Rethinking Resource Management


Book Description

This book offers students and practitioners a sophisticated and convincing framework for rethinking the usual approaches to resource management. It uses case studies to argue that professional resource managers do not take responsibility for the social and environmental consequences of their decisions on the often vulnerable indigenous communities they affect. It also discusses the invisibility of indigenous people' values and knowledge within traditional resource management. It offers a new approach to social impact assessment methods which are more participatory and empowering. The book employs a range of case studies from Australia, North America and Norway.




Rethinking Management


Book Description

What do business school graduates learn, and how helpful is it for managing in the everyday, messy reality of organisations? What does it mean to apply 'best practice', or to take up 'evidence-based management' and what kind of thinking does this imply? In Rethinking Management, Chris Mowles argues that many management courses still largely assume a linear and predictable world, when experience tells us that the opposite is the case. He questions some of the more orthodox conceptual assumptions that underpin much management education and instead, encourages leaders and managers to take their everyday experience of working with others seriously. People in organisations co-operate and compete to get things done, and constrain and enable each other in relationships of power. Because of this there are always unintended consequences of our actions - uncertainty is inherent in the everyday. Chris Mowles draws on the complexity sciences, the sciences of uncertainty rather than certainty, and the social sciences to explore more helpful ways to think and talk about our lived reality. He takes concrete examples from contemporary organisations, to argue that understanding the radical implications of uncertainty is central to the task of leading. Rethinking Management explores narrative alternatives to the ubiquitous grids and frameworks that are routinely taught in business schools, and encourages management professionals and educators to recognise the importance of judgement, improvisation and the everyday politics of organisational life.




Development Through Bricolage


Book Description

Why, despite an emphasis on 'getting institutions right', do development initiatives so infrequently deliver as planned? Why do many institutions designed for natural resource management (e.g. Water User Associations, Irrigation Committees, Forest Management Councils) not work as planners intended? This book disputes the model of development by design and argues that institutions are formed through the uneven patching together of old practices and accepted norms with new arrangements. The managing of natural resources and delivery of development through such processes of 'bricolage' is likened to 'institutional 'DIY' rather than engineering or design. The author explores the processes involved in institutional bricolage; the constant renegotiation of norms, the reinvention of tradition, the importance of legitimate authority and the role of people themselves in shaping such arrangements. Bricolage is seen as an inevitable, but not always benign process; the extent to which it reproduces social inequalities or creates space for challenging them is also considered. The book draws on a number of contemporary strands of development thinking about collective action, participation, governance, natural resource management, political ecology and wellbeing. It synthesises these to develop new understandings of why and how people act to manage resources and how access is secured or denied. A variety of case studies ranging from the management of water (Zimbabwe, India, Pakistan), conflict and cooperation over land, grazing and water (Tanzania), and the emergence of community management of forests (Sweden, Nepal), illustrate the context specific and generalised nature of bricolage and the resultant challenges for development policy and practice.




Rethinking Cultural Resource Management in Southeast Asia


Book Description

Presenting both the need for - and difficulty of - introducing effective cultural resource management (CRM) in the region, 'Rethinking Cultural Resource Management' in Southeast Asia explores the challenges facing efforts to protect Southeast Asia's indigenous cultures and archaeological sites from the ravages of tourism and economic development. Recognising the inapplicability of Euro-American solutions to this part of the world, the essays of this volume investigate their own set of region-specific CRM strategies, and acknowledge both the necessity and possibility of mediating between the conflicting interests of short-term profitability and long-term sustainability.




Rethinking Strategic HR


Book Description

The primary goal of this book is to show you new ways to improve the business impact of your HR function by up to 25 percent. Because the goal is so high, The approaches that permeate this book are aggressive ones that are designed to make you rethink everything you do in HR. Authored by one of the industry's most respected thinkers, Rethinking Strategic HR is a forward-thinking look at building a smarter, more powerful HR strategy in any organization. Throwing out the old, conventional approaches, this provocative book provides a hard-hitting guide to 21st century HR strategy that will challenge you to think in bold, new ways. From critiques of traditional practices to specific day-to-day steps to strategic thinking, you'll get a new perspective on HR including: A clear definition of what is and what is not strategic the five distinct levels of contribution that HR can make A list of the most-used HR department strategies Tools for assessing your own strategic level A chart on how to make 'fact-based' decisions How HR routinely 'under-costs' its decisions How to make a strategic case to your CFO and more!




Rethinking Cultural Resource Management in Southeast Asia


Book Description

Presenting both the need for – and difficulty of – introducing effective cultural resource management (CRM) in the region, ‘Rethinking Cultural Resource Management’ in Southeast Asia explores the challenges facing efforts to protect Southeast Asia’s indigenous cultures and archaeological sites from the ravages of tourism and economic development. Recognising the inapplicability of Euro-American solutions to this part of the world, the essays of this volume investigate their own set of region-specific CRM strategies, and acknowledge both the necessity and possibility of mediating between the conflicting interests of short-term profitability and long-term sustainability.




Rethinking Rural


Book Description

The vastness and isolation of the American West forged a dependence on scarce natural resources especially water, forests, fish, and minerals. Today, the internet is shaping another revolution, and it promises both obstacles and opportunity. Seeking to understand the impact of a global society on western small towns, the author, director of the Western Rural Development Center at Utah State University, conducted strategic planning roundtables in thirteen states. The gatherings brought three major concer




Rethinking Management Education


Book Description

This is a fundamental challenge to conventional thinking on management education and its strictly utilitarian relationship to management research and practice. Chapters cover critical theory, feminism, post-structuralist work and much more.




Rethinking Readiness


Book Description

As human society continues to develop, we have increased the risk of large-scale disasters. From health care to infrastructure to national security, systems designed to keep us safe have also heightened the potential for catastrophe. The constant pressure of climate change, geopolitical conflict, and our tendency to ignore what is hard to grasp exacerbates potential dangers. How can we prepare for and prevent the twenty-first-century disasters on the horizon? Rethinking Readiness offers an expert introduction to human-made threats and vulnerabilities, with a focus on opportunities to reimagine how we approach disaster preparedness. Jeff Schlegelmilch identifies and explores the most critical threats facing the world today, detailing the dangers of pandemics, climate change, infrastructure collapse, cyberattacks, and nuclear conflict. Drawing on the latest research from leading experts, he provides an accessible overview of the causes and potential effects of these looming megadisasters. The book highlights the potential for building resilient, adaptable, and sustainable systems so that we can be better prepared to respond to and recover from future crises. Thoroughly grounded in scientific and policy expertise, Rethinking Readiness is an essential guide to this century’s biggest challenges in disaster management.




Rethinking Project Management for a Dynamic and Digital World


Book Description

Although project management is a newly recognised profession, it deals with a number of significant challenges. We seem to operate in an unprecedented environment, rife with change, innovation and turbulence. Moreover, projects by their very nature tend to push boundaries, encourage novelty and demand engagement with the uncertain and the unknown. Indeed, projects reflect our organised impulse to constantly amend, shape, improve and refine our context. So how can future projects overcome the challenges? Rethinking Project Management for a Dynamic and Digital World makes a powerful and original statement equipping project leaders and managers with new approaches and frameworks for an increasingly demanding world where the traditional methods, models and mindsets no longer suffice. The book explores new trends, promising ideas and novel concepts and distils the fundamentals for marshalling a world concerned with people, communities and value by deploying innovation, rethinking purpose and acting responsibly. An increasingly borderless, upwardly mobile and entrepreneurial society requires a revamped and revitalised project perspective that is more dynamic, adaptive and reflective. This volume brings together some of the best writing by leading authorities on many key topics, including benchmarking, lean quality, communicating, teams and teamwork, followership, organising for project work, project frameworks, agile working, project portfolios, strategic initiatives, strategic alignment, trust, entrepreneurship, putting people first, social processes, positive organisations, rethinking progress, the hacker paradigm, community, stewardship and knowledge management. The collection thus offers an invaluable new resource for informed managers looking to engage with the latest thinking and research and for researchers seeking to reflect on how the discipline is changing.