Business

The synergist : how to lead your team to predictable success

2012-01-27T08:22:00.000-08:00

by Les McKeown. We've all worked on teams with smart, hard-working people who, oddly enough, were never able to coalesce and work together seamlessly. Consultant McKeown thinks he has the answer: the addition of the "Synergist," the key role that exists in every successful group to tie the three other natural roles to which all of us default when we are in a group or team situation (visionary, processor, and operator). The Visionary-Operator-Processor triangle is unstable and requires a Synergist to help the group by transcending personal agendas and releasing the group's cohesion and flow. Using case studies, McKeown discusses each role's strengths and weaknesses, and provides tools for working with or for each personality type, explaining how a Synergist may help. His analysis of the choreography of group dynamics is insightful and easy to grasp, and though geared toward business teams, is equally applicable to any group of people working together to achieve any common goal. A thoughtful and incisive strategy for effective teamwork. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

The behavior gap : simple ways to stop doing dumb things with money

2012-01-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

by Carl Richards. In this accessible book, financial planner and Morningstar Advisor columnist Richards sits down to talk about money and the crazy choices we make. Through personal stories and simple ideas enlivened with a touch of imagery (often literally sketched on the back of a napkin), Richards explains why we keep making bad choices and shows us that we're often making decisions with our emotions rather than our intellect. However, Richards isn't saying that investors try to eradicate their emotions; rather, they should aim for an investment strategy that balances managing fear and greed in a way that "truly reflects your own emotional strengths and weaknesses." Once readers recognize what influences their decisions, they'll be much better able to act rationally. Richards then covers a vast array of topics, from investor emotions to information overload. He offers suggestions for combatting decisions that might be overly influenced by emotions, such as in periods of market turmoil, by taking "the overnight test," trying a media fast, or simply finding your focus. Whether relating a Zen story or talking about the Economist smirk, Richards succeeds in showing us how what we often think is right regarding investments rarely is. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

7 money rules for life : how to take control of your financial future

2012-01-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

by Mary Hunt. Americans young and old are flunking their finances. A shocking 77 percent live paycheck to paycheck with no savings. And 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, while 49 percent could cover less than one month's expenses if they lost their income. In the face of this bleak financial picture, bestselling author and finance expert Mary Hunt offers 7 Money Rules for Life Â®. This no-nonsense and encouraging book gives readers the keys to get their money under control and get prepared financially for the rest of their lives. In her warm and engaging style, Hunt takes everything that she's learned over the past twenty years and boils it all down. Presented in a conversational style and readable in a weekend, this book offers applications for each of the seven rules as well as practical advice for how to recover from past financial mistakes. These simple, unchanging, basic rules work in every financial situation, for every income level, and for every stage of life. Money mastery isn't really that hard. 7 Money Rules for Life Â® can help readers change their futures from uncertain to rock-solid with principles they can apply right away. --Summary (Check catalog)

Crossing the chasm : marketing and selling disruptive products to mainstream customers

2012-01-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

by Geoffrey A. Moore. Moore provides an invaluable service to high-tech entrepreneurs and investors: he has identified the weak link in the marketing chain which makes the success of such ventures so unpredictable, and he outlines proven, specific techniques to address this challenge. At a time when the high-tech community in the U.S. cedes much of its once-held manufacturing advantage to the Far East and elsewhere, it is critical that these U.S. enterprises must retain superior marketing as a competitive advantage. Crossing the Chasm provides critical information for achieving this end. --Scientific American for first edition (Check Catalog)

Users, not customers : who really determines the success of your business

2011-12-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

by Aaron Shapiro. CEO of the digital marketing agency Huge, Shapiro argues that companies need to stop focusing on scrounging for the customer dollar in favor of improving a "user experience" that will keep prospective consumers engaged. In one generation, we've seen a dramatic shift in how we buy things; we are, in short (the eponymous), users not customers. Our engagement with brands goes far beyond merely purchasing a product or service; we're more motivated by the ease and experience of our engagement with the brand, and the quality of a company's digital presence. Shapiro discusses companies that have gotten it right (Hulu, Zipcar, Groupon) and those who have failed (JetBlue, Borders), walking readers through becoming a truly user-first company: structuring the business, balancing goals with technical feasibility and consumer needs, creating social value, and attracting users by giving, not taking. Shapiro's ideas are smart and perceptive, and his approach to strategy pleasingly concrete; he urges business owners to create a digital experience that's in service of customers, not trying to trick them. A much-needed, incisive guide to creating a genuinely appealing digital presence. Publishers Weekly (Check catalog)

Start something that matters

2011-12-23T10:43:00.000-08:00

by Blake Mycoskie. Best known as the founder of TOMS Shoes and as a contestant on The Amazing Race, Mycoskie uses his experience with TOMS, as well as interviews with leaders of non-profits and corporations, to convey valuable lessons about entrepreneurship, transparency of leadership, and living by one's values. The brilliant, simple mission of TOMS (for every pair of shoes purchased, they will give another pair away to children in need around the world) has inadvertently turned its customers into brand ambassadors, making this for-profit company with defined charitable goals wildly successful. Mycoskie deftly balances personal tales about starting a business with generally applicable lessons. While his story sometimes becomes repetitive and he treads familiar ground with start-up tales (motivate your overworked interns by feeding them, never be afraid to get your hands dirty), he offers excellent advice about the importance of honesty and principles in business. This book will appeal to the Millennial generation, who are known for seeking socially relevant jobs, as well as older workers looking to get back in touch with their values. --Publishers Weekly. (Check Catalog)

Keynes Hayek : the clash that defined modern economics

2011-12-16T07:20:00.000-08:00

by Nicholas Wapshott. British journalist Wapshott likes dual biographies. But the politicians at the heart of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage (2007) were on the same side. Here, Wapshott chronicles profound disagreements between John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), the British Bloomsbury Group veteran who urged governments to spend to bolster demand in economic downturns, and Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992), the Austrian School (and, for a time, University of Chicago) economist who came over time to view most government intervention in the market as a step toward totalitarianism. Keynes' approach macroeconomic in analysis, pragmatic and experimental in prescriptions is precisely what many Democrats (and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman) wish the U.S. was doing now to reduce unemployment. Meanwhile, Hayek's The Road to Serfdom (1944) rides high on Glenn Beck's recommended reading list, and his microeconomic, theoretically based prescriptions often match those of the Tea Party. A journalist's biography (Wapshott's first footnote concedes that his opening anecdote may never actually have happened), but perhaps more accessible than the several respected academic biographies of these two iconic twentieth-century economists. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Quitter : closing the gap between your day job & your dream job

2011-12-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

by Jon Acuff. Have you ever felt caught between the tension of a day job and a dream job? That gap between what you have to do and what you'd love to do? From figuring out what your dream is to quitting in a way that exponentially increases your chance of success, Quitter is full of inspiring stories and actionable advice. This book is based on 12 years of cubicle living and my true story of cultivating a dream job that changed my life and the world in the process. --Publisher (Check Catalog)

Currency wars : the making of the next global crisis

2011-12-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

by James Rickards. Rickards, experienced financial adviser, investment banker, and risk manager, tells us we are in a new currency war that could destroy faith in the U.S. dollar; he examines that war through the lens of economic policy, national security, and historical precedent. As a national security issue, he tells a fascinating story of his involvement with the Pentagon and other agencies in designing and participating in a war game using currencies and capital markets, instead of ships and planes, to gain early warning of attacks on the U.S. dollar. The author concludes that mainstream economists and central bankers alike are well aware of dollar weakness and the risks to international monetary stability from the new currency wars. He sees four prospects for the dollar multiple reserve currencies, special drawing rights, gold, and chaos. Rickards' ideas are controversial and will attract support and criticism across many disciplines. Nevertheless, he presents a compelling case for his views and offers thought-provoking information for library patrons. This is a must-read book. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Back to work : why we need smart government for a strong economy

2011-11-28T07:52:00.000-08:00

by Bill Clinton. America's 42nd president takes aim at GOP dogma in this feisty manifesto. Clinton's book often reads like a well-honed stump speech, with semi-pithy slogans ("put America back in the future business"), partisan one-liners (the main accomplishment of Republican administrations "was not to reduce the size of the federal government, but to stop paying for it"), and a rehash of his own administration's success in cutting deficits and spurring growth in the 1990s. But Clinton also mounts a cogent, well-informed attack on the GOP's "anti-government ideology." Deploying statistics, charts, and international comparisons, he contends that the Republican mania for cutting taxes, abolishing regulation, and hobbling the state has led to slower growth, soaring deficits, drastic inequality, and lower quality of life for Americans, and argues that raising taxes to fund investments in technology, education, health care, and infrastructure is just plain good government. His specific policy agenda is a list of small-bore initiatives of varying quality directed at everything from the mortgage crisis to Social Security reform; its centerpiece is a disappointingly brief, and at times unclear discussion on renewable energy subsidies that includes a dismissal of nuclear power. Still, hit-and-miss details aside, Clinton delivers a smart, forthright, appealingly folksy defense of activist government. --Publishers Weekly (Check catalog)

The ETF strategist : balancing risk and reward for superior returns

2011-11-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

by Russ Koesterich. A sophisticated guide to today’s hottest investment vehicle— exchange traded funds The ETF Strategist is aimed primarily at investment advisers and sophisticated retail investors who are interested in using exchange traded funds, or using them more effectively than they already do. Compared with mutual funds, ETFs can offer a better way to diversify risk, target specific sectors or countries, avoid style drift, and maintain a specific asset allocation that might include real estate or commodities. Previous ETF books have focused on their mechanics, regulation, and other basic information. But The ETF Strategist goes much further, showing how ETFs can improve many aspects of an overall investment strategy. It explores advanced concepts such as alphabeta separation, which basically means “don’t confuse skill with risk.” And it shows how different ETFs can be combined to find the ideal balance of risk and potential reward. --Summary (Check Catalog)

The 5 languages of appreciation in the workplace

2011-11-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

by Gary D. Chapman and Paul White

Chapman's bestselling The Five Love Languages meets psychologist White's work with businesses, and a new "Languages" application is born. According to the authors, the main reason for job satisfaction or dissatisfaction is "whether or not the individual feels appreciated and valued for the work they do." The book presents the five languages of appreciation-Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Tangible Gifts, Physical Touch-and how they are applied in the workplace. Chapman and White call it the "Motivating by Appreciation" model, explained in the book and offered online at appreciationatwork.com. The authors provide much useful information for owners, managers, and workers in industries ranging from nonprofits to schools, medical offices to manufacturers. They pay special attention to volunteers. This is a well-researched, useful book for business leaders that offers a much needed message that won't wear out with repetition: "If people enjoy their work and feel appreciated... they are far more likely to have organizational loyalty and work hard." The book comes from a Christian publisher, but has wide application. --Publisher's Weekly

The network is your customer

2011-11-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

by David L. Rogers. This practical handbook contains more than a hundred cases and examples of innovative approaches that businesses can use to enhance their digital customer networks. Rogers (Center on Global Brand, Columbia Univ.) clearly explains customer networks and the different levels of sophistication among them. Core customer network behaviors include the ability to connect to networks, to find valuable content in them, to match network experiences to customer needs, to communicate with others in networks, and to act together purposefully. Rogers emphasizes emerging trends: for example, future networks will make us "more human." Moving from professional experts to the collective knowledge of networks, as in the Wikipedia model (see Macrowikinomics by Dan Tapscott and Anthony Williams, CH, Jan'11, 48-2788), is another trend this reviewer found interesting to mull over. The book's core notion seems to be that organizations should become veritable Tom Sawyers, with their customer networks whitewashing their fences. Rogers provides many examples of such actively contributing networks. The "increasingly social internet" with its "reciprocal, dynamic and participatory" relationships is the basis for such customer network strategies. See related, Larry Weber's Marketing to the Social Web (CH, Nov'07, 45-1559), which has a broader sweep than customer networks. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Uncertainty : turning fear and doubt into fuel for brilliance

2011-11-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

by Jonathan Fields. Human beings are temperamentally, viscerally opposed to uncertainty, especially in our careers, but lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Fields works to persuade his readers that uncertainty can be freeing and energizing-and isn't just for startups-while workers of all levels can transform that space of limbo into a site for thinking creatively. He presents a practical set of tools for overcoming fear of the unknown and rituals that help "reframe uncertainty, risk, and exposure as allies for creating and innovating on a level you never thought possible." Interestingly, he finds the biggest leaps can be taken most successfully in the company of others, both by joining efforts with a hive of similar-minded people, and by inviting your colleagues and even customers into a process of co-creation. Though uncertainty is difficult, Fields encourages readers, in the words of one devotee, to "jump out of a perfectly good airplane" and take the chance that will lead to greatness. A sympathetic and practical primer on fear management and risk taking. --Publishers Weekly (Check catalog)

The AMA handbook of business documents : guidelines and sample documents that make business writing easy

2011-10-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

by Kevin Wilson and Jennifer Wauson. Your company "s identity, products, services, and strengths are all represented by its written communications. From business plans and sales presentations to newsletters and e-mail marketing, the way the company comes across on a page or screen can make the difference between big success and big trouble. The AMA Handbook of Business Documents takes the guesswork out of preparing firstclass written pieces of every type. Packed with dozens of sample documents and practical tips, this handy guide is everything you need to create: Proposals Memos E-mails Press releases Collection letters Speeches Technical, research and lab reports Sales letters Policies and procedures Warning letters Announcements Suited equally to executives, entrepreneurs, managers, and administrative staff anyone charged with putting a business "s intentions into words The AMA Handbook of Business Documents is a versatile, powerful, and indispensable toolbox. --Publisher (Check Catalog)

Escape velocity : free your company's future from the pull of the past

2011-10-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

by Geoffrey A. Moore. Moore, consultant, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist, offers advice on how a company's management should continue to maximize results from past successes while setting sights on new growth and opportunities. Globalization is the significant reality that has changed the corporate landscape for everyone. Using case studies, charts, and diagrams, the author devotes a chapter to each element of his Hierarchy of Powers, which evaluates all economic competition in relation to five types of economic power: category power (demand for a given class of products/services), company power (typically exhibited in market share), market power (reputation within a market segment and its share of that segment), offer power (demand for a given product/service vis-a-vis competitors), and execution power (ability to outperform competitors). Moore concludes, the advantage goes to whomever can call the tune first, identify the relevant changes under way, find the pivotal role to play, and communicate the vision in actionable frameworks. This is a thought-provoking book for business leaders and those seeking leadership roles. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

The big enough company : creating a business that works for you

2011-10-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

by Adelaide Lancaster. Lancaster and Abrams, the founders of In Good Company, a New York City community workspace for female entrepreneurs, draw on the acumen of 100 businesswomen for tips on building a strong, sustaining company tailored to your needs and capabilities. Entrepreneurs, they argue, frequently start their own businesses because they think leaving the corporate world will give them freedom and the power to be their own bosses-but as time goes by, the pressure to expand can leave them feeling that the businesses are owning them rather than the other way around. How do you sustain a company that is just big enough to deliver what you need and achieve what you want? The authors use case studies from their interviews to illustrate the need to undertake smart growth that is strategic, creative, and goal-driven, to clarify your goals and your purpose, to build and manage an effective team, and to keep focused and keep goals reasonable. Their approach is inspirational and strategic, rather than immediately actionable; it's smart, helpful reading that stops just short of providing a toolkit for putting real change into effect. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

The great crash ahead : strategies for a world turned upside down

2011-10-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

by Harry S. Dent. With little attempt to soften the blow, Dent (The Great Depression Ahead) and Johnson use demographics to predict that the Dow Jones Industrial Average will drop to approximately 3,000 between late 2012 and late 2014, while house prices will fall between 55% and 65% before the crisis ends. At the end of their spending lifecycle, aging Baby Boomers are avoiding conspicuous consumption and heavy credit card debt, and saving for retirement, rather than investing in college educations, or making large real estate purchases. By the time readers absorb the theory of seasons of inflation over an 80-year cycle, problems with the Fed, and unfunded liabilities in all strata of government, they may feel that the best place for their money is in a sock under the mattress. However, Dent and Johnson offer suggestions for surviving the next decade, as well as a few simple (perhaps obvious) ideas to solve national problems, including Social Security and the mortgage crisis. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

Grand pursuit : the story of economic genius

2011-09-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

by Sylvia Nasar. The historical transformation of economics from laissez-faire into a. instrument of master. (Nasar's phrase) thematically presides over these biographical sketches of some of those who were instrumental in the process. Showing them all wrestling in some way with the causes of poverty and prosperity, Nasar opens with Marx and his habit of supporting himself on cadged capital while he wrote Das Kapital. Indeed, the way Nasar's subjects dealt with their own funds enlivens her presentations of what they advised businesses, banks, and governments to do with theirs. In Nasar's time frame, about 1870-1960, the booms and busts her economists lived through affected their wallets as much as their theorizing. Though few of her subjects besides Marx, Keynes, and Milton Friedman will be familiar to many readers, such figures as Irving Fisher, inventor of the Rolodex, and Joan Robinson, a British economist with a colorful background, become supremely interesting in her hands. Also including sketches of socialist Beatrice Webb, conservative icon F. W. Hayek, and developmental economist Amartya Sen, Nasar creatively deploys lives-and-times to show the evolution of economics from an explanation of fate into an application of policy. . HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Sylvia Nasar's A Beautiful Mind (1998), a biography of schizophrenic mathematician-economist John Nash, was converted into an Academy Award-winning movie starring Russell Crowe, priming above-average awareness of this author and interest in her sequel about economists. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Empowered : unleash your employees, energize your customers, transform your business

2011-09-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

by Josh Bernoff. Two vice presidents at Forrester Research (Bernoff is also the coauthor of Groundswell) offer a rare thing: a book about using new technologies that actually goes beyond jargon and offers practical solutions. In addition to providing examples of how today's consumers have empowered themselves through social software, the authors suggest that the best way to deal with such customers is to train and support empowered workers (or HEROes, "highly empowered and resource operatives"). The most valuable part of the book is its second half, which describes how HERO employees, management, and IT staff can and must collaborate to make the system work. The focus on the whole organization makes this a good read for employees and managers alike. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

Groundswell : winning in a world transformed by social technologies

2011-09-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

by Charlene Li. Kudos to Li and Bernoff (both, Forrester Research) for this jam-packed guide to using social networking sites to market products and services and engage customers. Timely and accessible, Groundswell provides an insider's look into the Internet world of blogs, online communities, wikis, discussion groups, tweets, and more. The book is filled with stories of companies that have successfully harnessed the power of the Internet to connect with customers and build relationships. For example, Blendtec, manufacturer of a $399 blender, used the "Will it blend?" video on YouTube to show its industrial-strength blender chewing up everything from wooden two-by-twos to Apple iPhones--and increased sales by 20 percent. Accounting firm Ernst & Young built a Facebook "wall" to recruit new accounting graduates. Procter & Gamble created the Beinggirl.com community to connect with teenage girls, answering their coming-of-age questions while steering them to the company's tampon products. With its techniques, strategies, and how-to advice on tapping into the online social networking movement, Groundswell is a must for today's marketers. See related, David Meerman Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly (CH, Dec'07, 45-2127). Summing Up: Highly recommended. --Choice (Check catalog)

Nothing to lose, everything to gain : how I went from gang member to multimillionaire entrepreneur

2011-09-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

by Ryan Blair. Bad boy makes good in this energetically recounted rags-to-riches success story. Blair's placid middle-class family was abruptly disrupted when his father became hooked on drugs and abandoned the family. Blair got involved with a gang, and had multiple and violent run-ins with the law, but salvation came in the form of a successful and encouraging stepfather, who started him working and became his first real mentor. The survival instincts he earned in his scrappy adolescence became his greatest asset as he created his first company, and Blair tells the story of his rise to success in the hopes that readers might benefit from his philosophies, from the jail cell to the boardroom. His failures and successes, along with a little input from his gurus, coupled with his solid commonsense advice and entrepreneurial life lessons offer an inspiring and helpful story. Readers will find the "nothing-to-lose" mindset and his optimistic, do-anything attitude both charming and encouraging. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

The go-giver : a little story about a powerful business idea

2011-08-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

by Bob Burg. The powerful business idea referenced in the title is that shifting the focus from getting to giving and putting the other person first is the key to business success and personal fulfillment. The authors inform readers of the five laws of success: the law of value (your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment), the law of compensation (your income is determined by how many people you serve), the law of influence (your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first), the law of authenticity (the most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself), and the law of receptivity (the key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving). Explanations of these concepts and how to employ them are clear and to the point, and as with all successfully written business books, it will provoke thought and probably action as well. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Pinched : how the great recession has narrowed our futures and what we can do about it

2011-08-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

by Don Peck. The Great Recession may have receded, but its consequences will resound through our society for years to come, as shown in this fascinating exploration from Peck, managing editor of the Atlantic. Though life in major cities and affluent suburbs has returned to something like normal, jobs remain scarce and the housing market devastated. The downturn will have an irrevocable, transformative impact on American life and culture-and Peck extrapolates those consequences and possible responses by looking at comparable economic calamities of the past: the panic of the 1890s, the Great Depression, and the oil-shock recessions of the 1970s. The current recession has affected the rich and poor unevenly, and this economic rift is mirrored geographically, as some areas recuperate from the crash and some founder. On the societal end, women are fast becoming the essential breadwinners and authority figures in many working-class families-and the previously over-confident Millennial Generation is showing the career conservatism of the generations before them. In the meantime, race relations have become yet more strained and complicated, xenophobia festers, and rural conservatism grows. Peck wraps up his exegesis with a consideration on the future of politics and possible strategies for healing the aftereffects of the recession. An important, far-thinking consideration of the reverberations-social, political, psychological-of the financial crash. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

Every landlord's legal guide

2011-08-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

by Marcia Stewart and Ralph Warner. An all-in-one authoritative guide every landlord needs
"Every Landlord's Legal Guide" is the most comprehensive and up-to-date legal and practical guide for residential landlords. The best, most effective way to make and save money as a landlord is to keep up with the law --and with "Every Landlord's Legal Guide, " you can do all that and more.
From move-in to move-out, this book covers a wide range of issues, including fair housing, repairs, sublets, screening for good tenants, environmental hazards such as mold and bed bugs (yes, bed bugs). You'll find legal and practical solutions backed by many 50-state charts with specific laws for each state. This complete resource will help you avoid hassles and headaches --not to mention legal fees. (Check Catalog)

Create your own employee handbook : a legal & practical guide

2011-08-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

by Lisa Guerin. "Helps business owners, managers and HR professionals put employee policies in place for any size company, in any state. Sample policies are included on CD. The 5th edition covers emerging workplace issues, such as social networking and product reviews, plus changes necessitated by health care reform"--Provided by publisher. (Check Catalog)

Reckless endangerment : how outsized ambition, greed, and corruption led to economic armageddon

2011-08-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

by Gretchen Morgenson. Respected journalist Morgenson and financial/policy analyst Rosner set out to investigate the financial crisis of 2008: how such a thing could happen in America in the new millennium. They name those involved, how they did it, and why. We learn about self-interested and politically influential people, particularly in Washington and on Wall Street, as well as those who tried in vain to warn of the impending crisis but were squashed or ignored. Originating with the 1994 directive to expand home ownership among Americans, the authors paint a picture of unintended consequences, greed, good intentions, and corruption; they report lies (involving politicians, corporate executives, bankers, and borrowers), laxity by most regulators, and the disappointing role of credit-rating agencies. Morgenson and Rosner base this book on interviews and conversations conducted on parallel paths, beginning in the mid-1990s, and a wide range of secondary sources. This excellent, thought-provoking book is a must-read. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Age of greed : the triumph of finance and the decline of America, 1970 to the present

2011-07-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

by Jeffrey G. Madrick. Madrick traces America's movement of greed from the 1970s through the succeeding two decades and its contribution to the 2008 financial crisis. We learn that this wave of greed was not caused by inevitable forces of history or natural swings in politics. This is a story of people reacting to crisis and change and the resulting economic carnage. While presidents and policymakers were players, it was mostly business pioneers who fought government regulation or, through innovation, avoided government oversight and diminished its power. Financiers led the way. Woven through their stories is the biography of a conservative thinker, born in 1933, who eventually served Ronald Reagan and whose tale of family, education and cultural influences is a prototype of the development of conservative thinking as it came to dominate the country. Madrick conclude. the financial community has to be re-mad. an enormous challenge, given the power and money at stake. An excellent, thought-provoking book. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Brand media strategy : integrated communications planning in the digital era

2011-07-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

by Anthony Young. Young splendidly portrays the enormous changes that have characterized the marketing communications industry during recent years. He presents an elaborate but realistic framework within which today's marketing and brand managers must operate to provide value and satisfaction for the markets they serve. Young specifies why marketers need to know about social media networks; no reason is more telling than the fact that social media provide an enormous data-mine in the form of a global focus group that allows marketers to target messages. Among the author's many nuggets of wisdom is his concept of "receptivity planning," or identifying the specific moments and places consumers will be most receptive to a marketer's messaging. The ability to take advantage of this "readiness" to influence consumers is a hallmark of social media. Also valuable are Young's thoughts on campaign measurement and the metrics that should be used. The book is an enlightening trip through all the important changes in the advertising and media industry, explaining how the Internet and social media have dramatically changed the way consumers make marketplace decisions and what marketers must do to successfully reach their target markets. Young's "digital manifesto" should be required reading for every media planner and marketer engaged in marketing communications. Summing Up: Highly recommended. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Ten steps ahead : what separates successful business visionaries from the rest of us

2011-07-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

by Erik Calonius. As the Wall Street Journal's former London correspondent, Calonius has rubbed shoulders with many of the world's biggest names in business. Given his claim that these so-called visionaries have something that sets them apart, we might ask the same question posed by the Cowardly Lion, "What have they got that I ain't got?" And the answer in both cases would be the same: courage. Well, that along with conviction, vision, intuition, a little charisma-and luck. This book combines Calonius's private encounters with entrepreneurs with the latest research in neuroscience and psychology to demonstrate just what attributes combine to make a Steve Jobs or a Richard Branson. His vignettes are drawn not just from formal interviews but from personal visits to country estates, fabled garage incubators, or wild airplane rides. The reader gets to witness these thinkers in their native habitats and see what makes them tick. VERDICT Calonius explains the neuroscience behind the visionaries' accomplishments as successfully as he tells their stories. This breezy read even offers advice to those wanting to increase their own visionary abilities. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

Practically radical : not-so-crazy ways to transform your company, shake up your industry, and challenge yourself

2011-07-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

by William C. Taylor. As the business world becomes increasingly competitive, global, and adoptive of new technologies, companies worldwide are constantly searching for answers about how to best evolve to meet their customers' needs and to stay abreast of their competitors. Taylor (Mavericks at Work) asserts that change is the name of the game; he takes us on an inside look at 25 companies that have grown ever more adaptive to not merely survive but thrive in today's challenging environment. Taylor's book is intended to guide leaders in launching fresh initiatives and rethinking "the logic of leadership itself as they work to rally their colleagues around an agenda for renewal." The work achieves its promise with actionable prescriptions and meaningful examples, such as how organizations like the Girl Scouts have redefined their brand and revitalized their mission, how Zappos has reimagined retail and service, and why, like IBM, leaders must constantly challenge the status quo by examining the self-reflection and commitment to innovation. An engaging and briskly written read, this will captivate and benefit business people interested in change and innovation. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

Digital advertising

2011-06-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

by Andrew McStay. This book addresses advertising in the digital age and covers the subject well. In the early chapters, McStay (Univ. of the Arts, London) introduces the topic and the book's purpose and provides an overview of the history as well as the growth of digital advertising. He then examines various types of advertisements, from classified, digital video, display, and e-mail to in-game advertising, social networks, viral, virtual environments (Second Life), and mobile, among others. McStay discusses consumers who use the Internet, as well as how businesses monitor their behavior while online. He also examines consumers' perceptions and use of digital advertising, including interactive audiences and user-generated content; he addresses policy and regulation, which, he claims, has lagged behind the changes in technology, and its impact on society; and he provides a general discussion of the creative process in digital advertising. In the last chapter, McStay presents some of the ethical problems resulting from digital advertising. Given its coverage of such a timely topic, this book would be a good acquisition for academic marketing and advertising collections. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Creative strategies : idea management for marketing, advertising, media and design

2011-06-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

by Mario Pricken. In this thoughtful, engaging book about the creative process, Pricken (creative director and marketing consultant) presents ideas about creativity that will help advertising agency personnel improve their work, resulting in their clients' campaigns achieving greater awareness and sales. The book also will help those in marketing produce better work. It is filled with numerous four-color photographs from more than 200 campaigns. These campaigns represent various media as well as designs for product packages and firms. Pricken opens his discussion by focusing on the creative culture, claiming that creatives need to remain open to all approaches. Then he examines the creative team as well as the creative director, offering numerous ideas for creatives to consider. Next, he addresses the creative brief and follows with a thorough discussion of the creative process. Finally, Pricken examines the creative work environment, which he believes can have an impact on the creative climate. This book should be read by every person who works or aspires to work in the creative area of advertising or marketing. Summing Up; Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduate students through faculty and practitioners. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Malled : my unintentional career in retail

2011-06-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

by Caitlin Kelly. Kelly's debut book reveals the thankless job of a tireless retailer in a very personal way, after becoming one of the legions of low-wage workers persuading customers to buy marked-up goods. She worked for two years and three months as a retail sales associate for North Face, an upscale outdoor wear maker, after leaving her chaotic journalist career when "unwanted drama" as a reporter at the Daily News convinced her to seek solace in a mindless retail job. At age 50 and adrift careerwise, Kelly thought the retail position would be a cinch, until it became a punishing tangle of long hours, erratic shifts, rude customers, excessive workloads, and insensitive bosses. It's a stretch when she compares the horrible plight of Chinese and Asian workers to herself and her crew; their overworked, underpaid American counterparts definitely fare better. Burned out, bored, and physically deteriorating, Kelly quit the store before she reached the boiling point. While Kelly's tone is slightly whiney, she does offer an intriguing look into the retail business. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

Knowing your value : women, money, and getting what you're worth

2011-06-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

by Mika Brzezinski. Brzezinski knew that her role as cohost of the MSNBC show Morning Joe was integral to the show's success, and yet she was getting paid a fraction of what her male counterparts were. The network was certainly to blame, but so, she realized, was she; this was just the last in a long run of jobs where she'd seen a salary discrepancy, worked long hours to prove herself, got angry at herself for not earning more money and respect, and stormed off and got a new job-only to repeat the pattern. Wondering if other successful women also consistently undermined and undercut themselves, she interviews power women-Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, Tina Brown, Nora Ephron, Suze Orman, and Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg. Brzezinski illustrates how women undervalue themselves in the workplace-excessive gratitude "just to have the opportunity," not negotiating their contracts, taking on extra work for which they're not being paid, and asking for raises in ways in which they're virtually certain to be turned down. While these insights are familiar, the celebrity angle provides much-needed perspective-if even the most successful women undervalue themselves out of a desire to be liked, as Joy Behar admits, then clearly the rest of us accepting 77 cents on our male colleagues' dollar are not alone. A thoughtful look at how women can quit getting in their own way. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

Digital advertising

2011-06-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

by Andrew McStay. This book addresses advertising in the digital age and covers the subject well. In the early chapters, McStay (Univ. of the Arts, London) introduces the topic and the book's purpose and provides an overview of the history as well as the growth of digital advertising. He then examines various types of advertisements, from classified, digital video, display, and e-mail to in-game advertising, social networks, viral, virtual environments (Second Life), and mobile, among others. McStay discusses consumers who use the Internet, as well as how businesses monitor their behavior while online. He also examines consumers' perceptions and use of digital advertising, including interactive audiences and user-generated content; he addresses policy and regulation, which, he claims, has lagged behind the changes in technology, and its impact on society; and he provides a general discussion of the creative process in digital advertising. In the last chapter, McStay presents some of the ethical problems resulting from digital advertising. Given its coverage of such a timely topic, this book would be a good acquisition for academic marketing and advertising collections. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Corporate community involvement : the definitive guide to maximizing your business' societal engagement

2011-05-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

by Lakin and Scheubel. Lakin and Scheubel, specialists in international corporate communication and corporate community involvement programs, present a comprehensive, practical guide to developing and implementing corporate community engagement programs. For neophytes or those actively engaged in community outreach, this book is an important reference and a useful resource. Eleven well-written chapters provide a step-by-step approach, emphasizing best practices, to creating a corporate culture that embraces community engagement and effective corporate citizenry. Topics include development of the right company involvement strategy; roles in, skills needed for, and responsibilities of community involvement; costs and budgetary implications of community engagement; integration of community engagement into business and organizational cultures; effective communication of community programs; and measurement and evaluation of engagement programs. The Corporate Community Involvement Web site complements the book with chapter synopses and a Conversation section, which allows users to interact with the authors or post comments to an open forum. Excellent illustrations and a series of interviews with representatives of global companies and community involvement professionals enhance the chapters. A glossary of relevant terms and an "Organizations for Corporate Responsibility and Corporate Community Involvement" list conclude the book. --Choice (Check catalog)

The orange revolution : how one great team can transform an entire organization

2011-05-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

by Gostick and Elton. Why doesn't every corporate leader actively listen to employees and to veteran consultants like Gostick and Elton (authors of the Carrot Principle books)? Though the answer to that question isn't the subject of this book, adopting the how-to's for realizing dreams could indeed provide the solution to staid, stagnant, and unrewarding work in America. As with most human resources type of business books, the authors present ideas in a many-stepped process, with principles to follow, often too many to remember. Yet if readers and executives just stick to their rule of three (wow, no surprises, and cheer), the rewards of an engaged workforce will probably ensue. Examples of great teams, believe it or not, proliferate here; in addition to the well-known cultures of a Zappos, for instance, there are also stories from Medical City Dallas Hospital, Pepsi Bottling Group, the Blue Angels, and Nash Finch, all about the power of teams to transform. And lest you think that the authors simply collected anecdotes, their philosophy is based on valid and overwhelming statistics, thanks to the Best Places to Work database (350,000 employees from 28 industries): 63 percent of workers surveyed found productivity to be positively affected when coworkers are friends outside of work (to cite just one finding). Take a letter to the C-suite: it's all about work that matters. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Naked economics : undressing the dismal science

2011-05-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

by Charles Wheelan. Wheelan, a magazine and radio correspondent, offers ideas about economics in plain language without equations, jargon, and diagrams. He brings us the most powerful concepts in economics while simplifying the building blocks or not using them at all. Basic principles come alive in the author's explanation of individuals acting to make themselves as well off as possible (however that is defined) and the notion that firms try to make as much money as possible by deciding what to produce, how and where to produce it, how much to produce, and at what price. In a manner that is informative and understandable, Wheelan covers such topics as the power of markets, the role of government in the economy, productivity and human capital, the Federal Reserve, and trade and globalization. This is an excellent book, which, as Wheelan posits, "is not economics for dummies; it is economics for smart people who never studied economics (or have only a vague recollection of doing so)." --Choice (Check Catalog)

Poor economics : a radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty

2011-05-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

by Abhijit V. Banerjee. Highly decorated economists Banerjee and Duflo (Economics/Massachusetts Institute of Technology) relay 15 years of research into a smart, engaging investigation of global poverty—and why we're failing to eliminate it. Aiming to change the stigma that revolves around poverty, the authors explore not just how many find themselves in economic quicksand, but why. They suggest that policymakers, economists and philanthropists alike fail to understand the unique problems that lead to poverty; as such, attempts to eradicate it are often misguided. The poor need more than food, the authors write; they need programs that empower them with a real, fighting chance.Â Through a blend of on-the-ground observations, social experiments and psychological analysis, Banerjee and Duflo showcase an expansive understanding of poverty's traps and its potential solutions. They extol the virtues of such practices as microsaving and microfinance, which cut out debilitating interest rates and predatory moneylenders. But even these solutions aren't without their issues, including lack of trust in the lender and an unwillingness to take risk.Â The authors advocate for increased access to family planning, as family size is often a leading cause for why many are saddled with financial burden. They also investigate why many forego free or low-cost medical care or education. A refreshingly clear, well-structured argument against the standard approach to poverty, this book, while intended for academics and those working on the ground, should provide an essential wake-up call for any reader. --Kirkus (Check Catalog)

The India way : how India's top business leaders are revolutionizing management

2011-05-02T06:55:00.000-07:00

by Cappelli, Singh, Singh, and Useem. In this well-written book, Cappelli and his coauthors (all Wharton School business management professors) provide strong documentation, based on interviews with more than 100 business executives, for their claim that business management practices in India differ significantly from those in the West, especially the US. They report that Indian companies deemphasize shareholders and quarterly profits and describe and analyze special management practices of Indian businesses with respect to human resources and social responsibility. They discuss the "five pillars" that characterize Indian firms and drive competitive advantages, which focus on values and vision, resilience and adaptability, holistic engagement with employees, the creation of strong value, and the creation of culture. Three appendixes present economic growth statistics, interview and survey methods and details, and information on India's cultural roots and consequences. Given India's position as one of the fastest growing economies, this is a valuable book for business professionals interested in doing business in India and a useful resource for academics studying Indian business practices or international business more broadly. Includes chapter notes. --Choice (Check catalog)

Analysis without paralysis : 10 tools to make better strategic decisions

2011-04-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

by Babette E. Bensoussan and Craig S. Fleischer. Bensoussan (strategic planning/competitive intelligence professional) and Fleisher (Univ. of Windsor, UK) deliver on their promise to provide clear, realistic, and actionable guidelines for conducting strategic analysis. They present a very user-friendly introduction to strategic analysis and then describe ten of the most commonly used strategic analysis techniques (e.g., competitor analysis, scenario analysis, financial ratio and statement analysis) in clear, practical language. Step-by-step instructions make the use of each technique immediately accessible. The authors also offer a balanced evaluation of the context, strengths and weaknesses, and rationales for each of the ten tools. Importantly, they emphasize the need for using several analytical techniques to inform managerial insight with regard to strategic directions. This book provides the means to make the techniques very usable, and in so doing it should be of great value to managers across all types of industries. A chapter is devoted to each of the ten techniques, but there does not appear to be a reason for the order in which they are presented. However, each chapter stands on its own as a very useful description and explanation of a technique for the particular context and situations described. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Crisis management in a complex world

2011-04-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

by Dawn R. Gilpin. Gilpin (Arizona State Univ.) and Murphy (Temple Univ.) ask, "To what extent is it possible to control events and stakeholder responses to them in order to contain escalating crises or safeguard an organization's reputation?" Their book is multidisciplinary (communications, physical sciences, psychology, and business) and strongly theoretical in orientation. They employ tools of complexity theory to suggest a new approach to crisis management for complex systems. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1, "Complexity, Crisis and Control," contains a review of the history of the field of crisis communication, an overview of key principles of complexity theory, and a redefinition of the concept of predictability. Part 2, "The Complexity of Knowledge and Learning," explores and integrates important concepts such as information and assimilation, organizational learning, and sense making in decisions. The last part, "Reconfiguring the Dominant Paradigm," reframes the dominant crisis paradigm in complexity theory terms. Crisis assumptions made before, during, and after a crisis are challenged using the complexity theory lens. For example, complexity-based crisis planning may work better than traditional approaches given uncertainty, lack of control, and emotion. This well-written book is valuable for research and practice. --Choice (Check catalog)

The little book of alternative investments : reaping rewards by daring to be different

2011-04-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

by Benjamin Stein. "Bestselling authors Ben Stein and Phil DeMuth know that investors are bored with their typical 60/40 stock & bond portfolios and curious about whether some of the new variations going around might be right for them. At the same time, many alternative strategies are going down-market and opening to the retail investor. Stein and DeMuth recommend that investors look outside of the box to hedge funds, real estate, gold, commodities, and even art as sources of investment income. Alternative Investments are not just for the rich anymore. But which strategies make sense? Which ones add value and which ones should we take a pass on? How do we integrate them with the rest of our portfolios? How much should we use of which kind, and what kind of results can we expect when we do? Stein and DeMuth interview the leading experts in the industry, take you on a guided tour of this Ripley's museum of new and strange offerings, explain in simple language how they work (or don't work), and tell you how you can use them to manage risk and boost returns in the privacy of your own home. The authors specialize in making the technical seem simple, the esoteric, accessible, and the dry, entertaining." --Publisher (Check Catalog)

Where we worked : a celebration of America's workers and the nation they built

2011-04-04T06:49:00.000-07:00

by Jack Larkin. Spanning from the 1830s to the 1930s, this presentation of the American world of work also bridges labor's transition from manual to mechanized production. Illustrating toil and toilers with hundreds of photographs, Larkin personalizes history with workers' life stories, such that the text reads in sections like Studs Terkel's oral history Working (1974). That effect arises from Larkin's quotation of testimonies taken by the New Deal's Federal Writers Project and the inclusion of the occupational histories of his streetcar motorman father, farmer grandfather, and machinist father-in-law. Their jobs fall into Larkin's overall organization of labor into agriculture, trades, mining and manufacturing, and office work. Larkin favors posed pictures of people with their implements, a sound decision for helping encapsulate the subjects' attitudes about their work. Pride animates many images, but so do wear, hazard, and tedium, especially in photographs of child workers. Touching just tangentially on economics and unions, Larkin's visually absorbing volume appeals as an individualizing expression of labor history. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Tell to win : connect, persuade, and triumph with the hidden power of story

2011-03-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

by Peter Guber. True business leaders know that stories, not facts and statistics, sell an idea. Guber, chair/CEO of the Mandalay Entertainment Group, offers insight on how to craft and deliver a story that will bring an idea to life. Guber liberally draws on the wealth of stories from his years of experience as a Hollywood studio executive and includes anecdotes from former President Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, Deepak Chopra, Alice Walker, Gene Simmons, Wolfgang Puck, and dozens of others on how they have used personal stories to motivate. While books by Stephen Denning (e.g., The Leader's Guide to Storytelling) and Annette Simmons (e.g., The Story Factor) delve into how storytelling can be used to lead organizations, Guber focuses on how it can be employed in negotiations as well. VERDICT This will appeal to the casual business reader and those interested in the entertainment industry. --Library Journal (Check catalog)

The Google way : how one company is revolutionizing management as we know it

2011-03-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

by Bernard Girard. Can a small start-up company sustain its entrepreneurial spirit? Google, a relatively young organization valued at $100 billion, has become so popular that its name has become a verb for searching the Internet. Girard, a French management consultant, presents interesting information about Google's unconventional employee and management practices. He describes how job applicants are rigorously tested for innovation and creativity and how Google's three leaders, Brin, Page, and Schmidt, have nurtured a working environment that takes the best from human nature and competition. Giving employees 20 percent of their time to create new products and encouraging small team collaboration have resulted in a dramatically expanded service portfolio. Applying its motto, "Don't be evil," Google has shaped its practices to encourage and recognize innovation. Girard demonstrates how similar management principles can be applied in other organizations. The author writes colloquially, frequently comparing Google's and Microsoft's practices. Chapter-by-chapter source notes. See related, Janet Lowe's Google Speaks (CH, Sep'09, 47-0371), Virginia Scott's Google (CH, Apr'09, 46-4547), and John Battelle's The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture. --Choice (Check catalog)

The facebook era : tapping online social networks to market, sell, and innovate

2011-03-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

by Clara Shih. Shih (CEO, Hearsay Labs) has updated her book, which is warranted by the immense changes in the social Web since the 2009 publication of the first edition. Many of the featured platforms of the first edition, such as MySpace, are now uninteresting for business, while Twitter and LinkedIn are significantly more important. In this reviewer's opinion, a more accurate title would be "The Social Media Era." The book contains many new examples of how companies are innovatively using the social Web to better know and support customers and reach new audiences for business functions including sales, marketing, customer service, innovation, collaboration, and recruiting. Each chapter ends with an actionable to-do list including items such as "Consider building a crowdsourced ideation community to track market demand for proposed features and generate new ideas." Shih has created associated Web discussion threads for each chapter to allow readers to share experiences. The book contains case studies, some of which are locatable in the index under "case studies." Sidebars from renowned social media authorities vary from idiosyncratic anecdotes to useful recommendations. A new chapter for nonprofits, health care, education, and political organizations is very helpful. Summing Up: Highly recommended --Choice (Check catalog)

Start your own import/export business

2011-03-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

by Krista Turner. An innovative guide to how great nonprofits achieve extraordinary social impact. What makes great nonprofits great? Authors Crutchfield and McLeod Grant searched for the answer over several years, employing a rigorous research methodology which derived from books on for-profits like Built to Last. They studied 12 nonprofits that have achieved extraordinary levels of impact-from Habitat for Humanity to the Heritage Foundation-and distilled six counterintuitive practices that these organizations use to change the world. This book has lessons for all readers interested in creating significant social change, including nonprofit managers, donors and volunteers. Leslie R. Crutchfield (Washington, D.C.) is a managing director of Ashoka and research grantee of the Aspen Institute. Heather McLeod Grant (Palo Alto, CA) is a nonprofit consultant and advisor to Duke University's Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship and the Stanford Center for Social Innovation. Crutchfield and Grant were co-founding editors of Who Cares, a national magazine reaching 50,000 readers in circulation between 1993-2000. --Publisher (Check Catalog)

Forces for good : the six practices of high-impact nonprofits

2011-02-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

by Leslie R. Crutschfield and Heather Grant. Crutchfield and Grant examine the elusive topic of what makes nonprofit organizations successful, building a superb comparative research methodology and executing it admirably. By the time the reader arrives at the beginning of chapter 2 the stage is set; the depth of the analysis becomes apparent and the analytical quality obvious. A project of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University, this study is based on comprehensive survey data and interviews with nonprofit leaders. Effectively integrating 12 case studies of what they regard as high-impact organizations, the authors craft their theoretical framework and manage to bring all the divergent elements into sharp focus. Their advice on managing markets, mastering adaptation, and inspiring evangelists is truly exceptional and critically important to the survival of nonprofits. Readers will finish this book with the same admiration this reviewer felt and will be left with many insightful, thought-provoking ideas about the practices that make nonprofit organizations more effective. Forces for Good is a definite read for serious students of nonprofit organizations as well as practitioners in the field. The value of the content is limitless and far-reaching. Summing Up: Essential. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Triumph of the city : how our greatest invention makes us richer, smarter, greener, healthier, and happier

2011-02-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

by Edward L. Gleaser. Glaeser's academic specialty, urban economics, informs his survey of how cities around the world thrive and wither. Using a range of expository forms history, biography, economic research, and personal story he defines what makes a city successful. That changes through time, and a flourishing Industrial Age model may not work in the service-age economy, as rust-belt towns like Detroit have learned. One thing constantly attracts people to one city rather than another how much housing construction is permitted. Restrictive places, such as New York City, coastal California, and Paris, have a tight housing supply with prices only the wealthy can afford. Hence, middle-class people move to the suburbs or cities like Houston. Other features of metropolises their incidences of poverty and crime, traffic congestion, quality of schools, and cultural amenities also figure in Glaeser's analysis. Whatever the city under discussion, Mumbai or Woodlands, Texas, Glaeser is discerning and independent; for example, he believes that historic preservation isn't an unalloyed good and that bigger, denser cities militate against global warming. Thought-provoking material for urban-affairs students. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Social networking for business : choosing the right tools and resources to fit your needs

2011-02-15T06:29:00.000-08:00

by R awn Shah. For companies looking to increase exposure and revenues in today's online environment, leveraging social technologies is serious business. Any project or venture using social technologies requires a strategy, an oversight structure, and mechanisms to measure the outcome. Shah (social software enablement, IBM Software Group) here documents these best practices and identifies patterns and metrics as well. Do not let the slim size of this text fool you; this is quite a dense read and is extremely granular in nature. Furthermore, the book has a strong emphasis on IBM solutions, which might make it more difficult for smaller businesses to embrace the advice. VERDICT While the advice offered here on macro- and micro-level activities is technically applicable to any social project or initiative, readers may not always be able to relate to the content or the examples. In the end, this is a scholarly text appropriate for only the most serious-minded and is potentially an excellent resource for MBA programs. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

Financial statements demystified : a self-teaching guide

2011-02-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

by Bonita K. Kramer. Simplifying complex financial information is challenging. In this self-teaching guide, Kramer (accounting, Montana State Univ., Bozeman) presents four basic financial statements in an easy-to-comprehend manner. Using the classic classroom model, without long confusing rhetoric (for the most part), her book's content is easy to follow and grasp. The use of tables to present examples and statements is timely and conveys what traditional textbooks try to explain in several pages. Although this work is straightforward, two issues need to be addressed in future editions: chapter 4 is too long, and the image along the left margin of the first page in each chapter is distracting. The multiple-choice quiz after each chapter highlights the important issues. This work is an excellent guide for students as well as businesspeople who want a basic, practical guide to understanding and interpreting financial statements. See also, R. D. Norton's How to Read a Financial Statement --Choice (Check Catalog)

The 10 commandments of money : survive and thrive in the new economy

2011-02-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

by Liz Pulliam Weston. The financial crash and subsequent recession have exploded many people's ideas of how money was supposed to work: micro and macro financial behaviors that precipitated the stock and real estate bubbles have now been shown to be ill-conceived, dangerous, and unsustainable. Financial columnist Weston provides a workable happy medium between fear and fecklessness, guiding readers to create a budget that works in the real world, create a survival plan with cash and credit, pay off debt the smart way, embrace risk sensibly, plan for retirement, and maintain communication about spending in a marriage and a family. Loaded with tips and ideas and illustrated with plenty of examples, this book hits all the major themes for total financial literacy in a conversational, digestible tone, backed up with clear "action steps" at the end of each chapter. A godsend for the financially befuddled, bewildered, or just plain anxious. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

Islands of profit in a sea of red ink : why 40% of your business is unprofitable, and how to fix it

2011-01-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

by Jonathan L. S. Byrnes. The claim made by the author, a Senior Lecturer at MIT, wasn't gleaned from a study; rather, it comes from his own experience as a consultant, and the examples and suggestions in his first book are aimed squarely at managers. Byrnes finds unprofitability almost everywhere-in accounts, order lines, vendors, sales channels, and products-and blames corporations for focusing insufficient resources on the bottom line. Drawing from a monthly column he wrote for a Harvard Business School e-newsletter in the early 2000s, Byrnes offers managers tips on reestablishing a healthy profit, such as creating a profitability database, modeling a customer, creating an action plan, and institutionalizing profit mapping. Thirty-six chapters arranged in four sections (thinking, selling, operating, leading), and dozens of boxed "things to think about" and "lessons for managers" cover profit from the supply chain to the customer. While many of the best-known companies Byrnes references have a whiff of old news about them (Walmart, Dell, GE), case studies of lesser-knowns like Nalco Chemical and SKF Bearings may offer the dedicated reader more to take away. Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

The entrepreneur's guide to raising capital

2011-01-18T09:05:00.000-08:00

by David Nour. Roughly six million entrepreneurs begin a new business every year. Less than 2 percent of those new ventures attract investors, and those 2 percent are this book's target market. Author Nour has witnessed numerous investment deals, and his guide reflects both his observations and those of investor colleagues. The book seeks to help entrepreneurs look at their business through the eyes of an investor; failing to do so not only costs money, but worse, it costs time and attention. Investor quotes--some insightful, some not--populate every chapter. Where Steven Rogers' Entrepreneurial Finance: Finance and Business Strategies for the Serious Entrepreneur (2nd ed., CH, Jul'09, 46-6298) dedicates five chapters to valuation, Nour spends less than one chapter on the topic. Nour instead stresses financial intermediaries, professionals dedicated to helping firms attract capital. He also devotes a chapter to advice from entrepreneurs, advice they wish they had been given when they were seeking capital. This book's real strength is an appendix full of helpful resources, useful not only to the 2 percent of entrepreneurs attracting capital but to many other entrepreneurs as well. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Finance and accounting for nonfinancial managers : all the basics you need to know

2011-01-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

by William G. Droms and Jay O. Wright. Droms and Wright (both Georgetown Univ.) have updated their well-known book to include recent changes in accounting requirements, tax laws, financial management, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and international finance. The book's 19 brief chapters are organized into seven sections: "Introduction," "Financial Accounting Fundamentals," "Financial Analysis and Control," "Working Capital Decisions," "Long-Term Investment Decisions," "Long-Term Financing Decisions," and "Special Topics in Finance." With a plethora of case studies and useful, step-by-step illustrations, the chapters provide readable, nontechnical insight into often-arcane accounting and financial principles and practices. Although this book is not a substitute for the in-depth coverage of a traditional textbook, it is an excellent practical guide and reference for anyone wanting a fundamental understanding of contemporary accounting and finance principles and practices. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Balancing the banks : global lessons from the financial crisis

2011-01-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

by Steven Schussler. This compact (only 130 pages) but powerful book by three internationally recognized European economists is well worth reading (Dewatripont and Tirole also authored the fundamental The Prudential Regulation of Banks, 1994). The authors offer a thoughtful review of the current global financial crisis and a number of considered recommendations for ameliorating the next and inevitable one. Tirole's chapter 2, "Lessons from the Crisis," which encompasses almost half the book, is especially informative. The last chapter considers ways to deal with distressed banks. Readers will benefit most if they are familiar with modern financial institutions and instruments. Summing Up: Highly recommended. --Choice (Check Catalog)

The 2020 workplace : how innovative companies attract, develop, and keep tomorrow's employees today

2010-12-28T09:28:00.000-08:00

by Jeanne C. Meister. To those corporate executives and managers who've naysayed the power and transformational capabilities of Web 2.0, this book is for you--if you're open to change. To those readers, consultants, and employees already embracing the world of social media, this collection of case histories, significant statistics, and personalized anecdotes will enable you to further the engagement within (and without) your organizations. Regardless, it is clear that author-scholar Meister and former chief learning officer Willyerd have tackled and tamed the tiger of talent. Be aware, within their recitation of the 10 forces shaping the world to the final 10 initiatives HR can spark to achieve the 2020 workplace, is an ever-growing concern that the formerly pooh-poohed death of talent will be real in a decade. Many of their lessons learned are standard operating procedure in professional literature and daily news, like the shifting demographics of the workplace and the demand for corporate social responsibility. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Russia after the global economic crisis

2010-12-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

by Anders Aslund. This second book from the Russia Balance Sheet project (the first, The Russia Balance Sheet, by Anders ^DoAslund and Andrew Kuchins, CH, Nov'09, 47-1531) focuses on 12 topics that illuminate why Russia suffered worse than any other G-20 country in the recent global economic/financial crisis. They include "current" economic conditions, corruption, energy (in)efficiency, political factors and the (centralized) state, foreign economic policy, and the need for military and high-tech industry reform. The book concludes that while Russia successfully weathered the "perfect storm" of declining oil prices, capital outflows, and the international fallout from the conflict with Georgia, long-term structural challenges are substantial. Whether Russia will develop a federal system suitable for social development, reduce barriers to innovation and business development (caused by corruption, lack of rule of law, debilitating regulations, reliance on energy rents), and promote wellness among the population remains to be seen, as does improvement in Russian foreign policy and in US-Russia relations. The book is well written and uses very recent data, making it one of the best single sources of information about current economic conditions in Russia. The chapters on high-tech industries and military reform offer information and insights not typically provided. Summing Up: Highly recommended. --Choice (Check catalog)

Why customers really buy : uncovering the emotional triggers that drive sales

2010-12-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

by Linda Goodman. Goodman and Helin, independent business consultants, introduce emotional trigger research, a new approach that uncovers the spontaneous triggers that drive customer sales. They review research in the field, then show how customers emotionally connect with a product or service, and tell how to craft solutions to reach them. Twelve real- world case studies illustrate how emotional trigger research can solve challenges in sales, marketing, and customer relationships. A final section looks at integrating emotional logic into the organization (Check Catalog)

What women want : the global marketplace turns female-friendly

2010-12-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

by Paco Underhill. It may still be a world "owned by men, designed by men, and managed by men," but sales guru Underhill (Why We Buy) argues that companies which fail to recognize women's purchasing power will miss out on the consumer bonanza of the future. In this lively study, the author traces how middle-class women's entrance into the workplace has reshaped everything from demand to design and reveals the future implications for consumer behavior as women of all classes outpace their male counterparts in college attendance. In a friendly, conversational style, Underhill discloses how the business landscape is being transformed to be safer, more accessible, and attuned to women's wants such as houses that are designed with bigger, more open kitchens that can serve as "the unofficial domestic control center of a contemporary home." Underhill's conception of the female consumer is outmoded at times (larger bathrooms in houses are supposed to serve as the "penultimate inner sanctum [for] today's frazzled female"), but he makes a compelling argument that a failure to cater to women consumers with products, services, environments, and customer experiences that meet their expectations is just "bad business." --Publisher's Weekly (Check Catalog)

Islands of profit in a sea of red ink : why 40% of your business is unprofitable, and how to fix it

2010-12-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

by Jonathan L S. Byrnes. The claim made by the author, a Senior Lecturer at MIT, wasn't gleaned from a study; rather, it comes from his own experience as a consultant, and the examples and suggestions in his first book are aimed squarely at managers. Byrnes finds unprofitability almost everywhere-in accounts, order lines, vendors, sales channels, and products-and blames corporations for focusing insufficient resources on the bottom line. Drawing from a monthly column he wrote for a Harvard Business School e-newsletter in the early 2000s, Byrnes offers managers tips on reestablishing a healthy profit, such as creating a profitability database, modeling a customer, creating an action plan, and institutionalizing profit mapping. Thirty-six chapters arranged in four sections (thinking, selling, operating, leading), and dozens of boxed "things to think about" and "lessons for managers" cover profit from the supply chain to the customer. While many of the best-known companies Byrnes references have a whiff of old news about them (Walmart, Dell, GE), case studies of lesser-knowns like Nalco Chemical and SKF Bearings may offer the dedicated reader more to take away. --Publishers Weekly. (Check catalog)

The puzzle of modern economics : science or ideology?

2010-11-30T07:23:00.000-08:00

by Roger Backhouse. Economics: people either praise it or condemn it. Are such judgments fair? Backhouse, noted historian of economics and methodologist, is well positioned to respond to the question. He views it as a puzzle, asking why an analytical method accepted by so many is also the object of such derision. He begins by examining four areas in which science and ideology are confronted: globalization, the creation of new markets, the introduction of a market economy, and the financial world. He then provides a brief history of the development of economics as a mode of analysis that helps explain how market economies work and concludes with a chapter addressing the science versus ideology question. Throughout, Backhouse implements the patient, well-balanced hand of someone familiar with handling intellectual puzzles. The puzzle, in fact, is less problematic than it appears. Economics performs best when the focus is narrow, its tools honed on assessing the benefits of trade or the structuring of well-functioning auctions. However, when wider questions of equity and welfare are considered, economics provides less guidance. Thus, both praise and condemnation are probably misplaced. An excellent resource for anyone deciding whether to trust economic knowledge. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Keep the change : a clueless tipper's quest to become the guru of the gratuity

2010-11-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

by Steve Dublanica. For four years Dublanica authored the blog Waiter Rant, chronicling the frustrations of an anonymous waiter working in an upscale New York restaurant. In 2008 he went public with his best-selling book, Waiter Rant, unmasking annoying foodies, bad tippers, and the bad behavior of restaurant staff. Gratuities were one of the hottest, most-talked-about subjects of that book, so Dublanica ran with it. A short history of the custom reveals that tipping was a particularly European practice that we took to new heights in the U.S. Dublanica shines light on those awkward tipping situations that we all face at one time or another: tip the parking valet when he takes your car, delivers it, or both? How much and in what fashion do you tip your hotel maid? And what about tip creep, those ubiquitous tip jars that are springing up in every coffee shop and fast-food restaurant these days? Dublanica offers tips on how to tip hairstylists, car-wash attendants, auto mechanics, deliverymen, and more, including the joint where tipping rules: the strip club. Valuable information is interspersed with amusing anecdotes and interviews. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

The psychology of personnel selection

2010-11-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (both, Univ. College London, UK) provide an up-to-date review of the psychological research on personnel selection. They cover the usefulness, reliability, and validity of various personnel selection tests, such as interviews, biodata, letters of recommendation, graphology, situational judgment tests, and grade point averages. They also analyze the viability of constructs associated with personnel selection, such as intelligence, personality traits, creativity, leadership, and talent. A large chapter on personality traits concludes that conscientiousness, one of the big five personality traits, has positive effects on work. Personality self-reports are subject to faking. Useful bar charts and tables are scattered throughout the text. Though scientific, the text is readable. This volume constitutes a literature review, featuring works from such leading scholarly journals as the Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology, which often incorporate meta-analytical statistical techniques that compare the results of many research studies. For readers also wanting more practical planning tools, checklists, work sheets, and job descriptions associated with personnel selection, see David Dubois and William Rothwell's Competency-Based Human Resource Management (CH, Sep'04, 42-0399). Summing Up: Recommended. Scholars, upper-division undergraduate and graduate students, and business practitioners. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Intrinsic motivation at work : what really drives employee engagement

2010-11-08T07:47:00.000-08:00

by Kenneth W. Thomas. According to Thomas (emer., business and public policy, Naval Postgraduate School), intrinsic motivation is the key to employee engagement. He defines engagement as the degree to which people actively self-manage their work. Extrinsic rewards such as salaries, bonuses, commissions, perks, and benefits do not come from the work itself, and these rewards lead to compliance, not to commitment or initiative. In contrast, Thomas relates how intrinsic rewards build on an employee's sense of meaningfulness, perceptions of freedom to make choices, feelings of competence, and sense of progress toward a collaborative climate and achievement of goals. He advises that leaders should learn to manage their own intrinsic rewards and ensure they play a positive role in developing them in others. They should also listen to employees, deemphasize money, and provide credible evidence for the intrinsic rewards. The volume contains quotes from major management researchers, and various charts and tables are scattered throughout the text. Each chapter concludes with questions for reflection. The three-volume Building High-Performance People and Organizations (CH, May'09, 46-5118), edited by Martha Finney, provides greater detail about employee engagement. Thomas's book offers practitioner-style reading with an academic base and scholarly references. --Choice (Check Catalog)

The progressive discipline handbook : smart strategies for coaching employees

2010-11-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

by Margie Mader-Clark and Lisa Guerin. (Product Description from publisher -- This guide to employee discipline explains the concept of progressive discipline and how it works, as well as how to avoid legal trouble. Mader-Clark, a human resources professional, and Guerin, an attorney specializing in employment law, describe how to decide when and if it is needed, evaluating problems, choosing an appropriate response, communicating, handling reactions, and documenting discussions and decisions. Each step of the process is detailed, including coaching and written and verbal warnings, and how to terminate employment if necessary. The CD contains a PowerPoint training presentation, audio of sample exchanges between managers and employees, exercises, and templates and forms. The audience for the book is supervisors, managers, executives, business owners, and human resources professionals primarily in the private sector. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., (Check Catalog)

Boring to bravo : proven presentation techniques to engage, involve and inspire your audience to action

2010-10-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

by Kristin J. Arnold
The author's qualifications are important for a book on public speaking (where authorial experience in practicing what is being preached is crucial). Arnold's background as a facilitator and speaker is extensive, capped by her new role as the incoming president of the National Speakers Association. Her focus is on presentations in the workplace, but the fluidly presented and dynamically toned pages soon make it obvious that her techniques and methods can be used by all who are required to give presentations, whether it be in their public or private lives. Her ideas are underscored by the basic premise that a dull, sleep-inducing program is intolerable, not to say detrimental, to the effectiveness of the presentation. How to engage your audience is the key to speaker success, and the author presents a series of increasingly sophisticated techniques to involve the audience, from employing the right tone of voice to breaking the audience out into smaller discussion groups. Hers are not pat responses to the issue of good programming but are well-thought-out, robustly tested, and greatly practical techniques.

Check Our Catalog

Dark Side of Valuation

2010-10-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

by Aswath Damodara

In this work, the world's top expert on valuation brings together today's best practices for accurately valuing young, distressed, and complex businesses. Damodaran has thoroughly revised this book, broadening its perspective to consider all companies that resist easy valuation.

Check Our Catalog

Return on strategy : how to achieve it!

2010-10-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

by Michael Moesgaard Andersen. Many companies featured as exemplars in the how-to strategy literature end up struggling a few years later. Something in the environment changes, and what worked before no longer works. Following what these exemplars have done, the authors conclude, is a recipe for failure. Andersen, Froholdt, and Poulfelt (all, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark) argue that what is missing is the "X-Factor," something that is not captured in existing strategy books. Their book succeeds in diagnosing issues in strategic management, but it struggles at providing a better solution. Like the classic Blue Ocean Strategy (2005), this volume stresses the importance of innovation as a source of success. It differs by stressing the importance of innovation not just in a firm's products, but also in how it organizes and operates. The authors identify six elements around which firms should consider thinking differently about their strategy, but they provide limited guidance. They struggle in identifying what the X-factor specifically is, but are much better at explaining what it is not. At its best, the book provides an excellent review of the strategy literature and features many fresh company exemplars such as Huawei and Saxo Bank. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Smart Growth: Building an Enduring Business by Managing the Risks of Growth

2010-10-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

by Edward D. Hess. Hess (Darden Graduate School of Business, Univ. of Virginia) challenges the traditional assumptions of the relationship between growth and business success. For Hess, growth is neither an abhorrent nor an imperative goal. Rather, he argues that corporate growth must be consistent with an organization's long-term viability and enhance value to stakeholders. Drawing on his extensive research, Hess provides unique insight into the ways that organizations can skillfully compete while assuring long-term sustainability. Topics include theories of growth, competitive advantage, managed earnings, true value creation, key success factors, real growth versus short-term earnings, and Wall Street expectations. Chapters are enhanced by excellent short case studies of well-known companies, e.g., Best Buy, Coca-Cola, Costco, Defender Direct, Harley-Davidson, Home Depot, JetBlue, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Room & Board, Starbucks, Sysco, and Tiffany & Company. Hess's useful seven-step Darden Growth/Innovation Model and his Growth Risks Audit Checklist provide readers with behavioral tools for strategically managing growth consistent with the creation of true sustainable value. The book is oriented toward business leaders, and a familiarity with contemporary business theory and practices would be helpful to a thorough understanding of this work's content. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Marketing without advertising

2010-09-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

by Michael Phillips and Salli Rasberry. Marketing Without Advertising teaches small business owners practical strategies to: encourage customers to spread the good word about your business, attract new customers and gain their trust, turn dissatisfied customers into loyal supporters, list your products or services widely and inexpensively, plan marketing events that will keep customers involved, encourage the media to comment positively on your business, The 6th edition is completely rewritten with and updated with real world examples and resources. It also discusses the latest marketing trends, such as international Internet marketing and blogs.--Publisher (Check Catalog)

Tuned in : uncover the extraordinary opportunities that lead to business breakthroughs

2010-09-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

by Craig Stull. This well-reasoned and useful guide argues that successful innovators can develop products that "resonate" by connecting deeply with consumers. This simple idea is delivered in a conversational tone and illustrated in well-structured chapters laying out a six-step "Tuned in Process" and examples that span borders and industries. From anecdotes about countryside hotels that sprouted up to provide respite for Japanese salarymen to Nalgene plastic bottles, which escaped the laboratory to achieve cult status and ultimately mass market consumer appeal, fascinating case studies abound. However, as appealing as the concept and the many examples are, the enthusiastic presentation begins to grate; the repeated invocation of the "Tuned in Process" may tire readers looking for more subtlety and fewer sound bites. Still, there is sufficient fodder for anyone who wants to shake the sleep out of an organization and renew a focus on creating the kind of value that customers are willing to pay for. --Publishers Weekly. (Check Catalog)

The total money makeover : a proven plan for financial fitness

2010-09-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

by Dave Ramsey. Radio talk-show host and bestselling author Ramsay (Financial Peace) is less a financial analyst and more of a preacher, which explains both his popularity and the appeal of this book, which jsut might gain a wide audience. The bedrock of his system is simple: work hard, pay what you owe and stay out of debt. His main commandment is "Pay cash." He first exhorts the reader to take "baby steps," which are designed to build on each other: first, save $1,000 as an emergency fund; then, pay off all debts from smallest to largest; save a larger three-to-six-month emergency fund; finally, start to save for college and pay off your home mortgage. Ramsay understands the difficulty in putting these steps into action, and therefore packs his book with personal testimonials from everyday people who have used his system and have become debt free, with obvious struggles. The key is what Ramsay calls "Gazelle intensity," which is to live a financial life the way a gazelle saves itself from an attacking cheetah-"outmaneuver the enemy and run for your life." While Ramsay provides some helpful charts and graphs so readers can keep track of their efforts to follow his steps, the strength of this book is that it is a straightforward motivational tool. He provides the brutally direct truth about the hard work it takes to become free of debt, and his directness is a great part of the book's charm. --Publishers Weekly. (Check Catalog)

Localist movements in a global economy.

2010-08-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

by David J. Hess, In an era of ecological limits, Hess (science and technology studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) argues, the fixation of globally embedded, publicly traded corporations on short-term profits and shareholder interests undermines environmental sustainability and social justice. The solution is locally owned, independent businesses that recapture the "economic and political sovereignty of place-based communities." Local ownership is more likely than corporate ownership to produce a more sustainable and just society. This argument is explored through a review of numerous local initiatives in retailing (e.g., "buy local" campaigns), urban agriculture (e.g., community gardens), local energy (e.g., wind turbines), public transportation (e.g., the use of biofuels), and media (e.g., alternative newspapers). To give larger relevance to the many examples, Hess situates localism within ideological debates over neoliberalism and considers differing approaches to economic development, ultimately opting for import substitution. He concludes with proposals ranging from community currencies to public ownership of high-carbon-consuming industries. His goal is a "localism" that is globally connected but not subordinate to global institutions. Less a thorough analysis than a broad overview, the book is an informative introduction and a first attempt to theoretically and practically craft an alternative political economy. --Choice (Check Catalog)

How the economy works : confidence crashes and self-fulfilling prophecies

2010-08-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

by Roger E. A. Farmer. Chair of the UCLA economics department, Farmer has two purposes in this book. First, he offers a summary of the many decades' debate between classical and Keynesian economists. Second, he presents his own prescription to resolve the current economic crisis. The historical account of economic theory is especially useful, introducing the reader to key figures in the debates and pointing out strengths and weaknesses in competing points of view. The focus is on mainstream US economists who have struggled to reconcile a classical individualistic model of markets with Keynesian insights about market failures. The summary of policy recommendations is based on Farmer's book, Expectations, Employment and Prices (2010). He uses a market model of job search as well as behavioral economics insights on financial markets to explain why the crisis occurred and what should be done to resolve it. Readers interested in policy recommendations should also consult works by Dean Baker, Joseph Stiglitz, and Richard Posner. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; all levels of undergraduate students; practitioners. --Choice (Check Catalog)

The complete guide to planning your estate in New York : a step-by-step plan to protect your assets, limit your taxes, and ensure your wishes are fulfilled for New York residents

2010-08-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

by Linda C. Ashar. To ensure your assets are protected and final wishes are carried out, there are some common actions that should be taken now. Proper estate planning allows you to plan for yourself and your loved ones without giving up control of your affairs.Your estate plan should also allow for the possibility of your own disability. It should detail what you own and whom you want to leave it to at a time of your choosing and the way you want. Your estate plan should include fully disclosed, controlled costs for you and your loved ones. The last thing you want to worry about is having your estate drained of value through taxes and legal costs.The right plan can protect the value of your estate and spare your loved ones unnecessary hassles and legal conflicts. The Complete Guide to Planning Your Estate in New York will help you glide through this complicated process. --Publisher (Check catalog)

Plan B 4.0 : mobilizing to save civilization

2010-08-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

by Lester Russell Brown. This new title in the "Plan B" series (e.g., Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, CH, Nov'06, 44-1627) outlines how human demands on the environment have undermined Earth's natural capacities to sustain civilization. Arguing that every major environmental trend, from climate change to deforestation, threatens the food supply, Brown (Earth Policy Institute) urges immediate action to avert severe food shortages that could bring down civilization on a global scale. Part 1, "The Challenges," describes the causes of food shortage: loss of cropland, diminishing water supply, use of grain for fuel, and a growing population to feed. Part 2, "The Response," identifies actionable solutions using existing technologies and practices already in use. Highlights include successful climate-stabilizing innovations such as the garment-recycling program of retailer Patagonia and the shift to solar power in the villages of India. Part 3, "Can We Mobilize Fast Enough?" considers whether it is too late to save civilization. The author calls for immediate and rapid change akin to a massive wartime mobilization effort, and offers specific actions that can effect change. There are extensive notes. The book is also freely available as a PDF download from Earth Policy Institute along with extensive supplementary materials. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Marketing accountability : how to measure marketing effectiveness

2010-08-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

by Malcolm McDonald. Marketing experts McDonald and Mouncey (both affiliated with Cranfield Univ. School of Management, UK) articulate what a predictable and controlled marketing program would look like from the perspective of the financial control function. Often marketing activities are terra incognito to financial managers and those seeking to assess and align marketing with corporate strategy and financial accountability. So, in this work the authors attempt to view marketing from the largely different perspective of financial management and corporate strategy, and they present strategies and tools for making marketing activities more accountable. This work also offers a different cultural perspective in that it presents a largely European perspective on the above described divide. The very first sentence of the introduction sets the volume's theme: "This book is a major breakthrough for marketing and a must-read for all marketers who are depressed by the very low regard in which marketing is held...." Marketers and other corporate executives will find this book a useful guide to deciphering the Rosetta stones of their corporate functions and perspectives, but they should take the "depressed" theme with a large dollop of proverbial salt. The book is well organized, written with clarity, and contains nice graphics. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Delivering happiness : a path to profits, passion, and purpose

2010-07-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

by Tony Hsieh. Zappos CEO Hsieh offers a compelling account of his transformation from callow Harvard student entrepreneur through his years as a dot-com wunderkind to the creator of a formidable brand. Interest might flag as Hsieh, fresh off selling his Internet company LinkExchange to Yahoo in 1999 for $265 million, kvetches about lacking fulfillment. But as the tech boom bursts, and Hsieh confronts his dwindling investments, his story comes alive. As the funding for his incubator companies dries up and one of his most promising startups, Zappos.com, a shoe retailer, seems doomed, Hsieh blossoms into a mature businessperson, slashing expenses and presciently making customer service the essence of the company's brand. The story becomes suspenseful as Hsieh recounts the stress of operating in survival mode, liquidating his assets to fund the company in its darkest days and seeking out an 11th-hour loan. By the time Zappos is acquired by Amazon for more than $1.2 billion in 2009, Hsieh and his team had built a unique corporate culture dedicated to employee empowerment and the promise of delivering happiness though satisfied customers and a valued workforce. An uplifting tale of entrepreneurial success, personal growth, and redemption. --Publishers Weekly. (Check catalog)

Home Business Tax Deductions

2010-07-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

by Stephen Fishman. The 6th edition is completely updated with all the latest tax information, eligibility requirements and deductions for 2009 returns. Home Business Tax Deductions also includes new information on tax planning. --Publisher. (Check Catalog)

Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha : a hedge fund manager's dispatches from inside the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting

2010-07-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

by Jeff Matthews. They come to Omaha by the tens of thousands, flocking to an annual meeting that has become legendary for investors, businesspeople, and fans of one of the most savvy capitalists on the planet. They come to eat steak, buy furniture at a discount, and bask in the brilliance of value investor extraordinaire, Warren Buffet.

Hedge fund founder, financial blogger, and professional skeptic Jeff Matthews got his own highly-coveted ticket to the Berkshire Hathaway meeting held only for shareholders and their guests--and proceeded to post reports on his blog, offering tempting glimpses into the much-discussed meeting. Now Matthews delivers a full-length account of his adventures at this infamous financial hoedown. --Publisher. (Check Catalog)

The way we're working isn't working : the four forgotten needs that energize great performance

2010-06-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

by Tony Schwartz. Schwartz coauthored the bestseller The Power of Full Engagement (2003) and is the CEO of The Energy Project, bringing effective energy management coaching to organizations such as Google, Ford, Sony, Toyota, and the Los Angeles Police Department. His project and this book are shedding light on what most working folks know but don't like to talk about: that most of us are not fully engaged or satisfied in our work environment; that we are constantly running on an unsustainable schedule that does not allow for enough sleep; and in addition to being physically tired, we are not allowed the kind of emotional, creative, and spiritual outlets that we need to be fulfilled. Schwartz notes that people at work are expected to run continuously, like machines, but unlike machines or computers, people do not function well when forced to work and process information on a continual basis, but need a balance of activities that allow for both expending and recovering energy. He proposes solutions for business leaders to maximize human potential by embracing our need for both effort and renewal. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

The complete guide to writing effective and award winning business proposals : step-by-step instructions

2010-06-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

by Jean Wilson Murray. Murray has some 27 years of experience assisting small business owners, and has published several business start up books for professionals. Her latest text provides practical guidelines for business professionals in all types of organizations, from small single-owner businesses to large multinational firms, on how to write proposals for a number of purposes including obtaining loans from banks, lenders, and investors; selling products to customers; selling professional services to clients; and persuading bosses to approve new projects. The text covers the three key phases of a business proposal--preparation, writing, and presentation--and includes examples of different types and styles of business proposals, such as sales proposals to clients, letters and memos as business proposals, proposals to government entities, internal proposals to top management, and business plans as a special type of business proposal. --Summary. (Check Catalog)

The ascent of money : a financial history of the world

2010-06-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

by Niall Ferguson. This is a work of extraordinary breadth of scholarship and penetrating judgments, and there is nothing that equals it. Ferguson (Harvard Univ.; Oxford Univ., UK) provides expansive coverage of the birth of debt, banking, bankruptcies, and people's repeated indulgence in them. Written in a graceful, flowing style, this book is a judicious blend of elegantly simplified economic theory and history. This reviewer concurs with the author's verdict that the theory of economics and finance is consummate in mathematics but devoid of history and consequently lacks a touch with reality. Anyone who wants to understand financial history traversing through institutional mutation and natural selection will be enlightened by reading this work. Books are written to be read, but Ferguson's book is written to be read, reread, and savored. --Choice (Check Catalog)

The irrational economist : making decisions in a dangerous world

2010-05-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

The past year has been eye-opening for economists, suggesting that free markets are far from self-correcting and that people do not, in fact, behave rationally, a hard blow for a burgeoning field that aspires to hard science. To make up for that apparent reality gap, this compendium from academics Michel-Kerjan and Slovic broadens the purview of economics by drawing on everything from psychology (behavioral economics) to neurology (neuroeconomics) to underwriting (lessons from catastrophe reinsurance). Many contributors' approaches are so nascent they suggest little more than a direction for exploration, but raise compelling questions regarding the human capacity for irrationality: why, for instance, can the fate of one (imaginary) boy in a helium balloon arrest our sympathy while we ignore the violent deaths of thousands in Darfur? Why do we fail to protect ourselves against likely catastrophic events (only 1 out of 5 California households hold earthquake insurance) while investing millions of dollars to combat highly unlikely terrorist attacks? Allowing for such factors when building economic and other models of human behavior should enhance their predictive power; one essayist reveals how the inevitable failure of New Orleans levees might have been foreseen and prevented. This collection is an intriguing look at the limitations of human knowledge regarding its own nature, especially relevant for the current moment of economic turmoil. --Library Journal (Check catalog)

War at the Wall Street journal : inside the struggle to control an American business empire

2010-05-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

by Sarah Ellison. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), published by Dow Jones, had been family owned for over a century when Rupert Murdoch's bid split the Bancrofts. Although the family had not been actively managing Dow Jones, instead relying on advisers, many were convinced that Murdoch would sensationalize the paper. Others worried about the paper's right-wing editorial slant encroaching on its journalistic bent. Ellison, a former reporter for the WSJ, delves into extraordinary detail on the business and personal disputes that peppered the 2007 acquisition. Keeping track of all the players can be tricky, but a Cast of Characters list at the book's beginning helps. Ellison makes clear that a large reason Murdoch wanted to purchase the WSJ was a rivalry with New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. VERDICT This is an ideal read for those heavily interested in media business and tactics, but it might be too detailed for others looking for an overview (point them to the Mar. 8, 2010, New York magazine cover story on Murdoch, "The Raging Septuagenarian"). --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

The performance appraisal handbook

2010-05-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

by Amy DelPo. The Performance Appraisal Handbook is a must-read for every manager, whether they're writing a performance review for the first time or the hundredth. It's packed with the information and tools you need to make their company's appraisal process work better for everyone. Readers will know: â€¢ How to write and conduct effective appraisals â€¢ How to prevent potential lawsuits stemming from an appraisal â€¢ Essential employment law basics. The 2nd edition is completely updated with latest laws and provides sample forms and policies. Also, there is now going to be a CD-ROM which will include the forms, checklists and quizzes from the book. --Publisher (Check Catalog)

Your career game : how game theory can help you achieve your professional goals

2010-05-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

by Nathan Bennett. Bennett (management, Coll. of Management, Georgia Tech.) and Miles (vice chairman, Heidrick & Struggles), coauthors of Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO, return with a look at how understanding game theory affects careers. The opening chapters focus on viewing your career as "a game where players compete for opportunities" and introduce readers to game theory. Then the authors explain the types of "moves" the reader can make, with specific examples. Central to the book is the chapter on available moves, which includes broad types of moves, and even outlines for topics like "how to win when succeeding saints and sinners," and a discussion of the value and timing of returning for an MBA. Chapters close with at least three topical discussions with current corporate executives and an analysis of those conversations, a nice change from the sometimes abstract chapters. VERDICT Accessible and relevant, this book provides an invigorating new view. Suggested for most libraries, particularly in areas with a mobile workforce. --Library Journal. (Check Catalog)

13 bankers : the Wall Street takeover and the next financial meltdown

2010-05-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

by Simon Johnson. Though this blistering book identifies many causes of the recent financial crisis, from housing policy to minimum capital requirements for banks, the authors lay ultimate blame on a dominant deregulatory ideology and Wall Street's corresponding political influence. Johnson, professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and Kwak, a former consultant for McKinsey, follow American finance's rocky road from the debate between Jefferson and Hamilton over the first Bank of the United States through frequent friction between "Big Finance" and democracy to the Obama administration's responses to the crises. The authors take a highly critical stance toward recent palliative measures, arguing that nationalization of the banks would have been preferable to the bailouts, which have allowed the banks to further consolidate power and resources. Given the swelling size of the six megabanks, the authors make a persuasive case that the financial system cannot be secure until those banks that are "too big to fail" are somehow broken up. This intelligent, nuanced book might be too technical for general-interest readers, but it synthesizes a significant amount of research while advancing a coherent and compelling point of view. --Publishers Weekly. (Check Catalog)

More guerrilla marketing research : asking the right people, the right questions, the right way and effectively using the answers to make more money

2010-05-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

by Robert J. Kaden, et al / This sequel to Kaden's Guerrilla Marketing Research (CH, Jul'06, 43-6639) differs from many other marketing research texts in that basic methods are explained in a nontechnical style that emphasizes their purpose and usefulness rather than the details of operation. Inserting the term "guerilla" in the title implies agility in utilizing unusual or creative approaches in the application of marketing research procedures. Although this publication could benefit those who wish to conduct research on their own, it would be particularly helpful to those who need to understand the basics in order to interact meaningfully with persons or firms conducting the actual research. This volume would also be helpful to managers who require an understanding of marketing research and its place in an organization, for example, to establish budgets or to allocate resources. The authors bring their many years of research experience to their presentation, thus providing practical insights as well as a hands-on guide to marketing research. Examples and tables help to illustrate points made in the text. The final chapter on the future of marketing research is interesting. A bibliography or suggestions for further study would be a useful addition to the book, particularly for those wishing to conduct their own research. --Choice. (Check catalog)

Fake work : why people are working harder than ever but accomplishing less, and how to fix the problem

2010-04-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

by Brent D. Peterson / Written by two successful business consultants with decades of experience, "Fake Work" is a groundbreaking and useful business book that shows employees at every level how to be more productive and efficient in the workplace. --summary. (Check Catalog)

Sales 2.0 : improve business results using innovative sales practices and technology

2010-04-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

by Anneke Seley. Summary: Two Silicon Valley insiders reveal the emerging Sales 2.0 trend and how companies can profit from itSales 2.0 explores the emerging Sales 2.0 phenomenon, how it is characterized, why it is imperative for a company's long-term success, and how anyone can get started with this new approach to generating revenue. Driven by an explosion of online products and changing customer buying preferences, Sales 2.0 is the marriage of Web 2.0 technologies with innovative sales processes. The book shows readers how to redeploy their sales teams for greater bottom-line results and reveals all the differences between Sales 2.0 and traditional selling. Through real world case studies, readers will learn how industry leaders achieved phenomenal results and a competitive advantage. Applicable to sales teams in any industry, Sales 2.0 presents the future of sales today.

Successful direct marketing methods : interactive, database, and customer-based marketing for digital age

2010-04-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

by Bob Stone. Direct marketing has grown beyond its roots in traditional mail order to embrace a host of new technologies, customer relationship-building techniques, and performance measures. Today, businesses and nonprofits of all kinds use direct marketing, which now garners 25% of the U.S. marketer's budget, surpassing newspapers and broadcast TV. Hailed as the “bible” of direct marketing for over 30 years,Successful Direct Marketing Methodshas been completely updated and expanded with all the latest tools and techniques needed for success in today's digital, multi-channel marketplace. Written by world-renowned direct marketing experts Bob Stone and Ron Jacobs, the Eighth Edition ofSuccessful Direct Marketing Methodscontains major revisions to chapters on the creative process, fully covering the development of direct mail advertising, catalogs, and print advertising. The Eighth Edition also explores such new topics as: The expanding objectives of direct marketing in the digital age Techniques for optimizing customer acquisition, up-selling and cross-selling, reducing defections, extending loyalty, and improving retention CRM applications, data mining, call center, campaign management, and sales force automation Customer experience management--connecting customers and brands at every touch point Brand building with direct marketing tools and techniques The growth of direct marketing in Europe, Asia, and Latin America Methods of international marketing--both direct and telemarketing Successful Direct Marketing Methodsoffers professionals a comprehensive roadmap for direct marketing success across today's multiple marketing channels. --Publisher. (Check Catalog)

Inside the mind of the shopper : the science of retailing

2010-04-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

by Herb Sorensen. Sorensen (Global Scientific Director, TNS Shopper Insights) provides a valuable explanation of retailing, revealing many insights about the shopper and beyond. His book is steeped in data and analysis and presented in an accessible manner. Sorensen is an authority on observing and measuring buyer behavior and attitudes. While he has a PhD in biochemistry, his work is not steeped in biological factors or neuroscience as much as an extensive understanding of actual behavior. In this sense, Sorensen thoroughly explores and expands on the what and how of buyer behavior in retail settings, but he does not expose or explore the why with the same depth. This book is a worthy companion to the similarly constructed work of Paco Underhill, e.g., Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping (2000) and Call of the Mall (2004). It is a suitable resource for retail instructors, students, and practitioners, but it does not offer substantial theory from an academic researcher's perspective. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduate students, and practitioners. --Choice. (Check catalog)

The 1% windfall : how successful companies use price to profit and grow

2010-03-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

by Rafi Mohammed. Pricing consultant Mohammed highlights ideas and tactics that build a foundation to create a pricing strategy for every global company, answering the question, How would a 1% increase in price affect operating profits? We learn about the author's concept of value pricing, which is based on how customers make purchase decisions and involves setting prices that capture the value customers place on the product rather than what it costs to manufacture it. The author tells a compelling story of Southwest Airlines and how it has increased revenue by charging more for an added feature that a certain customer segment values. With a goal of win-win for both a company and its customers, the author shares his success story interviews with managers in a wide variety of industries. He concludes with an action plan for a comprehensive pricing strategy and observes, The financial benefits of a 1% price increase . . . illustrate the power of pricing and its direct link to the bottom line. This is an excellent book. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Economics for the rest of us : debunking the science that makes life dismal

2010-03-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

by Moshe Adler. Academic Adler sets out to explain the key concepts and theories of mainstream economics and less-known alternatives. The book considers the two cornerstones of economics. One is economic efficiency and its definition, which at one time included distribution of income but now focuses upon free markets, ruling out government intervention to decrease inequality. The second cornerstone, what a worker earns, is not based on the value of an individual's contribution to production, which the author contends is a flawed concept; wages are determined by the power workers possess or do not possess at the bargaining table, and Adler points to CEOs' obscene compensation, which he concludes is awarded because they work for shareholders who are too numerous and lack control. Everyone will not agree with the author, but he makes thoughtful arguments intended for educated readers who are not schooled in economics. --Booklist (Check catalog)

How to get any job : life launch & relaunch for everyone under 30 (or how to avoid living in your parents' basement

2010-03-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

by Donald Asher. Career guru Donald Asher has updated his job search bible How to Get Any Job: Life Launch and Re-Launch for Everyone Under 30, now available in a new second edition. Target audience: Perfect for every soon-to-be college grad who hasn’t thought beyond finding paid employment in order to get out of his parents’ house. The author, who has made more than $1 million rewriting executive resumes, has some unexpected advice: Stop working on your resume and start by figuring out your passion. He advises college students to quit worrying about just getting a job and instead focus on life planning.
Best advice: Finding the right career is a process of self-discovery. Asher takes the reader through a series of activities, including listing the top five world issues you’re concerned about and every job ever held by everyone in your extended family, to help you discover your values, interests and potential career areas. He advocates going beyond choosing a college major by contemplating what will make you happy.
Biggest surprise: Asher’s advice can seem pushy. He recommends calling leads once a day for 100 days and says the biggest problem for job seekers is not being aggressive enough. --BookPage Reviews. (Check Catalog)

Good value : reflections on money, morality, and an uncertain world

2010-03-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

by Stephen Green. Beginning with the recent financial crisis, Green, the former CEO of HSBC and an ordained Anglican priest, launches into a deeply reflective examination of globalization, urbanization, and the market economy. Drawing on a diverse range of sources-from the Koran to The Wealth of Nations, T.S. Eliot to Thomas Friedman-and placing market vicissitudes into a broad historical context, he contends that globalization has passed the point of no return and that, despite its flaws and failings, the market economy is the best economic arrangement available. Green pivots to consider the importance of corporate and personal responsibility in an increasingly interdependent world. Though the author does describe the Christian foundations for his own metaphysical and ethical views, he spends more time discussing Goethe's Faust than any Gospel. Green never calls for any particular reform; rather he makes an inspiring and erudite case for individuals to make moral sense of their lives and strive to make a better world despite the inherent imperfections in human nature and the globalized marketplace. --Publishers Weekly. (Check Catalog)