Friday, December 30, 2011

Now Available: Topical Business Collections

Want access to Business Expert Press's highly-regarded ebooks but prefer to concentrate on specific topics? Now you can order packages by discipline -- just click on the Subject Area drop-down menu in our Search bar to see the selection. Contact Adam Chesler for details or to arrange for a free trial so you can learn more about our student- and library-friendly program.

Whether you own one or more of our Digital Libraries, are considering a free trial, or just want to learn more about our innovative publishing program, we want to hear from you. Please feel free to contact our Director of Library Relations, Adam Chesler, at your convenience so we can learn more about the issues that are important to you, and find ways to help you deliver valuable content to your patrons. Write to Adam at adam.chesler@businessexpertpress.com, or give him a call at 571-243-7537.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Interview with the Author: Phil Romero

First, can you briefly tell us what your book is all about and why we should read it? 
The book explains why the investing environment of the next few decades will be less benign than for the last 30 years.  This is true for two main reasons:  Demographics and Debt.  The book is an illustration of how a better understanding of economics can deliver profits for any executive—in his/her job, and in personal investing.  The first seven chapters outline the long term forecast, and the final three chapters outline action steps the reader can take to exploit these trends.

What are the top trends in your area(s)? 
The population of the developed world—and increasingly, in emerging markets—is aging. That means they will accumulate fewer assets and become more dependent.  That’s the Demographic trend.  It leads to the Debt trend: Aging populations will bloat government budget deficits and retard rising asset prices.

What made you decide to publish with Business Expert Press? 
Business Expert Press emphasizes tight books whose knowledge can be acquired just in time, and at a reasonable price.

Have you read any other Business Expert Press books, and if so, which one was your favorite? 
I’ve read both of Don Stengel’s books.  I am partial to his managerial economics book because it uses a very accessible example (an ice cream stand) to illustrate concepts that can be hard for readers to grasp.

What prompted you to write this book? 
It is very evident that many Baby Boomers have not saved enough for retirement, especially after 2008 sank their portfolios. I fear that many will delude themselves into believing that markets can still bail them out—they tried with dot com stocks in the 1990s and with real estate in the 2000s.  They need to hear some inconvenient truths while the still have time to plan.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Business Librarian Michael R. Lavin on Business Expert Press

What made you want to trial the Digital Library?
A co-worker, also a business librarian, was the first to learn about the product. What attracted us to it was the business model and pricing structure. Specifically, the fact the publisher imposed no DRM restrictions, no limit on simultaneous usage, nor any limit on printing and downloading, all seemed very attractive. The average price per book was also very reasonable for an e-book package.

What prompted you to purchase it?
We liked what we saw during the trial. Our librarians were actively exploring a variety of e-book solutions, and business was one of the subject areas where the demand for e-books seemed strong. At the time, our University was in the throes of a multi-year budget crisis, from which we are only now emerging. As a result, we did not have much money to purchase new e-book packages. I particularly liked the publisher’s focus on topics of interest to undergraduate and master’s-level business students. Although most of the BEP authors are academics, their writing (for the most part) is very accessible and the subject focus is on practical, real-world business applications. The above-mentioned access/pricing model sealed the deal. The fact that Business Expert Press utilizes the ebrary e-book reader was a bonus, because we were already familiar with the software.

What’s your opinion of e-books in libraries today?
There is no question that e–books are here to stay. Our students are certainly comfortable with them and they undoubtedly prefer electronic access. Usage patterns also appear to be changing. In the past, I felt that our students tended to use e-books as reference tools for quick look-ups, brief facts, and convenient quotations, rather than reading entire chapters or [gasp] entire books. That behavior is clearly changing, and the Business Expert Press collections make it easy for students to interact with them as actual books.

Are professors using the library’s e-collections more frequently now? Have they been using Business Expert Press?
Faculty usage varies of course. Some have readily adopted e-books and relish the convenient access. One factor that helps with faculty is that we have loaded all of our e-titles into our Library Catalog, so faculty can’t help but stumble over them, and (I hope) will be tempted to try them. We also encourage our faculty to incorporate electronic books and articles into their course reserves and course management software. To be honest, we have not yet publicized the BEP collection because our ongoing budget problems prevented us from purchasing additional (more recent) titles. Now that we have turned the corner, we will be updating our BEP collection, at which time we will make the product more visible on our website and so on. I am happy to report that two of our faculty members are now BEP authors and they seem pleased with the experience.
Finally, although you didn’t ask, I have found Business Expert Press’s customer service to be both responsive and pleasant, which always counts for a lot in my book.

About Michael R. Lavin: Lavin is the Business/Management Librarian at the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB). He has been a business librarian for more than 30 years. He has also taught a graduate course on business information resources for many years. Mr. Lavin has published extensively in the field, including Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It (Oryx Press) and Understanding the Census (Epoch Books). He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Business and Finance Librarianship. Mr. Lavin is a past recipient of ALA’s Gale Research Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Business Expert Press in Searcher Magazine

This article will appear in the October issue of Searcher magazine.

Business Expert Press Digital Library
The Business Expert Press Digital Library [www.business expertpres.com] is faced with similar marketing challenges. Founded in 2008 by David Parker, formerly an executive with Pearson, it began with seed money and international marketing support from iGroup [www.igroupnet.com].

The titles published in this digital library are designed as practical, applied, concise, executive-oriented guides to discrete business topics, available for purchase in print or as an ebook. The price points for individual titles — $25–$30 for print copies, with the ebook going for $15 — make single pur- chases affordable, and sales to individuals are growing. (There were 50 titles published in 2010 at a cost of $3,750 for the entire package, now available for $3,000; there are 60 titles in 2011 at a cost of $3,600. The company plans to issue 50 new titles in 2012.)

Targeted to the business executive, upper-level undergrad — in other words, juniors and seniors — and graduate (MBA) students, the ebooks are distributed through Safari and XanEDU and available for ereaders (e.g., Kindle, iPad). The books are designed to translate real-world business experience to the academic world. They offer professors a legitimate alternative to highly priced basic business textbooks, focusing more narrowly on courses often offered today in business schools as two-credit courses. They can serve as a companion to alternative readings (i.e., articles and case studies), filling publishing gaps for support of progressive curricula which address “hot topics.”

Business Expert Press (BEP) is developing collections of complementary titles within specific business disciplines and across topics of interest. It is the collection editor (or editors) — with only two exceptions all are associated with universities — who actively charts the strategic direction of the
collection, identifying new authors and “hot topics.” Authors focus on narrow topics and present concise and actionable books to which business students and executives can turn as their studies or work require. “Collection editors work with new authors to focus the work in a concise and applied direction to deliver immediately actionable concepts.” Each book represents the most current and applied review of the theory and practice of the author’s area of expertise. Collections have a cohesive focus, and the volumes composing each collection are similarly structured.

The 21 collections of titles can be segmented into three areas. The strengths of the books published to date are clearly in the Marketing and Management arena, though Corporate Governance and International Business are coming on strong.

One key to the company’s success lies in its editors’ ability to predict the next hot topic within their discipline and select the appropriate author to produce a work that would appeal to students and businesspersons alike. So don’t be shy. Let BEP know what you think it should publish. If you think you can produce academically reliable, instruction-oriented content, submit your book proposal [www.business expertpress.com/author].

With a limited number of universities purchasing the entire collection, the company’s ability to market individual titles to the strategic business sector and individuals just starting out will ensure its longevity as a player in this market space. There are logical approaches to this, such as modifying basic Sales Force Management with industry-specific works (e.g., Insurance Sales Force Management), and there are plenty of business topics and potential authors out there to keep Business Expert Press busy for years to come.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Mason Carpenter, We Will Miss You: In Memoriam

Mason A. Carpenter received his PhD in 1997 from the University of Texas at Austin, and was a professor at the University of Madison, Wisconsin’s School of Business. He held the M. Keith Weikel Chair in Leadership, and was responsible for the MBA and executive MBA courses in business, corporate, and global strategy, and the curriculum offered through Wisconsin’s Strategic Leadership Institute. He was also associate editor of the Academy of Management Review and the Strategic Management and Corporate Governance Collection Editor for Business Expert Press. During Mason's tenure with Business Expert Press he was involved in the signing and publishing of more than 30 books including his own An Executive's Guide to the Strategy of Social Networks. Mason Carpenter passed on September 24th, 2011. He will be deeply missed as a friend and as an editor and author.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Business Expert Press Announces Partnership with CLOCKSS

Business Expert Press, publisher of annual Digital Libraries containing practical, concise ebooks for advanced business students, is pleased to announce a partnership with the CLOCKSS Archive (a not-for-profit, geographically-distributed dark archive of Web-based scholarly publications -- see http://www.clockss.org/ for further details), to preserve its ebook content.

"Our publishing model is built around giving our customers long-term control of the content they acquire" noted Business Expert Press Publisher, David Parker.  "Working with CLOCKSS is a natural next step for us:  it assures librarians that when they purchase an ebook from Business Expert Press, it will always be available for their users." 

Business Expert Press, a leading resource for Business Education, publishes perpetual-access, DRM-free ebooks built for the modern teaching curriculum, available without restrictions from any device. Visit http://www.businessexpertpress.com/ for more information.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Meet Ken Everett, Author of “Designing the Networked Organization”

If you see the network as the organization of the future, then this book is for you. Ken Everett thinks so, too, and he wrote this book to help the architects of such future organizations. 

Ken Everett is a bit of a maverick in the business world, and his new ideas about the “networked organization” will make MBA students re-think the nature of enterprise structures and relationships. Working with Everett showcases BEP’s dedication to developing international perspectives, and despite the time difference between New Jersey and Australia, he managed to find time to speak with us – a Wednesday morning for him, and late Tuesday night for us East Coasters.


Can you briefly tell us what your book is all about and why we should read it?

The book is about the ability to build an organization without an organization. It’s about building communities of people who share an interest, a product, a cause, a passion, a technology. In fact, the Internet is like this. Few people reflect on the fact that the internet is the largest organization of all mankind, but there’s no CEO. What’s the secret? There’s a whole heap of people all joined by a common understanding that is Internet protocol. It’s an organization without a CEO, without a headquarters, and very few people have thought about that. It’s the elephant in the room no one really wants to talk about because it threatens our presumptions about organizations. How many CEOs are really that interested in having organizations without CEOs?

What characterizes the internet? It’s made up of independent people, but equally a very strong community and its paradox is resolved via internet protocols which each organization eventually embraces.



What type of students or classes will benefit most from using your book?

I’ve been to business schools and I’ve had a look from time to time at the subjects that are taught and when I look at the courses taught, there’s very little on these organizational networks. Do you really go to university to set up a network? No. You go to learn how to join an organization, but that’s not the only way to go about things. I would love to open the minds of young people starting out in business of an alternative way to organize.



What are the top trends in your area(s)?

For organizations, there is a move towards networked organizations instead of personal organizations. It’s emancipation- anyone can do it. It produces healthier organizations, organizations that are innovative, resilient, “leaderful”. And it’s what enables you to craft a life. Each part of the organization takes care of itself. You determine what brand of computer you’re going to buy, the hours you work, where you live, and this all fits in to the fact that even if you lose one of your contracts, you can probably survive in a way you couldn’t if you were an employee at one firm, and this leads to huge resilience.



Major externalities have happened every four years or so and a business that is resilient and can survive them is the most desirable of businesses. It’s innovative because now there are people running their own independent businesses and try their own twists on marketing and this adds up to a huge salad bowl of innovation and the good ones that work, we spread around the network.



What made you decide to publish with Business Expert Press?

They were looking for authors! Selling collections the way that they do is innovation. The old publishing model is difficult today for any number of reasons.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Meet the Author: Ron Huefner

Ron Huefner is the author of Revenue Management: A Path to Increased Profits.


Ronald J. Huefner served for 42 years as professor of accounting at the State University of New York at Buffalo.  He was appointed SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in 1993.   He holds an MBA and a PhD from Cornell University, and is a CPA (New York) and CMA.  Over his career he has taught a wide variety of accounting courses from freshman to graduate levels.  He is author or coauthor of several texts and numerous articles in the academic and professional literatures.


Can you briefly tell us what your book is all about and why we should read it?
This book provides an overview of the emerging field of Revenue Management from an accounting and finance perspective.  While there is an extensive literature on Revenue Management, little of it appears in accounting or finance publications.  However, accounting and finance professionals need to be aware of this field and include it among their skill set.

What are the top trends in your area(s)?
Revenue Management began in the airline industry and then spread to hospitality and service industries.  Now these practices are found in all types or organizations, including not-for-profits.  All organizations need to be sensitive to the need to build revenues.

What do you like best about using e-books?  Do you own an e-book reader?
I’m not yet into the e-book environment, and have yet to use them or to own an e-book reader.  But they seem to offer opportunities for lower-priced book purchases and ease of carrying several books with you.

What made you decide to publish with Business Expert Press?The approach of Business Expert Press seemed to fit my plans for this book exactly.  I wanted to write a short book discussing Revenue Management for executives, accounting and finance professionals, continuing education courses, and graduate students.  This was exactly the orientation of Business Expert Press.
In addition, I found the people and organization to be extremely supportive and easy to work with.

Have you read any other Business Expert Press books, and if so, which one was your favorite?I used one as a style model for my book, The Small Business Controller, by Richard Hanson. I have several others on my list to order.
What prompted you to write this book?
I got interested in the literature of Revenue Management and its importance for accounting and finance professionals, and for top executives, but I could find little mention of the subject in the accounting/finance fields.  I began to incorporate it in my classes, then I decided to write the book.

What were your favorite business courses when you were in school?
I enjoyed all my courses, but accounting and finance were my favorites.

What do you like to do when you're not working?
I enjoy working on genealogy, and my wife and I like to travel.
 
What was the best non-business book you read recently?
Most of my reading lately has focused on topics related to this book.

How long did the process of writing the book take you?
I had been collecting material and thinking about this topic for several years.  I first contacted the series editor, Ken Merchant, in January 2009 and mentioned the idea.  Ken was very supportive.  I met with David Parker in August 2009.  I submitted the proposal in September 2009, and completed writing about a year later.

Friday, May 13, 2011

E-Publishing Revolution

In this unfolding age of the e-book, publishers are struggling to develop sustainable ways to deliver content to academic customers. The economy has forced many libraries to operate on a shoestring budget, and e-book publishers are faced with a challenging, some might say impossible, task. However, while some content providers have stuck with old tactics (electronic subscriptions that can’t be canceled without loss of back-file access, ebooks restricted to one user at a time), this is a great opportunity for more nimble and creative publishers to experiment with radical new ideas of book production, distribution, and ownership.

Among this new breed of publishers is Business Expert Press, formed in 2007 and based on a different concept of providing content for academic readers: books are published simultaneously in print and electronic form, and under uniquely unrestrictive and user-friendly terms.

For starters, the Business Expert Press collection was created to provide books for business/management students seeking bachelors and masters degrees, which is an under-served area in terms of library resources. Most business journals and books are created for doctoral candidates, creating a vacuum for students below that level. Rather than generating yet another series of case studies, the Business Expert Press collection provides insights into the issues that companies face every day, offering content that explains theory and offers clear guidance through the challenges of management, entrepreneurship, international business, accounting, and dozens of other topics. The books are succinct and highly specific, enabling professors to select books containing material targeted directly at their classes, so that students don’t have to buy lengthy (and expensive) textbooks which might only include one or two relevant chapters. These are books that will serve students as well as executives returning to school to further their careers..

What makes Business Expert Press different from other publishers? First, Business Expert Press's Digital Collection is not subscription-based. The collections, offered in yearly sets of 50-60 books, are available for a one-time fee, meaning that a library pays once for the yearly collection and then owns -- period. Second, the books are unencumbered by DRM: not only can they be read online at the library or a dorm room on a computer, but they can also be downloaded directly to any student’s personal reading device as a PDF,. And not just downloaded, but stored -- for as long as the user wants it -- the content won’t disappear or be locked off after a brief lending term. Students essentially build their own textbooks based on class requirements or their own interests. This unique structure is both economical for libraries and more beneficial to students than a subscription-based service, with the assurance of access for generations of students at every institution which buys the collections.

Customer relations is another key to what separates Business Expert Press from other publishing companies: though small and academically-oriented, the company has embraced the concept of social media and more personal contact with potential authors and librarians. Libraries have the opportunity to run a free, unrestricted trial of any Digital Library for 45 days before making a decision to purchase, giving business librarians and faculty a risk-free preview of the collection. The operation is focused primarily on customer service, by any and every means, from communicating with librarians, patrons, and authors via Twitter or Facebook, sending out a monthly newsletter with interviews and information, and a personal connection with each library as it trials after it purchases the collection. From the day the trial begins, Business Expert Press staff are on call to help librarians navigate the collection, and provide any technical assistance necessary as well as assistance with outreach to faculty members.

Now well into developing its third Digital Library (for 2012), Business Expert Press is publishing new books every month. To learn more about us, please our website at www.businessepertpress.com, follow us on Twitter (@busexppress), or just drop a note to molly.hurford@businessexpertpress.com.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Meet the Librarian: Kyle McCarrell from Augusta State University

Our librarian of the month is Kyle McCarrell, the Acquisitions and Cataloging Librarian for Augusta State University.  He was kind enough to share some of his insights into Business Expert Press and why he chose to start the trial and purchase our Digital Collection.

What made you want to trial the Digital Library?
When I first was introduced to the Digital Library of Business Expert Press, I was immediately impressed with the diversity of business content that was available for the various parts of our business school. Books on marketing, accounting, MIS, etc. were all available in one digital collection. When I contacted our College of Business to look over the title list, they immediately wanted to trial it, particularly because the entire collection was in digital form.  

What prompted you to purchase the Digital Library?
After a month of doing the trial of the Digital Library, our College of Business faculty were impressed with the authors and the content. The titles seemed to be written so that both undergraduate students and professor could find nuggets of information that would be helpful in their research. The currency of the content (2009-2011) was also a big selling point. Finally, I was really impressed with the flexibility that Business Expert Press has regarding printing, copying, and downloading PDFs. The use of the Ebrary interface was also a big plus for us.

What's your opinion on e-books in libraries today in general?
I believe that libraries must focus on multiple forms of content. Some users prefer traditional books, while others prefer digital content that is downloadable to their computers or e-readers. Whatever form we happened to have purchased, our goal is to make users comfortable with finding and utilizing the information they need. E-books in academic libraries and for academic content will continue to grow, but I suspect not with the growth that we have seen with popular titles. We have also found that different departments are more open to having digital content than others. Our purchase of the Business Expert Press Digital Library reflects how our College of Business is comfortable with e-books.  
Are professors using the library's e-collections more frequently now?  Have they been using Business Expert Press?
I don’t know if I truly have a firm handle on this question yet. Some professors are much more open to using e-content than others and it varies widely even within a department. It really depends on the topic and what types of research are being done. I would say, in general, people are much more comfortable with finding e-journals than with e-books. With Business Expert Press, however, I anticipate that both professors and students will utilize these new titles, particularly as more titles are added throughout the year.


A big thank you to Kyle for taking the time from his busy schedule to answer our questions!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Meet the Authors: Patricia Huddleston and Stella Minahan

Patricia Huddleston and Stella Minahan are the authors of Consumer Behavior: Women and Shopping, a book written to answer the question "What does shopping mean to American women?"

The authors were kind enough to give Business Expert Press a dual interview so we could get into their minds and find out a bit about their process, both in terms of their co-writing and their forays into the use of social media to self-promote their wonderful book.

Tell us a bit about yourselves!
Pat: I am a Professor of Retailing at Michigan State University. I have been involved in retail and consumer research for the past 26 years.
Stella: I am an Australian researcher and teacher in a Graduate Business School. I am fascinated by retail in our society.


Can you briefly tell us what your book is all about and why we should read it?
Pat: Our book is about what shopping means to women, what motivates them to shop, what influences them when they shop and what they love and hate about shopping. We provide a brief history of women and their influence in the evolution of the retail industry as we know it today. At the end of the book, we discuss how retail firms can use the knowledge from our book to do a better job of meeting the needs of their women customers.  You should read this book because it is interesting! Everyone shops and we believe that all of our readers will be able to see themselves in this book.
Stella: the history of retail is the history of contemporary society. Retail reflects changes in our society. Women are the power house of retail, they are the spenders. Readers of this book will have a view of how women see themselves when they are shopping; what shopping means to them; to their relationships with family and friends and how shopping interacts with their identity.


What are the top trends in your area(s)?
Pat: increasing use of online shopping and mobile marketing, and the importance of social media in building a retail brand.
Stella:
• Globalization of the industry is seen in mall design, brands, store formats.
• Shopping as an integral part of the lives of many – ie. Japan
• The increasing number of men who shop and enjoy it
• Nostalgia and cocooning in response to an uncertain world leading to new retail categories i.e do it yourself, make it yourself


What do you like best about using e-books? Do you own an e-book reader?
Pat: I do not own an e-book reader. If I purchased one, it would probably be the Nook because you can download library books to it.
Stella: I love being able to go into the online library and browse through a book using the hyperlinks in the table of contents. It is much like browsing through the physical stacks. Then it is great to have the opportunity to download the book. I enjoy books as they give the opportunity to fully explore a topic rather than the abbreviated and highly focused content of a journal article.  I have a Kobo e-book reader that was given to me as a present. It is a great entry level device.


What made you decide to publish with Business Expert Press?
Pat: BEP demonstrated a strong interest in our topic (women and shopping), David Parker [publisher] and Naresh Malhotra [editor] were so easy to work with and were patient with all of my “ novice author” questions. It has been an enjoyable experience working with BEP.
Stella: Pat has said it all – great to work with and very quick to respond.


What prompted you to write this book?
We were interested in telling women’ s “ stories” about their shopping experiences. Since women are driving economic force for the retail industry, it is important to understand what they want from the shopping experience and to what extent their needs are being met by today’ s retailers.


What were your favorite business courses when you were in school?
Pat: I enjoyed marketing and retail merchandising.


What do you like to do when you're not working?
Pat: I am an avid reader and enjoy traveling.
Stella: anything but go shopping! I don’ t like shopping at all.


What was the best non-business book you read recently?
Pat: The Girl Who Played with Fire (by Stieg Larsson)
Stella: The Secret River (by Kate Grenville)


How long did the process of writing the book take you?
We spent about 6 months completing the interviews. Writing and editing the book took about 9 months.


Did the collaboration make the process easier or harder, do you think?
Pat: For me, collaboration made the process easier because Stella and I bring different skill sets to the table. Stella is a more creative thinker and writer than I am. She is able to see the “big picture” and had a vision for where the book needed to go. I am very organized and have a keen sense of sequencing and am able to see how things fit together. We had a lot of fun writing our book. It was a labor of love.
Stella: Pat’ s organizational skills and diligent and thorough knowledge of the data made the book possible.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Interview with a Business Librarian: Azusa Pacific University's Denise Gehring

Azusa Pacific University boasted some of the highest usage during their trial that we had ever seen. So of course, we had to sit down and ask their librarian Denise Gehring if she had any secrets to share!


What made you want to trial the Digital Library?

We had a request from business faculty member to purchase the digital library. However before we purchased we wanted to be sure that students and faculty would use it so we set up the trial.

What prompted you to purchase it?

Usage response was excellent for the trial. Also we consulted other business faculty to see if they thought the resources would be helpful for teaching and learning. Both business faculty and our business librarian encouraged the students to use the digital library. Our business librarian had 5 previously scheduled library workshops in which she spent a little time showing them how to access the digital library.

We also really liked the fact that there are very few restrictions on your product such as unlimited simultaneous use, no DRM, downloadable PDFs, availability of MARC records, and no yearly fees.

What's your opinion on e-books in libraries today in general?

I think that eBooks are becoming a common trend. This year our library has had more of a focus on purchasing eBooks. We have set up agreements with several vendors to allow for librarians to have more of a choice in selection. EBooks are preferred resource among younger patrons; in addition we are starting to see that professors especially those who have distance education programs prefer the eBook format.

Do you have an e-reader? If so, what kind?

No, I don’t; although, I have the kindle and nook app on my Droid and laptop.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Meet the Author: Dr. Bill Judge

Dr. Bill Judge is the author of one of the newest Business Expert Press books, Building Organizational Capacity for Change: The Strategic Leader's New Mandate.  Additionally, Dr. Judge is  the E.V. Williams Chair of Strategic Leadership and Professor of Strategic Management in the Management Department at the College of Business & Public Administration at Old Dominion University. Dr. Judge’s teaching, research, and consulting expertise is in the area of strategic leadership and organizational change. Dr. Judge currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of "Corporate Governance: An International Review."


BEP: Can you tell us a bit about your latest book?
Judge: Very little is known about the future except that change will be required. Unfortunately, our organizations are built for stability, not change. As a result, the strategic leader’s new mandate is to help increase their organization’s capacity for change for the future. This book provides a comprehensive roadmap for doing this.

BEP: What are the top trends in your area(s)?
Judge: My area of expertise is strategic leadership. Strategic leaders are upper echelon executives who are responsible for the long-term success and effectiveness of their organizations. Strategic leaders who are succeeding today are the ones who can balance competing imperatives – producing in the short-term while preparing for the long-term, hitting the numbers while honoring the organization values, and making sure that everyone is held accountable for their actions and results while permitting the freedom to be innovative and creative. There are many dilemmas and paradoxes that today’s leaders need to transcend.

BEP: What do you like best about using e-books? Do you own an e-book reader?
Judge: There are four things that I like about ebooks. First, I can gain access to the ebook faster than a hardcopy. Second, it usually costs less than the printed version. Third, ebooks more environmentally friendly. And fourth, ebooks are more compact to carry around than a stack of books.
I currently own an ipad. It was given to me by a former student who knew that I might enjoy using it. I do enjoy using it, but my kids sometimes use it more than I do!

BEP: What made you decide to publish with Business Expert Press?
I liked the concept of shorter, more concise books that can be read on a long plane ride by busy executives. I have a long and deep respect for Mason Carpenter, the strategic management collection editor and a growing respect for David Parker, the President of the operation. Finally, I talked with an author who had worked with BEP previously and he had a glowing report of his experience with BEP.

BEP: Have you read any other Business Expert Press books, and if so, which one was your favorite?
Judge: I have read three other BEP books previously. My favorite was written by Mason Carpenter entitled, “An Executive’s Primer on the Strategy of Social Networks.” I found the book to be very readable, concise, and chock full of practical insights.

BEP: What prompted you to write this book?
Judge: This book summarizes over ten years of research and teaching that I have done regarding organizational capacity for change for MBA and Executive MBA students. I will use this book in my consulting with executives and teaching of MBA students, and I hope that it may be of some value to other instructors or executives interested in strategic leadership and change.

BEP: What were your favorite business courses when you were in school?
Judge: My favorite business courses in my MBA program were my strategic management courses. Perhaps that is why I became a strategy professor! Prior to getting an MBA, I worked at a Fortune 200 firm as a strategic planning analyst. I find the classic strategy problem to be complex and fascinating - where do we want to go, and how do we get there? In my experience, the ‘how we get there’ part is the hardest and where I have devoted my life to studying and and understanding.

BEP: What do you like to do when you're not working?
Judge: My passion is sailing. When at home, I sail on the Chesapeake Bay. Last summer, I ticked an item off my ‘bucket list’ by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.

BEP: What was the best non-business book you read recently?
Judge: There are so many! I guess one of the most recent books was written by James Hansen entitled "Storms of my Grandchildren.” I learned a lot about global warming, the politics and misinformation behind our inaction, and some practical policy options for averting a global catastrophe. In addition, I deeply admired how Hansen stepped out of his comfort zone to try to do his part to wake everyone up to the looming disaster that confronts us all.

Check out Dr. Bill Judge's book today!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Welcome to Business Expert Press!

Hello, and welcome to Business Expert Press's latest endeavor: our blog.

In this blog, we'll share interviews and behind the scenes looks at our authors, editors, and the staff that make Business Expert Press great.  We'll also be sharing interviews with business librarians, faculty, and students who are using Business Expert Press's Digital Library at their institutions. 


Business Expert Press prides itself in being on the cutting edge with our e-book technology and Digital Library systems, and now we're at the cutting edge of social media as well!  Follow us and friend us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and stay in touch!
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Sunday, January 2, 2011

Business Expert Press's Top 11 Books of 2011

1.     A PRIMER ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
2.     FIVE GOLDEN RULES OF NEGOTIATION
3.     A PRACTITIONERS GUIDE TO PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION
4.     COST MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL IN GOVERNMENT
5.     BUSINESS GOES VIRTUAL REALIZING THE VALUE OF COLLABORATION SOCIAL AND VIRTUAL STRATEGIES
6.     DESIGNING THE NETWORKED ORGANIZATION
7.     TOP MARKET STRATEGY APPLYING THE 80 20 RULE
8.     BUSINESS PLANNING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AN ACCOUNTING APPROACH
9.     MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES
10.   DEVELOPING NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
11.   AN OVERVIEW OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS FUNCTION