Book Description
"Understanding Capitalism" combines the essays of seven leading economists, including Robin Hahnel and John Bellamy Foster, in a critical assessment of the relationship between economic thought and the dominance of capitalism. With subjects ranging from Karl Marx to Amartya Sen, the book traces the growth of the capitalist system over the past two hundred years and how economic theory has, in fact, become capitalist ideology. Relating socio-economic and analytical histories to present-day economic policy, this is a thoroughly accessible work which makes an ideal introduction to the key thinkers in economic thought past and present.
Major economists and economic schools of thought are discussed in a chapter-by-chapter guide that covers Marx, Veblen, Gramsci, post-Keynesian theory, Sweezy and the Monopoly Capital school, and recent Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen, among others. Contributors include Michael Lebowitz, Carl Boggs, Michael Keaney, Frederic Lee, John Bellamy Foster and Robin Hahnel.
Book Description
Equatorial Guinea has recently come to the attention to global strategic planners. This report puts these executives on the fast track. Ten chapters provide: an overview of how to strategically access this important market, a discussion on economic fundamentals, marketing & distribution options, export and direct investment options, and full risk assessments (political, cultural, legal, human resources). Ample statistical benchmarks and comparative graphs are given.
Amazon.com
As the millennium approaches, management consultants have become ubiquitous--and extremely powerful. Often using secretive methods and usually drawing huge fees, they regularly make decisions that might affect thousands of people and cost billions of dollars. But are they ultimately worth the upheaval they can cause? In the first detailed examination of this incredibly influential industry, Dangerous Company: The Inside Story of the Great Consulting Companies, journalists James O'Shea and Charles Madigan offer a cautionary tale.
Book Description
Behind nearly every corporate merger and every downsizing or "re-engineering" effort of the last decade lurked a highly paid management consultant. Consultants promise results, but what kind of practices do they employ to achieve them? Written by two award-winning journalists, Dangerous Company tells the harrowing tale of a Fortune 500 company that spent $75 million on consulting contracts, only to see sales plummet from $1.3 billion to $319 million; explains how AT&T could spend half a billion dollars in consulting fees without any sign of progress; and exposes a consultant who provided government officials with information that helped send a former client to jail. You'll learn how Sears got turned around thanks to CEO Arthur Martinez's sophisticated and limited use of consultants, and how small, highly focused consulting firms are providing cost-effective, targeted advice and mounting a challenge to their larger competitors. Both a serious practical guide for any corporate citizen and a cautionary tale as exciting as a corporate thriller, Dangerous Company is certain to make the reader ask the critical question: What is the true price of advice, and who pays?
Customer Reviews:
Informative Outsiders' View of Management Consulting.......2007-02-05
This book gives you a good idea of the history of some of the major consulting firms in the 1980s through the early 1990s. It also gives you a little background history going further back in the century, esp. on McKinsey. You can tell this is definitely a journalistic outsider's account of management consulting; it does not give you the "feel" for what it is like to be a consultant the same way "House of Lies" or Consulting Demons" does; therefore, it is of less use to MBAs interested in exploring consulting as a possible career option. It is nonetheless useful for providing a little more knowledge about the management consulting environment of the 1980s and early 1990s.
An important thing to keep in mind is that despite the title the authors do not take a uniformly negative stance against management consulting. Instead, they discuss what can go wrong and how to prevent those things, while ensuring consultants add value.
Overall, it is a useful book, but I would go with "House of Lies" or "Consulting Demons" as interesting introductions to management consulting from a critical perspective.
A Critique on the Consulting Houses.......2006-07-17
This is an interesting book that provides a critique on the powerful consulting firms. The authors reveal some major failures by the powerful consulting houses. The enormous power and influence that some of the major consulting firms exercise is revealed and some staggering sums of money going into hundreds of millions that some companies paid to the major consultants and at the end of it all, the companies went into liquidation. The debacles are balanced by some remarkable turnarounds spearheaded by the same consultants.
This is a must read for organizations that wish to engage consultants. Top managers would benefit from the various tips on how to effectively manage the relationship with consultants, and how they can protect their companies from consultants who keep running the clock with no tangible work being accomplished. It gives the client useful tips on how they can demand value from the consultants. It is also very useful reading for consultants as they have the opportunity to read critical voices on some shortcomings of their profession. This should assist them in coming up with better solutions to clients' problems. Students who wish to enter the profession will benefit a lot from learning about both successful and failed consulting engagements that would prepare them for the challenges of the profession.
The authors raise some questions and concerns that are often expressed that indeed consultants are people hired by companies to justify some drastic and unpopular measures rather than being agents of change, which they prefer to consider themselves. On the other hand, when criticizing consultants, we may forget that the role of consultants includes giving advice to change or improve a situation but they do not have direct control over the implementation.
The book is an insightful and interesting read for all the stakeholders of the consultancy business that is recommended.
Armed with advice and Dangerous.......2002-10-02
This book is a look by two journalists who have sifted thru lots of cases to bring to the front examples of management consultants bringing ruin (and in one case prosperity) to their clients. It also tries to chart the future of consulting industry and where it takes the rest of corporate world.
Written in a racy style it takes a look at the firms which defined consulting, right from people like James Oscar mcKinsey to Bain and the companies they started...their differentiators etc.
The authors come to the conclusion that giving a carte blanche job to a consulting firm will only make them more dangerous :-) They suggest that to manage a firm you need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the firm and therefore need to focus them.
But undoubtedly this book is great information on the persona and history of the specific consulting firms like McKinsey, Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), Bain & Co., Gemini Consulting, BCG etc.
A Damaging Exposure of Management Consulting's Dark Side.......2002-06-30
James O'Shea and Charles Madigan have written an exceptionally informative text. Not only is it packed with well researched material, its gripping narrative style makes it very exciting to read as well.
This book contains material that should be regarded as essential reading for all serious-minded professional managers. It is the ultimate thinking manager's book, filled with compelling case evidence of managerial indecision (and how to avoid it). It is arguably the best business book to be published between 1980 and 2000.
Most negative reviews of this book suggest that it is either unbalanced, biased, or too superficial in its coverage of the management consultancy industry. Such claims should be accepted with caution, predominantly because they appear to be written by the very consultants whose feathers the book has obviously ruffled. Several of the chapters contain case studies that are anything but superficial.
Ultimately the book shouldn't be taken as a modern-day Spanish Inquisition targeting consultants and their methods (although it is, in parts, a damaging exposure of management consulting's darker side). Instead, Dangerous Company's most salient message is really directed towards inept managers (at all organisational levels) who all too readily seek to mask their own ineptitude by relying on expert advice that they are often incapable of comprehending. The gripping Chapter 2 on "Figgie International" is the best example of this. It can be read as a stand-alone case analysis of strategic confusion, and is perhaps the book's most revealing segment. It's narrative style is particularly compelling.
The book's underlying message (which is perhaps being missed by those who are quick to criticise the text) is that highly paid senior executives who readily abrogate their managerial responsibilities by blindly placing faith in the advice of external experts, are the "real dangers" to their companies. The authors make this clear in the final pages of their book, where they provide a checklist of 10 rules to follow when engaging management consultants. Rule 5 is "never give up control."
The concluding lines of "Dangerous Company" are perhaps the most revealing of all: "Good advice depends upon the shrewdness of the person who seeks it." In the final analysis, the authors are not suggesting that managers shouldn't use consultants. They're merely suggesting that managers seek advice wisely rather than blindly.
A Damaging Exposure of Management Consulting's Dark Side?.......2001-11-11
James O'Shea and Charles Madigan have written an exceptionally informative text. Not only is it packed with well researched material, it is very exciting to read as well.
This book contains material that should be regarded as essential reading for all serious-minded professional managers. It is the ultimate thinking manager's book, filled with compelling case evidence of managerial indecision (and how to avoid it). It is arguably the best business book to be published between 1980 and 2000.
Most negative reviews of this book suggest that it is either unbalanced, biased, or too superficial in its coverage of the management consultancy industry. Such claims should be accepted with caution, predominantly because they appear to be written by the very consultants whose feathers the book has obviously ruffled.
Ultimately this book shouldn't be taken as a modern-day Spanish Inquisition targeting consultants and their methods (although it is, in parts, a damaging exposure of management consulting's darker side). Instead, Dangerous Company's most salient message is really directed towards inept managers (at all organisational levels) who seek to mask their own ineptitude by relying on expert advice that they are often incapable of comprehending. Chapter 2 on "Figgie International" is the best example of this. This chapter can be read as a stand-alone case-analysis of strategic confusion, and is perhaps the book's most revealing segment.
The book's underlying message (and this is obviously being missed by those who all too readily criticise the text) is that highly paid senior executives who readily abrogate their managerial responsibilities by blindly placing faith in the advice of external experts, are the "real dangers" to their companies. O'Shea & Madigan make this clear in the final pages of their book, where they provide a checklist of 10 rules to follow when engaging management consultants. Rule 5 is "never give up control".
The concluding lines of "Dangerous Company" are perhaps the most revealing of all: "Good advice depends upon the shrewdness of the (person) who seeks it." In the final analysis, the authors are not suggesting that managers shouldn't use consultants, they're merely suggesting that managers seek advice wisely rather than blindly.
Book Description
Ready, Set, Succeed! shows entrepreneurs and small business owners, who are struggling to increase their profitability and triumph over their competitors, the strategies and solutions to make them a success. The book focuses on groundbreaking project management techniques to expand and grow a business. The comprehensive guide, which uses an easy to understand, step-by-step approach, can propel a company into a more successful operation and help it overcome the stumbling blocks that often hinder and deter growth. Using real life examples, the book walks businesses through the process of launching strategic initiatives and offers practical tips and advice through sample templates, formats and numerous helpful resources that any company can customize to its business or industry.
Customer Reviews:
If only I knew this years ago.......2005-08-27
It's amazing how simple techniques can make such a huge difference. Some of the techniques Linda mentions in her book could have helped me during my long management career. I see now that I've missed some important aspects of project management for years.
Linda writes one step at a time through the process of managing projects. I liked this approach, because she deals in each step with important issues I need to consider. Then, she provides techniques to better address them. For instance, she explains how to select the right project to work on. She defines what a project is and how it can benefit you. Once explaining this, she discusses how to select one appropriate project out of many under consideration, using an effective decision-making technique.
I found her book both readable and practical. She uses a real-life business as her model while she explains the process. She also provides several helpful forms I can use right away to manage my project. Although I haven't read many books on Project Management, I think this basic how-to book will help me further understand the dynamics of projects and assist me in finishing those I've been trying to complete.
Reading this book reminds me how essential Project Management is for anyone who manages people and resources. Not only will it help organize my work; it will give me a process and a way to follow up. I believe this is key to my success.
Amazon.com
The bad old days of multiple-choice-test career counseling are over. It takes more than a #2 pencil and a computer to find your life's work, as career consultant Laurence G. Boldt tells us in Zen and the Art of Making a Living, a hefty but lighthearted tome that will help you find yourself and your place in the world. Boldt is quite up-front about it, though: it's a long, hard journey to get there. But his uplifting prose and liberal doses of inspirational quotes from wise men and women provide support for the weary traveler. Indeed, in between learning how to find the kind of work that strikes the right chord for you, figuring out what skills and talents you'll need to succeed at it, and righteously persisting until you get your reward, you may find lapses and stumbling blocks you hadn't expected--but Boldt has seen them all and finds the right words at the right time to keep you moving. Like a traditional career book, Zen and the Art of Making a Living includes résumé advice and worksheets for narrowing down and sticking with your goals; however, it takes off from there to guide the reader on a quest for spiritual fulfillment through work, something you won't find elsewhere. This updated edition contains plenty of Internet-related information and other resources unavailable in 1990 and is invaluable for anyone concerned about his or her future in the world of work. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
Completely revised and updated--the most innovative, unconventional, and profoundly practical career guide since What Color Is Your Parachute?
First published in 1991, Zen and the Art of Making a Living is the life-changing book that helped revolutionize the career planning field by offering a new vision of work. This new edition has been updated throughout with up-to-the-minute contact information and hundreds of new biographical resources. In addition to traditional material on assessing career skills and conducting a job search, Laurence Boldt provides innovative ideas and strategies, with more than 120 worksheets and more than five hundred inspirational quotations from sages of every stripe. A book that goes far beyond other career guides, Zen and the Art of Making a Living brings creativity, dignity, and meaning to every aspect of the work experience.
--Internet job resources added throughout
--New sections on the opportunities in today's rapidly changing workplace, participating in the field of home-based business, and developing an effective support group to find fulfilling work.
"This is simply the best book in its field that I have ever seen." -Jim Fritz, Vice-President of Program Development, Access Influential, Inc.
Customer Reviews:
Spiritual advice on finding a meaningful livelihood.......2007-03-19
The scene is repeated at 7 a.m. every morning. Millions of people roll over and hit the buttons on their alarm clocks, dreading the fact that they will soon be heading off to jobs they consider drudgery, mere vehicles for paying their bills. The lucky ones will only dislike their jobs a little bit. If they're really fortunate, they'll find work tolerable, even though it falls short of satisfying their yearnings. A handful of blessed individuals will actually feel happy as they walk into their jobs, knowing they're heading for work that brings them fulfillment. But once you've committed 40 hours a week to something, shouldn't it give you joy? In this comprehensive, revealing - though excessively long - tome, Laurence G. Boldt proposes that everyone has the power to choose a satisfying career. By taking a spiritual approach (that's the Zen message) and embarking upon real self-examination, you can discover your true interests and free yourself to pursue your passion. Boldt offers concrete suggestions for success, such as how to write a convincing resume, weigh the pros and cons of entrepreneurship, and conduct a successful interview. He provides pages of exercises, resources and questionnaires. Plenty of books provide such tips, but this may be the only one that dishes them up along with ancient Chinese proverbs and Japanese calligraphy. So we suggest that if you're just starting out or stuck in an unsatisfying job, find a comfortable chair, light a stick of incense and take a journey within yourself. You may be surprised at what you find - your life's work.
Getting on Track.......2007-01-12
The book provides a well thought out methodology as to how to
determine personal philosophy, strengths and desires and marry these with career planning.
An amazing resource for people looking for meaning in their work.......2006-05-31
I am an integral coach who does a lot of career counseling. This is hands down my absolute favorite book on this topic because it provides inspiration, practical tools and presents good information in a way that is very easy for anyone to understand.
This book is essentially about finding your vocation or your heart's deepest desire. It encourages you to align your work with your values as much as possible and it is written from a spiritual perspective that is generally Eastern, but it does not actually push a particular worldview over any others.
If you have the discipline to work through this book, you will learn a lot about yourself and the type of work that makes you most happy. It will also show you how to take what you most love doing and create opportunities to do more of it.
This book is particularly good for mid-life career changers and young people who are idealistic or torn between their head and their heart. It provides tools that will help them to cut through confusion and get clarity about what really matters to them.
This is my favorite work by this author. His other work is good, but I find this particular book a step above his other work. If you want a good career resource in a similar vein, I also recommend "The Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Perfect Job" by Rick Jarow. This is a very helpful and inexpensive tape or CD.
if you like what i've written, you'll love what he's written.......2006-01-28
Do you seek more than the conventional nine-to-five job.do you seek a job that can advance your spiritual life. a job that merely positions you to solve problem after problem or a job that will help you reveal life's mysteries.a job where you fill you pockets til your last day or a job that helps you contribute to the well being of others?
If you're on the quest, Boldt gives you the tools you've never received. What's the quest? When the knights of King Arthur's court had seen an apparition of the Grail through a veil, they determined to go on a quest to find it. And they thought, "We should go out together to find the Grail" But then they realized that this would be "a disgrace." No, each must go alone into the forest and enter at the point he himself would choose, "where it was darkest and there was no path." A hero is a chooser of the questions of his life and thereby, of his quest. To walk this pathless path is to take the hero's journey.
Realize that public education equips you with skills and attitudes to make you more valuable as a worker for those whose agenda you will spend your lives servicing. It hasn't been to help students discover their own purposes and construct and realize goals based on these.
This book, much life Srikumar Rao's Are You Ready To Succeed at once inspires your quest and arms you with tools to bravely chart your way.
Some nice ideas, but too prolix to be Zen centered........2005-07-05
It would have been more honest (and less pretentious) if the author had not succumbed to the temptation to present this book as a kind of corollary of Zen. When push comes to shove, Zen Buddhism doesn't earn its living as a career-aid. Its primary purpose is to help provide an answer to the problem of suffering and impermanence (as the Buddha taught) - albeit in a form developed by Far-eastern Buddhists.
If Zen has anything to say - about getting through life in this world, almost all of it can be summed up with the axiom - don't plan on staying around, shed excess baggage, find what was there - before you were born! That isn't the message in this book. It is too long-winded. The best ideas in it could have been presented in a third of the space used.Save trees!
Book Description
The most demanded information from DebtSmart®! How to stop the banks from taking advantage of you, get the best lending deals, get financially organized, pick the right mortgage, make more money, finance your next car, personal stories, Q&A, and much more! Scott Bilker, author of "How to be more Credit Card and Debt Smart," is also the creator of DebtSmart.com and the author of the best-selling book, "Credit Card and Debt Management."
Customer Reviews:
Educational.......2007-02-17
Very good - makes you consider you credit card selections when signing up for one. Give you pro and cons. Assures you that credit cards can be good if used appropriately.
Excellent book! Gotta love this guy!.......2003-03-15
What a valuable book. Read it cover-to-cover yesterday morning -- called my credit card companies in the afternoon and trust me -- I saved far more than the cost of the book ... including shipping! This book should be required reading for anyone who has credit debt. In fact, I think it should be added to all high school and college curriculums. Excellent purchase plus turned me on to the companion website ...
Taking the stress out of learning about credit!.......2002-08-22
"I have enjoyed reading it! What I like about "How to be more Credit Card and Debt Smart" is the way it is written is like having a conversation with a friend. Picture it like this, instead of two people but a person and the book sitting at a table with a nice warm mug of Starbucks (that I brewed of
course) and learning about credit issues in a relaxing and easy to remember format."
--Susie Marion
Book Description
No Canadian company today holds a higher profile than Air Canada; few CEOs possess the recognition factor of its chief, Robert Milton. But in 2004, their notoriety is for all the wrong reasons: in less than four years under Milton’s command, Air Canada has gone from unrivalled industry giant to a wounded behemoth seeking bankruptcy protection. Was it mismanagement, government interference, a radically changed global environment, or just plain bad luck that brought down Canada’s national flag carrier?
Air Monopoly answers the question with a penetrating examination of a glamorous, high-risk business that attracts more than its share of dreamers and egotists. Milton, a life-long aviation enthusiast, took the controls at Air Canada at age thirty-nine in 1999. After a legal, political, and public-relations free-for-all, Milton also took over Canadian Airlines. Then came a global economic downturn, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since then questionable decisions, bad timing, and hubris have sent Air Canada into a tailspin, threatening its very existence.
Air Monopoly offers insightful analysis, eye-opening revelations, and provocative prescriptions for the future of air travel in Canada. Here is the business book of the year.
Customer Reviews:
Let's show some respect people.......2005-10-19
I have to take exception to Jon Shell's editorial comment about the author. It is totally irrelevant and disrespectful of the thoughtful and compelling treatment Mr. McArthur gives to Canada's airline industry.
However, that said, I actually had the opportunity to meet Mr. McArthur at a book signing. He has a very strong grip, an icy stare and a boyish shock of blond hair reminiscent of Robert Redford circa 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. I suspect Mr. McArthur will go far in the entertainment industry.
Keith McArthur.......2005-07-31
I don't know much about this book, but that Keith McArthur is one sexy dude. Did you see that jacket photo? Whoa...
A great update on a continuing saga .......2005-05-23
Everyone claims to be an expert on airlines. Frankly-some of these so called "airline history" books are dead wrong. The Canadian saga has been going on for about as long as the Star Wars series, except here thousands of people's livelihoods and the economic wealth of a nation are at stake. Air Monopoly is balanced, well told and VERY interesting.
Excellent historical perspective.......2004-04-11
I bought this book the first day out and read through it in about 3 days. I found it quite exceptional for its historical perspective, but not particularly insightful. The author spends the entire book trying very hard not to put any editorial spin on anything which doesn't really make it very readable, but becomes a great reference material down the line.
My initial thought when I finished reading it was that this book may become the Canadian equivalent of "Hard Landing", the book by Thomas Petzinger which has become the de-facto mass market textbook on the impact of US airline deregulation.
This book is definitely a must-have for industry professionals and hardcore airline affectionados, but a casual reader is probably better served to wait for the paperback or deep discount.
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- Vector Optimization: Set-valued and Variational Analysis (Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems)
- Volatility and Growth (Clarendon Lectures in Economics)
- Welfare, the Family, and Reproductive Behavior: Research Perspectives
- What the Future Holds: Insights from Social Science
- Why Economies Grow: The Forces That Shape Prosperity and How We Can Get Them Working Again
- Women and the Economy: Family, Work, and Pay (Addison-Wesley Series in Economics)
- 101 Trends Every Investor Should Know About The Global Economy
- Adam Smith's Discourse: Canonicity, Commerce and Conscience
Books Index
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