Book Description
Defenders of globalization, free markets, and free trade insist there's no alternative to mega-stores like Wal-Mart -- Michael Shuman begs to differ. In "The Small-Mart Revolution, Shuman makes a compelling case for his alternative business model, one in which communities reap the benefits of "going local" in four key spending categories: goods, services, energy, and finance. He argues that despite the endless media coverage of multinational conglomerates, local businesses give more to charity, adapt more easily to rising labor and environmental standards, and produce more wealth for a community. They also spend more locally, thereby increasing community income and creating wealth and jobs. "The Small-Mart Revolution presents a visionary yet practical roadmap for everyone concerned with mitigating the worst of globalization.
Customer Reviews:
Small Mart Revolution - Refocusing on what's important.......2007-08-09
Michael Shulman has done a heroic job shifting our focus to what really matters. There is a great deal of focus in government and in the media on what large corporations are doing. Shulman shows that the majority of our economic activity is based on what small businesses, government entities, non-profits and cooperatives are doing, right here in our local communities - in spite of the fact that large corporations receive a disporporationate share of government subsidies.
Shulman helps us deepen our understanding of what it means to buy local. There aren't just two modes - buying local or buying multi-national. He describes all the choices in between and helps us understand their impact on our local economies.
I've bought five copies already and given them all away. I'm buying another today. It's time to refocus our economic development back home and build the small mart revolution. This book is helping to make that hapen.
Interesting and Dinamic !.......2007-06-28
This book brings some themes about the impact of the Big Companies into the small comunities . It's a great oportunity to think about the risks of the global business.
Essential reading for any small business owner or local official.......2007-04-21
Shuman's book sets out in blunt terms the high costs of driving out of your way to save a little money at a big-box store. His main point is that many small businesses assume it's impossible to compete with Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, etc. Shuman shows that's not the case. He also shows that maximizing long distance import/export is a lousy way to develop an economy, both for the country doing the importing and the country doing the exporting. I can't recommend this book highly enough to anyone who is concerned with building a healthy economy in their neighborhood--no matter where in the world your neighborhood is.
Shuman does miss a few points. He discusses the subsidies enjoyed by the automobile in our society, but he says little about the role free parking plays in this. The fact is that providing free parking costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Much of this comes from well-meaning local regulations requiring businesses and residences to provide certain numbers of parking spaces. Since parking lots cost money to build and maintain, this amounts to subsidizing automobiles over other forms of transportation. Parking lots also use up precious land that could be better used for other things, and spread out communities so that it's difficult to walk anywhere. Free parking also increases housing costs enormously; it's one of the main reasons housing is so expensive in the U.S. For more on this, see Donald Shoup's book "The High Cost of Free Parking."
Shuman also doesn't say enough on the role of population relative to local resources. No amount of re-localization of the economy can bring prosperity if a region's human population is too high. For example, Shuman discusses the benefits of localization of the economy in producing a living wage for workers. This is true to a certain extent, but keep in mind that wages are fundamentally determined by the number of people looking for work. No community can provide a living wage for long if it accepts an infinite number of immigrants.
I am more skeptical than Shuman on the possibility of long-term economic growth. Before taking what he says on this as gospel, I would suggest reading some contrary opinions, as in Bill McKibben's book "Deep Economy."
Overall, though, "The Small-Mart Revolution" is great. Don't miss it.
Title is a little misleading .......2007-03-09
As a small business advisor, I bought this book expecting to learn tips about differentiation, and strategies for beating the big box retailers. Instead it is more of a diatribe against current economic development practice and shopping at the big box stores, especially Wal-Mart. While I agree with some of his assessments, the book left me as an average citizen and consumer feeling powerless and resigned to seeing my tax dollars wasted on corporate welfare. This should be required reading for anyone in economic development or public policy, but is not really written for the average business owner, unless you are interested in starting a career as an advocate for change.
A handbook for the new economy.......2006-11-30
I'm a village trustee in rural upstate NY. For twenty years I've been trying to get our village and surrounding town to create a joint economic development office to help retain and expand, and create or lure businesses within our community. Conventional economic thinking has created a race to the bottom, with every community in a zero-sum battle to cajole or bribe outside manufacturers or retailers to locate THERE, resulting in a bidding war small depressed villages like ours simply can't win.
Now, our neighboring hamlet is being considered for a Wal-Mart Supercenter and there are those who think this is wonderful: glowing talk of jobs, convenient shopping, increased traffic for other businesses. My gut feeling, and plenty of research, has convinced me this was not going to be the case, and, like other small communities who had to deal with this possibility, I was concerned that this would decimate our existing local businesses, increase our costs for services, medical care, public assistance, etc., but was hard pressed to explain why this was the wrong way to go, or what we could do as a superior alternative.
I'm also a board member of Sustainable Hudson Valley, and the director got me a copy of Shuman's book and I devoured it in time to write a column for the local paper,do a radio interview, and present my proposals to a joint village/town board on just what a truly 21st century Development Office should focus on.
Shuman's book has neatly articulated and crystalized the thoughts and concepts I've been trying to put forth for years, and has backed them up with the facts and stats that will make it easier to overcome the "There is no alternative" thinking prevalent among economic development agencies and local officials. He shows the inherent and hidden shortcomings and costs involved in pursuing outside "white knights" or letting outside 800-pound gorillas dictate and control a community's economic destiny, and counters with a more sensible and long-term strategy to grow the "living economies" locally, with increased local production, ownership, and financing.
Shuman was at our county seat today to give a presentation based on the book, so I was able to convince some others from my community to come and hear what he had to say, and get a copy of the book; about 40 local officials, businesspersons, chamber of commerce heads, planners, and other necessary components of a comprehensive nucleus to spread this "gospel" came from two counties, and I hope to get more villagers to get copies of this book when I show a film on "Independent America" next week, which covers some of the same ground as the book, so complements it well.
I have just started reading his earlier book, "Going Local," and I plan to make them both essential reading for any local officials who will be involved in creating the new Development Office, because he lays out a template for what such an entity SHOULD be focussing on, and I wouldn't want such an office to get mired in old-style, zero-sum thinking when here is a way that we won't have to compete with neighboring communities at all... with each community growing its economy from WITHIN that community, there is no competition, no race to the bottom! Indeed, we could then network at the regional level to fill in gaps, learn from each other, expand each market area in sectors where one community has developed production unique to itself, or work together to create regional businesses that simply require larger scale or greater demographics to work.
I hope to get Shuman down directly to our village and town so he can fire up the Gloomy Gus types who are still thinking inside the literal "big box" and show them that there is a better way, and to use his book as the bible of how to rethink and reframe the approach to building better and stronger local economies.
Earlier works by others have certainly established the underlying principles and philosophical basis for this school of thought, but Shuman's book takes advantage of the practical examples and studies since then to prove the validity of the earlier thinking, and brings it right up to date. And for those in or expecting to have to battle with a big box, here's plenty of good ammunition to use to counter the wishful thinking or outright hype that gets many to roll over and surrender to the "inevitable." I now feel armed and ready!
Book Description
The automotive industry ranks among the most significant business phenomena of the 20th century and remains vitally important today, accounting for almost 11% of the GDP of North America, Europe and Japan and one in nine jobs. Although its products have had a fundamental impact on modern society in economic and social terms, the industry has found it hard to adjust to contemporary conditions and is thus no longer esteemed in capital markets. Riven with internal contradictions that inhibit reform, it now faces a stark choice between years of strife or radical change. Highlighting the challenges and opportunities that exist for managers, legislators, financial institutions and potential industry entrants, this book is a wake-up call for those who work in the automotive industry. Most of all, it gives us all cause to reflect on the value of mobility, today and tomorrow. Graeme Maxton is director of AutoPolis, a firm that specializes in the structures and dynamics of the world automotive industry and helps clients position themselves for profitable growth. He is responsible for its activities in Asia and since 1992, has been closely affiliated with the Economist Newspaper Group and chairs all of The Economist's automotive industry conferences throughout the world. He writes for Business China, Business Asia, and various other Group publications, as well as for numerous newspapers throughout Europe and Asia. He is also a television, radio, and press commentator on the industry. Maxton and Wormald were co-authors of Driving Over a Cliff? Business Lessons from the World's Car Industry (Addison Wesley, 1994), which was nominated for the Financial Times Best Book about Business Award. John Wormald is a director and co-founder of Autopolis. He has worked in and for the automotive industry for over 25 years. He advises vehicle manufacturers, component suppliers, distribution and service companies, and financial and government institutions, with a particular emphasis on the downstream distribution and service sectors of the industry. He regularly lectures about the industry, speaks at industry conferences, writes for automotive and general publications, and is quoted and interviewed in the media. He is a co-author of Driving Over a Cliff?
Customer Reviews:
Lays out the woes of the modern auto industry, and gives possible solutions.......2007-02-10
In Time for a Model Change, two industry veterans tell why the modern auto industry is in such sad shape. As the globe warms and oil is burned up, we need innovative cars that push the envelope with new technologies, such as plug-in hybrids and electrics.
Yet the carmakers struggle to stay afloat, with no money to spend on such a drastic model change. And no strategic plan to follow even if they had the money. So instead of innovation, we get a steady proliferation of the same old models, with minor variations, all of the carmakers putting out their "me too" offerings that drive up expenses, drive down sale prices, and drive the carmakers out of business.
Time for a Model Change suggests a solution. Unbundle the production of cars. Let the carmakers build to their strengths. Italian carmakers, for example, should not try to compete with their own vertically integrated line of cars. Instead, focus on car bodies, doing the styling that they can do better than others. And so on.
Reflecting their connection with The Economist magazine, the authors of Time for a Model Change make their case thoughtfully and carefully. The many graphs, diagrams, and pictures (black and white only) throughout the book add a great deal to a reader's understanding of the industry. This book, though quite sophisticated in its analysis, will not be too difficult for the general reader.
My only complaint about the book, if I even call it that, is the feeling of doom and gloom that pervades it. Things are not that bad. But there is no question that the "industry of industries" will be changing, one way or another. As related technologies continue to improve, someone is going to figure out how to make money in this huge industry.
An Industry With a Difficult Future.......2005-02-04
This is an analysis of the world wide automobile industry by a pair of close observers who are outside the direct employment of the auto makers.
The auto industry is huge, it's been developing for a hundred. In addition there is a huge supplementary industry in the form of supplying oil, building highways, insuring, repairing, racing, and hundreds of other professions.
The problems forseen by the authors seem so obvious that you wonder why the automoile companies don't see it. Of course they probably do, but their senior management couldn't say anything that might affect their stock prices. If they did, they would get sued by everyone who lost money on their stock.
This is an excellent book on the automotive industry and in effect on our whole economy.
Book Description
The disparity between rich and poor countries is the most serious, intractable problem facing the world today. Chronic poverty affects more than the citizens and economies of these nations; it threatens global stability as the pressures of immigration become unsustainable and rogue nations seek power and influence through extreme political and terrorist acts.
For decades, a vast array of international institutions has pumped billions of dollars into these nations in an attempt to remedy their ills through the development of technological infrastructures, educational systems, and health care programs. Yet despite this infusion of capital and attention, roughly five billion of the world's six billion people continue to live in poverty. What isn't working? And how can we fix it?
The Power of Productivity provides powerful and controversial answers to these questions. William Lewis, director emeritus of the McKinsey Global Institute, draws on extensive microeconomic studies of thirteen nations—conducted over twelve years by the Institute itself—to counter virtually all prevailing wisdom about how best to ameliorate economic disparity. The key to reducing economic inequalities between rich and poor countries, argues Lewis, is productivity and its links to competition and consumption. Diagnosing problems and offering solutions, The Power of Productivity will inform political and economic debate throughout the world for years to come.
"Lewis . . . offers a detailed look at the local economies in several parts of the world including the U.S., Japan, India and Brazil. . . . This is an insightful treatment of a complex issue that deserves a wide readership."—Publishers Weekly
Customer Reviews:
Interesting economic perspective on various countries. .......2006-10-26
This book is an interesting economic perspective on why some countries prosper and others don't. Overall, the book is heavily pro-American and the fact that the author uses the U.S. as the benchmark for his comparisons with other countries is a testament to that. The rosy explanations on the U.S. chapter reinforces the belief that it is a pro-US book.
However, it beautifully covers some of the flaws found in third world economies, especially interesting on its analysis in Brazil and India. The answer is simple, government chokes and distorts market and is much to blame for poverty and low productivity in third world countries.
All in all its a good book, but its focus is too U.S. based. Not that there is nothing wrong with that, but books that show U.S. as a near utopia and the rest of the world as problem plague are not to my liking in general, simply because no country on earth is perfect, thus whatever defects exist in the U.S. economy should had been mentioned. As an economist, I was dissapointed with the way the author avoided discussing potential problems in U.S. economy, but was more than pleased with its assessment as to why third world economies don't function as smooth and first world economies.
Limitations of economies world wide.......2006-03-30
This is an outstanding book if you want to gain some understanding of the strengths and weakensses of economies world wide. This book is essentially a group of chapters describung the differences of various other world economies compared against the US economy. The revelations of the problems in some of those economies is very revealing. For example, if you worry at night about the Indian economy, you will sleep much better after reading his chapter of the many ways the Indian government distorts their markets and guarantees bad results. You will also be amazed that only 10% of the land has clear ownership, meaning one must be extordinarily careful or one can end up in a long legal entanglement. The description of the laws forbidding large players to participate in certain sectors of their economy also is revealing.
Similarly, the descriptions of the problems of the Brazilian economy with its underground economy and formal economy is also very illuminating. Large rconomy of scale businesses competing with informal off the books busninesses. Since the off the books businesses pay lousy wages and pay no taxes they can compete with the larger businesses which have economies of scale. Mr Lewis also points out how the sector which does compete within the legal rules have a very heavy tax burden which retards growth. The legacy of hyperinflation, a well known
phenomenon in South America also means that obtaining a mortgage is impossible, houses must be paid for cash on the barrelhead, as nobody will take a 30 year risk on inflation there.
Mr Lewis's book has chapters on representative economies from all over the world. Japan, Russia, Korea, India, Western Europe,
Brazil are included. The only place of high interest which is not included is China. Regardless, the information contained is fascinating.
I also gained some new insights from this book and perhaps a bit of new respect for certain sectors. I must say Mr Lewis makes some very interesting points which have certainly increased my regard for the retailing and service sectors of an economy by pointing out some of the low tech manners in which they have innovated to increase productivity. He also shows how inefficient certain other economies are because they dont allow foreign competitiors to operate in retailing in their economies and the dramatic inefficiencies created as a result.
Overall I rate this as one of the best books I have read in a long time.
A great book.......2006-02-25
I was happy to see many of the questions I've had for years, answered. The book is very well written for the non-economist who wants to be informed about the major economic problems of the world.
I also purchased 'DOING BUSINESS IN 2006' published by the World Bank. It corroborates the general ideas presented in "The Power of Productivity" to a great extent. A great book.
Productivity rules in one particular economic doctrine.......2005-11-16
Marx once said that he was not a Marxist [Attributed by Engels, letter to C. Schmidt, 1890]. It looks like William Lewis is not allowed that luxury, for in a sense the claim that it is productivity that matters most is a pure Marxists claim.
So there is a contradiction. The book that promotes "free market" extremism like "free market no matter what" in its major thesis looks suspiciously close to Marxist philosophy.
Actually extremes meet and the author's idea "If poor countries improved productivity and balanced their budgets, they would have plenty of capital for growth from domestic savers and foreign investors" is a clear sign that he is living in some Utopia and does not undestand the role of third world debt as a major instrument for controlling the governments of those countries. This process is designed to perpetuate itself whereby debt replicates itself on an ever greater scale.
For example odious debt of former communist countries was never cancelled and people of xUSSR paid and will pay huge prices for this. Legally, odious debt is debt that resulted from loans to an illegitimate or dictatorial government that used the money to oppress the people or for personal purposes.
Rich nations also ncur debts, but often the wealthier and more powerful ones are able to use various means to avoid getting into the dilemmas and problems the poor nations get into. It's easier to have debt if your own currency is the world reserve currency.
That means that globalization like medicine should not be applied uncritically. The real question is about the right doze of everything. Here is a couple of nice quotes for Asia Times Review of the same book, the review that debunks the myths propagated by the book:
"Of the world's 6 billion people, 5 billion live in countries with per capita gross domestic product (GDP) 25% or less of the US figure; in fact, a majority of the poor live where GDP is less than 10% of Uncle Sam's. Particularly troubling, author William W Lewis says, Japan was the only country to go from poor to rich during the past century, though he adds that Japanese government development strategies credited with the advance were a hindrance, not a help. "
"The failure of free-market radicalism to solve crises and deliver real, sustainable economic growth has prompted a reassessment. Perhaps wrenching open developing markets to global competition without reference to local conditions and politics is not the best prescription in every case. They also note that the fastest-growing economy over the past two decades features 'socialism with Chinese characteristics'. "
Excellent book despite flaws.......2005-02-11
There is an excellent book about productivity. Bill Lewis was head of McKinsey, the international consulting firm, for 12 years. They did a lot of studies of different business sectors around the world under his leadership, and this book pulls all of these together. It is a compelling case for free-market competition, which is what drives higher productivity and creates a larger pie for everyone to share.
I think Lewis is pretty much misguided about macro-economic issues (I think the reason that there were so many international crisis in 1998 was because of the Fed's mistakes in monetary policy causing the dollar to deflate), and he believes Jared Diamond's arguments about why Western culture has been so successful (Diamond is not a master of logic, and ignores or discounts other possible explanations, such as are presented in IQ and the Wealth of Nations), and Lewis makes mistakes in the way he averages productivity across sectors (you really need to look at absolute productivity in some way for averages to be meaningful), but it is still an excellent book because of the compelling case he makes for competition driving productivity increases, and the way he lays out the barriers to productivity growth in different nations.
I also wish he had spent more time explaining why higher productivity makes everyone better off. He does cover this to some extent, but not with the power that it deserves.
Still, 5 stars because the good stuff is outstanding.
Book Description
The new competitive challenge from Chinese businesses is like nothing seen by Western companies since the Japanese arrived twenty years ago with their cars and consumer electronics. To fend off these fierce competitors, managers must forget yesterday’s image of Chinese companies as producers of cheap, low-quality imitations flooding world markets. In fact, by strategically implementing what the authors call cost innovation, Chinese firms are advancing into high-end products and industries and competing for such high-value activities as engineering, design, and even R&D.
The first book to examine this new competitive force, Dragons at Your Door exposes the strategies, strengths, and weaknesses of these fast-rising Chinese competitors, surfaces the underlying logic that enables Chinese firms to attack high-end industries, and provides critical new insight into these very different competitors.
Customer Reviews:
Finally: A True Strategy Book on China .......2007-10-15
Having read countless books on the topics surrounding the Chinese economy and the rise of Chinese companies, I believe that this is certainly one of the best.
As suggested in the heading of my review, this is finally a book that deals with the business issues of China (and the greater issue of outsourcing) critically and comprehensively.
I too have spent some time in China speaking with a number of different businesses and managers, and this book comes closest to describing the way in which Chinese managers think. In fact, this book can be read in the context of Porter's "Competitive Advantage of Nations", in order to shed light on the ways in which market space and the business environments have and will continue to change.
Based on the difficulties associated with the Chinese business environment, Chinese companies have managed to develop strategies to overcome a number of basic disadvantages, and to turn these into inherent advantages.
My tip, be aware of your strategic position and your competitive scope and do not sacrifice the long term future of your company on the alter of short term gains.
Business owners and any interested in global politics and economics must have this analysis........2007-08-04
DRAGONS AT YOUR DOOR: HOW CHINESE COST INNOVATION IS DISRUPTING GLOBAL COMPETITION discusses China's rapid integration into the global economy and its wide-ranging ramifications for world competition and strategy. College-level business courses will find this an excellent survey of how the emergence of China as a business force will fundamentally change the global economy and its alliances over the next decade. Business owners and any interested in global politics and economics must have this analysis.
A.J........2007-07-27
great book I ever read about the new wave from China , becomes a global leader with the powerful weapon that breaks our conventional rules in strategy. How can they afford high technology, variety & customization, and specialty products without increasing costs? This book can answer every your questions. forget the past that they are producers of cheap, low -quality products.
Everyone who believes the world is flat must read this book..
Could mean the difference between life and death of your company/industry..........2007-06-22
It seems as if there have been a rash of books on China's increasing dominance in the global markets, and for good reason. Dragons at Your Door: How Chinese Cost Innovation Is Disrupting Global Competition by Ming Zeng and Peter J. Williamson lays out how China uses their cost advantage to get their foot in the door of a market, and then dominate it. This is a book well worth reading to understand what you may be facing in a few years (if not already)...
Contents:
Introduction - Dragons at Your Door; Disrupting Global Competition - How Did They Get Here So Fast?; Cost Innovation - The Chinese Dragons' Secret Weapon; Loose Bricks - Rethinking Your Vulnerabilities; The Weak Link - Limitations of the Chinese Dragon; Your Response - Winning in the New Global Game; Conclusion - Charting the Future; Notes; Index; About the Authors
Zeng and Williamson show, through numerous examples, how Chinese companies have exploited their cost advantage to become leading global players in markets. Generally speaking, they get into a field and start with lower pricing due to their lower wage structure. They then look for a "loose brick" in their competition. This is a market segment that they can attack and force a competitor to retreat or abandon. Once that occurs, they are then able to start offering both low cost and high innovation/value solutions to the market. Often, the competition will give up these lower-margin segments to concentrate on the higher-margin businesses, thinking that the Chinese can't compete in that area. But more often than not, those high-margin niches will also succumb to the dragons, leaving a company struggling for survival. It's not a pretty picture... But rather than just paint a "gloom and despair" picture, the authors also outline where the weaknesses lie in China's capabilities. Using this information, companies can both protect their established turf as well as compete against Chinese companies in their own markets. It's not an inevitable conclusion that a company will have to fold under the cost advantages offered by a Chinese competitor.
I see this book being valuable on a couple of levels. First off, it raises awareness of an overall plan that is often overlooked when viewed through the daily competitive battles. Giving up a market segment might not seem like a bad idea, but that's usually not the end of the story. Second, it can help guide partnerships and access to the Chinese market. When faced with the potential market share of China, companies are often willing to give up more control than normal just to gain access. But that short-term view can lead to long-term loss as the Chinese learn from the more established partner, start innovating on cost, and then eventually become direct competition with major advantages.
The effect of China on your company's survival can not be underestimated. Time spent reading this book might make all the difference in the world...
Average customer rating:
- Informative
- Two centuries of regional evolution in watch manufacture
- Manufacturing Time a disappointment for afficianados
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Manufacturing Time: Global Competition in the Watch Industry, 1795-2000
Amy K. Glasmeier , and
Amy Glasmeier
Manufacturer: The Guilford Press
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The Watch
ASIN: 1572305894 |
Book Description
Since the large-scale manufacture of personal timepieces began, industry leadership has shifted among widely disparate locations, production systems, and cultures. This book recounts the story of the quest for supremacy in the manufacture of watches--from the cottage industries of Britain; to the preeminence of Switzerland and, later, the United States; to the high-tech plants of Japan and the sweatshops of Hong Kong. Glasmeier examines both the strategies adopted by specific firms and the interplay of such varying influences as technological change, cyclical economic downturns, war, and national trade policies. In so doing, she delineates a cohesive framework within which to address such broader questions as how sustained regional economic development takes place (or starts and then stops); how decisions made by corporations are structured by internal and external forces; and the ways industrial cultures with different strategic learning capabilities facilitate or thwart the pursit of technological change.
Customer Reviews:
Informative.......2007-07-08
Excellent book if you are interested in the economic history of the watch industry over the last 200 years. I found it informative and readable.
Two centuries of regional evolution in watch manufacture.......2001-08-12
Related to the authorýs previous work, Manufacturing Time reviews economic history and regional development for an industry with over 300 years of change.
The book focuses on shifting supplier trends in the last two centuries of consumer watch making, an obviously mature industry that will continue in some form. Various nations have fared well while they have held some technical or popular advantage, but have had trouble responding to industry internal and external forces that change the game. The book explores how players, who were once swift and strong winners, become slow and ponderous losers, dragging down entire economic communities. Demonstrated life cycles within watch manufacturing are instructive regarding general business management, industrial organization and policy.
Manufacturing Time a disappointment for afficianados.......2001-06-20
Any of us who love horology and want to learn more will be very disappointed by this book.
It is very broadly based with virtually no supporting technical detail and numerous techical errors.
For example it states that a pin lever watch has fewer moving parts than a jeweled lever...
She freqeuently refered to Landes book but he in addition to being a respected academic is an enthusuastic collector.
...This book has no grabbing technical detail, not even enough to justify the sweeping economic statements she makes.
To her credit she pointed out some trends and aspects of national markets I had not understood but it is tough going even for someone already deeply interested in this subject.
Average customer rating:
- excellent, informative, explains competition well
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Global Airlines, Third Edition: Competition in a Transnational Industry
Pat Hanlon
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Flying Off Course Third Edition
ASIN: 0750664398 |
Book Description
Global Airlines: Competition in a Transnational Industry presents an overview of the changing scene in air transport covering current issues such as security, no frills airlines, open skies agreements, the outcome of the recent downturn in economic activity and the emergence of transnational airlines, and takes a forward looking view of these challenges for the industry.
Since the publication of the second edition in 1999 major changes have occurred in the industry. The rules of the game in air transport are now beginning to change; and it is time to take the story forward. This third edition contains nine new chapters and tackles the following issues amongst others:
* Security: The tragic events of 11 September 2001, followed by the war in Iraq, and the resultant heightened tensions over security and passenger safety.
* Financial instability: the cyclical downturn in economic activity has led some airlines to the verge of bankruptcy. Even some large well-established carriers are not immune from this. How can the industry look to survive?
* Attaining global reach: implications of transborder mergers, open skies agreements and the transatlantic Common Aviation area. Can full globalisation ever be reached?
* Low-cost carriers and e-commerce: as both increase, how much the industry re-structure and deal with issues associated with increased passenger traffic and decreased labour requirements?
* Airport capacity: Air traffic is estimated to grow at a long-term average annual rate of 5 per cent per annum. But many airports in many parts of the world are already reaching their capacity limits. How can this be overcome and are the environmental implications?
Using up to date data and case studies from major international airlines such as United Airlines, British Airways, and Qantas amongst many others, Global Airlines provides a comprehensive insight into todays global airline industry.
* Addresses the critical issues in the development of the airline industry and considers options for airline strategies and government policies
* Updated to reflect recent developments including security issues, no frills airlines, open skies' agreements and the recent downturn in economic activity, and what this means for the future of the industry.
* Facts and theories are interwoven throughout the text
Customer Reviews:
excellent, informative, explains competition well.......2007-04-09
After reading about 1/3rd of the book: well-written overview of competition in the airline industry with a lot of good detail, for example on airline customer loyalty strategies like frequent flyer programs, agency discounts, corporate discounts. Explains the economic theory in context. My only complaint is that a lot of charts with mind-numbing numbers in them would be more usefully presented as graphs rather than numeric tables.
Book Description
Competitive intelligence (CI) is the practice of gathering and analyzing information about competitors in order to gain an edge in the marketplace (for example, by anticipating their next moves and beating them to the punch) or by shoring up one's own company's defenses prior to an anticipated assault. The stakes are even higher in a global environment, where the potential risks and rewards are amplified. This volume explores emerging trends that affect and influence CI today, such as the impact of digital commerce (which enhances the speed with which products and services can be delivered around the world, as well as the speed with which competitors can surprise you), the effects of interest groups (such as those advocating environmental protections, which can tilt the playing fields), and new laws governing the practice of CI across borders. In this book, contributions from researchers, scholars, and practitioners specializing in competitive intelligence reveal the most current practices in the field. In-depth analysis of emerging approaches to CI in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, and in industries across the spectrum from pharmaceuticals to automotive supply chains, highlight the ways in which practicing CI globally is fundamentally different from doing so in a static, one-country context. The authors offer fresh insights and recommendations for CI specialists, strategic planners and executives, marketers and product developers, and anyone studying competition and strategy.
Customer Reviews:
There must be better books on these topics...........2006-05-10
While compilations by multiple authors such as this should give different and insightful perspectives on issues of global commerce this book fails to do so. The chapters seem to repeat over and over the vague generalites and platitudes of problems or potential problems in global commerce. If you find it insightful for an author to repeat over and over in various forms that some companies are becomming global and must consider the implications of language and cultural differences between nations when entering into foreign markets then you will love this book. If this and most other common sense ideas about differences between nations seem like things you take for granted then I would look elsewhere for a book to provide insight into how to deal with issues in global commerce.
Agree with Harvard B-school that this one has much to offer.......2005-07-28
I bought this book based upon the the review I read of it in the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge publication. I agree with that review that this book has a lot to offer those individuals and organizations seeking to do business abroad and who intend to pursue those business opportunities and risks in a strategic manner. Each chapter has something of value in it, although some were clearly more beneficial for my organization than others. It surprised me initially that most were written by Canadian-based practitioner authors, but that may also explain why most chapters brought a wider and more balanced perspective than you'd ordinarily see coming from the more active American authors in this strategy field.
I don't really have any beefs with this book but do think that a handbook or textbook in the area of applied global strategy, along the lines of this book, would serve many of us well. Maybe the editors or authors will do that someday. If they do, I will be one of the first prepared to buy it. Until that time, a book like this one serves a valuable purpose and is more than worth the expense and time.
Book Description
Through Global Competitiveness in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Effect of National Regulatory, Economic, and Market Factors, educators, graduate students, and public policymakers will examine the global pharmaceutical industry and the effect of national, regulatory, economic, and market environments on the competitiveness of the industry. This unique book is the only empirical study that examines the effects of the national environment on the competitiveness of a country's pharmaceutical industry. With this informative book, you will explore such topics as the types of comparative advantages that firms use for developing competitive advantages and what strategic choices firms should make when collaborating with international firms. Public policy implications with respect to the economic environment are also explored to give you a complete look at the international pharmaceutical industry.
Average customer rating:
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The Transnational Media Corporation: Global Messages and Free Market Competition (Communication Series)
Richard A. Gershon
Manufacturer: Lawrence Erlbaum
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0805824251 |
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Japanese Firms in Europe: A Global Perspective (STUDIES IN GLOBAL COMPETITION)
F. Sachwald
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 3718656264 |
Book Description
The impact of Japanese locations on their host countries is also studied. While Japanese industrial units may represent a challenge to European competitors they may also accelerate useful technological awareness. The macroeconomic impact, on employment in particular, is negligible but regional or sectoral impacts can be sizeable.
In this work the contributors examine the evolution of Japanese direct investment in Europe and explores its determinants. They illustrate how, as multinationals, Japanese firms adapt to local conditions and try to take advantage of a global organisation. In this respect three areas are more particularly explored; human resource management, relationships with suppliers and R&D unit locations.
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