Reflecting the challenges and opportunities of achieving improvement in healthcare systems, the contributions of this innovative new text lend depth and nuance to an increasing area of academic debate. Encompassing context, processes and agency, Managing Improvements in Healthcare addresses the task of attaining, embedding and sustaining improvement in the industry. The book begins by offering insight into the different valued aspects of quality, providing specific examples of national and organizational interventions in pursuit of improvement. The second part focuses on strategies for embedding good practice and ensuring the spread of high quality through knowledge mobilization, and the final part draws attention to the different groups of change agents involved in delivering, co-creating and benefitting from quality improvement. This inventive text will be insightful to those researchers interested in healthcare and organization, looking to transform theory into policy and practice.

Building a successful Advisory practice is not very complicated, but it does take a tremendous amount of energy and effort. You need to utilize proper strategies, techniques and also become relentless with consistency to succeed. What I want to instill in the newly developing advisor is a sense of ownership. This more business type mindset can be the difference between having lasting success or coming up short. I once managed a program where I was charged with developing new Advisors. I brought in an executive to speak to a class where he explained that his role was to assist them when they had their initial struggles developing and managing their business. His experience showed that many of the advisors he worked with started off strong but eventually struggled and failed to continue growing their business. After hearing this I spent several years researching this very concern. What I found was that it was very real and happened to many advisors between the 3rd and 5th years of their careers, dependent upon how fast their initial growth was. This caused me to spend a great deal of time working with advisors that had either broken through this plateau or never encountered this period at all. This book is a culmination of the strategies that have proven to provide advisors with success in managing their business. It is hard-work but needs to be consistent work. It is very tedious work but such is the risk that could provide you with your ultimate reward. You see everyone in this business starts off with the idea of wanting to be good at what they do. But it is the elite performer that puts in the effort that goes along with becoming great I wish you all the success that this business can provide you in the future.

This book deals with the concepts of leadership and communication in business organizations, initially on a general level and then in detail through an analysis of specific cases. First the book provides a contextual framework to explain the role and importance of the topic. The foundation is provided by selected behavioural and situational theories. Then 15 different leadership models and their respective communication strategies are specified. The interaction of leadership and communication is examined explaining organizational communication and its tools. In the third part the book looks in detail at the glass, textile and confection industries. It examines the relationship between socio-demographic variables of employees, leadership types and communication styles and systems of managers in these sectors. The results of this study provide researchers and professionals with a number of suggestions for more effective organizational communication and better leadership practice.

The aim of this book is to analyze the quality of entrepreneurial management and economic development in the Latin American region from a microeconomic point of view. It seeks to explain the Latin American way of business management as well as envision ways in which Latin American businesses can increase productivity and innovation in order to successfully compete in the global market.

Latin America comprises nearly 8.5% of the global population and represents over 8% of the global GDP, yet it is home to only 12 (or less than 2.5%) of the world s 500 largest companies. In this volume, the author analyzes the unique dynamics of Latin American corporate culture to consider the particular obstacles to more successful performance. Drawing evidence from dozens of companies across the eight largest Latin American economies, he notes that Latin American companies have evolved in the context of a highly aristocratic and oligarchic society, dominated by patriarchal families from the upper classes. Corporate structure, especially in family-owned companies, is based largely on patronage and privilege and often characterized by unnecessary hierarchy, redundant responsibilities and poor communication and information management systems.Operating in relative isolation, with little incentive to invest in innovation to compete against foreign products has reinforced this conservative culture.

Taking a fresh perspective that focuses at the firm level, with an emphasis on corporate administration, the author presents a compelling explanation for Latin America s delay in economic development and offers insights for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, identifying promising industrial sectors and improving productivity and competitiveness on the global stage."

This book explores corporate purpose--a company's expressed overriding reason for existing--and its effect upon strategy, executive leadership, employees, and, ultimately, on competitive performance. Sharply challenging the conventional wisdom that corporations should be dedicated to shareholder wealth creation, the author presents a compelling argument that the path to competitive advantage and outstanding long-term financial performance lies instead in a customer-focused corporate purpose.
The book is in four parts. Part I shows how corporate purpose exerts a powerful effect on strategy, management, and the meaning employees derive from their work. A customer-focused purpose harmonizes these critical factors and enables leaders to push strategic thinking deeper into the organization and at the same time to grant employees a greater degree of autonomy. In contrast, a goal of maximizing shareholder wealth sows the seeds of conflict among the market-oriented purpose, product-focused strategies, and the individual values of employees.
Part II critiques the logic of "value-based management" and the relationship of the firm to the equity markets. It explores the validity of extending traditional concepts of property rights to share ownership, concluding that the separation of stock ownership from the responsibility for, and managerial control over, corporate actions makes traditional property rights arguments inapplicable to the underlying assets of a corporation.
Part III examines the functioning of corporate purpose in a global economy. When a firm operates globally, purpose needs to retain its motivational power across national boundaries, which a shareholder-focused purpose does not do.
Part IV explores the implications of corporate purpose for leaders, arguing that infusing an organization with a worthy purpose is an essential responsibility of leadership. Purpose is the foundation for the shared values that define organizational character, raise moral aspirations, and enhance performance. Drawing upon a wide range of thought from the world of business as well as from historical studies, cultural anthropology, philosophy, theology, and psychology, "Leading with Purpose" is sure to be an essential text as businesses move into the twenty-first century.

This book provides in-depth insights into the practices that lead to success in outsourcing global services. Written by internationally acclaimed academics, it covers best practices on IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing and netsourcing. This book is a must read for any practitioner, academic or student concerned with global sourcing.

In the changing geography of innovation, multinational corporations play a key role as creators of knowledge. Innovation and the Multinational Firm investigates how innovation is managed within these firms by focusing particularly on subsidiaries and host-locations.

Confronting the wide range of factors that management face in relation to global changes, this volume focuses on the implication of these changes for all organizations. By presenting its case using a variety of analytical tools ranging from formal game theoretical systems to inductive models based on case studies, this volume concentrates on three main areas: the implications of global change on the competitive environment for employment and working practices; the influence of the international business environment in decision-making; and the importance of cultural and institutional diversity. Through its comprehensive approach, this book aims to stimulate business managers, academics and students to clarify, develop and extend the many complex scenarios that are integral to the debate on how business organizations may benefit from the challenges produced by global change.

This study synthesizes and summarizes the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence that suggest that competition works remarkably well to reduce costs and improve efficiency and innovation, even in an arena where competition has typically been ignored--government-financed services. The arguments and data marshaled here, drawn primarily from the American experience, portray the substantial benefits to consumers and taxpayers that can result from efforts to increase competition in commercial services previously operated as government monopolies.

Competition in Government-Financed Services will help fortify the efforts of competition advocates, both in the United States and in the emerging market economies of Eastern Europe and the developing world, to get on with the job of strengthening competition and opening their systems to market forces.

This book offers strategic leaders with essential information for their most important role: the change management function of positioning the organization for success into the future. To do so, leaders need to sort through a myriad of forecasts, predictions and weak indicators of change to make timely decisions. This volume addresses the most critical factor for future success: people and, specifically, harnessing the potential the current youth cohort will bring when they join the full-time workforce. Drawing on multi-disciplinary analyses by 37 researchers, the book presents an integrative assessment of the characteristics that those in the current youth cohort are likely to bring to the workplace. The focus is on those born after 2005 with an examination of the implications of this cohort being raised from birth immersed in an increasingly omnipresent digital environment which extends far beyond social media. The authors see the coming 'digital tsunami' as creating disruptive effects across major elements of our economy and even society however optimistically conclude that the digital environment and the development of 21st Century skills in schools will equip the next generation with essential competencies, attitudes, social skills and work goals. The key to harnessing the potential of this generation will be to modify current human resources and workplace practices which will mean sweeping away much of the 'boomer' legacy that this cohort has imprinted on organizations. To assist leaders, the book goes beyond presenting a rich portrait of who these youth may become by providing practical recommendations for the changes that need to start now in order to position the organization to benefit from what they will bring. As the astute strategic leader knows: objects in the future can be closer than they appear.

In capital investing, as in life, you always have options. In today's extremely turbulent world, managers recognize how risky the most valuable investment opportunities often are, and how useful a flexible strategy can be. That's why they want to know all their options. Yet many current financial assessment tools fail to identify what investors can do to capitalize on future uncertain events. Martha Amram and Nalin Kulatilaka suggest a smarter new way to think about strategic investments in terms of real options. By applying options thinking--the concept behind the recent Nobel Prize-winning work on financial options--to the evaluation of nonfinancial assets, this innovative approach brings a financial market discipline to the evaluation of a company's opportunities. Using real options theory, managers can more effectively target crucial opportunities to redeploy, delay, modify, or even abandon capital-intensive projects as events unfold. Corporate executives in finances, investments, and project management should share this book with decision makers in information technology, strategic planning, corporate restructuring, venture capital, and law. Through timely case studies, the authors show managers how to use real options to evaluate investments and create exit strategies in R&D, product design, contracts, and information technology. By linking strategic vision and tactical project decisions, Real Options helps to improve capital investment planning and results.

A book on the path dependent and path creating structures and attitudes of business interest associations in a world of Europeanization and internationalization of markets. It includes empirical data on relational information used for network analytic purposes - drawn from hundreds of interviews with CEOs.

The focus of this book is upon the implementation of new technology, strategy, business models, and new innovations. It takes a social-psychological perspective on the management of change and technology/strategy implementation and crosses the boundaries of change management, technology implementation, and organizational strategy.

Manufacturing managers are still focused on the short-term tactical issues related to their business. Strategic issues tend to receive less attention. However, manufacturing can play an important strategic role. This book helps managers consider the strategic roles their operations can play and to provide guidance as to what actions can be taken.

This volume of selected articles is being released in light of the new economic, social and environmental challenges Europe and the United States have been faced with following the end of the Cold War and in the evolving era of globalization. National security, immigration and the provision of health and other key social services call for a radically different outlook in terms of policy discussions. The contributors of this book focus on seven key policy issues and challenges that currently affect the United States and Europe: income distribution, the gender pay gap, crime and security, unemployment, health care, the demographic question and environmental regulation. The purpose of this volume is to analyze how public policy within the European context is responding to the challenges posed by this new global era.

In this volume, Dean Shepherd focuses on the varying topics of entrepreneurship unified through conjoint analysis. Although the topic of entrepreneurial decision making is broad, in doing so, he reveals the mechanisms that come into play during the entrepreneurial decision-making process. Scholars of entrepreneurship and organizational behavior will find this collection an essential resource for understanding how decision making is achieved in entrepreneurial settings.

De Lange suggests a new contextually linked building block model to develop theories of the firm in the field of strategy and organizations.Using this approach, she proposes two models: one that is a realistic American version and another that is a futuristic sustainable model. Both are new networked models that integrate current theories; a review of international corporate governance supports the sustainable firm that solves problems of the current one. Through a revised theoretical lens, the book answers a provocative question surrounding modern corporate America: Who wields the power? In this investigative look at the institutional mechanisms behind who is truly running the show, Cliques and Capitalism seeks to not only explain why the current corporate system fails to function well, but also offers solutions for improved corporate governance through a new sustainable model.

This book compiles brand new case studies on the intricacies and market entry strategies of different companies in China. The sheer speed and scope of China's growth makes it unique and investment opportunities are very attractive. Despite the potential, many western companies fail in their market entry strategies. This book traces the major sources of failure and uses cases to illustrate how firms can better cope with the challenging Chinese market. With a special focus on marketing, positioning, and branding, this book presents issues and solutions of both large multinationals and small niche market players.

Autopoietic systems show a remarkable property in the way they interact with their environment: on the one hand building blocks and energy (including information) are exchanged with the environment, which characterizes them as open systems; on the other hand, any functional mechanisms-the way the system processes, incorporates building blocks, and responds to information-are totally self-determined and cannot be controlled by interventions from the environment. Information systems in an organization seem to accept the autopoietic system way of development and can help managers to understand the operations of their organizations better. Autopoiesis and Self-Sustaining Processes for Organizational Success is an innovative reference book that presents the meaning of autopoietic organizations for social and information science, examines how autopoietic organizations are information self-producing and self-controlled, and provides a framework for its development in modern organizations. The book focuses on analyzing autopoiesis features such as self-managing, self-sustaining, self-producing, self-regulating, etc. Moreover, as the aforementioned characteristics receive a new interpretation in IT environments, the book also includes an exploration of IT solutions that enable the development of these characteristics. This book is ideal for professionals, academicians, researchers, and students working in the field of information economics and management in various disciplines such as information and communication sciences, administrative sciences and management, education, computer science, and information technology.

A sequential guide that takes the entrepreneur from inception of an idea to success and all the way to exit. Lindile details the milestones of growing and evolving a business in a journey that is by no means linear.

This playbook reveals a path to the desired destination of every entrepreneur who uses it, where the entrepreneur can define his or her own formula of success, from the very first inkling of an idea and turning that into a reality. Lindile push-starts the entrepreneur using a strategy he calls Rapid Deployment to monetise ideas by turning them into reality. It is a model that can move an idea from zero to a hundred in a matter of days. Fast implementation allows the idea to go through an entire life cycle in a short space of time. Most importantly, it forces the budding entrepreneur to start.

This playbook outlines the importance of investing in oneself.

A successful exit is determined at the point of entry. The entrepreneur must take full control of how the journey ends or evolves. This guides the decisions that the entrepreneur makes as he or she starts and grows the business. Ultimately, entrepreneurship requires consistency, resilience, adaptability, mental strength and acute awareness. All of this must be rooted in mindfulness. Although mindfulness is not something taught in business schools, it is an essential element of success.

At its very core, The Young Entrepreneur’s Playbook is for anyone with an idea to bring to life, something of value to provide, challenge to move past, aspiration to chase after and willingness to do something about it. This is a playbook of how to get it done, all the while embracing failure as an important part of the process but ultimately a useful tool to expedite the very outcome that you seek.

This book explores the influence of the modes of knowledge transfer and environmental dynamism on the relationship between strategic actions and the sustainable balanced scorecard measurement of performance. Special emphasis is placed on emerging multinational enterprises in Kenya, a country that is rapidly becoming one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. The chapters address the best strategy for sustainable performance, the integral modes of knowledge transfer on strategy for sustainable performance and the achievement of sustainable performance in dynamic business environments. Providing innovative research on 25 diverse MNEs in Kenya, this book can be used by managers, investors, consultants, researchers and postgraduate students to understand the strategic mechanisms used by these emerging enterprises.

"Teams that embrace bold goals and breakthrough strategies can accomplish remarkable results. This book will be invaluable to anyone embarking on that path."
- Bart Butzer
Executive Vice President, Target Corporation

"Yellow's continued industry leadership will result in large part from embracing Bill Davidson's philosophy and approach."
- Bill Zollars
CEO, Yellow Corporation

"Strategic change is a high-risk, high-return proposition. Davidson's framework provides a sure, firm foundation for success."
- Roger MacFarlane
CEO, UTi Worldwide

"This is a serious piece of work which should be required reading for all business leaders. If you plan on remaining or becoming number one in your industry, have your top management team read this right away."
- Bob Herson
CEO, Executive Focus International, Inc.

"I could not put it down-stunning insights into corporate strategy and tactics."
- Randall Lunn
General Partner, Palomar Ventures