FEE Survey of Pensions and Other Retirement Benefits in European and Non-European Countries

Book Description

Evaluates the social and economic implications of the three main types of pension used in European countries: the state pension, the occupational pension and the private pension scheme.

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Age of Knowledge Workers - A handbook

Insightful!

A Solid Analysis

Excellent summary of critical human capital investor issues

A Business Book with Brains (and Heart and Soul)

Human Capital: What It Is and Why People Invest It (The Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series)
Thomas O. Davenport
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Roi of Human Capital: Measuring the Economic Value of Employee Performance

The Workforce Scorecard: Managing Human Capital To Execute Strategy

Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education

The Cognitive Leader: Building Winning Organizations through Knowledge Leadership

Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations

ASIN: 0787940151

Book Description

No longer mere company "assets," today's in-demand workers have become free agents who can and do invest their ability, behavior, and energy-their human capital-in the companies of their choice. And the companies they choose, the companies that will win in the marketplace, will be the ones that know how to create and deliver the best return on that investment. In this book, author Thomas O. Davenport explores the dynamics of this emerging workplace phenomenon and describes specific strategies that companies and workers can use to build mutually beneficial relationships in the new knowledge economy.

Customer Reviews:

Age of Knowledge Workers - A handbook.......2005-01-16

The strength of the book is obvious to every one, and can be summarized here.

I find the book more useful for students of library & information science, with plenty of tabulated / illustrated useful themes, such as, Knowledge worker (p.9), comptence building (pp. 131-132), intangible capital measuring (p. 216), job fulfillment & ROI (p. 33-34), etc.

contents:
1 Worker as Investor: A New Metaphor
2 Human Capital Investments and Returns
3 Human Capital and Competitive Strategy
4 Hiring Human Capital Investors
5 Setting the Stage Through Workplace Environment
6 Paving the Way for High Investment
7 Building Human Capital
8 Holding On to Human Capital Investors
9 Optimizing and Measuring Human Capital Investment

Davenport reminds succintly, "people are not costs, factors of production, or assets. They are investors in a business, paying in human capital and expecting a return on their investment." In order to make human capital work, as effectively as possible, this CEO stresses on the fact that the management must make sure that people understand how the organization becomes successful--i.e., only with humans, humans and humans--NOT with the old currencies of capital, assetts, credits, and debits in the ROI and ROA.

The weakness in Davenport's book is is that it focuses on professional investment ONLY. Professional and personal mind as a whole gives a fuller picture. Whereas, ignoring the personal side, leads to lopsidedness. An individual investor has his / her energy, synergy and soul contributing in workplace-- they are not Just Robots. Those who are looking for such a holistic picture have to look elsewhere and in other books. My listmania, at Amazon has many titles which facilitate looking at the investor in a holistic sense.

This listmania is facilitating accommodation, tolerance and striking adjustment among the co-investor, among the teammates, etc. 'Religion in workplace (religious practice in work hours)' (...)

Nevertheless, Davenport gets the credit of making this idea so explicit and obvious: "worker is an investor," wherein the worker (oops, investor) is a free bird, with an added power to negotiate with the board, or get out whenever negotiations fail.

Insightful!.......2001-04-04

The 1990s may well be remembered as the decade of employee empowerment (at least in management theory circles), but very few companies ever put their money where their mouths were when it came to dismantling the old "command-and-control" structures. Thomas O. Davenport makes a fresh case for empowerment by placing the argument in the context of the current tight labor market, and presenting scarce knowledge workers as investors of human capital. These human capital investors should be valued, nurtured and rewarded by companies in much the same way that financial investors are cared for. Although many of the conclusions that result from this novel theory mirror those of earlier works in employee empowerment, we [...] strongly recommend this book for its original take on the changing nature of the employer/employee relationship.

A Solid Analysis.......2000-10-20

Actually, if you are interested in this subject, there are at least four books to read: this one, Fitz-enz's The ROI of Human Capital, and two different books with the same title, Intellectual Capital, by Annie Brooking and Tom Stewart. So often, we hear someone say that "Our most valuable assets walk out the door at the end of each day." That's true. But what does it really mean when assigning value to human "assets"? Davenport has written a very solid book (I'm NOT damning with faint praise), one which I strongly recommend. Given the importance of this subject, I again suggest reading at least the four books previously identified. Who knows? Davenport may be, in your considered opinion, the most hepful. He has a sharp mind. He writes very well indeed. His observations and suggestions are rock-solid. (Chapter Nine all by itself is well worth the cost of the book.) My initial rating of his book was Four Stars but as I began to formulate my thoughts which comprise this brief commentary, I've changed my mind. When transmitting to the Amazonians, I shall increase that rating to Five Stars. How valuable this book is to you is a determination only you can make. One final point: For the cost of only one hour of my time as an independent management consultant, you can purchase at least four books on this critically important subject. If that isn't great value, I really don't know what is.

Excellent summary of critical human capital investor issues.......1999-08-14

This book is a valuable and well-written summary of key elements in the equation of how to entice employees - human capital investors - to invest in your enterprise to the benefit of both parties. It pulls together in one book, and one coherent framework, lots of valuable concepts. It is also full of practical ideas on how to implement those concepts. It's worth reading for those who are interested in leading people effectively.

A Business Book with Brains (and Heart and Soul).......1999-04-14

As an avid reader of business books and a management consultant myself, I cannot say enough good things about this deceptively straightforward, yet truly great book. Davenport does what other business authors do not typically set out to do: he engages both your mind and your heart. Through the use of metaphors, stories, and real-life case examples, he outlines a sound conceptual framework for understanding employees as investors. Without resorting to glib cliches and "soft-headed" truisims, he builds a logical and convincing case that outlines how any organization interested in greatness can unleash the potential that resides in every employee. By conveying a deep and profound respect for the power and talent of people, he challenges the "architects" and leaders of organizations to create environments that will bring out the best in everybody. By emphasizing the reciprocity of the employee-employer relationship, he shows us how any organization can create and deliver a deal(or deals)that will attract, retain, and motivate the best talent available.

Book Description

In only forty years the exploration of space has become one of humanity's preeminent achievements. Space Odyssey follows the greatest moments of this saga and tells the tale of the four hundred men and women who have been into space. The journey begins with the pioneers of life in space, those first humans sent into Earth orbit and the legendary crews of the Apollo missions. It continues aboard the Mir space station, where we are invited to share the intimate life of its Russian, American and French inhabitants as they walk on the ceiling and sleep on the walls. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the adventure moves forward with the International Space Station. Filled with stunning photographs, many taken by the astronauts themselves, Space Odyssey portrays the hopes and dreams of those who have been directly involved in one of the greatest adventures of all time. Serge Brunier is chief editor of the journal Ciel et Espace, a photojournalist, and the author of many nonfiction books aimed at both specialists and the general public. His previous books include Majestic Universe (Cambridge, 1999) and Glorious Eclipses with Jean-Pierre Luminet (Cambridge, 2000).

Book Description

This handbook provides the theoretical and practical information necessary to explore new applications for Grignard reagents on a day-to-day basis, presenting a comprehensive overview of current research activities in Grignard chemistry. This book surveys specific reactions and applications of Grignard reagents, organized by type of substrate and the general category of reaction. It also summarizes the spectrum of reactions exhibited by Grignard reagents.

Book Description

John Steinbeck was never content to repeat himself, and his restless search for new forms and fresh subject matter is fully evident in the books of his later years. This volume collects four novels that exhibit the full range of his gift, along with a travel book that has become one of his most enduringly popular works.

In The Wayward Bus (1947), Steinbeck leads a group of ill-matched passengers representing a spectrum of social types and classes, stranded by a washed-out bridge, on a circuitous journey that exposes cruelties, self-deceptions, and unsuspected moral strengths. The tone ranges from boisterous comedy to trenchant satirical observation of postwar America. Burning Bright (1950), an allegory set against shifting backgrounds (circus, sea, farm) and revolving around the fear of sterility and the desire for self-perpetuation, marks Steinbeck's involvement with the drama in its fusion of the forms of novel and play.

Sweet Thursday (1954) marks Steinbeck's return, in a mood of sometimes frothy comedy, to the characters and milieu of his earlier Cannery Row. A love story set against the background of the local brothel, the Bear Flag, Sweet Thursday is for all its intimations of melancholy one of the most lighthearted of Steinbeck's books. It was subsequently adapted by Rodgers and Hammerstein into their musical Pipe Dream. Steinbeck's final novel, The Winter of Our Discontent (1961) is set in an old Long Island whaling town modeled on Sag Harbor, where he had been spending time since 1953. The book breaks new ground in its depiction of the crass commercialism of contemporary America, and its impact on a protagonist with traditionalist values who is appalled but finally tempted by the encroaching sleaziness.

Travels with Charley in Search of America (1962) was Steinbeck's last published book. A record of his experiences and observations as he drove around America in a pickup truck, accompanied by his standard poodle Charley, it is filled with engaging, often humorous description and comes to a powerful climax in an encounter with racist demonstrators in New Orleans.

Robert DeMott, co-editor, is the Edwin and Ruth Kennedy Distinguished Professor at Ohio University and the author of Steinbeck's Typewriter, an award-winning book of critical essays. Brian Railsback, co-editor, is dean of the Honors College at Western Carolina University and the author of Parallel Expeditions: Charles Darwin and the Art of John Steinbeck.

Customer Reviews:

Fititng Conclusion to Series.......2007-04-12

This volume is up to the LOA's customary magnificient standards. This is not Steinbeck's best work (although I persist in viewing "Sweet Thursday" as under-valued), but still worth every penny.
Steinbeck fans should have this on their shelves. DeMott's previous editorial work on The Grapes of Wrath establishes him as the editor of choice for any edition, and these Library of America editions are becoming, justifiably, the "standard" texts.

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The Wayward Bus

Manufacturer: NY: Viking.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: B000HYRXJ0

Product Description

People travelling in a motorcoach respond variously to the accident in which they become involved. Fiction

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Four and twenty passengers stuck on a bus
Our Wayward SUVs?
intriguing character driven novel
get aboard!
A Story Of Redemption, Love And The Meaning Of Life

The Wayward Bus (Penguin Classics)
John Steinbeck
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0142437875

Book Description

Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America's greatest writers and cultural figures. Over the next year, his many works, beginning with the six shown here, will be published as black-spine Penguin Classics for the first time and will feature eye-catching, newly commissioned art.

Of this initial group of six titles, The Wayward Bus is in a new edition. An imaginative and unsentimental chronicle of a bus traveling California's back roads. This allegorical novel of pilgrimage includes a new introduction by Gary Scharnhorst.

Penguin Classics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and to the many who revisit them again and again.

Customer Reviews:

Four and twenty passengers stuck on a bus.......2007-09-26

Juan Chicoy was the driver of the bus and his mission was to get his passengers safely to their destination. He was driving down the California coast towards Mexico where Juan encounters a terrible rainstorm along the way. The bus becomes stuck in a ditch and they are seemingly stranded. Some of Juan's passengers are employees of Alice, Juan's alcoholic wife who manages a lunchroom. These include Norma, a waitress, and Kit "Pimples" Carson, nicknamed for his acne scarred face. The other passengers are Mildred and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Pritchard, a voluptuous blond, a salesman, and cranky old Mr. Van Brunt. Many of the passengers are escaping from their dull lives and others have ambitions they desire to bring to fruition.

It took me quite a while to get into the book's story, of which there is little. The plot is instead character driven. We learn that the Pritchard's marriage is not as ideal as it seemed at first, and that Mrs. Pritchard is neurotic and suffers from headaches which she often blames on her kindly, but hapless husband. Norma has Hollywood and Clark Gable on her mind, and has some misplaced admiration for Camille. Pimples hopes to study about radar, is extremely lonely, has an inferiority complex, and has a crush on the virginal Norma.

By the trip's end, people whom I originally thought dull and mundane, become good and worthy individuals whom I learn to care about. Such is the genius of John Steinbeck, who again shows great competence in transforming his characters.

Our Wayward SUVs?.......2007-06-20

With its gritty realism "The Wayward Bus" unravels much of the post WWII American utopia, the last glitters of which we see today. The story centers on an odd cast of characters traveling in a rickety old bus along a remote stretch of the California desert. The bus and its occupants provide a microcosm of a society adrift. It serves as a stark contrast to Norman Rockwell's noble mid-twentieth century caricature of America, exemplified in his romantic renderings of the coherent small town Americana with its close knit familial values. The novel starkly exposes America as a nation of gypsies, who seeking wealth or adventure, look to their meanderings as a means to fufill their superficial yearnings. It is only with the break down of the bus that each individual is forced to come to grips with the decisions they must make to provide greater purpose in their lives.

Curiously enough, for some of us today society seems analogous to a broken down bus. I wonder if we can take heart from Steinbeck's message and realize that some of our answers rest in confronting more forthrightly our current problems as we awake from our wayward SUVs.

intriguing character driven novel.......2007-04-17

This book is a great character-driven narrative. The plot isn't propelled by formulaic action that so many popular books tend to use, but instead is focused on the characters, where they started and where they end up and how they get there. In many ways, each of the characters in this book is a metaphorical "wayward bus" as each of the characters comes out a changed person at the end of the book. For some of the characters, this is a good thing--for others, it's not so good.

Steinbeck is my favorite author because of his particular attention to detail that can sometimes startle you. His portrayal of each person in the narrative is so real, so stripped bare and vulnerable, that at first read you might be tempted to think that Steinbeck's portrayal is unrealistic. But a second glance shows that Steinbeck's view of people is undoubtedly true--gritty, ugly, and something to be hidden, but true.

This of course is not limited to this particular novel. This is when Steinbeck began honing his craft for his later great work "East of Eden." One can even feel forshadowing of that epic novel within "The Wayward Bus"; a man named Trask and his two sons are even mentioned. Interesting to think about...

Anyway, this is a must-read for Steinbeck lovers, as well as those who would simply like a good read. Great if you love character-driven stories instead of the same old same old plot devices.

get aboard!.......2005-05-20

this book answers the question, "who would you meet on a bus in the middle of nowhere in southern california?" answer: dreamers, malcontents, hustlers, elitists, and strippers. this well defined cast of characters makes for a fascinating read.

althought the story only covers two days, steinbeck takes the time to go back and let us know about each character and what makes them tick. these are real people with real issues. the reader can identify with all of them if he is honest with himself. these people are a true slice of americana. they have hopes and dreams as well as misgivings and problems. their lives have good things and bad things that impact them still today. what happens with them after they get off the bus is not really important. just meeting them and seeing them interact is all you need.

this is quality steinbeck so don't miss the bus!

A Story Of Redemption, Love And The Meaning Of Life.......2005-04-18

Once again John Steinbeck has written a beautifully crafted novel in this tale of a Bus Trip to San Juan de la Cruz. The bus driver is Juan Chicoy who is seeking Redemption and Meaning in his life. Aboard the bus are an ensemble of characters . We are introduced to Camille Oaks, a former stripper who is bewildered by her sexual attractiveness to men and Mr. Pritchard and his wife who are perfect examples of rigid Upper Class American Society.Also on the bus are 17 years old "Pimples" Carson who is confused by his Raging Hormonal Desires and Norma , a shy girl who takes refuge in a fantasy world of celebrities that she admires.Along the way we see the lives of these characters altered forever. This book was first published in 1947 and yet the prose is so fresh and beautifully written that one could easily think that it was written yesterday. Such was the talented writing ability of John Steinbeck.

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East of eden and the Wayward Bus
John Steinbeck
Manufacturer: The Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Wayward Bus
John Steinback
Manufacturer: Transworld
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007K772C

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The Wayward Bus
Steinbeck. John
Manufacturer: The Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I07XQ6

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East of Eden and The Wayward Bus

Manufacturer: The Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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East of Eden and The Wayward Bus
John Steinbeck
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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East of Eden and The Wayward Bus
John Steinbeck
Manufacturer: Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Average customer rating:

East of Eden and The Wayward Bus

Manufacturer: Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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