There are no miracles in Latin America, says international consultant Louis Nevaer—only opportunities—and with economic integration well underway, these opportunities are more promising than ever for U.S. businesses. Trade barriers fell at the Summit of the Americas, and even the Mexican meltdown failed to dim the Latin American promise. How U.S. businesses can participate in these processes of democratization and liberalization in Latin America is the subject of Dr. Nevaer's wide-ranging discussion. With attention not only to economic and trade considerations, but also to social, political, and cultural events and characteristics of the Latin American business scene, Dr. Nevaer provides readers with unusually rich up-to-date insights into how business is done there and how U.S. businesspeople can do it. This is important reading for corporate management at all levels, economists, international bankers and investors, and for their colleagues in the academic community who share their interests.Dr. Nevaer starts with a general discussion of American business and business people in Latin America, and then puts the Latin American business scene in historical perspective. He looks the same way at the Mexican meltdown, focusing not only on Mexico's recovery, but on the residual social and economic problems as well. He then discusses strategies for turbulent markets throughout Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin Nations, with fascinating insights into the things that U.S. businesspeople can—and cannot—expect in their day-to-day interactions with their Latin American counterparts. Of special interest are the fourteen appendices. Together they provide a detailed list of sources for business information—an easily accessed guide that executives with special needs and concerns will find essential, and which will also be of help to scholars and academic researchers.

This hands-on manual provides Latinas with the tools they need to succeed at work by examining some of the societal and cultural obstacles that hinder their progress.Despite being 20 million strong, Latinas represent America's most undervalued human resource. This career guide is the only one of its kind to focus specifically on empowering the working women of the Latina community to embrace success and build skills for workplace advancement.The Latina's Guide to Success in the Workplace explores the complexity of the Hispanic/Latino identity and the impact of this culture on professional mobility. The author asserts that there are five obstacles which Latinas confront within their own belief system: the idea that women do not need an education; the assumption that the needs of men come first; a belief that it is sinful to desire money; the opinion that Latinas should not be ambitious; and the mindset that successful women in the United States lose their femininity. Throughout the book, up-to-date research, case studies, and inspirational interviews offer strategies for overcoming the cultural factors that limit Latinas and providing a roadmap for achieving success.

This hands-on manual provides Latinas with the tools they need to succeed at work by examining some of the societal and cultural obstacles that hinder their progress.Despite being 20 million strong, Latinas represent America's most undervalued human resource. This career guide is the only one of its kind to focus specifically on empowering the working women of the Latina community to embrace success and build skills for workplace advancement.The Latina's Guide to Success in the Workplace explores the complexity of the Hispanic/Latino identity and the impact of this culture on professional mobility. The author asserts that there are five obstacles which Latinas confront within their own belief system: the idea that women do not need an education; the assumption that the needs of men come first; a belief that it is sinful to desire money; the opinion that Latinas should not be ambitious; and the mindset that successful women in the United States lose their femininity. Throughout the book, up-to-date research, case studies, and inspirational interviews offer strategies for overcoming the cultural factors that limit Latinas and providing a roadmap for achieving success.

The authors examine the reasons for the problems currently afflicting corporate America, particularly the loss of global competitive advantage, and review the track record of traditional strategic planning and portfolio management. The problems of recent years, they demonstrate, have been caused when managers neglect to consider the current economic environment when developing strategic plans. They go on to offer a systematic approach to addressing the structural problems of traditional portfolio planning and present concrete proposals for generating increased business, establishing horizontal relationships, increasing commitment through long-term planning, and incorporating prevailing economic conditions into the business plan. Finally, the authors present a workable management system for the implementation of portfolio strategies in turbulent economic times that focuses on optimal use of corporate resources. Numerous case studies and figures reinforce points made in the text.

In a timely and important contribution to the management literature, Louis Nevaer and Steven Deck take a careful, critical look at the various forms of corporate restructurings prevalent today-alliances, mergers, and acquisitions-and at their long-term implications for the structure of corporate America. Taking issue with those who see the takeover frenzy as revitalizing American industry, the authors argue that instead the takeover business is weakening American industry and accelerating America's decline in the global economy. They analyze the opportunity costs being incurred by both individual firms and the entire nation through the wave of takeover activity in the 1980s, demonstrating that the large debts taken on by corporate America to either finance or fend off takeovers has hampered America's ability to compete effectively in world markets. The authors then identify the essential criteria for a truly successful alliance, merger, or acquisition and suggest models for such restructurings in the future.Divided into five principal sections, the volume begins by examining the failure of current alliance, merger, and acquisition strategies. The authors discuss the economic effects of restructurings on stakeholders and employees and look at the post-acquisition financial performance of the new corporate entities. The next three sections present in-depth analyses of alliances, mergers, and acquisitions. For each type of restructuring, the authors identify and assess the management strategies commonly pursued and offer extended case-study examples of failed and successful strategies. In the final section, the authors point the way toward more effective strategic alliances. They explore selection strategies that can help ensure a successful alliance, discuss the critical area of market planning, and offer a model for the future based upon the real-world alliance between Vulcan Materials and Calizas Industriales del Carmen. Investment bankers, corporate executives, and mergers and acquisitions specialists will find this a balanced and constructive critique of the process of corporate restructuring that is today such an integral feature of the contemporary business scene.

The unprecedented global economic growth of recent decades is closely tied to the trading relations that have developed in the postwar period. The authors of The Protectionist Threat to Corporate America explore the potential impact of protectionism on these relationships, arguing that trade barriers pose a danger not only to U.S. economic growth but to world trade as a whole. Gearing their discussion to the needs of the business community, they offer a clear, systematic explanation of the underlying principles that govern international trade, the consequences of protectionism, and practical strategies for developing effective competition.The first four chapters examine the nature of trade, the power relations that influence it, and the dilemma created by trade deficits, monetary instability, and declining competitiveness. In the next section, Nevaer and Deck outline a four-point program designed to reverse the slippage in productivity and competitiveness that has eroded America's economic position in the world community. They present guidelines for creating a competitive advantage, maximizing strengths, utilizing a more dynamic management style, and harnessing the benefits of economies of scale and scope. In case studies of industries in the service sector and the high-tech field, Nevaer and Deck show how a competitive edge can be achieved by identifying opportunities and developing sound strategies for exploiting them. An important working tool for corporate managers, this book will enable business people to see beyond current political rhetoric and make realistic decisions on some of the most fundamental issues affecting the nation's economy.

As decisively as the collapse of the Soviet Union signaled a most definite conclusion to that utopian undertaking gone mad, so has NAFTA ended an economic counterpart in Mexico. The United States and Canada are embarking on a grand experiment, incorporating Mexico into their very own economies, creating the largest trading bloc in the world consisting of more than 360 million consumers in an economy that will surpass seven trillion American dollars. For corporate America, an enormous opportunity lies in the integration of the Mexican nation into the economic and social fabric of North America. International business consultant and economist Louis Nevaer explains what these opportunities are and offers sage advice on how U.S. corporations can capitalize on them.The implementation of NAFTA heralds the final conclusion of the Mexican Revolution, and Mexico is now embarked on a race against time to make up for lost decades. Ernesto Zedillo, who will deliver Mexico to the 21st century, confronts enormous challenges as the authoritarian hegemony that characterizes the political economy of the Mexican nation-state is dismantled. NAFTA constitutes a blueprint for the systematic surrender of the Mexican economy. There is, however, no blueprint for the transformation of Mexico into a democracy. Herein lies the greatest risks to corporate America, for there is always the danger of self-destruction, as witnessed in some of the republics of the former Soviet Union. The discussion presented in this book examines the present realities of the Mexican nation in the age of free trade. In Part I opportunities and risks for corporate America are analyzed, not only within an economic context, but also within a cultural and historical one, as well. Presented in Part II are the processes that have shaped Mexico over the centuries—Spanish rule, Native American civilizations, the trauma of conquest—which have given rise to the Mexican persona and character. With this understanding as background, the American reader gains a strategic advantage in understanding how the Mexican psyche works and which buttons to push. Finally, Part III presents a practical approach to conducting business in Mexico, which ranges from the legal requirements of opening a subsidiary, to a warning about the prevalence of corruption in Mexican society, as well as the existence of racism in Mexican culture.

There are no miracles in Latin America, says international consultant Louis Nevaer—only opportunities—and with economic integration well underway, these opportunities are more promising than ever for U.S. businesses. Trade barriers fell at the Summit of the Americas, and even the Mexican meltdown failed to dim the Latin American promise. How U.S. businesses can participate in these processes of democratization and liberalization in Latin America is the subject of Dr. Nevaer's wide-ranging discussion. With attention not only to economic and trade considerations, but also to social, political, and cultural events and characteristics of the Latin American business scene, Dr. Nevaer provides readers with unusually rich up-to-date insights into how business is done there and how U.S. businesspeople can do it. This is important reading for corporate management at all levels, economists, international bankers and investors, and for their colleagues in the academic community who share their interests.Dr. Nevaer starts with a general discussion of American business and business people in Latin America, and then puts the Latin American business scene in historical perspective. He looks the same way at the Mexican meltdown, focusing not only on Mexico's recovery, but on the residual social and economic problems as well. He then discusses strategies for turbulent markets throughout Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin Nations, with fascinating insights into the things that U.S. businesspeople can—and cannot—expect in their day-to-day interactions with their Latin American counterparts. Of special interest are the fourteen appendices. Together they provide a detailed list of sources for business information—an easily accessed guide that executives with special needs and concerns will find essential, and which will also be of help to scholars and academic researchers.

The bubble burst. Within months, dot-com once-millionaires were scratching around for jobs. Nevaer proves that the laws of classical economics were never repealed, and that the New Economy was more Old Economy than many people believed. His briskly provocative new book shows how the return of common sense is opening fresh opportunities for wealth creation in badly battered industries—the entertainment industry especially—and offers five keys to understanding the online economy overall. The crash, says Nevaer, was inevitable. Characteristics of the New Economy created market imperfections that led to total failures. The negative effects were not isolated. They hurt the whole economy. The online community also fostered undesired social outcomes—pathological consumer behavior—but the potential for more beneficial gains is still indisputable.Nevaer applies the fundamental theories and ideas of classical economics to the world online, providing a concise understanding of what properly belongs to the Old Economy, and what belongs to the New. He examines the real—that is, sustainable—components of the New Economy centered on five industries: publishing, music, video games, and, to some dismay, gambling and adult entertainment. Meticulously researched and documented, Nevaer's book is an authoritative, probing account for analysts, researchers, students, and scholars. As a study of American culture and society, it is an entertaining read for knowledgeable people everywhere.

How did America's largest clothing retailer, an institution that changed the way Americans shopped and dressed, manage to rise so fast, then fall so hard? From its boom years in the 1970s, Gap's performance went from bad to dismal. By the close of the 1990s there was severe doubt it could survive at all. Gap's alleged labor practices around the world didn't help either. Nevaer leads you through the boom years of this extraordinary corporation, the acquisitions that soured, the product strategies that failed, and thus through the social history of America during those churning years--the changing mores and how they shaped not only the GAP but mass-merchandising itself worldwide.From a single store in San Francisco in 1969, the Gap, which grew to include Banana Republic and Old Navy, was soon operating more than 3,800 stores with worldwide sales approaching $15 billion. Gap's traditional constituency-- Generation Y--could not be less interested. Gap kids and Baby Gap don't even register a blip on the radar screen. Nevaer shows how all this came about. He describes how the Gap's success in the last quarter of the 20th century parallels the development of consumerism in the United States. He shows how its ability to bridge generations holds lessons for others in corporate America. He also shows why the Gap's history can be seen as a reflection of America's, how it ran on the same track with the country's social mores, particularly in the rise of the antifashion revolution and the proliferation of gay aesthetics. Nevaer's book is a stunning achievement, a true and lasting examination of why we wear what we wear and of the industry that makes it happen.

There are no miracles in Latin America, says international consultant Louis Nevaer—only opportunities—and with economic integration well underway, these opportunities are more promising than ever for U.S. businesses. Trade barriers fell at the Summit of the Americas, and even the Mexican meltdown failed to dim the Latin American promise. How U.S. businesses can participate in these processes of democratization and liberalization in Latin America is the subject of Dr. Nevaer's wide-ranging discussion. With attention not only to economic and trade considerations, but also to social, political, and cultural events and characteristics of the Latin American business scene, Dr. Nevaer provides readers with unusually rich up-to-date insights into how business is done there and how U.S. businesspeople can do it. This is important reading for corporate management at all levels, economists, international bankers and investors, and for their colleagues in the academic community who share their interests.Dr. Nevaer starts with a general discussion of American business and business people in Latin America, and then puts the Latin American business scene in historical perspective. He looks the same way at the Mexican meltdown, focusing not only on Mexico's recovery, but on the residual social and economic problems as well. He then discusses strategies for turbulent markets throughout Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin Nations, with fascinating insights into the things that U.S. businesspeople can—and cannot—expect in their day-to-day interactions with their Latin American counterparts. Of special interest are the fourteen appendices. Together they provide a detailed list of sources for business information—an easily accessed guide that executives with special needs and concerns will find essential, and which will also be of help to scholars and academic researchers.

This hands-on manual provides Latinas with the tools they need to succeed at work by examining some of the societal and cultural obstacles that hinder their progress.Despite being 20 million strong, Latinas represent America's most undervalued human resource. This career guide is the only one of its kind to focus specifically on empowering the working women of the Latina community to embrace success and build skills for workplace advancement.The Latina's Guide to Success in the Workplace explores the complexity of the Hispanic/Latino identity and the impact of this culture on professional mobility. The author asserts that there are five obstacles which Latinas confront within their own belief system: the idea that women do not need an education; the assumption that the needs of men come first; a belief that it is sinful to desire money; the opinion that Latinas should not be ambitious; and the mindset that successful women in the United States lose their femininity. Throughout the book, up-to-date research, case studies, and inspirational interviews offer strategies for overcoming the cultural factors that limit Latinas and providing a roadmap for achieving success.

This hands-on manual provides Latinas with the tools they need to succeed at work by examining some of the societal and cultural obstacles that hinder their progress.Despite being 20 million strong, Latinas represent America's most undervalued human resource. This career guide is the only one of its kind to focus specifically on empowering the working women of the Latina community to embrace success and build skills for workplace advancement.The Latina's Guide to Success in the Workplace explores the complexity of the Hispanic/Latino identity and the impact of this culture on professional mobility. The author asserts that there are five obstacles which Latinas confront within their own belief system: the idea that women do not need an education; the assumption that the needs of men come first; a belief that it is sinful to desire money; the opinion that Latinas should not be ambitious; and the mindset that successful women in the United States lose their femininity. Throughout the book, up-to-date research, case studies, and inspirational interviews offer strategies for overcoming the cultural factors that limit Latinas and providing a roadmap for achieving success.

The authors examine the reasons for the problems currently afflicting corporate America, particularly the loss of global competitive advantage, and review the track record of traditional strategic planning and portfolio management. The problems of recent years, they demonstrate, have been caused when managers neglect to consider the current economic environment when developing strategic plans. They go on to offer a systematic approach to addressing the structural problems of traditional portfolio planning and present concrete proposals for generating increased business, establishing horizontal relationships, increasing commitment through long-term planning, and incorporating prevailing economic conditions into the business plan. Finally, the authors present a workable management system for the implementation of portfolio strategies in turbulent economic times that focuses on optimal use of corporate resources. Numerous case studies and figures reinforce points made in the text.

In a timely and important contribution to the management literature, Louis Nevaer and Steven Deck take a careful, critical look at the various forms of corporate restructurings prevalent today-alliances, mergers, and acquisitions-and at their long-term implications for the structure of corporate America. Taking issue with those who see the takeover frenzy as revitalizing American industry, the authors argue that instead the takeover business is weakening American industry and accelerating America's decline in the global economy. They analyze the opportunity costs being incurred by both individual firms and the entire nation through the wave of takeover activity in the 1980s, demonstrating that the large debts taken on by corporate America to either finance or fend off takeovers has hampered America's ability to compete effectively in world markets. The authors then identify the essential criteria for a truly successful alliance, merger, or acquisition and suggest models for such restructurings in the future.Divided into five principal sections, the volume begins by examining the failure of current alliance, merger, and acquisition strategies. The authors discuss the economic effects of restructurings on stakeholders and employees and look at the post-acquisition financial performance of the new corporate entities. The next three sections present in-depth analyses of alliances, mergers, and acquisitions. For each type of restructuring, the authors identify and assess the management strategies commonly pursued and offer extended case-study examples of failed and successful strategies. In the final section, the authors point the way toward more effective strategic alliances. They explore selection strategies that can help ensure a successful alliance, discuss the critical area of market planning, and offer a model for the future based upon the real-world alliance between Vulcan Materials and Calizas Industriales del Carmen. Investment bankers, corporate executives, and mergers and acquisitions specialists will find this a balanced and constructive critique of the process of corporate restructuring that is today such an integral feature of the contemporary business scene.

The unprecedented global economic growth of recent decades is closely tied to the trading relations that have developed in the postwar period. The authors of The Protectionist Threat to Corporate America explore the potential impact of protectionism on these relationships, arguing that trade barriers pose a danger not only to U.S. economic growth but to world trade as a whole. Gearing their discussion to the needs of the business community, they offer a clear, systematic explanation of the underlying principles that govern international trade, the consequences of protectionism, and practical strategies for developing effective competition.The first four chapters examine the nature of trade, the power relations that influence it, and the dilemma created by trade deficits, monetary instability, and declining competitiveness. In the next section, Nevaer and Deck outline a four-point program designed to reverse the slippage in productivity and competitiveness that has eroded America's economic position in the world community. They present guidelines for creating a competitive advantage, maximizing strengths, utilizing a more dynamic management style, and harnessing the benefits of economies of scale and scope. In case studies of industries in the service sector and the high-tech field, Nevaer and Deck show how a competitive edge can be achieved by identifying opportunities and developing sound strategies for exploiting them. An important working tool for corporate managers, this book will enable business people to see beyond current political rhetoric and make realistic decisions on some of the most fundamental issues affecting the nation's economy.

As decisively as the collapse of the Soviet Union signaled a most definite conclusion to that utopian undertaking gone mad, so has NAFTA ended an economic counterpart in Mexico. The United States and Canada are embarking on a grand experiment, incorporating Mexico into their very own economies, creating the largest trading bloc in the world consisting of more than 360 million consumers in an economy that will surpass seven trillion American dollars. For corporate America, an enormous opportunity lies in the integration of the Mexican nation into the economic and social fabric of North America. International business consultant and economist Louis Nevaer explains what these opportunities are and offers sage advice on how U.S. corporations can capitalize on them.The implementation of NAFTA heralds the final conclusion of the Mexican Revolution, and Mexico is now embarked on a race against time to make up for lost decades. Ernesto Zedillo, who will deliver Mexico to the 21st century, confronts enormous challenges as the authoritarian hegemony that characterizes the political economy of the Mexican nation-state is dismantled. NAFTA constitutes a blueprint for the systematic surrender of the Mexican economy. There is, however, no blueprint for the transformation of Mexico into a democracy. Herein lies the greatest risks to corporate America, for there is always the danger of self-destruction, as witnessed in some of the republics of the former Soviet Union. The discussion presented in this book examines the present realities of the Mexican nation in the age of free trade. In Part I opportunities and risks for corporate America are analyzed, not only within an economic context, but also within a cultural and historical one, as well. Presented in Part II are the processes that have shaped Mexico over the centuries—Spanish rule, Native American civilizations, the trauma of conquest—which have given rise to the Mexican persona and character. With this understanding as background, the American reader gains a strategic advantage in understanding how the Mexican psyche works and which buttons to push. Finally, Part III presents a practical approach to conducting business in Mexico, which ranges from the legal requirements of opening a subsidiary, to a warning about the prevalence of corruption in Mexican society, as well as the existence of racism in Mexican culture.

There are no miracles in Latin America, says international consultant Louis Nevaer—only opportunities—and with economic integration well underway, these opportunities are more promising than ever for U.S. businesses. Trade barriers fell at the Summit of the Americas, and even the Mexican meltdown failed to dim the Latin American promise. How U.S. businesses can participate in these processes of democratization and liberalization in Latin America is the subject of Dr. Nevaer's wide-ranging discussion. With attention not only to economic and trade considerations, but also to social, political, and cultural events and characteristics of the Latin American business scene, Dr. Nevaer provides readers with unusually rich up-to-date insights into how business is done there and how U.S. businesspeople can do it. This is important reading for corporate management at all levels, economists, international bankers and investors, and for their colleagues in the academic community who share their interests.Dr. Nevaer starts with a general discussion of American business and business people in Latin America, and then puts the Latin American business scene in historical perspective. He looks the same way at the Mexican meltdown, focusing not only on Mexico's recovery, but on the residual social and economic problems as well. He then discusses strategies for turbulent markets throughout Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin Nations, with fascinating insights into the things that U.S. businesspeople can—and cannot—expect in their day-to-day interactions with their Latin American counterparts. Of special interest are the fourteen appendices. Together they provide a detailed list of sources for business information—an easily accessed guide that executives with special needs and concerns will find essential, and which will also be of help to scholars and academic researchers.

The bubble burst. Within months, dot-com once-millionaires were scratching around for jobs. Nevaer proves that the laws of classical economics were never repealed, and that the New Economy was more Old Economy than many people believed. His briskly provocative new book shows how the return of common sense is opening fresh opportunities for wealth creation in badly battered industries—the entertainment industry especially—and offers five keys to understanding the online economy overall. The crash, says Nevaer, was inevitable. Characteristics of the New Economy created market imperfections that led to total failures. The negative effects were not isolated. They hurt the whole economy. The online community also fostered undesired social outcomes—pathological consumer behavior—but the potential for more beneficial gains is still indisputable.Nevaer applies the fundamental theories and ideas of classical economics to the world online, providing a concise understanding of what properly belongs to the Old Economy, and what belongs to the New. He examines the real—that is, sustainable—components of the New Economy centered on five industries: publishing, music, video games, and, to some dismay, gambling and adult entertainment. Meticulously researched and documented, Nevaer's book is an authoritative, probing account for analysts, researchers, students, and scholars. As a study of American culture and society, it is an entertaining read for knowledgeable people everywhere.

How did America's largest clothing retailer, an institution that changed the way Americans shopped and dressed, manage to rise so fast, then fall so hard? From its boom years in the 1970s, Gap's performance went from bad to dismal. By the close of the 1990s there was severe doubt it could survive at all. Gap's alleged labor practices around the world didn't help either. Nevaer leads you through the boom years of this extraordinary corporation, the acquisitions that soured, the product strategies that failed, and thus through the social history of America during those churning years--the changing mores and how they shaped not only the GAP but mass-merchandising itself worldwide.From a single store in San Francisco in 1969, the Gap, which grew to include Banana Republic and Old Navy, was soon operating more than 3,800 stores with worldwide sales approaching $15 billion. Gap's traditional constituency-- Generation Y--could not be less interested. Gap kids and Baby Gap don't even register a blip on the radar screen. Nevaer shows how all this came about. He describes how the Gap's success in the last quarter of the 20th century parallels the development of consumerism in the United States. He shows how its ability to bridge generations holds lessons for others in corporate America. He also shows why the Gap's history can be seen as a reflection of America's, how it ran on the same track with the country's social mores, particularly in the rise of the antifashion revolution and the proliferation of gay aesthetics. Nevaer's book is a stunning achievement, a true and lasting examination of why we wear what we wear and of the industry that makes it happen.