Fit to bust : how great companies fail / Tim Phillips.

Author/creator Phillips, Tim, 1967-
Format Book
Publication InfoLondon ; Philadelphia, PA : Kogan Page, 2011.
Descriptioniv, 210 pages ; 24 cm
Supplemental ContentContributor biographical information
Supplemental ContentPublisher description
Subjects

Abstract Warren Buffet remarked that it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. "If you think about that, you'll do things differently." The author, a journalist turns his eye toward the most avoidable business disasters of recent history. In each case, the story begins at the point where a disastrous decision was made, and then it examines what happened, why it happened and what could have been different. Each story highlights a flaw that could affect any organization, for example, overexpansion, failure to do due diligence, or blindness toward an economic bubble. He then isolates the moment, meeting or decision just before the failure, and asks "What were they thinking?" He offers insights on why smart people make bad decisions, as well as on the process of management and decision-making in today's business world. Using first-hand accounts of the people involved, this book discusses business collapses such as Enron, Polaroid, WorldCom, and Woolworth's and explains how changing one decision could have helped avoid disaster.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
LCCN 2010048641
ISBN9780749460136
ISBN074946013X