Book Description
A pair of insiders and a host of corporate directors reveal the all-too-human failings that lead to corporate mismanagement and malfeasance. Seymann and Rosenbaum argue that the corporate meltdowns of 2002 resulted more from a lack of director focus than a lack of rules, and they come up with commonsense solutions that can be implemented immediately. In Plain English, they dissect the corporate practices that defy logic, the questions that are never asked or answered, and the hidden traps that snare so many corporate boards. The Governance Game is required reading for CEOs and directors, for investors and consumers, and for anyone who wants to understand what went wrong with corporate America - and how to fix it.
Download Description
A pair of insiders and a host of corporate directors reveal the all-too-human failings that lead to corporate mismanagement and malfeasance. Seymann and Rosenbaum argue that the corporate meltdowns of 2002 resulted more from a lack of director focus than a lack of rules, and they come up with commonsense solutions that can be implemented immediately. In Plain English, they dissect the corporate practices that defy logic, the questions that are never asked or answered, and the hidden traps that snare so many corporate boards. The Governance Game is required reading for CEOs and directors, for investors and consumers, and for anyone who wants to understand what went wrong with corporate America - and how to fix it.
Customer Reviews:
The Governance Game.......2003-12-16
As the environment for corproate governance continues to evolve, this book offers a quick, insightful read for what is expected in today's climate.
governance.......2003-08-04
The author makes bold, logical and necessary recommendations for the enhancement of corporate governance in a reader friendly format. This is a valuable contribution to the subject and should be carefully considered by all boardroom constituencies - directors, emloyees, investors and other key stakeholders.
by Susan Shultz, author, The Board Book(AMACOM)
Average customer rating:
- How to Destroy a Charity's Reputation
|
The United Way Scandal: An Insider's Account of What Went Wrong and Why (Nonprofit Law, Finance, and Management Professional)
John S. Glaser
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
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Customer Reviews:
How to Destroy a Charity's Reputation.......2006-07-25
If you are looking for the kind of scandal reporting that titillates, this book will probably disappoint you. John Glaser has written a rather scholarly report on how Bill Aramony ruined the public image of the organization he devoted several decades to building. Although Glaser does mention Aramony's much-rumored womanizing, he focuses more on his achievements, his arrogance, and the failure of others to stop his mistakes.
The book tries to be both a narrative of one man's rise to infamy AND a textbook for nonprofit professionals. Those who are responsible for managing or overseeing charities should read this book for its valuable lessons. Other readers may want to skim over the scholarly research and concentrate on the story of how power can corrupt a brilliant man who originally sought to excel at public service but became too convinced of his own infallibility.
I purchased this book because I once worked for United Way of America, but left long before the 1992 scandal so was curious to read the inside story. I knew John Glaser and Bill Aramony. I liked and respected Glaser. He has written an honest and valuable book.
Book Description
WHAT WENT WRONG WITH AMERICA … AND HOW TO FIX IT: RECLAIMING THE POWER THAT RIGHTFULLY BELONGS TO YOU
By Darrell Ankarlo
In What Went Wrong with America … And How to Fix It, radio host Darrell Ankarlo identifies the key elements of how our society is rotting from within, mostly due to an uninformed and uninvolved citizenry that has allowed it to happen. Providing inspiration from the Founding Fathers and modern American movements, he shows how he has used the platform of his radio show to inform his listeners and encourage them to get involved in their communities.
In order to encourage citizens to use the power they already have, he provides a practical road map for ordinary Americans to follow in making their voices heard. He equips readers to change the pattern of disengagement by utilizing broadcast and print media to spread their messages, organize rallies and protests, and become involved in the political system. He encourages people to engage in effective letter-writing and e-mail campaigns to rally support for their ideas, even to the point of running for elected office if necessary.
Find out how one talk-radio host who loves his country and its troops organized a massive demonstration of support for the American military and sparked a nationwide movement of pro-American, pro-troop rallies. These achievements were accomplished by average Americans who took the time to make a difference. What Went Wrong with America … And How to Fix It provides the tools necessary for anyone who cares about the future of the nation and wants to make a big difference on the local, state, and national level.
Customer Reviews:
It's TERR-ible...........2006-04-05
Ankarlo practically advocates execution of anyone who disagrees with his viewpoints. He especially hates Jews, Catholics, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics. And he exploits his son's service in the military for his own financial gain. His book is an advertisement to buy his book, advising readers that they can reach idealogical nirvana if they sleep in a bathtub full of his books.
Why do you hate America so much, Mr. Ankarlo? Why do you want to burn the City of Boston to the ground? Every time you open your mouth, George W. Bush weeps. Every time you congratulate yourself for your son's military service, McCain cringes. Every time you mention your book on your show, Cheney nearly has another heart attack. And, yes, when you espouse your "the Republic must fall" viewpoints, even Ann Coulter blushes.
Save us all the trouble and stay in your bunker without a laptop - so you CAN'T write another piece of garbage.
More of the same....Thank God!.......2005-01-15
This is the most detailed and highly researched (and sourced) book I have ever read! I listen to Darrell Ankarlo daily on 570 KLIF in DFW. I'm glad to see that his book is of the same great quality that his daily morning show is. Darrell has changed my life over the course of the last few years. He has opened my eyes to what is going on around me, and is a constant motivator to me and the rest of his audience. Darrell leads by example and encourages others to lead their charge as well. I truly believe the "nay-sayers" whom I see commenting on this book just don't get it!
MUST HAVE FOR EVERY AMERICAN.......2005-01-11
This book will open your eyes as to what is really wrong with America and give you ideas as to how you can fix it on your own. Truly inspirational you will laugh, cry, and cheer while reading this book. Give a listen to the web cast of Mr. Ankarlo off the KLIF site if you need an indication of what is in the book.
A Must Read for Conservatives.......2004-12-06
For anyone who truly wants to make a difference in this country, are concerned about those who are eroding the American way life, and want to stand up for what is right, this book is a must read. I just read it and feel empowered as a single citizen to be able do something! Darrell Ankarlo says everything that has been on my mind for years but I couldn't effectively put into words and didn't know what to do about it. Now I do. This book has given me a reason to stand up and be counted in a more visible way to save the country I love from those who would tear down the moral fiber on which it was built. It will shock you, encourage you, and even bring you to tears in places. But it goes beyond that; it gives detailed, practical ways to use your talents to help this great nation.
If conservatives want to save a rapidly deteriorating country, they must get involved--and quickly. This book tells them how. There is power in one person with conviction standing up for what is right; even more so if two, or three, or a thousand stand together. Please read it--and get involved!
Warning: read at your own risk!.......2004-11-15
[...]
Now onto my review of the book...
I just finished reading Mr. Ankarlo's book and I am grateful he wrote it! This book opened my eyes to things I was not aware of; you know the kind of things that you should have known and afterwards kind of say to yourself "well duh". This book is insightful, resourceful and provoking; causing the reader to be very aware of the need to stand up and make a difference while providing a plethora of contact information and resources to empower the reader into the action it provokes. Great job Darrell! Great job to all who make a difference! Great job to all those who serve and have served to keep this nation free, THANK YOU! And God bless the USA!!!
Book Description
Why has Argentina failed so spectacularly, both economically and politically? It is a puzzle because the country seemed to have all the requirements for greatness, including a well-established middle class of professionals. Its failure raises the specter that other middle-class societies could also fail. In Argentina, MacLachlan delivers history with a plot, a sense of direction and purpose, and fascinating conclusions that reveal a much more complex picture of Argentina than one might have had in mind prior to reading this book. Argentina traces the roots of the nation from the late colonial period to the present, and examines the impact of events that molded it: the failure of political accommodation in 1912, the role of the oligarchy, the development of a middle class, gender issues, the elaboration of a distinct culture, the era of Peron, the army, and the "dirty war." The conclusion suggests the reasons for the nation's difficulties. The IMF, World Bank, and international financial markets play a role, but so does a high level of political corruption and mismanagement of the economy that emerged from political and economic failure. Juan and Eva Peron tried to override politics to create an economic and social balance between urban labor and agriculture interests, but failed. The dirty war arose from that failure. Nationalism forged a culture of victimization and resentment that continues to this day. Laying aside standard explanations, MacLachlan presents a portrait of Argentina that emphasizes the role of a destructive nationalism--and a form a corruption that turns citizens into clients.
Customer Reviews:
Security loss.......2007-02-24
The basis of this book was a PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER series in 1991. Reader response was overwhelming. The 1980's and our economic circumstances bear resemblance, and so the work remains current.
At one time interest rates, gross national product, gross domestic product, and savings rates meant something. The growth of the middle class has been one of the underpinnings of democracy. A large transfer of wealth is taking place and the middle class is being dismantled. In the 1920's and the 1980's large tax cuts were enacted for the wealthy. There are middle class casualties of the government rule book. Conditions are structural, built into the economy.
In 1976 rules for tax-sheltered manufacturing in United States possessions were created. A great number of pharmaceutical companies moved their plants to Puerto Rico to take advantage of the scheme. Deregulation of the trucking industry, savings and loan industry, the airline industry, and the banking industry has been costly to consumers and workers. The year 1990, (at least until 2001), was the worst year in aviation history. In that year Braniff, Eastern, TWA, Midway and Continental were all in bankruptcy or on the verge of bankruptcy and liquidation. In trucking, cutthroat discounting, price wars, destroyed many companies.
In the mid 1970's there was deregulation fever. The trucking and airline industries were deregulated in the Carter years. Corporate bankruptcies result in the loss of health insurance for employees. The Simplicity Pattern Comapany was hit by corporate raiders. It was bought and sold four times after 1971. So much debt was incurred in the serial acquisitions, (using the concern's own money), that it had to default on its bonds and bank loans. There was weakness because during the 1970's Simplicity was making more money from investments than from pattern sales. It was a stagnating company and a take-over target.
Pension chaos exists in private sector employment. The demise of Studebaker highlighted the lack of a coherent pension system. ERISA was enacted in 1974. Unfortunately in the 1980's over two thousand companies dipped into their pension funds. Also many pension plans were terminated and replaced by uninsured annuities. Underfunding a pension plan may signal a company's distress. Similarly, pension raids may carry the same message.
The authors' recounting of events overtaking actual people illustrates strongly the economic forces at play in this modern regulation-free era.
Required reading.......2006-10-08
Any one really reading this book can't help but be angry at the way a small segment of the ultra wealthy control our government and our tax situation for their benefit. Thais has nothing to do with socialism, Marxism, or anything else. The progressive income tax system brought us out of the terrible conditions of the 1930's Carnegie and Mellon era of extreme wealth surrounded by masses of poor Americans. We are now returning to those conditions, the middle class prosperity of the 50's, when most families could buy a house, send their kids to college and take vacations is now replaced with two wage earners in the family, who can just make ends meet while the ultra wealthy have more money then they know what to do with. If you believe in conditions that the feudal kings lived in, this is not the book for you. If you care about others and want to know why things are so messed up in this country, this book will explain it in simple, straight forward, factual manner and you will want to do something about it before the next generation can do nothing.
This should be required reading in every high school and college.
A worthless political diatribe.......2004-10-16
This book is a worthless diatribe written from a Maoist/Leninist/Marxist perspective. No one would argue that there are excesses in American business, but these guys are so biased in their writing that the end result looks like it was published in the old Soviet Union. Save your money and your time by avoiding this book.
EYE OPENER.......2004-01-23
This book was bought as one of the text books I needed for my college civics class. Of all the text books I have bought, this is the only one that I read from cover to cover. This book will make you angry with what is allowed to happen to the average American. Most of the incidents that are talked about are not general public knowledge. I don't feel that it is a fatalistic book as other reviewers have indicated. It does bring out some disturbing issues that should not have happened or allowed to happen.
Outstanding, Still Highly Relevant, Accurate Predictor.......2002-11-09
Tis a usually natural reaction to want to lash out at the bearer of bad news, this book defines the limitations and restrictions that various pressure groups have inflicted on that dysfunctional corporation known as the United States.
"America: What Went Wrong" is just as important and relevant today as it was when initally released. America's overall economic situation is much worse today than it was when this book was initially published. This book accurately forecasts the problems America has as it loses its manufacturing base and became a service-oriented society (Wal-Mart supposedly has 700 Chinese factories of its own). Now the multi-national's factories are fleeing Mexico in 2002 for the slave-like workers of China.Unsettling for sure, I challenge you to read this book and don't be surprised if you re-read parts of it as the late 1990s Clinton/Greenspan artificial economic bubble unwinds into a 1930s style worldwide economic depression.
Amazon.com
Former Amtrak official Joseph Vranich blows the whistle on his onetime employer. The federally financed passenger-train company is a complete waste of money, writes Vranich. Instead of subsidizing inefficient rail service, the government should liquidate Amtrak and allow market forces to exert more influence over the train business. This would provide the double benefit of improving service for commuters who depend upon railways and saving taxpayer dollars. Derailed is a surprisingly accessible book on public policy; it would make fine reading on the ride to work tomorrow morning, or at least on the platform while you're waiting for the train to show up.
Book Description
America needs train service. It suffers from crowded highways and airports, making travel nearly intolerable. Amtrak's future is bleak, and Congress is demanding that Amtrak be profitable by the turn of the century or shut down.
Joseph Vranich, who worked to create Amtrak, now nearly three decades later declares it a "failed experiment." Free of his ties to the rail industry today, he candidly reviews Amtrak's troubled history, its loss of market share, and its ability to provide better and faster service. Vranich reveals how Amtrak trains on most routes are not only slower than American trains were fifty years ago but are also slower than some trains found today in the Third World.
Vranich argues for passenger trains where and when they are needed. He praises innovative commuter rail agencies, high-speed train planners, and long-distance "land-cruise" trains run by independent organizations. He also offers insights from other countries, pointing the way to a successful rail system in the United States. This is a blueprint to defederalize and liquidate Amtrak-- a bold and convincing call to kill a wasteful government system. Vranich shows how to smartly dissolve Amtrak while keeping vital trains running in the twenty-first century.
Customer Reviews:
Just imagine what government run health care would be like!.......2004-10-29
There is nothing better than traveling by train. They are far more enjoyable and comfortable than a car or a plane (especially for distances of 50-250 miles), and high speed trains are just flat out cool. I only wish that train travel in America was a viable transportation alternative - but it is not. Joseph Vranich helped build Amtrak when passanger rail was "failing" in the late 1960s. Now he is one of its most staunch enemies.
This book is not that complex, making it accessible to the casual railfan rather than a government policy wonk or rail industry insider. Vranich lays out what and why Amtrak has failed. He also explains what a post-Amtrak world would look and how a transition back to private railroads is to be accomplished in the buraucratic and political reality in which it exists today.
In retrospect, Amtrak probably never should have been created. With visionary leadership and limited government/legal intervention, the railroads probably would have rebounded along with the 80s-90s travel boom spurred on by airline deregulation. Another book worth reading is "Getting There: The Epic Struggle Between Roads and Rails in the American Century" by Stephen Goddard. In it, the author lays out why railroads declined in post-WWII America - placing Vranich's work into a more historical context. Railroads collapsed because of exessive government regulations hampering their inability to compete with the less regulated automobile.
Which leads me to my review's title. I read this book a few years ago and was compelled to revisit it when reading recently, in relationship to the 2004 presidential race, of the failure of the Amtrak Reform Council (aimed at privatizing Amtrak). I was reminded of the current debate on health care. There is a health care crisis looming and it is the result too much government regulation in the pharmacutical and health insurance industries. One needs only to look at the current flu vaccine crisis to see the hand of excessive government regulations and price controls causing shortages. Vranich's book serves as a cautionary warning to us all of what can happen when government takes over an industry its own regulations helped to destroy. Government run passenger rail service in this country is a disgrace and a disaster. The parallels between the railroad and health care industries in this regard are stunning. Vranich explores rail privatization in Europe and elsewhere; similar privatization plans existed in the failed European public health care industry.
Vranich's book is a must read for people who worry about the government-run trains, but also for those of us who worry about a government take-over of 1/7 of the US economy, the health care industry.
Maybe, I'm a bit out there in drawing the comparision, but I doubt it. After reading Vranich's book and seeing the state of American passenger train, I hope I'm wrong. The thought of a hospital run like an Amtrak train scares the crap out of me.
The Right Track.......2002-01-08
Americans do not back the the millions of tax payers dollars wasted on Amtrack. This book proves that a privatization plan can
work and that high speed train service should be offered in busy
corridors of the country (especially Boston-NY-DC). Long-haul service should be priced as a premium like the Candadian Rocky Mountain tourist train.
And sorry to say, unionized Amtrack workers are public employment at its worst.
They are ALWAYS complaining about their jobs
in FRONT of passengers. Professionalism and customer service does
not seem to be required. Have you ever seen a manager supervising personnel on a train? I believe they would all starve if they had to work on commission.
American passenger train service rates lower than our public education system in comparison to the rest of the world. And that
you really have to work for!
Still timely, "DERAILED" a must read........2001-07-15
In the midst of renewed interst in the future of AMTRAK, Jospeh Vranich has delivered the best available work on the subject.
AMTRAK must be viewed in a multi-modal passanger an freight enviroment. Saddled with antiquated thinking, and a politically motivated route structure, the ability of AMTRAK to deliver on the promise of future profitability is indeed open to question. Vranich provides the history, politics, technical information, and marketing factors which will effect futre passenger rail operations in the United States. Although controversial, his facts are well researched and his opinions appear well founded. I found the book quite readable, and a must buy for anyone intersted in the area of passenger rail transportation.
Deariled-Still a very timely book!.......2001-02-28
The value of this book continues to grow with the passage of time. In "Derailed" the author predicts that Amtrak is destined to repeate the mistakes of the past. Events are proving him right.
Vranich decried Amtrak's operation of useless "pork barrel" trains but Amtrak went ahead and added a new Wisconsin train that carries an average of five passengers per day. He warned that Amtrak's financial plight will worsen, and it has according to a report by the US Department of Transportation Inspector General issued in late 2000. The writer said that Amtrak would continue to offer deficient service, which is true in the Midwest where in 2001 Amtrak suspended the majority of its Chicago-Detroit service for an entire month due to "poor weather". Mr. Vranich argued for a change in Amtrak leadership. Now the Heritage Foundation, a think tank close to the Republician Party, has called for a clean sweep of Amtrak's board of directors including the resignation Tommy Thompson (President Bush's HHS Secretary and former Wiscon Governor) from the chairmanship of Amtrak's board.
The book is rich in not-easily found research about how foreign nations are replacing their versions of Amtrak with innovative public and private ventures. This work deserves all the praise is has received and, as Amtrak continues to blunder along, is a book that offers important lessons for the twenty-first century.
Oh Well...........2000-12-22
When I first wrote this review some years ago, Amtrak was awash with hope. Everything from mixing passengers and freight to new high speed rail to a perceived openness toward new and even revolutionary ideas made Amtrak an interesting place to work. I was convinced Vranich was wrong.
Four years and one return to the true private sector later, I kind of owe Joe Vranich an apology. Yes, his book is a gripe session, see below, but he was one of the few publications at the time that saw Amtrak as hopeless. Sad to say, my inside view suggests Vranich is right.
Amtrak consistently finds ways to kill new ideas and to stop vision before it gathers light. Managers fear the status quo because they've never operated in an environment where they're rewarded for creativity and forced to manage for specific results, with specific consequences for not meeting their results. Even Amtrak's new CEO is managing for the status quo and not leading the charge for a new vision of passenger rail.
Perhaps Congress has realized this, which is why Amtrak has had so much trouble getting more than minimal appropriation. The lack of vision on Amtrak is a constant problem, both in Vranich's book and in the halls of government.
Vranich dances around much of this, instead focusing on the antiquity of the long distance rail system. He's right there, but as I said in 2000, that's been obvious long before Vranich put a pen to paper. Unfortunately, Amtrak's inconsistent service and too often bad attitudes make one wonder whether trains exist for people or whether people exist for trains.
Yes Mr. Vranich, you're right about one thing. This organization can't manage change and it certainly won't give America a 21st Century passenger rail system.
My earlier review, with some apology to Mr. Vranich, is as follows:
Joe Vranich's book read like an airing of dirty laundry. He repeats long-known facts about Amtrak; echos his own feelings through quotes from the mouth of a long-established friend at the National Association of Railroad Passengers; and, does little to add fresh evidence to the three-decade old debate on the future of passenger rail service in America.
Indeed, Vranich is a good complainer. But his advocacy of a break-up of Amtrak neglects the will of the people -- that the American public repeatedly has supported Amtrak -- albeit in less than ideal form. Perhaps what he needs to do is flush out a mission and a means by which Amtrak can obtain the capital support it needs to ensure its success.
There are many creative and financially viable meams by which Amtrak can be saved and allowed to florish. But you won't find them in this book. That's because the book is mired in gripes about the last century rather than focusing on a case for this one.
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The Recurrent Crisis in Corporate Governance
