Managing Activism: A Guide to Dealing with Activists and Pressure Groups

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There's Got To Be More Out There

How to forget your grassroots & go to corporate branches.

Managing Activism: A Guide to Dealing with Activists and Pressure Groups
Denise Deegan
Manufacturer: Kogan Page
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Activist's Handbook: A Primer Updated Edition with a New Preface

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ASIN: 074943435X

Book Description

Activists and pressure groups can present a serious threat to organizations. An activist group intent on creating opposition can do untold damage to an organization`s reputation, sales, profits and share price. While this sort of action can be destructive, in many cases the motives of the activists are worthy. How can an organizer protect itself without creating a public relations nightmare? The author provides realistic solutions and covers important areas like:

•The dynamics of pressure groups
•Assigning responsibility
•Building relationships
•Media relations
•Handling emergencies

Customer Reviews:

There's Got To Be More Out There.......2003-09-01

While Managing Activism is a pretty good read from a professional standpoint, I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed that Denise Deegan's (sp?) book wasn't quite the how-to manual of dirty tricks used by corporations and their hired public relations people against activist groups. I think there must be some other books for that. While this book definitely had some clever approaches to dealing with activist pressure, it was a fairly professional approach to the problems that businesses can face from dealing with activist groups and the public. For the most part, her advice was simple: run an accountable and transparent business when dealing with the public, and even if you don't win friends with some activist groups for your practices, e.g. heavy industry or animal testing, you can actually win the PR battle sometimes. Unfortunately, since it seems we are living through a time of some of the greatest corporate hubris since the robber barons, it's not surprising that most companies don't feel the need to follow these suggestions.

I was most interested in the divide and conquer techniques she suggests for activist and pressure groups. By brokering a deal with the least radical of the opposition groups, a business interest can actually marginalize the most committed groups. A lot of this type of strategy was based on the cynical premise that many activist organizations, especially the larger ones, are as committed to fundraising and membership growth as they are to their organizing issues. Like most cynical opinions, this one has a kernel of truth to it. There are plenty of organizations out there who see the pool of support and money as a finite one, and they view every other organization out there as competition. That's why I think organizations with minimal hierarchy and an equally minimal interest in fundraising are the future of activism.

How to forget your grassroots & go to corporate branches........2003-02-27

Yes, after such a read it comes even clearer that money changes everything. Grassroot activists, beware: you are the target here and this is a primer on baseline tactics to defeat nonprofit nature and life lovers.
The receipt is simple and twofolded:
1. Bad guys are noisy and dirty, good boys cooperate and avoid nose piercing, so let's do business with the later as neatly as possible.
2. Money changes everything and breaks any alliance, if allowed.

Customer Reviews:

Matter-of-factly Analysis of first Palestinian Intifada.......2003-07-22

The author was a retired IDF officer and former military ruler of the West Bank, so he definitely knows his subject matter very well. Hired by the Israeli government to produce a factual analysis of the causes of the first Intifada and the ways it can be stopped. The document produced is thorough and factual and quite matter-of-factly in its presentation.

It comes to the conclusion that the disturbances of the Intifada are caused primarily by the desire of the Palestinians to divest themselves from Israeli rule. This, according to Shalev, the Intifada cannot be stopped by military means alone and needs to be addressed by a political process. Though technical and full of notes and appendices, this factula study is easily readable and accessible to the general reader. I highly recommend it as I found it quite informative and useful for understanding the situation in the Middle East.

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Strategic Activism
Laure Paquette
Manufacturer: Nova Science Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Activism | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1590333373

Book Description

This is the first major study of post-Civil War banking panics in almost a century. The author has constructed for the first time estimates of bank closures and their incidence in each of the five separate banking disturbances. The author also reevaluates the role of the New York Clearing House in forestalling several panics and explains why it failed to do so in 1893 and 1907, concluding that structural defects of the National Banking Act were not the primary cause of the panics.

Book Description

Take charge of the e-learning initiative in your organization. Team leaders, HR executives, or anyone wishing to understand the e-learning revolution in learning, will find this book to be a valuable tool.

Customer Reviews:

Strong book in a great ASTD e-learning series!.......2002-08-09

If you have anything to do with e-learning, your new "must-have" library should include Leading E-Learning and the other books in the ASTD E-Learning Series. Whether you are a chief learning officer, training manager, or instructional designer, this set of books will guide you through all phases of planning, development and evaluation. The series includes:
* Leading e-Learning, by William Horton, starts as the series' primer, defining the different types of e-learning, it's benefits, the importance of standards, and how to put together a team.
* Selling e-Learning, by Darin Hartley, provides a roadmap for gaining organizational support for e-learning initiatives, conducting a cost-benefit analysis, and how to build a formal case presentation.
* Evaluating e-Learning, by William Horton, shows the value of formal evaluations and explains in simple language how to apply the 4-level Kirkpatrick model to e-learning projects.
* Using e-Learning, by William Horton, illustrates how training departments can evolve into profit centers as e-learning improves operations and sales, while making performance improvement programs available to more people.

The ASTD e-Learning series is designed for action. Each book weighs in at very readable 100 - 150 pages. In addition to self-check exercises, each volume includes ample worksheets, case studies, online calculators, visual models, and lists of resources.

Book Description

This informative, interesting book addresses those who need to understand educational data and its place in school leadership and decision-making. It provides a set of practical tools for data analysis and decision-making using spreadsheet software and system dynamic models. Examples of the use of the popular Microsoft® Excel, several system dynamic models created by ITHINK6.0, and an introduction to the development of dynamic simulations all contribute to the reader's understanding of the concepts presented. The use of real data ensures that readers receive a realistic “feel” for handling and manipulating information, guaranteeing an understanding of the broad diversity of financial, demographic, and economic situations that occur. Topics include: information sharing in schools, organizing and manipulating data, system linkages, system dynamics, applied systems thinking, and structured improvisation. An excellent resource for all school administrators, especially those who plan budgets and need to report to school boards and their communities.

The Infinite Resource: Creating and Leading the Knowledge Enterprise (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)

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Passages from Control to Entrepreneurial Freedom.
Excellent Multi-disciplinarian Approach
Excellent Multi-displinarian Approach
Enjoyable and informative collection of thoughtful writings.
An Invaluable Guide to the Coming Knowledge Economy

The Infinite Resource: Creating and Leading the Knowledge Enterprise (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)

Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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The New Management: Bringing Democracy & Markets Inside Organizations

ASIN: 0787910155

Book Description

Harness the Boundless Power of Knowledge

Take a fascinating glimpse into the not-too-distant future. In The Infinite Resource, seventeen visionary thinkers explore knowledge--the only inexhaustible source of competitive advantage--as the juggernaut of an remarkable new order whose advent is fast rAndering today's business conventions obsolete. Their incisive observations include up-to-the-minute examinations of knowledge-change initiatives currently under way at Bell Atlantic, MCI, Lufthansa, and other forward-thinking companies. Filled with fresh ideas, perspectives, and voices, it's a state-of-the-art appraisal of emerging organizational forms vital to anyone grappling with the challenges and possibilities posed by the Information Age.

Customer Reviews:

Passages from Control to Entrepreneurial Freedom........2001-01-22

William E. Halal, editor, writes, "This book brings together the views of prominent leaders in the trenches of the Information Revolution to examine the revolutionary new principles for managing knowledge. Here's a quick overview of these confusing but exciting management heresies.

Principle 1: 'Complexity Is Managed Through Freedom': Success is no longer achieved by planning and control-but through entrepreneurial freedom among people at the bottom.

Principle 2: 'Cooperation Is Economically Efficient': Economic strength does not come from power and firmness-but out of the cooperative flow of information within a corporate community.

Principle 3: 'Progress Is Guided by Knowledge and Spirit': Abundance is not the result of material riches-but of understanding the subtle workings of an infinitely complex world.

There are the new laws governing institutions today, the economic imperatives that determine who succeeds and who fails, the keys to pioneering an unexplored frontier of boundless knowledge-The Infinite Resource" (from the Introduction).

In this context, Halal organizes this invaluable collection into three parts that each focuses on the principles outlined as below:

1. Halal writes, "Part I shows that today's hierarchical structures are being replaced by an emerging foundation of management based on enterprise. The complexity of a knowledge era has made our old command-and-control systems obsolete, and so entrepreneurial freedom is now crucial, not only in economic systems but also to permit free enterprise in organizational systems." Thus, authors of this part, S.Goldsmith, R.L.Ackoff, J.P.Starr, W.Gable, and M.Lehrer mainly focus on decentralized structures, self-supporting units, entrepreneurial freedom, internal competition, and accountability to clients.

2. Halal writes, "Part II illustrates how entrepreneurial organizations must also use cooperation to form collaborative communities. Knowledge differs from physical resources because it increases when shared, making collaborative working relations productive not only in strategic alliances but between buyer and seller, employee and employer, business and goverment, and other stakeholders." Thus, authors of this part, G.H.Taylor, R.E.Miles, J.Lipnack and J.Stamps, T.Holbrooke, and R.Oklewize mainly focus on virtues of teamwork, networking among internal units, shared knowledge, spherical organization, collaborative alliances, and corporate communities.

3. Halal writes, "Part III descibes the intelligent infrastructures now being built to guide this corporate community in creating powerful forms of knowledge." Thus, authors of this part, R.W.Smith, D.Walters, M.Malone, G. and E.Pinchot, R.Kuperman, and W.A.Owens mainly focus on global information networks, free flow of information, knowledge society, employee training, virtual organizations, strategic direction, and vision.

Finally, Halal writes that "the message my colleagues and I want to stress is that the world is entering such an uncharted new frontier, an epoch so fundamentally different that the old rules no longer apply. The conventional wisdom of the past must be replaced by concepts that conform with the new realities of infinite knowledge:

* Order can be best achieved-not through control and planning-but through entrepreneurial freedom.

* Strength comes-not out of power and firmness-but through cooperative community.

* Abundance flows out of-not material riches-but a subtle frontier of boundless understanding, meaning, and spirit."

Strongly recommended.

Excellent Multi-disciplinarian Approach.......1999-12-09

There are far too many books out there that focus on 'knowledge' as if it existed in a vacuum. These tend to be one person's opinion; a single 'flavor of the month,' if you will. This collection of essays explores the impact that the free sharing of information will have: changes in management, changes in employee relations, changes in the free enterprise system itself. As an unforeseen bonus, a very few of the articles are now a bit dated (the "Information Superhighway" article by the CEO of Bell Atlantic was doomed to be old as it was penned), a fact that only reinforces the tremedous speed of change many of the essayists speak to. The many references provide one the ability to more deeply research a particular area.

Excellent Multi-displinarian Approach.......1999-12-09

Enjoyable and informative collection of thoughtful writings........1999-03-21

This stimulating work consists of nineteen insightful and engrossing essays that convey perspectives on the emerging forms of strategy and organization in the information age, focusing on knowledge as the competitive advantage. The contributors present thinking that is truly big picture, regarding the shape of today's and tomorrow's enterprises in a world that is changing at an exponentially increasing rate. This work delves into the new and emerging realities of the internal enterprise, corporate cooperation, and leveraging knowledge. In many cases the contributors talk about the experiences of their own organization; an enlightening and enlivening approach to gaining an understanding of this new, networked world driven by knowledge-the infinite resource. An enjoyable and informative collection of thoughtful writings. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, hrconsultant.com and Stern & Associates.

An Invaluable Guide to the Coming Knowledge Economy.......1998-09-26

Dr. William E. Halal is a George Washington Universitybusiness school professor and expert on the Knowledge Economy. In arecent GWU conference, "Creating the New Organization," he brought together 17 representatives the public and private sectors to address how information technology has transformed their worlds, creating unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Their insights are shared directly with readers in this extraordinary and concise volume. "The Infinite Resource" refers to knowledge itself. Unlike raw materials, knowledge is inexhaustible: "the more you dispense, the more you generate," writes Dr. Halal. The marginal cost of duplicating knowledge is trivial and its value increases when shared. Halal writes: "Knowledge is the most strategic asset in enterprise, the source of all creativity, innovation, and economic value." That, in itself, is nothing new. Knowledge was no less "strategic" when mankind communicated via cave paintings. What has revolutionized knowledge over the past 15 years or so, however, has been extraordinary advances ["32 orders of magnitude"] in information technology. I can share my thoughts on this book with the world with the click of a mouse. And the world can return to my e-mailbox with critiques of my opinion. We now may draw "silicon paintings" for the enjoyment of audiences of 6 billion who never could have fit into those caves. Some bullet points serve to highlight the advances of the information technology age: + IBM itself once predicted market demand for computers to be 55. Worldwide. As of 1997, there were 1 billion computers in operation on planet earth. + In 1977, 50,000 computers existed in the entire world. In 1997, 50,000+ personal computers are sold every 10 hours. + Soon, 1 billion transistors will fit on a single chip: the entire computing power of NASA's Apollo Space Program will fit in a wristwatch.

It was, then, inevitable that the extraordinary advances in - and ubiquitous distribution of - information technology would in turn revolutionize the workplace. Dr. Halal breaks the presentations of his conferees into three sections: 1.) Creating the Internal Enterprise System; 2.) Forming a Network of Cooperative Alliances; 3.) Leveraging Knowledge with an Intelligent Infrastructure. The innumerable insights offered by Dr. Halal and his conferees would never fit in this review. Suffice it to say that the most successful organizations today long ago recognized that information technology created opportunities to broadly disseminate organizational information on the one hand and the more elusive [and hence invaluable] "tacit" or personal knowledge of their employees throughout their organizations, conferring upon all employees the ability to leverage all available organizational knowledge into innovations benefiting the organization, its employees, and its consumers. This leads the trend toward cutting-edge "mass customization." But it does not stop there. No sooner did organizations realize that they could unleash the power of knowledge internally than some recognized that the sharing of knowledge could greatly enhance relationships with customers, suppliers, and, yes, competitors which could be leveraged via coopetition - strategic alliances established to meet particular needs of individual clients at any one point in time. For decades, the rise of technology has created nightmarish visions of "1984" and HAL of "2001." Ironically, and perhaps - at first - counterintuitively, advances in information technology, by enhancing access of anyone in any organization with anyone else, anywhere, will make trust all the more important in public and private enterprises alike. Several conferees address the critical importance of disseminating all available information to employees to encourage innovation because, in fact, "the innovation cycle is now shorter than the planning cycle as customers are moving faster than companies' ability to manage." In short, if you cannot entrust your employees with your most sensitive information, you will be overtaken by another company that can. Another conferee notes: "Technology alone is inert. Trust develops and relationships crystallize in interactions over time and in moments of crisis. No trust without real relationships. No network without trust." It might, therefore, be one of the greatest ironies of the coming Knowledge Economy that technology will "re-personalize" relationships in the workplace while allowing all workers increased opportunities to make their own measurable [and thus rewardable] contributions to their organizations and alliances. Technology, as a tool, will free organizations and their employees from the more mundane business and governmental functions of measurement to engage their minds, individually and collectively, on an infinite course of creativity and innovation. Some provocative closing thoughts from this excellent book include the following insights from leaders of our continuing Knowledge Revolution: Bill Gates: "Two years is as far as long-term planning should go; anything beyond that is long-range dreaming..." General Electric: "The only way to be more competitive is to engage every mind in the organization." Ad agency Chiat Day: "Develop the ability to change faster than your competition or fail..." Dr. Halal: "The perfect company today is almost structureless. All that holds it together is its culture.

I cannot more highly recommend The Infinite Resource to all who are interested in understanding the enormous challenges, opportunities, and rewards - both personal and professional - to be realized as the Knowledge Economy reshapes our world.

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Leading for Change: A Renewed Focus on Teaching and Learning
A. J. Aitken , and E. N. Aitken
Manufacturer: Detselig Enterprises Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Administration | Education Theory | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1550592556

Book Description

This book captures the challenges of a school district engaged in a grow process, focusing on the everyday issues and realities of implementation. Each chapter begins with a questions designed to focus the reader on the chapter topic. A personalized approach is used to examine the current status of the reader's school district under the lens of accepted practice and theory. Real cases are used to support discussion, although with pseudonyms. Questions and problems are posed in each chapter to engage the reader in self-assessment and to provide schools or districts with a tool for reflective practice. Charts, graphs, tables and models illustrate and highlight the discussion.

Leading Learning in a Changing World: Using Children's Literature for Professional Dialogue

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Leading Learning in a Changing World: Using Children's Literature for Professional Dialogue
Jacobs Jacqueline E.
Manufacturer: ScarecrowEducation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Pedagogy | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 157886187X

Book Description

Here is a hands-on activities book which provides school leaders all the information needed to facilitate discussions on topical issues facing educators today. The activity design uses children's literature to provide a neutral framework for discussion of often difficult issues.

Average customer rating:

Good Primer for Selling

A useful interactive book!

The scoop on selling: ideas, products, or yourself!

Professional Selling : Practical Secrets for Successful Sales (Fifty Minute series) (Crisp Fifty-Minute Series)
Rebecca L. Morgan , and Michael G. Crisp
Manufacturer: Crisp Learning
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0931961424

Book Description

The secrets of professional selling: prospecting, cold calls, strategy and overcoming objections.

Customer Reviews:

Good Primer for Selling.......2005-10-07

Being in sales, I am looking for ways to improve myself and read this book. For the entry-level person, the book is a good introduction to sales. For the veteran, the book contains good reminders for us lest we become complacent. There's nothing really earth-shattering in the book - just good basic material.

Among the important points covered include:

1. Stop selling and start helping the prospect!
2. 4 characteristics of succesful sales people.
3. Presentation strategies and tips for asking questions.
4. 10 common benefits of buying an item or service.
5. Dealing with the prospect's objections and concerns.
6. The importance of nonverbal communication.
7. 20% of your customers result in 80% of your sales.

Again, the book contains good basic information but is not the final authority and does need to be updated. For example, there is nothing in the book mentioning how to sell via the internet.

Still, a good primer. Read and enjoy.

A useful interactive book!.......2002-02-17

The success of the sales is affected by many factors, such as the product, the company, the customer or the economy. But it in fact depends largely on the salesperson. How to sell successfully?

This book is very useful in teaching us the skills of selling professionally. It is good to first point out a concept that sales equals service. If we believe that selling is same as helping, we are more willing to solve customers' problems with heart and satisfy their needs, which will enhance the customer loyalty and they may in turn recommend other potential customers to us.

The book is very comprehensive and clear. It talks about how to get started from finding prospects to make the first appointment, conduct face-to-face selling, close for commitment, understand customer and organize for greater sales. These techniques are very useful in reality. Some of which are often neglected by us.

The format of the book is good! It enables us to think a lot and get personally involved in it by setting a number of exercises, activities, assessments and cases, giving us a better understanding.

Want to sell successfully? Read it! More importantly, put it into practice!

The scoop on selling: ideas, products, or yourself!.......1996-08-28

This very practical interactive book will give you some quick insight into non-verbal communication and understanding your personal style of communication. Of course it's for real sales people, so there are sections like "Defrosting Cold Calls" and "Organizing for Greater Sales." But we could all stand some help in "Conquering the Paperwork Mountain" and "Salvaging Scrap Time." Morgan carried an organizer in the seventh grade, so a career in sales is not hard to imagine. But she makes this information very useful for the rest of us. I liked the worksheets, forms, cartoons and puzzles along with the hard-core sales information

Sears Professional Selling and Quality Customer Service - Practical Secrets for Successful Sales

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Sears Professional Selling and Quality Customer Service - Practical Secrets for Successful Sales
Pat J. Ellis
Manufacturer: Crisp Publications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RPN25I

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