War and conflict are a reality of life throughout the world. While much is written about the impact of violence and disorder, how people and organisations adapt to these environments is poorly understood. This book tells the often hidden story of people managing, delivering services and sustaining economies through and beyond violent conflict. It is written for both general readers and academic specialists, combining first person interviews, insights from ‘witness seminars; and informal conversations with more scholarly research. Building on what we already know about organisational behavior and conflict transformation, the book looks at the delivery of housing and public amenities, the management of public space and commemoration and the role of local businesses during and beyond violent conflict. In particular, it focuses on the role of organisational managers as peacebuilding entrepreneurs, generating and sustaining conflict transformation efforts.

Sun Tzu's Art of War an ancient Chinese philosopher-warrior's rules for successes in battle, is considered required reading at business schools in Japan, and increasingly throughout the world. Now, three Asian scholars and consultants have made explicit how the concerns of war--the terrain, deception, the moral influence of the leader--play out in the boardroom.

Sun Tzu's Art of War an ancient Chinese philosopher-warrior's rules for successes in battle, is considered required reading at business schools in Japan, and increasingly throughout the world. Now, three Asian scholars and consultants have made explicit how the concerns of war--the terrain, deception, the moral influence of the leader--play out in the boardroom.

The Oxford Handbook of War is the definitive analysis of war in the twenty-first century. With over forty senior authors from academia, government and the armed forces world-wide the Handbook explores the history, theory, ethics and practice of war. The Handbook first considers the fundamental causes of war, before reflecting on the moral and legal aspects of war. Theories on the practice of war lead into an analysis of the strategic conduct of war and non Western ways of war. The heart of the Handbook is a compelling analysis of the military conduct of war which is juxtaposed with consideration of technology, economy, industry, and war. In conclusion the volume looks to the future of this apparently perennial feature of human interaction.

A comparison of nine leaders who led their nations through the greatest wars the world has ever seen and whose unique strengths—and weaknesses—shaped the course of human history, from the bestselling, award-winning author of Churchill, Napoleon, and The Last King of America “Has the enjoyable feel of a lively dinner table conversation with an opinionated guest.” —The New York Times Book Review Taking us from the French Revolution to the Cold War, Andrew Roberts presents a bracingly honest and deeply insightful look at nine major figures in modern history: Napoleon Bonaparte, Horatio Nelson, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, George C. Marshall, Charles de Gaulle, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Margaret Thatcher. Each of these leaders fundamentally shaped the outcome of the war in which their nation was embroiled. Is war leadership unique, or did these leaders have something in common, traits and techniques that transcend time and place and can be applied to the essential nature of conflict? Meticulously researched and compellingly written, Leadership in War presents readers with fresh, complex portraits of leaders who approached war with different tactics and weapons, but with the common goal of success in the face of battle. Both inspiring and cautionary, these portraits offer important lessons on leadership in times of struggle, unease, and discord. With his trademark verve and incisive observation, Roberts reveals the qualities that doom even the most promising leaders to failure, as well as the traits that lead to victory.

A comprehensive, practical book on software management that dispels real-world issues through relevant case studies Software managers inevitably will meet obstacles while trying to deliver quality products and provide value to customers, often with tight time restrictions. The result: Software War Stories. This book provides readers with practical advice on how to handle the many issues that can arise as a software project unfolds. It utilizes case studies that focus on what can be done to establish and meet reasonable expectations as they occur in government, industrial, and academic settings. The book also offers important discussions on both traditional and agile methods as well as lean development concepts. Software War Stories: Covers the basics of management as applied to situations ranging from agile projects to large IT projects with infrastructure problems Includes coverage of topics ranging from planning, estimating, and organizing to risk and opportunity management Uses twelve case studies to communicate lessons learned by the author in practice Offers end-of-chapter exercises, sample solutions, and a blog for providing updates and answers to readers' questions Software War Stories: Case Studies in Software Management mentors practitioners, software engineers, students and more, providing relevant situational examples encountered when managing software projects and organizations.

This major new study shows how war can be thought of in terms of proactive risk management rather than in terms of conventional threat response. It addresses why the study of ‘risk management’ has helped fields such as sociology and criminology conceptualize new policy challenges but has made limited impact on Strategic Studies with new case studies of recent Anglo-American military campaigns in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. The author shows how ‘risk' is now a key defining feature of our globalized era, encompassing issues from global financial meltdown, terrorism, infectious diseases, to environmental degradation and how its vocabulary, such as the Precautionary Principle, now permeates the way we think about war, and how it now appears in US and UK defence policy documents, and speeches from both civilian and military staff. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of strategic studies, war studies, international relations and globalization.

Two books in one! The complete text of the only award-winning English translation of "Sun Tzu's The Art of War" plus a line-by-line adaptation for management called "The Art of Management." Based on Gary Gagliardi's management use of Sun Tzu in building one of the Inc. 500 fastest growing companies in America and training scores of the world's best known organizations in Sun Tzu's competitive strategy. Designed to appeal to managers in any type of organization, "The Art of War Plus The Art of Management" uses Sun Tzu's proven strategy to address the leadership challenges of directing people, resources, quality, and continual improvement in a modern organization. This is a work of translation, not only from the ancient Chinese to English, but from a military terminology to the language of modern management. It works because Sun Tzu wrote about competitive strategy as a battle of minds not weapons. However, as defined by Sun Tzu, competitive strategy is not a system of strategic planning as often envisioned by managers. Planning, in the sense of prioritizing a list of activities, works in controlled environments where you can know how others will respond to your decisions. Competitive strategy works in environments where your decisions collide with the decisions of others, creating conditions that no one planned. Most managers are confused about the competition. This confusion often arises from two false dichotomies. The first is between competition and cooperation, thinking that since cooperation means working together, competition means working against others. The second false dichotomy is between competition and production, thinking that because production is productive, competition must be destructive. What people fail to see is that competition is essential to both cooperation and production. Table of Contents Foreword: Using Management Strategy 8Introduction: Sun Tzu's Strategic System16 1 Analysis23 The Strategic Situation25 2 Going to War37 Taking Control39 3Planning an Attack49 Preparing to Advance51 4Positioning61 Advancing Solutions63 5Momentum 73 Process Innovation75 6Weakness and Strength85 Problems and Opportunities87 7 Armed Conflict101 Internal Politics103 8 Adaptability 115 Continuous Improvement117 9Armed March125 Making Progress127 10Field Position 145 Best Practices147 11Types of Terrain 163 The Work Environment165 12 Attacking with Fire189 Attacking Cycle Time191 13 Using Spies 201 Acquiring Information203 Glossary of Key Strategic Concepts 214 Index of Topics in The Art of War 220 Reviews "Gary Gagliardi is to be commended for the clarity and fluidity of his translation of The Art of War as well as for his skillful juxtaposition of the content with important issues in the contemporary business world as he focuses on the basic strategies and tactics of effective management... In terms of both Gagliardi's translation and analysis, his is a brilliant achievement." ROBERT MORRIS, Morris & Associates, Five-Star Reviews, Ranked #10 among Amazon and Borders Top 100 Reviewers "Two books in one, this retranslating of Sun Tzu's classic warfare text, The Art of War, runs side by side with Gagliardi's application of it to business...Both are excellent guides to their subject." F. JOHN REH, About.com Guide to Management "It is sheer genius to adapt Sun Tzu's The Art of War to provide a manual for management. I have a degree in history and have managed numerous businesses over the years, but Gary Gagliardi has brought everything together for the first time. He urges us to 'learn from the history of success.' With the winning philosophy of thousands of years on our side, we cannot go wrong!" THOMAS FORTENBERRY, Editor, Publisher, Literary Judge, and Award-Winning Author, Mind Fire Press

Learn the strategic rules of Sun Tzu and how to incorporate them into your management style. In this translation of The Art of War readers will benefit from the interpretations from other translators and strategist, as well as the 50 strategic rules, including: How to look for strategic turns to meet the competition How to attain strategic superiority and crush the competition How to plan surprise and stay ahead of the game And more timeless wisdom that will allow you to compete and win in the dynamic business environment! Business managers around the world have tapped into this ancient wisdom; it is time to master The Art of War for Managers for the existence and growth of your business!