Osterle, Fleisch, and Alt's have crafted a comprehensive study about how enterprises can achieve "networkability" in their book, "Business Networking". The concept of "networkability" or the ability to establish efficient business relationships among internal and external resources is explored in four parts through the use of case studies and primary research culled from experiences in "Competence Centers". The highlight of the book for business managers is the section on Key Success Factors for Business Networking Systems - a section that builds upon the first three parts of the book and ties all the key lessons together. Moreover, it is here that the authors conclude that Business Networking relies on sophisticated IT and explains how a critical mass of partners facilitates networkability. Research data contained in the book is appropriately documented and there are plenty of schematics and tables to help solidify key points throughout the text. The book certainly succeeds as an academic text (and it may become required reading in some business school classes), but for more general audiences of business managers, the book plods along in certain sections explaining nuts and bolts - laying the groundwork - necessary to comprehend the key success factors.

This is an excellent book for business people who have no knowledge of Korea. About half of the book covers important cultural and business-related information, while the rest discusses basic geographic/demographic info, history, housing, transportation, and language. It's 1994 publication still makes it a fairly accurate source, and the topics are presented quite well. This book may be a tad superfluous for the old Korea hand who is interested solely in studying the business culture, however, and the cost appears seems somewhat high considering that it is only 187 pages in length. But, for a subject with very limited related material out there it is definitely at the top of the pile in terms of quality.

Business Process Orientation is an easy, fast read with good graphics, four detailed case studies, and many practical tips on conducting the BPO assessment. The book reports on significant research and makes a compelling case that business performance is achieved, in part, by focusing on process across the e-business supply chain.

This book is a must read for business leaders and individual contributors in manufacturing and service organizations who are genuinely motivated toward breakthrough improvement in business performance. Until you internalize the lessons in the McCormack & Johnson book, you may be operating with Internet technology, but you will not benefit from the power of process maturity alignment.

William T. Walker, CFPIM, CIRM is a Supply Chain Architect for Agilent Technologies and an Advanced Supply Chain Management Subject Matter Expert for APICS.

Business, Commerce, and Social Responsibility is a courageous work that links culture and business in international settings. The authors examine social responsibility and ethical procedures of economic activitiese in diverse case studies and formulate theories on socially responsible organiztions in global settings. This is not a moralist book about business ethics. This book is about how to analyze and understand the social aspects of business that are contextually rich and have significant consequences in people's livesaround the world. Today all cultures are in fission and fusion, the institutional settings of economic and social power are mutating.

The case studies illustrate how business is socio-historically conditioned, and how practitioners can understand cultural dimensions of business by using anthropological research methods. The studies of Apple computer, The Body Shop, and Pharmco, for instance, examine not only the historical influence of the leaders' ! values, and the multiple meanings of managerial practice, but also the diverse voices of stakeholders, the polysemic processes of local knowledge-creation, and their dynamic relationship with larger historical and socio-political trends.

This large single volume work is comprised of articles by several specialists in archaeology and anthropology concerning sites, excavations, and artifacts throught the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts believed to be related to the the World Heritage site of Casas Grandes in northern Mexico. The authors pose various theories about occupation, trade, and abandonement in this region of North America during the period from around 1200AD to 1400AD, and thus this work is well suited for all interested in a detailed, non-stereotypical understanding of the Southwest, especially professionals and academics. I bought this book when I was a student on a field-school archeological dig of a site within this region, and the book helped me better understand what was going on around me and what the motivations for such a study were. The book can get pretty dense and heavily intellectual at times, a fact that makes it a good resource for those involved in either school or professional research.

I believe that the best lessons in e-commerce can be learned from others. In this selection of case histories by a group of a group of professors from Western Ontario, various aspects of e-commerce stories are covered. Both product and service stories as well as ISPs, payment methods and other categories are a good start on the many good commerce ventures that have broken ground. The cases are covered in a good, logical fashion, well written and well illustrated. I only wish that they had included more about mistakes made, as well as risks and rewards of the business in general

Sung Y.W. gives an excellent and critical analaysis of the economic relations between Hong Kong and the PRC, based on available statistics. Even though the econmic data he uses is out of date by now (1991) this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how to read between the lines of statistics provided by both Hong Kong and the PRC. For a more recent paper see his article titled "The Hong Kong-Guangdong Connection" in Cohen/Li 1996. Admittedly for non-economists like myself reading through statistics and methodologies of interpretation of these is not the easiest of tasks. However, his conclusions on the trade relations between the two are extremely valuable. The only aspect I personaly find he could have further elaborated on, concerns the political links that affect both PRC and Hong Kong economies.

This book reveals that the middle ages were not dead time as most think but the beginning of a transition from self sufficiency to taking advantage of comparative advantage by trading with others. Lopez starts out with a review of the Roman world and its commerce, transitions to the impact of the barbarian invasions, and only then turns to the takeoff of commercial growth. He describes key factors in the takeoff as creation of an agricultural surplus, the business acumen of the Jews, the adventurousness of the Italians, the role of coins and credit, the value of contracts, and developments in transportation. Of particular interest to me were his comments on the objects and patterns of trade, the pre-Columbus Italian explorations for trade, and the role of guilds in furthering and hindering economic growth. The book is well written and easy to read. Readers of this book might also want to look at The Medieval Machine by Gimpel; Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel by the Gies as well as Life in a Medieval City. Sacred Trust by Ekelund et al economically analyzes the medieval church as a business firm which also illustrates the commercial flavor of the times. See also N J G Pounds An Economic History of Medieval Europe, and also Gold and Spices.

This book has superb appendix setting out in summary form the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States on interstate commerce questions. Its advantage over a law digest is that the notes are written by one author who has come to grips with all the cases to that point. The analysis is also comprehensive, but is plainly dated as it does not take into account "the switch in time that saved nine". However, with recent decisions again putting limits on the interstate commerce power, it is not of merely historical interest. The discussions and classifications under the negative aspects of the commerce clause still have contemporary relevance, even though the book must be reviewed in the light of cases such Pike v. Bruce Church Inc. 397 U.S. 137, at 142 (1970) and Ashland Oil, Inc. v. Carlyl 497 U.S. 516 (1990). These cases on the limits of State power survived the 1930s in far better shape than the cases on the limits of Congressional power. An excellent book for those who want to make difficult arguments on the invalidity of state statutes on commerce power grounds. It is a mine of information.