A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about International Business: (Very Short, Fairly Interesting & Cheap Books)

The Second Edition of International Business includes recent impacts on international business such as the financial crisis, Brexit and the changing political landscape, Chinese steel prices and the Panama Papers revelations. It includes two new chapters on understanding people and organizations in International Business as well as coverage of recent international reports from Amnesty, Oxfam and the World Bank. Conceived by Chris Grey as an antidote to conventional textbooks, each book in the ‘Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap’ series takes a core area of the curriculum and turns it on its head by providing a critical and sophisticated overview of the key issues and debates in an informal, conversational and often humorous way. Suitable for students of International Business, professionals working in global organizations and anyone curious about the workings of the international business world.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Why We Feel the Need to Write This Particular Book on International Business Chapter 1: Classical and Neo-classical Theories of International Trade Chapter 2: Twentieth-Century Developments in Trade and Investment Theories Chapter 3: Institutions of International Business Chapter 4: The International Business Organization Chapter 5: The Dynamic Landscape of International Business Chapter 6: People in International Business Chapter 7: Understanding Organizations in the IB Environment Concluding remarks References

About the Author :
George Cairns is Adjunct Professor at QUT Business School, Brisbane. George co-founded and was co-editor of the journal Critical Perspectives on International Business. Throughout his writing, George has adopted a critical stance on the impacts of IB activity on remote and excluded stakeholders, both in the present and the future. Much of his work applies scenario methods to explore possible and possible futures. His studies include a number of journal articles on the ship breaking industry of Bangladesh. George has published in journals including Human Relations, European Journal of Operational Research, Technological Forecasting & Social Change, and Futures. Martyna Sliwa is Professor of Management and Organisation Studies at the University of Essex. Her research interests focus on a range of topics relevant to the employees, managers and other stakeholders of contemporary organisations, especially those operating in the international business environment. Examples of Martyna’s recent research projects include: language(s) and power in multinational corporations, transnational professional mobility, and the effects of the intersections of nationality and gender on organisational hierarchies and individual careers of highly skilled professionals. Martyna is currently an Associate Editor of Management Learning. She has published in a variety of journals, for example: the British Journal of Management, Journal of International Business Studies, Management Learning and Organization.

Review :
This book is delightfully written and a pleasure to read. But more than that, it inspires reflection, invites reaction, ignites the imagination and summons the reader to take responsibility for our global world. After all, any book about international business is also a book about us. The shipping containers that endlessly circulate the globe are propelled by theories, as well as desire and fuel oil. In this excellent little book, Cairns and Sliwa show us why these theories matter, and why everyone needs to understand international business. The future of our planet depends upon it. This book contains a solid critique of key approaches in the field and a rich pool of alternative ideas for scholars who are interested in critical perspectives on international business. It provides a good read for the scholars, who are tired of the contents of leading international business textbooks that hardly capture the real life challenges which international managers and especially employees are dealing with in our ′brave new world′ of globalized capitalism. This is not just a "fairly" interesting read. By unearthing the underlying (and often hidden) assumptions of International Business and also providing a grounding in the realities of "practical wisdom", the authors provide a fascinating way to introduce a complex and important topic. International business, global trade and multinational companies are challenged more than ever. While proponents celebrate their contribution to the world’s economic prosperity, social progress and environmental integrity, critics point to malpractices, such as sweatshops, workers’ exploitation, modern slavery, unequal distribution of value, elites’ power, environmental degradation and social inequalities, all of which have been attributed to the rise of international business. George Cairns’ and Martyna Sliwa’s book is not only short and interesting, but offers an invaluable steer through the debates and controversies of the international business world.