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Category Archives: Capitalism

Roundup: from decidedly dopy to dubiously decisive

Friday, September 18, 2009

Excellent stories have been stacking up, with no logical place or time to link to them. So, we’re going to do a roundup today as a venue for offering these truly worthwhile resources. . .

Also filed in Communication, Culture, Decision-making, Group Dynamics, Innovation, The New Sciences | | Comments (1)

Castigating capitalism

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

There appears to be a lot of excoriating of liberal free-market capitalism going on lately. And not just on a macro-level. The presumption that the supposedly inherent evils of this philosophy have been exposed by the current financial crisis is being reflected at various levels and in sundry spheres of society – and even in our workplaces. . .

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Memorializing mendacity

Monday, August 31, 2009

We are approaching what is becoming acknowledged as the anniversary of the “beginning” of the current financial crisis that began in the US – according to the conventional wisdom, with the fall of Lehman Brothers on 15 September 2008 – and which has since swept around the world. And what a year this event has ushered in, and what changes it has wrought . . .

Also filed in Change, Culture | | Comments (3)

The advantages of extinction

Friday, August 7, 2009

In nature, there are a variety of ways that organisms can disappear. There are those associated with predation and competition, of course. But there are two others that are integrally related to the processes of natural selection and evolution. The more interesting of the two from the perspective of organizational design is called . . .

Also filed in Change, Design, Individual Leadership | | Comments (2)

Book Review: Bootstrapping – Weapon of Mass Reconstruction

Friday, July 24, 2009

The word “entrepreneur” is one of those that sends pulses racing and sets hearts a-fluttering among management gurus and organizational “leaders” around the world. It sparks images of boldness and creativity, daring endeavors and world-changing innovation. And so this term, which specifically refers to those who venture to launch new businesses, has become an adjective describing yet a new superlative quality of the ever-celebrated hero-leader. But “Bootstrapping,” by Sramana Mitra . . .

Also filed in Book Reviews, Entrepreneurship, Management Skills | | Comments (3)

License to live

Friday, February 6, 2009

At bottom, the debate over the nature and operation of an economy is really about freedom – even more than that: possession of freedom, or sovereignty. The question is: does government give us a revocable license to exercise privileges we negotiate with it, or do we issue government a revocable license to administer for us matters regarding the collective interaction of our inalienable rights? That doesn’t make a statement about whether we need extraordinary governmental measures in a crisis. It only points to the question . . .

Also filed in Culture, Personal Observations | | Comments (2)

Fighting fires

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Forestry experts used to attack fires as soon as they began, struggling to put them out before they could do what they imagined to be damage to a vital natural resource. As it turned out, though, they had things backward. The experts learned that their remedy was the real danger, the fires the cure. Might not the something like this be the case in a capitalist economy?

Also filed in Change, Culture | | Comments (0)