Tuesday, 30 June 2009



Author: Karl Albrecht

"Explains how practical intelligence qualifies as a key life skills and offers a conceptual structure for defining and describing common sense. ... Shows how people with practical intelligence can employ language skills, make better decisions, think in terms of options and possibilities, embrace ambiguity and complexity, articulate problems clearly and work through to solutions, have original ideas, and influence the ideas of others." - cover.

Bust and boom. (journal article)
from The Economist, 5/23/2009, Vol. 391 No 8632, p73-75
"This article discusses the possible effect that economic recovery could have on the price of petroleum on global markets. The medium term projections that oil prices will rise and investment in petroleum refining industries should also increase are presented as countervailing trends to the decline in the price of oil associated with the recession. Issues relating to environmental regulations and government intervention within state-run oil companies is described."

Monday, 29 June 2009

Government Ownership: why this time it should work (blog)
Source: McKinsey Quarterly 29 June 2009
"It's understandable that taxpayers and corporate executives would be anxious about the substantial stakes that the governments in the United Kingdom and the United States have taken in private companies in recent months. After all, political interference in state-owned enterprises in other countries has significantly hampered their profitability. Yet in this essay, Simon Wong, an independent advisor and adjunct professor of law at the Northwestern University School of Law, lays out five reasons for optimism this time around. "
(Free registration required)

Fiscal stimulus packages and uncertainty in times of crisis: economic policy for open economies (journal article)
by Ansgar Belke
from Economic Analysis and Policy, Vol 39, No 1, March 2009
Borrow this journal from the library or ask us for a copy of the article.
"Policymakers in the EU member states and around the world, as for instance in Australia, are currently shaping rescue packages to prevent the financial crisis hitting their economies with unmitigated force. Each government is responding to the emerging problems with a country-specific set of measures. Given the global nature of the crisis, would coordinated action at the European level not be a better approach?"

A Question of Balance (article)
by Michael J. Knox
from ABN AMRO Economic Strategy, 17 June 2009
Read this article in the library or ask us for a copy.
"In September 2006, the Queensland government was re-elected. The government then had a problem. How would it spend money on water infrastructure and road building while at the same time not reduce the delivery of services whiah it felt was also important. The answer was to raise a lot of debt ... Let's hope it works out."

You can still retire rich, really (journal article)
by Jon Birger, Joan Caplin and Beth Kowitt
from Fortune, 22 June 2009
"The article discusses the ways in which the recession may assist workers in retiring wealthy. Steps that the author feels employees should take in order to retire rich are mentioned, such as to purchase stocks before stock prices rebound. Recommendations are made regarding the amount of money people should save and the types of investments that they should have in their investment portfolio."

Coach Coaching (journal article)
by Vanessa Fudge
from Management Today, June 2009
"Sports coaches know that it is the whole team that will deliver success or failure, yet business coaches are often only asked to focus on individual performance."

Tuesday, 23 June 2009


Country reports by Oxford Business Group [books]

Author: Oxford Business Group

Contains information on established & emerging markets. Each report contains up-to-date information on the country's political & economic situation. Also included is a series of articles on important industry and business sectors including banking, insurance, energy, tourism, real estate, telecoms & IT, construction and capital markets.
Click on the country of interest to order:

Life sciences: China and India offer huge market opportunities (article)
by Lisa Haile
From San Diego News Network 18 June 2009
"Despite the current world economic crisis, Asia, India and the Pacific Rim regions show strong potential for growth in the life sciences sector.
These markets — in particular China and India — are expected to become some of the world’s largest markets in the coming years. "

Monday, 22 June 2009

Ten Forces Driving Business Futures (journal article)
By Michael Richarme
from Futurist Vol 43 Iss 4 Jul/Aug 2009, pp. 40-43
"In a struggling economy, the forces of change are putting more pressures on businesses and
from more directions. Success requires both staying on top of current trends and spotting
new ones over the horizon."

Integration Means Change (journal article)
By Lance Dublin
from Training Vol 46 Iss 5 June 2009, pp, 27-27
"So you're ready to launch a new e-learning initiative. But just because the technology is in place doesn't mean your employees and your organization are ready. Change implementation is the key."

The Training Department of the Future (journal article)
By Jay Cross and Harold Jarche
from Training Vol 46 Issue 5 June 2009, pp. 24-24
"What would happen if you called for closing your training deparment and turned to peer-to-peer learning instead? Now might be the time to give it a try."

Friday, 19 June 2009



Author: Donna Dunning

“Using interactive checklists, you will identify your learning style and preferences. Tips customized to your learning style will help you choose what, when, how and where to learn. ... You will see how to adapt to different learning settings, especially those that don’t suit your preferences. Leaders, coaches, trainers, and teachers will find practical tips for customizing and enhancing their interventions.” - cover.

Holding Together - a special report on the Euro area (journal article)
from The Economist, Vol 391 No 8635, 13 June 2009
"...by the time a 1991 European summit was held in the Dutch city of Maastricht, a plan for economic and monetary union (EMU) was written into a new EU treaty, to be ratified by member states later. That the proposal had gained ground so swiftly was a surprise to many. The British government had thought that a committee of EU central-bank governors, charged in 1988 with studying if monetary union was feasible, would quash the idea. Instead the group, chaired by Jacques Delors, then president of the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, gave it qualified approval."

Tuesday, 16 June 2009



Author: Harvard Business School Publishing

"Helps managers sharpen and build skills that will make future negotiations more successful while preventing conflicts from escalating." - cover.

A Giant Falls (journal article)
from The Economist, Vol 391, No 8634, 6 June 2009, pp.60-62
"This article discusses the failure of corporate reorganization efforts at General Motors Corp, which filed for bankruptcy in June, 2009. The global financial crisis of 2008-2009 is presented as one reason for the failure of reorganization attempts led by chief executive Richard Wagoner, who was replaced by Fritz Henderson in 2009. The investments of the United Auto Workers International Union, the U.S. government, and the Canadian government in GM are considered."

Where have all the tourists gone? (journal article)
by Phil Davies
from FedGazette Vol 21, No 3, May 2009
"The article discusses the impact of the global economic crisis on the tourism industry in some parts of the U.S. specifically in Minnesota, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, Montana, and South Dakota. A decrease in bookings by companies for outings is noted and families are saving on gasoline and prefer to stay at home during vacations. Businesses in the tourism industry are implementing strategies to cope with this dilemma by offering discounts to customers and being creative in their marketing efforts."

Monday, 15 June 2009

Economic analysis of 2009/10 Federal Budget: what does it mean for Australia and you?
Source: KPMG Econtech
This presentation provides a broad overview of our national-level forecasts which incorporate the major policy measures announced in the 2009/10 Budget.

Developing a social media strategy for your brand (article)
by Matt Granfield
from Marketing Magazine, June 12 2009
"You’ve got a marketing plan of course, and a business plan, and a company mission statement, and you’ve probably got a bunch of other formal forms informing you of the formula for formulating strategic marketing decisions, but in all of that there’s probably not a single bit of guidance on what to do when TeenyBopper88 from Mildura starts telling all her Twitter followers that your product a) is brilliant and should be bought by everyone, b) is entirely unremarkable or c) left her without sight in one eye."

Friday, 12 June 2009

The changing role of finance in government and the public sector (free registration required)
by John Berriman, Mike Cowan and Steve Clark
from PriceWaterhouse Coopers
"Part of a wider global research project on the future of finance in the public sector and examines the trends, issues and changing environment faced by finance directors across the UK public sector. The findings demonstrate that finance in the sector is at a crossroads and faces significant challenges. The current economic climate means that now more than ever finance must speak up – and be listened to. However, a place at the top table will only be earned when finance is seen not simply as a scorekeeper but as a business partner, adding value across government and the public sector."