No Business As Usual

The recent global economic downturn has affected nearly everyone in every corner of the globe. Its vast reach and lingering effects have made it difficult to pinpoint its exact cause, and while some economists point to the risks inherent in the modern financial system, others blame long-term imbalances in the world economy. Into this debate steps Paul Mattick, who, in Business as Usual, explains the global economic downturn in relation to the development of the world economy since World War II, but also as a fundamental example of the cycle of crisis and recovery that has characterized capitalism since the early nineteenth century. Mattick explains that today’s recession is not the result of a singular financial event but instead is a manifestation of long-term processes within the world economy. Mattick argues that the economic downturn can best be understood within the context of business cycles, which are unavoidable in a free-market economy. He uses this explanation as a springboard for exploring the nature of our capitalist society and its prospects for the future. Although Business as Usual engages with many economic theories, both mainstream and left-wing, Mattick’s accessible writing opens the subject up in order for non-specialists to understand the current economic climate not as the effect of a financial crisis, but as a manifestation of a truth about the social and economic system in which we live. As a result the book is ideal for anyone who wants to gain a succinct and jargon-free understanding of recent economic events, and, just as important, the overall dynamics of the capitalist system itself.

A woman learns the hard way about mixing business with pleasure in this hilarious new romantic comedy by USA Today bestselling author Sharon C. Cooper. I am beautiful. I am confident. I am lovable. I am a lottery winner. This is the mantra that will get Dreamy Daniels through each day until she makes it big. So what if she lives in a seedy part of Los Angeles in a house that’s one earthquake away from crumbling, or works an unfulfilling secretarial job while struggling to finish her bachelor’s degree? All Dreamy needs to do is win the lottery, which she’s been entering in as a weekly tradition with her grandfather. When she catches the attention of her boss’s potential investor, Dreamy has to remind herself to focus on her career goals so she can be her own boss. Who cares if he has the social grace of the Duke of Sussex and the suaveness of Idris Elba? No distractions allowed. Growing up with a father who is an A-list actor and a socialite mother, venture capitalist Karter Redford lives in the world of the rich and famous. Instead of attending movie premieres, however, he prefers spending his time helping the less fortunate, backing start-up companies and investing in cutting edge ideas. Karter is used to his life revolving around work, but when he decides he wants someone to share it with, he falls for someone his mother would never approve of: hilarious, quirky Dreamy, who has goals of her own…but also isn’t a wealthy, upper-crust socialite. Though it’s clear they’re from different worlds, their relationship might just be his greatest investment yet.

In this companion volume to The Word in the Wind: Sermons for the Lectionary, Year A, Advent through Eastertide, Bruce Taylor provides a collection of theologically rich, sacramentally sensitive, and biblically centered sermons for the Sundays and feast days for Pentecost and the remainder of the liturgical year commonly referred to as “Ordinary Time.” The compilation includes a sampling of story sermons and, in an appendix to the lectionary-based homilies, a sermon that was delivered at the invitation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) as part of the preparation for the denomination’s General Assembly in 2008, challenging the church to remember and remain faithful to its prophetic heritage. Using the full range of Old Testament, epistle, and Gospel readings commended by the Common Lectionary (Revised), this collection encourages preachers to use the lectionary as an opportunity to explore homiletically the whole range of scriptural themes for their congregations, and offers all readers thoughtful reflections on living faithfully in regular engagement with Word and Sacrament.

The authors provide insights into business and life that have arisen out of their work with thousands of executive boards and teams over several decades. They discuss what one's business and life would be like if he or she began to generate business with strategic awareness and prosperity consciousness.

This collection of papers provides the key elements needed to build and preserve corruption-free institutions, systems, and private enterprises.

Business As Usual by Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford was first published in 1933. It's a delightful illustrated novel in letters from Hilary Fane, an Edinburgh girl fresh out of university who is determined to support herself by her own earnings in London for a year, despite the mutterings of her surgeon fiancé. After a nervous beginning looking for a job while her savings rapidly diminish, she finds work as a typist in the London department store of Everyman's (a very thin disguise for Selfridges), and rises rapidly through the ranks to work in the library, where she has to enforce modernising systems on her entrenched and frosty colleagues. Business as Usual is charming: intelligent, heart-warming, funny, and entertaining. It's deeply interesting as a record of the history of shopping in the 1930s, and also fascinating for its unflinching descriptions of social conditions, poverty and illegitimacy. 'Jane Oliver' was the pen-name of Helen Evans (1903-1970). Formerly Clemence Dane's secretary, she developed a writing career, and wrote many successful novels with Ann Stafford (the pen-name of Anne Pedler). Business as Usual was their first joint novel. Jane became a pilot and married the author John Llewelyn Rhys, who was killed in the war. She founded the Llewelyn Rhys Prize in his memory. She later lived in Hampshire near Anne Pedler, and cared for her in her illness.

RICHARD BRANSON, one of the world's most famous and admired business leaders, argues that it's time to turn capitalism upside down-to shift our values from an exclusive focus on profit to also caring for people, communities and the planet. As he writes: "It's a vibrant and definite sea change from the way business was always done, when financial profit was a driving force. Today, people aren't afraid to say, Screw business as usual!-and show they mean it. "It's amazing how I keep coming across the same message, from bustling global cities to the townships of South Africa to small villages in India to G8 climate conferences. "It's no coincidence that so many people are talking about the same thing. There's a real buzz in the air. Change is happening. "People often associate me with challenges, with trying to break records while sailing the Atlantic or flying in a jet stream in a balloon or going into space with Virgin Galactic. But this book isn't just about fun and adventure and exceeding one's wildest dreams. It's a different kind of business book. It's about revolution. My message is a simple one: business as usual isn't working. In fact, business as usual is wrecking this planet. Resources are being used up; the air, the sea, the land are all heavily polluted. The poor are getting poorer. Many are dying of starvation or because they can't afford a dollar a day for lifesaving medicine. "But my message is not all doom and gloom. I will describe how I think business can help fix things and create a more prosperous world for everyone. I happen to believe in business because I believe that business is a force for good. By that I mean that doing good is good for business. "Doing the right thing can be profitable. I will show how this works step by step in the following pages. It's the core message of this book. I often say, 'Have fun and the money will come.' I still believe that, but now I am saying, 'Do good, have fun and the money will come.'"