Success from Home: The Writing Business

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This digital document is an article from Do-It-Yourself Retailing, published by National Retail Hardware Association on February 1, 2005. The length of the article is 828 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Writing a new story: independent innovations driving industry success.(Taking Care of Business)(hardware)
Author: Dan M. Tratensek
Publication: Do-It-Yourself Retailing (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2005
Publisher: National Retail Hardware Association
Volume: 188 Issue: 2 Page: 8(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The authors have successfully combined a thorough analysis of the essential elements of student organization advising with practical tools to apply the concepts. This book is essential reading for those who aspire to be effective organizational advisors.

--Sara A. Boatman, vice president for student affairs, Nebraska Wesleyan University

Student organization advisors play an increasingly important role on campus. Advising Student Groups and Organizations provides the knowledge base and skills advisers need to improve their effectiveness. From the rewards and challenges of advising student groups to the specific knowledge, skills and qualities advisers need on a daily basis, this comprehensive overview offers advisers both theoretical and practical guidelines. Readers will learn to motivate leaders, provide academic and career assistance, tackle budget and accounting issues and more.

Customer Reviews:

This is the one book to read on advising student groups!.......2000-06-02

If you have time only to read one book, or if you need to have a resource on advising student groups, this is the book to use. Well written, comprehensive and timely this should go on the required reading list for student affairs professionals and student group advisors. Dunkel and Schuh combine material on individuals, groups, institutions, finance, legal issues and more all into a very usable resource.

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Only For Experts

Critical Studies In Organization & Bureaucracy

Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Book Description

Contemporary scholarship and classic essays focus on the continuing crises in bureaucratic organizations and managerial authority. Rethinking and innovation in private, public, and nonprofit organizations emerge from case studies on schools, multicultural and feminist organizations, private corporations, environmental planning and regulation, alternative services, and attempts to "reinvent government."

Customer Reviews:

Only For Experts.......2001-02-24

With the exception of a few good chapters, this book includes summaries of different sociological studies, their methodology and results. As a college student, the book was really hard to understand and find much value in. Perhaps if I were more accustomed to the language of sociology and social research, it would have been more enriching. You really need a basis in the field to understand this collection. I was lucky enough to have a good, clear professor who made sense of it for me, but it doesn't exactly make pleasure reading...for a novice, at least.

Critical studies in organization and bureaucracy

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Critical studies in organization and bureaucracy

Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

A New Resource for a New Kind of Leadership Whether you focus on the departmental level or on the top executive suite, the ability to transform groups of managers into effective management teams is critical to ongoing success. How can those team members ensure they're performing to their full potential? "Read [this handbook] once for enlightenment, then use it again and again to build teams that are truly high-performance." -- Don Howard, vice president of human resources, National Data Corporation You'll get what you need to:

* Identify the barriers to management teamwork
* Assess management team performance
* Face special circumstances, such as new team member selection . . . and much more!
You'll use the flexible Team Model, the scores of action steps, and the wide variety of assessment tools to help your teams achieve maximum performance.

Customer Reviews:

A keeper.......2003-08-31

I would use this book if I were forming a new management team.

It provides an efficient, structured process for talking about real business issues over a period of weeks rather than hours. It easily be integrated into regular staff meetings or retreats. An executive or consultant could modify as needed to suit the situation.

I attended a seminar led by the author when the book first came out, and she knows her stuff.

Book Description

Describes the best methods to use inter-business cooperation to improve strategic planning and thereby increase competitiveness. All types of benchmarking are examined including process, strategic and global. Features actual case studies of benchmarking applications from Hewlett Packard, Ford, General Motors and Xerox.

Strategic Benchmarking : How to Rate Your Company's Performance Against the World's Best

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Strategic Benchmarking : How to Rate Your Company's Performance Against the World's Best
Gregory H. Watson
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Canada, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLTXQC

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Two books instead of one

Disappointing

Classical Economists: Liberty lovers or Control Freaks?

Setting the Record Straight

Flies in the Face of Received Wisdom

The Invention of Capitalism: Classical Political Economy and the Secret History of Primitive Accumulation
Michael Perelman , and Michael Perelman
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Book Description

The originators of classical political economyâAdam Smith, David Ricardo, James Steuart, and othersâcreated a discourse that explained the logic, the origin, and, in many respects, the essential rightness of capitalism. But, in the great texts of that discourse, these writers downplayed a crucial requirement for capitalism’s creation: For it to succeed, peasants would have to abandon their self-sufficient lifestyle and go to work for wages in a factory. Why would they willingly do this?
Clearly, they did not go willingly. As Michael Perelman shows, they were forced into the factories with the active support of the same economists who were making theoretical claims for capitalism as a self-correcting mechanism that thrived without needing government intervention. Directly contradicting the laissez-faire principles they claimed to espouse, these men advocated government policies that deprived the peasantry of the means for self-provision in order to coerce these small farmers into wage labor. To show how Adam Smith and the other classical economists appear to have deliberately obscured the nature of the control of labor and how policies attacking the economic independence of the rural peasantry were essentially conceived to foster primitive accumulation, Perelman examines diaries, letters, and the more practical writings of the classical economists. He argues that these private and practical writings reveal the real intentions and goals of classical political economyâto separate a rural peasantry from their access to land.
This rereading of the history of classical political economy sheds important light on the rise of capitalism to its present state of world dominance. Historians of political economy and Marxist thought will find that this book broadens their understanding of how capitalism took hold in the industrial age.

Customer Reviews:

Two books instead of one.......2006-06-29

"TheInvention of Capitalism" by Michael Perelman is a little odd. It essentially attempts to combine two books into one: on the one hand, a book proving necessity of the process of primitive accumulation for capitalism to develop, and on the other hand, a book showing how the classical political economists were not consistent in there pretenses to laissez-faire, instead preferring to either support primitive accumulation or to ignore it entirely.

Both books are a great success in terms of proving their own case. The chapters on primitive accumulation itself, mainly at the beginning of the book, explain both the nature and the extent of this process exceedingly well and add significantly to a by now quite extensive literature on the subject. In any case it becomes clear once again that the origins of capitalism are in no way either "natural" or "voluntary". On the contrary, they involved severe collusion between manufacturers, landlords and the government, as shown in the case of Britain.

The case against the classical political economists is less clear. Perelman succeeds wonderfully in showing the hypocrisy of these early economists, in particular Adam Smith, regarding the nature of the capitalist system they intended to support as "natural" and self-propelling, and their wilful ignorance as to its origins. Nevertheless, Perelman's hatred for Adam Smith seems excessive and surely spending three chapters on a frontal assault on this thinker alone is a little bit too much in a book about primitive accumulation. There is also quite extensive use of vague references and circumstancial evidence (Robert Torrens is apparently extra evil for being a Colonel of the Royal Marines) in Perelman's accusations, which do not really strengthen these chapters' overall impression. Nevertheless, it can be considered useful as a counterweight to the often rather hagiographical neoclassical descriptions of the works of Smith, Ricardo, Malthus etc., and it also deservedly reestablishes the stature of Sir James Steuart.

Overall, Perelman's use of data and sources is very thorough and extensive, and can be considered commendable. His argumentation on primitive accumulation is fine, and even his case against the classical political economists is strong. Yet the book would have been better had it been split into two separate ones: one on the primitive accumulation itself and its extent, and the other about the 'collaboration' of Smith et al. to this. As it stands now, it is a little incoherent.

Disappointing.......2002-09-11

I came at this work with an open mind and an independent background in the history of economic thought. I was severely disappointed. Occasional inconsistencies of argument or a few personal correspondences noting the short comings of the markets do not turn the classical political economists into dyed-in-the-subsidized-wool interventionists.

Far from being a "secret history" of primitive accumulation, this book is a work of theory plain and simple. I was really expecting more concrete evidence of the collusion of the classical political economists in the final phases of primitive accumulation in Great Britain, but this book does not present much compelling evidence to support its over-hyped premise. Primitive accumulation was all over but the shouting in Great Britain by the time the philosophers turned their attention to matters economic. The idea that intervention was required to move "self-provisioning farmers" (generously defined) into the factories as wage slaves is an appealing one. But the book simply does not cite enough historical evidence to prove the point.

The author is half way through the book before he addresses Adam Smith's supposedly interventionist tendencies to promote the "early" capitalists. Ricardo, Malthus, and Mill merit bare mentions. I did give the book two stars for introducing the reader to some of the neglected political economists of the early period. Overall, Marx receives the spotlight throughout the work.

Classical Economists: Liberty lovers or Control Freaks?.......2002-02-02

This is the first book I've read that goes into much detail about the subject of primitive accumulation, and I'm impressed. Having an American History perspective, when I think about the social engineering behind a capitalist economy, I think about protective tariffs, slavery, moving Indians off the land, subsidies to canals and railroads, etc. It's fascinating to see that coercion and government involvement goes back much farther than that. And it's good to learn about some of the more forgotten political economists like James Steuart.

One does not have to be particularly leftist appreciate this book. Whether means to capitalist economic development was wrong or a "necessary evil", it's still extremely useful to know that things just didn't evolve naturally out of free exchange. The system was consciously engineered so that the "right sort" of people would be successful, and there's nothing sinister when people, through democratic choice, re-engineer things to bring about a reduction in income inequality, environmental protection, etc.

While not all leaders and thinkers in the 18th century were economists, I have a slight problem with the portrayal of Adam Smith. Now perhaps I've been seduced by his charm, but it seems as though he has a more complex view of the common good. Of course he wasn't a modern leftist or a cultural relativist, but at the same time, he wasn't a William Graham Sumner-style Social Darwinist of the late 1800s either.

"Whenever the legislature attempts to regulate the differences between masters and their workmen, its counsellors are always the masters. When the regulation, therefore, is in favour of the workmen, it is always just and equitable; but it is sometimes otherwise when in favour of the masters. "

The author doesn't use quotes like this from Smith, perhaps he assumes the "pro-worker" statements are well-known enough not to repeat. But how many ways can we interpret this?

"The capricious ambition of kings and ministers has not, during the present and the preceding century, been more fatal to the repose of Europe, than the impertinent jealousy of merchants and manufacturers. The violence and injustice of the rulers of mankind is an ancient evil, for which, I am afraid, the nature of human affairs can scarce admit of a remedy. But the mean rapacity, the monopolizing spirit of merchants and manufacturers, who neither are, nor ought to be, the rulers of mankind, though it cannot perhaps be corrected, may very easily be prevented from disturbing the tranquility of any body but themselves."

Pretty strong language. The author would say that he's talking only about a certain class of merchants, perhaps.

Some leftists like Noam Chomsky will talk favorably about Adam Smith, as part, I think, of a larger argument to show that market fundamentalism and Social Darwinist "class warfare" are a departure from Classic Liberalism. Maybe I'm being naïve but I'm more sympathetic to this view. I feel it unwise to throw away so much of classic liberalism when it seems that most 18th century liberals wouldn't support modern corporate capitalism. From reading this book, I partly get the sense that you should either be a supporter of "invisible hand" market economics, or a Marxist. But that isn't the case.

Benjamin Franklin, a friend of Adam Smith, wrote a lot of contradictory statements, it is true. But this quote, I think, shows the concept of civic virtue that many of America's "founding fathers" had:

"Private property is a Creature of Society, and is subject to the Calls of that Society, whenever its Necessities shall require it, even to its last Farthing, its contributors therefore to the public Exigencies are not to be considered a Benefit on the Public, entitling the Contributors to the Distinctions of Honor and Power, but as the Return of an Obligation previously received, or as payment for a just Debt."

This is a superb refutation of the warmed-over 1890s Social Darwinist mentality. Wealthy people aren't being punished when they pay higher taxes. Nor are they doing an act of benevolence. They are paying a "just debt" because in the long run, large-scale private-property is socially engineered, and the rich man depends on government more than the poor man.

Overall I have few disagreements with this book, and I highly recommend it.

Setting the Record Straight.......2002-01-12

You're self-employed, with many religious holidays, and while you're not rich, at least you're getting along. So why give this up to become a wage worker for somebody else, with little spare time, and a struggle for subsistence. Despite obvious simplifications, this is a core problem confronting capital at the dawn of the modern era, known also as primitive accumulation. How, that is, can self-sufficient peasants and others of similar status be converted into subservient factory hands, an obvious degradation. Yet without some such conversion, where would the labor for fields and factories come from if not the rural economy. To meet the need, New World colonies imported slaves and indentured servants. But Great Britain needed a new social division of labor, one that would stock emerging markets with commodities from a work force employed by a new social class. As conditions stood, the capitalist equation was only half complete--a wage labor class was needed.

Perelman examines the problem through the eyes of early political economists such as Adam Smith. What he finds is disturbing. Smith and followers generally suppress the real historical conflict, replacing actual coercive measures (game laws, etc.) with imaginary allusions to voluntary choice, as though worker autonomy was willingly swapped for a dependent wage rate. Nonetheless, voluntarism preserves the fiction of an immaculate conversion, and comports with market relations as an irresistable harmonizing force --the Smithian paradigm. However, other early thinkers primarily James Steuart are more candid than Smith, arguing that state intervention is necessary to separate working people from their subsistence, forcing them into the labor pool. As an analyst of the period, the obscure Steuart stands as a more accurate guide, in Perelman's view, than the celebrated author of The Wealth of Nations. Nevertheless, all the early economists, it appears, are eager to assist a nascent capitalist class in its quest for primitive accumulation. Yet, among them, Smith offers the most elegantly stated and publicly palatable version. Therefore, it is his version of a bloodless voluntarism that dominates an official record which even now continues to mislead. In short, orthodox opinion to the contrary, Smith and company operate as apologists of capital first, social scientists second.

This is an important and controversial contention. Perelman marshalls considerable evidence to support the thesis. Moreover, he argues that despite common impressions, primitive accumulation is not an historical relic, but continues in many parts of the globe. An important -- though unargued--theoretical point also emerges. Smithian thought characterizes market relations as a kind of natural necessity, like Law of Gravity; Marxian thought characterizes them as an historical necessity, a stage on the way to communism. According to both popular schools, there is something inevitable--beyond choice--about capitalist production relations . If I understand Perelman correctly, these same relations are understood as in no sense inevitable. Instead they are invented. History could have taken a non-capitalist course, and still can-- a key step in confronting the inequities of a post-Cold War world.

The author's style is accessible to the serious but non-professional. And except for a really murky last chapter on Smith and Lenin, the work stands as a solid and provocative piece of research. Recommended.

Flies in the Face of Received Wisdom.......2001-03-20

Perelman's painstaking analysis of 'Primitive Acculumation' is an absolute masterpiece. I've never seen a more trenchant and well researched piece on the birth of capitalism. One does not have to possess of leftist orientation to appreciate this powerful critique of the origins of capitalist system. It vividly demonstrates the 'ahistoricalness' of so much of the classical free market theology, and exposes the real ideological underpinnings of capitalism's brutal rise to eminence. Perelman analyzes not only the familiar texts, but also the private writings of several well-known and not so well-known political economists and other figures (fans of Adam Smith may be a little let down!). The other review was quite excellent so I needn't continue with the accalaides; but I seriously recommend to all those interested the history of capitalism and political economy to take a look at Perelman's well written and balanced perspective.

Book Description

The Seleukid empire, the principal successor-state of the empire of Alexander the Great, endured for over 200 years and extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the borders of India at its peak. This wide-ranging study of the economy of the empire reveals how the rulers exploited their lands and subjects, undertook the building of cities, introduced coinage, financed their armies and administration and managed their finances.

Customer Reviews:

Informative, but also entertaining.......2002-03-28

I read this book a few years back, and remember it fondly. The book starts off with a little history of advertising, and it was fun to read. After that, the book gets into the meat of what is possible with cable television. I don't think the whole scope of what Mr. Evan's envisioned has come to pass, but I think he got close.

Marketing Channels Infomercials and the Future of Televised Marketing

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Marketing Channels Infomercials and the Future of Televised Marketing

Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I6ZWSG

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Marketing Channels: Infomercials and the Future of Televised Marketing
Craig Robert Evans
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHRLB0

Book Description

This work is both a theoretical and empirical analysis of the growing use of ideological control in business and administrative organizations. The empirical studies reported in this volume were conducted in different types of organizations and in different countries (Poland, the United States, and Sweden). Throughout this unique examination, the author emphasizes the role of ideologies as vehicles for organizational change--not, as traditionally seen, as instruments for maintaining the status quo.

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Introduction to Life Underwriting

Manufacturer: Kaplan Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0793149282

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An Introduction to life underwriting

Manufacturer: Research & Review Service of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Insurance | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0884625524

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Introduction to Life Underwriting 12th Edition
Dearborn Career Development
Manufacturer: Dearborn Financial Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UTEKZC

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Introduction to Life Underwriting, 11E

Manufacturer: Dearborn a Kaplan Professional Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0793149304

Book Description

This recently revised course contains easy to understand explanations of traditional and nontraditional types of insurance products, including universal life, variable life and variable universal life insurance policies as well as variable and equity indexed annuities. The course also guides new agents through the life insurance sales process, encompassing prospecting, selling and servicing clients. Introduction to Life Underwriting gives new agents the knowledge necessary to generate sales ideas and such skill in organizing and presenting those ideas that prospects will be led to the conclusion, "Yes, I’ll buy."

Product Description

Basic Course FIC Designation. Includes two textbooks:"Ethics for the Insurance Professional-3rd Edition" and "Introduction to Life Underwriting-11th Edition".

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