Export-management Books

I thought Mr. Nelson did a wonderful job covering the myriad topics involving Importing / Exporting. He did a WONDERFUL job covering the topic of "How to Obtain Financing"! I never knew there were sooo many sources out there to help. He also did a GREAT job covering and diagramming banking processes like Bankers Acceptances.

I could not believe some of the bad reviews--- did those people read the same book??!! No one person is going to be a panacia for any topic--- but Mr. Nelson comes close! Hats off to him for all the effort, research, and expereice that went into this book..........

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

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

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

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

Actually, there was nothing particularly shocking. The scandal of Halliburton's involvement in Iraq is pretty obvious, and the author adds no information about that. I would guess the more scandalous aspects will come out in the future. When it is clear that we went to war solely so that Halliburton could have the pipeline work, then I'll be mildly perturbed, but not surprised. There must after all have been some real reason.

If one is looking for dirt on Cheney, there really isn't much. He is completely overshadowed in this book by LBJ, Herman Brown, Alvin Wirtz and others, and actually, Robert Caro's books on LBJ are much more enthralling accounts of all that. Still, it's fun to read about these tough Texas mothers with their whiskey and bags full of hundred dollar bills. In fact, now that I think about it I highly recommend all of Caro's books about LBJ.

Coming back to this one, it kind of fizzles out. Halliburton and Brown & Root have interesting histories. People who naively suppose that modern day public officials are honest and that their words are related to their motives in any way may be alarmed, but I would guess that most people reading this book in the first place aren't expecting a tale gleaming with moral gems. And Cheney as a rogue is a humorless dud. The most surprising thing I learned about him was that he had his first heart attack at 37!

It was a good read. Pretty scary stuff. As far as Chaney goes, the only thing that would have been more of a surprise would have been that he was identified as one of the founding members of the Log Cabin Republicans but for someone who spends so much time at undisclosed locations, stranger things could happen.

Bud Brown

Did I get the wrong book from Amazon.com? The book is advertised to be a book about Cheney and Halliburton - it is about Halliburton but not Cheney. For example, pictures of Cheney appear on both the front and back covers of the book jacket. But that is very misleading. The book is not about Cheney per se; there are in fact only a dozen or so pages dealing with Cheney near the end of the book and he plays only a minor role; he finally appears on page 191 of the 237 added seemingly as an afterthought. Surprisingly, the dominant politician in the book is the former president and Texas native Lyndon Baines Johnson or LBJ. By my estimate and it is confirmed by looking at the index, LBJ takes up three times as much space in the book as Cheney, and furthermore he plays a much more important role in setting any "agenda" at Brown & Root - a subsidiary of Halliburton. Even though the book even if falsely promoted it is still an interesting read about two old US companies and their eventual merger; but at just 237 pages long in medium font is not a 5 star effort, just 3.5 stars, maybe only 3 stars at best.

The first company described is the oil well services company Halliburton started in approximately 1920 by Erle Halliburton in Oklahoma. Erle Halliburton died in 1957 leaving a successful and financially strong and independent business enterprise as his legacy. The second company is Brown & Root (B & R) that developed from being a Texas road construction company that was started around 1917 to become a major defense contractor. The business grew through political connections and after many decades B & R had become the largest engineering and construction company in the USA, boosted by the Vietnam war effort, and fed by a series of domestic and foreign construction and defense contracts stretching around the globe.

The book tells (very briefly) how these companies developed, merged in 1962 with R & B being bought by Halliburton, and how they became a major defense contractor. It also contains many side stories such as the influence of the rising political star LBJ in Texas, dam construction, back room operators such as A.J.Wirtz, political intrigue, the milking of Roosevelt's New Deal money, navy boat building, the fall of Leland Olds who was a bureaucrat blocking their expansion, the Johnson Space Center contract, Vietnam contracts, the LOGCAP contract, the Dresser merger, Henry Waxman's congressional charges against Halliburton and the sole sourcing, etc. Cheney appears near the end of the book and I did learn that Cheney flunked out of Yale and was arrested twice for DWI in his youth. There are a number of insights and comments on the current contracts to Halliburton. But since Halliburton had the LOGCAP contract before Cheney, it seems to me that Cheney played no more a dramatic role - I suspect - than any other good CEO or "rainmaker" might have played at Halliburton to boost its revenues.

As a book I would say it rates just 3 or 4 stars since as the author acknowledges that he uses and number of existing books such as "Erle P. Halliburton: Genius with Cement" and other publications, and most of the book is about the older history - as I said Cheney does not even appear until page 191 out of 237. So even when he appears the information is scant. Having said that it is clear the author has done extensive research, he has a nice reference section for further reading, he brings the story together, but overall it seems like a short collection of historical facts and tidbits. As it stands, it is more of a "gateway" book or introduction and it would have been a 5 star book if it was about 400-500 pages long and was more complete. But some of the references and 40 pages of notes at the back are worth a follow up read.

Author Dan Briody has written a book that goes beyond pundit finger-pointing over the controversial "no-bid" contracts relationship between Halliburton and Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a serious examination of the high-octane blend of profit and politics that fuels the Bush administration's agenda. Briody begins with an extensive history of two Texas companies, Halliburton and Brown & Root (now KBR). He deftly portrays how they made their fortunes despite Great Depression hardships, World War II and political intrigues aplenty. Briody pulls no punches while maintaining a reportorial (if not totally objective) tone, although people who hold different political views might argue with his opinions and conclusions. We recommend this saga to anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the ongoing tryst between corporate America and its politicians. While this book is not presented as a smoking gun, it portrays insider politics that smolder like an oil fire you can't quite extinguish, leaving sort of an ugly haze.

I actually enjoyed his book about Carlyle and it's the reason I bought this book. But there should have been another 300 pages. It did a pretty good job of describing the origins of Halliburton and Brown and Root and described the relationship both Brown and Root and later the combined company had with Lyndon Johnson. But it's other political relationships of the time were not fleshed out, and only briefly mentioned. Basically anything about the companies histories after the late 1950s was brief and I felt shortchanged once I got to this part of the book. (3/4 of the way into it) The change of name to Kellog, Brown and Root was not mentioned, nor were contracts such as Guantanomo or the base on Diego Garcia which sounds to me like it could have warranted quite some ink. Also Kellog, Brown and Root's bankruptcy was glossed over leaving me wondering what the story is on this. The asbestos issue was only briefly mentioned, and Cheney's attempts to reduce these losses by changing the laws wasn't mentioned at all. Information about the companies contracts in Iraq is almost non-existant and the reputed contracts the Company did with countries in Cheney's era under US sanctions (ie Iran) by diverting the contracts via it's overseas subsidiaries gets not even a fraction of a page.

Basically if you after information on these companies after 1962 you're better off researching it on the internet.

This book is an excellent work treating the current hydrocarbon depletion issue. Readers will be well rewarded for their money. This book, however, should be read with two more:

"Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage", by Kenneth S. Deffeyes

"The Oil Factor: How Oil Controls the Economy and Your Financial Future" by Stephen Leeb, Donna Leeb

One thing the author does not treat is the transitional period from hydrocarbon to renewable sources. Since these are hard topics, and the uncertainty is very high, their omission from the work is quite understandable.

As to the comment by the reader from Portland, OR, I have worked on the floors of the largest energy companies in Houston, currently working for the California energy markets, and yes, C. J. Campbell does have a pretty good understanding of how the energy markets work. Although I do not quite share the author's a bit doomsday view of the years to come, we will be up for a significant challenge.

This book is no literary masterpiece and could use a good edit but it definitely should be read. Campbell uses a lifetime worth of professional experience to try and tabulate when world oil demand will exceed production. What's important here is not that this is happening now, 5 years from now or 20 years from now, but that this day will come and we are doing nothing to prepare for it. As long as no preparations are made, the shock will be just as severe no matter how far in the future it comes. A major thrust of the book is that oil is a finite resource and supplies cannot be indefinitely extended as prices rise. He states that yes, as prices rise, more oil can be recovered but the big problem occurs when demand cannot be satisfied. This is a matter of geology, not economics or politics.

Campbell is the 43rd author to warn us about the impending doom reulting from "running out of oil." If any of the 43 authors would bother to learn basic economics, the public might have a decent book which explains the coming transition to alternate sources of energy. In Campbell's book, you not only find a basic lack of understanding of how the oil market works, but interviews with doctors and charlatens which need to be excised from the book in a future edition. Maybe he can write this edition in 2015; "The Coming Oil Crisis: This Time I Mean It"

Save yourself time and money and go to his free website before buying: http://dieoff.org/page131.htm

This is a fascinating book, one that dares to go to examine the very core of the mechanisms which make our society function. Our way of life depends on fossil fuels for about 90% of all the energy we produce. Without oil and the other fossils, the planet would never been able to support 6 billion human beings, to say nothing of the extravagant lifestyle of the fraction of them living in "rich" countries.

Campbell's book is an attempt to foresee how long this bonanza can last. The uncertainties in the field are enormous, already the estimates in the amount of "recoverable resources" vary of almost a factor of two depending on who is doing the estimate. Then, there comes the need to estimate the rate of consumption which, in turn depends on complex and economical factors. Nevertheless, reason can guide us to determine that in no case we can expect more than a few decades (at most) of oil abundance. It is time to think seriously of alternatives.

Campbell's book is written by one of the foremost experts in the field, it is well balanced, entertaining, and overall fascinating. Highly recommended!

I purchased this book with the understanding that it was published in 2004 (as it was mentioned on amazon.com), but it is the same 1998 publication!

Even thought this book was not in color, the content is all there. and the book was in good condition

I purchased this as the textbook for an MBA class and I give it high marks for both read-ability and depth of coverage. Because I'd just finished a class on the Legal aspects of Global business, the first chapters were more of a review - however, if you're coming in without that background, this does very well as a standalone text. My MBA has been all distance learning classes - in which the book provides the vast majority of the information (no lectures) - and I have to say, this one is definitely up to that task!

I am a student at the Budapest University of Economic Sciences. I found this book to be very interesting and fun to read. Other students here, for whom English is not their first language, enjoy the book becuase it is clear and easy to understand. This should be standard reading for all international buisness/marketing students.

As a Georgetown University student who took the author's class, I found this textbook to be the most comprehenisve International Marketing source around. I currently own two textbooks written by the same authors because of the book's clear, organized topics. This textbook is perfect for beginners who would like to learn more about International Marketing as a guide for professionals who have to make challenging decisions.

I liked this book. I am doing the international MBA at Maryville University. The book is very complete and has great illustrations, graphics, and web links.
Is a very interesting book, and I will keep it. But I think that although there is a chapter related to logistics, the book is not deeply mentioning import and export procedures and other custom and paperwork problems that international business faces.

Multinational Business Finance (11th Edition) (The Addison-Wesley Series in Finance) The book isn't that good for a Finance course, but the seller was very prompt with shipping product after recieving payment.

The book came so quickly and was in the condition it was described, good with minimal highlighting. Very happy with it

This book gives plenty of background into international finance. Unfortunately, it has some big flaws, in my opinion. First, there are not enough calculation examples. Second, there are too few questions at the end of each chapter. In addition, you must go to the author's website for the solution. Once you get there, you will be surprised to find out that the author has only solved maybe two out of eight problems. That's annoying. I do not recommend this book. Take a class from another professor who uses a different text book.

Too much money for a useless book!!!!

I strongly agree with the two reviews previous to mine. The book gets you interested at the begining, but let you down afterwards. It has little depth in the topics and many flaws when comes to explaining things. In exemple, the "Fisher Effect" was never explained, but all the book gives you is the formula. There is little explanation about the components and variables in the formulas. So, you have to rely heavily on your instructor.

There are almost no calculation examples and use of formulas. The teory in the book is not well explained either. So, you get more confused. That in my opinion is because the authors did not spend enough time to present the material clearly and the editors did not review and edit the book to increase the readability and comprehension. To illustrate what I am talking about, there is a lot of white space in the book (implies it lacks substance) and the text refers to graphs or charts shown in one/two pages before or after. Compared to other finance books I had in the past, this whole book looks like a compilation of bad summary sections.

In conclusion, it was not worth the money. It got me confused and wasted my time. In case you have to use it because it is mandatory, rely on your notes and instrutor's lectures.

This book has cursory overview of everthing and lacks detail. Also, each chapter starts well to get you excited on what you are going to learn and at the end of each chapter, you can't really tell whether it addressed the topics in enough details to give you the necessary understanding.

Kaizen, a Japanese word means improvement. How can Japanese enterprise success is the main topic in this book. Actually, Japan has been under economic recession for nearly 10 years. But the Japanese enterprise can still survive, and some enterprises are under the list of Fortune 500. There must be some secret behind.

This first version of this book is written in 1986, Japan at that moment still maintain a high growth, and Japanese enterprise takes a major role in the global business environment. The author found that the major reasons are due to their modification rather than innovation. And these management concepts were learned by foreign companies and used as a framework to develop their management structure. From this book, you will learn lots of the Japanese culture and Japanese management style.

Moreover, you also understand the history of management development. Most of the management concepts used in foreign countries are based on Japanese firm. Like the TQM, process oriented management, and strategies in R&D. So, after reading the book, you will learn the difference between western working culture and Japanese one.

Before writing this book, the author has done lots of primary research, and he try to summary all the findings and success factor of major Japanese enterprise, like Toyota, NTT. And all these companies now become the Global 100 companies. After reading this book, you will learn more about the success story of these enterprises, and you will also know that their history and culture as well.

But, there is some limitation, because the book has been written nearly twenty years before, the business environment is totally changed, the competition and the consumer behaviour have been changed, therefore some of the strategies are not applicable. Also, the failures of some Japanese enterprises during the economic recession also prove that some strategies mentioned here are not worked.

Kaizen is a good book for you to understand more about the Asia culture especially the Japanese firm culture. If you want to do business with Japanese partner, this book is a must to read.

Most American businesses no longer worry so much about the Japanese miracle. International focus has moved from Japan to China and back to Europe. Many Japanese companies are now looking to the US for recapitalization and management assistance.

So why is a book on Japanese management techniques still so relevant?

First of all, continuous improvement and lean manufacturing have become universal management tools, not strictly limited to one country. This book presents as good an introduction to the subject as any. With today's focus on execution, this topic are becoming even more current. (Dare I say topical?)

Additionally, understanding continuous improvement is still important in the context of broader corporate change. What are the strength and limitations of incremental changes versus more radical corporate moves? Read the book and learn more.

This book certainly won't turn a mediocre manager into a great leader, but Kaizen is a useful addition to the toolbox of any manager.

This book is a must-read for process improvement and Quality Assurance professionals. Senior corporate management would also benefit from selections, especially the first chapter and the chapter on problem solving. The book outlines the key fundamentals, principles, requirements, and expectations related to Kaizen (continuous improvement), with a focus on the highest-level cross-functional goals of Quality, Cost, and Schedule (in that order) that ultimately drive profitability. Appendices, including summaries of 5S, old and new seven statistical tools, Deming Prize criteria, and Cannon company case study are as informative as the body of the book. On the down side, there is some significant repitition. Although the book is nearly 20 years old, it is timeless and as relevant as ever.

For 25 years I have been teaching high level engineers and directors at Honda, Mitsubishi Fuso, Mazda and a host of auto part manufacturers.

Kaizen is a mythical term in modern day business practices. Japan's ability to produce high quality products across the board stems foremost from the from the cultural value of obedience to authority. From a young age people are taught to follow an authority figure. Combine this allegiance with a deftness to be meticulous - also instilled through the education system - and you have a workforce which can attain high product quality. Kaizen only works because of the docile obedience of the workforce, not because the theory is a magic bullet.

This is an excellent book on how production is organised in Japan. It explains the Kaizen concept of continuous improvement and its implementation, highlighting the essential differences between the production and operations management philosophies of the West with those of Japan. The foundation of the Kaizen method consists of five fundamental elements namely teamwork, personal discipline, improved morale, quality circles and suggestions for improvement.

This is a very enlightening book for those who want to understand the basic concepts of continuous improvement (as opposed to innovation or business process reengineering) in the production process and how this has been successfully applied in Japan. Some very successful companies like Toyota owe their success largely to the employment of this concept.

This is essential reading for those who wish to introduce Kaizen in their organisation. The book is written in a simple and easy to follow and understand style. However, the book is becoming a bit dated having been written two decades ago, and in any case, the spotlight nowadays has shifted to China, but nevertheless, this is excellent reading about a concept that is still delivering good value to those companies that are correctly employing it.

In this book the author argues for the "economic benefits of trade, not just for corporations but for people and the environment. He illustrates how protectionist policies damage the economy and fail to save jobs. Examining U.S. trade policy, he shows how "fair trade" measures are arbitrary, unfair, and often harmful"

Yet this author makes slight of America's long history of protectionist policies when it served its interest. In fact the history of America's industrial development was protecting her rising industries. So now that Americas industries are strong and known world wide; its labor force is a problem because it wants decent wages and health benefits. What is the solution? Free trade! Or free trade in cheap labor and dealing with counties that have no labor unions, no regulations that get in the way of business and officials that are easy to bribe.
This book is for those who have no critical facilities what so ever.

Doesnt it always seem that your friends subscribe to the wrong views, and you to the right one? Well, at least for me it is. Whether your pals are from the anarchist wing or the Pat Buchanan camp, or even deviate just a little from your (correct) free trade stance, you should read this book. And even if you believe in the unholy stance of skepticism of free trade , you should read it too, for "The Economist" said that if this book doesnt convince anti-free traders, nothing will; so go ahead and test your faithfulness.

I am not an economist, and I hate reading economics text books filled with useless jargon. Before reading some great books, economics was as complicated as chemistry, physics or calculas to me. But after reading a few books, "Lexus and the Olive Tree", "Mystery of Capital" and "Peddling Prosperty", I realized that it isn't that complicated, its just the economists who create this aura of an esoteric subject.

This book is written in simple language, but when it does use phrases that regular people don't understand, he does something rare - he explains their meaning.

This is an excellent book, but only after reading The Lexus and the Olive Tree. Tom Friedman's book is the main weapon in my debating arsenal, and "Free Trade Under Fire" book gives me a large cache of ammunition, as do Peddling Prospery (or anything else by Paul Krugman like Pop Internationalism, another MUST read), and Henrando de Soto's masterpiece "The Mystery of Capital"(dont even look at his "Other Path", it is simplified and better argued in this "Mystery").

Highly Recommended

This book was very well written. It provides excellent, well documented evidence to support the ideas of free trade. For those who are against free trade, I would recommend reading this book. The authors provide good, logical arguments for free trade and its benefits. As cliche as it is, no one can deny we are living in a global economy and this book clearly explains how the United States and we as citizens are playing our role.

Irwin's book, together with Bhagwati's Free Trade today,
makes a strong case for free trade. The argument is clear and
the book is easy to read and full of evidence supporting
free trade. Among other topics, the author discusses
the harmful effects of protection on developing/
developed economies, trade and the environment
and the role of WTO. Irwin's book is non-technical
and more historical than Bhagwati's. The latter
is more theoretical, at least in some parts, but also
a great read. For arguments against free trade using
economic theory see "trade warriors" by Marc Busch or " global Trade and Conflicting National Interests"
by Ralph E. Gomory, William J. Baumol

This book makes a reasonably decent defense of free trade. It speaks in predominantly layman's terms, and is entertaining enough to hold the layman's attention. Irwin does a good job refuting the most patently ridiculous claims that free trade victimizes those it employs and other silly claims.

It doesn't do the best job demonstrating that trade with developing countries benefits wealthy nations, however. It does try to do so, and offers some evidence, but I wish the book had made a stronger effort in this area as this is where most protectionists simply cite the trade deficit as manifest evidence that we are worse off in free trade, without understanding that our standard of living rises when we have cheap goods, and the market for our high skill jobs and products increases as developing countries grow wealthier.

The book does bring up a good point of accounting balance, noting that foreign investment in the U.S. offsets the trade deficit, but I fear that most protectionists are sufficiently xenophobic that this argument is likely to scare them rather than reassure them.

I bought this book because my husband and I were going on a business trip to Taiwan, April 2008. It's an inexpensive little book, a quick read, and was probably useful 10 or 15 years ago. We found the advice outdated - the business people we dealt with were much more casual in dress and manner than the book described. The advice not to wear red, white, or black clothing was ludicrous -- I saw 100's of Taiwanese wearing these colors, alone, or in combination. I don't know if there is a better book out there, but take any advice in this book with a very large grain of salt. We were very over dressed. The young people dress in same variety as Americans -- shorts on older people (like me - 40 something) are common - just not super short. Because of this book, I prepared for a conservative, formal country, and that's not what I found.

I wasn't aware that Taiwan had any sort of etiquette. Until I read this handy book of course.

Troy Parfitt, author

I purchased this book based on reviewers' comments. I'm delighted with the book and will use it, in conjunction with National Geographic Traveler: Taiwan, to map out our itinerary. I would certainly recommend both books -- and a map of Taiwan -- to anyone considering a trip to that country.

please send this article to me as soon as possible, i need this information to do my assignment. thank you

This book was quite a handy reference manual while I was attending Ming Chuan Univeristy...quite a different culture than Austrailia!

This book has easy to understand & have up to date case. The Harley Davidson case is one of the cases that showing us how's struggling US to face Japanese company offensive. This is the good case to picturing the dawn to earth marketing strategy compare to arrogant & not efficient strategy willing by US Company.

the service is very good and efficient

Warren Keegan wrote the first international marketing textbook shortly after completing his Harvard PhD in the 1960s. He is a legend in the field and is widely credited as the father of the global marketing concept.

The 7th edition of his leading text does not disappoint the demanding reader and carries on the tradition of earlier editions. He walks the talk, writing for and speaking to a global audience. It is clear that he is one who has "been there" and knows international markets.

The book presents a very sound basis for learning and is a leading text for full courses in global marketing in many leading MBA programs. It also enjoys a large readership by business execs around the world.

"Global Marketing" opens with a very sound introduction to global marketing analysis and strategy. The international trading environment is well described and the text simplies the complexity of international trading blocs, the WTO, and other influences on marketing strategy today.

Keegan's global marketing texts have always been strong on introducing readers to technical terms used in international trade and exporting and explaining the flow of paperwork (i.e., letters of credit, etc.) one encounters in international trade. This current edition does not disappoint in this regard.

There is a good introduction to factors that motivate consumers and customers to choose and use products that is applicable in consumer, business, services, and high technology markets. The book finishes with a very sound coverage of the marketing mix (i.e., product, price, promotion, and distribution) strategies.

A number of case studies are well integrated into the text to illustrate typical business decisions global marketers must make. I have prescribed this text for more than a decade and it always has been rated as the best or among the best textbooks prescribed for our marketing courses.

Marketing concepts are explained within global marketing frame in an understandable manner using the jargon everybody can understand. The principles that each company must take into account both at home and abroad are revealed. Especially, I liked "18 Guiding Principles of the Marketing Company". Articles from the scholars at prestigious business schools are related to global marketing concepts in most understandable way. This makes the book richer. Another thing making the book richer is Global Income and Population estimates, that is both put inside the text and at the end of the book as appendix. These estimates give clear grasp to the reader about world demographics and economic structure, and helps reader understand the subject at hand and, in general, world dynamics better. Interesting and information & expertise-loaded cases differentiates the book from other boring textbooks. The future of global marketing section of the book gives the reader an invaluable horizon. I suggest that you read it carefully, you will get too many things from it.

Valuable, current information presented in a rather dull, uninteresting format according to MBA students. Very comprehensive.

This is mostly about common sense, but it does provide some clever insight into today's multinationals and it's worth for anyone interested in how our different cultures can work together in one organization, and perform at their best. The authors start from an interesting premise, that is "you can never completely understand a culture that is not yours / or that you haven't been living in".

Some of the challenges of managing global teams are obvious. For example, team members will probably speak different languages and come from different cultures. So how do you function in the Tower of Babel? Authors Michael J. Marquardt and Lisa Horvath recommend designating a common language, usually English for American companies. On the other hand, some of the challenges global team managers confront are not so obvious. For instance, what reward system do you use when everyone values different things? Can you just give everyone a pat on the back and a bonus, or must you individualize feedback mechanisms? What etiquette do you follow if everyone has a different sense of what is polite? If these issues haven't occurred to you already, you need this book. If they have, well, We still suggests this rundown on the very basics. As you may have guessed, all the issues you have already confronted with international employees get magnified with global teams.

Some of the challenges of managing global teams are obvious. For example, team members will probably speak different languages and come from different cultures. So how do you function in the Tower of Babel? Authors Michael J. Marquardt and Lisa Horvath recommend designating a common language, usually English for American companies. On the other hand, some of the challenges global team managers confront are not so obvious. For instance, what reward system do you use when everyone values different things? Can you just give everyone a pat on the back and a bonus, or must you individualize feedback mechanisms? What etiquette do you follow if everyone has a different sense of what is polite? If these issues haven't occurred to you already, you need this book. If they have, well, We still suggests this rundown on the very basics. As you may have guessed, all the issues you have already confronted with international employees get magnified with global teams.

Presents the key challenges facing global teams with specific recommendations and case studies on how to overcome those challenges.

Marquardt and Horvath have done a very competent job bringing together good practices for people and organizations working in different places and cultures. Examples from Pfizer and other global corporations make the clear, simply written prose real to the reader, whether a newcomer to this interesting and pertinent field or someone who, like me, has seen a lot of the literature and done a lot of this work already. For my taste, I would have preferred to see more about technology, but the coverage was good and comprehensive enough to whet the appetite or confirm in business language what the practitioner would need to say to a business leader or a manager who was having trouble or starting out. The layout of the book is pleasant. What did worry me about the work, which I still rate highly, is suspicion that the research and scholarship were not up to a high standard, e.g., the consistently incorrect citation of the 1994 classic in the field "Globalwork" by Mary O'Hara-Devereaux and Robert Johansen, from which many of the authors' points are drawn, and an index that was generally wrong in its pagination.