2009 RUSA Outstanding Business Reference Business in today′s world is increasingly diverse. Undertaking commerce, even by an individual, can mean working globally through a welter of new media with opportunities of all kinds rapidly appearing. The boundaries, scope, content, structures, and processes of a business activity can morph into completely different ones in the course of a project. Contemporary businesses, and certainly future businesses, find it incumbent upon them to fit within the requirements of environmental and economic sustainability of the others who inhabit our world. With more than 1,000 entries, the Encyclopedia of Business in Today′s World is packed with essential and up-to-date information on the state of business in our world. Not only does it reflect where business is, it also conveys the trajectory of business farther into the 21st century. These four volumes provide clear overviews of the important business topics of our time, ranging from culture shock to currency hedging, political risk, offshoring, and transnational corporations. The wealth of topics represent an integrated vision by the editor of a perplexity of functions, technologies, and environmental factors. Key Features Provides insight into the development and current business situation globally through articles on many individual countries - Examines the processes, responsibilities, and ethics of business in the global market - Offers entries written by experts from diverse fields - Includes an appendix that looks at World Trade Organization statistics - Presents a vast range of topics, including key companies, business policies, regions, countries, dimensions of globalization, economic factors, international agreements, financial instruments, accounting regulations and approaches, theories, legislation, management practices and approaches, and much more Key Themes Competitive Forces - Countries - Corporate Profiles - Cultural Environments - Economics of International Business - Economic Theories of International Business - Ethics, Corruption, and Social Responsibility - Export/Import Strategies - Foreign Direct Investment - Globalization and Society - Human Resource Management - International Accounting - International Finance - International Monetary System - International Trade - Legal and Labor Issues - Management and Leadership - Manufacturing and Operations - Marketing - Political Environments - Regional Economic Integration - Supranational and National Organizations The Encyclopedia of Business in Today′s World serves as a general, nontechnical resource for students, professors, and librarians seeking to understand the development of business as practiced in the United States and internationally. Grade 9 Up—More than 1000 entries, authored by experts and scholars from around the world, offer a diverse perspective on our global economy. Coverage includes financial terms and concepts; countries; well-known companies; and legal, environmental, and social issues. The alphabetical arrangement allows readers to find side-by-side articles on "Fair Trade," "Family Leave," "Feng Shui," and "Fiat," each with its own bibliography and cross-references. Perspectives on economic systems such as communism, socialism, and capitalism contain subsections on Maoism, Marxism, cooperatives, and mercantilism, and feature examples and debate about their successes and failures. While there are no specific entries for individuals, the index references many notables such as John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, Geert Hofstede, and Joseph Stiglitz. The set's value to sociology and global history curriculums should not be underestimated, as many of the topics address the interrelationship of economies and their peoples. Current topics include sea piracy, terrorism, fair trade, ethnocentrism, and intellectual property rights. While the approach is scholarly, high school students will have no problem navigating the clear and well-outlined text. Captioned black-and-white photos and company logos appear throughout, but add little. The last volume contains a 40-page glossary and a lengthy appendix of the World Trade Organization's tables and charts on imports and exports. The general index is found in this final volume only; there is a set list of entries in the front of each volume.— Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY END Charles Wankel is Professor of Management at St. John's University, New York. He holds a doctorate from New York University, where he was admitted to the Beta Gamma Sigma national honor society for business disciplines. Columbia University's American Assembly identified him as one of the nation's top experts on Total Quality Management. He received the Outstanding Service in Management Education & Development Award at both the 2004 and 2005 meetings of the Academy of Management (AOM). AOM also presented its Best Paper in Management Education Award to him in 1991, and he has been selected to serve as an off