Offering a theoretically coherent and integrated introduction, the book examines how communication (symbolic activity) occurs in a range of contexts from individual perception and thought to interpersonal and public situations. It provides solid theoretical grounding for understanding the centrality of communication, integrating research on gender throughout so that it is understood as a primary screen on communicative behavior. The first section provides theoretical grounding by applying the symbolic interactionist orientation to theory, language, situations, nonverbal behavior, and listening. In the text, symbolic interactionist theory explains how selfhood arises in communication with others and how individuals' communicative interactions create and sustain their interpersonal relationships. The final section applies a symbolic interactionist perspective to communication in group, public, and interview settings.

Drawing on research in the areas of business organization, information technology, and information economics this book develops an empirical basis for integrating the three fields. It investigates information technology management based on the theoretical foundations of information economics, examines the chief information officer phenomenon and identifies the factors that lead organizations to create such a position, and analyzes organizational and managerial motivations leading to investment in information technology. Karake concludes that the way information technology is managed and the magnitude of investment in such technology depends on the organization ownership structure, that the ownership structure is a determinant of the degree of control information managers exercise, and that there is a significant relationship between the size and composition of boards of directors and the management of and investment in information technology.

This study will be of interest to students, researchers, and practitioners of information technology management and information technology performance.

Reflections is a collection of my writings through the years in defense of and support for Affirmative Action in the construction industry. It documents a struggle for economic justice that began on July 23, 1969 when Chicago community groups assembled to demand equal participation in local federal construction projects. As these programs became successful, resistance rose at a rapid clip. Who would have thought that our quest for economic justice would eventually reach the Supreme Court as a battle against "reverse discrimination?" Who would have believed that the "affirmative action" programs that integrated an exclusive white workforce, and provided new opportunities for Black firms would be challenged so vigorously that the term would not even be used by the 2008 presidential candidates? We share our experiences for others seeking change by providing examples of how Black businesses can address community problems, including educating elected officials and holding them accountable. It was though my membership in Parren Mitchell's (Maryland's first Black congressman-1971), Black Business Braintrust, that the first national legislation requiring mandatory Minority Business Enterprise MBE] utilization was forged. This book emphasizes four main areas of concern: Affirmative Action as a tool to break the pattern of exclusion by construction trade unions and apprenticeship programs. To demonstrate that local organizations with dedicated leaders can combat discrimination and create positive change that reverberates nationally. To expand the Black tradesmen workforce as a vehicle for increasing Black subcontractor numbers and developing substantial Black general contractors. The development of viable black construction firms: UBM, Inc., which I co-founded in 1974, was by 2004, the largest Black general contractor in the state of Illinois. My firm accomplished everything I sought to prove as a black business by creating the capacity to apply positive solutions to problems besieging our community.

Robert Kiyosaki's new book uses the lessons from the past and a brutal assessment of the present to prepare readers to see - and seize - the future. Like it or not, we are all involved in the greatest evolutionary event in human history. The Industrial Age is over and the Information Age continues to accelerate. The visible agents of change have become invisible...and harder to see. And the future belongs to those who can train their minds, use the past to see the future, and take the steps to create the positive change they want to see in their lives. Second Chance is a guide to understanding how the past will shape the future and how you can use Information Age tools and insights to create a fresh start. This book is a guide to facing head-on the dangers of the crises around us - and steps and tips for seizing the opportunities they present.

Drawing from decades of research, teaching, and consulting in the fields of marketing and strategy, the author demystifies the forces of market chaos, including technological change, globalization, and consumer behavior, showing readers how to identify those forces that can be turned to their competitive advantage. Featuring dozens of illustrative examples, of both winners and losers, and concluding each chapter with a series of questions designed to help readers apply the book's principles in their own organizations, Samli demonstrates how to detect changes in market conditions early, uncover latent customer needs, create new products and services, and maintain a competitive edge. There is no doubt that the business environment has become increasingly unpredictable. Yesterday's market leaders become tomorrow's has-beens; upstarts take on established giants; customers flock to new technologies while demanding old-fashioned customer service; and, of course, the Internet and the forces of globalization are accelerating the pace of change. Learning how to survive—and thrive—in this environment is of utmost importance for any company that intends to stick around. Drawing from decades of research, teaching, and consulting in the fields of marketing and strategy, the author demystifies these chaotic forces, identifying the pressures on business that create uncertainty, but also the potential for innovation for those who recognize opportunities to strengthen their competitive position. Featuring dozens of illustrative examples of both winners and losers, Samli shows readers how to turn market chaos and uncertainty to their advantage. Concluding each chapter with a series of questions designed to help readers apply the book's principles in their own organizations, Samli demonstrates how to detect changes in market conditions early, uncover latent customer needs, create new products and services, and maintain a competitive edge.

The contents of this book encourage business men and women to play by the rule.If you are fair to your employees, there are always great benefits; however, if you encourage unfairness,over a period of time you will see the whole establishment begin to crumble gradually; and you will be asking the same question like many have in the past--where did I go wrong?--Fairness is definitely the way to success!

Oller and Giardetti provide a simple, comprehensive, and fully consistent theory to explain why some messages and images communicate more effectively than others -- and then show specialists in advertising, marketing, and high stake communications how to apply the theory in their work. With examples and illustrations that practitioners and academics alike will find understandable, they provide readers with a solid grounding in semiotics, the study of how meanings are constructed and construed in signs. In doing so Oller and Giardetti help high stakes communicators find new ways to reach and persuade others -- but speak against deceit and subterfuge. They make clear that messages must be consistent with the facts, and that the most successful communicators share one special trait: integrity. A readable, research-based, up-to-date treatment of an important emerging field of study, and a carefully developed guide for practitioners and academics alike.

"Images That Work" is about emotions, desires, ideas, and the hard objects, events, and tensional relations in the common world of space and time. It is about creating and presenting words and pictures in ways that communicate genuine substance from real people to other real people. Oller and Giardetti begin with the foundations of integrity, the glory of supreme effort, and the weaknesses of fads, fashions, and untested gut feelings. They draw examples from high stakes messages in advertising, entertainment, and other communications industries. In doing so they make clear that not only are effective messages consistent with material facts, they are also comprehensive in how they convey facts and yet concise and simple enough to fit into the time and space that consumers will devote to the message. And along the way they give readers a solid grounding in the fascinating and relatively new field of semiotics, a field that has already become well established in the academic community and which has begun to spread its influence to the world outside.

The following is a work dealing with the international aspects of corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Specifically, the impact of an overemphasized shareholder value construct in the privatization process in Germany on the examples of Deutsche Telekom AG and Deutsche Post AG.

Using the words of its own people, this intriguing book provides an in-depth look at the incredibly successful airline that changed the rules of the game with a no-frills business model and innovative corporate culture. Southwest Airlines turns in-depth interviews with the company's leaders, managers, employees, and passengers into a powerful case study of this highly successful, game-changing business. Ranging from the early days of the company to the present, the book covers the history of the airline and its founders, while also detailing the unique corporate culture that attracts employees and passengers alike. Throughout its history, Southwest has championed a culture that puts employees first, creating a productive workforce by hiring for "attitude before aptitude" (because skills can be taught) and allowing employees to be themselves at work. The founders' philosophies of "servant leadership" and a "fun-LUVing" attitude continue to attract employees and influence the company's daily work today. In detailing the airline's inner workings in the words of its own people, this book shows other companies how they can emulate Southwest's powerful business model and strategies, as well as its hiring practices and corporate culture.

This is a book of negotiation stories that apply techniques Dr. Klatt has learned since 1972, the year he began his career as a professional real estate licensee negotiator. They are techniques that were learned in the School of Hard Knocks, the best learning place of all. This book is not intended to be a complete presentation of all areas of negotiation, negotiation practice, or negotiation theory. It is intentionally short on theory and long on stories. It is so much easier (and more fun) to remember stories than theory, and if you remember the story you will be able to work back to the theory. It is a book written for real estate agents, law students, attorneys, mediators, and anyone else for whom negotiations are central to their career. In a sense, this means that this book has been written for us all. For we are all professional negotiators. Dr. Klatt was a strapping San Diego City lifeguard, excellent athlete, competitive surfer, ambidextrous tennis player, and drag racing champion before an accident robbed him of his sight. That was an event that could have broken the spirit of lesser men. Instead, Dr. Klatt turned his physical short-coming into a vector for professional excellence. He went on to sell a portfolio of property that has a present collective value that is easily worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and he did it all without ever laying sight upon one single inch of the property that he sold. This book is his method.

As the 21st century nears, networked computing is becoming the essence of computing itself. Alternative phrases abound--collaborative work, computer supported cooperative work, simultaneous/concurrent engineering, multimedia real-time interactive work--but the neatest, shortest, and simplest catch-all term was coined in 1978: groupware. The two visionaries who coined the term, Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz, are among the 42 expert contributors to Groupware in the 21st Century. Other contributors to the volume include Microsoft's Bill Gates, professors Jay Nunamaker and Tom Malone, and management author Robert Heller. As with most technological sea-changes, the groupware revolution is having its impact first on business, where enhanced interaction between an organization's members, strategic allies, suppliers, and customers can help ensure that it remains dynamic and competitive. Anyone who wants to know about the future of information technology and group processes will want to read this book which brings perspective and clarity to these new technologies.

"The Four Filters Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger" examines each of the steps that Buffett and Munger perform in "framing and making" an investment decision. This book is a focused look into this amazing innovation within "Behavioral Finance." The genius of Buffett and Munger's parsimonious four filters process was to "capture all the important stakeholders" in a "multi-variable" decision forming process.

THE DEVIL'S MARRIAGEBREAK UP THE CORPOCRACY OR LEAVE DEMOCRACY IN THE LURCHAmerica is becoming a "ruiNation." The reason, well-known psychologist Dr. Gary Brumback, tells us is the corpocracy, the "Devil's Marriage" between powerful corporations and patronizing politicians. He proposes "Democracy Power," a revolutionary but civil, peaceful force to break up the corpocracy."Gary Brumback's passion for social and economic justice shines through every page of his new book. He tells it as he sees it, mincing no words. He shows how essential it is for us to change the rules of the game so that we may break the ties that bind corporations and government -- and move to a more equitable and sustainable future."---Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and The Blade and The Real Wealth of Nations."A refreshing, exuberant read, full of sock-it-to-them creative insights about how corpocracy in the US has subverted democracy and what to do about it. This book is a political version of "On the Road"-- a passionate out flowing of analysis, critique and transformative strategies, including a vision of a national coalition of NGOs and movements uniting to challenge the corpocracy, spearheaded by a US Chamber of Democracy. Not for the faint of heart but red meat for progressives and activists everywhere."---Charles Derber, author of Corporation Nation, Regime Change Begins at Home, and, most recently, Greed to Green."This is an extraordinary and timely book that deserves to be widely read. Gary Brumback tells it like it is: America is no longer a democracy, governed by and for the people; we are a 'corpocracy' governed by and for large corporations with the massive help of an obliging government. Their grip on our nation is tight, but not unbreakable. Brumback shows how we can loosen it and reclaim our democratic heritage."---Peter Barnes, author of Capitalism 3.0: A Guide to Reclaiming the Commons, and co-founder of Working Assets.

This book provides the only comprehensive examination of contraceptive social marketing. It includes a full description of the most important of these programs, documenting a form of international assistance that has attracted over $1 billion from governments and other donors. The book contains a wealth of previously unpublished material that illustrates this remarkable story. The author challenges the widespread belief that family planning can only be made available through medically-oriented programs and that foreign assistance must be catalytic rather than long-term.

"Let Every Child Be Wanted," with its comprehensive overview, anecdotes and strategies, is a useful handbook for philanthropic agencies, independent charities, and government programs. It will also be valuable for preparing students to work in public health arenas around the world. With a new generation of health workers steeped in social marketing techniques like those offered in this book, tremendous advances can be made in the battle against unwanted pregnancy and AIDS.

This work deals with the political transition in Spain from authoritarianism to democracy and its impact on business. It addresses the fundamental questions of how business was affected by the transition and how business, in turn, influenced the course of democratization, through collective action, and how it influenced the marketplace through the aggregate of individual business decisions. The work has a strong empirical base. Data was collected from the chief executive officers of 260 Spanish companies and the managing directors of over one hundred affiliates of the top-ranked business association, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (the "CEOE"). The work is particularly timely in light of the transitions occurring in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Unlike many earlier political transitions to more open systems, in Latin America and Southern Europe, the dynamics of economic change concurrent with political change is getting much greater attention in the East European transitions. The East European systems are attempting simultaneous political transitions with movement from command to market economies. Some East Europeans have studied the Spanish experience to garner lessons for their own efforts.

In all facets of life, most people strive for success. This could mean getting a promotion to vice-president, making the high school basketball team, having your children grow up to be good citizens, or getting the family together for holidays. Many of the elements of success are likely to include recovering from failure, short and long-term goals, perseverance, focused concentration, coping with adversity and keeping confident despite obstacles. To be successful requires many of these attributes and some people might consider them to be ingredients of mental toughness. But what is mental toughness? Let's look at the following examples and you can decide whether the person is mentally tough or not. A basketball player is injured and despite the fact that he may re-injure himself and hurt his long-term career, he decides to play in the championship game to help his teammates. A businesswoman is feeling really sick but she has a big presentation scheduled for today. Even though she might not be at her very best she "sucks it up" takes some medicine and goes into work to deliver her presentation. Are these examples of mental toughness or not? Would your conclusion be any different based on the outcome of the situation? For example would you say the businesswoman was mentally tough if she gave a great presentation but should have stayed home if, due to her illness, gave a poor presentation? These are difficult decisions, and people will typically come to different conclusions concerning what is mental toughness.In this book, I will provide evidence regarding the meaning of mental toughness. Its component will be broken down and tips for how to build mental toughness will be provided. So get started on the journey of understanding mental toughness and taking concrete steps to become more mentally tough.

With downsizing, layoffs, and other retrenchment measures afflicting both public and private sectors, outplacement consulting has grown from a minor specialty among human resources (HR) firms and practitioners into an important industry. Meyer and Shadle explore changes that have occurred in the outplacement process--as well as its practice--to provide a clearer understanding of what it is and what it offers organizations and their employees. Clearly written and designed to assist management and their HR professionals, the book provides not only an insight into the meaning of job loss and its devastating impact on workers and the organization, but also a way to help lessen the blow to both.

Among the topics explored here are the seven dimensions of the new careerism, an inclusive definition of outplacement, a complete and objective review and analysis of the elements of the outplacement and career transition process, and a description of the different kinds of assessment typically offered as part of outplacement. It also provides an inside look into this multimillion-dollar industry, its organization and markets, trends, and the industry's burgeoning technology. The authors answer such questions as: Why does one need outplacement counseling? Why do corporations pay for it and how much? How do outplacement firms contact and contract with corporations? How can the outplacement firm provide consultation to downsizing corporations? This book is a well-researched practical resource for all organizations and their employees in this economically difficult decade.

This hands-on, self-coaching program helps aspiring leaders develop their skills, understand themselves, and realize their dreams. In Becoming Your Own Business Coach, Dr. George Watts helps readers become their own "change agents." His core principle? Exceptional executives possess the ability to hold deep conversations not just with others, but with themselves. The core premise of this book is straightforward: The deeper and better you understand yourself, the more successful an executive you will become. Becoming Your Own Business Coach offers clear, practical ways executives can grow through introspection, self-knowledge, and self-awareness. Dr. Watts employs the time-honored Socratic approach of asking guided, open-ended questions, providing short personality tests, and explaining straightforward concepts to make the reading journey practical, simple, enjoyable—and productive. Self-coaching, done right, can raise one's emotional intelligence, reveal new skills and abilities, and help readers get from where they are in business and life to where they want to be. His book, Watts says, is action learning, challenging readers to become a partner in their own professional journeys, bridging the gap from their current to their ideal selves.

This book reports and interprets the results of a major research study that investigated the shopping behavior of the mature consumer with regard to the principal types of direct response marketing: catalog shopping, direct mail, media ads, telephone solicitation, direct selling, party-plan selling, and in-home demonstrations. Sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the Andrus Foundation, the project represents the most thorough treatment of the older consumer published to date. Marketing managers, direct marketing specialists, and retailers will find here the data they need to make informed decisions and develop appropriate marketing strategies for reaching a growing, and often relatively affluent, segment of the U.S. consumer population.

The study was based on an 8-page questionnaire to which more than 2500 subjects nationwide responded and which yielded information on respondents' willingness to purchase from various direct sources, actual purchase behavior, preferences for purchasing from direct sources, likes and dislikes about in-home shopping, and the characteristics that influence purchasing decisions. The authors also compared shopping behaviors and attitudes of older consumers with younger groups and analyzed differences on the basis of demographic and psychological variables. A wide range of practical findings issued from the study, including the fact that many mature consumers associate high pressure sales tactics with in-home shopping and evince a high degree of distrust of direct selling techniques. In the final chapter, the authors present practical recommendations for formulating and maintaining a marketplace offering that is satisfying to the mature shopper. Numerous tables and figures illustrate the statistical conclusions drawn from the study.

Most people assume that being right should be enough to be followed and respected as leaders. However, anyone attempting to lead any type of organization (family, business, sports, etc.) knows by experience that this is not so. Usually, the blame is placed on external factors, like the lack of the right team or circumstances. After several failing experiences, frustration and cynicism creep in about the possibility of successfully implementing any improvement initiative. What is the use of being right if nobody listens to us? What is the point of being wise and powerful if the rest of the world thinks we are mad? This book summarizes twenty years of practical experience searching for the most powerful complements to go beyond "Being right" in order to significantly improve our performance as leaders and change agents. It explains how, after developing a good solution, leaders could also be able to sell their ideas to their own people and create the truly collaborative working environments in which continuous improvement can set roots and flourish.

This hardcover version of "Expected End" presents a simple yet powerful model on how to better understand and improve culture on any level. Key elements of the model include mindsets, theories, application, balance and timeless principles. Author Mike Friesen uses a number of personal anecdotes to illustrate his points including many stories from his days as a U.S. F-15 and F-4 pilot. You will enjoy the common sense language and summarizing diagrams.

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT in ORGANISATIONS: STRATEGY, EVIDENCE and PRACTICE provides a comprehensive and thematic overview of the thinking, research evidence and practice of strategic L&D in organisations. It covers both strategic and operational practice dimensions, to help students of L&D and HRM to acquire a deep understanding of the field and to inform the practice of L&D professionals by identifying the best available evidence on L&D practices and by providing them with guidelines for action. It builds on the core operational building blocks of L&D and goes beyond these to take a strategic perspective, emphasising the contribution of L&D to organisational and financial performance and the need to align formal and informal L&D with business objectives. Each chapter incorporates pedagogical features to enable the student or practitioner to apply the concepts to organisational life, link theory to practice and signpost readers to the best available evidence on L&D practices. Specifically: > Succinct and concise explanations of Key Concepts found within the field of L&D; > Critical Reflection exercises that help the reader to engage with key concepts and debates within the field; > A Best Available Evidence to Inform Practice feature to summarise the results of meta-analysis and systematic / integrative reviews in a manner that is accessible to practitioners; > Two Case Studies as examples of application to practice relevant to the chapter's content - and, the end of each chapter, a longer case study with questions that provide an opportunity for classroom-based and practitioner discussion; > Recommended Further Reading to allow the reader to enhance their understanding of the chapter content; > A Glossary to provide students and practitioners with easy access to definitions of the key concepts used throughout the book, as well as other important L&D terms. The book is divided into three key sections, which cover different aspects of L&D: > Section One: Concepts and Context of L&D in Organisations: Chapter 1 discusses the concepts of L&D, the external and internal context of L&D and the key dimensions of strategic L&D in organisations. Chapters 2 and 3 introduce readers to the key theoretical and conceptual foundations of strategic L&D, and its key components, including strategy processes, roles and resources; > Section Two: Theory and Practice of L&D: Chapters 4 to 14 explain the main theories, concepts, models and practices that underpin strategic L&D in organisations. This section covers a wide range of issues that L&D practitioners need to better understand the design, delivery and evaluation of L&D in organisations; > Section Three: Developing the L&D Professional and the Future Role of L&D: Chapters 15 and 16 cover the changing roles of L&D practitioners in organisations, their competence development, professional ethics and the future of ion, including potential new roles and forms of L&D. LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT in ORGANISATIONS: STRATEGY, EVIDENCE and PRACTICE is published in association with the Irish Institute of Training and Development and aims to set the agenda for L&D professionals in the future.

Egal ob Sie etwas mehr Gehalt rausschlagen, beim Autokauf ein paar hundert Euro sparen oder die Familie vom Traumurlaubsziel überzeugen möchten - Verhandeln muss sein. Die gute Nachricht ist: Sie können es lernen und perfektionieren. Christian Wirrwitz stellt Ihnen in diesem Buch grundlegende und fundierte Verhandlungskonzepte vor und geht dabei auf kompetitive und kooperative Ansätze ein. Alle Techniken werden konkret und mit vielen Beispielen erläutert. Lernen Sie, sich richtig vorzubereiten, zu erkennen, wie Ihr Verhandlungspartner tickt, und auch mal richtig hartnäckig zu bleiben.

A unique, practical guide to the power of simulation in the art of logistics management. Authors show better ways to manage complex logistics systems than seat of the pants decision making, and argue that information systems people must provide management with simulations that are timely and easily understood. In doing so, Nersesian and Swartz demonstrate the inadequacy of conventional quantitative methods in dealing with complex logistical systems, and show how simulation can address various logistics management issues. Important reading for logistics managers and computer staffs and for educators seeking better ways to make logistical decisions.