Driving Strategic Change in Financial Services

Book Description

Financial services businesses are leading the way towards the global economy, yet they are in a state of turbulence. Where financial services are today, other industries such as electronics, computers, telecommunications, and air transport will be in the near future. This book describes why this is happening and how companies are tackling the challenge of this volatile environment. The first part describes the causes of this volatility through new government regulations, shifts in customer behavior, the impact of new technology, and more aggressive global competition. The second part of the book contains case study material from international companies including managing the portfolio of a global financial services organization and corporate development for an international bank. Driving Strategic Change in Financial Services is an essential tool for understanding the global climate in financial services and for mastering the task of developing an international company. Executives, policy-makers, and managers in banking and other markets such as electronic commerce will find valuable insights and useful case material. Features

Book Description

A new, updated edition of the successful job hunter?s classic
In this new Third Edition of The Five-Minute Interview, career guru Richard Beatty demonstrates how skillfully questioning an employer can establish an applicant as the best person for a position. The skills in this book will help job hunters gain control of an interview in five minutes and say all the right things to convince an interviewer that they're the one for the job. Three new sections have been added: resumes that win interviews, competency-based interviews, and surviving and winning the behavior-based interview.

Customer Reviews:

Ok I guess.......2007-09-17

The strategy is explained well, but the interviewer would have to be some type of push-over if they fell for this technique. Good luck.

The best interview book (by far!).......2007-04-17

In the course of my professional career I've read quite a few books on interview process. I've been both an interviewee and interviewer. This book is by far the best book on interviewing I've ever read and used with great success on both sides of a table, so to speak.

The main premise of this book is that every interview is highly dependent on an individual interviewer. When a candidate comes for an interview (s)he can only guess what an interviewer is looking for. In reality (s)he has no idea.

So, instead of responding to questions with guessing answers, -shooting from the hip so to speak -, the book suggests to spend first 5 minutes of the interview actually interviewing interviewer. Only then, with concrete knowledge of what this particular interviewer is looking for, the candidate can answer intelligently, matching his or her skills, knowledge and experience to particular needs of the interviewer.

Obviously this approach is not for cowards. One needs courage to change the usual interview procedure. It provides you with all the knowledge one needs to have to master and use this approach. I have followed this book with great success as both interviewee and interviewer.

From the book you'll learn all the different interview types and styles; the questions that will provide you with the ultimate knowledge of the company, your future responsibilities, and what it would take to succeed in the particular environment. You will learn how to match your background to the needs of the interviewer for the best results. You'll become and position yourself as an intelligent and competent interviewee.

Buy "The Five-minute Interview," read it, and use it to your great success.

The First Five Minutes: The Successful Opening Moves in Business, Sales & Interviews

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The First Five Minutes: The Successful Opening Moves in Business, Sales & Interviews
Norman King
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster (Trade Division)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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The First Five Minutes: A Sample of Microscopic Interview Analysis

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The First Five Minutes: A Sample of Microscopic Interview Analysis

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Product Description

This book, published in 1960, is a study of the linguistics in an initial interview between a psychiatrist and a young woman seeking preofessional help. The transcription of the interview and its analysis are published in "dutch door" cut pages. This book started as a project entitled "Linguistic-Kinesic Analysis of Schizophrenia" funded by the National Institute of Mental Health in 1957.

First Five Minutes: The Successful Opening Moves in Business Sales and Interviews (Positive Paperbacks)

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First Five Minutes: The Successful Opening Moves in Business Sales and Interviews (Positive Paperbacks)
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The Last Five Minutes: The Successful Closing Moves in Sales, Business and Interviews

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Book Description

This book focuses on the "Einstein Tower," an architecturally historic observatory built in Potsdam in 1920 to allow the German astronomer Erwin Finlay Freundlich to attempt to verify experimentally Einstein's general theory of relativity. Freundlich, who was the first German astronomer to show a genuine interest in Einstein's theory, managed to interest his architect friend Erich Mendelsohn in designing this unique building. Freundlich's researches were not a success; he came to doubt the very theory he was attempting to prove. (Adequate technology to test Einstein's theory lay many decades in the future.) By contrast, as an experiment in modernist architecture, the building led to international fame for Mendelsohn.

To develop a full historical picture of this moment in the history of science, the book interweaves several descriptive levels: the biography of Freundlich; the social context in which he interacted with teachers, co-workers, students, his patrons (including Einstein), and scientific opponents; the cognitive aspects of his attempts to verify Einstein's theory; the political milieu within the Berlin scientific research community; and a cross-national comparison of astrophysics.

Other layers of the narrative include the place of the Einstein Tower in architectural history; economics and sociopsychological components of the Tower's financing and construction; the reception of the Tower and the theory; a historical examination of the Tower's research results; and the effect on Freundlich and on the work at the Tower of the National Socialists’ rise to power.

Book Description

This established text continues to provide a rigorous account of the principles and practice of experimental organic chemistry, taking students from their first day in the laboratory right through to research work. New to this edition, a microscale approach has been integrated into the entire text, alongside conventional manipulations, bringing it in line with current laboratory practice. Maintaining the unique structure of the previous edition, the first half of the book surveys all aspects of safe laboratory practice, the use of a wide range of purification and analytical techniques, particularly spectroscopic analysis. The second half contains easy-to-follow experimental procedures, each designed to illustrate an important reaction type of basic principle of organic chemistry. Tried and tested over the past decade, these experiments are graded according to their complexity and many of these have microscale equivalents. Of prime importance, all aspects of health and safety in the laboratory have been updated according to the latest guidelines and are highlighted throughout the text.

Book Description

Using evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology as well as anthropolgy, primatology and archaeology, characters such as Dawkins, Gould and Dennett are beginning to piece together the first truly scientific account of human nature.

Customer Reviews:

Introducing the "Introducing" series........2007-06-15

If you've not read any of the "Introducing Such-and-such" series (or the similar "For Beginners" series from a different publisher) then I'll have to describe the overall series to you as well as this particular book.

Both of these series have the simple goal of serving as a brief introduction to the topic for an intelligent layman. The series makes use of copious illustrations throughout, so that they almost look like a comic book.

I sheepishly have to admit I picked this book up because I knew the Wachowski brothers, creators of The Matrix, had all their principal actors read it.

That said, this book fulfills the goal of giving a simple overview of the basic concepts of evolutionary psychology. I do a fair bit of self-directed reading about various psychology topics, so I found the subject interesting. The authors describe the origins of evolutionary psychology and how it's distinguished from the larger field of general psychology. Various topics covered include the evolution of human social behavior (and why reputation is so important to us), dietary habits (why fatty, sugar-laden foods are so hard to ignore) and mating patterns.

I have only two major criticisms concerning this book. The first is more of a minor annoyance than a significant flaw: Important figures are usually pictured as well as named. Later in the book these people are shown describing through speech bubbles important points of their theories. The problem is that their names are only given the first time. I found it very annoying to have to go back every time a certain picture was presented to remember the name and associate the theory with the correct person.

The second and more important problem is this: Although the authors present several objections to the theories of evolutionary psychology, their responses to these objections feel a bit too pat. They simply don't seem to be taking these arguments seriously. Of course, this is a short book intended only as an introduction to the field, so the authors had a limited scope, but I still found their approach to their critics a bit too dismissive.

Overall, if you're a curious, omnivorous reader like myself, you'll probably find this a good read. As other reviewers have noted, the book includes suggestions for further reading at the end, so if you really enjoyed the subject you already have directions for further research.

Short & Sweet.......2007-02-13

This book provides a brief introduction to the field of Evolutionary Psychology, defined as a combination of cognitive psychology and evolutionary biology. I finished it just as quickly as "The Zen of Farting" by Carl Japikse, but needless to say, this book was far more enlightening. The pages are almost in comic book format with pictures taking up the lion's share of space. The pictures weren't necessary to get the points across, but alas, to sell a brief and rudimentary book such as this, volume is necessary.

The author, a Ph.D. student in cognitive psychology at the time the book was written offers a great introduction to the field of evolutionary psychology and provides a laundry list of further readings on the subject.

If you have little to no exposure to this field, this is an excellent book to get you started. I highly recommend it.

This review not based on content but presentation.......2006-03-15

There's no way I can review this book based on content because I'm not very familiar with the fields, but I did appreciate how well the authors presented the theories on such a controversial theory. They did manage to shed some light on method of explaining human behavior that I never thought of and took for granted (my folly considering I'm an aspiring Sociologist).What's best is at the end of the book there are suggestions for further reading.

excellent.......2005-05-19

Highly recommended. A superb, easy-to-understand introduction to Evolutionary Psychology. A lot of drawings clearly explain the concepts.

By the way, I'm not at all surprised that a great book like this was published in Europe (the UK in this case). The squeamish Americans would have a lot of issues with the "graphic" illustrations and non-politically-correct content.

Wonderful & entertaining!

Great macro introduction to Evolutionary Psychology.......2004-04-02

This book changed my life. This book discusses information using real life scenerios which can be demonstrated in everyday life. It really spooked the "voodoo" (that which I could not explain) right out of me. And I'm a more temperate, more understanding person than I ever was before.

Again, this book covers details from a "macro perspective", that is it goes over the general details and explains the interconnectivity (global) information, rather than speaking in specific(unrelational) terms or ideas. It guides you logically through the process and displays the information in pictorials and patterns which make it very easy to understand its concepts.

Every institution providing education should use this books communication models in their programs. A lot of people going through institutional schooling get fustrated because schools fail to explain the interconnectivity first, and get lost in meaningless (unrelational) details.

I feel I have received many answers to the questions of life through this book. I highly recommend it.

Amazon.com

How would you prove to someone that the Earth is turning? This problem vexed scientists until 1851, when Leon Foucault devised one of the cleverest experiments in scientific history. Though he knew his pendulum experiment would work, Foucault didn't have the support or backing of the respected scientists of the day--his education and background excluded him from their ranks. But he knew he was onto something big, as he wrote out invitation cards: "You are invited to come to see the Earth turn, tomorrow, from three to five, at Meridian Hall of the Paris Observatory."

Amir Aczel tells Foucault's story in an easy, anecdotal style, with lots of digressions to give background and flavor to the tale. Most importantly, Aczel offers context for the discovery, reminding readers that great thinkers like Aristotle and Plato had the wrong idea about planetary motion, that Copernicus was lucky to die before the Inquisition could kill him for his radical notions, and that Galileo was severely persecuted by a Church that refused to accept astronomical reality. It took the sponsorship of Napoleon III to set Foucault's brilliant plan in motion, perhaps proving that science and politics can occasionally work together for the greater good. Pendulum is a delightful read, full of tidbits about the major astronomers and mathematicians of the 18th and 19th centuries. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

In 1851, struggling, self-taught physicist Léon Foucault performed a dramatic demonstration inside the Panthéon in Paris. By tracking a pendulum's path as it swung repeatedly across the interior of the large ceremonial hall, Foucault offered the first definitive proof -- before an audience that comprised the cream of Parisian society, including the future emperor, Napoleon III -- that the earth revolves on its axis.

Through careful, primary research, world-renowned author Amir Aczel has revealed the life of a gifted physicist who had almost no formal education in science, and yet managed to succeed despite the adversity he suffered at the hands of his peers. The range and breadth of Foucault's discoveries is astonishing: He gave us the modern electric compass, devised an electric microscope, invented photographic technology, and made remarkable deductions about color theory, heat waves, and the speed of light. Yet until now so little has been known about his life.

Richly detailed and evocative, Pendulum tells of the illustrious period in France during the Second Empire; of Foucault's relationship with Napoleon III, a colorful character in his own right; and -- most notably -- of the crucial triumph of science over religion.

Dr. Aczel has crafted a fascinating narrative based on the life of this most astonishing and largely unrecognized scientist, whose findings answered many age-old scientific questions and posed new ones that are still relevant today.

Customer Reviews:

A very readable biography of a great man of science.......2006-05-10

That a biography of L?on Foucault would be named after his legendary pendulum experiment is only appropriate. Proving the rotation of the earth and confirming the Copernican view of the solar system had vexed many of history's greatest minds for centuries. The author does an excellent job of explaining the evolution of the heliocentric view and of describing the efforts of many notable scientists to prove a theory that sharply contrasted with the church doctrine of the time.

However, this was only one of many contributions Foucault would make to science. In addition to advances in photography, lighting, and telescope optics, Foucault invented the gyroscope, a device used in modern times to allow spacecraft to keep their bearings. Remarkably, Foucault accomplished so much despite a complete lack of formal scientific training. Sadly, one of the book's constant themes is how difficult it was for Foucault to receive proper recognition from his colleagues simply because they did not consider him to be a proper man of science.

I have read several of Amir Aczel's books, and Pendulum is by far my favorite. L?on Foucault is an appealing subject, and Aczel has a knack for explaining scientific concepts in a clear and concise manner. Despite having relatively little knowledge of physics I always found the book to be easy to follow.

Proving that the earth moves.......2005-10-26

Written in an easy to read prose, this book makes a strong case for the importance of Foucault's work to our modern world, both in terms of scientific theory and in terms of applied technology. The author does a good job of explaining the historical context for Foucault's pendulum experiment, showing why it was so revolutionary. But this is more than just the story of a man who provided the definitive proof that the earth revolves on its axis. Foucault was largely self taught, and his story is equally about his struggles to find acceptance within the scientific establishment of his time, in spite of his clear contributions to the body of scientific knowledge. Thus this book also serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of prejudice in any form.

Foucault's Triumph of Science, Indeed!.......2005-04-14

This is an excellent treatment on the life and science of Leon Focault, the self-taught man who changed the mind of the Catholic Church rather than be persecuted like so many other scientist were for exposing scientific evidence that ran afoul of the repressive dogma of church doctrine and in that alone, it was a monumental achievement.

Using his pendulum, Foucault conclusively proved that the earth rotated on it's axis and around the sun- NOT the Catholic Church. In October of 1992, Pope John Paul II made a public apology to Galileo and in this, [the apology] "...owes everything to the work of Leon Focault almost a century and a half earlier."- p 239.

Of course, the apology should have been given directly to Galileo, but hey, better late than never and another feather in the cap of the recently passed John Paul II.

Aczel writes with a flowing narrative- "like a novelist", as one reviewer states, and invites people from all backgrounds to understand the life and accomplishments of Focault and to give due recognition and honor to such a dedicated scientist. Well researched with easy to understand science, including illustrations, photos and drawings, one will come to know the man and his genius.

Chief amongst Foucault's many discoveries were the modern electric compass, an electric microscope, photographic technology, insights into color theory, heat waves, and the speed of light. And there was so much more!

Before the Preface is a quote from Focault that wisely sums up the import of his pendulum and it's proof of the earth's rotation:

"The phenomenon develops calmly, but it is invisible, unstoppable. One feels, one sees it born and grow steadily; and it is not in one's power to either hasten or slow it down. Any person, brought into the presence of this fact, stops for a few moments and remains pensive and silent; and then generally leaves, carrying with him forever a sharper, keener sense of our incessant motion through space."- Leon Foucault, 1851.

Wonderfully Written Story.......2004-12-29

I really liked the book. It covered a lot of interesting historical material as well as the main topic. Two items stand out in my mind, but there are many others: 1. the Foucault pendulum discovery severed the ties between science and church. It overturned the Aristolean view the church held that the earth did not move. This is a very important historic event. 2. The event that happened on Dec. 2, 1851. Louis-Napoleon, the elected president of France, overthrew the government and declared himself ruler as Napoleon III. It may seem a stretch, but this may have parallels in our political future of this country. Napoleon III had a strong desire to make France over in the manner he desired. Can we think of someone in our country (U.S.) who might want a make over? Hmmm. Although my background is in mathematics, I liked the historic interplay between the physcists and mathematicians who were essentially insulted and embarrassed by the Foucault discovery.

Another reviewer above was not happy with the book and remarked that the science was wrong. It would have been good if he gave some references or other details why he felt that way. If one is bent on a scientific treatise about this, perhaps a book like Waves, Vol. 3, of the Berkeley series on physics would fill the needs the reviewer and others. It might be a worthwhile to pass his claims by a newsgroup such as sci.physics.

Tour of 2nd Empire France.......2004-11-02

When about 4, I visited the majestic Foucault pendulum housed in the Los Angeles Observatory. It was awe inspiring and I've never forgotten the experience. I was hoping this little book would help me understand the experiment and my reaction. In both cases, the book was only partially successful.

At a scientific level, the book is a failure. Don't expect to learn any physics, or even improve your understanding of pendulums.

At the level of 'history of science', the book is a mixed bag. The history is anecdotal, reminding me of a 'grand-tour' of 2nd Empire celebrities. Sprinkled in, one will find a second 'grand-tour' of flat-earth debates. Some of these anecdotes are hilarious. Unfortunately, you won't find much insight into the practice of 19th century science or Foucault's mind. The external details are of considerable interest, though. I have to say I enjoyed the read.

Book Description

Imogen was fifty.

She had been married to Peter for over twenty years, and having brought up her children, she was living in a wonderful house, with money and time to spare.

Suddenly, she finds herself traded in for a younger model - a 'Fast Tracker' Completely devastated, she retreats to a small house on the edge of Epping Forest, where she indulges in binge eating and self-deprecation. Finally, when she can no longer fit into her clothes, and there seems to be no hope, she discovers a way forward. Helped by a new friend, she rediscovers herself, making a journey to her past that enables her to move on to her future.

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