This book illustrates how to anticipate the future using more than the traditional predictive models (forecasting) based on the forward projection of past experiences, and moving into more advanced methods of anticipation logic (foresight) to build probable scenarios based on weak signals, emerging trends, coexisting presents and potential paths of evolution. Utilizing a helpful, four-part structure, the authors indicate how corporate foresight is fundamental to interpret and lead change, focusing on the two cornerstones of organization and management. They advocate the separation of Research (oriented to the market of tomorrow) from Development (oriented to the market of today), the establishment of a Foresight unit and the concentration of research activities mainly on the acquisition and recombination of external know-how. After an overview of state-of-the-art literature on forecasting methods, they further propose the implementation of a "future coverage" methodology, which will enable companies to measure and verify the consistency between trends, strategic vision and offered products. These organizational and managing tools are then tested in a case study: the Italian company Eurotech SpA, a leader in the ICT sector. A useful resource for both managers and researchers, the book will help readers gain the tools necessary to tackle change and navigate complexity in organizations.

The advancements in decision sciences theory and applications can be regarded as a continuously emerging field in all areas of interest including technology, industry, energy, healthcare, education, agriculture, social sciences, and more. Managers in all disciplines face an endless list of complex issues every day. One of the essential managerial skills is the ability to allocate and utilize limited resources appropriately in the efforts of achieving optimal performance efficiently. This is no less important for those who work in the transportation sector. Decision Sciences and Applications in the Transportation Sector explores the importance of decision sciences and the ways in which they apply to the transportation sector. This book covers technologies and tools including machine learning, mathematical modeling, and simulation and their applications in such tasks as reducing fuel costs, improving passenger flow, and ensuring vehicle safety. It is an essential reference source for managers, professionals in the transport industry, supply chain specialists, safety officers, IT consultants, executives, practitioners, scientists, students, researchers, and academicians.

To promote fast and accessible service, many organizations and businesses utilize technological or structured systems to create efficient waiting times and receptions. Managerial Approaches Toward Queuing Systems and Simulations provides emerging research on the various aspects of line management structures and organizations. While highlighting the components of queue control, such as attention capacity, quantitative analysis, and serial systems, this book will teach readers about the factors of queue systems that promote effective and efficient line areas and waiting times. This book is an important resource for managers, engineers, and researchers interested in the elements and stages of queuing management.

This book presents the human, cultural, and scientific contributions of professor Eliano Pessa, who recently passed away. His research interests and activities were varied, some of which included quantum physics, cognitive science and psychology, systems science, artificial intelligence, and alpinism. They were never disciplinary-separated issues, but rather some coherent dimensions of his interests in life. He lived and not only practiced interdisciplinarity and multiple dimensions; he considered it unacceptable to do only one thing in life. The contributors in this volume consider, discuss, interpret, and represent the multiplicity and interdisciplinarity experienced, lived and applied by Pessa. The chapters are inspired by, rebuild, and retrace such networked interests lived by him from the personal, cultural, and scientific points of view of the authors. This is true interdisciplinarity and usage of non-equivalences, honoring the richness of Pessa's contributions.

Working for a matrix international organisation, with its ensuing diverse global teams, based in a variety of geographic locations is a fact of life for most leaders and managers today. These teams may be permanent, or they may come together temporarily to deliver a specific project. The challenges of making decisions, setting goals, communicating, building trust and managing the team are far harder when you are separated by time, language, culture and priorities. Global Teams will enable leaders, teams and organisation to deal with the challenges they face:

* How can you ensure that your global team delivers results?

* How do I trade off our local goals and priorities versus the global priorities?

* How do I find out what is really going on and how it will affect me?

* Can I trust top management to support my agenda and me personally?

* How can I lead people who I do not see and are not like me?

Based on original research with some of the world's leading companies, Global Teams is the definitive, practical guide on making the sharp end of globalisation work for you and your organisation.

Effective leadership and management create significant impacts upon any organization in the modern business realm. To maintain competitiveness and success, those in leadership roles must develop new and dynamic initiatives to solve problems that arise. Comprehensive Problem-Solving and Skill Development for Next-Generation Leaders is a critical reference source for the latest academic research on the implementation of innovative qualities, strategies, and competencies for effective leadership and examines practices for determining solutions to business problems. Highlighting relevant coverage on facilitating organizational success, such as emotional intelligence, technology integration, and active learning, this book is ideally designed for managers, professionals, graduate students, academics, and researchers interested in research-based strategies for obtaining organizational effectiveness.

The continued growth of emerging nations depends largely on the development of their built infrastructures and communities. Roads, dams, bridges, hospitals, schools, and housing are all examples of the built environment that impacts economic improvements in the developing world. Decision Support for Construction Cost Control in Developing Countries explores how the construction industry contributes to a nation's GDP and the related cost issues and proposed cost reduction solutions for construction projects and initiatives in developing regions. Emphasizing the role of decision support systems for reducing and managing the costs associated with construction projects, this title is an essential reference source for civil engineers, business and engineering managers, project managers, researchers, and professionals in the construction industry.

The vast amount of information that must be considered to solve inherently ill-structured and complex strategic problems creates a need for tools and techniques to help decision-makers recognize the complexity of this process and develop a rational model for strategy evaluation. Decision Making Theories and Practices from Analysis to Strategy is a definitive focus on analytical strategic decision-making. This work is comprised of sophisticated tools and methodologies developed by researchers and vendors to improve decision making for business strategy. Extracting from a wide range of disciplines, including accounting, finance, information systems, international management, marketing, organizational management, operations research, production and operations management, and strategic management, this volume provides a conceptual and a utilitarian guide to decision making, perfect for both researchers and practicing professionals alike.

This book considers and assesses essential financial issues by utilizing data science and fuzzy multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) methods. It introduces readers to a range of data science methods, and demonstrates their application in the fields of business, health, economics, finance and engineering. In addition, it provides suggestions based on the assessment results on each topic, which can help to enhance the efficiency of the financial system and the sustainability of economic development. Given its scope, the book will help readers broaden their perspective on the assessment and evaluation of financial issues using data science and MCDM approaches.

In this fully revised and updated second edition of the widely acclaimed first volume, Sigvald Harryson provides powerful evidence as to how the most successful innovators are distinguished by their ability to synergistically link external and internal knowledge networks. Based on extensive research with leading global innovators along with ten years of experience in management of knowledge and technology for accelerated innovation, Managing Know-Who Based Companies provides practical guidance regarding how to manage these networks. Important theoretical arguments that advance our thinking about managing knowledge for innovation are also presented. The author studies how individuals and teams who possess the required active empathy and relationship-building skills to function as human knowledge bridges across various centres of excellence, functions and teams - the 'know-who' - are central to successful innovation in the global value networks of today's business environment. This book is recommended reading for CEOs of multinational companies who wish to make better use of the value networks in which they live and do business. It will also be of significant value to CTOs, CKOs and Human Resource Managers interested in new ways to turning both hard technologies and soft human brainpower within and beyond the corporate borders into faster and more powerful innovation.

Connected Leadership has been officially shortlisted in the 'Management Futures' category for the 2017 Management Book of the Year prize which has just been announced by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the British Library. Connected Leadership provides a clear, practical guide for leaders of organisations who wish to create a more connected, agile and customer-oriented organisation in a digitally connected, customer-driven 21st century business environment. It lays out the key factors of the connected organisation and the leadership behaviours that will allow these factors to become embedded and sustainable. It provides a range of case examples to demonstrate what this looks like in practice, complemented by a series of tools and techniques that leaders can use to diagnose their organisation's current position and plot a successful course to achieve these more connected ways of working. It is, at heart, a real-world guide to changing your leadership style and approach to align an organisation's culture and values with those needed in a world where the prevailing models of command and control are so obviously failing. Connected Leadership will show you how to: * Create a more agile organisation & respond swiftly to changing markets & customer needs * Cope with increasing market complexity & uncertainty * Build trust, reputation & become a more authentic leader * Develop a 'connected leadership' approach

In the new millennium, the competence of most organizations will depend on innovative deployment of new technologies for effectively managing knowledge networks for organizational performance. Many such "virtual" organizations using information and knowledge as their fundamental bases are redefining the "reality" of the traditional "brick-and-mortar" economy. In the process, they are also posing challenges and opportunities by redefining traditional thinking about industries, organizations, competition, products, services, technologies, people and economy. Knowledge Management and Virtual Organizations is a compilation of innovative and interesting theories, case studies and best practices, information and communication technologies, methodologies, methods and measures that relate to the topics of knowledge management and new organization forms such as virtual organizations.

Leaders and Managers want quick answers, quick ways to reach solutions, ways and means to access knowledge that won't eat into their precious time and quick ideas that deliver a big result. The Little Book of Big Decision Models cuts through all the noise and gives managers access to the very best decision-making models that they need to to keep things moving forward. Every model is quick and easy to read and delivers the essential information and know-how quickly, efficiently and memorably.

Although organizational decision-making can be very complex, the understanding of technology applications is significant in not only determining the usefulness of virtual groups in organizations, but also in the designing of electronic collaborative activities. Collaborative Communication Processes and Decision Making in Organizations focuses on the role of technology in organizational decision-making processes and activities, providing academics and management teams with current research in the field of virtual teams in organizations. This publication is an essential resource for instructors and students of organization and group communication, and institutions that have networks of offices and employees in multiple geographical locations.

Leading people in today's complex world is challenging. There are regulations, unions, lawyers, and more to deal with on a daily basis. Written by a longtime human resources consultant, this guidebook helps you develop your leadership skills so you can recruit qualified applicants; interview candidates with confidence; hire the right people; train new employees and keep the best performers; deal with unions; and stay out of court.

In addition to the basics, you'll learn how to respond to situations that catch you off guard. For instance, what do you do if your best employee tells you that he or she is leaving to join a competitor? What if one of your employees takes a public stand against one of your policies? What if someone you fire for theft hires a lawyer who sends you a nasty letter?

Other textbooks on human resources management focus on theories and statistics, but "A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management "provides real-life examples to help you handle any situation with leadership that inspires confidence.

Economics is an integral aspect to every successful society, yet basic financial practices have gone unchanged for decades. Analyzing unconventional finance methods can provide new ways to ensure personal financial futures on an individual level, as well as boosting international economies. Alternative Decision-Making Models for Financial Portfolio Management: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that discusses methods and techniques that make financial administration more efficient for professionals in economic fields. Featuring relevant topics such as mean-variance portfolio theory, decision tree analysis, risk protection strategies, and asset-liability management, this publication is ideal for academicians, students, economists, and researchers that would like to stay current on new and innovative methods to transform the financial realm.