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Participatory action research
Book Reviews contains a special feature on the International Financial Situation of the Central and Eastern European Countries), 128 pp., FF80 per issue, or FF200 annual subscription; Macrotheasaurusfor Information Processing in the Field ofEconomic and Social Development (1991), 375 pp., FF210; Education in OECD Countries 1987-88: A Compendium ofStatistical Information, 1990 Special Edition (1990), 145 pp., FF140; Higher Education Management, Journal of the Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1991), 96 pp., FF90, annually (3 copies) FF220.
The Power Talk System: How to Communicate Effectively, CHRISTIANH. GODEFROY and STEPHANIEBARRAT, Piatkus (1990), 245 pp., 418.50. Executives spend most of their time communicating. Having a good idea is one thing, putting it across effectively is another. This is a well presented ‘self managed learning pack’ from which all could benefit. A more controversial look at some related issues is contained in Status: What it is and How to Achieve it, PHILIPPADAVIES,Piatkus (1991), 208 pp., El5.00.
Corporate Society: Class, Property, and Contemporary Capitalism, JOHN MCDERMOTT,Westview Press (1991), 208 pp., E31.00. ‘The modern corporation, praised and condemned by thinkers from Weber to Bell and Dahrendorf, is the institution of modem society. Its enormous success has made it our premier social, as well as economic, institution, and modern society is increasingly coming to reflect the social structure, values, priorities, and hierarchies that have evolved within the corporation.’ An important subject for managers and planners, but the authors’ analysis of these issues is, unfortunately, aimed primarily at the academic market.
Participatory Action Research, WILLIAM FOOTE WHYTE (Ed.), Sage Publications (1991). 247 pp., kl3.95. Makes a case for participatory action research (PAR) as a powerful strategy to advance both science and practice. PAR involves practitioners in the research process from the initial design of the project through data gathering and analysis to final conclusions and actions arising out of the research. The
authors argue that PAR is different to what normally happens, but that is not immediately obvious to the casual reader.
Advances in International Comparative Management, Volume 4, S. BENJAMINPRASAD(Ed.), JAI Press (1989), 281 pp., 644.50. Although a collection of 15 papers primarly written for the academic market, they should be of interest to strategic planners who need to operate within an international context. Three examples: An Empirical Analysis of Strategies for Managerial Control: The United States andJapan; A Comparative Study of Managerial Beliefs about Work in the Arab States and Japanese Management Theories: A Research Agenda.
Several publications are now appearing that attempt to produce a regular (annual) summary of significant/new developments in the strategic management area. In view of the amount of material now becoming available, this is an invaluable service. Two specific examples are: Advances in Applied Business Strategy, Volume 2, LAWRENCEW. FOSTER, JAI Press (1991), 236 pp., L44.50. This contains 11 papers which examine applied strategy as it relates to organizational functions-human resources, technology and manufacturing, top executive development; it looks at functions as competitive weapons and specifically at how those functions are utilized competitively in a number of U.S. firms. And international Review of Strategic Management, Vol. 2, No. 1, John Wiley (1991), 271 pp., E35.00. Worth reading particularly for the chapter on Strategic Management in a Historical Perspective by H. Igor Ansoff and part two, on the continually underrated subject: Implementing Corporate Strategy. As David Hussey rightly points out in his introduction: ‘Implementation is in many ways the Cinderella of strategic management.’ Another exercise, although published a few years ago, did not appear to have received the attention it deserves, and hence it is belatedly mentioned-and recommended-here, is Strategic Management Frontiers, JOHN GRANT,JAI Press (1988), 483 pp., A44.50. Twenty papers, divided into six parts (Evolving Perspectives on Strategic Management; Strategic Management’s Varying Boundaries; Strategic Elements of Performance; Systemsfor the Guidance and Control of Strategy; Strategic Decision Processes; and Methodological Opportunities and Limitations), each with an introduction by the editor; together with a final paper, also by the editor, Continuing Challenges in Strategic Management. All three valuable additions to the reading list of the serious strategic planner.
The Power Talk System: How to Communicate Effectively, CHRISTIANH. GODEFROY and STEPHANIEBARRAT, Piatkus (1990), 245 pp., 418.50. Executives spend most of their time communicating. Having a good idea is one thing, putting it across effectively is another. This is a well presented ‘self managed learning pack’ from which all could benefit. A more controversial look at some related issues is contained in Status: What it is and How to Achieve it, PHILIPPADAVIES,Piatkus (1991), 208 pp., El5.00.
Corporate Society: Class, Property, and Contemporary Capitalism, JOHN MCDERMOTT,Westview Press (1991), 208 pp., E31.00. ‘The modern corporation, praised and condemned by thinkers from Weber to Bell and Dahrendorf, is the institution of modem society. Its enormous success has made it our premier social, as well as economic, institution, and modern society is increasingly coming to reflect the social structure, values, priorities, and hierarchies that have evolved within the corporation.’ An important subject for managers and planners, but the authors’ analysis of these issues is, unfortunately, aimed primarily at the academic market.
Participatory Action Research, WILLIAM FOOTE WHYTE (Ed.), Sage Publications (1991). 247 pp., kl3.95. Makes a case for participatory action research (PAR) as a powerful strategy to advance both science and practice. PAR involves practitioners in the research process from the initial design of the project through data gathering and analysis to final conclusions and actions arising out of the research. The
authors argue that PAR is different to what normally happens, but that is not immediately obvious to the casual reader.
Advances in International Comparative Management, Volume 4, S. BENJAMINPRASAD(Ed.), JAI Press (1989), 281 pp., 644.50. Although a collection of 15 papers primarly written for the academic market, they should be of interest to strategic planners who need to operate within an international context. Three examples: An Empirical Analysis of Strategies for Managerial Control: The United States andJapan; A Comparative Study of Managerial Beliefs about Work in the Arab States and Japanese Management Theories: A Research Agenda.
Several publications are now appearing that attempt to produce a regular (annual) summary of significant/new developments in the strategic management area. In view of the amount of material now becoming available, this is an invaluable service. Two specific examples are: Advances in Applied Business Strategy, Volume 2, LAWRENCEW. FOSTER, JAI Press (1991), 236 pp., L44.50. This contains 11 papers which examine applied strategy as it relates to organizational functions-human resources, technology and manufacturing, top executive development; it looks at functions as competitive weapons and specifically at how those functions are utilized competitively in a number of U.S. firms. And international Review of Strategic Management, Vol. 2, No. 1, John Wiley (1991), 271 pp., E35.00. Worth reading particularly for the chapter on Strategic Management in a Historical Perspective by H. Igor Ansoff and part two, on the continually underrated subject: Implementing Corporate Strategy. As David Hussey rightly points out in his introduction: ‘Implementation is in many ways the Cinderella of strategic management.’ Another exercise, although published a few years ago, did not appear to have received the attention it deserves, and hence it is belatedly mentioned-and recommended-here, is Strategic Management Frontiers, JOHN GRANT,JAI Press (1988), 483 pp., A44.50. Twenty papers, divided into six parts (Evolving Perspectives on Strategic Management; Strategic Management’s Varying Boundaries; Strategic Elements of Performance; Systemsfor the Guidance and Control of Strategy; Strategic Decision Processes; and Methodological Opportunities and Limitations), each with an introduction by the editor; together with a final paper, also by the editor, Continuing Challenges in Strategic Management. All three valuable additions to the reading list of the serious strategic planner.