Cross-Cultural Management

$21.99

The book offers an introduction to cross cultural management through an exploration of the major theories that have been developed in the fields of business anthropology and international management. An introduction to the concept of culture will be followed in subsequent chapters by the comparative description of different typologies which will be used to explain various expected behaviours in intercultural business settings. This will be followed by an introduction of the fundamental issues in cross-cultural management: what is culture, how can we describe it, to what extent is it important in international business? And we introduce the main frameworks used in the discipline for identifying and analysing cultural differences. In the second part of the book we introduce the reader to the main frameworks discussed in Part I and to real-life cross-cultural situations in the world of work. We introduce discussions on the application of previously analysed cultural frameworks as a basis for the elaboration of new ideas relating to current issues in organisational behaviour. International organisations normally deal with topics such as the relationships between the employee as a socialised individual and the culture of his/her organisation, managing in a globalised context, the development and management of cross-cultural teams, negotiating interculturally and dealing with subsequent potential conflicts, etc. The final of the book part elaborates on how the globalised economy projects its needs for inclusion and for understanding. From the ethics perspective, we describe the need to find a coherent pattern of norms that are widely accepted and shared in spite of diversity, and how to define and act under the paradox of equality in spite of difference.

Your Macroeconomic Edge: Investing Strategies for Executives in the Post-Recession World

$21.99

Most ‘managerial economics’ textbooks are thinly disguised microeconomics texts: highly theoretical, too dependent on abstract and unproven assumptions, and simply undigestible by busy, practical-minded executives/readers. Furthermore, such texts leave it up to the reader to apply their lessons so as to gain value from the knowledge, and to reinforce that knowledge through practice. The ‘theory of the firm’ does not resonate with most corporate executives. But in fact, economic forces drive the context for all our important business decisions: When and how much to expand or contract; which markets to enter and exit; when to raise or lower prices; and how to invest surplus resources (retained earnings for companies and savings for individuals). This book is an application of economics (both micro and macroeconomics) to one of the central challenges of our age for any citizen in a developed economy: How to invest their resources in a changed economic landscape. It contends that the quarter century from the early 1980s to the late 2000s was a unique historical period, creating an exceptionally benign commercial and investing environment. It will not return once the Great Recession is firmly behind us. The core message of the book is an extended application of economic principles and reasoning, phrased in a form readily digestible to any interested layman. It can be used as a companion to a traditional economics text, or as a stand-alone application-oriented text. The main application explored is of investment decisions of corporations seeking to deploy retained earnings, and of individuals seeking to prepare for the day when they no longer rely on wage income.

A Stakeholder Approach to Issues Management

$21.99

The book will appeal to corporate managers who must manage issues and controversies involving outside groups and organizations The book shows practitioners how to ground their strategic advice on the kind of empirical research that reveals the socio-political dynamics of the issue. It is the first book to approach issues management from a blended application of advances in institutional theory, social movement theory, stakeholder theory and social network analysis.

Developing New Products and Services: Learning, Differentiation, and Innovation

$21.99

This book will focus on the up-front activities required for product and service differentiation, the learning methodologies that contribute to arriving at that differentiation, and the role that technology plays in implementing the process. The book will show how technology factors into such entrepreneurial activities as engaging in business planning and utilizing creativity and innovation, and how creative innovation, in turn, is achieved and enhanced through an understanding of two different modes of learning: ‘learning about’ and ‘learning by doing’. A successful product introduction depends on an efficient supply chain, a strong brand, and the ability of a manufacturer or provider to differentiate it successfully in the marketplace. New Product and Services Development demonstrates how differentiation, this last critical component, can be secured by the strategic use of technology and by engaging in two key learning methodologies.

The Family in Business: The Dynamics of the Family Owned Firm

$21.99

Family businesses are a breed unto themselves. Though they share many features in common with other business models, they possess unique traits that clearly differentiate them. Similarly, though consultation to family buisnesses is in many respects what other businesses experience when seeking assistance, those features that set family business consultation apart are so distinctive that failure to honor and understand them can (and does) too often lead to disaster. The needs of those family members seeking consultation share a portrait in some ways similar to those in non-FOBs, but in a majority of situations are so distinctive and potentially explosive that disaster lurks on the edges, ready to appear if not respected. The audience of this book are both consultants to family businesses and family members who are looking for such assistance. Both require knowledge of each other’s spheres of experience and perspective for effective consultation to occur – for the consultant, an awareness of family dynamics as intertwined with family business; for family members, a clarification of what can be expected and delivered. In addition to the interface between family dynamics and the family’s business, we will explore the key tasks in family business consultation: succession planning, selection of the successor, conflict resolution, defining the role of family members in the business, how to involve the management team in succession planning, determining what happens after succession and building a board of advisors.

Supply-Chain Survival in the Age of Globalization

$21.99

The purpose of this book is to trace the history of globalization and its impact on supply chain management and to look at the problems and some of the solutions facing global supply chains in the current era. The current challenge is surviving the challenge of global competition. Good supply chain management can be a valuable tool in winning this competition.

Supply Chain Planning and Analytics: The Right Product in the Right Place at the Right Time

$21.99

Every company must continually wrestle with the problem of deciding the right quantity and mix of products or services that it should produce as well as when and where to produce them. The problem is challenging because the decision must be made with uncertain and conflicting information about future demand, available production capacity, and sources of supply. The decision is in fact a highly complex balancing act, involving tradeoffs along many dimensions – for example, inventory targets vs. customer service levels, older products vs. newer ones, direct customers vs. channel partners – and requiring the compromise of constituents – sales, marketing, operations, procurement, product development, finance, as well as suppliers and customers – with varied objectives. The ability of a company to nimbly navigate this decision process without giving too much influence to any of the parties involved largely determines how well the company can respond to changing market conditions and ultimately whether the company will continue to thrive. This book focuses on the complex challenges of supply chain planning – the set of business processes that companies use for planning to meet future demand. Supply chain planning comprises a variety of planning processes within an organization: demand planning, sales & operations planning, inventory planning, promotion planning, supply planning, production planning, distribution planning, and capacity planning. Of course, not all companies engage in all of these planning activities and they may refer to these activities by other names but they all struggle with the on-going effort of matching demand with supply. Many textbooks address supply chain planning problems and present mathematical tools and methods for solving certain classes of problems. This book is intended to complement these texts by focusing not on the mathematical models but on the problems that arise in practice that either these models do not adequately address or that make applying the models difficult or impossible. The book is not intended to provide pat solutions to these problems, but more to highlight the complexities and subtleties involved and describe ways to overcome practical issues that have worked for some companies.

Grow by Focusing on What Matters: Competitive Strategy in 3 Circles

$21.99

Growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Building effective positioning is challenging today for firms facing new and stronger competition, volatile and uncertain markets, and shifting customer desires and demands. The 3-Circle Model facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in this uncertain environment. Growth strategy emerges in the model from systematically addressing four key strategy directives in a deep and disciplined way: define, build, and defend the unique value you create for customers; correct, eliminate, or reveal value that is failing customers or of which they’re not aware; potentially neutralize the unique value created for customers by competitors; explore and exploit new growth opportunities through deep understanding of customers’ unmet needs.

The Five Golden Rules of Negotiation

$21.99

This book is based upon detailed research on the behavior and skills of successful negotiators. From this research, the book extracts Five Golden Rules along with simple tools and techniques which, if applied, guarantee a successful negotiation outcome. The book itself is based upon a fictional buyer- salesperson relationship. The book starts with the two protagonists meeting over lunch on the day the Buyer is due to retire. They begin to discuss their business relationship over the years and the book uses different episodes/meetings during that time to bring out the above Golden Rules and other negotiation concepts. The book provides simple tools to help apply the Golden Rules and each chapter concludes with a summary of the key points and questions to be considered.

The Inscrutable Shopper: Consumer Resistance in Retail

$21.99

The book highlights research undertaken by marketers, social researchers and anthropologists who have an interest in this field. Anti consumption is of relevance to practitioners and academics as it is important to understand consumer trends and values. The book has a particular relevance to professionals employed in marketing, retail and associated industries, who need to consider anti consumption as an influence on their target markets. The study of anti consumption can be seen as the ‘flip side’ to marketing which aims to understand promotion of consumption.