Economic Decline and Organizational Control:

Book Description

Czarniawska-Joerges here presents the first systematic study of how organizational control processes and economic decline are related. As the author notes in her introduction, the typical organizational response to economic stress is a tightening of control--efforts to cut expenses, lay off employees, prescribe budgetary constraints, and more. But, she argues, such a reaction may not be the most beneficial in returning the organization to economic health. In developing a model for the behavior of organizations in economic decline, the author presents several detailed explanatory case studies representing different types of organizations and different reactions to their respective problems. Students of organizational behavior will find here important new insights into the dynamics of organizational control in the face of economic decline. The author begins by proposing a model for control cycle responses to decline. The bulk of the volume is devoted to a sustained evaluation of the model through the use of the four case studies. The first examines the Polish economy between 1971-81 as a centrally planned and rigidly structured economic organization reacting in an authoritative way to economic threats. Subsequent chapters analyze a multinational chemical corporation attempting an extreme degree of corporate control, the Swedish National Board of Education's attempt to restructure dramatically, and an American electronics firm which effectively loosened control at a critical juncture. The final chapter offers a synthesis of the preceding material and draws conclusions regarding the most effective ways in which organizations can respond to externally induced or internally generated economic stress.

Book Description

Based on the experience of the restructuring of the MBA program at Case Western Reserve University, the book describes the transformation of a program from one where student learning was incidental to teaching and research into one where learning is preeminent. Draws from ten years of curriculum change efforts to trace the entire process of program redesign, from initial discussion to implementation and evaluation. Examines strategic planning within the professional school and describes in detail the Managerial Assessment Course--a key element of the new program and a driving force for self-directed learning.

The book provides specific designs, methods, and procedures for conducting outcome assessment studies, including five types particularly relevant to professional schools: alumni studies, employer studies, faculty studies, student-change studies, and professional competency studies. Throughout the book, the authors and contributors describe a wealth of useful, thought-provoking ideas and learnings on management education and institutional change.

Amazon.com

Observing the dot-com boom and bust was like watching time-lapse photography; it seemed unreal, unsettling, yet deeply compelling. How can we try to understand the cultural changes wreaked by the last "new economy" of the 20th century? Oxford scholar Christine A. Finn spent 2000 in San Jose and its surrounding valley, exploring the personal and material culture of the area. Her outsider's report, Artifacts: An Archaeologist's Year in Silicon Valley, is a great start for students of the accelerating rate of social change.

Though she's no techie herself, she has an uncanny knack for meeting the right people at the right time to get the information she needs to drive her story onward. Talking with successes and failures, pre-IPO orchard workers turned uncertain service industry workers, and unashamed old-tech geeks, she finds a wealth of passion and confusion as social upheaval threatens to make the area's daily earthquakes nothing more than a convenient bundle of metaphors.

Finn is blessed with the ability and willingness to admit her own bafflement--when the goings-on get too weird for her to explain, she just shrugs her shoulders and moves on, leaving explanations to later theorists. Written just as the bust was recognized as more than a temporary setback, Artifacts could have been an epitaph or a morality play; instead, Finn guides the reader to a broader understanding of human motivation and behavior amidst trying times. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

Silicon Valley, a small place with few identifiable geologic or geographic features, has achieved a mythical reputation in a very short time. The modern material culture of the Valley may be driven by technology, but it also encompasses architecture, transportation, food, clothing, entertainment, intercultural exchanges, and rituals.

Combining a reporter's instinct for a good interview with traditional archaeological training, Christine Finn brings the perspectives of the past and the future to the story of Silicon Valley's present material culture. She traveled the area in 2000, a period when people's fortunes could change overnight. She describes a computer's rapid trajectory from useful tool to machine to be junked to collector's item. She explores the sense that whatever one has is instantly superseded by the next new thing -- and the effect this has on economic and social values. She tells stories from a place where fruit-pickers now recycle silicon chips and where more money can be made babysitting for post-IPO couples than working in a factory. The ways that people are working and adapting, are becoming wealthy or barely getting by, are visible in the cultural landscape of the fifteen cities that make up the area called "Silicon Valley."

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed.......2002-10-13

I had high expectations for this book, however I was severely disappointed. The book makes claims at being some sort of archaeologist's study, but it reads like a badly written vacation journal written by an easily impressed child. Finn locks onto the most trivial aspects of Silicon Valley and Internet culture and romanticizes them in a way that only someone who doesn't understand them would.

A different view of the valley, removed from the hype.......2002-09-26

This book takes a look at the other side of the Silicon Valley: the side removed from the glitz and glamour of the Silicon Valley (or at least what it had during the writing of the book).
Other reviewers wanted more coverage of local companies. For that, they should turn to the dozens of business publications that already cover that information, or the dozens of books that chronicle the history of the Valley and its various star companies.

This book was written to help outsiders understand the reality of the Silicon Valley and, having been written from the perspective of an outsider, finds significant details that insiders either simply take for granted or just don't notice.

It describes the social foundations upon which the Silicon Valley was built and upon which it currently rests, and uses that information to try to explain how the Valley of Hearts Delight was tranformed. In this regard, the book truly is an archaeological treatise, but written in a friendly and readable style that allows the reader to experience the scene firsthand.

get English-Lueck's Cultures@SiliconValley instead.......2002-07-17

This is not the best book for insights about the Valley. As the other reviewers suggest, this book has a bit of a split personality. On the one hand, one has a stream of observational anecdotes about the Valley. All of the usual cliches are here: Fry's, Buck's Diner, the cherry stands, the 101 traffic jams. These read like someone is trying their hand at writing a confessional ethnographic tale, but without a theoretical argument to provide a central structure. On the other hand, one has a stream of stories about computer-as-artifact -- tales about the collectors, like Nathan Myhrvold, and the people who recycle computers, and so on. One gets the feeling that the author set out to write a book about the latter, found it a bit thin, and the editor suggested fleshing it out with some bubble-era backdrop.

Silicon Valley and Archaeology Redefined?.......2002-04-15

I have to agree with the reader from Woodside, CA. This book is an author's vacation documented with brief historical and computer tech stories. The Title, "Artifacts", does not reflect what the book's content is! It is confusing reading and very hard to follow. Dates, times and places are mixed up, depending on whenever the author remembered a fact or event, jotted it down, and then flips back to another event months after. Silicon Valley and its high tech companies, were not sought after depicting what our high tech companies here have provided, historically, for our world. From an archaeology standpoint, there must have been dozens of companies willing to impart knowledge and "artifacts" to the author, if the author's mind was actually on really gathering pertinent information. I agree, the author had a wonderful vacation here in the Silicon Valley and got to write out her personal travels as she thought they were. There are too many side stories here, including irrelevant cities, places and events written about that clearly have nothing to do with artifacts, the Silicon Valley, or Archaeology.

Silicon Valley extended?.......2002-03-20

I was looking forward to reading this book with the intention of collecting facts, both historical and computer oriented, in regards to the Silicon Valley. However, it was a wee bit like reading a large essay of sorts, and I was distracted by bouncing dates and events not in a specific order, and material that had little or nothing to do with Silicon Valley. Where were the interviews with the large computer companies and internet companies and their CEO's? When I visited the Silicon Valley, I saw several computer companies in Mountain View, Milpitas, Oakland, Redwood City, Alviso, Fremont, Sunnyvale and San Jose that were never addressed. These companies have fed our nation with a wealth of technology and financial stability amongst the world. Instead, there are pages of personal experiences that had no place in an archaeology based text. If you are to read this book, Artifacts, be sure to have a pad of paper to map out chronologically what is going on. Also, I would have liked to have seen actual "artifacts" of Silicion Valley photographed large and in color, with a description and history beneath them as to identify and associate them. I suppose this book would have fancied me if it wasn't suppose to be an archaeology text. Also, I would have liked to read about the cities in Silicon Valley that are crucial to the computer field and their "artifacts". Some of the cities reported on are not considered the "computer" cities of the Silicon Valley. It may have been that the author was side tracked by her personal journies and discoveries.

Power Choices: 7 Signposts on Your Journey to Wholeness, Love, Joy and Peace

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Power Choices: 7 Signposts on Your Journey to Wholeness, Love, Joy and Peace
Dr. Brenda Wade , and Tamara Jeffries
Manufacturer: Heartline Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0979155401

Product Description

Do you sometimes feel confused and troubled by the unexpected twists and turns life can take? Do you feel that you have no choice in how your life unfolds? Dr. Brenda Wade untangles this mystery.

Along life's journey, we make choices every day. Whether these choices are big or small - whether it's what to have for dinner or how to meet a crisis or challenge - how we go about making that choice makes a difference in the quality of our lives.

This is a book for those who want to make the small and big choices using their hearts as well as their heads. Power Choices identifies the key choices you can make to turn breakdowns into breakthroughs. Ultimately, the most powerful choice is love.

"Power Choices blends Eastern and Western philosophy along with science and spirituality to create seven signposts on the journey to manifesting love and peace in our personal life and in the world." - Deepak Chopra, M.D., Author, Peace is the Way.

"Joseph Campbell showed us how timeless stories guide us along the journey; now Brenda Wade reveals how to make the changes needed to fulfill our quests. Her vivid stories show how inner discovery is essentially a series of key transitions. Dr. Wade's insights will help those seeking to handle challenges effectively, transform their lives." - Jonathan Young, PhD, Author and Psychologist, Founding Curator, Joseph Campbell Archives

Communication of Innovations: A Journey With Ev Rogers

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Communication of Innovations: A Journey With Ev Rogers

Manufacturer: Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Communications | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Communication | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0761934774

Product Description

This collection of 10 original essays honors the intellectual legacy of Professor Everett M. Rogers, a pioneering and distinguished teacher-scholar of diffusion of innovations, communication networks, and social change. Well known colleagues and contemporaries write on topics that not only piqued Rogers curiosity, but which are areas where he made seminal and lasting contributions: diffusion of innovations; communication networks in diffusion; innovation generation and technology transfer; social cognitive and social diffusion theories; social marketing; communication and social change in non-Western contexts; strategic communication campaigns; and the entertainment-education communication strategy in health promotion. The concluding chapter documents Rogers life journey from his modest farm boy beginnings in Iowa, through his distinguished academic career, to his final return to the farm. Overall, this book demonstrates the diversity of Rogers contributions to the fields of communication science, marketing, organizational change, sociology, and social psychology, and will serve as a starting point for future scholarship and practice.

Average customer rating:

A Good Read!

The Innovation Journey
Andrew H. Van de Ven , Douglas E. Polley , Raghu Garud , and Sankaran Venkataraman
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

MIS | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Operations Research | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0195133072

Book Description

The Innovation Journey presents the results of a major longitudinal study that examined the process of innovation from concept to implementation of new technologies, products, processes, and administrative arrangements. Its findings call into question most of the explanations of the innovation process that have been proposed in the past. The Minnesota Innovation Research Program, on which this book is based, involved over 30 researchers who undertook longitudinal studies that tracked the development of 14 diverse innovations in real time and in their natural field settings. Studying its results, the authors find that the innovation journey is neither sequential and orderly, nor is it a matter of random trial and error; rather it is best characterized as a nonlinear dynamic system. The system consists of a cycle of divergent and convergent activities that may be repeated over time and at different organizational levels if enabling and constraining conditions are present. This divergent-convergent cycle is found to be the underlying dynamic that explains the development of corporate cultures for innovation, learning among innovation team members, leadership behaviors of top managers or investors, building relationships and joint ventures with other organizations, and developing an industrial infrastructure for innovation. Resource investments and organizational structure enable this innovation cycle, while external institutional rules and internal focus draw the boundaries of the journey. The authors conclude with advice for innovation managers and entrepreneurs: learn to "go with the flow," because while they can learn to maneuver through the innovation journey, they cannot control its flow.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Read!.......2001-08-25

Andrew H. Van de Ven and his co-authors, quite an innovative crew, have crafted a thorough academic model of the corporate innovation process. The authors use a river rafting trip analogy for the innovation journey, where uncharted, challenging territory demands leadership and cooperation. The river metaphor is good to keep in mind here, because the subject matter gets a little dry. The team found that common factors exist in every quest for innovation, and constructed a cohesive model for innovators. The material - resulting from 17 years of research at the University of Minnesota's Minnesota Innovation Research Foundation (MIRP) - is truly exhaustive, detailed and academic. Because of this, a reader with no background in innovation theory might find it somewhat arcane. We [...] recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the complex process of corporate innovation.

Birth As A Healing Experience: The Emotional Journey of Pregnancy Through Postpartum (Haworth Innovations in Feminist Studies)

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Emotions about our past influence our birth experiences
Put my copy in the trash please.

Birth As A Healing Experience: The Emotional Journey of Pregnancy Through Postpartum (Haworth Innovations in Feminist Studies)
Lois Halzel Freedman
Manufacturer: Haworth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Social Psychology & Interactions | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Anatomy | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Physiology | Basic Science | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Maternity, Perinatal & Women's Health | Nursing | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Reproduction | Reproductive & Sexual | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

ASIN: 078900576X

Book Description

Birth as a Healing Experience: The Emotional Journey of Pregnancy Through Postpartum emphasizes and examines the emotional aspects of pregnancy and postpartum, presenting these periods as important opportunities for a woman's growth and healing from previous traumatic births or pregnancy losses. Midwives, childbirth educators, pregnant and postpartum women, women of childbearing age, and men will find that this book is unlike most others on pregnancy because it focuses on the healing potential in pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum rather than on the medical aspects. Women's stories illustrate how individuals deal with past experiences of grief and loss during pregnancy in a therapeutic setting.

Through Birth as a Healing Experience, you will discover a new model of childbirth preparation that empowers women and their partners for a fulfilling childbirth experience. You will also find that this essential book contains important information on supporting women during the postpartum period so you can provide the best services to your clients throughout the childbearing experience.

Addressing the importance of a woman's emotional well-being during the pregnancy and postpartum periods, the detailed case studies in this informative book will help you understand and learn from each topic. Birth as a Healing Experience offers you insightful discussions about:

the number of cesarean sections performed in the United States

the medical as well as psychological consequences of cesarean sections

the many benefits of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)

guidelines for VBAC and for attaining a fulfilling childbirth experience

the effects of pregnancy and childbirth on the psychological development of women

the importance of healing from past birth traumas and/or the early death of a mother to have a satisfying pregnancy and motherhood experience

From this vital guide, you will understand how such issues as a previous traumatic birth, miscarriage, or your own early mother loss can have an effect on your pregnancy and postpartum periods. Birth as a Healing Experience emphasizes honoring the childbirth experience and focuses on the power of women supporting women during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. From this intelligent book, you will find unique stories that will enhance the childbearing experience for you and your clients.

Customer Reviews:

Emotions about our past influence our birth experiences.......2007-10-04

The author has provided expectant women with a window into their own thoughts as well as suggestions for how to help them enjoy their birth experience and weave it into their emotions as a positive experience. By allowing such a momentous occasion such as birth to awaken our inner thoughts, dreams and intense emotions about our past (and sometimes our relationships with our own mothers!), we are taken to a level where we can be renewed, in a sense. This book is straight-forward and uses examples to inspire. Many women go into late pregnancy with fear...this book helps them wade through that fear to the cause and helps them experience birth as an empowering (and sometimes forgiving) experience.

Put my copy in the trash please........2007-08-29

If I had known that this book was going to praise Nancy Wainer Cohen I wouldn't have bought it.

The Comic Art of Laurence Sterne: Convention and Innovation in Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey

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The Comic Art of Laurence Sterne: Convention and Innovation in Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey
John M. Stedmond
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0802051936

Innovation and Tradition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine: An Anecdotal Journey

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Innovation and Tradition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine: An Anecdotal Journey
David Y. Cooper , and Marshall A. Ledger
Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Education & Training | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

JOURNEY INWARD, JOURNEY OUTWARD Innovations By the Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C.

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JOURNEY INWARD, JOURNEY OUTWARD Innovations By the Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth O'Connor
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WCRD8I

Mapping the Management Journey: Practice, Theory, and Context

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Mapping the Management Journey: Practice, Theory, and Context

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0199215359

Book Description

The last five decades have seen a sea-change in business and in management studies. The world of business has been transformed by powerful forces: globalization, IT, outsourcing and all manner of organizational reshaping and flattening. At the same time Management Studies has seen a massive expansion in courses, students and teachers, driven in part by a quest for new and broader models. The ground covered by Management Studies, and the way Management Studies maps this, have changed. This book, written by specialist experts, analyses these developments in Management Studies, giving a concise guide to specific areas. Working from the broader global and technological context, it explores a range of sectors - private, public and professional - and conclude by examining specific functions involved in management, such as Corporate Strategy, Information Technology, Operations Management, and Marketing. The authors are all associated with Templeton College at the University of Oxford, a school known for its close work with managers, companies, and other types of organizations, through its executive education programmes and high-impact business research. This experience, and its specialist knowledge, leaves it uniquely positioned to chronicle and comment on the development of the discipline of management studies and point the way ahead.

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