Book Description

STRATEGY: Winning in the Marketplace is the newest offering from proven authors Thompson, Gamble, and Strickland.As in previous works, the authors' mainstream presentation includes the most recent research in strategy presented in a way that students can understand and apply to business cases and problems.With fewer chapters and pages and shorter cases than previous texts by these authors, this new first edition offers a more concise, lively, and user-friendly presentation of strategic management.Fundamental strengths of Thompson/Gamble/Strickland text treatments are very much evident in this first edition-a compelling presentation of Porter's Five-Forces model and globally competitive markets and first-rate coverage of strategy execution and the drive for operating excellence.Another hallmark of this new product is the package of Thompson/Gamble/Strickland cases and related teaching notes.Over the years, this author team has developed a great network of case authors and is able to select from the cream of the crop. Having written scores of cases themselves and having a combined experience of 70 years teaching this particular course, they are very skilled in selecting the types of cases that will spark student interest and generate lively classroom discussions. Many of the cases reflect high profile industries, companies, products, and people that students will have heard of, know about from personal experience, or can easily identify with. The new case line-up features an exciting collection of the latest and best cases flush with valuable teaching points and lessons for students. ... Read more

Book Description

Don't let the audience snooze through any of your presentations! How do you keep an audience from becoming bored or restless during a presentation? Find out with The Big Book of Presentation Games.

Each game in The Big Book of Presentation Games is fast, fun, creative, and easy-to-read, and easy-to-lead, and costs little or nothing. Categories also include: great session-openers; icebreakers; climate-setting games; practical jokes and tricks; audience brainteasers; motivation activities; memorable closing activities; and much more!

Reviews (4)

Even company money could be spent more effectively
For any medium to advanced trainer, group leader, or presenter, this book does not raise any new methods of improving audience participation. In fact, the "cheese" factor is enough to choke even the most discriminating mouse.

Having said that, if you're a beginner with little to no background in or exposure to group training, then this book may help give you a little head start to realize how to engage an audience through active participation.

It's only because of the potential to aide a beginner that I rated this a 2. Otherwise, it's sitting with a lone star.

Decent
I was expecting more. But it certainly lived up to its title. Maybe my expectations were a little to hight.

I have yet to try any of the examples yet, but I am certainly waiting to try.

It's not that great.
This book wasn't that great. There were VERY few ideas that I would use. I wouldn't recommend buying this book.

Great for any Organizational leader!
I used a bunch of ideas from this book for my position in a student organization. A definite must for programs on dry material. It never hurts to have an ace up your sleeve, and this book is it! ... Read more

Book Description

Originally printed in 1935, War Is a Racket is General Smedley Butler's frank speech describing his role as a soldier as nothing more than serving as a puppet for big-business interests. In addition to photos from the notorious 1932 anti-war book The Horror of It by Frederick A. Barber, this book includes two never-before-published anti-interventionist essays by General Butler. The introduction discusses why General Butler went against the corporate war machine and how he exposed a fascist coup d'etat plot against President Franklin Roosevelt. Widely appreciated and referenced by left- and right-wingers alike, this is an extraordinary argument against war - more relevant now than ever. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

If you think war is a just event, don't read this book!
If you think the 20th century wars had some redeeming value to them, then this book is not for you. As a veteran of one of the many American wars of the past 100 years I am now completely disgusted with what goes on behind the scenes. I see now I was a fool on a fools mission. This book is truth in it's rawest form, and should be read by every human on the planet. I can see now what type of people are pulling the strings for our current fiasco over-seas. The Marine who wrote this booklet had courage beyond belief. As American's and taxpayers he deserves our attention while he relates what he indeed knows.

A patriot's "private Idaho" revealed as the road to Damascus
"War is a racket. It has always been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives...At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other millionaires falisifed their income tax returns no one knows... The average earnings of the du Ponts [chemical/gun powder producers at the time] for the period 1910 to 1914 was six million dollars a year...[from]1914 to 1918...fifty-eight million dollars of profit we find...an increase of 950 percent..."

Brigadier General Smedley R. Butler
WAR IS A RACKET
From Chapters One and Two

"The complex saga behind [a fascist military] coup attempt [in America in the 1930's], and the devious manner in which Butler was solicited to join the attempt to intimidate President Roosevelt into functional inactivity, was strikingly described by Archer in THE PLOT TO STEAL THE WHITE HOUSE (Hawthorn Books, 1973)...The most revealing details of the McCormack/Dickstein [Congressional] Committee report were suppressed in its original release. Though the report confirmed Smedley Butler's revelation of outrageous corporate plots, it failed to detail the names of prominent corporate entities, whose mention would have embarrassed the politicians they supported and the 'patriotic' groups they helped form..."

Adam Parfey

WAR IS A RACKET
From the Introduction

"...Even so, Mr. President Elect, there is an off chance that you might actually make some difference if you start now to rein in the warlords. Reduce military spending, which will make you popular because you can then legitimately reduce our taxes instead of doing what you have been financed to do, freeing corporate America of its small tax burden."

Gore Vidal
PERPETUAL WAR FOR PERPETUAL PEACE

The maverick Brigadier General Smedley Butler is one of the ironic--and iconic--true patriots of our times.

Born in the wake of the slow death of the 18/19th century Plantation system, the advent of 19/20th century Industrial society, the birth of the American colonial system in 1898 and the horrors of World War One, the pre-World War Two period, with its rampant racism and anti-Semitism serving the dictates of a capitalist spirit again gone mad, serves to explain the moral vacuum existing in our politics today. The culture of the 20's and 30's reveals the seedy underbelly of virulent capitalism and its siamese twin relationship with fascism as it has always existed in America, with varying degrees of influence and power. During this period today's adolescent fascist sentiments masquerading as Conservatism were incubated, hatched and allowed to fester like an open wound, until the cancer of empire/police state overtook the body politic of a still embryonic American democracy in 1947.

General Butler revealed an actual multi-level fascist plot within Wall Street and the military to essentially destroy democracy in the thirties. Fascism's influence in politics and the economy is one of the principal reasons, it is revealed, why there was a shift from fighting the remnants of Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo to an arms race with Stalin and communism after WWII. Indeed, the OSS (which later became the CIA) use of Nazi and Japanese mad scientists and their secret experimentation on Jews and American prisoners of war, *via secretly arranging their US citizenship after World War Two,* to fight an already debilitated communism getting in the way of American imperialism, is a dark side of American history that could only be told [let alone believed] in the context of this basic paradigm of American culture. Too many people, General Butler clearly knows, get rich in every war for it not to be the principal motivation for its existence.

The Isolationist idealism of his seventy-odd page pamphlet WAR IS A RACKET, which could come across as childishly naive at times, delusionally socialist at others, must be read with an understanding of this cultural context. The Isolationist argument in American history has never been truly respected in our modern imperialist times. Brigadier General Smedley Butler, however, had the courage to go against much of what was ingrained in him as a career military man in the Marines and courageously share the only logical reasons for the architecture of modern war and the horrors of modern life. The truths he reveals form the actual basis of the early 20th century Isolationist argument-and reawaken us to its profound moral validity for our times.

The lessons this book has for our times, however, only begins there. The forces that General Butler fought against in 1934 are the same ones President Eisenhower referred to regarding the "Industrial Military Complex" in 1961. They are also the same forces who saw to Reagan's election in 1980 (via preventing the smooth transfer of American hostages out of Iran in the Carter years for political clout) and urged on his support of fascist regimes like South Africa, Iraq and Guatemala around the world; all while undermining actual democracies like Nicaragua via arms sales to terrorists through a CIA financed by illegal drug sales in America (hence the advent of the Crack era; see DARK ALLIANCE by Gary Webb). "Conservative" presidents on both sides of the political fence, via secretly financed wars for "democracy" and "freedom" against "terrorism," have co-opted an American language of democracy, peace and prosperity for the forces of a globalized economic fascism rooted in our country; all to continue the halcyon days of slavery and empire in a new form. And war, as Adam Parfey says masterfully in his postscript (making the many typos in this book forgivable), is the heart of the modern economics upon which this is built.

Indeed, General Butler's revelations on his road to Damascus that is WAR IS A RACKET inevitably calls into question the actual humanity of the Western world, and our entire way of life.

This is a short, painful, passionate and important book.

War: Who Profits from it and who Pays for it
"War is a Racket" is marine general, Smedley Butler's classic treatise on why wars are conducted, who profits from them, and who pays the price. Few people are as qualified as General Butler to advance the argument encapsulated in his book's sensational title. When "War is a Racket" was first published in 1935, Butler was the most decorated American soldier of his time. He had lead several successful military operations in the Caribbean and in Central America, as well as in Europe during the First World War. Despite his success and his heroic status, however, Butler came away from these experiences with a deeply troubled view of both the purpose and the results of warfare.

Butler's central thesis is that regardless of the popular rhetoric that often accompanies warfare, it is waged almost exclusively for profit. He advances this argument in three decisive examples.

EXAMPLE 1: CORPORATE MILITARY PROFITS RESULTING FORM WAR
In an early version of "follow the money", Butler provides pre- and post-World War I data on some of America's leading corporations to demonstrate the surge in profits that they experienced from the war, often totaling several hundred percent. While some companies, such as Dupont, arguably produced goods that contributed directly to America's military victory in 1918, others such as saddle manufacturers did not. Even when these companies failed to contribute directly to the war effort, they still managed to lobby the government to retrain or expand their contracts. Its as though powerful, well connected oil services company today were to contract with the government to supply oil to the military during a foreign campaign and then deliberately overcharge it.

EXAMPLE 2: INVESTING IN OTHER NATIONS' WARS
Butler argues that the United States practically doomed itself to entering the First World War the moment it began lending money and material to the allies. Once the allies were faced with certain defeat, argues Butler, they approached American government and business officials and flatly told them that unless they were victorious they would not be able to repay their staggering debt. In the event that Germany and the axis powers won the war, they would have no motivation to assume and repay the allied debt to the United States. America entered the First World War, according to Butler, in order to guarantee the repayment of its massive military loans to the allies. No allied victory meant no repayment, which meant no profit. Thousands of American soldiers were killed or maimed, argues Butler, to protect corporate profits.

EXAMPLE 3: THE MILITARY AS A COROPORATE THUG
Based on his own service experience in Central America and the Caribbean Butler argues that most American military interventions in small countries were done in order to "clear the way" for American corporations to set up shop and commence pillaging. It would be as if the United States were to occupy an oil-rich nation and then start doling out "rebuilding" contracts to some of its largest and best-connected corporations.

WHO PAYS FOR WAR
Having focused on who profits from war, Butler then examines who pays the price. The answer, unsurprisingly enough is the average taxpayer and the young people who are either slaughtered in wartime or who return home physically and psychologically damaged. Sadly, Butler points out, once these young people are no longer useful they are ignored by their own government and are left to suffer without assistance. It's as though a president were to employ a lot of rhetoric about supporting our troops while using them to occupy and oil-rich nation, but were to secretly slash their hazardous duty pay and veterans benefits.

THE SOLUTION: END WAR PROFITEERING
Butler's solution to preventing the carnage and social injustices of war is to eliminate business leaders' ability to make a profit from war or to avoid serving in it themselves. He also argues that those who put their lives at risk should have a say in whether or not to wage war. This may sound like a lot of idealistic, socialist nonsense, but thing about it. Would the United States have invaded an oil-rich nation if its unelected president had been forced to serve in the front lines as part of the process? Would business interests have supported the war if they never stood to profit from it? Probably not.

"War is a Racket" also contains other interesting factoids including General Butler's successful prevention of a right-wing coup against President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Unfortunately, no one of General Butler's caliber was able to prevent a similar coup from taking place in 2000.

General Butler also makes a persuasive case for the United States to remain isolationist and to avoid involving itself in the coming European war (This book was published shortly before World War II.). Using his considerable grasp of military logistics, Butler counters many of the prevailing arguments of his day that Hitler posed a direct military threat to the United States. Unfortunately, no one of General Butler's caliber was available to counter a similar argument that right wing policy makers advanced about a tiny oil-rich nation in the Middle East posing a direct military threat to the United States.

To anyone who doubts the veracity or efficacy of this book, I have a humble but useful suggestion. Ask yourself who makes money off of war. Then ask yourself if they ever make the physical, mental, or fiscal sacrifices for war. Finally ask yourself who ultimately makes the sacrifices and pays the prices. Most people who favor war either profit from it, or are seduced by the idea of it. General Butler's book is a concise, and brilliantly argued treatise on the reality of war. Of course most people prefer a beautiful idea to harsh reality, and that is why propagandists and politicians are so successful.

The Hell of War.
War is hell. Reprinted by Feral House Press, _War is a Racket_ is an antiwar rant by "America's Most Decorated Soldier", Brigadier General Smedley D. Butler. In fact, this brief book, includes several essays, including an introductory piece by Adam Parfrey, _War is a Racket_, two essays dealing with the First and Second World Wars and arguing for isolationism, and a series of gruesome photos of war time tragedies from the antiwar book _The Horror of It_. _War is a Racket_ offers some interesting insights into the individuals and businesses behind warfare, who make profits off the bodies of dead soldiers. However, at times the book veers off into near communistic insanity in its hatred for corporate capitalism and its insistence that all men should earn the same wage regardless of profession during wartime. In fact, wars have often been provoked with little or no justification, often at the whims of bankers and transnational elites, and wars are often poorly conducted so as not to serve the best interests of America and the American soldier. However, war itself is a necessary fact of life in the world of nations. The idea that war can be totally eliminated through some international means of collaboration is not only absurd, but all the more likely to foster the world's biggest totalitarian system yet devised. In fact, to suggest that war be eliminated is tantamount to suggesting that one tolerate the intolerable. However, this is not really General Butler's position. Instead, Butler argues that war itself cannot be eliminated but that the United States should not become entangled in events which are not of its concern and thus try to maintain neutrality at all costs. For instance, if the United States were to be invaded by foreign occupiers, then of course war would become necessary. Also, if a given nation poses a direct threat to the well being of the citizens of the U.S., then war is inevitable provided that that nation cannot be quelled through diplomacy. However, to fight a war for purely economic interests of profit, thereby risking the lives of countless young men merely to increase the profits of corporate interests, is entirely immoral. The real question then becomes how can one know when the interests of America are really being put first. In recent times, many have started to question the tactics of President George W. Bush's "War on Terror" initiative and invasion of Iraq, post-9/11, on precisely the same grounds that individuals like Smedley had questioned the First and Second World Wars. Whether America's true interests are being put first remains to be seen. The book concludes with some ghastly photos of wartime attrocities, including pictures of young men badly disfigured (one picture shows a man with half his face missing, both upper jaw and nose being completely removed). Such is the price of maintaining American sovereignity and imperial power. Or, as Smedley would cynically observe, such is the price we pay for domination by corporate elites.

Also of interest: _Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace_, a collection of "isolationist" essays edited by Harry Elmer Barnes and revealing the hidden agenda behind United States entry into World War II. Currently available from the Institute for Historical Review.

the best president America never had
70 years ago this war hero exposed the war racketeeers in short, simple but hard hitting prose. It's just a shame more people didn't listen to him as today a draft dodger and war profiteer sits in the white house. Bush is the epitomy of everything that Smedley Butler warned about.

This book is an anti war classic. Check it out now, its available online and only takes about twenty minutes to read. ... Read more

Book Description

"Long-term commitment to new learning and new philosophy is required of any management that seeks transformation. The timid and the fainthearted, and the people that expect quick results, are doomed to disappointment."

According to W. Edwards Deming, American companies require nothing less than a transformation of management style and of governmental relations with industry. In Out of the Crisis, originally published in 1986, Deming offers a theory of management based on his famous 14 Points for Management. Management's failure to plan for the future, he claims, brings about loss of market, which brings about loss of jobs. Management must be judged not only by the quarterly dividend, but by innovative plans to stay in business, protect investment, ensure future dividends, and provide more jobs through improved product and service. In simple, direct language, he explains the principles of management transformation and how to apply them.

previously published by MIT-CAES ... Read more

Reviews (27)

A great book about quality control
When I first saw this book a few years ago at a friend's house I never imagined that I would enjoy reading it. However, somehow my opinion changed recently while I was looking for a good book about manufacturing quality control. This book agrees with all that I believed to be true based on my limited manufacturing experience--the plant worker is very rarely to blame for quality problems, rather problems are usually the result of system issues.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and couldn't put it down. It is a great overview of quality control methods and control charts. I also have Mary Walton's "The Deming Management Method", but I would strongly recommend to just read Deming's masterpiece.

Deming, the Root Cause of Quality Improvement
Having "seen the light" as spoken by Deming, I highly recommend this book and Deming's "The New Economics" to anybody interested in not only quality and business, but anybody working. If you aren't in a position having the power to change your workplace, be prepared to bite your lip when conventional management is used.
When you look at Six Sigma you can see much of Dr. Demings work and thoughts being used, thus one persons short review that Dr. Deming is the real father of Six Sigma. Six Sigma brings more of the cost savings aspect to process improvement which appeals to conventional business.
While people can look at Japan and say they are down now and Dr. Deming is wrong, there are plenty of Japanese companies that follow Dr. Deming's teachings still that are clobbering the competition. Toyota, the 2nd largest auto manufacturer in the world now (yes, ahead of Ford by most accounts) uses his teachings.
Don't just read the words, understand what is being said and learn from Dr. Deming.

Where Quality Begins
I first became aware of Dr. Deming through the Deming Management method. He affected so much change in Japan and was not known here in the USA. The chief reason for his lack of success here was probably that eliminating fear, one of his 14 points, has never really been a management method of American Management. Today people fear losing jobs, his method of quality was to lead to more jobs and more quality utilizing American pride in work. I do think his method had an impact, look at companies like Xerox, and others who continually improved, yet, our economy is so short sighted, we never seem to get past the view of everything this Quarter...we need to have a broader perspective. I find my coworkers in America to be very hard working people who have pride in what they do and accomplish. If only we would remember the red beads, we would get quality if we provide quality material. Demings last seminar was held in Pasadena, I wanted to go to that, yet I hesitated and well, had to learn from a friend second hand. This is a must buy for anyone who will manage people, engineers and corporations.

Brilliant!
It's a shame Deming was only listened to after American Industry humiliated itself in the international markets. It's a bigger shame that they forget their mistakes after realizing them for a while.

Deming is unquestionably one of the most original and brilliant thinkers of last century. This book WILL cause you to change your thinking about your job.

You don't have to be a statistician to understand this book either, b/c the crux of it has to do with a philosophy, and a very intelligent one at that, much more than math.

I liked this book so much, that I purchased a rather expensive autorgraphed version on an auction site, becuase it's really a masterpiece.

A quality classic
This is a classic in the world of quality assurance. It is fair to call Deming the father, godfather, grandfather and preacher of the quality movement. This book, written in 1986 after he achieved international fame for helping improve quality in Japan, captures the spirit and ideas that spawned a revolution.

The book captures many of the key points in Deming's philosophy:
1) Creating metrics based approaches to management, without falling into a quota system.
2) Differentiating between problems caused by the system and problems outside of the system.
3) Focusing on both doing things correctly, and identifying the right tasks to approach.
4) Introducing a Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle of continuous improvement.

If you look at this list, the book presents a blueprint for many of the so called management revolutions of the subsequent 15 years: Excellence, Re-engineering, Process Management, Systems Thinking. This book really is both a trend setter as well as highly important body of theory. The theory is relevant today, as many management problems today can be addressed by his 14 points of management. (Example: A reliance on inspection is bad - build quality into the process. This is highly relevant to software construction today.)

So are there any knocks?
1) You're left with many imperatives, but sometimes without positive prescriptions. For example: If you don't do annual performance reviews, what do you replace it with to determine who gets promoted?
2) The book can be dry and hard to follow. Sometimes it is written as notes pieced together.
3) Many of the companies that Deming held up as models have fallen on tougher times. It seems that today Quality alone is not enough.

Having said this, it should be required reading for any manager. The theory is good, and the book should spark your thinking. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

I'm recommending that all my managers buy a copy...
The size of our IT organization has exploded over the past five years as we've deployed new systems and products. The focus was always on delivering projects on time.

Well, we've grown up and now have to support those products. Oh, what to do: we've been technology driven, not service driven.

Along comes "IT Services" to provide a blueprint of how to go about implementing a services organization. There's practical advice on determining what "customers" want, what IT can offer, and what to do about the gap. It gives good examples of how to determine service costs. The sample "Service Level Agreement" in Appendix B and discussions of SLAs in the text is probably worth the price of the book alone.

Minor nitpicks - Sometimes the authors could spend a little more time explaining figures and tables: I'm still trying to figure out what authors are trying to convey in the first two rows of Table 5-4 (p. 51).

Overall, I had a hard time putting down the book. The more I read, the more ideas I had. I won't loan out this book for a while - I want to keep it close at hand. My staff will have to get their own copies...

Focus is on the critical production support processes
This book is one of, if not the, best guides to developing, implementing and managing a mature production support organization.

The value of this book is that it takes a business-centric approach to service delivery, and augments material on service level management (such as Foundations of Service Level Management - another excellent book).

Specifically, this book contains sorely needed body of knowledge in a profession that has lost its way. What I mean by this bold statement is the production support function in many IS/IT departments has devolved from service delivery to infrastructure management. IT Services brings the focus back to where it belongs: supporting the business.

What I like most about this book is it not only shows what is wrong with most production support organizations, but it provides a clear roadmap to how to restructure production support from an infrastructure management focus to a service delivery paradigm.

I highly recommend this book to anyone in production support, consultants and IT/IS executive management. It would also be useful to ISPs and ASPs because most of the material can be applied to internal or external customers.

It confusing Services?
This book is very formal approach to IT services. Please don't give it to your customers/clients it will scare them. If you need humor or analogies to make things clear consider another book.The book is very hard to read with wordy sentences. Simplicity is much better, and this book makes some things even more confusing.

Great concepts but lacks examples
I bought it with the objective of having it as a reference for managing data center operations. The ideas and concepts were very interesting, and I totally agree that the starting point should include determining linkages with the core business and getting management support. Most useful to me are the following chapters:

Processes and Procedures - gives a framework on processes such as customer communication, internal communication, and change control.

Resource and cost model - helps determine the types and amount of resources (material, human, etc.) that are needed to efficiently serve requirements.

Measuring Success - discusses service levels and their measurement and coming up with service level agreements (SLAs)

The Appendices on job descriptions and sample SLA is also a great help.

The reason why I'm only giving 3 stars is that the authors could have given more examples as they explain the concepts. A line in the back cover page says "proven results, benchmarks and case studies--not just theory!" Sad to say, except for the sample SLA, this was not really delivered. It would help if the authors came up with even a fictitious company and apply the concepts to it.

Again, the ideas and concepts are great, but the authors could have given more examples to help explain them. So if the authors come up with a new edition or a sequel that addresses this, I'd be most interested in buying it!

Excellent reading if you deal with IT data centers.
This is a book that many IT managers have to read, it's a quick meal though, no details but a balanced dose of good ideas and a window on Service delivery where IT data centers is no longer a "cost center". The only thing I did not like is to center the data center around SUN and Oracle or a brand in general, although it is clear the book reflects the authors experience in SUN/Oracle environment.
I advise anyone who has anything with today's data centers (no matter his or her technical level) to read this book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Ever since a forward-thinking bottle-cap salesman named King Camp Gillette first grew tired of shaving with a dull razor more than 100 years ago, the company he then founded has prospered impressively--despite ongoing threats of hostile takeovers and downsizing--by continuing to explore new geographic markets and introduce fresh consumer products. Cutting Edge: Gillette's Journey to Global Leadership, by long-time business journalist Gordon McKibben, is a scrupulous, behind-the-scenes examination of the firm's history with an emphasis on the modern period that began around 1975 and solidified Gillette's deserved reputation as a worldwide powerhouse. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A very interesting history for anyone interested in Gillette
I enjoy reading books about successful companies, their founders and the principle people in the company history. I have read many books of this type and found this one on Gillette to be well worth adding to my library. The author does an excellent job of telling the history or Gillette in an interesting way. He also does a good job of describing the men who were influential in the company's direction. Well worth reading!

A Must Read for Anyone Wondering How Gillette Does It
This book is essential for anyone who wants to understand how a company builds brand image and then maintains that image for years and even decades. This book, while some times dry, dramatically demonstrates how Gillette never rested, but constantly sought to improve its products. Gillette's constant R&D have paid dividends not just to employees and stock holders, but also to our late 20th century society. This book is great!!! ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (133)

In-depth look at the dark side of our modern global economy
A tremendous amount of research and analysis has gone into this informative study of the dark secrets behind the brands that dominate our lives in Western society. The neglect and deliberate lack of social responsibility, both alarming and disturbing, that has become a central element to the maufacturing and business activities of some of the world's largest and most recognizeable brand names is staggering. How can these self-proclaimed leaders of our economy be so callous? Klein details their motivation and the evolution of such nefarious practices, as well as the collusion of corrupt and greedy local authorities in developing nations, which serve to sustain and propogate such injustice. On the flip side, Klein offers hope through her exaustive examination of the counter-movements that have to a degree succeeded in keeping the rampant exploitation of the afore-mentioned multinationals in check and on their toes. The book is written in an open and accessible tone, with down-to-earth interpretations of the patterns of disdain for labourers and their rights as well as for the environment and our planet's dimishing natural resources, all in an unrelenting quest to reinforce the brand name and dominate the market share. I for one will never look at brand logos such as the Nike swoosh, the same again. For that matter, thanks to this important and timely book, I will carefully monitor such questions as freedom of expression and the control that such corporations as Wal-Mart have on the content of what we as consumers have access to.

Major flaw in growth rate analysis
With in a few pages of this book I found a glaring error that somewhat negates Kliens argument. I'm refering to the claimed "astronomical" increase in advertising by corporations over 19 years. Klien shows a graph of year versus advertising expense (in billions). It starts at 50 billion (in the mid 70's) and grows to just under 200 billion in the late 1990s' (1996 I think). Anyway any first year finance student with a financial calculator can calculate what kind of increase this is. (ie present value = 50, future value = 195, n= 19 solve for interest) This calculation gives compounding annual percent increase of about 7.5 %. This, dear Naomi, is not by any stretch of imagination, is an "astronomical" rate of increase. It is essentially the rate of inflation. This is what would expect for any company that their expenses would rise with inflation. Note that share price growth rates far outstripped these advertising expenses. Infact looking at her figure (1.1 i think) you see that advertising costs basically followed the economic cycle with less spent in reccessions and more in the good times. You could draw a similar graph for wages expense etc. etc. Unfortunately the arguments constructed on the basis of "astronomical" increases of advertising expenses are therefore wrong as they as based on an incorrect premise.

This glaring bit of ignorance on the authors part causes the reader to question how else other data and information is incorrectly presented or mistakenly interpreted. To be credible the journalist/researcher/Naomi has to take a dispassionate stance and see what the numbers are actually saying rather than what you want them to say. Any thing less, and your fooling yourself and misleading your readers.

I'm not finished the book yet and I hope not to find another howler like this or I won't bother to keep going.

Ps. I'm finding the book interesting, I'm just very dissapointed in such a dreadful error in logic occurring so early in the book.

Still Relevant
Although some of the material presented here is dated, I feel that this book is still very relavent today. Everyone should be aware of the level of infiltration these brands have made in our society and our everyday lives.

There were several ideas that I took away from the book that I felt were very important (and I hadn't really read about in depth before). I particularly liked the discussion of the 'brand and not product focus' idea. I didn't enjoy the discussion of culture jamming nor did I really like the way that she tended to revisit the same events over and over through the book (the McLibel Trial).

Overall, I liked the book and it stirred my interest enough in the subject to do some research of my own into these issues.

A great read, a wonderful find
Superb, powerful impact, well written, hard to put down. A truly important book discussing today's society and the corrosive impact we all knew existed, but couldn't describe. Klein does - extremely well. She has the insider's knowledge, the perspective of one not infected, and the intellectual analysis which lets us mere mortals peek into the steel souls and hearts of today's boardrooms and corporate cabals.

A book worth having. Don't lend it out! it will grow legs and disappear!

A book that should be more widely read
Despite having become modestly dated in its details (a updated edition or follow-up work would be welcomed), Naomi Klein's book No Logo remains an important work about the blurring boundaries between global business and global culture. Since its publication, much of the globalization furor directed at Kathy Lee, McDonald's, Nike, Shell Oil, Pepsi, and others has died down or been redirected at health, local impact (e.g., Wal-Mart stores) and other important but ancillary issues (take, for example, the movie Super Size Me). The fact that the noise has subsided does not, however, mean that the problems Ms. Klein cites have disappeared. More likely, the companies subjected to such scathing public rebuke have better learned how to play the game, managing their PR more effectively and hiding further and further behind layers of subsidiaries, contractors, sub-contractors, and locked factory gates.

No Logo is a significant work, deserving to be much better known than it is. American consumers -- that is, all of us -- need to reach a much better understanding of how brand management has evolved into culture management, how Starbucks and Nike and Gap and The Body Shop and so many other companies are infiltrating our subconscious and controlling our cultural dialogues. No Logo still serves as an eye-opener for those who have been spending so much time at the mall that they have not yet seen what is going on around them.

Sadly, No Logo is not the most approachable of books for the general populace. It is over-long and over-detailed, bogging down in topics that are probably exciting to radical activists (like billboard jamming) but are sleep-inducing to most readers. Like many people who are involved in activism, Klein sometimes loses the forest for the trees, giving us so much insider detail about causes and people we don't know that we lose interest in, and attention to, her real message. My rating of only four stars, while certainly positive, derives from Klein's tendency to preach too much to the converted and spend too little time educating the as-yet unconverted.

The book is divided into four sections: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs, and No Logo. The first two sections, encompassing the first eight chapters, are well worth the price of the book by themselves. Readers will come to a new understanding of how the public spaces around them are being manipulated by mega-corporate messaging, how those corporations hide behind a public face of social consciousness, and how violently they respond when anyone seeks to question their self-proclaimed high moral ground. I would recommend these eight chapters as required reading for every third- or fourth-year high school student in America. Chapter 16, "A Tale of Three Logos," is also a fascinating account of less than admirable behavior on the parts of Nike, Shell, and McDonald's, definitely worth reading.

I can only hope that Ms. Klein will someday revisit her subject matter again, perhaps to publish a more streamlined and updated version that will reach a wider audience. She deserves the audience, and the American public needs to hear her voice. Despite her understandable tendency toward one-sidedness (perhaps necessary in this case to avoid being drowned out by Nike and McDonald's commercials and Starbucks ads), Naomi Klein's No Logo is an important book that all consuming Americans should read. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Private Capital Markets

"Until now, professional literature has included very little on the subject of valuing larger, closely held businesses. This book meets a long-standing need for a scholarly, yet practical, way of addressing the values of nonpublic enterprises. It should be read by everyone who is involved in appraising, buying, selling, or financing privately owned businesses."
––Raymond C. Miles
Founder and Technical Director
The Institute of Business Appraisers

"Since CPAs are involved with most financial aspects of private companies, we need resource materials that are comprehensive in nature. This book, without a doubt, offers the single most integrated approach to valuation, capital structure formation, and business transfer issues available. It is an essential guide for practitioners who represent middle-market private clients."
––Norman F. Manley, CPA
Partner, Tax
BDO Seidman, LLP

"This is the first book that surveys the private capital markets. It is an important addition to the literature since it is both well-written and easy to understand.Finally, academics and practitioners have a book that provides financial education to those who own, work, or are interested in establishing their own companies."
––Dr. Edward M. Mazze
Dean and the Alfred J. Verrecchia—Hasbro Inc. Leadership Chair in Business
College of Business Administration, University of Rhode Island

"Although lawyers routinely counsel private business owners on a wide variety of business topics, including financial matters, law schools currently provide very little, if any, grounding with respect to practical private business finance. This book will equip all professional advisors with a theoretical and practical underpinning of the private capital markets."
––John Morrice, Esq.
Johnston, Allison & Hord, PA

"At last, a book that deals with the financial needs of Main Street companies! The ideas and frameworks contained in Private Capital Markets will definitely help business owners make better financing and investment decisions."
–– L. Kerry Vickar
Chairman
CorrFlex Display and Packaging, LLC ... Read more

Book Description

Now nearing its 60th printing in English and translated into nineteen languages, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy has transformed the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy throughout the world. Electrifying in its simplicity -- like all great breakthroughs -- Porter's analysis of industries captures the complexity of industry competition in five underlying forces. Porter introduces one of the most powerful competitive tools yet developed: his three generic strategies -- lowest cost, differentiation, and focus -- which bring structure to the task of strategic positioning. He shows how competitive advantage can be defined in terms of relative cost and relative prices, thus linking it directly to profitability, and presents a whole new perspective on how profit is created and divided. In the almost two decades since publication, Porter's framework for predicting competitor behavior has transformed the way in which companies look at their rivals and has given rise to the new discipline of competitor assessment.

More than a million managers in both large and small companies, investment analysts, consultants, students, and scholars throughout the world have internalized Porter's ideas and applied them to assess industries, understand competitors,, and choose competitive positions. The ideas in the book address the underlying fundamentals of competition in a way that is independent of the specifics of the ways companies go about competing.

Competitive Strategy has filled a void in management thinking. It provides an enduring foundation and grounding point on which all subsequent work can be built. By bringing a disciplined structure to the question of how firms achieve superior profitability, Porter's rich frameworks and deep insights comprise a sophisticated view of competition unsurpassed in the last quarter-century. ... Read more

Reviews (28)

The best ABC book about Business Strategy
This book is a classic! It's concepts will last forever...Sun Tzu would have written a very similar book, if he would have written about businesses. If you want to introduce yourself to business strategy and understand the broad picture, this is the book you must read. The book lets you understand competitive forces within an industry and the strategic steps a company can take to enhance its competitive position. It also describes the main caractheristics of nacent, mature, and declining insutries and available strategies for each case. Although it is a easy to read (but not light) and is very well structured, you must first be familiar with some economics and business administration concepts. You CAN'T talk or even have an opinion (sounds exagerating but it's true... it's the ABC, remember?) about strategy if you have not read this book. A MUST for business analyst, strategist, managers and directors... (I think this phrase appears on the book, but it's true).

I bought the spanish version, which is not very good. For spanish speakers....buy the english version if you can.

Clasic for all time
As Adam Smith is to economics and capitalism, Porter is to business strategy within this market system.

This is THE seminal book for defining how businesses compete.

As technology fads and internet business models ("New economy") come and go, every company must still address the basics of competition as outlined within this book. The frameworks within the book outline:
-How to assess the competitive structure of your industry,
-Generic competitive strategies
-Competitor Analysis

-Effects of market signals on competitive behavior
-Competitive moves in response to your strategy
-Competitve strategy in a number of different market environments
-Impact of strategies such as Vertical integration, growth through new products, scale, and M&A
-... much more

You will use this book as a reference, and find it is timeless. It is no wonder the Mr. Porter is widely regarded as the preeminent strategist.

To put this in practice I recommend books on gaming theory.

A book that should be referred to over and over again.
This is one of the foundation books of the modern business education. Yes, it was written over twenty years ago and you cannot take a business course anywhere without the term "Porter's Five Forces" not at least being mentioned. But, really, this book is still completely relevant and should be on every businessperson's bookshelf, front and center.

For a concept that has so much a place in b-school discussions, you might think the book focuses on the 5-forces, but it is only a small part of the book. It outlines the Generic Competitive Strategies (again, a now well known topic), Competitor Analysis (extremely valuable), Market Signals, Competitive Moves, and so much more.

The book is in three parts, General Analytical Techniques, Generic Industry Environments, and Strategic Decisions. There is an appendix on Portfolio Techniques in Competitor Analysis, and a very useful appendix on How to Conduct an Industry Analysis.

I think a lot of times this book is not given as active a place in the pantheon as it deserves because so many books and articles are recycling a lot of what was in this book and most don't add much to the discussion. Honestly, this book is worth referring to over and over and over again. It is a tool or a weapon in your competitive war chest that needs to be kept active and in play.

A must have for beginners
A must have. Porter provides students with a great place to start for understanding strategy. While you must know the basics in this book to understand the foundation of strategy,it will not provide you with a dynamic and cutting edge strategic framework that many of today's industries need.

the bluest of the blue
Simply put, if you haven't read Competitive Strategy yet, you are unfit to talk about business strategy.

And only after reading it, are you fit to read the sequel, Competitive Advantage, which if you haven't read till now, makes you unfit to talk about business tactics.

These two books are the Old and New Testaments of business. ... Read more

Book Description

This best-selling book provides readers with a comprehensive overview of all the important functions of business. Each edition has introduced cutting-edge firsts while ensuring the underlying principles that guided its creation. This eighth edition focuses on the broad range of developments–economic, social, and political–re-shaping some long-established business practices. A five-part organization covers the contemporary business environment, the dynamics of managing, the principles of marketing, managing operations and information, and understanding financial issues. For individuals starting out - and continuing to compete - in the 21st century world of business.

Reviews (2)

I used this book for a class...
This book was to be purchased for my "Business of Fashion" class. What a great purchase. After the class was over I didn't turn it back in to get money for it. I kept it knowing that someday I may want a reference guide. It was a great investment!

A very good introduction and view into the Fashion Business
I not only learned alot from reading this book but actually enjoyed the reading considering it's a text book. As someone who's trying to get back into the fashion industry after a 20 year hiatus; I feel that I have the knowledge I need to head in the direction I want to go now. I really liked how they used real companies for examples and at the end of each chapter they have an explanation of a job in the industry with comments from people in those jobs. There's lots of charts, lists of important contacts, calendars of events, etc that will be important to anyone starting a fashion business or wanting to find a job in fashion. It's worth the money if you can't afford to go to school for this. ... Read more

Book Description

Broad-scale guidance on all facets of M&A. Corporate integration expert Alexandra Reed Lajoux's The Art of M&A Integration gives you time-tested strategies and practices on handling the hundreds of details that spell the difference between corporate growth or financial disaster. More than theoretical research and details, The Art of M&A Integration brings you the stories of companies both large and small currently involved in the M&A process. Learn the M&A essentials of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX in telecommunications, NationsBank and Boatmen's in banking, Columbia/HCA and HealthTrust Inc, Glaxo/Welcome in healthcare, Martin Marietta and Lockheed Martin in aerospace, and many others. Find out what they did, how they did it, and what they wish they had done differently! Lajoux's book is the only place you will find: detailed explanatory endnotes--these unique additions keep the information flow moving forward while allowing you more in-depth study of specific points; international tips and tactics--one in four mergers announced by U.S. companies involves a foreign partner. Here are proven rules for success!; a dynamic postmerger plan--discover how those before you kept everybody on the same page. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

A comprehensive textbook on a very timely topic
Alex Lajoux cut her professional teeth on this subject, and knows her stuff! Fortunately, she also is a surperb writer, and is able to organize and explain often difficult material in a very readable and clear manner. THE ART OF M&A offers a step-by-step textbook that will prove valuable for anyone contemplating or going through the merger process. The book is logically broken down into appropriate topics (Basic Definitions and Data, Integration Planning and Communication, Integrating Financial and Tangible Resources, etc.) and sub-topics (Preserving Brand Identity after a Merger, Merging Senior Management Teams, etc.) making this a valuable reference book which will become a keeper in any executive library. Read this book before you merge or acquire, and you won't be disappointed. The small investment will save you a fortune in legal fees and headaches later!

An instant classic.
The M&A market should remain white hot in 1998, ISS reports. Six annual records have been broken in a row with 10,700 U.S. transactions worth $919 billion compared to 1996's record of 10,340 deals worth $626 billion according to Securities Data. What's the hottest new field in M&A? Our guess would be post-merger integration. A trio from the Boston Consulting Group provides advise to boards in the January/February edition of The Corporate Board. For more depth see The Art of M&A Integration: A Guide to Merging Resources, Processes, and Responsibilities (McGraw-Hill, 1997) by Alexandra Reed Lajoux. There are nearly 500 books in print on M&A but less than a dozen on the postmerger period. Those seeking advise on what to do after the papers have been signed will find Lajoux's work a practical guide. It fills a vacuum in the field with an instant classic.

Written in an easily understood question and answer format, Lajoux uses the knowledge she has gained though years of experience and through interviews with some of the top leaders in the field (profiled in the back of the book) to outline everything from integrating resources and processes to fulfilling stakeholder commitments. The book explodes some common myths by pointing out there is no correlation between size and growth, there is greater growth variation within industries than between them, and most cost-cutters continue to cut costs rather than grow.

Want to know what to tell your shareholders about the merger? Lajoux includes a sample letter. How do you explain the dilution that may result from issuing shares to pay for a merger? Read the sample language. When does a transaction qualify for pooling vs purchase for accounting purposes? What proportion of firms keep their names, blend names, adopt the seller's name or create an entirely new name and what are the pros and cons of these approaches? What proportion of mergers involve foreign firms? The Art of M&A Integration answers these questions and hundreds more.

There are dos and don'ts on compensation, advise on the year 2000 problem, and lists of checkpoints on everything from commitments to customers, suppliers and employees to building shareholder value. The author builds on the Caux Round Table's Principles for Business and expands on this consensus document, drawn up by leading global business executives, by providing useful checkpoints on many items. A practical guide for anyone planning M&A activity.

Misleading Title
The Art of M&A Integration is indeed an Art Book. It might help you in choosing your watercolors, but will not teach you how to paint.

Many good questions - few useful answers
This book provides a decent list of questions about integrations, but the answers were very high level and offered few insights into the real nitty-gritty of getting it done.

Perhaps it could be a reasonable introduction to the topic, but it is not a practical or useful execution guide.

The Art of M&A Integration
Don't waste your time. Purely academic look at M&A integration. Author may have talked to many people, but not enough who've actually been in the trenches doing it. ... Read more

Book Description

The entertainment industry is one of the largest sectors of the United States economy and fast becoming one of the most prominent globally.In this fully revised book, Harold L. Vogel examines the business economics of the major entertainment enterprises: movies, television, and cable programming, music, broadcasting, casino wagering and gambling, sports, publishing, performing arts, theme parks, and toys. He has also added a new section pertaining to recent theoretical work explaining box office performance.He offers new material that links the concept of cultural capital to the organizational aspects shared by all creative industries, expands the coverage of deal elements in the music industry, and provides additions to the sports economics chapter. The result is a comprehensive, up-to-date reference guide on the economics, financing, production, and marketing of entertainment in the U.S. and overseas.Investors, business executives, accountants, lawyers, arts administrators, and general readers will find that the book offers an invaluable guide to how entertainment industries operate. Harold L. Vogel has been selected as a top leisure industry analyst nine times by Industrial Investor. He is a member of the New York State Governor's Advisory Board for Motion Pictures and Television. Vogel was a senior analyst with Merrill Lynch for seventeen years and is an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University. He is also the author of Travel Industry Economics (Cambridge, 2000). Previous Edition Hb (2001): 0-521-79264-9 ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Best used as a reference
This book is the most complete available dealing with the various industries that make up "entertainment " in our society. It has many nice figures and tables that can be used to illustrate a point if you're a student doing a report, or a teacher covering this area in a lecture. But, it is a very dry read otherwise. It works best for me as a reference text to be used in companion to other texts on the various subjects. It'll have to be updated anually to be a valid reference in this age of the internet... it could use a website to go along with it maybe? Good book to keep on the shelf and refer to when you need a stat.

Lays it all out
I had always wondered how claims of unprofitable multimillion dollar-grossing films could be substantiated; now I know. The author provides a very good presentation of the details of entertainment financing. I particularly liked its up-to-date financial information on specific films; as well as the explanation of the power balance among studios, producers and distributors. All of this, while providing a historical backdrop explaining how things got to this point made for compelling reading.

It may be a bit dry, but that's what you want from a text like this. Better that than to err on the side of being too insider-focussed, name-droppy, or "lite." This book explains how the money flows and that riveting enough for me.

Good entertainment overview
This book did a good job of covering the many aspects to entertainment. It was a bit on the dry side though. For those trying to decide where they belong in the world of entertainment (as a career or as an investor), this book would provide great insight.

Great overview of the business of entertainment
This book is certainly the best economic text I've ever read. It covers all aspects of the entertainment business, including film, television, cable TV, music, gaming, and Broadway. People currently in the entertainment biz can add to their knowledge, while novices and those with a general background in economics will have a fantastic primer from Vogel. ... Read more

Book Description

Providing in-depth coverage of the wine industry and comprehensive self-assessment material, Sales and Service for the Wine Professional is an indispensable one-stop resource for sommeliers, hospitality managers, food and beverage managers, trainers and students.With detailed treatment of recently emerged regions and a continued emphasis on the importance of service, this new, fully international edition offers ideal support for students and trainees on higher educational, vocational and professional courses. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Future Master Sommeliers UNITE!
This is the absolute best book with which to study for the tests given by the Guild of Master Sommeliers.

Hospitality Operators & Educators; Sommeliers READ THIS
Master Sommelier and Hospitality Professor Brian Julyan's long-awaited revision of SALES AND SERVICE FOR THE WINE PROFESSIONAL is finally available. Wine is covered in a succint, no-nonsense, easy-to-grasp, and immediately-useable manner. The same holds true for sections on beers,spirits, mineral waters, specialty coffees, traditional European cigar,cigarette, and cocktail service, and even telephone manner. Mr. Julyan'sBritish background does become obvious with the section on how to greetroyalty. While certainly amusing, this may not come in as handy forAmericans. However, the rest of this guide book is so helpful to everydayoperations that copies are sure to become dog-eared, well-worn, and kept atarms' reach by servers and supervisors alike instead of gathering dust onan executive's shelf.

Educators and Sommeliers: this book isone-stop-shopping for all of those interested in the sales and service ofwine, and is on the required reading list for the Master Sommelier program(now we can stop circulating that eight-year-old photocopied version fromHawaii!) ... Read more

Book Description

Understanding and Servicing Alarm Systems, Third Edition has seen the alarm industry enter the computer age. With its coverage of microcomputerized controls, sophisticated detection devices, methods of alarm reporting, that second edition broke new ground. Now completely updated to reflect the security industry's most high-tech advances, the third edition of Understanding and Servicing Alarm Systems, continues on the road of educating the alarm dealer, installer, and technician.

Prepares readers for the practicalities of dealing with customers
Takes readers from the basics of electricity to the most modern equipment installation and repair
Teaches the pitfalls one might encounter in the alarm servicing profession, along with the approaches for troubleshooting. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

VERY DISAPOINTED!
Maybe my expectations were too high. The fact is that this book offers you very little unless you really have no clue about how electricity works. The book is also poorly organized. I really couldn't figure out a logical sequence. The book also seems to be very dated. There is virtually no mention of electronic security panels and common programming tasks. In my opinion, it's a book to avoid. ... Read more

Book Description

The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems guides the reader through the entire process of security system design and integration, illustrating how the various physical and electronic elements work together to form a comprehensive system. A great resource for both the security professional and student alike, the book is arranged in three major parts:

1) Determining the objectives
2) Designing the system
3) Evaluating the system

The book emphasizes the use of component performance measures to establish the effectiveness of physical protection systems, applying scientific and engineering principles to meet goals. The author takes a problem-solving approach to security and risk assessment, explaining the use of electronic protection elements and demonstrating how these elements are integrated into an effective system.

The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems contains numerous illustrations of concepts throughout and includes chapter summaries reviewing the salient topics covered. Each chapter includes appropriate references to additional information as well as review questions to test the reader's grasp of key chapter concepts.

The appendices include sample models for system performance analysis. In addition, the author provides additional online resources such as chapter objectives, class notes, exercises, and answers to chapter questions.

Describes the process for estimating system performance against threats.
Approaches security in a practical, systematic manner based on proven and tested measures.
Offers process-oriented security that is "user friendly" to both the novice and the seasoned professional. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excelent and Practical!!
This book not only gives you a broad idea of what security is, but is very practical using it in your work, e.g. risk analysis. It is helping me a lot.
Best Buy!

The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems
The recent tragedy of New York and Washington has emphasised the considerable need for this excellent book on physical security. Mary Lynn Garcia is to be congratulated on producing a book on physical protection systems that is design-based and is driven by principle rather than application. As a senior member of the technical staff at Sandia National laboratories, Mary Lynn Garcia is well placed to have knowledge of best practice in design of systems, and the development of principles of asset protection. This book is markedly unique from other security publications on the market as it provides a well-structured and rigorous discussion of the major components of the principles of the protection of assets. The book entitled The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems by Mary Lynn Garcia has raised the standard of security references and texts to new quantum levels of quality and detail.

The design and evaluation process for physical protection systems is presented early in the book and provides as