From Resource Allocation to Strategy
by Joseph L. Bower and Clark G. Gilbert
(Oxford University Press)
Drawing on thirty years of research on resource allocation, Professor Bower and Assistant Professor Gilbert discuss the structural characteristics of resource allocation, how that process can lead to breakdowns in strategic outcomes, and where top management can intervene to shape desired results. They show that a company’s realized strategy emerges less from formal statements of corporate strategy and more often from the pattern of resource commitments that originate from every level of the firm.
China and Globalization
The Social, Economic, and Political Transformation of Chinese Society
by Douglas Guthrie
(Routledge)
This book is about the economic reforms sweeping across China over the last 25 years. Visiting Professor Guthrie has organized the book around three points. First, the changes in China have been more dramatic than people realize. Second, democracy in China is inevitable. Third, these economic reforms have been political, cultural, and, above all, global processes. Understanding these developments tells us much about the role of governments, culture, and globalization in the transition from socialism to capitalism.
Renewing Unilever
Transformation and Tradition
by Geoffrey Jones
(Oxford University Press)
Professor Jones, a business historian, looks at Unilever’s decades-old transformation from fragmented underperformer to focused consumer-products giant, with operations covering widely recognized brands including Lipton, Hellmann’s, Birds Eye, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Sunsilk, and Pond’s. Taking advantage of full access to corporate archives and executives, Jones discusses Unilever’s strategies to cope with globalization and provides compelling evidence of its decision-making, marketing, brand management, innovation, acquisition strategies, corporate culture, and human-resource management.
Managing Product and Service Development
by Stefan H. Thomke
(Irwin/McGraw-Hill)
Professor Thomke introduces readers to the managerial aspects critical to developing innovative products and services. He discusses the full range of activities required: learning about customer needs; managing experimentation and problem-solving; product-development process design and improvement; and development strategy and project management. The focus is on the managerial skills and capabilities needed for effective practice.
