

A confederation, a league of sovereign states, which might or might not include nation-states.An empire, which is composed of many countries (possibly non-sovereign states) and nations under a single monarch or ruling state government.

#Nationstates heads will roll free#
"The dirty little secret of market capitalism in all its many forms is that successful companies have become so by killing the spirit of free enterprise. Success in markets dominated by consumers and brands, the authors claim, comes not from taking competitors head- on, but from staking out new territories away from the herd. targets a particular audience, probably a niche market it has pioneered.

But it won't hesitate to use its core competencies to enter a variety of industries-not unlike Richard Branson's Virgin brand. is also extremely focused, providing only one or a few goods and services-those it does best. Job descriptions and work teams are temporary, and business rivals can sometimes be partners. every day." Nordstrm and Ridderstrle's theoretical model for success is Funky Inc., a company that is flat, horizontal, small and open.

It concentrates on how businesses can exploit the myriad opportunities in a world where traditional bosses are nearly extinct, hierarchical corporations are passe, nation-states are increasingly superfluous, lifelong careers are rare and a company's "most critical resource wears shoes and walks out the door around 5:30 p.m. Nordstrm and Ridderstrle are a pair of Swedish business professors who shave their heads, wear leather trousers, listen to techno-rock, call themselves funksters and eschew lectures for "gigs." Though flippantly argued, the book makes the serious point that we've entered an age in which time and talent are the most precious commodities. Moreover, in a world where demand seldom outstrips supply, consumers will decide which companies thrive. The corporation is us, the means of production ours. The only unique asset companies have is the brainpower of their employees. In our new, wired world, Funky Business authors Kjell Nordstrm and Jonas Ridderstrle claim, employees and consumers hold the real power. It notes that both legends preached "Power to the people," but it's taken the global embrace of market capitalism to deliver the goods. Funky Business (ft.com Books, 256 pages) is probably the first business book to draw inspiration from the Father of Communism as well as from one of the all-time great rock stars. Follow hail Marx and Lennon-John Lennon that is.
