- Email: [email protected]
Review Briefs
Review Briefs Review Briefs are not detailed, critical reviews; they are mainly brief notes and descriptions of books received for review to enlighten the reader on their general intention and approach. In this way more books can be described to readers than is possible by publishing only critical reviews. The descriptive information should enable interest to be raised beyond that induced by just listing the titles. Of course, a critical review can be far more informative about a book than is attempted with Review Briefs and, accordingly, offers to review any books appearing in Review Briefs are invited. A Book 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 be 1,000–1,500 words long and will be fully attributed. The reviewer keeps the book but LRP makes no payment. Alternatively, either a single ‘milestone’ publication or several books on a single topic may be worthy of a wider perspective essay review. This would be expected to comprise an article of 3,000–4,000 words, and would have an introduction written by the Review Editor. The usual article contribution payments would apply to the author of such a review. Any readers interested in reviewing a specific book from Review Briefs (or other relevant books) should write to the Review Editor, preferably giving some intimation of why you think your review would be of interest to readers. Book Reviews should be supplied in hard copy and in electronic form on disk. See Notes for Contributors on the inside back cover. Professor Bruce Lloyd, Book Review Editor, South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Broad introductions to the whole concept of strategy
Useful teaching text but HR needs to be closely integrate for organisations to really work well.
Strategic Management, Garth SALONER, Andrea SHEPARD and Joel PODOLNY
Rethinking Strategy, edited by Henk W. VOLBERDA and Tom ELFRING
Wiley (2001), 442 pp., £27.50 Provides a practical framework for understanding concepts that should help managers think strategically. Based on material developed from the authors’ experience of teaching on the Strategic Management MBA core course at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
Sage (2001), 322pp., £60.00 (hard), £19.99 (soft) Twenty-one articles, many with specific commentaries, that explore leading-edge strategy issues. Organised into six sections: Theory, Schools and Practice; Integration efforts in the field; The Boundary School: Strategy as a boundary decision; The Dynamic Capabilities School:
Strategy as a collective learning process to develop distinctive competencies; The Configurational School: Strategy as a decision of transition from one archetype to another; and New directions in strategy: Ways to synthesize. For the serious student of strategic thinking— including 30 pages of references!
What is Strategy—and does it matter, Richard WHITTINGTON Thomson Learning (2001), 150pp., £19.99
769
Updated version (first edition 1993) of a useful basic introduction to a challenging managerial concept—strategy. Another excellent basic review of the nature of strategy, essentially viewing it as a dynamic process is Strategic Thinking: An Executive Perspective, Cornelis A. De Kluyver, Prentice Hall (2000), 154pp., £24.99.
Textbooks covering the whole subject of strategy Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization. Concepts and Cases, Michael A. HITT, R. Duane IRELAND and Robert E. HOSKISSON South-Western College Publishing/Thomson Learning (2001), 1240pp., £29.99 Comprehensive case-based teaching text for strategy input on a wide variety of programmes. Extensive website support. Although US-based the (40) detailed cases provide an up-to-date global perspective.
Financial Times Corporate Strategy Casebook, Philip A. WICKHAM Pearson Education (2000), 417pp., £19.99 A range of interesting and relevant case material that can be usefully used to support teaching of strategic management. Can be used alone or in conjunction with Richard Lynch’s Corporate Strategy. As expected, extensively supported by material from the Financial Times.
770
Various concepts of strategic management In Search of Management: Culture, chaos and control in managerial work, Tony J. WATSON Thomson Learning (2001), 242pp., £19.99 Updates an earlier version, published in 1994. Fascinating insights for anyone seriously interested in the nature of management. Busy practising managers would find the final four pages outlining a scheme of management competencies— around three elements: Personal orientation; Cognitive style; and Interpersonal style. Worthwhile for that alone.
Analytical methods, tools and approaches Capitalize on Mergers Chaos: Six Ways to Profit from your Competitors’ Consolidation and Your Own, Thomas M. GRUBB and Robert B. LAMB The Free Press (2000), 212pp., £20.00 Up to 80 per cent of mergers fail because of cultural clashes and the mismanagement of the ensuring chaos. But that chaos creates opportunities for others—and the authors develop six key strategies to exploit them. Essential reading for all involved in this challenging—and all too frequently expensive—area.
The Art of Innovation, Thomas KELLEY with Jonathan LITTMAN HarperCollinsBusiness (2001), 307pp., £19.99 Takes readers behind the scenes of an imaginative and successful
company to reveal the strategies it uses to produces results. The author is general manager of (probably?) the world’s leading design consultancy specialising in product development and innovation. The IDEO approach focuses on creating an atmosphere conducive to freely expressing ideas, breaking rules and freeing people to design their own work environments. This approach also focuses on teamwork and believes in intense brainstorming-and-build processes. The effective management of innovation is critical for the success of any organisation. It is a book that many organisations could beneficially encourage their senior strategic planners to study. Another challenging approach to innovation is covered in The Innovation Journey, Andrew H. Van De Ven, Douglas E. Polley, Raghu Garud and Sankaran Venkatataman Oxford University Press (1999), 422pp., £25.00 Presents the results of a major longitudinal study that examined the process of innovation from the concept to implementation of new technologies, products, processes and administrative arrangements. Undertaken by The Minnesota Innovation Research program that involved 30 researchers who investigated 14 diverse innovations. Paperback version of Research on the Management of Innovation: The Minnesota Studies, edited by Andrew H. Vand De Ven, Harold L. Angle Marshall and Scott Poole Oxford University Press (2000), 720pp., £26.99 One of the original MIR studies, first published in 1989.
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
Collaborative Advantage: Winning Through Extended Enterprise Supplier Networks, Jeffrey H. DYER Oxford University Press (2000), 209pp., £19.99 Attempts to make the case that future competitive advantage will be created by teams of companies ("extended enterprise"), rather than by single firms. Based on eight years of study of the automotive industry and includes detailed case studies of Toyota and Chrysler. Readable and relevant to most organisations where mistakes can be very expensive. But the comments on DaimlerChrysler may need updating!
The End of Change: How your company can sustain growth and innovation while avoiding change fatigue, Peter SCOTTMORGAN, Erik HOVING, Henk SMIT and Arnold VAN DER SLOT McGraw-Hill (2001), 302pp., $24.95 How can you ensure that change is defined as progress? Based on a six-year study of Fortune 500 companies. The results show how to combine stability without stifling growth and innovation. Essential reading for all who wish to add value to their change programme. Approaching change from a different direction is, When Firms Change Direction Anne Sigismund Huff and James Oran Huff, with Pamela S. Barr Oxford University Press (2000), 266pp., £34.99 Explores four key questions: Why does a firm change the direction of its current strategy? When will it change? How much is it likely to change? In what direction will it move? Argues for a
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
"cognitively anchored theory of the firm" that integrates four levels of analysis (individual, group, firm and industry) to provide insights into these critical issues. A detailed academic analysis that will need to be reinterpreted for managerial readers. Some of the most challenging aspects of change are discussed in Turnaround Excellence: Insights from 120 Cases Pradip N. Khandwalla Response Books (Sage) (2001), 489pp., £45.00 Full of fascinating details and insights from the analysis of how each was achieved. The author is currently Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and previously taught at McGill University. But pity not even more attention to the key role of "leadership".
First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers do Differently, Marcus BUCKINGHAM and Curt COFFMAN Simon & Schuster (1999), 271pp., £8.99 Attempts to establish rules for breaking rules: Select for Talent; Define the Right Customers; Focus on Strengths; and Find the Right Fit. Readable and full of valuable insights but pity no index.
Complexity and Management: Fad or Radical Challenge to Systems Thinking?, Ralph D. STACEY, Douglas GRIFFIN and Patricia SHAW Routledge (2000), 224pp., £18.99 Criticises the traditional way complexity thinking is understood. Shows how
complexity thinking focuses attention on the emergence of genuine novelty in everyday processes of communicative action. Also relevant is, Complexity Responsive Process in Organizations: Learning and Knowledge Creation, Ralph D. Stacey Routledge (2001), 224pp., £18.99 Argues that key organisational knowledge is understood to be in the relationships between people in an organisation and that, to be effective, it has to do with the qualities of those relationships, rather than in any formalised, codified and centralised form. The author also challengingly maintains: "It is not possible to measure intellectual ’capital’ in any meaningful way." And ... "It becomes meaningless to talk about managing the learning and knowledge creation process." But many of these stark conclusions need to be addressed more thoroughly. Just because it is difficult does not mean it is not useful to try? What else is management doing? Both books for serious students of complexity.
Strategic Procurement Management for Competitive Advantage, Sanjay Ukalkar Oxford University Press (2000), 291pp., £20.99 Examines a variety of routes to strategic procurement management. Relevant for practising procurement professionals and all concerned with this critical area.
Management: Challenges in the 21st Century, Pamela S. LEWIS, Stephen H. GOODMAN, and Patricia M. FANDT 771
South-Western College Publishing/Thomson Learning (2001), 662pp., £31.99 Comprehensive coverage of traditional management theory that focuses on exploring the challenges facing business in today’s global environment. Plus extensive CD, video, website support, together with an Instructor’s Manual. Impressive teaching text.
Using Film to Visualize Principles and Practices, Joseph E. CHAMPOUX South-Western College Publishing/Thomson Learning (2001), 309pp., £19.99 A fascinating workbook that shows how to use classic films to communicate management theories, concepts and issues. Stimulating and fun.
Leadership, change and implementation The New SuperLeadership: Leading others to lead themselves, Charles C. MANZ and Henry P. SIMS Jr Beerrett-Koehler (2001), 254pp., $27.95 Critically reviews traditional leadership styles and emphasises the leader in every employee. "SuperLeaders develop an enthusiastic, innovative and energized workforce". The author details a series of action steps to help us move in that direction— and in the process become a highly motivated, dynamic contributor. Includes nine detailed profiles. Full of sound advice and a valuable contribution to the literature on leadership.
772
Connective Leadership: Managing in a Changing World, Jean LIPMANBLUMEN Oxford University Press (2000), 405pp., £10.99 (paperback) Shows how leadership can move beyond competition towards an "ethical instrumentalism" that employs the talents of all to achieve strategic goals. An invaluable addition to the extensive literature on leadership. An alternative (more academic) approach to some of the key issues is explored in Leadership: Theory and Practice, Peter G. Northouse, Sage (2001), 294pp., £23.00 Analyses a wide variety of theoretical approaches to leadership and considers how each theory can be employed to improve leadership in practice. Full of useful questionnaire material. Another valuable teaching text in this vitally important area, is Leadership: Theory, Application, Skill Development, Robert N. Lussier and Christopher F. Achua South-Western College Publishing/Thomson Learning (2001), 536pp., £31.99 Specific dimensions of leadership are considered in, PersonCentered Leadership for Nonprofit Organizations: Management that works in High Pressure Systems, Jeanne M. Plas and Susan E. Lewis, Sage (2001), 176pp., £22.00 This volume evaluates an approach to management where employees are given the same amount of attention as the product, service or client. The majority of the book is based on a case study of Oasis Center. The personal issues of leadership are explored in more
detail in The New Global Leaders: And the Remaking of International Business, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries with Elizabeth FlorentTreacy, Jossey-Bass (1999), 188pp., £20.50 Examines key questions around the core question: What really is excellent leadership? Based on a detailed study of three key players on the international scene: Richard Branson, Percy Barnevik and David Simon. Valuable messages in the final chapter should be read by all concerned with the future of our organisations, irrespective of you views on the players chosen. Workbook material to support the ideas in the authors’ classic The Leadership Challenge is The Leadership Challenger Planner, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer (1999), 91pp., £8.95 Participant’s workbooks (24pp.,) and Facilitator’s guides (47pp.,) are also available (£17.95). An alternative, valuable, introduction to many of the key issues is, Understanding Behaviors for effective leadership, Jon P. Howell and Dan L. Costley Pearson Education (2001), 346pp., £31.99 Focuses on the critical role of behaviours. As the authors rightly argue: "Effective leaders are known by what they do—not by what they say."
Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to create wealth from conflicting values, Charles HAMPDENTURNER and Fons TROMPENAARS Wiley (2000), 388pp., £17.99 Two of the world’s leading authorities on managing cultural diversity have produced a far-
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
reaching study based on 14 years’ research with nearly 50,000 managerial respondents. Investigates six value dimensions: Universalism-Particularism; Individualism-Communitarianism; Specificity-Diffusion; Achieved states-Ascribed status; Inner direction-Outer direction; Sequential time-Synchronous time. Getting the yin/yang (crosscultural) balance right is the secret of individual and organisational harmony. Essential reading for all concerned with the challenges of global— intercultural—management. Some of these themes are also addressed in, Perspectives on Leadership: From the Science of Management to Its Spiritual Heart, Gilbert W. Fairholm Praeger (2000), 167pp., £18.95 Other important themes are explored in, Managing Diversity: The Courage to Lead, Elsie Y. Cross, Quorum Books (2000), 250pp., £50.50, Combines an examination of racism and oppression with a deep understanding of how people can learn and grow, and overcome their legacies of the past. Two recent popular/fun publications that are relevant to this theme are Uppity Women of the New World, Vicki Leon Canari Press (2001), 314pp., $15.95 and In Her footsteps: 101 Remarkable Black Women, Anette Madden, Canari Press (2001), 257pp., $15.95.
The Learning Organization: Developing Democracy at Work, Bob GARRATT HarperCollinsBusiness (2000), 137pp., £14.99 Fully revised edition of the author’s practical and farsighted views on the role and
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
importance of learning organisation issues in his volume published in 1986. Needs to be widely read—and acted on! One area where learning is critical is in the development of professionals and this is relevant to The Professional Service Firm: The Manager’s Guide to Maximising Profit and Value, Mark C. Scott, Wiley (2000), 188pp., £12.99 A vital sector and a study full of good advice, but (surprisingly?) little explicit discussion of Learning Organisation. Learning continues to be a key focus for other new publications, including: Learning in Later Life, Peter Jarvis Kogan Page (2001), 162pp., £19.99.
Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: Developments in theory and practice, edited by Mark EASTERBY-SMITH, John BUGOYNE and Luis ARAUJO Sage (1999), £55.00 (hard), £18.99 (soft) Twelve articles that provide an overview of the key debates in the field of organisational learning from the perspectives of practitioners and academics. Vitally important issues but written more for the academic market. Unfortunately. Pity the whole issue of learning is not integrated into the provocative ideas contained in, Cultural Amnesia: America’s Future and the Crisis of Memory, Stephen Bertman, Praeger (2000), 176pp., £18.95.
The Expressive Organisation: Linking Identity, Reputation and the Corporate Brand, edited by Majken SCHULTZ, Mary Jo HATCH and Mogens HOLTEN LARSEN Oxford University Press (2000), 292pp., £14.99 Sixteen articles that discuss the critical links between the key issues of Identity, Reputation and the Corporate Brand. Although an essentially academic approach, there are plenty of ideas that are relevant to strategic thinking today. Pity not more closely integrated with leadership/integrity issues (see Connective Leadership by Jean Lipman-Blumen mentioned elsewhere in this section).
Learning and Innovation in Organizations and Economies, Bart NOOTEBOOM Oxford University Press (2000), 343pp., £45.00 Closely reasoned (academic) development of a general "logic" or heuristic of discovery, in an attempt to explain the emergence of novelty in individual thought, organisations, industries and economies. Concerned with integrating knowledge, learning and innovation to establish the relationship between stability and change. Pity not more closely integrated with strategy literature on this vitally important subject. Forty-six articles that reveal the diverse application and interrelationships of Action Research are provided in, Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry & Practice, edited by Peter Reason & Hilary Bradbury Sage (2001), 468pp., £69.00 Organised into four parts but
773
aimed at a limited academic audience—unfortunately.
Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed, Deborah L. DUARTE and Nancy TENNANT SNYDER Jossey-Bass (2001), 232pp., £28.95 Nuts-and-bolts guide for managers of virtual teams. Full of exercises, checklists, workshops agendas, competency assessments and a CD-Rom that work in tandem.
The Trusted Advisor, David H. MAISTER, Charles H. GREEN and Robert M. GALFORD The Free Press (2000), 240pp., £16.99 Develops "The Trust Equation" Model, which outlines five distinct steps (engage, listen, frame, envision and commit) to require to create a trust-based relationship. Full of "top ten" lists aimed at helping to improve the effectiveness of the advisors. Readable and relevant for those involved in this challenging area—but (surprisingly?) little discussion of the role of "fairness" in developing and sustaining trust.
Global strategic management Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution, Paul HAWKEN, Amory B. LOVINS and L. HUNTER LOVINS Earthscan (2000), 396pp., £12.99 A detailed analysis of how capitalism would work if the "natural capital" of the world was "properly" valued. Challenges most of the historic indicators
774
that are used to measure "progress". Different views on these issues is provided in, The Limits of Capitalism: An Approach to Globalization Without Neoliberalism, Wim Dierckxsens Zed Books (2001), 170pp., £45.00 (hard), £14.95 (soft) And the 11 articles in, Globalism, Localism and Identity: Fresh perspectives on the transition to sustainability, Earthscan (2001), 240pp., £45.00 (hard), £16.95 (soft). (Part 2 includes cases from Sweden, Austria Portugal, Greece and the UK.) Also The End of Internationalism or World Or World Governance? J. Orstrom Moller Praeger (200), 205pp., £45.50 The author of this study is the Danish Ambassador to Singapore and a former State Secretary in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (And author of 28 earlier books!) This volume examines some of the major trends in globalisation and explores issues related to discovering new boundaries in Nationalism vs. Internationalism. Other relevant material, for the serious student of the subject, is included in the 18 articles in Regions, Globalization, and the Knowledge-Based Economy, edited by John H. Denning Oxford University Press (2000), 506pp., £55.00 Reviews the impact of the growth of the knowledge economy on the patterns and prospects of globalisation. But pity there was not more input from strategic thinkers. Anyone who is interested in a readable and fascinating overview of the history of international business over the past 4,000 years could not do better than Foundations of
Corporate Empire: Is history repeating itself?, Karl Moore and David Lewis FT/Prentice Hall (2000), 319pp., £18.99 Should be widely read...
End of the Road: BMW and Rover—A Brand too Far, Chris BRADY, Andrew LORENZ FT/ Prentice Hall (2001), 180pp., £18.99 Racy read through an "ill-thought through merger and acquisition, and implementation of a misplaced strategy". Much more than just a case study. Based on interviews with virtually all the major players in the BMW/Rover camps. Should be essential reading for all concerned with mega global mergers—preferably before decisions are taken!
The Death of Gentlemanly Capitalism, Philip AUGAR Penguin Books (2000), 398pp., £20.00 Provides an insider’s account of what went on (/wrong?) in the City since Big Bang in 1986. Today virtually all of the City’s leading brokers and investment banks now have American or Continental European ownership, through the extensive takeover activity during the past decade. The author believes that key decisions affecting the City will be taken in Frankfurt, Zurich or New York and that, when the next bear market comes, London can expect harsh treatment. (Did it?) Invaluable background, but little material on whether all these purchases have made money for the new owners!
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
Business Restructuring in Asia: Cross-Border M&As in the Crisis Period, James XIAONING ZHAN and Terutomo OZAWA Copenhagen Business School Press (2001), 112pp., £24.00 Evaluates the role and effectiveness of M&A activity in the process of industrial restructuring in Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Pity there was not a more strategic perspective in the approach taken.
China’s Service Sector: A New Battlefield for International Corporations, Yandong LUO Copenhagen Business School Press (2001), 315pp., £32.00 Provides a wide-ranging industry by industry analysis. (Internet Services, E-Commerce, Telecommunications, Banking & Financial Services, Insurance, Advertising, Accounting, Retailing, Tourism and Hotels, together with specific case studies— Citibank, AT&T, Yahoo!, Marriott, and Saatchi & Saatchi.) Examines issues such as how decisions are made about location selection and timing of entry, as well as partner selection and operational strategies.
Global Change: The Impact of Asia in the 21st Century, edited by Richard THORPE and Stephen LITTLE Palgrave (2001), 432pp., £50.00 Twenty-one articles based on presentations made at the second "Global Change" conference at Manchester Metropolitan University in 1998. Strong on interesting bits of information, weak on insightful strategic thinking.
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
Important global issues are considered in the 10 papers in Flexibility in Climate Policy: Making the Kyoto Mechanisms Work, edited by Tim Jackson, Katie Begg and Stuart Parkinson Earthscan (2001), 242pp., £18.95. Also relevant is The Global Covenant: Human Conduct in a World of States, Robert Jackson Oxford University Press (2000), 464pp., £25.00 Closely reasoned argument that maintains that the only sound basis for a pluralist society of sovereign states is one that respects human diversity and upholds human freedoms. Pity greater attention was not give to issues of power and values.
Sustainable Solutions: Developing Products and Services for the Future, edited by Martin CHARTER and Ursula TISCHENER Greenleaf Publishing (2001), 469pp., £40.00 Twenty-seven articles that provide a state-of-the-art analysis (with case studies) on why and how cutting-edge companies can develop new products and services to fit "triple-bottom-line" expectations. World Bank publications continue to be relevant for anyone seriously concerned with the development of the global market place and, recently, these include: African Development Indicators 2001, 366pp., $40.00. Contains more than 500 macroeconomic, sectoral and social indicators, covering 55 African counties. The most comprehensive collection of data on Africa in one volume? And A Change to Learn: Knowledge and
Finance for Education in SubSaharan Africa, 86pp., $22.00.
Strategic human resource management, including values/ethics issues. Moral Issues in Business, William H. SHAW and Vincent BARRY Wadsworth/Thomson Learning (2001, edition), 600pp., £21.99 Comprehensive combination of texts (35) and cases (45) that help understand the nature of morality, individual integrity and responsibility, economic justice, the nature of capitalism and the role of corporations in our society.
Focused Energy: Mastering Bottom-up Organization, edited by Paul STREBEL Wiley (2000), 306pp., £19.99 Eighteen articles, from faculty members of IMD business school, that explore how to generate and focus the energy of the individuals in any organisation—bottom-up.
Strategic Human Resource Management, John WALTON FT/Prentice Hall (1999), 614pp., £28.99 A thorough review of current thinking and practice in HRD. Useful as a teaching text for a variety of HR programmes and for others involved in the HR profession; also relevant for strategists and managers in general. Some fascinating insights into the management of change and transformation, with particular reference to Africa, is contained
775
in YENZA: A blueprint for transformation, Piet Human Oxford University Press (1998), 214pp., £15.00.
Performance Review: Balancing objectives and content, M. STREBLER and S. BEVAN The Institute for Employment Studies (2001), 62pp., £19.95 Reviews the performance review systems and processes of seven organisations in the public and private sectors in order to question their relevance and effectiveness. Essential reading for those struggling to add value to people inputs. Perhaps to be read in conjunction with Linking Employee Satisfaction to Business Results, Paula S. Topolosky Taylor & Francis (2000), 103pp., £34.00 An historical study that assessed trends in employee satisfaction over a six-year period, and attempted to identify the relationship between 30 employee satisfaction variables. Potentially important issues, rigorously analysed (academically), but I am not sure that, in the end, the results said more than: "People who enjoy their work are the more productive workers"?
Ethics and the University, Michael DAVIS Routledge (1999), 267pp., £16.99 A fascinating, and increasingly important, subject. Brings together the practice of ethics, and its teaching. Certainly needs to be widely read by all those concerned with either.
Selling the Work Ethic: From Puritan Pulpit to Corporate PR, Sharon BEDER 292pp., £45.95 (hard), £15.95 (soft). Escalating production and consumption appear to be not
776
only destroying the environment, but also producing increased levels of stress insecurity, depression, crime, and drug taking. This analysis argues that today’s work culture is neither natural or inevitable. A detailed academic study for serious students.
The Quality of Working Life: 2000 survey of managers’ changing experiences, Les WORRALL and Cary L. COOPER The Institute of Management (2001), 119pp., £20.00 (IM Members and Corporate Partners), £40.00 (Non-Members) The results of the fourth, and final, year of the Quality of Working Life project. Full of fascinating material and pity that the survey is not continued over a longer period of time or, at least, every three to five years. A brief discussion of some of the issues related to the (growing?) gap between those who love their work, and those who don’t—between the "willing workers" and the "wage slaves"— is contained in New Community or New Slavery: The Emotional Division of Labour?, Judith Doyle Industrial Society (2000), 33pp., £20.00 To contrast with the thorough (academic) approach taken in Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century: Preference Theory, Catherine Hakim Oxford University Press (2000), 340pp., £15.99 Presents a multi-disciplinary theory ("Preference theory") to explain and predict current and future patterns of women’s choice between employment and family work.
The Flexible Workplace: A Sourcebook of Information and Research, Christine AVERY and Diane ZABEL Quorum Books (2001), 210pp., £50.50 Attempts to pull together the vast literature on the subject. Useful starting point but pity so few non-US references (Only one out of 19 organisations mentioned in Chapter 7!). One important dimension of flexibility is considered in Managing Telework: Perspectives from Human Resource Management and Work Psychology, edited by Kevin Daniels, David A. Lamond and Peter Standen Business Press/Thomson Learning (2000), 182pp., £19.99 Sixteen articles that review a wide variety of HR-related issues associated with the exploration of key questions, such as: How will telework affect work in your organisation? How will you need to change your management practices in order to adapt? And what are the key issues faced when managing teleworkers?
Transcultural Customization of International Training Programs, Hyunjoo KIM Taylor & Francis (1999), 199pp., £30.00 Provides a basic understanding of changing world and different cultures, then connecting that with the instructional design process in terms of cultural differences. Also presents a process that the specialist might find useful in helping to customise training interventions transculturally.
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
(Inner) FITness and The FIT Corporation: Living and working in the present tense, Ben FLETCHER and Bob STEAD Thomson Learning (2000), 179pp., £19.99 FIT is an acronym for "Framework for Internal Transformation". Results from combining Integrity with Behavioural Flexibility. And in this process there are five "Constants" that should guide all behaviours and decisions: Awareness; Fearlessness; Selfresponsibility; Morality and Ethics; and Balance. In addition the Behavioural Flexibility is defined in terms of 15 behavioural dimensions. Helpful for those who want to move on, as the authors argue: "Do not let your future be your past continued."
Marketing strategy Eve-olution: the 8 truths of marketing to women, Faith POPCORN and Lys MARIGOLD HarperCollinsBusiness (2001), 272pp., £8.99 Argues that women and men are as different shop-ologically as they are biologically; as well as developing a framework for brand-building on these assumptions.
Brand Manners: How to Create the Self-Confident Organizations to Live the Brand, Hamish PRINGLE and William GORDON Wiley (2001), 314pp., £17.99 Argues that if employees aren’t able to convey the essence of their company’s brand in everything they do, they run the risk of seriously damaging their company’s success within its
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
market place. Plenty of useful practical advice on how this can be achieved.
Kellogg on Marketing, edited by Dawn IACOBUCCI Wiley (2001), 427pp., £21.50 Seventeen articles that explore cutting-edge thinking on marketing strategy from leading authorities on the subject at the widely-respected Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Future studies and related issues The Ingenuity: How Can We Solve the Problems of the Future?, Thomas HOMERDIXON Jonathan Cape (2000), 480pp., £15.99 Asks if the world today is becoming too complex and too fast-paced to manage, particularly in the context of population growth and environmental despoliation. Important questions, considered with considerable authority but pity there was not more discussion of the role wisdom and values can provide in helping us identify useful answers.
The Future of Money: Creating New Wealth, Work and a Wiser World, Bernard LIETAER Century (2001), 371pp., £18.99 A fascinating journey through the money system from the Industrial Age to the Knowledge Age. Argues that unprecedented strains are now being placed on our global monetary system. Another fascinating journey is provided by Rocks of Ages:
Science and religion in the Fullness of Life, Stephen Jay Gould Jonathan Cape (2001), 241pp., £14.99.
Knowledge management and information technology Knowledge Emergence: Social, Technical, and Evolutionary Dimensions of Knowledge Creation, Ikujiro NONAKA and Toshihiro NISHIGUCHI Oxford University Press (2001), 303pp., £26.50 Fifteen papers, by leading authorities on the subject, that provide a variety of perspectives on knowledge-creating processes. Although largely written for an academic audience, this is a volume for any serious student of the challenging area of knowledge management. Other relevant volumes include: Knowledge Assets: Securing Competitive Advantage in the Information Economy, Max H. Boisot Oxford University Press (1999), 284pp., £14.99 Now available in paperback. And The Infinite Resource: Creating and Leading the Knowledge Enterprise, editor William E. Halal Jossey-Bass (1998), 265pp., £25.50 Sixteen articles that explore how knowledge is going to impact business and government in the years ahead. Pity the nature and role of wisdom in these developments was not discussed in more detail.
777
Testing Theories on Structure and Strategy: An assessment of organizational knowledge, G. PRINS Eburon (2000), 304pp., FL69 Develops the A-F scheme to help reveal the validity and usefulness of (34) organisation theories for the design of organisational structure and strategy. Based on an assessment of the origin and quality of hypothesis, the way data are collected, and the linking of speculation, operationalisation, and observation. A fascinating study for those seriously concerned with the development of management thinking in the 20th century. But pity no index—an invaluable aid for researchers?
Meta-Capitalism: The EBusiness Revolution and the Design of 21st-Century Companies and Markets, Grady MEANS and David SCHNEIDER Wiley (2000), 186pp., £17.95 Outlines strategies and potential impacts of the E-Business "Revolution", as well as introducing ideas that the authors believe will become "a natural part of the business lexicon in the near future". Worth reading but a second edition would have much more sobering expectations. An alternative approach is taken in Digital futures: living in a dot-com world, edited by James Wilson Earthscan (2001), 228pp., £19.99 Eight articles that explore how government and business can maximise the social and environmental benefits of the dot-com revolution. Important issues and a valuable starting point but real benefit will come
778
from the articles being updated every couple of years.
E-Supply Chain. Using the Internet to Revolutionize your Business: How Market Leaders Focus Their Entire Organization on Driving Value to Customers, Charles C. POIRIER and Michael J. BAUER Berrett-Koehler (2000), 236pp., $39.95 Shows how companies can use the effective management of a combination of supply chain networks and e-commerce to improve their market position. Many companies have spent heavily in this area over the past couple of years, but much of it has been an expensive mistake. Close study of the experience distilled into this volume would help to reduce the risks involved. Unfortunately too late for some.
Internet Commerce: Digital Models for Business, Elaine LAWRENCE, Brian CORBITT, Jo-Anne FISHER, John LAWRENCE and Alan TIDWELL Wiley (2000, second edition), 344pp., £24.95 An Australian perspective on the technologies, applications and issues associated with developments in internet commerce. Valuable reading for those concerned with taking decisions in this growing, but high-risk, area. Pity glossy presentation doesn’t add to ease of readability. One specialist, but vital, area is usefully covered in Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World, Bruce Schneier Wiley (2000), 412pp., £21.50 Another, unfortunately, all too common problem area is
helpfully (if it’s not too late!) discussed in How to Survive the e-business Downturn, Colin Barrow Wiley (2000), 224pp., £9.99.
Competing with Information: A Manager’s Guide to Creating Business Value with Information Content, edited by Donald A. MARCHAND Wiley (2000), 342pp., £19.99 Seventeen papers, written by the faculty of IMD, that argue that information management is the responsibility of every manager. Plenty of sound material, well argued; but pity no discussion of the role of values and wisdom.
Knowledge and Innovation in the New Service Economy, edited by Birgitte ANDERSEN, Jeremy HOWELLS, Richard HULL, Ian MILES and Joanne ROBERTS Edward Elgar (2000), 328pp., £65.00 Sixteen (essentially academic) contributions that address the economic dimensions of knowledge and the organisation of knowledge-intense activity through specialised services. Full of material relevant to readers concerned with the future of Knowledge Management on the service sector. A more managerially focused analysis is provided by Into the Networked Age: How IBM and other firms are getting there now, James W. Cortada and Thomas S. Hargraves Oxford University Press (1999), 233pp., £16.99 Shows how IBM (and others) transformed into a networked organisation.
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
Managing Industrial Knowledge: Creation, Transfer and Utilization, edited by Ikujiro NONAKA and David J. TEECE Sage (2001), 352pp., £60.00 (hard), £19.99 (soft) Sixteen key articles organised around three key themes: Knowledge, Creation and Leadership; Firms, Markets and Innovation; and Managing Knowledge and Transformation. For serious students of the subject.
Manual of Online Search Strategies: Business, Law, News and Patents, edited by C.J. ARMSTRONG and Andrew LARGE Gower (2001), 283pp., £95.00 Provides guidance for searchers of electronic information in this specific subject area. Other Volumes cover "Sciences" and "Humanities & Social Sciences". But surprisingly little link with websites, see: The Top 200 Web Sites on E-Commerce, Alan Cawson Kogan Page (2000), 132pp., £9.99.
Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, Glyn MOODY Penguin (2001), 334pp., £12.99 Reveals the reasons for the success of Linux and the story of Open Source—programmes and personalities. "Shows what can be achieved if we suspend the pursuit of personal advantage." A fascinating story with lessons for us all, especially established giants (ie: Microsoft). (Note: the first three chapters of the book are available free on www.penguin.co.uk/Book/ BookFrame?0713995203 EXC—in the spirit of the book itself, say the publishers!)
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
The Coming Internet Depression, Michael MANDEL FT/Prentice Hall (2001), 167pp., £24.99 Originally published in 2000 (near the top of the dot.com bubble) the author perceptively asks why boom would go bust, explores how bad it will be, and how to prosper regardless. Unfortunately too late for many, but a good read for academics and many others in retrospect. Perhaps needs to be read in conjunction with How to make your million from the Internet (and what to do if you don’t), Jonathan Maitland Hodder & Stoughton (2001), 259pp., £10.00 The subtitle being the priority in recent months!
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management Buy-outs, Quarterly review from the Centre for Management Buyout Research Nottingham University Business School (Winter 2000/2001), 73pp., £100.00 Provides special sections on: The Public to Private Buy-out Market in 2000; Technology Sector Buyouts; and Buy-outs and Buy-ins in Distress.
Management and Entrepreneurialism, John C. CHICKEN Thomson Learning (2000), 153pp., £19.99 Provides an assessment and comparison of the constraints on managing an operation effectively in both the public and private sectors. Useful for a
variety of MBA and Public Sector courses.
Public sector Taking Responsibility: Personal Liability under Environmental Law, Stephen TROMANS and Justine THORNTON Earthscan (2001), 57pp., £45.00 Well-presented material that, unfortunately, is likely to be increasingly important for us all. But an expensive way of learning about a subject that should be cheaply available for everyone.
Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience, Ben S. BERNANKE, Thomas LAUBACH, Frederic S. MISHKIN and Adam S. POSEN Princeton University Press (2001), 392pp., £12.95 An in-depth study of the effectiveness of policymakers using deliberate strategies of announcing and pursuing specific targets for the rate of inflation. Important issues for a specialist market.
Risk, Media and Stigma: Understanding Public Challenges to Modern Science and Technology, edited by James FLYNN, Paul SLOVIC and Howard KUNREUTHER Earthscan (2001), 399pp., £24.95. Twenty-three papers that review current views on how and why stigma occurs and what the appropriate responses to it should be, in order to inform the public and reduce undesirable impacts. Important issues that need to be repackaged for a
779
wider (managerial) audience. Other important dimensions of risk are considered in the 11 papers in Transboundary Risk Management, edited by Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer, Ragnar E. Lofstdt and Gunnar Sjostedt Earthscan (2001), 338pp., £24.95 Reviews critical areas such as Nuclear Power, Genetically modified crops, BSE, Pollution and Dams.
Universities and Students: A Guide to rights, responsibilities and practical remedies, G.R. EVANS and Jaswinder GILL Kogan Page (2001), 181 pp., £18.99 Designed to clarify the legal framework that exists (in the UK) between universities and their students. Important issues that need to be closely studied by those in the HE sector.
Reflective Public Administration: Views from the South, edited by J.S. WESSELS and J.C.PAUW Oxford University Press (1999), 504pp., £18.00 Eighteen papers that provide insights for the teaching and
practice of public administration through the discussion of issues that call for thought and action within a philosophical framework of reality, ethics, knowledge and methodology.
The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World Is Still the Least Valued, Ann CRITTENDEN Metropolitan Books (2001), 323pp., $25.00 Argues that, although women have been liberated, mothers have not and maintains there is an enormous disparity between the value created by "mothers’" work and the reward women receive for carrying out society’s most important job. Pity not focused on the costs/benefits of effective parenting, rather than obsessed with the role of mothers!
A Vision for the Future: In Conversation with Financial Strategies, edited by Luc KEULENEER, Dirk SWAGERMAN and Willem VERHOOG Wiley (2000), 184pp., £14.99 Fifteen conversations with the giants of the financial world, who reveal their views on financial strategy and future trends. One study for the specialist is Asset Pricing, John H. Cochrane Princeton University Press (2001), 530pp., £36.50 Attempts to unify the science of (theoretical) financial economics—based on the simple idea: "price equals expected discounted payoff". But pity no attempt to integrate theory with practice!
Other useful information The Greatest Inventions of the past 2000 years, edited by John BROCKMAN PHOENIX (2000), 192pp., £7.99 Fascinating brief details on 100 of the greatest innovations over the past 2000 years.
PII: S 0 0 2 4 - 6 3 0 1 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 9 6 - 6
780
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
Broad introductions to the whole concept of strategy
Useful teaching text but HR needs to be closely integrate for organisations to really work well.
Strategic Management, Garth SALONER, Andrea SHEPARD and Joel PODOLNY
Rethinking Strategy, edited by Henk W. VOLBERDA and Tom ELFRING
Wiley (2001), 442 pp., £27.50 Provides a practical framework for understanding concepts that should help managers think strategically. Based on material developed from the authors’ experience of teaching on the Strategic Management MBA core course at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
Sage (2001), 322pp., £60.00 (hard), £19.99 (soft) Twenty-one articles, many with specific commentaries, that explore leading-edge strategy issues. Organised into six sections: Theory, Schools and Practice; Integration efforts in the field; The Boundary School: Strategy as a boundary decision; The Dynamic Capabilities School:
Strategy as a collective learning process to develop distinctive competencies; The Configurational School: Strategy as a decision of transition from one archetype to another; and New directions in strategy: Ways to synthesize. For the serious student of strategic thinking— including 30 pages of references!
What is Strategy—and does it matter, Richard WHITTINGTON Thomson Learning (2001), 150pp., £19.99
769
Updated version (first edition 1993) of a useful basic introduction to a challenging managerial concept—strategy. Another excellent basic review of the nature of strategy, essentially viewing it as a dynamic process is Strategic Thinking: An Executive Perspective, Cornelis A. De Kluyver, Prentice Hall (2000), 154pp., £24.99.
Textbooks covering the whole subject of strategy Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization. Concepts and Cases, Michael A. HITT, R. Duane IRELAND and Robert E. HOSKISSON South-Western College Publishing/Thomson Learning (2001), 1240pp., £29.99 Comprehensive case-based teaching text for strategy input on a wide variety of programmes. Extensive website support. Although US-based the (40) detailed cases provide an up-to-date global perspective.
Financial Times Corporate Strategy Casebook, Philip A. WICKHAM Pearson Education (2000), 417pp., £19.99 A range of interesting and relevant case material that can be usefully used to support teaching of strategic management. Can be used alone or in conjunction with Richard Lynch’s Corporate Strategy. As expected, extensively supported by material from the Financial Times.
770
Various concepts of strategic management In Search of Management: Culture, chaos and control in managerial work, Tony J. WATSON Thomson Learning (2001), 242pp., £19.99 Updates an earlier version, published in 1994. Fascinating insights for anyone seriously interested in the nature of management. Busy practising managers would find the final four pages outlining a scheme of management competencies— around three elements: Personal orientation; Cognitive style; and Interpersonal style. Worthwhile for that alone.
Analytical methods, tools and approaches Capitalize on Mergers Chaos: Six Ways to Profit from your Competitors’ Consolidation and Your Own, Thomas M. GRUBB and Robert B. LAMB The Free Press (2000), 212pp., £20.00 Up to 80 per cent of mergers fail because of cultural clashes and the mismanagement of the ensuring chaos. But that chaos creates opportunities for others—and the authors develop six key strategies to exploit them. Essential reading for all involved in this challenging—and all too frequently expensive—area.
The Art of Innovation, Thomas KELLEY with Jonathan LITTMAN HarperCollinsBusiness (2001), 307pp., £19.99 Takes readers behind the scenes of an imaginative and successful
company to reveal the strategies it uses to produces results. The author is general manager of (probably?) the world’s leading design consultancy specialising in product development and innovation. The IDEO approach focuses on creating an atmosphere conducive to freely expressing ideas, breaking rules and freeing people to design their own work environments. This approach also focuses on teamwork and believes in intense brainstorming-and-build processes. The effective management of innovation is critical for the success of any organisation. It is a book that many organisations could beneficially encourage their senior strategic planners to study. Another challenging approach to innovation is covered in The Innovation Journey, Andrew H. Van De Ven, Douglas E. Polley, Raghu Garud and Sankaran Venkatataman Oxford University Press (1999), 422pp., £25.00 Presents the results of a major longitudinal study that examined the process of innovation from the concept to implementation of new technologies, products, processes and administrative arrangements. Undertaken by The Minnesota Innovation Research program that involved 30 researchers who investigated 14 diverse innovations. Paperback version of Research on the Management of Innovation: The Minnesota Studies, edited by Andrew H. Vand De Ven, Harold L. Angle Marshall and Scott Poole Oxford University Press (2000), 720pp., £26.99 One of the original MIR studies, first published in 1989.
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
Collaborative Advantage: Winning Through Extended Enterprise Supplier Networks, Jeffrey H. DYER Oxford University Press (2000), 209pp., £19.99 Attempts to make the case that future competitive advantage will be created by teams of companies ("extended enterprise"), rather than by single firms. Based on eight years of study of the automotive industry and includes detailed case studies of Toyota and Chrysler. Readable and relevant to most organisations where mistakes can be very expensive. But the comments on DaimlerChrysler may need updating!
The End of Change: How your company can sustain growth and innovation while avoiding change fatigue, Peter SCOTTMORGAN, Erik HOVING, Henk SMIT and Arnold VAN DER SLOT McGraw-Hill (2001), 302pp., $24.95 How can you ensure that change is defined as progress? Based on a six-year study of Fortune 500 companies. The results show how to combine stability without stifling growth and innovation. Essential reading for all who wish to add value to their change programme. Approaching change from a different direction is, When Firms Change Direction Anne Sigismund Huff and James Oran Huff, with Pamela S. Barr Oxford University Press (2000), 266pp., £34.99 Explores four key questions: Why does a firm change the direction of its current strategy? When will it change? How much is it likely to change? In what direction will it move? Argues for a
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
"cognitively anchored theory of the firm" that integrates four levels of analysis (individual, group, firm and industry) to provide insights into these critical issues. A detailed academic analysis that will need to be reinterpreted for managerial readers. Some of the most challenging aspects of change are discussed in Turnaround Excellence: Insights from 120 Cases Pradip N. Khandwalla Response Books (Sage) (2001), 489pp., £45.00 Full of fascinating details and insights from the analysis of how each was achieved. The author is currently Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and previously taught at McGill University. But pity not even more attention to the key role of "leadership".
First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers do Differently, Marcus BUCKINGHAM and Curt COFFMAN Simon & Schuster (1999), 271pp., £8.99 Attempts to establish rules for breaking rules: Select for Talent; Define the Right Customers; Focus on Strengths; and Find the Right Fit. Readable and full of valuable insights but pity no index.
Complexity and Management: Fad or Radical Challenge to Systems Thinking?, Ralph D. STACEY, Douglas GRIFFIN and Patricia SHAW Routledge (2000), 224pp., £18.99 Criticises the traditional way complexity thinking is understood. Shows how
complexity thinking focuses attention on the emergence of genuine novelty in everyday processes of communicative action. Also relevant is, Complexity Responsive Process in Organizations: Learning and Knowledge Creation, Ralph D. Stacey Routledge (2001), 224pp., £18.99 Argues that key organisational knowledge is understood to be in the relationships between people in an organisation and that, to be effective, it has to do with the qualities of those relationships, rather than in any formalised, codified and centralised form. The author also challengingly maintains: "It is not possible to measure intellectual ’capital’ in any meaningful way." And ... "It becomes meaningless to talk about managing the learning and knowledge creation process." But many of these stark conclusions need to be addressed more thoroughly. Just because it is difficult does not mean it is not useful to try? What else is management doing? Both books for serious students of complexity.
Strategic Procurement Management for Competitive Advantage, Sanjay Ukalkar Oxford University Press (2000), 291pp., £20.99 Examines a variety of routes to strategic procurement management. Relevant for practising procurement professionals and all concerned with this critical area.
Management: Challenges in the 21st Century, Pamela S. LEWIS, Stephen H. GOODMAN, and Patricia M. FANDT 771
South-Western College Publishing/Thomson Learning (2001), 662pp., £31.99 Comprehensive coverage of traditional management theory that focuses on exploring the challenges facing business in today’s global environment. Plus extensive CD, video, website support, together with an Instructor’s Manual. Impressive teaching text.
Using Film to Visualize Principles and Practices, Joseph E. CHAMPOUX South-Western College Publishing/Thomson Learning (2001), 309pp., £19.99 A fascinating workbook that shows how to use classic films to communicate management theories, concepts and issues. Stimulating and fun.
Leadership, change and implementation The New SuperLeadership: Leading others to lead themselves, Charles C. MANZ and Henry P. SIMS Jr Beerrett-Koehler (2001), 254pp., $27.95 Critically reviews traditional leadership styles and emphasises the leader in every employee. "SuperLeaders develop an enthusiastic, innovative and energized workforce". The author details a series of action steps to help us move in that direction— and in the process become a highly motivated, dynamic contributor. Includes nine detailed profiles. Full of sound advice and a valuable contribution to the literature on leadership.
772
Connective Leadership: Managing in a Changing World, Jean LIPMANBLUMEN Oxford University Press (2000), 405pp., £10.99 (paperback) Shows how leadership can move beyond competition towards an "ethical instrumentalism" that employs the talents of all to achieve strategic goals. An invaluable addition to the extensive literature on leadership. An alternative (more academic) approach to some of the key issues is explored in Leadership: Theory and Practice, Peter G. Northouse, Sage (2001), 294pp., £23.00 Analyses a wide variety of theoretical approaches to leadership and considers how each theory can be employed to improve leadership in practice. Full of useful questionnaire material. Another valuable teaching text in this vitally important area, is Leadership: Theory, Application, Skill Development, Robert N. Lussier and Christopher F. Achua South-Western College Publishing/Thomson Learning (2001), 536pp., £31.99 Specific dimensions of leadership are considered in, PersonCentered Leadership for Nonprofit Organizations: Management that works in High Pressure Systems, Jeanne M. Plas and Susan E. Lewis, Sage (2001), 176pp., £22.00 This volume evaluates an approach to management where employees are given the same amount of attention as the product, service or client. The majority of the book is based on a case study of Oasis Center. The personal issues of leadership are explored in more
detail in The New Global Leaders: And the Remaking of International Business, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries with Elizabeth FlorentTreacy, Jossey-Bass (1999), 188pp., £20.50 Examines key questions around the core question: What really is excellent leadership? Based on a detailed study of three key players on the international scene: Richard Branson, Percy Barnevik and David Simon. Valuable messages in the final chapter should be read by all concerned with the future of our organisations, irrespective of you views on the players chosen. Workbook material to support the ideas in the authors’ classic The Leadership Challenge is The Leadership Challenger Planner, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer (1999), 91pp., £8.95 Participant’s workbooks (24pp.,) and Facilitator’s guides (47pp.,) are also available (£17.95). An alternative, valuable, introduction to many of the key issues is, Understanding Behaviors for effective leadership, Jon P. Howell and Dan L. Costley Pearson Education (2001), 346pp., £31.99 Focuses on the critical role of behaviours. As the authors rightly argue: "Effective leaders are known by what they do—not by what they say."
Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to create wealth from conflicting values, Charles HAMPDENTURNER and Fons TROMPENAARS Wiley (2000), 388pp., £17.99 Two of the world’s leading authorities on managing cultural diversity have produced a far-
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
reaching study based on 14 years’ research with nearly 50,000 managerial respondents. Investigates six value dimensions: Universalism-Particularism; Individualism-Communitarianism; Specificity-Diffusion; Achieved states-Ascribed status; Inner direction-Outer direction; Sequential time-Synchronous time. Getting the yin/yang (crosscultural) balance right is the secret of individual and organisational harmony. Essential reading for all concerned with the challenges of global— intercultural—management. Some of these themes are also addressed in, Perspectives on Leadership: From the Science of Management to Its Spiritual Heart, Gilbert W. Fairholm Praeger (2000), 167pp., £18.95 Other important themes are explored in, Managing Diversity: The Courage to Lead, Elsie Y. Cross, Quorum Books (2000), 250pp., £50.50, Combines an examination of racism and oppression with a deep understanding of how people can learn and grow, and overcome their legacies of the past. Two recent popular/fun publications that are relevant to this theme are Uppity Women of the New World, Vicki Leon Canari Press (2001), 314pp., $15.95 and In Her footsteps: 101 Remarkable Black Women, Anette Madden, Canari Press (2001), 257pp., $15.95.
The Learning Organization: Developing Democracy at Work, Bob GARRATT HarperCollinsBusiness (2000), 137pp., £14.99 Fully revised edition of the author’s practical and farsighted views on the role and
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
importance of learning organisation issues in his volume published in 1986. Needs to be widely read—and acted on! One area where learning is critical is in the development of professionals and this is relevant to The Professional Service Firm: The Manager’s Guide to Maximising Profit and Value, Mark C. Scott, Wiley (2000), 188pp., £12.99 A vital sector and a study full of good advice, but (surprisingly?) little explicit discussion of Learning Organisation. Learning continues to be a key focus for other new publications, including: Learning in Later Life, Peter Jarvis Kogan Page (2001), 162pp., £19.99.
Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: Developments in theory and practice, edited by Mark EASTERBY-SMITH, John BUGOYNE and Luis ARAUJO Sage (1999), £55.00 (hard), £18.99 (soft) Twelve articles that provide an overview of the key debates in the field of organisational learning from the perspectives of practitioners and academics. Vitally important issues but written more for the academic market. Unfortunately. Pity the whole issue of learning is not integrated into the provocative ideas contained in, Cultural Amnesia: America’s Future and the Crisis of Memory, Stephen Bertman, Praeger (2000), 176pp., £18.95.
The Expressive Organisation: Linking Identity, Reputation and the Corporate Brand, edited by Majken SCHULTZ, Mary Jo HATCH and Mogens HOLTEN LARSEN Oxford University Press (2000), 292pp., £14.99 Sixteen articles that discuss the critical links between the key issues of Identity, Reputation and the Corporate Brand. Although an essentially academic approach, there are plenty of ideas that are relevant to strategic thinking today. Pity not more closely integrated with leadership/integrity issues (see Connective Leadership by Jean Lipman-Blumen mentioned elsewhere in this section).
Learning and Innovation in Organizations and Economies, Bart NOOTEBOOM Oxford University Press (2000), 343pp., £45.00 Closely reasoned (academic) development of a general "logic" or heuristic of discovery, in an attempt to explain the emergence of novelty in individual thought, organisations, industries and economies. Concerned with integrating knowledge, learning and innovation to establish the relationship between stability and change. Pity not more closely integrated with strategy literature on this vitally important subject. Forty-six articles that reveal the diverse application and interrelationships of Action Research are provided in, Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry & Practice, edited by Peter Reason & Hilary Bradbury Sage (2001), 468pp., £69.00 Organised into four parts but
773
aimed at a limited academic audience—unfortunately.
Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed, Deborah L. DUARTE and Nancy TENNANT SNYDER Jossey-Bass (2001), 232pp., £28.95 Nuts-and-bolts guide for managers of virtual teams. Full of exercises, checklists, workshops agendas, competency assessments and a CD-Rom that work in tandem.
The Trusted Advisor, David H. MAISTER, Charles H. GREEN and Robert M. GALFORD The Free Press (2000), 240pp., £16.99 Develops "The Trust Equation" Model, which outlines five distinct steps (engage, listen, frame, envision and commit) to require to create a trust-based relationship. Full of "top ten" lists aimed at helping to improve the effectiveness of the advisors. Readable and relevant for those involved in this challenging area—but (surprisingly?) little discussion of the role of "fairness" in developing and sustaining trust.
Global strategic management Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution, Paul HAWKEN, Amory B. LOVINS and L. HUNTER LOVINS Earthscan (2000), 396pp., £12.99 A detailed analysis of how capitalism would work if the "natural capital" of the world was "properly" valued. Challenges most of the historic indicators
774
that are used to measure "progress". Different views on these issues is provided in, The Limits of Capitalism: An Approach to Globalization Without Neoliberalism, Wim Dierckxsens Zed Books (2001), 170pp., £45.00 (hard), £14.95 (soft) And the 11 articles in, Globalism, Localism and Identity: Fresh perspectives on the transition to sustainability, Earthscan (2001), 240pp., £45.00 (hard), £16.95 (soft). (Part 2 includes cases from Sweden, Austria Portugal, Greece and the UK.) Also The End of Internationalism or World Or World Governance? J. Orstrom Moller Praeger (200), 205pp., £45.50 The author of this study is the Danish Ambassador to Singapore and a former State Secretary in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (And author of 28 earlier books!) This volume examines some of the major trends in globalisation and explores issues related to discovering new boundaries in Nationalism vs. Internationalism. Other relevant material, for the serious student of the subject, is included in the 18 articles in Regions, Globalization, and the Knowledge-Based Economy, edited by John H. Denning Oxford University Press (2000), 506pp., £55.00 Reviews the impact of the growth of the knowledge economy on the patterns and prospects of globalisation. But pity there was not more input from strategic thinkers. Anyone who is interested in a readable and fascinating overview of the history of international business over the past 4,000 years could not do better than Foundations of
Corporate Empire: Is history repeating itself?, Karl Moore and David Lewis FT/Prentice Hall (2000), 319pp., £18.99 Should be widely read...
End of the Road: BMW and Rover—A Brand too Far, Chris BRADY, Andrew LORENZ FT/ Prentice Hall (2001), 180pp., £18.99 Racy read through an "ill-thought through merger and acquisition, and implementation of a misplaced strategy". Much more than just a case study. Based on interviews with virtually all the major players in the BMW/Rover camps. Should be essential reading for all concerned with mega global mergers—preferably before decisions are taken!
The Death of Gentlemanly Capitalism, Philip AUGAR Penguin Books (2000), 398pp., £20.00 Provides an insider’s account of what went on (/wrong?) in the City since Big Bang in 1986. Today virtually all of the City’s leading brokers and investment banks now have American or Continental European ownership, through the extensive takeover activity during the past decade. The author believes that key decisions affecting the City will be taken in Frankfurt, Zurich or New York and that, when the next bear market comes, London can expect harsh treatment. (Did it?) Invaluable background, but little material on whether all these purchases have made money for the new owners!
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
Business Restructuring in Asia: Cross-Border M&As in the Crisis Period, James XIAONING ZHAN and Terutomo OZAWA Copenhagen Business School Press (2001), 112pp., £24.00 Evaluates the role and effectiveness of M&A activity in the process of industrial restructuring in Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Pity there was not a more strategic perspective in the approach taken.
China’s Service Sector: A New Battlefield for International Corporations, Yandong LUO Copenhagen Business School Press (2001), 315pp., £32.00 Provides a wide-ranging industry by industry analysis. (Internet Services, E-Commerce, Telecommunications, Banking & Financial Services, Insurance, Advertising, Accounting, Retailing, Tourism and Hotels, together with specific case studies— Citibank, AT&T, Yahoo!, Marriott, and Saatchi & Saatchi.) Examines issues such as how decisions are made about location selection and timing of entry, as well as partner selection and operational strategies.
Global Change: The Impact of Asia in the 21st Century, edited by Richard THORPE and Stephen LITTLE Palgrave (2001), 432pp., £50.00 Twenty-one articles based on presentations made at the second "Global Change" conference at Manchester Metropolitan University in 1998. Strong on interesting bits of information, weak on insightful strategic thinking.
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
Important global issues are considered in the 10 papers in Flexibility in Climate Policy: Making the Kyoto Mechanisms Work, edited by Tim Jackson, Katie Begg and Stuart Parkinson Earthscan (2001), 242pp., £18.95. Also relevant is The Global Covenant: Human Conduct in a World of States, Robert Jackson Oxford University Press (2000), 464pp., £25.00 Closely reasoned argument that maintains that the only sound basis for a pluralist society of sovereign states is one that respects human diversity and upholds human freedoms. Pity greater attention was not give to issues of power and values.
Sustainable Solutions: Developing Products and Services for the Future, edited by Martin CHARTER and Ursula TISCHENER Greenleaf Publishing (2001), 469pp., £40.00 Twenty-seven articles that provide a state-of-the-art analysis (with case studies) on why and how cutting-edge companies can develop new products and services to fit "triple-bottom-line" expectations. World Bank publications continue to be relevant for anyone seriously concerned with the development of the global market place and, recently, these include: African Development Indicators 2001, 366pp., $40.00. Contains more than 500 macroeconomic, sectoral and social indicators, covering 55 African counties. The most comprehensive collection of data on Africa in one volume? And A Change to Learn: Knowledge and
Finance for Education in SubSaharan Africa, 86pp., $22.00.
Strategic human resource management, including values/ethics issues. Moral Issues in Business, William H. SHAW and Vincent BARRY Wadsworth/Thomson Learning (2001, edition), 600pp., £21.99 Comprehensive combination of texts (35) and cases (45) that help understand the nature of morality, individual integrity and responsibility, economic justice, the nature of capitalism and the role of corporations in our society.
Focused Energy: Mastering Bottom-up Organization, edited by Paul STREBEL Wiley (2000), 306pp., £19.99 Eighteen articles, from faculty members of IMD business school, that explore how to generate and focus the energy of the individuals in any organisation—bottom-up.
Strategic Human Resource Management, John WALTON FT/Prentice Hall (1999), 614pp., £28.99 A thorough review of current thinking and practice in HRD. Useful as a teaching text for a variety of HR programmes and for others involved in the HR profession; also relevant for strategists and managers in general. Some fascinating insights into the management of change and transformation, with particular reference to Africa, is contained
775
in YENZA: A blueprint for transformation, Piet Human Oxford University Press (1998), 214pp., £15.00.
Performance Review: Balancing objectives and content, M. STREBLER and S. BEVAN The Institute for Employment Studies (2001), 62pp., £19.95 Reviews the performance review systems and processes of seven organisations in the public and private sectors in order to question their relevance and effectiveness. Essential reading for those struggling to add value to people inputs. Perhaps to be read in conjunction with Linking Employee Satisfaction to Business Results, Paula S. Topolosky Taylor & Francis (2000), 103pp., £34.00 An historical study that assessed trends in employee satisfaction over a six-year period, and attempted to identify the relationship between 30 employee satisfaction variables. Potentially important issues, rigorously analysed (academically), but I am not sure that, in the end, the results said more than: "People who enjoy their work are the more productive workers"?
Ethics and the University, Michael DAVIS Routledge (1999), 267pp., £16.99 A fascinating, and increasingly important, subject. Brings together the practice of ethics, and its teaching. Certainly needs to be widely read by all those concerned with either.
Selling the Work Ethic: From Puritan Pulpit to Corporate PR, Sharon BEDER 292pp., £45.95 (hard), £15.95 (soft). Escalating production and consumption appear to be not
776
only destroying the environment, but also producing increased levels of stress insecurity, depression, crime, and drug taking. This analysis argues that today’s work culture is neither natural or inevitable. A detailed academic study for serious students.
The Quality of Working Life: 2000 survey of managers’ changing experiences, Les WORRALL and Cary L. COOPER The Institute of Management (2001), 119pp., £20.00 (IM Members and Corporate Partners), £40.00 (Non-Members) The results of the fourth, and final, year of the Quality of Working Life project. Full of fascinating material and pity that the survey is not continued over a longer period of time or, at least, every three to five years. A brief discussion of some of the issues related to the (growing?) gap between those who love their work, and those who don’t—between the "willing workers" and the "wage slaves"— is contained in New Community or New Slavery: The Emotional Division of Labour?, Judith Doyle Industrial Society (2000), 33pp., £20.00 To contrast with the thorough (academic) approach taken in Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century: Preference Theory, Catherine Hakim Oxford University Press (2000), 340pp., £15.99 Presents a multi-disciplinary theory ("Preference theory") to explain and predict current and future patterns of women’s choice between employment and family work.
The Flexible Workplace: A Sourcebook of Information and Research, Christine AVERY and Diane ZABEL Quorum Books (2001), 210pp., £50.50 Attempts to pull together the vast literature on the subject. Useful starting point but pity so few non-US references (Only one out of 19 organisations mentioned in Chapter 7!). One important dimension of flexibility is considered in Managing Telework: Perspectives from Human Resource Management and Work Psychology, edited by Kevin Daniels, David A. Lamond and Peter Standen Business Press/Thomson Learning (2000), 182pp., £19.99 Sixteen articles that review a wide variety of HR-related issues associated with the exploration of key questions, such as: How will telework affect work in your organisation? How will you need to change your management practices in order to adapt? And what are the key issues faced when managing teleworkers?
Transcultural Customization of International Training Programs, Hyunjoo KIM Taylor & Francis (1999), 199pp., £30.00 Provides a basic understanding of changing world and different cultures, then connecting that with the instructional design process in terms of cultural differences. Also presents a process that the specialist might find useful in helping to customise training interventions transculturally.
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
(Inner) FITness and The FIT Corporation: Living and working in the present tense, Ben FLETCHER and Bob STEAD Thomson Learning (2000), 179pp., £19.99 FIT is an acronym for "Framework for Internal Transformation". Results from combining Integrity with Behavioural Flexibility. And in this process there are five "Constants" that should guide all behaviours and decisions: Awareness; Fearlessness; Selfresponsibility; Morality and Ethics; and Balance. In addition the Behavioural Flexibility is defined in terms of 15 behavioural dimensions. Helpful for those who want to move on, as the authors argue: "Do not let your future be your past continued."
Marketing strategy Eve-olution: the 8 truths of marketing to women, Faith POPCORN and Lys MARIGOLD HarperCollinsBusiness (2001), 272pp., £8.99 Argues that women and men are as different shop-ologically as they are biologically; as well as developing a framework for brand-building on these assumptions.
Brand Manners: How to Create the Self-Confident Organizations to Live the Brand, Hamish PRINGLE and William GORDON Wiley (2001), 314pp., £17.99 Argues that if employees aren’t able to convey the essence of their company’s brand in everything they do, they run the risk of seriously damaging their company’s success within its
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
market place. Plenty of useful practical advice on how this can be achieved.
Kellogg on Marketing, edited by Dawn IACOBUCCI Wiley (2001), 427pp., £21.50 Seventeen articles that explore cutting-edge thinking on marketing strategy from leading authorities on the subject at the widely-respected Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Future studies and related issues The Ingenuity: How Can We Solve the Problems of the Future?, Thomas HOMERDIXON Jonathan Cape (2000), 480pp., £15.99 Asks if the world today is becoming too complex and too fast-paced to manage, particularly in the context of population growth and environmental despoliation. Important questions, considered with considerable authority but pity there was not more discussion of the role wisdom and values can provide in helping us identify useful answers.
The Future of Money: Creating New Wealth, Work and a Wiser World, Bernard LIETAER Century (2001), 371pp., £18.99 A fascinating journey through the money system from the Industrial Age to the Knowledge Age. Argues that unprecedented strains are now being placed on our global monetary system. Another fascinating journey is provided by Rocks of Ages:
Science and religion in the Fullness of Life, Stephen Jay Gould Jonathan Cape (2001), 241pp., £14.99.
Knowledge management and information technology Knowledge Emergence: Social, Technical, and Evolutionary Dimensions of Knowledge Creation, Ikujiro NONAKA and Toshihiro NISHIGUCHI Oxford University Press (2001), 303pp., £26.50 Fifteen papers, by leading authorities on the subject, that provide a variety of perspectives on knowledge-creating processes. Although largely written for an academic audience, this is a volume for any serious student of the challenging area of knowledge management. Other relevant volumes include: Knowledge Assets: Securing Competitive Advantage in the Information Economy, Max H. Boisot Oxford University Press (1999), 284pp., £14.99 Now available in paperback. And The Infinite Resource: Creating and Leading the Knowledge Enterprise, editor William E. Halal Jossey-Bass (1998), 265pp., £25.50 Sixteen articles that explore how knowledge is going to impact business and government in the years ahead. Pity the nature and role of wisdom in these developments was not discussed in more detail.
777
Testing Theories on Structure and Strategy: An assessment of organizational knowledge, G. PRINS Eburon (2000), 304pp., FL69 Develops the A-F scheme to help reveal the validity and usefulness of (34) organisation theories for the design of organisational structure and strategy. Based on an assessment of the origin and quality of hypothesis, the way data are collected, and the linking of speculation, operationalisation, and observation. A fascinating study for those seriously concerned with the development of management thinking in the 20th century. But pity no index—an invaluable aid for researchers?
Meta-Capitalism: The EBusiness Revolution and the Design of 21st-Century Companies and Markets, Grady MEANS and David SCHNEIDER Wiley (2000), 186pp., £17.95 Outlines strategies and potential impacts of the E-Business "Revolution", as well as introducing ideas that the authors believe will become "a natural part of the business lexicon in the near future". Worth reading but a second edition would have much more sobering expectations. An alternative approach is taken in Digital futures: living in a dot-com world, edited by James Wilson Earthscan (2001), 228pp., £19.99 Eight articles that explore how government and business can maximise the social and environmental benefits of the dot-com revolution. Important issues and a valuable starting point but real benefit will come
778
from the articles being updated every couple of years.
E-Supply Chain. Using the Internet to Revolutionize your Business: How Market Leaders Focus Their Entire Organization on Driving Value to Customers, Charles C. POIRIER and Michael J. BAUER Berrett-Koehler (2000), 236pp., $39.95 Shows how companies can use the effective management of a combination of supply chain networks and e-commerce to improve their market position. Many companies have spent heavily in this area over the past couple of years, but much of it has been an expensive mistake. Close study of the experience distilled into this volume would help to reduce the risks involved. Unfortunately too late for some.
Internet Commerce: Digital Models for Business, Elaine LAWRENCE, Brian CORBITT, Jo-Anne FISHER, John LAWRENCE and Alan TIDWELL Wiley (2000, second edition), 344pp., £24.95 An Australian perspective on the technologies, applications and issues associated with developments in internet commerce. Valuable reading for those concerned with taking decisions in this growing, but high-risk, area. Pity glossy presentation doesn’t add to ease of readability. One specialist, but vital, area is usefully covered in Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World, Bruce Schneier Wiley (2000), 412pp., £21.50 Another, unfortunately, all too common problem area is
helpfully (if it’s not too late!) discussed in How to Survive the e-business Downturn, Colin Barrow Wiley (2000), 224pp., £9.99.
Competing with Information: A Manager’s Guide to Creating Business Value with Information Content, edited by Donald A. MARCHAND Wiley (2000), 342pp., £19.99 Seventeen papers, written by the faculty of IMD, that argue that information management is the responsibility of every manager. Plenty of sound material, well argued; but pity no discussion of the role of values and wisdom.
Knowledge and Innovation in the New Service Economy, edited by Birgitte ANDERSEN, Jeremy HOWELLS, Richard HULL, Ian MILES and Joanne ROBERTS Edward Elgar (2000), 328pp., £65.00 Sixteen (essentially academic) contributions that address the economic dimensions of knowledge and the organisation of knowledge-intense activity through specialised services. Full of material relevant to readers concerned with the future of Knowledge Management on the service sector. A more managerially focused analysis is provided by Into the Networked Age: How IBM and other firms are getting there now, James W. Cortada and Thomas S. Hargraves Oxford University Press (1999), 233pp., £16.99 Shows how IBM (and others) transformed into a networked organisation.
Book Reviews and Review Briefs
Managing Industrial Knowledge: Creation, Transfer and Utilization, edited by Ikujiro NONAKA and David J. TEECE Sage (2001), 352pp., £60.00 (hard), £19.99 (soft) Sixteen key articles organised around three key themes: Knowledge, Creation and Leadership; Firms, Markets and Innovation; and Managing Knowledge and Transformation. For serious students of the subject.
Manual of Online Search Strategies: Business, Law, News and Patents, edited by C.J. ARMSTRONG and Andrew LARGE Gower (2001), 283pp., £95.00 Provides guidance for searchers of electronic information in this specific subject area. Other Volumes cover "Sciences" and "Humanities & Social Sciences". But surprisingly little link with websites, see: The Top 200 Web Sites on E-Commerce, Alan Cawson Kogan Page (2000), 132pp., £9.99.
Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, Glyn MOODY Penguin (2001), 334pp., £12.99 Reveals the reasons for the success of Linux and the story of Open Source—programmes and personalities. "Shows what can be achieved if we suspend the pursuit of personal advantage." A fascinating story with lessons for us all, especially established giants (ie: Microsoft). (Note: the first three chapters of the book are available free on www.penguin.co.uk/Book/ BookFrame?0713995203 EXC—in the spirit of the book itself, say the publishers!)
Long Range Planning, vol 34
2001
The Coming Internet Depression, Michael MANDEL FT/Prentice Hall (2001), 167pp., £24.99 Originally published in 2000 (near the top of the dot.com bubble) the author perceptively asks why boom would go bust, explores how bad it will be, and how to prosper regardless. Unfortunately too late for many, but a good read for academics and many others in retrospect. Perhaps needs to be read in conjunction with How to make your million from the Internet (and what to do if you don’t), Jonathan Maitland Hodder & Stoughton (2001), 259pp., £10.00 The subtitle being the priority in recent months!
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management Buy-outs, Quarterly review from the Centre for Management Buyout Research Nottingham University Business School (Winter 2000/2001), 73pp., £100.00 Provides special sections on: The Public to Private Buy-out Market in 2000; Technology Sector Buyouts; and Buy-outs and Buy-ins in Distress.
Management and Entrepreneurialism, John C. CHICKEN Thomson Learning (2000), 153pp., £19.99 Provides an assessment and comparison of the constraints on managing an operation effectively in both the public and private sectors. Useful for a
variety of MBA and Public Sector courses.
Public sector Taking Responsibility: Personal Liability under Environmental Law, Stephen TROMANS and Justine THORNTON Earthscan (2001), 57pp., £45.00 Well-presented material that, unfortunately, is likely to be increasingly important for us all. But an expensive way of learning about a subject that should be cheaply available for everyone.
Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience, Ben S. BERNANKE, Thomas LAUBACH, Frederic S. MISHKIN and Adam S. POSEN Princeton University Press (2001), 392pp., £12.95 An in-depth study of the effectiveness of policymakers using deliberate strategies of announcing and pursuing specific targets for the rate of inflation. Important issues for a specialist market.
Risk, Media and Stigma: Understanding Public Challenges to Modern Science and Technology, edited by James FLYNN, Paul SLOVIC and Howard KUNREUTHER Earthscan (2001), 399pp., £24.95. Twenty-three papers that review current views on how and why stigma occurs and what the appropriate responses to it should be, in order to inform the public and reduce undesirable impacts. Important issues that need to be repackaged for a
779
wider (managerial) audience. Other important dimensions of risk are considered in the 11 papers in Transboundary Risk Management, edited by Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer, Ragnar E. Lofstdt and Gunnar Sjostedt Earthscan (2001), 338pp., £24.95 Reviews critical areas such as Nuclear Power, Genetically modified crops, BSE, Pollution and Dams.
Universities and Students: A Guide to rights, responsibilities and practical remedies, G.R. EVANS and Jaswinder GILL Kogan Page (2001), 181 pp., £18.99 Designed to clarify the legal framework that exists (in the UK) between universities and their students. Important issues that need to be closely studied by those in the HE sector.
Reflective Public Administration: Views from the South, edited by J.S. WESSELS and J.C.PAUW Oxford University Press (1999), 504pp., £18.00 Eighteen papers that provide insights for the teaching and
practice of public administration through the discussion of issues that call for thought and action within a philosophical framework of reality, ethics, knowledge and methodology.
The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World Is Still the Least Valued, Ann CRITTENDEN Metropolitan Books (2001), 323pp., $25.00 Argues that, although women have been liberated, mothers have not and maintains there is an enormous disparity between the value created by "mothers’" work and the reward women receive for carrying out society’s most important job. Pity not focused on the costs/benefits of effective parenting, rather than obsessed with the role of mothers!
A Vision for the Future: In Conversation with Financial Strategies, edited by Luc KEULENEER, Dirk SWAGERMAN and Willem VERHOOG Wiley (2000), 184pp., £14.99 Fifteen conversations with the giants of the financial world, who reveal their views on financial strategy and future trends. One study for the specialist is Asset Pricing, John H. Cochrane Princeton University Press (2001), 530pp., £36.50 Attempts to unify the science of (theoretical) financial economics—based on the simple idea: "price equals expected discounted payoff". But pity no attempt to integrate theory with practice!
Other useful information The Greatest Inventions of the past 2000 years, edited by John BROCKMAN PHOENIX (2000), 192pp., £7.99 Fascinating brief details on 100 of the greatest innovations over the past 2000 years.
PII: S 0 0 2 4 - 6 3 0 1 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 9 6 - 6
780
Book Reviews and Review Briefs