Economics, Business, Public Relations, and the Greater Scale

A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World (BOOK): by William J. Bernstein

"Entertaining and greatly enlightening . . . Mr. Bernstein is a fine writer and knows how to tell a great story well . . . A Splendid Exchange is a splendid book." -- John Steele Gordon, The New York Times

"Excellent . . . Bernstein is equally at home plumbing the romantic dawn of trade or untwisting the mind-wracking complexity of modern international commerce." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Superb . . . [A] significant contribution . . . A Splendid Exchange is a work of which Adam Smith and Max Weber would have approved." -- Paul Kennedy, Foreign Affairs

"Timely and informative . . . Fascinating and surprisingly exciting . . . A saga of epic proportions." -- Booklist

America's Economic Moralists: A History of Rival Ethics and Economics (BOOK): by Donald E. Frey

Since colonial times, two discernable schools have debated major issues of economic morality in America. The central norm of one morality is the freedom, or autonomy, of the individual and defines virtues, vices, obligations, and rights by how they contribute to that freedom. The other morality is relational and defines economic ethics in terms of behaviors mandated by human connectedness. America's Economic Moralists shows how each morality has been composed of an ethical outlook paired with a compatible economic theory, each supporting the other. Donald E. Frey adopts a multidisciplinary approach, not only drawing upon historical economic thought, American religious thought, and ethics, but also finding threads of economic morality in novels, government policies, and popular writings. He uses the history of these two supported yet very different views to explain the culture of excess that permeates the morality of today's economic landscape.

Brazil as an Economic Superpower?: Understanding Brazil's Changing Role in the Global Economy (BOOK): edited by Lael Brainard, Leonardo Martinez-Diaz

Brazil is once again getting attention in the northern hemisphere. Long seen as an economic backwater, Brazil now occupies key niches in energy, agriculture, service industries, even high technology markets. Yet the nation still struggles with endemic problems of inequality and with a traditional ambivalence toward deep integration with the world economy. The authors' analysis focuses particularly on five key topics: agribusiness, energy, trade, social investment, and multinational corporations. The net result is an invaluable analytical contribution and a provocative look into the future of our global economy and into the workings of one particularly important component of that system.

Built to Win: Creating a World-Class Negotiating Organization (BOOK): by Hallam Movius, Lawrence Susskind

“Take a close look at a complex topic, providing a roadmap to better understanding.” --BizEd Magazine (July/August 2009)

Can Latin America Compete?: Confronting the Challenges of Globalization (BOOK): edited by Jerry Haar and John Price

"[The authors] have edited what is clearly the most extensive, detailed and useful book on competitiveness in Latin America. The book features an impressive roster of experts that analyze the key areas where Latin America needs to improve its competitiveness--ranging from education and labor markets to property rights, legal reform and security."--Latin Business Chronicle

"…a skillful contribution to the ongoing debate over how to achieve competitiveness and how countries in the region can face the challenges presented by globalization."--Luis Alberto Moreno, president, Inter-American Development Bank

"This is an important book for those who track the region’s performance. Using case studies, the authors cogently illustrate many of the issues that weaken the region’s competitiveness."--Roberto Newell G., CEO, Mexican Competitiveness Institute (IMCO)

China and Globalization: The Social, Economic and Political Transformation of Chinese Society (BOOK): by Doug Guthrie

This is easily one of the most comprehensive, incisive, and readily intelligible introductions to the numerous perplexities of economic, social, and governmental changes in post-Mao China...Given his willingness to confront central issues in Chinas modernization head on, Guthries work remains a superior guidebook to that historic process. Essential.-- Choice, (April 2009)

How to Manage in a Flat World: 10 Strategies to get Connected to Your Team Wherever They Are (BOOK): by Susan Bloch and Philip Whiteley

Manage, motivate, and communicate with teams that span continents while mastering all the resources available to global managers, from technology to travel. How to Manage in a Flat World is based on exclusive interviews with dozens of successful global managers.

Import/Export: How to Take Your Business Across Borders (BOOK): by Carl A. Nelson

Doing business across national borders is more profitable than ever. In the exhaustively revised fourth edition, Import/Export provides step-by-step guidance to show you how to take part in the booming world economy.

Innovation Tournaments: Creating and Selecting Exceptional Opportunities (BOOK): Christian Terwiesch, Karl T. Ulrich

Managers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists all seek to maximize the financial returns from innovation, and profits are driven largely by the quality of the opportunities they pursue. Based on a structured and process-driven approach this book demonstrates how to systematically identify exceptional opportunities for innovation.

Insufficient Funds: Savings, Assets, Credit, and Banking Among Low-Income Households (BOOK): edited by Rebecca M. Blank and Michael S. Barr

One in four American adults doesn't have a bank account. Low-income families lack access to many of the basic financial services middle-class families take for granted and are particularly susceptible to financial emergencies, unemployment, loss of a home, and uninsured medical problems. Insufficient Funds explores how institutional constraints and individual decisions combine to produce this striking disparity and recommends policies to help alleviate the problem.

The authors ultimately argue that if we want to demand financial responsibility from low-income households, we have an obligation to assure that these families have access to the banking, credit, and savings institutions that are readily available to higher-income families. Insufficient Funds highlights where and how access is blocked and shows how government policy and individual decisions could combine to eliminate many of these barriers in the future.

Key Concepts in Marketing (BOOK): by Jim Blythe

--Introduces and examines the key issues, methods, models and debates that define the field of marketing today.

Key Concepts in Public Relations (BOOK): by Bob Franklin

“The plethora of facts and theories is handled skilfully and the erudition worn so lightly that the best compliment a reader can make is that one is barely conscious of the huge amount of ground covered by the book and that it is the work of five different authors… Ultimately, it is the sheer variety of topics covered that impresses, as if the authors are deliberately making a point of the breadth of PR today” - Communication Director

Made in China: Secrets of China's Dynamic Entrepreneurs (BOOK): by Winter Nie, Katherine Xin, Lily Zhang

China's rapid economic growth has made it a vital market for the biggest multinational corporations, most of which have invested heavily in China. Yet those corporations face their toughest competition not from other multinationals, but from China's own homegrown businesses. China's entrepreneur class has grown and their businesses are succeeding primarily due to their knowledge of the domestic market, quick adaptation to market changes, and their resourcefulness. To paraphrase Sun Tzu, it is best to know one's enemy.

Managing Project Delivery: Maintaining Control and Achieving Success (BOOK): by Trish Melton, Peter Iles-Smith

Successful projects are the basis for a successful company, but many professionals lack the basic skills required to manage projects successfully. The Project Management Toolkit guides readers through each of the four key life-cycle stages that lead to effective project management. Focused on successful project delivery in the engineering, industrial and process sectors, the books are aligned to the standard PMP (Project Management Professional) body of knowledge from the PMI and APM project management organizations and develop the PM knowledge that career project managers and those who only intermittently lead projects will be expected to use. The books tailor these tools to meet the particular challenges faced in these sectors, which can vary considerably from the needs of the IT, customer or financial services projects that are routinely covered in other guides. Each book can be used as a standalone guide or be combined to provide a complete and powerful PM resource.