Business & Personal Finance - Books

How to Start a Home-based Craft Business

Everything you need to know to run a profitable and satisfying craft business from your home From business and financial planning to marketing your business both online and through traditional outlets, this comprehensive guide provides practical solutions and solid advice on how to tap your creative skills to earn a living. Learn all about business plans, finding supplies on the Internet, publicity, zoning ordinances, and much more. Whatever your goals are, join the thousands of successful crafters, artists, and entrepreneurs, and experience the satisfaction of establishing and building your own home-based craft business. Look for useful charts and worksheets throughout the book, including: Market Survey FormEstimated Start-Up CostsProfit and Loss Projection/Report Balance SheetSample Invoice

Two Targets, Two Instruments: Monetary and Exchange Rate Policies in Emerging Market Economies

Business & Personal Finance

Staff Discussion Notes showcase the latest policy-related analysis and research being developed by individual IMF staff and are published to elicit comment and to further debate. These papers are generally brief and written in nontechnical language, and so are aimed at a broad audience interested in economic policy issues. This Web-only series replaced Staff Position Notes in January 2011.

SW Construction (Holding) Limited

Business & Personal Finance

SW Construction (Holding) Limited is a construction company that develops and manages properties. After a number of successful years in exclusively developing its own properties, the company has suffered a loss in revenue. The executive director is concerned that they have not been able to obtain a government contract. He must determine how the company can win more government contracts by collecting and analysing data from the last 20 auctions.

IMF-Supported Programs In Indonesia, Korea and Thailand

Business & Personal Finance

This paper is a preliminary review of the design of and early experience with IMF-supported programs in Indonesia, Korea, and Thailand during 1997-98. The review takes into account developments as of October 1998, and was the basis for a discussion of the programs by the IMF's Executive Board in December 1998.

The Joy of Finding FISH

Business & Personal Finance

What if the life you have is already more than enough?Our relentless pursuit of 'more' never seems to reach 'enough'. Rather than joining the line of books trying to change your life, The Joy of Finding FISH offers the belief that the life you have is already enough. The secret to a more fulfilling, inspiring, successful and happy life is the realisation that it is about being those things, rather than chasing them.Filled with strategies to create your purpose, live your values, and pursue your Greatest Imaginable Challenge, The Joy of Finding FISH offers insight and inspiration to grow in a way that is personal to you. Each chapter is rich with stories, swimming through topics such as resilience, embracing courage, celebrating achievements, exploring gratitude, and integrating your life roles in the pursuit of FISH. In the midst of his own personal trauma, Christopher Miller shares his wisdom with deep love and honesty. His words offer hope grounded in reality, and demonstrate the joy that comes from living a life well-lived.

Collaborating with the Enemy

Business & Personal Finance

“Offers practical guidance for how to work with diverse others, which is a precondition for confronting many of the complex challenges we face.” —Morris Rosenberg, President, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Collaboration is increasingly difficult and increasingly necessary. Often, to get something done that really matters to us, we need to work with people we don’t agree with or like or trust. Adam Kahane has faced this challenge many times, working on big issues like democracy and jobs and climate change and on everyday issues in organizations and families. He has learned that our conventional understanding of collaboration—that it requires a harmonious team that agrees on where it’s going, how it’s going to get there, and who needs to do what—is wrong. Instead, we need a new approach to collaboration that embraces discord, experimentation, and genuine cocreation—which is exactly what Kahane provides in this groundbreaking and timely book. “Kahane shows that people who don’t see eye-to-eye really can come together to solve big challenges. Whether in our businesses, our governments, our communities, or our personal lives, we can all benefit from this smart and timely book.” —Mark Tercek, former President, The Nature Conservancy and coauthor of Nature’s Fortune “Shows us how thinking and seeing differently can help us navigate this challenging landscape. Kahane abandons orthodoxy in taking on the most intransigent problems, showing us the path to effective action in a complex world.” —James Gimian, coauthor of The Rules of Victory “Collaborating with the Enemy belongs on the same shelf as Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and Machiavelli’s The Prince.” —Stephen Huddart, President, The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation

Consumer Research

Business & Personal Finance

Consumer Research: Postcards from the Edge is a collection of cutting-edge essays by leading exponents of postmodern consumer research from Europe and America. Topics covered include: * chronicle, composition and fabulation in consumer research * postmodern approaches to pluralism in consumer research * marketing in cyberspace * poststructuralism in marketing * semiotics in marketing and consumer research

The Quintessence of Strategic Management

Business & Personal Finance

This book provides practitioners with a basic understanding of strategy and the process of strategic management. Using academic foundations and best practices from business life, the authors present the most important strategy tools and how they interact. The book gives a concise overview over the focal areas and considerations of strategy in practice. It enables managers to analyze and interpret buisness information with regard to the underlying strategic notions. A hands-on introduction to strategic management by leading marketing authority Philip Kotler, top management consultancy founder Roland Berger, and strategy expert Nils Bickhoff.

Singapore Inc.: A Century of Business Success in Global Markets

Business & Personal Finance

This book features 100 local case studies examining the experiences of leading Singaporean companies across different sectors including aviation, logistics, banking, and real estate. They offer valuable insights into how companies adapted to evolving market dynamics, expanded their business portfolios, ventured into global markets, prioritised sustainability, and leveraged innovation and technology to maintain competitiveness.Through case studies, readers gain practical knowledge that can be applied to their own enterprises, a unique perspective into Singapore’s dynamic and competitive business landscape, and the successes and challenges faced by Singaporean companies. The book is divided into different sections exploring specific themes such as business strategy and transformation, diversification and expansion, sustainability, innovation and technology, financial performance, and risk management. It scrutinises how companies responded to shifting market conditions, competition, regulations, customer preferences, and global events. Additionally, it sheds light on the obstacles companies encountered in terms of sustainable practices, financial performance, risk management, talent retention, and technological advancements. By presenting cases across industries and companies in Singapore, Choong et al. highlight their triumphs, setbacks, and valuable lessons learned.This book can be rendered as a practical and essential resource for business professionals, entrepreneurs, and students interested in understanding effective business strategies.

La fine del lavoro

Business & Personal Finance

La rivoluzione tecnologica e informatica che ha segnato gli ultimi decenni del ventesimo secolo e l'inizio del terzo millennio ha portato nel mondo del lavoro veri e propri sconvolgimenti caratterizzati dalla progressiva scomparsa dei vecchi "mestieri" e dalla crescente obsolescenza delle abilità e delle competenze acquisite dai lavoratori delle generazioni meno giovani. Stiamo entrando - sostiene Rifkin - nell'era della "fine del lavoro": calcolatori e robot sostituiscono via via l'uomo in un numero crescente di settori produttivi, un fenomeno che non riusciranno ad arginare neppure le professioni emergenti e i nuovi mercati esteri. E, in un'economia che si globalizza, ogni stato dovrà fare i conti con una massa sempre più consistente di disoccupati. Nel suo saggio, intelligente e provocatorio quanto pieno di speranze per il futuro, Rifkin non prospetta l'imminenza di una catastrofe socioeconomica, ma ci spiega come sarà possibile sfruttare le potenzialità della tecnologia per evitare il collasso e creare un nuovo e più umano ordine sociale.

Improving the International Monetary System: Constraints and Possibilities

Business & Personal Finance

This study addresses major policy issues associated with the future of the international monetary system. It focuses on whether there is a need for fundamental reform of this system, defined as systematic and sustained effort on the part of the three major industrial countries (United States, Japan, and Germany) to maintain their exchange rates within agreed ranges. It then discusses less rar-reaching reforms that could strengthen and improve the system.

HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically (HBR Guide Series)

Business & Personal Finance

Bring strategy into your daily work.It's your responsibility as a manager to ensure that your work--and the work of your team--aligns with the overarching objectives of your organization. But when you're faced with competing projects and limited time, it's difficult to keep strategy front of mind. How do you keep your eye on the long term amid a sea of short-term demands?The HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically provides practical advice and tips to help you see the big-picture perspective in every aspect of your daily work, from making decisions to setting team priorities to attacking your own to-do list.You'll learn how to:Understand your organization's strategyAlign your team around key objectivesFocus on the priorities that matter mostSpot trends in your company and in your industryConsider future outcomes when making decisionsManage trade-offsEmbrace a leadership mindset

Vive la France !

Business & Personal Finance

« L’acier, c’est fini » ; « le meuble français craque » ; « l’industrie mécanique s’effondre » ; « les exportations s’essoufflent » ; « des milliers de salariés sur le sable » ; « la campagne se dépeuple ». À la une des journaux, s’étalent les lézardes de la maison France. Alors, pourquoi ce « Vive la France », cri d’espoir et d’optimisme dans la morosité ambiante ? Parce qu’il n’aime guère les idées reçues et se méfie des modes, Pierre Miquel a voulu en savoir plus, voir sur place, juger sur pièces. Il a donc entrepris son Tour de France, comme jadis les compagnons, à la rencontre des réalités d’aujourd’hui. Et voilà ce qu’il a découvert : des régions entières sinistrées, de larges pans de notre économie ruinés mais aussi, un peu partout, de nouveaux bourgeons et, au bout du compte, un pays nouveau en train de naître. Autrefois, un Nord riche et industriel, un Sud pauvre et rural. Aujourd’hui, alors que le pays se rééquilibre vers le sud de la Loire, une nouvelle géographie économique et humaine prend corps, y compris dans les régions réputées en déclin : utilisation des friches industrielles, création de technopoles, villes où le futur s’élabore, provinces qui se réveillent, bataille des transports, course aux technologies de pointe et recherche d’activités rentables... Tout ceci témoigne d’une vitalité intacte : la France bouge, les hommes et les emplois se redistribuent, matière grise et esprit d’entreprise se réconcilient. Une enquête minutieuse, des cas précis et l’image se dégage d’une France en mouvement qui innove, crée, invente, prépare l’avenir. Pierre Miquel, dans le même esprit qui animait Vidal de La Blache publiant en 1911 son Tableau de géographie de la France, nous donne ici la première « photo satellite » de la France de demain.

Reinvigorating Growth in Developing Countries: Lessons from Adjustment Policies in Eight Economies

Business & Personal Finance

This study examines the links between adjustment policies and growth in a small group of developing countries- Bangladesh, Chile, Ghana, India, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, and Thailand - during 1970 -93. It provides an overview of the adjustment and growth experience, examines in depth several policy issues of particular interest, and distills the principal policy lessons for the design of adjustment policies.

Exchange Rate Movements and Their Impact on Trade and Investment in the APEC Region

Business & Personal Finance

The 18 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (APEC) encompass not only a wide geographic area but also broad differences in stages of economic development, including among them some of the fastest- growing economies in the world. Such rapid growth has been ficilitated by high levels of investment and trade, international linkages, and, in most APEC economies, macroeconomic policies that have sustained growth while not sparking excessive inflation. This study offers insights about how medium and long-term changes in real exchange rates have affected international (and intra-APEC) trade and investment in the region.

The Value Dimension (Routledge Revivals)

Business & Personal Finance

The essays in this edited collection, first published in 1986, focus on important debates surrounding the central Marxian problem of the transformation of values into prices. The collection brings together major contributions on the value theory debate from the decade prior to the book’s publication, and assesses the debate’s significance for wider issues. Value theory emerges as much more than a technical relation between labour time and prices, and the structure of the capitalist economy is scrutinised. This is a relevant and comprehensive work, valuable to students, academics and professionals with an interest in political and Marxist economy.

Utopien für Realisten

Business & Personal Finance

Was sind heute die großen Ideen? Historischer Fortschritt basierte fast immer auf utopischen Ideen: Noch vor 100 Jahren hätte niemand für möglich gehalten, dass die Sklaverei abgeschafft oder die Demokratie wirklich existieren würde.Doch wie begegnen wir den Herausforderungen der modernen Arbeitswelt, des Familienlebens, des gesamten globalen Gefüges?Der niederländische Vordenker Rutger Bregman sagt: «Das wahre Problem unserer Zeit ist nicht, dass es uns nicht gut ginge oder dass es uns in Zukunft schlechter gehen könnte. Das wahre Problem ist, dass wir uns nichts Besseres vorstellen können.»Wir müssen es wagen, das Unmögliche zu denken, denn nur so finden wir Lösungen für die Probleme unserer Zeit. Bregman macht deutlich, warum das bedingungslose Grundeinkommen eine echte Option ist und inwiefern die 15-Stunden-Woche eine Antwort auf die Digitalisierung der Arbeit sein kann. «Alternativlos» ist für Bregman keine Option, sogar die Armut kann abgeschafft werden, wie er am Beispiel einer kanadischen Stadt zeigt. Bregmans Visionen sind inspirierend, seine Energie ist mitreißend; er zeigt: Utopien können schneller Realität werden, als wir denken.«Rutger Bregman rüttelt uns wach.» The Times

Sustainability and Interprofessional Collaboration

Business & Personal Finance

Endorsements for this book - more inside!‘This book is a concise guide to effective leadership in interprofessional education. It clearly defines the three aspects critical to the success of interprofessional education in interprofessional programmes which are; patient-provider interaction, professional teams in the community and supporting organisations.’— Simeon K. Mining, DVM, M.Sc., Ph.D., Doctor of Medicine (h.c), Professor of Immunology and Director of Research–Moi University, Kenya, additionally senior advisor Moi–Linkoping Universities Thirty Year collaboration.This book is the fourth in the serieson leadership, interprofessional education and practice, following on from Leadership Development for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (2014), Leadership and Collaboration: Further Developments for IPE and Collaborative Practice (2015) and Leading Research and Evaluation in Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (2016).Along with policy changes around the globe, these three books have stimulated experts in this area to consider not only the ways in which they introduce and develop interprofessional education and collaborative practice, but also how they evaluate their impacts. In this fourth book, the focus is on the sustainability of these initiatives, sharing insights into factors that promote sustainability including leadership approaches and organisational resilience, as well as frequently encountered difficulties, and ways to overcome them.Dawn Forman is a Professor of Academic Development at the University of Derby and is a Company Director for Interactive Leadership and Management Development. Dawn is an Adjunct Professor for Curtin University, Australia, and Auckland University of Technology, NZ and has over 120 peer-reviewed publications.Marion Jones is Dean of the Graduate Research School at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), NZ. She is also Director of the National Centre for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice and a member of the Interprofessional Global Development team. She is a Professor of Interprofessional Learning at AUT.Jill Thistlethwaite is a professional health education consultant, general practitioner, and Adjunct Professor with the University of Technology Sydney, and clinical chair of the hospital non-specialist programme at HETI (Health Education and Training Institute, New South Wales, Australia). She is the Editor of The Clinical Teacher and an Associate Editor of Journal of Interprofessional Care.

The Auditor

Business & Personal Finance

The audit profession is at a tipping point. Without significant innovation in its business model, staff recruitment strategies and audit execution processes, the audit profession may not remain relevant in the 21st century. The number of claims against auditors has significantly increased over the past twenty years due to the spate of corporate and audit failures early in the 21st century (Enron, Worldcom, Parmalat, etc.). Regulation to monitor professional and ethical standards has increased, leading audit firms to feel under even more financial pressure. In addition, the investor community is calling for greater insight and foresight from auditors. These challenges, coupled with the unlimited liability regime of auditors still applicable in many jurisdictions, are making audit firms and regulators nervous as to the systemic risk of another one of the Big 4 failing.And yet, the audit profession is in place to protect businesses, their wider stakeholder groups, including clients and investors, and society at large. Therefore, this book asks the important question about the profession’s future and engages a broad readership in the discussion of audit failure and reform.Intended to help readers to get up to speed with the issues and possible solutions quickly, this book assists directors, investors, business people and regulators, especially those with a non-financial background, to gain a greater understanding of the challenges and threats being faced by the audit profession, which in turn could disrupt the capital market and affect businesses across the globe. The book outlines the critical success factors needed for a sustainable audit profession.

Franchise-Systeme in der öffentlichen Verwaltung

Business & Personal Finance

Seit über zwei Jahrzehnten versuchen Industriestaaten verstärkt Verwaltungsreformen erfolgreich umzusetzen. Gedrängt von Konsolidierungsnotwendigkeiten öffentlicher Haushalte aber auch von „spill-over“ Effekten („Der Kunde ist König“, Outputorientierung usw.) sowie den erfolgreichen Managementmethoden der Privatwirtschaft wurden in vielen Bereichen der öffentlichen Verwaltung Modernisierungsreformen eingeleitet. In den einzelnen Ländern wurden zum Teil verschiedene Methoden und Wege der Reformierung entwickelt. Diese sind auf unterschiedliche Ausgangssituationen und verschiedene (Verwaltungs-)Traditionen zurückzuführen. Daraus hat sich eine Ansammlung von Reformen entwickelt, wobei dieser „Reformenpool“ zum Ziel hat, sich am Output und nicht am Input einer öffentlichen Leistung zu orientieren. Im Allgemeinen spricht man dabei von „New Public Management“-Reformen. „New Public Management (NPM) ist der Oberbegriff der weltweit relativ einheitlichen „Gesamt-Bewegung” der Verwaltungsreformen. Charakteristisch für NPM-Reformen ist der Wechsel von der Input- zur Outputorientierung.“ Im Rahmen des New Public Managements und des Neuen Steuerungsmodells sollen also erfolgreiche Managementstrukturen aus der Privatwirtschaft von der öffentlichen Verwaltung übernommen bzw. adäquat eingeführt werden und die überkommenen Strukturen der öffentlichen Verwaltung abgelegt werden. Die tatsächliche Einführung solcher Reformen beweist die Implementierungsfähigkeit der öffentlichen Verwaltung und eröffnet neue Chancen weitere innovative Schritte vorzunehmen. Es ist nicht nur ein kurzsichtiger, sondern ein nachhaltiger Wandel des staatlichen Handels von Nöten.

Business & Personal Finance Books