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On CUE: The Quest for Optimal Customer Unit Economics
by Barak Libai Eitan Muller Elie OfekStartups are often evaluated by how well they perform on unit economics, defined as the ratio of a customer's lifetime value (LTV) to acquisition costs (CAC). A common target for unit economics, advocated by many VCs and analysts, is 3:1 (i.e., LTV/CAC=3). While there is certainly appeal to having a relatively high unit economics - and it provides the firm with a guide on how much to expend on acquiring customers - it is not obvious whether this prescribed "rule of thumb" ratio is in the firm's best interest. This note analyzes the problem by exploring how a company should go about determining the optimal amount to expend on customer acquisition. The approach proposed, in effect, calls for maximizing customer equity (the sum of lifetime values gained from all customers that are acquired less the acquisition costs incurred) and takes into account that there are decreasing returns to marketing efforts. The resulting customer unit economics (referred to in this note as CUE for short) is shown to often be lower than 3:1 - suggesting that firms have more leeway to grow while at the same time being mindful of profits.
The On-Demand Economy
by Elizabeth Anne Watkins Cynthia A. Montgomery James WeberThis note describes the emerging on-demand economy, also referred to as the sharing economy. The note highlights several companies including Uber and Airbnb that exemplify this new mode of competition, a model that threatens to disrupt traditional firms. Uber provides ride services much like a traditional taxi company, but it owns no cars and employs no drivers, and instead matches independent car owners with customers looking for rides. Airbnb provides a lodging service, but owns no hotels, and instead matches home owners with extra rooms with customers looking for a place to stay. The note allows students to explore what impact such companies might have on traditional business models, what impact they might have on labor and how people work, and whether existing regulations aimed at traditional business models are adequate for the new model.
On Economic Knowledge: Toward a Science of Political Economics (Routledge Revivals Ser.)
by Adolph LoweThis book, first published in 1965 with a revised edition in 1977, examines the subject matter and the method of the science of economics. On Economic Knowledge explores the historical trends of economics, the logic of economic science, and whether or not economics can be viewed in itself as a science. This title will be of interest to students of economics.
On Economic Theory & Socialism: Collected Papers
by Maurice DobbThis volume collects published papers and essays from widely scattered and inaccessible sources, some of which appeared for the first time when this book was originally published. In the first part of the book the subjects range from the theory of wages and recent trends in economic theory to economists’ criticism of capitalism and socialism, investment-policy in under-developed countries, and economic growth under the Soviet Five Year Plans. The second part includes papers on Lenin and Marx, a study of the economic ideas of Bernard Shaw, and an essay on historical materialism.
On The Edge
by Anthony GiddensCapitalism has become the universal social and economic order of our time. The capitalism of today, however, differs from that of previous eras; with intensifying globalisation, flexible organisations, and new forms of class divisions. Globalisation brings new possibilities, but also new risks, ranging from degradation of the environment to the concentrated control of the media. On the Edge comprises original essays by, among others, Polly Toynbee, Richard Senett and George Soros. They chart the contours of contemporary capitalism, analyse the role of the business firm, and consider whether the new capitalism is compatible with social cohesion and social justice. They discuss capitalism both as a form of culture and as an influence on daily life, and ask if capitalism has any viable rivals at the turn of the millennium.
On Effective Leadership: Across Domains, Cultures, And Eras (Jepson Studies In Leadership)
by Iii G. Donald Chandler John W. ChandlerUsing case studies from a wide range of fields and historical settings, On Effective Leadership seeks to explain why some leaders are effective, why many are not, and why only a very few are exceptional.
On Equal Terms: Redefining China's Relationship with America and the West
by Mingxun ZhengAn insightful look at the future of China's relations with the West and the United States For anyone who wants to better understand China and its economic and political relations to the West, On Equal Terms offers front-row insight. Exploring China's state-capitalist economic model and the unique qualities and ideals of Chinese culture that can make difficult for Westerners to understand its approach to business interactions, the book looks to the future, explaining how China and the United States can cooperate to solve some of the world's major problems. Covering the extraordinary changes taking place in China and China's relationship with America and the West over ten powerful chapters, the book looks at China's state-capitalist model of governance, how history affects her behavior in foreign policy, how China is emerging as an economic world power, that products are not made but assembled in China, that China is not one big market but many markets, and much more. Provides an inside view on the future of China and America from an expert with personal experience on both sides of the story Explains the sometimes mysterious worlds of "Guanxi" and "Mianzi"—the notions of giving, saving, and preserving "face" in business and cultural relationships that many Westerners struggle to understand A truly up-to-date resource that gives reader's the most recent information about Chinese-American relations China and America need to cooperate in order to solve the major problems of the world, and On Equal Terms gives readers the information they need to improve their business and professional relationships in China.
On Ethics and Economics: Conversations with Kenneth J. Arrow
by Kenneth J. ArrowPart intellectual autobiography and part exposition of complex yet contemporary economic ideas, this lively conversation with renowned scholar and public intellectual Kenneth J. Arrow focuses on economics and politics in light of history, current events, and philosophy as well. Reminding readers that economics is about redistribution and thus about how we treat each other, Arrow shows that the intersection of economics and ethics is of concern not just to economists but for the public more broadly. With a foreword by Amartya Sen, this book highlights the belief that government can be a powerful force for good, and is particularly relevant in the current political climate and to the lay reader as well as the economist.
On Fairness
by Sally McManusMost of us believe in fairness. Why then do we have creeping inequality in the land of the fair go?The answer lies in stagnant wage rises, gender pay inequity, insecure work and the lack of real opportunities for all while corporations are still consuming large profits and executives claim record bonuses.Sally McManus confronts these truths every day. In On Fairness, she explores the true cost of social injustice and argues for advancing Australia fair.
On Fairness, Justice, and VAR: Russia 2018 and France 2019 World Cups in a Historical Perspective (Palgrave Pivots in Sports Economics)
by Jorge TovarThis book analyzes the 2018 and 2019 men's and women's World Cups to understand how the use of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) affected each tournament. Unlike goal technology, where the decision is entirely left to the machine's algorithm, the VAR still has a human component, making it prone to errors and controversies. Building on the theories of justice, the book quantitatively reviews event-level data while using a historical perspective to depict a novel approach to the effects of VAR in major soccer tournaments. The six chapters examine the use of VAR, discuss when it was not used (but maybe should have been used), and explore how the World Cup evolved with the new technology. Combining the VAR events of 2018 and 2019 with comparable situations from past World Cups guides the reader into debating the meaning of justice and the potential of ever achieving fairness in soccer.
On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal
by Naomi KleinA MUST-READ book. Naomi Klein pairs a decade of her powerful writing on our acute environmental decline with new material on the staggeringly high stakes of what we choose to do next; and inspiringly offers here a politically viable, just, sustainable path forward.For more than twenty years, Naomi Klein has been the foremost chronicler of the economic war waged on both people and planet--and the champion of a sweeping environmental agenda with stability and justice at its center. In lucid dispatches from the frontlines--from the ghostly Great Barrier Reef, to the annual smoke-choked skies of the Pacific Northwest, to post-hurricane Puerto Rico, to a Vatican attempting an unprecedented "ecological conversion"--she has penned surging, indispensable lectures and essays for a wide public, with prescient, clarifying information about the future that awaits us and our children if we stick our heads in the sand. They show Klein at her most thoughtful, tracing the evolution of the climate crisis as the key issue of our time, not only as an immediate political challenge but as a spiritual and imaginative one too. Delving into topics ranging from the clash between ecological time and our culture of "perpetual now," to the soaring history of humans' ability to change rapidly in the face of grave threat, to rising white supremacy and fortressed borders as a form of "climate barbarism," this is a rousing call to action for a planet on the brink. Above all, she underscores how we can still rise to the existential challenge of the crisis if we are willing to transform our systems that are producing it, making clear how the battle for a greener world is indistinguishable from the fight for our lives. On Fire is a critical book: it captures the burning urgency of this moment, the fiery energy of a rising movement demanding change now, and lays out an inspiring vision for a sustainable future.
On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal
by Naomi Klein#1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author Naomi Klein makes the case for a Green New Deal in this &“keenly argued, well-researched, and impassioned&” manifesto (The Washington Post).An instant bestseller, On Fire shows Klein at her most prophetic and philosophical, investigating the climate crisis not only as a profound political challenge but also as a spiritual and imaginative one. Delving into topics ranging from the clash between ecological time and our culture of &“perpetual now,&” to the soaring history of humans changing and evolving rapidly in the face of grave threats, to rising white supremacy and fortressed borders as a form of &“climate barbarism,&” this is a rousing call to action for a planet on the brink. An expansive, far-ranging exploration that sees the battle for a greener world as indistinguishable from the fight for our lives, On Fire captures the burning urgency of the climate crisis, as well as the fiery energy of a rising political movement demanding a catalytic Green New Deal. &“Naomi Klein&’s work has always moved and guided me. She is the great chronicler of our age of climate emergency, an inspirer of generations.&” —Greta Thunberg, climate activist "If I were a rich man, I&’d buy 245 million copies of Naomi Klein&’s 'On Fire' and hand-deliver them to every eligible voter in America…Klein is a skilled writer." —Jeff Goodell, The New York Times
On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life
by John O'LearyIn the bestselling tradition of Brene Brown's Daring Greatly and Nick Vujicic's Life Without Limits comes a rousing 7-step plan for living a life on fire, filled with hope and possibility--from an inspirational speaker who survived a near-fatal fire at the age of nine and now runs a successful business inspiring people all around the world.When John O'Leary was nine years old, he was almost killed in a devastating house fire. With burns on one hundred percent of his body, O'Leary mustered an almost unimaginable amount of inner strength just to survive the ordeal. The insights he gained through this experience and the heroes who stepped into his life to help him through the journey--his family, the medical staff, and total strangers--changed his life. Now he is committed to living life to the fullest and inspiring others to do the same. An incredible and emotionally honest account of triumph over tragedy, On Fire contains O'Leary's reflections on being that little boy, the life-giving choices made then, and the resulting lessons he learned. O'Leary very clearly shares that without the right people providing the right guidance, at the right time, he never would have made it through those five months in the hospital, let alone the years that followed as he struggled to regain mobility, embrace his story, and ignite clarity of his life's purpose. On Fire encourages us to seize the power to choose our path and transform our lives from mundane to extraordinary. Once we stop thinking solely on the big moments in our lives, we can begin to focus on those smaller opportunities that tend to pass us by. These are the events--the inflection points in our lives--that can determine how we feel about life now, where we are headed in the future, and how many lives we can impact along the way. We can't always choose the path we walk, but we can choose how we walk it. Empowering, inspiring, remarkably honest, and heartfelt, O'Leary's strength and incredible spirit shine through on every page.
On Form: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance, Health and Happiness
by Jim Loehr Tony SchwartzFour forms of energy pulse through each of us at all times: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. To thrive, we must recruit all four of these energies in the service of a specific mission. To be fully engaged means to be physically energized, emotially engaged, mentally focused, and spiritually vested. Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz draw on 30 years of research and experience with thousands of world-class atheletes, FBI hostage rescue teams, emergency service workers, and corporate executives who must sustain high performance in the face of pressure. In this book they offer their precise understanding of how to help individuals and organizations manage energy to drive full engagement - along with a step-by step programme to make that happen.
On Gender, Labor, and Inequality
by Ruth MilkmanRuth Milkman's groundbreaking research in women's labor history has contributed important perspectives on work and unionism in the United States. On Gender, Labor, and Inequality presents four decades of Milkman's essential writings, tracing the parallel evolutions of her ideas and the field she helped define. Milkman's introduction frames a career-spanning scholarly project: her interrogation of historical and contemporary intersections of class and gender inequalities in the workplace, and the efforts to challenge those inequalities. Early chapters focus on her pioneering work on women's labor during the Great Depression and the World War II years. In the book's second half, Milkman turns to the past fifty years, a period that saw a dramatic decline in gender inequality even as growing class imbalances created greater-than-ever class disparity among women. She concludes with a previously unpublished essay comparing the impact of the Great Depression and the Great Recession on women workers.
On Grand Strategy
by John Lewis GaddisA master class in strategic thinking, distilled from the legendary program the author has co-taught at Yale for decadesFor almost two decades, Yale students have competed for admission each year to the "Studies in Grand Strategy" seminar taught by John Lewis Gaddis, Paul Kennedy, and Charles Hill. Its purpose has been to prepare future leaders for responsibilities they will face, through lessons drawn from history and the classics. Now Gaddis has distilled that teaching into a succinct, sharp and potentially transformational book, surveying statecraft from the ancient Greeks to Franklin D. Roosevelt and beyond. An unforgettable guide to the art of leadership, On Grand Strategy is, in every way, its own master class.
On Great Service: A Framework for Action
by Leonard L. BerryImproving service quality has finally become a top priority of management today, yet according to service quality expert Leonard Berry only a handful of companies have managed to determine exactly what to improve and how to improve it. For the past two years, Berry studied dozens of companies of all sizes renowned for their capacity to deliver what they promise and more. From his on-site observation of the strategies and practices of such companies as Mary Kay Cosmetics, Tattered Cover Book Store, Longo Toyota & Lexus, Lakeland Regional Medical Center, and Hard Rock Cafe, Berry has constructed a dynamic new framework for improving service. This framework provides a roadmap for implementation found nowhere else in the service quality literature. In every chapter Berry draws on his twelve years of research in service quality to explain each part of the framework in detail. He provides rich insights and inspiring examples of great service -- including numerous examples unique to this book as well as the classic success stories of USAA, Taco Bell, and many more. Berry shows that a company must (1) develop service leadership skills and values -- a concept substantially different from developing general leadership; (2) build a service quality information system; and (3) create a comprehensive service strategy based on the four principles of great service: reliability, surprise, recovery, and fairness. He demonstrates how these four principles, when adopted by the leadership and infused into the systems of a service company, are the building blocks of the framework and form the anchor for implementation. Berry shows how the "artistry" of great service can be systematically created from this foundation through a company's organizational structure, technology, and often under utilized human resources assets. He challenges service managers to set their service quality aspirations higher, and his innovative, practical ideas will help them achieve those higher standards. Linking service excellence to value creation, Berry provides solid financial reasons for the necessity of great service. Here, at last, is the book for which managers in every service industry have waited: Leonard Berry's "operating manual" for turning plans for great service into action.
On Holiday Again, Doctor? (The Dr Clifford Chronicles)
by Dr Robert CliffordGastro-enteritis in Marrakesh, kidney stones in the Sahara, a wrenched sternum in Faro, bizarre accidents on a peaceful day's angling . . . It all goes to show that - as their patients would firmly agree - doctors shouldn't go on holiday.In On Holiday Again, Doctor? everyone's favourite West Country G.P. beguiles us with more colourful portraits of family and friends, colleagues and patients; improbable - but true - anecdotes of holidays at home and abroad; some serious comment on the medical profession; and an introduction to the gentle art of nearly going somewhere . . .
On Impatience and Policy Effectiveness
by Tamim Bayoumi Silvia SgherriA report from the International Monetary Fund.
On Inequality
by Harry G. FrankfurtEconomic inequality is one of the most divisive issues of our time. Yet few would argue that inequality is a greater evil than poverty. The poor suffer because they don't have enough, not because others have more, and some have far too much. So why do many people appear to be more distressed by the rich than by the poor?In this provocative book, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of On Bullshit presents a compelling and unsettling response to those who believe that the goal of social justice should be economic equality or less inequality. Harry Frankfurt, one of the most influential moral philosophers in the world, argues that we are morally obligated to eliminate poverty--not achieve equality or reduce inequality. Our focus should be on making sure everyone has a sufficient amount to live a decent life. To focus instead on inequality is distracting and alienating. At the same time, Frankfurt argues that the conjunction of vast wealth and poverty is offensive. If we dedicate ourselves to making sure everyone has enough, we may reduce inequality as a side effect. But it's essential to see that the ultimate goal of justice is to end poverty, not inequality.A serious challenge to cherished beliefs on both the political left and right, On Inequality promises to have a profound impact on one of the great debates of our time.
On Informal Institutions and Accounting Behavior (Contributions to Finance and Accounting)
by Xingqiang DuThis book focuses on the Chinese context to investigate how informal institutions (Confucian culture and its dimensions, religion, political connections) in China affect accounting behaviors. This book tries to show that cultural influence and religious impacts in China are not trivial and increasingly important, and specifically, informal institutions have its bright and dark sides with regard to its effects on accounting behaviors. This book aims to investigate whether and how informal institutions (Confucian culture and its dimensions, religion, political connections) affect micro-level accounting behaviors, including but not limited to audit quality, financial misstatement, R&D, corporate misconducts, corporate philanthropy and corporate environmental responsibility. This book provides graduate students, scholars and practitioners in the fields of accounting, business administration and religion with an in-depth understanding about how informal institutions as a set of social norms affect micro-level accounting behaviors. First, this book is the first to focus on the Chinese context and investigate the effects of informal institutions on accounting behavior. Second, this book documents systematic evidence to show the bright and dark sides with regard to the relation between informal institutions and accounting behavior in China. Lastly, this book reveals informal institutions can serve as an important mechanism to affect accounting behaviors.
On Interpreting Keynes: A Study in Reconciliation
by Bruce LittleboyThere is discontent with how the textbooks have come to reinterpret Keynes but there is little communication between the most prominent schools of criticism. This book argues that this lack of dialogue is mistaken and damaging. A synthesis is possible as many of the arguments between them can be traced to simple misunderstadings and differences of emphasis.
On Judicial Management from Comparative Perspective: International Association of Procedural Law Conference (8-10 Nov. 2017, Tianjin, PRC) (Contemporary Chinese Civil and Commercial Law)
by Loic Cadiet Yulin FuThis book consists of general reports of the International Conference on Judicial Management from Comparative Perspective. This conference held on November 8–10, 2017, at Tianjin University, was organized by China Law Society (CLS) and International Association of Procedural Law Congress (IAPL). The general reporters are prominent scholars who have been selected worldwide by the IAPL Presidium to organize national reporters who shall do researches of his/her own state under the guide of the general reporter’s questionnaire on the specific subject. By this way, the comparative studies are trying to depend on national researches but overcome the general style of “talk past each other.” Moreover, the general reports summarize and give comment on the various system, phenomena or situation from comparative perspective, from which the audience will read their own orientation, doctrines and theories.
On Karl Marx (Radical Thinkers)
by John Maxwell Ernst Bloch“In 1968 we celebrated the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx. We still have reason to hope for a concrete celebration in 2018” With a demonstrably thorough grasp of Marxist thought, and seemingly effortless literary flair, Ernst Bloch provides both the well-versed reader and the novice a truly enjoyable introduction to one of the most influential thinkers in history.
On Leadership: Lessons for the 21st Century
by Tony BlairThe leadership manual Tony Blair wishes he had when he became prime minister, with personal insights and global examples that show aspiring leaders how to go from talking about change to making change.Sir Tony Blair learnt the precepts of governing the hard way: by leading a country for over ten years. In that time he came to understand that there were certain key characteristics of successful government that he wished he had known when he started.Now Sir Tony has written the manual on political leadership that he would have wanted back in 1997, sharing the insights he has gained from his personal experience and from observing other world leaders at first hand, both while he was in office and since, through his Institute&’s work with political leaders and governments globally.Written in short, pithy chapters, packed with examples drawn from all forms of political systems from around the world, the books answers the key questions: How should a leader organize the center of government and his or her own office? How should he or she prioritize and develop the right plan and hire the right personnel, cope with unforeseen events and crises, and balance short-term wins with long-term structural change? What&’s the best way to deal with an obstructive or inert bureaucracy, to attract investment, to reform healthcare or education, and to ensure security for the citizen? And how should governments harness the massive opportunities of the 21st-century technological revolution?This is a masterclass on leadership in general, and political leadership in particular, from a master statesman.