Owner of a research company and author of more than 30 books Plunkett discusses the factors that will influence the demands in the future economy.
Plunkett (Plunkett’s Telecommunications Industry Almanac 2011, 2010, etc.) takes an optimistic view of the near-future economy, which he defines as anytime from now to 2025. Between increasing worldwide populations and the needs of America’s own aging baby boomers, Plunkett sees markets expanding, demands shifting and the United States as the technology leader that will fill the needs of the changing landscape. Overall Plunkett’s style is polished and engaging for both business experts and lay audiences. Throughout the book, the author demonstrates his ability to easily and clearly present information, laying out arguments so logically that some otherwise surprising predictions, like an African “breadbasket,” seem plausible. Even explanations of scientific concepts, such as nanotechnology, are simplified and approachable. While having a wealth of knowledge and research behind him, the author seems particularly eager to inspire conversation among readers, offering lists of resources, discussion questions and links to an online discussion forum at the end of each chapter. For those who have a sincere interest in the world economy, Plunkett’s text contains the numbers and analysis that will strike a positive chord; however, for others, the book may come off as too data-heavy, with paragraphs full of facts, figures and sources, especially when compared with the watered-down counterparts of the genre. Despite the well-reasoned presentation and substantiating facts, readers will find that some of the author’s predictions feel incongruous with one another. For example, when it comes to technologies, Plunkett looks forward, visualizing acceptance and spread of sometimes controversial technologies, such as genetically modified foods; in other places, the viewpoint feels stagnant in our own time, such as the author’s confidence in fossil fuels. Yet these difficulties don’t harm the reading experience; instead they provide thought-provoking content for discussion with reading groups or even on the book’s LinkedIn group. Humble, honest and fact-filled, Plunkett’s book is a great option for those interested in learning more about and discussing the factors that will influence the world’s near-future economy.
Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2011
ISBN: 978-1608799992
Page Count: 274
Publisher: BizExecs Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.
A well-constructed critique of an economic system that, by the author’s account, is a driver of the world’s destruction.
Harvard Business School professor Henderson vigorously questions the bromide that “management’s only duty is to maximize shareholder value,” a notion advanced by Milton Friedman and accepted uncritically in business schools ever since. By that logic, writes the author, there is no reason why corporations should not fish out the oceans, raise drug prices, militate against public education (since it costs tax money), and otherwise behave ruinously and anti-socially. Many do, even though an alternative theory of business organization argues that corporations and society should enjoy a symbiotic relationship of mutual benefit, which includes corporate investment in what economists call public goods. Given that the history of humankind is “the story of our increasing ability to cooperate at larger and larger scales,” one would hope that in the face of environmental degradation and other threats, we might adopt the symbiotic model rather than the winner-take-all one. Problems abound, of course, including that of the “free rider,” the corporation that takes the benefits from collaborative agreements but does none of the work. Henderson examines case studies such as a large food company that emphasized environmentally responsible production and in turn built “purpose-led, sustainable living brands” and otherwise led the way in increasing shareholder value by reducing risk while building demand. The author argues that the “short-termism” that dominates corporate thinking needs to be adjusted to a longer view even though the larger problem might be better characterized as “failure of information.” Henderson closes with a set of prescriptions for bringing a more equitable economics to the personal level, one that, among other things, asks us to step outside routine—eat less meat, drive less—and become active in forcing corporations (and politicians) to be better citizens.
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.Pub Date: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5417-3015-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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