What needs to change for your business to grow sustainably? The engineering and construction industry is at a tipping point: How can we foster long-term growth in uncertain times? How do we navigate technology-driven disruption and meet the challenge of net zero emissions? And how do we create a more inclusive, collaborative, and sustainable industry for the future? The Steel Ceiling: Achieving Sustainable Growth in Engineering and Construction highlights current issues facing businesses in the engineering and construction sector in Australia--and outlines what it takes for your business to withstand the economic test of time. This book gives you the strategic plan you need to break through the "steel ceiling" holding you back. In clear and actionable terms, with examples and stories from the industry, it outlines an effective methodology you can use to grow your enterprise sustainably--from a small business to megaproject capability. Develop a clear understanding of the economic forces impacting the infrastructure sector in Australia Craft a roadmap for evolving your business and remaining competitive in today's landscape Build leadership skills and hone the vision, values and culture that drive your business Learn how to better manage precious time, increase revenue, and improve returns on equity Implement the four pillars that are the foundation for a thriving, sustainable business Author Peter Wilkinson has more than 30 years' experience in transforming industry business capability, from small business to large-scale government projects. In this book, he provides you with the knowledge and the game plan you need to build a thriving business ready to compete in today's industry environment.

In recent years, researchers and practitioners have explored the nature, theory, and best practices that are required for effective and ethical crisis preparation and response. The consequences of being unprepared to respond quickly, appropriately, and ethically to a crisis are dramatic and well documented. For this reason, crisis consulting and the development of crisis response plans and protocols have become more than a cottage industry. Taking a rhetorical view of crisis events and utterances, this book is devoted to adding new insights to the discussion, and to describing a rhetorical approach to crisis communication. To help set the tone for that description, the opening chapter reviews a rhetorical perspective on organizational crisis. As such it raises questions and provokes issues more than it addresses and answers them definitively. The other chapters can be viewed as a series of experts participating in a panel discussion. The challenge to each of the authors is to add depth and breadth of understanding to the analysis of the rhetorical implications of a crisis, as well as to the strategies that can be used ethically and responsibly. Central to this analysis is the theoretic perspective that crisis response requires rhetorically tailored statements that satisfactorily address the narratives surrounding the crisis which are used by interested parties to define and judge it. This volume will be of value to scholars and students interested in crisis communication, and is certain to influence future work and research on responding to crises.

World population and the number of city dwellers are steadily growing. Globalization and digitalization lead to an increased competition for skilled and creative labor and other economic resources. This is true not only for firms, but increasingly also for cities. The book elaborates on resulting challenges and opportunities for urban management from the European perspective, and discusses theories, methods and tools from business economics to cope with them. Contributions in this volume come from scholars and practitioners of economics, business administration and urban management, and cover aspects ranging from urban dynamics to city marketing. They draw on experiences from several European cities and regions, and discuss strategies to improve city performance including Open Government, Smart City, cooperation and innovation. The book project was initiated and carried out by the Center for Advanced Studies in Management (CASiM), the interdisciplinary research center of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. It is addressed to scholars and managers in Europe and beyond, who will benefit from the scientific rigor and useful practical insights of the book.

This book considers the tensions and complementarities between two different attitudes towards social relationships - on the one hand, the attitude aspired to in the West, which emphasises individualism, institutional probity, and the rule of law, and which regards social relationships as ideals or absolutes; and, on the other hand, the attitude often found in Asia, where loyalties based on kinship, local networks, and places of origin are vitally important, and where social relationships, institutions and practices are often material for manipulation and the pursuit of ambition. The book explores the nature of these different attitudes, discussing the different attitudes as they are found in practice in the Philippines. It considers how they are bound up with material progress, and how they have a crucial impact, on business, politics and region-centre relations.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203220455

What if you could get "what" you want..."when "you want it...and from "whomever" has it? "The Art of Persuasion "teaches you how to get what you want when you want it. You would love to have that ability, right? After studying some of the most successful men and women in modern history, author Bob Burg noticed how many common characteristics these people have--and shares them all with you. One trait that stands above all the rest is their ability to win people over to their way of thinking--they were all persuasive. Each of these life winners had a burning desire, coupled with great creativity, and a total, unshakable belief in their mission or cause. Winning principles you will learn include: Making People Feel ImportantEverything is NegotiableDealing with Difficult PeoplePersuasion in ActionWhat Sets You Apart from the RestNuggets of Wisdom Presented in everyday, clear, and often humorous language, "The Art of Persuasion" leaves an impression on you that will last a lifetime--filled with one success after another

This book is written by three commercial lawyers. Their clients often ask them as much for help in getting out of a contract as in getting them into one in the first place. Built around two business case studies, the book highlights the various legal issues that a business must address when faced with a contract it wants to walk away from. In the first instance the business needs to discover whether it is as shackled by a contract as it thinks it is. In many cases a contract is not as binding as it might initially appear - Getting Out of a Contract explains the circumstances in which this applies. It then goes on to explore how to minimize the damage should the agreement be inescapable and helps the reader to understand what the consequences of any actions might be. Written in plain English, the authors manage to demystify complicated aspects of English law for the non-lawyer. This book will help managers to: c address how they make contracts; c avoid making wrong decisions because they fail to appreciate what contracts they actually have or how to get round them; c become more attuned to the legal ins and outs of contracts, enabling them to use lawyers more cost-effectively Company secretaries, finance directors and managers at all levels will find Getting Out of a Contract accessible and an invaluable business planning tool.

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Everyone negotiates. Whenever any person, company, or country needs someone else to accomplish something, they must negotiate. Negotiation is essential for peace and international relations, but also for economically efficient trades and bargains in business, and for problem solving skills in workplaces, families, and interpersonal interactions. This Very Short Introduction provides a comprehensive and accessible review of both conceptual and behavioural approaches to the human process of negotiation. Carrie Menkel-Meadow draws on research in constituent fields of human psychology, diplomacy, law, business, anthropology, game theory, decision making, international relations, sociology, public policy, and economics, suggesting models for creative problem solving to often intractable problems. Considering that most people are tense and frightened of what they perceive to be scarce resource confrontations with opponents and competitors, Menkel-Meadow offers different ways to plan for and approach others to solve human problems and seek solutions that satisfy both parties. Alongside this, Menkel-Meadow summarises recent research on the variations of human behaviour, providing vivid examples from history and current affairs to solve some of the most difficult problems. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This book is designed as a basic text for courses that are part of an interdisciplinary program in environmental studies. The intended reader is anyone who expects environmental stewardship to be an important part of his or her life, as a citizen, a policy maker, or an environmental management professional. In addition to discussing major issues in environmental ethics, it invites readers to think about how an ethicist's perspective differs from the perspectives encountered in other environmental studies courses. Additional topics covered include corporate social responsibility, ecological citizenship, property theory, and the concept of stewardship as a vocation.

Given the emergence of sustainability as the defining issue of our time, it is essential for university graduates, and especially business and economics students, to have a fundamental grasp of the key issues in this emerging multidisciplinary field of study. Nemetz provides a comprehensive, detailed overview of the interlinked economic and ecological concepts central to this new discipline. Accompanying the introduction of the underlying theory is a broad array of real-world supporting data from Asia, Europe and North America. This volume also features a chapter on the threat of emerging pandemics and their significance for the achievement of a truly sustainable world. This book accentuates the value and importance of a strong sustainability approach in an age of climate change emergency. It is an ideal companion for instructors and students of sustainability in business, economics and related disciplines such as geography and political science.

"Presence" is an intimate look at the development of a new theory about change and learning. In wide-ranging conversations held over a year and a half, organizational learning pioneers Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers explored the nature of transformational change--how it arises, and the fresh possibilities it offers a world dangerously out of balance. The book introduces the idea of "presence"--a concept borrowed from the natural world that the whole is entirely present in any of its parts--to the worlds of business, education, government, and leadership. Too often, the authors found, we remain stuck in old patterns of seeing and acting. By encouraging deeper levels of learning, we create an awareness of the larger whole, leading to actions that can help to shape its evolution and our future.
Drawing on the wisdom and experience of 150 scientists, social leaders, and entrepreneurs, including Brian Arthur, Rupert Sheldrake, Buckminster Fuller, Lao Tzu, and Carl Jung, "Presence" is both revolutionary in its exploration and hopeful in its message. This astonishing and completely original work goes on to define the capabilities that underlie our ability to see, sense, and realize new possibilities--in ourselves, in our institutions and organizations, and in society itself.

Getting to grips with negotiation quickly is straightforward and easy with this practical guide. Written in simple language, with a host of practical exercises to support the text, it is designed for any negotiator who wants to develop their knowledge, increase confidence and develop skills. Starting by demonstrating the importance negotiation plays in both commercial and interpersonal relationships, Business Negotiation then takes the reader through 20 developmental steps which cover: objective setting and planning; the first phases of negotiation; managing movement; and completing the deal. Each step features a knowledge and skill building exercise, tips and techniques including: c Example scripts c Negotiation tactics c Practical exercises c Dilemmas and suggested solutions c Key points. In a highly interactive style, this book provides a learning route to skilled negotiation. Written by experts in the field of negotiation, it gives a clear picture of all aspects of the subject and arms the reader with a wealth of ideas and examples for their next negotiation.

People often believe that we can overcome the profound environmental and climate crises we face by smart systems, green innovations and more recycling. However, the quest for complex technological solutions, which rely on increasingly exotic and scarce materials, makes this unlikely. A best-seller in France, this English language edition introduces readers to an alternative perspective on how we should be marshalling our resources to preserve the planet and secure our future. Bihouix skilfully goes against the grain to argue that 'high' technology will not solve global problems and envisages a different approach to build a more resilient and sustainable society.

Project Finance in Theory and Practice: Designing, Structuring, and Financing Private and Public Projects, Fourth Edition provides essential, core coverage of project finance, offering new insights into Sharia-compliant instruments and a comprehensive overview of the current state of international regulation of banking post financial crisis. This updated edition includes new case studies and topics related to country risk, along with insights from project finance experts who share their specialized knowledge on legal issues and the role of advisors in project finance details. The book will be useful for readers at all levels of education and experience who want to learn how to succeed in project finance.

This book explores the overlapping interests of corporate responsibility and sustainable development, specifically focusing on the dynamics of social change, sustainability governance and evaluation, and creating social value. Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development: An Integrative Perspective draws on ideas and research relevant to both concepts, highlighting the interdependent nature of corporate strategy and policymaker ambition. The authors seek to capture that any evaluation of responsibility for sustainable development demands multiple lenses. They propose an integrative understanding to tackling global challenges around sustainable development and focus on four themes: contextualisation; perspectives on social change; sustainability governance and evaluation; and creating social value. Overall, the book takes an evaluative approach, using these themes as lenses for engaging with global challenges, which encourages reflection and informed action. Written by two highly experienced authors, this book integrates short case studies and chapter questions throughout the text, in order to reinforce learning and help readers reconcile ideas presented with real world issues. It will be an essential resource for tutors and advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of business, governance and corporate governance, corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability and sustainable development, stakeholder theory, business ethics, and politics.

As global concerns around the environment, climate, and sustainability are moving to the forefront of consumer choices and business values, how organizations report on sustainability has become more crucial than ever before. Business sustainability issues are a major concern, with many firms seeking to contribute positively when serving their local communities and enhancing their corporate responsibility practices socially and environmentally. International Perspectives on Sustainability Reporting presents business case studies from different sectors across different regions, highlighting the changing institutional contexts and laws in each country regarding sustainability reporting: for some, reporting is mandatory and for others it is voluntary. Taking not only the historical but also the firm level, sectoral, regional, political, and economic perspective, Buallay's work is far-reaching and comprehensive, spanning from the history of environmental reporting to sustainable reporting in the tourism industry. Tackling multidisciplinary topics that include finance, economics, sociology, law, governance, and organizational management, the methods deployed here are both qualitative and quantitative. International Perspectives on Sustainability Reporting is essential reading for both scholars and practitioners in all of these sectors as sustainability increases in importance across the board.

To ensure the well-being of the planet, we need marketing heroes on the barricades for a sustainable future. Research shows that more than 80% of consumers are looking at companies to take the lead in this transition. At the same time, it appears that less than 10% of the messages about sustainability are credible to the public. Speak up Now! helps companies seize this historic opportunity and shows how we can make the shift to a world where business success goes hand in hand with the survival of the planet.

"To gain 1,000 ideas all at once and gain all the advantages, read this brilliant, illuminating book." —Mark Victor Hansen, coauthor, Chicken Soup for the Soul.

"The Guerrilla Group has done it again. Sit down at the feet of the masters and learn how to negotiate right. And while you're at it, pray that your competition doesn't read this book." —Guy Kawasaki, author, Rules for Revolutionaries, and CEO, garage.com.

"The 'Guerrilla' approach to business and life has become a classic. I've learned from the entire series . . . but this one is the best! 'Negotiating' gives you the specifics for gaining a fair advantage. I love it."—Jim Cathcart, author, The Acorn Principle.

GUERRILLA SELLING is a registered trademark of The Guerrilla Group, Inc.

Wherever there is something to be lost or gained, there is the potential for disagreement. To find a constructive way forward when interests and priorities differ, decision makers need skills in negotiation. 'Negotiation' outlines crucial techniques for reaching agreements in business situations.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERKoch Industries is one of the largest private companies in the world with an estimated worth of $100 billion. But what makes this company so profitable? You won't find its name on the connectors in your smartphone or your baby's ultra-absorbent nappies, but Koch makes these and many other innovations, driven by its Market-Based Management (R) system for generating good profit.Good profit results from products and services that improve people's lives. It results from a culture where employees are empowered to be entrepreneurial and customer-focused.Drawing on stories from his nearly six decades in business, Charles Koch shows how any company, industry or organisation can:* Thrive in spite of disruption and changing consumer values* Create accountability with ownership and decision rights for employees based on their comparative advantages and contributions, not job title* Foster a culture of knowledge-sharing that rejects bureaucracy and hierarchy* Offer employees compensation limited only by the value they create - not budgets or policyA must-read for leaders, entrepreneurs, students and anyone who wants a more civil, fair and prosperous society, Good Profit is destined to rank as one of the greatest management books of all time.'This book helps show you the way to good profit - whether you work for an international supermarket chain, a medium-sized regional business, or your own start-up' John Mackey, Co-Founder and Co-CEO Whole Foods Market

In 2020, the world was rocked by the sudden and indiscriminate spread of COVID-19. But for all the damage caused - lives lost, economies roiled and jobs eradicated - it also created opportunities for individuals and businesses to pause and reflect. Bushido Capitalism explores the ways in which this forced interlude has allowed us to reflect on the effects of a Great Acceleration of the last two decades and to critically evaluate where we should go next. Guided by updated values of Bushido, which have long been enshrined in Japanese culture but are rarely referenced in the West, this book presents ways in which we can use this current inflection point to become more responsible, ethical and sustainably minded citizens and business leaders. It underscores the importance of collaboration, humility and realism, but also of confidence, ambition and creativity. It demonstrates that businesses, particularly in a complex and polarized world, can be a force for the common good of society - if run the right way.

It pays to be persuasive.

From senior managers to new-starters in business; at home, in the office and in the boardroom the ability to confidently motivate, influence and convince others offers a competitive edge that can really set you apart and help you get what you want.

Learn the power of words; how to be an effective listener; how to develop and enhance your memory; how to control the attention of others and how to read body language and other non-verbal signs.

Persuasion will boost your persuasive and intuitive skills to amazing new levels and will help you achieve more in every area of your life.

Attaining the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of Climate Action focuses on Sustainable Development Goal number thirteen (SDG13): urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Examining family businesses in Germany, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, each case study presents a unique perspective from their respective countries of how SDG13 translates into strategy, culture, and the practice of doing business, providing insights and key takeaways into how family businesses can play a role in combatting climate change. The United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 Goals pledged by 193 nations in 2015 which would help engender an improved, fairer, and more sustainable world - one in which 'no one is left behind'. The SDGs are a call to action, to develop innovative solutions to the most complex, societal, and environmental global challenges. In Family Businesses on a Mission, series editors Naomi Birdthistle and Rob Hales bring together international case studies to illustrate how family businesses can attain the UN 2030 SDGs. Accessible to those working in the field beyond academia - such as family business practitioners, family business owners, government and policymakers, members of NGOs, business associations and philanthropic centres - the book series equally appeals to those with a general interest in entrepreneurship and business.

This book proposes transformative, realist methodology for skills research and planning through an analysis of case studies of the changing world of work, new learning pathways and educational system challenges. Studies of the green economy and sustainability transitions are a growing field internationally, however there are few books that link this interest to the development of skills. This book draws on, and showcases, the experience and insights of researcher-practitioners who are at the cutting edge in this emerging field, internationally and in South Africa. The context for this book is South Africa, but application is worldwide. In many ways indicative of the global picture, South Africa is in the grip of economic and environmental imperatives, searching for safe and just transitions. The authors present a new, embedded transitioning systems model for studying skills for a sustainable, just future. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of sustainable development, ecological economics and skills planning.

Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) have witnessed great upheaval and change over the last decade and a half - from the global economic recession of 2008, the 2010 and 2021 earthquakes in Haiti, to hurricanes that devastated islands like Jamaica, Barbuda, Dominica and The Bahamas, volcanic eruptions, and health crises. These events are reminders of how vulnerable Caribbean SIDS are to external and internal shocks; today Caribbean SIDS are grappling with how to restart their economies and embrace a "new normal" in the wake of disasters and the sharp losses in tourism. Pandemics, Disasters, Sustainability, Tourism examines the resilience of Caribbean SIDS and their tourism industries from the perspectives of culture, economy, environment, politics, psychology, social justice, and socio-historical context. Pandemics, Disasters, Sustainability, Tourism's broad-based topics engage scholars, students, and the public in discourse regarding Caribbean SIDS' resilient Island economies that, facing calamity, implement new initiatives to forge environmentally sound policies for sustainable tourism and hospitality development.