Seize Advantage in a Downturn [journal article]
By: David Rhodes and Daniel Stelter / Boston Consulting Group
From: Harvard Business Review, February 2009
"Inaction is the riskiest response to the uncertainties of an economic crisis. But rash or scattershot action can be nearly as damaging. Risking anxiety (how much worse are things likely to get? how long is this going to last?) and the growing pressure to do something often produces a variety of uncoordinated moves that target the wrong problem or overshoot the right one. A disorganized response can also generate a sense of panic in an organization. And that will distract people from seeing something crucially important: the hidden but significant opportunities nestled among the bad economic news." - page 1.

The Subprime solution : how today's global financial crisis happened, and what to do about it [book]

Author: Robert J. Shiller

"Economist Robert Shiller reveals the origins of this crisis and puts forward bold measures to solve it. He calls for an aggressive response - a restructuring of the institutional foundations of the financial system that will not only allow people once again to buy and sell homes with confidence, but will create the conditions for greater prosperity in America and throughout the deeply interconnected world economy." - cover.

Choosing not to choose : making superannuation work by default [book]

Authors: Josh Fear / Australia Institute & Geraldine Pace / Industry Super Network

Finds that the Coalition's "Choice of Fund policy" has not been effective in promoting consumer-centred competition, nor has it reduced fees or the administrative burden for employers.

Traders feeling pinch as protectionism rises [journal article]
From: Asia Today International Online Magazine, January 2009
"AN internal WTO Task Force is reviewing ways of dealing with a growing wave of protectionism . . . INTERNATIONAL TRADE – the lifeline of East Asia – is declining rapidly as
countries step up protectionist measures to shield domestic producers from foreign competition.
Indonesia has become the first in the region to slap restrictions on imports of some 500 items, including electronics, children's toys, footwear, apparel, and food and beverage products."

Contact the library for a copy of this article.

What Can Coaches Do for You? [journal article]
By: Diane Coutu & others
From: Harvard Business Review; Jan 2009, Vol. 87 Issue 1
"Today's business leaders increasingly rely on coaches for help in understanding how to act in a demanding and volatile world. These confidants and advisers can earn up to $3,500 per hour. To understand what they do to merit that money, HBR conducted a survey of 140 leading coaches and invited five experts to comment on the findings. Commentators and coaches agreed that the reasons for engaging coaches have evolved over the past decade. Ten years ago, most companies hired a coach to help fix toxic behavior at the top. Today, most coaching is about developing the capabilities of high-potential performers or acting as a sounding board."

Business stripped bare : adventures of a global entrepreneur [book]

Author: Richard Branson

"Sir Richard Branson shares the inside track on his life in business and reveals the incredible truth about his most risky, brilliant and audacious deals ... What does Richard look for in the people he hires? How does he manage a crisis? Who are the entrepreneurs he most admires?" - cover.

Picking the Right Transition Strategy [journal article]
By: Michael D. Watkins
From: Harvard Business Review, January 2009, Vol. 87 Issue 1
"Leaders in transition reflexively rely on the skills and strategies that worked for them in the past. That's a mistake, say Watkins, whose research shows that executives moving into new roles must gain a deep understanding of the situation at hand to adapt to it. To help them accurately assess their organizations and tailor their strategies and styles accordingly, he developed the STARS framework. "STARS" is an acronym for five common situations leaders move into: start-up, turnaround, accelerated growth, realignment, and sustaining success. Thus, the model outlines the challenges of launching a venture or project; saving a business or initiative that's in serious trouble; dealing with rapid expansion; reenergizing a once-leading company that's now facing problems; and following in the footsteps of a highly regarded leader with a strong legacy of success. "

An artful learning framework for organisations [journal article]
By: Glenys Drew
From: Journal of Management & Organization, Vol 14 Issue 5 (November 2008)
"This paper proposes an Artful Learning Framework as an organisational development initiative. The framework is designed to assist people in organisations seeking higher levels of engagement in their strategic and operational endeavours, such as navigating change. The Artful Learning Framework offers three strategies as potential artful learning events designed to help people in organisations engage with each other creatively to achieve their organisational and professional goals. The Artful Learning Wave Trajectory model (Kerr 2006) forms a conceptual antecedent for the Artful Learning Framework. The Framework's strategies align with the relevant literature on organisational learning and, in particular, a proposition of Kerr (2006) who identifies a suite of skills, capacities and capabilities that are important in organisations. The notion of the wave, with the effect of 'pausing and gathering' to consider amidst the inevitable ambiguity and turbulence of forward movement, is invoked as a metaphor for the elements of the Framework which support its strategies. The paper will be of interest to individuals and groups that are committed to profound learning and capability building for the benefit of themselves, their teams and the organisations in which they work."
Contact the library for a copy of this article.

Performance benchmarking of Australian business regulation : quantity and quality [book]

Author: Australia. Productivity Commission

"Provides a snapshot of the current regulatory environment across jurisdictions and yields insights into the application of best practice principles of regulation in each jurisdiction." - overview.

Management5 [book]

Author: Stephen P. Robbins

Comprehensive textbook covering management theory and practice, including managing for sustainability. Major concepts are illustrated using current Australian examples and case studies.

Industry trends in recessions: a snapshot [journal article]
From: McKinsey Quarterly, December 2008
"Many companies can anticipate the performance of their sectors in a recession. McKinsey research shows that during the 1990–91 and 2001–02 downturns, for example, US consumers reprioritized their spending rather than cutting it across the board. Consumer spending dropped in discretionary categories like dining out, personal care products, and charitable donations. But expenditures for groceries, reading materials, and other options that substitute for more expensive ones actually rose. So did outlays on insurance, health care, and, above all, education. "
Contact the library for a copy of this article.

The Book of the board : effective governance for non-profit organisations [book]

Author: David Fishel

"Explains the purpose of a board in a non-profit organisation, the board's formal and legal responsibilities, the main areas where a board can add to the organisation's effectiveness."--Provided by publisher.

The Secrets of CEOs : 150 global chief executives lift the lid on business, life and leadership [book]

Authors: Steve Tappin & Andrew Cave

CEOs including James Murdoch, Terry Leahy (Tesco), Leigh Clifford (Rio Tinto) and Nikesh Arora (Google), give insight into how to become a successful leader, while still having a happy personal life. They also explore how to tackle the major challenges of the coming decade: globalisation, sustainability, the credit crunch, attracting talented employees and the third wave of the web.

The Global Competitiveness Report [online]

Author: World Economic Forum

"The Report is a contribution to enhancing our understanding of the key factors determining economic growth, and explaining why some countries are much more successful than others in raising income levels and opportunities for their respective populations, offering policymakers and business leaders an important tool in the formulation of improved economic policies and institutional reforms. ... [the report] contains a detailed profile for each of the economies featured in the study as well as an extensive section of data tables with global rankings covering over 100 indicators."

Performance benchmarking of Australian business regulation : cost of business registrations [book]

Author: Australia. Productivity Commission

"Estimates the compliance cost to businesses of obtaining a range of generic and industry-specific registrations required by the Australian Government, and state, territory, and selected local governments." - key points.

Balanced national development policy in Korea : theory and practice [book]

Author: Korea. Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development

Outlines how South Korea's change in economic policy has resulted in a knowledge-based economy where innovation and economic growth occurs in regional areas, and not just in metropolitan areas.

The State of Industrial Relations
Source: The Evatt Foundation
(This is from the introduction to the bnook, which is available in the library)
"The words that open this collection by Sidney and Beatrice Webb are suggestive of the context within which the work has been produced in several ways. In the first place, the Webbs remind us that the origins of the recent political struggle over the direction of the nation's industrial relations are very old. Although the debate was pursued in many terms, seen in the long view, at its heart, WorkChoices was another round in the age-old bid by employers to privilege individual over collective bargaining. What people usually mean by 'freedom of choice' in such contexts, the Webbs pointed out in 1894, 'is freedom of opportunity to use the power that they happen to possess; that is, to compel other less powerful people to accept their terms.' As they concluded, 'this sort of personal freedom in a community composed of unequal units is not distinguishable from compulsion.'"

Steady hands needed : reflections on the role of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia 1979-1999 [book]

Edited by: Trevor Wilson & Graham Cooke

"Five former secretaries of the Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade reflect on their experiences and the challenges of their times. ... From the Cold War to the War on Terror; from the floating of the dollar to GATT and the WTO; managing relations big and small, within our region and without; through relentless administrative reforms, technological change and changes of government; steering DFAT requires 'steady hands'." - cover.

Latin America in the global economy : challenges and opportunities [book]

Author: Vittorio Corbo, Australia. Productivity Commission

Considers the recent history of economic and trade policy in Latin American countries and challenges that need to be faced which include education, the quality of the business environment, and the adoption of new technologies.

Promoting change through research and evidence-informed practice: a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project between a university and a local authority (journal article)
by Jess McEwen et al.
from Evidence and Policy, Vol 4 No 4, November 2008, pp. 391-403
This article reports on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project between a local authority and a university, the aim of which is to encourage a culture of evidence-informed practice and continual improvement across the local authority's Family Services Directorate as part of its performance management framework and to ensure that the Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care (DH, 2001) is fully implemented. The article describes the successful completion of some of the key stages of the project, including developing and implementing an improvement strategy aimed at increasing levels of engagement with research and evidence-informed approaches to practice.