Business and Management Books

Book SynopsisThe Small Business Administration (SBA) has provided "technical and managerial aides to small-business concerns, by advising and counselling on matters in connection with government procurement and on policies, principles and practices of good management" since it began operations in 1953. Initially, the SBA provided its own small business management and technical assistance training programs. However, over time, the SBA has relied increasingly on third parties to provide that training. This new book examines the historical development of federal small business management and technical assistance training programs; describes their current structures, operations, and budgets and assesses their administration and oversight, and the measures used to determine their effectiveness.

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Book SynopsisThis series examines issues and economic matters particular to small businesses. The term Small Enterprise (or Small Organization) is sometimes used for this same category of business or organization. A small enterprise/organization may also be a non-profit organization. This volume covers several topics. The first chapter identifies and fills several gaps in the understanding of the retirement savings behaviour of business owners and the self-employed. The second chapter explores the security of information, systems, and networks in small businesses as it applies to customers, employees, and trading partners. The book also looks at the relationship between employee turnover and firm size as it relates to compensation using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY).

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Book SynopsisThis book compiles biographical sketches of top professionals in the field of business, finance and economics research, as well as research summaries from a number of different focuses in these important fields.

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Book SynopsisIn the United States, how a business is taxed at the federal level is partly dependent on how it is organised. Publicly traded corporations known as subchapter C corporations are taxed once at the corporate level according to the corporate tax system, and then a second time at the individual-shareholder level according to the individual tax system when corporate dividend payments are made or capital gains are realised. This leads to the so-called "double taxation" of corporate profits. Businesses that choose any other form of organisation are, in general, taxed only once at the individual level. That is, the income of certain businesses passes through to the individual business owners and is taxed according to the individual income tax system. Examples of these alternative "pass-through" forms of organisation include sole proprietorships, partnerships, subchapter S corporations, and limited liability companies. This book summarises the general tax treatment of corporate and pass-through businesses and analyses the most recent business data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

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Book SynopsisThis book examines select research topics in the study of entrepreneurship. Technological growth, entrepreneurship, and unemployment influence each other in numerous ways, forming a trio of inter-related components. This book empirically explores the interrelationship between entrepreneurship, unemployment, and growth in a dynamic context using vector autoregression (VAR) with panel data across sectors of the U.S. economy. Also discussed are immigrant entrepreneurs and small business owners and their access to financial capital; factors affecting entrepreneurs among veterans; and an assessment as to whether the U.S. bankruptcy system is effective in providing small businesses a "fresh start" after a bankruptcy filing.

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Book SynopsisCongress has broad authority to impose requirements upon the federal procurement process, or the process whereby agencies obtain goods and services from the private sector. One of the many ways in which Congress has exercised this authority is by enacting measures intended to promote contracting and subcontracting with "small businesses" by federal agencies. This book describes and analyses measures that Members of the 112th Congress have enacted or proposed in response to particular issues pertaining to small business contracting and subcontracting with a focus on legal authorities; contract "bundling"; small business set-aside programs; and "preference contracts".

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Book SynopsisIn today''s world of smart phones, smart grids, and smart cars, companies are collecting, storing, and sharing more information about consumers than ever before. Although companies use this information to innovate and deliver better products and services to consumers, they should not do so at the expense of consumer privacy. This book provides an overview for how companies can act now to implement best practices to protect consumers'' private information. These best practices would include making privacy the "default setting" for commercial data practices and give consumers greater control over the collection and use of their personal data through simplified choices and increased transparency. Implementing these best practices will enhance trust and stimulate commerce.

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Book SynopsisThis book addresses two extremely important aspects of workplaces, namely, noise and ergonomics. Its thirteen chapters present and discuss theoretical and practical issues involving noise and/or ergonomics, covering a wide and diverse spectrum of working environments that directly affect thousands of workers around the world. The design of the environment is discussed through the relationship between ergonomics and architecture, revealing that the efficient integration between these factors allows us to outline boundaries in the search for solutions to the various specificities of the organisation and its different workplaces. The analytical techniques used throughout the book are widely diverse and include in-situ acoustic measurements, computer simulations and analysis of noise perception. The various working environments evaluated herein include schools, universities, health care facilities, fitness centres, factories, open plan offices, and urban buses.

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Book SynopsisThe Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is a critically important statute for combating corruption around the globe. Corruption has corrosive effects on democratic institutions, undermining public accountability and diverting public resources from important priorities such as health, education, and infrastructure. When business is won or lost based on how much a company is willing to pay in bribes rather than on the quality of its products and services, law-abiding companies are placed at a competitive disadvantage, and consumers lose. This book addresses a wide variety of topics, including who and what is covered by the FCPA''s anti-bribery and accounting provisions; the definition of a "foreign official", what constitutes proper and improper gifts; travel and entertainment expenses; the nature of facilitating payments; how successor liability applies in the mergers and acquisitions context; the hallmarks of an effective corporate compliance program; and the different types of civil and criminal resolutions available in the FCPA context.

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Book SynopsisIn 2008, 12 percent of all federal revenues came from corporate income taxes. About half was paid by multinational corporations reporting income from foreign countries. How the federal government taxes U.S. multinational corporations has consequences for the U.S. economy overall as well as for the federal budget. Tax policies influence businesses'' choices about how and where to invest, particularly as corporations assess whether it is more profitable to locate business operations in the United States or abroad. The tax laws also can create opportunities for tax avoidance by allowing multinational corporations to use accounting or other legal strategies to report income and expenses for their U.S. and foreign operations in ways that reduce their overall tax liability. This book examines policy options addressing particular concerns about the current system of taxation, with a focus on multinational corporations'' investment strategies and reporting of income as well as U.S. revenues from corporate income taxes.

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Book SynopsisStudies on queuing models and their publication in professional journals and textbooks have been sparse over the past eleven decades. Collections of some of these studies have appeared either as single volumes or just chapters of single volumes and/or monographs. This book is an attempt to present some queuing models, especially those applicable in business and industry, in a style between a monograph and a textbook. Also the need of researchers and practitioners for a handbook-type text and the current lack of it explain the need for a book of this kind. Most of the basic terminologies and concepts that appear throughout the text are introduced in a systematic way in the first two chapters; nevertheless, previous exposition to a first course in probability and statistics is advised for later chapters. The principal audiences for the book are senior undergraduates (first three chapters) and graduate students (all six chapters). It is also a hope that the volume will appeal to a wider audience of specialists and researchers in mathematical science, engineering, physics, business and economics.

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Book SynopsisAuthor Jeremy Dale believes that too many businesses create an environment that encourages mediocrity and corporate norms that deliver lukewarm results at best. In The Punk Rock of Business, Dale offers a road map away from average and towards innovation through a mindset rooted in punk rock principles. In this fast-paced, actionable guidebook, readers will find: -Eight punk rock principles to help you redefine your place in the corporate world–for the better -A set of characteristics to strive for that will liberate you and accelerate your success -Countless examples—drawing on both the classic stories from the music genre's industry-changing legacy and Dale's years of business success—to illustrate these principles and characteristics in action -Straightforward lessons and actions to start taking today—right now—to break through corporate norms and build something greater Punk rockers had a cause. They aimed for authenticity and refused to conform. In doing so, they created a dramatic change that shook society to its core. It was a much needed wake-up call for the conservative part of the music industry. Jeremy Dale wants you to do the same in the business world, and in The Punk Rock of Business, he gives you the tools you need to accomplish that goal.

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Book SynopsisA new edition, based on new research and double the survey data, Engagement MAGIC provides an expert approach to increasing organizational success using five key elements of engagement. Readers discover how to engage employees effectively. Most leaders understand that engaged employees are passionate about their jobs and deliver better results. Yet, many don't understand how engagement works or the components that contribute to employee engagement. Maylett introduces the five MAGIC keys of employee engagement-Meaning, Autonomy, Growth, Impact, and Connection-and discusses how leaders can help their employees achieve higher levels of engagement. Readers learn tactics for increasing engagement at all organizational levels. Based on the most extensive employee engagement survey database of its kind, Engagement MAGIC incorporates organizational research with updated case studies, stories, and examples to present practical business solutions for increasing engagement. In addition, Engagement MAGIC provides a self-assessment, thought-provoking questions, and specific applications for the individual, manager, and organization. Readers benefit from a psychological approach to fundamental business concepts. Based on data from over 32 million employee survey responses across 70 countries, Maylett combines principles of psychology and human motivation with solid business concepts, providing actionable advice for reducing attrition, encouraging initiative, and driving profitable growth.

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Book SynopsisA Humancentric Approach to a Technological Innovation THIS IS NOT SIMPLY A BOOK ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. IT IS A BOOK ABOUT THE INCREASING ROLE HUMANITY MUST PLAY DURING THIS TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION IN ORDER TO THRIVE, NOT JUST SURVIVE. In The transHuman Code, authors Carlos Moreira and David Fergusson ask, "Are we building a better future for humanity with the help of magnificent technology or could we instead be building a future with better technology at the expense of humanity?" In proclaiming the obvious, that the human is and will always be the greatest and most advanced technology the world has ever known, the authors ask, "Doesn't it then make the most sense to place the understanding, improvement, and utilization of humanity as today's highest priority?" The transHuman Code is a book of conversations about how we employ the power of technology to script the best future possible. By introducing you to some of the world's most important innovators and dynamic developments occurring today, giving you a clearer understanding of their implications and then sparking the conversations that need to happen as a result, the hope is that together we will develop a transHuman code that will allow us to remain both the apex and axis of all technological progress from here forward. How we do this today is new territory. Dynamic innovative opportunities are here, or very near, for the taking. Which ones should we pursue and why? The transHuman Code introduces, through an address of the core elements of our life ecosystem, the discussions we must have. Together, both readers and contributors will form collective, proactive answers in this interactive process. You are invited to join Moreira and Fergusson, through this groundbreaking book, to begin this important work together.

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Book SynopsisKristine Lilly is a legendary athlete: she played midfielder for the United States Women's National Soccer Team for over twenty-three years. This included five FIFA World Cups and three Olympic Games. She was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame in 2012 and the US Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014. Before that, she won four national championships at The University of North Carolina. During this remarkable career, Lilly gained unprecedented insights into how high-performing teams work together, on and off the field. In Powerhouse: 13 Teamwork Tactics that Build Excellence and Unrivaled Success, she teams up with Dr. John Gillis Jr. to help readers and their businesses: - Transform - Empower - Achieve - Motivate Using Lilly and Gillis's insights, readers can revolutionize teams in their organizations so that they can achieve sustainable excellence and peerless success. The tactics they share, supported by Dr. Lynette Gillis's academic research, dig deep into the dynamics of collaborative work and highlight the actions readers can take to empower their teams.Trade Review"When Kristine Lilly played at North Carolina, her coach Anson Dorrance called her the fire chief, because wherever there was a trouble spot on the field, he could put Kristine and she would put out the fire. It takes great leadership skills to do that at any age, and she shares her insight and techniques to accomplish that in Powerhouse." --Mack Brown, National Champion collegiate football coach "When I was CEO, our team grew Calvin Klein's global retail sales from $2.8 to $7.7 billion in ten years. The workplace is not a place for mediocrity or settling. You need team members showing up every day to win, to do their best, to succeed, and to come out ahead. When team members find 'A Great Fit, ' they find a place where they belong, where their talents are both fully expressed and needed, and where they can serve the greatest number of people. Lilly, Gillis and Gillis capture timeless principles that will accelerate any team towards success!" --Tom Murry, CEO, Calvin Klein; author of A Great Fit "Teams are essential for business success, but they contain tension. How can a leader foster individuals' talents and engagement while simultaneously directing their potentially divergent trajectories toward a shared goal? Lilly and Gillis build from the compelling case of a gold medal sports team that accomplished this integration of individual and group, and they spell out concrete tactics for building similar teams in your organization." --Dr. Stanton Wortham, Donovan Dean at the Lynch School of Education, Boston College "Our Olympic gold medalist Women's National Basketball team knows the teamwork tactics that the Women's National Soccer team demonstrates in Powerhouse. The lessons in this book will help your team reach its high performing potential. Lilly and Gillis stretch your understanding of what effective teamwork really means and provide an actionable guide on how you can turn your teamwork possibilities into gold medal winning probabilities!" --Geno Auriemma, United States women's national basketball team coach, winner of World Championships (2010, 2014) and Olympic Gold medals (2012, 2016) "Research by the Center for Creative Leadership confirms the critical importance of teamwork and collaboration in driving performance - and the memorable stories in this book show us how to bring these skills to life. In exploring the links between leadership and world-class soccer, the authors inspire us to put their insights to use right away with our own teams." --John R. Ryan, President and CEO, Center for Creative Leadership "In business as in sports, it is thrilling to beat the competition through superior thinking and execution. Kristine Lilly draws on her remarkable history of winning at the highest level of world sport to distill the critical lessons for team formation and performance as the basis of enduring success." --Dr. Gary W. Loveman, former Chairman and CEO, Caesars Entertainment; Senior Lecturer in Finance, Graduate School of Business, Harvard University "As a US Army General, I personally experienced the importance of high-performing teamwork during 36 years of service. Whether in Vietnam or Desert Storm, our units, from platoons to much higher headquarters, needed to execute. Lilly and Gillis capture timeless teamwork tactics that will accelerate any team towards success! While on a non-profit board, I worked with Dr. John Gillis, Jr. on strategy development. This is a critical teamwork tactic needed to flourish in the business world, and Powerhouse captures many more. This is a must-read this year--by each and every person who is on a team." --General James T. Hill, United Stated Army "Powerhouse shows us how teams perform under pressure - whether it is in sports, in business or in life. Kristine Lilly is a superstar on and off the field and she has crafted a strong read on how champions adjust and adapt to build a winning team." --Billie Jean King, Founder of founder of the Women's Tennis Association, Women's Sports Foundation, and the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative "With engaging anecdotes and timely advice, Kristine Lilly and her coauthors capture how the values of sports, especially teamwork, apply to anyone leading organizations. Powerhouse provides a winning game plan from one of our greatest champions." --Adam Silver, Commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA); No. 1 most influential person in sports according to Sports Business Journal (2016) "The best teams don't just happen. They're built deliberately, strategically, and with care. With tactics and stories drawn from Olympic gold medalist Kristine Lilly's legendary 23 years and 354 international appearances with the US Women's National Soccer Team, this book will help you assemble your own 'powerhouse.'" --Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook; founder of LeanIn.Org and OptionB.Org "Kristine Lilly and I share sustained careers with teams who have consistently achieved--hers at the World Cup and Olympics and mine at the Super Bowl. While individuals focus on their own peak performance, a championship-caliber team needs high performing teamwork. If you didn't already know why the United States Women's National Soccer Team consistently wins, you will after reading this book." --Tom Brady, six time Super Bowl Champion, New England Patriots

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Book SynopsisWhen women readers finish Embracing Your Power, they will feel confident, supported, and seen. They will think I am enough; I've got this. Focusing on greater self-awareness as a woman, a leader, and as a powerful and authentic woman leader, Marsha Clark's book also explores interpersonal relationships based on a foundation of mutual trust, setting and maintaining boundaries, and managing conflict. Embracing Your Power is a leadership book targeted to professionally minded women across all sectors. Women in for-profit, non-profit, education, healthcare, military, religion, government-and homemakers-will benefit from Clark's advice. Clark doesn't just tell us what to do: She effectively shows us how and provides tools and language for practical applications with research, stories, and practice, including reflection questions and exercises. The book provides guidance and a structure for the reader to develop a vision statement, encompassing both their personal and professional lives. With this toolkit, women will be more effective leaders, and they will be able lead from their best, most authentic place. They will also be able to live their best lives and pay it forward. This book is written so that it can be used by an individual, a book club, mentoring circles, organizational resource groups (focused on women) and potentially even on an organization level to develop curriculum (in conjunction with a subscription service with tool availability). Male readers will also learn how to better work with, for, and around women, as many of the valuable tools and resources are gender-neutral.

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Book SynopsisBenefits realization is the common thread that runs from organizational strategy through project deliverables that contribute benefits. Yet, according to PMI’s 2018 Pulse of the Profession Report: Success in Disruptive Times, only one in three organizations report high benefits realization maturity. This practice guide provides a comprehensive look at the topic of benefits realization in of portfolio, program, and project management and will help you tackle this important topic and drive more successful outcomes and better strategic alignment in your organization.Inside this practice guide you will find: • Standardized definitions for benefits realization, benefits realization management and associated benefits realization terms.• The core principles of benefits realization• The benefits realization management life cycle from organizational mission, vision, and strategy through project deliverables and success measurement, and how it contributes to the expected benefits and value that the organization intends to realize.• A framework and guidance to help practitioners manage benefits realization in organizational project management and portfolio, program, and project management.As with all PMI standards and publications, this practice guide also aligns with our other standards including: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)® – Sixth Edition; The Standard for Program Management – Fourth Edition; and The Standard for Portfolio Management – Fourth Edition.

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Book SynopsisThe U.S. life and property/casualty (P/C) insurance industries wrote over $1 trillion in total premiums in 2011 and play an important role in ensuring the smooth functioning of the economy. Concerns about the oversight of the insurance industry arose during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when one of the largest U.S. holding companies that had substantial insurance operations, American International Group, Inc. (AIG), suffered large losses. These losses were driven in large part by activities conducted by a non-insurance affiliate, AIG Financial Products, but also included securities lending activity undertaken by some of its life insurance companies which created liquidity issues for some insurers. The losses threatened to bankrupt the company, and AIG was one of the largest recipients of assistance by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the federal government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) set up during the crisis. This book examines any effects of the financial crisis on the insurance industry and policyholders, and addresses what is known about how the financial crisis affected the insurance industry and policyholders, and the types of actions that have been taken since the crisis to help prevent or mitigate potential negative effects of future economic downturns on insurance companies and their policyholders.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines access to capital by young and small businesses. The purpose of the investigation is to gain a better understanding of access to capital by young firms and how the recent economic and financial crisis has affected their access to financial capital, especially among firms owned by women and minorities and firms that are high tech in nature. In light of the key role in small business finance played by financial institutions, this book pays disproportionate attention to access of bank loans. Although these issues are important, research has traditionally been limited by a lack of appropriate data. A primary obstacle has been the absence of representative samples of small businesses that contain detailed descriptions of their access to financing. The primary source of data on this question, the Federal Reserve Survey of Small Business Finances, was discontinued in 2003, and is thus unavailable for studying the effects of the financial crisis on small businesses. A second obstacle has been the tendency of researchers to analyse data on cross sections of small businesses of varying ages and sizes at a single point in time. While the findings from these snapshots have been valuable to scholars and policy-makers, they have also been limited. Because they are static, these snapshots do not capture the ways in which small business financing unfolds over the life cycle of the firm and changes over time. This book attempts to overcome these obstacles by examining the effects of the changing financial environment generally and the economic crisis specifically, on access to capital by small businesses over the 2004 through 2010 period, controlling for business and owner characteristics.

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Book SynopsisThe contemporary economic crisis is one of the biggest in the global economy and has been forcefully applied to the real economy, revolting in a deep recession. Globalisation has in turn contributed to the faster transmission of the problem from country to country. This crisis disproportionally affects countries with small and medium development but also the medium and low social layers and small and medium entrepreneurship within countries. The stability of employment has fallen apart. The consequences of the economic crisis has brought out systemic problems and distortions in different sectors of productive activity; local communities and prefectures are examples of places in which, experience these consequences. The power of brands of significant value, and businesses at the global level, have also collapsed. The economic crisis also creates huge problems for the tourism sector which mainly consists of small and medium enterprises in southern European countries. This resulted in the tourist agents becoming unable to accommodate their customers'' needs. This monograph consists of a useful tool for other and future researchers but also for the local communities of various regions in order to be able to design a real exit from the crisis.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the extent to which product innovations stem from small, young firms versus large, established firms by analysing the patenting behaviour of public firms derived from the NBER-Compustat database and assembling a dataset of private and public firms from the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers. The Thomas Register evidence shows that small firms are surprisingly capable of inventing and managing products relative to large firms. In 2002, small firms had an average of 10.01 products, while large firms had an average of 21.44 products; thus, small firms had on average half the number of products per firm compared to large firms. The NBER-Compustat evidence shows that small firms are more innovative per dollar of R&D than large firms, and the extent to which this occurs is decreasing in firm age; and young firms are more innovative per dollar of R&D than old firms, and the extent to which this occurs is decreasing in firm size.

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Book SynopsisThe ongoing global financial crisis, coupled with the continued dramatic increases in life expectancy, have escalated the concerns countries have regarding the sustainability of their pension systems and how these retirement schemes will be financed. From 1998 to 2008, close to 30 countries embarked on privatising reforms to their pension programs. Some of these countries introduced new pension reforms directed at private individual accounts while reducing the size of the state social security system. The focus of other reforms during this period varied but was primarily aimed at strengthening basic protection for economically at-risk older individuals, increasing benefit coverage and/or improving the overall fiscal sustainability of these systems. However, the move towards greater coverage and sustainability was interrupted by the world-wide financial meltdown. This has led to a reassessment of pension systems and reform approaches. This volume was assembled to review the status of pension reforms globally and to gain a glimpse of the trends emerging as countries adjust to the new age of macroeconomic world-wide uncertainty. The chapters in this volume provide concise, clear and dispassionate discussions on these trends and reforms as well as frank appraisals of the consequences of alternative policies. Experts from Europe, the United States and the emerging economies of Brazil, China and India approach pension reform and reassessment from different perspectives; however, each provide forthright analyses and assessment of the consequences of the "new normal".

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Book SynopsisAsset managers provide investment management services and ancillary services to clients as fiduciary agents. The diversity of clients'' needs results in a wide variety of firm structures and business models, ranging from investment boutiques that focus on a single product or clientele to large, complex financial institutions that offer multiple services. This book provides a brief overview of the asset management industry and an analysis of how asset management firms and the activities in which they engage can introduce vulnerabilities that could pose, amplify, or transmit threats to financial stability. It also describes the mission, membership, and scope of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which was created as part of a comprehensive reform of banking and securities market regulators. It provides an analysis of several major policy issues related to the FSOC that may come before the 113th Congress.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the participation of U.S. based women entrepreneurs in Patents and Trademarks activity. Using data obtained from the United States Patents and Trademarks Office, the book probes, in-depth, the number of patents and trademarks obtained by women entrepreneurs as well as the concomitant gender gap for the period 1975-2010. The purpose of this book is to quantitatively define the number of women entrepreneurs applying for and receiving patents and trademarks, and analyse the differences in the number of women applying for and receiving patents and trademarks as compared to men.

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Book SynopsisGovernance designates all regulations intended for organisation and centralisation of human societies on a global scale. The management of corporations organises the efforts of individuals in order to achieve aims and objectives using available resources inventively and efficiently. Risk management is a practice of steadily choosing cost-effective tactics for diminishing the consequence of threat realisation to the corporation which cannot be evaded for the reason that there are financial and practical limits, which means the acceptance of some degree of residual risks. Cyberspace strengthens national and global governance. E-business involves the total digitisation of value chains and business processes, and serving traditional organisations creates new value and reach up to that time unattained heights of operational and financial excellence. E-technology and e-commerce produce new challenges for both risk management and corporate governance which could be solved by effective utilisation of a continuous development of the means of risk management such as information technology, logistics, networks and a constantly improved ERM in order to comply with the new developments. A highly educated personnel controlled by an effective human resources management is a prime means for accomplishment of effective risk management and corporate governance in a 21st century digital economy.

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Book SynopsisThis series examines issues and economic matters particular to small businesses. The term Small Enterprise (or Small Organisation) is sometimes used for this same category of business or organisation. A small enterprise/organisation may also be a non-profit organisation. This volume covers several topics including: the small business administration HUBZone program; the "8a Program" for small businesses owned and controlled by the socially and economically disadvantaged; SBA new markets venture capital program; state small business credit initiative; and antidumping and countervailing duties.

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Book SynopsisCorporate executives have transitioned in their thinking about the role of corporations in a global society. Corporate social responsibility initiatives, once a nice-to-do'' for the marketing benefits, are now necessary to convince consumers to support their businesses. The current definitions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have different foci, but most include improving the quality of life for people and the planet, as well as making profit. They also include the processes by which companies make their profits as well as what they do with them. All discussions of CSR include the requirement of external stakeholder dialogue, and understanding the values and needs of stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, and the community members in which businesses operate. This book discusses several topics of interest in corporate social responsibility that include the identity and image of CSR; the relationship between disclosure and assurance in sustainability reporting; proposed methodology for measuring the published information on clients and human resources; total respect management; CSR and financial performance; as well as challenges, issues, and benefits of CSR on business performance.

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Book SynopsisThis anthology presents papers that challenge conventional viewpoints and ideas about business cycles and monetary policy. Some of the selections bring fresh thinking to customary topics, such as business cycle models in perfectly competitive markets, the cyclicality of research and development expenditures, and the effect of uncertainty shocks on consumer spending. Others address concerns that have come to the fore in the aftermath of the global financial crisis -- the consequences of quantitative easing, the effectiveness of macro prudential policies, the impact of shadow banking on the fractional-reserve banking system, and correlations in credit default losses, among others. The collection is not meant to be comprehensive (an impossible and uninteresting goal) but rather to bring together noteworthy contributions that might otherwise be submerged in the torrent of contemporary economic writing. The selection criteria were the quality of thinking, clarity of expression, and soundness of empirical research on topics of compelling interest to people who are actively engaged in the field of monetary economics. The papers included in this book also represent a range of approaches to theoretical and applied research. Some of them describe econometric tools and analytical techniques that are adapted to the study of business cycles and monetary policies. Others set forth conceptual frameworks and conduct empirical analyses that offer new insights into macroeconomic fluctuations. Still others adopt a strategy closer to field work, in the form of case studies supported by extensive statistical documentation. In sum, the papers presented in this volume not only tackle topics of pressing interest; they also illustrate the state of the art in the research methodologies employed by monetary economists.

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Book SynopsisThe United States has played an active role in helping to reform financial regulations to address weaknesses revealed by the 2007-2009 financial crisis. According to Treasury officials, during the acute phase of the crisis, the United States proposed elevating the Group of Twenty (G20) forum -- representing 19 countries (including the United States) and the European Union -- from the level of finance ministers and central banks to the level of heads of state or government. This book discusses the U.S. role in the international financial reform efforts; and the implementation status of recent international financial reforms in the United States relative to other countries and challenges that uneven implementation may present. It also analyses why countries coordinate economic policies and the historical origins of the G-20; how the G-20 operates; major highlights from previous G-20 summits, plus an overview of the agenda for the next G-20 summit; and debates about the effectiveness of the G-20 as a forum for economic cooperation and coordination.

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Book SynopsisThe Small Business Administration (SBA) administers programs to support small businesses, including several loan guaranty programs designed to encourage lenders to provide loans to small businesses "that might not otherwise obtain financing on reasonable terms and conditions". The SBA''s 504 Certified Development Company (504/CDC) loan guaranty program is administered through non-profit Certified Development Companies (CDC). It provides long-term fixed rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land, buildings, equipment, and machinery. This book examines the lending standards and performance measures SBA has established to help ensure that loans meet key requirements, as well as 504 loan performance, and SBA''s processes for reviewing CDCs'' eligibility to participate in the program, loan applications, and CDCs'' compliance with program requirements.

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Book SynopsisEffective risk management is considered to be a leading competitive advantage that determines the survival and success of the company in an uncertain global environment. The global financial crisis has focused attention to the proper identification, analysis and management of key corporate risks, as inadequate risk assessment and management have been identified as one of the main causes of a failure or financial difficulties of numerous organizations worldwide. Hence, inadequate risk management has become a problem of broader social interests, resulting in different regulatory actions like Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Federal Reserve guidance, new rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as in recommendations of the OECD and the European Commission on the necessary changes in the existing risk management systems.

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Book SynopsisThis book is the result of a study of nine data brokers, representing a cross-section of the industry, undertaken by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to shed light on the data broker industry. Data brokers obtain and share vast amounts of consumer information, typically behind the scenes, without consumer knowledge. Data brokers sell this information for marketing campaigns and fraud prevention, among other purposes. Although consumers benefit from data broker practices which, for example, help enable consumers to find and enjoy the products and services they prefer, data broker practices also raise privacy concerns. The FTC found that data brokers operate with a fundamental lack of transparency. The Commission recommends that Congress consider enacting legislation to make data broker practices more visible to consumers and to give consumers greater control over the immense amounts of personal information about them collected and shared by data brokers.

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Book SynopsisThis book is the first treatise on consumer theory in a dynamic framework. It expands the conventional static consumer theory into a stochastic dynamic framework accommodating various combinations of uncertainties in future income, life-span and future preferences. These extensions incorporate realistic and intrinsic characteristics of the consumer decision into the analysis of consumer theory. Novel innovations to the field of consumer theory presented in the book include wealth-dependent ordinary demand, inter-temporal indirect utility function, wealth compensated demand, wealth expenditure function and inter-temporal Roy''s identity under uncertainty. A prominent highlight of the book is the derivation of a series of stochastic dynamic Slutsky equations. New optimal consumption paradigms presented include: (i) utility maximisation in a dynamic framework, duality and wealth compensated demand, and dynamic Slutsky equations, (ii) dynamic consumption under random horizon and income, (iii) consumption amid uncertainties in income, life span and preferences, and (iv) stochastic future prices and consumption decision. The mathematical foundation of the book provides a fertile ground for the analysis of dynamic consumption under stochastic dynamic environments. The book paves the way for a new phase in optimal consumption analysis and will be of interest to economics and mathematics students, economists, mathematicians and researchers in consumer behaviour.

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Book SynopsisAre you struggling to understand the data you need to support your business activities? Are you frustrated over data that do not answer your questions or provide the wrong answers to your questions? Are you worried that your organisation is not adequately supporting its citizens or customers? Are you concerned over civil or criminal liability for the quality and use of your data? If the answer to any of these questions is Yes, they you need to read "Data Resource Understanding" to help you and everyone in your organisation thoroughly understand the data they need to support the business activities. Most public and private sector organisations have no formal method for thoroughly understanding the data needed to support their business activities. They seldom have a method that begins with the organisation''s perception of the business world and continues through a formal Data Resource Development Cycle to produce a high quality, thoroughly understood data resource that fully supports the organisation''s current and future business information demand. Data Resource Data provided the complete detailed data resource model for understanding and managing data as a critical resource of the organisation. Data Resource Understanding is the companion book to Data Resource Data. It provides a detailed explanation of how to thoroughly understand an organisation''s data resource and to document that understanding with Data Resource Data. Together they provide an organisation with the foundation for properly managing their data as a critical resource. Like in "Data Resource Simplexity", Michael Brackett draws on over half a century of data management experience, in a wide variety of different public and private sector organisations, to understand and document an organisation''s data resource. He leverages theories, concepts, principles, and techniques from many different and varied disciplines, such as human dynamics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, philosophy, and biology, and applies them to the process of formally documenting an organisation''s data resource.

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Book SynopsisEvery day in every workplace around the world, people are working with people. What if we had the tools to work better together and build better relationships? RelateAbility is the resource to show you how. Improve your work environment by learning the science around RelateAbility and the TeamRelate Model. Better equip and empower those you influence by learning to more purposefully communicate and purposefully engage with them. RelateAbility is a skill that can be learned and developed. TeamRelate is a behavioral model as well as an app and starts where the traditional personality assessment world leaves off. Once you understand your communication styles along with your core values, the book explores how these relate to others in your world, both at work and at home. Improving our ability to relate to others is the concept of RelateAbility, where we explore the 1:1 dynamic and team dynamic and how to improve each. In light of these concepts, we also explore conflict and engagement in the workforce and bring together the latest industry research on both. Finally we explore Trust, the foundation of any relationship and how improving our RelateAbility increases the trust in our relationships. The concepts in RelateAbility helps build high performing teams in any organizational context and help make work life better for individual contributors and leaders alike.

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Book SynopsisShift happens -- Proverb. Every day, every person experiences changes that impact how we live our lives. Some changes we see as helping us, others we see as hindering us. These shifts happen in our home life, our work life, and everywhere in between. Simply put, AdaptAbility is the skill we use to adjust to these new conditions and situations. As we grow and evolve, we realize that building our AdaptAbility will engage, equip, and empower us to live better lives. When shift happens, the challenge (and the choice) to adapt is yours -- will you be ready?

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Book SynopsisA model is a simplified representation of a real object or situation that facilitates our understanding and manipulation of the real thing. Models are therefore pervasive, not only in the everyday world, but in academic, industry and government research for the purpose of solving problems and making decisions. The cases addressed in this volume share a common focus in the use of economic and financial modelling techniques, but concern a wide variety of markets, institutions, and instruments. Each of the chapters illustrates well the complexity of modelling and some of the challenges faced when trying to simplify complex real world behaviour and outcomes using models. The contributors to the volume include academic and non-academic researchers with significant financial, mathematical, and statistical modelling experience. This mix ensures that the book has comprehensive coverage of many of the issues involved, is highly accessible to the professional and nonprofessional reader alike, and that it will serve as an authoritative source of information on economic and financial modelling and on the specific topic areas addressed for years to come.

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Book SynopsisFor several decades, phone companies have allowed third-party vendors to charge consumers on their phone bills for goods and services unrelated to phone service, such as photo storage, voicemail, and faxes. This practice began with landline phone bills and continued on wireless phone bills as consumer use of mobile phones increased. Throughout this period, the industry has assured the public that its self-regulatory system is effective at protecting consumers from fraudulent third-party billing on their phone bills. However, this Committee''s 2010-2011 review of third-party billing practices on landline phones showed that widespread unauthorised charges -- known as "cramming" -- had been placed on phone bills and had likely cost consumers billions of dollars over the preceding decades. In light of these findings, and emerging reports of cramming in the wireless context, the Committee subsequently began reviewing third-party billing practices on wireless phone bills. This book provides and analyses and perspectives on cramming and third party billing on mobile phones.

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Book SynopsisIn the wake of the recession, many employers have seen how financial distress reduces worker productivity, increases absenteeism, and undermines employees'' health. Forward-looking employers have begun to take action, adopting creative approaches to enhance employee financial well-being. Innovative companies are leveraging technology, peer-to-peer relationships, and other promising practices to find low-cost, high-impact ways to promote financial wellness at work. This book is a resource for employers, non-profits, and others interested in promoting financial wellness programs in the workplace.

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Book SynopsisLike all entrepreneurs, women business owners face many challenges in making their entrepreneurship dreams a reality. Some of the challenges faced by women may be specific to women, due to the historical and cultural context within which they do their work. The National Women''s Business Council (NWBC), initiated this research to better understand the reasons behind the general lag of women-owned business growth, as compared to firms owned by men. The NWBC looked to the research to provide insights on key considerations when reaching out to women entrepreneurs to encourage maximum growth of their businesses. The research centered on questions about three key attitudinal areas associated with business ownership and growth: risk tolerance, motivations, and expectations. The research team also listened for instances where culture could be influencing behaviors or experiences. This book provides an overview on issues and factors affecting access to capital for women-owned firms with a particular focus on growth-oriented firms. Differences between men and women business owners regarding firm growth, amount and sources of financial capital, and the relationship between the two are also explored.

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