THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Communication

“To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well.” - John Marshall

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Persuasion Tactics of Effective Salespeople

Without language, you wouldn't be able to share your ideas, display your personality, or express yourself to the world. You couldn't communicate your needs and desires to others, and the never-ending dialogue within your mind would grind to a halt. The words we speak truly define who we are. However, since we are continually talking all the time, we often take it for granted.

Many well-established fields of language study exist to help us gain a deeper understanding of how we talk to each other. Sociolinguistics is the study of language use in society and social networks; psycholinguistics is the study of how the mind acquires, uses, and represents language; and neuro-linguistics is the study of how brain structures process language. "Sales linguistics" draws from these fields to help us understand how salespeople and their prospective customers use and interpret language during the decision-making process.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Understanding Credit Derivatives And Related Instruments by Bomfim Antulion N.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Customers

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. ” - Bill Gates

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Customer Service Representatives - Dealing with Customer Needs

Customer service representatives work in various kinds of companies. It is their responsibility to make sure that the customers of the company are provided with sufficient service regarding customer concerns and questions. The customers are usually individuals who want to inquire about something, or a company asking about the service.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Planning Local Economic Development Theory and Practice by Edward J. Blakely

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Clever

“The desire to seem clever often keeps us from being so. ” - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Don't Buy a Company, Buy a CEO

At its core, investing in a great company means investing in the people who work there. At most companies, there's no one more important to investors than the CEO. When things go well, we shower the CEO with praise. When things go poorly, we bash the CEO incessantly for whatever flaws we can find.

So what should we look for in our CEOs? While some ideal qualities wouldn't make these people great drinking buddies, the right traits could nonetheless help investors make money.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Planning Local Economic Development Theory and Practice by Edward J. Blakely

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Wisdom

“Cleverness is not wisdom.” - Euripides

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Ratan Naval Tata

Ratan Naval Tata (born December 28, 1937, in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India) is the present Chairman of Tata Sons and therefore, Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate founded by Jamsedji Tata and consolidated and expanded by later generations of his family. He is also the chairman of major Tata companies such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, The Indian Hotels Company and Tata Teleservices.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Planning Local Economic Development : Theory and Practice by Edward J. Blakely

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Negotiation

“You must be fully prepared to lose a great deal in order to make a great deal.” - Saying

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Basic Negotiating Tips

We all negotiate in our personal and professional lives. We negotiate when we go to a garage sale, or when we want to do something different at work, or when we are dealing with members of the public.

Sometimes its easy to negotiate, but other times, when we have a great deal at stake or we are upset, the task can be intimidating or difficult.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Cost Control: A Strategic Guide by David Doyle

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Care

“To believe is to care.To care is to do.” - Penelope J. Stokes

TOPIC OF THE DAY

The Differences between Cloud Computing and Virtualization

Virtualization is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as an operating system, a server, a storage device or network resources.

Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Project Finance in Theory and Practice: Designing, Structuring, and Financing Private and Public Projects by Stefano Gatti

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Contribution

“Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something. ” - Henry David Thoreau

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Forget Mentors: employ a personal Board of Directors

Like avocado colored appliances, mentoring is something you don't see much anymore. Yes, corporate-sponsored mentorship programs — whether you are the mentor or the protégé — will always improve personal exposure and connections. But the career strategy of hitching your future to some rising manager is rapidly becoming outdated.

But hasn't mentoring always been the time-tested way of getting ahead? Well, today we live in a different world. Middle- and senior-level managers are no longer the ones with stable jobs. With changes in direction, restructuring, downsizing, acquisitions, mergers and, of course, recessions, your mentor is just as likely to move on or be laid off as you are. And if you are considered your mentor's special protégé, you'll most likely lose your job when she does.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Project Finance in Theory and Practice: Designing, Structuring, and Financing Private and Public Projects by Stefano Gatti

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Future

“I never think of the future - it comes soon enough. ” - Albert Einstein

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Creating Your Future


Creating the future for your company or association is the exciting work of strategic planning. Allen Liff, in "Learning How to Create the Future," published by Association Management, August 1997, outlines five important lessons in planning for the future.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Corporate Financial Strategy (Paperback) by Ruth Bender, Keith Ward

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Leaders

“Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders. ” - Tom Peters

TOPIC OF THE DAY

How to Become a Thought Leader in Six Steps

It's gospel that you have to cultivate your personal brand, particularly if you have designs on the C suite. But because everyone has a brand nowadays (Tom Peters describes it as "your promise to the marketplace and the world") simply having one is insufficient if you want to advance. You can't just be known as "the guy who speaks Spanish" or "the programmer who can explain things well" or "that woman in legal who gets things done fast." That's nice — but there are a million of you, and in a globalized world, your company can find an alternative to you fast. That's why you need to establish yourself as a thought leader. Good employees and good executives are nice to have. Thought leaders are irreplaceable — and indispensible.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Corporate Financial Strategy (Paperback) by Ruth Bender, Keith Ward

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Self Appraisal

“We are constantly invited to be who we are.” - Henry David Thoreau

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Metrics that Truly Measure You

Many people find it easy to identify metrics that measure the worth of their work: salespeople have sales targets, production managers track whether inventory is delivered on time and under budget. But not all jobs or skills are so easily quantifiable, and far too many people choose not to measure at all. If you fall into this category, invent a new, innovative metric that gets at the real value of what you do. For example, if one of your critical roles is to develop your people, rather than looking at how many training opportunities you provided your team, focus on an outcome measurement, such as how many people you effectively brokered into other parts of the organization. Or if delivering innovation is in your job description, count the number of ideas generated by your team, and how many of those went on to become valuable projects.

Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Your Own Kind of Moneyball: The Metrics that Measure You" by Whitney Johnson published by HBS

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Time

“How long a minute is, depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on. ” - Zall's Second Law

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Add an Hour to Your Day

What would you do with an extra hour? Sounds like the plot device of a romantic comedy — but in truth it's an opportunity that many world residents receive around this time every year. I'm talking about the shift from Daylight Saving Time (or Summer Time in the EU) to Standard Time when we turn back our clocks and repeat one hour.

Now, let me acknowledge that it's not really an "extra" hour. You have to give it back in the spring, and it doesn't really affect your lifespan. However, it's important to consider what to do with extra time — since one of the most frequent concerns of managers is not having enough.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

An introduction to bond markets by Moorad Choudhry

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Understand

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ” - Albert Einstein

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Understanding Hostile Customers

You probably see hostile customers every day. You know, the ones that treat you like a personal dumping ground for everything that has ever gone wrong in their lives? They may be sarcastic, or abusive. They may swear at you, threaten, attempt to intimidate. They are difficult to deal with, and an encounter with one of these people can ruin your day.

Although you may be provoked, it isn't a good idea to respond in kind. Doing so will usually inflame the situation, and can in fact put you at risk. Yelling back, or trading insults can result in only negative consequences for you.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Makers of Modern India by Ramachandra Guha

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Identity
“Work is an essential part of being alive. Your work is your identity.” - Kay Stepkin

TOPIC OF THE DAY

3 Ways to Manage Your Online Identity
People are learning things about you from the internet, whether you like it or not. Instead of hiding (and who can really hide on the internet these days?), try these three ways to manage what others see and think about:
1. Search your name online regularly. Compare your results with those of your peers to be sure you are displaying the public image you want to.
2. Post public content. If you want more returns, or perhaps more relevant returns, put content out there. Comment on a blog, start tweeting, and update your Facebook page.
3. Create a business profile. Facebook shouldn't be your only presence. Choose a broad network like LinkedIn and create a profile highlighting your professional experience.

Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Your Own Kind of Moneyball: The Metrics that Measure You" by Whitney Johnson published from HBS

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Honesty

“Honesty is as much saying everything as it is saying what is true. ” - Richard Snelling

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Where Have All The Honest Managers Gone?

I well remember as a young bank clerk many years ago, sitting at my desk one morning. Around me were the sounds of hustle and bustle of a busy office – people were sipping their coffee (in those days it was instant!) opening the mail (ah, for the days before email!) and telling of the events of last evening or their trip to work that morning. As a morning person, it was my best time of the day when I was at my most positive, creative and effective best, so I had my head down and bum up. Time later for relaxing. Suddenly, the air was split with an earth shattering yell. My usually very quiet, reserved manager, had come out of his office, red in the face and yelling "Who did this?" Everyone stopped dead. When he recovered enough to tell us what the "this" was, I discovered to my horror that it was obviously something that I had done that had upset him. Apparently, I had made a blunder that would impact one of our best customers most unfavourably. I very tentatively, put my hand up "Mm, mm, mm, me, Sir", I managed to stammer. "Into my office, now!" he replied.

Read on...

LATEST ARRIVALS

Makers of Modern India by Ramachandra Guha

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Motivation

“Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Can Motivational Speakers Cause Harm?

In a previous article I mentioned that most motivational speakers cost good money and achieve nothing more than very temporary increases in "motivation" and morale. That's a best case scenario. The poor ones don't achieve anything at all. There's another question though. Can motivational speakers cause harm to individuals and organizations?

The answer is a resounding YES. Let's put aside the cost/benefit issues for now. Let's look at the potential effects on employees and organizations. To do so we need to consider the issue of EXPECTATIONS.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

BUY ME! by Marshal Cohen

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Practice

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” - Mahatma Gandhi

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Why Best Practices Are Hard to Practice

Not long ago a senior HR executive confessed to me that her company's succession planning and talent management processes didn't work very well. She also expressed frustration that her team had spent countless hours studying other well-known companies and had copied most of the best features, but somehow what worked elsewhere didn't work for her company.

More recently I met with a senior team to share ideas about reducing complexity — and during the course of the conversation I talked about how GE had developed the Work-Out approach to build a culture of simplification. Several of the executives quickly remarked that they had tried Work-Out in their organization already, but it didn't produce any results. Again, what had worked in one company hadn't worked in another.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

BUY ME! by Marshal Cohen

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

knowledge

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” - Benjamin Franklin

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Knowledge Management - "A New Paradigm"

With the emergence of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG), the business environment has become more dynamic, markets are becoming competitive, businesses are becoming service-oriented and diversified, educated workforce is growing in number. Information revolution is actually knowledge revolution. Nowadays, organizations are capitalizing on knowledge-based work and knowledge workers are regarded as "Intellectual Capital".

Paradigm Shift as a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. It just does not happen, but rather it is driven by agents of change. There is transformation of the industrial economy into a knowledge-based economy in 21st Century. In this scenario; the role of HR managers has become very crucial. They need to attract, mold, develop, retain and fulfill the expectations of "knowledge workers". It has become evident that the application of effective HRM practices in managing them can only lead the organization towards success.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

BUY ME! by Marshal Cohen

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Education

“Education is the transmission of civilization. ” - Will Durant

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Current Trend in Environmental Education in India

The environment has become an important factor in the decision making process of all human beings around the world. Environmental issues are becoming more complex and interconnected. Traditional ways of addressing environmental issues in a reactive manner are proving to be highly inefficient. Environmental governance is the exercise of authority over natural resources and the environment. There are many aspects of governance and politics, which are tremendous relevance to the management of the environment. Control over natural resources should be seen as a major political issue with important ramifications for the long-term stability of the political system.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

BUY ME! by Marshal Cohen

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Youth

“Forty is the old age of youth,fifty is the youth of old age.” - Victor Hugo

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Red Hat

Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT) is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide.

Red Hat has become associated to a large extent with its enterprise operating system Red Hat Enterprise Linux and with the acquisition of open-source enterprise middleware vendor JBoss. Red Hat provides operating-system platforms along with middleware, applications, and management products, as well as support, training, and consulting services.


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LATEST ARRIVALS

Staying Power:
Six Enduring Principles for Managing Strategy and Innovation in an Uncertain World by Michael A. Cusumano

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Asset

“Beauty is only skin deep, but it's a valuable asset if you're poor or haven't any sense.” - Vernon Howard

TOPIC OF THE DAY

People are still the most important asset

In the last article, Derek Stockley explained the need to consider change activities under the umbrella of performance. In this article, he emphasises the importance of people in organisations and discusses some issues relating to the achievement of high levels of performance for human resources.

Are managers mean?

Many employees seem to think that they are. In training sessions over the last twenty years, in both the public and private sectors alike, I have received some comments criticising managers for being uncaring, inconsiderate, bombastic or the like.

Read on...

LATEST ARRIVALS

Staying Power:
Six Enduring Principles for Managing Strategy and Innovation in an Uncertain World by Michael A. Cusumano

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

courage

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” - Anaïs Nin

TOPIC OF THE DAY

5 ways to speed up your PC

1. Free up disk space
2. Speed up access to data
3. Detect and repair disk errors
4. Protect your computer against spyware
5. Learn all about ReadyBoost

Read on...

LATEST ARRIVALS

Staying Power:
Six Enduring Principles for Managing Strategy and Innovation in an Uncertain World by Michael A. Cusumano

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Failure

“A man may fall many times, but he won't be a failure until he says that someone pushed him.” - Elmer G. Letterman

TOPIC OF THE DAY

How to turn Failure into Success

Today, the world is full of weak people and imperfect groups. Even with our best efforts, nothing that we ever do is perfect and we have to constantly strive to do our best. We are constantly re-correcting our mistakes and trying to prevent ourselves from making new ones in the future.

In the big world of business, many people are having the motivate to start their own businesses in hopes of gaining a large income or profit. Despite their best efforts, however, they encounter many complications and have several problems that threaten the continued existence of their new businesses.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Staying Power: six enduring principles for managing strategy and innovation in an uncertain world by Michael A. Cusumano

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Power

“Power should answer by action, not by speech.” - AUSTIN O'MALLEY

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Stop Your Power Trip Before It Starts

Everything in moderation. My late father, a physician, always emphasized that to his patients. While Dad was focusing more on what people ate or drank, he could easily have been talking about how people behave.

I was reminded of Dad's advice when I read Jonah Lehrer's fine essay in the Wall Street Journal discussing the "paradox of power," a syndrome that turns people in authority into dictators. Lehrer quotes Dr. Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California, who says, "When you give people power, they basically start acting like fools."

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Conspiracy of the rich : the 8 new rules of money / Robert T. Kiyosaki

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Money

“He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.” - Benjamin Franklin

TOPIC OF THE DAY

10 Rules About Money

How we view money has a profound impact on all facets of our life. It determines where we live, the type of job we have, how we look at the world, and, unfortunately, how we feel about ourselves. Money has the power to do great things, but it can also destroy the mightiest empires.

Each of us has to determine what our relationship with money will be. You have to learn how to earn it, save it, spend it and invest it. These can be hard lessons, but you can use a few simple rules to make your life a lot less stressful.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Conspiracy of the rich : the 8 new rules of money / Robert T. Kiyosaki

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Performance

“A manager is responsible for the application and performance of knowledge. ” - Peter Drucker

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Help! I'm an Under-performer.

No one likes to be an under-performer. It can be embarrassing, discouraging, and bewildering. Yet, many of us have at times failed to meet expectations. The good news is that poor performance isn't incurable. It's possible to turn it around and save your reputation with awareness, a sincere approach, and the right support.

What the Experts Say "Usually a person doesn't realize that he or she is the under-performer," says J. Richard Hackman, the Edgar Pierce Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology at Harvard University and author of Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances. Sometimes a boss, teammate, or HR representative will tell you you're not up to snuff, but according to Hackman, it happens less than it should. No matter how your under-performance is identified, by yourself or another,

Read on...

LATEST ARRIVALS

Conspiracy of the rich : the 8 new rules of money / Robert T. Kiyosaki

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Fear

“Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. ” - German Proverb

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Digital divide

The digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalance both in physical access to technology and the resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. Knowledge divide reflects the access of various social groupings to information and knowledge, typically gender, income, race, and by location. The term global digital divide refers to differences in access between countries.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Monetary Economics : The New Palgrave Economics Collection Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Leadership
“There go the people.I must follow them for I am their leader." - Alexandre Ledru Rollin

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Change How You Follow

Li Xin Bai is a Senior Strategy Consultant for IBM in China.

If you feel frustrated or uninspired by your leader, you're in good company. Many people are unhappy with the leadership styles of those above them. Rather than trying to oust or change your leader, it may be time to look inward. Accept what you can't change — your leader's style. Focus on what you can control — how you follow. If you have a manager who likes to have his hand in everything, don't resist the micro-managing. Instead, invite him to get involved. He's likely to include himself anyway, and bringing him in increases the likelihood he will support your work. If your leader is more hands off and fails to motivate you, find inspiration from the work itself or from others in the organization. Then, reflect back to your leader what you find most inspiring. You may be able to show him what you need by getting it elsewhere first.

Today's T&T is adopted from HBSP Management Tip's "Can't Change Your Leader? Change How You Follow" by Li Xin Bai.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Trust

“Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work. ” - Warren G. Bennis

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Rajendra Prasad

Dr. Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was the youngest son of Mahadev Sahay from the village Ziradei, then the Saran district of Bihar. Dr. Prasad is considered to be one of the architects of the Indian Republic, having drafted its first constitution and serving as the first president of free India.

During the independence movement, he left his law work and joined the Congress Party, playing a prominent role in the Indian Independence Movement. He served as the president of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the first constitution of the Republic, which lasted from 1948 to 1950. He also briefly served as a cabinet minister in the first Government of the Indian Republic

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Monetary Economics : The New Palgrave Economics Collection Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Customer relationship

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” - Peter Drucker

TOPIC OF THE DAY

How to Know if a CRM Application Is Working

There comes a time in every CRM software implementation when the question arises: is this stuff working? Here are three measuring sticks to answer that question.

CRM software sales is a field that possesses some of the best sales people in the world. Commissions can be lucrative, the need is there in the marketplace, and the future looks bright. However, the success of a CRM salesperson or the overall growth of the CRM industry should never be taken as an indication that a particular CRM application at a particular company is actually working and worthwhile.

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LATEST ARRIVALS

Monetary Economics : The New Palgrave Economics Collection Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Communication

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” - Epictetus

TOPIC OF THE DAY

How to Overcome Communication Fears

Fear can be a good thing, if it doesn't paralyze us completely from taking action. Fear reminds us of our humanity, keeps us from stepping in front of moving cars, and can activate "fight or flight" reactions so we are not trapped in threatening situations. As communicators, however, we have to become aware of fears that may prevent us from even trying to connect with others in speech or writing.

Many people quote FDR who said "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." His wife's more practical challenge inspires me more: "Do one thing every day that scares you." Eleanor didn't argue that we should avoid or try to beat fear, but recognize it and move forward anyway.

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Introduction To Game Theory In Business And Economics (Paperback)
by Thomas J. Webster