Prospects For A US-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement (Policy Analyses in International Economics)

Book Description

Following the flight of one woman's factory job from the United States to Mexico, this compelling work offers a revealing and unprecedented look at the flesh-and-blood consequences of globalization.

In this absorbing and affecting narrative history, investigative journalist William M. Adler traces the migration of one factory job as it passes from the cradle of American industry, Paterson, New Jersey, to rural Mississippi during the turmoil of the civil rights movement, to the burgeoning border city of Matamoros, Mexico. The story of Mollie James, Dorothy Carter, and Balbina Duque, their company, and their communities provides an ideal prism through which to explore the larger issues at the heart of the new economy: the decline of unions and the middle class, the growing gap between rich and poor, public policies rewarding U.S. companies for transferring jobs abroad, and the ways in which "free trade" undermines stable businesses and communities.

Combining a deft historian's touch with first-rate reporting, Mollie's Job is a provocative and fresh perspective on the global economy -- at a time when downsizing is unraveling the American Dream for many working families.

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William Adler's absorbing and affecting narrative history traces the postwar migration of one factory job as it passed from the cradle of American industry, Paterson, New Jersey, to rural Mississippi during he turmoil of the civil rights movement, to the burgeoning border city of Matamoros, Mexico. This fascinating story follows the intersecting lives and fates of three women who held the same job, in each of three locales. The story of these women, their company, and their communities provides an ideal prism through which Adler explores the larger issues at the heart of the book: the decline of unions and the middle class, the growing gap between rich and poor, public policy that rewards companies for transferring U.S. jobs abroad, the ways in which "free trade" undermines stable businesses and communities, and how the global economy exploits workers on both sides of the border. Combining the deft historian's touch with first-rate reporting, Mollie's Job is an unprecedented and revealing look at the flesh-and-blood consequences of the global economy.

Customer Reviews:

Roots of globalization: cheap labor.......2004-03-02

The book starts painfully slowly and drags on for several chapters, but don't give up. It eventually takes us through decades of American history seen from the eyes of workers, factory owners and, finally, globalizing financiers. One learns how the racist governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, inadvertently contributed to integration by attracting northern factories to his state in the Johnson era. We learn that the Mexicans started attracting US factories in the same era, the 1960s. And we get a picture of the rise and fall of the US labor movement, as well as examples of the crimes of the Teamsters. The transition from emphasis on product-quality to 'profits at any cost', the heart and soul of the philosophy of globalization via deregulation, in the age of leveraged buyouts and junk bonds is accurately and concisely described.

Lyndon Johnson gave us the Vietnam War, a terrible mistake in US foreign policy. But for those of us who grew up in the south or border states and can tell you what life was like under segregation, Lyndon was a real hero when it came to civil rights enforcement. In my Ky. town in the fifties, before the civil rights Act was passed, the only thing that was integrated was little league baseball. I still remember listening to the daily news from Alabama and Mississippi in the early sixties, beatings, murders, acts that were consistent with a fascist state government, but not a democratic one. Southern states like Mississippi used the same excuse for brutality against blacks, union organizers, and civil rights workers that Hitler and the Nazis used against the Jews and socialists: right wing violence and killing 'protected' society from 'the communist threat'.

THE TRUE COSTS OF GLOBALIZATION...........2000-12-30

Since about the time NAFTA passed Congress, we have heard endless paeans of praise for free trade, the mobility of capital, and the new competitive global economy. We have heard less about the costs of globalization. This book takes the free trade issue and brings it down to earth by showing how jobs that originated in Paterson, New Jersey were sent to Mississippi, and later on Mexico, by corporate conglomerates searching for higher profits and a pliable, docile (and above all cheaper) workforce. The book focusses in on one firm, Universal, which specializes in making electrical fixtures. At first, the firm offers good jobs at good wages to all comers in New Jersey. However, as the founder of the company sells his interest out to a large railroad conglomerate, the firm heads south for cheaper labor....and then south again into Mexico. The story of how these jobs migrate is also the story of how institutions that are supposed to protect the American worker fail that worker in the end. Labor unions become complacent and somnolent, spending more resources on jurisdictional disputes and factional feuding than on organizing the workers. And when they aren't lazy, they are corrupt, doing deals with the Mafia for added perks. Federal agencies pull back from their duties as the nation drifts to the right. Read the segment in this book on how the U.S. Commerce Department (funded in great part from employee taxes) cheered on American businesses relocating to Mexico and your blood will boil. Read the segment on the so-called transitional assistance offered to displaced American workers (pamphlets given to people in their 40s and 50s on how to join the army) and you will get apoplexy. The book ends on an especially bitter note, as the conglomerate prepares to move to an even more depressed area of Mexico, with a woman worker wailing "must I chase my job all over the world?" Indeed.

In a larger, balance sheet sense, globalization may be beneficial. But ultimately, as Mr. Adler makes it clear with this well-written, thoroughly documented book, somebody is footing the bill with a lost job, a defaulted mortgage, missing benefits, and dread of the future.

Progress in Practice.......2000-10-09

Among the various beliefs which make up the American civil religion surely the dogma of Free Enterprise is dominant. Business and enterprise have made us the best, richest, freest, and most just country in the world. Almost any action can be explained and excused as an economic necessity; whether downsizing, i.e. firing your workers, or moving the plant or polluting the environment. The company must remain competitive, and the firm profitable. Free Enterprise is good for you, ever and always. As Ivan Boesky put it, six months before he went to prison for three years: "Greed is alright. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself." (P. 241) This story deals with the effects of American industrial progress over the past fifty years, not in abstract terms and numbers, but in the history of what happened to Mollie James' Job as it went south to more liberal climes, where wages are low, unions weak, environmental laws unenforced, and workplace safety nonexistent. The book reads very well, almost like a novel, but it deals with real people, names, and places. In fact, it is a good idea to keep a map handy to follow the action from Paterson, New Jersey, to Mendenhall and Gallman, Mississippi, to Blytheville, Arkansas, and Matamoros, Mexico. The action begins at the end of the War with an immigrant, go-getter, entrepreneur who builds an electrical components company from nothing. A classical, paternalistic workplace in which the boss works alongside his employees and knows everyone by name. He even welcomes organized labor for electricians will not install his product unless it bears a union label. Yet, neither he nor his workers can rid themselves of a crooked and corrupt teamster local. In the early sixties the company expands into rural Mississippi, a county without equal rights, without NAACP, much less CORE or SNCC. It is a place where the whites celebrated the assassination of President Kennedy. Yet, it is the company which in many ways escorted the region into the late twentieth century. In control of the only work and wages and backed by federal law the company could defy the Klan, the Sheriff, and the white newspapers, by insisting on an integrated workforce. Which, incidentally, helped to hold down wages as well. The founder's death in 1968 marked the passing of an era of management by men who thought as industrial manufacturers. While he venerated the bottom line as much as any capitalist, he achieved success by "a steely-eyed focus on high quality and customer service"(p. 220). The company was sold to a multi-branched electrical products company, which soon after was swallowed whole by another conglomerate. It thus fell into the hands of people who had no idea of the realities of production, nor did they have any interest in the nuts and bolts of the operation. In fact, the company, now a mere subsidiary, changed hands several times in the financial go-go years of the eighties. By now the personal relationships and life long job security of the early days were well forgotten. A cavalier attitude infected all aspects of the company. A director of human resources fired many of the old line leaders and executives. The company used their new maquiladora plant in Mexico to hold a loaded gun to the union local's negotiation committee. Reduce hourly pay or we close the plant. None the less, the reprieve was brief. Workers in Mexico earned as much in day as Americans in an hour, and by 1997 all manufacturing operations in the U.S. were shut down. Wages in Mexico were insufficient to raise a family. Workplace conditions are described as stiflingly hot, with air unbreathable from polluting chemicals, and without break, cafeteria, or adequate toilets. Living conditions were not one whit better. Yet, young women workers continued to stream in from the rural areas. At the end, ironically we may all "Thank God for NAFTA" the title of the epilogue.

Book Description

As dot.com companies grapple with rigid market conditions and we keep hearing how the big technology players are being punished on Wall Street, it becomes easy to think of the Internet as a fad. The Internet frenzy may have subsided, but interest in the Internet as a business and marketing tool is still strong. It will continue to impact organizations and create opportunities. Sooner or later every organization will use the Internet for some facet, large or small, of its business. Architecture for e-Business Systems: Building the Foundation for Tomorrow's Success provides complete coverage of best practices and architecture applications. The book gives hands-on details to the IT manager faced with the daunting task of transitioning 40 years worth of computing detritus supporting a brick-and-mortar operation into an online business - melding the walk-in customer with the surf-in customer. It highlights strategy and planning, e-enabled business solutions, wireless and mobile business solutions, project development approaches, e-enabled architecture and design, toolkits, testing, performance, and security. The Internet will continue to impact individuals and organizations. Companies looking to grow their business through the Internet will find numerous new opportunities. With its focus on strategic and tactical knowledge Architecture for e-Business Systems: Building the Foundation for Tomorrow's Success shows you how to successfully build and deploy Internet applications that stand up to the rigors of today's demanding business environment.

Book Description

The inside story on finding the capital your business needs to grow

When it comes to finding capital—and the right investors for your business—entrepreneurs need all the help they can get. Brian Hill and Dee Power spent three years surveying 250 venture capital firms to find out what venture capitalists look for when putting their money in young businesses. Their results will give you all the tools you need to make smart decisions and avoid pitfalls and unnecessary risks, including:

• How to create and present a business plan to investors

• Profiles of venture capitalists in action

• Enlightening true tales in venture capital

• How to organize a quality management team to attract investors

• The truth about referrals

• Tips on valuing your company realistically

• Doing due diligence: scams, vultures, and bottom feeders

• Negotiating the best terms for you and your business

Inside Secrets to Venture Capital will show you what it takes to attract the investors and the money you need to grow. It's everything you need to know to play the venture capital game—and win . . .

Download Description

When it comes to finding capital for their businesses, entrepreneurs need all the help they can get. Brian Hill and Dee Power spent three years surveying 250 venture capital firms to find out what venture capitalists look for when putting their money in young businesses. Their results provide all the tools a savvy entrepreneur needs to make smart decisions and avoid pitfalls and unnecessary risks. Profiles of venture capitalists in action, enlightening case studies, and tips on attracting investors, doing due diligence, and negotiating terms that make this the businessperson's venture capital bible. Attracting Capital from Angels will show business owners what it takes to find the investors and the money they need to grow.

Customer Reviews:

Well written, well thought out, well researched.......2005-10-04

Hill and Power have written an informative and insightful book on venture capital in a well organized format. Over 30 venture capitalists were interviewed on varying topics from the most critical mistakes entrepeneurs make in their business plan to tips on negotiating. Hundreds more were surveyed. Inside Secrets to Venture Capital doesn't rely on just one person's opinions or knowledge.

The chapters are easy to read without relying on jargon, buzz words and technical terms.

If you're an entrepreneur looking for venture capital, you've got to read this book.

Wow... so bad.......2005-09-12

After looking at numerous books and reviews here on Amazon, I picked this puppy up.

Here's what's happened since:
1) I've repeatedly thought "wow, what a poorly written book."
2) I've been trying to find something of value in the book. I tell myself, "well, I bought the book - I should probably try to finsish it."
3) Then I tell myself "But hey, you should respect your time more."
4) I think to myself, well, what if *somewhere* in this book there is a bit useful information? What if I went to page 223 and found a gem of information that's very good?
5) So then I flip ahead to page 223 and sure enough...nothing.

If you want a book that is basically a collection of survey results from what appears to be poorly conducted and researched surveys of a few VC's and entrepreneurs, this book is for you. It has absolutely nothing of value in it concerning how VC's find, judge, value, and finalize a deal. It really only offers common-sense guidelines, which anyone with some basic experience should already have (or should have heard second-hand). There are no "secrets." None. I promise you.

I can honestly say that I've gotten very, very little of value out of the this book, and after page 186 I'm still trying to figure out if there was a drop of value in the thing.

*Fast reading and an excellent resource*.......2003-03-31

Jerry Chautin
Volunteer SCORE Business Counselor, www.SCORE.org

I've recommended INSIDE SECRETS TO VENTURE CAPITAL to my clients as a way to gain immediate insight to what's really going on in the VC world. Novices have unrealistic expectations and rarely understand what the venture capitalist wants. INSIDE SECRETS tells it like it is.

*I found INSIDE SECRETS to be fast reading and an excellent resource for those beginning their search for VC. In my opinion it can substantially reduce the entrepreneur's learning curve and allow them to assess their chances of getting equity funding for their venture.*

Over-promised and under-delivered.......2003-03-27

Having spent a couple years now as a venture investor, I was looking for a book I could point entrepreneurs to, so they could get a better perspective on the venture investment process: what do they need to have in place, what's most important, how does the process work, etc. "Inside Secrets to Venture Capital" would take someone maybe 75% of the way there. Unfortunately, that's not good enough, as the lack of that last 25% would likely mean that the reader would head off in some unproductive directions. So I can't recommend this book to entrepreneurs I counsel, or to anyone else.

Authors thoughtfully and thoroughly guide entrepreneurs.......2003-03-24

John Sizer, Partner In Charge,
Assurance and Advisory Services, Deloitte & Touche

"It's not what you're selling, but whom you're selling. The secrets are out. In "Inside Secrets to Venture Capital" the authors
thoughtfully and thoroughly guide entrepreneurs down the road less traveled--the road toward funding. This book gives any entrepreneur willing to pay close attention a definite edge up on the competition."

Book Description

The ability to communicate effectively via email is a skill no individual or business can afford to ignore. This guide offers practical advice and information, including step-by-step approaches to software, the problems of email marketing, law, libel and surveillance, and avoidance of email "overload".

Download Description

The essential guide to communicating effectively via e-mail.

Average customer rating:

Sign-Up for Culture: The Arts Marketer's Guide to Building an Effective E-mail List (Second Edition)
Eugene Carr
Manufacturer: Patron Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0972914153

Book Description

Sign-Up for Culture answers the question: "Now that I see my e-mail marketing is really working, how can I grow my e-mail list quickly?"

Today, arts marketers are caught in a transition. Arts patrons are living in a digital world where e-mail communication has become ingrained into the fabric of their daily lives. However, arts marketers don't yet have an e-mail relationship with most of them. Here is what you need to know to build those relationships quickly and effectively.

You'll learn

* How arts patrons behave online and how to market to them
* What goes into an e-mail acquisition plan and how to create one
* 20 Top Ideas to build your list quickly

You'll understand the new anti-spam law

The Federal CAN-SPAM law is complicated, and all arts and not-for-profit organizations are bound by it.

* Learn what you need to do to comply with the law
* Learn how to build your list legally and avoid being considered a "spammer"

Average customer rating:
Get Smart! How E-mail Can Make or Break Your Career and Your Organization
Mary Lynn Pulley & Jane Hilberry
Manufacturer: Get Smart! Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback
ASIN: 0979742005

Product Description

Get Smart! provides a quick, enjoyable tour through the world of e-mail, pointing out the most common perils and pitfalls and offering simple ways to avoid them. By following the seven Get Smart! guiidelines, you will create the best possible electronic impression at work and cultivate e-mail intelligence throughout your organization.

Wired for Culture: How E-mail is Revolutionizing Arts Marketing (Third Edition)

Average customer rating:

Wired for Culture: How E-mail is Revolutionizing Arts Marketing (Third Edition)
Eugene Carr
Manufacturer: Patron Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0972914145

Product Description

E-mail is revolutionizing the way the arts are being marketed today, and here's what you need to know to get started! Fellow arts marketers, there's a new kind of marketing waiting at your fingertips. It's faster, cheaper and more effective than practically any other kind of marketing and arts patrons are responding to it in amazing ways. In this era of budget cuts and last-minute ticket buying, find out how e-mail can help you do MORE marketing for LESS money and get BETTER results. This Second Edition of Wired for Culture includes all-new data, and updated facts and figures!

Southeast computing: Word processing, e-mail, research

Average customer rating:

Southeast computing: Word processing, e-mail, research
Larry J Easley
Manufacturer: s.n.]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

E-mail | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006QI85W

Average customer rating:

A no-nonsense career guide

Negotiating Your Salary & Perks (WetFeet Insider Guide)
Duncan Haberly , and Robert A. Fish
Manufacturer: WetFeet, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business Life | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Negotiating | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Ace Your Interview! (WetFeet Insider Guide)

Negotiating Your Salary: How To Make $1,000 A Minute 2006 Edition

Win-Win Career Negotiations: Proven Strategies for Getting What You Want from Your Employer

Secrets of Power Salary Negotiating: Inside Secrets from a Master Negotiator

ASIN: 1582074283

Book Description

Almost every initial compensation offer can be improved on--in many cases, dramatically--with a little savvy negotiating. This book will help job seekers maximize their salary, title, responsibilities, perks, work flexibility, and more by teaching readers how to negotiate the terms of their next job from the moment they start looking for it. BUS047000

Download Description

You needn't enter salary negotiations with butterflies in your stomach--and you needn't be at the employer's mercy when negotiating a job offer. Whether this is your first salary negotiation or your tenth, you will fare much better if you have some basic negotiation skills. In fact, almost every initial offer can be improved on--in many cases, dramatically--with a little savvy negotiating. This WetFeet Insider Guide will help you maximize your salary, title, responsibilities, perks, work flexibility, and more by teaching you how to negotiate the terms of your next job from the moment you start looking for it.

Turn to this WetFeet Insider Guide to learn how to

Build your bargaining power right from the start.
Research the market and benchmark competitive compensation.
Develop your negotiation strategy and priorities.
Interview like a negotiator and win over hiring managers.
Identify what is negotiable and what to ask for.
Match tactics to situations and learn what not to say in a negotiation.

Inside you'll also find

Sample scripts for many different negotiation scenarios.
Special advice for first-time job seekers.
Negotiating tips for the already-employed.

Customer Reviews:

A no-nonsense career guide .......2005-02-07

Negotiating Your Salary & Perks is a no-nonsense career guide to maximizing one's salary, title, responsibilities, perks, work flexibility, and other job benefits. Focusing on how to negotiate the terms of one's job from the moment one starts looking for it, Negotiating Your Salary & Perks discusses such topics as the importance of knowing one's market, the necessity of being firm to win respect, why one should discourage premature offers and always talk to the decision maker rather than an intermediary, being wary of the employer's bag of tricks, what to do when one's employer thinks the grass on the other side of the fence is greener, and much more. A subtle guide to the art of the deal and creating win-win situations, and enthusiastically recommended as its tips, while directly applicable to salary negotiation, are useful for deal-making in virtually any business context. Highly recommended.

The WetFeet Insider Guide to Negotiating Your Salary and Perks

Average customer rating:

A great source for what they DIDN'T cover in biz school
Great - I loved it!
i got a raise, finally!

The WetFeet Insider Guide to Negotiating Your Salary and Perks
Wetfeet
Manufacturer: Wetfeet.Com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guides | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Job Hunting | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1582072523

Book Description

Whether this is your first job offer or your tenth, you'll do yourself a favor by honing your negotiation skills. Whatever the firm's initial offer is, it can often be improved—in many cases dramatically—through savvy negotiating. And once you're on the job, it'll be difficult to get the same boost, even with stellar performance.

This best-selling WetFeet Insider Guide will help you maximize salary, responsibilities, work flexibility, or whatever else you want by teaching you how to negotiate after—and even before—you land your job offers. It was written exclusively for our readers by Robert A. Fish, PhD, founder of Right Management Consultants, the largest outplacement consulting firm in the U.S. In his extensive career in the recruiting and career management industries, Dr. Fish has counseled hundreds of leading executives of major corporations including Apple Computer, AT&T, and IBM on career transition issues.

We will take you step-by-step through a negotiation process that will leave both you and your employer satisfied. Here are just a few of the things you'll learn:

How to build your bargaining power and stand out as the candidate for the job
How taking on a short-term project can change a reluctant manager's mind
How to evaluate offers by deciding which factors are must-haves and which you can live without
How to present your case to get a better job—and, of course, more money
How to discuss your salary history without limiting your earning power
How to negotiate other perks to increase your overall compensation
How to spot hiring managers' own negotiating tactics—and overcome them

Download Description

Whether this is your first job offer or your tenth, you'll do yourself a favor by honing your negotiation skills. Whatever the firm's initial offer is, it can often be improved-in many cases dramatically-through savvy negotiating. And once you're on the job, it'll be difficult to get the same boost, even with stellar performance.

This best-selling WetFeet Insider Guide will help you maximize salary, responsibilities, work flexibility, or whatever else you want by teaching you how to negotiate after-and even before-you land your job offers. It was written exclusively for our readers by Robert A. Fish, PhD, founder of Right Management Consultants, the largest outplacement consulting firm in the U.S. In his extensive career in the recruiting and career management industries, Dr. Fish has counseled hundreds of leading executives of major corporations including Apple Computer, AT&T, and IBM on career transition issues.

We will take you step-by-step through a negotiation process that will leave both you and your employer satisfied. Here are just a few of the things you'll learn:

How to build your bargaining power and stand out as the candidate for the job
How taking on a short-term project can change a reluctant manager's mind
How to evaluate offers by deciding which factors are must-haves and which you can live without
How to present your case to get a better job-and, of course, more money
How to discuss your salary history without limiting your earning power
How to negotiate other perks to increase your overall compensation
How to spot hiring managers' own negotiating tactics¿and overcome them

Customer Reviews:

A great source for what they DIDN'T cover in biz school.......2003-04-11

This guide really gave me what I needed in terms of tips and training for the salary negotiation process. I'm a great student and feel confident that I will be successful in the business world, but have always been a little shy about asserting myself, especially with potential employers. Now I feel like I've got some great information that will get me started off on the right foot when I start my interviews. I think these negotiation skills may even come in handy through the course of my career. I recommend this for everyone who feels they might need some real nuts and bolts advice on the salary negotiation process.

Great - I loved it!.......2003-04-09

I never knew how much money I was leaving on the table with my job - this is a very helpful guide to get more dollars without creating animosity.

i got a raise, finally!.......2003-02-20

this guide helped me get a raise after 2+ years of absolutely no raises at the company i work for. i've always been really bad at negotiating for a raise and other benefits, so i finally looked for outside help--esp. considering today's job/work market. wetfeet's guide was just what i needed. it kept me focused and got me organized so that i could build a sound argument for why i deserved more money and more perks in lieu of a huge raise. i'm happy to say that it's really improved my attitude at work and got me motivated to stick around for longer than the three years i'd planned to stay at this job (i'm closing in on the three-year mark now).

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