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Q: There seems to be a great number of business
books out there. So, first of all, how
will Wharton School Publishing be different?
A: Wharton School Publishing's goal is to improve the quality of
management. It is designed to be a trusted and consistent source of
relevant insights and new thinking for thoughtful business people.
The Wharton seal of approval is the reader's guarantee that every
title meets this high standard. Because our faculty are deeply involved
with the research in their fields and understand how knowledge
is applied in business, they can determine if a book meets this
standard for quality. Equally important, they can identify the right
topics and authors to ensure the imprint delivers on its promise to
its readers.
We believe business leaders and policy makers need to understand
the changing environment in which they operate and acquire
new ways of thinking about business challenges and their application
to strategy, management, and finance. The books and tools
published by Wharton School Publishing help thoughtful executives
stay on top of business in all three areas. In essence, we are
creating a portfolio of relevant knowledge for executives, decision
makers, public policy makers, and thoughtful readers. We think it
will become a series that all senior executives and policy makers
will want to collect and read just as the "Great Books" were two
decades ago.
Some topics work better in one format or another and readers
want choices in accessing information. Wharton School Publishing
will not be confined to paper. We will introduce multiple audio and
electronic formats to make it easy for readers to access our titles on
their terms. We also will be creating analytical and management
tools in an e-format.
Q: What kinds of tools, specifically?
A: Managers seek a reliable source for analytical models and tools
that can be easily accessed on their desktops. Wharton School
Publishing tools will enable readers to do such things as estimate
the lifetime value of their customers, allocate R&D projects using
real options, create a marketing and sales dashboard for managing
their business, to name a few. In all, the addition of tools to the
Wharton School Publishing platform will be an important added
value.
Q: Why the partnership with Pearson?
A: Pearson is the leading global business publisher—they have
deep expertise in all areas of business publishing, a broad distribution network
with operations in 55 countries and in 27 languages,
and a deep understanding of what is required to be successful in the
business publishing market. With this alliance, Wharton can focus
on developing a high quality portfolio of leading authors and topics
with Pearson bringing world-class publishing and distribution talent
and resources. Together we have a very strong value proposition
and the capacity to execute on a global basis.
Q: Who will you publish?
A: We are seeking material from the best global business thinkers,
academics and practioners. It's not solely a venue for Wharton
faculty—although we are currently in discussion with about two
dozen Wharton faculty for development of books or tools. Among
the initial authors are Wharton's Robert Mittelstaedt and Larry
Hrebiniak, and widely published authors CK Prahalad and Kenichi
Ohmae.
Q: What is the role of the editorial board?
A: The editorial board is a cross-disciplinary group of the School's
senior faculty members. They have set standards for the new imprint
to ensure that the portfolio of titles are of the highest and
most consistent quality and worthy of the Wharton School endorsement.
In addition, they know who is breaking new ground so they
can proactively attract the right authors and differentiate between
what is truly thought leadership vs. the latest "fad" thinking.
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