Practicing Management

$26.99

A wide range of conceptualizations of “management” have been offered and it is often difficult for managers to fully under stand their roles within the organization; however, managers striving for effectiveness would do well to invest effort into understanding the functions, roles, and skills associated with managerial positions.
In order to be adroit practitioners of their craft, managers must understand these basic concepts, as well as the different levels of managerial effectiveness, how they are measured, the styles available to managers, and the factors that determine which style might be preferred in a particular instance.
This book addresses a wide array of topics relating to the practice of management including the roles and activities expected from an effective manager, specific managerial skills, styles of management, management systems, and managing in developing countries.

Doing Business in Germany: A Concise Guide to Understanding Germans and Their Business Practices

$26.99

An excellent and highly practical introduction to working with German business partners. I particularly like how she uses not only her own extensive knowledge but also the rich experiences of business people from all over the world. Highly recommended. — Robert Gibson, former Head of Intercultural Business Competence, Siemens AG
Doing business in Germany” provides sharp insights into German history, culture, politics and economy subtly building up a solid understanding behind “Germany way”. It’s a must read not only for those who are coming to Germany first time or planning to do a business but also for those who are trying to adapt to German life. The book provides many real life examples interspersed with extract from popular German text helping to clear some of the prejudices and labyrinths. Andra with her rich experience of different culture has successfully touched upon many points which will make you appreciate the German culture even more. —
Tarun Mago, Global Innovation Manager, INSEAD EMBA
Germany is the strongest economy in Europe, and one of the largest worldwide. The business climate is good, people are highly skilled, and consumers have plenty of spending money in their pockets;for companies that are doing business internationally, Germany is a market that simply cannot be overlooked.
However, many business relationships with Germans come to an end even before they begin; intercultural differences very often result in misunderstandings, frustration, and an unnecessary loss of time and money. Especially with Germans, even small things can be crucial when you are speaking to a (potential)business contact.
This book aims at helping students and professionals avoid the common pitfalls that international business people typically step into when dealing with Germans for the very first time. Unlike with the other business- or textbooks focusing on culture, this book will do more than just arm you with some simple “Dos and Don’ts;” it will provide interesting and easy-to-understand descriptions and anecdotes that highlight the cultural standards and dimensions that are (typically) theoretically discussed in scientific texts. Essentially, while talking about what makes “the average” German tick, readers will be equipped with the relevant background knowledge. The focus of the book is to help readers understand how certain concepts and values influence the way Germans like to do business. It will guide them on how to successfully interact with Germans, whether at trade shows, during virtual and face-to-face meetings, or when they are negotiating their first contract.

An Introduction to Survey Research, Volume I: The Basics of Survey Research, Second Edition

$26.99

Survey research is a powerful tool used in business, health care, government, and other fields that seek to understand how and why individuals behave the way they do. Properly conducted, surveys can provide accurate insights into areas such as attitudes, opinions, motivations, and values that serve as the drivers of individual behavior.
This two-volume set is intended to introduce fundamentals of good survey research to students and practitioners of the survey process as well as end users of survey information. It describes key survey components needed to design, understand, and use surveys effectively and avoid the pitfalls stemming from bad survey construction and inappropriate methods. In this first volume, the authors concentrate on the fundamentals of survey development and design as well as provide a review of key components in survey.

An Introduction to Survey Research, Volume II: Carrying Out the Survey, Second Edition

$26.99

Survey research is a powerful tool to help understand how and why individuals behave the way they do. Properly conducted, surveys can provide accurate insights into areas such as attitudes, opinions, motivations, and values, which serve as the drivers of individual behavior. This two-volume book is intended to introduce funda- mentals of good survey research to students and practitioners of the survey process as well as end-users of survey information.
This second volume focuses on carrying out a survey— including how to formulate survey questions, steps that researchers must use when conducting the survey, and impacts of rapidly changing technology on survey design and execution. The authors conclude with an important, but often neglected aspect of surveys—the presentation of results in different formats appropriate to different audiences.

Managerial Communication For Professional Development

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Managerial Communication for Professional Development offers a unique functions approach to managerial skills. It explores what the communication managers actually do in business across the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling functions when professional skills are needed the most.

The windows into practical reality adds contemporary information pertinent to key concepts in the chapters. Focusing on topics such as public image, impression management, reprimanding employees’ unproductive behaviors at work, effective presentations skills, employment communication best practices, and claims and argument missteps managers make during crisis. The contents of this book will help managers and future managers understand the professional development skills essential to management communication functions.

Human Resource Management for Organizational Sustainability

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The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on September 25, 2015 contains holistic, far-reaching, and people-centered set of universal and transformative goals and targets. These call for strengthening capacities and providing an enabling environment for access to opportunities that are sustainable from economic, social, and environmental standpoints.
Sustainability focus of the organization needs to go hand in hand with sustainable HRM systems, processes, and practices. But the reality is that sustainability is seldom a part of HR plans or strategic HR practices of most of the organizations. Hence, this book, Human Resource Management for Organizational Sustainability
offers a new paradigm by focusing on human resource systems and processes from the lens of sustainability. The book puts together the concepts, researches, and practices that advance the understanding of organizational sustainability through human resource management contributed by specialists from Austria, Germany, India, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States, with examples, cases, and review questions.
Whereas environment-related aspects have been receiving increasing attention over the years, the “people” element of social responsibility has received limited attention in management education and also in the business world. This book will bridge the knowledge gap and will provide valuable insights into how sus- tainable HRM practices can contribute not only to organizational sustainability but also to sustainability at large.

Disaster Risk Management in Agriculture: Case Studies in South Asian Countries

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The challenges related to disaster risk management (DRM) in the agricultural sector are now widely linked to sustainable environment. The fact remains that almost every day a disaster strikes in some part of the world. The regular occurrence of natural and man-made disasters has forced the worldwide communities to look for novel solutions to prevent and mitigate such disasters. This volume brings together probing studies to disseminate the work of outstanding scholars and practitioners, especially in South Asian countries. Thus, it highlights the need to amalgamate and coordinate the resources and agencies involved in DRM in agriculture to ensure the quality of life to the victims after disasters.
The authors incorporate specific themes correlated with DRM in South Asia. They intend to assess: (i) the consequences of distinct disaster risks in agriculture, (ii) the ways in which diverse disaster risk problems are handled in distinct settings, and (iii) the different methodologies embraced by different sectors to prepare for disaster risk.

Practicing Leadership

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Leadership is a universal phenomenon that has preoccupied scholars, politicians and others for centuries. In the management context leadership has been consistently identified as playing a critical role in the success or failure of organizations and some surveys have pegged almost half of an organization’s performance on the quality and effectiveness of its leadership team. Apart from organizational performance, researchers have consistently found a strong correlation between leadership styles and behaviors and the job satisfaction and performance of subordinates. When formal interest in the study of leadership first began in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the so-called “great man” theory, which assumed that certain individual characteristics or traits could be found in leaders but not in non-leaders and that those characteristics could not be developed but must be inherited, was quite popular and many assumed that leaders were simply “born and not made”. As time passed, however, the consensus within the community of leadership scholars and consultants shifted significantly to the current working proposition that while some people do indeed appear to be natural leaders from birth it is nonetheless possible for many others with sufficient desire and willpower to develop into a “leader” by following a continuous process of work, self-study, education, training and experience. Prcticing Leadership is intended to serve as a guide to basic principles of leadership and begins with an overview of definitions and conceptions of leadership and then continues with discussions of the roles and activities expected from an effective leader; personality traits and attributes which can be learned and perfected by persons that aspire to leadership positions; styles of leadership, which encompass the strategies used by leaders to engage with their followers and leadership in developing countries.

Managerial Communication For Organizational Development

$26.99

Managerial Communication for Organizational Development provides clarity for top, middle, and frontline managers on paramount communication issues. It helps them anticipate and respond to communication challenges managers face daily.

Challenges occur rapidly and with no warning. A business can be destroyed by media manipulations of public perceptions. Knowing what to do, what to say, and what not to say is paramount in dealing with complex cultural issues faced by today’s managers. Developing effective communication strategies, internally and externally, will keep organizations viable.

This book is a field manual for managers at any organizational level.

The New Age Urban Transportation Systems, Volume II: Cases from Asian Economies

$26.99

Urbanization is a global phenomenon that hugely constrains existing transportation infrastructure in cities. Urban transportation (UT) challenges are more significant in developing countries with rapid development as the land occupation is dense. Limited urban space and infrastructure fail to meet the increasing traffic demands and to provide reasonable service quality. Therefore betterment of UT systems is more required than ever.
Infrastructural development and transportation operations are mainly directed at citizen welfare and it requires huge capital investments. States initiate urban development by inviting private participation so that operational and commercial risks are minimized and quality of execution is better. Several aspects in planning and management of global UT projects are common. But the approach and solutions are typically developed for a local context and relevance. Specific UT challenges are land use planning, socioeconomic distribution, project designing, implementation, financial analysis and governmental policies.
A comprehensive background of UT systems, challenges involved and various approaches adopted by different countries are presented along with  ve real-life Asian cases. The book is aimed as a one-point reference on modern day developments on urban transportation for a readership of consultants, practitioners, developers, policy makers, and academicians.