locations, and set public policy.

Even before publication of the book, Porter's theory had guided national reassessments in New Zealand and elsewhere. His ideas and personal involvement have shaped strategy in countries as diverse as the Netherlands, Portugal, Taiwan, Costa Rica, and India, and regions such as Massachusetts, California, and the Basque country. Hundreds of cluster initiatives have flourished throughout the world. In an era of intensifying global competition, this pathbreaking book on the new wealth of nations has become the standard by which all future work must be measured. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Why Certain Countries Make What They Make
Michael Porter with "The Competitive Advantage of Nations" deserves to be considered with the likes of Adam Smith and Milton Friedman in the pantheon of economists. Porter has presented with this book exactly how states like the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan have risen to the top of the heap in certain industries and remain constrained in others.

In a word, what each country that has achieved a competitive advantage in a particular industry has going for it is competition. Domestic competition is what pushed these countries to the forefront in their respective industries. What's more is that Porter makes a convincing case that the current national champion model of economic growth is doomed to failure precisely because it wipes out domestic competition. The countries that most often practice the national champion model of economic growth are the ones that have remained the most backward or have stopped growing. Porter does give one example of where this is not the case, tires. Tires are an exception where national champions work well because no country in the world has much of a domestically competitive tire market that would give them an advantage.

Furthermore, Porter describes the life-cycle of national industries. They go from nascent competition to increased competition for an expanding market to increased innovation to stagnation to consolidation, and then decline. He goes into detail with several industries in several countries. My favorite analysis that Porter undertakes is of the ceramic tile industry. Two countries have become the primary manufacturers and designers of ceramic tiles: Italy and Spain. These two countries have national cultures and economic advantages that play right into ceramic tiles. Porter expertly explains why Spain and Italy have come to dominate this industry when they have been so inept in other industries.

Porter has written the definitive book on national competitive advantage. "The Competitive Advantage of Nations" should be required reading for all government personnel around the world.

Virtuosic analysis of national productivity and technology
Forty to fifty years ago economists and political theorists did much armwaving about what makes nations competitive. In the past 20 years tools like analysis of patents, R&D expenditures, the numbers of scientifically educated people, have provided more quantitative insight. To these tools Porter adds realistic analyses of top industries in various countries - from shoes and couture in Italy, to Silicon Valley in the U.S. He points out that the fastest growth comes when favorable factors are concentrated in centers where diverse groups - industrial, academic, sometimes government or traditional industries come together and have intense interactions. This book glitters with insights and ideas. The author is among the leading US analysists of economic performance, heading a study discipline at Harvard and working with the National Bureau of Economic Research

Reasons for success and failures of nations
Michael E. Porter is a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a leading authority on competition and strategic management. Porter is the author of the legendary business and management books 'Competitive Strategy' (1980), and 'Competitive Advantage' (1985). I cannot start this review without a word of warning: This book is consists of 850 pages and is thus not a quick weekend-read.

In this book, the author aims to answer the question, "Why do some social groups, economic institutions, and nations advance and prosper? ... I titled the book 'The Competitive Advantage of Nations' to highlight the crucial distinction between my broader concept of competitive advantage as a source of wealth and the nation of comparative advantage which had long dominated thinking about international competition." In order to answer this question, Porter uses his traditional extensive research methods and tools to prove his point.

The book is split up in four parts: (i) foundations; (2) industries; (3) nations; and (4) implications. In Chapter 1 - The Need for a New Paradigm, the author discusses the reasons for his research: "The central question to be answered is why do firms based in particular nations achieve international success in distinct segments and industries? The search is for the decisive characteristics of a nation that allow its firms to create and sustain competitive advantage in particular fields, that is, the competitive advantage of nations."

In Part I - Foundations, the author presents the theoretical frameworks which form the basis for the rest of the book. In Chapters 2, 3 and 4 Porter revisits most of his previous work, such as the five competitive forces, generic strategies, the value chain, and the advantages "diamond". Porter makes an important notion before turning the second part of the book: "The theory can and must be applied at two levels, the industry and the nation."

In Part II - Industries, the frameworks of Part I are applied to explain the histories of four industries (German printing press, American patient monitoring equipment, Italian ceramic tiles, and Japanese robotics). In addition, Porter applies the frameworks to the service sector. This is a sector which Porter has discussed very little in his previous books. "... an increasingly important class of industries where international competition has not been widely studied."

In Part III - Nations, the frameworks of Part I are applied to ten nations. Porter splits these ten nations up in early post-war winners, emerging nations in the 1970s and 1980s, and the traditional business countries (Britain and USA). Thank God, the author discusses both successes and failures within the different countries, plus identifying the reasons behind them. He also advises which steps can be taken to improve national advantage.

In Part IV - Implications, Porter discusses the impact of the frameworks of Part I on company's strategies and government policies. In the final chapter Porter tries to answer the question, "What of the future?" According to Porter "the central economic concern of every nation should be the capacity of its economy to upgrade so that firms achieve more sophisticated competitive advantages and higher productivity. Only in this way can there be a rising standard of living and economic prosperity."

This book is an impressive piece of research and Porter gets assistance from over 30 research assistants from all around the world. The book is not a simple read due to the amount of information provided and the length of the book. For readers who have read Porter's previous masterpieces I would like to stress that this book is considerably different than his previous masterpieces. It focuses less on industries and companies themselves, but more on national, international, and governmental issues. This book shows the author's education and training (Harvard PhD in economics). Still, the book is an impressive piece of work, although not for the fainthearted.

Act Three of Three in a Symphony
A model for localize advantage not exclusively predicated on geography, geography, geography (location, location, location). A guide for what a government can effectively do to attract, grow, and sustain world class competitive industries. Should be read by every sub-saharan nation that has t