In a world where your intellectual property is your most valuable asset, patents are becoming an essential tool for achieving and maintaining a competitive edge. With billions of dollars at stake, companies are defending their patents vigorously; high-profile cases, such as Microsoft's $900 million patent dispute settlement with Sun Microsystems, and Medtronic's acquisition of a competitor's entire patent portfolio for $1.35 billion, are cases in point. While most companies will not operate at this level, the strategic management of patents, and the costs of enforcing and defending them, are becomining critical business functions. In this accessible and practical guide, Henry Heines shows readers how to apply "due diligence," a common concept in corporate finance and investing, to analyze the costs and benefits of patent management, and to navigate through the legal and technical maze. With dozens of examples from many industries, he walks readers through the various ways in which technological advances can be presented as patentable inventions and in which the patents of competitors can be confronted and evaluated. He also offers guidance in managing a portfolio of patents and inventions, regardless of whether they make it to market as products. A glossary of terms and listing of resources will make this book a handy reference for anyone involved in product development, corporate strategy, or intellectual property.

The buying habits of baby boomers really do differ from those of their parents. The authors show how marketers can use each group's consumption patterns to reach both markets most effectively. Another insight: buying habits of these groups differ according to the product or service offered. By analyzing each cohort's buying habits in various purchasing situations, the book dramatizes the need for customized marketing strategies. Based on two national surveys conducted by the Center for Mature Studies, Georgia State University, the book will be essential for marketing professionals and their academic colleagues.

Moschis and his coauthors concentrate on food products, apparel, footwear, drugs and cosmetics, housing, technology products and telecommunications services, health care, travel and leisure, and financial and insurance services. They cover preferences for selected products and services, patronage habits, methods of purchasing, motives for preferences for specific brands and services and for payment methods, and reasons for buying direct. Each chapter addresses a specific product or service category and includes analyses of survey respondents by demographic and lifestyle characteristics and media use habits. The book concludes with a discussion of the implications of their research and the ways in which it will lead marketers to design more effective strategies, not only today but in the future.

Change is happening at breakneck speed: the competition is tougher, the customer is more sophisticated, margins are shrinking, entire industries are disappearing, and everybody is downsizing-trying to do more with less.

Leading authorities in the field of change and human performance, Drs. Kriegel and Brandt show you how to keep ahead of these light speed changes, not just keep up. You'll learn how to:

• Round up sacred cows—outdated beliefs and practices—that cost you time and money and stop you from taking advantage of exciting new opportunities.
• Develop the seven traits of Change-Ready people and teams.
• Gain the competitive edge not by competing but by changing the game.
• Create a Change-Ready environment that will encourage innovation and cutting-edge thinking.
• Motivate people to feel excited and positive about change.
• Create "out of the box" solutions for your company and clients... and much more.

An Alternate Selection of Money Book Club

An International Alternate Selection of Book-of-the-Month Club

Throughout the United States and indeed the world, organizations have become places of darkness, where emotional savagery and brutality are now commonplace and where psychological forms of violence--intimidation, degradation, dehumanization--are the norm. Stein succeeds in portraying this dramatically in his evocative, lucid new book, and in doing so he counters official pronouncements that simply because unemployment is low and productivity high, all is well. Through the use of symbolism and metaphor he gives us access to the interior experience of organizational life today. He employs a form of disciplined subjectivity, based on Freud's concept of counter-transference, and other methods to help us comprehend what such dominating notions as managed social change really mean. Downsizing, reengineering, managed care, endless organizational restructuring--all are presented as just business but in reality, says Stein, they are devastatingly personal in their effects. With numerous vignettes and anecdotes drawn from his formal and informal research, Dr. Stein shows us in often horrifying detail what work has come to be in so many of these dark places--but also what must happen, and can happen, to lift them into the light.

Through consultations, observation, and personal experience, Stein documents the ordinary assaults on the human spirit, a form of violence in the workplace that usually escapes common classification. By that he means culturally sanctioned violence, such as everyday forms of intimidation, ridicule, goading, and doubling of workloads--all in an asserted effort to make the workplace more productive, more competitive. His examples, metaphors, symbols, images come from the Holocaust and the Vietnam War, and refer back to other horrors in other times, the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition among them. His book demonstrates precisely how brutal so many of our rational business practices have become, and how disposable all of us ultimately are, at all levels, in all organizations. Stein draws upon a variety of research techniques, including a form of counter-transference based on Freud's concept, to understand the inner meanings and feelings contained in workplace metaphors and symbols. An incisive foreword by Dr. David B. Friedman, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine, comments on this, puts the book in perspective and offers additional insights into Stein's themes and how brilliantly he develops them.

This book examines sequential coalition formation in oligopolies. Coalitions refer to mergers and acquisitions, cartels, and associations. The principal aim is the prediction and explanation of the coalition structure - whether an industry will emerge as a monopoly, say, or as a collection of sub-coalitions.

In environments where decisions to form coalitions are made sequentially, the prediction and explanation of the equilibrium coalition structure can differ dramatically from the textbook simultaneous-move model. This difference derives from the knowledge effect, which is unique to the sequential-move models.

Achievement almost killed him. Fulfillment saved him. Grant Muller was nearly killing himself – quite literally. A desperate quest to get rich had made him a millionaire before the age of 30 but then taken him to the brink: homeless, living on drugs and hustle. If his lifestyle didn’t end him, one of the thugs he owed money to would surely do the job. So when he finally got off the streets and got clean, he knew everything had to change. He reinvented himself, and along the way came to understand that real success in sales isn’t just about the hustle, about being top of mind. It’s about the human connections you create. In transforming his own life, he transformed his understanding of business. Today he earns his millions as a realtor, living and working with a ‘Top of Heart’ philosophy, the true source of authentic connection, fulfillment and success. His remarkable story is a call to a new, more human approach to business that might just save YOUR life, too. ‘Real-world urgency… A must read.’ Robert Reffkin, Founder & CEO, Compass Real Estate

A recent study showed that when doctors tell heart patients they will die if they don't change their habits, only one in seven will be able to follow through successfully. Desire and motivation aren't enough: even when it's literally a matter of life or death, the ability to change remains maddeningly elusive. Given that the status quo is so potent, how can we change ourselves and our organizations? In Immunity to Change, authors Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey show how our individual beliefs--along with the collective mind-sets in our organizations--combine to create a natural but powerful immunity to change. By revealing how this mechanism holds us back, Kegan and Lahey give us the keys to unlock our potential and finally move forward. And by pinpointing and uprooting our own immunities to change, we can bring our organizations forward with us. This persuasive and practical book, filled with hands-on diagnostics and compelling case studies, delivers the tools you need to overcome the forces of inertia and transform your life and your work.

This book provides an in-depth study of Private International Law reasoning in the field of international sale of goods contracts. It connects the dots between European and Chinese law and offers an unprecedented transversal and comparative legal study on the matter. Its main purpose is to identify the consequences of European rules on Chinese companies and vice versa. The first part addresses the conflict of jurisdiction and conflict of law rules, while the second part discusses in detail the practical importance and the impact of arbitration, which is becoming more common thanks to its flexibility. The third part focuses on the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the Unidroit Principles of International Commercial Contracts and carefully analyses their use. The final part examines contracts involving consumers.

Leaders of all kinds, in all fields, need to be methodical and logical, but also strategic, innovative, and intuitive. Yet the two different styles require different modes of thinking, or what author Mary Lou Décosterd describes as shifts to right brain, or left brain, thinking. Those who operate in what she explains as the left brain mode develop strong logical, rational, and analytical abilities, but they may downplay the value of right brain thinking, which spurs intuition, subjectivity, and creativity. And those who operate primarily in the latter mode lose the value of the former. A leader who is habitually a right-brainer sees only the big picture, rather than its parts, is creative but not usually analytical, is an emotional far more than logical. So who is more effective? Veteran consultant Décosterd shows how those with maximum success are leaders who understand both styles and have the ability to switch between the two at certain key moments to broaden their overall effectiveness. In the language of leadership, this pragmatic guide provides an all-encompassing view of how to maximize brain power and get to next-level leadership impact. Through case examples, simple assessment and unique learning tools, this book takes the reader through a new process for examining his or her current leadership style and skill sets, and framing a plan for greater success. Décosterd explains how, through use of popular leader exemplars, leadership examples and concise steps and summaries, every person can, at virtually any stage of personal and professional accomplishment, become a more consummate leader.

Speakers at the symposium discussed job opportunities for women in the fields of science and engineering and difficulties faced by women in these professions.

Farazmand and his contributors examine modern organization theory and behavior. They view organization in two ways: As an organization of society into public, private, and nonprofit sectors, and they examine the power structure and those power elites who determine policy choices and outcomes. They also look at organizing activity, such as creating institutional arrangements to perform certain functions or tasks, as well as organizational entities of all sizes. Using a balanced approach to analyze modern organizations' managerial expectations and individual/citizen expectations and demands, the book presents a succinct analysis of theoretical and conceptual perspectives on modern organizations, their management, and their interactions with other organizations in an environment that is becoming increasingly global and integrated worldwide. Although all organizations are covered, the emphasis is placed mainly on public organizations. The book also addresses key issues of organizational change, reform, and reorganization of governments in both theoretical and empirical ways. A key text and handbook for scholars, students, researchers, and practitioners of public administration and the management of nonprofit organizations.

THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLANNING AND FINANCING is a short course designed for engineers and technicians. It fills a gap left by technical education curricula. The book is concise and leaves out all unnecessary elaborations or deviations from the subject. Yet it is complete because it covers also important problems left out even from formal business education courses. It also introduces a new approach to planning and optimizing with a Strategic Planning Graph. The chapters are designed for three groups of readers: 1. Students of Business Management 2. Managers and Engineers involved in taking calculated risks but unfamiliar with accounting and finance. You do not need to master the art of accounting, but you need to master the art of using accountants.

The Complete Financial Handbook for the Newly Divorced is a useful, handy, easy-to-read guidebook, full of interesting and meaningful information that most newly separated or divorced individuals should be thinking about and, hopefully, implementing. This book will address and help to solve the Question of "What do I do next?"

This book is meant to be uplifting and helpful throughout disastrous times, now and ahead. It serves as a guide to store necessities and replenish them, to create your own earth medicines, to grow a garden and use the produce. Within are ideas about how to cook nutritionally for a family while spending a very small amount of money. Additionally there are ideas for stretching your dollars or even doing without cash and still receiving goods or services. Other topics are mentioned, such as sun and wind as energy sources with excellent references for further study.

The contributors to this volume demonstrate the evolving ways in which impression management is conducted through the use of information technology. Whether consciously or unconsciously, individuals create and manage impressions of themselves when they use or interact with IT or in an IT environment. How? By managing the symbolism embedded in the technology. For example, technology is often the primary medium in interactions between a client and a work team, or virtual team, dedicated to servicing the needs of that client. The team itself may be geographically dispersed, lending a deeper layer to the management of impressions among members of the team via their use of technology, including e-mail, groupware, videoconferencing, and Intranet development. Researchers in the behavioral effects and consequences of information technology will find much of value here. This book is also of interest to information technology practitioners and professors alike who work with or study the broader organizational and individual signals, perceptions, and effects of IT-related decisions. Graduate students will find it appropriate as supplemental reading for courses on the organizational implications of IT, the behavioral effects of IT, the impact of IT on corporate strategy, and the impact of organizational design decisions.

A popular maxim states that the only constant in business today is change. Whether the result of growth opportunities, new competition, technological advances or other internal and external factors, every business enterprise must manage change. Since the 1980s, companies have experimented with a method for driving change—High Performance Teams (HPTs), work teams that achieve a quantum leap in results in less than a year. Drawing from over 25 years of experience with HPTs, Marc Hanlan traces their history in a wide variety of industries, analyzes the key factors that contribute to success—or failure—and offers a comprehensive guide to building and managing them successfully. Featuring dozens of case examples and a detailed template for translating plans into action, High Performance Teams shows you how to: prepare the organization, select team leaders and members, set goals, accelerate development times, overcome obstacles, and measure results. Including an extensive bibliography and glossary of key terms and concepts, High Performance Teams will become an indispensable resource for business executives and owners, team leaders and members, and facilitators, trainers, consultants, and coaches. For shareholders, customers, and students of organizational behavior, High Performance Teams offers unique insight into the dynamics of breakthrough business performance.

An essential addition to any economics library, these five volumes present the contributions and writings of an influential and prolific scholar.

Prisoners of Hope opens a unique window into the minds and hearts of engineers, revealing two characteristics that every successful innovator must have--faith and hope.

Steering clear of spiritual cliches, Prisoners of Hope provides practical insights and fresh accounts of innovators doing what they do best.

Lanny Vincent writes his book from his thirty years' experience as facilitator, coach, and "midwife" of corporate innovating. He draws useful parallels between two seemingly different worlds of science and faith. Prior to working with companies like Hewlett-Packard, Sony Electronics, British Telecom, Rockwell, Weyerhaeuser or Whirlpool, Lanny was an ordained Presbyterian minister. From his early experiences within the research and development department of the company, Kimberly-Clark, the author saw familiar patterns among innovating scientists and engineers--faith patterns studied in a completely different context years before.

Prisoners of Hope is filled with firsthand accounts of what really happens in the messy, serendipitous process of innovation, and how engineers use faith as their "silent partner." Richly woven with the threads of current experience and ancient wisdom, Prisoners makes explicit what innovators do naturally to bring their vision to the marketplace--done largely on the wings of faith and hope. The author's reinterpretations of biblical stories such as David and Goliath, Moses' burning bush, and Abraham's aborted sacrifice of Isaac, will help you see the mysteries of faith in action.

This book is an inspiring description of how innovators use these patterns to get the lift they need for innovating, and a practical play on the power and potential of faith.

Find out how innovators get lift. You will get it too.

"A cohesive laminate of logic on innovation"

- Doug Gilmour, artist, advertising veteran, Clif Bar & Co.

" It] reconnected me with the fundamental power of faith and belief."

- Bruce Beihoff, inventor, technologist, systems modeler

The world as we know it is changing. Find out how women leaders will best solve today’s challenges. The purpose of Leading Our Way is to explore new leadership models to address global challenges, through a compelling, personal and inspiring collection of stories of women leaders and role models, representing a variety of sectors, cultures and countries to which you, and especially girls and women, from across the world can relate to.   The key questions the book will lay out for you are the following: Does the world need a different type of leadership? What would be the leadership traits needed to address todays and future world challenges, and how can we foster such traits? What are the existing examples of women already showcasing a different leadership style, fit-for-purpose to solve todays challenges and lead the future? What is the role of women in shifting the dominant leadership approach? Do they have different leadership traits compared to men? How can we redefine leadership and success? How can we inspire new generations to act and lead in a more sustainable and equitable way? The book proposes new ideas and approaches to solving global challenges and defines the type of leaders the world needs for this to happen. It identifies the leadership traits that our companies and societies need to build a more sustainable and equitable world.  The conclusion outlines key take-aways and lessons learned, in order to define how women can and already are leading the way, towards a more inclusive, high-performing and sustainable model of leadership and world.

Extending upon the many traditional program/project management office (PMO) books that present theoretical concepts and knowledge, Business Driven PMO Setup presents practical experiences and wisdom for those responsible for, belonging to, and served by a PMO. This book is rooted in the shared experiences and business settings of all PMOs and it is organized to provide the reader with actionable solutions to the problems and execution difficulties that PMOs face.Most PMO books are written by academics, trainers and consultants from the PM community and present academic or theoretical approaches and models that too often fail. The more sophisticated books tend to be limited in application to the larger or more advanced project management organizations. This unique reference presents new material not available in other books that is applicable to PMOs of all shapes and sizes. It challenges and calls into question various traditional approaches and strategies for the PMO citing examples and explaining when and why such academic and theoretical approaches are wrong. Business Driven PMO Setup was written by over 20 contributing authors that are veteran line executives who either directly manage PMOs, have PMOs reporting to them, or are subject matter experts that service them. These veterans with centuries of business acumen managing both US and foreign companies, divisions, and departments provide valuable insights into ensuring the PMO is setup correctly and remains focused on meeting the needs of the business for which the PMO was created to serve.Many PMOs are often vulnerable in terms of their continued existence. PMOs with a business mindset never have to sell or promote themselves internally, explain what they do, or worry about funding or their existence. This book establishes a clear bottom-line business mindset and practical approach that any PMO can adopt.