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First, the authors present human resources as a critical part of a SYSTEM, integrated with the company's external environment, workforce, culture, strategy and production methods, rather than as an isolated or downstream activity.
Second, they bring insights from economics, sociology and social psychology to the topic, in a powerful way. The four appendices alone (transaction cost economics, game theory, agency theory and market signaling) are worth the price of the book.
Third, they avoid the trap of "best practice", where an author looks at a few successful firms (GE? PepsiCo? 3M?) and encourages others to imitate them. In contrast, this book offers clues to creating real and inimitable competitive advantage from a company's human resource management.
The entire treatment is readable and rich in cases.
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A cultural atlas presents its readers with a tremendous amount of information. Even a casual browsing through this work reveals enough information to provide the seeker of knowledge with a firm grasp on the history, geography, and culture of the efficient, effective "Warriors of the North" known as Vikings or Northmen.
This atlas explains and defines the Viking Age, beginning in the 8th century and ending in the 11th century with the creation of the Scandinavian nations of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. These tall, blonde, blue-eyed Vikings also left their mark on lands from North America, across Europe into Russia -- which was named for the Rus, a Swedish tribe -- and into the Byzantine Empire of Asia Minor and beyond. The Vikings endowed the Europeans who followed them with the Viking genes for bravery, impudence, physical beauty, and intelligence, genes which Viking warriors spread widely in the Northern Hemisphere.
The compilers of this work, edited by James Graham-Campbell, present the reader with a plethora of charts, maps, and captioned photographs illustrating and enriching cogent expository text.
Everyone on the planet, ... will recognize this book as a valuable tool in the study of a great European people.
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I liked a number of things about the book, including the sociological aspects (a great history of alcohol in America is included as well as the cultural groups alcohol has most affected) and the section on prevention and intervention. Anyone who has been affected by alcohol--whether there is an alchoholic in the family or you yourself are addicted to it--ought to look through this book for a sobering look at what I feel is a genuine social epidemic.
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"The Anatomy of Russian Defense Conversion" touches on many more subjects then just Russian Defense Industry. This is a very thorough, informative and important work that analyses the history of US and Russian Defense Industries, weapons exports and conversion, and possibilities of transformation from a militarized to a civilian economy in the new millenium.
The book also reflects on the current state of defense industries in the US and Russia, and "brain drain", or loss of intellectual capital in Russia and other countries after the Cold War.
I found reflections in Arkady Yarovsky's chapter "From the Culture of War to the Culture of Peace" very contemporary, especially in the light of recent events in the Middle East:
"Our time is unfortunately still characterized as "the culture of war." The culture of war is evident first and foremost in the hostilities between people and states, between nations and faiths, and in the inability to solve conflicts by peaceful means... Humanity has made it into the third millenium because the lust for power has been restrained by fear of nuclear war, but this restraint is not to be counted on permanently... The danger hidden in the separateness of people of different countries, unfortunately, remains a legacy for the next century... If humanity renounces the legacy of the culture of war, it can start down the road of cooperation, peaceful creation, and enlightenment. This is the only road leading to the culture of peace."
This book tells of the enormous cost to the Russian people of building and maintaining their war industry for so many years, a militarized economy where people got second best. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, defense industry just about shut down, but civilian industry has not grown great enough to support the population. There are horrendous unemployment, and terrible health and social problems. There is some danger that the path of least resistance for Russia, if we neglect the situation, could be to re-start weapons production, for export at first.
In my opinion, the United States also, to a lesser degree, has neglected the manufacture of quality consumer goods, importing them instead, and has let its physical economy deteriorate, despite much activity in the financial sector. We, too, have been insufficiently careful of the environment. This book provides some idea of what these trends could lead to, if carried to extremes.
Perhaps the involvement of United States companies in Russia, could lead to more of a recognition here, of the importance of the physical economy. Hopefully, both countries could also work to put industry on a healthy environmental footing as well.
There is awareness of the problem of Russian defense conversion, at high levels of our government. I hope this book helps educate people and sustain that interest.
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Which means - if you are looking for a solution to a problem and you want to research separation theory - a great book.
If your looking for a quick fix to an HPLC problem - not as good. This is a detailed, extensive and well written text on HPLC Method development - wish there was more on validation here though.