Competitions Books

North Korea's nuclear-weaponization poses a serious concern for political and military imbalance in Northeast Asia. However, a much larger, though tacit, discomfort than politico-military imbalance has been festering in the region for some time now. Its source: China's (re)emergence on the global stage as a formidable economic powerhouse. In his book "China Shakes the World" (2006), James Kynge quotes Napoleon as having said, "Let China sleep, for when she wakes up, she will shake the world." What a prediction? Todate the neighborhood, and indeed the world, is "In China's Shadow" - another book by Reed Hunt (2006). The world, far and near, is taking notes with mixed emotions.

"Strategic Choices in Science and Technology' examines the implications of a rising China on (South) Korea. The book is divided into seven chapters, and its principal goal is to understand whether Korea and China are competitors or complementers. The first chapter is a traditional introductory chapter; it sketches the objective, methodology, scope, and organization of the study.

Chapters 2-5 are about (i) the key issues Korea faces given a rising China; (ii) the current state and direction of the technological capabilities of the two countries; (iii) China's innovation game ( rules, payoffs, and strategies); and similarly (iv) Korea's innovation matrix. This group of chapters is more informative than instructive, but that is my value-judgment.

Chapter 6 offers analytical scenarios of the future of Science and Technology (S&T) in both countries. For those seeking inspiring research problems in this area, here is one place to look. The concluding chapter is clear and direct. Korea cannot help but pay attention to China; China is Korea's largest trading partner and a significant destination of foreign direct investment in that neighborhood. While Korea's confidence about her aggregate S&T capability is justified, China spends a huge amount of money on research and human and nonhuman resource development. Consequently, China is stronger than Korea in basic scientific research, but Korea is more productive (inventive) than China.

From here the book describes China's national innovation matrix. The description shows that the country's economic development rests on two pillars: S&T and education. Chinese universities are stronger sources of knowledge than indigenous industries. However, technological progress depends on openness to both foreign trade and knowledge.

With two giants (China and Japan) now in the same neighborhood, Korea will continue to do well only if it intensifies its R & D efforts and efficiency. The future requires that Korea engage Chinese markets extensively and intensively, reform its educational system, and open up to more foreign (non-Chinese) markets.

This is a very good book overall.

Amavilah, Author
Modeling Income Determinants in Embedded Economies : Cross-section Applications to US Native American Economies
ISBN: 1600210465

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Much of my professional reading is devoted to anthologies, such as this book, which are a collection of papers or essays about a narrow theme. This book is one of those rare collections that come across as though written by a single author, and the range of topics and how they are connected results in one of the best books I've read on business/IT alignment and strategic planning.

The recurring theme is using IT to achieve competitive advantage, and the topics go into every important facet of IT and how it can be leveraged to achieve that goal. More importantly, many of the papers provide answers to questions with which many organizations are currently grappling. For example, "Strategic Alignment for Electronic Commerce", "Communicating Strategic IT Vision to Organization Members: A Conceptual Framework" and "Outsourcing Decisions: Using Porter's Model" are, in my opinion, address some thorny issues and provide clear advice and guidelines. I also liked "Competitive Force/Marketing Mix (CF/MM) Framework", which is business focused, and "The Importance of the IT-End User Relationship Paradigm in Obtaining Alignment Between IT and the Business", which gives answers to a perennial question.

If you are seeking a source of ideas to help answer the basic question, How Can IT Best Support the Business?, this book will prove to be a treasure trove of ideas and advice.

This two volume work covers all critical bodies of literature, and favors the serious academic articles, in contrasts to the popularist articles. The work is not driven by any agenda, but offers an excellent sampling of perspectives that cuts across the major streams of thinking. Volume I has three parts. Part I treats competitive strategy with articles covering Industrial Organization-a branch of micro economics and Michael Porter's view on the nature of competitive strategy. Part II concerns the resource-based view based on the premise that the firm is a bundle of assets and capabilities, which under certain conditions form the source for competitive advantage. Part III presents articles on corporate strategy: the higher-level choices made by executives around the portfolio of businesses they participate in, and the ways in which they-corporate strategists-add value to those businesses. The three parts of volume II cover: the strategic process; innovation, entrepreneurship, and renewal; and global strategy. A treasure trove of great articles.

I had the pleasure of taking a class with Professor Grimm at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His knowledge base is incredible, and throughout the semester he never ceased to amaze me with his insights.

If you don't have the opportunity to study with him, the book could be your best bet. He illuminates what "strategy" really means and demonstrates in understandable terms how we can actually execute it--not just talk about it in academic terms.

Must read if you're interested in dynamic strategy.

This is a great resource, though it is starting to get a bit out of date. For example, it lists the Thacher Summer Science Program. That program has moved from Thacher School. It now has two campuses, one in Ojai, CA at a school a few miles from Thacher and the other in Socorro, NM. The contact information has also changed (see summerscience .org). It would be great to see a new edition of this book.

I found this an extremely helpful guide for teaching my middle school students how to conduct an original investigation. Though at first glance there seems to be an overwhelming amount of details addressed, it is easy to pick and choose topics as needed. It makes a sometimes complex task manageable.

Seeing that this title was first published in 1989 you'd have thought it to be a victim of obsocelence (and you should perhaps consider taking a look at "Japanophobia" anyway -- essentially a newer edition of this book) but it is alarming how little has changed in modern day Japan from the days Emmott first analyzed this country as the Japan bureau-in-chief of the Economist.

As "different" as the Japanese may appear or believe themselves to be, in the end they are subject to the same market forces as anyone else as Emmott argues with this fabulous, in-depth, comprehensive analysis of the Japanese economy in the late 80s/early 90s, and concluded that Japan's trade surpluses, capital exports, and savings rate are destined to subside as demographic, cultural, and economic forces follow their natural course. Must to the dismay of Japan, these predictions have indeed come about and will most likely not be easy to alleviate.

To give you an idea of the scope you can expect from this fabulous collection of essays, Emmott talks about the "Predictable 4" ills of this country, which is still quite impressive given that these may not have been the top priorities of those Japan-crazy times...

(1) Lack of natural resources
(2) Lack of a military
(3) Low birth rate and aging population
(4) Hostility towards immigrants

...but then even more impressively goes on to discuss at length some factors that were conventionally perceived as strengths in the 80s --

(5) Japan's high rate of personal savings, though understood to reflect frugality, actually derived from the complete absence of other outlets for consumers. With no opportunity to buy a home and no need for a car, the citizenry had nothing else to do with their money but to put it into low-yield savings accounts.

(6) Extensive trade barriers, which on an artificial level seemed to protect Japanese industries, actually stifled competition and drove up prices for domestic consumers.

(7) The homogenous population and practically one-party government, which were thought to provide stability and societal cohesion, predictably leading to stasis, insularity, and corruption.

(8) The conformity and obedience which made for such a good workforce also made for a supremely unimaginative people. Japan has become an economic force by manufacturing high quality products cheaply, but the products themselves were invented elsewhere, mostly in US or Germany. This was double trouble because there were several other nations (Korea, Taiwan, etc.) with equally disciplined labor corps, capable of meeting the same quality standards, and willing to work for lower wages. But more importantly, as the world economy moved from the old heavy manufacturing model towards one based on intellectual capital, Japan found itself unable to compete.

(9) The myth of centralized planning, as is recognized by all except pseudo-intellectuals, is so inefficient that it is almost entirely unresponsive to any changing circumstances, but especially to such an enormous paradigm shift. If no one, or very few, even recognize or understand what's going on in the economy, how are a few bureaucrats supposed to intelligently direct the economy.

For any astute watcher of the Japanese economy, this should perhaps be THE de facto introduction, even before anything by Alex Kerr or Ikujiro Nonaka. Some of the statistics may obviously be dated but the thoughts and the frame of analysis are both highly relevant even today.

Also recommended: Porter's Can Japan Compete? and Emmott's Japanophobia.

I am not an expert in the history of the surfing, nor of vintage photography, but it is difficult not to be mesmerized by the images in this book. It hearkens a now, seemingly impossible, bygone era of classic beach, effortless glamour, which --should it appear today amidst not always tasteful supposed Hawaiian printed nylon board shorts, would be lauded by the most respected sartorialists, and young mavens who scrounge vintage shops and special boutiques for dearly priced retro-style, 50's and 60's inspired swimsuits. Ron Church captures excellent characters here: there are the celebrated contestants of course, their Ann-Margret girls and the throngs of awkward, admiring, adolescents. Most of all, the images in this book stirred in me a kind of nostalgia, a longing for a time before today's unending calamities and cataclysms. Surely our planet suffered its disasters then, but it's easy with a book such as this to imagine the moon incapable of violence, providing sunkissed youths with always reliable steady shores.