Development Planning at the Grassroots


Book Description




International Handbook of Organizational Teamwork and Cooperative Working


Book Description

In today's fast changing, hyper-competitive environment, teamwork and co-operative working enhance the organisation's adaptive capability. The team, rather than the individual, is increasingly seen as the building block of organisations and a key source of competitive advantage. The International Handbook of Organisational Teamwork and Co-operative Working provides a clear focus on the psychological and social processes that can stimulate successful cooperation and teamwork. Michael West, Dean Tjosvold and Ken Smith have brought together the world's leading authorities from a range of social science disciplines to provide a contemporary review of established and emerging perspectives. Throughout the book, processes that both facilitate and obstruct successful cooperation and teamwork are detailed, alongside guidance on best practice and methodology. The challenging and alternative perspectives presented will inform future research and practice. The result is a systematic and comprehensive synthesis of knowledge from a range of disciplines that will prove invaluable to professionals, researchers and students alike. * A systematic and coherent framework which organizes and structures the knowledge in this field * An outstanding collection of authoritative "high profile" authors * Challenging, alternative perspectives that will stimulate and enlighten future research and practice * Selective, updated bibliographies of key literatures support every chapter, a valuable resource for students, trainers and practitioners







A Relational View on Cultural Complexity


Book Description

This book explores the conceptual and practical implications of applying a relational view to cultural complexity. The authors take the findings of an international and interdisciplinary Delphi study on transcultural competence as a starting point and offer further analysis and interpretation from their specific perspectives. Written by experts from a variety of disciplines, the book discusses the potential contributions of a relational approach to understanding and strengthening individuals and organizations in their contexts. Through various conceptual chapters, case studies and field reports, it explores the role and nature of commonalities for cooperation in contexts of cultural complexity and discusses the relationship between differences and commonalities, as well as the implications for relational leadership and management. The book is divided into four parts, the first of which introduces readers to the relational view. In turn, the second part elaborates on transcultural competence, while the third presents various case studies and field reports on experience-based learning and relationality in culturally complex settings. Finally, the fourth part sheds new light on relational leadership and the role of commonalities in organizational practice. As such, this book will appeal to scholars and practitioners in the areas of cultural and relational economics, intercultural communication, business strategy and leadership, and organizational studies.




Status of Climate Change Adaptation in Asia and the Pacific


Book Description

This volume provides an overview of the climate change adaptation objectives set, actions taken, and challenges faced by several countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The majority of the populations in this region struggle to make a living from subsistence agriculture, and livelihoods are highly dependent on natural ecosystem services which are likely to be severely affected by climate change. Cases discussed in this book highlight successes made by governments towards achieving adaptation objectives, and efforts required to overcome challenges. While significant economic advances have been made, the pace of growth has been slow to impact the lives of a majority of the people who live below the poverty line. The chapters highlight adaptation actions for protecting people and their livelihoods in priority sectors, maintaining food and water security, supporting socio-economic stability including poverty reduction, and climate risk management. This book also maximizes readers' insights into the knowledge gaps and limitations of stated adaptation goals, and the bottlenecks that hinder implementation in different regions.




The Cluster Organization


Book Description

Cluster organizations are becoming more and more popular, both in developing and developed countries. Considering the development of cluster policy and the related dynamic growth of cluster initiatives in the world, the lack of sufficient knowledge on the development of cooperation in cluster organizations inhibits their development and, in many cases, causes their complete disintegration. The book provides new important elements to the current system of knowledge, filling in cognitive and research gaps in the scientific literature on problems related to cooperation in cluster organizations. The most valuable features for the reader concern the epistemological, methodological, and application aspects. The new element includes a theoretical concept, which refers to the trajectory of development of cooperative relationships in cluster organizations that facilitates the understanding and explanation of mechanisms responsible for cooperation in such organizations. The concept also has great practical advantages, especially for people implementing the idea of "clustering": coordinators, facilitators, and members of cluster organizations as well as politicians and public authorities are responsible for shaping and implementing the cluster policy. It will be of value to researchers, academics, and students in fields with an interest in organizational studies, management of innovation and technology, strategic management, industrial economics, and economic geography.




Rethinking Innovation


Book Description

Innovation manifests itself as a key driver of improved productivity and sustainable growth in today’s global economic landscape. This book • brings together perspectives and case studies from across the world; • discusses frameworks and actual conditions required for innovation; and • examines a variety of themes, such as technology innovation, research & development, team and human resource management, product and process creativity and entrepreneurship development to augment strategic and competitive advantage. It will prove essential to those in business and management, entrepreneurship, economics and development studies, particularly those interested in innovation, strategic planning and business leadership.




Rural Development


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Singapore Perspectives 2014: Differences


Book Description

Singapore's demographic diversity was the driving force for the country's founding leaders as they forged a nation. They sought to navigate the many differences in the country's ancestral, social and cultural affiliations even as they embarked on the urgent task of nation-building. A decade into the new century, many of the country's traditional understandings of differences are being challenged, even as new differences, spawned by immigration, new media and globalisation, emerge.The Singapore Perspectives 2014 conference considered the consequences of both historical and emergent differences, based on the understanding that race, language, religion, economic status, age and countries of origin will continue to shape Singapore's society and economy. The conference proceedings contain contributions from prominent speakers such as Singapore Minister of State for Education Sim Ann, Associate Professor Kwok Kian Woon, Dr Leslie Teo, Professor David Chan and the points of debate on the question whether consensus or contest will underpin Singapore's future from Professors Kishore Mahbubani and Chua Beng Huat.




Coopetition in International Business


Book Description

"This book addresses a new philosophy or a major strategy that is emerging today in international business: simulaneous competition and cooperation between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and their global rivals, foreign governments, alliance partners, and corporate members. ... Coopetition goes beyond conventional rules of competition and cooperation to combine the advantages of both. Coopetition involves cooperating to create a bigger business pie, while competing to divide it up. Cooperation reflects the elements of mutual accommodation and collaboration, seeking joint payoffs and goal accomplishment from the interdependent activities or resources. Competition reflect the elements of bargaining or control and related conflicts, seeking private gains for the[ir] own party."--Page 9 (Preface).