In the modern information era, managers must recognize the competitive opportunities represented by decision-support tools. Adaptive business intelligence systems combine prediction and optimization techniques to assist decision makers in complex, rapidly changing environments. These systems address the fundamental questions: What is likely to happen in the future? And what is the best decision…

If different people estimate spectra from the same finite number of stationary stochastic observations, their results will generally not be the same. The reason is that several subjective decisions or choices have to be made during the current practice of spectral analysis, which influence the final spectral estimate. This applies also to the analysis of unique historical data about the atmosph…

As products become increasingly similar, companies are turning to branding as a way to create a preference for their offerings. Branding has been the essential factor in the success of well-known consumer goods such as Coca Cola, McDonald's, Kodak, and Mercedes. In fact, these brands are worth many times more than the book value of the property used to make these brands. Now it is time for more…

Blue ocean strategy challenges companies to break out of the red ocean of bloody competition by creating uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant. Instead of dividing up existing? and often shrinking?demand and benchmarking competitors, blue ocean strategy is about growing demand and breaking away from the competition. This book not only challenges companies but also shows…

It turns out that the Internet was just a warm-up act. A decade ago, the Internet hype machine pitched the World Wide Web as a marketer?s dream come true?an interactive, one-to-one utopia, linking shoppers and their quarry in the electronically enabled Elysium Fields of 24-7 commerce. Of course, Google, Amazon, and eBay notwithstanding, banner ads, online ??communities of interest,?? and click-…

The field of performance measurement has evolved rapidly in the last few years with the development of new measurement frameworks and methodologies, such as the balanced scorecard, the performance prism, economic value added, economic profit, activity based costing and self-assessment techniques. This multidisciplinary, international book draws together the key themes to provide an up-to-date s…

What organization would want a poor or, even worse, a shabby reputation? So why do so few managements pay serious attention to what should be a powerful and positive asset? The reason is that a good reputation does not happen by accident: it requires bold, visionary managers with commitment and integrity. And, despite legislation, guidelines and best practice standards, too many managements are…

Introduction to the Economics and Mathematics of Financial Markets fills the longstanding need for an accessible yet serious textbook treatment of financial economics. The book provides a rigorous overview of the subject, while its flexible presentation makes it suitable for use with different levels of undergraduate and graduate students. Each chapter presents mathematical models of financial …

This new edition of this established textbook reflects the rapid developments in the field covering the vast research that has been conducted on panel data since its initial publication. The book is packed with the most recent empirical examples from panel data literature, for example, a simultaneous equation on Crime will be added to chapter 7, which will be illustrated with STATA. Data sets w…

E. Wayne Nafziger updates the economic development of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and East-Central Europe in this fourth edition. Nafziger explains the reasons for the fast growth of Pacific Rim countries, Brazil, Poland, and (recently) India, and the increasing economic misery and degradation of large parts of sub-Saharan Africa. He also examines China and other post-socialist economies as lo…