Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Andrea Larson · Saylor Foundation · 2011
This book is suited for the Entrepreneurship or Innovation course with an emphasis on Sustainability or for a course devoted entirely to Sustainability. What are the trends and forces underlying the changing character of the business-environment relationship? How they are creating significant entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals and companies? Around the world, the movement toward ”sustainable development“ has caused many firms to adopt policies and practices that reflect what is sometimes called a ”sustainable business“ or ”triple bottom line“ approach. ”Triple bottom line“ refers to the demonstration of strong performance across economic, social, and environmental indicators. Those measures serve as indicators of fiduciary responsibility to a growing set of concerned investors and therefore can help ensure access to capital. They also enable innovators to lower costs, create strategic differentiation, reduce risk, and position themselves for competitive advantage over rivals less attuned to trends. The deep roots of sustainability thinking are now evident in widespread and increasingly visible activities worldwide, and Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship explores this evolution; its necessity, its implications and its progression.
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Risk Management for Enterprises and Individuals
Etti Baranoff; Patrick Brockett; Yehuda Kahane · Saylor Foundation · 2009
This book is intended for the Risk Management and Insurance course where Risk Management is emphasized. When we think of large risks, we often think in terms of natural hazards such as hurricanes, earthquakes or tornados. Perhaps man-made disasters come to mind such as the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001. Typically we have overlooked financial crises, such as the credit crisis of 2008. However, these types of man-made disasters have the potential to devastate the global marketplace. Losses in multiple trillions of dollars and in much human suffering and insecurity are already being totaled, and the global financial markets are collapsing as never before seen. We can attribute the 2008 collapse to financially risky behavior of a magnitude never before experienced. The 2008 U.S. credit markets were a financial house of cards. A basic lack of risk management (and regulators' inattention or inability to control these overt failures) lay at the heart of the global credit crisis. This crisis started with lack of improperly underwritten mortgages and excessive debt. Companies depend on loans and lines of credit to conduct their routine business. If such credit lines dry up, production slows down and brings the global economy to the brink of deep recession—or even depression. The snowballing effect of this failure to manage the risk associated with providing mortgage loans to unqualified home buyers have been profound, indeed. When the mortgages failed because of greater risk- taking on the Street, the entire house of cards collapsed. Probably no other risk-related event has had, and will continue to have, as profound an impact world wide as this risk management failure. How was risk in this situation so badly managed? What could firms and individuals have done to protect themselves? How can government measure such risks (beforehand) to regulate and control them? These and other questions come to mind when we contemplate the consequences of this risk man
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Project Management from Simple to Complex
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2016
In a world that is becoming more virtual, more global, and more complex, the project manager's ability to function in this environment becomes critical to the success of the project. Project Management from Simple to Complex explores project management within this complex, virtual, and global environment. This is not a standard textbook that was adapted to the new publishing paradigm; it was designed from the beginning to utilize its capabilities. The book is written in collaboration by an expert in Project Management and an expert in writing instructional textbooks and using technology for communicating online to create a unique learning environment that prepares students to manage projects in a global, multicultural, and online environment. Project Management from Simple to Complex features a new model for managing projects, as well as, exploration into the personal dynamics of project management and the role those dynamics play in project outcomes.
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Principles of Management
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2015
Principles of Management teaches management principles to tomorrow's business leaders by weaving three threads through every chapter: strategy, entrepreneurship and active leadership. Strategic — All business school teachings have some orientation toward performance and strategy and are concerned with making choices that lead to high performance. Principles of Management will frame performance using the notion of the triple bottom-line — the idea that economic performance allows individuals and organizations to perform positively in social and environmental ways as well. The triple bottom line is financial, social, and environmental performance. It is important for all students to understand the interdependence of these three facets of organizational performance. The Entrepreneurial Manager — While the "General Management" course at Harvard Business School was historically one of its most popular and impactful courses (pioneered in the 1960s by Joe Bower), recent Harvard MBAs did not see themselves as "general managers." This course was relabeled "The Entrepreneurial Manager" in 2006, and has regained its title as one of the most popular courses. This reflects and underlying and growing trend that students, including the undergraduates this book targets, can see themselves as entrepreneurs and active change agents, but not just as managers. By starting fresh with an entrepreneurial/change management orientation, this text provides an exciting perspective on the art of management that students can relate to. At the same time, this perspective is as relevant to existing for-profit organizations (in the form intrapreneurship) as it is to not-for-profits and new entrepreneurial ventures. Active Leadership — Starting with the opening chapter, Principles of Management shows students how leaders and leadership are essential to personal and organizational effectiveness and effective organizational change. Students are increasingly active as leaders at an early age, and are
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Organizational Behavior
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2017
Organizational Behavior bridges the gap between theory and practice with a distinct "experiential" approach. On average, a worker in the USA will change jobs 10 times in 20 years. In order to succeed in this type of career situation, individuals need to be armed with the tools necessary to be life-long learners. To that end, this book is not be about giving students all the answers to every situation they may encounter when they start their first job or as they continue up the career ladder. Instead, this book gives students the vocabulary, framework, and critical thinking skills necessary to diagnose situations, ask tough questions, evaluate the answers received, and to act in an effective and ethical manner regardless of situational characteristics. Often, students taking OB either do not understand how important knowledge of OB can be to their professional careers, or they DO understand and they want to put that knowledge into practice. Organizational Behavior takes a more experiential angle to the material to meet both of those needs. The experiential approach can be incorporated in the classroom primarily through the "OB Toolbox." This feature brings life to the concepts and allows students to not only see how the OB theories unfold, but to practice them, as well.
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Launch! Advertising and Promotion in Real Time
Michael Solomon; Lisa Cornell; Amit Nizan · Saylor Foundation · 2009
Launch! Advertising and Promotion is written for advertising and promotion courses taught to students in the business school and journalism & mass communication students. This textbook is the first of its kind to teach advertising concepts by reverse engineering a real advertising campaign from beginning to end. In April 2007, SS+K, an innovative New York City communications agency, launched the first ever branding campaign for msnbc.com with the tag "A Fuller Spectrum of News." Launch! follows that campaign from initial agency pitch through roll-out of print and media assets to post-campaign analysis. Throughout, it exposes readers to the theory and concepts of advertising and promotion, and the personalities and decisions that drove this campaign. The book takes a rare look ”behind the curtain“ — even letting you see some of the paths not chosen by the agency and client. Students get a realistic sense of how theory plays out in practice, and get a flavor for the exciting field of advertising and promotion. And, they consistently learn the perspectives of both the advertising agency (where many journalism and communications students will work) and the client (where many marketing majors will work). This is a unique book, with a unique perspective, by a unique author team, and you won't find this kind of insight in any other text on the market. We think you're going to love it! This textbook has been used in classes at: Ball State University, Emerson College, Florida Institute of Technology, Grand Valley State University, Johnson County Community College, Manchester Business School, McLennan Community College, Michigan State University, North Hennepin Community College, Pierce College, Rochester Institute of Technology, Saint Louis University, Salem State College, South Dakota State University, Texas State University, Texas Tech University, University of New Hampshire, University of North Carolina, University of Notre Dame, University of South Florida, Virginia Tech
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Exploring Business
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2016
The author's goals in writing Exploring Business Version 2.0 was simple: introduce students to business in an exciting way. Exploring Business is adapted from a work produced by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing through the eLearning Support Initiative. Though the publisher has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution, this adapted edition reproduces all original text and sections of the book, except for publisher and author name attribution. This textbook has been used in classes at: College of Alameda, Columbia Basin College, Flagler College, Johnson County Community College, Pasadena City College, Penn State University, Renton Technical College, San Diego Mesa College, Sierra College, Yuba College.
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eMarketing: The Essential Guide to Marketing in a Digital World
Dionne Solomons; Tania Kliphuis; Michelle Wadley · Red & Yellow · 2022
Since our 10th Anniversary Edition of eMarketing: The Essential Guide to Marketing in a Digital World, we have witnessed a global wave of change that has had an undeniable impact on how we live, connect, and communicate worldwide. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has, and will continue to have, a lasting effect on human reality. With this in mind, we are incredibly proud to present the 7th Edition of our textbook.
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Communication for Business Success
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2015
Business Communication for Success (BCS) provides a comprehensive, integrated approach to the study and application of written and oral business communication to serve both student and professor. This series features chapters with the following elements: Learning Objectives Introductory Exercises Clear expectations, relevant background, and important theories Practical, real-world examples Key Takeaways or quick internal summaries Key terms that are easily identified In-chapter assignments Postchapter assessments linked to objectives and skills acquisition Each chapter is self-contained, allowing for mix-and-match flexibility and custom or course-specific design. Each chapter focuses on clear objectives and skill demonstrations that can be easily linked to your syllabus and state or federal requirements. Supported by internal and external assessments, each chapter features time-saving and learning-enhancement support for instructors and students. BCS is designed to help students identify important information, reinforce for retention, and demonstrate mastery with a clear outcome product. The text has three content categories: Foundations Process and products Contexts The first three chapters form the core foundation for the study of oral and written business communication. The next sequence of chapters focus on the process of writing, then oral performance with an emphasis on results. The final sequence focuses on contexts where business communication occurs, from interpersonal to intercultural, from groups to leadership. In each of the process and product chapter sequences, the chapters follow a natural flow, from prewriting to revision, from preparation for a presentation to performance. Each sequence comes together in a concluding chapter that focuses on action—where we apply the skills and techniques of written or oral communication in business, from writing a letter to presenting a sales speech. These performances not only serve to reinforce real-world applicat
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Intermediate Financial Accounting
Glenn Arnold; Suzanne Kyle · Lyryx · 2017
This new text by G. Arnold and S. Kyle, developed in collaboration by Athabasca University and Lyryx, is intended for the second of two in Intermediate Financial Accounting courses. It presumes that students have already completed the Introductory Financial Accounting, and the first Intermediate Financing Accounting course. The text reflects both current International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and ASPE. This text covers all topics essential to a second level Intermediate Accounting course: current, long-term and complex liabilities, income taxes, pensions, leases, shareholders' equity, earnings per share, statement of cash flows including the direct approach, effects of changes and errors, and disclosures and analysis. Topics that are covered in Advanced Financial Accounting courses, such as consolidations and foreign exchange, are not included here.