History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

Moments of Truth
A great leadership lesson for corporate leaders
Recommand an EXCELLENT publication from IATA!!!
Turning SAS back to the profit zone during the 80s
What an Airline CEO Should Be!

Moments of Truth
Jan Carlzon
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060915803

Book Description

The president and CEO of Scandinavia Airlines (SAS) shows how to adapt to the new customer–driven economy.

Customer Reviews:

Moments of Truth.......2006-07-25

In this new millenium it's funny to think how things used to be only 20 years ago. A lot of the principles of this book would be second nature now but it definitely highlights how you can develop a struggling business by focussing on what the customer wants - gee radical thinking!!
I'm of the opinion that it's good to read about the past lest we forget and make the same mistakes - in life and in business.
A good simple read but perhaps a little rose tinted. Left me wanting to know what happened in the late 80's (i.e. part 2).

A great leadership lesson for corporate leaders.......2006-06-01

If you are a business leader, you should read this book. It is a fascinating story of a corporate turnaround.

Moments of truth occur when your company touches a stakeholder and proceeds to deliver products or services that satisfy or disatisfy. It is that simple and yet very difficult to execute consistently.

If you have heard of "Service Maps" or touchpoints where customer contact occurs, my hunch is that the consultant or leader proposing the concept has read this book or been instructed by someone who has.

The book is a good read and provides deep business insights that you can you use to motivate and lead people and organizations.

IF you work for government or non-profit entities you too can learn from this book because its messages and concepts are applicable to all leaders and organizations.

Recommand an EXCELLENT publication from IATA!!!.......2005-07-14

Please go to http://www.iata.org/ps/publications/9057.htm

to get a comprehensive analysis of airline financial performance,by type of services and route areas!!

Turning SAS back to the profit zone during the 80s.......2005-03-14

Loyalty to vision, not details of execution is a must.

Middle management must be ignited and dedicated towards serving the market.

In a customer driven company the organization is decentralized with responsibility to make decisions that serve the customer at the front line. Middle level manager must learn that their roles are supportive and not declarative. The Middle level manager is to provide the resources and means allowing his front line to serve the customer.

Initiation of changes must originate from the executive suite. The executive's role is to communicate with employees, impart the company's vision and listen to what the employees need to make the vision a reality. A leader role is to be a visionary, strategist, informer, teacher, and inspirer.

At age 39, Jan Carlzon became President of Vigresor a subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS). Carlzon became president over 1,400 employees and immediately started acting out the role he thought he was given. Some of the employees started calling him "ego boy" behind his back characterized by his brash and dictator like commands until Carlzon realized the company was not asking him to make all the decisions on his own, only to create an environment or atmosphere with the right conditions for other to get their job done. Carlzon realized his role was to set the company tone and communicate the big picture with the employees. Vigresor's main function was to contract the flights and get the hotels and package them together for the customer and in the early 70s the company had 210,000 customers and 40,000 tourist package purchases that were unprofitable. The traditional model suggested the company should drive down costs and try to survive with 170,000 customers. Carlzon did not chop costs, instead restructured the organization, making it more flexible and able to handle more should the market bounce back. The market recovered and Vigresor was ready for the increased load and after four years Carlzon was offered the Presidency of Linejeflyg.

In 1978, Linejeflyg had $3 million in loses, passenger load was at 50 percent, 95 percent of the travelers were businessmen, fare rates were determined by airline expenses rather than customer demand levels and customer preferences of the market. Linejeflyg business model catered to business executives who want to fly into Stockholm in the morning and return home in the evening. Carlzon's first conclusion was that it was difficult to make money with an airplane was on the ground. Linejeflyg costs were fixed and the problem was how to increase revenues. Carlzon asks the company's employees to help solve the problem and be a part of the solution to turn the company around. The employees believe in Carlzon and begin participating actively in shaping the companies future. Carlzon believes he must make air travel attractive and increase counts by cutting air fares and getting the planes up in the air more frequently increasing the total hours in the air. Advertising is important and a new slogan is created, "The World's Best Airlines", a bold statement contrary to the norm against bring attention to ones self. Carlzon believes that times have changed and competition is good for the customer. Carlzon moves away from production oriented scheduling to letting the market define what Linejeflyg should produce and sell. Carlzon knows that to fill planes flying during off-peak fares had to be low, so a new campaign is conceived called "Hundred Note" - 100 Swedish kroner designed to attract 5,000 passengers and unexpected it attracted 125,000 passengers; the plan was simple, every knew the meaning a hundred note, and a new types of passengers started flying. Profits were realized when Linejeflyg started selling a $2 breakfast with a 50 cent profit and $1 coffee and bun; revenues increased from $84 million to $105 million with passenger volume increasing 44 percent. Carlzon says, "I succeeded because I reoriented each company towards the needs of the market it servers".

In the early 80s, Carlzon is offered the presidency of SAS. SAS for 17 years has earned a profit and suddenly takes a $20 million dollar loss. The board wants Carlzon to stop the slide into losses and turn the company around into a profit zone. Carlzon realizes that cutting costs is not the answer; the market is in stagnation with zero growth; the cheese slicer approach would cut cost from all departments equally and reduce or eliminate services that the customer wants and is willing to pay for and the cheese slicer approach retains little interest in the customer. Carlzon knows he must bring the best SAS services to market and this is the only solution to increase revenue. Carlzon want to be 100 percent better at one thing and requests $45 millions to improve competitiveness, increase operating costs, and expense $12 million for 147 projects. The board accepts the plan and wisely realizes $25 million in the first year, $40 million in the second year, and $50 million in the third year during a time when the rest of the airline industry was experiencing a $2 billion loss. Also, Carlzon drops the first class and replaces it with Euroclass and does not promote heavily the discount fares. As a part of Euroclass implements moveable partitions, adds telephone and telefax services at hubs, and convenience of their own check in counter and more comfortable seats with better food. Revenues were at $80 million during the first year with a 23% increase in full fare and 7% increase in discount fares.

In 1981, SAS purchases four Airbuses because to used for short flights because of their size and efficiency. The Airbus is large and has bright spacious interiors. The order was for 8 and the cost for the 4 was $120 million. This was not unusual because SAS often replaced aircraft with more technologically advanced models that could fly passengers at a lower cost per seat. The Airbus operate 6 percent cheaper than the DC-9 the work horse for SAS; it also had 240 seats verses 110. Carlzon looked at what the business man who flew SAS wanted. They wanted a non-stop flight from Stockholm to Continential Europe as a service. The Airbus was too expensive to fly this non-stop route. Carlzon switches back to the DC-9 away from the airbus to remain competitive to attract a limited market of Scandinavian business men who want a frequent non-stop flight with convenient schedules that best suite their timetables.

What an Airline CEO Should Be!.......2004-04-23

In this short book, Jan Carlzon relates how he righted three travel companies as CEO by listening to the knowledge accumulated by frontline employees and helping them do their jobs, rather than the other way around. Mr. Carlzon was spectacular in turning around the fortunes of Vingresor, Linjeflyg, and finally SAS. As head of SAS he was able to dispense with business as usual by listening more to the frontline employees, and scrupulously insisting on removing 'yes-men' from his inner circle, a policy that has also served Southwest amazingly well over the years. Although his tenure was not totally without controversy, Carlzon talks frankly about unions (he looks on them as partners and long-term stakeholders), and tough decisions, such as sticking with the trusted DC-9 when other airlines were buying newer planes merely for the sake of having newer planes, despite negative balance sheet implications.

This is a book that should be read by every business major, MBA, and airline employee about what is possible by working together. Sadly in recent US history most airline executives have been self-centered boors who don't care about the airline business, and have no long term stake in the company. Largely they have stayed around a couple of years, raked in millions (in some cases hundreds of millions) of dollars and then left a bankrupt or weak carrier in the lurch. Carlzon makes it clear that he is a capitalist, but a capitalist that realizes that if management and employees work together, solutions can be reached that will benefit all over the long term.

Book Description

A New York Times bestseller, Absolut Book is the behind-the-scenes account of the birth and growth of this award-winning campaign and provides a definitive illustrated history of one of the most successful ad campaigns ever. It is a collector's delight with nearly five hundred ads.

Customer Reviews:

Best coffee table book!.......2007-08-27

I love Absolut ad's and have always wanted to get one. They are expensive new , so I got an used copy from an amazon seller. It came quickly and I flipped through the book for about 20 min when it arrived 2 days later. I love all the ads and they are all so clever. I might not get some of the modern art ones, but I love the city ones in particular. Anyway, I got this book for my new house and new coffee table book, I think it is one of the best hardcover coffee table book (marketing story book) ever.

As advertised - a great buy.......2007-01-11

If you like the Absolut ads, this is a good book for you. It's what you'd expect - big pictures of the Absolut ads with explanations from the ad agency guys who made it happen. A fun coffeetable book.

shaken not stirred.......2006-09-03

Compulsory addition to the coffee table library. An excellent example of a clever, consistent, cutting edge branding campaign helping to position a generic product at the top of consumer mind. Absolut genius.

Absolut Book: The Absolut Vodka Advertising Story.......2005-03-19

Absolut is one of the best selling vodkas in the world and the advertsing for it is second to none. In this fabulous book were are told the inside story behind the marketing and selling of this tasty treat. The paper is first grade and the pictures are outstanding to say the least. Absolut original with a bottle looking like a Roman ruin is probably my favorite one but there are so many nice advertising ideas that have become stupendous posters. Absolute Enivironment is also a nice one. This is a good coffee table book and a nice gift for the person that likes vodka and to read.

WOW!!.......2003-06-19

This is a wonderful, informative, and beautiful book.
This book is about the Absolut Vodka advertising campaign. How it began, and what it is about. There are many beautiful, and breath taking images which makes you see the entire light of the campaign which looks so simple from the outside. Now, you get the inside looks and it isn't simple at all but an amazing experience.
WOW!!

Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth Century

Average customer rating:

Sweeping and provocative

Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth Century
Mark Blyth
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521010527

Book Description

Mark Blyth argues that economic ideas are powerful political tools as used by domestic groups in order to effect change since whoever defines what the economy is, what is wrong with it, and what would improve it, has a profound political resource in their possession. Blyth analyzes the 1930s and 1970s, two periods of deep-seated institutional change that characterized the twentieth century. Viewing both periods of change as part of the same dynamic, Blyth argues that the 1930s labor reacted against the exigencies of the market and demanded state action to mitigate the market's effects by "embedding liberalism" and the 1970s, those who benefited least from such "embedding" institutions, namely business, reacted against these constraints and sought to overturn that institutional order. In Great Transformations, Blyth demonstrates the critical role economic ideas played in making institutional change possible and he rethinks the relationship between uncertainty, ideas, and interests on how, and under what conditions, institutional change takes place. Mark Blyth is an assistant professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins University specializing in comparative political economy. He has taught at Columbia University, and at the University of Birmingham, UK. Blyth is a member of the editorial board of the Review of International Political Economy.

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Customer Reviews:

Sweeping and provocative.......2003-04-23

Mark Blyth's Great Transformations may or may not be the true heir to Polanyi's Great Transformation, but it certainly comes close. Blyth provides a clear, incisive criticism of the way most political economists treat the role of ideas in the formation of economic policy. The two case studies -- the United States and Sweden -- provide plausible evidence that Blyth is correct about the multifaceted role economic ideas play in mobilizing political actors, transforming the way the economy is regulated, and even influencing market behavior. These strengths ensure the book's importance to an academic audience.

But there is much here for the non-academic. Those interested in current debates about the role of the government in the economy will find many of Blyth's arguments deeply provocative. Blyth shows how the "common sense assumptions" that currently dominate arguments about tax and fiscal policy owe their success not to the truth of their propositions but to a series of contingent synergies between external events, such as the OPEC oil embargo, and political struggles in specific countries. Ultimately, Blyth's book is a powerful call to make political values, rather than facile claims about economic inevitability, the centerpiece of debates about the future of welfare and governmental regulation. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Blyth, his history of the development, adoption, and non-adoption of economic principles in the US and Sweden should not be ignored.

Leading By Design: The Ikea Story
Average customer rating:

Misunderstood!

Nice Store, [bad] Story

Progress by Experiment According to Family Principles

A fascinating history of a unique man and his vision

Leading By Design: The Ikea Story
Ingvar Kamprad , and Bertil Torekull
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0066620384

Amazon.com

Leading by Design is really, of course, the story of Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish furniture retailer who turned Ikea into a company that now has 41,000 workers at 150 stores in 30 countries who annually distribute 100 million catalogs and sell $6.25 billion in goods. And what a story it is. Based on extensive conversations with the subject, 100 additional interviews, and various documents both public and private, business journalist Bertil Torekull employs an unusual mixture of blunt first-person recollections and narrative overviews delivered with literary flair to peel away the intricacies of Kamprad's life. Along the way, Torekull reveals the creative forces that propelled Kamprad's distinctive entrepreneurial drive and fashioned a successful company. "Imagine one of the coldest little countries in the world. Think of the most barren part of that country. See in front of you a godforsaken place deep in the wild spruce forests," Torekull begins. "This book is about a man who grew up in that harsh environment, which was to mark his whole life and fundamentally color the philosophy with which he built his vast empire." Delving into a fascinating career that began taking shape at the unlikely age of 5, Torekull presents this tale in a way that entertains as well as educates. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

Based on exclusive interviews with the legendary founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, Leading by Design tells the inside story of Kamprad's humble roots and of the visionary concepts and innovative strategies that turned a small, Swedish mail-order company into a worldwide commercial giant.

When in 1943 at age seventeen Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA, he had no way of knowing that IKEA would come to represent dedication to quality, a distinct design style, and convenience to the harried modern consumer. Today, more than 195 million people worldwide frequent his 150 stores in thirty countries, and almost 100 million catalogs are printed each year.

As the grandson of German immigrants who went to Sweden in search of a better life, Ingvar Kamprad grew up on a farm in a rural village. But he was no farmer. Early in his life, he discovered his natural affinity for business. From cigarette lighters and fish to Christmas cards and pens, young Ingvar devoted himself to importing and selling anything he thought he could make a profit on. Furniture was just one item in a long and fairly undistinguished list'until, in an effort to best his main competitor, he took a chance on an armless nursing chair he called Ruth. It quickly sold out. Adding a coffee table and then a sofa bed and then a chandelier, Kamprad was astonished by how quickly the merchandise moved.

The rest is business history. In Leading by Design, Bertil Torekull, a well-known Swedish journalist, reveals the genius and the secrets behind IKEA's extraordinary success. With candor and detail, he offers insights into Kamprad's cutting-edge management strategies, his enthusiasm to embrace innovative methods (such as producing ready-to-assemble merchandise and using a car door factory to produce affordable products with universal appeal), and the tools he used to grow the IKEA brand into a veritable industry unto itself.

More than a standard business history Leading by Design captures the essence of Kamprad himself. It is a testament to the inspiration, the ideas, and the innovations that make a good business great.

Customer Reviews:

Misunderstood!.......2002-10-20

Really, this book describes the IKEA way really good. But after reading others people reviews of this book I can understand how hard it is for non-swedes to grasp the real lessons learned in this book. It doesnt make it better that the guy that wrote this book is a quite "boring dude".
The book is well written and researched, all the facts are true and THE MAN HIMSELF Ingvar KAmprad has had a finger with in this book.
AND INGVAR KAMRAD IS IKEA. You cant separate the founder of IKEA from the company itself. Yes, Ingvar has put his soul in to this company and it is this mans thoughts and actions that has made this company to what it is.

At first glanze this book is really boring. But if you give it time, let it melt in and try to see how it was in Sweden for 50 years ago: IF you can put the book in to context you really get a complete and a invaluable picture of THE IKEA WAY.

Without sounding to cooky I just wanna say that this book is right up there with the books about Nordstroms, Jack Welch and etc.

Really, buy this book if you wanna learn lean and mean business the IKEA way. The customers rule....this is the IKEA way...

So you think Jack Welch is better? Just wanna tell you that Ingvar Kamprad made the 50 riches people in the world list!!! THATS SOMETHING!!!

Nice Store, [bad] Story.......2002-03-10

Who doesn't like IKEA? Too bad this book isn't as good as the store is. What's wrong? Certainly not the subject of the book, but rather, the writing is repetitive, monotonous, circular, and repetitive...egad...it's contagious!

Pass on THIS book and learn about IKEA and its very interesting challenges, history, strategy, and product line (and its founder) from better authors around the Internet.

Progress by Experiment According to Family Principles.......2000-09-03

If you read many of my reviews, you already know that I seldom rate a book this low. I would normally not finish such a book, and not write a review. However, I felt that this book would attract a lot of readers who, like me, wanted to learn more about the lessons of IKEA's success. What I found instead is one of the most poorly constructed case histories of an interesting company that I can imagine.

The book claims to tell the IKEA story, but really focuses on writing a biography of Ingvar Kamprad, the company's founder. As a biography, the strength of the book is in describing the family and physical environment that were early influences on Kamprad. Past about the first 30 pages, the book doesn't add much. The most interesting parts of the biography come late in the book when Kamprad's early associations with a fascist group are detailed in the context of press reports exposed in the late 1990s. These should have been fully developed early in the book, rather than treated as a later discussion of how to handle bad publicity. Most good biographies teach you something that you need to know. When I was done with this one, I didn't feel like I had learned anything. There probably were lessons there to be drawn out, but the author did not succeed in helping me find them. That meant that I knocked the book down one star.

IKEA has been an interesting international success with an unusual formula. The book assumes a great personal knowledge of that formula. Yet there are very few of the IKEA stores in most countries, so many people who will read this book will lack the experience of knowing about what is being described. Originally written for the Swedish market, that lack of handling the perspective of what the store experience is like limits the book's ability to translate its lessons. I rated the book down one more star for insufficient background early in the book on the reasons why the business works and how it works today. These are dropped in occasionally, so many of them are there by the end. You would then have to read the book a second time to really understand the relevance of the points.

Next, the book attempts to describe the company's success. A lot of time is spent on this, but the author seems to lack the perspective to pick out what is important and what is not. Kamprod is a classic experimenter. If something works well, he does a lot more of it. After a while that pattern becomes something he will not vary from. Since he was not a systemmatic experimenter, it meant that many developments were delayed. On the other hand, he always made it a place where people liked to work so he had someplace to stand on for continuity as the experiments continued. Without the necessary perspective, this is a little like reading 30 annual reports. Unless you have lots of management background, you will have trouble seeing what the important management lessons are in this book.

Basically, Kamprod is an advocate of low-priced distribution of low-cost, mass-produced goods based on high quality designs. His personal values are those of family and treating people with hospitality (like an honored guest). Having started his business from the family farm in Sweden with family and neighbors having been the first customers and employees, you can see the influences quite easily. What is unusual is that his business model developed earlier than that of other furniture merchants. It was reasonably complete by 1960. Only in the last ten years have we seen a reasonably similar store experience in the Boston area.

The best part of the book is that it contains lots of first-person stories from Kamprad. As such, this book will be a valuable source for the first person to write a good book about IKEA as a management case history. I hope that book will soon be written. There must be important insights to be gained about how IKEA developed its business model so many years ahead of others, but I could not figure out what those insights were.

In the meantime, unless you have a compulsive interest in learning more about IKEA today, skip this book.

A fascinating history of a unique man and his vision.......1999-09-20

Leading by Design has been well researched and covers not just to good times, but also the major challenges faced by Ingvar Kamprad while building IKEA. The interesting conflicts of satisfaction at a job well done and insecurity about choices and the future is a well developed theme. The conclusion I draw is that this is a unique man and his successful company that could only have started in Sweden with it's own interesting social mix.

Americanization and Its Limits: Reworking US Technology and Management in Post-War Europe and Japan

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Americanization and Its Limits: Reworking US Technology and Management in Post-War Europe and Japan

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic History | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0199269041

Book Description

Throughout the evolution of the modern world economy, new models of productive efficiency and business organization have emerged-in Britain in the nineteenth century, in the US in the early (and perhaps late) twentieth century, and in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s. At each point foreign observers have looked for the secrets of success and best practice, and initiatives have been taken to transmit and diffuse. This book looks in detail at 'Americanization' in Europe and Japan in the post-war period. A group of distinguished international scholars explore in depth the processes, the ideologies, and the adaptations in a number of different countries (the UK, France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Germany) and different sectors (engineering, telecommunications, motor vehicles, steel, and rubber). The book is rich in historical analysis based on careful research. This provides the basis for informed and subtle theoretical analysis of the complexities of the diffusion of business organization and the powerful influences of Americanization in this century. It will be of compelling interest to historians, social scientists and business academics concerned with the dynamics of economic and corporate growth, industrial development, and the diffusion of productive and business models.

A Stagnating Metropolis: The Economy and Demography of Stockholm, 17501850 (Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time)

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A Stagnating Metropolis: The Economy and Demography of Stockholm, 17501850 (Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time)
Johan Soderberg , Ulf Jonsson , and Christer Persson
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

This book analyses a peculiar phase in the history of Stockholm which has not previously been systematically investigated. Between 1750 and 1850 the Swedish capital experienced long-term stagnation, characterized by de-industrialization and slow population growth. In this study various aspects of the economic and social history of the period are examined in detail, including the decline of manufacturing, the causes of the extremely high rates of mortality and extra-marital fertility, and the distribution of economic resources. Social and spatial patterns of poverty are described and the trends and fluctuations in prices and real wages charted and compared with other European towns and cities.

Narrating the Organization: Dramas of Institutional Identity (New Practices of Inquiry)

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Narrating the Organization: Dramas of Institutional Identity (New Practices of Inquiry)
Barbara Czarniawska
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Company Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

A Narrative Approach To Organization Studies
Narrative Methods for Organizational & Communication Research (SAGE Series in Management Research)
Storytelling in Organizations: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies
Myths, Stories, and Organizations: Premodern Narratives for Our Times
Narratives in Social Science Research (Introducing Qualitative Methods series)

ASIN: 0226132293

Book Description

The most common social phenomenon of Western societies is the organization, yet those
involved in real-world managing are not always willing to reveal the intricacies of their
everyday muddles. Barbara Czarniawska argues that in order to understand these uncharted
territories, we need to gather local and concrete stories about organizational life and subject
them to abstract and metaphorical interpretation.

Using a narrative approach unique to organizational studies, Czarniawska employs literary
devices to uncover the hidden workings of organizations. She applies cultural metaphors to
public administration in Sweden to demonstrate, for example, how the dynamics of a
screenplay can illuminate the budget disputes of an organization. She shows how the
interpretive description of organizational worlds works as a distinct genre of social analysis,
and her investigations ultimately disclose the paradoxical nature of organizational life: we follow
routines in order to change, and decentralize in order to control. By confronting such
paradoxes, we bring crisis to existing institutions and enable them to change.

Capitalists against Markets: The Making of Labor Markets and Welfare States in the United States and Sweden

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businessmen for socialism
Praise for Capitalists Against Markets

Capitalists against Markets: The Making of Labor Markets and Welfare States in the United States and Sweden
Peter A. Swenson
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Labor Policy | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

How Institutions Evolve: The Political Economy of Skills in Germany, Britain, the United States, and Japan (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)
The Politics of Social Risk: Business and Welfare State Development (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)
American Business and Political Power: Public Opinion, Elections, and Democracy (Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion)
The New Politics of the Welfare State
Capitalism, Democracy, and Welfare (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)

ASIN: 0195142977

Book Description

Captialists Against Markets challenges the conventional wisdom that welfare state builders took their cues from labor and other progressive interests. Instead, Peter Swenson argues, pragmatic social reformers looked for support not only from below but also from above, taking into account capitalists interests and preferences. With original theory and surprising historical evidence, Capitalists Against Markets illuminates the political conditions for greater economic equality and social security in capitalist societies.

Customer Reviews:

businessmen for socialism.......2004-08-07

In the early 20th century, the attitude of the capitalist class in Sweden was almost the exact opposite of conventional wisdom. Not only did business organizations welcome the growth of unions, they actually aided in the process. For the most part, they offered at best half-hearted opposition to the expansion of the welfare state and sometimes eagerly backed it.

The Swedish labor market of the early 20th century was perhaps the mirror opposite of what we associate with modern industrial economies. Rather than suffering a labor surplus (high unemployment) the Swedish labor market was suffering a chronic labor shortage, in part because of emigration, to the US and elsewhere. Eager to control the union demands, the lockout was a regular tactic used by Swedish employers associations. If the author is to be believed, they were quite successful at mounting lockouts within industries and sometimes across industries. Fearing the militant unions, the mainstream unions often tacitly approved of the employer tactics.

What runs through the employer strategy is an ingrained fear of competition from other capitalists who would lure employees away from existing employers, or alternately undercut the established companies with lower cost products. Unlike some American employers who attempted to ensure worker loyalty with "welfare capitalism", Swedish employers judiciously rejected the notion of non-wage benefits and were particularly strident in their attempts to curtail the introduction of such benefits by non-compliant employers. They also feared "chiselers" who undercut the sales of the mainstream businesses with lower prices as a result of lower labor costs. Viewed from this perspective, "solidarism" with the state and labor in the form of an array of social benefits financed through broad-based taxation was appealing. Thus the author takes issue with those who claim Sweden's generous welfare state is a result of labor agitation alone, rather he suggests capital was an active and willing promoter.

The author notes similar attitudes among some US business leaders although he doesn't really try to determine why the American capitalists were less inclined to support a similar level of state-financed social welfare. Curiously, the Swedish capitalists in his book seem indifferent to the level of taxation imposed upon them. The failure to address these two points weakens the author's thesis slightly. However, it is still an interesting proposition and one that has plausibility.

Praise for Capitalists Against Markets.......2002-12-03

"Capitalists Against Markets highlights the important role played by employers in the creation of the American and Swedish welfare states. In a brilliant and original analysis, Swenson shows how employer strategies--solidarism in Sweden and segmentalism in the U.S.--were rooted in each country's economic development and gave rise to distinctive public programs. The book takes on both rational choice and social democratic arguments: employers acted rationally, Swenson shows, but their choices were historically constrained and far from being reflexively anti-labor or anti-government, right down to the 1990s. Adroitly blending theory, history, and politics, Swenson has created a masterpiece of comparative scholarship. "

Sanford M. Jacoby, Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA

"Capitalists against Markets is a magnificent follow-up on the author's much acclaimed Fair Shares. In this new book, Peter Swenson proposes a much needed correction to the mainstream - and myopic - focus on the role of labor movements in the making of welfare politics. He offers both rich history and strong analysis of how capitalists helped give shape and form to the welfare state and to labor market policies in Sweden and the United States, two countries that exemplify the welfare state extremes. It is both impressive and path-breaking scholarship and it will no doubt provoke controversy. It certainly should, as it forces us social scientists to take the politics of capitalists far more seriously than has been our want."

Gosta Esping-Andersen, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

"This is a book of great importance. Marshalling detailed historical evidence, Swenson persuasively challenges the view that employers were uniformly hostile to the creation of the welfare state by showing that this was untrue even in the United States. As an added bonus, it is quite a gripping read."

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