(Not) Counting Trees

How can social network analysis help managers improve (or at least understand) performance? Rob Cross and Andrew Parker take on this important topic in their scholarly grounded, but highly accessible book, The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations.

On 13 January 2010, the Legislative Council Special Committee to Review the Managed Forest Land Program will likely meet for the last time. The work of the Committee has resulted in SEVEN changes to the program. At the next meeting, we will possibly amend, but surely vote on each. Below is a synopsis of each, the "pdf" link is to the current proposed language.

It is hard to believe it's been a month since I last posted something, but the dates on the posts don't lie. I've been sick, which hasn't helped, but I've also been busy with Department obligations. I've been most remiss in not providing the answers the questions posed last month. I won't provide answers, but I will direct you to the source that does offer useful insights on decision-making Judgment in Managerial Decision Making by Max Bazerman. There have been several editions, but we're reading the 1998 edition published by Wiley.

The Country Today had a quite interesting article last week on a loan program to help landowners enter the Managed Forest Law: The Glenwood Project. As you read the article, though, it's not just the loan program, but a more encompassing view of forests and forestry.

Many thanks to The Country Today for allowing me to reprint it here. I added a few links where appropriate.

...two questions

Which of the following causes more deaths in the USA each year?
(a) Stomach cancer
(b) Motor vehicle accidents

Mark (not me) is finishing his MBA at a prestigious university. He is very interested in the arts and at one time considered a career as a musician. Is he more likely to take a job...
(a) in the management of the arts?
(b) with a management consulting firm?

According to this Reuters article, the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is pessimistic about its future. Participants, in the absence of cap and trade policies, see little value in continuing.

How should researchers approach policymakers? What are they looking for? For those who seek to influence policy at any level, the answers to these and other questions are essential for effective engagement.

This past Wednesday, a subset of members from the Legislative Council Special Committee to Review the Managed Forest Land Program met to work out some specific proposals related to revising the Managed Forest Law.

As promised, the the videos from the Wisconsin Bioenergy Summit have been posted. I didn't see an easy way to embed them in this post, so I just post the links.

On my way to a volleyball match on Monday night, I was listening to On Point on WPR's Ideas Network. The discussion centered on the science-energy interface and whether big government investments in bio-energy are warranted and whether they'll payoff.