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Review Briefs: February 2011
Long Range Planning 44 (2011) 67e74
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/lrp
Review Briefs: February 2011 Broad introductions to the whole subject of strategy Strategy Making in a Crisis: From Analysis to Imagination, Michael GIBBERT, Edward Elgar (2010), 232pp., £59.95. A rigorous (academic) study that draws on evidence from philosophy and a multi-year case study of a major multinational (ElectroCorp), to develop three kinds of imaginations (descriptive, creative, and challenging, in order to propose a three-step model (envisaging, conceiving and realizing) for (more?) imaginative strategy making. For serious students of the subject. Strategic Management: Principles and Practice Barry J. WITCHER & Vinh SUM CHAU Cengage learning EMEA (2010), 325pp., £33.99. A basic textbook that provides a valuable (and colourful!) introduction to 21st century strategy, including case studies and examples from Twitter to Beijing Stateowned Assets Management. Also supported by a 500 page online strategy encyclopaedia and a comprehensive set of instructor resources will be available on the online companion website. (Re)(Organize) for Resilience: Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business, Ranjay GULATI, Harvard Business Press (2010), 270pp., $35.00. Shows how some companies have overcome built-in institutional obstacles by reorganizing their structure and capabilities to be
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more proactive, flexible and truly customer-centric. This greater resilience comes from the effective management of five elements (Coordination, Cooperation, Clout, Capabilities and Connections) and their inter-action. Well argued and well presented. Dirty rotten strategies: how we trick ourselves and others into solving the wrong problems precisely, Ian I. MITROFF & Abraham SILVERS, Stanford University Press (2010), 210pp., $24.95. Argues that organisations and interest groups often lure us into solving the ‘wrong problems’ and, although we can never be sure if we have our sights on the wrong problem, there are definite signals that can help alert us to that possibility. These issues are also relevant to the political arena. As Thomas Pynchon said: ‘’If they can get you asking the wrong questions, then they don’t have to worry about the answers.’ Challenging ideas worth reading.
Textbooks covering the whole subject of strategy The Management of Strategy: Concepts and Cases, R. Duane IRELAND, Robert E. HOSKISSON and Michael A. HITT, South-Western Cengage Learning (2010, 9th edition, International Edition), 897pp., £51.99. A massive, impressive, US based textbook. Organised into three core parts: Strategic Inputs; Formulation of Strategic Actions
and Implementation, together with a final part containing twenty-nine case studies from Apple to WalMart. (Twenty-four of these are ‘AllNew Cases’.) Extensive instructor support is also available. Similar ground, although with less international emphasis, is covered in Theory of Strategic Management with Cases, Gareth R. JONES and Charles W. L. Hill, South-Western Cengage Learning (2010, 9th edition), 777pp., £49.99. Organised into five parts: Strategic Overview; Competitive Advantage; Formulating Strategies: Implementing Strategy and Cases (22) in Strategic Management. Strategic Management: Awareness & Change, John THOMPSON & Frank MARTIN, South-Western Cengage Learning (2010, 6th edition,), 832pp., £47.99. Another massive, impressive (UK based) teaching text. Organised into five parts: Understanding strategy and strategic management; Strategic positioning; Strategic analysis and choice; Issues in strategic growth and Strategic management. 110 brief cases integrated into the main text, together with a further 39 available online. Chapter 17 covers Final thoughts: the purpose of strategy – perhaps it could be repackaged as the first chapter and First thoughts. after all it is e or should be e purpose that drives strategy? Strategy: Process, Content, Context. An International Perspective, Bob De WIT and Ron
MEYER, South-Western Cengage Learning (2010, 4th edition), 975pp., £47.99. A different approach to teaching strategy that is more focused on developing and critical and creative strategic thinkers. Organised into six sections: Strategy Introduction; Strategy Process; Strategy Content; Strategy Content; Purpose and Cases (22 from Honda to Nike). Each chapter is supplemented by a selection of classical readings on the topic. The reputation of this impressive classic text is well justified. Further support available from www.cengage.co.uk/strategy4e. Corporate Governance, Christine A. MALLIN, Oxford University Press (2010, second edition), 357pp., £29.99. Provides a valuable comprehensive textbook for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Building on previous editions with new case studies and an discussion of recent developments. Accompanied by an Online Resource Centre.
Various concepts of strategic management A Focused Issue on Identifying, Building and Linking Competences, Edited by Ron SANCHEZ and Aime HEENE, Emerald Group Publishing (2010), 258pp., £67.95. Nine academic papers, organised into two parts: I: Identifying, Building and Linking Competences, and II: The Intellectual Structure of the Competence-Based Perspective, together with an Introduction. Another publication in the series is: Enhancing Competences for Competitive Advantage, Edited by Ron SANCHEZ and Aime HEENE, Emerald Group Publishing (2010), 261pp., £67.95. Nine academic papers, together with an introduction. Includes papers on ‘Lobbying: Strategies to make a firm’s competences generate 68
value’, through ‘How to build alliance capability: a life- cycle approach’, to ‘Self-organization of competency development and the role of managers.’
Analytical methods, tools and approaches Granularity: Smart choices to grow your business in good times and bad, Patrick VIGUERIE, Sven SMIT & Mehrdad BAGHAI, Marshall Cavendish (2010), 240pp., £12.99 (paper). Shows how it is still possible to grow a business, even in a time of negative overall growth. The challenge is to find a way to create markets and make strategic choices at a more granular level without losing focus in a sea of complexity. Provides useful insights into how to achieve and maintain more sustainable profitable growth. Companies on a Mission: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Growing Sustainability, Responsibly, and Profitably, Michael V. RUSSO, with a Forward by L. Hunter LOVINS, Stanford Business books (2010), 256pp., $22.95. Shows how mission-driven companies appreciate, and are able to leverage, traditional strategic principles e ‘with a twist’ e to win in the marketplace. Chronicles both a movement, as well as providing invaluable guidance for entrepreneurs and managers who are struggling in this increasingly competitive world. (Builds on the earlier Built to Last ideas.) Strategic Speed: Mobilize People, Accelerate Execution, Jocelyn R. DAVIS, Henry M. FRECHETTE, Jr and Edwin H. BOSWELL, Harvard Business Press (2010), 204pp., $29.95. Argues that in order to achieve strategic speed (Implementing strategies both quickly and well)
people are the key ingredient and shows how three people factors provide a powerful accelerator for organizational speed and performance: Clarity (understanding the goal), Unity (cross-company collaboration), and Agility (adapting quickly). The authors also identify four leadership practices that support the approach: Affirm strategies that ensure everyone knows the destination and wants to go there; Drive strategies that create real momentum and behavioural change; Manage climate to increase confidence, motivation and teamwork; and Cultivate experience that builds in employees insights and learning. Useful practical assessment tools are also provided. Although the role of trust was mentioned, this area e and the link with values e could have been considered in more detail. How Risky Is It Really? Why Our Fears Don’t Always Match the Facts, David ROPEIK, McGraw Hill (2010), 280pp., $24.95. A readable book that argues that we do not base our decisions on a purely rational system, or by a purely emotional one. Instead we make risk assessments with both head (rational) and heart (emotional), combining both facts and feelings into Affective action. The author uses neuroscience to investigate how we combine the known facts with our various subliminal risk perception factors, which results in a significant gap (The Perception Gap) between our fears and reality, and which then causes us to make skewed decisions and judgement errors. Understanding these issues are the first step towards making better choices for ourselves and for society as a whole. A book that should be widely read, but the whole subject of values could have been given even greater emphasis. Review Briefs
Bad Ideas: A arresting history of inventions, Robert WINSTON, Bantam Press (2010), 417pp., £24.95. A tour through mankind’s innovative history that ends by presenting a ‘Scientists Manifesto’, which the author believes could ensure a better and safer relationship between science, scientists and society. In the end society as a whole has to take responsibility for the way our scientific knowledge (although more strictly information) is used wisely for the benefit of mankind as a whole. Inventors and Inventions, Black Dog Publishing (2009), 234pp., £24.95. Provides a vivid account of about 150 inventions past and present that shape our society today, from the Aga cooker to the Zip, from Lego to the MP3, from Viagra to the Hula Hoop. The book charts the evolution products, together the a little information on the minds behind them. Fascinating and impressively presented e a coffee table collectors item. Accounting for Sustainability: Practical Insights, Edited by Anthony HOPWOOD, Jeffrey UNERMAN and Jessica FRIES, Earthscan (2010), 258pp., £24.95. Practical insights into how organizations can manage the complex challenges of sustainable development more effectively. Full of useful tools, techniques and case studies derived from the work of The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project.
Leadership, change and implementation Rethinking Leadership: A New Look at Old Leadership Questions, Donna LADKIN, Edward Elgar (2010), 202pp., £59.95. Outlines a number of philosophical questions that attempt to Long Range Planning, vol 44
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deconstruct a number of traditionally held views on leadership. Although the importance of wisdom is discussed towards the end of the book, it is a pity that this dimension, and its link with values, was not recognised as the core theme that should be driving our overall need to rethink the subject. The critical importance of values is well argued in Giving Voice to Values: How to Speak Your Mind When You Know What’s Right, Mary C. GENTILE, Yale University Press (2010), 268pp., £18.00. Are the Rich Necessary? Great Economic Arguments and How They Reflect Our Personal Values, Hunter LEWIS, Axios Press (2009, updated & expanded edition), 413pp., $12.00. A provocative examination of some of the most fundamental economic questions that underlie society, mainly reflecting a US perspective. Also proposes a new way to bridge the extremes of rich and poor, of free markets and safety nets; a solution that would involve a massive expansion of the non profit sector through tax credits. An alternative value system that needs to guide our values systems to move our economic choices into a more sustainable direction. A shorter version is needed to reach a wider audience. Approaching similar issues primarily from a UK perspective is The Super-Rich shall inherit the Earth, Stephen ARMSTRONG, Constable (2010), £8.99. Argues that we face a great threat to our freedom and to our democratic rights and that action is needed to prevent us ‘slipping into our own oligarch-run state’. Facets of Leadership: Turning Management Thinking into Management Action, Fred CANNON, Management Books 2000 Ltd, (2009), 244pp., £14.99.
Thirty-five brief readings for key management thinkers. Organised into chapters on: Perspectives on Leadership; Leading and Managing Performance; Making the Team Work; Creating the Future; and Making Things Happen. Together with introductory and postscript chapters, together with a Reflective Summary and 10 Home Truths, all by the editor. Chasing Stars: the Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance, Boris GROYSBERG, Princeton University Press (2010), 446pp., £24.95. A detailed examination of the extent to which luring talented performers away from competitors actually works in improving performance in practice. There appear to be a few exceptions, such as stars who move with their teams and stars who switch to better firms, but: ‘most stars who switch firms turn out to be meteors, quickly losing luster in their new settings’. The author offers useful insights into the underlying nature of outstanding performance, as well as providing practical guidance to both individuals on how to manage their careers, and how companies can identify, develop and keep its talent, more effectively. The Power of Positive Deviance: How unlikely Innovators solve the World’s toughest problems, Richard PASCALE, Jerry STERNIN and Monique STERNIN, Harvard Business Press (2010), 231pp., $26.95. Positive deviance (PD) is founded on the premise that at least one person in a community e working with the same resources as everyone else e has already licked the problem that confounds others. Uses firsthand stories to support a counterintuitive approach to problem solving that looks for 69
outliners who succeed against all the odds. By seeing solutions where others don’t, these positive deviants spread and sustain needed change. Well presented material that is relevant to us all. Part of the valuable Leadership for the Common Good series of books for a partnership between the publishers and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working. The Four Forgotten Needs that Energize Great Performance, Tony SCHWARTZ, Simon & Schuster (2010), 334pp., £12.99. Shows how individuals can try to manage their skills and energy more skilfully, which can help us all take back control of our lives as well as help re-define leadership in such as way that it can create more effective organizational policies and practices that fuel rather than deplete our energy levels. Plenty of good food for thought. But surprising that the link between values, meaning and commitment was not given even greater emphasis as this should really be our starting point.
Global strategic management Losing Control: The Emerging Threats to Western Prosperity, Stephen D. KING, Yale University Press (2010), 279pp., £20.00. Considers the implications for developed nations of the growing influence of China, India and other emerging nations, and cautions against the expectation of continuously improving living standards for those in the US and Europe. An impressive analysis of change drivers and expected trends, but greater discussion of ‘alternative’, more sustainable, models of ‘prosperity’ would have been useful. 70
Learning form High Reliability Organisations, Edited by Andrew HOPKINS, CCH Australia (Wolters Kluwer) (2009), 246pp., A$75.00. Examines a number of ‘high reliability organisations’ (such as airliners, nuclear power stations and chemical processing plants), with a particular focus on Australia’s air traffic control organisation. Fascinating and important material, especially for those concerned with improving the learning from ‘technological’ disasters, although the answers invariably lie with people issues. The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities Are Reshaping the World, Ben WILDAVSKY, Princeton University Press (2010), 240pp., $26.95. Every year, nearly three million international students study outside their home country, a 40% increase in the past decade. There are now probably more new universities created every year than the total stock of Universities in the UK. (What are the implications of the growth in for-profit institutions, and the free trade in minds?) Full of fascinating facts, and the author argues this is having a profound effect on the spread of knowledge (or information), as well as for the future of our global development. This is a vitally important subject, and it is one of the few studies of the topic, but the really interesting area is exploring the long term impact on values and culture, which was hardly mentioned. Epic Recession: Prelude to Global Depression, Jack RASMUS, Pluto Press (2010), 340pp., £22.50. An detailed analysis of US economic history to show that the current predicament is potentially ‘Epic Recession’, and that the only way to prevent the onset of depression is to radically restructure the economy through a massive
job creation programme nationalisations, a fundamentally new kind of banking structure, and the need for a long-term redistribution of income through better healthcare and benefit systems. Unfortunately the presentation is not very reader friendly. Financial Alchemy in Crisis: The Great Liquidity Illusion, Anastasia NESVETAILOVA, Pluto Press (2010), 224pp., £17.99. Shows how the rise of sophisticated financial instruments created what appeared to be an abundance of liquid funds but it was, in fact, a credit (Ponzi scheme) pyramid. And, as soon as house prices stopped rising, this reality was exposed. Some graphs of past trends, and a greater emphasis on the policy changes needed for the future, would have given the approach even more credibility. The Change Imperative: Creating the Next Generation NGO, Paul RONALDS, Kumarian Press (2010), 233pp., £23.50. Explores the challenges that NGO’s must overcome to maintain their effectiveness in the 21st century. Covering a wide range of practical subjects, such as advocacy, fundraising, technology, financing and human resources, as well as the more ambiguous areas of legitimacy, state sovereignty and political influence. Important issues, but pity there was not a greater emphasis on management/strategy tools and techniques, which would have increased it’s relevance for practising managers operating in this field. (Also strange the word leadership did not merit mention in the index?) God’s Economy: Faith-Based Initiatives & the Caring State, Lew DALY, The University of Chicage Press (2010), 318pp., £26.00. Offers an intellectual history of faith-based initiatives that provide potential for advancing social Review Briefs
justice. Full of interesting insights, but pity it was not linked to the increasing emphasis given to values driven strategic thinking and policy based primarily on the (non Faith-Based) quest for greater sustainability.
Strategic Human Resource Management, including values/ethics issues Get Rid of the Performance Review! How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing e and Focus on What Really Matters, Samuel A. CULBERT with Lawrence ROUT, Business Plus, Hachette Book Group (2010), $24.99. Argues that the traditional concept of the performance review is a ‘cruel, wasteful, insidious practice. that plague so many workplaces today.’ It destroys morale and teamwork and impedes personal growth, as well as encouraging managers to control employees through intimidation, rather than any real understanding of what motivates people to work effectively. The author also offers an alternative e the performance preview e that can help to start building trusting relationships, which is a far better way to improve organizational performance. Management Rewired: Why Feedback Doesn’t Work and Other Surprising Lessons from the Latest Brain Science, Charles S.JACOBS, Portfolio (2010, paper), 228pp., $16.00. Shows why our current management practices are so often self-defeating and demonstrates new, more effective approaches that leverage how the mind actually works. Based on findings from brain scan, cognitive experiments, and behavioural studies which appear to have counter intuitive implications Long Range Planning, vol 44
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for a number of business areas including strategy and leadership. A good e important - read. The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organisations, Dave ULRICH and Wendy ULRICH, McGraw-Hill (2010), 281pp., $27.95 Argue that making work meaningful is critical for organisational success, including targeted checklists, questionnaires. A vitally important underlying message that badly needs repeating, although not really new; and it is surprising that the role and importance of values was not given an even greater priority. ‘Employees, customers, investors, and society benefit when employees find meaning at work, and when companies give meaning to society. so leaders should also be meaning-makers.’ It is not that they should also be meaning-makers, that activity needs to be the core driver of their thinking and actions. Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down, Vineet NAYER, McGraw-Hill (2010), 224pp., £17.99. Argues that the best way for companies to meet their customers’ needs is to stop making customers their top priority. Instead it is only by turning the organization upside down and making management accountable to value-creating employees that companies can unleash their employees’ creativity, energy and passion. Well presented, challenging, ideas.
provide fifteen papers on conceptual and empirical insights into the key areas of: Leadership Principles and Practice; Developing Leaders; Leadership Learning and Leadership for Inclusion. Useful material but pity no discussion of the key role of Wisdom. One important dimension is explored in more detail in The Succession Challenge: Building and Sustaining Leadership Capacity through Succession Management, Dean FINK, Sage (2010), 182pp., £22.99. Shows how an enlightened approach to succession management can help to ensure a steady supply of high quality educational leaders. Essential reading for anyone concerned with these issues. Another useful publication for those concerned with the future of education is The Fourth Way: The Inspiring Future for Education Change, Andy HARGREAVES and Dennis SHIRLEY, Sage (2009), 143pp., £15.99. Provides a compelling ‘catalyst for coherence’ framework that attempts to integrate teachers professionalism, community engagement, government policy, with greater accountability. Although primarily based on US experience there are lessons for many other parts of the world. Some valuable personal insights into the impact of educational experiences are contained in Changing Lives: women, inclusion and the PhD, edited by Barbara Ann COLE and Helen GUNTER, Trentham Books (2010), £20.99, 165pp.,
Marketing strategy The Principles of Educational Leadership & Management, Tony BUSH, Les BELL & David MIDDLEWOOD, Sage (2010, second edition), 300pp., £24.99. This revised and updated second edition brings together many leading international author to
Brand Society: How brands transform management and lifestyle, Martin KORNBERGER, Cambridge University Press (2010), 308pp., £19.99. Explores the benefits of wellmanaged brand transformation 71
programmes. Essential reading for anyone involved with the brand industry.
Future studies and related issues How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better, Maddy DYCHTWALD, Hyperion (20100, 241pp., $24.99. A challenging analysis of the implications of the biggest demographic change of our times: the emergence of women as a very significant economic force e and the evidence suggests that women will use this power to improve society in many new ways. Important issues and perhaps one of the few reasons for optimism in today’s world? Integral Research and Innovation: Transforming Enterprise and Society, Ronnie LESSEM and Alexander SCHIEFFER, Gower (2010), 409pp., £60.00. Attempts to answer the key question: ‘How can social research be turned into social or indeed ‘integral’ innovation?’ Shows how research has to be transformative, rather than just informative, if it is to contribute usefully to building integrated and sustainable enterprises. And that it is knowledge creation that underpins the transformative processes. A well presented, challenging, tour through important issues. Earth, Inc: using natures rules to build sustainable profits, Gregory UNRUH, Harvard Business Press (2010), 187pp., $24.95. Shows how companies can create real and lasting value by working towards a more sustainable destination that is informed by existing biosphere rules e nature-inspired principles that can transform businesses from a resource deplete to 72
a resources reuser. The authors’ five principles of sustainable businesses, inspired by the cyclical nature of the biosphere e are: Materials parsimony; Power autonomy; Value cycles; Sustainable product platforms; and Function over form. Valuable insights, although the key role of values could have been given greater emphasis. Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution, Paul HAWKEN, Amory B. LOVINS & L. Hunter LOVINS, Earthscan (2010), 416pp., £14.99. A 10th anniversary edition that includes a new introduction by Amory B. Lovins and Paul Hawken, which updates the story to cover developments of the last decade. Full of important ideas that show how capitalism would work if the world’s ‘natural capital’ were properly valued, and how they could result in a drastic reduction in the resources used by industrial countries. Unfortunately the generally academic presentation of the material is likely to prevent it being widely read by busy decisionmakers. The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis, Jeremy RIFKIN, Polity (2009), 674pp., £17.99. A massive volume that argues that at the core of the human story is the paradoxical relationship between empathy and entropy. And it is ironic that the growing empathic awareness (where is the evidence for this?) has apparent been made possible by the continua consumption of the Earth’s finite resources. Rifkin argues that if we are to avert a catastrophic destruction of the Earth’s ecosystems, the collapse of the global economy and the possible extinction of the human race, we need to change human consciousness itself e and
within a generation. Very true, but we can only hope that our empathetic future does not depend on this volume being read by a wide audience? Designing Better Futures: Rethinking strategy for a sustainable world, Michael J. C. MCALLUM, Global Foresight Network (2008), 232pp., $32.00. Challenges us all to face perhaps the most important question of our time: ‘How can our societies and economies, some with growing populations, most with aspirational ideals and almost all having access to astounding technologies, live within the constraints of the planet that we all inhabit?’Readable and relevant material that argues that this will require important lifestyle shift, as well as a new kind of leadership. Banking on the Future: the Rise and Fall of Central Banking, Howard DAVIES and David GREEN, Princeton University Press (2010), £24.95. Shows how monetary policy and financial stability concerns have drifted apart in recent years and the crucial role this dichotomy has played in the run up to the recent financial crisis. Combines academic research with the results of interviews with leading central bankers from around the world to provide practical recommendations for the future. Useful material for policy makers, although it is a pity that strategic tools and techniques were not used more extensively in the analysis. The Selfish Society: How we all forgot to love one another and made money instead, Sue GERHARDT, Simon & Schuster (2010), 388pp., £12.99. Argues that we need to re-integrate the caring qualities that are learnt in early life into our political and economic thinking in order to help Review Briefs
develop a more reflective and collaborative society. Full of badly needed, sensible, insights that urgently need to be addressed by us all, but pity the potential role of Wisdom was not incorporated into the ideas considered. Another book that supports the need for radical change is Crack Capitalism, John HOLLOWAY, Pluto Press (2010), 305pp., £17.99. Seeks to reopen the debate among activists who are concerned with the (fundamental?) contradictions of capitalism.
for computer analysis. Part III discusses methods for social network analysis. An increasingly important subject and this book is particularly relevant for anyone interested in seriously considering the topic.
Knowledge Management and Information Technology
Mindworks: A Decade of Consciousness Studies, J. Andrew ROSS, Imprint Academic (2009, second revised edition), 342pp., £24.95. A detailed attempt to understand one of the central scientific challenges of our time, although it is probable that only afew readers are likely to be any the wiser.
An Adventure in Service-Learning: Developing Knowledge, Values and Responsibility, Anto T. KERINS, Gower (2010), 292pp., £60.00. A well written and easy to read book that argues that education does not just provide knowledge and skills, it can also encourage the development of the critical elements of values and responsibility. Service-Learning uses their classroom theory to help others through relevant service or volunteering activities. Relevant to anyone concerned with the provision of education at all levels. But pity the link between Knowledge, Values, Responsibility and Wisdom, was not explored. Social Capital: An Introduction to Managing Networks, Kenneth W. KOPUT, Edward Elgar (2010), 172pp., £59.95. Shows how to understand and manage social capital in order to facilitate more effective individual and organizational learning. Part I introduces basic theory, concepts and technology and then applies them to business and human resource management. Part II covers how relational data is obtained and how it can be prepared Long Range Planning, vol 44
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Transdisciplinary Cybernetics and Cybersemiotics. A special issue of Cybernetics & Human Knowing (A journal of secondorder cybernetics autopoiesis and cyber-semiotics, Volume 16, No 3-4, 2009). Seven papers on the subject for a specialist audience.
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Kick the Tyres - Light the Fires: One man’s vision for Britain’s future and how we can make it work, Torquil NORMAN, Infinite ideas (2010), 242pp., £12.99. Argues that people need more freedom, and less micro management by government, to make the best of their lives. By the inventor of the Big Yellow Teapot and the Founder of the Roundhouse. Ends with a series of reflections on key issues for today’s Britain (‘A nonpolitician’s proposals for change’) from the reform of the welfare, means-testing and taxation systems, to current drug use and the treatment of prisoners. All driven by the author’s desire to create a better way of life for the whole of the UK population, and particularly disadvantaged young people. Full of challenging ideas worth considering.
Public Sector Theories of Social Capital: Researchers Behaving Badly, Ben FINE, Pluto Press (2010) 271pp., £21.99. A critical evaluation of the concept of social capital. For specialists in the area, although it was surprising that there was no explicit discussion of the overlap with social cost-benefit analysis? Debating Moral Education: Rethinking the Role of the Modern University, Editors Elizabeth KISS and J. Peter EUBEN, Duke University Press (2010) 347pp., £17.99. A collection of sixteen articles that debate the role of ethics in the university, investigating whether universities should proactively cultivate morality and ethics, as well as what teaching ethics entails, and what moral education should accomplish. For serious students of the subject but, surprising, there was no discussion of the nature and role of wisdom. Also relevant (but with the same overall conclusion as in the final comment of the previous book) The Question of Morale: Managing Happiness and Unhappiness in University Life, David WATSON, Open University Press/McGraw-Hill (2009), 165 pp., £26.99. Emphasises the importance of morale within an institution and offers some challenging (and optimistic) answers to the questions it posed. A more general discussion of some of these issues is covered in Who holds the moral high-ground, Colin BECKLEY and Elspeth WATERS, Imprint Academic (2010), 126pp., £8.95. Covers a history of morality and approaches to ethical problem solving, from Buddhism and Christianity to Particularism, and attempts to demonstrate where each 73
approach falls short of an objective philosophy. Asks: Are we facing moral nihilism, or can we create a new ethical consciousness from what has gone before? Making Inclusion Work: Experiences from Academia around the World, Edited by Saija € KATILA, Susan MERILAINEN and Janne TIENARI, Edward Elgar (2010), 209pp., £59.95 Eight academic papers where scholars around the world share their experiences of intervening in curriculum development, teaching and research, and reflect on practices that worked in various local contexts. Organised into two parts: Influencing institutions and development curricula, and Setting examples and reworking pedagogy, together with an Introduction by the editors. A very important subject but these academic studies will need to be repackaged for the wider managerial audience concerned with taking decisions in this area. The Disappearing Center Alan I. ABRAMOWITZ, Yale University Press (2010), 194pp., £27.50. Argues that the most important divide in American politics is not between left and right, but rather between those citizens who are politically engaged (and polarized) and those who are not. In addition, although that polarization is often assumed to be detrimental, the author maintains that it helps to present voters with clearer choices, increases participation and strengthens electoral accountability. For the specialist reader. Another study of the political arena (although overlapping with lead-
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ership issues) is Premiership: The Development, Nature and Power of the Office of the British Prime Minister, Andrew BLICK and George JONES, Imprint Academic (2010), 212pp., £8.95. It combines the methods of history and political science to explore theories of the development, nature and power of the Prime Minister within the British political system. Essential reading for both practicing or aspiring politicians, as well as students of the subject.
Other useful information Absence of Mind, Marilynne ROBINSON, Yale University Press (2010), 158pp., £16.99. Explores the tension between science and religion, showing how our concept of mind determine how we understand and value human nature and human civilization. The underlying view challenges post modern atheists who crusade against religion under the banner of science. Important ideas; but pity the role and nature of Wisdom was not also covered. Another fascinating perspective on some these issues is provided by Why Spirituality is Difficult for Westerners, David HAY, Imprint Academic (2007), 105pp., £8.95. The author is a zoologist by profession and his research was guided by the hypothesis that religious or spiritual awareness is biologically natural to the human species and has been selected for in the process of organic evolution because it has survival value. Although naturalistic, this hypothesis is not intended to be reductionist with regard to religion.
However, it does imply that all people, including those who have no religious belief, have a spiritual life. His research includes a number of national and in-depth surveys of reports of religious or spiritual experience in the United Kingdom. Capital Affairs: London and the Making of the Permissive Society, Frank MORT, Yale University Press (2010), 508pp., £25.00. A massive (specialist academic) study that shows how postVictorian morality was forged by the dramatic interaction of the cultures of austerity and affluence that has marked London life over the years. British Social Attitudes, Editors Alison PARK, John CURTICE, Katarina THOMSOn, Miranda PHILLIPS, Elizabeth CLERY and Sarah BUTT, Sage (2010, 26th Report), 294pp., £50.00. Eleven chapters that provide detailed insights into a number of key areas of life in Britain. Duty in decline? Trends in attitudes to voting; Thermostat or weathervane? Public reactions to spending and redistribution under New Labour; How do political parties shape public opinions? Britain in a European perspective; Religion in Britain and the United States; Religious faith and contemporary attitudes; Understanding the dynamics of attitude change; A chorus of disapproval? European attitudes to non-traditional family patterns; Never too old? Attitudes towards longer working lives; Lone parents and benefits: an obligation to look for work? Food for thought: attitudes to innovative food technologies; and Smoking, drinking and drugs: reactions to reform.
Review Briefs
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Review Briefs: February 2011 Broad introductions to the whole subject of strategy Strategy Making in a Crisis: From Analysis to Imagination, Michael GIBBERT, Edward Elgar (2010), 232pp., £59.95. A rigorous (academic) study that draws on evidence from philosophy and a multi-year case study of a major multinational (ElectroCorp), to develop three kinds of imaginations (descriptive, creative, and challenging, in order to propose a three-step model (envisaging, conceiving and realizing) for (more?) imaginative strategy making. For serious students of the subject. Strategic Management: Principles and Practice Barry J. WITCHER & Vinh SUM CHAU Cengage learning EMEA (2010), 325pp., £33.99. A basic textbook that provides a valuable (and colourful!) introduction to 21st century strategy, including case studies and examples from Twitter to Beijing Stateowned Assets Management. Also supported by a 500 page online strategy encyclopaedia and a comprehensive set of instructor resources will be available on the online companion website. (Re)(Organize) for Resilience: Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business, Ranjay GULATI, Harvard Business Press (2010), 270pp., $35.00. Shows how some companies have overcome built-in institutional obstacles by reorganizing their structure and capabilities to be
doi:10.1016/j.lrp.2010.10.002
more proactive, flexible and truly customer-centric. This greater resilience comes from the effective management of five elements (Coordination, Cooperation, Clout, Capabilities and Connections) and their inter-action. Well argued and well presented. Dirty rotten strategies: how we trick ourselves and others into solving the wrong problems precisely, Ian I. MITROFF & Abraham SILVERS, Stanford University Press (2010), 210pp., $24.95. Argues that organisations and interest groups often lure us into solving the ‘wrong problems’ and, although we can never be sure if we have our sights on the wrong problem, there are definite signals that can help alert us to that possibility. These issues are also relevant to the political arena. As Thomas Pynchon said: ‘’If they can get you asking the wrong questions, then they don’t have to worry about the answers.’ Challenging ideas worth reading.
Textbooks covering the whole subject of strategy The Management of Strategy: Concepts and Cases, R. Duane IRELAND, Robert E. HOSKISSON and Michael A. HITT, South-Western Cengage Learning (2010, 9th edition, International Edition), 897pp., £51.99. A massive, impressive, US based textbook. Organised into three core parts: Strategic Inputs; Formulation of Strategic Actions
and Implementation, together with a final part containing twenty-nine case studies from Apple to WalMart. (Twenty-four of these are ‘AllNew Cases’.) Extensive instructor support is also available. Similar ground, although with less international emphasis, is covered in Theory of Strategic Management with Cases, Gareth R. JONES and Charles W. L. Hill, South-Western Cengage Learning (2010, 9th edition), 777pp., £49.99. Organised into five parts: Strategic Overview; Competitive Advantage; Formulating Strategies: Implementing Strategy and Cases (22) in Strategic Management. Strategic Management: Awareness & Change, John THOMPSON & Frank MARTIN, South-Western Cengage Learning (2010, 6th edition,), 832pp., £47.99. Another massive, impressive (UK based) teaching text. Organised into five parts: Understanding strategy and strategic management; Strategic positioning; Strategic analysis and choice; Issues in strategic growth and Strategic management. 110 brief cases integrated into the main text, together with a further 39 available online. Chapter 17 covers Final thoughts: the purpose of strategy – perhaps it could be repackaged as the first chapter and First thoughts. after all it is e or should be e purpose that drives strategy? Strategy: Process, Content, Context. An International Perspective, Bob De WIT and Ron
MEYER, South-Western Cengage Learning (2010, 4th edition), 975pp., £47.99. A different approach to teaching strategy that is more focused on developing and critical and creative strategic thinkers. Organised into six sections: Strategy Introduction; Strategy Process; Strategy Content; Strategy Content; Purpose and Cases (22 from Honda to Nike). Each chapter is supplemented by a selection of classical readings on the topic. The reputation of this impressive classic text is well justified. Further support available from www.cengage.co.uk/strategy4e. Corporate Governance, Christine A. MALLIN, Oxford University Press (2010, second edition), 357pp., £29.99. Provides a valuable comprehensive textbook for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Building on previous editions with new case studies and an discussion of recent developments. Accompanied by an Online Resource Centre.
Various concepts of strategic management A Focused Issue on Identifying, Building and Linking Competences, Edited by Ron SANCHEZ and Aime HEENE, Emerald Group Publishing (2010), 258pp., £67.95. Nine academic papers, organised into two parts: I: Identifying, Building and Linking Competences, and II: The Intellectual Structure of the Competence-Based Perspective, together with an Introduction. Another publication in the series is: Enhancing Competences for Competitive Advantage, Edited by Ron SANCHEZ and Aime HEENE, Emerald Group Publishing (2010), 261pp., £67.95. Nine academic papers, together with an introduction. Includes papers on ‘Lobbying: Strategies to make a firm’s competences generate 68
value’, through ‘How to build alliance capability: a life- cycle approach’, to ‘Self-organization of competency development and the role of managers.’
Analytical methods, tools and approaches Granularity: Smart choices to grow your business in good times and bad, Patrick VIGUERIE, Sven SMIT & Mehrdad BAGHAI, Marshall Cavendish (2010), 240pp., £12.99 (paper). Shows how it is still possible to grow a business, even in a time of negative overall growth. The challenge is to find a way to create markets and make strategic choices at a more granular level without losing focus in a sea of complexity. Provides useful insights into how to achieve and maintain more sustainable profitable growth. Companies on a Mission: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Growing Sustainability, Responsibly, and Profitably, Michael V. RUSSO, with a Forward by L. Hunter LOVINS, Stanford Business books (2010), 256pp., $22.95. Shows how mission-driven companies appreciate, and are able to leverage, traditional strategic principles e ‘with a twist’ e to win in the marketplace. Chronicles both a movement, as well as providing invaluable guidance for entrepreneurs and managers who are struggling in this increasingly competitive world. (Builds on the earlier Built to Last ideas.) Strategic Speed: Mobilize People, Accelerate Execution, Jocelyn R. DAVIS, Henry M. FRECHETTE, Jr and Edwin H. BOSWELL, Harvard Business Press (2010), 204pp., $29.95. Argues that in order to achieve strategic speed (Implementing strategies both quickly and well)
people are the key ingredient and shows how three people factors provide a powerful accelerator for organizational speed and performance: Clarity (understanding the goal), Unity (cross-company collaboration), and Agility (adapting quickly). The authors also identify four leadership practices that support the approach: Affirm strategies that ensure everyone knows the destination and wants to go there; Drive strategies that create real momentum and behavioural change; Manage climate to increase confidence, motivation and teamwork; and Cultivate experience that builds in employees insights and learning. Useful practical assessment tools are also provided. Although the role of trust was mentioned, this area e and the link with values e could have been considered in more detail. How Risky Is It Really? Why Our Fears Don’t Always Match the Facts, David ROPEIK, McGraw Hill (2010), 280pp., $24.95. A readable book that argues that we do not base our decisions on a purely rational system, or by a purely emotional one. Instead we make risk assessments with both head (rational) and heart (emotional), combining both facts and feelings into Affective action. The author uses neuroscience to investigate how we combine the known facts with our various subliminal risk perception factors, which results in a significant gap (The Perception Gap) between our fears and reality, and which then causes us to make skewed decisions and judgement errors. Understanding these issues are the first step towards making better choices for ourselves and for society as a whole. A book that should be widely read, but the whole subject of values could have been given even greater emphasis. Review Briefs
Bad Ideas: A arresting history of inventions, Robert WINSTON, Bantam Press (2010), 417pp., £24.95. A tour through mankind’s innovative history that ends by presenting a ‘Scientists Manifesto’, which the author believes could ensure a better and safer relationship between science, scientists and society. In the end society as a whole has to take responsibility for the way our scientific knowledge (although more strictly information) is used wisely for the benefit of mankind as a whole. Inventors and Inventions, Black Dog Publishing (2009), 234pp., £24.95. Provides a vivid account of about 150 inventions past and present that shape our society today, from the Aga cooker to the Zip, from Lego to the MP3, from Viagra to the Hula Hoop. The book charts the evolution products, together the a little information on the minds behind them. Fascinating and impressively presented e a coffee table collectors item. Accounting for Sustainability: Practical Insights, Edited by Anthony HOPWOOD, Jeffrey UNERMAN and Jessica FRIES, Earthscan (2010), 258pp., £24.95. Practical insights into how organizations can manage the complex challenges of sustainable development more effectively. Full of useful tools, techniques and case studies derived from the work of The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project.
Leadership, change and implementation Rethinking Leadership: A New Look at Old Leadership Questions, Donna LADKIN, Edward Elgar (2010), 202pp., £59.95. Outlines a number of philosophical questions that attempt to Long Range Planning, vol 44
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deconstruct a number of traditionally held views on leadership. Although the importance of wisdom is discussed towards the end of the book, it is a pity that this dimension, and its link with values, was not recognised as the core theme that should be driving our overall need to rethink the subject. The critical importance of values is well argued in Giving Voice to Values: How to Speak Your Mind When You Know What’s Right, Mary C. GENTILE, Yale University Press (2010), 268pp., £18.00. Are the Rich Necessary? Great Economic Arguments and How They Reflect Our Personal Values, Hunter LEWIS, Axios Press (2009, updated & expanded edition), 413pp., $12.00. A provocative examination of some of the most fundamental economic questions that underlie society, mainly reflecting a US perspective. Also proposes a new way to bridge the extremes of rich and poor, of free markets and safety nets; a solution that would involve a massive expansion of the non profit sector through tax credits. An alternative value system that needs to guide our values systems to move our economic choices into a more sustainable direction. A shorter version is needed to reach a wider audience. Approaching similar issues primarily from a UK perspective is The Super-Rich shall inherit the Earth, Stephen ARMSTRONG, Constable (2010), £8.99. Argues that we face a great threat to our freedom and to our democratic rights and that action is needed to prevent us ‘slipping into our own oligarch-run state’. Facets of Leadership: Turning Management Thinking into Management Action, Fred CANNON, Management Books 2000 Ltd, (2009), 244pp., £14.99.
Thirty-five brief readings for key management thinkers. Organised into chapters on: Perspectives on Leadership; Leading and Managing Performance; Making the Team Work; Creating the Future; and Making Things Happen. Together with introductory and postscript chapters, together with a Reflective Summary and 10 Home Truths, all by the editor. Chasing Stars: the Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance, Boris GROYSBERG, Princeton University Press (2010), 446pp., £24.95. A detailed examination of the extent to which luring talented performers away from competitors actually works in improving performance in practice. There appear to be a few exceptions, such as stars who move with their teams and stars who switch to better firms, but: ‘most stars who switch firms turn out to be meteors, quickly losing luster in their new settings’. The author offers useful insights into the underlying nature of outstanding performance, as well as providing practical guidance to both individuals on how to manage their careers, and how companies can identify, develop and keep its talent, more effectively. The Power of Positive Deviance: How unlikely Innovators solve the World’s toughest problems, Richard PASCALE, Jerry STERNIN and Monique STERNIN, Harvard Business Press (2010), 231pp., $26.95. Positive deviance (PD) is founded on the premise that at least one person in a community e working with the same resources as everyone else e has already licked the problem that confounds others. Uses firsthand stories to support a counterintuitive approach to problem solving that looks for 69
outliners who succeed against all the odds. By seeing solutions where others don’t, these positive deviants spread and sustain needed change. Well presented material that is relevant to us all. Part of the valuable Leadership for the Common Good series of books for a partnership between the publishers and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working. The Four Forgotten Needs that Energize Great Performance, Tony SCHWARTZ, Simon & Schuster (2010), 334pp., £12.99. Shows how individuals can try to manage their skills and energy more skilfully, which can help us all take back control of our lives as well as help re-define leadership in such as way that it can create more effective organizational policies and practices that fuel rather than deplete our energy levels. Plenty of good food for thought. But surprising that the link between values, meaning and commitment was not given even greater emphasis as this should really be our starting point.
Global strategic management Losing Control: The Emerging Threats to Western Prosperity, Stephen D. KING, Yale University Press (2010), 279pp., £20.00. Considers the implications for developed nations of the growing influence of China, India and other emerging nations, and cautions against the expectation of continuously improving living standards for those in the US and Europe. An impressive analysis of change drivers and expected trends, but greater discussion of ‘alternative’, more sustainable, models of ‘prosperity’ would have been useful. 70
Learning form High Reliability Organisations, Edited by Andrew HOPKINS, CCH Australia (Wolters Kluwer) (2009), 246pp., A$75.00. Examines a number of ‘high reliability organisations’ (such as airliners, nuclear power stations and chemical processing plants), with a particular focus on Australia’s air traffic control organisation. Fascinating and important material, especially for those concerned with improving the learning from ‘technological’ disasters, although the answers invariably lie with people issues. The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities Are Reshaping the World, Ben WILDAVSKY, Princeton University Press (2010), 240pp., $26.95. Every year, nearly three million international students study outside their home country, a 40% increase in the past decade. There are now probably more new universities created every year than the total stock of Universities in the UK. (What are the implications of the growth in for-profit institutions, and the free trade in minds?) Full of fascinating facts, and the author argues this is having a profound effect on the spread of knowledge (or information), as well as for the future of our global development. This is a vitally important subject, and it is one of the few studies of the topic, but the really interesting area is exploring the long term impact on values and culture, which was hardly mentioned. Epic Recession: Prelude to Global Depression, Jack RASMUS, Pluto Press (2010), 340pp., £22.50. An detailed analysis of US economic history to show that the current predicament is potentially ‘Epic Recession’, and that the only way to prevent the onset of depression is to radically restructure the economy through a massive
job creation programme nationalisations, a fundamentally new kind of banking structure, and the need for a long-term redistribution of income through better healthcare and benefit systems. Unfortunately the presentation is not very reader friendly. Financial Alchemy in Crisis: The Great Liquidity Illusion, Anastasia NESVETAILOVA, Pluto Press (2010), 224pp., £17.99. Shows how the rise of sophisticated financial instruments created what appeared to be an abundance of liquid funds but it was, in fact, a credit (Ponzi scheme) pyramid. And, as soon as house prices stopped rising, this reality was exposed. Some graphs of past trends, and a greater emphasis on the policy changes needed for the future, would have given the approach even more credibility. The Change Imperative: Creating the Next Generation NGO, Paul RONALDS, Kumarian Press (2010), 233pp., £23.50. Explores the challenges that NGO’s must overcome to maintain their effectiveness in the 21st century. Covering a wide range of practical subjects, such as advocacy, fundraising, technology, financing and human resources, as well as the more ambiguous areas of legitimacy, state sovereignty and political influence. Important issues, but pity there was not a greater emphasis on management/strategy tools and techniques, which would have increased it’s relevance for practising managers operating in this field. (Also strange the word leadership did not merit mention in the index?) God’s Economy: Faith-Based Initiatives & the Caring State, Lew DALY, The University of Chicage Press (2010), 318pp., £26.00. Offers an intellectual history of faith-based initiatives that provide potential for advancing social Review Briefs
justice. Full of interesting insights, but pity it was not linked to the increasing emphasis given to values driven strategic thinking and policy based primarily on the (non Faith-Based) quest for greater sustainability.
Strategic Human Resource Management, including values/ethics issues Get Rid of the Performance Review! How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing e and Focus on What Really Matters, Samuel A. CULBERT with Lawrence ROUT, Business Plus, Hachette Book Group (2010), $24.99. Argues that the traditional concept of the performance review is a ‘cruel, wasteful, insidious practice. that plague so many workplaces today.’ It destroys morale and teamwork and impedes personal growth, as well as encouraging managers to control employees through intimidation, rather than any real understanding of what motivates people to work effectively. The author also offers an alternative e the performance preview e that can help to start building trusting relationships, which is a far better way to improve organizational performance. Management Rewired: Why Feedback Doesn’t Work and Other Surprising Lessons from the Latest Brain Science, Charles S.JACOBS, Portfolio (2010, paper), 228pp., $16.00. Shows why our current management practices are so often self-defeating and demonstrates new, more effective approaches that leverage how the mind actually works. Based on findings from brain scan, cognitive experiments, and behavioural studies which appear to have counter intuitive implications Long Range Planning, vol 44
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for a number of business areas including strategy and leadership. A good e important - read. The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organisations, Dave ULRICH and Wendy ULRICH, McGraw-Hill (2010), 281pp., $27.95 Argue that making work meaningful is critical for organisational success, including targeted checklists, questionnaires. A vitally important underlying message that badly needs repeating, although not really new; and it is surprising that the role and importance of values was not given an even greater priority. ‘Employees, customers, investors, and society benefit when employees find meaning at work, and when companies give meaning to society. so leaders should also be meaning-makers.’ It is not that they should also be meaning-makers, that activity needs to be the core driver of their thinking and actions. Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down, Vineet NAYER, McGraw-Hill (2010), 224pp., £17.99. Argues that the best way for companies to meet their customers’ needs is to stop making customers their top priority. Instead it is only by turning the organization upside down and making management accountable to value-creating employees that companies can unleash their employees’ creativity, energy and passion. Well presented, challenging, ideas.
provide fifteen papers on conceptual and empirical insights into the key areas of: Leadership Principles and Practice; Developing Leaders; Leadership Learning and Leadership for Inclusion. Useful material but pity no discussion of the key role of Wisdom. One important dimension is explored in more detail in The Succession Challenge: Building and Sustaining Leadership Capacity through Succession Management, Dean FINK, Sage (2010), 182pp., £22.99. Shows how an enlightened approach to succession management can help to ensure a steady supply of high quality educational leaders. Essential reading for anyone concerned with these issues. Another useful publication for those concerned with the future of education is The Fourth Way: The Inspiring Future for Education Change, Andy HARGREAVES and Dennis SHIRLEY, Sage (2009), 143pp., £15.99. Provides a compelling ‘catalyst for coherence’ framework that attempts to integrate teachers professionalism, community engagement, government policy, with greater accountability. Although primarily based on US experience there are lessons for many other parts of the world. Some valuable personal insights into the impact of educational experiences are contained in Changing Lives: women, inclusion and the PhD, edited by Barbara Ann COLE and Helen GUNTER, Trentham Books (2010), £20.99, 165pp.,
Marketing strategy The Principles of Educational Leadership & Management, Tony BUSH, Les BELL & David MIDDLEWOOD, Sage (2010, second edition), 300pp., £24.99. This revised and updated second edition brings together many leading international author to
Brand Society: How brands transform management and lifestyle, Martin KORNBERGER, Cambridge University Press (2010), 308pp., £19.99. Explores the benefits of wellmanaged brand transformation 71
programmes. Essential reading for anyone involved with the brand industry.
Future studies and related issues How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better, Maddy DYCHTWALD, Hyperion (20100, 241pp., $24.99. A challenging analysis of the implications of the biggest demographic change of our times: the emergence of women as a very significant economic force e and the evidence suggests that women will use this power to improve society in many new ways. Important issues and perhaps one of the few reasons for optimism in today’s world? Integral Research and Innovation: Transforming Enterprise and Society, Ronnie LESSEM and Alexander SCHIEFFER, Gower (2010), 409pp., £60.00. Attempts to answer the key question: ‘How can social research be turned into social or indeed ‘integral’ innovation?’ Shows how research has to be transformative, rather than just informative, if it is to contribute usefully to building integrated and sustainable enterprises. And that it is knowledge creation that underpins the transformative processes. A well presented, challenging, tour through important issues. Earth, Inc: using natures rules to build sustainable profits, Gregory UNRUH, Harvard Business Press (2010), 187pp., $24.95. Shows how companies can create real and lasting value by working towards a more sustainable destination that is informed by existing biosphere rules e nature-inspired principles that can transform businesses from a resource deplete to 72
a resources reuser. The authors’ five principles of sustainable businesses, inspired by the cyclical nature of the biosphere e are: Materials parsimony; Power autonomy; Value cycles; Sustainable product platforms; and Function over form. Valuable insights, although the key role of values could have been given greater emphasis. Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution, Paul HAWKEN, Amory B. LOVINS & L. Hunter LOVINS, Earthscan (2010), 416pp., £14.99. A 10th anniversary edition that includes a new introduction by Amory B. Lovins and Paul Hawken, which updates the story to cover developments of the last decade. Full of important ideas that show how capitalism would work if the world’s ‘natural capital’ were properly valued, and how they could result in a drastic reduction in the resources used by industrial countries. Unfortunately the generally academic presentation of the material is likely to prevent it being widely read by busy decisionmakers. The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis, Jeremy RIFKIN, Polity (2009), 674pp., £17.99. A massive volume that argues that at the core of the human story is the paradoxical relationship between empathy and entropy. And it is ironic that the growing empathic awareness (where is the evidence for this?) has apparent been made possible by the continua consumption of the Earth’s finite resources. Rifkin argues that if we are to avert a catastrophic destruction of the Earth’s ecosystems, the collapse of the global economy and the possible extinction of the human race, we need to change human consciousness itself e and
within a generation. Very true, but we can only hope that our empathetic future does not depend on this volume being read by a wide audience? Designing Better Futures: Rethinking strategy for a sustainable world, Michael J. C. MCALLUM, Global Foresight Network (2008), 232pp., $32.00. Challenges us all to face perhaps the most important question of our time: ‘How can our societies and economies, some with growing populations, most with aspirational ideals and almost all having access to astounding technologies, live within the constraints of the planet that we all inhabit?’Readable and relevant material that argues that this will require important lifestyle shift, as well as a new kind of leadership. Banking on the Future: the Rise and Fall of Central Banking, Howard DAVIES and David GREEN, Princeton University Press (2010), £24.95. Shows how monetary policy and financial stability concerns have drifted apart in recent years and the crucial role this dichotomy has played in the run up to the recent financial crisis. Combines academic research with the results of interviews with leading central bankers from around the world to provide practical recommendations for the future. Useful material for policy makers, although it is a pity that strategic tools and techniques were not used more extensively in the analysis. The Selfish Society: How we all forgot to love one another and made money instead, Sue GERHARDT, Simon & Schuster (2010), 388pp., £12.99. Argues that we need to re-integrate the caring qualities that are learnt in early life into our political and economic thinking in order to help Review Briefs
develop a more reflective and collaborative society. Full of badly needed, sensible, insights that urgently need to be addressed by us all, but pity the potential role of Wisdom was not incorporated into the ideas considered. Another book that supports the need for radical change is Crack Capitalism, John HOLLOWAY, Pluto Press (2010), 305pp., £17.99. Seeks to reopen the debate among activists who are concerned with the (fundamental?) contradictions of capitalism.
for computer analysis. Part III discusses methods for social network analysis. An increasingly important subject and this book is particularly relevant for anyone interested in seriously considering the topic.
Knowledge Management and Information Technology
Mindworks: A Decade of Consciousness Studies, J. Andrew ROSS, Imprint Academic (2009, second revised edition), 342pp., £24.95. A detailed attempt to understand one of the central scientific challenges of our time, although it is probable that only afew readers are likely to be any the wiser.
An Adventure in Service-Learning: Developing Knowledge, Values and Responsibility, Anto T. KERINS, Gower (2010), 292pp., £60.00. A well written and easy to read book that argues that education does not just provide knowledge and skills, it can also encourage the development of the critical elements of values and responsibility. Service-Learning uses their classroom theory to help others through relevant service or volunteering activities. Relevant to anyone concerned with the provision of education at all levels. But pity the link between Knowledge, Values, Responsibility and Wisdom, was not explored. Social Capital: An Introduction to Managing Networks, Kenneth W. KOPUT, Edward Elgar (2010), 172pp., £59.95. Shows how to understand and manage social capital in order to facilitate more effective individual and organizational learning. Part I introduces basic theory, concepts and technology and then applies them to business and human resource management. Part II covers how relational data is obtained and how it can be prepared Long Range Planning, vol 44
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Transdisciplinary Cybernetics and Cybersemiotics. A special issue of Cybernetics & Human Knowing (A journal of secondorder cybernetics autopoiesis and cyber-semiotics, Volume 16, No 3-4, 2009). Seven papers on the subject for a specialist audience.
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Kick the Tyres - Light the Fires: One man’s vision for Britain’s future and how we can make it work, Torquil NORMAN, Infinite ideas (2010), 242pp., £12.99. Argues that people need more freedom, and less micro management by government, to make the best of their lives. By the inventor of the Big Yellow Teapot and the Founder of the Roundhouse. Ends with a series of reflections on key issues for today’s Britain (‘A nonpolitician’s proposals for change’) from the reform of the welfare, means-testing and taxation systems, to current drug use and the treatment of prisoners. All driven by the author’s desire to create a better way of life for the whole of the UK population, and particularly disadvantaged young people. Full of challenging ideas worth considering.
Public Sector Theories of Social Capital: Researchers Behaving Badly, Ben FINE, Pluto Press (2010) 271pp., £21.99. A critical evaluation of the concept of social capital. For specialists in the area, although it was surprising that there was no explicit discussion of the overlap with social cost-benefit analysis? Debating Moral Education: Rethinking the Role of the Modern University, Editors Elizabeth KISS and J. Peter EUBEN, Duke University Press (2010) 347pp., £17.99. A collection of sixteen articles that debate the role of ethics in the university, investigating whether universities should proactively cultivate morality and ethics, as well as what teaching ethics entails, and what moral education should accomplish. For serious students of the subject but, surprising, there was no discussion of the nature and role of wisdom. Also relevant (but with the same overall conclusion as in the final comment of the previous book) The Question of Morale: Managing Happiness and Unhappiness in University Life, David WATSON, Open University Press/McGraw-Hill (2009), 165 pp., £26.99. Emphasises the importance of morale within an institution and offers some challenging (and optimistic) answers to the questions it posed. A more general discussion of some of these issues is covered in Who holds the moral high-ground, Colin BECKLEY and Elspeth WATERS, Imprint Academic (2010), 126pp., £8.95. Covers a history of morality and approaches to ethical problem solving, from Buddhism and Christianity to Particularism, and attempts to demonstrate where each 73
approach falls short of an objective philosophy. Asks: Are we facing moral nihilism, or can we create a new ethical consciousness from what has gone before? Making Inclusion Work: Experiences from Academia around the World, Edited by Saija € KATILA, Susan MERILAINEN and Janne TIENARI, Edward Elgar (2010), 209pp., £59.95 Eight academic papers where scholars around the world share their experiences of intervening in curriculum development, teaching and research, and reflect on practices that worked in various local contexts. Organised into two parts: Influencing institutions and development curricula, and Setting examples and reworking pedagogy, together with an Introduction by the editors. A very important subject but these academic studies will need to be repackaged for the wider managerial audience concerned with taking decisions in this area. The Disappearing Center Alan I. ABRAMOWITZ, Yale University Press (2010), 194pp., £27.50. Argues that the most important divide in American politics is not between left and right, but rather between those citizens who are politically engaged (and polarized) and those who are not. In addition, although that polarization is often assumed to be detrimental, the author maintains that it helps to present voters with clearer choices, increases participation and strengthens electoral accountability. For the specialist reader. Another study of the political arena (although overlapping with lead-
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ership issues) is Premiership: The Development, Nature and Power of the Office of the British Prime Minister, Andrew BLICK and George JONES, Imprint Academic (2010), 212pp., £8.95. It combines the methods of history and political science to explore theories of the development, nature and power of the Prime Minister within the British political system. Essential reading for both practicing or aspiring politicians, as well as students of the subject.
Other useful information Absence of Mind, Marilynne ROBINSON, Yale University Press (2010), 158pp., £16.99. Explores the tension between science and religion, showing how our concept of mind determine how we understand and value human nature and human civilization. The underlying view challenges post modern atheists who crusade against religion under the banner of science. Important ideas; but pity the role and nature of Wisdom was not also covered. Another fascinating perspective on some these issues is provided by Why Spirituality is Difficult for Westerners, David HAY, Imprint Academic (2007), 105pp., £8.95. The author is a zoologist by profession and his research was guided by the hypothesis that religious or spiritual awareness is biologically natural to the human species and has been selected for in the process of organic evolution because it has survival value. Although naturalistic, this hypothesis is not intended to be reductionist with regard to religion.
However, it does imply that all people, including those who have no religious belief, have a spiritual life. His research includes a number of national and in-depth surveys of reports of religious or spiritual experience in the United Kingdom. Capital Affairs: London and the Making of the Permissive Society, Frank MORT, Yale University Press (2010), 508pp., £25.00. A massive (specialist academic) study that shows how postVictorian morality was forged by the dramatic interaction of the cultures of austerity and affluence that has marked London life over the years. British Social Attitudes, Editors Alison PARK, John CURTICE, Katarina THOMSOn, Miranda PHILLIPS, Elizabeth CLERY and Sarah BUTT, Sage (2010, 26th Report), 294pp., £50.00. Eleven chapters that provide detailed insights into a number of key areas of life in Britain. Duty in decline? Trends in attitudes to voting; Thermostat or weathervane? Public reactions to spending and redistribution under New Labour; How do political parties shape public opinions? Britain in a European perspective; Religion in Britain and the United States; Religious faith and contemporary attitudes; Understanding the dynamics of attitude change; A chorus of disapproval? European attitudes to non-traditional family patterns; Never too old? Attitudes towards longer working lives; Lone parents and benefits: an obligation to look for work? Food for thought: attitudes to innovative food technologies; and Smoking, drinking and drugs: reactions to reform.
Review Briefs