Enterprise Books

Reading this book was a great family experience. My 4-year old son is captivated by treasure and pirates, so we thought we would see if he was ready for a "chapter book." We started reading it over Christmas vacation, first at bedtime, then at any opportunity we had to all be in the same room (no one in the family wanted to miss a chapter!). We couldn't put it down!

The book describes a family vacation on the Emerald Coast of Florida, and alternates between the family's activities and a bedtime story the father tells about the adventures of two boys and the pirates of the Emerald Coast of old. The story is fast paced and captivating enough that our four year old begged for "just one more chapter" after every chapter we read! When we finished this book, we moved right on to Hickock's Gold - the 2nd in the series, about gold mining in the wild west. We're eagerly awaiting the third in the series, but in the meantime, we're enjoying a second reading of Bowlegs Bounty.

This book has inspired us to plan our vacations to include some extra adventure for our son. My husband is looking for treasure chests on line to add a little excitement to our next vacation to the home of Blackbeard in North Carolina.

This book was funny, suspenseful, exciting, upbeat. My favorite character was Benjamin because he has an annoying little brother like mine. I am going to read Hickok's Gold next. Chase from Michigan

I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked the way the story switched between the family and Tip and Tap. My favorite part of the book was the bedtime stories that Dad would tell the kids.

I loved the book. It was just suspenseful enoough to keep the reader interested but not too scary for the children. I could easily picture the Kaye family on their vacation, and as the mom of two active boys I found it very true to life. I am planning to read the book with my 10 and 6 year old sons. I know they will love it. Can't wait for the next book from Dr. Kropp!!

I initially thought that the telling of the story of the Kaye family vacation might make a ten-year-old feel that the book was for younger children. I was wrong. The telling of the story of a family vacation along with a pirate story worked very well. My son and I both enjoyed the book, and we look forward to the next one.

I've never met Marcia Bench, however, I've learned a tremendous amount from her work. The Career Infopreneur Success Roadmap book and course I took was truly outstanding.

Although I've built a fairly successful coaching business over the past 5 years, the information in this book on the what / when / why / where and how to take my business to the next level was mind blowing - Ms. Bench's suggestions now implemented are working.

Randy Goruk
http://www.leadershipcoaching360.com
http://www.executivecoaching360.com
http://randygoruk.wordpress.com/

All of us get newsletters, invitations to read/write blogs, develop podcasts and teleseminars. It is overwhelming and one wonders where do I start? The resources in Marcia's book is a great place to start your research. She has listed resources by categories.

Anthony Robbins says "Find someone who does something well, and interview them." Marcia has provided her model for success in coaching in detail. For anyone starting out in the field of career coaching this is one of the most helpful books I have read.

Kathy Condon
"Cultivate Curiousity|Ask Questions"
http://www.kathycondon.info
Author of the book:"It Doesn't Hurt to Ask: It is all about communication."

Ms. Bench provides solopreneurs various marketing strategies to capture their target audience. She also presents ideas on re-purposing and ways of producing multiple streams of income. It was an easy to read book and full of ideas that you can implement.

I just read Marcia Bench's latest book on a coast to coast flight. I couldn't put it down. Marcia struck the perfect balance between inspiration, information, and very specific how-to's. The recommended resources alone are with more than its' price.

This book is a must-read for coaches at all points in their businesses-- If you're just getting going, it'll help you avoid major mistakes and start right. If you're already a successful coach, Career Infopreneurs' Success Roadmap will show you the way to an even more profitable and rewarding business.

Larina Kase, PsyD, MBA
Coauthor of the bestselling books 'The Confident Speaker' (McGraw-Hill, 2007) and 'The Successful Coach' (Wiley, 2006)

Marcia Bench is the definitive resource for career coaching....and this book adds practical and creative tips, strategies, and resources for any professional coach, consultant or anyone involved in "selling the invisible" to be successful. I highly recommend this resource.

Dr. Patrick Williams
CEO,Institute for Life Coach Training
co-author of Becoming a Professional Life Coach

Good for someone who is just starting to use CATIA V5

It is an excellent book for beginner. It lets you get into Catia easily. It is important to make things simple for beginners. This book does a good job of making things simple.

This book offers the principles needed for any Catia user, both experienced and new, to be able to obtain a firm understanding of Catia V5. It teaches through easy-to-follow examples and illustrations. It was well worth the money.

A good book is the one that doesn't require an engineer to understand. This book is excellent! It slowly guides a beginner step by step away from frustration and closer to satisfaction. However, the minus side is that it doesn't cover any electrical application. I would pay triple the price if this book had electrical coverage.

This book is a good introduction to Catia. The steps taken and the end result of the book is good and successfully takes you through the basic workbanches. However much of the book is waisted with repetition and over worded explinations for the simplest tasks. The illustrations, typography and loayout are typical home-word processor stuff (clearly an accademic project) after the first chapter the lengthy explinations take far to long to get through and you find yourself skipping them and just getting on with the task. At the end of the day there dont seem to be any other books out there so this is probably your best bet, but I was still left with a few basic problems that were not covered. This book could probably have been edited down to half its size if the wordy introductions were cut out and you would be able to get though it much quicker - after this work book you are left with both a need to learn all the workbenches covered in more depth and many many more workbenches to learn.

I have read and re-read Farid's book, "Competing Globally, Mastering Multicultural Management and Negotiation", several times this year! He has such insight and wisdom to bringing the nations together in communication skills and taking down the walls in the business realm that I have never seen or implemented before! I have actually found myself to be a mix of many of the different cultures discussed in this wonderful work and it has helped me tremendously in dealing with American businesses! This is the "I'm OK, You're OK" of the business world! Thank you very much Farid! Cheers to YOUR Global Success!

This book is an excellent resource for business professionals, providing insights into the various global cultures. Helpful real-world examples provide readers with tips for mastering interpersonal communications, meetings and presentations, and negotiations. Well-written and easy to read, this is a great book for business professionals who need to excel in cross-cultural business situations.

Competing is about "winning". In this book, Dr. Farid clearly rises an awareness flag on the important role of "culture" to win global competition. A "Cultural Intelligent."

I attended his class once a few years a go in Indonesia. I was admired by his strategy to make poll during the class. This smart way guarantees a more and more qualified poll result since the respondents are accumulated by time to time. He is studying while teaching. And, I have seen these compelling information colours the essence of the book.

As I previously guess before reading, Dr. Farid will fulfil this book with some significant samples from his direct experiences dealing with people in various cultures in many countries. And, I am not wrong about this.
Inside, I have also found the answers of the winning and loosing situations experienced while working and doing international business in past. These are the real value of this book.

Another beauty of this book is, it again tells us that our own way and value are not the only one in this world. There are a lot more cultural differences from country to country, from one race to another. It is now clear why sometimes "Yes" means "No" in some cultures or the other way around. So, in order to properly react to win, the power and the way of thinking of the competitors need to be known. Dr. Farid tells how to simply deal with it Since the business move towards global. The local goes global, the global comes to local.. This book really provides an enough weapon and maps to win the global competition. Enjoy reading it as I did !

Competing is about "winning". In this book, Dr. Farid clearly rises an awareness flag on the important role of "culture" to win global competition. A "Cultural Intelligent."

I attended his class once a few years a go in Indonesia. I was admired by his strategy to make poll during the class. This smart way guarantees a more and more qualified poll result since the respondents are accumulated by time to time. He is studying while teaching. And, I have seen these compelling information colours the essence of the book.

As I previously guess before reading, Dr. Farid will fulfil this book with some significant samples from his direct experiences dealing with people in various cultures in many countries. And, I am not wrong about this.
Inside, I have also found the answers of the winning and loosing situations experienced while working and doing international business in past. These are the real value of this book.

Another beauty of this book is, it again tells us that our own way and value are not the only one in this world. There are a lot more cultural differences from country to country, from one race to another. It is now clear why sometimes "Yes" means "No" in some cultures. So, in order to properly react to win, the power and way of thinking of the enemy need to be known. Dr. Farid tells how to simply deal with it. This book really provides an enough weapon and maps to win the global competition.

Since the business move towards global. The local goes global, the global comes to local. This book really provides an enough weapon and maps to win the global competition. Enjoy reading it as I did !

With regional and global opening up of markets due to WTO, AFTA, NAFTA, companies will have to learn to work with other companies in other countries to do business more effectively or at less cost. Generally selection of partners is done via short match-making sessions where due to cultural reasons, simple gestures can be misinterpreted. This can lead to loss of valuable marketing or partnering opportunities.

My personal experience in this aspect was in trying to market my company niche area in E-Government Consultancies to developing countries where these countries generally have a different native language, speaks English in a different accent. In addition, we have to differentiate between just curious inquiries or actual leads. Dr Farid's book provides important guidelines on small items which ironically creates the first major impressions. These are communications through telephone, casual chat over ice-breaking sessions, writing of letters etc.

I would recommend these book to managers who are entrusted to do marketing overseas and have to interact with their foreign counterparts. This is to ensure their actions or communications are not being misinterpreted and creating sense of distrust to their potential partners. In addition, they would also be able to gather if their marketing activities is making results

Bookviews Review by Alan Caruba

The Complete Guide to Home Business by Robert Spiegel is an excellent guide to all the questions that face anyone contemplating this option. How to choose the business that's right for you, how to plan your start-up, and much more. The author invested $1,500 in Chile Pepper magazine and ran it from his home for a decade before selling it for a cool $1.5 million. Ain't America a great nation?

If you're starting or running a home business, there's one thing you need: practical information at your fingertips! This book is a life-saver-an all-in-one, quick-answer guide to all the issues, big and small, that homepreneurs deal with every day.

Robert Spiegel takes readers by the hand and leads them through every stage of business from initial idea to maturity to selling:

* Choosing the business-build it or buy it; franchising; multilevel marketing; evaluating your strengths and skills * Starting up-the business plan; licenses, permits, zoning; taxes and insurance; equipment and furnishings; financing; governmental resources; outsourcing; managing your time * Marketing-publicity; advertising; direct marketing; sales * Controlling growth-trouble signs; finding mentors; building credibility and stability; expanding or staying put * Planning your exit-should you sell, and when; leaving the business to heirs; planning for the unexpected

Robert Spiegel is a successful entrepreneur who launched and ran Chile Pepper Magazine for ten years. He writes frequently for Home Business Magazine and is a contributor to the America On-Line home business site.

Bookviews Review by Alan Caruba

The Complete Guide to Home Business by Robert Spiegel is an excellent guide to all the questions that face anyone contemplating this option. How to choose the business that's right for you, how to plan your start-up, and much more. The author invested $1,500 in Chile Pepper magazine and ran it from his home for a decade before selling it for a cool $1.5 million. Ain't America a great nation?

Many talented and energetic business people ponder a different career path such as running a home-based business. But many of these would-be "homepreneurs" fear to take the leap. The challenges of working at home seem overwhelming. Fortunately, Robert Spiegel, a writer and successful entrepreneur, shares everything he's learned from more than a dozen years of working-at-home experience in his new book, The Complete Guide to Home Business. And it is a complete guide, covering everything people need to know about running a home-based business. Readers who are considering the switch will get personal advice, step-by-step instructions, insider tips, and detailed guidance for planning each aspect of the home business. Readers leaqrn how to: decide if a home business is right for them; choose their home business; plan their start-up; organize their business space; fund their business and manage their cash; market their business; recognize and correct common problems; control their growth; plan an exit from their regular job, and much more. Spiegel also provides a comprehensive collection of invaluable resources and listings, venture capital companies and investors, government agencies, small business development centers, franchise resources, business associations, business and trade magazines and Internet resources.

Booklist Review by David Rouse, 11/1/'99

Spiegel started his own magazine, ran it for 10 years, then sold it for $1 million. He is also a frequesnt contributor to Home Business Magazine. Spiegel does a thorough job of walking one through the steps required to run a business from home. He suggests what to consider when choosing a business and discusses business plans, licensing, permits, zoning, taxes and insurance. He recommends various marketing media and strategies, evaluates outsourcing as a staffing option, and stresses financial management. Going beyon many similar guides, Spiegel identifies warning signs to watch for that indicate a business is in trouble and advises how to recover. He also advises that one make plans for how best to "exit" from the business when the time comes. In acknowledging the "loneliness of the long-distance runner," Spiegel touches on the personal impact of going it alone.

A very well written book that will hold your interest so much that you will find it hard to put down. Very thorough, with step by step instructions on breeding, feeding, housing, and marketing of parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds and finches, either as a hobby or commercially. The most complete book of its kind.

This book includes a lot of information that would take the average person years to learn. Not only does it cover breeding various species of birds, but it covers different ways of marketing them as well. It even covers shipping birds via the airlines, which opens up larger markets for most people. If you enjoy birds and are considering turning your hobby into a small business, this book is a must have.

After leaving a 20 year career with the government, I was hoping to find something more creative. While looking for information on buying a pet bird for my daughter , I happened across not only a great book about birds but also a new career. Although I will be starting at the hobby level at first , with the straight forward advice and information in this book I really feel I can expand this to any level. This book reflects 25 years of some one elses hard work and experience. Not only did I find the information on raising birds fascinating but there is a wealth of knowledge for anyone looking to start their own business.

I was looking for a secondary income when I ran across this book. I found that the pet business is a huge business that I had never really thought about. I have always loved birds and animals and this book had the information that I needed to get started with a small business of my own. After reading the book through twice, I knew this was something that I would enjoy doing. I located a wholesale buyer in my area who agreed to buy my production. The book is well written, very interesting, and easy to understand. After reading the book you can clearly see that the author is an animal lover and is very much interested in the welfare of the birds, since he discourages anyone from entering this business solely for the financial rewards. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to breed the smaller types of pet birds, either for fun or as a small business.

Aside from the occasional typo or grammatical error, I found this to be the best of its type since Wendell Levi's Making Pigeons Pay. In some ways, in fact, this book is superior in scope to Levi's.

A great deal of the book is oriented to pet bird wholesaling. There also are well-written chapters for each of the top sellers - parakeets, cockatiels, finches and love birds. I found each of the bird breeding-specific chapters to be helpful, although further details should be included in a future edition.

I am hopeful the author, or another capable writer with experience, will soon issue a similar book for the more lucrative Parrots, Macaws, and so forth.

I further also hope somebody with experience will soon offer books for the other pet trade groupings - reptiles; marsupials, rodents, and so forth.

Hmmm...perhaps Breaking Free can do so and can then publish an Encyclopedia of Pets & Exotic Animals? Guess what...it is now in preparation and completion is scheduled on 1 September 2005. Interested parties should email LJ at ljsbreakingfree dot com.

We at LJ's Breaking Free intend to list this book for readers for it truly is one of those gems that people can use to find their freedom from corporate wage-slavery.

We also shall be seeking the publisher/author's permission for e-Book rights. In time, this book should be at the top of our best seller list - Bill Anderson, (LJ), Breaking Free.

This book is a classic for all of us who are looking for a change of pace and a better way of life. With the Virtual Office a reality, we can work virtually anywhere, so why not choose the pastoral life? We refer our readers who harbor such dreams to this book again and again. Sarah Edwards, author The Practical Dreamer's Handbook.

This is the best book of it's kind that I have read - out of about 5 or so. Written in 1997, the authors considered the Internet and telecommuting as well. And it is nearly as relevant to Australia (where I find myself) as to the USA. Easy to read, it contains many useful hints, tables, and resources. Valuable questionaires and lists. What you should and what you shouldn't. What you need, and what you don't. Even so, we also had a "First Try". But nothing ventured is nothing learned.

Your book is well informed and plenty of resource that gave me more confidence. Reread it few times. I really enjoy reading it very much. Thanks

As the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Partnership for Economic Development, your book has become a major source of reference.

If you have been dreaming of moving to the country, but don't know if you can really do it successfully, Country Bound! is a great resource. The Rosses lay all their personal experience on the line, frankly and comprehensively. They help you ask yourself the "nitty-gritty" questions that you MUST consider before making such a big life change. The book's separate sections on lifestyle and business considerations help you break down the decision into manageable pieces. The many quizzes and activities are fun as well as eye-opening, and the writing style makes it a quick, enjoyable read. One reading may not be enough, however! There's so much good information here, you will want to review many sections over and over!

I purchased both of Susan Allen's Crocheted Christmas Cover books and was truly pleased with them. I enjoy many types of crafts, but especially crochet, so when I started working on her patterns, and saw how quickly they made up it was a real treat! I especially enjoy the gasps of pleasure and awe that I receive from family and friends when I show off my finished ornaments. They're such a treasure and a great way to make a few extra dollars during the holidays. They can also be an easy but special gift for your 'long list' of friends and co-workers. I can't wait to start my batch for Christmas 2001. Thanks Susan!

From the minute I received Susan Allen's 1st book of crochet patterns to cover ordinary Christmas balls with a crocheted cover in metallic thread, I couldn't wait to get started. Not only was I fascinated with "the look" of the metallic crocheted thread, but her clever way to cover the Christmas balls made the task go lightning quick. The patterns are easy to follow and the color photos are so glittery and festive.

I had tried other ornament cover patterns before, but they were cumbersome once you had to insert the ornament. But those days are over since these patterns use a very innovative way to cover ornaments. There are a variety of patterns to follow in this book, so you can have fun creating different color combinations. I gave some of my crocheted ornaments to a friend wrapped up in a Christmas basket this year and she said she didn't have the heart to put them away after the holidays because of their beauty!

If you love to crochet as I do, you will find this book to be a valuable addition to your collection of patterns.

I have bought both of susans books. They are wonderful !!! The instructions are very easy to follow. They make up beautifully. I also bought her yarn. This makes them sparkle so bright. My family and friends were delighted with the ones I made for them. I can't say enough about these books. If she writes more I will be first in line to buy them. Thanks susan for such great books. Keep them coming!!! Pam P.

Susan's books are wonderful for the beginner as well as the experienced crocheter. The directions are clear and easy to understand. Her designs are beautiful and include a full color photo for each pattern. These books are a must-have for any crocheter!

Great book with beautiful results. I saw a great idea online and tried it with some of these patterns. Make them without the ball inside, starch them (VERY heavily, don't dilute the starch), insert a deflated balloon, inflate inside ornament, let dry completely, pop and remove balloon. You now have a lace only ornament.

The thing that I appreciated most from this magnificent book was its originality. I have read several romance novels and only very few are about the Roman era. The story is extremely engrossing. Caddaric is so harsh at first with Jilana that I couldn't help but symphatize with her. However she has a very strong strong character (something which i like in romance heroines) and she certainly does not stand meekly to Caddaric not even when he makes her his slave. Caddaric makes Jilana live some of the hardest moments of her life but as he slowly grows to care for her we see him change from harsh soldier to warm lover. The intrigue in this book never lacks and only until the very end do we find out if the lovers will finally find love together.

"Defy the Eagle" is one of the books i enjoyed most reading. It stands in my shelf as one of my favorite books and i would recommend it to whoever would like to read a romance with a difference. Detail in history but eaqually detailed in romance with the original setting of the Roman era.

This was one of the first romance novels I ever read and since then, I have read it countless times. It is the novel I use to convert my friends [to romance lovers that is] and it has worked every time. It makes me cry and makes my heart ache so much I would have to put my hand to my heart to stop the pain. The story is fantastic, raw and passionate and all the characters are so lovable, even Caddaric who epitomised the 'dumb' male and was so mean to Jilana. Read this, and you will fall in love.

This book combined romance and historical content extremly well. It is always nice when an author can blend both in such a way where you care about the characters and what was going on in the background. I love serious romance novels that have two strong characters that complement each other while still having hurdles to overcome, and make you doubt that they ever will. That's what made this book so great, you will be on the edge of your seat.

I read this book back in 87 and still to this day its probably the best book Ive ever read. Even back in 87 I tried to find more books by this author but wasnt succesful...how disaponited I was!! I have read the book over and over again and can strongly recommend reading it. You will be just as captivated by the story as everybody else who read it!

One of the many reasons i have loved this book is becouse of its setting - the Roman empire. I have read several historical romances and this is the only one i have read about this period -it certainly is a refreshing change. But that it is not all. The romance in this book is awesome, poignant and so beautiful it makes you cry.

First of all about the story, since i think a review should always include a bit about the story:

Stripped of her title, her palace and her possessions, Boadicea incited her warrior tribe, the Iceni, to throw off the yoke of the mighty Roman Empire. The Queen turned to Caddaric to help lead the revolt and knew he would stop at nothing to remove the Roman presence from her land.

Harsh and relentless by nature, Caddaric was curiously unable to banish the haunting image of a beautiful girl from his dreams. Then, in an isolated glade, he met with the woman who had so bewitched his nights. Amazement turned to anguish as he realized Jilana was a daughter of Rome - one of the hated enemies he had vowed to destroy.

Her family massacred, her home torn apart, Jilana became a spoil of war: slave to the merciless Caddaric, whose one thought was to possess her, body and soul....(text taken from book's back cover)

All I can add to all that i have already said is that if ever you get the chance read this book and you wont be dissapoint it. It really is great!

"Most companies do not have the capabilities to institute the multidimensional organizations that are required by their strategies and necessary to serve their global customers. In one memorable conversation,...Chris Bartlett summed up the situation well, stating that companies pursue third-generation strategies using second-generation organizations staffed with first-generation human resources. When first-generation managers attempt to institute third-generation multidimentional organizations, they fail and attribute the failure to the organizational form, not to their lack of capability. They then call for a return to simple, first-generation organizations. These simple organizations will work if the companies follow first-generation strategies in clear and stable industries. However, if a company wants to enter complicated countries like China, create value for the global customer desiring solutions, and be competitive in converging industries, it must pursue a third-generation strategy. This book is intended for those who wish to design the third-generation organizations required by third-generation strategies...I believe in 'keeping it simple' but with two twists. First, I believe we should keep it simple for the customer; a company should work toward being easy to do business. Second, I believe we should keep it simple for front-line employees-those people with direct customer and product contact...The new mandate to keep it simple for customers and front-line employees makes management's job difficult and complex; how to organize in order to manage this complexity is addressed in this book...Some firms, like ABB, IBM, and Citigroup, believe that the winning companies are going to be those that can manage global complexity. It is for these firms that this book is written" (from the Preface).

In this context, Jay R. Galbraith:

* highlights some of the reasons for adopting a global organizational capability as well as some of the inherent challenges in doing so, and also spotlights some of the managerial and business-environment mind-set that can prevent these strategies from being embraced and employed to full advantage.

* argues that the global organizations are complex and multidimensional networks as a result of balancing many strategic factors; and then describes these factors in four categories: level of international development, amount of cross-border coordination, activity of host local institutions, and diversity of international business porfolio.

* argues that the level of international development-one of the strategic factors that influence how a company organizes its international operations-consists of three dimensions: the role of subsidiaries, the mode of participation in the local economy, and the proportion of assets and employees located outside the home country; and then defines the different types of competitive advantages, and focuses on the different levels of international development and how a firm changes from one level to another.

* argues that after exporting, the next level of international development is investment in foreign countries with a partner; and then focuses on the partnering process itself and the organizational skills-particularly the organization design.

* describes six tasks of geographical division: (1)transfer advantages from existing geography, (2)localize the success formula, (3)build a local business, (4)communicate with and educate the home country, (5)champion the new subsidiaries, (6)build international capabilities; and also describes the organizational design decisions involved in performing these tasks.

* reviews the variety of multidimensional structures chosen by companies, like Nestle, ABB, HP, and DuPont, by varying strategic factors, like fixed costs, markets, products, customers, competitors, transportability, and portfolio diversity.

* defines the lateral organization as an informational and decision-making process that coordinates activities whose components are located in different organizational units, and describes different types and amounts of lateral network coordination related to the strategic factors.

* argues that the easiest lateral organization is the informal or voluntary organization, and management's role in this self-organizing process is to create the appropriate context and remove any barriers to free-flowing contacts. In the next level, management-building on the informal networks-designs formal cross-border groups to manage shared functions, coordinate business units, and create global products; and then describes what makes the groups formal, and discusses the design issues involved in creating formal groups that coordinate across borders.

* discusses the factors that are creating transnational form as the last level of international development, and then elaborates organizational-design issues of this in an example.

* argues, the full complexity facing many companies involves simultaneously managing functions, geographies, product lines (or business units), customers, and solutions-at the very least. These companies must use multidimensional structures, with the dynamics of global business requiring that these multiple dimensions be reconfigurable. Different customers require the services of different combinations of business units and country subsidiaries; to be competitive, a company must be able to configure and reconfigure its profit centers to create value for customers. And then presents the framework for organizing around multiple dimensions, with focusing on the customer and customer solutions in cases of Citibank and IBM.

Finally, he writes,"Regardless of whether globalization continues, stalls, or even reverses, the models described in this book should continue to guide organizing choices. The most likely new level of international development will probably be a consrtium or some type of electronic or virtual combination of local companies".

I highly recommend this invaluable study.

Globalization has become such an overused buzzword that it has become nearly devoid of meaning. Here, author Jay R. Galbraith injects new precision into the concept: Going international means plenty of hard work and painstaking attention to detail. Because every company's strategy, market and competitive advantage is unique, it's impossible to define one single, perfect, organizational structure for an international business, but Galbraith provides some fascinating alternatives to consider. Although Galbraith's book is jargon-filled and dense, it is full of useful, illustrative examples. He manages to reduce international business to its simplest form: A company develops an edge, and then tries to take it abroad. This involves many challenges, which Galbraith describes in rich detail. So if your company is multinational - or wants to be - we at getAbstract recommend this book to you. It is tailor-made for executives who are involved in international business - or who hope to expand their global reach.

Background: Geography is History!! So went an advertisement from a telecom company a few years ago. And as globalization proceeds to breakdown national boundaries, open up cultures and increases access for economic activity, an awareness of this process of breakdown of geography has become a necessity for any corporation wanting to grow and flourish. Increasing size in this dynamic environment brings with it many challenges including increasing structural complexity, need for quick and seamless communication to manage this complexity, as well as an ability to assess and predict the changing external world, recognize opportunities therein and fashion nimble responses to gain competitive advantage. `Designing the Global Corporation' is a book written to address such issues in an attempt to help managers structure their thinking towards an increasingly boundaryless world.

Synopsis: Jay Galbraith begins his book by arguing against the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) of organizational design. He recognizes that increasing foreign direct investment (FDI), breakdown of trade barriers and improved communications via media like the Internet along with a corporations need to reach customers globally have increased the complexity of doing business. Corporations could fight this complexity and simplify their operations, or learn to accept, manage and in fact use this complexity as a competitive advantage against simpler competitors.
He then goes on to inject great precision into the concept of a globalization for a corporation and defines 5 different levels of international development in increasing order of complexity. A corporation may develop a competitive advantage in its home country and then try to export this advantage to international destinations, evolving through different levels of international development. Or, a corporation like Logitech, may be designed as a transnational corporation from its very inception, with hardware R&D located in Switzerland, software development in California, manufacturing in Taiwan and sales in every country. Evolution from level 1 to level 5 may not be inevitable and/or desirable, with many companies deciding to settle into a particular niche depending upon the nature of their business and their long-term goals.
The rest of the book is devoted to a very clear, well-illustrated nuts and bolts description of designing global corporations with different levels of internationalization. The geographical entity headed by a country manager, multinational single business units and the multinational multi dimensional organizations are described in great detail. Underlying theme of this entire discussion is that the structure of the organization has to cater to its overall strategy, and the former has to change as the latter evolves.
The author spends considerable time and space on the need and means for developing informational and decision-making networks within such complex organizations. Here again he describes 5 different types of networks in increasing order of complexity beginning with informal voluntary communication and going up to a formally structured matrix organization. He discusses the advantages and limitations of each and how such networks may be used to propagate the agenda of the corporation. As a corporation increases its level of internationalization, it has to deal with increasingly complex networks that transcend geography, business function and culture.
He ends the book by describing the 5 dimensions that a global corporation must learn manage in order to remain successful. These 5 dimensions are managing functions, geographies, product lines (or business units), customers and solutions.
Finally, he writes, "Regardless of whether globalization continues, stalls, or even reverses, the models described in this book should continue to guide organizing choices.....and as businesses struggle to compensate and thrive on their ever expanding journey, the ideas and structures presented in this book can serve as a road map."

Critique: The author has presented his ideas very clearly and illustrated them with many examples from real companies. The organization of the book follows a logical flow of thoughts and the language used makes it fairly readable. Having said that, the complexity of many of the concepts presented in this book precludes it from being a casual bedtime reading, rather it demands full concentration and a careful attention to detail from the reader.

Let's begin with Galbraith's concluding remarks: "The new development process for global products [and services] is one of the key organizational capabilities that a firm must master when evolving into a multinational company. Even without the global challenge, the product development process has become complex: products [and services] have to not only meet market requirements but also be manufacturable, reliable, serviceable, useable, and recyclable, and meet target costs in shorter and shorter cycle times." If this brief excerpt describes the situation your organization is in now or one to which it hopes to relocate ASAP, this brilliant book is "must reading."

In a very real sense, Galbraith functions as both a management consultant and an architect. The emphasis on the principles of "design" is intentional and eminently appropriate. Here are some of questions he answers:

What is the challenge of organizational complexity? How to overcome it?

How to organize the global corporation?

What are the levels of international development?

What does partnering require? When and why is it beneficial?

What is the significance of geographical division?

Which multidimensional structures are most important? Why?

What are the most effective strategies for coordination between and among networks?

What are cross-border formal networks? What are their significance?

What are the most effective ways to shift power across networks?

What is the "transformational form"? What is its significance?

What is a "multidimensional multinational"?

What are the most effective organizational strategies to serve the global customer?

What is a "front-back hybrid organization"?

After "A Look Ahead", Galbraith provides an Appendix ("The New Global Process of New-Product Delopment") which, all by itself, is well worth the price of the book. To repeat, I consider it "must reading" for organizations already embarked upon globalization or which are now preparing to begin that perilous journey. There is another category of organizations which can also derive substantial benefit from this book: Those who now do business with or plan to do business with others now active in the global marketplace. With all due respect to Galbraith, there is no single "design" which is appropriate for all or even for most organizations. Moreover, today's appropriate design may well prove inadequate in the near future, if not by tomorrow. Therefore, I suggest that you use Galbraith's book to identify the questions which must be asked and then answered, to take full advantage of the advice he provides and of the guidelines he suggests, and to view the design process as a unique opportunity to energize (or re-energize) everyone involved. Galbraith asserts (and I agree) that companies CAN transform themselves to design local products or devise local services that capture global scale yet fit local-market requirements. Only those which do will prosper. The choice is theirs. It really is.

Galbraith has succeeded in filling the gap that he intended to fill in that specific area of management literature where organization theory and international business research interact. Although I was initially rather skeptical of the scholarly value of the book - since it appears to be particularly aimed at practitioners - I was pleasantly surprised at the wealth of novel theoretical insights that I was able to extract from it. Although it clearly builds on Galbraith's earlier work (for which he is renowned), it definitely adds something to the field. This book will leave those interested in international business (both practice and theory!) with an enhanced understanding of some of the organizational aspects of the multinational corporation that seem to me to be relatively underresearched.