Book Description

This book presents a set of product development techniques aimed at bringing together the marketing, design, and manufacturing functions of the enterprise.It treats issues such as identifying customer needs, design for manufacturing, prototyping, and industrial design. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Great product development handbook!
This book provides a great hands-on approach to product development. Unlike other product development books that dwell too much on the philosophical aspects of product development, this book gives you practical advice on how to define meaningful product specifications to meet your customer needs and develop successful products. The book provides a very nice concept development process that I've found very useful.

This book is mainly focused on product development processes and does not provide much information on technology development. In addition, the book lacks depth in the strategic aspects of product development(such as market segmentation, strategic management of technology).

If you are looking for a very useful and powerful handbook for product development, this is the book you are looking for. However, if you are interested in the strategic aspects of product development, you may need other references.

great for teaching at any level, great methods
I have used this book extensively to teach undergraduate industrial design students, and graduate marketing, and engineering students who take small product development courses. It's focused, down to earth, practical, and students find they can grasp design issues better than in a more theoretical-philosophical way. I use it myself to guide my design consulting work, has helped me understand other product development (not design) issues that are relevant to me, and I have read it over and over.. great handbook. Production/design of the book is also very nice. It's a pitty McGraw Hill doesn't want to translate it to spanish (so the author told me once).

see blue
i am arash afrasiabi and i had red this book before i think it is really a good guide for specially industrial designers who want to start their job in this fild so and it can help you to manage your self and your project very well.

Practical, no-nonsense guide to really doing it.
Product Design and Development is a very practical, tools-based book. It is written in a way that each chapter can be used on its own (e.g., identifying customer needs, generating product concepts). We require all of our new engineers and designers to read the book and ask them to adhere to the methods associated with several of our "stage/gate processes." This is not a high-level strategy book; it tells you how to do product design and development in the trenches. Excellent book and worth every penny.

Applicable
This is a Product Development book that can explain technical side and process side accurately. This is a good reference for product development plan and activities. ... Read more

Book Description

Mending Manufacturing is the most comprehensive book to cover all aspects of the crisis in American manufacturing.The author stresses the United States is facing a manufacturing emergency, and unless Washington acts swiftly and decisively, the U.S. could plummet into a second-class industrial power.It reveals the history behind the industry's outsourcing of jobs and production to foreign nations, and questions whether the U.S. can sustain as an economic power without a solid manufacturing base. ... Read more

Book Description

What are the root causes of the increasingly rapid rate of change inthe business environment? What patterns exist in the waysenvironmental change leads to organizational change? Confronted with astate of continuously accelerating change, what should managers andorganizational scientists do? Organizational Change and Redesign addresses these questions to provide a clear and comprehensiveunderstanding of the relationships among environmental changes,organizational redesign, and performance. This work draws onmulti-year studies of dozens of organizations and on hundreds ofinterviews with top managers. It includes chapters formed as practicaltutorials on how to think about and manage organizational change andredesign, making it an essential tool for business scholars, students,and practicing managers in the middle and upper levels oforganizations. ... Read more

Book Description

Oil Change: Perspectives on Corporate Transformation is the second book in the new Oxford Series, The Learning History Library. It is the story of major corporate change undertaken by Oil Co, a pseudonym for a major international Oil Company, just after a time of layoffs and cutbacks. Key people within the company tell this story, using a technique developed at MIT's Center for Organizational Learning. One hundred and fifty employees were interviewed at all levels of the company, from hourly workers to the Executive Council. They worked in all primary Oil Co businesses: exploration and production; refining and retail; chemical and oil consulting. During this time all the firm's values came into question, including its business practices, corporate governance structure, team management, and leadership style. Oil Change: Perspectives on Corporate Transformation gives readers an inside look at what Oil Co learned collectively as a company. It also shows what employees learned individually as they dealt with a changing environment. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is a practical, step-by-step guide to the justification, selection, acquisition, and implementation phases of computerized work management system (CWMS) project. Using examples from a wide variety of installations, the book gives plant and utility managers the know-how to make the right decisions in applying CWMS techniques. Case studies and troubleshooting guidelines are included for managers and maintenance professionals in water, wastewater, electrical generation, solid waste, and other public facilities. ... Read more

Book Description

The late twentieth century has witnessed the establishment of new forms of capitalism in East Asia as well as new market economies in Eastern Europe. Despite the rhetoric of globalization, they are continuing to diverge because of significant differences in dominant institutions. This book presents the comparative business systems framework for describing and explaining the major differences in economic organization between market economies. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Landmark study of different forms of a capitalism.
One of the leading experts in the field, Professor Richard Whitley of the University of Manchester discusses six types of business systems or capitalism extant in the world today. He suggests that the forms will continue to outlast the current idea that all nations should adopt the Anglo-American model of capitalism. A thought provoking book! ... Read more

Book Description

Space for LS barcode on page 440 ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Classical MBA litterature
In 1990 this book was revolutionary. Today, it is mostly interesting as the first book on the subject. Nobody in todays (business) world can have missed out on the concept that time is (or can be) a competitive advantage.

If you have missed this basic fact, do read this book, it explains in rather boring terms why it is so.

Personally I think they put to much emphasis on time as a competitive advantage, and tend to disregard other factors, equally important. A more relevant reading would in my opinion be D'Aveni's Hypercompetition, that takes the concept to its logical conclusion, which Hoult and Stalk misses.

Unfortunately, neither of the authors are very entertaining writers, especially as this book is usually mandatory/recommended reading in most MBA classes on strategy.

In conclusion, good, once revolutionary, but today mostly over-rated.

The Best Articulation of the Case for More Speed
Today's readers will think that this book is simply stating the obvious. That shows how much influence the book has had. Prior to the book's publication, most people felt that "getting things right" was more important than speed. This book points out that speed can actually be helpful in getting things right by encouraging you to improve your management processes so you do things right the first time.

Many companies have had trouble implementing this concept in the way it is articulated. They simplify their process, but may not improve it. This may mean that new products arrive in the market that are not really ready for the customers. That can be all right if you can quickly fine-tune the products in beta tests and the customers have that expectation because you are giving them so much benefit anyway. If you do this with me-too products that don't work, the results can be disastrous in terms of damage to your company's reputation and customer relationships.

The authors do not spend enough time on helping people understand how to improve their processes, and how to create more speed without killing stress on the people involved. For many companies, this book can be dangerous. I think this book could use a new edition that would address these two areas in more detail.

On the other hand, if you have any doubts about the potential benefits from speedier action, you should read this book. It will change your mind using excellent examples.

Have a speedy read!

superior insight on how to change a cost focus to time
Simply put, an oustanding book that has all the nuts and bolts needed to allow a company to transition to a time based focus from a cost based one. Easy to read, the logic is perfect. A must buy to have on your shelf (better yet ... on your desk). I read it first when I received my MBA ... read it again this last week .... and gave copies to top management I know around the country. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

not enough coverage of subject matter to be of merit
Coming on the heels of the author's previous book on the subject, this book was a disappointment for several fundamental reasons: it does not cover the matter in detail, and the examples provided are of no real fundamental value. It would appear that someone at McGraw-Hill (the publisher) was realy asleep at the wheel to let this manuscripy go out the way it did.

Giving the book 3 stars is truly a gift. ... Read more

Book Description

The "factory of the future" is here. We have the technology and professional knowledge, say leading manufacturing consultants Roy Harmon and Leroy Peterson, to implement revolutionary concepts that many managers might regard as futuristic. In this path-breaking book, Harmon and Peterson move beyond theory to document more than a hundred real-life applications of productivity improvement -- from the focused factory and assembly process design to the plantwide plan -- gathered from Andersen Consulting, Arthur Andersen & Co.'s offices around the world.

The reorganization of existing plants into multiple "factories within a factory" is the single most important feature of productivity improvement, according to Harmon and Peterson. These smaller units known as subplants, are honed to the smallest practical size to ensure the highest level of productivity. Multiple subplants can be clustered to focus accountability and authority for production of product families into easily managed groups of processes. With hundreds of diagrams and using examples of companies that operate focused factories in dozens of countries, Harmon and Peterson detail both the physical and organizational changes required to make the focused factory a successful and profitable feature of a plant's modernization.

In addition to creating subplants and subplant clusters, Harmon and Peterson show how manufacturers can dramatically increase productivity by adopting a plantwide plan. In its most basic form, the plantwide plan is a layout of a single factory. It includes, to the extent practical, not only the ideal layout but also step-by-step strategies for movement of individual processes from their current locations in the factory to final target destinations. Harmon and Peterson explain how managers can use the plantwide plan to eliminate the common problem of compromising ideals too early to accommodate assumed constraints and turn an existing factory into a competitive factory of the future -- today.

Flexibility, creativity, and dynamic planning are key concepts for attaining superior manufacturing results. For plant modernization to be profitable, the organizational structure must keep pace. Achieving world class status is not enough. The new hallmark of excellence must be continuous improvement to maintain a superior position. The plans and suggestions outlined in Reinventing The Factory allow the entrepreneur the responsibility and authority to effect ongoing improvements and render processes adaptable to reflect additions or removals of product lines, changes in sales volume over time and modifications resulting from previous or concurrent improvements. Harmon and Peterson provide the valuable tools and methods necessary to attain such goals. They highlight the dynamic nature of progress itself and show how managers can overcome the most tenacious habit: the resistance to change. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A self help book for the factory
Now I get tired of everyone thinking that they know better or have a new formula for braking the bank. I also get tired of mamby pamby, touchy feely management books. So you can imagine what I thought of this book from the tittle.

Upon reading this book you find that it is not the fact that it is revolutionary, but that it points out the logic that was already there. It was simple to apply. We are using it where I work and the book helps in many ways. As the product quantity or type changes, all the production facilities are on wheels and we just move the work areas into different small sub-plants. There is no wasted resource and we even recovered some free space. Are parent company can not keep up with us as they are compartmentalized and static. However they stay out of our way, as we are the most profitable location. ... Read more

Book Description

Emerged from the Lewinian tradition of research into organizational behavior, motivation, and change, here is a conceptual but practical way for human resource professionals and others in today's organizations to understand better, more quickly and reliably, what the underlying human problems in their organizations are. The key to solving organizational problems is in the hands of people, and when people talk about the problems they experience, they are reflecting their values and beliefs. The way to get people to do that is through a style of inquiry called indirect questioning--the Echo approach. Readable, well illustrated with cases and examples, Dr. Cunningham's book will help executives at all levels understand better how people in their organizations are behaving. ... Read more

Book Description

In the age of rapidly changing technology, increased global opportunities and globalization, and shareholder activity, executives all over the world are expected to use the right techniques in order to gain the highest level of success for their organization.These executives need the knowledge and tools that will allow them to continue to thrive and remain ahead of the competition in the business environment. This volume and its accompanying guide puts them on the right track.It offers a practical and proven framework for rapid implementation of strategic change that can be used by executives and their organizations. Complete with an collection of examples and checklists, the accompanying guides provide guidance on specific types of change initiatives such as the launch of a new strategic plan, deep cultural change, acquisitions,and new products. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Review by the Editor of Stern's Management Review
The authors present a framework for rapid implementation of organizational change. They assert that creating understanding for the need for change, building momentum, and perhaps scoring some initial successes in the first 100 days greatly increases chances for success. Successful change calls for Winning Conditions, the book's core framework, consisting of: correct diagnosis of the change challenge; early development of shared understanding; enrichment of shared understanding; establishing a sense of urgency; creating a limited, focused, strategic agenda; rapid, strategic decision making and deployment; a human flywheel of commitment; identifying and managing sources of resistance; follow-through on changing organizational enablers; and demonstrated leadership commitment. Discussion and examples make this approach clear and show how it's applied. The authors are careful to distinguish between different types (or depths) of intervention. The book is outstanding in its scope and quality of thought. It is highly informative, gets to the meat of ideas clearly and quickly, and gives the reader solid value from start to finish. ... Read more

Book Description

"Corporate responsibility" may seem oxymoronic in the present climate, but Mark Wysong believes it is crucial for both ultimate business success and protecting the health of people and the planet. In this timely book, the author introduces the concept of CSTCM (Compliance-Side Total Chemical Management), a web of surprisingly simple strategies to help companies more skillfully — and economically — manage their environmental toxins. The Non-Toxic CEO is an illustrated blueprint for responsible compliance for such companies. ... Read more

Book Description

Purchasing and Materials Management is generally offered as an elective in departments of business at the undergraduate and graduate level. It is generally offered to students who have successfully completed a production/operations management or management science course. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

professional
I have read the the eleventh edition in chinese version. It describes the purchasing issues professinally. But unfortunately the writer can not give the analysising method for each case of each chapeter. ... Read more

Book Description

Business Strategy is becoming increasingly pluralist, drawing on the insights of different disciplines and business practice in different parts of the world. This book brings together the work and ideas of leading international scholars working in the field under three main headings--Technology, Strategy and Organization, and Regions--to explore from different perspectives the dynamic interplay between the technology of a firm; its strategies; organizational choices; and issues of place, region, and location. Together, the contributors address the challenge of explaining the long-run competitiveness of firms in an ever more global world. This book will be a benchmark for anybody wanting to keep abreast of leading-edge strategic thinking. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good for textbook
First of all, this edited book is designed to bring together multi-displinary academic areas, not least business studies, economics and economic geography, which are interested in the dynamics of the firm. It is nice and well structured in terms of economics of the firm. However, from a viewpoint of an economic geographer, some of papers which talk about economic geography of the corporate organisation are too plain, old fashioned. Nevertheless, it is recommended that this book illustrates excellent combination of attempts to understand the firm as a container, seeker and creater of competence itself.

above average book
Sound and understandable book, but not excellent at all ... Read more

Book Description

This book offers a novel insight into the economic dynamics of modern biotechnology, using examples from Europe to reflect global trends. The authors apply theoretical insight to a fundamental enigma of the modern learning society, namely, how and why the development of knowledge and ideas interact with market processes and the formation of industries and firms.

This book offers new empirical evidence to address such questions by studying the diversity of biotechnology in Europe. By analyzing the way in which the development of new knowledge and information is linked with economic transformation, the authors are able to provide a rich theoretical understanding of the economic dynamics of knowledge within the biotechnology sector. They clearly show how innovation opportunities are affected not just by the market, but by scientific developments, networks, institutions and government policy. They also raise important theoretical questions about how and why new industries, networks and organizations are shaped, and highlight the development and impacts of biotechnology on many existing sectors, including pharmaceuticals, agriculture and insurance. The final chapter summarizes the theoretical challenges which have been overcome and identifies future areas for research. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Recommended addition to modern economics shelves for student
Collaboratively compiled and edited by Maureen McKelvey, Annika Rickne and Jens Laage-Hellman, a trio of economic experts, The Economic Dynamics of Modern Biotechnology is a seminal and invaluable resource presenting insight into the economic influence of modern biotechnology. Drawing upon examples from Europe to illustrate global trends, The Economic Dynamics of Modern Biotechnology applies theory to unravel the modern issues of exactly how new facets of knowledge interact with market processes and the formation of industries. Raising important theoretical and practical questions, chapters adddress such topics as risk management and the commercialization of human genetic testing, the impact of emerging bioinformatics, how to conceptualize and measure modern biotechnology, and much more. The Economic Dynamics of Modern Biotechnology is a welcome and recommended addition to modern economics shelves for students, teachers, and professionals alike, shedding light on a newly emerging dimension of the interplay between economic and life science forces.
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Reviews (1)

Magic Mineral to Killer Dust
Well written and researched. I found the book to be quick read and very informative. ... Read more