"Managerial Skills and Practices for Global Leadership" book provides literature and skill building discussions about leading people through effective management practices across cultures. The book is about building management and organizational development skills of learners according to the principles of leadership and professionalism. The book covers the foundational concepts of management, cross-cultural management, motivation, leadership, stress management, change management, conflict management, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, negotiations, employee discipline, coaching, rewards, and training skills. The book also provides relevant dilemma-based cases along with discussion questions for individual and group reflection exercises. The management skills and concepts presented in this book come from over two decades of management and consulting experiences of the author in the corporate arena.

Stress and conflict are realities of life. Most workers feel stressed on a daily basis. Perhaps this stress is due to the recession in the economy, job losses, more work, going to school while working, job change, more responsibilities, uncertainty, conflict, and/or too many things to achieve in a short time period. People are living in a constant period of transition, and the shelf life of solutions keeps getting shorter since what works today can become obsolete a few months later. Where is all the stress coming from in today's life? Stress is often coming from or caused by people, technology, new information, and globalization trends. Some of the commonly addressed sources of stress for businesses can include changes in nature of the workforce, economy, social trends, politics, leadership, management, organizational structures, products, services, customers, changing and conflicting demands, and location of where the firm produces or offers its products. Managing Workplace Stress and Conflict amid Change is about helping people effectively manage stress, conflict, and change in the workplace. The topics covered in this book include change management, conflict management, time management, stress management, and effective problem-solving. The book emphasizes that stress, conflict and change are realities of life in every organization. They are a natural part of evolution and human development. They have been handled for thousands of years and should be positively managed so that professionals may maximize their productivity and success in life.

Cross Cultural Management and Negotiation Practices is about managing cultural differences throughout a country or organization, according to some basic principles of professionalism and open communication. One has to understand each individual and let people freely voice their opinion in order to maximize their efficiency and productivity toward the complex solutions we all face in today's cross-cultural work environments. Likewise, professionals need to have great management and negotiation skills while working toward the objectives of maximizing shareholder benefits in the organization. Cross Cultural Management and Negotiation Practices is divided into four parts and includes subjects that each can be a specialization of study in itself. Part I provides information on culture and management as well as ethical challenges that managers and expatriates face across the globe; Part II provides an overview of negotiation fundamentals, negotiation model, and negotiation steps which can be used by expatriates in international assignments; Part III discusses practical skills such as communication and conflict management along with expatriate, as well as repatriate, training and development strategies; and Part IV offers a variety of cases to emphasize specific concepts and reflect upon real world challenges that can be used to facilitate various topics and reflect upon their learning outcomes. Overall, this book attempts to shed some light, albeit briefly, on specific area by introducing the reader to the major topics and issues in cross-cultural management and negotiations. Understanding these subjects require examining one's own beliefs and values as well as learning the skills of dealingappropriately with those whose beliefs and values may be very different. The author and contributors have used the concepts discussed in this book both nationally and internationally with academic and practitioner audiences to help increase their awareness of management, international management, negotiations, communication, and different cultures. The concepts, cases and exercises have been gleaned from a variety of sources and professionals in the United States and others around the globe. As such, these are very relevant to today's work environment, and thus can easily fit most management, international management, or cultural competency courses, seminars, and employee development workshops. Management trainers, corporate universities, colleges or professors wishing to adopt this book or any of its chapters may contact the publisher or the author to request the available supplementary facilitator's materials such as the electronic Power Point files for presentation, chapter summaries for usage with lectures and online postings, test questions for discussions or exams, and/or other supplementary material for exercises. The Instructor's CD (resources) come electronically using Microsoft Power Point, Word, and Excel files; as such, they can be adjusted by each educator and facilitator for his or her lectures, training and presentations.

Living in the days of unethical debacles caused by professional and educated business people can easily symbolize human beings as animals who would do what they can to live and survive. However, a human being must be regarded as a social being whose development has been different from that of animals because of social relationships, cultures, and his or her concept of good and evil. This evolutionary advantage is based on morality and ethics demonstrated by honest individuals throughout the world in various industries. Moral development theorists have been concluding that as human beings mature, that is grow older and gain more experience, their ethical values tend to improve and they will become morally sophisticated. Research in human behavior suggests that individuals develop their ethical values through their family life, school, and other social influences. Business Ethics of Retail Employees is based on primary research with 602 retail employees and managers using the Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) survey. The PBES measures personal commitment to integrity, honesty, and observance of the laws regulating current business activities. The results of this research suggest that age, supermarket management experience, education, and gender are factors which impact the moral development of retail associates and managers. The question posed is "How ethical are modern workers?" and it turns out that they appear to be very ethical based on their PBES survey findings. If people are the common denominator of success and effectiveness, then the best way to promote fairness and cooperation, and to improve and empower employees, is to properly educate them so they can take personal responsibility for their own decisions, whether personal, professional, or business-related. The Business Ethics of Retail Employees book can help in this education process as it is a recommended reading for retail managers, trainers, human resource professionals, and business students.

Earning a Doctorate Degree in the 21st Century: Challenges and Joys reflects on some of the main reasons people pursue a doctorate degree, the techniques for setting the course and what candidates should do to make sure their degree is completed in a timely manner. If you are a university administrator, currently a doctoral candidate or thinking about becoming one, then this book is for you. Good luck in your pursuit of becoming a protector of wisdom Review Comments: In this text you'll benefit from the counsel of the authors who have coached numerous others before you through this process. - Dr. Paul Hersey, Chairman, Center for Leadership Studies This book is your ace in the hole to completing a doctoral program. If you have the thirst for knowledge, but are unsure if you have the wherewithal to complete a doctoral program, this book is for you. You will find helpful tips for succeeding, learn from the experiences of others who have struggled to achieve and succeeded in the process, and probably change your way of thinking about yourself. You will find yourself thinking about where you have been, where you are going, and the motivations, attitude, and strategy you need to complete a doctoral program. - Dr. Tamara S. Terry, Assistant Dean and Chief Financial Officer of the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship "Earning a Doctorate Degree" lays out the realities of why so many students fail to make it to the finish line. The authors build a solid case for why doctoral programs build unnecessary barriers leading to discouragement and high failure rates. Written in a clearly understood and anecdotal fashion, Mujtaba and Scharff argue a case of student/faculty disconnect and false expectations. At the heart of their argument for boosting doctoral completion is an intrinsic appreciation for the value of learning that has been lost in the luster of "doc-in-the-box" approaches to boosting a candidate's job credentials. The book is based on practitioner perspectives adding to its credibility and readership. Both school administrators and doctoral student prospects will benefit from these long overdue ideas for boosting retention. - Dr. James Barry, Professor of Marketing While the path to completing a doctoral degree contains numerous obstacles, in "Earning a Doctorate Degree" Drs. Mujtaba and Scharff provide a useful roadmap to avoid them. Each section contains personal insights of the authors and others who have successfully completed the journey. From the beginning of why one would want to undertake the goal of a doctorate to completing the dissertation, the reader is provided with key issues related to challenges and how to overcome the barriers. The book should be read when a potential student is considering a doctorate to help in the decision-making process, and once a student enrolls, it should be re-read as the student progresses through a program to keep him/her on course for completion. - Dr. Les Carter, Entrepreneurship Chair, St. Edward's University

"Coaching and Performance Management: Developing and Inspiring Leaders" is about enhancing human capacity and development. In this book, coaching is focused on developing a trusting relationship with others, as well as on clarifying expectations and goals, thereby leading to specific action plans for their achievement. Coaching is not an innate skill, but rather it is learned. It occurs through one's life personally and professionally. Effective coaching is, and it can be, one of the most important functions managers perform because it communicates performance levels, expectations, importance of the tasks and responsibilities, and a caring attitude. The skills and behaviors of effective coaches are presented and thoroughly discussed. This book is appropriate for current and aspiring managers, leaders, scholars, and training and development professionals. This book defines coaching as the continuous process of conversational collaborations and interactions aimed at assisting others to unlock and realize their full potential one task and one skill at a time, and at a pace appropriate for the person being coached. The essence of coaching is unlocking people's potential, through rich, two-way interactions as well as stimulating questions, so people can maximize their own performance. Effective coaches accept the challenge of developing their colleagues and employees knowing that the growth and development journey is a continuous process, and that learning how to learn and develop are the real goals for both the coach and the coachee. The author has used the concepts discussed in this book both nationally and internationally with academic and practitioner audiences to help increase theirawareness of performance management, coaching, influence, and leadership skills. As such, the concepts, cases, and exercises are relevant to today's work environment and can easily fit most leadership and management courses, seminars, and employee development workshops. Leadership and management trainers, corporate universities, colleges or professors wishing to adopt this book or any of its chapters may contact the publisher or the author for receiving the available supplementary facilitator's materials such as the electronic power point files for presentation, chapter summaries for usage with lectures and online postings, test questions for discussions or exams, and/or instructor thoughts or supplementary material for exercises. The instructor's resources comes electronically using Microsoft Power Point, Word, and other files; as such, they can be adjusted by each educator and facilitator for his or her lectures, training and presentations.

Several decades of war and its subsequent civil turmoil has brought devastating destruction throughout Afghanistan from various sources. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances beyond the control of ordinary citizens, the beautiful country of Afghanistan has endured many long-lasting and painful injuries in the last few decades of the previous millennium; as a result, it is suffering from lack of resources, mismanagement of the workforce, water pollution, air pollution, incomplete learning environment, animosity among people, and perhaps hundreds of other such debilitating elements that threaten and hinder the speedy progress of the country. Furthermore, despite having a semi-democratic environment, some people are still dealing with sporadic violence, animosity, and the consequences of inappropriate war techniques, such as the use of depleted uranium in metal penetrating bombs used in Afghanistan by various friendly and unfriendly forces. The various chapters in this book highlight the realities of war, atrocities of certain behaviors during the Russian invasion, factional conflicts, human rights violations, and what the current administration is doing with the assistance of officials from the United Nations and other foreign countries such as France, Germany, Canada, the United States, and Turkey (just to name a few) to bring about some relief to the "injured" and "maimed" people of Afghanistan. The book is meant to be non-political...although it praises some of the recent actions taken by officials in the interim government and the current administration to bring about long-term security, peace, and prosperity in the country. The book is written for the general population's awareness of facts as seen by an Afghan-born author, and it is written for discussion material in colleges and universities throughout the world. Some of the international colleges and universities may also adopt this material for cross-cultural discussions, anthropology, understanding developing economies, and workforce skills needed in such labor markets. Official colleges or professors adopting this book or any of its chapters may contact the publisher or the author for receiving the available supplementary facilitator materials. Afghanistan has recently begun to stake out its position on important moral issues, such as terrorism and drug trafficking affecting society. To be successful in this effort, the government officials and the working people of Afghanistan must assess and take seriously their own level of readiness to lead these important agendas. The past cannot be changed by anyone; however, we can change what happens now and in the future. Change must start from within, and each person must take responsibility for his or her own physical, mental, spiritual, and psychological developments. The realities of war point to many losses to all parties involved and such atrocities must be replaced with love, kindness, education, and true "brotherhood" if human beings are to live peacefully. We should all believe in the following statement: "I must be a productive individual and, then, a good leader in order to effectively contribute to the team's goal toward the creation of a peaceful environment for all." Being a peaceful individual, and becoming an effective leader, is a good start for each person in Afghanistan and for those around the world since people have the most control over their own behaviors. May everyone be a productive human being and a good leader in bringing about peace on earth

In this book, discussions have been made regarding the roles of management and leadership in Afghanistan to deal with such challenges, and recommendations for workforce training and rehabilitation have been explored and provided for future development through effective leadership. The people of Afghanistan are doing what they can to develop the country; however, lack of proper education related to management skills and leadership training as well as lack of proper resources make it extremely difficult to have a speedy progress. This material is prepared for managers and leaders to provide explanations, inspirations, and work for perspiration. The word perspiration is used to describe the skill-based topics as they need to be implemented in order for them to become useful. So, application of this knowledge is what delivers results and managers need to make these skills a habit or a way of life for themselves and their workforce. The various chapters in this book highlight effective management and "situational" leadership as the main component or tool for all political, non-profit, and corporate leaders in Afghanistan as they attempt to influence their colleagues, superiors, employees, and others in the community to bring about appropriate changes in the workforce. The book is written for the general population around the globe as it goes through the turmoil of war in the past years, the current situation, and some suggestions for the next twenty years for economic recovery and workforce development. So, it briefly discusses the realities of war, factional conflicts, and what the current administration is doing with the assistance of officials from the United Nations and other foreign countries such as France, Germany, Canada, the United States, and Turkey (just to name a few) to bring about some relief to the "injured" and "maimed" people of Afghanistan. The book covers several management functions and characteristics and it purposefully discusses the concept and skills of situational leadership as the main remedy for making the country prosper through the appropriate capacity development of each individual. The book is written for workforce development and training of Afghans as well as for use by colleges and government officials in Afghanistan. Some of the international colleges and universities may also adopt this material for cross-cultural discussions, anthropology, understanding developing economies, and workforce skills needed in such labor markets. Universities, colleges or professors adopting this book or any of its chapters may contact the publisher or the author for receiving the available supplementary facilitator's materials such as test banks, exercises and/or Power Point slides for presentation.