The Future of Business: The Essentials (with InfoTrac® College Edition)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Well Put Together
The Future of Business: The Essentials (with InfoTrac® College Edition)
Lawrence J. Gitman , and Carl McDaniel
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:
  1. Study Guide for Gitman/McDaniel's The Best of the Future of Business: The Essentials, 2nd Study Guide for Gitman/McDaniel's The Best of the Future of Business: The Essentials, 2nd

ASIN: 0324320280

Book Description

THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS offers a brief yet complete introduction to business concepts and terminology using a student-centered, practical, and relevant approach. Stressing to students that "You Are the Future of Business," The Future of Business: The Essentials teaches students to navigate through the sometime stormy business environment by stressing important business issues such as customer satisfaction and quality, entrepreneurship, cultural and workplace diversity, ethics, global business, technology, teams, and e-business.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Well Put Together.......2002-05-11

This text, I found, to be easy to read and understand. Following along through the fundamentals of business was a snap and made the semester much more enjoyable (if college can be).
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Has history been tampered with?
  • Calculations are only as good as your numbers
  • Pants on fire?
  • Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
  • Very Interesting
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

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:

5 out of 5 stars Has history been tampered with?.......2007-10-23

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RAZQNMXM4M9CL Has history been tampered with? Yes, it has! Did events and eras such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire , the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, actually occur within a very different chronology from what we've been told? Yes, they certainly did!

The history of humankind is both drastically shorter and dramatically different than generally presumed.

Why is it so? On one hand, it was usual custom to justify the claims to title and land by age and ancestry, and on the other the court historians knew only too well how to please their masters. The so called universal classic world history is a pack of intricate lies for all events prior to the 16th century. World history as we learn it today was entirely fabricated in the 16th-18th centuries. It's likely that nobody told you before, but

there is not a single piece of firm written evidence or artefact that is reliably and independently dated prior to the 11th century.

Naturally, after what you've learned in school and university, you will not easily believe that the classical history of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, etc., is manifestly false.

You will point accusing finger to the pyramids in Egypt, to the Coliseum in Rome and Great Wall of China etc., and claim, aren't they really ancient, thousands of years ancient? Well, there is no valid scientific proof that they are older than 1000 years!

The oldest original written document that can be reliably dated belongs to the 11th century!

New research asserts that Homo sapiens invented writing (including hieroglyphics) only 1000 years ago. Once invented, writing skills were immediately and irreversibly put to the use of ruling powers and science.

The consensual chronology we live with was essentially crafted in the 16th century by the Jesuits.

The world history was compiled from contradictory mix of innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts and other irrefutable proofs delivered by late mediaeval astronomers that were cemented by the authority of writings of the Church Fathers.

Early in life, we learn about ancient history. Children love the magical lessons of history - they are like fairy tales. Teachers recite breathtaking stories; very soon We learn by heart the names and deeds of brave warriors, wise philosophers, fabulous pharaohs, cunning high priests and greedy scribes.

We learn of gigantic pyramids and sinister castles, kings and queens, dukes and barons, powerful heroes and beautiful ladies, emaciated saints and low-life traitors.

Ancient history is based documents, manuscripts, printed books, paintings, monuments and artefacts - called primary sources.

The problem is that neither these ancient documents, nor events described therein can be irrefutably dated, moreover they contradict each other for the most part.

When a school textbook tells us that Genghis Khan in year X or Alexander in year Y, have each conquered half of the world, it means only that it is so said in some of the written sources.

There are no answers to simple questions:

When were these primary sources written?

Where and by whom were these sources found?

It is wrongly presumed that ancient and medieval chronicles, written by Genghis Khan's or Alexander the Great contemporaries and eyewitnesses, are readily available. Actually, only sources written hundreds or even thousands of years after the events are there, compiled mostly in the 16th 18th centuries, or even later.

As a rule, these sources suffered considerable multiple manipulations, falsifications and distortions by editing. At the same time,

innumerable originals of ancient documents under various pretexts were destroyed in Europe under various pretexts.

The names of persons and geographical sites often changed meaning and location during the course of the centuries.

Geographical locations became clearly defined on maps only with the advent of printing.

This made possible the circulation of identical copies of the same map for purposes of the military, navigation, education and governance tasks.

Historians from Oxford say: "hey, everybody knows that Julius Caesar lived in the first century B.C.

`Julius Caesar' statement is only a point of view as

there is simply no irrefutable documentary proof that Julius Caesar or any other great name of antiquity ever existed.

Better than that - extremely rare sources that can be reliably dated back to the 10th-14th centuries A D, do not show the polished picture of classical history.

They show a picture both contradictory and confusing.

All methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts are erroneous:

Radio-carbon C14 method produces dating with exactitude of plus minus 1500 years, therefore it is too crude for dating of events in historical timeframe!

The Almagest tractate, which lies as corner stone contemporary chronology, compiled in the 2nd century A D by Ptolemy, the founding father of astronomy, contains astronomical data of 9th to 16th century!

The Bronze Age,that has supposedly began 5000 years ago. Bronze is made of 90% copper and 10% tin, but the technology for tin extraction dates back to 14th century A D!.

All eclipses contained in manuscripts, like Thucydides one, relating 'ancient' events have exclusively medieval dating. All horoscopes cut in stone or painted in Egyptian temples, like Dendera have exclusively early medieval dating solutions.

Not quite what you have learned in school? Open your eyes, and, you will find sufficient proof to reach step by step the inevitable conclusion that the classical chronology is false and therefore, that the history of ancient and medieval world universally accepted today, is also false. Have a fresh outlook on everything said or printed about "ancient" and "enigmatic" Roman, Greek and Egyptian, medieval as well as all other "lost and found" civilizations.

Antiquity and Dark Ages are phantoms invented in the 16th 18th and polished in 19th 20thcenturies. Human civilization is in fact barely 1000 years old!

This book will change your perception of History forever!
What if Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance?
What if The Old Testament was a rendition of events of the Middle Ages?
What if Jesus Christ was born in 1053 and crucified in 1086 AD?
Sounds Unbelievable?
Not after you've read "History: Fiction or Science?" by Anatoly Fomenko, the genius mathematician.
Armed with astronomy and computers Anatoly Fomenko turns History into a rocket science.

3 out of 5 stars 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.

5 out of 5 stars 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.

5 out of 5 stars 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.

5 out of 5 stars 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.
Anatomy of a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Business and Securing Your Company's Future (Anatomy of a Business Plan)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A Must Have Guide for Writing Your Business Plan
Anatomy of a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Business and Securing Your Company's Future (Anatomy of a Business Plan)
Linda Pinson
Manufacturer: Kaplan Business
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0793191920
Release Date: 2004-11-01

Book Description

What does it take to succeed in starting and running a small business? All the experts advise writing a business plan to map the trajectory of a new or existing venture. Even though writing a plan may seem like an intimidating undertaking, with the right help, anyone can do it. For expert guidance to take advantage of powerful business-building opportunities, the latest edition of the bestselling Anatomy of a Business Plan offers step-by-step, proven advice.

Updated with the latest changes affecting small businesses through 2005, the sixth edition also includes a new resource section to help businesses research financial and marketing information. Three complete sample business plans, along with the blank forms to create a plan, make this a hands-on, user-friendly guide.

Designed for beginning and growth-oriented entrepreneurs, or for those ready to move their dream businesses into action, it includes complete templates to:

• Develop an executive summary that grabs attention.
• Envision the organizational plan to lay the groundwork for success.
• Create the marketing plan that powers growth.
• Build for the future with airtight financial documentation.

While Anatomy of a Business Plan is ideal for entrepreneurs at all levels, it is also used in classrooms, workshops, and training. Many corporations use it to help their divisions, departments, and subsidiaries develop plans for new business expansion and growth. Once written, a plan is only effective when put to use! Guidelines for packaging and updating the plan complete the picture—so any business leader can create a living, accessible plan to support long-term success.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Must Have Guide for Writing Your Business Plan.......2005-12-02

Writing a business plan is not an easy task, it can actually be scary. Anatomy of a Business Plan takes away any fear and guides you through the process of developing a sound business plan. I am a business plan writer and have been using Anatomy of a Business Plan as a guide since 2000. To actually write business plans, I use the companion software program, Automate Your Business Plan. Automate Your Business Plan brings Anatomy of a Business Plan to life by actually guiding you through the business plan development process. I have used Automate Your Business Plan to develop several business plans and strongly recommend it and Anatomy of a Business Plan to anyone looking to write a business plan.

Ndaba Mdhlongwa
Business Plan Solutions
Profit with Honor: The New Stage of Market Capitalism (The Future of American Democracy Series)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Lots of Stimulating Thought in a Small Book
  • Must Reading For Any Current Or Future CEO And Business Leader
  • Should Be In Every Boardroom
Profit with Honor: The New Stage of Market Capitalism (The Future of American Democracy Series)
Daniel Yankelovich
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  5. Faith and Fortune: The Quiet Revolution to Reform American Business Faith and Fortune: The Quiet Revolution to Reform American Business

ASIN: 0300108583

Book Description

This wise and optimistic book examines the rampant scandals that plague American corporations today and shows how companies can reverse the resulting climate of mistrust. By seizing the opportunity to address some of the nation’s—and the world’s—most serious problems, business can strengthen its reputation for integrity and service and advance to a new stage of ethical legitimacy. Daniel Yankelovich, a social scientist and an experienced member of the corporate boardroom, describes the toxic convergence of cultural and business trends that has led inexorably to corporate scandals. Yet he offers reassurance that opportunity exists for positive change. Creative business leaders can advance market capitalism to its next stage of evolution, building upon business norms that simultaneously emphasize the legitimacy of profit making and the importance of the care that companies give to employees, customers, and the larger society.
The book asserts that American culture has abandoned its old tradition of enlightened self-interest, of “doing well by doing good.” A narrow legalism has taken over (“I didn’t break the law; therefore I didn’t do anything wrong”). Yankelovich argues that attempts to deal with such flawed ethical norms by means of more laws and regulations cannot succeed. He offers a series of case histories to show how and why stewardship ethics can strengthen individuals, corporations, the nation, and the world economy.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Lots of Stimulating Thought in a Small Book.......2007-08-09

Daniel Yankelovich is a social scientist who has also served on several corporate boards. That gives him a unique perspective on the ethical challenges that face board members.

Yankelovich, to use his term, is a "privileged witness," who sees business from the outside, but has seen its inner workings up close. Even more important in some ways is the fact that he and his company have been among the firms tracking changes in society over several decades.

Here is why he wrote this book: "The purpose of this short book is to suggest that the business community can turn the scandals of recent years to good use, both for business itself and for the larger society."

Yankelovich sees three causes for these scandals. They are: 1) deregulation; 2) linking the biggest part of CEO compensation to stock price; and, 3) the importing of wider social norms into business, resulting in what he calls "unenlightened self-interest."

In the first half of the book he outlines changes in social norms in both business in society over several decades. Business, according to Yankelovich is more likely establish the norms he desires than society as a whole. And, he thinks, if business does so it will "help dispel moral confusion in the culture at large."

He says: "My main argument in the book is that the time has come for market capitalism in the United States to advance to a new stage of enlightened self-interest."

To do that he advocates something he calls "Stewardship Ethics," which he defines as "commitment to care for one's institution and those it serves in a manner that responds to a higher level of expectations." He devotes the second half of the book to describing what a set of norms based on "stewardship ethics" might look like and how they might come about.

In one of the most helpful sections of the book, Yankelovich spends time outlining the difference between his Stewardship Ethics and the bundle of beliefs and positions that come under the heading of "Corporate Social Responsibility."

If you're like me, you'll find Yankelovich's position a refreshing change from the "profit is evil" approach of most CSR types. If you are someone who sees the pursuit of profit by companies as, at best, a necessary evil, you will be very uncomfortable with this book and its ideas.

This book has two key strengths. First, Yankelovich himself is both knowledgeable and logical. Second, the book is short, only around 170 pages of text. Those are also the book's weaknesses.

Because Yankelovich himself is knowledgeable, he often leaves terms undefined. I could not find a definition, for example, of one of his key terms, "market capitalism." It may be that everyone indeed defines that term the same way, but I doubt it.

The shortness of the book means that some arguments are made without adequate support. For example, on page 96, Yankelovich says, "How well a company conceives and executes stewardship ethics as a community has a direct bearing on its long term profitability." He then offers the example of Wegman's as proof. Alas, a single example without supporting evidence is not proof.

This brings us to the key question: "Should you buy and read this book?"

If you are a senior executive, a member of a corporate board, or a faculty member at a business school, this should be on your "must-read" list. Yankelovich has crammed a lot of good stuff and cogent analysis in here about the business climate and corporate responses.

This book is also a good read if you're interested in the ethical challenges of contemporary business, but you don't make it your primary focus. If you're a professional ethicist or philosopher, you'll find the book a little light on both reasoning and support, but that's exactly why it's a good read for the rest of us. The book is filled with provocative ideas and well written.

But if you're looking for a "how to" book, this would be a poor choice. It's a great book for stimulating thought and discussion, but the "how to" will be up to you.

5 out of 5 stars Must Reading For Any Current Or Future CEO And Business Leader.......2007-07-09

This is a book I wish I had written. I have talked at length over the past few years about what is wrong with today's capitalist economy and particularly so since the Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, and other corporate scandals. However, I am and always have been a committed supporter of a free-market economy with minimal government interference. In the late 1950s (while very young!) I embraced Ayn Rand's "laissez-faire" theory of business, only to be later disturbed by some of the unwarranted and seriously problematic assumptions one had to make in order to completely buy into her "doctrine" of extreme individualism and "caveat emptor" economics. While I recognized that neither Communism (ala Marx) nor state socialism could bring about a dynamic market economy combined with political liberty, there was, I thought, definitely something missing in the theory and practice of a free-market economy as Rand and her coterie envisioned and promoted it. Moreover, the so-called "mixed economy" (which is what the U.S. pretty much has now -- a mixture of free-market and "socialist" elements) has not prevented the scandals recently experienced.

Enter Daniel Yankelovich with his new book "Profit With Honor: The New Stage of Market Capitalism." In my opinion, on the Aristotelian scale of ethical virtue, his book represents the "mean" between the extremes of a dog-eat-dog capitalism with profit as the "only" consideration and the position that profit is evil, private enterprise is antisocial and, therefore, a centrally-planned government-run economy is the only acceptable solution. Economic activity is, of course, not fundamentally different from any other human activity, whether it be individual, social, political, or whatever. There has to be some moral foundation, some ethical framework, which justifies and provides a rational structure for the activity. Neither of the aforementioned extremes can provide the necessary theoretical support nor the practical guidelines for an economic system which must take into consideration human nature and the human condition.

In his book, Yankelovich states that his "main argument . . . is that the time has come for market capitalism . . . to advance to a new stage of enlightened self-interest. American business needs to develop a new ethic -- a coherent set of social norms -- both to counteract the forces leading to the scandals and to meet the challenges of the global economy that call upon business to take on many new responsibilities." He calls his program (if that is the appropriate term) a "stewardship ethics," a set of cultural norms for business which involves social responsibility without rejecting the concepts of profit and self-interest. This is, for the most part, my position on the issue. The philosophical enemies of market capitalism have had plenty of ammunition provided to them in recent years by some of those -- dare I say "crooks"? -- who are involved in market capitalism itself. Without a solid and rational moral foundation, market capitalism becomes its own worst enemy. Yankelovich appears to be confronting this challenge and, I think, points the way to a good resolution of the problem.

There is no question now, in my view, that capitalism as it has been practiced in the past is just that -- a thing of the past. Capitalism must now advance to the "next stage of evolution," as Yankelovich envisions it. While it is vital that profit-making remain a central concern and goal of any economic enterprise, companies must also give due consideration to customers, employees, and society at large. There is really no essential conflict between making a profit (which any business must do to survive) and social responsibility. This notion of conflicting objectives was, I suspect, a matter of philosophical immaturity during the developmental growth of the capitalist system. It should be recalled that many of the so-called "robber barons" of the past did participate in philanthropic activities and contribute generously to the "social good." (Think Carnegie libraries, Ford and Rockefeller foundations.)

But, of course, the problem remains regarding the future of market capitalism, especially amid all the recent scandals. This is where I think Yankelovich makes his most noteworthy contribution. Abstract principles of ethics -- which is what many of us were primarily concerned with when I taught classes in ethical theory in years past -- is one thing. Important as that is, however, the application of ethical principles to practical situations, institutions, and social realities is, after all, of immediate concern. What Yankelovich provides is an extension of rational ethical principles into the marketplace, that is, where the action is and where they are most useful. There is no justification now for schools of business and departments of economics to ignore the moral and social ramifications of market activities; courses in business ethics, and I suggest maybe the "stewardship ethics" recommended in this book, ought to be a core part of the curriculum -- not just an elective, but a requirement.

"Profit With Honor" is, of course, not a full-blown treatise on business ethics. It is a short book, a mere 169 pages of actual text. It is, however, concise and to the point. Yankelovich's suggestion that market capitalism should adopt the idea of "doing well by doing good" comes across throughout the book and this idea needs to be internalized by anyone considering a future in business leadership. He concludes: "In our culture . . . the transformation to stewardship ethics may take place without even being widely noticed. But its effects will register in enhanced trust in the business sector, in improved long-term profitability, and in significant advances in global well-being." One can only hope what he says proves prophetic. This book is an excellent introduction to the problem at hand and, for many of us I suspect, a framework within which the practical solution to the problem can be realized. Must reading for any contemporary or future CEO. Highly recommended.

4 out of 5 stars Should Be In Every Boardroom.......2007-07-07

This book is about ethics and integrity in corporate America. The author discusses the various scandals of the past decade or so, looks at root causes, and proposes a solution.

This book could easily have been a statist prescription for yet more regulation by that whacko entity we call the federal government (which doesn't actually govern), but fortunately it was not. Just as easily, it could have been yet another book used by the author to push the leftist agenda in the rosiest of terms, despite the fact that agenda has always failed and always will. Fortunately, we were spared that reality-challenged view as well. Nor is it another effort to push the "conservative" agenda (basically, a way of diverting money to special interests). In fact, Yankelovich stresses the need to move beyond political "solutions" to problems.

People change careers, and I am one of those people. In my former life as an engineer (in a galaxy far, far away or something to that effect), one of the skills I learned was root cause analysis. This kind of analysis is demonstrably absent in public policy, as is evident from the demonstrable failure of federal policies, federal agencies, federal programs, and just about anything else spewing forth from Washington, DC. I notice that most "experts" have pretty logical-sounding solutions to what ails us, but almost none of them first determines what problem needs solving. They have a hammer (their area of expertise), and the whole world is their nail.

Yankelovich takes a humbler and more rational approach. This book talks about what CEOs and other leaders should do to restore integrity in our corporations, yet in the preface he says he's neither a celebrated CEO nor an expert on the subject. Upon reading the book, I found this worked to his advantage. He's not an armchair general type, either, though. He was on many boards over many years and has seen the workings of the inner sanctum firsthand. His background as a social scientist and researcher is also a critical qualification, because he has an excellent lens through which to observe and analyze.

At 169 pages in paperback format, this book is short. It's not a highly detailed academic treatise on case histories. Yankelovich is certainly capable of producing such an opus. But it would be read by academics rather than CEOs. This book is the perfect size for its primary target audience--the high level corporate executive. It can fit into a briefcase for reading during a return flight or two.

Profit with Honor has ten chapters. The first two give us a clear picture of the problem. In those chapters, Yankelovich also discusses why legal remedies don't work. For example, if you have a law barring a certain behavior, people who believe it's OK to game the system will find and exploit a loophole. To see how this pans out, look no further than our insane, and counterproductive, federal income tax code. He also talks about what happens when a company promises to play nice and then doesn't.

The next two chapters explain why "What's good for GM is good for America" isn't so (not to pick on GM--that was the actual statement, but the sentiment was quickly adopted by other companies). Yankelovich also provides comparisons between the ethics of today (or lack thereof) to the ethics of previous times. This isn't a "sure was great in the good old days" fantasy. Yankelovich bases his analysis on actual research, including a study of the Harvard Business School Class of 1949.

What he has to say about "civil society" in Chapter Five is right on target, and should be required reading for everyone over the age of six. Unfortunately, we have too few adults with the proper training in civility, and we gag on that aftertaste of that every day.

Chapter Six and Chapter Seven provide a good discussion of stewardship ethics, which Yankelovich proposes as the means of getting our corporations back on track.

In Chapter Eight, Yankelovich exposes the fallacy of the "Shareholder Value" philosophy, leaving no doubt for the reader that it has proven to be costly and destructive. Chapter Nine explores the concept of gatekeeper integrity. Our gatekeepers include institutional investors, auditors, business lawyers, investment bankers, business journalists, and educators--and they have profoundly failed us.

The final chapter, Titled "Hummer vs. Hybrid" nicely ties the book's concepts together. What better way to make things clear than to use a common example and figuratively turn it over in your hand so that each edge, nook, and cranny is exposed to sunlight? This example concerns the attitudes of two companies. The first one is GM, which I loathe. The second is Toyota, of which I am a customer and a huge fan.

GM chased short-term profits by producing gas-guzzling Hummers. Thanks to GM lobbyists, the CONgress (which sells legislation to the highest bidder) introduced more distortions into that abomination called "the federal income tax code" to make it advantageous for people to own Hummers rather than a vehicle that makes sense. Hummers tear up our roads (causing us to pay higher road taxes) and consume four times the fuel that a sensible vehicle does (causing gas prices to be higher). So, we all pay for some insecure person to drive around in a Hummer dominating the road while GM managers soak up their bonuses for short-term profits and Middle East terrorists enjoy the funding provided by the additional oil revenue. All perfectly legal.

Toyota, on the other hand, behaved responsibly by producing the fuel-efficient Prius hybrid. It's important to note that this isn't their only fuel-efficient vehicle. My Camry gets nearly 40 MPG on the highway (5-speed manual transmission, good driving habits, synthetic oil, and other things boost its fuel economy past the EPA rating). Some other models of conventially-powered Toyotas, such as the Corolla, do even better.

If we replaced every GM vehicle with a Toyota Camry, America would no longer have an energy problem.

Toyota's venture into the hybrid market came at the cost of short-term losses. This car isn't a cash cow for them, and it isn't causing their executives to go home with multi-million dollar bonuses. It's part of the their long-term strategy to build cars that serve people and society. It's the result of their "continual improvement" ethic.

Yankelovich follows this same ethic in his writing. He isn't proposing a quick fix. He's proposing a change in underlying attitudes and beliefs, and it takes time for those things to produce effects. It's like eating right vs. taking medications. Eating right won't instantly make you healthy, if you are presently not eating right. But it's the only way to be healthy and correcting the effects of wrong behavior takes time.

It's also a monumental task to get all the players on board with such a change. If this book makes its way into boardrooms and executive suites across the country, and if individuals in those boardrooms and executive suites decide to make personal integrity a top priority ala the Class of 1949, that change can and will happen.

If you like the idea of a nation in which corporations are run in an ethical fashion (providing a model the federal "government" might learn from), read this book and then recommend it to others.
Developing Family Business Policies:  Your Guide to the Future (Family business leadership series)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Developing Family Business Policies: Your Guide to the Future (Family business leadership series)
    Craig E Aronoff
    Manufacturer: Business Owner Resources
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback
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    3. Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business Perpetuating The Family Business : 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business
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    ASIN: 189165201X

    Book Description

    This book lays out what many successful family businesses do to ensure prosperity. They develop policies and shareholder agreements through a process that builds unity of vision, commitment, and good feelings about the business.
    Future Focus: How 21 Companies are Capturing 21st Century Success
    Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    • Amazing correlation between 2000 boom and Focus companies of this book
    • Don't let your competitors get a hold of this book
    Future Focus: How 21 Companies are Capturing 21st Century Success
    Theodore B. Kinni , and Al Ries
    Manufacturer: Capstone
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 1900961652

    Book Description

    Theodore B. Kinni Editor of The Business Reader Review, a free electronic newsletter of capsule reviews of new business books. Al Ries Voted one of the top 100 most influential public relations people in the 20th century by PR Week. Savvy business people and investors around the world are asking, what do we have to do today to prosper tomorrow, next month, next year? That's the question that started Al Ries and Theodore Kinni working on Future Focus, the book that answers the question: what will it take to succeed in business in the next century and new millennium? They found the answers among twenty-one focused, innovative, and protean companies. Future Focus explores each of these 21 companies in turn. Each company is introduced by a quote from one of its leaders, an Executive Snapshot that offers a fast insight into the strategic vision of the company. What can you learn from Future Focus? There are many practical business lessons in the book. They revolve around four major themes: 21st century success is focused. Almost all of the Future Focus 21 have flirted with diversification. Almost all have lost money on the outside ventures and are extremely focused as of today. Those that continue to operate outside their core businesses are usually in related businesses and are building a vertically integrated operation. The lesson: Get and stay focused. 21st century success is innovative. The Future Focus 21 are innovators. They are busy searching out original products and services or they are busy introducing existing products and services in markets that have never seen them before. Either way, they are innovators in the marketplace. The lesson: Be Innovative. 21st century success is global. With a single exception, each company in the Future Focus 21 is a global business and is trying to get more global. A well-focused company replaces the urge to diversify its businesses with the drive to diversify its markets. The lesson: Go global. 21st century success has speed bumps. There isn't a single, sustained upward ride in any of the Future Focus histories. Sooner or later, a competitor beats you to the next best thing or the bottom drops out of your customer's market or the whole economy heads south for a breather. The lesson: Be prepared for hard times.

    Customer Reviews:

    1 out of 5 stars Amazing correlation between 2000 boom and Focus companies of this book.......2005-09-02

    The first company authors take up is 3Com. Please check out the stock market curve for 3Com. (take a ten year duration to even out speculations and short surges) What do you see? A spike in 96-97 period and then a bigger spike in 2000. And what after that, the stock keeps going down.
    Now repeat this for Applied Materials, Inc, their second company. What do you see. Again a spike in 2000 and after that a decline.
    Not yet satisfied try Bertelsmann AG – Güterslosh, their third company although it's difficult to find it's stock price charts. But Cisco Systems, their fourth example, is an easy target. Again what do you find. Spike, making you nostalgic ain't it.
    No matter what the funda, in the entire financial history no one has, nor will ever be able to, defy the ultimate acid test i.e. the long term stock price curve.
    I find the correlation between year 2000 and the authors' Focus companies hard to ignore. For every logical conjuncture behind success there is a counter argument. A bunch of salt is recommended.

    5 out of 5 stars Don't let your competitors get a hold of this book.......2000-03-27

    Ries does it again. His no-nonsens approach to marketing rises above the rest in "Future Focus." Ries gets back to the basics of marketing showing how through simple ideas, you can dominate your market. He shows what companies have done to become world class leaders and points out what they usually do that makes them loose their position. This book is a must read for every business owner and executive on the decision making level. Just keep it out of your competitors hands.
    Rebuilding Brand America: What We Must Do to Restore Our Reputation And Safeguard the Future of American Business Abroad
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Perceptive, clear understanding of reality
    • Best book on important topic
    • A major challenge for American business
    • Coping with Anti-Americanism
    • A prescription to start healing our wounded reputation
    Rebuilding Brand America: What We Must Do to Restore Our Reputation And Safeguard the Future of American Business Abroad
    Dick Martin
    Manufacturer: AMACOM/American Management Association
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0814473334

    Book Description

    Anti-American feeling is at an all-time high. Other nations and cultures have singled out our businesses, government, and way of life for harsh scorn, widespread resentment, even violence.

    Rebuilding Brand America is an exploration of anti-Americanism, from its causes and earliest manifestations to current efforts to mitigate it. Martin explains why many of these efforts failed, and reviews the many prescriptions formulated by more than a dozen task forces. He then bases his recommendations on the best practices of leading companies, and on his own 32-year career in public relations and brand management.

    Rebuilding Brand America features exclusive interviews with journalists, media and PR professionals, and executives from global icons like McDonald's, Wal-Mart, and FedEx, and analyzes the groundbreaking work of thought leaders such as:

    * Pollster John Zogby, whose insights into the Muslim world continue to inform policy in the Middle East
    * Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria, whose essay on the 9/11 attacks shed new light on the Islamic mind
    * Keith Reinhard, president of Business for Diplomatic Action, a non-partisan business group organized to fight anti-Americanism by addressing its causes in U.S. business practice

    Based on a deep understanding of anti-Americanism's roots, Rebuilding Brand America is a call to action that will help U.S.-based companies prosper in global markets.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Perceptive, clear understanding of reality.......2007-05-24

    Dick Martin's book is a very interesting, almost "prismatic" overview of the multiple issues driving anti-american sentiment in the world today. When first confronted with this type of challenge, American Business either searches for "scapegoats" or attempts to derive comfort from it's growing overseas profits, not seeing the warning signs of what's to come.

    I've just seen that Dick Martin will be running a webcast on this topic with the American Management Association on June 20th. Check out their website for more information.

    5 out of 5 stars Best book on important topic.......2007-05-12

    Several books have failed to see, or make, the points that Dick Martin develops in his clear, logical and hopeful book about the future of U.S. diplomacy and the role of American business. Martin draws from long and useful experience at AT&T for insights that make this especially valuable to people in business and business communications.

    5 out of 5 stars A major challenge for American business.......2007-03-30

    Can there be a more daunting challenge than restoring positive perceptions of the United States abroad? With 23 decades behind it, America in the 21st century faces a new and different landscape with a mix of confidence and uncertainty not unlike that of any young adult. Yet the gulfs among America and other nations seem to grow larger, while the confidence borne of common values appears to be evaporating in an increasingly fragmented world. Even among the English-speaking peoples, today's USA frequently stands alone.

    Brilliantly researched, gracefully written and compellingly argued, Dick Martin's latest book taps a lifetime of experience in communications and attitudes to present a crisp summary of what went wrong, what's under way, and what might yet work. Throughout it all, Martin underscores the central point that this is more than an issue for pollsters and pundits. American business bears a significant responsibility for today's condition and faces a largely untapped opportunity for positive action.

    5 out of 5 stars Coping with Anti-Americanism.......2007-03-10

    Dick Martin's book clearly drives home to the reader the problems that the US faces due to the widespread anti-Americanism sentiment that currently prevails throughout the world. The book is well-balanced, thoroughly researched and timely. He offers a plan to prod government and business to begin the long, difficult process to reverse the loss of prestige and influence that haunts the US today.
    This important book should be read and taken seriously by people throughout government and business. I highly recommend it as a must read.

    5 out of 5 stars A prescription to start healing our wounded reputation.......2007-02-25

    As a fellow practitioner at a competing major telecommunications company,I witnessed firsthand Dick Martin's corporate PR skills. His latest book is must reading for anyone who understands the stakes involved in healing our nation's wounded reputation. Martin's diagnosis makes the case for why business should get involved, showing how global companies are better positioned than government to help. His holistic presciption for a new kind of American public diplomacy includes strategies for engagement as well as information. From his corporate experience, Martin understands that effective communication requires more than advertising or packaging or spinning messages. Successful companies -- and nations -- "live their brands" and do whatever is necessary to protect them.
    The Future of Capitalism: How Today's Economic Forces Shape Tomorrow's World
    Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    • Amazing and Fascinating Book !!
    • Provocative insights into the past and future of capitalism
    • Good, but has some absurds and is a little outdated
    • Be wary of an author scorned.
    • Packed With Knowledge!
    The Future of Capitalism: How Today's Economic Forces Shape Tomorrow's World
    Lester C. Thurow
    Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0140263284

    Amazon.com

    Professor Thurow once again demonstrates his insights into the global economy and a genius for pithy explanation in this masterful analysis of how the falling of Communism is leading, as inexorably as Continental Drift, to a new form of Capitalism. He identifies the challenges -- and opportunities -- in the shape-shifting of the world economy. His analyses of the rise of the capital of brainpower over traditional physical capital will be of especial interest to Internet users such as yourself. But the entire book is essential reading to anyone interested in our socioeconomic future. Highly recommended!

    Book Description

    Recognized around the world for his views and analysis of the global economy, Lester Thurow presents a provocative look at the future of capitalism. In this New York Times Bestseller, he identifies the many factors responsible for the enormous changes occurring around the globe: the rise of man-made brain-power industries, changing demographics, the impact of a global economy, the lack of a dominant world leader, and the conversion of the communist world to capitalism. With this knowledge, and asserting that the future holds great opportunity for those equipped to weather the storm of change, Thurow helps to chart a course for survival and success in the 21st century.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Amazing and Fascinating Book !!.......2007-07-22

    read capter 11 " economic Instability " , you would have escaped from being hit badly by 1997 " Asian Financial Crisis ".....

    4 out of 5 stars Provocative insights into the past and future of capitalism.......2007-05-08

    Lester C. Thurow in his book The Future of Capitalism provides a number of provocative insights into the past and future of capitalism. Thurow offers explanations about many factors that are causing global political and economic change. These include the shift to knowledge-based industries, large shifts in demographics resulting from immigration, the end of communism, the global economy, and the lack of a dominant economic, political or military power. Global change is occurring at a rapid pace. Thurow's insights help provide a viewpoint of the potential course for capitalism during the next century.

    Thurow recognizes that an emerging world economy is being driven by a shift to knowledge workers or "man-made brainpower industries", decreasing transportation costs, and a rapidly improving communications network. This enables work to flow wherever it can be done at the lowest cost. Second and third world workers perform low-skilled tasks at a fraction of the cost of low-skilled workers in developed parts of the world. Knowledge workers readily travel and communicate to manage work regardless of where it is done. Geographic boundaries are breaking down and David Ricardo's theories about comparative advantage are taking on added meaning. National governments struggle to control what are now global enterprises that can readily set up shop wherever the political and regulatory climate is most favorable to their business. What is less clear is Thurow's analysis of the trade deficit in relation to his view on the global economy. He thinks that the U.S. trade deficit is a problem and that we cannot continue to run a trade deficit, which seems true. Thurow proposes, as a solution, some form of ration coupon with Japan, which appears to be protectionism for the U.S. economy. Thurow's view of a global economy seems conflicted by his concern over maintaining national economies through protectionism.

    Thurow also provides an intriguing view of the future where no dominant economic, political, or military power is able to regulate economic actions. Who will be able to regulate corporate activities and provide for fair competition in the future? Who will be able to deal with externalities? Will we end up with mammoth international monopolies and oligopolies? These are just some of the questions that arise when considering Thurow's view of the future. Thurow provides few answers to these questions. Instead, he paints bleak pictures of a depressing return to the Dark Ages.

    Thurow offers several other interesting and controversial insights. He declares that inflation is a "distinct volcano" and that Greenspan (note that Thurow's book was published in 1996) should not be overly preoccupied with controlling it. He claims that capitalism has no mechanism to ensure research and investment for the long-term, which could lead to stagnation without government involvement. He offers interesting views on the aging demographic and our ability to absorb the associated social costs by what amounts to a transfer of wealth to an elderly population. Thurow foreshadows a rise in religious fundamentalism driven by uncertainty in economic and social systems.

    The Future of Capitalism is more relevant today than when it was published in 1996. Globalization has increased driven by political changes and technological advances. Many of the issues and insights raised by Thurow around demographics, immigration, falling wages, and the trade deficit are a more disruptive and destabilizing force in the current world economy. A big question remains. Will capitalism prevail because there is no other "ism" out there as an alternate social construct; or, will capitalism ultimately be replaced by another social construct as the invisible hand of capitalism fails on a global scale?

    4 out of 5 stars Good, but has some absurds and is a little outdated.......2006-06-28

    I read this book here in Brazil.This book has many good facts and is good to read.About Cingapore's pension sistem, the author is 100% agree.About old times Bismark's sistem(used in Brazil, USA,etc.) the author tells us that, these sistems are doomed to be a failure in the future.
    This book also has some absurds.On chapter 7, the author claims that, any other country in world's history was so powerfull as USA, in 1990 decade.Nonsense.Between 1945 and 1949, USA had atomic monopoly and his GDP was bigger than all rest of the world together.Again, also on chapter 7, this book claims that after the end of USSR, the oil from the gulf now isn't essential.Nonsense.Persian Gulf has about 65% of oil in the world.And we must know that there's a link between oil price in the world.If the oil's price exported by Brazil rises, than the oil's price from Algeria, Angola and Iran will, also rises too.
    Another reviewer of this book claims that this book is USSR's friend.Nonsense.Even forgeting the genocide of about 70,000,000 people made by eugenicists/communists such as Lenin, Trotsky, Lazar Kaganovich,etc. ,this book never claims that socialism is a way to help any country, in his development.Also I must tell you, that this book, also is a little outdated today.

    1 out of 5 stars Be wary of an author scorned........2004-06-08

    It is so sad how wrong someone can be proven over and over again and still, he/she is rewarded, called a genius and is allowed to teach our youth. Here is a quote from the author: "Can economic command significantly... accelerate the growth process? The remarkable performance of the Soviet Union suggests that it can... Today the Soviet Union is a country whose economic achievements bear comparison with those of the United States." This was in 1989, just shortly before the Societ Union collapsed. Unfortunately, being this wrong in economics gives one awards and allows you to teach college students while being described a genius. Sad. Mr. Thurow may be a 'genius', but geniuses can be wrong too.

    5 out of 5 stars Packed With Knowledge!.......2004-05-06

    This is a particularly important book for two types of people to read: those who believe economic instability and inequality will lead capitalism to implode (they're wrong); and those who believe the economic engine of capitalism is running just fine, especially in the United States, and simply needs to be left alone by meddling do-gooders, thank you (they are wrong too). Neither view is realistic. Lester C. Thurow is quite well suited to explain why. He is practically a brand name on national television, known for making more sense of the economy than anyone could possibly expect from a dean at MIT. Although Thurow wrote this book in 1996, the trade deficit, the skewed distribution of revenue and the disparity between rich and poor continue to demonstrate the validity of his conclusion that fewer and fewer can get more and more for only so long. We highly recommend his insightful analysis, wishing only that Thurow proposed deeper solutions for the problems he so ably diagnosed.
    The Future of the Space Industry: Private Enterprise and Public Policy
    Average customer rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    • HORRIBLE CHOICE!!
    • Very Good Analysis
    • If you can read it, my hat's off
    The Future of the Space Industry: Private Enterprise and Public Policy
    Roger Handberg
    Manufacturer: Quorum Books
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0899309267

    Book Description

    The space industry is entering a new era of expanded freedom of opportunity to compete unencumbered by government agendas. This freedom carries a price. The political subsidy culture of the past is dying, so failure is not only possible, but likely for the unprepared and inefficient. For more casual observers, the overview of the currents in space commerce history will be invaluable in identifying space-related economic opportunities and will enable those more experienced in the field to reevaluate their future. The author informs the public of the potential that exists in space-related industries, while making it clear to practitioners that there is a new imperative coming into existence with the decline and marginality of NASA in commercial space. The future economic potential is projected in ways not always perceived by those immersed in day-to-day operations.

    Customer Reviews:

    1 out of 5 stars HORRIBLE CHOICE!!.......2007-03-19

    THIS BOOK IS TERRIBLE TO READ. YET IT MAY HAVE VITAL INFO REGARDING SPACE, I WOULD RATHER EAT A BOX OF NAILS THAN TO TRY TO READ THIS BOOK AGAIN.

    The text is too small and it's literally a struggle to try and sit to read the information. I couldn't get past chapter 2 until I finally gave up on the book.

    Good luck if you are required to purchase this book.

    SAM

    4 out of 5 stars Very Good Analysis.......2006-03-25

    Handberg's vision of the future is more accurate than not. This book is written for the graduate student and can be daunting for readers with short attention spans. This is a must for anyone interested in learning more about policy. Every politician or business entrepreneur interested in space or forming space policy for a nation or company should read this book.

    1 out of 5 stars If you can read it, my hat's off.......2003-03-29

    I almost made it through the first chapter of this book. I had to stop when the combined effects of bad writing, bad grammar, and bad punctuation just made it too painful to go on. If you want a book which is readable (i.e., written with a good command of English), find another book.
    Supermarket Wars: The Future of Global Food Retailing
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Supermarket Wars: The Future of Global Food Retailing
      Andrew Seth , and Geoffrey Randall
      Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

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      ASIN: 1403919100
      Release Date: 2005-11-10

      Book Description

      Leading international food retailers have in recent years expanded beyond national boundaries and started to operate on a global scale. This book describes the current state of the industry, looking in detail at the main competitors worldwide and analysing the factors underlying their successes and failures.

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