Brian Hobbs - Böcker

Organizations today, are increasingly using projects in their daily activities. Projects and project-management principles frame goal attainment in academia and many business sectors, and they even serve as theoretical footing for organizational-change endeavors. However, the ubiquity of project management does not mean that project work, project teams, and the ways organizations use projects are well understood. Moreover, while project-management theory and practice aim at providing structure and control to enable successful project completion, an alarmingly high percentage of projects struggle or fail. As the authors of The Psychology and Management of Project Teams explain, this is in part because projects are still mostly managed as technical systems rather than behavioral systems. Even though project-management researchers have become increasingly interested in factors that may have an impact on project-management effectiveness, their efforts fall short of addressing the "human factor." And, unfortunately, many project-management scholars are largely unaware of the I/O psychology literature--relying, for example, on outdated models of motivation and team development. On the other side, I/O psychologists who research groups and teams often ignore the contextual influences--such as business sector, project type, placement in the organizational hierarchy, and project phase and maturity--that have a crucial impact on how a project will unfold.In this volume, a cross-disciplinary set of editors will bring together perspectives from leading I/O psychology and project-management scholars. The volume will include comprehensive coverage of team selection, development, learning, motivation, and communication; conflict management and well-being; leadership; diversity; performance from a multi-level perspective; and career development. In the concluding chapter, a research agenda will provide a roadmap for an integrated approach to the study of project teams.

This book examines U.S. Government promotion of defense industry offsets, from both theoretical and empirical perspectives.Defense industry offsets are extra benefits that exporters add to arms deals to meet importer demands beyond basic transactions, often considered essential for exporter success. Nonetheless, the so-called “hands off” presidential policy on offsets is often misunderstood as an ironclad prohibition against government support for American companies. In reality, the U.S. president can authorize exceptions for national security. This book demonstrates why the president sometimes goes “hands on” for offsets as a foreign policy tool, such as when government encouragement clashes with anti-offset stakeholders concerned about job losses, technology transfers, and diminishing political support. Even so, competition with defense exporters from other countries and concerns about weak allies that fall short on burden-sharing responsibilities can override domestic constraints. This book examines the evolution of U.S. offset policy via analysis of case studies covering engagement with, respectively, the United Arab Emirates, Poland, and India. By challenging common misperceptions, this book expands our understanding of American foreign policy and highlights the government’s role in using offsets for the benefit of the U.S. national interest, the defense industrial base, and security alliances. Furthermore, this analysis is broadly applicable to wherever importing countries apply their own policies and practices with offsets.This book will be of much interest to students of defense studies, strategic studies, U.S. politics, and International Relations.

Reflections takes readers on an honest journey through dealing with fears, coming to term with illness, facing death, and acceptance.Reflections is a gripping story written from two perspectives: Brian Hobbs, a songwriter with a terminal cancer diagnosis with months to live, and Fia Hobbs, his caregiving wife as well as his therapist.They share with readers their journey through hope, despair, and finally to peace and acceptance. During Brian’s illness, he wrote down his thoughts and feelings in a blog that became a huge inspiration for people to let go of their own fears and to find purpose in their own lives. Reflections is a continuation of Brian’s blog and helps to inspire readers to make them realize what matters in life as they follow his last months.