This book examines the role and potential of derivative actions in shareholder protection in public limited companies. Derivative actions have been a focal point of legislators' agendas on shareholder protection, in the past few decades, throughout Europe and beyond. Nevertheless, there remain jurisdictions, such as Greece, which are still devoid of this remedy. Against this backdrop, this book examines whether and how the derivative action may improve shareholder protection, constituting thus a mechanism that justifies legislative attention. It does so in three parts. First, it analyses the desirable role derivative actions assume in protecting shareholder property, monitoring corporate management and mitigating agency costs, alongside their economic implications, introducing the reader to the contemporary international debate on the topic. Having set the desiderata, the second part proceeds with the comparative analysis of Greek, German and UK law - jurisdictions that have recently reformed their provisions on shareholder protection - examining not only the law on derivative actions and their Greek counterpart remedy but also mechanisms of shareholder protection that do, or could, assume functions similar to those of the derivative action. By critically assessing the merits and failures of the respective UK, German and Greek shareholder protection laws, the book then proceeds to offer (in Part III) a model framework of shareholders' derivative litigation for jurisdictions considering reform. Written in an accessible format, it will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in this important aspect of company law and corporate governance.

This book explores the distinct nature of innovation in medium technology industrial sectors - which are the key to European international competitiveness - and examines the recent changes of networks within regional clusters. The authors present best-practice management and regional strategies, and develop an original and coherent theoretical framework for the analysis of innovation processes called 'Territorial Knowledge Management'. They concentrate on the territorial dimension and the cognitive economics approach, and go beyond the traditional focus on R&D in high-tech sectors. The pivotal role of intermediate institutions in the governance of modern co-ordinated market economies is also highlighted. Working towards defining new guidelines for creating networks of competence centers and removing barriers to the enlargement of knowledge and innovation networks in Europe, this book will prove an enlightening read for those with an interest in postgraduate level management and innovation studies. Management and policy-making practitioners at both the regional and European level will also find much to interest them.

The current degradation of sovereign balance sheets raises very real concerns about how sovereign creditworthiness is measured by credit rating agencies. Given the disastrous economic and social effects of any downgrade, the book offers an alternative and calls for more transparency about the quantitative measures used in calibrating the rating process and how sovereign ratings are validated. It argues that oversight is required and procedures improved, including subjecting methodologies of assessing default to more standardization and monitoring. Sovereign Credit Rating explains the process of sovereign creditworthiness assessment and explores the consequences of possible inaccuracies in the process. Developing an innovative new methodology to assess ratings accuracy, it shows that the announcement of each rating action by the major credit rating agencies show alarming inconsistencies. Written by an internationally recognized author and professor, this unique book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in corporate governance, accounting, public finance and regulation.

China's phenomenal economic growth in the past 30 years has witnessed the rise of its global natural resources companies. At the same time, the emerging of a middle class in China and their desire to improve living standards including better dwelling conditions, better health and nutrition, has driven strong demand in mineral resources, energy and quality food. The so called 'socialist market economy' in China has seen this growing demand being met partially by companies with 'national significance'. In the resources sector, these companies are represented by companies listed in stock exchanges in China as well as globally such as in New York and London; at the same time, most of these companies are also controlled by the Chinese government. China's resources companies have expanded overseas in search of new acquisition targets whilst seeking to extend their global reach with a focus on resource rich countries. The expansion of these companies internationally, and the unique ownership structure of these companies, has posed challenges for regulators, trading partners of these companies, investors and other interested parties seeking to understand how these companies are governed and the implications of government ownership for resource security globally. Resource Security and Governance: The Globalisation of China's Natural Resources Companies contains case studies of the global expansion efforts of Chinese global natural resources companies; it reviews the governance structures of these companies and analyses how these have affected the inter-relationship between these companies and their trading partners, governments, regulators in targeted countries and investors globally. In addition, this book examines how the unique structure of these companies may affect resource security globally and touches on other related matters such as climate change, and air and water security in China.

If you had to evacuate from your building right now and were told you couldn't get back in for two weeks, would you know what to do to ensure your business continues to operate? Would your staff? Would every person who works for your organization? Increasing threats to business operations, both natural and man-made, mean a disaster could occur at any time. It is essential that corporations and institutions develop plans to ensure the preservation of business operations and the technology that supports them should risks become reality. Building an Enterprise-Wide Business Continuity Program goes beyond theory to provide planners with actual tools needed to build a continuity program in any enterprise. Drawing on over two decades of experience creating continuity plans and exercising them in real recoveries, including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, Master Business Continuity Planner, Kelley Okolita, provides guidance on each step of the process. She details how to validate the plan and supplies time-tested tips for keeping the plan action-ready over the course of time. Disasters can happen anywhere, anytime, and for any number of reasons. However, by proactively planning for such events, smart leaders can prepare their organizations to minimize tragic consequences and readily restore order with confidence in the face of such adversity.

The insolvency of multinational corporate groups creates a compelling challenge to the commercial world. As many medium and large-sized companies are multinational companies with operations in different countries, it is important to provide appropriate solutions for the insolvency of these key market players. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the cross-border insolvency theories, practical solutions and regulatory solutions for the insolvency of multinational corporate groups. Whilst the book recognises certain merits of these solutions, it also reveals the limitations and uncertainty caused by them. An analysis of the provisions and tools relating to cross-border insolvency of multinational corporate groups in the new EU Regulation on insolvency proceedings 2015, the UNCITRAL Model Law on cross-border insolvency, the Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks and the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive 2014, along with a study of directors' duties, are included in this book. This book focuses on the insolvency and rescue of non-financial corporate groups. However, it is also important to recognise the similarities and differences between corporate insolvency regimes and bank resolution regimes. In particular, lessons learnt from bank resolution practices may be useful for non-financial corporate groups. This book aims to provide an in-depth examination of the existing solutions for the insolvency of multinational corporate groups. It also aims to view cross-border insolvency of corporate groups within a broad context where all relevant regimes and theories interact with each other. Therefore, directors' duties in the vicinity of insolvency, preventive insolvency proceedings, procedural consolidation, international cooperative frameworks and bank resolution regimes are considered together. This book may appeal to academics, students and practitioners within the areas of corporate law, cross-border insolvency law and financial law.

Mark Schwartz, author of leadership classics A Seat at the Table and The Art of Business Value, reveals a new (empowering) model for the often soul-shattering, frustrating, Kafkaesque nightmare we call bureaucracy. Through humor, a healthy dose of history and philosophy, and real-life examples from his days as a government bureaucrat, Schwartz shows IT leaders (and the whole of business) how to master the ways of the Monkey, the Razor, and the Sumo Wrestler to create a lean, learning, and enabling bureaucracy. For anyone frustrated by roadblocks, irritated the business can't move fast enough, or suffering under the weight of crushing procedures, this book is for you. No matter your role, you need a playbook for bureaucracy. This is it. With this playbook, you can wield bureaucracy as a superpower and bust through it at the same time

Key elements of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal with temporary labor mobility. Ideally, NAFTA status provisions should make the temporary movement of professionals easier across the border of all NAFTA countries. However, in the case of emerging sectors such as high technology and the creative industries, it is arguably not the case. Within the context of recent literature on cross-border trade, city regions, economic clusters, international labor mobility, and post-September 11 security measures, this book probes the dynamics of transitory immigration of 'knowledge-workers' between the North American west coast city regions of Vancouver, Seattle, and the greater San Francisco Bay and Silicon Valley area, namely, Cascadia. With particular attention given to the experiences and strategies of the high tech firms that must move highly skilled workers across the Canada-US border, this book draws from 80 in-depth interviews with Canadian and US immigration officials, immigration attorneys and executives and professional staff of new technology firms and Fortune 500 companies. It develops and presents new models towards the development of an innovation cross border region, and recommends new policy approaches. Ultimately, it explores whether or not the Canada-US border is an impediment to the development of cross-border high-tech clusters. This comprehensive book will serve as a critical resource for academics in geography; political science; international relations; global studies; economics; international business and law. It will also strongly appeal to practitioners such as professional immigration lawyers, corporate firms, and governmental policy makers alike.

Since publication of the first edition in 1992, Project Management for Designers and Facilities Managers has remained the leading choice for professionals and students seeking to learn and master the skills needed to successfully lead a project from conception to occupancy and beyond. Few engineering, architectural or facilities management courses offer training in this important activity and therefore most project managers learn their skills on-the-job.With this practical, indispensable working tool you will gain all the essential skills needed for effective project management, presented in the clear, easy-to-follow style that is a hallmark of this book. Particular emphasis is devoted to effective communications essential to the optimal performance of every member of the project team. This Fourth edition is revised with additional case studies and includes everything you need to manage a successful project.

Enhancing Board Effectiveness seeks to examine the conceptualization and role of the board in a variety of contexts and articulate solutions for improving the effectiveness of the board, especially in developing and emerging markets. Enhancing Board Effectiveness with therefore address the following central questions: To what extent is the concept and role of the board evolving? What rights, powers, responsibilities and other contemporary and historical experiences can enhance the effectiveness of the board, especially in the particular contexts of developing and emerging markets? What socio-economic, political, regulatory and institutional factors/actors influence the effectiveness of the board and how can the policies and practices of such actors exert such influences? In what ways can a reconstructed concept of the board serve as a tool for theoretical, analytical, regulatory and pragmatic assessment of its effectiveness? In examining this issues, Enhancing Board Effectiveness will investigate theoretical, socio-economic, historical, empirical, regulatory, comparative and inter-disciplinary approaches. Academics in the relevant fields of accounting, behavioural psychology/economics, development studies, financial regulation, law and management/organizational studies, political economy and, public administration will find this book of high interest.

In today's fast growing digital world, the web, mobile, social networks and other digital platforms are producing enormous amounts of data that hold intelligence and valuable information. Correctly used it has the power to create sustainable value in different forms for businesses. The commonly used term for this data is Big Data, which includes structured, unstructured and hybrid structured data. However, Big Data is of limited value unless insightful information can be extracted from the sources of data. The solution is Big Data analytics, and how managers and executives can capture value from this vast resource of information and insights. This book develops a simple framework and a non-technical approach to help the reader understand, digest and analyze data, and produce meaningful analytics to make informed decisions. It will support value creation within businesses, from customer care to product innovation, from sales and marketing to operational performance. The authors provide multiple case studies on global industries and business units, chapter summaries and discussion questions for the reader to consider and explore. Big Data for Managers also presents small cases and challenges for the reader to work on - making this a thorough and practical guide for students and managers.

This book provides a clear overview of the legal rules relating to directors' disqualification in Australia, Germany, South Africa, the UK and the US, and to highlight the differences in the disqualification regimes of these jurisdictions. The book seeks to determine whether disqualification on application should be developed further as a corporate law and corporate governance tool to ensure that individuals who have a proven record of posing a particular risk to the business community, shareholders and creditors, are indeed disqualified from being directors. The book is unique as it provides a single source where the disqualification regimes of all these jurisdictions are explored and compared. The book will appeal to scholars of corporate law, regulators and policy-makers. The book will also be of particular interest to senior managers and directors to determine precisely what the laws regarding disqualification of company directors are, and what type of behaviour might expose them to potential disqualification.

Enterprise Process Management Systems: Engineering Process-Centric Enterprise Systems using BPMN 2.0 proposes a process-centric paradigm to replace the traditional data-centric paradigm for Enterprise Systems (ES)--ES should be reengineered from the present data-centric enterprise architecture to process-centric process architecture to be called as Enterprise Process Management Systems (EPMS). The real significance of business processes can be understood in the context of current heightened priority on digital transformation or digitalization of enterprises. Conceiving the roadmap to realize a digitalized enterprise via the business model innovation becomes amenable only from the process-centric view of the enterprise. This pragmatic book: Introduces Enterprise Process Management Systems (EPMS) solutions that enable an agile enterprise. Describes distributed systems and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) that paved the road to EPMS. Leverages SOA to explain the cloud-based realization of business processes in terms of Web Services. Describes how BPMN 2.0 addresses the requirements for agility by ensuring a seamless methodological path from process requirements modeling to execution and back (to enable process improvements). Presents the spreadsheet-driven Spreadsheeter Application Development (SAD) methodology for the design and development of process-centric application systems. Describes process improvement programs ranging right from disruptive programs like BPR to continuous improvement programs like lean, six sigma and TOC. Enterprise Process Management Systems: Engineering Process-Centric Enterprise Systems using BPMN 2.0 describes how BPMN 2.0 can not only capture business requirements but it can also provide the backbone of the actual solution implementation. Thus, the same diagram prepared by the business analyst to describe the business's desired To-Be process can also be used to automate the execution of that process on a modern process engine.

Jeff Lawson, developer turned CEO of Twilio (one of Bloomberg Businessweek's Top 50 Companies to Watch in 2021), creates a new playbook for unleashing the full potential of software developers in any organization, showing how to help management utilize this coveted and valuable workforce to enable growth, solve a wide range of business problems, and drive digital transformation. From banking and retail to insurance and finance, every industry is turning digital, and every company needs the best software to win the hearts and minds of customers. The landscape has shifted from the classic build vs. buy question, to one of build vs. die. Companies have to get this right to survive. But how do they make this transition? Software developers are sought after, highly paid, and desperately needed to compete in the modern, digital economy. Yet most companies treat them like digital factory workers without really understanding how to unleash their full potential. Lawson argues that developers are the creative workforce who can solve major business problems and create hit products for customers-not just grind through rote tasks. From Google and Amazon, to one-person online software companies-companies that bring software developers in as partners are winning. Lawson shows how leaders who build industry changing software products consistently do three things well. First, they understand why software developers matter more than ever. Second, they understand developers and know how to motivate them. And third, they invest in their developers' success. As a software developer and public company CEO, Lawson uses his unique position to bridge the language and tools executives use with the unique culture of high performing, creative software developers. Ask Your Developer is a toolkit to help business leaders, product managers, technical leaders, software developers, and executives achieve their common goal-building great digital products and experiences. How to compete in the digital economy? In short: Ask Your Developer.

This book breaks new ground by providing a structured and cohesive set of contributions on the actions, developments, problems and theories of corporate social responsibility (CSR). With new case studies from the UN's Least Developed Countries (LDCs), contributors in this book investigate how firms in Eastern and Western countries are responding to and making use of evolving CSR guidelines. The book addresses the following questions: is CSR simply greenwashing or an authentic commitment to responsible corporate citizenship? Has globalization drawn CSR conduct in LDCs closer to that of industrialized countries? Stakeholder theory, actor-network theory and a new orbital theory of accountability are applied to give coherence to the case studies. Other chapters address greenwashing in reports, the impact of CSR in socially stigmatized occupations, an analysis on what responsibility precisely entails in CSR, and the interface between law and CSR. The book also considers the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry, and includes a contribution from Ukrainian scholars, one written while their city of Kharkiv was under attack by Russian forces. This book will be a useful reference to those interested in discussions on crises, climate change, and SDGs and realizing sustainable goals through CSR.

In September 2015, at the United Nations, world leaders agreed on seventeen Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. This book extrapolates the SDGs into the idea of a purposeful world. In this context, the purpose for humanity is to thrive sustainably alongside other life forms and to consciously celebrate the process. The SDGs serve as a powerful vision, time-stamped at the 2030 time horizon, not just for world leaders but for us all. However, faced with the challenges of implementing the SDGs, we (including business leaders, government leaders and anyone wishing to make a difference) can feel overwhelmed. Wilson takes the reader on a journey of thought and invites them to work out their personal role in sustainability as well as their collaborative role alongside others in their communities and organisations. Written in a very accessible style, the book celebrates some of the many achievements made by ordinary people as a catalyst for hope, sets out a number of achievable goals and provides exercises to enable the reader to adopt practices that help to make a difference. It is the perfect book to help turn the SDGs into action at every level - governmental, organisational and personal.

Shortlisted for The Business Book Awards 2022: Smart Thinking category Answer Intelligence: Raise your AQ is a book about six answers: story, metaphor, theory, concept, procedure, and action. By fully incorporating questions into those answers, Brian Glibkowski showcases how readers can not only elevate their understanding of questions and answers, but also reimagine what it means to communicate effectively. The book identifies five High AQ practices that distinguish expert communicators. Featuring chapters which each cover a different form of AQ such as Sales AQ, Interview AQ, Coaching AQ, and more, the book includes real-life examples of elevated answers. With contributions from representatives of organizations such as Salesforce, Center for Healthcare Innovation, Boston Mutual Life Insurance, as well as academics, the book provides comprehensive insight into AQ from across the professional and research spaces. Giving readers access to an app allowing them to do an AQ self-assessment, the author equips his audience to use the skills and behaviours presented to improve and hone their own AQ.

In the twenty-first century technology has become global, and firms compete using knowledge and capital. The 'traditional firm' has a need for innovation and depends on efficient knowledge management to improve productivity. This book examines five firms that produce the same commodity, white chicken meat, in different parts of the world and under very different conditions. It brings to bear the expertise and international perspectives of the author team, utilizing theoretical discussions and case studies to address the question: How do local firms use knowledge to compete in an increasingly globalized world? This book will be of interest to any postgraduate student, researcher or policymaker hoping to achieve a firmer grasp of innovation and knowledge management: a recurring and highly pertinent theme in contemporary economics.

Ikujiro Nonaka’s A Dynamic Theory of Organisational Knowledge Creation outlines the creation of organisational knowledge through the constant conversion of the two types of knowledge, tacit and explicit, which Nonaka believes has the potential to guide managers’ knowledge creation strategies. This argument is centred on the conviction that companies are not passive parties that simply utilise existing knowledge for providing solutions to the customers, and that organisations and environments simultaneously influence knowledge creation. This text is considered fundamental for the knowledge management field and as such, it has been utilised by a large number of academics.

Consolidation activities such as mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have been one of the major strategies adopted by Indian firms to withstand global competition. M&As experienced a substantial increase in value and volume during the post-liberalization era, facilitated by the presence of foreign subsidiaries in the Indian market as well as competitive pressure on domestic firms. The increased foreign investment through M&As brought new dimensions to the fore such as the implications on technological performance, efficiency, and more importantly, competition in the Indian market. The Globalisation of Indian Business: Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions in Indian Manufacturing provides an in-depth analysis of these issues, specifically aiming to understand whether the M&As strategies helped the firms to achieve their desired objectives in terms of improvement in technology, efficiency and market power in the context of the increase of M&As in India, using appropriate statistical and econometric techniques. The book is of additional importance in the context of the recently implemented Competition Act, replacing the thirty year old MRTP Act in India. The new Act aims to maintain competition and protect consumers' interests without harming that of the producers'. Based on the analysis, broadly, the study cautions the regulators to rethink the efficiency defence argument and become more vigilant on the creation of monopolies. On the other side, it suggests firms should reconsider their post-merger integration strategy since consolidation has not led to a sustainable increase in market share of the surviving firms.

There is a growing acknowledgement of the role played by finance theory and experts in the 2008 global banking crash, and their ongoing contributions to risks in the financial system. Some argue that finance theory is deeply ideological and the academy has been captured and corrupted by financial institutions and conservative journal editors and their unrealistic influence. Its language and terminology have been self-referential, enabling disciplinary closure but generating widening gaps with reality and lived experience. In particular, in spite of its deeply cultural and ethical nature, finance education has been stripped of any wider discussion of ethics and culture, and replaced by a particular neo-liberal greed and materialistic ethic. In an era of financialisation, some have called finance a 'curse on modernity'. The devastation this has caused and continues to cause is making the world highly unequal, risky and unsustainable. Serious and radical reforms are required in the teaching and research of finance. This book charts out the possible solutions for such reform.

Facing the amplitude and the acceleration of changes, management must also change, and it must become alert, adaptable, and agile. The children of the Internet, the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook and Tesla, are born agile, and they challenge the traditional organizations that have long lost their original agility. The latter may have innovated externally i.e. on the market-oriented part of their organization. Yet, internally their mindset, their models, and their methods have remained tightly trapped in traditional tenets. Confronted with the need for deep changes, an increasing number of business-leaders launch change-management programs, yet, conceived and carried out in traditional ways, up to 70% of them result in partial or total failure. Management cannot innovate itself, it needs people with the right motivation and with the right mind-set. However, stuck in the old system, people can only keep working in the old ways and means. Thus, the leadership must start by replacing a traditional system with a new and agile one, which will unbridle entrepreneurship. The Platform of Agile Management and the Program to Implement It combines 3 principles that help to innovate thinking, 3 paradigms to innovate behaviours, and 3 practices to innovate and to accelerate actions. The proposed platform is comprehensive, connective, and congenial. It is implemented with an agile program that combines top down push by the leadership with the bottom up pulled by the people. Then, the proposed platform will generate continuous improvements and innovations of the performance drivers.

It is often asserted that the ruling elite in Western capitalist economies now consists of liberal intellectuals and their media sympathisers. By contrast this book looks at the real elite in Australian and New Zealand society and shows that there is still a ruling class based upon economic dominance. From an analysis of corporate and public records, interviews, and other primary and secondary data, it develops a picture of networks of power that are changing but are as real as any network in the past.

The recent financial crisis has made it paramount for the financial services industry to find new perspectives to look at their industry and, most importantly, to gain a better understanding of how the global financial system can be made less vulnerable and more resilient. The primary objective of this book is to illustrate how the safety science of Resilience Engineering can help to gain a better understanding of what the financial services system is and how to improve governance and control of financial services systems by leveraging some of its key concepts. Resilience is the intrinsic ability of a system to adjust its functioning prior to, during, or following changes and disturbances, so that it can sustain required operations under both expected and unexpected conditions. This definition is focused on the ability to function, rather than just to be impervious to failure, and thereby bridges the traditional conflict between productivity and safety. The core concept of the book is that the behaviour of the financial services system is the result of the tight couplings among the humans, organizations and technologies that are necessary to provide complex financial functions such as the transfer of economic resources. It is a consequence of this perspective that the risks associated with these systems cannot be understood without considering the nature of these tight couplings. Adopting this perspective, the book is designed to provide some answers to the following key questions about the financial crisis: - What actually happened? - Why and how did it happen? - Could something similar happen again? How can we see that in time and how can we control it? - How can sustainable recovery of the global financial system be established? How can its resilience be improved?