economics-schools

This book has a great title but little else. I was not inspired and learned very little from the book. Based on this book, if I were responsible for Harvard's AMP Program I'd be distancing myself from Mark Stevens.

It's a better investment to spend your moeny on a bag of jelly beans than to purchase this book. Can I have my time back that was wasted reading this book?

I picked up a used set of Extreme Management (book and audio) at a flea market. I should have saved my dollar. The book was laborious reading, bordering on pontification, so I tried the tape. What a mistake. If the amateurish and combative writing style was bad in print, the voice used on the tape made things exponentially worse - a classic case of really bad writing getting worse.

Here's the quick scoop:
1. I checked with Harvard and they did NOT authorize this book.
2. The author did NOT attend the classes he wrote about.
3. The writing style is very reminiscent of pre-canned smoke-and-mirrors business-speak...much verbosity, little content.
4. The author sounds positively angry about something.
5. I was angry, too, only because I wasted a dollar on this junk.

I agree with the jist of almost every reviewer on this page, especially Publisher's Weekly and AudioFile. I should have read the reviews on this site first. Oh well, it was only a buck.

Poor ratings and skewed reviews by others prompted me to write this review to provide objective information for knowledge seekers.

In my view it is a good book considering the price i paid, reading time, breadth of topics, simplicity and few good examples of how high level concepts could be translated into actions. I felt like spending few hours in the company of professors and executives, what they shared made sense to me and made me collect their words as jewels. Where else could one find synthesized knowledge from people like Michael Porter, Fruhan and other renowned scholars within 190/200 pages? I liked the simple manner in which DuPont and other fundamental financial management concepts are explained. I wouldn't mind recommending it to anyone for casual reading during a 3hr flight. Indeed it is not a text book, should not be taken seriously and may not be permanent part of your collection. The book is NOT for technical person who likes to live in details, nor for one who tends to seek ready-made solutions, nor for one who is interested in structured learning or pursuing graduate degree in management. One finds elements of inspiration and motivation to act, hallmark of good books. The stuff about Harvard or text on cover is more of marketing gimmick but nowhere author claims school endorses his book. There is a clear statement to that fact so don't know what caused the confusion written in other reviews. What matters is that the interviews, wisdom and thought process shared by people is original and real.... writer did not make up those 7 OFP points or market competition strategies. Don't expect a book could make you good manager or reveal secrets of success - there is no formula book.

Bottomline, professors who are Harvard's brain and their executive students from Fortune500/Global2000, .....talk to you in this book. It does not matter whether the book is endorsed by the school or if the writer himself attended the AMP program.....knowledge shouldn't have strings attached to it.

I originally wrote this review anonymously; 17 of 23 readers found the review helpful. Here is my update: The title is misleading: This is a look at full-time MBA and executive (MBA) programs at the arguably best business schools in the world. This is like claiming a study to be a study of the auto industry when all the authors studied is Mercedes Benz. The real "business" of business schools must cover the part-time and undergraduate programs. There are transparent inconsistencies: The authors bash b-schools for promoting a cult of gurus, only the authors quote and promote gurus repeatedly. They use the same gurus to criticize the very schools that hire and promote the supposed "guru". Crainer and Dearlove decry one-liners, then summarize their work with a cliched one-liner of their own: "Management is pocket science, not rocket science." They tell b-schools to be customer-friendly but not to cater to the catering needs or accommodation interests of their clients. They purport to do a global study when this is at best a modest revision of a study of the few, elite European business schools, which are generaly unlike the American business school system. They imply (p. 186) that the major business school accrediting body -- the AACSB -- only changed its name to International Association of Management Education outside the U.S., and this is not true. [NOTE: And AACSB in 2001 changed its name again -- worldwide.] They criticize business deans for lacking vision, while not realizing that the "independent subcontractor" mode of business faculty is inconsistent with "academic leadership" creating a vision for such independent experts. Business schools have been successful because they produce what businesses clearly prefer to hire: knowledge workers, managers and leaders for the global economy. Business students at all levels -- undergraduate, graduate and executive -- are learning the new culture and language of the new world economy. Even as the "new" economy declines and former dot commers return to collect their MBAs. Business is a liberal art, much like the study of a foreign language. At the undergraduate level, where most business education is done, accredited business schools demand a well-rounded, liberal arts curriculum. B-schools are generous cash cows for universities. Sure, their faculty earn a lot but they teach large course sections and generate demand for non-business courses. If as much were spent on training top business students as is spent on the college's star quarterback, we might have even more effective business schools. The fact that innovation and leadership is absent from the "top" schools is a phenomenon in all industries: the top schools become rich and self-satisfied and the real change bubbles up from those struggling, niche-building programs competing for the new customers' dollar. A well-trained manager need not be a rocket scientist, but if there are design flaws in his education, Challenger-like disasters are in the making. Business education is too big and too important to be left to a few, smug, incredibly expensive schools. And we should all be grateful that it is not...

Nothing interesting at all here. You could do just as well by doing a search of recent Businessweek articles.

I thought this book was bashing business schools. However, it actually a well researched and balanced look at the growth of business schools.

There are two classes of business cycle theories: linear and nonlinear. The linear ones assume random shocks excite the resonnant mode, producing cycles. The nonlinear ones develop from limit cycles and their generalizations, and have no exogenous forcing function. In my opinion, the nonlinear models are much closer to real economics than the linear ones.
Arnold only presents linear theories, and thus is very intellectually limited. MH Dore, The Macrodynamics of Business Cycles, 1993, presents both types and is far superior.

This book was geared toward a high school student,someone with minimal experience in the work force, or someone who does not have access to computer websites. Interviewing, forms, college costs, were briefly commented on.

If you are looking for specific nursing classifications and job descriptions and titles, career paths, this book does not provide any good data.

I'm really upset with this book. It is filled with errors. Sometimes they say Defined Contribution when they mean Defined Benefit, Cash Balance when they Profit Sharing. I love having reference books by my side, and I had hoped this would be a good one...it is not. Moreover the prose is filled with backtalking and the outline is not clear. It's too complex to be a "general overview" and too many errors make it useless in the office.
Brian

All of the first-hand experiences which led me to purchase this book are crammed into just nineteen pages. The remainder of the book is full of very brief summaries of a zillion consultancies most of which I had never heard of. I got one page on McKinsey, 1 1/2 pages on BCG and two pages on Bain. That works out to about $3 per useful page.

The information on consulting firms just comes from the consulting firms themselves. I found the same info on the firms' Web sites. I found the VaultReports.com book on consulting firms to be much better, since it gave insider information direct from employees. There are other good books out there, too.

Holy smokes..what sort of a guy can write a book like this? I have never read such a boring work written by someone who appears to be such a pompous twit.

Take it from a beauty business executive who emerses himself in the industry--this book offers little that other books about Estee Lauder have not already coughed-up. The author seems to have read other bios (authorized and not) that are available to the general public. If you want to learn more about Estee Lauder, or any other of the dynamic companies that reside in the beauty kingdom, find others books and scour the business publications (i.e., Forbes, Fortune, WSJ, etc.). The author seems to be awed by Mrs. Lauder--not a good position to write from. Not receommended reading!

Swami Vivekananda sevashram is small social service organisation for poor people who need basic amenities like food, cloth, education, health and rights for their livelihood. For that we some voluntary women working under the leadership of Mrs.Ponnammal who was the daughter of a physically handicapped beggar belongs to Thanjavur in Tamilnadu, India. Her husband is leprosy patient. The poor and affected by HIV/AIDS patients are members in the organisation.

SVS is a registered non-profit secular organization have been concentrating on rural,tribal poor and down trodden for their development in all prospectives such as socio-economic, health & education since its inception. The status of the target are low as compared to local and national level. To bring about a change in the status a continuous intervention us required for some more time. Presently ,SVS concentrating on prevention and control of communicable diseases, crèche maintanance , tribal economic development through sustainable agricultural practices, promoting sound health practices and hygienic environment, Women self help Groups formation and maintanance, thrift, small savings & micro credits etc.

SVS with its very limited external funding could not achive the desired results at optimum level. SVS could understood that your esteemed organization can extend its valuable supports and resources towards the development of rural and tribals. More importantly, we understood that you have published a range of guides and funding directories, particularly,"Grants from Trust-Grants from companies, Grants from individuals seeking Grant Aid." Which will enable us to mobilize resourses and supports from foreign countries magnanimous people. SVS possess FCRA also and exempted from Income Tax.

We sincerely request you to kindly send us the above mentioned guides and directories and provide us the opportunity to have partnership with you.

Looking forward to hear from you the positive reply in this regard at your earliest.
Thank you very much for your kind co-operation and guidance.

Yours faithfully
Mrs Ponnammal

i want to know which is the best way i can be a professional in this field.