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'A corporation, or a government department isn't a conscious being, but it is an artificial intelligence. It has the capability…
to take decisions which are completely distinct from the intentions of any of the people who compose it. And under stressful conditions, it can go stark raving mad.'When we avoid taking a decision, what happens to it? In The Unaccountability Machine, Dan Davies examines why markets, institutions and even governments systematically generate outcomes that everyone involved claims not to want. He casts new light on the writing of Stafford Beer, a legendary economist who argued in the 1950s that we should regard organisations as artificial intelligences, capable of taking decisions that are distinct from the intentions of their members. Management cybernetics was Beer's science of applying self-regulation in organisational settings, but it was largely ignored - with the result being the political and economic crises that that we see today. With his signature blend of cynicism and journalistic rigour, Davies looks at what's gone wrong, and what might have been, hadthe world listened to Stafford Beer when it had the chance.By Alex Coad, Anders Bornhäll, Sven-Olov Daunfeldt, Alexander McKelvie. 2024
This open access book goes into the details of the characteristics of scale-ups, touching upon various theoretical perspectives (stages of…
growth models, the role of intangible capital, the tradeoffs between fixed costs and marginal costs) relating to firm growth, to provide a clear definition of this emerging concept. Given the disproportionately large economic contribution of a small number of fast-growing firms, there has been growing interest in a category of dynamic ventures called "scale-ups". The term was popularized by Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists before receiving attention from academics and public policy makers. However, there remains considerable confusion regarding what a scale-up actually is.This is an open access book.By Seeram Ramakrishna, Brindha Ramasubramanian. 2024
This book provides comprehensive and practical information on the design and implementation of circular systems for various industries, with a…
focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors. The scope of the handbook is to cover the materials circularity in a deeper analysis in accordance to ESG used in various industries such as oil and gas, IT, electronics, medicine, textile, and more. The handbook also covers the key principles of the circular economy, including material efficiency, resource conservation, and waste reduction, and how they impact to different industries. It further critically analyses the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing circular systems in these industries, including the framework for new business models and technical innovations, and the potential benefits in terms of environmental protection, social responsibility, and economic competitiveness. In addition to providing practical information, the handbookalso addresses the ESG factors associated with the circular economy exclusively for each industry. This would include the impact of circular systems on the environment, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the protection of biodiversity, as well as the social benefits, such as job creation, and the economic benefits, such as cost savings and increased competitiveness. The ultimate goal of the handbook should be to provide guidance and support in a niche evaluation for the development of a more sustainable and equitable future, where the circular economy is a key enabler.By Mary Elizabeth Williams. 2009
"Of course I want a home," writes Mary Elizabeth Williams, "I'm American." Gimme Shelter is the first book to reveal…
how this primal desire, "encoded into our cultural DNA," drove our nation to extremes, from the heights of an unprecedented housing boom to the depths of an unparalleled crash. As a writer and parent in New York City, Williams is careful to ground her real-estate dreams in the reality of her middle-class bank account. Yet as a person who knows no other way to fall in love than at first sight, her relationship with the nation's most daunting housing market is a passionate one. Williams's house-hunting fantasy quickly morphs into a test of endurance, as her search for a place to live and a mortgage she can afford stretches into a three-year odyssey that takes her to the farthest reaches of the boroughs and the limits of her own patience. "Welcome to the tracks," she declares at the outset of yet another weekend tour of blindingly bad, wildly overpriced properties. "Let's go to the wrong side of them, shall we?" As her own quest unfolds, Williams simultaneously reports on the housing markets nationwide. Friends and family members grapple with real estate agents and lenders, neighborhood and quality-of-life issues, all the while voicing common concerns, as expressed by this Maryland working parent of three: "The market was so hot, there were no houses. We looked for years at places the owners wouldn't even clean, let alone fix up." How frustrating is the process? Williams likens it to hearing "the opening bars of a song you think is 'Super Freak.' And then it turns out to be 'U Can't Touch This.'" Told in an engaging blend of factfinding and memoir, Gimme Shelter charts the course of the real estate bubble as it floated ever upward, not with faceless numbers and documents but with the details of countless personal stories -- about the undeniable urge to put down roots and the lengths to which we'll go to find our way home.By Robert G. Hagstrom. 2024
An insightful new take on the life and work of one of the world's most remarkable investors: Warren Buffett In…
the 30th Anniversary Edition of The Warren Buffett Way, celebrated author and investor Robert Hagstrom delivers the definitive version of his bestselling compendium of the investment strategies made famous by Warren Buffett. The Warren Buffett Way describes the twelve investment tenets of Warren Buffett's strategy called business-driven investing and his distinct approach to managing a portfolio of businesses. You'll learn how you can apply these same principles to building your own portfolio and find discussions on the psychology of long-term investing, its optimal benefits, and how to avoid the most common pitfalls and mistakes encountered by investors. This latest edition includes: A new author preface to complement the existing forewords from Peter Lynch, Bill Miller, and Howard Marks. Insights on how to achieve worldly wisdom advanced by Warren Buffett's longtime business partner Charlie Munger. Footnotes and references to academic work that supports and expands on Warren Buffett's investment approach and portfolio management. The complete Berkshire Hathaway common stocks portfolios from 1977-2021. An indispensable guide to the remarkable work and accomplishments of Warren Buffett, The Warren Buffett Way is a can't-miss resource for professional and individual investors who want to learn from the world's greatest investor.By Robert G. Allen. 2006
Popular speaker, multimillionaire, and author of the all-time bestselling real-estate book Nothing Down, Robert G. Allen knows how to bring…
you financial success. With his seminars sweeping the nation, Allen is at the cutting edge of strategic wealth creation now more than ever. And in this completely revised edition of his classic bestseller Creating Wealth Allen gives you the basic principles that you need to stop thinking poor and start growing rich. Moving beyond just real estate, Allen goes straight to the core of people's inner motivations and beliefs about money to give you all the fundamentals of wealth creation. By developing a wealthy mind-set, anyone can take off into financial self-reliance -- and Allen shows you how. He explains the ways in which most of us have been programmed to think that only saving is good and debt and risk are bad, so that in our efforts to gain security, we cheat ourselves out of getting rich. The key to changing that mind-set is Allen's unique integration of real estate with other wealth-generating investments. In his trademark, easy-to-understand style Allen spells out all his practical applications and shows you how to: Take advantage of recent tax lawsUse leverage to multiply holdings while minimizing risksBenefit from high-yield discount mortgagesAcquire long-term profits in gold and silver coinsSet up corporations and trusts to protect assetsFind the highest rate of return with the greatest liquidity As Robert Allen has proved in his own life -- becoming a multimillionaire well before he was thirty-five -- it doesn't matter how much or how little money you have when you start as long as you understand the right principles -- timeless principles that can make you a fortune.Instant New York Times Bestseller Unlock your potential by cultivating self-awareness and curating a fulfilling life full of self-improvement, emotional…
intelligence, and a growth mindset. Leadership expert and entrepreneur Dr. Josh Axe teaches 12 revolutionary mindshift transformations to beat the grind and reach the life you've always wanted. Redefine success and replace the limiting beliefs of yourself with the healthy mental toughness to think this, not that. Perhaps you're busy but still feel empty. Maybe things haven't turned out how you'd hoped, and life seems stale and unfulfilling. What if you could wake up every morning excited about your purpose, knowing you're fulfilling your greatest potential?A more meaningful life is within your reach, and it starts in one place: your mind.Living with a mindset of false narratives will keep you stuck, locked in a prison of unpursued dreams and goals. But cultivating a new mindset based on what is actually true will set you free—free to start exploring and growing beyond the limits you thought you had.In Think This, Not That, Dr. Josh Axe unpacks the top twelve mental barriers holding people back from realizing their potential and becoming the greatest version of themselves, and contrasts each one with a new empowering mindset, such as:Don't simply drift; clarify your purpose.Don't define success based on what you accomplish; base it on who you become.Don't be the victim; be the hero.Don't be a slave to your vices; overpower them by building virtues.Don't live by popular opinion; follow enduring principles of wisdom.Don't allow unintentionality; visualize a strategy. Whether you want to improve your physical or financial health, raise the quality of your relationships, or take your career to new heights, these mindshifts will help transform your life.It's time to break through your limiting beliefs and find out who you can become, to build a meaningful life through new thoughts and actions, and to make the switch from what's stalled you toward a life of ultimate significance.By George A. Steiner. 1979
In today's complex business world, strategic planning is indispensable to achieving superior management. George A. Steiner's classic work, known as…
the bible of business planning, provides practical advice for organizing the planning system, acquiring and using information, and translating strategic plans into decisive action. An invaluable resource for top and middle-level executives, Strategic Planning continues to be the foremost guide to this vital area of business management.By Leonard L. Berry. 1995
Improving service quality has finally become a top priority of management today, yet according to service quality expert Leonard Berry…
only a handful of companies have managed to determine exactly what to improve and how to improve it. For the past two years, Berry studied dozens of companies of all sizes renowned for their capacity to deliver what they promise and more. From his on-site observation of the strategies and practices of such companies as Mary Kay Cosmetics, Tattered Cover Book Store, Longo Toyota & Lexus, Lakeland Regional Medical Center, and Hard Rock Cafe, Berry has constructed a dynamic new framework for improving service. This framework provides a roadmap for implementation found nowhere else in the service quality literature. In every chapter Berry draws on his twelve years of research in service quality to explain each part of the framework in detail. He provides rich insights and inspiring examples of great service -- including numerous examples unique to this book as well as the classic success stories of USAA, Taco Bell, and many more. Berry shows that a company must (1) develop service leadership skills and values -- a concept substantially different from developing general leadership; (2) build a service quality information system; and (3) create a comprehensive service strategy based on the four principles of great service: reliability, surprise, recovery, and fairness. He demonstrates how these four principles, when adopted by the leadership and infused into the systems of a service company, are the building blocks of the framework and form the anchor for implementation. Berry shows how the "artistry" of great service can be systematically created from this foundation through a company's organizational structure, technology, and often under utilized human resources assets. He challenges service managers to set their service quality aspirations higher, and his innovative, practical ideas will help them achieve those higher standards. Linking service excellence to value creation, Berry provides solid financial reasons for the necessity of great service. Here, at last, is the book for which managers in every service industry have waited: Leonard Berry's "operating manual" for turning plans for great service into action.By Peter Meyers, Shann Nix. 2011
The world is full of brilliant people whose ideas are never heard. This book is designed to make sure that…
you’re not one of them.Even for the most self-confident among us, public speaking can be a nerve-racking ordeal. Whether we are speaking to a large audience, within a group, or in a one-on-one conversation, the way in which we communicate ideas, as much as the ideas themselves, can determine success or failure. In this invaluable guide by two of today’s most sought-after communication experts, Peter Meyers and Shann Nix offer a comprehensive approach for tackling the underlying obstacles that almost all of us experience when faced with speaking in public. In As We Speak, you’ll learn to master the three building blocks at the core of their approach: Content: Organize the information you want to convey and construct a clear and lucid architecture of ideas that will lead your listener through a memorable emotional experience. Delivery: Use your body, voice, eyes, and hands in ways that engage your audience and naturally support your message. State: Bring yourself into peak performance condition. Your state is the way you feel when you perform, and it is both the most powerful and most frequently overlooked component of communication. Meyers and Nix show how to apply these principles in a wide variety of situations. You’ll learn how to handle difficult face-to-face conversations with colleagues, friends, and family; how to make the best use of e-mail, phone, video conference, and other technology; and how to communicate in a crisis, when all eyes are on you and emotions are running high. Meyers and Nix also emphasize that effective communication is impossible without first becoming aware of your own true goals and personal beliefs, and they offer helpful tools and exercises that will lead you to greater clarity and self-knowledge. Accessible, inspiring, and laden with useful tips, As We Speak will help you discover your authentic voice and learn to convey your ideas in the most powerful and memorable way possible.Get your meeting attendees to play by the rules!Have you ever been to a meeting that dissolved into utter chaos?…
Or attended a meeting that seemed unfocused and unproductive?Robert's Rules of Order have been the standard of parliamentary procedure for business and civic organizations since 1876. The Everything Robert's Rules Book fully explains Robert's Rules and shows you how to apply them to today's social and business meeting situations.Features clear explanation of:Types of meetings and their rulesProper voting proceduresThe rules of debateWhen and how to use motionsProper minute-takingStandards for teleconferencing and e-mailingThe Everything Robert's Rules Book is your one-stop reference to holding productive, successful meetings.By Charles L. Marohn Jr., Daniel Herriges. 2024
Housing is an investment. Investment prices must go up. Housing is shelter. When the price of shelter goes up, people…
experience distress.This is the housing trap. It’s time to escape. In Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Solution to the Housing Crisis, renowned urbanists Charles (Chuck) Marohn and Daniel Herriges introduce a first-of-its-kind discussion of the tension between housing as a financial product and housing as shelter. This is the key insight that’s been missing from the Housing Crisis Conversation; and the insight that can help cities fight back against the crisis from the bottom-up.This book offers a serious, yet accessible, history of housing policy in the United States and explains how it led us to this point in time: where we face a market that is rigged against people who, only a few decades ago, could have been homeowners or stable, long-term rentals. Only local change, on a neighborhood or city-wide scale, can begin to restore balance to the housing market. Escaping the Housing Trap is the must-read resource for everyone with a stake in the future of housing in America—and that means everyone. Readers will find: Discussions of housing as an investment and how the country's neighborhoods are being transformed by the introduction of large amounts of investment Explorations of housing as shelter, including discussions of zoning policy and NIMBYism A comprehensive overview of the Strong Towns approach to solving the American housing crisisBy Michael Wolff. 1999
From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Fire and Fury and Siege: Trump Under Fire—Michael Wolff's wickedly…
funny chronicle of his rags-to-riches-to-rags adventure as a fledgling Internet entrepreneur exposes an industry powered by hype, celebrity, and billions of investment dollars, and notably devoid of profit-making enterprises.As he describes his efforts to control his company's burn rate—the amount of money the company consumes in excess of its income—Wolff offers a no-holds-barred portrait of unaccountable successes and major disasters, including the story behind Wired magazine and its fanatical founder, Louis Rossetto; the rise of America Online, perhaps the most dysfunctional successful company in history, and the humiliating inability of people such as Bill Gates to untangle the intricacies of the Web.By Fred P. Hochberg. 2020
&“A sprightly and clear-eyed testimonial to the value of globalization&” (The Wall Street Journal) as seenthrough six surprising everyday goods—the…
taco salad, the Honda Odyssey, the banana, the iPhone, the college degree, and the blockbuster HBO series Game of Thrones.Trade allows us to sell what we produce at home and purchase what we don&’t. It lowers prices and gives us greater variety and innovation. Yet understanding our place in the global trade network is rarely simple. Trade has become an easy excuse for struggling economies, a scapegoat for our failures to adapt to a changing world, and—for many Americans on both the right and the left—nothing short of a four-letter word.But as Fred P. Hochberg reminds us, trade is easier to understand than we commonly think. In Trade Is Not a Four-Letter Word, you&’ll learn how NAFTA became a populist punching bag on both sides of the aisle. You&’ll learn how Americans can avoid the grim specter of the $10 banana. And you&’ll finally discover the truth about whether or not, as President Trump has famously tweeted, &“trade wars are good and easy to win.&” (Spoiler alert—they aren&’t.)Hochberg debunks common trade myths by pulling back the curtain on six everyday products, each with a surprising story to tell: the taco salad, the Honda Odyssey, the banana, the iPhone, the college degree, and the smash hit HBO series Game of Thrones. Behind these six examples are stories that help explain not only how trade has shaped our lives so far but also how we can use trade to build a better future for our own families, for America, and for the world.Trade Is Not a Four-Letter Word is the antidote to today&’s acronym-laden trade jargon pitched to voters with simple promises that rarely play out so one-dimensionally. Packed with colorful examples and highly digestible explanations, Trade Is Not a Four-Letter Word is &“an accessible, necessary book that will increase our understanding of trade and economic policies and the ways in which they impact our daily lives&” (Library Journal, starred review).By David Sokolin, Alexandra Bruce. 2008
Now more than ever, the value of Investment-Grade Wines (IGWs) and opportunities to invest in wine as an asset class…
are soaring. With a little research and a little risk, wine enthusiasts on every level will find it possible to gain big rewards in wine investment -- and there's never been a better time to try. IGWs have dependably outperformed blue chip stocks over the past 150 years, and the upscale wine market is still an area in which independent investors can profit handsomely. A third-generation wine merchant, and CEO of one of the largest rare-wine companies in the world, David Sokolin knows how to turn fine wine into cold cash. And he knows how you can, too. In simple, practical terms, Investing in Liquid Assets provides all the information you need to understand the economic principles that govern the world of fine wine and take advantage of the resources currently available. Using his insider's expertise, Sokolin defines Investment-Grade Wine and identifies the most financially important wine regions and styles. Defining the key players in the field, Sokolin shows you how to navigate the world of wine critics and understand the impact of their scores, and he explains why it's perfectly fine that your own personal tastes really don't matter. He offers tips on where to find reputable sources for fine wine, how to manage storage and resale, as well as all-important buying and selling strategies. In the second half of the book, he gives overviews of the world's greatest wine regions and offers his predictions about which regions and which wines are likely to represent the greatest investment opportunities in the near future. Providing information and tactics previously known only to successful professionals, Investing in Liquid Assets turns your passion for fine wine into a valuable resource that will pay for itself.By Josef Herget, Herbert Strobl. 2024
Das Anliegen des Buches besteht darin, das Gebiet der Unternehmenskultur zu umreißen, zentrale Methoden und Instrumente vorzustellen und einen Einblick…
in die praktische Umsetzung von Unternehmenskulturprojekten zu geben. Zahlreiche Fallstudien mit konkretem Vorgehen verdeutlichen die Arbeit von Beratern und liefern Impulse für die Entwicklung der eigenen Unternehmenskultur. Das Buch zeichnet sich durch eine besondere Praxisnähe aus: Theoretische und methodische Grundlagen verbunden mit dem passenden Instrumentarium zeigen auf, wie Projekte erfolgreich initiiert, implementiert und zum Erfolg geführt werden können. Ausgewählte Lessons Learned aus unterschiedlichen Projekten der Praxis zeigen gängige, aber vermeidbare Fehler auf. Zielgruppe sind Vorstände, Geschäftsführer, Organisations- und Personalverantwortliche in Unternehmen und Non-profit Organisationen, die sich mit Unternehmenskultur beschäftigen. Die 2. Auflage ist nun vollständig überarbeitet, berücksichtigt neueste Entwicklungen und ist um fünf neue Beiträge ergänzt.By Amanda Steinberg. 2017
From the founder and superstar CEO of DailyWorth.com, the go-to financial site for women with more than one million subscribers,…
comes a fresh book that shows women how to view money as a source of personal power and freedom—and live life on their own terms.Millions of women want to create financial stability and abundance in their lives, but they don&’t know how. They are stuck in overwhelming confusion and guilt, driven by internalized &“money stories&” that have nothing to do with what is really possible. As the founder of DailyWorth.com, a financial media and education platform, Amanda Steinberg encounters these smart, ambitious women every day. With this book, she helps them face their financial situations head on and wake up to the prosperity that awaits them.Worth It outlines the essential financial information women need—and everything the institutions and advisors don&’t spell out. Steinberg gets to the bottom of why women are stressed and anxious when it comes to their finances and teaches them to stay away from strict budgeting and other harsh austerity practices. Instead, she makes money relatable, while sharing strategies she uses herself to build confidence and ease in her own financial life. Through her first-hand experiences and the stories from other women who&’ve woken up, Steinberg&’s powerful and encouraging advice can help women of any age and income view money as a source of freedom and independence—and create bright financial futures.Mit diesem Manual werden Sie fit für die Durchführung des psychologischen Gesundheitsförderungsprogramms: Gelassen und sicher im Stress. Es wird seit…
über 25 Jahren erfolgreich eingesetzt und von den gesetzlichen Krankenkassen als geprüfte Präventionsmaßnahme gefördert. In Teil I finden Sie Hintergrundwissen aus der Stressforschung: kompakt, fundiert und verständlich. Teil II enthält die Trainingsbausteine: (1) Entspannungstraining: entspannen und loslassen. (2) Mentaltraining: förderliche Denkweisen und Einstellungen entwickeln. (3) Problemlösetraining: Stresssituationen wahrnehmen, annehmen und verändern. (4) Genusstraining: erholen und genießen. (5) Ergänzungsmodule zu Stressbewältigung durch Sport und Bewegung, Pflege des sozialen Netzes, Zielklärung, gesunden Umgang mit der Zeit und der 4xA-Strategie für den Akutfall. Aus dem Inhalt: Didaktische Hinweise für eine kompetente Durchführung des Trainings – abwechslungsreiche Gestaltung durch viele praktisch erprobte Übungen – Teilnehmerunterlagen, die informieren und motivieren – alle Trainingsmaterialien stehen zum Ausdrucken online zur Verfügung. Der Autor: Prof. Dr. Gert Kaluza ist psychologischer Psychotherapeut und als Trainer, Coach und Autor im Bereich der individuellen und betrieblichen Gesundheitsförderung tätig. Nach 20jähriger Tätigkeit an Universitäten gründete er 2002 sein eigenes Fortbildungs- und Trainingsinstitut, das GKM-Institut für Gesundheitspsychologie, das er bis 2022 selbst leitete.By Erika Majzlíková. 2024
This book analyses the possible regionalization of global value chains, particularly in manufacturing. Amidst calls for an industrial renaissance in…
Europe and a resurgence of manufacturing jobs in the United States, the dynamics of global value chains have been reshaped by global pandemics, geopolitical tensions, and increased automation. Employing a multi-regional input–output model, the book scrutinizes the decline in offshoring afer the mid-2010s. It sheds light on regionalization as a pivotal force redefining global markets, and focuses on Europe and North America, revealing the strengthening of regional ties. Discussing future challenges, the book will appeal to scholars, students, and researchers, as well as practitioners and policy-makers interested in a better understanding of (de)globalization nuances connected to the evolving role of manufacturing in global value chains.By Toni Turner. 2002
Trade you way to financial success!Are you tired of playing the "buy-and-hope" game with your stocks? Savvy stock trader Toni…
Turner shows you the ins and outs and ups and downs of short-term trading. You'll learn how to buy and sell stocks on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis, so you can own the right stocks at the right time. Turner's clear, common-sense advice, easy-to-follow explanations, and helpful examples will help you invest in the exciting and profitable world of short-term trading quickly and safely. In this revised edition, you'll get completely up-to-date information on: -New products such as ETFs and expanded coverage on sector investing-Resources for choosing an online broker New SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) rules and regulations-Updated charts and graphs with current examplesA Beginner's Guide to Short-Term Trading is the hands-on book designed to get you actively involved in every step of the trading process. Now you can take control of your portfolio and secure the financial freedom you've always dreamed of. Start planning your trades today!