Strategic Bootstrapping

Strategic Bootstrapping

$21.99

This book is about helping entrepreneurs sift through the ‘noise’ regarding bootstrapping to craft an informed strategy for successfully navigating the beginning period of a firm’s existence. The book is a theory-driven, evidence-based look at bootstrapping, defined as: ‘highly creative ways of acquiring the use of resources without borrowing money or raising equity financing from traditional sources’ (Freear, Sohl, & Wetzel , 1995). In this era of lean startups, effectuation, and bricolage; bootstrapping is oft romanticized, but seldom analyzed. The evidence, while admittedly still in infancy, is compelling: bootstrapping is a non-ideal state.. So, practically speaking, an entrepreneur should avoid bootstrapping; however, realistically, most entrepreneurs will need to engage in some form of bootstrapping. The argument then, importantly, shifts to: how should one bootstrap? This book on ‘strategic bootstrapping’ outlines methods for bootstrapping with the goal of ceasing bootstrapping activities. This includes a highlighting of the useful aspects of bootstrapping, effectuation, and bricolage. It will attempt to provide the cold-hard facts on bootstrapping; it will outline how to minimize time in bootstrapping mode; and it will report–from research–best practices in bootstrapping. Without this more strategic stance on bootstrapping, an entrepreneur will likely never exit this bootstrapped configuration.

Executive Compensation: Accounting and Economic Issues

Executive Compensation: Accounting and Economic Issues

$21.99

The chief executive officer (CEO) of a corporation and her executive team are responsible for the management of the business and its continued financial success. This team is almost always highly compensated and the relative total compensation has mushroomed over time. Most of the compensation now is designed to be performance-based; but this structure leads to charges that it provides executives with incentives to manipulate short term corporate earnings and stock prices to serve their own compensation self interests. The book explores this premise and provides guidance into how such determinations are made. Three key points are emphasized in this book. First is the role that accounting and disclosure play in informing the process of determining executive compensation. Second is the recognition that executive compensation can affect corporate behavior in a variety of ways; and finally, there is the acknowledgement that executive compensation cannot be fully understood without one first becoming familiar with economic theory and empirical research related to compensation models. Because the rationale for executive compensation and the way it is viewed has changed over time, this book adopts a historical/chronological perspective. This perspective allows the book to make several observations about the state of executive compensation and how public disclosures about it have been demanded and have increased over time. The business culture and institutional framework for compensation of top executives has changed dramatically since the 1930s, with important ramifications. Types and amounts of executive pay have bounced up and down based on tax laws, regulatory changes and executive self-interest, as executives find new ways to be paid more. Yet research has shown that, despite some notable excesses, overall executive compensation is often more reasonable than recent perceptions would suggest.

The ART of Responsible Communication: Leading with Values Every Day

The ART of Responsible Communication: Leading with Values Every Day

$21.99

In an increasingly competitive and fast-paced economy, communication cannot be a function delegated to the public relations department. It’s every leader’s responsibility to communicate openly, honestly and responsively. Very few people in business have an appreciation for, and understanding of, their essential role in communication, both in terms of employee engagement and meaningful public dialogue. Every leader controls some information, data and feedback. How should they manage that power in this digital age when anything can leak in a heartbeat?In an increasingly competitive and fast-?paced economy, communication cannot be a function delegated to the public relations department. It’s every leader’s responsibility to communicate openly, honestly and responsively. Very few people in business have an appreciation for, and understanding of, their essential role in communication, both in terms of employee engagement and meaningful public dialogue. Every leader controls some information, data and feedback. How should they manage that power in this digital age when anything can leak in a heartbeat? That is the question at the heart of this book. This book will serve executives and emerging business leaders across multiple industries and representing a full spectrum of functional disciplines. It will be a solid resource, as well, for those enrolled in MBA and executive development programs. Upper-?level undergraduate students would also benefit.

Feasibility Analysis for Sustainable Technologies: An Engineering-Economic Perspective

Feasibility Analysis for Sustainable Technologies: An Engineering-Economic Perspective

$21.99

Feasibility Analysis for Sustainable Technologies will lead you into a professional feasibility analysis for a renewable energy or energy efficiency project. The analysis begins with an understanding of the basic engineering description of technology in terms of capacity, efficiency, constraints, and dependability.Sustainability is a hot topic now, attracting students to courses offered across a variety of academic departments, including business, environmental science, engineering, and city planning. A key aspect of implementing sustainability in organizations is the design and financial evaluation of systems for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and waste management. Most sustainability programs at the masters level have some expectation that the graduate will be able to do a feasibility study for such systems. However, no textbook exists to train the student to do a feasibility study–until now.
When my university decided in 2010 to make Sustainable Business the flagship specialization of our MBA program, I realized that we needed to have a course called ‘Sustainable Technologies,’ which would prepare students to conduct feasibility analyses. This course would take an ‘engineering-economic’ approach to the subject, teaching basic engineering concepts as appropriate for business students and using low-intermediate concepts in economics and finance that would still be accessible to students (both undergraduate and graduate) who do not have a background in science or economics. Teaching the course over the past few years, I also saw that this engineering-economic knowledge of sustainable technology also has value for students who want to manage sustainability initiatives or participate informatively in policy discussions on sustainable technology. Thus, the book should be able to sell into any masters-level program that emphasizes sustainability, and it will be a valuable resource for sustainability professionals who need to teach themselves how to do a feasibility study.
There is a Students’ Study Guide containing chapter summaries, homework problems, and cases, and there is a Teacher’s Solution Manual for instructors once this title has been adopted.

International Operations: How Multiple International Environments Impact Productivity and Location Decisions

International Operations: How Multiple International Environments Impact Productivity and Location Decisions

$21.99

The ideal scenario for a company that wishes to expand its reach internationally is to design its operations and supply chain so that they need not vary, regardless of the venue in which they are implemented. But companies that wish to ‘go global’ cannot do so without the approval and cooperation of the governments of the countries in which they hope to expand. Consequently, companies are often forced to depart from a single system approach and make adjustments according to the regulations of each country in which they do business. This book examines the complexity of international operations: the opportunities as well as pitfalls companies face when attempting to implement their operations on a multi-national scale. The book focuses on and provides coverage from the shop floor level, but the concepts discussed and examined are done so with regular reference to a broader company perspective. Various theories and examples are introduced to describe forms of internationalization processes; and the influence of both national and local environments on operations is strongly emphasized. Readers of this book representing companies considering ‘going global’ will learn about the obstacles to success they need to avoid; readers representing governments will learn what they can do and avoid doing in order attract foreign companies and investment.

Hispanic-Latino Entrepreneurship: Viewpoints of Practitioners

Hispanic-Latino Entrepreneurship: Viewpoints of Practitioners

$21.99

Academy of Global Business Advancement 2015 book award winner.

The Hispanic–Latino community is large, expanding, and an important contributor to the U.S. economy. Numbering over 50 million, Hispanic–Latinos currently represent about 16% of the population. Hispanic– Latinos engage in a diversity of jobs that help keep the American economic engine running. The practice of entrepreneurship has been on the rise with over 2.3 million businesses in the United States categorized as Hispanic owned, generating over $345 billion in sales. This book examines the entrepreneurial mindset of Hispanic– Latinos in the United States. With limited literature on the subject, the authors created a pioneering book that captures the viewpoints of real-life Hispanic–Latino entrepreneurs. Using a 15-item questionnaire, the authors obtained information on entrepreneurial intent, goals, and business strategies utilized. This book highlights real world business experiences, including challenges relating to entrepreneurial pursuits, and the importance of hardwork, discipline, and a positive mindset in the success of an enterprise.

Improving Sales and Marketing Collaboration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Improving Sales and Marketing Collaboration: A Step-by-Step Guide

$21.99

Sales and marketing are two primary business functions that focus on creating satisfied customers. Due to their complementary orientations and objectives, these two functions are ideally positioned for a fruitful, synergetic collaboration. Unfortunately, the practical reality in many companies is far removed from this utopia. Sales and marketing personnel fail to communicate effectively, resulting in misunderstandings, frustration, and sometimes sabotage. Instead of supporting each other in creating superior value for customers, sales and marketing personnel often fight tiresome internal battles that are a drain on profits, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Improving Sales and Marketing Collaboration offers the first comprehensive perspective on the functioning of sales-marketing interfaces in business to business (B2B) companies. Inside, the authors explore their complementary roles in creating superior value for customers, problems that occur, the underlying causes of these problems, and potential solutions. These solutions are accompanied by a series of tools that managers can use to diagnose their sales-marketing interface and develop appropriate approaches to improve this relationship. Additionally, the book discusses a number of challenges that companies encounter and the impacts on their sales-marketing interfaces. The discussions and tools presented in this book provide managers with a deep understanding of this critical interface, allowing them to apply these insights to improve their sales-marketing interface, which helps them create superior value for customers.

Developing Successful Business Strategies: Gaining the Competitive Advantage

Developing Successful Business Strategies: Gaining the Competitive Advantage

$21.99

This book presents effective planning business strategies and related budgeting concepts and those activities necessary for the successful growth of the organization. The planning process is shown to be an integral function of developing management strategies for future growth and the gaining of competitive advantage in these fast moving times. Budgeting is presented as a logical outgrowth and an essential part of the planning process rather than an independent internal activity. The book emphasizes the principal factors that should be considered in planning and budgeting for the company, what management and operations personnel must know to better understand effective planning for the business, and what can be done to enhance the overall strategic and financial planning for the organization. The intent of the book is to introduce and explain the relationship between effective planning methods (long-term and short-term) and the budgeting and control processes. The program concentrates on practical approaches to organizational planning and integration with budgeting as well as enhancing familiarity with related concepts and methodology. The book is designed for those who desire to increase their knowledge and practical use of planning and budgeting techniques as a means of achieving improved organizational effectiveness. In addition, the book intends to show the interaction and interdependence of the strategic planning (long and short term), detail planning, budgeting and monitoring processes and to demonstrate how planning is an essential first step in the preparation of an effective budget for the organization.

The Search For Best Practices: Doing the Right Thing the Right Way

The Search For Best Practices: Doing the Right Thing the Right Way

$21.99

The book is geared to those interested in doing the right thing the right way, often in the face of organizational roadblocks. The book is a ‘how to’ book to assist management and operations personnel to analyze their operations in a program of continuous improvements. It proposes an on-going search for best practices so that each entity operates most economically, efficiently, and effectively–consistent with why the entity is in existence in the first place. Best practice techniques assist the company in identifying its critical problem areas and treating the cause and not the symptom. With sensible business principles as the hallmark for the company’s quest for best practices, the company can be clear as to the direction for movement and avoid merely improving poor practices or matching competitors less than desirable practices. Clear business principles that make sense to all levels of the organization allow the company to identify and develop the proper best practices. In this manner, everyone in the organization is moving in the same desired direction–and singing from the same songbook. The viruses that corrupt a business organization can be widespread and quite contagious. Nouveau quick fixes may be okay in the short term, but over the long haul the company needs to know what they are doing. If the company doesn’t, some other company will. The main audience for this book is anyone currently or desirous of working in business–including management/supervision/employees and anyone interested in the world of business and how businesses operate. As many businesses are struggling to be competitive, or merely to survive, this book becomes a primer or ‘how to’ for identifying and maintaining excellence in their operations using best practices in developing a learning organization. The book can be used by individuals, groups or departments–management and operations personnel–in business as a learning, coaching, and mentoring tool in their quest to make their operations the best possible. Another audience is undergraduate and graduate business programs where the book could be used as a course text or supplemental readings for an existing course. Courses could include any course related to business operations, management courses, or its own specific course.