Technology and increasing globalisation are challenging many of our preconceptions about the world of work. This collection consists of a selection of Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA) lectures by leading practitioners and academics. Relating to work, corporate change, work ethics and leadership, they explore the changes that are taking place, present what different organisations who blazed the trail are learning, and analyse the leadership qualities needed to steer us through these changes. In featuring organisations in a variety of sectors, they provide an overview of key factors affecting the individual within the world of work. They also demonstrate how leaders can manage these factors to bring longer-lasting rewards both for the company and the individual with better principles and new models of both ethical and productive best practice.

The book begins by exploring the issues relating to the individual in today's working environment, the implications of working on one's own and changing work cultures. In Redefining Work, American author William Bridges suggests that it no longer makes sense to think in such terms of 'having a job'. The trend is towards paying for output, which could have positive implications for the disabled, against whom fixed job structures too often discriminate. Professor Cary Cooper of the Manchester School of Management, a leading expert on stress management, explores the psychological implications of changing work patterns, and the effects on both the individual and family life. Frances Cairncross from The Economist describes the negative and positive changes resulting from the technological revolution. 'The death of distance' brings new opportunities for companies and individuals to access the global marketplace, whilst the vastly reduced cost of transporting ideas and services implies a greater emphasis on the value of knowledge.

David Logan from the Corporate Citizenship Company examines how, in the age of globalisation, transnational companies with headcounts larger than some countries' populations exert an increasing influence on states and how they address issues of corporate responsibility. Meanwhile, governments are taking on a new role in society of setting social and environmental targets for business, then monitoring and measuring its performance against them. Sheena Carmichael of PricewaterhouseCoopers explains how ethical audits can help companies not only to act more ethically but also improve productivity.

Richard Wells, a former Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, explains how in the police force quantitative, statistically-judged success in detecting crimes can lead to the potential for wrong and the undermining of public confidence. He describes ways in which organisations can take a more ethical, democratic approach, where cultural changes introducing trust, openness and innovation will result in real, qualitative success. An ethical approach to employees is also advocated by Sir Stuart Hampson, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, who illustrates how the way in which the partnership genuinely involves its staff-its 'partners'-has been a major contributor to its long-term success.

In 'Tomorrow's Company-A Journey of Discovery', Nick Obolensky, chief executive of Tomorrow's Company Enterprises, explains how ten diverse companies were able to progress along the path to the inclusive approach to business. The experience of two of the companies, Birmingham Midshires Building Society and Osborne Clarke Solicitors, are described in the two responding lectures which follow. According to Mike Jackson, former chief executive of Birmingham Midshires, strong leadership is the glue that holds everything together.

The book concludes with six views on the leadership of organisations and the question of whether leadership can be taught. In the first of these Professor Gareth Jones of the Henley Management College analyses the Western concept of leadership in the historical context of rational and moral thought, explaining the evolution of leadership theories and exploring key leadership qualities. In the two responding lectures Hilary Cropper of the F.I. Group plc emphasizes how leaders must galvanize staff with a unifying purpose and a collective desire to succeed; while Helen Taylor Thompson of Mildmay Hospital exemplifies the personal leadership qualities of persuasion, motivation and energetic individuality in her description of how she ensured that Mildmay survived and grew to be a world leader in its field.

Still on leadership, Lieutenant-General Jack Deverell, Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Land Command, emphasizes the importance of such intangible concepts as duty, service, example and motivation. He concludes that these qualities, which lie at the heart of effective leadership, are difficult and sometimes impossible to teach. Responding to General Deverell's lecture, Philip Hodgson of the Ashridge Management College develops the theme of training and learning further, putting forward the theory that strong leadership involves 'difficult learning'-meeting difficult challenges, facing up to hard lessons and tackling difficult tasks and situations that one would prefer to avoid. Lastly, Olympic swimming gold medallist Adrian Moorhouse, adds his own interpretations and insight, drawn from the world of sport.

Reviewed by Azlan Adnan. Formerly Business Development Manager with KPMG, Azlan is currently Managing Partner of Azlan & Koh Knowledge and Professional Management Group, an education and management consulting practice based in Kota Kinabalu. He holds a Master's degree in International Business and Management fom the University of Westminster in London.

Online Auctions is a well-researched book, full of examples and illustrations.

It is a great "how to" book for the beginning online auction entrepreneur. It guides you step by step, from start to finish, whether you are the buyer or the seller.

I found it very informative from the seller's point of view because I've never sold anything online. It provides excellent tips on how to word your ad. It expressed how the timing of your ad can make or break your auction. I wouldn't have given this much thought but I now know the start time/end time and day of the week start time/end time are critical.

Online Auctions also pointed out that catergorizing your items might make a difference on the number of bids and the amount of the bids you receive.

This book stressed the importance of researching buyers and sellers, how to do it and why.

Online Auctions spelled out the process to attach a picture to your auction. I didn't realize it was such an ordeal.

This book also introduced me to the ins and outs of dutch auctions. I hadn't heard of these before reading this book.

Online Auctions-The Internet Guide for Bargain Hunters and Collectors is a must for someone who has not been involved in the online auction world but would like to be.

This dictionary contains every investing term imaginable, plus every computer/Internet related term you'll ever need. As an investor, this is ideal. As an individual that doesn't understand all the computer and Internet jargon, this is ideal. With 7,000 terms, this is a great buy.

I had to read Brummetts book for my History Honors class and loved it. The book is well written and documented, and I recommend it to all serious students of History. Read this book and see that the "sick man of Europe" was not so sick after all.

I have personnally known Dr.Jonathan Goldstein for more than fifteen years.He is without a doubt one of this centuries greatest historians ever. I honestly believe that he is the next greatest Morison to come down the pike in many years.I was priviledged and honored to have had Dr.Goldstein at Nasson Colege for The History Of Modern Russia and for Western Civilization. I want to take time out to say that if it were not for Dr.Goldstein my interest in History would be nill. Thank You.

This book is a masterpiece. In a very concise fashion, it manages to describe the main economic and political drivers behind policy reform, and they are not only applicable to developing countries. What is remarkable is the fact that the book synthesizes into categories all of the types of problems that developing countries run into with policy reform. A step-by-step guide to anyone (from president to citizen) on how to achieve improvement.

Amazing is all that can explain this book. The pictures in this book are some of the best photographes I have ever seen of the City of Roses. If you are interested in Portland, or even if you live there, you must see this book. Nothing is any better.

The band of historians working on the history of Portugal and its worldwide extensions has never been large. Many of the senior researchers today, especially in the English-speaking world, owe a great debt to one man, Charles Ralph Boxer, virtually the founding father of the field. This volume is his finest work, known and used by scholars everywhere since its publication in 1969. It is simply one of the great works of history in our times. By reading it, you will learn an enormous amount about how a small, unimportant kingdom on the Atlantic Ocean managed to construct a trading and military network that extended from Brazil to Africa to India, China, Japan, Indonesia and all points in between. Boxer discusses the motivating forces that led the Portuguese to dominate the spice trade. It is shown that with its small population, Portugal had to rely on slaves or mercenaries. Often their forces were composed of Africans, their pilots Jews or others, their sailors a mix of Asians and mestiços. He breaks two common myths: 1) that the cross closely followed the traders---it took several decades before even a start was made (by the Jesuits) in conversions; and 2) that the Portuguese, unlike other European colonial powers, were color blind. Several Brazilian socio-historians have written to emphasize this, but Boxer shows that it was untrue. After a chapter on sugar and slavery in Brazil, the rest of the book deals with the decline of Portugal's empire in Asia over the centuries from 1600 to 1800, when only a few tiny, misgoverned enclaves were left. The more efficient Dutch, among whom ability outweighed family background, challenged and defeated the Portuguese everywhere; Portugal itself stagnated and turned inwards. Brazil, however, grew and prospered, eventually outshining the mother country and providing a refuge for the royal family during Napoleonic times (it wasn't until 1821 that the Portuguese royal family returned to Lisbon---perhaps the only instance of a European country being ruled from America).

With the vast amount of social and economic information on a wide variety of subjects---the use of the Portuguese language, the rise of Oman along the African coast, Pombal's dictatorship in Portugal, intermarriage and color prejudice in the widely scattered empire, the quality of Portuguese seamen--- with its eminently well-written, clear prose, and its sweep of vision, THE PORTUGUESE SEABORNE EMPIRE deserves to be on the shelf of every person interested in history. If you are interested in Portugal or its offshoots in Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Goa, Malacca and Macau, this book is a must. I am stunned to see that I am the first to review it for Amazon.

If you've read Ms. Cassidy's two previous books on IS process improvement and IS strategic planning you'll recognize her straightforward, structured approach to planning for e-Business.

This book lays out a roadmap in eight steps:
(1) planning
(2) assessing the current environment and situation
(3) developing a business case framed as a value proposition
(4) defining the opportunities and competitive posture
(5) determining all factors and impacts (application architecture, technical architecture, business process, information systems, people and organizational and cost/benefit)
(6) design (including user interface, security and other important factors)
(7) deliver (develop, test, release and support)
(8) discuss (elicit feedback, analyze and rectify/improve)

The steps is an effective e-business life cycle, and the level of detail into which this book goes will provide ample material for developing a high level plan of action that takes all of the important issues and factors into account.

This book is very readable. It's written in plain language, easy to follow, and the law is explained concisely. All of the topics covered are very current and there was a lot of practical advice and useful information about how to avoid legal problems and comply with the law.