Extraordinary opportunities for China's major financial services providers Over the past three decades, China has attained and solidified its position as the world's second-largest economy. There is now an enormous demand for Chinese financial services, especially those related to securities. Chinese Securities Companies is essential reading for anyone involved in Chinese capital markets, because this is a situation that has never been seen before. Management, profit structure, sponsor systems, reform potential—all have unique elements in China, and all are analyzed in depth in this book. Chinese securities expert Wu Xiaoqiu has developed an influential model for understanding China's capital markets in their historical perspective and creating success in this high-demand industry. Read Chinese Securities Companies to understand the four things firms must do in order to exceed the accomplishments of giants like CITIC Securities: Create international vision Develop innovative talent Establish solid capital power Engage in rigorous risk management Using this formula, developed with the aid of research from Moody's, along with a robust historical perspective, Wu Xiaoqiu has written an essential text for anyone involved in global financial services.
The site designer's guide to SketchUp's powerful modeling capabilities SketchUp for Site Design is the definitive guide to SketchUp for landscape architects and other site design professionals. Step-by-step tutorials walk you through basic to advanced processes, with expert guidance toward best practices, customization, organization, and presentation. This new second edition has been revised to align with the latest software updates, with detailed instruction on using the newest terrain modeling tools and the newly available extensions and plug-ins. All graphics have been updated to reflect the current SketchUp interface and menus, and the third part of the book includes all-new content featuring the use of new grade and terrain extensions. Developed around the needs of intermediate professional users and their workflows, this book provides practical all-around coaching on using SketchUp specifically for modeling site plans. SketchUp was designed for usability, with the needs of the architect, industrial designer, and engineers at center stage. This book shows you how the software's powerful terrain and grade functions make it an ideal tool for site designers, and how to seamlessly integrate it into your workflow for more efficient design and comprehensive planning. Master the SketchUp basics, navigation, components, and scripts Turn 2D sketches into 3D models with volume, color, and material Create detailed site plans, custom furnishings, gradings, and architecture Learn sandbox tools, organization strategies, and model presentation tips SketchUp has undergone major changes since the publication of this guide's first edition, with its sale to Trimble Navigation bringing about a number of revisions and the availability of more immediately useful features. SketchUp for Site Design shows you how to harness the power of this newly expanded feature set to smooth and optimize the site design workflow.
THE #1 HACK FOR SMARTER MARKETING We all want new answers and new solutions for the very real and pressing challenges that our organizations face. New things to point to and talk about, new ways of working and new ways of thinking that might just be better than the old ways. But rather than this endless search for a brilliant and novel solution, why don't you just copy something that’s worked before? Mark Earls, leading expert in marketing and consumer behaviour, quashes the stigma around copying, and shows that it can help us to rethink how we go about solving problems. By understanding what other people are doing and the choices they make, we can develop strategies to solve the challenges that we face inside and outside the organization. Based on extensive research and proven examples, Copy, Copy, Copy provides over 50 strategies that you can use right away to copy, borrow or steal as the basis for better ideas – faster. If it’s good enough for Elvis, Newton, Shakespeare, The British Olympic Cycling Team and Great Ormond Street Hospital, isn’t it good enough for you? ‘This delightful book argues convincingly that transferring ideas usually produces greater value than cooking them up from scratch. And then shows you how.’ – Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy London and the Spectator Magazine’s Wikiman ‘Yet another entertaining handbook from the acclaimed Herdmeister for anyone involved in marketing, behavioural change and understanding why we all make the choices we make. Earls convincingly disrupts convention about what is innovation – though "praxis". This is jammed with great case studies and 52 actionable strategies.’ – Stephen Maher, Chairman, The Marketing Society and CEO, MBA ‘Yet again this leading British business thinker has got us to see the world we inhabit today in fresh and mind-altering ways. A book which marries theory and practice better than the vast majority out there. Most of all his message of copying one’s way to greatness is entertaining, counter-intuitive and fun.’ – David Abraham, CEO Channel 4 PLC
The essential guide to global sukuk markets worldwide Sukuk Securities provides complete information and guidance on the latest developments in the burgeoning sukuk securities markets. Written by leading Islamic finance experts, this essential guide offers insight into the concepts, design features, contract structures, yields, and payoffs in all twelve global sukuk markets, providing Islamic finance professionals with an invaluable addition to their library. The first book to fully introduce the market, this book provides a detailed overview of the sukuk market, with practical guidance toward applying these instruments in real-world scenarios. Readers will learn how sukuk securities are regulated and the issues that arise from regulations, and gain insight into the foundation and principles of Islamic finance as applied to these instruments. Extensive tables illustrate t-test comparisons between conventional bonds and sukuk, risk factors, and the issuance of different types of sukuk securities by country to give readers a deeper understanding of the markets. In 2010, the World Bank recommended sukuk as the best form of lending for growth in developing countries; since then, the value of new issues has grown at 45 percent per year. The market's present size is close to US $1,200 billion, with private markets in major financial centers like London, Zurich, and New York. This book provides comprehensive guidance toward understanding and using these instruments, and working within these markets. Get acquainted with the sukuk market, definitions, classification, and pricing Learn the different approaches to structuring and contract design Discover how sukuk is applied, including regulations, ratings, and securitization Examine payoff structures and suggested sukuk valuation in the context of Islamic finance principles With the sukuk market growing the way it is, regulators, investors, and students need to fully understand the mechanisms at work. Sukuk Securities is the complete guide to the sukuk markets, with expert insight. July 2014 saw the first sukuk listing in London. Hong Kong and Seoul have also entered this niche market. Predictions are that there will be continued high growth of sukuk debt markets around the world, all providing targeted funding via sukuk contracting modes.
Today's tech-savvy consumers are demanding a more personal customer experience from their banks, and banks are discovering that mobile services deliver individualized, tailored experiences better than any other technology. The Power of Mobile Banking: How to Profit from the Revolution in Retail Financial Services gives banking and financial professionals a well-researched guide for becoming transformational leaders. These leaders can convert their traditional retail "branch" banks into streamlined systems that deliver personalized services to their customers' laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Written by Sankar Krishnan—a career banker and noted financial services industry thought leader—The Power of Mobile Banking includes strategies for adapting mobile banking practices that suit the needs of both developed and emerging markets. Krishnan also shows how bankers can make their products and services relevant to a new generation of digital natives. Krishnan explores the expanding mobile payment systems that offer a wealth of financial opportunities for banking institutions and includes information on the growth of e-commerce, which holds the potential for new and profitable ways for banks to engage with consumers. The Power of Mobile Banking outlines the practical aspects of adapting to a mobile banking strategy and shows how to put the right players in place to ensure the technology works seamlessly. Once in place, a great mobile system delivers excellent service and benefits to users, as well as real value and unique features that cement customer loyalty. The book also offers advice for bankers who want to increase their bottom line by delving into the world-wide prepaid card market. Krishnan includes a discussion on the risks and hazards of mobile banking and reveals the critical investments that banks must be willing to make in order to avoid losing customers to telecoms, retailers, and technology providers. The time for retail banking to prepare for the new paradigm is now and The Power of Mobile Banking is the guide for professionals who want to adapt, evolve, and succeed in this new mobile-driven world.
Considered a sign of the ‘coming of age’ of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book presents expert reflections by philosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite. Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of this ground-breaking first-person shooter (FPS) Explores what BioShock teaches the gamer about gaming, and the aesthetics of video game storytelling Addresses a wide array of topics including Marxism, propaganda, human enhancement technologies, political decision-making, free will, morality, feminism, transworld individuality, and vending machines in the dystopian society of Rapture Considers visionary game developer Ken Levine’s depiction of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, as well as the theories of Aristotle, de Beauvoir, Dewey, Leibniz, Marx, Plato, and others from the Hall of Philosophical Heroes
Don't squander your most valuable resource! Collectively, your workers are your company's most important and most valuable asset. To make the most of this asset, nothing beats quantitative performance and investment measurement. Learning and Development is an 80 billion-dollar industry, and every valuable employee represents a sizable investment on the part of your company. To keep your business moving forward, effective management of human capital is crucial. It generates plenty of data, and deep analysis of this data helps you provide feedback and make adjustments to capitalize on the combined knowledge, skills, and creativity of your workers. Developing Human Capital: Using Analytics to Plan and Optimize Your Learning and Development Investments provides a guidebook for collecting, organizing, and analyzing the data surrounding human capital so you can make the most of your employees' potential. Use predictive analysis to optimize human capital investments Learn effective study design and alignment Get the tools you need for measurement, surveys, and analysis Decide what to measure and how to measure it Outline your company's current and future analytics technology needs Map data sources, and overcome barriers to data collection Authors Gene Pease, Bonnie Beresford, and Lew Walker provide case studies in which major companies applied human capital analytics to guide people decisions, and expand upon the role of analytics in Learning and Development. Developing Human Capital: Using Analytics to Plan and Optimize Your Learning and Development Investments is an essential guide to 21st century human resources and management practices, and can keep you from squandering your company's most valuable resource.
In this book, Kurt Neddenriep, a Senior Vice President at a major investment firm who also served a tour in Afghanistan, develops a set of leadership and service values to help individuals and families to consistently achieve financial success. A comprehensive guide to personal finance, this book is informed by the author’s expertise in the financial industry and framed within the lessons, clear thinking and organization he learned over the course of a parallel 23-year career in the Army National Guard of Nevada. The book will tell the stories of those who serve our country and how their values, discipline, and morals can teach us financial lessons in our personal lives, taking military principles and tactics and using them to explain finances for the mainstream American. The book covers: Mortgages Savings Insurance Portfolio diversity
If you're a working woman who wants to get ahead, S.K.I.R.T.S. in the Boardroom will equip you with the strategies you need to combine confidence and compassion, style and substance, and beauty and brains for professional success. It will help you navigate the male-dominated corporate world and keep you inspired when you're unmotivated and unsatisfied with your career. A must for any woman who wants to maximize her professional potential, this book offers sensible, straightforward, and long-overdue advice.