Desperate Networks by Bill Carter

Desperate networks is Bill Carter’s inside take on the four major networks as they struggle to compete for viewers against cable, internet, and video games. NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX are not only in competition with each other these days but now they must compete with all the other options we have today. Carter use to write for the New York Times covering all things television and with all his inside sources he spent the first five years of the new millennium interviewing the networks’ big shots. With all these stories and interviews Carter composed a very informative and in dept look at today’s network television industry.

By: Adrian Janowicz

The New Rules of Marketing and PR

When it comes to the new generation of media, The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly, was a great book to help understand the new ways to promote your business. Written by David Meerman Scott, he believes that the traditional media is steadily declining, so companies need to embrace a new way of promotion to thrive in the new world. The new age of technology will help smaller business by attracting consumers through the internet, a cheaper method than traditional advertising. People turn to the Internet for everything, and what he shows people is how to capitalize on it. Social media is the future, people are paying attention, and companies should use it to their advantage.

Verdadero Larracas

The Music Business (Explained In Plain English)

Finally, a break from all the physics and mathematical equations that prevent you from believing you will be able to run your own business. David Naggar breaks down the music industry for the up and coming songwriter/performer. Keeping the content raw and uncut, this updated and expanded second edition teaches you everything you need to know, from personal managers to copyrights to royalties. Do not get caught without the knowledge provided from this book, or like barbeque, you will get cooked. Peace, love, prosperity and wealth, to the Media Management Society Bookshelf. 

Carlo Porras   

Association of National Advertisers Guide to Media Management

Written by Herbert Zeltner this was an interesting read about the advertising industry. The book itself is outdated with regards to developments of the internet and new media. It is however a very interesting read if you are into advertising and marketing. It covers many basic concepts that have to do with the advertising industry and the management side of it. It's written in a very basic and informative way, how an 'Advertising Management for Dummies' might be written. It consists of a very informative history of the advertising industry as well as a focus on the boom and development of advertising during the 60's and 70's

The main sections that the book covers are the impact of changes in the media on advertising choices, which is an interesting concept to consider because the landscape of media and technology is always evolving. The next main concept is about developing and implementing media plans. For example, how to go about developing multi-platform advertising campaigns. Next, what I found to be of interest was the discussion of full-service agencies, agencies of record, independent media services and the in-house approach.

I enjoyed this book a lot because it helped to demystify many concepts of the advertising industry that were confusing to me. It was also informative about the role of management in the industry.

Jody Scott

Madison & Vine: Why the Entertainment & Advertising Industries Must Converge to Survive

In the book, Madison & Vine: Why the Entertainment & Advertising Industries Must Converge to Survive by Scott Donaton, the author talks about the music industry and how it has been decimated by consumer control. Scott Donaton lays out a case for why these industries will have to converge in order to survive, overcome hurdles, and create business models based on content commerce partnership. The author also reveals how technology is disrupting models, giving consumers more of a control over the product. I would definitely recommend this book; it was an easy read with interesting facts.

Nickelodeon Nation

Nickelodeon Nation: The History, Politics, and Economics of America's Only TV Channel for Kids.

Everyone who has kids, or been around kids, or was once a kid should be familiar with Nickelodeon and their products.  Their influence is huge not only with kids but adults as well.  That kind of influence alone was enough for me to pick up and read this book.  The book goes to talk about the evolution of Nickelodeon from being just another kids network to the highest rated daytime channel in the country by using a well thought out formula in marketing.  The authors of the book are the very same people who worked on a lot of the Nickelodeon programs. So you get a very in side look in the going-ons of the business, from the ups and downs to what eventually becomes the lovable network it is today.  At 304 pages I find this book to be a good and easy read for anyone not only interested in Nickelodeon but also anyone interested in media business and management as this can relate to other companies and situations in the business.

Andrew Corpuz

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

Groundswell, written by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, posits that new means of communication on the internet are changing the way that people communicate with each other, and can be used by companies to change the way that they communicate within their own company, and with customers. Li and Bernoff provide a copious amount of examples such as Dell listening to the online feedback of its customers and accordingly changed how it operated, or how Ernst and Young used social networking as a means of recruiting and staying in touch with former colleagues.

For the most part, the book is convincing; there are a number of communication tools that have arisen on the internet to become almost standard, especially among people in our age group (This blog itself is a great example). However I'm still left with a feeling of lingering doubt. I can't recall how many times I've been trolling a tech support site's forums, unable to find an answer to my question, and simply wanting to ask a simple question. These tools will be important in the future of business, but companies should be careful not to depersonalize their relationships with people too much. Ultimately there is no replacement for speaking to an actual person.

The Disney Way

I really enjoyed the Disney way by bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson. Walt Disney is one of my biggest heroes, from his amazing creations of fantasy in his movies, to the childhood soft spot of disneyland, to his multi-billion dollar Disney empire. The Disney Way is a book inspired by Walt Disney's motto of Dream! Believe! Dare! Do! It is a great motto to carry through life  and a surefire phrase to live by so that your dreams will come true. No one can deny the success of the Disney brand, and Walt was just smart enough to manage all of his creations to the fullest extent. This book is filled with really useful information that can be conveyed to any company on how to create, network, and manage an empire. I found it interesting that the authors were not even disney affiliated but that they had used the techniques so successfully they wanted to share with  the world. Everything in the book is practical, common sense strategies to build a team and micromanage everything to the fullest. Looking at the Walt Disney Empire, it is tough to think that it all started with a mouse.

Camelia Laurio

Sports Marketing

The few authors that helped write this did a great job for the sports fans of electronic media. The bad thing about this is it's out dated. With the rising popularity of HD, this book didn't have anything about HD for sports media. The book was strong in talking about advertising rates for advertisers to broadcast over a course of a season over a game. This book is broken up into many chapters that cover everything from: marketing, strategies, promos, Public Relations, and the future of sports in electronic media. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to know terms about media, business, and is interested in sports. I wouldn't recommend to anyone that doesn't like sports and is comfortable with broadcasting and business terms.

Chris Ritter
Written by Bernard J. Mullin, Stephen Hardy, William A. Sutton

WORLD WIDE WEB MARKETING

In the Book World Wide Web Marketing Jim Sterne does an excellent job using the first few chapters to give his readers a 101 course on the Internet, how it works, and how it was started. This is key information that is needed in order to have clear understanding on how to market your website. He breaks the book up into chapters, each chapter targeting key points to having a successful and functional website that can sell. He often refers to Amazon.com and their thriving website. He credits much of their success to inquiring on customer feed back, having a flashy yet easily managed website, and giving email updates that are tailored to the customers needs. This was a very insightful book that would be a great help to anyone we was trying to start a company on the world wide web.

Bok Reveiw#2

The book i chose to read is called The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't by Robert I. Sutten. This Book deals with how to manage and deal with these pesky people. It also will help tell you if you are an asshole in the workplace and hw t ostop being one.I really chose this book because of the title alone. I could not pass it up.

The author points out the assholes in the workplace usully get their way by bullting other co-workers or eve ntheir bosses. The authors basic solution is to get rid of them. He stated that the work place is a survival of the fittest. I agree with him to a point. While you need to look out for yourself, you still should treat other as you wish to be treated.

Film Production Management

Book Review #2

Film Production Management by Bastian Cleve attmepts to explain the mechanics of organizing the process of shooting a major motion picture, and does this from the viewpoint of a production manager. The book describes, in detail, the processes behind the preparation, planning, and legal work that goes into a film shoot before the actual filming even begins.

Cleve begins by detailing the production manager's role and duties, as well as the production management process. He then explains a sort-of overview of the film business in general- going through planning and preproduction to postproduction. He also instructs how to breakdown a script for shooting (which was for me the most interesting and helpful section of this short book), as well as explaining the shooting schedule itself.

He also gave tips for creating low-budget productions, which any media student can appreciate. He did not give tips for creating low-budget sandwiches. I was slightly disappointed by that. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in film, although I'm sure there are better choices available. Probably better to take a class on the subject.

Geoff Meisner

Handbook of Media Management And Economics (Book Review 2)

Alan B. Albarran, Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted and Michael O. Wirth wrote Handbook of Media Management And Economics. This was an awesome book to read because it gives detailed information that will help anybody who is interested in Media Management. There are charts, graphs, and other visuals that will further explain reasoning within the book. Its chapters are organized into parts addressing the theoretical components, key issues, analytical tools, and future directions for research. Standing alone as a thorough summary of existing theory and research, the Handbook of Media Management and Economics will serve to stimulate future thought and research in the media management and economics disciplines. As such, this volume will be a required reference for students, professors, and industry practitioners for years to come. The book is perfect for Media students who are interested in blending Media with Management concepts.

Wikinomics, How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything

Wikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams is about the mass collaboration that businesses are now finding to be successful. In traditional business practices companies “held their cards close to their chest” however Tapscott and Williams point out the new direction companies are going. They present mass collaboration, “Wikinomics” which is built on four main ideas; openness, peering, sharing, and acting globally. People/Consumers are already being able to collaborate with each other; either with Facebook, Youtube, Second Life, etc. It is only natural that businesses hop on board and realize the importance, not only of the digital technology, but also realizing that their consumers have been working and learning these new avenues for quite some time now. By being open and letting other people besides employees give input it allows for new innovation. Tapscott and Williams provide many present examples which helps get through this pretty heavy read.

Association of National Advertisers Guide to Media Management

The "Association of National Advertisers Guide to Media Management" by Herbert Zeltner is a very handy book for anyone interested in media management, or just anyone who wants to better his or her media management skills. Media management this day and age is considered to be one of the biggest challenges in media. This book will definitely help you step up your game in today's world of media management. This book goes over changes in the media over advertising choices, how to develop and implement your media plans, the pros and cons of full-service agencies, independent media services, how to evaluate media performance and how to improve your media management skills. With the tips and facts provided in this book or guide, rather, there is no way you can fail at becoming a pro in the world of media management.

Inside Steve's Brain

Steve Jobs is an innovative, manipulative, perfectionist genius. While other books have condemned Jobs for these traits, Inside Steve’s Brain by Leander Kahney has celebrated his flaws. Kahney has clearly detailed the history of Apple and its enigmatic founder. From Jobs being ousted from his own company to the near bankruptcy scare to the revolutionary Mac OS X interface and IPOD, Kahney was able to pinpoint the ground-breaking events for the Silicon Valley Giant. All in all, this book seems to be a love letter to Apple and Steve Jobs. Apple has one of the most loyal following almost close to a cult status. The only difference is that Apple is a giant technology and media company instead of a religion, but if you talk to a Mac purist you may believe that Mac is a religion. Despite my Mac rant, Inside Steve’s Brain is an interesting read. It gives people an inside look to Jobs’ philosophy about business and life.

“Jobs is an elitist who thinks most people are bozos – but he makes gadgets so easy to use, a bozo can master them.” If this excerpt intrigues you, this is definitely a must read, even if you’re a PC user.

Christine Patacsil

American Newspaper in the 1980's book review #2

The book that I read was, “American Newspapers in the 1980’s”. I really liked the book and how it showed the roles and responsibilities of the newspaper. They also discussed how they view the audience as information consumers and newspapers think of themselves as information providers. The main premise of the book is that Other media can complement, but not replace newspapers because of the information and the research that is put into a story. Overall the book was an easy read and it gave me a new respect for newspapers and the amount of effort the workers exert to produce a quality newspaper that is un-biased towards their own opinion. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about Newspapers.

Sherwyn Rodrigues

Media Rules rules

Mass media is a business that the competitors have to gain ground against each other while fulfilling audience's satisfaction. among hundreds of thousands media management books in the market, "Media Rules" is one of the most direct and information-filled with an in-expensive price.

Throughout the whole book, authors Brian Reich and Dan Solomon interviewed tens of CEOs, presidents, or management representatives from different organizations (both media and non-media). By analyzing the result, the authors reminds the readers that audiences always have high expectations of the organizations they deal with and how those organizations should interact with them. Therefore, as media, we have to be as professional as we can, which means we have to eliminate errors continuously and we must ever-strive forward especially in the age of digital. A successful media company shall lead their viewers to adapt, follow, and enjoy the new generation of technology instead of staying with the old technology for decades.

Internally, the media company must hire people who are expertize in different skills set and they must work under a "team" concept. To get the most from the team, the managers must deal with everyone slightly differently based on the employees' attitude. The main focus from the managers is to generate the most from the team, not showing off the power they have because "when it [the team] is not working, you have to get out".

The book also talks about how to be a guide, be choosy, be a steward, be a public failure, etc. This 200-page book is not a "must read", but definitely a "better read".

Plug Your Business! Marketing on MySpace, YouTube, blogs and podcasts and other Web 2.0 social networks

Author Steve Weber, acknowledged that today; there is a very straightforward way to gaining free exposure. Instead of spending lots of time and money through traditional means of advertising and marketing, his answer is to join in on social networking craze. A companies’ website will gain a company massive exposure, save money, connect with customers, improve visibility and generate word of mouth. It’s a really simple book; social networking will help a company, small or large, and can lure new customers at less cost of customary means. I would recommend this book, especially in the day we live in, for a company to succeed in attracting a younger target audience; social networking is a must. This book would be helpful if a company is looking at a young demographic, but who knows when the buzz of social networks will come to an end.

Manage the Media: Don't Let the Media Manage You.

The book I’m reviewing is called “Manage the Media: Don't Let the Media Manage You.” The author of this book, William J. Holstein, is a veteran journalist/business reporter, and in this book he talks about how CEOs should deal with media today. Some of his advices to the executives include “make sure that your message is always heard” and “put press relations at the top of executives’ priority lists”. This is a easy-read, a little over a hundred pages, even I could read it easily, so I would definitely recommend this book to anybody.

"Essential Managers: Managing Change"

“Essential Managers: Managing Change” by Robert Heller and Tim Hindle is a short yet very informative read regarding management. It teaches all you need to know about adapting to change from initiation, modifications to responding positively to them. I think this would be a great book for anyone working in the media industry to read because changes are continuously made in the field. Managing change enables you to understand and plan change to achieve the best results, plus it provides practical techniques for you to try in different settings - which I thought was useful. I would definitely recommend this book to not only my fellow classmates but to top executives as well. Ability to change is crucial in today's business environment.

Book review by Cassandra Ramirez

151 quick ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring

This book informs you about important things to remember when you are in an Ad agency. The written through the two perspective; one is from your Ad agency’s perspective, and the other is from the client’s point of view. The book is organized in such as way that walks the reader through the lessons, and every single page has information like a note card, which reminds you to establish a lifetime value and to use a strong selling word for the ad for example. This is not a great book, but it should come in handy when you need to think of new plan for an ad and need some directions.

Author; Jean Joachim
Year; 2008
Publisher; The Career press, inc.
Address; 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

Book review by Chikara Yanagiswa

Business the Rupert Murdoch Way by Stuart Crainer

This book was an inside look to methods of the greatest business man of our time. After you read this book to too can be as ruthless as Rupert Murdoch. The book in organized in a simple manner. Each section is one of his ten methods to business success. His advice is blunt and could be applied to many facets of life. In every chapter examples from Murdoch’s own endeavors are presented to make the content relevant. In short, he encourages people to act quickly at opportunities before someone else does. Mistakes and bad decisions will occur but the chance must be taken for the big bucks. Also thinking ahead to the future and how to bank on it is a must. Rupert Murdoch is never satisfied and always tries to learn and grow. So pick up the book and maybe one day you can own the world. Good luck.

Who Moved My Cheese? Book Report # 1

Originally posted to Management Book Review Presentation on iLearn, with feedback received Ying Li

Spencer Johnson’s book, “Who Moved My Cheese” is a guide to business and life, which helps people manage obstacles and challenges they may encounter. “Cheese” is symbolic for practically anything a person may desire, financial security, a good job, living life happily, etc. When your “Cheese,” is no longer there, it is important to find it yourself and fill the void. The book is a story of promoting change, whether changing your attitude towards works, family, or relationships. Nothing is permanent and it is important to always keep your options open and explore. Johnson’s book explains being optimistic and gathering the courage to overcome the fear of accepting change, and using this change positively is the key to managing your life. Many people are scared of change; this book explains that change is inevitable and you have to learn adapt.

Conquering Cold Calling Fear Before And After The Sale. Book Review #2

Conquering Cold Calling Fear Before And After The Sale, gives you an inside look into the world of sales and business management. Don Surath takes you step by step, using stories and past experiences to explain the methods and techniques that have repeatedly worked for him. The text covers different scenarios in the work place, such as "the elevator pitch"and "the follow up." The title of the book is a little misleading because most of the book does not deal with cold calling. Nevertheless, the book is is an easy read and quite entertaining. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for tips and shortcuts that can be quickly applied to sales and management.

Sports Media Management

I read “Media Relations in Sport (Sport Management Library)” by William Nichols, Patrick Moynahan, Allan Hall and Janis Taylor. The book explains the relationship between the media industry and the various sports organizations. It covers everything from the ethics of the how the journalists and sports figures/franchises interact to how the journalists cover certain events. It explains that journalists tend to have a friendly relationship with the sports team and their front office if they have been covering that team for a number of years. The book also addresses the issue of promotion of the team versus coverage of the team. I would recommend this book for anyone who would like to work in either the public relations department of a sports organization or anyone who as a journalist would like to cover sports.

Get Real!: The Untold Story: Sexy, Scary, Scandalous World of Reality TV!

Mike Walker wrote a great book. I really enjoyed reading. I am huge fan of reality television and this book really gets into the details of what goes on behind the scenes. It talks a lot about how producers and directors often change things in the editing room to create more drama and scandal. He explains that this "so called reality" is not what it seems.
Mike also spends time explaining his theories for why our society has become so infatuated with reality programs. We get to see average people participating in every day life so we always know we can expect something different. It is also really fun for you to choose your favorite person on a show and since it is reality, people can relate to them better than someone playing a character on a regular show.
This book was a lot more informing than i expected it to be.I think anyone who likes reality shows on MTV such as The Real World and Road Rules will really enjoy this book also.

JUSTIN CHLOWITZ BOOK REVIEW 2, may 21st 2008

“The Laws Of Simplicity” by John Maeda

The book aims to tell people how to take a simple approach to life. John Maeda has these ten laws to achieve this simplicity: Reduce, organize, time, learn, differences, context, emotion, trust, failure, and the one. However, Maeda merely stated the obvious steps of how to organize life better through already established organizational means without offering any significant new information. It seemed as if Maeda stuffed a lot of information into only 100 pages. After reading this book I feel that this was a simple waste of time.

Juliet Lane, BECA 428

The Google Story, Book Review #2

After hearing about the Google book from Greg in our class, I was instantly interested in reading this book. The story of google showed how Google took over, and created a new name for the internet. The book goes into depth about how the company began. The story is told on more of a personal level between the two creators which makes it interesting to read, and relatable. All in all, I did really enjoy reading the book. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the digital era.

Review by Aly Ostrosky-Farago

Creating Powerful Radio by Valerie Gellar

Grade: B+

For those interested in becoming or producing on-air talent; this book spells out right-brained structure for a left-brained, creative career path. It analyzes the relationship between the management and on-air talent. This relationship can only be fully understood in a corporate or mock-corporate training environment where format logistics are present. The theory in this book can help creative individuals learn positive habits, but will only be recognized when theory is put into practice, because each piece of wisdom is easier said than done when in a deadline and ratings based industry. - Sean H.

"Filled with essential tricks of the trade that take an entire career to learn." - Lee Harris, 1010 WINS, New York

Everything Bad is Good for You: Book Review #2

This book is written by Steven Johnson.

It is written from a teenager who played lots of video games perspective, which I found to be very interesting.  It basically talks about Popular Culture today and how the Media helps shape our minds and improve our IQ, unlike in the 70's and 80's.

What makes the book persuasive is the fact that Johnson uses a lot of stats from studies that show that todays Media is much more complex and IQ has actually gone up in the past several generations due to it's complexity.

I really enjoyed the book because it is a definite contrast from what many critics say about the Media today, it shines a more positive light instead of such a critical view.

Although the book included a lot of data and was very informative, it was fun and an easy read.  I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to the class, at least to get a different perspective of Media today.

Ashley Lay

BECA 428

Increased Productivity & Inner Peace / AB Webb #2

Yia sou! Since I received a “nice blurb… you could’ve expanded a little” response, following my first book report – though the “blurb” in question fulfilled specific requirements – I’m going to heed the advice and increase your foundation of knowledge about 'The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management: Proven Strategies for Increased Productivity and Inner Peace'. Ah yes, finally a book that can help all future electronic media managers! Everyone wants to be control of their own lives. This book focuses on achieving inner peace and understanding core values. Before you judge this book as another blah-blah-blah bookshelf self-help albatross, consider your accelerated 21st Century life and ask yourself if you could do more. Or better, could you make any improvements to your daily life? If so, this book will help you! It’s a quick and easy read – perfect for your MUNI or BART commute to work – and it highlights the most important aspect of your life: You! You see, your behavior is a reflection of what you truly believe. Whether it’s spiritually, financially, at home with your family or managing a work staff, your ability to maximize success depends on how you conduct your daily activities. Admittedly, the book sounded like a bunch of hogwash when I picked it out. And if this is what you’re thinking, perhaps you might consider things like imagination and creativity, the power of habit, character, setting goals and controlling events, instead of reacting to them. Of course, like most things, when reading this book you’ll have to sift through information that’s specifically relevant or inconsequential to you personally. No matter the exclusivity of your daily life this book has something for you. As the saying goes… don’t judge this book by its cover.
‘The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management: Proven Strategies for Increased Productivity and Inner Peace’ by: Hyrum W. Smith (No relation to Miriam)

"Keeping Cool on the Hot Seat" Review by Crystal

Very simple and easy to read, this book should have been called “PR Crisis Management for Dummies”. I originally purchased this book due to all the great reviews posted on Amazon, after doing a search for books on media management. Every chapter begins with a quote that gives some of insight on the material that’s covered. My favorite quote was “The irony of the ‘Information Age’ is that it has given new respectability to uninformed opinion.” The information in the book is presented in a simple manner using concepts which are extremely easy to understand, that even a seventh grader interested in media and PR would comprehend. Anyone that has already received any sort of training or education in media would not benefit from reading this book. The author, Judith Hoffman has worked as a media spokesperson for over 16-years. She’s taught numerous seminars and even included worksheets from her workshops in this book. Overall, I give this book three and a half stars.

Get better or Get Beaten: Book Review #2

I read a book ‘Get Better or Get Beaten; 31 Leadership Secrets from GE’s Jack Welch’. The book tells about how Jack Welch becomes a famous person and how he manages and leads General Electric. In my opinion, the author’s choice of the title of the book was very good. There is no doubt Jack Welch is well known person in the world. However, I wanted to know why and how he became so famous. The author, Robert Slater, analyzed very well what Jack Welch did for General Electric. He had more than 25 years of work experience with Time magazine, Newsweek and UPI. Also, he is one of the top business biographers. He writes a number of books about Jack Welch and General Electric. The author clearly states and put well thoughts on Jack Welch’s 31 leadership skills.
The main thesis of the book is Jack Welch’s leadership. Basically, contents state 31 leadership secrets. And the text is very detailed and well explained. The contents are based on the real facts. The most impressive leadership secrets are ‘Change, Before It’s Too Late’, ‘Act Like Small Company’, and ‘Listen To The People Who Actually Do The Work’. General Electric was already big and well known company in the U.S. before Jack Welch became a chief executive officer. Mostly people do not like changes when things are going well. However, a small change can develop the company much better. Moreover, small company can communicate better, move faster, and waste less. Jack Welch knew those things; therefore he down sized, delayed, and restructured the company. Furthermore, he knew that people who actually work are most important in the company. Therefore, he tried to listen carefully to employees.
In conclusion, Jack Welch leaded General Electric to one of most successful companies in America. Moreover, he is the best CEO in 20 century. After I read the book, I learned that one of good leadership skills are to downsize. However, this does not always apply to every company. Good leader is not always apprised by how much profit he makes. What I think leader is that should make everyone (include employee, shareholder, and customer) happy. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who do not know what downsizing the company means. This is one of the leadership skills that should know how and when to use. This is a good skill when some CEO uses at opportune moment. Otherwise, it could affect bad influences to company.


Ted (Kwanhee) Lee, BECA 428

This Business of Television Book Review #2

This Business of Television
This Business of Television has everything you want and need to know about T.V. It is a great book for anyone in the industry like producers, writers, and broadcasters. It thoroughly discusses the business aspects of the industry and its constant change. What I especially loved about the book was that it included a list of important media related contacts and addresses. It is very useful and practical guide for a job search.

Desperate Networks - Book Review #2

Desperate Networks was a very interesting and surprising read. The book pretty much explains how different television shows have changed each network in the last few years. its an interesting read about how television was made and the television show hits and misses along the way. 

There were a lot of fascinating things that I learned about some of my favorite television shows. One thing that really surprised me after reading this book is that NBC had met with Jerry Seinfeld during the last season of Seinfeld and begged him to come back for one more year, offering him $5 million an episode, and he said no. Another big surprise to me was the fact that Grey's Anatomy was originally titled Surgeons.

Overall I enjoyed the book, it was a pretty easy read, and it didn't get too boring. I would recommend skipping over chapters if they aren't of interest to you. I found that I had a much more pleasurable read, because I skipped a few chapters to get to the more interesting stuff. 

Career Perspectives in Electronic Media. Book Review #2

Title: Career Perspectives in Electronic Media.
Editor: Peter B. ORLIK
0-8138-2477-X
Orlik offers a focused, a lots of information about the electronic media in this book.
Career Perspectives in Electronic Media bases on four main points, which are: Electronic media
are serviced and directed by true professionals. Electronic media careers are personally
gratifying. Electronic media now encompass much more than over-the-air broadcasting. Readers of the book look for a career related to electronic media or for detailed information about electronic media.

Its contents made of specific operations and duties carried by electronic media staff in
first seven chapters, so a reader gets familiar with issues faced by a electronic media personnel.
Then, we see that Orlik shows reader how enterprises and electronic media market work. Finally, there are recommendations and suggestions to readers.

I liked the way it was written. It is easy to read and a lot of information. The best part of
the book is that there are articles written by various numbers of authors that are in the electronic media business. I recommend the book to my colleagues and to people whom are interested in electronic media. Career Perspectives in Electronic Media would help my colleagues to determine their steps in their career.

Utku CEBECI

The Last Season

The Last Season provides insight on how to manage the egos of multi-millionaire stars. The book is written by Phil Jackson and it chronicles his experiences as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2003-2004 season. With the Kobe vs. Shaq saga, Kobe's rape trial in Colorado, the signing of Karl Malone and Gary Payton, Jackson was faced with perhaps the most challenging managerial job in the history of sports. He stresses the importance of everyone maintaining their own personal identities, but also points out that in the end everyone will have to sacrifice individual goals for the good of the team. This book offers great insight to the intricacies of working with big ego's and how to get everyone to work together as a team.

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath

Strengths Finder 2.0 takes a different approach to helping yourself then most books I've read. Instead of telling you how to improve in areas you need improvement, or don't naturally succeed, it says to figure out what you naturally succeed in, and develop those further to become better. By starting out in what you are already good at, you can get farther with less work. Not only does the book explain why this is a good idea, but also gives a code to use on their website to take a test to find out your strengths. And once those strengths are found, the book explains what they mean, and how to improve on them. The book is a short, fast, and interesting read. I would advise anyone to read it.

John Fynes

Mitch Albom “Tuesday with Morrie”

I will introduce this book, “Tuesday with Morrie”, for my classmate. I like this book because I am not good reader but this book still is on my mind. When I was high school, I think about me again because I did not find my future. So, I thought what I do after my future. At this time, I met this book. First of all, I will introduce author, Mitch Albom, who writer about this book. Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about an elderly man named Morrie Schwartz diagnosed in his seventies with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, AKA Lou Gehrig’s disease. This is memoir between Morrie and Mitch. Morrie is a former professor at Brandies University, and his former student Mitch Album who is employed as a columnist for the Detroit Free Press. As the disease progresses, Morrie shares his outlook on such issues as family, love, emotions, and aging.  Although the cover states “an old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson,” Tuesdays actually provides life lessons, and provides an eternal instruction from one of the greatest teachers who ever lived. Why I introduce this book in this class, management also is dealing with person. This is persons' story that can help to mange the person. I think management means have to know how to live this life. So, I introduce this book in this class. Tuesdays with Morrie is an amazing tale of a hero both in life and in death and I firmly believe that every person should listen to the wise words of Morrie Schwartz.  Although many students may have a hard time relating to death, as adolescents often feel a sense of invincibility, the messages of this book is essential.  Students and teachers, youthful teens and aging adults, would greatly benefit their daily lives from reading this simple text.  Through his short aphorisms and “can’t help but love” personality, Morrie Schwartz becomes somewhat of a father or grandfather figure not only to Album but also to the reader as well.  As the final pages grow thinner so do Morrie himself and the reader understands that their time with Morrie as well as his time on Earth will quickly pass by.  The most difficult part of reading Tuesdays is bidding farewell to the man we grow to love for welcoming us into his family.  Luckily, thanks to Mitch Album, we as readers have the ability to connect with the late Morrie Schwartz and hear his powerful words.  One thing that Morrie wanted more than anything else was simply to be remembered and with a text of this magnitude he surely won’t be forgotten anytime soon.  These words of power will reverberate as long as Tuesdays is in print and even long after, for the lessons Morrie offers are timeless and will likely to be passed down from generation to generation. I love this book and I read again and again. If I chance to present for someone and he like to read the book, I usually buy this book and recommend to read it because this book show us how the life is important and Morrie teach to us whole of our life. I like this book.

Ted Lee

I Dislike a Good Company

The title of the book that I reviewed is called  Be Our Guest: Perfecting the art of customer service. by the Disney Institute with a foreword by Michael D. Eisner.

One of the first things that attracted me to the book was its size, but when I saw other books that were smaller I regretted getting this one. I personally don't like Disney. Well, maybe a couple of movies, but I think it's all undercover porn. (look closely and you'll see) The book at first was kind of disturbing. Employees were cast members, uniforms were costumes, a job was a role I mean stuff like that can get someone mentally ill. Despite my negative outlook on Disney itself I think that this book gives great ideas on how to successfully run a business. It gives us great examples on how to treat our new employees and also on how to keep our veteran employees happy.  

This book is under 200 pages and it's an easy read. Fast to read and easy to understand that is the type of book that is preferred by college students, right? So, in conclusion I recommend this book because it's a book that will help you on your future jobs. Great ideas and great examples. Two thumbs up.. (I still think it's undercover porn) 

E.Morlaes

Manager Mechanics

Manager Mechanics by Eric P. Bloom is a great book to read if you’re going to be a manager for the first time. It teaches you the importance of being a successful manager and the skills that any manager should be aware of in order to have a pleasant working environment, not only for your co-workers but as well as for yourself. This book mentioned a great point, which is, being a parent is great training for being a manager, because in both, you provide praise, discipline, guidance, direction, leadership, and a pleasant environment.

Each chapter in this book features easy-to-access key points, lessons that each manager should be aware of, and most importantly people skills, especially because as a manager you are constantly communicating and setting examples for people as well as being a role model. As Eric P. Bloom quoted in this book, “Leadership is proactive and management is reactive. The best managers have a combination of both”.

The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution

"A future in which music will be like water: ubiquitous and free-flowing."
The Future of Music should be read by anyone interested in music, period. It provides a detailed explanation about how the soon to be extinct model of music distribution is outdated in the wake of the internet and new technology. The book reveals the misconceptions surrounding the music industry and gives readers an accurate picture about how the business really works. Most importantly, the authors make many bold predictions about how we will all enjoy music in the future. After reading their book any music fan will be praying their visions are realized.

Book Review

SALES MANAGEMENT DEMYSTIFIED is a step-by-step how to book on sales management. This book is especially handy for a newly promoted sales manager. Each chapter has sub chapters pertaining to the overall topic. The author even includes examples of how to write a job description and what to look for in a resume or a candidate profile.
New sales managers need to know what to look for in applicants. This book offers all that needs to be included. The book covers more then just hiring employees, author Robert Calvin also covers topics for any situation you could encounter.
He covers selling tips, how to make an idea a successful habit, and future planning for the company. Overall, this book is a complete guide to successful sales management.

Ethics 101 by John C. Maxwell

Overall, this book was a very great book. Short, concise, and straight to the point is how I would put it in three words. John C. Maxwell pulls through with several different theories and patterns all relating to true true-to-life theories, sports, and even business stories.
Maxwell bases the whole book on the his theory known as, the "Golden Rule". The Golden Rule builds morale, increases productivity, encourages team work, lowers employee turnover, and keeps clients coming back. Basically, if you want to run a successful business, the Golden Rule is the rule to follow.
Following the Golden Rule actually relates to doing the right thing in any given situation you are put in: Making character decisions, sacrifice finances for family, developing relationship with your actions, etc. Living with integrity is how I would like to put it. Never take the easy way out if you know its sleazy or wrong.
Other concepts of the book Maxwell writes about are the 5 Pitfalls that throw people off the ethical track in business: Pressure, Pleasure, Power, Pride, Priorities. By making or following these 5 wrong moves you can and will jeopardize your future in a corporation or even your own business.
Overall, I thought Ethics 101 by John C. Maxwell was a very good book. It was short, concise, and only about 100 pages long. If your looking for something short to read and uplifting towards your business ethics this book is the one for you.

Living Rich by Spending Smart by Gregory Karp

Living Rich by Spending Smart by Gregory Karp seems like a book that lists practical advice for people who like to spend their money. He says that you do not have to deprive yourself of the things you want, but spend wisely in other areas of your life in order to afford the luxuries. I found many of the ideas that he had to be common sense, for instance, making your own meal will save you more money than going out to eat. Some ideas were new to me, such as saying that life insurance is only for those who support others financially. This book is for people that do not know how to cut back, or who could still use the advice on how to cut back even more. While he doesn't like to use the word "budget" often, that is basically what this book is about. Learning what you need to spend your money on, what you want to spend your money on and how to look for the best prices in order to obtain these wants and needs. After reading Karp's book, I have revised a few of my habits and have already saved a little money. If you would like to save money a little at a time and wouldn't know how to do so, this book will help you figure how to do so.

How to Sell Anything to Anybody

How to Sell Anything to Anybody

By Joe Girard

Joe Girard is the Guinness Book of World Records holder for the world’s best salesman, with a career spanning 15 years in which he sold 13,001 cars. Although he sells cars, this book is aimed for anyone that is looking to expand their abilities in sales in general. This was a somewhat interesting book, but to be honest I didn’t get much out of it at all (and the writer’s “friendly” informal style didn’t help much either.) In fact, I was annoyed that the entire first half of the book consisted of Girard explaining how he was “especially poor” and had an “especially bad life”, and how he turned into being an “especially” amazing salesman. Learning how he made it was an interesting read because he actually did go through a difficult young life, but I got tired of it quickly. I was still able to absorb some of the major points he nailed down throughout the entirety of the book, and there were 3 in particular that were helpful.

First, (and this remains of key importance throughout the book) keep your contacts around, as selling to a returning customer is more likely than a new one, seeing that you were good to them in the first place.

Second, don’t treat your customer as “The Mooch,” or someone that wants to waste your time looking at what you have to offer. They are there to make a deal and if you can satisfy the customer, he or she will not only bring more customers to you, but will return to you for help in the future. “Sales should be a bloodless battle where both parties are satisfied at the resolution.”

Last, it is important not to get confused with becoming a “salesman.” You are there to sell a product to a working human, and it is important to reach them on a human level. Share your name at any opportunity, show excitement, and be yourself. Along with this, you have to WANT to sell, because being at work and not putting forth your full attention to wanting that sale, you won’t get it.

Business Management in Girl Scouting

This very outdated 1979 book produced by the Girl Scouts of America on Business Management in Girl Scouting is a very interesting read. When you think of Girl Scouts, you don’t really take into consideration that they need business management. However, after reading this book, it is very clear to see that Girl Scouts actually have a lot to keep track of.

This book goes through all of the expenses that each troop has to front, and the money that they receive. Girl Scouts do fundraising for their troops, and therefore as a good exercise to life in the real world, Girl Scouts need to learn how to manage their earnings effectively. This book gives very helpful tips on how to organize and file all of the money that they come across. This is also a good exercise for all of the Girl Scouts for when they sell their delicious Girl Scout cookies. There is actually a whole chapter dedicated to the Girl Scout Cookie sales, and how to best organize their orders and their payments to make everything flow smoothly. Other chapters also include budgeting, time management and overall organization.

Although it is very outdated by nearly 30 years and some technologies from then have changed, not only is this a good business management book for Girl Scouts, but everyone else too.

Managing Performance to Maximize Results

The title of this book says it all. If you are looking for a book on how to manage and maximize result this is it.  The book consist of different articles from the Harvard Management Update and the Harvard Management Communication Letter.  This way you get a perspective from a group of different authors and find out what worked or didn't work for them, instead of just from one single author.  In reality no one method will work for every one.  

The book is separated in different sections from how to give performance reviews to catering to each employee's different strengths and weakness, which is very important because knowing what position to put  a person in can be the difference between having them being motivated to get work done or not.     

The main reason I recommend this book, is that it caters more on the side of the employee.  As a manager you should be more of a coach than a boss.  For example, instead of giving feedback, have a conversation.  This way you can find out what the problem is and how to go about solving it.  Also set goals for them to handle in regards to their job description rather than setting the expectations too high, which often may lower productivity.

Not every management technique is going to work for every company.  This book acknowledges that and gives you plenty of real management examples from real companies, on how they went about handling their situations.  For instance the book shows how to deliver critical feedback based on how the each employee operates within their own working environment.   

I personally think that anyone wanting to learn how to be a better manager should read this book.  It's short (less than 200 pages) and to the point.  Also the book can be applied to any kind of business, from managing Burger King to a big corporation like Google.  

-Andrew Corpuz          

"Managing Media Convergence: Pathways to Journalistic Cooperation"

The main focus of media convergence gives a vivid perspective of management skills geared toward students, business employees, and industry employers. The new and improved insights on media management offer new information that ultimately illustrate the constant media convergent. This book allows new grounds to be set for those individuals that thrive in the journalism field and marketplace. The book tends to focus convergence. Converging into traditional management level, political and social aspects, organization, concepts, and essential regulations.
The author strongly believes that convergence is an intermediate solution to long term media integration or what integration will ultimately take place. The future needs to prepare for regulatory integration of media, and the convergence of new ideas instead of going against it.
Furthermore, the book entails potent information to guide individuals through the world of journalism to perfect the necessary skills of writing for media, and understanding the qualities that it takes to improve media for the public.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book for the purpose of comprehending the effort that is put forth into the journalistic media industry. Also, how relevant change is to the media society. Once one is receptive to change, or convergence, then traditions can be broken and new information can be aquired.

--Camille A. Evans

The One Minute Manager

In the book, “The One Minute Manager”, by authors Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, several aspects of management are covered. It basically sums up the different areas of management, and gives simple information and advice about each of these areas. Millions of people from thousands of organizations have taken advantage of the beneficial information that this book has to offer. This book was originally published in 1982; people in organizations read it to “increase their productivity, profits, and prosperity”. One quote that stands out from the book is as follows, “Effective managers, manage themselves and the people they work with so that both the organization and the people profit from their presence”. The book also teaches that people, who feel good about themselves, are frequently the ones who produce good results.

The book is well organized and concisely to the point. It is good for someone who wants quick tips to management, or a manager who feels they need to refresh their tactics. It provides great motivation and advice as well. I enjoyed reading it because it was clear, with no grey areas. I suggest each person studying management, or currently in a management positions to give it a read.

Title: “The One Minute Manager: The World’s Most Popular Management Method”
Authors: Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
Publisher: 1981

Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Selling millions of copies and changing the lives of millions of people, this is one of the greatest books of all time. The book covers thirteen basic principles that can make the poorest person become rich, not only financially but spiritually as well. Similar to the modern book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, this book emphasizes on the law of attraction but leaves it to you to discover the secret. Confused? Don’t worry about it. Read the book, apply the principles with faith, and you will get whatever you want out of life.
- Carlo Porras

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Title: The Tipping Point
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
0-316-34662-4

Most of us in a society see things that happening around us from a simple perspective by making pre-assumptions. However, what we assume will happen may not be the actual result. Gladwell argues that there are specific little things that have a huge effect on the outcome.

According to the author, there are three rules that start and create a way of epidemics. Those rules are the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. First, the Law of the Few argues that there are some people, minority in our society, that are gifted with knowing how to create highly powerful social relations. Gladwell argues that those gifted people can easily spread an idea in a society unlike the majority. In the end, the important point is the nature of the messenger according to the rule. Next, I believe that the rule of the Stickiness Factor is very important in the media industry. This rule focuses on how some ideas, products, or words can stick in minds or how catchy they are while some are not. The rule argues that the content of a product is very important; if the content is weak then the idea or a product cannot be spread easily in the society. Last, the Power of Context is about how the decisions of a person can be changed relating to a different place or situation.

The book is very well written. Gladwell is very careful at backing up his arguments by the results of experiments and scientific research, which increased the accuracy of the book. Most of the parts in the piece are very much related to media business. Additionally, the interaction of people to objects and ideas are very important in the media. As a result, I recommend The Tipping Point especially to my colleagues that is a helpful source.

The Carrot Principle

In short, the writers “The Carrot Principle,” Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, posit that the most effective and therefore profitable businesses are the result of a motivated set of employees, and the most effective way for a manager to motivate her employees is by providing them with positive reinforcements. They provide a good deal of evidence, form a number of studies to prove that the real factors that motivate workers are not things like money or benefits, but are things like recognition and career development opportunities. The allusion being that the carrot is a better motivator than the stick.
To me this thesis, doesn’t really seem like anything new, since it is basically the same as Frederick Herzberg’s theory of motivational and hygiene factors. Things like pay and job security are the things that people see as essential necessities at their job, but the things that make people truly happy are working in an environment where they feel that they are appreciated and are making a positive impact.
While I think that the message of this book is for the most part right, the fact that such a short message was spread out over a couple hundred pages was a little annoying. I would recommend that people read the first couple chapters of this book or skim through it rather than read the entire thing.

Overcoming the FIVE Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

It is called a field guide. Why? Because Patrick Lencioni, who is a CEO of a consulting firm called The Table Group, claims in his introduction that this book will provide managers and team leaders a practical tool for helping implement the concepts of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. The Five Dysfunctions of a team is stated in his book as absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. Lencioni uses a story format (or Leadership format as he calls it) in trying to get his point out. He gives personal accounts of how he works with his teams as well as other leader examples (He uses Michael Jordan as an example, Nice). Within the read, you come across passages in story form to give you a better explanation into what he is saying. The book adds a lot of human elements into dealing with management instead of hitting management as x’s and o’s. For example, the book says time does not build trust, it’s courage. An interesting take the book goes into is that they recommend conflict in meetings because the lack of conflict makes meetings boring and boring meetings cause bad decisions. But obviously, he explains later how to resolute the conflicts as well. The book is a very easy read and it also acts as a fun reading text book with a summary like section on the end of each chapter called “Key Points” which goes over the main points of overcoming that dysfunction. I do like the message the book tries to give out especially how you can apply it to any type of team such as sports or even if you were a manger for a small store, the book definitely conveys strong insights in being a good and effective leader.

- Anton Ayson

Starbucked

If you are a passionate coffee lover such as myself, then this is the book for you. I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious about the inner workings of the Starbucks Corporation.

The book talks a lot about the history of coffee in a nutshell. Taylor Clark, the author, offers a lot of interesting information to the uninformed coffee aficionado; he gives some knowledge of where Starbuck’s heavenly coffee originates. From the foundation of the company to the present, “Starbucked” gives readers the history of where the name Starbucks comes from, how the logo was chosen, the look of Starbucks, the consumers, the locations, and the history of the beverages with a particular emphasis on Frappuccino drinks. The book even explains the logic behind why the sizes are called “tall,” “grande,” and “venti.”

People who buy from Starbucks will have a better understanding of what they are partaking in after they give this book a read, and it goes into great detail about just what is the “Starbucks Experience.” The book illustrates that for the price of a cup of coffee consumers get more than just that; they have a chance to enjoy a nice environment, and most customers say that Starbucks is more than just a cup of coffee - it’s a part of their lives.

Overall, this book is a good read, but don’t cite this as your primary source of information on Starbucks. The founders of Starbucks have written books about the company’s history (these are mentioned by Taylor), but “Starbucked” is a good read if you want to have a general knowledge. If you just don’t understand the seemingly magnetic draw people have to Starbucks, Taylor Clark goes into enough detail to give you an idea and he might even make you laugh.

The Winner Within A Life Plan For Team Players

The Winner Within is a book by the legendary basketball coach and player Pat Riley. It's an inspiring book about management told from the perspective of the sporting world but can be translated into any aspect of life. He talks about what makes a good team and the challenges and struggles that prevent great chemistry.

The book is very motivational and it helps the reader understand being a team player, living up to there full potential, and creating and environment in which they can flourish as a human being. He says his philosophies work the same whether you're on a sports team, work at a corporation, or are part of a family. He explains that our significance comes from our connections to others.

I recommend this book to any body that wants to improve on realtions between the team that they're in whether it's at work or in a sports environment.

12 Simple Secrets

David Thielen’s The 12 Simple Secrets Of Microsoft Management takes the reader behind the scenes, into the world of Microsoft’s core management strategies to reveal many of the secrets behind the companies unparalleled success. From “Total Market Domination” to “Perform, Perform, Perform”, Thielen explains Microsoft’s management principals, and offers up practical examples of how to implement them into any business. The 12 Simple Secrets of Microsoft Management is a quick read that could change the way we think about management.

Review By
Gregg Rosenblum

Never Wrestle with a Pig

Never wrestle with a pig is an amazing book perfect for college students and people wanting to build a business and career. Mark McCormack provides real life situations, his own experiences as well as others, and situations that everyone can relate to and learn from. The creative thing he does is relates management to all areas such as sports, commercials, school, relationships and other areas one wouldn’t expect. This book allows you to give yourself a reality check, something most people forget to do. From personal priorities and goals to work ethics and character this book makes you discover yourself and how you can manage your time, better your work skills and stand out. Never wrestle with a pig focuses on people skills, creative thinking and humane behavior. It provides great advice, pointers and highlights that even the smallest things are significant.

McCormack’s book really got me evaluating myself as a person and worker. The use of metaphors really affected me because it was really meaningful. As a college student, I felt this book has provided great advice about businesses and how I can be beneficial to the company I work for. But one of the biggest things to learn is to never wrestle with a pig!

Blue Ocean Strategy-highly recommended!!!

Blue Ocean Strategy by W.Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne is an interesting and quick read. It won me over and I could not stop reading it. This book provides you with the sufficient tools and principles to achieve a successful business.

It takes an interesting approach to the cut throat world of business. This book uses the metaphor, blue and red oceans to describe the market place. It recommends that red oceans, the competition blood bath, move out into blue oceans, the new market, to ultimately make competition irrelevant. The authors believe that leading companies will succeed not by battling competitors, but by creating these “blue oceans”. It offers many useful techniques and strategies to change the way business is done today. It introduces six principles and hundreds of different strategies to formulate a successful business by creating a blue ocean.

This is the first business book I have read and I found the way they look at business extremely interesting. It provides a new way of looking at the market and challenges you to think about the market. It provides you with valuable information and tips for a successful business.

I highly recommend Blue Ocean Strategy. This is a must read book for anyone interested in starting a new business or enhancing their existing one.

The Google Story - Inside the Hottest Business, Media and Technology Success of Our Time

David A. Vise and Mark Malseed's National Bestseller "The Google Story" is a triumphant account of the history of the world's favorite website. The book delves more into the human side of the booming company rather than dissects and analyze, and it highlights important events that have brought Google to where it is today. It is a remarkable tale of how two techy guys from Stanford, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, wanted to improve online search capabilities. Their dream quickly became a reality, and with the help of CEO Eric Schmidt and some risky Silicon Valley venture capitalists, Google went from a Palo Alto startup to Microsoft's biggest competitor in just a few short years. I found out that by the summer of 2006, Google's stock was more valuable than Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo combined.

This book is a must for anyone curious about how the familiar blank-paged search engine makes money through advertising within search results, much like traditional media companies. The behind-the-scenes research done by the authors gives the reader an insider's view of the unique company. They preach their motto of "Don't Be Evil" to employees and have a 20 percent rule, where their employees are encouraged to spend 20 percent of their working time on projects that personally interest them. This new-age approach to management is what led to Gmail and Google News. The book reveals what life is like at the remarkable Googleplex, where the staff is treated to daily, healthy gourmet meals for free and how the casual atmosphere feels more like a college campus than a Fortune 500 company. The encouragement of working in small groups without the dominance of managers is how Google keeps their employees motivated.

"The Google Story" tells of the problems the company had with privacy issues, particularly with ads in users' Gmail accounts, tailored to match keywords in emails. You will also learn how Google dealt with overbearing investors and Wall Street, and how they went public and made the founders instant billionaires. During Google's first year after going public, it was worth more than media conglomerate Time Warner, and the hardly-decade old company was also worth more than the combined value of Disney, Ford, and General Motors. A truly fascinating story of new media's star child, this book is a highly personal as well as informative read. Just be warned that the authors never speak unfavorably about Google, but rather defend it in every tale of fighting lawsuits and privacy groups. If you can get beyond that and accept that Google would be the ideal employer, than I highly recommend reading "The Google Story".

Published by Delta, Updated 2006 Edition.

All I Ever Needed To Know About The Music Business

"Should be required reading for anyone planning or enduring a career in the biz."
–– Rolling Stone

Good call, Rolling Stone. "All You Ever Need To Know About The Music Business" (6th ed.) by Donald S. Passman is an excellent introduction and guide to anyone who is thinking about entering the music or entertainment industry. It acts as a guide for planning and executing a career in music. Although a lot of the book tends to speak to the up-and-coming (or down-and-out) musician, about what they will face and what they should do to be prepared for it, it really is adaptable to a lot of different media careers.

The management section of the book covers two topics: personal management and business management. Really, it tells musicians what to do to get a manager, what the typical contracts should look like, and precautions to make sure the musician gets a fair deal. It offers great financial advice relating to business managers who are really acting as accountants for the group.

I think that the contractual information Passman offers in this book is the most useful knowledge for a media student. He gives great advice about how to negotiate and maintain an edge in successfully negotiating contracts. I would recommend this book to all media students, particularly those interested in careers in the music and entertainment industry.

––Geoff Meisner

A Peacock in the Land of Penguins

A Peacock in the land of Penguins, by BJ Gallagher Hateley and Warren H. Schmidt is a beautifully written,modern day corporate fable. It is a book on management, sure, but something more. It is about learning to work with all sorts of personalities and backgrounds, and drawing out true talent to make a beautiful product. A Peacock is that amazing person, the beautiful, creative, intelligent go getter that accomplishes what they want, and a penguin is, well, the guy that follows everyone else, is pretty average looking, and just tries to make it through the day. Every employer needs penguins, the kind who are focused and set in their ways and will get their job done, but a smart manager needs peacocks. This book really illustrates how everyone can become a peacock, and can use their creativity and talents in a way that is entirely unique. Everyone is different, and their are different birds to describe everyones style--an aggressive hawk, a powerful eagle, a vulture, the quiet swan. However, the beauty of a successful team is the culmination of everyones talents, of learning to accept, and appreciate differences, and not being afraid to show off how amazing you really are. With so much corporate pressure to be one way, to dress and talk and work according to rules, it is a refreshing perspective to know that diversity is mandatory for a team to truly become the best.

"Ten Clowns Don't Make a Circus" - Marc Abrigo

Ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake -- this book is not an biography on P.T. Barnum, but rather a fun and straightforward read that anyone wishing to be a leader should pick up. Written by Steven Schragis and Rick Frishman, two men whose collective clientele ranges from Donald Trump to Harvey Weinstein, "Ten Clowns..." offers 250 well-scouted and insightful strategies to ensure management success. The book is not separated into chapters like other management books, and it does a good job of going through each of the rules and explaining their relevance to the world of business.

Now, many of them are things we've heard before, but the way it is written grants the reader further insight as to how and why these strategies work and will continue to work. If one were to read just a few of these rules and strategies a day, he or she should be in the proper mindset to become a great asset in the workplace in no time.

Joyce Meyer's, "Managing Your Emotions"

I had the pleasure of reading Joyce Meyer’s Managing Your Emotions-Instead of Your Emotions Managing You. Joyce has been teaching the Word of God since 1976. She has written many books that specify different aspects of her ministry, along with hosting her own broadcast radio and television show.
In this book, Joyce teaches the reader how to mange the different emotions and feelings that we have throughout our everyday lives. She explains that it is ok for us to be emotional and feel emotions; for they teach us to recognize how we are being treated by others, treating others, and treating ourselves. The challenge is being able to manage those emotions so that they don’t control us, but rather we control them and react in a positive manner versus a negative one.
Joyce breaks the book down into different emotional issues such as: Healing of Damaged Emotions 1&2, Emotions and the Process of Forgiveness, Mood Swings, Understanding and Overcoming Depression, etc. She writes this book in a way that any personality type would be able to recognize themselves in her writings. Joyce uses experiences from her own life and marriage as examples of issues that we all go through. Everyone goes through emotional conflicts and breakdowns, and in this book Meyer teaches us how to understand different personality traits, as well as the emotional conflicts that are associated with those traits. I truly enjoyed reading this book. Immediately I was able to associate myself with some of the emotional characteristics that she spoke about. I feel that I have grown from reading it and that others will be able to do the same.

Do the Right Thing by James F. Parker

Motivational Management Book Review

Do the Right Thing: How Dedicated Employees Create Loyal Customers and Large Profits, by James F. Parker
Wharton School Publishing
Copyright 2008

On 9/11/2001, when terrorist attacks nearly halted the air travel business, James F. Parker the CEO of Southwest Airlines was responsible for keeping Southwest within one percent of the previous year's revenue. Through his application of his management theory and a few key business moves, he was able to succeed in the midst of failure.

Parker's management theory focuses on two major philosophies. The first is that "leaders are everywhere", at all levels of employment. These leaders within the company are responsible for consistently driving excellent performance of those around them. A successful leader is one who possesses the ability to identify people's strengths and praises them. Even the pilots of Southwest are encouraged to accept input from his crew.

His second major philosophy emphasizes that in order for employees to succeed, they must be empowered. When the right people are recruited and hired, they can be taught to think like owners; motivated to make good decisions for the company as a whole. "Doing the right thing" means focusing on employees first, then customers, and lastly the shareholders; an important distinction for successful companies.

By drastically cutting the price of flights, and emphasizing the managerial necessity of hiring and empowering quality employees at all levels, James F. Parker made Southwest successful, even during 9/11, a time when the business was at a historical low.

In Do the Right Thing, Parker writes in a straightforward, yet passionate manner. His most important key to a business's success and admiration is management's elevation of the employee. While his book is not revolutionary, it is an inspiring read. It gives hope to the moral humanitarian with its powerful message that "doing the right thing" can lead to success.

-Victoria Petersen

How To Win Any Argument: Without Raising Your Voice, Losing Your Cool, Or Coming To Blows by Robert Mayer

In the business world you will be faced with people who argue about anything, or even worse, about nothing. This book, by Robert Mayer, guides the reader to achieve the ability to win arguments with confidence, grace and ease.

It’s a really easy book to read, and each chapter is named after a tactic, which defines which would be the most helpful for a reader. In each chapter, sections are introduced called “heads up” where the author points out a main idea when looking at arguments. For instance, a major reasoning to win any argument is to gain absolute and total self-control by understanding the power to pause, observe, absorb before acting and be aware of alternative solutions. Controlling an argument begins by controlling how you will be.

Also, the book has a “quick quiz” section that refers to the chapter you just read to test if you learned the previous policy. Also, in every chapter, Mayer includes real life examples where public figures and companies went wrong when it comes to assumptions, expectations, and underestimating competition.

Not only does this book help you with arguments in the office, but also it dabbles with disagreements in relationships, family, and on the phone. I thought this was an interesting read for a business book, because it doesn't bore you with only management ideas but issues regarding people you will face in the workforce. I would recommend this book, just as it says, “No matter who you are, what you do, whatever the situation, there ware bound to be arguments.”

The Entertainment Economy

The Entertainment Economy: ­ How Mega-Media Forces are Transforming Our Lives, is a book written by Michael J. Wolf. Made in 1999, the book was published by Times Books. What Wolf states is that the driving force behind the American economy is actually the entertainment industry. And after reading through his book, I tend to agree with his viewpoint.

A terms that really stuck out was "Hedonomics". The idea of "Hedonomics" is the theory of the ability to understand the consumer who is primarily focused on fun. The average person is continuously pressured from work or school (or all the other stressful situations we have), and there is extra time available, they usually fill that void with entertainment.

He says that there are people called "alpha consumers" who pretty much make or break the products we see. These "alpha consumers" (like high tech phones with business people), can make or break the product with a positive or negative response. If the "alpha consumers" enjoy the product, then it has a better chance with the mass market, as they would simple follow.

Michael Wolf also states that one of the biggest selling points that companies need to pay attention to is creativity. And it makes sense, as creativity is the key to an ingenious commercial, a catchy song, or even an aesthetically pleasing advertisement.

Overall, I have to say that this was a fascinating book and should be on any Media/Business majoring student. Highly recommended for anyone looking for insight on how to advertise or on the American economy.

My Bucket is Full... After Reading this Motivational Book

How Full is Your Bucket? is an inspirational book about positive strategies in managing your business and your life.  The authors Tom Rath and his late grandpa Donald O. Clifton present their thoughtful research into a short read of how we can benefit from having a full bucket.

The book incorporates personal stories from the authors and explains their connections with having a full bucket.  The theory of the bucket is implying each of us have a bucket and a dipper, which we use whenever we interact with others.  By doing positive actions and encouraging or motivating others, we fill others buckets, therefore filling our own.  If we are negative or discouraging, we take from others buckets, therefore taking from our own. Others may fill our buckets for us, when we need it, and we are to do the same.

The connection to our work environments is made with how we interact with our co-workers and bosses.  The studies they did found that the fuller employees bucket were, the more enjoyment they got from doing their work.  They made a point that when people enjoy their work they get more done.  Managers are encouraged to fill buckets with encouragement and learn more about each of the employee’s personal lives to better the workplace.

In life, a full bucket means we possess a positive spirit and it makes us more willing to fill others buckets too.  In the book they said there needs to be a 5 to 1 ratio in relationships… 5 positive interactions to every 1 negative.  They were clear that we still need our constructive criticism.

I personally really enjoyed this book, and I am going to mail it on for others to read.  I think it is a read that possesses many truths about life and work.

Published in 2004. 

Basic Black by Cathie Black

Basic Black chronicles the career and life of Cathie Black, now president of Hearst Magazines, throughout her trials and tribulations as a woman swiftly climbing the corporate ladder in the world of print media. Cathie gives an insight on how to get the job you want, including useful interview and resume tips, how to keep your job and excel at it, and how to find the most satisfying career and industry in which to work.

Cathie splits up her book into nine chapters in which she titles Drive, Risk, People, Fear, Power, Passion, Attitude, Leadership and The Future is Now. In each chapter she gives examples from her own life and her peers in the industry to teach lessons on how to handle situations in your own career.

This was the first business book I have ever read but let me tell you I was motivated, inspired and encouraged after and during the time that I read it. This morning I got up early, got dressed and turned over a new leaf in my life and my career aspirations.

Cathie speaks to all people in her book but I find that she is especially trying to reach women in the corporate world. She teaches values and morals of hard work, determination and diligence to obtain what you want in your career and also how to balance that with your personal life. This is a book for anyone wanting to kick start their career and start their ascend on the corporate ladder.

GOOD TO GREAT

Many people wonder how good companies become great. The author Jim Collins did an excellent job gathering real life business samples and data points from all different kinds companies. The point was to draw correlations between the good companies and the great companies. We also learned why some companies are never able to make that jump from good to great.

The first main point of the book concentrated on the possession of a level 5 leader. What is a level 5 leader? This is a manager or leader who intrinsically has the best interest of his employees in mind. It’s someone who puts the company ahead of his/her own personal accomplishments. Someone who is more concentrated on the overall vision, rather than short-term successes. This person is an expert at matching individuals strengths to job responsibilities within the company. An analogy they used often was this: “You need to get the right people on the bus. Once you have all the right people on the bus, you can take the bus anywhere.” This analogy really resonated with me because so many times companies hire because there is a demand for a position and rather than wait for the right person for the position they settle.

The second point talked about momentum. Changing small things within your organization to help create internal momentum. When your employees feel this momentum, and it is contagious, they become self-motivating. In many cases you can pin point where the Level 5 leaders had created that long lasting momentum.
In conclusion, this book really opened my eyes to the subtleties that catapult companies from good to great. It also made me think about looking for these qualities when choosing my profession. I hope I find a level 5 leader within a great company.

How Full is Your Bucket: A Book on Feeling Good

A few years ago, Tom Rath and Donald Clifton wrote How full is Your Bucket: Positive Strategies for Work and Life. It soon became a national bestseller and is still today. The remarkable part of this book is that it is so short, not that revolutionary in concept, and yet became the hit in business publishing. The book revolves around one concept that the authors have dubbed "bucket filling." The theory boils down to this: When you do nice things to people it fills your proverbial bucket just as it fills when others do nice deeds for you. People who spread negative energy in the work place empty the buckets of others and essentially ruin productivity.

While I do enjoy the sentiment behind the book, the statistics the authors preset can be very stretching at times. As far as the message in the book, I believe it to be a very strong and positive one that can indeed help make an organization run better. It's just that How Full is Your Bucket could have just as easily been an orientation pamphlet than a 128-page book.

Running Your Own Business - Chris Ritter

Despite being 20 years old, this did a good job in breaking down what has to be done in starting a business. This went into detail about how to get loans, what type of people to look for into who you would want working for you, and what makes an efficient manager. After reading this, it made me second guess into any thoughts of starting a business. You seem to have to put in a lot of your own money and make sure you reach the right type of consumer. Also, the legal parts seems to be risky. I read about layers and chances of being sued, even if it wasn't my fault and the fault of a person that worked for me. What I didn't realize is how possible it can be to think of a product. I could already take something that has been created and make it more appealing by offering more advantages like appearance or a lower price. This also covered things that have already learned like budget sheets and assets. There were only two problems I had. The first made me believe this to be sexist. When it was time to describe a manager, all I read was he this and he that. And, I always read business man and never a business person. I don't think the words she or woman were used in this book. I also didn't understand that I would only need to know a little of what I was selling. I would believe that I would be better off to know everything possible about a product and for sure more than any customers of mine may know.

“Blink” A decision-Making Strategy By Bonnie Smith

Have you ever just leaped to a conclusion about something, without thinking through all your options, but just have this innate feeling that your conclusion is right. This is the part of your brain that is called the adaptive unconscious; a decision-making system that is capable of making very quick judgments based on very little information.

In Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Gladwell suggests management decision-making should be more about intuition, or a gut-feeling, rather than informed, data-driven decision making.

Gladwell examines rapid, almost instantaneous, decision-making, and how those decisions can produce the same results as a decision made after tough analysis. He explores how military commanders, firefighters, doctors, law enforcement officials, and business executives face similar situations in the ability to have to make extremely rapid decisions under conditions of extreme stress, and even for very high stakes.

Blink explains many different theories and studies based on “thin-slicing” or the ability to make sense of something quickly. He gives some very powerful examples such as, the Pepsi challenge, the fake Kouros statue at the Getty, first impressions of people, and many others. This book gives a lot of insight about “blink of the eye” decisions when it comes to business decisions, marketing, as well as everyday decision-making at home or while out meeting new people.

Although this book is a very interesting read, I don’t know if it will help you to become a more wise and thoughtful decision-maker, specifically in the workplace and business arena, but it does get you to think.

Cash Management; Making your business cash-rich...without breaking the bank. By Tony Dalton

Dalton’s Cash Management is wealth of knowledge for the everyday small business owner. If you are looking to increase the cash of your business now, Dalton’s book is for you. He gives you simple solutions that can bring money into your business without going to the bank. This is not a textbook that gives you solutions based on numbers and theories but more of a handbook that shows you the pros and cons of each step of the way from a more personal approach. Dalton offers first hand experience in owning small businesses as he owns several and gives you an insider take on small business management.

One thing that I enjoyed very much in this book that helped me understand certain aspects of business practice is the real life experience and the real world application he reveals. For example, when reading about assets, I had a hard time understanding the intangible value of intellectual property, copyrights, and patents, until he applied it to tech companies. By asking which is more valuable, the chips that Intel produces or the intellectual property that created them? Obviously the intellectual property because without the method their would be no product. That question put things in perspective for me and helped me understand that even though I can not chart the value of patents, copyrights, and so on, they are still very profitable to my business and can increase the value of it.

Dalton’s book is perfect for you if you are a small business owner looking to increase your cash-flow and do not have time to take a class or read a large textbook. His real world applications and personal experience will help you understand each chapter and help you run your small business more effectively.

By Adrian Janowicz