Customer Reviews

Dictionary of Business (The Economist Series)

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The edition I have of this book was published in 2003 and, obviously, a great deal has changed in the global business world since then, including nomenclature as well as relative importance of basic business concepts. Nonetheless, I continue to consult this dictionary on a regular basis and, when asked, suggest it among the titles to comprise a basic business library. Credit for pulling all the material together is shared by Graham Bannock, Evan Davis, Paul Trott, and Mark Uncles, hereinafter referred to as "the editors." Most of the more than 2,000 entries are brief. Those in need of detailed coverage of basic subjects such as business plan, change management, globalization, due diligence, intellectual capital, knowledge management, positioning, and strategic planning must seek elsewhere. I was surprised to find no entries for lean or six sigma but there is one for re-engineering. Perhaps there will be coverage of these in the next edition.

I praise the editors for what they have produced rather than object because of what this book isn't. It is not an encyclopedia. It does not have the scope and depth of coverage provided by Business, Second Edition: The Ultimate Resource (published by Perseus), nor the cost. This is not a biographical dictionary. The entries that discuss prominent business thinkers offer little (if any) personal information about them. There are several significant omissions, to be sure, but space limitations had to be accommodated. That said, I am grateful to have it near at hand and recommend it because of the value of what it does offer.