Business Intelligence Success Factors: Tools for Aligning Your Business in the Global Economy (Wiley and SAS Business Series) Review

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Business Intelligence Success Factors: Tools for Aligning Your Business in the Global Economy (Wiley and SAS Business Series) ReviewI highly recommend this book to anyone interested in helping to raise the consciousness within organizations and those who enjoy quietly leading by example. Olivia offers an inspirational approach to business intelligence.
Olivia's book is ideal for a book club. Within a community of readers, people can consciously slow down and reflect on all the wonderful ideas. If people only apply 5 to 10% of what they learn, from reading her book, organizational capacity will still grow immensely. When one finds ways to sow the seeds of knowledge and wisdom over a period of time within any organization, one can anticipate the joy in watching the seeds germinate and grow in the years to come.
Beyond contemplating how the broad spectrum of ideas can enrich organization behavior and optimal decision making, the concepts also offer opportunities for interpersonal reflection. This was an unanticipated consequence for me. By embracing chaos theory, acknowledging that order eventually emerges out of chaos, and appreciating systems thinking, my opportunities for personal growth have expanded.
Business Intelligence Success Factors: Tools for Aligning Your Business in the Global Economy (Wiley and SAS Business Series) Overview

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Watching the Watchers: Corporate Goverance for the 21st Century Review

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Watching the Watchers: Corporate Goverance for the 21st Century ReviewMonks and Minow update and expand on their previous books Power and Accountabilityand Corporate Governance. As practitioners and theorists they providedozens of examples from personal experience which enable the reader to quickly grasp the importance of corporate governance to wealth creation and social progress. In a few short hours of reading they cover the evolution of the corporation as a social construct, as well as the developing roles of shareholders, directors, and management. The book concludes with concrete recommendations which deserve thoughtful consideration.
Monks and Minow trace the evolution of corporate governance and note that "there was no conscious choice in favor of treating shares of stock as though they were betting slips for races that were over at the end of each day." "Every 'improvement' in the system for owning stock was designed to make it easier to trade. No one seemed to notice or care that each of these 'improvements' also made it harder to exercise classic ownership rights." "During the takeover era, it became clear that, though the system was designed to promote transferability above all, there was one kind of transfer that the system would not tolerate: the transfer of power from one group to another."
Monks and Minow are concerned with increasing corporate accountability. They argue that any attempt to do so through chartering restraints is doomed to failure because the company's managers can move virtually any place in the world. In addition, "the political process is too dependent on money to make it possible for the government to be the ultimate guardian of accountability." "The only answer is a system of governance that originates from within the corporation itself and that includes the participation of an informed and effectively manifested broad class of owners." They point out that the tax cost of pensions is in excess of $50 billion per year, the largest item in the budget after defense. Because pension funds are subsidized by public funds it is, therefore, "appropriate for government to define broadly how pension fund trustees should function in their capacity as owners of the country's industrial establishment."
They call for a "Federal Law of Ownership" to coordinate the action of relevant agencies. For example, "the government must set the standard for interpreting and enforcing the 'exclusive benefit' rule or ERISA to provide guidance for private sector fiduciaries." However, the prime responsibility falls not to government but to the pension funds and corporations.
In the end, "whether ERISA trustees will ultimately become effective monitors depends on two factors - DOL's willingness and capacity to enforce its regulation and, more importantly, the conclusion by corporate management that an ownership-based governance system is ultimately in their best interest." Government needs to draw a "bright line" on conflict of interest; management needs to acknowledge that "creative tension" between themselves and owners is preferable to the current system of unaccountable "phony governance." Pension funds would then create a market for new institutions offering "ownership services" and companies with effective governance performance would realize the benefit of lower capital costs.
reviewed by James McRitchie, editor of the Corporate Governance site at
http:/www.wp.com/CORPGOVWatching the Watchers: Corporate Goverance for the 21st Century Overview

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The Secrets of CEOs: 150 Global Chief Executives Lift the Lid on Business, Life and Leadership Review

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The Secrets of CEOs: 150 Global Chief Executives Lift the Lid on Business, Life and Leadership ReviewFamous chief executive officers (CEOs) have an aura of invincibility. But scandals and failures have engulfed many infamous CEOs who ultimately lost their powerful jobs. And avoiding risk is no guarantee of top-job security. Many companies want their CEOs to serve as agents of change, not caretakers. How do successful CEOs stay on top? The answer depends on their style of leadership. Today, most chief executives are superb managers or bold entrepreneurs. Others are visionaries or astute diplomats. To find out what motivates CEOs and how they think about leadership, Steve Tappin and Andrew Cave conducted comprehensive interviews with 150 chief executives and compiled their findings in this book. getAbstract recommends their work to anyone who wants to know how CEOs think and act.The Secrets of CEOs: 150 Global Chief Executives Lift the Lid on Business, Life and Leadership Overview

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Young World Rising: How Youth Technology and Entrepreneurship are Changing the World from the Bottom Up (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series) Review

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Young World Rising: How Youth Technology and Entrepreneurship are Changing the World from the Bottom Up (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series) ReviewYoung World Rising is undoubtedly one of the best books that I have read in years. This book is a very good read for anyone trying to decipher changing dynamics of demographics, technology and globalization and how these factors are creating new opportunities for poor young world and the old world economies. It opens up your mind as it explores how the next generation's approaches and capabilities of addressing 21st centaury challenges are different and unique. Young World Rising, unravels how new digital global economy is allowing anyone with a breakthrough idea, strategy, and great business model to succeed, irrespective of their background and location. The author, Rob Salkowitz, gives numerous inspirational examples of social/individual entrepreneurs from Ghana, Colombia, Argentina, Philippines and India that have found their ways in the global economy and are successful examples to follow today, such as a story of Suhas Gopinath, who became the youngest member of World Economic Forum at age of 21 by building Web sites for businesses in the U.S. (started his business at age 14 from a Cybercafe)!
Another case study that intrigued my interest is of three entrepreneurs from the mountains of coffee-growing region of Colombia, who created an innovative touch-screen display to enable visually-impaired students to experience online educational material. The solution was not developed in any high-tech corporate lab. Instead, it was created by students, who are generally expected to start a family and grow coffee, as a prototype for a thesis in computer science. These stories not only give hope but also reiterate that age and place is no barrier to innovation.
I thought this book is a very good read for global executives, who are looking to penetrate the BOP markets. Also, there are many fascinating theories and statistics that suggest why China is not part of the Young World Rising discussion (which was very interesting to read) while elaborating on what are the forces that are reshaping the world. Salkowitz explains in his book that the "Old World" and the "Young World" are not necessarily in competition - they each need each other to make sure the human race can survive as we hit the peak planetary population of ~10 billion by mid-century.
The book is full of interesting information and point of views that you would not find in any of your typical news sources; YWR is among one of those books that you can't really put down, but when you do, you come back for more really quickly. I strongly recommend this book to anyone, really enjoyed reading it a great deal!.Young World Rising: How Youth Technology and Entrepreneurship are Changing the World from the Bottom Up (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series) Overview

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Economic Governance in the Age of Globalization Review

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Economic Governance in the Age of Globalization ReviewAlthough this book was published in 2004, I did not notice it until recently, and I must say, I find it more relevant than ever today, in 2008. It could have lost a star for not being sufficiently visionary or for not offering a specific implementable plan for overturning the broken global economic governance regimes that it so brilliantly dissects, but out of respect for the author's superior scholarship and my own limitations, I must go with five stars.
Indeed, I am astonished to not see another review. The author deserves reading and recognition.
Here are a few of my flyleaf notes:
+ Superb detailed examination of how the so-called global economic governance organizations are the last gasp of the pyramidal pathologies, lacking in democratic public dialog or deliberation.
+ author struck me as overly generous to the USA but he clearly points out the need to understand and respect the detailed reaons why others do not agree with US "designs" and the US insistence on treating each country alone, rather than in a regional context.
+ I was taken with the author's concise focus on the dangerous combinations of US subsidies, excessive borrowing (this was before the subprime mortage and credit crisis we are now experiencing).
+ Switzerland has reformed SLIGHTLY and is still the banker of choice for dictators and corrupt despots who are looting their countries, creating failed states and perpetual poverty. I have a side note: "time to invade Switzerland and demand open banking?"
+ The author points out that free flowing investment and rules against expropriation are diametrically opposed to sovereign governance and any attempt to provide for sustained development and financial stability.
+ Global institutions too easily manipuated by developed nations.
+ QUOTE pages 373-374: "The excess capacity visible on a global scale, downward pressure on prices, the threat of deflation, and the impact of desperate countries seeking to compete by ignoring labor rights and environmental concerns produce a shallow and uneven development.
I put this book down with considerable humility--like John McCain, economic (and methematics) are my weak zone. I did learn enough from this book to realize that this author is gifted and should be listened to and given an opportunity, along with C. K. Prahalad and Jeff Sachs and Paul Krugman, to restore the social aspects of political economy.
Other books that strike me as complementary to this one:
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks)
The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism
The leadership of civilization building: Administrative and civilization theory, symbolic dialogue, and citizen skills for the 21st century
How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, Updated Edition
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace
Afterthought: the index is *very* disappointing (publisher's fault) but the bibliography by the author is itself another book and quite fascinating and comprehensive.Economic Governance in the Age of Globalization Overview

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Outsourced Review

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Outsourced ReviewWe all have a soapbox. Whether or not we choose to use it is up to us, and often left up to the situation and how vocal, or `PC,' we are. In the office, I tend to be reserved. I avoid water cooler discussions about religion and politics like the plague. What did you think of last night's episode of Glee? Let's talk. Anything else, and I'm walking the other way. Yes, I have an opinion and I totally accept the fact that being vocal about it is sometimes the only way to make change. I salute you picketers marching on Washington!
But I'm an author, and I know that whoever said "words will never hurt me" lied. Words can hurt. J.I. Kendall knows this too, and uses her book, Outsourced, to stand up and be very vocal about a subject that has crossed the newspaper headlines more than once in the past few years. It's the outsourcing of American jobs.
But Ms. Kendall has not penned and self-published another political rant, shaming American corporations for moving their call centers and IT departments to low income warehouses in India and China. Instead, she's turned it into a fictional mystery that grabs you right from the beginning and doesn't let go. Sure, there's an agenda here. Her approach to it is serious, but it's also fun and holds all the key elements that a good mystery should.
We begin with Ella Laraway fulfilling an odd request from a co-worker. She's going to identify the body of his son, Jamie, who was also a co-worker of hers at Trans-Geo Technology. Jamie killed himself because he was fired, and Ella's feeling guilty because she put his name on the "to-go" list. Jamie's father discovers his suicide note that includes an odd message: Tell them to watch their backs. And the mystery just unfolds from there, page after page, as Kendall draws you in.
We soon learn that Ella is head of the Human Resources department at Trans-Geo. She was responsible for manning the recent terminations due to jobs being transferred to China. Ella has a big chip on her shoulder. She daydreams of a big promotion and a corner office. And she's about to get that promotion, and oh boy, she gets it good. She gets promoted to head of crisis management when the next body pops up in China inside the shipment of manuals and files the company sent overseas, along with another note: Outsource this.
I love the nasty little drama that plays out as the bodies keep piling up, leading you to a conclusion that I tried very hard to guess at but was ultimately surprised. You want to feel sorry for Ella as a character, but you also love to hate her and want to root for the killer at times, making this a superb thriller! We've all fantasized of peeing in the coffee or plastering a nasty coworkers cube with post-its, but Kendall's killer takes the ultimate revenge against the big wigs that tops them all!
My biggest fret with this book is the cover. It doesn't really do anything for me, but that's it. I loved the book. The writing is tight and moves at a decent pace for a mystery. It's not bogged down with dialogue and detail that bores you. The characters were engaging and not overly predictable.
If you enjoy a good mystery or thriller, or you clock a 9 to 5 in an office setting and dream of plotting revenge against those who dangle invisible carrots in front of you, or you've been a victim of outsourcing, then this book is indeed for you. (Insert evil villainous laugh and mustache twirling here) Well done!Outsourced Overview

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The Politics of Free Markets: The Rise of Neoliberal Economic Policies in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States Review

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The Politics of Free Markets: The Rise of Neoliberal Economic Policies in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States ReviewThis book is well-written. It seeks to explain why the state was rolled back further in the US and the UK than on the European continent in the 1980s: the author argues this happened because the state played a significantly more influential role in the US and the UK economies in the 60s & 70s than the state did in France and Germany, prompting a more severe backlash against statism in the US and the UK. As far as academic books go, Prasad's work is eminently readable, even for general readers with an interest in the topic.The Politics of Free Markets: The Rise of Neoliberal Economic Policies in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States Overview

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Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy Review

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Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy ReviewThere have been lots of books about the Bush-Cheney administration, and considerable coverage of efforts to increase presidential power. However, "Takeover's" well-researched, thoughtful and important material requires no outside leverage to gain a prominent spot amongst them.
Savage's summary asserts that Bush-Cheney have succeeded in seizing vast powers for the presidency by ignoring many of the restraints placed on it by Congress, the courts, and the Constitution. Warrantless waretapping, politicization of the Justice Department and the torture debate, use of "signing statements" to claim a right to defy new laws, efforts to impose greater control over military JAG lawyers, secrecy behind Cheney's energy task force (and innumerable other government actions), and holding U.S. citizens without trial as "enemy combatants" have all served this end.
Savage clearly sees Cheney as the force behind these moves, citing Cheney's earlier experiences and actions in government, beginning in the Nixon administration within the Office of Economic Opportunity with Don Rumsfeld, on to episodes of classified information disclosure (eg. illegal CIA spying on Americans, U.S. submarines eavesdropping on Soviet cables), Cheney's restricting access to President Ford by those with competing viewpoints (also reduced likelihood of leaks), and efforts within Congress to support Reagan-Bush power grabs (eg. forcing executive agencies to submit proposed rules to the White House before they could take effect).
The Bush-Cheney powergrab began immediately upon assuming the office. White House Counsel Gonzales was assigned a support role almost on the administration's opening day. September 11 clearly was a God-send to the Bush-Cheney efforts - protecting national security became the all-purpose rationale for more secrecy and more presidential power. However, it was not until January, 2002 that Cheney openly took ownership of the agenda to expand these powers.
Secrecy was extended wherever possible, even to rather mundane topics under the logic that even little pieces could be put together to provide information to terrorists. Republican congressional leadership was only too willing to assist by failing to oversee executive actions, and even restricting congressmen from mentioning the contents of intelligence authorization bills, for fear of criminal prosecution and expulsion. The administration also succeeded in shutting down embarrassing court cases (eg. claiming failure to pursue espionage) on the grounds of needed secrecy. Finally, suppressing scientific findings and rewriting reports has also been a major Bush secrecy tool.
Bush's power-grab even included abrogating signed international treaties. One of the administration's earliest actions was informing the Soviets that we would no longer be bound by the 1972 ABM treaty. The Geneva Accords followed, described as "quaint" by Gonzales, was later circumvented through a number of actions - Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib imprisonments, secret renditions, torture, plans for military tribunals at which defendants would not necessarily know what the evidence was against them, over-ruling JAG leadership, etc.
One of the best-known actions was Gonzales' effort to get A.G. Ashcroft to approve the administration's wiretapping program legality - while Ashcroft was under heavy sedation in an ICU bed. Ashcroft stood by his earlier refusal, while also reaffirming that he was no longer A.G. - he had temporarily ceded his power while in the hospital. (Bush authorized the program anyway. No wonder Ashcroft was booted at the beginning of Bush's second term!)
By the seventh year of Bush-Cheney, Bush had attached signing statements to about 150 bills and referenced 1,100 sections. (The latter figure compares to about 600 for all prior presidents. To be fair, Reagan was the primary prior promulgator.) During this same period, Bush vetoed only two bills. Those puzzled by the discrepancy soon realized that Bush's actions were equivalent to a line-item veto - banned by the Supreme Court in 1998, though supported by future Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in a memo where he advocated implementation in slow motion so that opponents would be less likely to realize what was happening.
"Signing statements" have also been used by Bush as a means of controlling subordinates in the executive branch (another dimension of the Unitary Executive), and a way of combating "veto-proof" bills. All new bills are now reviewed by Cheney's staff for possible signing statements.
Why have signing statements continued? Savage contends that it is difficult to contest them in court, between all the administration's secrecy and the general inability to acquire legal standing.
So now we have a much-weakened system of government, per Savage. The question is "What will happen in the future?" These new tools lie ready to be used in any new "important cause," and may not be willingly put aside. In the meantime, our civics books are clearly out of date.Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy Overview

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Operation China: From Strategy to Execution Review

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Operation China: From Strategy to Execution ReviewThere are a plethora of business books on China. Unfortunately, many of these are hopelessly out-of-date with the reality on the ground today, due to the breathtaking rate of change in China. In the midst of this burgeoning development, OPERATION CHINA provides a clear and comprehensive view of the decade ahead.
As a China-based executive for a large multinational corporation, I know firsthand the complex challenges facing businesses in China today. This book, more than any other in my experience, cuts through the confusion with concise, level-headed guidance that really makes sense. You can tell that the authors have deep and broad experience in China. Their assertions are backed-up with solid research and real world examples from a broad range of companies in China today. The book covers all aspects of doing business in China, with a balanced perspective and a well-organized presentation.
Increasingly, China is setting the standard for global business success and all businesses wishing to be global players will need to understand the key messages that this book reveals. Companies must bring their global best practices to China - and then step it up a notch in a China context - to succeed in China, and beyond. As explained in this book, China is providing a rapid learning environment and those that can adapt and evolve in this environment will emerge with a global advantage. OPERATION CHINA gives specific actionable strategies for everything from product development, manufacturing, and distribution, to government relations, talent development and M&A. It provides a thoughtful roadmap for business success in China.Operation China: From Strategy to Execution Overview

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The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) Review

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The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) ReviewAn excellent source for information and guidance. The book's three main parts cover: how to plan, lead and manage outsourcing initiatives; a guide to finding an outsourcing career; and a guide for outsourcing entrepreneurs. Some specific topics include: making decisions to outsource; what is needed to be known before starting; assessing cost, benefit, and risk; outsourcing options; selecting suppliers and vendors; and much more. Includes an annotated, extensive vendor directory. Offers a wealth of information and insights.The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) Overview

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