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Not everyone embraces the "American Way." But as historian Walter LaFeber demonstrates in this highly original look at the effects of global capitalism, not everyone has a choice. Using powerful communications satellites in the 1980s and, later, unbridled capital, transnational corporations such as McDonald's and Nike and their media-mogul counterparts have infiltrated cultures from Paris to Beijing, understanding perfectly that what the world sees the world buys (in this case, Big Macs and anything plastered with a Nike swoosh). Of course, it helps when hoops legend Michael Jordan--the world's most idolized athlete--is pitching your products. His influence is pervasive: "McDonald's, blaring Michael Jordan's endorsement, operated in 103 nations and fed one percent of the world's population each day. 'Within the East Asian urban environment,' one historian of the firm notes, 'McDonald's fills a niche once occupied by the teahouse, the neighborhood shop, the street-side stall, and the park bench.'"
LaFeber transitions smoothly from Michael Jordan biography to socioeconomic commentary, first exploring Jordan as the great American hero, then turning a critical eye on Nike and its shoddy overseas labor practices. Jordan can certainly sell shoes, but at what cost? In the final chapter heading, LaFeber asks whether Michael Jordan is the "Greatest Endorser of the Twentieth Century" or "An Insidious Form of Imperialism." He presents evidence of both, but ultimately The New Global Capitalism becomes less about Jordan's marketing prowess than America's influence over the world's consumer habits, and, subsequently, the havoc that power can wreak. LaFeber's short (164 pages), lucid study gives readers a fresh perspective on the battle between capital and culture. Recommended. --Rob McDonald
Book Description
Walter LaFeber's timely analysis looks at the ways that triumphant capitalism, coupled with high-tech telecommunications, is conquering the nations of the world, one mind—one pair of feet—at a time.
With Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism, Walter LaFeber has written a biography, a social history, and a far-ranging economic critique. From basketball prodigy to international phenomenon to seductive commercial ideal, Michael Jordan is the supreme example of how American corporations have used technology in a brave, massively wired new world to sell their products in every corner of the globe. LaFeber's examination of Nike and its particular dominion over the global marketplace is often scathing, while his fascinating mini-biography of Michael Jordan and the commercial history of basketball reveal much about American society.
For this new paperback edition, LaFeber has added a chapter on globalization in a changed world, after mass protests and since September 11.
Customer Reviews:
Capital vs Culture.......2007-09-23
LaFeber was well-known and loved by his students at Cornell as a spell binding lecturer and is widely respected as an expert on the history U.S foreign relations. So at first I wondered what about Michael Jordan could possibly interest a distinguished and conscientious scholar of American history, someone not normally associated with forays into pop culture. But it's a really fascinating, thoughtful, and surprising essay. LaFeber argues that Jordan is even bigger than we think--not as a sports icon but as both a symptom and cause of revolutionary change in the global order of things. Yes, the world changed with the fall of the Berlin Wall and with the end of the cold war, he says, but the rise of Jordan is an even bigger watershed moment in world history. The real kicker comes late in the book and is somewhat understated--that there is a war between culture and capital and capital is winning. The implications of this idea are enormous and mostly frightening. This is the maelstrom Marshall McLuhan was trying to warn us about. For anyone interested in media studies, cultural criticism, or a scholarly historian's perspective on global capitalism, this book will be eye-opening and mind-expanding. And the bits about Jordan himself are pretty fascinating.
A must read for all world citizens.......2005-06-30
Just a short note to say that this is one of the most important books I have read in the past 10 years. It tackles capitalism, race, & the role of the individual in the global context in an engaging yet very well informed manner. As a History professor, I have tought this book at several major universities and it has always met with much approval from my students.
Simply Wonderful book. Definitely recommend it........2005-05-05
This book was absolutely riveting. Provides in-depth information about anything to do with Michael Jordan and basketball in terms of its relations to the world. You will not have any questions when done reading. Gives a whole new perspective on the marketing of the NBA and how things work and evolve. The author shows how one person can affect millions, even billions of people. It allows us a glimpse of how something small can be so big at the same time.
There Is More To Michael Jordan Then Playing Basketball..........2004-05-14
In Michael Jordan And The New Global Capitalism, Walter LaFaber uses his ability to research and write about something to express to the readers how important advertising is to any corporation or business. For the Nike Corporation, they partnered up with Michael Jordan and worked out a plan to advertise him and their products through worldwide telecommunications. When Michael Jordan won (which was something he did a lot), the Nike Corporation won too, because everyone wanted to be "like Mike," and the only way to be "like Mike" was to buy his footwear and apparel or other Nike footwear and apparel. This book is a good awakening to anyone interested in how our economy works for big businesses, and its also a good book for anyone interested in basketball and or Michael Jordan. This is a definite must read all in all, because even if you end up not liking this book, you will be better off having read it.
Good Enough.......2002-10-21
Lafeber really shows you how putting time and effort into something can really take you far in life. I found the book to be very fascinating because it gives all the history of how basketball got started and how MJ and Nike became such powerful household names. This book is a really good read for any MJ fan who wants to learn the whole history behind him. It shows you what global advertising can do to a persons popularity. The bottom line this book is filled with tons of very interesting facts and just tells a good story, so go pick it up as soon as you can.
Book Description
In
Take on the Street, Arthur Levitt--Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission for eight years under President Clinton--provides the best kind of insider information: the kind that can help honest, small investors protect themselves from the deliberately confusing ways of Wall Street.
At a time when investor confidence in Wall Street and corporate America is at an historic low, when many are seriously questioning whether or not they should continue to invest, Levitt offers the benefits of his own experience, both on Wall Street and as its chief regulator. His straight talk about the ways of stockbrokers (they are salesmen, plain and simple), corporate financial statements (the truth is often hidden), mutual fund managers (remember who they really work for), and other aspects of the business will help to arm everyone with the tools they need to protect—and enhance—their financial future.
Customer Reviews:
You Owe it to Yourself to Read This Book!.......2006-05-27
What if... the former head of the American Stock Exchange... the former president of the Shearson brokerage giant... or the former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission...
CARED ENOUGH ABOUT SMALL INVESTORS TO WRITE A GREAT 'HOW TO' BOOK ON INVESTING? WOULDN'T YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO READ IT?
Arthur Levitt is the man who filled all of these positions and the guy who cared enough about small investors to write this book. While Levitt covers some well-trodden ground, he also gives investors-- including experienced ones-- superb advice about selecting investments, monitoring brokerage fees, obtaining best execution on stock trades and on reading corporate financial statements. He also provides useful tips on retirement investing and on the publicly-available information that will help investors to plan their finances and enhance their returns. And better yet, Levitt and his accomplished co-author accomplish all of this clearly, without jargon. If you own stock, even a small amount held in a company retirement plan, you owe it to yourself to read this book.
Levitt's book also provides an illuminating discussion of how the accounting and securities industry lobbies in Washington to limit regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), often to the detriment of investors. Some of the material is comical-- most notably a September 2000 letter from then-Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay stating that Enron's accounting system is state-of-the-art in its ability to protect shareholders against corporate fraud.
Levitt's efforts to stand up for individual investors during his term as Chairman of the SEC are also described in detail. These efforts are heroic, poignant and frequently hilarious. You see, the securities and accounting industries just do not expect an industry insider like Levitt to actually... strengthen... the protections for retail investors at the expense of industry profits. When Levitt tries to do so, he is treated like a guest dropping a dead mouse on the serving platter at a formal dinner. Arthur couldn't really care about the investing public... could he?
Levitt is equally candid about his post-SEC activities, which has included service on corporate boards-- at least on the boards of those companies sufficiently comfortable with Levitt's exacting standards on board conduct. Again, to the shock and dismay of some corporate titans, Levitt actually believes that the directors of a publicly-traded firm should act in the interest of shareholders rather than as a rubber stamp for management. In an especially revealing and funny episode, Levitt's invitation to join Apple Computers' Board of Directors is rescinded the day after Levitt presents Steve Jobs with an essay detailing Levitt's views on corporate governance. Arthur couldn't really care about the investing public...could he?
Fortunately for you and me Arthur Levitt cares passionately about the investing public and has written a superb guide to lead non-insiders safely through the hidden perils of Wall Street. You owe it to yourself to read this gem of a book.
Levitt's Life Story.......2005-09-13
This book is mostly about Levitt's life story. There's not a whole lot of stuff you can learn by reading this book. It mostly says the same things other books say.... know what you buy, research what you buy, etc.
However, there are 2 chapters in the book that were really good. One tells you how the ECN system works and the other one tells you what to look for and how to read financial statements. I would buy the book for these two chapters alone. The book is fairly cheap anyways. There's also a chapter about 401Ks that may interest those that haven't given much thought to retirement funds.
Most of the book is about Levitt's life story. He bashes both Republicans and Democrats for obstructing the regular joe (or jane) investor. His life story is interesting but that's not the reason I bought the book.
*****.......2004-06-09
(...)when I say I was completely impressed with this book and applaud Clinton for having appointed Arthur Levitt as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, you can be sure I mean it! This book is absolutely required reading for anyone even thinking of investing in the stock market. It was a total eye opener and written in an accessible, readable style. I highly recommend it.
Pithy and Informative.......2004-04-14
Sometimes the truth hurts. In "Take on the Street," Levitt tells it like it is. A sobering account of Wall Street's hidden mishaps, the book examines such things as the opaque accounting practices that precipitated the Miltonic fall of Enron and Worldcom. The real merit of the book resides in a chapter Levitt devotes to the reading of financial statements, wherein he recapitulates the necessity of doing one's due diliegence before investing in any company. A classic, indeed.
Must Read.......2004-02-02
I've been reading a lot of books about personal finance and the markets, and Levitt's is my favorite. He explains technical concepts in simple terms that are understandable to the average person. His stories about his years as SEC chairman wonderfully illustrate his points. If you insist on believing that basic intergrity prevails on Wall Street and in corporate America, don't read his book. As Levitt so ably demonstrates, it's like believing in the Easter bunny.
Book Description
"If it's not fun, why do it?"
For many years Ben & Jerry's has donated 7.5 percent of its annual pretax profits to charitable causes -- the highest percentage of any publicly-held company. Yet the company has become an even more powerful agent for social change by embracing a "values-led" business philosophy. Values-led business is based on the idea that business, which has become the most powerful force in society, has to accept responsibility for the welfare of that society and the people in it. Values-led business is more encompassing and therefore more effective than philosophy alone. It also seeks to maximize its impact by integrating socially beneficial actions into as many of its day-to-day activities as possible from raw materials to retailing. In order to do that, values must guide a company's mission statement, strategy and operating plan.
Ben and Jerry write: "When we first decided to open an ice cream parlor, our goals were pretty modest. With this book we admit to having greater aspirations. We're hoping that reading it will free up a lot of people to do what their hearts and souls have been aching to do -- integrate social values into their daily business activities. If you're a business person reading this book, we hope to demonstrate that there's an alternative to the status quo. We hope you'll see that it's possible to run a business in a way that proactively supports society, and that as you integrate your values more and more, you'll be just as profitable., if not more so. If you're a shareholder, an employee, or a customer, we hope to convince you to bring those values to your interactions with business. We hope to help you to become aware that there's a different, more caring way for business to be -- and as employees, customers, and shareholders, to demand that business be that way."
Customer Reviews:
For people who can't figure out why you get 79% off.......2000-08-26
It's not just that Ben and Jerry's ideas are stupid; it's that these guys don't practice what they preach. There is an article that some naïve reviewers on this board should read. It's called "The Evil Empire" in the New Republic (hardly the voice of capitalism or the political right). Amazingly the New Republic finds Ben and Jerry's arrogance just too hard to swallow.
What does the article have to say?
On Ben and Jerry's success:
"With the publicity came the inevitable backlash: that Ben and Jerry are nothing more than New Age scam artists, feeding social consciousness to gullible yuppies and pocketing the cash. The scarier truth may be that they've scammed themselves. Like their fortysomething followers, they believe the most flattering image of themselves: that, despite their millions, they haven't sold out."
How Ben and Jerry discovered why CEOs get paid big salaries:
This doesn't mean the company is built on scandalous lies--just little white lies, mutual delusions that keep everyone happy. For example, one tenet of caring capitalism is to be "real," to "connect with the customer." This spirit is what drove the company's offbeat search for a new CEO. Early last summer, Ben and Jerry held a press conference to announce that Ben would step down as CEO. Profits had plummeted, the superpremium ice cream market was shrinking; in short, the company had grown too complicated for a "multi-college dropout and failed pottery teacher to run," Ben announced. What pained him most was the company's decision to give up the salary cap that had limited the top executive's salary to seven times that of the lowest-paid employee, the $8 an hour scooper (a sacrifice that had always obscured Ben's millions in stock shares).
And my favorite section of the Article when Ben and Jerry show their hypocracy for all the world to see:
"Then there are the inner-city initiatives that fail. If there are any doubts about B&J's bloodless business instincts, they can be dispelled by another holy man, the Reverend James Carter, who crossed the company's path in 1992. Back then, Carter ran a modest New Jersey bakery called LaSoul, where recovering addicts churned out pumpkin pies for the local groceries. A week after he saw Ben on ABC's "20/20," Carter packed up a trunk full of pies and drove to the company headquarters. Ben loved both the pies and "Reverend Carter's vision of building a sound business." In three weeks, Carter had a letter of intent to do business with the company, which he showed to the bank to borrow money for equipment. Ben flew down to New Jersey to tape a TV show of himself helping ex-addicts mix batches of the new Apple Pie frozen yogurt.
After two years, however, sales of the flavor were flagging. In May 1994, Ben and Jerry's drastically decreased its orders, leaving Carter with freezers full of pies. Frantic, Carter laid off all but two employees and called Ben. The next day, Ben flew to New Jersey, "sat down, looked them straight in the eye," and, recalls Carter, said, "Don't worry, we'll stick with you." But orders never picked up, and, this June, Carter received a letter from the company, by fax, that congratulated him on his "good works" and canceled all remaining orders. He was left half a million dollars in debt. "It's pretty cute, this social mission," Carter says bitterly. "But the bottom line is, Ben and Jerry's buried my company."
Ask Ben about the incident, and he sounds more like Gordon Gecko than Robin Hood: "We told Jim to find more customers. We gave him six months' notice." When the normally upbeat Alan Parker is reminded of a spreadsheet dated November 11, 1994, that projected $500,000 worth of orders from LaSoul in 1995, he replies: "That spreadsheet was given to him as a best-case scenario for volume expectations. Nothing about that memo could be construed as a firm commitment, and it's really disingenuous for him to cite it." Do they feel at all responsible? "Sure, we feel sad," says Parker. "But our sadness is tempered with `why are we being blamed?' We worked closely with him to make our demands on him easier, and that's not something many customers would do for their suppliers. In the end, LaSoul was just not a viable business enterprise."
Anyway for those who would rather read a true story than this useless book I suggest getting a hold of the whole article:
Source: New Republic, 9/11/95, Vol. 213 Issue 11, p22, 4p, 1 cartoon Author(s): Rosin, Hanna
Double-Dip is a Double-Flop.......2000-07-25
These two idealistic lefty entrepreneurs think that there should be a 100% tax on all income over $250,000... This offers a real incentive to work and build a business when the government takes away all the profit. This book should really be called "How to Run a Business While Supporting Anti-Business, Politically-Correct, Leftist Do-Gooder Causes." However, if your IQ is the same "temperature" as Ben-and-Jerry's ice cream, than this rag will certainly satisfy your appetite for mouth-watering politically correct jibberish.
enjoyable portrayal of the "other" side of big business.......2000-07-21
great book for those who HATE big business and its "selfishness". Although the book, I think, is poorly written at times, it is always very interesting as it offers a perspective one NEVER hears about in the business section of the newspaper or in business/management books. More execs should read this and thing long and hard about their "social mission", as well as their strategies. The social effort seems to have worked well for B&J.
Great story of a different kind of company.......2000-06-21
Here is the story of how two guys built a company that 1) Makes money, and 2) has a social conscience. It details the dilemna's, decisions, and trade-offs that Ben and Jerry's had to make between the myriad of forces that regularly tug at the company because of its mission, and the realities of the marketplace. For example, it shows how B&J dealt with their brownie supplier in inner city New York when the supplier couldn't handle the capacity and quality that B&J required.
Very inspirational AND very pragmatic!
Great Guys, Great Company.......1999-06-18
I listened to this book on audiotape. Ben and Jerry discuss how the idea of an Ice Cream Shop came about, how it almost didn't happen, then how it became a growing successful business. They tell the business side as well as the human side of their venture, with actual stories, from both points of view. They stressed the importance of running a company that was fun to work at, that cared about the employees, and gave back to the community. Together they explain what a values lead company is all about, and why employees want to be a part of their team. Then they discuss how they and other values lead companies work together to help charitable causes and why it is so important to them. I was fascinated with their sincere ongoing dedication to charitable causes and their devotion to employee satisfaction. This was a great book, very inspiring from the business point of view and heart warming as well.
Average customer rating:
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Managerial Accounting & Analysis in Multinational Enterprises
Manufacturer: Walter de Gruyter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
 International
| Accounting
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
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Management
| Accounting
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| Business & Investing
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ASIN: 3110100819 |
Book Description
This guide helps board members understand the board?s involvement in fund-raising. It examines the governance context in which board fund-raising decisions should be made.
Book Description
This book covers the dimensions that influence how boundaries are established for successful negotiating. It explores how different types of people, processes and positional issues all influence each other and ultimately determine the outcome of negotiations. Focusing on the “area of the unknown,” will enable readers to quickly determine their own boundaries as well as the boundaries of others, in order to bring negotiating scenarios to successful ends. The purpose of this title is not to endorse one set of criteria as correct, at the expense of others, but to expose the reader to the many elements that set the boundaries for negotiating.
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The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer, Volume 2
Giacomo Meyerbeer , and
Robert Ignatius Letellier
Manufacturer: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Composers & Musicians
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
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General
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General
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History & Criticism
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General
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General
| France
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ASIN: 0838638430 |
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My Private War: One Man's Struggle to Survive the Soviets and the Nazis (The Library of Holocaust Testimonies)
Jacob Gerstenfeld-Maltiel
Manufacturer: Mitchell Vallentine & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
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| Leaders & Notable People
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Holocaust
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Russia
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Personal Narratives
| World War II
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ASIN: 0853032602 |
Books:
- Multinational Firms and Impacts on Employment, Trade and Technology: New Perspectives for a new Century (Studies in Global Competition, 11)
- Murmansk Oblast Investment & Business Guide (Russian Regional Investment & Business Guides)
- Niue Business Law Handbook
- Niue Investment & Business Guide
- North Dakota Investment & Business Guide (US Regional Investment & Business Library)
- Nuevos Principios de Comercio Internacional
- Oklahoma Investment and Business Guide (US Business and Investment Library)
- Oregon Investment and Business Guide (US Business and Investment Library)
- Peninsula Arabiga de Negocios
- Penza Oblast Investment & Business Guide (Russian Regional Investment & Business Guides)
Books Index
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How to Succeed at Globalization : A Primer for Roadside Vendors (The American Empire Project) (The American Empire Project)
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Networking the World, 1794-2000
