Link of the day

Oddstrument

Breaking up is hard to do

But I did it. I waved goodbye to a Technics turntable and Denon amplifier & speakers. The lack of space forced my hand - literally, as I loaded the gear into the back of the iPod Perv's car.

I think I need to be alone now.

What u doin', Wozzy Boy?

Well, mostly I have been revising by working through the three case studies I was given on (not for) my 37th birthday. That just takes the biscuit.

Four binders, three text books in entirety plus two note pads, focused on the cases through the Henley lens (perhaps).

Two done and one left to go - if only for a quick scan before tomorrow's group meeting.

After the 3rd of September, i'll have to find the time to tidy up and get back to editing the back catalogue of poetry.

It's important to redress the work-life balance.

My September reading list? Glad you asked. I was thinking of:

• Finishing 'Oracle Bones' by Peter Hessler
• 'A Time for Gifts' by Patrick Leigh-Fermor
• 'Travels with Herodotus' by Ryszard Kapuscinski
• 'Knots' by RD Laing (I have obtained a 1971 copy withdrawn from Leeds University)
• 'Violence' by Slavoj Zizek
• 'Why Globalisation Works' by Martin Wolf (better than the dreadful 'The World is Flat' by Friedman)
• Essay entitled 'End of Dreams, Return of History' by Neocon Robert Kagan (I like to know what those pesky so and sos are thinking)
• Possibly finishing Tim Harford's 'Undercover Economist' and Whelan's 'Naked Economics'
  

Management Models & Processes

At a recent workshop we tackled the case study of a merger from an HRM perspective. At the conclusion of the short session, learning teams came up with a variety of approaches to present their analyses. One used a mind map, ours used a matrix, some used lists, but the project management team (aka 'The Bob the Builders') used this:

Observant folk and management guru wannabees will notice the mincing machine (with a dash of claret for blood), the fact that the output from the machine is a bunch of folk without any knackers, and that happiness is defined as morris dancing.

And here is a picture of Charles Handy's latest competitor (note guru-like pose):

Rank Nonsense...

Today, Henley Management College formerly merges with the University of Reading to become the Henley Business School (I still prefer 'Management College' if only because I feel 'B School' is a much devalued term and because of Henley's founding as the 'Administrative Staff College' in 1945). The most recent Economist MBA WW rankings are below:

Henley comes out really well (no, I can't figure out how the U of Florida made it to #1 on distance-learning, as that is quite a different offering to the other providers listed).

How will it shape up a year or so from now? Will the merger-justifying investment be realised? I hope so. I have actually grown very fond of the place (not just because it is 12 miles from my front door).

Disclaimer: all rankings are nonsense. The FT rankings are different, and one must determine the methodology used, and see if it chimes in with one's own requirements and values.

'Knowledge is power'. Pah!

Learning is living.