Angels Of Efficiency

"Corporate consulting, a one-time seemingly marvelous mixture of bare-knuckle rationalization, esoterica, and visionary futurism, is invariably deployed when business structures threaten to lose their equilibrium. What it actually means to be consulted, the part played by media in consulting, and how the branch of corporate consulting became a system of knowledge with such a socially important role is the object of this book. For the first time, it explores the ways in which the latest media technology, avant-garde aesthetics, economic pressures, and holistic philosophy together constituted the form of consulting dominant today, and which consequences arise from this. Thus it follows the work of early corporate consultants like Frank and Lillian Gilbreth and H. L. Gantt, while analyzing and describing their visual consulting models. The book develops a new, innovative, interdisciplinary approach, situated between media and business history, media archeology, and social theory, and thereby charts the genesis of modern consulting knowledge. It reveals that corporate consulting must be conceptualized in close relation to the visual culture that prevailed during this time, one which drew from nineteenth-century visualization methods and, more particularly, the new medium of film. Consulting is a cultural technique that is markedly characterized by media processes, in which the boundaries of economic logic and legitimacy emerge, and which, at the same time, considerably shapes and stabilizes this modus operandi up to the present day"--

Angels of Efficiency traces the invention of film and the parallel rise of management consulting, telling the story of how these together brought about new forms of information visualization and visual management. The period from 1880 to 1930, author Florian Hoof argues, saw the genesis of a form of visual knowledge that provided a novel means to intervene in management processes. Visual management largely superseded oral and written forms of communication and decision-making, instituting a strategy for overcoming the mid-nineteenth-century crisis of control and resulting in a media-based form of rationality. Focusing largely on early corporate consulting in America by tracing the careers of Frank Gilbreth and his wife and business partner, Lillian Gilbreth, Hoof examines the rise and lasting effects of corporate consulting as a visual form. Framing consulting as a cultural technique that is characterized by media processes in which the boundaries of economic logic and legitimacy emerge, Angels of Efficiency forges a new approach to the history of consulting. In addition to pioneering a new field of film and media studies, Hoof contributes original research to American cultural and economic history, such as archival findings concerning Gilbreth's consulting efforts for the German Army during WWI. With this distinct and innovative interdisciplinary approach, Hoof has marshalled cinema and media studies, business history, and science and technology studies to make sense of the rise of consulting practices and their remarkable stability to this day.

Angels appear in every major world religion—from Christianity to Judaism, Islam to the Native American Thunderbirds. This book is a celebration of all the world’s divine messengers and a definitive resource containing all of the knowledge collected about these awe-inspiring beings. Rigorously researched, Angels is packed with knowledge about these protectors and guides, including: • who (or what) angels are, their duties to the people of earth, their appearance, and their origins • prayers for invoking your guardian angel and chasing away negative emotions • the many rituals that will help you call on angels to help transform your life and guide, protect, and steer you toward love and success . . . and much more. This tome of ancient and modern angel wisdom offers a perspective on a world we could only have previously imagined, as well as practical tools to bring more love, light, and energy into our lives.

Paul as Missionary: Identity, Activity, Theology and Practice takes the view that before anything else Paul must first and foremost be identified as a missionary. Using the entire Pauline corpus the contributors to this volume assess what Paul's correspondence can tell us about how he perceived his role and identity. The work comprises four parts: in section one, Paul's identity as priest, eschatological herald, and missionary-pastor are explored while in part two topics such as the apostle's activity among pagans, his suffering, and Paul's missionary message; to the church at Rome are considered. Section three comprises essays on the Spirit as the governing dynamic, the glory of God as the apostles missionary goal, and the importance of Paul's Christology in shaping his mission to the Gentiles. Finally, part four addresses Paul's missionary praxis, including his support of his missionary enterprise.

Take Control of Your Startup―and Watch it Grow “This book delivers clear thinking for entrepreneurs who want to control their own destiny and grow their business without the need for venture capital.” -Joel Cannon, co-founder and president of Cannon Technologies An analysis of success. Award-winning professor of entrepreneurship Dileep Rao presents readers with a detailed guide to success through his interviews and analysis of billion-dollar entrepreneurs (those who built a venture from startup to more than $1 billion in sales and valuation) and 100 million-dollar entrepreneurs (startup to $100 million). Build your business without venture capital (VC) funding. Rao is here to show entrepreneurs that it is possible to start a business without outside help. He shares how more than 90 percent of America’s billion-dollar entrepreneurs in the VC era (since 1946) avoided or delayed VC, and instead used finance-smart expertise―skills that combine business-smart, capital-smart, and leadership-smart strategies. The right mix of internal and external financing. It takes more than one person to grow a business from the bottom up. But that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice control of the venture in the process. Armed with 23 years of experience as a financer, Rao shows readers how to optimize internal financing so as to attract external financing. By keeping control of the venture, entrepreneurs keep more of the wealth, as well. In Finance Secrets of Billion-Dollar Entrepreneurs learn about: • Pre-financing, financing and post-financing skills and strategies of finance-smart entrepreneurs • The ins and outs of venture finance, applicable to anyone looking to start a business • Tips on increasing capital productivity and attaining financially sustainable entrepreneurship If you’ve enjoyed entrepreneurship-focused titles like The Lean Startup, The $100 Startup, or Venture Deals, then Rao’s Finance Secrets of Billion-Dollar Entrepreneurs is the next book for you.

They deliver more capital to entrepreneurs than any other source.And they often receive an incredible return on their investments.They're angel investors, some of the most important--and leastunderstood--players in business today. The United States has closeto three million angels, whose investments in startups exceed $60billion per year. Some of our most successful companies were fundedby angels--companies like Ford, AOL, and Amazon.com. But until now,little has been written about these angels, due in part to theirpreference for anonymity. Angel Investors provides an inside lookat who these angels are and how they operate. It also showswould-be angels and entrepreneurs how best to find eachother. To learn more about this book, visit its website.

The Chinese economy is growing at an unprecedented speed, and one of the emerging trends is angel investment. It is an area with tremendous potential for growth. Compared with the more mature markets in Western countries, however, angel investing in China is still at an early stage, due to a lack of incentives and insufficient policy support. By delving into existing literature on China's angel investment and conducting interviews with leading angel investors for China and abroad, Prof. Liu Manhong and Dr Wang Jiani ? both scholars on and practitioners in the angel investment market ? try to provide readers with a detailed picture of China's angel market: What is going on in the market? How should the government formulate relevant polices? And, perhaps more pertinently, what should investors know if they have invested in or are going to enter this market? This book will be very useful for scholars and researchers on China's angel market, as well as those "angels" who would like to tap its full potential.

Volume one of this report was published as HCP 483-I, session 2006-07 (ISBN 9780215035332)