market-economics

As a veteran of broadcasting and now seven years of Internet
marketing I thought I had some creative juices flowing.
The Flexible Thinker gave me the tools to be on top of my game
in todays constantly changing world of marketing.
I was amazed at the way this simple but newly constructed
way of thinking has helped me in my business career as well.
I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to get over their
creative hump or jump start their business.

This book provides an pracical advice that can be used in everyday situations. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and examples in the book and anticipate this book will rival some of the classic "self help" books.

I found the book full of great ideas that are very practical. Easy & fun to read -- it may even change your life!

I've recommended this book to half a dozen friends who are at a transitional point in their careers. I recently became self-employed, partially thanks to this book, which I read 6 months ago. The best thing I got from this book was an arsenal of responses to reservations a client might have about hiring you and/or paying you a good rate. I feel armed to dodge many kinds of bullets and defend myself as an independent consultant. I do marketing and PR, so the self-promotion advice only reaffirmed what I already knew about establishing one's self as an expert. GREAT BOOK!! Read this first!

Joe Webb has done an exceptional job with this book. I highly recommend it for both experienced and new consultants.

Objective and informative approach to a subject that most professional people are not too keen to meddle with. Sets out an objective approach to benchmarks and a methodolgy/ies. Very worthwhile reading

If you are looking for a short book that sums up everything that you need to know on the subject, then this book is for you. It will help you understand people better.

I use this wonderful "little" book to help my students deal with those difficult people in their lives. This book changes lives!

As a Fortune 500 company manager, I found this book to be of great help in my day to day dealings with my staff and clients. We use this book for new staff orientation, and the feedback is extremely positive. Highly recommended as an organizational and personal communication guide.

Yes, Virginia, there are still frontiers to be explored and conquered. The internet is a very active place, but still full of exciting opportunities. Feeling entrepreneurial or adventurous? You can create your own market on the net. The authors suggest that the future of exchange of products, services, and payment will accelerate in cyberspace. While the opportunities abound, there is a lot to learn . . . and there are risks. But, that's why you read a book like "Making Markets."

First, some perspective. The authors emphasize that "electronic markets are not technological interactions. They are human interactions supported by technology." Ignore this principle and failure awaits you in the way it doomed the electronic markets in the 1990s. "Cyberspace markets cannot be thin replicas of the traditional market. Rather they must be as rich, complex, and compete as the traditional markets themselves." The basic trade processes of search, pricing, logistics, payment and settlement, and authentication must still be in place. Value must be created for all participants, and the electronic marketing venture must fit with the firm's other marketing vehicles. Creativity will have a significant influence on success.

The authors begin with an explanation of the opportunities, the value of marketing in cyberspace. The first chapter includes an explanation of the design of their presentation in the remaining seven chapters. Chapter titles give us an insight into the content: From Place to Space, Making Markets Work, and Auctions: The Devil is in the Details. Readers will learn about Using B2B markets in the Supply Chain, Using Markets Creatively, and Market Tactics. Dynamic Market Strategies are address in the final chapter, followed by a call to action encouraging you to stick your toes in the water and try this approach.

Each chapter is filled with education, insight, and mini-case studies to show us what has worked and what hasn't worked. You'll learn the jargon and the steps in the process. A good notes section, including website addresses, is complemented by a helpful index. And, expectedly, the authors offer a website for the book where more information and support is available. If you're ready to open your mind to some fascinating possibilities, curl up with "Making Markets."

As Ajit's student I got a very through conceptual understanding of e-markets by reading his book 'MAKING MARKETS'. He has presented one of his best works through this book that can add new dimensions to innovate businesses. I recommend this book to all the intellectual food seekers in technology and business innovation space.

Kambil and Heck have written an insightful and thought-provoking book on electronic markets. It is a must read for anyone who wants to understand online markets. They develop a framework to understand as well as to gauge the success of such markets based on in-depth study of several electronic markets. I particularly liked their characterization of B2B markets and its relationship to supply chain management. Their chapter on using markets creatively has ideas for both researchers as well as practitioners. The book has many examples, is written in a narrative style, and easy to read to three or four sittings.

Until now, it seems that most every book written on the topic of developing something new at a company has replaced the word "Product" with the word "Service" and carried on as if nothing changed.

Well, it has.

Products and services are two different business animals, and these authors FINALLY call a spade a spade and then deal with the consequences. While many of the approaches between new product development and new service development are deceptively similar, the authors point to some key differences that substantially affect results.

They answer questions like: When do you solicit customer input? How can reengineering save money but kill a service your company offers? Why are company new service brainstorming sessions ineffective? The answers seem intuitive - but only after you've read it.

It also gives you some talking points about why "Being better" can trap your company as an also-ran. I winced during and after taking their survey.

The part of reading this book that wasn't fun was realizing the work I needed to do in my company. The fun part was knowing I now have a map to get there. I found the book readable and useful, and I've already made changes based on its recommendations.

As the Managing Partner for a major consulting firm and having spent 13 years in the services sector, I can honestly say I have read hundreds of business books. This is by far one of the best I have ever read.

Terrill and Middlebrooks provide scores of frameworks and client examples that provide a literal How-To roadmap for anyone serious about growing their company -- in an extremely profitable way.

I found especially insightful the authors perspectives on how to fill the financial growth gap that most companies find to be the most challenging part of their longer term strategy. From new product development to segmentation to positioning and branding to communications, Terrill and Middlebrooks basically give you an MBA in a book.

I have to admit I have borrowed their concepts fairly liberally since I read this book as it serves only to provide my clients (as well as my company) with the best possible solutions to their growth challenges.

Thanks guys for taking the seminal thinking that already exists in the services sector several steps further.

Bravo!

I am the Managing Partner for a company that serves scores of clients every year, all seeking to improve their businesses.

Having spent the last 13 years in the services sector and constantly searching for new ways to serve my clients better, I finally found the book that teaches you how to "be the best that you can be."

Middlebrooks and Terrill provide scores of frameworks and examples from their vast experiences to lead the reader from point a to point b. Borrowing lessons learned from Fortune 10 companies to $20 million business to business specialty companies, I truly felt like I received a second MBA--for a lot less money.

The best insights I received from their book was tied to how to help my clients fill that strategic anomaly called the revenue and profit growth gap. This book helped me better understand not only how to help my clients (as well as my company)fill this gap but also the variety of approaches I have at my disposal to help them achieve their longer term plans.

From new product development to segmentation to branding and positioning to communications, this book is definitely an invaluable resource and a definitive how-to guidebook.

I am a better business leader and my clients will be better served as a result of reading this landmark book.

Thanks guys for providing me with an incredible roadmap for future success.

This is an excellent book that dwells in to the effects of globalization, related issues and potential solutions. It discusses social issues and policies within the context of globalization. It also dwells in to the issues related to labor standards and income distribution. Rodrik presents good solutions but they are debatable and not easy to implement.

I feel that Rodrik discusses solely from the perspectives of industrialized nations' interests. I would have liked him to explore more from the perspectives of under developed/developing nations'.

In his spellbinding account of the economic realities of globalization, Dani Rodrik gets it right. Whether it is his accounting of the increased elasticity in the job market or his discussion of labor as a factor bearing a higher incidence of non-wage costs, today's economy makes Rodrik seem prophetic. It is a book whose time has come, any thinking person should buy this book.

It seems that over the past few years, the topic of globilization aond free trade have become hot topics because of events like the WTO protests in Seattle, the World Bank protests in DC and Ralph Nader's run for the presidency in 1996 and 2000.

Has globilization gone too far? is a good source for those people trying to find out more about the issue because it shows what happens under globilization both theoritically and in real life. It presents the arguements against free trade and the problems associated it with it like loss of jobs and capital outflows so it is good to understand the oposing view.

If you are a student just taken up a course in derivatives or risk management you should have this book. if you find john hull more technical, you have Don Chance who covers options and other derivatives in a greater detail and in more words. everything you want to know about how banks etc have risk mangaement systems in place and market risk instruments is here.

in case you want a greater coverage of options and pricing options, you should definatly take a look at Black Scholes and Beyond by Neil Chriss, a work of art.

This is an excellent book for non finance majors who would like to grasp the physical concepts behind different derivatives products traded in the OTC markets. The book is ideal for a preperation read for all aspiring to take Financial Engineering / Derivatives as majors in graduate programs.

If you are interested in the basic concepts governing derivatives without getting into the mathematics of it then this is the ideal book. I recommend this book for any one who is contemplating taking Derivatives as an advanced level course. The book would give a solid foundation to the concepts of risk management.

Good stuff. Not for the expert investor, but a good gift/buy for the "ESPN guy" who wants to become a more savvy stock guy.

The analogies between sports and the Stock Market make the book very interesting. It was very easy to follow and made me feel like I could make smart investments with the knowledge I gained.

Great concept! Finally somebody in the business world wrote something about the stock market that a sports nut can relate too. Definately recommend.

Mr. Cottrell leads us on a stimulating journey through our team members world. This book has had a profound impact on our organization!

Every manager needs to read this book. It is powerful!

This short book is powerful. If you are in management, and take things personally, you may believe Mr. Cottrell is writing about you. Written from the perspective of "your" employees, he has compiled several managerial issues along with solutions. I recommend this book to ALL managers, Presidents, V.P.s, COO's, CEO's,CFO's, (the list goes on). If you have people working for you, read this book. If you want to be the best manager you can possibly be, APPLY this book as a management tool. If you have managers working for you, make sure you GIVE them Listen Up, Leader. IT'S THAT GOOD.

Good conceptual overview. McQuarrie not only explains the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory market research; he also discusses which tools to use for each.

Tools discussed include secondary research, customer visits, focus groups, surveys, choice modeling, and experimentation. Although he doesn't provide much depth for each, he does provide a bibliography for further reference.

If you're dipping your toes into the waters of market research, you need this book. Its title is perfect: This really *is* a toolbox, written concisely for beginners.

I bought this book when my boss assigned me a market research task that could determine company direction. He gave me the task because of my past work with surveys and usability testing. I wasn't comfortable flying by the seat of my pants on this one -- determining company direction isn't the same as determining what people didn't like about a Help system you created or determining what does and doesn't work well in a computer program's user interface.

So I bought this book, and I'm glad I did. McQuarrie minced no words in explaining what market research is and what market research can and can't do for you. He next helped me determine the real goal for my research, and showed me what market-research tools are best suited for achieving that goal. He even told me what tools *not* to use. He did all this in the first 35 pages. The rest of the book describes the tools in the box. I only read the chapters about the tools relevant to my task. Within two hours, I had learned exactly what I needed to know for success -- no more, and no less.

I especially appreciate McQuarrie's writing style, which Strunk and White would call "vigorous." He packs a lot of information into very few words.

Take note: McQuarrie explains that his book will help you determine what tools you should use and tell you the basics of using the tool. However, he cautions that you should hire specialists to actually use the tools, because there is a lot of specialized knowledge behind successfully using each one. If you're determined to use these tools yourself, McQuarrie tells you what other books to read to get started.

This is a great book to provide a guide throughout any type of market research. I particularly found the section "Combining Research Techniques into Strategies" VERY helpful. It allows you to view a la carte what items you should be aware of when you are performing a certain type of research strategy (i.e., Market Segmentation). This is a "must have" for any type of Marketing or business professional!