3 comments about Megacommunities: How Leaders of Government, Business and Non-Profits Can Tackle Today's Global Challenges Together.

1. The authors make a convincing case for how the prevailing paradigm in business, government, and the non-profit sector of "Winner Take All Competition" is being exposed as a dead end. The "MAXIMIZE returns for OUR constituents paradigm" just doesn't work when the job is to address large complex and interconnected challenges like - Sustainable Energy - Global Terrorism - Fair Trade Coffee.
   
   When faced with such a challenge, the "OPTIMIZE returns for ALL stakeholders" is the most effective strategy. The trick is that, executing this strategy requires a very different set of skills and mindsets. The great thing about this book is that it doesn't just prescribe a solution, it provides a blueprint for initiating, structuring, sustaining, and leading these Megacommunities.



2. This work seeks to formulate a new business model
   for articulating complicated problems which are
   interdisciplinary in nature with extensive reaches
   into multiple parts of the community at large.
   The authors describe non-linear activity
   flows and events; such as, Katrina.
   
   We are limited by complexity, cross-boundaries,
   communications, differences between "the haves"
   and "the have nots" and imbalances in the
   transactional flows of major systems.
   
   The megacommunity is the merging of the public sphere,
   business and civil society. These are the strategic
   constituencies with the levers of influence, shared
   interests and major areas of convergence.
   Barnstorming solutions, pattern study,
   permanent negotiation, constant reconciliation and
   mapping shareholders are the norm in order to define,
   structure and solve problems of a higher order or intractable nature.
   
   The book is an excellent work for assisting communities
   in the hard work of problem definition, structure and
   resolution. The authors transcend existing
   methodologies to seek solutions in a global-collaborative
   way.
   
   This work would be helpful in formulating solutions to
   classic problems that have beset this country and this world.



3. I've never found a book on this topic before; I was turned on to it by a colleague of the authors since I'm working in an area that needs a "megacommunity" in order to truly address the enormous issues at hand. This book is a fantastic guide for how to recognize and think about multistakeholder issues, and how to begin to address them.
   
   Too often stakeholder groups, particularly industry and NGOs, just come right out fighting. If they really and truly understood each others' points and situations they may in fact find that they can align to have similar goals and achieve their ends more readily, at lower cost, and in a mutually satisfying manner. The book provides many examples.
   
   However, the book suffers from three problems:
   
   First, many of the examples are more "microcommunity" than "megacommunity"; for instance - a single company in a single location dealing with a single issue. The example of a power company building a plant in a small town in Italy, while demonstrating the negatives of not working together vs. working together with different stakeholders gives an inkling of the concept but it is not "mega" by any stretch.
   
   Second, the authors have apparently not yet had to deal with massive international multistakeholder issues like global warming or chemical regulation. Examples in those areas are needed, but are not yet available so it's no fault of the authors, it's the fault of the stakeholders. We have yet to construct our "megacommunity" and start working to get things done.
   
   Third, the definition of stakeholders in a "megacommunity" is perhaps too narrow; only three are defined: industry, NGOs, and government. There is at least one example in the book that includes academia, a fourth (and often very important) stakeholder group. Two more, necessary for chemicals and global warming, include labor and standards development organizations.
   
   So I want to see the next volume in the series!

1 comments about Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (2nd Edition).

1. good used book, fit the description, kinda slow on delivery but may have been postal service

5 comments about International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures (6th Edition).

1. Excellent Book. I was impressed on how the author was able to showthe various difficulties that are faced and how one can go about managing them. Real scenarios helped a lot in understanding the difficulties better in International relations.



2. This book was published in 2004. I have used it for the past three years in a college course with exactly the same title. It covers the cultural differences of managerial operations in multinational enterprises. The PowerPoint slide is useful for lectures. Many in-class exercises were done using articles from: BusinessWeek, Crains NY Business, Economist (online), Financial Times (online), Forbes and Fortune magazines.
   
   The book will be better if more real-world examples were given on CEO of Ikea, Mittal Steel or News Corporation. Students did the reseach on the CEOs of these firms and reported their final projects. Final projects were done individually or in a group. Students generally like the book except the cost. But the book is cheaper than most of the other international management titles. I would recommend this book to everyone.



3. I read this book as part of my MBA programme, and have found the material to be quite comprehensive, albeit from a predominantly American view. The author (Deresky) analyzed cultural differences and the different strategies for achieving better results when managing internationally. I recommend it as part of a course being taught at a college or university, as it can be rather academic and dry in presentation. The comprehensive cases are excellent sources of information and provide a glimpse of real life examples of successes and failure in Multi-National Corporations and Joint Ventures.



4. From a student who has completed his studies in international business, this text gives a brief idea of various aspects of management, but the presentation is very dry. The index is horrible and some sources are in dire need of updating as they might not even apply anymore. Not worth the money.



5. Received book and it was not what I expected. Seller was very understanding and allowed me to return the book for a full refund.

5 comments about And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina.

1. This book examines the economic history of Argentina from the early 20th century to 2004, with an emphasis on the time period from 1989 to 2002. The focus is on the financial sector of the economy, and how actions by the government and international financial institutions first ballooned Argentina's economy over a decade, and then collapsed it in just under 2 years. The point of view is from the top, as the book follows multiple important figures throughout this time, including officials at the IMF, officials in Argentina's government, and financial bigwigs in the US and Europe, both public and private.
   
   The author is quite objective and impartial, and lays blame all around. The IMF gets some blame for not being more forceful in getting Argentina to change its ways. International banks and lenders get blame for contributing willingly to the financial bubble of the country. And the Argentinan government gets blame for refusing to consider floating its currency, devaluing it, or restructuring its debt before it was too late. Unfortunately, it was the citizens, mainly poor and middle class, of Argentina who took it in the pocketbooks. All in all a great book, with equal emphasis on economics, public policy, and historical analysis. I highly recommend this book.



2. This book seeks to understand how and why Argentina sank into financial chaos in the early 2000's. The book looks at the role of the IMF, US treasury, private markets, and the Argentinean government in the overall downfall of the country. The author writes very well about his subject and has a good understanding of international economics. The IMF is not completely vilified as it is in many of the current financial crisis's and although it shares a large amount of the blame the book hands it out equally. There is quite a bit of conspiracy theory and engaging in theories behind the IMF and Wall Street as well as the Bush administration. The author acknowledges in most cases that these are conspiracies but they did not really need to be discussed. The most interesting part of the story has to do with the role that the markets played in Argentina. It is an interesting foreshadow for the future of emerging markets and looking at the self fulfilling prophecies of debt and equity. This book deserves its credit for focusing on real issues without engaging in much ideology or theory. If you want to understand how financial markets are impacting areas overseas this is a great book to start with.



3. This is a short book, easy to read and boy, does it deliver! An account of Argentina during it's economy's heyday and the fall, this book is a fascinating read. It starts off with a brief review of Argentina during the late 1800s and early 1900s but jumps right on the main topic after that. The author explains in extremely lucid prose (no finance knowledge required whatsoever) how the economy was fueled by international funds and how it went bust. Excellent examples, and written like a thriller ... 5 stars all the way!



4. I still haven't received this item. It's been over a month since I ordered it. This is highly inconvenient.



5. a really good book! it is difficult for me to find a book that i really enjoy reading, it needs to be really interesting. usually after a while i can't stand to have the same concepts repeated again and again. well this is a really interesting chronicle of the facts that brought to the crisis in Argentina in 2001. a lot of details on how the story unfolded and what were the responsibilities. very interesting in knowing what could happen these days with the current crisis and what could be the real- scary, consequences in our daily life. really a page turner!!!

2 comments about Breakthroughs in Technical Analysis: New Thinking from the World's Top Minds.

1. This book has chapters written by several of the best technical analysts in the business. More recent research than the classics by Magee and Murphy. It's well worth the money.



2. i think is a great book about advanced technical analysis
   
   it is difficult for a begginer in technical analysis understand all the chapters but i think technical analysis has started change last years(many traders can trade just infront of their pcs) and this book give new ideas very usefull to any trader

5 comments about The Art of Crossing Cultures.

1. This book remains a great source of wisdom and comfort, still needed after 15 years living abroad. The cultural differences aren't obvious any longer -- they can be deceptively subtle -- now that language and the daily facts of life are no longer an issue. However, I still trip over matters which I later realize to be cultural differences, and I assume others in similar situations do as well. And then I pull down Mr. Storti's book from the shelf and put it all into some sort of workable perspective.

   Highly recommended to others, even those who have no intention of going abroad but would just like to have a better understanding of the cultural differences in this world -- something sorely needed these days.

   By the way, Western women so quick to judge the 'sad' reality of women in Arab societies might do well to read this quotation from Harriet Martineau:

   "[The women of the harem] pitied us European women heartily, that we had to go about travelling, and appearing in the streets without being properly taken care of -- that is, watched. They think us strangely neglected in being left so free, and boast of [how closely they are watched] as a token of the value in which they are held."

   It should be a sobering reminder that it's a fools' game to judge, and certainly to pity, the reality of a person from a culture foreign to ours.

   Thank you for your efforts and insights, Mr. Storti.




2. I am a totally way-too-confident, know-it-all travel partner, but I admit to having lost it while living in Eastern Europe last year with my husband (not his fault). Simply put: this book kept me from going home early SEVERAL times because Storti lets you moan and groan a little and then points out how you might have had a part in creating the cultural "misunderstanding" that plagues you. Trust me...if this book could help someone as stubborn as I am...it might be responsible for world peace someday.



3. THIS BOOK WAS SO AWFUL, I GAVE IT TO THE GOODWILL WITHOUT EVEN FINISHING IT.IT KEPT SAYING THAT IT IS REALLY HARD TO STAY ABROAD FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME WITHOUT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR CULTURE. (NO KIDDING) SOMETHING THAT WE DO THAT OTHER CULTURES DON'T ,COULD MAKE US SEEM RUDE OR IN EXTREME CASES EVEN GET US KILLED. IT GOES ON TO TELL TALES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD TROUBLE BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IT. AND THAT'S IT. THEY NEVER GO INTO ANY OF THE OTHER CULTURES TO TELL US WHAT IS AND IS NOT PROPER EDIQUETTE. I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THE BOOK WAS GOING TO GO OVER ALOT OF OTHER CULTURES AND TALK ABOUT THEIR WAYS.THIS BOOK DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING THAT ANY HALF WAY INTELLIGENT PERSON DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW. NOT WORTH BUYING.



4. Using humorous anecdotes, this book gives the reader a framework for adapting to other cultures, not a step-by-step guide to "here's what to take the hostess in Bulgaria." The stories of British colonists in India may seem irrelevant if a reader is looking for that level of detail, but they do present basic guidelines that are applicable to any culture in the world. I would recommend this as one book among many that a person should read prior to moving to an overseas assignment.



5. I have been an expatriate myself and i found the book extremely effective and well written, and most important: easy to read. I think everybody should read it before expatriating to avoid the first, most of the time negative, impact with another culture. The author makes you really understand the most common feelings, mistakes and fault you may do once you move in a new country, new culture. Most of all, he makes you understand how rich and full of challenge is an experience in another country. I think that most of the expatriates do not even acknowledge how brave they are in living in a different culture. However the book is useful for everybody, as our world is more and more crossing cultures oriented.

No comments about International Economics: Theory and Policy plus MyEconLab plus eText 1-semester Student Access Kit (8th Edition).

5 comments about Import/Export: How to Get Started in International Trade.

1. This is a very good starter book for anyone who is thinking about international trade.



2. It has alot of info and facts. But doesn't help you make any decisions. Read: "The Maui CEO" by John Tennant instead.



3. I ordered this book knowing absolutely nothing about import/export. This book is great for novices. It does a fine job explaining the many facets of import and export. However, before attempting to start your own import/export business, you will need to do a lot more research. This book attempts to cover a great deal of info in just a few pages. Nelson's book is a great place to start your quest for import/export knowledge.



4. I have bought and read the book. And I can say that this book provides great insights to the reader. I recommend it to everybody who wants to gen involved in international business.



5. I thought Mr. Nelson did a wonderful job covering the myriad topics involving Importing / Exporting. He did a WONDERFUL job covering the topic of "How to Obtain Financing"! I never knew there were sooo many sources out there to help. He also did a GREAT job covering and diagramming banking processes like Bankers Acceptances.
   
   I could not believe some of the bad reviews--- did those people read the same book??!! No one person is going to be a panacia for any topic--- but Mr. Nelson comes close! Hats off to him for all the effort, research, and expereice that went into this book..........

5 comments about You Gotta Have Wa.

1. There is no doubt that the author has a firm grasp of Japanese culture. For that I would give him five stars. His knowledge of baseball is only passing for a professional writer, and make cause hard core baseball fans to be left wanting for more detail.
   
   The book was written in the late 1980s and reads a bit dated, but the stories of how a select group of American ballplayers attempt to integrate into Japanese style baseball is still interesting and worth a read during the long baseball-less winter. It was also written before the days of all-star players like Ichiro came from Japan to America and dominated. During the 1980s, you could be a semi-over the hill overweight American and still hit 340 with 40 homers in Japan.
   
   The author's knowledge of Japan was first rate and his obviously lived in the country for a long time. The book is about baseball, but is really about how the Japanese culture is still struggling to integrate culturally with the rest of the world. I would reccomend it for the baseball reader who is looking for something unique.



2. As a long-time Japanese baseball fan, I was very excited to finally receive this book and start reading it. Robert Whiting has done an excellent job of finding material that is usually not accessible for the average foreign fan of Japanese baseball, simply due to the fact that everything is written in Japanese.
   
   Whiting has succeeded in creating a very enjoyable and very interesting "summary" of Japanese baseball as a whole, and really portrays just how differently the game is played and thought of in the East. In particular, the mentality of Japanese baseball that he describes, along with the accounts of many of the players were eye-opening.
   
   It's just such a shame that the book is published in 1988, with no revisions forthcoming since then, because, as is inevitable with time, baseball in Japan has moved on.
   
   In the modern game, the popularity of the "Yomiuri Giants" which Whiting talks at length in his book are declining - so much so that they have trouble filling the stadium or even getting good ratings on TV. In fact, baseball as a sport in Japan as a whole has been on a gradual decline in the face of Soccer, which, when Whiting wrote "You Gotta Have Wa", was unthinkable.
   
   There have also been great shifts in terms of the power of Japanese baseball: away from the Giants to other teams, and the players union even went on strike in objection to the loss of player jobs following the merger of the Orix Bluewaves and Osaka Buffaloes. Whiting wrote however that the player's union would never consider striking, as that was the Japanese player's mentality. This signifies just how much the game has changed in Japan. Further, the systems have been edited to incorporate playoffs, and foreign coaches in Japan are now found at three clubs - a vastly different landscape to the one which Whiting reported on so excellently twenty years ago.
   
   Even though the book is outdated however, it is still a very enjoyable and very thorough account of baseball and the mentality of baseball in Japan. For anyone with an interest in the sport in Japan, I would highly recommend reading it, as very little else is available which is of a similar quality to "You Gotta Have Wa".
   
   But when reading, I just cant help but feel how worthy a book this would be if updated with information on the modern game. With stars like Matsui, Matsuzaka and Ichiro now plying their trades in the US, Whiting would have a lot to talk about.
   
   I recommend it: Just realise that the game has moved on a little from then.



3. What a fun book this was! It's very quick and easy reading - a fast reader can get through it on a plane trip or on a Sunday afternoon. I also gave it to a family member who was laid up with an illness, and he found it to be a good distraction. I myself picked this book up originally because I was interested in Japanese-American cultural conflicts and issues. I also just so happen to enjoy Dodger basu-baru.
   
   This book has some very entertaining stories and pictures. My favorite is a picture of a Japanese catcher being taught how to crouch behind the plate by squatting above a board with spikes pointing up toward his privates! Ouch!...that's one way to keep focused! There's also a funny shot of all the Japanese team managers dressed up in samurai armor and sort of scowling at the camera - they look fearsome, all right!
   
   The book did give me the kind of information I was seeking, though. Through the prism of baseball, it deals with some of the most important contrasts between American and Japanese culture. For example, the Japanese are much more likely to play when injured, for to do otherwise is "weak". This book tells the story of a pitcher with a torn ligament in his pitching arm who tried to "pitch through the pain", and could not get help from the Japanese sports doctors. He finally had to go to the US to get treatment, starting a rush of Japanese athletes who sought consultation and surgery here in the US that they were ashamed to seek in Japan.
   
   I was also very interested in the story about how baseball came to be introduced to Japan (though an American schoolteacher). Before long, Japanese youth were being subjected to intense training in baseball which rivals that for martial arts.
   
   Some posters here have mentioned that the book is two decades old, and somewhat out-of-date in terms of the players discussed. I didn't really mind that, and found it, all-in-all to be a very enjoyable and interesting read.



4. With the influx of Japanese stars into the US Major Leagues, many sports fans are becoming intrigued by the league across the Pacific and the ballplayers who play in it. Reading this book, along with Mr. Whiting's two others, Chrysanthemum at the Bat and The Meaning of Ichiro, will give you the best understanding availible. This book focuses more on the relationship between Japan and the American ballplayers who play over there, but there is a lot on Japanese players, the history of the game in Japan, and the culture of Japanese baseball. It was written in the late 1980s, but still is informative to a reader 20 years later.



5. Sure, the book is dated, but the truths and cultural differences highlighted remain in tact. The Japanese way, the concept of the group, the irrational approach to practice still remain. Few books get to the idiosyncracies of the Japanese as well as this one does. Not a lot of "eastern wisdom" or "zen baseball" but the cold hard truth about the weaknesses of the Japanese way.

5 comments about One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China.

1. A must read for anybody interested in the last 25 years of economic development in China.



2. In the foreword to One Billion Customers James McGregor states that his goal was to "convey timeless insights and commonsense lessons about Chinese business practices, and the deeply ingrained thinking and behavior patterns of Chinese people." While McGregor does not argue a single, central thesis, he does return to the importance of understanding the wants and needs of China as a country throughout the book. The book is structured around a series of case studies, each designed to illustrate a number of points. The cases cover sectors from the aerospace industry, to financial services, to telecommunications, and involve actors as varied as Boeing, China Unicom, and Rupert Murdoch.
   
   Each case study begins with an overview of the general situation, details the relevant organizations, actors, and rational behind various actions. The case studies conclude with a section titled: "What this means for you," in which McGregor discusses how lessons from the given case should impact how foreigners conduct business in China.
   
   Overall, One Billion Customers achieves its stated goal. The book provides an engaging, informative, and nuanced view of the Chinese business environment. McGregor also gives dozens of succinct, commonsense recommendations for foreign business leaders who hope to succeed in China.



3. One Billion Customers teaches by example. This book contains modern-day stories of foreigners doing business in China; some do it well, some poorly and some in between. But behind each story is a theme of what can, should, and should never be done when dealing with the Chinese, especially on their turf. There is no doubt that James McGregor is one of the foremost experts in the field given his time and experience in China and his journalism and research skills shine in the stories he relates to the reader. This book is also useful from a historical perspective given the historical details of modern-day China McGregor includes in One Billion Customers. Admittedly, I am not in a position to currently do business in China and as such, this book dragged on a bit for me. But if I ever were to be in China with a specific business task at hand, this book would never be more than an arm's length away.



4. This book should have been called "One Bill Partners," as there is very little about market research in the book. Rather, "One Billion Customers" is a series of highly readable case studies discussing businesses and joint ventures that went right and wrong in China. Jim's been in China for many years, speaks Chinese, and is able to distill political, economic, and cultural factors into witty advance, such as
   
   "If your CEO wants to do business with China in order to turn around his business, lose his visa."
   
   A brilliant book. Highly recommended.



5. James McGregor, author of One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China, makes it clear on why China is such a hard place to do business by offering a detailed examination of that country's culture.
   
   As a journalist and businessman, McGregor offers readers an honest and forthright portrayal of China's great strengths and shortcomings. An example is the author's discussion of China's split personality - i.e., distrustful of foreigners yet optimistically embracing growth.
   
   McGregor's valuable insights into China is gained from his 15 years in China as a businessman and as China bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. This book, richly grounded in Chinese history, dispels the myths about Chinese business practices by wrapping them in their historical context.
   
   The stories McGregor sprinkles throughout his book serve as an ample warning against rushing blindly into China without first learning a great deal about the country's history, culture, legal system, and values.
   
   McGregor ends each chapter by bulleting the highlights and summarizing the implications of the concepts covered for the reader. The author writes in the journalistic style which makes this book a very easy read. He is also an engaging speaker. I've had the chance to listen to him a couple of times
   
   By Gunjan Bagla
   Author of Doing Business in 21st Century India