This title was first published in 2001. When Ghana became independent in 1957, becoming the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to banish colonialism, there was a general optimism that irreversible socio-economic development was about to unfold. But by the end of the 1970s Ghana paradoxically became the first country in Twentieth Century Africa to have experienced socio-economic decline. What failed Ghana? This book seeks to answer this question. By combining sociological, economic, political and institutional perspectives, this book focuses on the interplay between state politics and socio-economic development. It provides a model, which suggests that Ghana's postcolonial development has suffered mainly as a result of the failure or inability of governing elites to develop consensual politics and a clearly specified long-term development objective that could be widely understood, accepted and have relevance for policy making. This book presents a much-needed self-assessment of the post-colonial development experience which contends that governance, economic management and institution building are basic challenges without which the search for development is likely to falter.

Focusing on the design and implementation of computer-based automatic machine tools, David F. Noble challenges the idea that technology has a life of its own. Technology has been both a convenient scapegoat and a universal solution, serving to disarm critics, divert attention, depoliticize debate, and dismiss discussion of the fundamental antagonisms and inequalities that continue to beset America. This provocative study of the postwar automation of the American metal-working industry--the heart of a modern industrial economy--explains how dominant institutions like the great corporations, the universities, and the military, along with the ideology of modern engineering shape, the development of technology. Noble shows how the system of "numerical control," perfected at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and put into general industrial use, was chosen over competing systems for reasons other than the technical and economic superiority typically advanced by its promoters. Numerical control took shape at an MIT laboratory rather than in a manufacturing setting, and a market for the new technology was created, not by cost-minded producers, but instead by the U. S. Air Force. Competing methods, equally promising, were rejected because they left control of production in the hands of skilled workers, rather than in those of management or programmers. Noble demonstrates that engineering design is influenced by political, economic, managerial, and sociological considerations, while the deployment of equipment--illustrated by a detailed case history of a large General Electric plant in Massachusetts--can become entangled with such matters as labor classification, shop organization, managerial responsibility, and patterns of authority. In its examination of technology as a human, social process, "Forces of Production" is a path-breaking contribution to the understanding of this phenomenon in American society.

Modern societies demand high levels of literacy. The written word is pervasive; individuals with poor literacy skills are deeply disadvantaged; and governments are increasingly pre-occupied with the contribution that skills can make to economic growth. As a result, the basic skills of adult workers are of concern as never before, a focus for workplace and education policy and practice.

While Improving Literacy at Work builds on detailed research from the UK, the issue is a universal one and rising skill requirements mean the conclusions drawn will be of equal interest elsewhere in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The research findings have very direct implications and practical relevance for teaching and learning, as this valuable book demonstrates, providing clear advice on how to develop effective provision and how best to support learners at work.

Throughout the study, the authors address the following fundamental questions:

• How do adults literacy skills impact on their working lives, and on the enterprises where they work?
• How can we develop these essential skills in the workforce?
• When and how can literacy instruction change individuals employability and engagement with further learning?

Essential reading for trainers and managers in industry, teachers, researchers and lecturers in adult and further education and stakeholders implementing evidence-based policy, this book maps the fundamental changes taking place in workplace literacy.

Modern societies demand high levels of literacy. The written word is pervasive; individuals with poor literacy skills are deeply disadvantaged; and governments are increasingly pre-occupied with the contribution that skills can make to economic growth. As a result, the basic skills of adult workers are of concern as never before, a focus for workplace and education policy and practice.

While Improving Literacy at Work builds on detailed research from the UK, the issue is a universal one and rising skill requirements mean the conclusions drawn will be of equal interest elsewhere in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The research findings have very direct implications and practical relevance for teaching and learning, as this valuable book demonstrates, providing clear advice on how to develop effective provision and how best to support learners at work.

Throughout the study, the authors address the following fundamental questions:

• How do adults literacy skills impact on their working lives, and on the enterprises where they work?
• How can we develop these essential skills in the workforce?
• When and how can literacy instruction change individuals employability and engagement with further learning?

Essential reading for trainers and managers in industry, teachers, researchers and lecturers in adult and further education and stakeholders implementing evidence-based policy, this book maps the fundamental changes taking place in workplace literacy.

Which kinds of growth lead to increased employment and which do not? This is one of the questions that this important volume attempts to answer. The book explores the complex relationships between innovation, growth and employment that are vital for both research into, and policy for, the creation of jobs. Politicians claiming that more rapid growth would remedy unemployment do not usually specify what kind of growth is meant. Is it, for example, economic (GDP) or productivity growth? Growing concern over 'jobless growth' requires both policymakers and researchers to make such distinctions, and to clarify their employment implications. The authors initially address their theoretical approach to, and conceptualization of, innovation and employment, where the distinction between process and product innovations and between high-tech and low-tech goods and services are central. They go on to address the relationship between innovation and employment, using empirical material to analyse the effects that different kinds of innovations have upon job creation and destruction. Finally, the volume summarizes the findings and addresses conclusions as well as policy implications. This book will be of great interest to those involved in research and policy in the fields of macroeconomics (economic growth and employment), industrial economics and innovation.

In recent years, we have witnessed huge economic and socio-political change in the Gulf. This book examines the rapid industrialization of the region and how local economies are starting to diversify away from petroleum, exploring how this transformative process is starting to impact on the region's economy and social make-up. With contributions from some of the top scholars and practitioners in the area, this book discusses crucial topics related to the region's transformation, from issues of economic development and relations with Iran to foreign labour and women's education and work outside the home. Chapters explore how in addition to the massive growth in investments and products such as oil, gas, chemicals, metals, and cement, this growth has triggered numerous societal changes, such as labour migration, educational reforms, declining natality, and shifting gender roles. Covering in detail a broad range of issues, this book will appeal not only to Middle East experts, particularly those with an interest in the Persian Gulf, but also to development experts and political scientists.

This book, first published in 1948, examines four industries studied as part of the Nuffield College Reconstruction Survey, begun in 1941. These studies, despite their apparent diversity, have a number of features in common. One is geography, and another, more pressing, is the relation of industry to the Government and the public. The studies serve as part of the historical background of reconstruction, and they carry many lessons in economic organization.

In this wide-ranging collection of significant articles by leading scholars, the editors link the impact of innovation to the process by which firms and industries change over time and ultimately to economic development and growth. The books cover topics such as the impact of the product life cycle on industry evolution, the links between innovative activity and the start-up of new firms, and an analysis of the sources of diversity and the impact of diversity on economic evolution. The three key elements of the post-entry performance of firms are examined - their ability to survive, the learning process and the links between industry evolution and productivity. The books then explore the roles of turbulence and persistence in an evolutionary economy. Additional topics include the evolution of market structures, the evolution of regions and the international competitiveness of industries in an evolutionary context. Finally the books examine the implications for government policy of the links between innovation, industry evolution and economic development.

Allan Flanders was one of the leading British industrial relations academics and his ideas exerted a major influence on government labor policy in the 1960s and 1970s. But as well as being an Oxford academic with a strong interest in theory and labor reform, he was also a lifelong political activist. Originally trained in German revolutionary ethical socialism in the early 1930s, he was the founder and joint editor of Socialist Commentary, the leading outlet for ?revisionist? social democratic thinking in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the leading figure in the influential 1950s ?think tank? Socialist Union and played a key part in the bitter factional struggles inside the Labour Party. The main argument of the book is that Flanders? ethical socialist ideas constituted both his strength and his weakness. Their rigor, clarity and sweep enabled him to exert a major influence over government attempts to negotiate labor reforms with the trade unions. Yet he proved unable to explain the failure of the reforms amidst rising levels of industrial conflict, as his intellectual rigor turned into ideological rigidity. The failure of negotiated reform led to Margaret Thatcher's neo-liberal assault on trade union power in the 1980s.

One of today's cutting-edge business and sales pros, The First Lady of Sales, reveals how you can create, live, and sell your own powerful personal brand. Like many people, you may have overlooked the crucial importance of creating a powerful personal brand-and you might not even realize even if you haven't taken the time to create that personal brand, you still have one. Sell Yourself gives you the tools to own that band and use it to sell yourself exactly how you want. In Sell Yourself, Dr. Cindy McGovern-known in the business and sales community as "the First Lady of Sales"-will guide you toward a new way of thinking about the role of your personal brand, and will reveal how you can create, live, and sell that brand to sell yourself. She also will teach you how to overcome any aversion to sales you may have so you can sell that brand like a pro. You'll learn how to equip yourself with the essential tools to create, live, and sell a powerful personal brand including: * A roadmap to determine what's most important to you-including core values-which are central to your personal brand. * Exercises and tips to help you live your personal brand consistently every day. * A five-step process, based on Dr. Cindy's win-win and collaborative sales philosophy, which will help you sell your brand like an experienced sales professional, even if you hate sales. Packed with anecdotes about successful-and not so successful-personal branding efforts, stories from Dr. Cindy's own journey, and step-by-step guidance on how to create, live, and sell a powerful personal brand, Sell Yourself reveals a potent formula for creating a rock-solid personal brand-and selling it the right way so you get what you want.

Published in 1999, this is a collection of recent research results by acknowledged researchers in the field of enterprise transformation and industrial development in Central and Eastern Europe.

First published in 1999, this volume examines technology in developing countries with a focus on Vietnam. One of the world's poorest countries, Vietnam has begun rehabilitation following the Vietnam War. Tran Ngoc Ca had four aims for this study. First, exploration of the development of TC in Vietnamese industrial companies and looks at how the learning process is related to the accumulation of TC. Second to detail links between macro environment factors and micro internal actions of firms and their impact on TC. Third, addressing specific issues in comparison with other developing countries and transitional economies. Fourth and finally, to provide a background for the implementation of policy concerned with enhancing TC acquisition.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Previous research has generally shown a very small although statistically significant economic benefit from attending high-quality colleges. This small effect was at odds with what students' college choice and various social theories would seem to suggest. This study sought to reconcile the empirical evidence and theories. The effort was in two directions. First, the economic effect of college quality was expanded from examining only the economic benefit to considering other student outcomes including job satisfaction and graduate degree accomplishment. A new perspective regarding the social role of college quality was offered in conclusion.

Work in the construction industry is particularly tough. It demands excessively long hours and frequent weekend work. Other characteristics are particularly marked, such as re-location, job insecurity and distinctive behavioural patterns, which negatively affect employees' personal lives further. Work-life balance has emerged as one of the most pressing management issues in the 21st century. For construction managers dealing with traditional models of work and rigid work schedules, the issue may be especially difficult to manage, and yet the work-life balance is now recognised as an issue of strategic importance to the construction industry. It is critical to the construction industry's continued ability to attract and retain a talented workforce, and it is also inextricably linked to organizational effectiveness and employees' well-being. This book presents the argument for the management of work-life balance in the construction industry. It maps the changes to the workforce demographic profile and the changing expectations relating to work and personal life that occurred during the second half of the 20th century. Legal imperatives for managing work-life balance are set out. It also presents work-life balance theory and discusses the practical implications of research, along with extensive empirical data collected from the industry. Lastly, practical advice is provided about what construction organizations can and should do to manage work-life balance. This provides a unique guide to a key issue.

Critical Infrastructure (CI) is fundamental to the functioning of a modern economy, and consequently, maintaining CI security is paramount. However, despite all the security technology available for threats and risks to CI, this crucial area often generates more fear than rational discussion. Apprehension unfortunately prompts many involved in CI policy to default to old-fashioned intuition rather than depend on modern concrete risk assessment as the basis for vital security decisions. Going beyond definitions, Critical Infrastructure: Understanding Its Component Parts, Vulnerabilities, Operating Risks, and Interdependencies looks at the iron triangle within CI: power, telecom, and finance. It introduces the concept of CI as an industrial and enterprise risk conductor, highlighting the reality that a CI failure can propagate a crisis with far-reaching repercussions. Focuses on Canada and the US Equally for a Useful Cross-Border Security Analysis With $2.5 trillion at stake in United States' CI alone, supreme standards and metrics are mandatory for solid protection of such a sophisticated and complex area. This powerful volume is dedicated to moving CI security into the 21st century, illustrating the danger in basing critical CI policy decisions on the existing legacy frames of reference. It represents one of the first complete departures from policy, planning, and response strategies based on intuition and anecdotal evidence.

Over the past several years, productivity improvement has become an increasingly vital economic issue for economies and individual firms. This book, first published in 1996, examines empirically relationships between changes in catalyst financial commitments (ie, research and development projects and capital improvements) and productivity/profitability changes, and relationships between productivity changes and profitability changes in selected manufacturing industries and companies.

In this new book, Hara, Kambayashi and Matsushima gather together a collection of case studies of innovation in various industries in modern Japan, including automobile, electronics, semiconductor, component, chemical, pharmaceutical and service industries. Unlike other books in this area, this book focuses on a broader range of Japanese industries from the post world war era to the modern day and considers the relationships between the characteristics of innovation and the features of Japanese society. These chapters demonstrate Japan's shift from being product-oriented and domestic to being business system-oriented and global. Meanwhile the process of innovation in Japan continues to include the tendency of eliminating uncertainty through intimate in-process interaction between different functions, rather than through preset rule or contracts. This book goes some way in challenging accepted notions of Japanese innovation, emphasising new and diverse trends and practises.

Work and Society is an important new text about the sociology of work and employment. It provides both undergraduate and postgraduate students of sociology, business and politics, with a firm and enjoyable foundation to this fascinating area of sociology, giving comprehensive coverage of traditional areas of the sub-discipline as well as new trends and developments.

The book is divided into three complementary and interconnected sections - investigating work, work and social change and understanding work. These sections allow readers to explore themes, issues and approaches by examining how sociologists have thought about, and researched work and how the sub-discipline has been influenced by wider society itself. Novel features include separate chapters on researching work, domestic work, unemployment and work, and the representation of work in literary and visual media.

Work and Society is an important new text about the sociology of work and employment. It provides both undergraduate and postgraduate students of sociology, business and politics, with a firm and enjoyable foundation to this fascinating area of sociology, giving comprehensive coverage of traditional areas of the sub-discipline as well as new trends and developments.

The book is divided into three complementary and interconnected sections a " investigating work, work and social change and understanding work. These sections allow readers to explore themes, issues and approaches by examining how sociologists have thought about, and researched work and how the sub-discipline has been influenced by wider society itself. Novel features include separate chapters on researching work, domestic work, unemployment and work, and the representation of work in literary and visual media.

As optimization techniques have developed, a gap has arisen between the people devising the methods and the people who actually need to use them. Research into methods is necessarily long-term and located usually in academic establishments; whereas the application of an optimization technique, normally in an industrial environment, has to be justified financially in the short term. The gap is probably inevitable; but there is no need for textbooks to reflect it. Teaching of optimization techniques separately from their connection with applications is pointless. This book gives a detailed exposition of the techniques.

In this first volume, T. A. J. Nicholson demonstrates the full range of techniques available to the practitioner for the solution of varying problems. For each technique, the background reasoning behind its development is explained in simple terms; where helpful it is supported by a geometrical argument; and the iterative algorithm for finding the optimum is defined clearly. These steps enable the reader not only to see plainly what is happening in the method but also to reach a level of understanding necessary to write computer programs for optimization techniques.

Problems are tackled in the same way--by searching a feasible region for an optimum. This approach helps the reader to develop the most essential of all skills--selecting appropriate techniques for different circumstances. The numerous worked examples in the text, supported by worked solutions, and the exercises at the end of the chapters are important aids to learning and to teachers. This book serves as an introduction to optimization techniques for students as well as a reference work for the practitioner in business and industry.

"T. A. J. Nicholson" is Senior Lecturer at the London Business School with research and consulting interests in industrial control systems.

One of the most important trends in post-war Britain was the extension of the number and variety of public service undertakings. Originally published in 1933, this title indicated the empirical nature and recent importance of British public utility development at the time, being the first study, which dealt with this trend in a comprehensive manner. For completeness to the book and also providing a suitable background, the local utility services water, gas, transport, docks, and harbors have been considered. The author felt the trends of recent years made a rediscovery of political economy imperative and urgent. This study was an effort to reunite economics, public administration, law, and philosophy in the consideration of British public utilities.

To what extent can governments supplement private venture capitalists and stimulate the economy by providing money to new entrepreneurs as well as existing enterprises? The UK's National Enterprise Board (NEB) attempted to do just this, and whilst it gained most publicity through its efforts to bail out ailing giants such as British Leyland and Rolls Royce Aerospace, much of its attention was actually directed to smaller ventures. Originally published in 1988 Professor Kramer reports that the NEB's record of success was surprisingly good, and that many flourishing undertakings would not be in business today had it not been for the NEB's efforts. The author goes further, and after discussing the political and economic issues involved in according public aid to private enterprises on a case by case basis, he argues that not only should the UK revive its NEB, but that other countries, notably the United States, could benefit by establishing their own versions of it. Indeed, throughout, the author's perspective as an outsider makes him peculiarly alive to the relevance of the UK example to a whole range of international cases. As the first scholarly, full-length study of the NEB, this book will be of value to those interested in the relationships between venture capitalists generally and the enterprises in which they take equity. It will also interest those studying the relationship between holding companies and their subsidiaries.

This outstanding book presents new original contributions from some of the world's leading economists including Ronald Coase, Douglass C. North, Masahiko Aoki, Oliver E. Williamson and Harold Demsetz. It demonstrates the extent and depth of the New Institutional Economics research programme which is having a worldwide impact on the economics profession.The book lays out the fundamental dimensions of the research programme with special emphasis on the interaction between institutional factors, both formal and informal, and the performance of different arrangements that organize transactions. After examining the foundations of New Institutional Economics and honouring Ronald Coase's contribution to the field, it presents controversial and conflicting views on the sources of growth. It places special emphasis on organizations and transactions, focusing on issues of trust, corruption, enforcement of contracts and modes of organization. Written by an eminent group of scholars, Institutions, Contracts and Organizations is an important landmark in the development of New Institutional Economics.

Originally published in 1931 (this re-issues the 8th edition of 1953), this book gives students a comprehensive account of global climatic types and the impact of climate on economics, issues of race, health, meteorology and geography. Climate change is covered from earliest times up until the middle of the twentieth century. The material is supplemented with 82 black and white maps/diagrams.