Rethinking Pension Reform

Book Description

To clarify the global debate on social security, the authors establish the basic choices in designating any system to help policy makers develop the system that achieves their many objectives. Because the success of reforms depends on financial innovation to mitigate key risks, innovations are discussed which demonstrate how pension reform choices affect the achievement of retirement objectives. Finally, the authors examine proposed hybrid options to show how their beneficial features can be captured through planning within a single fund. Hb ISBN (2004) 0-521-83411-2

Rethinking the Welfare State: The Political Economy of Pension Reform

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Rethinking the Welfare State: The Political Economy of Pension Reform

Manufacturer: Edward Elgar Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1843761025

Book Description

In this book a distinguished group of contributors discuss the changing political economy of pension reform. They focus on those countries which have launched a significant reframing of their pension system. Each chapter provides a detailed review of recent pension reforms and offers institutional evidence of the extent to which these reforms suggest a redirection of the welfare state towards a more public-private mix of policies. The countries were selected to represent the variety of new directions which mature industrial countries as well as countries in transition have taken.

The book brings to light a number of surprising developments. These include: the observation that pension systems do not conform to pure models of welfare system regimes; that a number of diverse developments have contributed to the extension of private pensions; that an emerging pattern of substituting private for public pensions can be detected but public provision still dominates in transition economies; and that traditional employer-provided private pension schemes are undergoing significant change. One conclusion is that the design of the pension scheme may be more important than the mix of public-private in preventing the growth of inequality among the aged.

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Rethinking pension reform: Ten myths about social security systems
Peter R Orszag
Manufacturer: Institute for the Study of Labor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Retirement Planning | Aging Parents | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006RQE5C

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Rethinking public pension reform initiative (IMF working paper)
Peter S Heller
Manufacturer: International Monetary Fund, Fiscal Affairs Dept
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006QW34Y

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Don't waste your time or money

"10 Scenic Vistas on the Corporate Landscape"

A very useful book from the visual thinking perspective

THINKING IN A NEW KEY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY!

An interesting view of where we are going.

The Next Common Sense: Mastering Corporate Complexity Through Coherence
Michael Lissack , and Johan Roos
Manufacturer: Nicholas Brealey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Leadership for the Common Good: Tackling Public Problems in a Shared-Power World

Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity

ASIN: 1857882407

Book Description

There is no denying that the world is a complex place. The challenge is what to do about it. Contrary to the popular notion that complexity either can be abolished or not, worse yet, be left to raise havoc in the boundaryless organization, authors Lissack and Roos argue persuasively for a new way of thinking and dealing with the realities of modern business.

Customer Reviews:

Don't waste your time or money.......2005-11-30

Barnum would have loved this book as he relished the idea that a sucker is born every minute. I wasted both time and money on this book. If you want a far more credible model of management, get the book Beyond the Hype. For serious stories of leadership read and learn from The Working Leader. For serious exposition of complexity theory and business, buy Ralph Stacey's books.

"10 Scenic Vistas on the Corporate Landscape".......2000-08-31

"The old common sense was about dealing with the discrete elements of a 'complicated' world. The next common sense is about mastering the 'complex' swirl of events and situations around us through coherence. The old world was a complicated agglomeration of many discrete items. The new world is a complex one of interdependencies and interrelationships...Our purpose in writing this book is to help you to be like Alexander the Great. When confronted with the legendary knot of tangle rope tied by King Gordius, Alexander knew what to do. Faced with the traditional challenge, he accepted without hesitation: the complexity of the knot did not phase him. He drew his sword and cut the Gordian knot with a single, dramatic stroke, thereby ensuring that he would rule all of Asia. Many before Alexander had tried and failed, thinking that the knot was complicated and needed to be untied. Only Alexander saw that a simple action would move through the complexity to a higher plane. Untying your own Gordian knots requires nothing more than common sense - the next common sense...In this book we present 10 scenic vistas on the corporate landscape. All have elements that derive from complexity science but, more importantly, all relate to management. From each vista, you the reader are encouraged to extract simple guiding principles that make sense to you. Creating your own coherent point of view will be the takeaway from reading this book. We hope you enjoy the view!" (pp.1-16).

In this context, throuhout the book Michael Lissack and Johan Roos discuss these 10 scenic vistas as follows:

1- Use simple guiding principles. They write, "where the old common sense was about dealing with local situations and trying to 'sort things out,' the next common sense is about adopting a global viewpoint, allowing interactions to happen, which in turn will drive coherent actions", and list traditional six bad rules that lead to failure:

(1). Treat business as if it were a war fought on a battlefield.

(2). View the corporation as a machine.

(3). Practice management as control.

(4). Treat your employee as children.

(5). To motivate, use fear.

(6). Remember, change is nothing but pain.(more detailed discussion see Chapter 2).

2- Respect mental models, yours and others'. They write, "the next common sense is about creating an organizational context for coherent actions. To create such a context yuo must help the necessary others, i.e. everyone you interact with, in the process of finding meaning and of creating a coherent point of view. Another label for this process is making sense" (more detailed discussion see Chapter 3).

3- Use landscape metaphors to describe both the environment and processes taking place within it. They write, "landscape images align with today's world - just look at the ascendancy of the landscape motif in numerous book titles, articles, conferences, and media events. Landscapes are part of the next common sense because they provide context we all can relate to. They work much more easily than jargon, and are better descriptors than the game and race metaphors of the old common sense" (more detailed discussion see Chapter 4).

4- Combine and recombine and avoid trying to impress yourself or others with holism. They write, "the beauty of pieces, of building blocks, is that they can be combined and recombined to create new things, new ideas, and new ways of relating and interacting. In a world where wholes are not simply the sum of their parts, it is critical to train ourselves to think about deconstructing and recombining. The philosophers may call this postmodernism-we call it the next common sense" (more detailed discussion see Chapter 5).

5- Recognize your multiple roles, don't hide from them. They write, "we question whether it was ever common sense to insist that the company always comes first, but clearly that has been a norm in big corporations for years. In the next common sense it is critical to allow people to be themselves. Only by acknowledging the many sides of each person can a company hope to obtain maximum benefits from that person over the long run. Most firms recognize this for their CEO - it is time they reconized it for the troops in the trenches" (more detailed discussion see Chapter 6).

6- Create canyons, not canals. They write, "canyons are not about the command-and-control culture of the old common sense - they are about the guiding values of the next common sense. Canyons are an analogy for the guiding viewpoints that managers of interactions need to be effective. Canals are the comparable analogy for the manager of entities who issued commands in an effort to manage outcomes" (more detailed discussion see Chapter 7).

7- Tell stories to allow others the benefit of shared experiences. They write, "stories are about context. The old common sense may have encouraged the use of bullets as a means of avoiding context. The next common sense is about telling stories that are open enough to allow listeners to draw relevant conclusions and authentic enough to convey their context in metaphors" (more detailed discussion see Chapter 8).

8- Send out scouting parties to probe the environment. They write, "the old common sense, which may have justified a closed mind, not-invented-here syndrome, just just does not work in a world of interactions. The next common sense asks what we can learn from the environment. Preparation is the key to attaining advantage" (more detailed discussion see Chapter 9).

9- Post and attend to road signs. They write, "using the next common sense is a matter of recognizing individual contributions and allowing others to leverage them, while combating the tendency of individuals to stake out territory and post 'no trespassing' signs. In a world of interactions, knowledge of opportunities is key to realizing them, and awareness of fences is an awareness of opportunities missed" (more detailed discussion see Chapter 10).

10- Fuel coherence with aligned words. They write, "it was never true that words had only one meaning, but many managers operating from the old common sense sure acted as if they did - the boss's meaning. Reflection on the next common sense reveals an essential truth: the words we use can help to enact the context for our actions. Words that are aligned with values and purpose can assist intended acts; words that are not aligned can act instead to obstruct. Word choice matters" (more detailed discussion see Chapter 11).

On the other hand, Chapter 12 is about creating coherence.As they write, "Chapters 2-11 have given you building blocks for both making sense of things and developing a coherent point of view. Now these building blocks need to be used to construct an action plan. This chapter is about using what you have learned. Five steps are key to realizing the next common sense in any organization".And they describe these steps as follows:

(1). Identify yourself and your goals.

(2). Use the right language.

(3). Create the right context.

(4). Turn people loose and then get out of the way.

(5). Use communication that works.

As argued by them, these five steps are not guarantee of success, but a tool for attaining the skill of a master.

Strongly recommended.

A very useful book from the visual thinking perspective.......2000-04-02

Because of my deep personal interest in using visual thinking tools for opportunity discovery and strategic exploration, I find this book very useful and practical. I particularly like the authors' use of powerful visual metaphors to understand & to master the complexity all around us, and to chart out new strategic directions, whether in business or in life. If you are planning what you want to do with the rest of your life in our constantly changing & uncertain world - or planning the next strategic moves for your company- read this book and use the ideas. The authors' website is also worth exploring.

THINKING IN A NEW KEY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY!.......2000-01-11

This book reveals how to make sense of today's economic environment and organization, providing a set of ten principles or perspectives for understanding and leading organization. These principles reflect a new way of thinking and acting-a new common sense-in contrast to the old. For instance, leading entities (old) vs. guiding interactions; using mechanistic metaphors (old) vs. thinking about ecosystems; and insisting the company come first (old) vs. allowing people to be themselves. A chapter is devoted to discussing each principle. An interesting exploration into ways of thinking and dealing effectively with organizational and leadership issues. It makes for some clarity in today's fast and furiously foward rushing reality. Recommended. Reviewed by Gerry Stern and Yvette Borcia, founders, Stern & Associates and HR Knowledge Network, authors of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits.

An interesting view of where we are going........1999-05-24

Anything written by either of the two authors must be taken very seriously, and this book does not disappoint. Johan Roos is an impressive speaker and author and Mike Lissack is that rarity, a genuinely original thinker. This book is a quiet and thoughtful guide to new ideas, or "The Next Common Sense". It could also have been called the Tao of Complexity.

Whilst the book is informed by ideas associated with "complexity", the authors never fall into jargon, and the reader is introduced to a number of concepts without having the underlying theory or origin of the ideas actually forced on them. It would appear that the purpose of the book is to bring a new set of concepts more fully into the public domain and in this they succeed.

I would also like to read another book, which I hope they write, which explores the environment into which our society is now traveling, a world in which we feel like Alice in Wonderland, and for which we need the best guidebooks available.

Book Description

In agroforestry, trees are grown in association with crops, pastures or livestock. Soil management has always been a central consideration, and in the earliest form of agroforestry, shifting cultivation, soil fertility was the main objective. This extensively revised edition provides the background and detailed techniques for soil management through agroforestry. It incorporates the significant progress made since the previous edition in 1989 and includes important results from longterm studies. This practical volume is essential reading for agroforestry students and a valuable sourcebook for anyone concerned with sustainable development.

Soil Conservation and Silviculture (Developments in Soil Science)

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Soil Conservation and Silviculture (Developments in Soil Science)

Manufacturer: Elsevier Science
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0444987924

Book Description

This book deals with the conservation and improvement of the forest soil. Much emphasis is placed on the use of vegetation in soil conservation afforestation. The first part of the book focuses on the issues of soil erosion and methods of erosion control, in particular the protection of agricultural and forest soils. The main types and manifestations of erosion, (mainly water and wind erosion), are specified and described. Different erosion factors are shown in detail, including the possibilities of qualitative and quantitative determination. Special attention is paid to the precipitation-to-runoff relationships and information on these factors is used for erosion analysis. A detailed review of the regularities of water and wind erosion and the possibilities of the modelling thereof is also presented.

In the second part of the book the main emphasis is on the management and control of the destructive action of torrents. Other topics covered include gully control and stabilization, the increase in landslides and management of landslide areas.

Amazon.com

The hand is, among other things, a complex symbol, representing both the creative and the prosaic. This blending of the spiritual and the mundane is what makes the hand unique, as it in turn makes us unique among animals. Neurologist Frank R. Wilson has taken on a heroic task: to explain the hand on both of these levels and to show us how we use these marvelous instruments to find and create meaning in our lives.

Anthropology, neuroscience, music, and puppetry all figure prominently in The Hand, which effortlessly guides the reader through its million-year biography. Brains and thumbs growing and changing to accommodate each other, discovering tools and language together, kicked us out of the monkey house for good. While there is still controversy over whether we are the brainiest animals on the planet, it is abundantly clear that we are the handiest.

This manipulative ability is our greatest strength and our most terrible flaw. Without hands we would have no Louvre but also no nerve gas. But, Wilson says, our situation is more complex. Our access to far greater means to achieve our ends gives us a greater hunger for meaning. We long to use our hands to satisfy our needs--whether spiritual or down-to-earth. This creation of meaning from nothing may be our greatest achievement. In the end, The Hand is brightly optimistic, showing that our reach truly does exceed our grasp. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

"A startling argument . . . provocative . . . absorbing." --The Boston Globe

"Ambitious . . . arresting . . . celebrates the importance of hands to our lives today as well as to the history of our species."
--The New York Times Book Review

The human hand is a miracle of biomechanics, one of the most remarkable adaptations in the history of evolution. The hands of a concert pianist can elicit glorious sound and stir emotion; those of a surgeon can perform the most delicate operations; those of a rock climber allow him to scale a vertical mountain wall. Neurologist Frank R. Wilson makes the striking claim that it is because of the unique structure of the hand and its evolution in cooperation with the brain that Homo sapiens became the most intelligent, preeminent animal on the earth.
In this fascinating book, Wilson moves from a discussion of the hand's evolution--and how its intimate communication with the brain affects such areas as neurology, psychology, and linguistics--to provocative new ideas about human creativity and how best to nurture it. Like Oliver Sacks and Stephen Jay Gould, Wilson handles a daunting range of scientific knowledge with a surprising deftness and a profound curiosity about human possibility. Provocative, illuminating, and delightful to read, The Hand encourages us to think in new ways about one of our most taken-for-granted assets.

"A mark of the book's excellence [is that] it makes the reader aware of the wonder in trivial, everyday acts, and reveals the complexity behind the simplest manipulation." --The Washington Post

Customer Reviews:

Hand in Hand.......2004-04-07

We routinely speak of "grasping" ideas, or "holding principles dear" or examining concepts "within our reach." For Frank Wilson, a neurologist who specializes in the bizarre and tragic affliction "musicians cramp," these turns of phrase are not accidental. Integrating brain, mind, and body - forging a psychology of the normal - animates Frank Wilson's study of the human hand.

He marshals evidence from anthropology, philosophy, psychology, anatomy and medicine, linguistics and engineering to discuss the co-evolution of hand and brain within human and human-antecedent societies. Leaving the trees for the savanna set in motion an enormous number of changes for our australopithicine ancestors - the most significant of them the bipedal gait that freed those pre-human hands. We call one of our distant ancestors homo habilis - handyman -- and the intelligence built into our remarkable hands over time gave the evolving human species great advantages in meeting uncertain futures. (Unhappily hands are preserved less well than skulls, so anthropologists naturally skew their investigations.) Wilson describes the mechanics of what we can do that our primate ancestors and cousins couldn't and can't. It is impossible to read these descriptions of the repertoires of hand and arm movements without replicating them. Because chimpanzees' fingers point straight down and ours angle toward the thumb, they are unable to bring thumb to meet pinky. A chimp can't power-grip a screwdriver, throw a baseball, or play a guitar. And neither can he use his fingers in a cluster that makes the three way "chuck" that lets us hold a pen or a brush.

Hand, brain, and eye co-evolved to track a target - hapless gazelle, thick browed foe, or catcher's mitt are all the same in this long view of hand coordinating with eye.One anthropologist calls us "the lop-sided ape." Nine out of ten of us are right-handed. Wilson presents us with an evolutionary parable in this regard. We throw with our right hands. Our left-brain largely controls that movement. Our right brain, and hence our dominant left eye, processes broad fields of visual information. So a right handed stone-tosser, an ancient spear-chucker, or a major league pitcher all divide their attention naturally and efficiently.

Our built-in capacity for language, the most singular human quality, is connected with our hands, too. Deep instinctual structures are revealed when speaking is decoupled from sound and when signing is teased apart from gesture. Deaf people who articulate with their hands activate the same areas of the brain as ordinary speakers. (Oliver Sacks has wondered if sign-users linguisticize space the way the rest of us spatialize language.) I've occasionally watched young hands-on museum-goers scribble, draw, and write - and their tongues often loll purposefully at the corners of their mouths, as if to help along their fingers. Wilson discovers something tyrannical in the celebration of multiple intelligences once we've slain "the dragon of General Intelligence" - we're likely to recruit skills from among the multiple intelligences for our specific purposes, and so snub the others. Culture divides and directs human intelligence, specializing some of us early as athletes, others as musicians, or readers. For Wilson, becoming "handy" is an antidote to specialization and its discontents. Most of us need a hobby, and whether we paint sonnets on grains of rice for fun, climb a sheer rock face, or spoon applesauce with a backhoe, our respite is likely to come hand-delivered.

Hand in Hand.......2004-04-07

He marshals evidence from anthropology, philosophy, psychology, anatomy and medicine, linguistics and engineering to discuss the co-evolution of hand and brain within human and human-antecedent societies. Leaving the trees for the savanna set in motion an enormous number of changes for our australopithicine ancestors - the most significant of them the bipedal gait that freed those pre-human hands. We call one of our distant ancestors homo habilis - handyman, and the intelligence built into our remarkable hands over time gave the evolving human species great advantages in meeting uncertain futures. (Unhappily hands are preserved less well than skulls, so anthropologists naturally skew their investigations.) Wilson describes the mechanics of what we can do that our primate ancestors and cousins couldn't and cant. It is impossible to read these descriptions of the repertoires of hand and arm movements without replicating them. Because chimpanzees' fingers point straight down and ours angle toward the thumb, they are unable to bring thumb to meet pinky. A chimp can't power-grip a screwdriver, throw a baseball, or play a guitar. And neither can he use his fingers in a cluster that makes the three way "chuck" that lets us hold a pen or a brush.

An Inspiring Book.......1999-10-09

Perhaps the thing I liked the best about this book is the tone of reverence that Dr. Wilson has for the subject of his life's work - the hand. Clearly there is a lot at stake for the author in his work - it comes through in everything in this book - and that's the thing that I found inspiring about it. If only we could all (or at last many of us!) feel the same way about the focus of our work.

I "dinged" it one star for two reasons - I would have liked to have seen more attention played to the concept of how "the hand shapes the mind." A lot of the book seemed like a very well written elaboration on the standard neurologic model of "motor programs" and the brain's role in controlling the hand, etc. The idea that the "history" and "education" of the hand has a reciprocal role in shaping the mind is a very exciting concept, and I would have liked to have seen it explored in more depth.

Second, I thought the book rambled at times. Dr. Wilson tended to bounce around a lot between neurology, anthropology, educational policy, etc. and it wasn't always clear what was driving the transitions from one area to the other.

On the whole, this is an excellent book offering a very unique perspective on the mind and human nature through the investigation of the miraculous but little appreciated hand.

Excellent book for those interested in cognition of the hand.......1999-08-05

As a neuroscientist, educator, and a Deaf person, I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Wilson's insights into how the hand shapes our lives and our brains. He raises a lot of questions yet to be investigated about how crucial the manipulation of the hands are to cognitive learning. It will be interesting to see the outcome of the questions he's raised both for normal people and those of us who use manual language over speech, and whether those choices in means of communication cause the brain to be mapped differently. Dr. Wilson writes with humor and gives fascinating insights into the worlds of people whose advocations depend upon their hands. This long neglected part of our body should now receive the attention it deserves in shaping our minds.

Pre(re)view.......1999-01-04

I haven't read this book yet, so this must be a pReview. I did see the PBS evening news interview with the author and was intrigued enough by that discussion to move The Hand to the top of my To Be Read List here at =Rick's Internet Cafe=.

THE HAND: HOW ITS USE SHAPES THE BRAIN, LANGUAGE, AND HUMAN CULTURE.(Review)(Brief Article): An article from: American Scholar

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THE HAND: HOW ITS USE SHAPES THE BRAIN, LANGUAGE, AND HUMAN CULTURE.(Review)(Brief Article): An article from: American Scholar

Manufacturer: Phi Beta Kappa Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00098JTD2
Release Date: 2005-07-28

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