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Corporation on a tightrope: Balancing leadership, governance, and technology in an age of complexity
REVIEW
The Living Company: Growth, Learning and Longevity in Business, ARIE DE G~:us, Nicholas Brealey (1997), 254 pp., £16.99. Identifies four key factors for longevity and growth: learning (sensitive to the environment); persona (cohesion and identity); ecology (tolerant and decentralised) and evolution (conservative in financing). Stimulating ideas by a leading thinker who can reflect effectively on his extensive practical experience in Shell.
Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations, THOMASA. STEWART, Nicholas £16.99.
Brealey (1997),
261
pp.,
Shows how to turn untapped knowledge into an organisation's greatest asset. A subject which, until recently, has been largely ignored; even where its importance is recognised, it is rarely managed successfully. Usefully combined with Knowledge Management Tools, RUDYL. RUGLESIII, ButterworthHeinemann (1997), 303 pp., £14.99. Sixteen papers that should be read by all those seriously concerned with this vital subject.
Pattern in Corporate Evolution, NElLM. KAY, Oxford University Press (1997), :~1.~ pp., £40.00. Develops a resource-based perspective for the firm which, in turn, provides the foundation for the analysis of the firm as a complex system in which links composed of shared resources constitute the basic building blocks. A serious study for serious students of the subject. The author is Professor of Business Economics in the Economics Department at the University of Strathclyde. These ideas need to be incorporated into strategic thinking with a greater emphasis on people issues.
BRIEFS
Review Briefs are not detailed reviews. They are mainly brief notes and descriptions of books received for review to enlighten the reader on their general intention and approach. The expectation is that more books can be described to readers than has proved possible by publishing only critical reviews. The descriptive information should enable interest in the books to be raised beyond that induced by just listing the titles. However, it is recognized that a critical review can be far more informative about a book than is attempted with Review Briefs and, accordingly, offers to review any books are solicited. Having been described in Review Briefs, a review should critically examine the contents of a publication as an assessment of whether its stated intentions have been met and whether the way it achieves these intentions is attractive to the reader. It is expected that each review will require 1000-1500 words and will be fully attributed. The reviewer keeps the book but Long RangePlanning makes no payment. As an alternative, it may be apparent that either a single 'milestone' class publication or several books on a single topic could constitute a wider perspective Essay Review. This would be expected to comprise an article of some 3000--4000 words and would have a written introduction by the Review Editor. The Journal would make its usual article contribution payments to the author of an Essay Review. Readers interested to review any book in Review Briefs should be prepared to offer a copy deadline some 5 months ahead which can be relied on in planning the Journal. As a matter of readership policy, reviewer preference will be given to practising managers, or planners. Your interest should be expressed as a specific request to review a book from Review Briefs, preferably giving some intimation of why you think your review would be of interest to readers, addressed to: Bruce Lloyd, Book Review Editor, 48 Aberdare Gardens, London NW6 3QA, UK. Wherever possible, both Reviews and Review Essays should be supplied in hard copy and in electronic form on floppy disk--see Notes for Contributors on the inside back cover.
Corporation on a Tightrope: Balancing Leadership, Governance, and Technology in an Age of Complexity, JOHNG. SIFONXSand BEVERLYGOLDBERG,Oxford University Press (1997), 315 pp., £19.50. Recognises that there is no easy road to sustained corporate success. Their approach argues for the need to integrate market-driven changes with three critical components: effective governance, technological management and leadership.
Strategic Alignment in Practice, Edited by JERRY N. LUFTMAN, Oxford University Press (1996), 414 pp., £25.00. Provides a practical analysis in an attempt to ensure that businesses get greater benefit from their enormous investments in information technology. Argues for the need to align four elements: the business strategy, the strategy of IS, the organizational infrastructure, and its IT infrastructure. Based on the experience at the IBM Consulting Group. Much sound and sensible advice, as would be expected, but even more on people issues could be justified. Also more on knowledge management and something on the 'millennium time-bomb'?
Competing in the Information Age: Long Range Planning Vol. 30
December 1997
The Living Company: Growth, Learning and Longevity in Business, ARIE DE G~:us, Nicholas Brealey (1997), 254 pp., £16.99. Identifies four key factors for longevity and growth: learning (sensitive to the environment); persona (cohesion and identity); ecology (tolerant and decentralised) and evolution (conservative in financing). Stimulating ideas by a leading thinker who can reflect effectively on his extensive practical experience in Shell.
Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations, THOMASA. STEWART, Nicholas £16.99.
Brealey (1997),
261
pp.,
Shows how to turn untapped knowledge into an organisation's greatest asset. A subject which, until recently, has been largely ignored; even where its importance is recognised, it is rarely managed successfully. Usefully combined with Knowledge Management Tools, RUDYL. RUGLESIII, ButterworthHeinemann (1997), 303 pp., £14.99. Sixteen papers that should be read by all those seriously concerned with this vital subject.
Pattern in Corporate Evolution, NElLM. KAY, Oxford University Press (1997), :~1.~ pp., £40.00. Develops a resource-based perspective for the firm which, in turn, provides the foundation for the analysis of the firm as a complex system in which links composed of shared resources constitute the basic building blocks. A serious study for serious students of the subject. The author is Professor of Business Economics in the Economics Department at the University of Strathclyde. These ideas need to be incorporated into strategic thinking with a greater emphasis on people issues.
BRIEFS
Review Briefs are not detailed reviews. They are mainly brief notes and descriptions of books received for review to enlighten the reader on their general intention and approach. The expectation is that more books can be described to readers than has proved possible by publishing only critical reviews. The descriptive information should enable interest in the books to be raised beyond that induced by just listing the titles. However, it is recognized that a critical review can be far more informative about a book than is attempted with Review Briefs and, accordingly, offers to review any books are solicited. Having been described in Review Briefs, a review should critically examine the contents of a publication as an assessment of whether its stated intentions have been met and whether the way it achieves these intentions is attractive to the reader. It is expected that each review will require 1000-1500 words and will be fully attributed. The reviewer keeps the book but Long RangePlanning makes no payment. As an alternative, it may be apparent that either a single 'milestone' class publication or several books on a single topic could constitute a wider perspective Essay Review. This would be expected to comprise an article of some 3000--4000 words and would have a written introduction by the Review Editor. The Journal would make its usual article contribution payments to the author of an Essay Review. Readers interested to review any book in Review Briefs should be prepared to offer a copy deadline some 5 months ahead which can be relied on in planning the Journal. As a matter of readership policy, reviewer preference will be given to practising managers, or planners. Your interest should be expressed as a specific request to review a book from Review Briefs, preferably giving some intimation of why you think your review would be of interest to readers, addressed to: Bruce Lloyd, Book Review Editor, 48 Aberdare Gardens, London NW6 3QA, UK. Wherever possible, both Reviews and Review Essays should be supplied in hard copy and in electronic form on floppy disk--see Notes for Contributors on the inside back cover.
Corporation on a Tightrope: Balancing Leadership, Governance, and Technology in an Age of Complexity, JOHNG. SIFONXSand BEVERLYGOLDBERG,Oxford University Press (1997), 315 pp., £19.50. Recognises that there is no easy road to sustained corporate success. Their approach argues for the need to integrate market-driven changes with three critical components: effective governance, technological management and leadership.
Strategic Alignment in Practice, Edited by JERRY N. LUFTMAN, Oxford University Press (1996), 414 pp., £25.00. Provides a practical analysis in an attempt to ensure that businesses get greater benefit from their enormous investments in information technology. Argues for the need to align four elements: the business strategy, the strategy of IS, the organizational infrastructure, and its IT infrastructure. Based on the experience at the IBM Consulting Group. Much sound and sensible advice, as would be expected, but even more on people issues could be justified. Also more on knowledge management and something on the 'millennium time-bomb'?
Competing in the Information Age: Long Range Planning Vol. 30
December 1997