The Goal, Good to Great...biz books for new batch students

MBAUniverse.com

Posted: Jun 15 2011

MBA education is not just about learning business management, but also about applying the learning at the right place, right time, to get the right return.

"These books give you experienced insights into the world of business and management thinking."

The session for new admissions are soon going to commence at B-schools. The finally selected students will finally enter the world of management education.

MBA education is not just about learning business management, but also about applying the learning at the right place, right time, to get the right return. Once you get started with your classroom learning you will get to study numerous books written by economists, management experts, top bankers, Nobel laureates, etc, but these will alone not suffice for developing your management thinking power. For this you will need to read books that have been time tested.

MBAUniverse.com, as part of its special series on ‘Best Books on Business’ presents to you today the greatest books of all times on business written by international authors. These books give you experienced insights into the world of business and management thinking.

These are the books which are a must for your mini library at your hostel room:

The Goal, By Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox, David Whitford
Written in a fast-paced thriller style, The Goal is the gripping novel which is transforming management thinking throughout the world. Alex Rogo is a harried plant manager working ever more desperately to try and improve performance. His factory is rapidly heading for disaster. So is his marriage. He has ninety days to save his plant - or it will be closed by corporate HQ, with hundreds of job losses. It takes a chance meeting with a colleague from student days - Jonah - to help him break out of conventional ways of thinking to see what needs to be done. The story of Alex's fight to save his plant is more than compulsive reading. It contains a serious message for all managers in industry and explains the ideas which underline the Theory of Constraints (TOC) developed by Eli Goldratt.

The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, By C. K. Prahalad
This book discusses new business models targeted at providing goods and services to the poorest people in the world. It makes a case for the fastest growing new markets and entrepreneurial opportunities being found among the billions of poor people 'at the bottom of the [financial] pyramid'. According to Bill Gates, it "offers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability."
The book consists of a number of case studies, one to a chapter, about businesses that have thrived with such models. These include the businesses Casas Bahia, Patrimonio Hoy, Bank of Madura, Aravind Eye Hospital, Jaipur rugs and Project Shakti and how they were founded.

Good To Great, By Jim Collins
Good to Great answers the compelling question: Can a good company become a great one and, if so, how? After a five-year research project, Collins concludes that good to great can and does happen. In this book, he uncovers the underlying variables that enable any type of organization to make the leap from good to great while other organizations remain only good. Rigorously supported by evidence, his findings are surprising - at times even shocking - to the modern mind.

Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson
Losing My Virginity is the unusual, frequently outrageous autobiography of one of the great business geniuses of our time. When Richard Branson started his first business, he and his friends decided that "since we're complete virgins at business, let's call it just that: Virgin." Since then, Branson has written his own "rules" for success, creating a group of companies with a global presence, but no central headquarters, no management hierarchy, and minimal bureaucracy.
Many of Richard Branson's companies--airlines, retailing, and cola are good examples--were started in the face of entrenched competition. The experts said, "Don't do it." But Branson found golden opportunities in markets in which customers have been ripped off or underserved, where confusion reigns, and the competition is complacent.

Naked Economics, By Charles J Wheelan, Burton G Malkiel

Naked Economics demystifies key concepts, laying bare the truths behind the numbers, and answering those questions you have always been too embarrassed to ask. Wheelan brings economics to life. Amazingly, he does so with nary a chart, graph, or mathematical equation in sight-certainly a feat to be witnessed firsthand. Economics is a crucial subject. There's no way to understand the important issues without it.

Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? By Louis V Gerstner
"Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?" sums up Lou Gerstner's historic business achievement, bringing IBM back from the brink of insolvency to lead the computer business once again. Offering a unique case study drawn from decades of experience at some of America's top companies -- McKinsey, American Express, RJR Nabisco -- Gerstner's insights into management and leadership are applicable to any business, at any level. Ranging from strategy to public relations, from finance to organization, Gerstner reveals the lessons of a lifetime running highly successful companies.

Leadership Challenge, By James M Kouzes, Barry Z Posner
This leadership classic continues to be a bestseller after three editions and twenty years in print. It is the gold standard for research-based leadership, and the premier resource on becoming a leader.