Book Description

The 2000 Miller GAAP Guide organizes accounting pronouncements alphabetically by topic under two general areas: generally accepted accounting principles and specialized industry accounting principles. Pronouncements covering the same subject are compiled and incorporated in a single chapter so that the authoritative information is immediately accessible.

Material can be located several ways: The IMPRESS Table of Contents locates the chapter in which a particular pronouncement is discussed. The Index provides quick, accurate reference to needed information. The 2000 Miller GAAP Guide is written in clear, understandable language. Each pronouncement is discussed in a comprehensive format that makes it easy to understand and apply. Practical illustrations and examples demonstrate and clarify specific accounting principles. The Practice Pointers throughout this edition do just that: They point out in plain English how to apply the standards just discussed.

Observations enrich the discussion by presenting interesting aspects of GAAP, such as conflicts with the authoritative literature. Although no attempt is made to resolve apparent errors and conflicts in the promulgated pronouncements, these items are brought to your attention. To facilitate research, the 2000 Miller GAAP Guide includes extensive codification references to pertinent paragraphs of the original pronouncements. The Disclosures Index contains many of the required and recommended disclosures currently in use. It was designed to assist the preparer, reviewer, or auditor of financial statements in determining whether the necessary and most current disclosures have been made. The Self-Study CPE Program divides the material in the 2000 Miller GAAP Guide into four separate modules for efficient and thorough study. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

FASB 121
I need to review tha acounts standars for an equipment revaluation or four value, I need to know and undertadant when do have do yo it and when these could be change for a revaluation in stead.

Financial Accounting Standars Board
FASB5 ... Read more

Book Description

Your Key To A Deeper Understanding of Project Management

Do you want to learn more about project management? This handy book will help you do just that. It offers 200 multiple choice questions covering the key themes and concepts of the project management framework and the nine project management knowledge areas of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)–2000 Edition, the Project Management Institute’s global standard.

Once you have "tested" yourself, check the end of this book for the answers. Each answer references the appropriate page number(s) of the PMBOK® Guide–2000 Edition and provides relevant quotations from it, so you can enhance the breadth and depth of your knowledge in that area. Whether you are a seasoned professional, a novice, a student, or an instructor of project management, you will appreciate Q & As for the PMBOK® Guide–2000 Edition. It is a great way to learn more about a complex and fascinating profession that grows in popularity every day. ... Read more

Book Description

Tcl/Tk (Tool Command Language/Tool Kit) makes it fast and easy to implement any type of application, from games to network analyzers. Tcl/Tk is a full-bodied, mature programming platform used by NASA rocket scientists, Wall Street database experts, Internet designers, and open source programmers around the world. Tcl/Tk's multi-faceted and extensible nature make it ideal for developing end-user GUIs, client/server middleware, Web applications, and more. You can code completely in Tcl, use any of hundreds of extensions, call C or Java subroutines from Tcl/Tk, or use Tcl to glue legacy applications together.

Written from a programmer's perspective, Tcl/Tk: A Developer's Guide describes how to use Tcl's standard tools and the unique features that make Tcl/Tk powerful: including graphics widgets, packages, namespaces, and extensions. With this book an experienced programmer will be able to code Tcl in a few hours. In just a few chapters you will learn about Tcl features that allow you to isolate and protect your code from being damaged in large applications. You will even learn how to extend the language itself.

Tcl/Tk: A Developer's Guide clearly discusses development tools, proven techniques, and existing extensions. It shows how to use Tcl/Tk effectively and provides many code examples. This fully revised new edition is the complete resource for computer professionals, from systems administrators to programmers. It covers versions 7.4to 8.4 and includes a CD-ROM containing the interpreters, libraries, and tutorials to get you started quickly. Additional materials in the book include case studies and discussions of techniques for the advanced user.

On the CD-ROM
*Distributions for Tcl 8.3 and 8.4 for Linux, Solaris, Macintosh, and Windows.
*A copy of ActiveTcl from ActiveState.
*The latest release of TclTutor.
*How-to's and tutorials as well as copies of all the tools discussed in the book.
*The author's "Tclsh Spot" articles from :login; magazine and the "Real World" Tcl/Tk chapters from the first edition.
*Demo copies of commercial development tools from ActiveState and NeatWare.
*Many open source Tcl/Tk development tools.
*Tcl/Tk design guidelines.

*Brings beginners up to speed quickly.
*Overview of Tcl development tools, popular extensions, and packages.
*Tips, style guidelines, and debugging techniques for the advanced user. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Best book on Tcl programming
[I'm stingy in my ratings. I could easily give this book 5 stars, but I try to use the entire rating scale.]

This book is the best available complement to the free HTML documentation (which is available online, or on CD in many books, including this one). I like the latest version of the Welch book, with its vastly improved index, but I find the explanations to be a bit sparse.

For example, I am an experienced programmer in several languages, but I still had a lot of questions about local scoping vis-a-vis namespaces after reading Welch and the docs. Flynt made this topic transparent, with diagrams and examples. I also liked his example of building a tree data structure, which demonstrated to me better than anything that Tcl is simply the wrong language for building trees.

That brings me to what I dislike about this book. The code examples are sometimes too long. In my opinion, long code should be only on the CD, to save paper space. And as the book is shorter than Welch's latest, I think the space should not have been wasted.

About 1/3 of the book is devoted to Tk, similar to Welch. I have no interest in Tk anymore, so that is all a waste for me. (If you ARE interested in Tk, Effective Tcl/Tk programming is a great source.)

There is a fair amount of info on the C library, but I think that Ousterhout's old book is still the best place for that. However, Flynt provides great advice on practical ways of interfacing with C/C++ (SWIG, Starkits, Starpacks).

He also details the pro and cons of various Tcl tools, some free. This sort of information goes out of date quickly. For example, the author already mentioned privately to a friend that "nagelfar" is now his own favorite syntax checker. But at the moment, most of his info is current.

In short, this is the best book for Tcl developers. But please consider Lua as an alternative interfacing language.

Excellent book for Tcl/Tk developers of all skill levels...
This book covers the Tcl language and the Tk toolkit in exhaustive detail. It works very well as an introduction to Tcl/Tk and as a reference guide for developers more experienced with Tcl/Tk. ... Read more

Book Description

Everything necessary to start up a small business partnership. ... Read more

Book Description

Experienced business owners know that the required ingredients for starting a successful business are 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting Your Own Business, Fourth Edition, has been updated and expanded to give you even more of the tips, tricks, and action steps needed to write a great business plan, to get it funded, and to put it into action.It even includes a new CD ROM that contains 90 of the most commonly used business documents, legal agreements, and forms-- saving you time andmoney.Reading this book and acting on its advice won't get rid of theperspiration but it will make your success no sweat. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Useful and easy to understand
I am using this book to help my friend's painting business get organized and focused. Bids and jobs take up much of his time, so this is a great tool to understand some of the "bigger" picture without having to take a bunch of business classes. The CD also has useful general forms.

Excellent Resource
This book was very easy to read and understand. If you are thinking of starting your own business and need to know how to go about doing it, this book is the only book you will need. The book comes complete with a CD containing forms and helpful resources and information.

a good beginner's guide
Overall this book is quite helpful. Not every chapter will be applicable to every person or every type of business. Most of the information is general, and you will need more information from other sources to really get started (like other references, an attorney, an accountant, etc.) But if don't know anything about corporations, taxes, payroll, business plans, or marketing, this is a good place to start.

A Good Starter
I've had the seed of an idea for years on starting my own business, but I didn't have the first clue about where to begin. This "Idiot's" guide was very helpful, though ignorance to a topic does not necessarily brand you an idiot. It guided me through the right questions, the possible pitfalls, the little in's and out's of what it takes to start out on my own. Whether or not I choose to take the plunge is still undecided, but at least I have a broad idea thanks to this book. Of course seasoned entrepeneurs will find the contents boring and irrelevant, (then again, they're not the ones who should be reading it!) but to someone who has never explored the area, this guide is a good starting point of reference.

Only for the true complete idiot.
If you truly are a complete idiot, then this is the book for you. Half the book is dedicated to things that you should already know if you have decided to start your own business: "What kind of business do I want?" Wouldn't you already have that in mind before buying the book? There is little or no information regarding important matters like scouting locations, government regulations, advertising strategies, etc.

If you don't know whether or not you want to start your own business, then this book might help, but if you need a guide on how to get started, look elsewhere. ... Read more

Book Description

Measure market sentiment and predict market trends.

Contrary opinion is the opposite opinion of the sentiment held by the majority. If eighty percent of traders are bearish then a bullish view would be a contrary opinion. As developer of the Bullish Consensus, R. Earl Hadady has fine-tuned sentiment, measuring the opinion of a specific majority, to a calculable figure. Traders can now develop a winning trading plan around the Bullish Consensus and buy or sell as warranted by its numbers.

Examines in-depth the workings of the futures markets and how market sentiment affects those markets.
* Demonstrates that the trend of the market is actually a reflection of the trend of market sentiment

Earl Hadady (Glendora, CA) is the author of the first edition of Contrary Opinion: How to Use it for Profit in Trading Commodity Futures. Mr. Hadady is a renowned expert in contrary opinion. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent book, simple and provocative
What you will come to know in several years can be assimilated in little time with this book written by the master. Because most people are going towards electronic trading, they are devoid of the emotions that people have witnessed in the trading pits. Often times, things that are percieved in a convoluted way are at the human level pychologically simple, and that is what this book is taking you towards. Everything good and nothing bad.

The best elaboration on Contrarian Theory I ever read
Ironically the low sales of the book (I inferred from the Amazon sales rank) tells the high value of it, if ones believes the contrary opinion theory, that conventional wisdom, usually the popular one, always put the majority/public to the wrong side.

The author had honestly and successfully delivered what one could grasp from the title: profiting by contrarion opinion (to be precise, bullish/bearish consensus) in futures markets. He explained why the futures market is a money game, why the minority always win, why conventional market wisdom (yeah, your analysts included) always fail...He did that so well. That's all I wanna say.

...

not a bad book
this book starts out giving the basics of the futures markets. the meat of the book is about bullish consensus which i found very interesting. the author states this isn't a trading system but a supplement to trading systems.i would reccomend this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Everything real estate investors need to know about finding, financing, and closing real estate investment deals

Navigating the complexities of real estate financing can be a major obstacle for the real estate investment novice. Now this quick-reference guide arms them with a road map for finding, evaluating, and financing golden investment opportunities. From due diligence made easy, to writing winning loan proposals, to successfully negotiating with sellers, to making sense of closing statements, Insider Secrets to Financing Your Real Estate Investments covers all the bases. Using dozens of annotated forms and checklists, Frank Gallinelli tells you what you need to know about:

• Selecting the best real estate investments for individual investor needs
• What lenders are really looking for in real estate investors
• Creating winning loan presentations
• Closing statements and what to expect when the deal is sealed

Book Description

no description ... Read more

Reviews (4)

An Exhaustive Guide For Managing Change
David Hutton has created an outstanding resource for those responsible for managing change within their organizations. This book is not just for Change Agents . . . I recommend it for all leaders in any organization. The subtitle, "A Survival Guide For Quality Improvement Champions" is on the money. This book covers it all!

Best book on process improvement I've ever read
In my opinion, this is the best book on process improvement on the market today. It takes up where so many other books fear to tread and deals with practical issues of organizational dynamics. An excellent companion volume to the CMM, SPICE, or other technical framework.

Essential guide for companies seeking excellent performance
Virtually every company or organization can benefit by engaging in a quest for excellence. David Hutton's book paves the way by explaining the opportunities and pitfalls which will be encountered. Success does not just happen. It must be planned, then plans must be executed, results measured and there must be followup. The Change Agent's Handbook covers it all. David explains the vital role of management and realizes how important it is for them to be continualy engaged. If you plan to make significant strides toward excellence read this book then keep it handy as a reference document. I have worked extensively with David and have watched him place into practice that which he preaches.

So topical and interesting I couldn't put it down.
I came across this book at a time when I was dealing with major changes in my organization. Since I was Vice President level, I had to sell my colleagues on many of the things I thought necessary for our survival all of which meant a change in process and thinking. I was a change agent. This book championed me through the steps required to meet the task. We did very well as we brought about a change in culture and in the way we would "do business". ... Read more

Book Description

This indispensable book and CD kit gives you the practical tools you need to implement effective campaigns right away, from ready-made planning forms to easily customizable ad prototypes to a simple Web template. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good starter...
This book is extremely basic but has great templates that ensure you cover all the fundamentals.

The Dictionary for Marketing Your Company
I loved this book. I needed an quick read, easy to navigate, marketing information for a new business. After reading this book one afternoon I quickly learned new information as well as refreshed my memory on other important and critical marketing principles. I keep this book next to my dictionary in the office. These are the two books I use the most when writing and designing dynamic attention ads and new client generators. ... Read more

Book Description

Doug Hall has been called America's #1 New Product Idea Man by Inc. Magazine, A&E Top 10 and CIO Magazine, a title earned due to his outstanding work with such industry leaders as American Express, Ford Motor Company, Disney, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett-Packard, Tropicana, AT&T and Frito-Lay.

After 10 years with Procter & Gamble Co., where he became that company's first "master marketing inventor," he now runs the Eureka Ranch, a work-hard, play-hard haven where he helps companies create breakthrough ideas for new products and services. This work, in combination with his years of consulting and researching, led directly to Jump Start Your Business Brain, the best piece of good news for business owners to appear in the last ten years.

Jump Start Your Business Brain is must-have information for business people everywhere, especially small business owners.Why? Because author Doug Hall is on a personal quest--a Robin Hood-like mission to translate the wisdom he's discovered researching top corporations into no-fail, practical tactics for small and medium sized businesses.

Jump Start Your Business Brain is packed with hard-won insight as to what truly works in the marketplace.To make it accessible to all, Doug transforms this real-life market intelligence into six scientific laws that, when applied with diligence, can make any business overflow with good fortune. Readers will learn how to:

* Increase sales by 10 to 50% by sharpening customer communications--not by spending additional money
* Transform business offerings to enjoy a higher profit margin
* Take charge of their future by increasing their skills at identifying and exploiting business opportunities

What makes this business book different from all the rest? Its laws of success are developed on scientific data and original research drawn from over 4,000 new products and services and over 6,000 front-line development groups.

Even better, the purchase of this book also entitles the reader to conduct a Merwyn simulated test market on the probability of success for their own business plan/idea.Merwyn, the computer "brain trust" for all Doug's data and research, will run an Idea Scan (via a single-use password protected within the book--a $500 value) which will allow crucial analysis for their business.

Finally, the promise of these scientific laws spring to life for the reader in dozens of small business success stories, including Village Pottery, Mo Hotta Mo Betta, College of Piping, Woolly Ware, Island Winds, Cavendish Figurines, Seasons in Thyme and Island Pewter.

Every copy of Jump Start Your Business Brain provides customers with access to one FREE Merwin Idea Scan--a $500 value!

Merwyn is a simulated test marketing system for business ideas. It allows test marketing of a new business, product, service or advertising idea before investing time and money in its execution.

Marketplace data indicates that ideas selected to go to market are successful only 25% of the time.An 845-case validation found Merwyn to have a 70% to 90% accuracy picking winners--thus dramatically reducing business risk. Merwyn's accuracy comes from:

1) Modeling what customers "do" as opposed to what they "say,"
2) Analyzing probability of success relative to millions of data points and
3) Eliminating the emotional bias that is common when pursuing new ideas. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

A marketing genius shares his method
BUY THIS BOOK, and make yourself a business success. Find the secrets to Happiness, Joy, and True Love in the pages of this book!!!!
(okay so I used some of his principles to help sell the book). This book is very different from his first book on creativity. The focus is on marketing ideas, and making those ideas a success. Doug's first book was filled with great information, but a little hard to read. Jump Start your business brain, is not only filled with excellent, practical information, but is extremely well written. I found it very easy reading. He talks a lot about the, "MERWYN", system which is fascinating in itself. He has applied scientific methods to evaluating the success of ideas. So the first part is a marketing primer. The second part is how to get more and better ideas. No one does this better than Doug. He does repeat some of the tools if you read the first book, but the explanations and examples are much clearer. If you have a small business, or just want to own a well-written book on business oriented creativity, this is a MUST BUY, book. Plus, he includes a real bonus of a "FREE", idea evaluation. I am a trainer in innovation, and creativity. I have read hundreds of books on creativity. This is my new favorite! ...

Science and Practically Meet with Explosive Force
Doug Hall is a Chemical Engineer by education, a master marketer by training and experience. He's a superior innovator. No, he's a research-based stimulator who helps corporate executives innovate and follow-through to sell their products and services at high profits. You could be one of those successful corporate executives if you read this book and follow the abundant advice.

You're not a big-shot executive of a major well-funded corporation? Not a problem. Hall's specialty is helping small companies (97 percent of American companies earn less than $1 million in revenue in a year) achieve greatness. Yes, he works with large clients like Mattel, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi-Cola, Tyson Food Service, and John Hancock Insurance. The learning he gleans from them is then shared with smaller companies as Hall enjoys his role as a modern-day corporate Robin Hood. His readers are the beneficiaries of his knowledge, insight, and experience.

If you've read marketing books, some of Hall's urgings will sound familiar. He's a self- admitted follower of marketing guru David Ogilvy. But, that's just the beginning. Hall will take you to the next level. Before I even finished the book, I was re-writing my firm's marketing messages.

In the first part of the book, Hall delves into what he calls the Three Laws of Marketing Physics. You'll learn about Overt Benefit, Reason to Believe, and Dramatic Difference. The concepts presented will awaken your thinking and fuel your idea generator. This section is valuable for readers who need to understand the principles that underlie what Hall prescribes. The second section jumps into the nitty-gritty, exploring the Three Laws of Capitalist Creativity: Explore Stimuli, Leverage Diversity, and Face Fears.

In addition to the inspiring flow of material in the chapters themselves, you'll find value in the frequently asked questions sections, the bibliography, and the index-which you'll probably use liberally as you convert the book from a good read to a powerful tool. Think you know a lot of this stuff already? Take the Quick Quiz at the start of the book and you'll discover there's more to learn. Doug Hall will be your teacher.

What a disappointment
I buy about a book a week from Amazon and never write reviews - but I have to on this one.

Did you buy one of the original Apple Ipods? All the PR and reviews got your expectations up - only to find out that they went cheap on the battery. It lasts about 3-minutes. Big disappointment. It was capable of so much more.

Same with this book. I LOVED Hall's first book. Great breakthrough stuff. So when this one was released I got in the pre-publication line. I saved the book for a Saturday cross-country plane ride ready to savor. Had the highlighter all ready and - bummer. Couldn't believe it.

It's the equivlant of "Eat plenty of vegetables, get plenty of sleep and brush your teeth every day." Mundane, sophormoric stuff to be associated with the name Doug Hall. Not at all in the same league as his first book - a masterpiece. This guy is so much better than this cute little book of lists. I'll buy his next one, pay money to go see him - but this isn't the Doug Hall of the first book.

Tried and true ideas, reasonably well presented.
The book is full of marketing truisms that are presented better elsewhere, but set forth here as if they were new discoveries. For example, "benefits sell more than features." Well, duh! You already know this if you have read a single introductory marketing text. That said, the book's positive point is the energy with which he conveys the information, and it is a reasonably engaging read. The negative point is the ego of the author rises to the level of distraction.

So what's with all the glib five star reviews this book has received? Was I missing the point, was I reading a different book, or were there a few reviews planted by the publisher?

Pea-brained
I'm sorry but this is one more of those mass produced pea-brained books on creativity written by people who never had a worthwhile idea in their life. One has to wonder why the author isn't out there getting rich with all of his creativity instead of conning people to buy books and pay for seminars. ... Read more

Book Description

Essential reading for artists, art dealers, and gallery owners, The Artist-Gallery Partnership: A Practical Guide to Consigning Art offers a unique and thorough discussion of consignment that clarifies all aspects of this crucial art world relationship. The book presents a provision-by-provision explanation of the Standard Art Consignment Agreement, a model contract between artist and dealer suitable for use. The contract is flexible, making it ideal for establishing consignment arrangements that are mutually beneficial. It covers agency, consignment, warranties, transportation responsibilities, insurance coverage, pricing, gallery's commission, promotion, return of art, and much more.

The Artist-Gallery Partnership provides artists and dealers with guidelines for sound business negotiations as well as ideas for resolving disputes. The revised edition contains a new chapter on state consignment legislation, and includes a sample of the Standard Art Consignment Agreement, an inventory sheet/receipt for artworks on consignment, and the texts of the art consignment laws enacted in more than thirty states. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Best Book of Its Kind!!!
I own a small gallery because I love art and artists, but I was not prepared for the variety of business and legal headaches that this field could produce. During yet another frantic call to my attorney, she recommended this book to me and life has been considerably calmer ever since.

Let's face it: art is a business and if you are an artist or a gallery owner, you can't afford to be without this information. I use this book to maintain records; I check paperwork against it before visiting my accountant; I use its sample forms and agreements every time I get the place ready for a new exhibit; and I follow this book's advice with every sale and display we make. This book should be required reading for everyone who has anything to do with art consignment...

Ted Crawford normally writes pretty good books, but...
Tad Crawford has written many useful books for working artists. This book primarily focuses on the state laws for all 50 states. It has some info on the nuts and bolts of gallery/artist interactions and good examples of sample contracts, but overall I was disappointed.

Most of the book focuses on reciting the state statutes. I would have liked more "juice" on navigating the minefield that can occur in artist/dealer relations. Of course, a contract should allow an artist to avoid such messes, but more examples of things going wrong even with contracts would have been useful. It is a good reference book if you are past the point of no return and need to know the legalities of your particular state so you can proceed accordingly. I found Tad Crawfords other books more useful. ... Read more

Book Description

When you invest millions on new systems you don't want yesterday's solutions. You need a global view of end-to-end material, information, and financial flows. Managers today have the same concerns managers had last year, 10 years ago, or 50 years ago: products, markets, people and skills operations, and finance. New supply chain management processes give managers a hierarchy to the tasks they must perform to deal with these issues.Containing hundreds of tips and insights, the Handbook of Supply Chain Management describes the evolution of supply chain management. It explores how the techniques now popular in strategic planning and operations improvement will find new applications in managing supply chains. The author emphasizes changing supply chains rather than merely maintaining them. He uses case studies to illustrate the application of these techniques. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

a daughter's love
hi dad. loved the book. it was very interesting and informative. keep up the good work!

Highly Recommended
There are a lot of books out there that say they can supply you with the "Know-how" of supply chain management, but the Handbook of Supply Chain Management truly describes the supply chain as a "System". It views all critical material as elements, which are efficient in building an essential strong company. This handbook lays a foundation for others to follow.

This manual is a valuable reference, which helps the reader to grasp an understanding of supply chain strategies using a how-to guide. The instructive chapters walk you through all the important aspects of successful management. Contains actual studies, which can be viewed as educational tools and how to apply them to achieve the best possible results.

Overall, I highly recommend this book and I have already applied it in the optimization of our processes.

Christopher Kutyla
Manager, Technical Operations Planning

Handbook of Supply Chain Management
My company is a contract manufacturer operating at multiple sites internationally producing consumer products for many different Customers. As a supply chain improvement team leader I found the Handbook extremely useful as a comprehensive resource for the latest techniques in supply chain management, particularly, the sections on strategy and how to use supply chains to improve a competitive position. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone undertaking a similar effort.

Supply Chain Strategy, Tactics, and Metrics in one reference
Executives who want to improve their supply chains from strategic, operational or profitability standpoints will find this Handbook to be an extremely valuable reference, coach and how-to guide. The mix of Supply Chain Management theory and practice combined with 15 case studies from various industries, gives the reader a robust framework for, and solid tips on executing a SCM improvement strategy.

As an executive with supply chain experience at Dell and in the global automotive industry, I was impressed with the comprehensive nature of this book. Especially insightful and helpful are the sections on designing supply chains for strategic advantage, the importance and impact of different financial costing methods, and a methodologies section which walks the reader through the supply chain improvement process from the prestudy/assessment phase through to implementation.

Overall, if a supply chain practitioner is looking for one book on Supply Chain Mangement, this is the one.

Quite Interesting
I thought the book was very comprehensive in covering the most important aspects of supply chain management. It has some interesting real-life cases to illustrate the concepts. However, depending on your background, I would recommend "Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies, and Cases"... It gives some much needed quantitative analysis of SCM. If you are new to the field, these two books should give a head start... ... Read more

Book Description

Communicating Effectively For Dummies shows you how to get your point across at work and interact most productively with bosses and coworkers. Applying your knowledge and skill to your job is the easy part; working well with others is often the hard part. This helpful guide lets you maximize your personal interactions, even when resolving conflicts, dealing with customers, or giving difficult presentations.

Whether you’re the CEO of a major corporation, a small business owner, or a team manager, effective and clear communication is imperative to your success. From keeping your listener engaged to learning to become a better listener, Communicating Effectively For Dummies offers all the strategies, tips, and advice you need to:

• Learn how to become an active listener
• Accentuate the positive in negative situations
• Find win-win solutions for conflicts
• Stay on track when writing e-mails and letters
• Handle presentations, interviews, and other challenges
• Speak forcefully and assertively without alienating others

Management consultant Marty Brounstein — author of Handling the Difficult Employee and Coaching and Mentoring For Dummies — gives you the keys to a thriving career with expert advice on effective verbal and nonverbal communication. From mastering your own facial expressions (and reading them in others) to being a happy boss, Brounstein covers all the angles:

• Becoming aware of your own assumptions
• Dealing with passive-aggressive communicators
• What to say to help someone open up to you
• Communicating through eye contact and body language
• Maintaining a positive attitude
• Dealing with sensitive issues
• Effective conflict resolution models
• When to use e-mail, the phone, or a face-to-face meeting
• Dealing with angry customers
• Coaching your staff to communicate better

Reviews (4)

Good Reference but Keep your common sense
In the last two years my company has been using Mr. Bounstein's advice to develop various management tools. "Communicating Effectively" has been a corner stone of new policies and everyone has been required to read the book. It is a decent one stop reference when you want to review your communication skills.

While supervisors and low level manages are working better, the Sr. Staff is utilizing the author's tools in a micromanagement-fest. For example, the review process has become a long drawn out process that requires several hours a week for the employee to revise their personal "assignment sheet". At the end of every three months you then have the employee summarize all their previous tasks for time, issues, schedule, etc. The quarterly review takes about 2 weeks with several cycles of review and rewriting with Sr. Staff members. Every detail is gone over and over. It is not uncommon to loose a week of productivity.

Read the book but maintain some common sense about how you apply the information.

A Very Useful Book
This is a great book with a wealth of very useful information. As a project manager, communicating is a large part of my job. This book will definitely make my life a lot easier -- especially the chapters on conflict resolution.

I wish I had bought this book 2 years ago, when it first came out -- I could have avoided a lot of headaches.

Communications Made Simple
With this book, Marty Brounstein breaks down communications into bite-size morsels that are easily digested. This book covers a broad range of territory from speaking clearly, using active listening techniques for better understanding, dealing with conflict, and appropriate uses for email, telephone and other forms of communication.

There's a tremendous amount of information, and I find myself going back to review the material often, especially when a meeting or conversation goes badly.

There is nothing here you can't find in other books, but it's all collected neatly under one cover, and the author presents the material in interesting ways that make it easier to absorb and put into practice.

Definitely a worthwhile read!

Top-notch title on effective communication
I really liked this book. One of the rare "for dummies" books that is low on fluff and high on substance. What the author presents here is an entire training course and then some on how to communicate effectively. This book will help you clearly get your message across to people at work, in social circles, in relationships. I was notoroious for being a very abrasive communicator. This book is already helping me smooth out some of the sharp edges. I listen far better now, and when I speak I no longer beat around the bush. ... Read more

Book Description

Completely Updated, Over 200,000 Copies Sold!

"A ‘how-to’ guide for corporate executives who want to get at the unrealized shareholder values trapped in public companies." –New York Times

THE #1 GUIDE TO CORPORATE VALUATION IS NOW BETTER THAN EVER!

"The book’s clarity and comprehensive coverage make it one ofthe best practitioners’ guides to valuation." –Financial Times

"Should serve very well the professional manager who wants to do some serious thinking about what really does contribute value to his or her firm and why." –The Journal of Finance

"Valuation is like a Swiss army knife . . . you will be prepared for just about any contingency." –Martin H. Dubilier, Chairman of the Board, Clayton & Dubilier, Inc.

"This book on valuation represents fresh new thinking. The writing is clear and direct, combining the best academic principles with actual experience to arrive at value-increasing solutions." –J. Fred Weston, cordner Professor of Money and Financial Markets, Graduate School of Management, UCLA ... Read more

Reviews (38)

Superficial and lacking in depth
The first part of the book covers very basic material that may be found anywhere on the Internet or in a beginner's finance text book. This portion will be valuable only to introductory students of the subject.

The second two parts, which deal with actual valuation techniques, are very verbose, but lacking in organization and depth. This half assumes that you are already familiar with concepts such as WACC, Free Cash Flows, and other accounting and valuation terms. Although several valuation techniques are indeed discussed, by no means is the list comprehensive. Furthermore, no systematic approach to deriving or explaining the formulas is available, and often, terms not introduced earlier are used.

On the positive side, however, the book makes easy reading and focuses on a more practical, rather than academic or theoretical, discussion of valuation.

This book may not provide much value to a serious student of valuation. Furthermore, I do not believe it will make an ideal reference for the experienced professional either. At best, it will make a good second reference for a graduate level course in valuation.

Good but bad Excel support
I liked this book. In Russia it is one of the most popular books on valuatuion. But when I can get the perfect excel support for Investment Valuation by Aswath Damodaran or good web support for Valuation Methods and Shareholder Value Creation by Pablo Fernandez, I ask the authors, why don't they put supporting material in disk? I think that the price of their sowtware ($94.50) is too high compairing with the book ($56 with discount), because there is no supporting materials - only 1 spreadsheet (from my point of view does not conform to McKinsey, as the leader of consulting business). I hope, for the 4-th edition we will have a good excel support.

Adequate, but not Original
I hoped that McKinsey would have something new to say on this subject. There are two corporate finance texts and various finance books that cover the ground better or at least as well, so it is hard to see why this book was written.

In light of recent corporate shenanigans with off-balance sheet products, it is unforgiveable that this book doesn't address how lack of value can be disguised using off-balance sheet products. Total return swaps, an off-balance sheet financing tool, isn't discussed, and credit derivatives, another off-balance sheet tool aren't even discussed. For coverage of these topics and offshore vehicles, read "Credit Derivatives" by Tavakoli.

User-unfriendliness at its best
Hmm I wonder if those giving this book five stars actually work for McKinsey. As a practioner, I don't know anyone in the industry who has actually read this book. It looks impressive on the bookshelf, but the content is anything but impressive. A lot of topics are covered, but each one only superficially and the writing is extremely dry and boring. I actually found reading this volume *painful*, and I'm supposed to like this stuff since I do it for a living! My advice for any potential buyer is read a few chapters first before you shell out for it.

Logic jumps
This book is useful if you're already quite familiar with common valuation methods and can fill in the jumps & gaps. However, if any of the areas you're looking at is new to you or if you would like a more logical, well-reasoned approach or simply a discussion of all the various valuation methods in use, buy Damodaran's text instead.

This book was the prescribed & provided reference in the Corporate Finance department I worked in but most of my colleagues and I purchased our own copies of Damodaran's text "Investment Valuation, Wiley, Aswath Damodaran", which is superior in breadth as well as logical description of valuation processes. ... Read more

Book Description

Traditional statistical methods are limited in their ability to meet the modern challenge of mining large amounts of data. Data miners, analysts, and statisticians are searching for innovative new data mining techniques with greater predictive power, an attribute critical for reliable models and analyses. Statistical Modeling and Analysis for Database Marketing: Effective Techniques for Mining Big Data delivers a collection of successful database marketing methodologies for big data. This compendium solves common database marketing problems by applying new hybrid modeling techniques that combine traditional statistical and new machine learning methods. The book delivers a thorough analysis of these cutting-edge techniques, which include non-statistical machine learning and genetic intelligent hybrid models.By following the step-by-step procedures detailed in the text, database marketing professionals can learn how to apply the proper statistical techniques to any database marketing challenge. The practical case studies and examples provided involve real problems and real data, and are taken from a variety of industries, including banking, insurance, finance, retail, and telecommunications. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Data Mining for Database marketing
I predict that Dr. Ratner's Statistical Modeling and Analysis for Database Marketers: Effective Techniques for Mining Big Data will be on every database marketer's bookshelf. Dr Ratner has put together an assembly of chapters that provide an indispensable resource for the daily problems facing data analysts and model builders in the database/direct marketing community. In each of the seveenteen chatpers Dr. Ratner addresses a typical problem and discusses the common solution. He points out unknown working assumptions or weaknesses of the latter, and then offers better solutions, which require basic knowledge of EDA/data mining. Dr. Ratner's writing style is unique as he makes familar concepts new, and new concepts familar. Thus, the book is easy and enjoyable reading. I specially like chapter that blends statistics with the machine learning, such as the introduction of the GenIQ Model.

"EDA III" for Database Marketing
I consider myself fortunate to be the first to review this book. The title aptly indicates what the book is about: Statistical Modeling and Analysis for Database Marketers: Effective Techniques for Mining Big Data. The author provides in a Tukey-esque manner a collection of solutions to common problems facing database analysts, model builders, and marketers. The book can uniquely serve as a textbook, a how-to guide, and a reference source depending on the reader's statistical training and database marketing experience. Moreover, the author actually goes where other authors provide lip service: he creates the marriage of the "old" statistical methodologies with the new machine learning influence by introducing machine learning methods specifically tailored to database assessment of optimal model performance. The book's illustrations involve real problems, real data, and better solutions. This book is a keeper! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Until the early '90s, project management was definitely located somewhere near the unsexy end of the business spectrum. But now, with the rise of downsizing and outsourcing, it has become one of the hot disciplines. Professional membership of the U.S.-based Project Management Institute has quadrupled in the last decade, and Microsoft claimed recently to have over 2 million users worldwide of its project-management software. The reasons for this growth are simple. Project management is about managing "projects," that is, unique pieces of work (as opposed to ongoing operations). Downsizing, outsourcing, and the accelerating pace of change have meant that, increasingly, work is carried out on an ad-hoc, one-off project basis. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management is designed as an advanced textbook for businesspeople with a grasp of the basics and insufficient time (or inclination) to go back to school to learn more. Written by Eric Verzuh, president of the Versatile Company, a leading project-management consultancy, this is not a heavy academic text.

Like the rest of the Fast Forward series, this book is designed to let the reader extract maximum information in minimum time. There is a strong use of graphics with tables, charts cross-heads, and bullet points. Important passages are flagged in bold and/or emblazoned with the words key concept. When you read it, you realize that there is nothing magical about project management, just the application of careful common sense. The book covers all the basic stuff like planning, time-tabling, quantity and price estimation, resource allocation, and scheduling. But it also acknowledges that there is inevitably a political dimension to every project, no matter how small. So it has important sections on how to ensure that all the stakeholders in the project are kept "on board" and the importance of communication.

As Verzuh states in his introduction, "Every project participant from part-time team member to executive sponsor, becomes more effective once he or she understands the basics of project management." Really, this is a book about management that every manager should read, whether he or she has a project or not. --Alex Benady ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Even if you're MBA-phobic . . .
My background is in law, and I have avoided business-oriented reading for many years. But I was recently promoted to a VP position that involves a lot of project management and didn't know where else to turn.

ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT THIS BOOK IS A GOD-SEND. Well-written, concise, easy to follow, with excellent practical examples. I've learned (and successfully applied) something from every paragraph!

Very good blend of academic and pragmatic
I read this book as a refresher in my effort to prepare for obtaining the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI). I found this book to be both very thorough in addressing all areas of project management, and very practical and realistic in applying the principles and techniques of project management to real life situations and issues. It addresses all the process areas of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) by applying them to the various phases of projects. The author also properly addresses the needs of project administration by focusing on project management attention, not assuming computer/software tools will automatically give you the right answers.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in improving their grasp of project management concepts and the application of them. It is also a quick and easy read, with good graphic elements in the book.

Gives theoretical knowledge only
I ordered two project management books - this one by Verzuh and one called "Fundamentals of Project Management: Developing Core Competencies to Help Outperform the Competition" 2nd edition by James Lewis.

This one by Verzuh described core project managment procedures but lacked many real-world examples of these procedures in action, other than cursory remarks about how some process helped some company.

The book by Lewis was much more practical and seemed to be written from a person who had actually done lots of PM work rather than learned the theory and then wrote a book on it.

Covers the basics
This book is a pretty good summary of project management, but does not include critical lessons-learned from practitioners.

Wonderful pocket reference
I love this very engaging and "to the point" book because of its easily "digestable" language. I have 5 project management books in my library now. If I were to be only left with one, this would be it.

Robert ... Read more

Book Description

A revised guide for a growing field.

This fully updated and revised third edition complies with official PMI and PMBOK standards and provides full coverage of the discipline, tools, and processes of modern project management.

New to this edition: updated examples for risk assessment and expanded templates, logs, and forms for tracking and analysis.

€ A fully updated and revised 3rd edition, with new templates, forms, and examples
€ Complies with official PMI and PMBOK standards for project management
€ More colleges and universities are offering courses and degrees in project management ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Fun. To the point. Lots of examples.
This book makes it easy to get into project management. It doesn't bog down with useless information; and it has lots of fun, useful advice. I've given it as a copy to my new managers and all of them have improved their way of getting projects done. The overall project plans are better--and we're getting things done on time now, or at least better than we were. For general business project management, this book is definitely the right choice, at least for my company.

First step to project management
I recommend this book to all manager who first time meet project management. The book is wrote easy with many helpful hints. I am sure that you will read it in one breathe.

Excellent Companion for those new to Project Management.
Actually, it isn't bad for experienced project managers to review the different sections of this book for a quick refresher on an annual basis. This is a very good book to have on your desk while you are working on your first couple of projects as a project manager. It explains in very simple terms the various aspects of this extensive field of project management. Like everyone else, you too may feel like project management is too overwhelming a subject when you first start out. It really helps to have a book like this nearby. You may want to keep it out of sight to prevent silly remarks from your colleagues.

The sidebars that you will see throughout the book 'Words from the Wise' and 'Project Lingo' are extremely useful to read and get upto speed on the definitions and the tricks of the trade. The only limitation that I found is that the treatment on some of the topics isn't very complete. That is completely understandable as this isn't aimed at teaching advanced tricks of the trade to the seasoned project manager. For that, you need to refer to an advanced book like Harold Kerzner's 'Project Management - A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling'. Or keep up with the latest by attending seminars and workshops at your local chapter of the PMI (Project Management Institute...).

Finally, keep in mind that there are situations in project management that are specific to the industry you are in and sometimes there is no right answer. But most other times, the knowledge in this book is extremely helpful. Overcome the fear of being caught with a book that has the word 'Idiot' in the title and exploit the knowledge that the book provides!

Fantastic overview!
This is a great book to learn the basics--regardless of the type of project you're working on. Get it first--before you try the Dummies' guide. It's much better--and provides good background for the PMI certification as well. I was able to apply this information from day one. Thank you Bakers!

Helpful for an Idiot but others, as well!
Simple to read and understand and extremely easy to put into practice, especially for someone who is not naturally "project management"-oriented. Not just for "idiots", though and would recommend it as a basic "toolkit" item for any manager. ... Read more

Book Description

Published since 1971, the famous "Red Book" lists 13,600 recruiters at 5,600 search firms in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

The industry's most comprehensive source.

Indexes management functions, industries, geography, key principals & 570 individual recruiter specialties.

Targets specialty areas.

Fast and easy to use -- page references and state locations in all indexes.

Thorough contact data -- listings include phone, fax, e-mail and web addresses. Accurate and reliable -- the only directory updated annually by a dedicated full-time research department.

Paperback, 1,176 pages.

Plus! Kennedy's exclusive Career Resource Kit on CD-Rom included free! Contains valuable career tips, tactics and strategies. Also available on this CD: Optional tools for your career arsenal. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent tool
This is an excellent reference book. It is complete with the types of agencies, kind of positions they fill, and the proper contacts. It provides not only the address and telephone numbers but fax and email addresses, as well a contact name in many cases. It also lists all locations if the agency has several offices. I found this to be extremely helpful in my executive job search and found that 80% of the time I received some type of response after I submitted my resume. Ultimately it successfully helped me find the position for which I was searching. Everyone should refer to this book first when seeking a new position it is well worth the investment. Additionally, you can write it off on your taxes as part as your job search expenses. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Quick & Easy
After purchasing one of those "for dummies" type books on Accounting I purchased this book. I have found it to be an easy and quick read, clear, concise, to the point and very helpful. I was looking for something simple and just wanted to cover the basics - this book met my needs perfectly.

Dry
Mr. Rachlin and Sweeny make no excuses for writting a dry book. "The field of basic accounting and finance frankly offers little that is new or exciting." Sorry, I just couldn't take this tone. Try the McGraw-Hill 36-Hour book for a more lively presentation of the basics.

Understandable Accounting!!
This book about finance and accounting concepts is especially useful to professionals with no formal training in finance, budgeting, investment or accounting. As an urban planner and development advisor, I am often presented with land use proposals which are framed in financial and accounting terms. This book offers a clear and simple approach to these disciplines and has given me the tools to make much more informed decisions in my work. I highly recommend it to others in my trade and to those, like me, who often glaze over finance and accounting terminology.

Accounting with Rachlin and Sweeny
I highly recommend the Rachlin and Sweeny book. As a professor of accounting at a major university in Florida, I teach accounting to both accounting and nonaccounting majors. I am particularly impressed by two features of this book. First, it presents the basic concepts of accounting and finance in an easy to read format without compromising technical accuracy. Second, and more importantly, it shows the reader how to use these basic concepts in making business decisions. The result is an interesting (yes,interesting!) and effective presentation. My compliments to the authors!

Useful knowledge for Executives
This friendly and useful book is a must for those wanting to understand the financial aspects of business. It is well organized and very accessible. My business partner and I welcomed the practical approach taken by the authors. We found the contents immediately useable in our Internet business which is based on our research at Harvard University. This book creates a solid foundation upon which to build deeper understanding of the financial world. We recommend it highly, it is on our reference shelf and should be on yours. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive reference manual is designed to assist students, office professionals, and business writers in preparing written business communications. It includ