These book reviews are from the latest issue of the Graziadio Business Report:
The Change Cycle: How People Can Survive and Thrive in Organizational Change
By Ann Salerno and Lillie Brock
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008
Reviewed by John Oppenheim, Adjunct Professor of Management Information Systems
The Change Cycle is full of examples. It provides keys to the stages of change that help organizations understand what to watch out for and the necessary interventions. Read more…
A Primer on Corporate Governance
By Cornelis A. de Kluyver
Business Expert Press, 2009
Reviewed by Sean D. Jasso, PhD, Practitioner Faculty of Economics
In traditional MBA programs, formal training in corporate governance is often brief, inconsistent, or entirely nonexistent. The author provides management students and practitioners the opportunity to fill this void. Read more…
Strategic Customer Service: Managing the Customer Experience to Increase Positive Word of Mouth, Build Loyalty, and Maximize Profits
By John A. Goodman
AMACOM, 2009
Reviewed by Bill Bleuel, PhD, Professor of Decision Sciences
True to its title, Strategic Customer Service contains the keys to integrating customer service into a company’s business model. Read more…
Putting Our Differences to Work
By Debbe Kennedy
Berrett-Koehler, 2008
Reviewed by Robert Fulmer, PhD, GBR Editorial Review Board
Kennedy offers a chapter on each step of a detailed six-stage process for “making the most of differences in the workforce” but more accurately, I think, it is about being an innovative leader. Read more…
House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street
By William D. Cohan
Doubleday, 2009
Reviewed by Timothy Krause, Adjunct Professor of Finance
House of Cards‘ real appeal derives from its thorough analysis of the firm since its inception as an upstart brokerage firm in 1923 and of its demise in 2007. Read more…
The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength
By Jennifer B. Kahnweiler
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009
Reviewed by:
Leo A. Mallette, EdD, Adjunct Professor of Decision Sciences and Marketing
Deborah A. Rainer, Adjunct Professor of Management – Leadership and Teams
Mallette: Kahnweiler identifies four areas of challenges for introverts, and in chapter two, she introduces the “4 P’s Process” for addressing them: Prepare, Presence, Push, and Practice. Read more…
Ranier: This book is most useful for high potentials who are fairly young in their careers and are looking for strategies and behaviors to employ in situations where they want to exert greater influence. Read more…
The Management Myth: Why the “Experts” Keep Getting it Wrong
By Matthew Stewart
W. W. Norton & Company, 2009
Reviewed by John Briginshaw, PhD, Assistant Professor of Accounting
Perhaps Stewart is making the ultimate postmodern statement about business books: He proves how bad they all are by writing a bad one himself. Read more…
Quick Meeting Openers for Busy Managers
By Brian Cole Miller
AMACOM, 2008
Reviewed by Leo A. Mallette, EdD, Adjunct Professor of Decision Sciences and Marketing
The value of author Brian Cole Miller’s writing is that he presents these ideas as if you were thinking them up yourself (but you didn’t). Read more…
Mobilizing Minds: Creating Wealth from Talent in the 21st-Century Organization
By Lowell L. Bryan and Claudia I. Joyce
McGraw-Hill, 2007
Reviewed by Donald Atwater, PhD, Practitioner Faculty of Economics
Lowell L. Bryan and Claudia I. Joyce make the case at a strategic level for thinking-intensive businesses (i.e., those comprised of at least 35 percent professionals and managers). Read more…
The Power of a Positive Attitude
By Roger Fritz
AMACOM, 2008
Reviewed by J. Goosby Smith, PhD, Supporting Faculty, Applied Behavior Science
This well-written and well-organized book is a quick read that dispenses useful advice for evaluating one’s own and others’ effectiveness in the workplace. Read more…
Take No Prisoners: A No-Holds-Barred Approach to Corporate Excellence
By Marvin A. Davis
AMACOM, 2007
Reviewed by Rogelio F. Nochebuena, Adjunct Professor of Strategy
I would recommend this book to turnaround specialists as well as company executives and owners who may find it useful in keeping their businesses running smoothly by avoiding the mistakes of others. Read more…
Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma
By Nick Morgan
Jossey Bass, 2009
Reviewed by Davide Accomazzo, MBA, Adjunct Professor of Finance
One point of interest was Morgan’s articulation of what advertisers and marketing experts have believed since the inception of the consumer era: decision making is mostly an emotional and, therefore, non-verbal process. Read more…
