The Strategy Pathfinder. Core Concepts and Live Cases

Dozens of lively international case studies that help readers put core marketing principles in a real-world context From market research to positioning and brand management to customer relations, marketing is the engine that drives innovation and growth in the modern business organization. This latest addition to the acclaimed Pathfinder series, like its popular predecessor, The Strategy Pathfinder, features a unique blend of core concepts and brief, international case studies. A refreshing contrast to traditional marketing texts and references, which tend to be prescriptive and directive, The Marketing Pathfinder offers professionals and marketing students alike an effective way to contextualize the marketing decisions they'll make in the real world of business. Not another one-size-fits-all marketing toolkit, The Marketing Pathfinder functions as a dynamic, interactive resource Each chapter presents a set of core concepts, frameworks, and tools, followed by five or more short, lively international case studies illustrating how the concepts and tools can be applied in the real world The case studies are specifically designed to encourage readers to pursue additional independent research and to encourage them to articulate and defend their decisions Throughout, the emphasis is on the reader as a marketing professional in the thick of it and responsible for the decisions they make

A collection of the best thinking from one of the most innovative management consulting firms in the world For more than forty years, The Boston Consulting Group has been shaping strategic thinking in business. The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy offers a broad and up-to-date selection of the firm's best ideas on strategy with fresh ideas, insights, and practical lessons for managers, executives, and entrepreneurs in every industry. Here's a sampling of the provocative thinking you'll find inside: «You have to be the scientist of your own life and be astonished four times:at what is, what always has been, what once was, and what could be.» «The majority of products in most companies are cash traps . . . .[They] are not only worthless, but a perpetual drain on corporate resources.» «Use more debt than your competition or get out of the business.» «When information flows freely, reputation, more than reciprocity,becomes the basis for trust.» «As a strategic weapon, time is the equivalent of money, productivity,quality, even innovation.» «When brands become business systems, brand management becomes far too important to leave to the marketing department.» «The winning organization of the future will look more like a collection ofjazz ensembles than a symphony orchestra.» «Most of our organizations today derive from a model whose original purpose was to control creativity.» «Rather than being an obstacle, uncertainty is the very engine of transformation in a business, a continuous source of new opportunities.» «IP assets lack clear property lines. Every bit of intellectual property you can own comes with connections to other valuable innovations.»

Strategy is not a modern invention. It is an essential and enduring feature of human history that is here to stay. In this original essay, Colin S. Gray, world-renowned scholar of strategic thought, discusses the meaning of strategy and its importance for politicians and the military as a means of achieving desired outcomes in complex, uncertain conditions. Drawing on a wide range of examples from the Great Peloponnesian War to the Second World War, Vietnam, and the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gray ably shows how great military thinkers of the past and present have acted strategically in their various ideological, political, geographical and cultural contexts. Looking to the future, he argues that strategy will continue to provide a vital tool-kit for survival and security, but that the global threat posed by nuclear weapons remains an on-going challenge without obvious practical solutions. As Gray boldy asserts, there is no promised land ahead, only hard and dangerous times that will require us to master the theory and practice of strategy to secure our own future.

An essential guide to the basic concepts that comprise the study of sociology with contributions from an international range of leading experts Core Concepts in Sociology is a comprehensive guide to the essential concepts relevant to the current study of the discipline and wider social science. The contributing authors cover a wide range of concepts that remain at the heart of sociology including those from its academic founding and others much more recent in their development. The text contains contributions from an international panel of leading figures in the field, utilizing their expertise on core concepts and presenting an accessible introduction for students. Drawing on the widest range of ideas, research, current literature and expert assessment, Core Concepts in Sociology contains over 90 concepts that represent the discipline. Coverage includes concepts ranging from aging to capitalism, democracy to economic sociology, epistemology to everyday life, media to risk, stigma and much more. This vital resource: Sets out the concepts that underpin the study of sociology and wider social science Contains contributions from an international panel of leading figures in the field Includes a comprehensive review of the basic concepts that comprise the foundation and essential development of the discipline Designed as a concise and accessible resource Written for students, researchers and wider professionals with an interest in the field of sociology, Core Concepts in Sociology offers a concise, affordable and accessible resource for studying the underpinnings of sociology and social science.

An updated guide to the core concepts of program evaluation This updated edition of Program Evaluation in Practice covers the core concepts of program evaluation and uses case studies to touch on real-world issues that arise when conducting an evaluation project. This important resource is filled with illustrative examples written in accessible terms and provides a wide variety of evaluation projects that can be used for discussion, analysis, and reflection. The book addresses foundations and theories of evaluation, tools and methods for collecting data, writing of reports, and the sharing of findings. The discussion questions and class activities at the end of each chapter are designed to help process the information in that chapter and to integrate the information from the other chapters, thus facilitating the learning process. As useful for students as it is for evaluators in training, Program Evaluation in Practice is a must-have text for those aspiring to be effective evaluators. Includes expanded discussion of basic theories and approaches to program evaluation Features a new chapter on objective-based evaluation and a new section on ethics in program evaluation Provides more detailed information and in-depth description for each case, including evaluation approaches, fresh references, new readings, and the new Joint Committee Standards for Evaluation

Formulating a strategy is one of the most important but also one of the most difficult challenges faced by businesses: How may one translate a concern into a structured issue and the hypotheses for addressing that issue? How should one approach the designing and executing of the analyses through which these hypotheses can be tested, thus creating the insights from which new strategic options can be developed? And how can one identify the “best bets” from among the many different strategic options available, and determine how these may be translated into a coherent business strategy that the organization and its stakeholders can buy into? This book helps to answer these questions for the senior manager responsible for company strategy; the project manager who’s been asked to chart and defend a new strategic course of action; and the student wishing to “learn the ropes” of strategy-creation. This book offers no theoretical strategy “frameworks”. Nor does it propagate a specific strategy of any kind. It is, quite simply, a “cook book” describing a step-by-step, focused and fast approach for creating a new strategy at medium-sized and large businesses. It is a proven method used by top management consultants to help clients develop new strategies. The Craft of Strategy Formation provides a crisp account of the consecutive steps to take (and pitfalls to watch out for) when typically vague business concerns need to be translated into actionable strategy fast. Featuring the tried-and-tested analytical and organizational approach of top management consultants, this integral account of how strategy is crafted in practice offers a welcome break from traditional handbooks featuring largely isolated frameworks, tools and cases; highly theoretical academic treatises; and largely anecdotal “infotainment” books for the general reader.

Learn to Decode the DNA of Management and Strategy-Execution in an Increasingly Turbulent World Just as DNA contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all living organisms, what if we could decode containing the elements of management and strategy-execution? Traditional management practices are rooted in a mechanical mindset where the problem and solution are known and well-defined, but how do you plan for the reality of today’s increasingly complex world where it is hard to manage the unknown and unknowable? This ground-breaking book offers new perspectives on age-old management challenges and illuminates better ways to organize and manage in an increasingly DANCE-world (Dynamic. Ambiguous. Non-Linear. Complex. Emergent). It puts the management DNA under the microscope, and shows how to develop the DNA elements to build and transform organizational project management and PMO capabilities essential for effective strategy-execution. It provides a framework to measure what matters with a step-by-step approach to define and measure success and business value. The DNA of Strategy Execution: Next Generation Project Management and PMO provides innovative insights for organizational project management and PMO. It builds on iterative, incremental, lean, agile, and adaptive approaches and goes beyond to explore what is required to thrive in a dynamic and complex world. Based on application and learnings from many organizations around the world, this book reveals a playbook for strategy-execution that will help you: Decode the core elements of management and strategy-execution DNA Design and build next-generation Project/Program Management and PMO platform essential for effective strategy-execution Prepare your organization to effectively lead and implement agile transformation and organizational change Improve organizational project management (OPM) and PMO maturity by developing intelligence in each of the DNA areas of strategy-execution Improve overall organizational effectiveness and innovation capabilities Whether you are a part of a startup, or an established incumbent organization, the impact of digitization and disruption and the intensification of the DANCE-world requires a rethink and reset of how we organize and manage. This book presents a holistic approach and a playbook for effective strategy-execution with next-generation Project, Program and PMO capabilities.

A new look at delivering effective shareholder value from Peter Kontes, a true leader in the world of strategic management In The CEO, Strategy, and Shareholder Value, Peter Kontes, a true leader in the strategic management field, outlines the key to creating and growing shareholder value. The proper focus, contends Kontes, is in using quantitative measurements as guideposts on the path to success. The book first outlines the basics of the argument Kontes is making. He then briefly covers the five most important areas for business leaders, followed by a more detailed look at each of the focus areas. Finally, Kontes provides readers with a road map to implementing his suggestions. Presents an argument for a more holistic approach to delivering shareholder value Defines and then elaborates a new approach to strategic management Written by a true thought leader in the field, regularly featured in publications such as Fortune and BusinessWeek Never before have business leaders experienced the kind of tough decisions they are being forced to make as the economy undergoes incredibly rapid shifts. The common sense guide to successful leadership, The CEO, Strategy, and Shareholder Value delivers exactly the kind of solid, dynamic advice that will keep your organization moving on an upward path.

The Literary Theory Toolkit offers readers a rich compendium of key terms, concepts, and arguments necessary for the study of literature in a critical-theoretical context. Includes varied examples drawn from readily available literary texts spanning all periods and genres Features a chapter on performance, something not usually covered in similar texts Covers differing theories of the public sphere, ideology, power, and the social relations necessary for the understanding of approaches to literature

Learn from the concepts, capabilities, processes, and behaviors that aligned around one strategy with the hard-won, first-person wisdom found in One Strategy. Challenging traditional views of strategy and operational execution, this book-written by Microsoft executive Steven Sinofsky with Harvard Business School professor Marco Iansiti-describes how you can drive innovation by connecting the potential of strategic opportunities to the impact of operational execution. Lessons from the unique combination of real-world experience managing a large scale organization with academic research in strategy and innovation Reveals what it takes to align a complex organization around one strategy, manage its execution, and reach for «strategic integrity» Written by Microsoft executive Steven Sinofsky with Harvard Business School professor Marco Iansiti-a combined forty years of management and research experience A unique perspective on strategy development, alignment, and execution Drawn from Sinofsky's internal Microsoft blog where he communicated some of the management processes the team put to work while developing a 4,000 person, multi-year project-Microsoft Windows 7-One Strategy shares the hard-won insights you can use to successfully make the leap from strategy to execution.