Recommending Books for Purchase (Bulletin 62 - May 2020): Business Strategy/Leadership

Ben is stuck. A development lead with a strong vision for how the intersection of development and operations at his office can be improved, he can't help but feel overwhelmed and discouraged by common problems such as slow turnaround time, rushed and ineffective handover documentation, mounting technical debt, and a lagging QA process. What steps should Ben take to build the momentum needed to create positive changes within his company?  In this unique business novel by Dave Harrison and Knox Lively, two DevOps professionals with years of diverse experience in the industry, you follow Ben as he solves work frustrations in order to adopt Agile, DevOps, and microservices architectures for his organization. Achieving DevOps addresses the "Now what?" moment many DevOps professionals face on their journey. The story provides you with the knowledge you need to navigate the internal political waters, build management support, show measurable results, and bring DevOps successfully into your organization. Come away with practical lessons and timeless business concepts. You'll know how to effect change in a company from the bottom up, gain support, and instill a pattern of progressively building on success. Experience Ben's progress vicariously in Achieving DevOps and bridge the gap between inspiration and the implementation of your own DevOps practices. Who This Book Is For Those serving as change agents who are working to influence and move their organizations toward a DevOps approach to software development and deployment: those working to effect change from the bottom up such as development leads, QA leads, project managers, and individual developers; and IT directors, CTOs, and others at the top of an organization who are being asked to lend their support toward DevOps implementation efforts

In a world of rapid and unpredictable change, the problem with strategic planning is that if you follow your plan through to the end, you will get exactly what you used to want. What you need is a framework for planning and implementing a strategy that is agile enough to adapt to a dynamic environment but focused enough to deliver. That framework is the Dynamic Balanced Scorecard. The original Balanced Scorecard system has proven the most popular, successful and enduring framework for strategy execution over the last 25 years. Comprising a Strategy Map and a scorecard of KPIs, targets and initiatives, the framework helped organizations distil a strategy into actionable components and measure progress towards a strategic vision, while also implementing and monitoring the actions that drove change.  However, for all its success, the Balanced Scorecard system now needs to evolve for the digital age. Until now, building the system, rolling it out enterprise-wide and adapting it to external changes has been a lengthy process. While the fundamental principles of the system are still sound and relevant, it needs to become nimbler and more responsive. The book provides a step-by-step guide to agile strategy management: from formulation to implementation to learning and adapting.  For each of the steps, the book explains how Dynamic Balanced Scorecards, fit for the digital age, are built and deployed.

This book shows how the Bhagavad Gītā (part of the great Indian epic -- the Mahābhārata) can be approached as a powerful tool for change management and as a catalyst for organizational transformation. It presents time-tested leadership strategies drawn from the Bhagavad Gītā that are relevant for today's leaders. This book focuses on how to harmonize the needs of the individual with the needs of society, and by extension, how to harmonize the needs of employees and the organization. It employs an inside-out leadership development approach based on Self-knowledge and Self-mastery, the two highly important areas for practicing effective Self-leadership. The Gītā is a non-sectarian spiritual text with a universal message for living a life of meaning, purpose, and contribution and for leading from our authentic self. It shows how to manage oneself, as a necessary prelude to leading others. Students and organizational leaders will learn to integrate leadership function more effectively into all aspects at the individual, team, and institutional level. 

This book presents case studies of South Asian companies that have strategic business implications, highlighting the complex interplay of business and social dynamics in South Asia. This region is a wide agglomeration of very different countries that share somewhat common cultures and issues and yet it is torn apart by religion and politics. There is an abundance of local entrepreneurship but a widespread institutional void. The book investigates how local companies survive and thrive in this environment and discusses those companies that have withstood the competitive pressure of MNCs, depicting their management and business practices. In today's world, where multinationals are so omnipresent that their management and business practices are considered as the de facto recipe for success, there is a need to have an alternative view that challenges the ubiquitousness of multinational management practices. The case studies in this book focus on the business and management practices of local organizations in South Asia and thus provide that alternative viewpoint of how to achieve success in South Asia. Exposing readers to a local perspective on doing business in South Asia, it is a valuable resource for students and practitioners of management.

Competitive paradigms, which are constantly being shifted, and turbulent environmental conditions, which today are a constant, tend to dictate rather than inform strategic decision making regarding an organization's status quo and desired outcomes. As such, there is a need for organizational leaders to re-examine current practices. This book provides insight into business dynamics and the internal and external factors that, when strategically aligned, provide satisfaction, added value, and enhanced performance.

This book shows how strategic management can be practiced in the context of flexibility. It discusses strategic formulation and implementation perspectives and practices, including vision and mission, general environment analysis, industry analysis, competitive advantage, resource and capability view, generic strategies, business level strategy, corporate level strategy, international strategy, change and turnaround, strategic implementation, and strategic controls, as well as flexibility embedded in these concepts.  It can be used as a primary textbook for managerial programs for executives, and as a supplementary case textbook for core MBA courses. Exploring "Strategic Formulation" and "Strategic Implementation" concepts from a flexibility perspective, it is also an excellent companion to leading strategic management textbooks.

CEO succession represents a challenge for many companies. The leadership style of the new CEO impacts employees' attitudes which, in turn, might be biased by the comparison employees make with their previous CEO. Cristina Pratelli investigates how and why leadership style (dis)similarity between the predecessor and the successor develops and affects successor leadership effectiveness. After a literature review and a theoretical model, she presents results from a quantitative study with SMEs in Switzerland as well as a qualitative multiple-case study with family businesses based in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. This work offers new insights into CEO selection, leadership development, and the effectiveness of organizations.

This textbook offers a personal perspective on the broad and complex topic of corporate strategy. The book is structured to follow the journey of systematic corporate strategy development and implementation. "Corporate Strategy" presents frameworks and concepts for strategy development that have proven to be useful in corporate practice. The book covers the fundamental questions of daily strategy work and illustrates them with examples from real companies. It addresses all key elements of corporate strategy in a clear and systematic way: *           Corporate ambition and capabilities *           Corporate portfolio analysis *           Corporate growth and portfolio strategy *           Managing and transforming the corporate profile *           Corporate parenting strategy and organization *           Corporate financial strategy *           Corporate strategy process The book serves not only as a practice-oriented textbook for students and teachers of corporate strategy, it also functions as a sophisticated handbook for practitioners who are responsible for developing and implementing effective corporate strategies. 

The business environment is changing more rapidly than ever before, and new business ideas are emerging. This book discusses applying insights from design thinking to craft novel strategies that satisfy customer needs, make use of the available capabilities, integrate requirements for financial success and provide competitive advantage. It guides readers through the jungle encountered when developing a strategy for sustained growth and profitability. It addresses strategy design in a holistic way by applying abductive reasoning, iteratively observing customers and focusing on empathy, as well as prototyping ideas and using customers to validate them. Uniquely applying insights from design thinking to strategy, this book is a must-read for graduates, MBAs and executives interested in innovation and strategy, as well as corporate strategists, innovation managers, business analysts and consultants.

This book is a timely guide on what constitutes effective leadership in Africa. It explores how today's leaders in Africa perceive their role, the challenges they experience, and how they operate effectively as leaders. In the era of globalization, there is an increasing need to offer guidance on how leaders can adjust their leadership style to suit situational contexts. Drawing on case study and survey data, this book illustrates to scholars and leaders worldwide the vision of leadership that is emerging in Africa. It will contribute to the development of a new community of global leaders, integrating cutting-edge knowledge on leadership development in Africa.

In the previous book in this series, Manfred Kets de Vries observed the experiences of leaders on a rollercoaster ride through their professional and personal lives. Now, he follows them down the rabbit hole into the unknown, where, like Lewis Carroll's Alice, they find a dystopian Wonderland in which everyone seems to have gone mad and life functions according to its own crazy logic, throwing up all kinds of obstacles in the search for truth. Understanding what is happening around us has become more difficult than ever in the Age of Trump. Don't imperatives like "build that wall" sound very much like "Off with his head"? Unfortunately, and unlike Alice, we are not going to wake up from a bad dream and discover that everything is "nothing but a pack of cards". The first part of this book looks at the psychodynamics of leadership in both a business and a political context. The second focuses on the psychopathology of everyday life in organizations and the seemingly endless ways people can make a mess of things - including mega pay packages, acting out, digital addiction and other dysfunctional behaviour patterns. Each chapter ends with a brief anecdote to illustrate the dilemma it presents. In short, sharp nuggets, Kets de Vries helps make sense of how the madness of the present has affected leadership in organizations and the workplace.

Sebastian Frericks examines, based on a qualitative content analysis, the factors that lead large German listed companies to downfall. He finds factors and motives uncaredfor as well as new interrelations between variables that can be used to develop a future-looking risk sensitivity based on a going-concern-principle. Therefore, he first works out latent factors that are primarily responsible for not preventing a firm from losing its independency. In a second step the motives of sellers in a company sale process are examined. Within the following comprehensive cross-study, the author presents relations between motives, factors, field of business and type of downfall. The results provide new insights for any organization to address the probabilities of failure and downfall and to think beyond about securing the company's existence.

Filling a gap in existing literature on revenue management systems, this book explores the use of business strategies which are specifically designed to have a positive impact on economic and financial efficiency. Focussing on services within the tourism industry, the author takes a new approach and identifies dynamic pricing and service differentiation as key components of strategic management. Providing fresh insights into an ever-expanding sector, this book will be a useful tool for those studying business strategy and management, as well as value creation theory, as it ultimately presents an integrated business management model which will ensure sustainability.

Investigating the issue of employee representation in multinational companies (MNCs), this book sets out to systematically conceptualise the modes of articulation between different action fields. While previous studies have focused on forms of employee representation that have emerged throughout recent decades, rather little is known about the interaction and coordination of representational bodies and actors, such as trade unions and European or World Works Councils. Given the growing importance of transnational restructuring in MNCs, understanding the conditions under which employees are able to participate in company decision-making is a crucial issue. Based on empirical case studies and interviews with employee representatives from ten countries across Europe, the authors investigate the role of representational bodies in periods of company restructuring. Proposing a shift in perspectives in research on transnational labour relations and bringing new insights into structures and practices of employee representation in MNCs, this book will be a valuable read for both scholars and practitioners.

This book expands anthropological studies of business enterprise to include comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives. A number of books on business anthropology have been published, but most of them are written by anthropologists alone. By contrast, this book engages interdisciplinary studies, e.g., not only by anthropologists but also management scholars and other social scientists. It is the second volume of studies forwarding anthropological approaches to business administration, Keiei Jinruigaku. This volume focusses on the cultural dimensions of enterprise. Here enterprise is viewed as a medium carrying culture, rather than solely an entity of production and management, as is typical in mainstream studies. The approach is based on Tadao Umesao's definition of culture as a projection of instruments/devices and institutions into the mental/spiritual dimensions of life. Therefore, in our view production and management are among the projections of the cultural aspects of enterprise. This perspective, we believe, constitutes a new frontier in the study of business administration. This book consists of three parts, the first being "religiosity and spirituality", the second "exhibitions, performance and inducement," and the third "history and story." In Part I, Quaker Codes, ex-votos, and spiritual leadership are discussed in relation to management and behavior, and miracles and pilgrimage. Part II describes exhibitions justifying nuclear power industry within power plants in both Japan and England, the exhibition by English families of their porcelain collections, and the performance skills of orchestral maestros. All of these examples indicate that, through the use of narratives and myths, exhibits and performances overtly and covertly induce visitors or audiences to certain viewpoints and emotions. Part III offers examples of histories and stories of enterprise articulated through the branding and consumption of industrial products, and their display in enterprise museums where the essence of culture and heritage is cherished and emphasized, by and for the wider community and the enterprise itself. Conjoined as an interdisciplinary team of Western and Japanese researchers, we apply an anthropological approach to the cultural history of enterprise in both Britain and Japan.　　  

The global phenomenon of eSports has experienced exponential growth in recent years, gaining interest from the media, sports and technology industries. Being born digital, global and agile, competitive gaming appeals to a young and emerging audience, and therefore the management of businesses within the eSports industry requires a unique strategy. Presenting a short history of the industry and an overview of its various stakeholders, the author explores how important governing principles have emerged to culminate in a business model network. An insightful read for scholars researching innovation, eBusiness and strategy, this book takes a pioneering approach and examines potential implications for the future of eSports.

Get ready to be an effective digital leader, influencer, disruptor, and catalyst for change in the digital world! As a leader you need to constantly evolve to achieve sustained success. The world is being transformed by Digital. The pace of change is constantly accelerating and volatility and complexity are the new norms. Digital leaders are at the forefront of these waves of change, creating new markets and transforming traditional ones. This book is a framework and set of tools that will help you develop a deep awareness of yourself, your teams, and your stakeholders. The powerful four-step process (designed to remain relevant over time) ensures that you are embracing adversity, driving disruption, and unlocking your full leadership potential. What You'll Learn Be an influencer, disrupter, and catalyst for change in a disruptive world Know five key career recommendations from 40 digital leaders with more than 400 years of combined experience Use the four steps of the Unnatural Selection framework to facilitate your personal evolution and digital leadership success Demystify what makes people tick using the Human Full Stack, which is a model analogous to the technical full stack, so that complex behaviors are easier to understand Embody intentionality to avoid distractions and achieve what's important--your personal evolution, growing amazing teams, and influencing stakeholders Who This Book Is For Leaders who come from a technical background or are leading technical teams/organizations and want to be a part of building tomorrow's digital world

This book analyses mergers and acquisitions within the broader framework of strategic decisions. Existing studies on corporate acquisitions have produced a variegated and inconclusive spectrum of findings on the strategic mechanisms that contribute to value creation. By building on the widespread recognition that firms substantially differ in their ability to carry out successful acquisitions, this book focuses on the diverse effects of experiential learning. A unique systematic literature review is provided, which thematically highlights the connections between various streams of research. The author aims to systematise our knowledge on experience and learning dynamics in corporate acquisitions, providing a detailed analysis of conceptual implications and presenting potential avenues for future exploration.

This book presents the idea of exploring both conscious and unconscious drivers and blockers in a person's leadership development. From the outset, the authors show that exploring drivers (forces that motivate) and blockers (forces that obstruct) leads to profound self-awareness, increasing the chances that meaningful change can occur for the person. Research in the book builds on and integrates well-established leadership development approaches such as 'immunity to change' and 'positive psychology'.   Chapters in the book cover drivers and blockers as "assumptions" and "forces" in people that will impact their personal change efforts. The authors examine the reservoirs or sources of drivers and blockers in the mind, such as worldviews, emotions, personality traits, as well as values and motivators, and conclude by providing a tool that leadership development practitioners, coaches and scholars can use with people to explore their drivers and blockers. Throughout the work, real examples from the authors' field research are used to bring these concepts to life.

Claudia Lehmann explores service productivity from the providers, customer and operations perspective in the German airport industry using a solid empirical foundation. Available service productivity concepts, methods, measurements and their ability to overcome the emphasized problems are discussed, suggesting ways on how to deal with them. The insights of this book deliver considerable value for both management and academia.

Compiling best practices and original research, this book examines the factors that influence the sustainability of creativity and innovation in organisations and proposes a toolkit to assess gaps within existing strategy. Focusing particularly on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the author offers practical suggestions for improving and enhancing innovation, and ultimately achieving results. Both creativity and innovation have become pillars for leveraging competitive advantage in recent years, and therefore this book is a vital read for anyone engaged in ensuring sustainable development in organisations, particularly those within the Middle East.

Scale your single-person business to profitability. Increase your audience, create multiple products, and generate more profit. This book takes you through the entire process of building a scalable business from the seemingly impossible place of "being just one person." Most single-person businesses are stuck in a pattern of exchanging time for money. Through this book, you will learn how to beat that feast or famine cycle of work. Ask yourself the following questions: Do I have to do the work or can I outsource it to someone else? Can I receive 1,000 orders tomorrow and handle it?  Is the process/delivery repeatable so anyone can do it?  What You'll Learn Develop a profitable, scalable business from what you're doing now  Create content and attract an audience to that content  Outsource your scalable process  Scale your profit and money management  Optimize your growth and prioritize meeting and exceeding your goals Who This Book Is For Consultants, freelancers, owners of small to medium-sized businesses, developers, and entrepreneurs

This book offers strategic leaders with essential information for their most important role:  the change management function of positioning the organization for success into the future. To do so, leaders need to sort through a myriad of forecasts, predictions and weak indicators of change to make timely decisions. This volume addresses the most critical factor for future success: people and, specifically, harnessing the potential the current youth cohort will bring when they join the full-time workforce.  Drawing on multi-disciplinary analyses by 37 researchers, the book presents an integrative assessment of the characteristics that those in the current youth cohort are likely to bring to the workplace. The focus is on those born after 2005 with an examination of the implications of this cohort being raised from birth immersed in an increasingly omnipresent digital environment which extends far beyond social media. The authors see the coming 'digital tsunami' as creating disruptive effects across major elements of our economy and even society however optimistically conclude that the digital environment and the development of 21st Century skills in schools will equip the next generation with essential competencies, attitudes, social skills and work goals. The key to harnessing the potential of this generation will be to modify current human resources and workplace practices which will mean sweeping away much of the 'boomer' legacy that this cohort has imprinted on organizations. To assist leaders, the book goes beyond presenting a rich portrait of who these youth may become by providing practical recommendations for the changes that need to start now in order to position the organization to benefit from what they will bring. As the astute strategic leader knows: objects in the future can be closer than they appear. 

This book examines the well-covered subject of leadership from a unique perspective: history's vast catalogue of leadership successes and failures. Through a collection of highly compelling case studies spanning two millennia, it looks beyond the classic leadership parable of men in military or political crises and shows that successful leadership cannot be reduced to simplistic formulae. Written by experts in the field and based on rigorous research, each case provides a rich and compelling account that is accessible to a wide audience, from students to managers. Rather than serving as a vehicle for advancing a particular theory of leadership, each case invites readers to reflect, debate and extract their own insights.

Coming more than 25 years after the last edition, this edition of the groundbreaking Ansoff work on the concepts and practical implementation of strategic management provides up-to-date case studies and simplified figures and offers a comprehensive approach to guiding firms through turbulent environments. In this age of digital transformation, the ability to respond quickly and strategically to unpredictable change can determine the success or failure of the firm. As an organization becomes more successful at implementing change, the ability to respond to changes in the environment will be entrenched in its culture. This book is based on a strategic success model which demonstrates how to optimize a firm's performance.  For managers, students, and researchers wanting a step-by-step methodology on how to analyze a firm, this book will serve as an invaluable resource for thinking and acting strategically.

In Command of Guardians: Executive Servant Leadership for the Community of Responders, Second Edition spotlights the philosophy of servant leadership and offers a pathway for strengthening first responder organizations. Responders work in high-risk, critical situations under the pressure of time and consequence. Being a responder means one must become an active player in the tragedies of others. Because these situations can change the responder over time, a special type of leader is needed to walk beside them while they navigate the realities of public safety and emergency service operations. This book illustrates how being a servant leader to these guardians allows the community of responders to strengthen their resiliency, foster individual growth, and perform at peak levels.  "The book spans a wide breadth and depth, and is written in a way that engages the reader immediately. It is packed with sensitive and wise insights, as well as eminently practical advice for today's emergency services leaders, as well as those of tomorrow." - Emily Hough, Editor-In-Chief, Crisis Response Journal "Emotionally moving, research-based, and a compelling case for why any organization can benefit from a servant leadership organizational culture.  Eric debunks the myth that servant leadership is "soft" and shows how the hard work of skilled servant-leaders is exactly what is needed in the alpha worlds of public safety and emergency services."  - Duane Trammell, President, Trammell McGee-Cooper & Associates, Inc "Eric Russell is a pioneer in applying the principles of servant leadership to the communities of brave police, fire, and emergency services responders. This book is destined to be a classic reference work for the field." -Don M. Frick, PhD, Authorized Robert Greenleaf biographer and co-author of Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: The Wisdom of Leading by Serving. "In Command of Guardian speaks great leadership truths to first responder communities throughout the world. This is an important work for those in command of the men and woman who put their lives on the line to save others."  - Christophe Libeau, Lieutenant Colonel, Brigade de Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris

This enlightening and inspiring book shows both accomplished and aspiring leaders how to harness Buddhist philosophies to practice more effective and sustainable leadership. Illustrated through the stories of visionary and innovative leaders in many fields, including Elon Musk (Tesla), Malala Yousafzai (human rights), Howard Schultz (Starbucks), and Muhammad Yunus (microfinance and development), this volume links an ancient Buddhist concept, known as the Noble Eightfold Path, to contemporary needs to develop an alternative paradigm to the excessive bottom-line focus and winner-take-all approach that has come to dominate leadership practice in recent decades.  The stunning rejection by the United Kingdom of the European Union and the divisive US presidential race of 2016 serve as a dramatic backdrop to complex social issues that require creative solutions bringing together stakeholders from different fields and points of view. The Eightfold Path--characterized by the following elements: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration--is an approach to leadership that balances individual and collective concerns while aligning pragmatic and spiritual priorities. Joan Marques, an accomplished author, speaker, and educator on spirituality in organizations, with extensive experience in teaching and applying Buddhist principles, demonstrates how the Eightfold Path can inform practices and decisions that result in long-term communal benefits, and, in the process, develop more mindful and conscientious leaders capable of tackling multifaceted challenges.

This book offers an insightful guide for academics, managers and practitioners, as well as undergraduate and graduate students of business studies. It focuses on how the theoretical foundations of leadership and change management can be used to effectively lead business organizations. Generally speaking, business leaders are beginning to recognize the important of change and transformation, not only as a means of retaining control, but also of demonstrating their own leadership initiative. Though new approaches, designed to make this task easier, are constantly emerging, in practice managerial change remains a challenge.  The book chiefly focuses on the open-social-systems model to provide a conceptual framework that structures and relates leadership theories and research to help business leaders manage change. A wealth of case studies and discussion activities that support the main concepts and theories are also included. The book's primary goal is to help readers successfully plan and manage change and transformation. Tertiary education students who are taking business studies courses can also use it as a sourcebook for the principles of successful change management.

This book identifies the role of business as an agent of social and political change in South Africa. It speaks to the potential role that businesses could play in influencing society towards equitable political and national goals. It explores the lived experiences of a selected group of South African business leaders in the decade preceding the end of apartheid. The inspirational lessons derived from their experiences vividly exemplify principles and practices of nationally responsible and conscious business leadership, and are invaluable in developing a case for corporate vigilance and the boundaries of moral authority. It will be enlightening reading for academics, practitioners, and nations transitioning to a more peaceful and inclusive society.

This book explores opportunities and limitations with regard to transferring knowledge and tools from the corporate world to manage monasteries or other types of religious institutions. To do so, the contributing authors analyze both the ideological and practical implications of employing modern organizational theory in the context of religious institutions, and seek to strike a balance between preserving traditions and promoting modernization. In this regard, they draw on experience gained in the course of long-standing collaborations between religious institutions, such as monasteries, and business and management schools. 

If you take a chain, pile it up and then push it, what direction will it go? Nowhere you can predict and not very far. If you take it by the end and pull it, which way will it go? It will follow you. Leadership is not about what sets you apart from those you lead--it's about what binds you together. It is not about controlling others--it's about trusting others. It's not about your achievements--it's about unleashing your team's greatness. In short, leadership really isn't about you--it's about your people.   Take Bob Davids, co-author of this book and successful leader of six businesses in fields as diverse as engineering and winemaking. His achievements often came thanks to being able to refrain from acting when others might have found intervening irresistible. By trusting his employees to be better than him in their area of responsibility and letting them act, Bob unleashed the human greatness that no one else--including employees themselves--suspected. Yet to lead without acting does not mean doing nothing. It means creating conditions in which things happen by themselves. Leadership Without Ego is about a transformation of the concept of leadership in the past two decades: a change of beliefs about how best to lead, along with radically different leadership practices. The ideas in this book have already changed the fortunes of hundreds of businesses and the lives of tens of thousands of employees. They can do the same for your business, your people--and you.

This book represents the first cross-country study of the work of board chairs in Europe. It includes unique data collected through interviews with almost 200 experienced board chairs and their key stakeholders - board members, CEOs and shareholders. The book focuses on what board leaders actually do, rather than what they should do, and elaborates on a conceptual contingency framework for understanding chairs' work in Europe. This includes a comprehensive list of chair practices - iterative behaviour strategies for getting things done, comparisons of contexts for chairs' work and practices among nine countries, and identification of cross-European and country-specific trends that will shape the work of board leaders in the next decade. The book will benefit incumbent and future chairs, directors, shareholders, CEOs, executives and regulators in developing a systemic understanding of the work of a chair in the European business context and gaining insights into how the leader of the board deals with specific challenges.

How do leaders lead for high performance in Asia, the fastest growing region in the world? What are the new leadership influential processes and skillsets needed to engage the organizational members in creative and meaningful ways? In this book, readers will find strategic insights and tips derived from cutting-edge studies on specific leadership and management issues in Asia. Using a range of methodologies from in-depth interviews, field surveys, and computer simulation, the studies include the following topics: Strategies to foster citizenship and pro-social behaviors in high-performing firms; the roles of culture-specific values such as paternalism and collectivism, the construction of leader identity, the effects of leadership on team satisfaction, the development of female leaders, and key lessons in strategic leadership development.   Featuring studies conducted in China, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia, this book will equip readers with a set of strategic and actionable tools for tackling the leadership challenges in Asia. Further, each chapter includes a 'Managerial Implications' section, in which subject experts share evidence-based practical and contextual recommendations. 

In view of the rising importance and prevalence of network-based collaboration, this book aims to meet the need for more theory in this area. Theoretically conceptualizing and empirically describing the practice of reflexive leadership in inter-organisational networks, it explores how member organisations approach reflexive leadership and the associated challenges. Examining these questions from wider leadership theory perspectives as well as a tighter focus upon inter-organizational networks, the author specifically explores how reflexive leadership can be sustained and how social and political contexts may obstruct or support its use, acceptance and practice. Based on in-depth qualitative empirical fieldwork in the Swiss healthcare sector, the book offers a novel practice-theoretical model for use in inter-organizational networks.

This book deepens the understanding of cultural conditions for implementing organizational and process changes in higher education institutions. Developing the humanistic and critical trend in Lean management research, it aims to define the notion and maturity of a Lean culture in higher education institutions as well as to determine its key dimensions and descriptions in the light of adopted ontological and epistemological assumptions. This book defines the notion of Lean Culture, proposes a model to assess its maturity, determines conditions for its implementation, and presents the tools of the Lean management model in a university. It supplements the issues related to the implementation of the Lean concept by adopting a humanistic approach.

Increased longevity means that current structures for employment and retirement in Switzerland are not sustainable. To enable individuals and companies to thrive in our ageing society, changes in our social norms and attitudes about work and ageing need to occur. Philippa Dengler examines what these changes are, and what companies can do to support their employees to take control of their individual employability for a longer life. The practical implications benefit individuals, the companies they work for, and society as a whole.

Drawing upon the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gītā, a philosophical-spiritual world classic, this professional book highlights the spiritual and moral dimensions of management using an inside-out leadership development approach. It interprets the Bhagavad Gītā's teachings on the personality types and psychological makeup of managers and employees; self-knowledge and self-mastery; and the leadership concepts of vision, motivation, and empowerment. This book covers topics such as training of the mind, ethical leadership, communication, stress management, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Collectively, the enclosed contributions provide managers with an enhanced outlook on management functions such as leading, planning, organizing, and controlling in today's organizations, particularly those run by knowledge workers. Management research in the 20th century has mainly focused on the industrial paradigm characterized by a hierarchical structure of authority and responsibility with an individualistic focus on the personality of the manager. However, this traditional paradigm cannot solve many of the problems that confront leaders and mangers today. Recent studies have shown that values traditionally associated with spirituality--such as integrity, honesty, trust, kindness, caring, fairness, and humility--have a demonstrable effect on managerial effectiveness and success. Although traditionally interpreted as a religious-spiritual text, the Bhagavad Gītā teaches these values which can be  extrapolated and applied to practical management lessons in today's corporate boardrooms. Applying the text of the Bhagavad Gītā to the context of management, this book views the manager as an "enlightened sage" who operates from higher stance, guided by self-knowledge and self-mastery. It demonstrates how character is the key ingredient for effective management and leadership. This book is therefore applicable to all managers, from first-line to CEOs, in their management and leadership roles in organizations.  

Why do policies and strategies often fail, and what can be done about it? How can complexity be managed in cases where it cannot be reduced? The answers to these questions are anything but trivial, and can only be found by combining insights from complexity science, system dynamics, system theory and systems thinking. Rooted in the seminal works of Gregory Bateson, Jay Forrester, Donella Meadows, Peter Senge, W. Brian Arthur, John Sterman and Thomas Schelling, this book bridges the gap between rigorous science and real-life experience to explore the potential and limitations of leverage points in implementing policies and strategies. It also presents diagnostic tools to help recognize system archetypes, as well as the powerful language of stock and flow diagrams, which allows us to think in terms of circular causality. These tools are subsequently employed to thoroughly analyze particularly thorny problems such as global climate change, the tragedy of the commons, path dependence, diffusion of innovations, and exponential growth of inequality.

This book explores new ways for companies to sustain their success, by means of viable business models and a values-driven culture. The point of departure is a value proposition designed to last, and grounded in the values espoused and actively practiced by the organization. These values are in turn the product of a values creation process, which is essential to  any business trying to ensure its viability in the long run. A concise step-by-step process explains how this process can be introduced to keep companies competitive for and in the future. In subsequent chapters, the book describes key challenges for modern management, introduces a paradigm of sustainable management, and presents roadmaps to future viability and axioms of viable business management.  Active practitioners in executive and operational management roles, research and development, innovation management, human resources, sustainability, or process management will benefit from this volume. Given its scope of coverage, the book offers a valuable resource for lecturers and students in business management, economics, law, and sustainability-related degree courses.

Know the details of each part of Scrum so you can understand the purpose each part serves in the framework. Many books describe the "what" part of Scrum, but few explain the "why." Every part of the Scrum framework is important. You need to know the purpose behind each of the parts of the Scrum framework to reap all of its benefits. This book uses stories and examples to provide the understanding of Scrum that is necessary to avoid failure in an Agile transformation effort, and fills an important gap in the existing body of literature about the Scrum framework. Advanced topics also are covered: scaled Scrum, Scrum for projects, and Scrum for the program and portfolio level. What You'll Learn Use the Scrum framework more effectively, especially if you are working in a "hybrid" Scrum environment Understand what to expect from the Scrum framework, how to support it in your organization, and how to measure and maximize results Study Scrum and pass Scrum Master certification tests given by Scrum.org Who This Book Is For Management professionals, existing Scrum masters, product owners, and Scrum developers, and beginners looking to learn Scrum 

This book explores nonmarket strategy (NMS) in firms by invoking economic, political and philosophical perspectives. Featuring data from the USA, the UK, India, China, Mexico and other countries, the author links NMS to economic freedom, regional development, corruption and other national factors. Nonmarket strategy (NMS) refers to any part of a firm's strategy that seeks to generate superior performance through means not directly associated with market activity, such as lobbying legislators, colluding with rivals to erect industry entry barriers and pursuing direct business-government partnerships. Decades ago, nonmarket factors comprised a minor, peripheral consideration in organizational strategy. Today, NMS is central to strategy development and execution. This phenomenon is driven by both corruption in emerging economies and cronyism in the developed world. Scholarly interest in NMS continues to increase and while much is known about the topic, some core questions still remain such as: Are there different drivers for and implications of proactive NMS versus defensive NMS? How do national environments influence firm decisions to pursue NMS? The data presented in the book explores many of these questions. Providing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary analysis that includes elements of management, economics, philosophy and social sciences, this book is beneficial for scholars, practitioners, students, academics and policy makers interested in NMS.

The agility paradigm suggests that knowledge management is central to an organisations' capability to proactively anticipate environmental changes and respond to them effectively. This book specifically explores how organisational identity impacts knowledge flows within an organisation, influencing and negotiating its responsiveness. By looking at agility through the identity lens the author takes a cross-disciplinary approach that aims at offering a new and important perspective towards our current understanding of change management and in particular, of the agility model, making this book a valuable resource for students, researchers and practitioners.

This book provides a unique account of how perceived justice is influenced by various aspects of an organizational merger and investigates the impact on behavior for those involved in the process. Drawing from both psychological and sociological insights, the author considers justice from an individual and group perspective in light of the political and strategic implications of mergers and acquisitions. Experiences from two empirical cases are used to consider the depth of theoretical analysis provided, in terms of practical outcomes for both organizations and employees alike. In this pioneering new book, the author explores communication, employee attitudes, trust and commitment, and the psychological contract between the employee and the organization, emphasizing the importance of developing a new meaning of organizational culture. Although primarily aimed at an academic audience, this book will also be useful to practitioners as it illuminates the potential pitfalls of overlooking the importance of fair treatment in the workplace.

Encompassing interviews with managing directors and CEOs, this book explores the role of business outsiders as leaders. Viewing the term 'outsider' in a broad sense, the book considers leader background, perspective, gender, training and family membership and examines the implications, challenges and benefits brought by outsider leaders to their respective business environments. The authors explore questions and themes such as how outsider leaders can enrich an organisation, the importance of relationships and adopting a 'hybrid' approach, illuminated by interviewee perspectives. Introducing discussion and analysis through these narratives, Outsider Leadership distils commonalities to frame understanding of their experiences.

The progressive convergence of global economic and social structures calls for a rethinking of management practices as they relate to cultural diversity and moral values. A key element for coping with this transformational phenomenon is the Aristotelian concept of Practical Wisdom, which helps us to do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time and for the right reasons. Expert academics and practitioners share their insights into contemporary theories and conventions for ethical decision-making in diverse cultural contexts. About the Editors Martina Stangel-Meseke - professor of business psychology. Christine Boven - professor of intercultural management. Gershon Braun - lecturer of business ethics. André Habisch - professor of economics. Nicolai Scherle - professor of intercultural management and diversity. Frank Ihlenburg - managing partner of a change management consultancy.

This book provides a holistic and pragmatic approach to performance management throughout the business value chain, and demonstrates the optimal design and use of performance management in order to achieve competitive advantage. A wealth of best practices, case studies and real-world examples are used to reveal the diversity of performance measurement methods, methodologies and principles in practice. Readers will gain comprehensive insights into the status quo of performance management, including primary functions such as supply, operations and sales, and secondary functions like finance, human resources, and information systems. Focusing on 'best-in-class' performance excellence, the book offers the ideal guide for any organization pursuing competitive advantages across all corporate functions and focusing on value-adding activities.

This book discusses how the methods and mindsets of design thinking empower large organizations to create groundbreaking innovations. Arguing that innovations must effectively tackle so-called "wicked problems," it shows how design thinking enables managers and innovators to create the organizational spaces and practices needed for breakthrough innovations. Design thinking equips actors with the tools and methods for harnessing the creative tensions inherent in pluralist, often conflicting disciplinary approaches. This, however, requires the transformation of contemporary organizational cultures away from monolithic, integrated models (or identities) toward more pluralist, dynamic and flexible institutional identities. Based on real-world cases from a wide range of organizations around the globe, the book offers managers and innovators practical guidance on initiating and managing the cultural transformations required for effective innovation.

Increasingly transforming entire industries, the boundary spanning concept of disruptive innovation requires business models to change. This book adopts insights from the (activity) system theory and takes a design science approach for the development of an appropriate, comprehensive and structured business model artifact. Based on pattern analysis, the main contribution of this thesis is of design nature, transforming justificatory knowledge into a manageable instrument that supports the process of designing novel business models for disruption. Besides that, a theoretical contribution is made by bridging the knowledge gap of the interrelated disruptive innovation and business model concept. 

The first volume of this ground-breaking book critically examines how and why arts-based methods such as choir conducting workshops and dialogue improvisation can make a difference in improving professional practice. Taking a 'human-centred' approach, it delivers an insightful account of what these approaches do differently to achieve a new mode of learning - 'sensuous learning' - that cultivates professional judgment to serve the common good, simultaneously supporting personal and collective growth. The chapters present cutting edge examples of multiple ways arts-based methods underpin learning arenas for expanding leadership and improving professional practice. The reflexivity cultivated through these learning arenas has the unique potential to improve professional practice, not merely by enhancing competence but also by cultivating character and conscience, which is central in making judgments that serve the common good. These benefits are relevant for professional practitioners sharpening the skills and behaviours needed in organisations, including creativity, diversity, imagination, and improvisation.

The second volume of this ground-breaking book critically examines the effect of arts-based methods in combination as arts-based interventions in improving professional practice, from deinstitutionalization to the counteraction of destructive leadership. Taking a 'human-centred' approach, it delivers an insightful account of what these approaches do differently to achieve a new mode of learning - 'sensuous learning' - that cultivates professional judgment to serve the common good, simultaneously supporting personal and collective growth. The chapters present cutting edge examples of multiple ways arts-based interventions underpin learning arenas for expanding leadership and improving professional practice. The reflexivity cultivated through these learning arenas has the unique potential to improve professional practice, not merely by enhancing competence but also by cultivating character and conscience, which is central in making judgments that serve the common good. These benefits are relevant for professional practitioners sharpening the skills and behaviours needed in organisations, including creativity, diversity, imagination, and improvisation.

This book applies the principles of well-being theory and positive psychology to sport to establish a basis of servant leadership in sport organizations. Though the win-at-all-cost mentality is pervasive in sport, leading to acceptance of leadership styles more associated with controlling and extrinsic motivators, the author proposes need satisfaction based on three psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and belongingness, which leads to enhanced job performance, job satisfaction, and well-being. Through need satisfaction, servant leaders positively influence organizational outcomes by enabling followers' growth and well-being. This book will make a new contribution to sport management research in applying the principles of positive psychology to servant leadership and to sport.

Given that studies repeatedly suggest a 70 % failure rate of organizational change, Katharina de Biasi attempts to answer the question why traditional change theory has yet to prove successful, although mastering change has been identified as one of the "Management Challenges for the 21st century". As a result the author proposes to leverage the change paradox continuity in times of change and to solve it by means of trust. A trust-based formula for successful change is derived which constitutes the finding that trust-formation must precede transformation and which outlines two levers for a positive outcome.

Exploring the concept of win-win agreements, this book analyses how they pose an important challenge for entrepreneurs, managers and advisors involved in complex negotiations among firms. Providing an overview and discussion of existing literature, the author further develops a theoretical framework for analysing corporate negotiations, and illustrates how this can be implemented in real-life situations. This book presents an empirical case study from the automotive industry and analyses the negotiation between Fiat Chrysler in 2009, offering practical strategies for those involved in corporate negotiations. Presenting how win-win agreements can improve competitive advantage, this book will be an invaluable read for practitioners and scholars alike.

This book discusses how systems thinking and approaches can aid management consultants in navigating the complexities of client advisory in current realities. It thereby brings to the forefront aspects of holism, flexibility and responsibility - the keys to success in today's world. Management consultants are called in to offer an independent expert view of an organisation/ a situation and are expected to address some of the most pressing problems businesses face. The client does not exist in a silo, but in a complex environment that lies at the intersection of a range of internal and external factors that are often unseen and unpredictable. The organisation itself presents an alien territory that the consultant is expected to acclimatise to within a very short period of time, and come up with solutions that "insiders" would not have been able to visualise. The book presents a range of ideas, concepts and reference cases that are relevant and topical for consultants in their daily work. It argues that systems thinking allows holism and flexibility in management consulting - while holism is about the ability to encompass the environmental and organisational complexity, flexibility is about the ability to think creatively and adopt different approaches to accommodate this complexity. With commentaries, case studies, conceptual models and perspectives that cut across multiple industries, sectors and countries, this book is a valuable resource for academics and professionals alike. The book's inner pages and its page on Springer.com contain additional comments providing perspectives of clients, industry experts and academia.

Contrary to the notion that leaders contribute to positive behaviour within organisations, this book reflects growing interest in the 'dark side' of leadership: the unethical and immoral personalities that can reside in positions of power. Drawing on empirical and theoretical analysis, the author examines immorality within leadership and the underlying causes behind this behaviour. Focusing on the impact of institutional pressures, this book analyses how such behaviour is influenced by internal and external factors. By employing a theoretical framework, the author seeks to demonstrate that institutions either compel leaders to be ethical and moral, or in contrast, they actually provide legitimacy for immoral actions. An insightful and thought-provoking read, The Dark Side of Leadership will be of interest to those studying leadership, HRM, and business ethics, as well as social psychology scholars.

The lack of congruence between theory and practice in business remains a widely discussed topic. This lack of synergy is quietly and elusively becoming the Achilles' heel of contemporary scholarly business research and, by extension, of business in general. Focusing on the deviation of means and ends between business theory and practice, this book comprises thirteen chapters, which present an array of theoretical and geographical contexts, and aim to bring scholarly thinking and scientific analysis together with managerial rationale and practical applications. Presenting valuable insights and demonstrating an equalised perception of the theorisation of practice, and reversely, the practicality of theory, this innovative book signifies a new philosophy of scientific work and provides thought-provoking reading for scholars in a range of business sub-disciplines.

The book focuses on key emerging areas concerning flexible systems management as an approach for transforming organizations. It is divided into three parts, discussing Enterprise Flexibility and Performance Management; Transformational Strategies and Organizational Competitiveness; and Supply Chain Flexibility. Part I addresses the integration aspects of learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship for organizational success, performance gains through cross-border acquisitions, flexibility measurement, and organizational competitiveness, impact of disinvestment, employability gaps and sustainable growth. Part II then examines risk governance structure, supporting culture, channel collaboration, waste management, IT-based process re-engineering, HR flexibility and adoption of big data as transformational strategies. Lastly, the third part investigates the development of a framework for a green flexible manufacturing system, measuring the effect of supply chain design on firm performance, exploring and ranking logistics service providers' best practices, and exploring the relationship between optimism and career planning in the context of manufacturing sector, and analyzes customers' emotional engagement and their inclinations towards the brand. The concept of flexibility is a common thread running through the three parts. The book is supported by both quantitative- and qualitative-based research as well as case applications relating to different areas of government and profit and not for profit organizations. Written by leading academics and practitioners, it is a useful resource for management students, scholars, consultants and practicing managers in both government and corporate sectors.