Business : Corporate & Business History

A comprehensive overview of one of today's most important and controversial topics. The need for sound corporate governance is the #1 item on many people's agendas today, from corporate directors and decision makers to investors looking to shield themselves from the next Enron-type disaster. But what exactly constitutes sound governance? And what should directors and managers do to ensure they can meet their governance responsibilities--whether legal, moral, or both?. What Is Corporate Governance? provides readers with concise yet comprehensive coverage of this hot-button subject. Following the reader-friendly format of McGraw- Hill's highly successful What Is . . . series, this one-stop overview of corporate governance features:.:.; Explanations of the laws and regulations that apply to corporate governance.; Insights into the duties--and liabilities--of corporate directors.; Discussion of the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on corporate governance issues. more...

Price: $14.95

This is the story of Rebecca Smith and John R. Emshwiller, the two reporters who led the Wall Street Journal ’s reporting on Enron and uncovered the unorthodox partnerships at the heart of the scandal through skill, luck, and relentless determination. It all started in August 2001when Emshwiller was assigned to write a supposedly simple article on the unexpected resignation of Enron CEO Jeff Skilling. During his research, Emshwiller uncovered a buried reference to an off-balance-sheet partnership called LJM. Little did he know, this was the start of a fast and furious ride through the remarkable downfall of a once highly-prized company. Written in an intense, fast paced narrative style, 24 Days tells the gripping story of the colossal collapse of what would become the world’s most notorious corporation. The reader follows along as Smith and Emshwiller continue to uncover new partnerships and self-dealing among the highest levels of Enron’s management. As they publish articles detailing their findings in the Journal, Wall Street and individual investors have a crisis of confidence and start selling Enron stock at unprecedented levels of volume. In the end - 24 short days later - Enron had completely collapsed, erasing 16 years of growth and losing $19 billion in market value while watching the stock drop from $33.84 to $8.41. Not only was the company destroyed, but investors and retired employees were completely wiped out-all the while Enron executives were collecting millions of dollars. Climaxing with this 24-day period, this book shows the reporter’s-eye view of a David-and-Goliath battle between journalists and a giant corporation. Each day a new story uncovered another fact; each day the company issued denials. And when the investigative stories reached critical mass and momentum, the stock market cast its final vote of no confidence. In the tradition of Indecent Exposure and Barbarians at the Gate , two other gripping narratives that began as a series of Wall S more...

Price: $11.99

The first in-depth look at the multibillion-dollar company Alibaba.com—known to many as "China's eBay"—and the inspirational story behind the man who created it. A bestseller in China and now translated into English and updated with recent events, Alibaba by Liu Shiying and Martha Avery tells the remarkable story behind the Internet phenomenon Alibaba.com and its founder Jack Ma, a man Barron 's named one of the World's Top 30 CEOs in 2008. Ma's rise to prominence presents a riveting story: Despite growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution—in a period of total state control of the economy—he developed the keen entrepreneurial instincts that propelled him to billionaire status and enabled him to build a company outside the usual government channels. These instincts and habits incorporated martial arts training and allowed him to recognize, early on, that the Internet could leverage his company to rapid growth and also transform the way business is done around the world. Alibaba.com, where businesses can buy and sell everything from air beds to zippers, started with a modest initial investment of $60,000 and has grown exponentially since its founding in 1999 to become the world's biggest business-to-business Web site. In 2007 it became the second largest IPO in history (after Google), and Fast Company has named it one of the world's most innovative companies. As a result, smart investors and technology insiders will be keeping a close eye on Alibaba for years to come. Whether you're seeking to understand China's meteoric rise, or just searching for the next Google, Yahoo!, or Amazon, Alibaba is crucial reading. more...

Price: $19.99

The fascinating story of a company that has been at the forefront of American business for over one hundred years. The story of Walgreens spans over a century of U.S. history. It’s the story of the most successful drugstore chain in the nation, an industry leader from the 1920s right up to the present. Today, the company still surpasses its competition in both size and profitability. more...

Price: $24.95

Any short list of the world’s most admired business people would include Andy Grove, the chairman and CEO of Intel during its years of explosive growth. During Grove’s career, Intel became the model for Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley became the model for the world. And Grove became Time’s Man of the Year—an icon of the promise of the American life. Born in Hungary in 1936, Grove survived the Holocaust only to face the Soviet invasion. He escaped to New York, penniless, at age twenty, and embraced America, putting himself through college and graduate school. He joined Intel at its founding in 1968, rose to CEO in 1987, then led the company into the stratosphere, with compound annual profit growth at 34 percent for the next eleven years. Despite decades of media scrutiny and six of Grove’s own books, there remains a powerful element of mystery about him. This definitive biography, by a Harvard Business School professor with unprecedented access, finally cracks the code of who Andy Grove really is, how his mind works, how he attacks impossible problems, and how he leads others to exceed their own expectations of themselves. more...

Price: $18.00