Search

Re 'Renew This World,' by Gary Gardner (12/1): Surely the environmental crisis is a reason for re-examining the church's stand on artificial birth control, on which participants of the Second [...]

The article presents a review of the 20 breakthrough business ideas for 2005, included in the February 2005 edition of the journal. The contributors include individuals from a number of professions, including academics, economists and business people from a variety of companies. Among the subjects examined are business leadership, organizational performance, management relationships and customer service. Technical ideas are also discussed, including the use of computer generated sound to carry data and the idea that managing the use of computer systems and personal digital assistants will become a measure of productivity. Also explored are workplace taboos, changes in the ownership of intellectual property, biometrics, workers' leave and business privacy policies.

The List is HBR's annual attempt to capture ideas in the state of becoming--when they're teetering between what one person suspects and what everyone accepts. Roderick M. Kramer says it isn't bad when leaders flip-flop. Julia Kirby describes new efforts to redefine the problem of organizational performance. Joseph L. Bower praises the "Velcro organization," where managerial responsibilities can be rearranged. Jeffrey F. Rayport argues that companies must refocus innovation on the "demand side" Eric Bonabeau describes a future in which computer-generated sound can be used to transmit vast amounts of data. Roger L. Martin says corporate systems such as CRM that are highly reliable tend to have little validity. Kirthi Kalyanam and Monte Zweben report that marketers are learning to contact customers at just the right moment. Robert C. Merton explains how equity swaps could help developing countries avoid some of the risk of boom and bust. Thomas A. Stewart says companies need champions of the status quo. Mohanbir Sawhney suggests marketing strategies for the blogosphere. Denise Caruso shows how to deal with risks that lack owners. Thomas H. Davenport says personal information management--how well we use our PDAs and PCs--is the next productivity frontier. Leigh Buchanan explores workplace taboos. Henry W. Chesbrough argues that the time is ripe for services science to become an academic field. Kenneth Lieberthal says China may change everyone's approach to intellectual property. Jochen Wirtz and Loizos Heracleous describe customer service apps for biometrics. Mary Catherine Bateson envisions a midlife sabbatical for workers. Jeffrey Rosen explains why one privacy policy won't fit everyone. Tihamér rvon Ghyczy and Janis Antonovics say firms should embrace parasites. And Jeffrey Pfeffer warns business-book buyers to beware. Additionally, HBR offers a list of intriguing business titles due out in 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roy A. Rappaport. 1999; 535 pp. $19.95. Cambridge University Press. Roy Rappaport writes in a time of urgency, when we must ask not only how religion fits in but what [...]

MARY CATHERINE BATESON REFLECTS ON MOTHER METAPHORS FOR THE EARTH The Gaia hypothesis, developed by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis, asserts that this planet is alive. This integrates a vast [...]

The moments when individuals experience a change in perception are moments of opportunity, most especially if we can remember the thoughts and feelings that preceded the shift, and understand the [...]

So... you're having another birthday, Whole Earth. You're going the easy way, celebrating when there is a five or a zero in your age, which is traditional but arbitrary. For [...]

Sometimes when we speak of the commons we are referring to a resource like fisheries, air or water, that all members of a community can use and that may cease [...]