Product Description
Fully updated to include the most recent developments in economic thought, this new edition explores the work of fifty major economists, from seventeenth century philosophers such as John Lock to contemporary practitioners like Joseph Stiglitz. Other entries include:

DT Thomas Munn
DT Joan Robinson
DT Amartya Sen
DT Daniel Kahneman
DT Robert E. Lucas

Fifty Major Economists contains brief biographical information on each featured economist, as well as references to their major works, guides to further reading, and a glossary of terms. This book is an important and accessible resource for students of economics. ... Read more

Product Description
Recent market turbulence makes it abundantly clear how important it is to understand the key markets. This book is the definitive guide to why different markets exist, how they operate, and how they are interrelated.

Extensively revised and updated, the new Fifth Edition of Guide to Financial Markets brings the reader up to date with the latest developments in financial instruments and provides a clear and incisive guide to this increasingly complex world.

With chapters on the markets that deal with money, foreign exchange, equities, bonds, commodities, futures, options, and other derivatives, this new edition looks at why these markets exist, how they work, and who trades in them, and provides a rundown of the factors that affect prices and rates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The worst good book I have read in a while.............
I actually got almost everything I wanted out of this book, but there were several things I hated about it and that is why I gave it two stars, here are my reasons why...........

1. The book doesn't go into much depth about the interrelated markets, like they might mention that options are available in not just stocks, but bonds, securitized debt, etc.....but the book didn't talk about where to look to find this information, or where to look for more in depth information. The book was meant to be broad, but this was just a bit too broad.

2. References, references, references.......Case in point, there are none, zero, zilch, nodda, didn't reference one single thing in the entire book.

3. The author is such a dry boring writer. He explains something then moves on, doesn't put any personality into anything he writes.

4. The author states things like what he says is fact and doesn't go to any degree to prove it, simple references again would help. I often see authors who have an agenda do this very thing, give details about things with zero support. I don't believe the author did this here, but really how am I(a newbie) to know?

5. And this book really isn't meant for someone that knows nothing about the financial world. There were several times where I had to sit back and say to myself, "Really? That's all the depth you thought was needed? Why didn't you explain in simpler terms or start from a better beginning?" The beginning chapter of this book was hysterically short for an intro book, and should have been way better for the shortness that it is.

6.There was no ending chapter to sum everything up. The author just ends abruptly. The end of the Derivatives chapter comes like all other chapters, then that's the end of the book, and nothing else.

But other than that I am somewhat satisfied. I learned a lot of things I did not know, and I imagine that because of the lack of reference material that this is common knowledge and not to be argued with by the experts. That would be the only reason not to have references, because you are stating the obvious and nothing controversial. I was happy to learn that you can create a bond for almost anything, and there are even bonds that last until you die which I would love to have. Cool stuff like that is what kept me interested long enough to finish the book. I don't know if other books that cover the broad range read like this, but so far this would be the best broad range book I have read as it is the first I have read.

Good For What It Is
"The Economist Guide to Financial Markets" provides a readable overview of the main financial instruments and the markets in which they trade.Terms are clearly defined and helpful examples are given.The book will be of no value to readers looking for investment strategies.However, it is a great source of background information for students or ordinary readers trying to make sense of financial developments reported in the media.

Insightful book for beginners of Advance Financial Management
Book covers theoretical aspect of many capital market terms and terminologies in great theoretical depth. Is one of the good books to start studies in advance capital & financial management.

Good primer
This is a great place to start for someone without an economics or finance background. The author does a good job of giving the big picture of the financial markets. I found the chapters on equities, options, and derivatives to be especially interesting. The last chapter could have been broken into 2 chapters IMO, since there is so much material there. The book is not biased to the US or any particular market. The only negatives are the lack of any mathematics, and the sometimes excessive use of facts and figures.

Basic, but detailed
An introduction to the financial markets. The book covers most financial instruments and goes into some detail about each type. It isn't US nor European centric. Well worth the price as most of The Economist series are. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is intended as a textbook for a first-year Ph. D. course in mathematics for economists and as a reference for graduate students in economics. It provides a self-contained, rigorous treatment of most of the concepts and techniques required to follow the standard first-year theory sequence in micro and macroeconomics. The topics covered include an introduction to analysis in metric spaces, differential calculus,comparative statics, convexity, static optimization, dynamical systems and dynamic optimization. The bookincludes a large number of applications to standard economic models and over two hundred fully worked-out problems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Good for the right audience.
This book is good for the right audience.This book is not for someone with little knowledge of mathematics.I would only recommend this book for someone who has had multivariable calculus, linear algebra and differential equations as an undergraduate.A course in real analysis, though not necessary, will also provide a degree of comfort with the abstract mathematics and proofs contained in the book.If you already have the background, then the book is great.The preliminaries section includes everything you need to know about vector spaces and metric space topology to understand the rest of the book.It gives a good treatment of constrained optimization and dynamical systems.Some reviewers have criticized the book for being too theoretical and abstract.The book is theoretical and abstract, but theory and abstraction have their place.Again, this is not for the raw newbie, but rather for someone who wants to upgrade their hands on concrete knowledge to a greater level of generality and depth of understanding.The only truly bad thing about this book is the large number of typos. That's why I have the book four and not five stars.If this is corrected in a future edition, then the book will merit five stars.

Ambivalent
I found this book to be overkill for the Chicago Ph.D. courses other than econometrics. Proofs are emphasized to the point of neglecting examples, and are not terribly lucid. The book would seem difficult to read anyhow other than as a reference on the rare occasion where you need a very rigorous definition of a given mathematical process (this is how I have used it). Good to have on the shelf since it is the standard bearer in the field, but Simon and Blume will give you everything you need if you are looking to prepare broadly. The few omitted items in constrained optimization will be taught to you in the course of your studies anyhow!

Comprehensive, specially for a Penn PD in Economics
Very good book to have if you plan to be an economist!

Great service
The book got there on due date and in perfect condition. Great service.

A good overview
Mathematical economics has been around for about 175 years, although as a discipline it has only been recognized for about five decades. Professional economists have had various levels of confidence in its validity and applicability, and mathematical economists have been criticized for the esoteric nature of the mathematics they deploy and some have been ostracized from academic departments for this very reason. This book emphasizes the mathematical tools, these being primarily the theory of optimization and dynamical systems, but the author does find time to discuss applications. Some of these could be classified as "classical" applications, but some are very contemporary in their scope and intersect the work done in financial engineering.

Part 1 of the book introduces the reader to the necessary background in real analysis, topology, differential calculus, and linear algebra. All of this mathematics is straightforward and can be found in many books.

In chapter 5, the author considers static economic models, which are described by collections of parametrized systems of equations. The equations are dependent on parameters describing the environment and `endogenous' variables. The goal is to find the values of the endogenous variables at equilibrium, and to find out if the equilibrium solutions are unique. In addition, it is interest to find out how the solution set changes when the parameters are changed. This is what the author calls `comparative statics'. Linear models are considered first, their analysis being amenable to the techniques of linear and multilinear algebra. The comparative statics for linear models is straightforward, with the shift in equilibrium as a parameter is change readily calculated. The comparative statics of nonlinear models involves the use of the implicit function theorem, and the author derives a formula for doing comparative statics in differentiable models. The discussion here, involving concepts such as transversality, critical points, regular values, and genericity, should be viewed as a warm-up to a more advanced treatment using differential topology.

The author studies static optimization in chapter 7, with the postulate of rationality assumed throughout. This allows the study of the behavior of economic agents to be reduced to a constrained optimization problem. The techniques of nonlinear programming are used to find solutions to the constrained optimization problem. Throughout this chapter one sees discussion of the ubiquitous `agent' who is embedded in a collection of possible environments, and is able to carry out a certain collection of actions.

The author finally gets to economic applications in chapter 8, wherein the author studies the behavior of a single agent under a set of restrictions imposed on it by its environment. This rather simplistic study is then generalized to the case of many interacting agents who are taken to be rational. The concept of `equilibrium', so entrenched in economic theory and economic modeling, makes its appearance here. In a condition of equilibrium, no agent has an incentive to change its behavior, and the actions of each individual are mutually compatible. Some of the usual concepts of equilibrium are discussed in the chapter, such as Walrasian equilibrium in exchange economies, and Nash equilibrium in game theory. The (subjective) preferences of consumers are modeled by binary relations and differentiable utility functions. The differentiability allows the techniques of chapter 7 to be used. The author asks the reader to work through some examples of `imperfect' competition at the end of the chapter.

After a straightforward review of dynamical systems in chapters 9 and 10, the author discusses applications of dynamical systems in chapter 11. He begins with a discussion of a dynamic IS-LM model, using assumptions on the evolution of the money supply, the formation of expectations, and price dynamics. This model consists of two first-order ordinary differential equations, and the author studies its fixed-point structure via a standard phase-space analysis. This analysis allows the author to study the effect of a change in parameters, such as change in the rate of money creation, i.e. the effects of a certain monetary policy. Also discussed are `perfect-foresight models', which address the difficult issue of boundary conditions in economic models based on dynamical systems. Two of these models are discussed, one is a stock price model based on the no-arbitrage principle from finance, and the other is a model of exchange-rate determination. The stock price model is the most interesting discussion in the book. It requires one to specify how expectations are formed, and, depending on how this is done, some very unexpected results occur. For example, if the agents have adaptive expectations, the author shows that the forecast error is predictable, and that agents who understand the structure of the model will have an incentive to deviate from the predicted behavior. This behavior on the part of the agents will invalidate the theory since the agents will have an incentive to compute the trajectory of prices, contrary to the assumption of the model. The author concludes that this is in direct conflict with the assumption that individuals are rational and maximize utility, i.e. that in a world without uncertainty, adaptive expectations are inconsistent with the assumption of rationality. The author avoids this problem by assuming that `perfect foresight' holds for the agents, i.e. the agents form expectations that are consistent with the structure of the model. He shows that the assumption of perfect foresight eliminates the inconsistency that was found in the adaptive expectations model. In the perfect foresight model, every agent uses the correct model to predict prices, and no agent has any incentive to act differently. The author then uses this model to study the response of share prices to a change in the tax rate on dividends. The rest of the chapter discusses neoclassical growth models and the software language Mathematica is introduced as a tool for solving nonlinear differential equations.

I did not read the last two chapters of the book, which cover dynamic optimization and its applications, and so I will omit their review. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Know your market: `Bringing it all home to Kath and Kim'
This book is fun, and informative. It could well be just the book to read on a flight as you take Mr Harcourt's advice to `Go forth and export!'The book has a particular Australian focus but many of the points are relevant to those seeking to understand the dynamics of international business success, and the delicate balance between art, science and culture.

I enjoyed the snapshots of other countries and the insights into what appears to work in a dynamic world where relationships can be as important as formal country to country agreements. Custom, culture and presence are each important in many markets, and effective relationships take time to build.I am delighted to know that Tim Tams are kosher, and pleased to read that we export them to Israel.I am equally delighted to read that we export Billabong and Rip Curl (surfwear) to Europe - including France.

Mr Harcourt combines humour, simple but effective explanation with comments by business leaders, government officials and others involved in the world of exports. Interviewing Megan Gale in Milan and watching Sachin Tendulkar building an innings in Mumbai are important, but using the characters of `Kath and Kim' to explain the working of an export market is simply brilliant.And fun as well. Throw in the Airport Economist's ten commandments and a number of interesting websites and economics appears much simpler.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Excellent snapshot of current economies
Tim is an amazing author. Very engaging and sharp mind, with fresh & juicy humor.
This book gives you a most up-to-date snapshot of countries' economies and quality of life from a well traveled author. ... Read more

Product Description
Fusfeld's clear writing style and explanations make The Age of the Economist accessible to, and appropriate for economists and non-economists alike. Intended for many introductory courses, this short text chronicles the development of modern economics through discussions of the major schools of thought and through biographical sketches of key figures. It demonstrates the relevance of basic economic ideas to the great debates of our own times, and it emphasizes how events, ideologies, and changing economic institutions influence the relationship between economic theory and policy. The ninth edition has been updated throughout, and chapter 15, "The New Economy," brings readers to the 21st century through a discussion of technology, free trade, and globalization. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent introductory account of the history of economic thought
The history of economic thought has its fair share of textbooks that cater for introductory studies. Fusfeld's "The Age of the Economist" is one of these texts. Certainly, it is a close substitute for Robert Heilbroner's world-conquering "The Worldly Philosophers". Though not quite as good as Heilbroner in the story-telling department, Fusfeld is better in the area of breadth. "The Age of the Economist" covers a wider range of thinkers right up to the present. Also following Heilbroner, it makes an admirable attempt at fusing together the intellectual, sociological and economic influences shaping the thought of various individuals, schools and movements through time. This is a difficult, but essential task to perform in an introductory text, not least because it impresses upon the uninitiated the importance of taking account of the many and various influences upon the history of economic thought. This is something that is, sadly and, in my opinion, inexcusably neglected in more advanced texts. (Such texts should be properly entitled "Histories of Economic THEORY" rather than "Histories of Economic THOUGHT".) Anyway, Fusfeld does a good job in crafting an introductory history of economic thought text and includes a valuable bibliographical essay, thus enabling the curious reader to delve into the subject in greater depth.

Neat Little Introduction
The history of economic thought has its fair share of textbooks that cater for introductory studies. Fusfeld's "The Age of the Economist" is one of these texts. Certainly, it is a close substitute for RobertHeilbroner's world-conquering "The Worldly Philosophers". Thoughnot quite as good as Heilbroner in the story-telling department, Fusfeld isbetter in the area of breadth. "The Age of the Economist" coversa wider range of thinkers right up to the present. Also followingHeilbroner, it makes an admirable attempt at fusing together theintellectual, sociological and economic influences shaping the thought ofvarious individuals, schools and movements through time. This is adifficult, but essential task to perform in an introductory text, not leastbecause it impresses upon the uninitiated the importance of taking accountof the many and various influences upon the history of economic thought.This is something that is, sadly and, in my opinion, inexcusably neglectedin more advanced texts. (Such texts should be properly entitled"Histories of Economic THEORY" rather than "Histories ofEconomic THOUGHT".) Anyway, Fusfeld does a good job in crafting anintroductory history of economic thought text and includes a valuablebibliographical essay, thus enabling the curious reader to delve into thesubject in greater depth. ... Read more

Product Description
The ultimate resource for understanding and interpreting important economic figures

Economic indicators are increasingly complicated to compute and comprehend. Yet in today's challenging economic environment, economic indicators are also more important than ever. This highly accessible seventh edition of the Guide to Economic Indicators presents the complicated subject of economic indicators in a conversational tone, helping readers to quickly gain an understanding of economic indicators, including why they're important, how to interpret them, and their reliability in predicting future economic performance. The book

• Describes how economic indicators can be manipulated to demonstrate almost any business cycle
• Examines how GDP, invisible balances, the terms of trade, and unemployment are used to interpret economic data
• Includes over ninety tables and charts

Fully updated and revised, the Guide to Economic Indicators, 7th Edition is an invaluable resource for anyone searching for a clear explanation of the world's underlying economic realities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Nice handy guide
I wish I would have had it during Macroeconomics class for a reference.

A reference guide
I expected a guide that would assist in determining where we were in the business cycle. This wasn't really it. The book is structured more like an encyclopedia - analyzing each indicator in detail and in isolation. A fine addition to anyone's economic reference books, but disappointed me by failing to treat the economy as an organic whole.

If only economics were that easy
True to the style of The Economist, this book makes everything seem easier than it really is. However, for people who spend too much time thinking about economic issues, this is actually rather refreshing, much like a cold beer after a long day's work.

Some examples: "In the long term, the growth in economic output depends on the number of people working and output per worker (productivity)" (Page 41); Or "In general, the more optimistic consumers are, the more likely they are to spend money. This boosts consumer spending and economic output" (Page 93)...

...One begins to yearn for the days where economics was more of an explanatory and less a mathematical science.

The guide is divided into a number of chapters discussing issues and examples related to
- How economic activity is calculated, and what the main indicators GDP/GNP/NNI capture and do not capture, as well as what changes in these indicators or their components mean.
- Employment indicators such as employment by sector or the unemployment rate
- Balance of payments and fiscal indicators, such as tax revenue or budget deficit
- Consumer indicators, such as disposable income or consumer confidence and their significance
- Investment and savings indicators, such as investment intentions or sales/inventory ratios
- Business indicators, including business conditions, auto sales, construction orders and other common stats
- Exchange rates and financial market indicators, such as interest rates and money supply.
- Prices and wages, like the effect of oil price changes, among others

Coverage of the most common and widely available indicators is fairly comprehensive. Given the simplicity of the book, it is better to have a certain level of economic knowledge and opinion to be able to put the content in context. Not much different to reading The Economist, really.

A good reference guide for understanding economic indicators
The book itself will be of great use for those analysts who evaluatecountry risk analysis. Economic indicators sometimes tend to behard tounderstand, but this guide makes them easy to comprehend and relate to eachother.

A good purchase
As the title says, this book can help you make sense of economic indicators.The more you know, the easier it is for you to understand the economical aspects of society, and this seemed to add a lot more to myknowledge, and it clarified other thoughts. ... Read more

Product Description
With contributions from leading brand experts around the world, this valuable resource delineates the case for brands (financial value, social value, etc.) and looks at what makes certain brands great. It covers best practices in branding and also looks at the future of brands in the age of globalization.  

Although the balance sheet may not even put a value on it, a company’s brand or its portfolio of brands is its most valuable asset. For well-known companies it has been calculated that the brand can account for as much as 80 percent of their market value.  

This book argues that because of this and because of the power of not-for-profit brands like the Red Cross or Oxfam, all organisations should make the brand their central organising principle, guiding every decision and every action. As well as making the case for brands and examining the argument of the anti-globalisation movement that brands are bullies which do harm, this second edition of Brands and Branding provides an expert review of best practice in branding, covering everything from brand positioning to brand protection, visual and verbal identity and brand communications. Lastly, the third part of the book looks at trends in branding, branding in Asia, especially in China and India, brands in a digital world and the future for brands.  

Written by 19 experts in the field, Brands and Branding sets out to provide a better understanding of the role and importance of brands, as well as a wealth of insights into how one builds and sustains a successful brand. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great Survey of Branding
This was a great read.I have read it twice and I expect to revisit it several more times.I found the book very helpful.Each chapter focused on a different area and written by a different subject matter expert.It is definitely worth the time and money.

A string of articles pieced together to form a book on brands and branding. Includes some nice nuggets of information.

Not a bad book. It was OK. The articles (oh, I mean chapters) were well written. Each had a built-in conclusion so it was easy to get a feel for the book before reading it cover to cover. And the coverage of brands and branding was pretty good. We first were given some thoughts about the case for brands (chapts 1-5), then the best practices in branding (chapts 6-11), and finally the future of brands (chapts 12-18). Included were the following chapters and the authors that wrote them:

1. Introduction [Rita Clifton]
2. What is a brand? [Tom Blackett]
3. The financial value of brands [Jan Lindemann]
4. The social value of brands [Giles Gibbons]
5. What makes a great brand? [Jez Frampton]
6. Brand strategy [Iain Ellwood]
7. Brand experience [Shaun Smith]
8. Visual & verbal identity [Tony Allen & John Simmons]
9. Brand communications [Paul Feldwick]
10. The public relations perspective on branding [Deborah Bowker]
11. Brand protection [Allan Poulter]
12. Globalization & brands [Sameena Ahmad]
13. Branding in Asia [Jonathan Chajet]
14. From elephant to tiger: Brands & branding in India [Max Raison]
15. Branding places & nations [Simon Anholt]
16. Brand 2.0: Brands in a digital world [Andy Hobsbawm]
17. An alternative perspective on brands: Markets & morals [Deborah Doane]
18. The future of brands [Rita Clifton]

I would have liked the book better if chapters 13 to 15 had been left out. And I wish there had been more coverage of the topic that was touched upon in Chapter 16. The book felt more like a string of articles merely pieced together rather than a real book. It seems to be a trend nowadays for some "author" to have an idea for a book, get together some contributors to write the majority of the book for them, and then write an intro and conclusion and then claim to be an author. I wish the author had used the contributions as research for her book and then written the whole thing so it read like a book. She could have acknowledged all the contributors in the acknowledgement section of the book.

All in all, if you have an interest in brands, then consider reading this book. There are some good nuggets of information included. And although the price of admission to read it is kind of steep, some might consider it somewhat reasonable for the 288 pages and what you get. 4 stars!

Extraordinary collection of examples, facts and factoids
Taken together, the book demionstrates how leading companies are ceasing to be collections of physical capital (Adam Smith's land, labor, and capital), and becoming mental constructs that represent the characteristics of human beings:brands can be trustworthy or not, creative or stable, leading-edge or traditional, conservative or liberal, male or female, and so on.Companies and their brands become complexes of embodied characteristics, as complex as any individual.These qualities become the promise the brand makes to the consumer.As long as the brand lives up to the promise, customers are retained, and so are profits.But if the company violates its brand promises, it betrays its customers and begins to lose them.This book comes at this from many directions, and lacks a clear comprehensive approach, but it is a fascinating sampler.

Expert on branding explains the big names
This anthology, edited by Rita Clifton and John Simmons with Sameena Ahmad, contains an abundance of information about branding. In fact, with 17 contributors, different experts repeat the same information more than once, further emphasizing and validating these points. For example, several contributors note the social value of brands; later, an entire chapter covers the same topic. Some sections delve into the material more deeply than others, but much of it is sophisticated enough to appeal to the most dedicated brand specialist. The book includes discussions of branding esoterica such as the distinction between verbal and visual identities, and the role of brands in a global marketplace. Despite the repetition and the inclusion of some dated studies, we brand this book as an important one for anyone concerned with branding, especially with its new role as a source of financial value.

Unique, Refreshing, and Informative Perspectives
This book offers a variety of perspectives on brands and branding from several dozen different experts on marketing. I especially enjoyed reading it because most of these experts draw upon experiences outside of the United States. True, core concepts have global relevance but strategies and tactics to create, increase, and leverage brand equity necessarily vary from one marketplace to another. For example, Sameena Ahmad discusses "Globalisation and brands" (Chapter 11), Kim Faulkner examines "Branding in South-East Asia" (Chapter 13), and Simon Anholt offers some valuable insights concerning "Branding places and nations" (Chapter 14). As Patrick Barwise correctly notes in the Preface, if top managers are becoming brand stewards, they must address issues such as:

*Brand measurement, accountability, and understanding
*Brand support
*The brand owner's social and ethical stance
*Making the experience of buying and using brand consistently deliver on the promises made for it

Re this last issue, there is often a substantial gap between promises and performance, especially insofar as service brands are concerned. Hence the importance of eliminating that gap and thereby earn and then sustain consumer trust through performance of the highest possible quality. Once again I am reminded of Warren Buffett's observation that price is what we charge for what we sell but value is what a customer thinks it's worth. The experts whose counsel is included in this volume can, together, help their shared reader to gain a better understanding of issues such as those cited previously as well as (in Barwise's words) "the social and financial value of brands, current best practice in branding, and some of the emerging issues around this important, complex, and ever fascinating topic."

Among the countless value-added benefits provided in this book are various checklists which are included within several of the individual essays. For example, those which suggest the financial uses of brand valuation (page 43), methodologies for brand positioning (page 81), conclusions which can be made about visual and verbal identity and their relationship to brands in the future (pages 125-126), and questions to be addressed insofar as brand protection is concerned (page 168) as well as a recap of the main themes and arguments previously provided in previous chapters (pages 227-229). Of course, it remains for each reader to determine the nature and extent of relevance of the book's 15 chapters. There are many outstanding books on the subject of brands and branding and this is one of the best.

Those who share my high regard for it are urged to check out Levitt's The Marketing Imagination, Paul Nunes and Brian Johnson's Mass Affluence: Seven New Rules of Marketing to Today's Consumer, Alina Wheeler's Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands, Harvard Business Review on Brand Management (The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series), Marc Gobe's Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People, Lynn Parker and F. Joseph Lepla's Integrated Branding: Becoming Brand-Driven Through Company-Wide Action, Simon Anholt's Brand New Justice: The Upside of Global Branding, and Matthew W. Ragas and B.J. Bueno's The Power of Cult Branding: How 9 Magnetic Brands Turned Customers Into Loyal Followers (and Yours Can, Too). ... Read more

Product Description
Business failure is not limited to start ups. In America alone between 1990 and 2000, there were over 6.3 million business start-ups and over 5.7 million business shut-downs.

Risk of failure can be greatly reduced through effective organisational design that encourages high performance and adaptability to changing circumstances.  Organisation design is a straightforward business process but curiously managers rarely talk about it and even more rarely take steps to consciously design or redesign their business for success. This new Economist guide explores the five principles of effective organisation design, which are that it must be:

• driven by the business strategy and the operating context (not by a new IT system,  a new leader wanting  to make an impact, or some other non-business reason).
• involve holistic thinking about the organisation
• be for the future rather than for now
• not to be undertaken lightly—it is resource intensive even when going well
• be seen as a fundamental process not a repair job. (Racing cars are designed and built. They are then kept in good repair.)

Customer Reviews (5)

Outstanding practical guide
I am taking Organizational Theory for my PhD and find most of the books so abstract that using them in a real world setting is impractical and unpragmatic (not to mention so boring that I want to light myself on fire). I then read this book on a recommendation from someone in my class and I am very grateful to her for it. Organizational theory is a difficult subject to apply, yet the author did an outstanding job proving relevant examples of how to align the different structural, operational, cultural,and strategic elements with the organization mission for the betterment of the organization. If this had been part of the required reading along with the other theoretical books, I am sure that I would have understood much more much earlier in the course.

For the advanced practitioner
I was stuck at the Brussels airport after working with a client, and happened upon this book about the models of organizations.Clearly I was meant to run across it - and it is humbling.Even with my PhD in organizational psychology and consulting for 15 years, I was blown away by the thinking in this book.So many models out there are written for 1980s hierarchical, Theory X worlds, and Stanford presents thinking that will be helpful in guiding us in 2010, not 1980.A few highlights:

- case studies about organizational cultures - and one company's book (pg 26)
- working from a learner mindset, not a judging one #pg 44#
- a tool to evaluate the organizational structure #pg 78#
- a review of a model of influence without authority #pg 201#
- and my very favorite, an explanation of existing organization design models (pg 287)

Guide to Organization Design
Naomi Stanford has done it again! Her work on organization design serves as a useful tool for those of us teaching the subject. The models are very useful and well-researched. The examples she provides, such as the Shackleton expedition, to make her point are enlightening.

I particularly appreciated the Appendix of sources and annotated bibliography. Well done!

Solid take on managing an organizational design project
Naomi Stanford believes that executives pay too little attention to changing their companies' organizational designs, perhaps because such initiatives don't promise high-profile careers. Yet, updating your organization's structure is a vital process that can make your company stronger by unleashing its energy and using its resources more aggressively. This handy publication covers material you might study in a college-level organizational design course. However, it isn't a textbook. Think of this manual as a survey of the subject, with many helpful suggestions and thought-provoking ideas. The writing is compact, a little dry and somewhat jargon-laden. However, if you want to examine what your company needs to consider in a design change project, we recommend this solid resource.

For anyone wondering why changing the org chart didn't make the comapny work better
It's too bad that for most people organizational design equals the org chart.What this means is that the organization has a structure of some kind, but that no thought or care is given to the way the organization functions as an entity.Today, everyone competes with everyone everywhere.Those who are the most poised to deliver all of their energy, maximize the use of their resources, and have a design aligned with their strategy are most likely to win in the mega melee (sometimes called a marketplace).

Of course, business schools teach a lot of different courses on organizational behavior, of which design is a part.However, they also teach courses (often required courses) on managerial accounting and how many companies are limping along without those systems?The author, Naomi Stanford, wisely points out that the reason the activity of designing organizations is neglected is because it is very hard and is not the stuff that builds high profile careers.Yet, neglect of this process weakens, cripples, and then kills many organizations as they come under pressure.

In the first chapter she talks about what organizational design is and is not.She then covers each of these topics in separate chapters: 2) Discussing various design models and approaches. 3) Various approaches to structuring organizations (and how it is only a part of the design).4) How to plan and implement your design change project.5) What measurement of your project might mean and ways to do it.6) The role of Stakeholders in the design process, whether you want them there or not.7) Where to find the leaders to help you in your design project (many of them without formal titles) and what to watch out for from those who might think they will lose out in the change.8) How your group culture will affect your ability to change your organization design.

The last chapter discusses the importance of not trying to build the one fixed perfect design.Rather, the goal should be to build adaptability into the design so the organization can change in order to successfully compete.Stanford calls this the ability to morph.

Of course, the author is a consultant on this subject and works with organizations on the design change projects.This book is a great handbook for anyone thinking about beginning such a project and a good reference for ideas, principles, and suggestions as your work your way through it.
... Read more

Product Description
Throughout history, great philosophers have been answering profound questions about life. But do they know why your socks keep disappearing from the dryer, or how to choose the quickest line at the supermarket? Probably not, but Tim Harford does. . . .

In Dear Undercover Economist, the first collection of his wildly popular Financial Times columns, Tim Harford offers witty, charming, and at times caustic answers to our most pressing concerns–all through the lens of economics. Does money buy happiness? Is “the one” really out there? Can cities be greener than farms? Can you really “dress for success”? When’s the best time to settle down? Harford provides brilliant, hilarious, unexpected, and wise answers to these and other questions. Arranged by topic, easy to read, and hard to put down, Dear Undercover Economist lends an outrageous, compassionate, and indispensable perspective on anything that may irk or ail you–a book well worth the investment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Absolutely brilliant!
"Absolutely brilliant!

Despite the rather gaudy US cover depicted here, this book is a real gem.

Much like Sun Tzu's Art of War that has found multiple uses within the corporate and social stratas of the modern world, this book is as equally relevant.

While many of Tim's references/extracts are comical or abstract at first glance, there are many brilliant observations and relevant concepts that has the potential to help executives and laymen alike. You just need to be open to the lessons he is teaching.

Many a true word said in jest."

funny & quick read --perfect for the plane
funny and quick read. he does not go into a lot of details of why he chooses a certain theory/explanation to express his points, after a while you can anticipate what is he going to say, but that makes it easy and quick to read. you don't need to be major in econ to actually get his points. great for the plane.

A rare miss for Tim Harford
Let me start by saying that I am a big fan of Tim Harford's books; The Undercover Economist and Logic of Life were really interesting, in a vein similar to Freakonomics (to cite a more famous but not-necessarily-better book#.What I enjoyed about those books was that he explained economic and behavioral topics in an informal but entertaining way.

This book is compiled from letters and responses to his articles in the Financial Times, so intersting topics are touched on ("so-and-so showed that people are more likely to ..."), but the format is too cramped to elaborate.

If it is advice you are looking for, do yourself a favor: instead of getting this book, make sure to pick up his other two books instead.

A Fun, Informative Read- I laughed Out Loud Alot

After sitting bleary eyed through many economics classes - I would have bet my life savings that a professional could never have written a fun and informative book. I was wrong.

This is a thinking persons book.Lots of humor interlaced with economic concepts at a pretty deep level

You wont be disappointed

Hopelessly Amused
I really enjoyed this book.A quick read but Harford makes some startling observations about how we live and spend our money. ... Read more

Product Description
The ethical, financial, legal, and fiduciary challenges facing board directors in both the for-profit and nonprofit arenas have increased dramatically in recent years. The resolve of board members to really make a difference and not be wasting precious time and resources is also perhaps higher than ever.

The Essential A-Z Guides are lively, practical resources for business and investment professionals, as well as politicians, public servants, and students. Each book contains hundreds of entries that concisely explain the subject's concept in a handy reference that complements any business library.

The complete series includes these four titles:

Essential Economics
Essential Investment
Essential Negotiation
Essentials for Board Directors ... Read more

Product Description
By focusing on the human side as well as the intellectual dimensions of how economists work and think, this collection of interviews with top economists of the 20th century becomes a startling and lively introduction to the modern world of macroeconomics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

What's Inside An Economist's Mind?
This book can make you fall in love with economics all over again. A collection of interviews with sixteen eminent economists, it presents the attractive face of the field--one rediscovers an economics concerned with improving the human condition by putting to good use tools borrowed from disciplines as diverse as mathematics and psychology.

The book is a labor of love for William Barnett, the editor of the journal Macroeconomic Dynamics in which these interviews originally appeared between 1997 and 2005. Though the interviews were aimed at professional macroeconomists, much of the book is of broader interest. That's because these eminent economists, interviewed by their peers, are often able to describe their complicated work in simple terms, with modesty and humor, and enriched with anecdotes from their lives.

Link to full review: http://www.imf.org/external/np/vc/2008/072508.htm

Overpraised, but good
"Inside the economist's mind" is not a title that will attract readers without some background in economics, nor should it. This collection of interviews is by economists and for economists: there is a fair amount of economic jargon used that will make the book hard to read for laypeople.

Having said that, most of the interviews are entertaining for economists. Getting an author's personal view on well-known ideas makes those ideas come alive, and it is interesting to read about the career paths and choices of famous academics. The selection of people is impressive, although in my personal view (as a micro-economist) there is an overrepresentation of macro-economists, and within this category an exaggerated interest for the rational expectations `revolution' and monetary policy.
For those with other interests, treasures are more limited. There is a great and provocative interview with Robert Aumann that ranges from the existence of God to the foundations of game theory. The interview with János Kornai is great because having started his career on the other side of the iron curtain, he has a different perspective on the discipline. This is welcome, because it turns out that top-economists are a rather incestuous bunch, mostly bred within the top 10 or so departments in the US. This generates a lot of uninteresting institutional insider talk, the summit of which is reached in the useless last chapter in where James Tobin and Bob Shiller argue about the existence or not of a `Yale school' in economic thought, as if anyone cares.

Some reviews talk about the `astonishing revelations' or the 'fabulous storytellers' in this book. Don't get your hopes up, it's still economics, unless they refer to the fact that Cass once said "[...]" to his head of department. The reviewer who calls this "A Beautiful Mind scaled up 16 times" must have read a different book (or did not read ABM).
I would recommend getting this book from the library. Although interesting and occasionally entertaining, there is not too much here that you want to keep for reference. Still, 4 stars for the Aumann interview.

Essential Reading for Economists
This is a collection of interviews commissioned for a journal, Macroeconomic Dynamics. The idea is to gauge the position of the profession by asking the people who invented large swathes of the theory their motivations for doings what they did, when they did it, and how they did it. Readers find eccentric and irascible characters behind some of the major innovations in economic science. I loved this book, and read it cover to cover in a day.

The book purports (pg. xi) to "contain[] unique insights into the thinking of some of the world's most important economists, whose work contributed to the evolution of modern economic thought", and indeed it does.

Scientific biography is a passion of mine, ever since reading Richard Feynman's writings on his life and work. Looking at the path integral method as an undergraduate, you can see how he came up with it (if, in fairness, I didn't really understand it), how startlingly original he was in doing his physics, because that's how he lived his life---he followed different paths as he felt he needed to, and arrived at different destinations that others because of his personality.

So it's great that William Barnett, the editor of Macroeconomic Dynamics, and the co-editor of this book, decided to ask these men these questions.

In future editions of this book and the further volumes to come, I'd love to see a focus on the characters behind different approaches to economics and their reasons for taking contrarian positions to the mainstream---Foley, Nell, Solow and Velupillai (my thesis advisor, in full disclosure), as well as more traditional mainstays of the profession. A focus on economists regarded primariy as great teachers would be great as well, not just the theoretical giants.

The book is a very rare thing---an economic page-turner, like The Worldly Philosopher, Adam's Fallacy, and Freakonomics. The personalities behind the science's blleding edge make for compelling reading.

Bloomberg on the Economy
Thomas Keene has an Amazon Listmania List called "Book Reviews:Must Reads."It links to each of the books in Amazon that he recommends as a "must read," and there currently are eighteen of them on his list.But oddly the Amazon system does not provide reverse links from the Amazon page for each of the recommended books back to his review.

He is the very influential Host of the radio program, "Bloomberg on the Economy."This book is on his list of "must reads."Here is his review:

"Rules are meant to be broken. Samuelson & Barnett goes on the list without a complete read. Sixteen stunning interviews; the candor shocking. But then, this is Samuelson. Taylor interviews Friedman; Blanchard interviews Fischer. You get the must-read picture."

Keene's rule that he says he is breaking is never to put a book on his "must read list" before he has finished reading the book.When he finishes reading this book, as I have, I am sure that he will not change his mind.

I have only one criticism of the book.The stellar endorsement quotations that appear on the back cover are set in a rather small font on a black background.It would seem that the publisher could have found a way to make those quotations more inviting to read.But of course this is not a criticism of what is in the book.

An Early Review
A review of this new book just appeared on the British blog, New Economist, in London. The first line of the review is "Published earlier this week, Inside the Economist's Mind: Conversations with Eminent Economists, has all the hallmarks of an economic bestseller."

I have read the book, and indeed the New Economist is right. What most distinguishes this book is its "no holds barred" revelations and astonishing statements by many of the world's most famous "celebrity" economists, including eight Nobel Laureates, a former Federal Reserve Board chairman, the current Governor of the Bank of Israel, a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, along with other economists of similar importance. This book is filled with inside information from those who know the truth, but had not previously revealed it.

The book contains some unusual photos, such as photos of Franco Modigliani with the Kings of Sweden and Spain and Paul Samuelson with Bill Clinton. ... Read more

Product Description
Stock markets have slumped and soared over time, highlighting the risks and rewards of investing in stocks and bonds. This book provides a clear and lively explanation of the complexities and jargon of the investment world that goes beyond the simple basics.

The Essential A-Z Guides are lively, practical resources for business and investment professionals, as well as politicians, public servants, and students. Each book contains hundreds of entries that concisely explain the subject's concept in a handy reference that complements any business library.

The complete series includes these four titles:

Essential Economics
Essential Investment
Essential Negotiation
Essentials for Board Directors ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Simply superb.
Not only is this collection of economic insights at the cutting edge of the field of applied economics, it is remarkably pertinent to developmental studies in psychology and sociology. Do 'soft' science theorists actually influence the real world, beyond even their immediate focuses of examination? How exactly does that happen? Explanations offered are lucid and essential.

Michel Callon, Professor of Sociology at the Ecole des Mines de Paris, sums up the books arguments regarding performation in an impressive, no-nonsense manner. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent for Non-Quant Geek Economics Students
This book is a gentle introduction to the math used in microeconomics at advanced undergrad or graduate levels.The book assumes nothing or at least very little in the way of math preparation.The authors could point out more pitfalls, but these two mathematics professors write beautifully and simply about what is, for some of us, a complicated topic.They start with things as simple as Cartesian graphs and they move on through calculus, differential equations and various forms of linear and matrix algebra.The econ examples are excellent and concise, but are basic and not of theoretical interest.No one is going to learn Cournot monopoly theory or auction theory here, but you will learn how to read a book like Wolfstetter's Topics in Microeconomics without wishing you could throttle the excessively brief and cryptic author of that interesting text.One wishes in general that economists could write like the authors of this book, but they can't.Nowhere have I seen such obtuse notation and heartless math presentation as in microeconomic theory.But econ is micro, and even if a lot of microeconomists can't teach, write, or present math, they are the roadblock to understanding much of finance, applied game theory, and matters of technical management and public policy. This book covers continuous and static analysis tools, not probability or statistics in any detail.It is truly innovative among the books I have seen in treating mathematical economics.Micro theory is the flunk-out course for econ majors.This book could get most through.A patient non-quantitative person can learn it right out of the book without lectures or high anxiety.I suspect the seriously macho econ folks will hide the fact that they own it, but they would probably benefit too at least from topics where they stumble a bit or feel a slight discomfort.It would also be a worthwhile text for Ph.D. candidates who want to prepare for comprehensive exams either oral or written, or for people like economic sociologists who vaguely wish to be taken seriously. ... Read more

Product Description
Robert Skidelsky’s three-volume biography of John Maynard Keynes has been acclaimed as the authoritative account of the great economist-statesman’s life. Here, Skidelsky has revised and abridged his magnum opus into one definitive book, which examines in its entirety the intellectual and ideological journey that led an extraordinarily gifted young man to concern himself with the practical problems of an age overshadowed by war. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, John Maynard Keynes offers a sympathetic account of the life and influences of a passionate visionary and an invaluable insight into the economic philosophy that still remains at the center of political and economic thought. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

How do you spellv...e...r...b...o...s...e?
I have been looking forward to reading a bio of the great economist, philosopher and trader and bought this book after seeing many positive comments.Sorry to say, I got bogged down very quickly.The author never misses a chance to blow up to 2 pages what could have been said in a single paragraph.The book is a like sea-going ship so overgrown with barnacles that it can no longer move forward.

Comprehensive biography of Keynes
This tome (including more than 100 pages of notes and indices) is an abridgment of author Robert Skidelsky's original three-volume biography of John Maynard Keynes. It is in all respects an extraordinary work. The author offers a portrait of Keynes not only as an economist but also as a philosopher and a statesman. He does not segregate these three dimensions, but rather shows how they interpenetrate and inform each other. He sets Keynes in the context of his time and circumstances. Skidelsky is unsparing in his treatment of the inconsistencies and contradictions in Keynes' life and character, but he is fair and balanced; he avoids sensationalism even in the treatment of the sensational. getAbstract finds that this book merits multiple readings and should intrigue not only economists but also anyone interested in the ideas and events of the 20th century.

A fitting tribute to one of the greatest thinkers of all time
Anyone who has taken a course in macroeconomics knows who Keynes is. Economics is full of camps, conflicting doctrines, feuds, rivalries, etc. Keynes was unique in that, unlike other economists who are indoctrinated or are in love with a theory, he was never scared of giving up an idea that did not work. If one was to read his "Tract on Monetary Reform" one might be fooled into thinking that it was Milton Friedman that was writing and not the J.M Keynes who revolutionized economic thought with his General Theory. This pragmatism is what sets Keynes apart from every other economist. But why Keynes was so different from others is something students never learn. This biography does an admirable job of tracing Keynes' upbringing, his education, career, and contributions in the light of circumstances that Keynes lived through and shaped his ideas. It is also full of nuggets about Keynes' idiosyncracies which humanizes the biography and shows the real person behind the aura. The book is long, but 63 years of action-packed life requires such detail. The Chinese say, May we live in interesting times. Keynes certainly lived in interesting times with the result that this book is just as interesting.

An excellent,nontechnical biography of J M Keynes
This book is Skidelsky's one volume abridged version of his previous three volume biography(1983,1992,2000)on J M Keynes.Skidelsky successfully weaves all of the different aspects and strands(personal,familial,historical,social,political,economic) of Keynes's life into a beautifully constructed historical tapestry that will keep the reader's attention from the first page to the last.All of the different talents Keynes possessed and displayed during his lifetime come alive on the pages of this book.Skidelsky is the master of his material as long as he concentrates on the vast nontechnical aspects of the life of his subject.Skidelsky has clearlymastered the historical and chronological events and interrelationships that occurred during Keynes's life.Unfortunately,Skidelsky does not have the necessary formal training in mathematics,logic,statistics or probability in order to properly understand or assess any of those parts of Keynes's scholarship that involves the use of formal logical and mathematicalmethods or analysis.These technical deficiencies in Skidelsky'sacademic training arethe maindefect,not only in this book but in the entire corpus of Skidelsky's writings on Keynes going back over 30 years.I will concentrate on Skidelsky's error filled statements concerning Keynes's A Treatise on Probability(1921;TP) and the logical theory of probability.On p.95,Skidelsky conflates the principle of indifference(poi) with the principle of insufficient reason.They are not the same.Keynes's poi requires a balance or symmetry of the relevant,available evidence or factors involved before equiprobabilities are assigned.The poi can't be applied if there is no relevant evidence.Advocates of the principle of insufficient reason,on the other hand, argue that equiprobabilities can be applied in states where no relevant evidence exists.Keynes always rejected this kind of reasoning.Skidelsky bases his assessment of Keynes's logical theory of probability on the error filled work of A. Carabelli and R.O'Donnell.Carabelli and O'Donnell base their assessments of the TP on four sources:1)Keynes's introductory guide to the measurement of probability in chapter III of the TP;2)F. Ramsey's 1922 book review of the TP in The Cambridge Magazine;3)F.Ramsey's 1926 book review of the TP in his article,"Truth and Probability",published in 1931 in a book of articles;and 4)Keynes's 4 page eulogy and very brief review of the book in 1931.In chapter III,Keynes had already made it clear to the alert reader,who had a mind of his/her own (and would not ape the preposterous ,nonsensical claims made by F. Ramsey that by nonnumerical and nonmeasurable Keynes meant that numbers could not be used in general to estimate probabilities,i.e.,that Keynesian probabilities were like a surveyor assigning nonnumerical heights to a mountain hidden in the mist)that the vast majority of Keynesian probabilities used in common discourse were/are interval estimates.John Maynard Keynes is the originator and founder of the interval estimate approach to probability.Keynes spells it out in a number of places in the TP:"...we judge that the probability of the actual argument lies between these two(numbers;reviewers note).Since our standards,therefore,are referred to numerical measures in many cases where actual measurement is impossible,and since the probability lies BETWEEN(Keynes's emphasis)two numerical measures..."(1921,p.32).After warning the reader not to reach any conclusions based on chapter III alone until after Part II of the TP was reached(p.37),Keynes gives his definition of nonnumerical in chapter 15 of Part II on p.160 of the TP.On pp.161-163 and pp.186-194(ch.17),Keynes presents his approximation approach .It has nothing to do with ordinal rankings(see Skidelsky's queer claims on pp.284-285,for instance).An upper bound and a lower bound are specified for some 13 worked out probability problems.One of these problems(a revision of Boole's problem 10)is then made the foundation for Part III of the TP.Part III is then made the logical foundation for Part V. Carabelli's and O'Donnell's "reading" of Keynes's TP is very poor,at best.Skidelsky's conclusions,based on their very poor reading,are very poor.Skidelsky also appears to have been misled by Richard Kahn and Joan Robinson into believing that Keynes was a strictly literary economist, who was a poor mathematician by 1927. Supposedly,Keynes had never taken the twenty minutes that was necessary to understand the theory of value(microeconomics).Based on these bizarre beliefs,Skidelsky comes to the queer conclusion that Keynes deliberately refused to present any formal mathematical model of his general theory in the General Theory(1936;GT).Any mathematically trained reader can find Keynes's completely worked out model,with the results presented in the form of elasticities so that a reader of the GT can compare Keynes's results with those of A C Pigou,in chapters 19,20,and 21 of the GT.Keynes then compares and contrasts his model with Pigou's model,who had also presented his results in the form of elasticities, in the appendix to chapter 19 of the GT.A technically trained economist should purchase a copy of the GT instead of this book. ... Read more

Product Description
What one really needs to know to become an effective negotiator, clearly and succinctly written for the layperson and businessperson.  

The Essential A–Z Guides are lively, practical resources for business and investment professionals, as well as politicians, public servants, and students. Each book contains hundreds of entries that concisely explain the subject’s concept in a handy reference that complements any business library.  

The complete series includes these four titles:

Essential Economics
Essential Investment
Essential Negotiation
Essentials for Board Directors ... Read more

Product Description
The Economist Desk Companion How to Measure, Convert, Calculate and Define Practically Anything Featuring 75 pages of quick-access charts and tables, The Economist Desk Companion provides every international measurement and definition anyone could possibly need for: Accounting • Agriculture • Chemistry • Computers • Economics • Electronics • Energy • Engineering • Finance • Fishing • Food and Drink • Forestry • Health • Light, Optics, and Photography • Mathematics • Minerals and Alloys • South and Music • Paper, Packaging, and Printing • Statistics • Space and Time • Textiles • Transport • Weapons It also features timesaving conversions and calculations of complicated sums such as: Annual percentage rates • Net present values • Percentage reversals • Conversions of square inches into square centimeters • Barrels of oil into tons • Pounds force per square inch into kilograms force per square centimeter With its wide-ranging subject matter and extraordinary detail, The Economist Desk Companion will be indispensable to anyone involved in international business, from students to personal investors to CEOs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Informative
helped me get me texts quicker, and my mental comparisons make a lot more sense. ... Read more

Product Description
To get any new business idea off the ground or develop and better manage an existing business, you must have a plan—and if you need to raise finance to fund the business or get the approval of senior management, it must be a convincing plan. This comprehensive guide covers every aspect of preparing and using a business plan. It explains:

• tools for analysing the market, customers, competitors and the business environment
• techniques for examining and choosing between different strategic options
• how to use the business planning model that accompanies this book to prepare financial forecasts
• how to analyse and mitigate risk
• how to identify the business's financing needs and select the appropriate type of finance
• how to use the book's business plan document template to write your own plan

In addition to containing everything you need to know to prepare and write a convincing and sound business plan and then put it into practice, this revised and updated Guide to Business Planning will be invaluable to anyone involved in any form of strategic analysis or business planning. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Awarded Outstanding Academic Title 2009 by Choice
The Guide to Business Planning was awarded "Outstanding Academic Title in 2009" status on 5 Jan 2010 by Choice, the US academic reviewers, see:
[...]

The Choice reviewer recommended it highly in his review: "Although this work is positioned as a book about writing business plans, Friend and Zehle, business consultants, ended up writing an excellent summary of an undergraduate business curriculum. Their volume contains little new material that cannot be found in other business plan books. What it does instead, and what it does very well, is summarize multiple textbooks' worth of information into a single book. The material is laid out consistent with the US Small Business Administration's suggested business plan outline, and each section is concise. The best chapter, "Market Forecasting," provides excellent tools from which to choose. For an entrepreneur who has not had a business education, this book provides concise, informative tactics. For undergraduate business majors, it organizes and summarizes several course concepts very well and will serve as an excellent business reference to consult after graduation. It differs from other business plan texts (e.g., Successful Business Planning for Entrepreneurs by Jerry Moorman and James Halloran, 2005), with its emphasis on specific tactics to employ in a business plan. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate students and practitioners."
J. J. Janney, University of Dayton

The Guide that Keeps on Giving
I'd give this impressive book an "MBA" rating - for Meticulous Business Audiences only.

Its contents are broad and deep enough to address the requirements of any-length plan, be it a 20-40 pager for a small and straightforward business or a "beauty parade" document of over 500 pages.

The chapters, collectively, are well organized according to the stages of the planning process and because each one explains the fundamental concepts associated with each stage, it sort of seems, when you're reading, like you're on an MBA-curriculum tour. I was reminded of The Ten-Day MBA by Steven A. Silbiger; however, this is closer to a traditional textbook. It's also *loaded* with relevant business planning tools and techniques that range from simple to sophisticated, and from qualitative to quantitative.

I don't see this only as a guide for preparing a document (i.e., the plan). It's not just for one-time use. In a bigger sense, I see it as a manual for drafting a blueprint for success - which is a year `round endeavor. That's what ultimately compelled me to *buy* the book after having first borrowed it from the library.

Planning for Success
Graham Friend has compiled a very user friendly guide for any business looking to get off the ground, or simply trying to expand its overall operation.In business, any unclear strategies are rarely going to work; the psychic powers of employees in any organization usually aren't going to read the mind of the unclear head-honcho launching an unclear plan.Unfortunately, that happens more often than we'd like to see in the real world of business.

The good news is the information contained in this book will greatly eliminate the problems & help guide any organization towards a clear path of business success.The message is quite clear:Planning for success is the most effective way to prevent disasters; especially in the volitile world of 21st century business.

Concise and helpful
After having finished an MBA, I am currently involved in the creation of a new company. Although most of the knowledge is in my books, the extension of it made me search for an alternative.

Using of this book was the answer to our need. It is a short and clear book that focuses in the most important things to consider, and we have used its reading to remember what we learned, and to build the fundations on our work afterwards. Not to forget the excel file that you can download and use for your business planning.

Planning for the Business Plan
I liked this book because it answers a lot of practical questions while making you think strategically.

It's great if you need to do a business plan, but helps you to do the planning for what needs to be considered before and after the business plan phase.

The spreadsheet download is a nice touch, and helps you to collect the relevant data needed for doing a business plan. ... Read more

Product Description
All organisations face more and more complex decision making, while the risks dependent on their decisions require increasingly explicit understanding of potential outcomes. This special larger format guide is full of practical help on how to build the best, most flexible, and easy-to-use business models for analysing the upside or potential downside of anything from a small development of an existing business to large-scale mergers and acquisitions. Tennent and Friend have completely revised and updated the acclaimed first edition.

For anyone who wants to get ahead in business and especially for those with bottom-line responsibilities, this is an invaluable guide to how to build spreadsheet models for assessing business risks and opportunities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good introduction, but not enough about modelling uncertainty
This Guide is a workmanlike introduction to the craft of modelling in Excel business cash flow and financial statements, but it could do a lot more in the area of modelling uncertainty.

The strong point of the book is its emphasis on structuring the model and the modelling process. Models tend to take on a life of their own after the initial development, and sometimes even before the first build is complete, and time spent in thinking, planning and design is usually a very worthwhile investment. This is particularly important if there are multiple people involved in the model's design and use, and the book covers how one might organise a modelling project.

The principal modelling task is designing the mathematical model that produces the desired time series of sales, costs, etc, over time, based on a handful of input parameters. The book goes into some detail about the formulae needed to render the different kinds of time series one might encounter in a typical business model, covering areas such as macroeconomics, forecasting revenue (with good discussion of times series analysis and regression techniques), operating costs, capital expenditure, working capital, and funding, along with ancillary issues such as depreciation, tax, financial statements and company valuation methods.

Also welcome are the chapters on the often overlooked topics of testing, debugging and documenting a model. There is an introduction to recording macros and programming simple Visual Basic code, but anyone serious about programming Excel with VBA can find better material elsewhere.

As I said, a good introduction. It assumes some basic understanding of Excel and business terminology, but not a lot else. There are lots of practical spreadsheet examples with the formulae all well explained, although sometimes the text description is a little disconnected from the screenshot. It is a pity the authors did not go further in several key areas.

* The book introduces the concept of Excel range names, but does not do them enough justice. The naming of ranges is the single most important underused feature in Excel, and mastering its use will dramatically reduce the bugs in a model and, if names are chosen sensibly, provide instant documentation and a model that has a fighting chance of being understood by the next modeller who picks it up and has to maintain or update it.

* Sensitivity analysis is covered in just three paragraphs, when this is probably the single most important use of a model. Anyone can create a model that produces an answer (eg, the NPV of a business opportunity) for a given set of assumptions. But we all know these assumptions, if they represent forecasts of the future, are wrong. Regarding the model as a simulation and playing with ranges of assumptions (testing various "what-ifs"), so that you build a full understanding of the drivers of value and risk in the business situation, is where the real value of modelling lies.

* Monte Carlo simulation is again covered only briefly and with a rudimentary DIY approach. There is no mention of the many tools available that can drive a well-designed model through probabilistic analysis.

Finally, I have to comment on the chapter on macroeconomics, which makes use of the sine function to model economic cycles. Given the discussion in the press about the current recession and whether it will be V- or U-shaped (or maybe W- or--preserve us!--L-shaped), this seems hopelessly simplistic for any practical use. This jibes with the rest of the book, which is practical. However, the example does help introduce how to parameterise a time series, in this case with the cycle time and amplitude.

Tips and tricks you want to know
This book goes beyond the basic or even advanced Excel how-to book.It focuses on business modeling and how to structure any spreadsheet you build, a topic completely missed by any other Excel book.This book has been written by people who build spreadsheet models, not programmers.

Use this book as a good reference on building spreadsheet, be it for business modeling or just plain use of Excel.For years I sought for this a book.Finally I found it.... ... Read more

Product Description
Getting the supply chain right can make the difference between a market leader and an also-ran. Globalization, technology, and an increasingly competitive business environment have wrought huge changes in supply chain management-the art of sourcing components and delivering finished goods to the customer as cost effectively and efficiently as possible. Manufacturers must make certain that components are where they are needed on the production line and no longer. Retailers need to hone their logistical skills to ensure that the supply and stock management of their stores is optimal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

SoSo
The concept of bringing supply chain management concepts together without getting too technical is very appealing, but the book is poorly written. The chapter section headers and the content do not match up.
It's a superficial concept calling without proper linkage. A lot of - duh - reactions guaranteed.

Superb Supply Chain Management Overview
This is a great book that provides a concise yet thorough overview of supply chain management.It is educational and actionable - filled with well-supported arguments and excellent, illustrative anecdotes.The book is not just for supply chain professionals, it is for any business person that wants to help take their company to the next level.Having read it and written notes in the margins, I will keep it nearby as a reference guide.

Incisive Review of Supply Chain Principles
As a supply chain professional I found this book to be immensely helpful. It reduces important supply chain principles to to quantifiable and applicable guidelines. A good read and a must for anyone looking to leverage value from your supply chain.

Informative, consise, and completely engaging!
I picked it up at home and get engrossed. OK, well, I am a geek and I took it to the beach to finish and felt kind of stupid (who reads The Guide to Supply Chain Management at the beach?!). But it was worth it and now I use the approach every day in my work.

Best book on supply chain management
This book is great. I did not know that The Economist had a series of Guides like this. There are so many brilliant diagrams, charts, and tables that I have post-its on about 50 pages and have the book on my shelf for easy access. ... Read more