Book Description

Learn the techniques and practices behind effectively managing people-the healthcare industry's biggest asset. This book presents all of the concepts and practical tools necessary for a manager to create a successful, customer-focused workforce in healthcare.

Topics covered include:

Recruitment and selection
Job analysis and job design
Performance management
Physician compensation
Employee and employer rights ... Read more

Book Description

If you are holding or are thinking about holding a Kaizen event, then this book is essential. Step by step guide to conducting your own Kaizen event. Contains all the details, instructions, forms, checksheets and guidelines necessary to succeed. Contains a real life simulation exercise, with answers and suggestions on how to improve your events. How to determine where an event should be held. How many participants is best? what kind of preparation is needed? Who should be on the management team? Who should the participants be? What should be done about production during an event? How can we finalize the improvements and prevent regression? What about the next event: Where should it be? When should it be? Who should be on the teams?

These and other questions about holding an event are covered in this manual.

All applicable worksheets are included!

Also in the book is "The History of Lean," discribes where Kaizen originated. Plus a glossary of "lean" terms and "100 Years of Lean". ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Bell Helicopter
We have been looking for the appropriate training material to use to train our Lean Champions and Black Belts in the art of conducting Kaizen events. We have found the best available. It is the Kaizen Event Implementation Manual. This book is all you need. Follow the instructions, and do the simulation and everything falls into place. The other books skirt all around the details, this book gives all the answers to all the situations. Very well done!

Kaizen Event Implementation Manual
This book is by far the best, most informative book written about Kaizen events yet.
We were looking for the perfect guide book to assist us in our events, and this is it!
No worry about consistancy or concern about forgotten elements of the event.
With all the check-sheets and almost hour by hour tracking, we are certain to maintain consistancy from one event to the next.
The simulation is a must for anybody now doing Kaizen.
This IS the book to get!

The bible of Kaizen books
We are a major supplier to Toyota Motor Car Co. and we know a lot about Kaizen; this is the absolute best guide for conducting Kaizen events! It leaves nothing to guess-work. Consistantly using this manual guarantees that each event will be exactly as is should be with nothing forgotten or eliminated. It is like a pilot's preflight check-sheet.
The most shop floor oriented Kaizen book in the world!

Canada likes "Kaizen Event Implementation Manual."
Just received the "Kaizen Event Implementation Manual" second edition. This is THE book you must have to properly conduct a Kaizen event! Throw away the other books, this one will guarantee that you stay focused and on track. It's clear Mika is a real Sensei.
Don't expect narrative or story telling, this book leads you, team leader, team member, facilitator or top management, through the details of a successful event. Sensei Mika has conducted hundreds of events and his organizational expertise shows!
Canada recommends this book!

Too much filler and not enough meat...
I was disappointed with this book on a couple levels. First, I was expecting an "Event Implementation Manual." What I found was an exhaustive rehash of the history of not only Kaizen but a good chunk of the industrial revolution, a glossary of largely unrelated terms, about 50 pages of case study exercise, along with some tips and tricks for implementing a kaizen. The 70-some pages related to kaizen events is a good overview for someone familiar with this tool, but not geared for the beginner. The check sheets describing event preparation and follow up were most useful. On another level, I found the obvious lack of the use of an editor or proofreader very distracting. The kaizen event consulting rates listed in the back were the final straw. Stick to Laraia, Moody and Hall's "The Kaizen Blitz." This review refers to an earlier edition. ... Read more

Book Description

The Lean Design Guidebook describes eighteen powerful and practical tools for product development teams that enable dramatic manufacturing cost reduction. The emphasis is on team activities that can create breakthroughs in material, labor, and overhead cost, while maintaining the highest quality and value for customers. An integrated approach to the application of these waste-eliminating tools is described, along with proven methods for training and deployment within a single team, or an entire organization. This is a highly readable book for practitioners in all fields related to product design and development, including design team members, team leaders, managers, and organizational improvement champions. The book makes extensive use of graphics (over 150 figures and diagrams) and is rich with real-world examples and step-by-step descriptions. A bibliography, a comprehensive glossary, and an index are provided. ... Read more

Book Description

Economic Value Added (EVA) and Value Based Management (VBM) are today’s hottest management buzzwords. But written information has often been biased and clouded by the authors’ hidden agendas. EVA and Value-Based Management is the first book to unflinchingly discuss the pros and cons of EVA and VBM. Covering both implementation and conceptual issues, with a strong emphasis on performance measurement, value drivers, and management compensation, it allows readers to come to their own informed conclusions. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Highly Recommended!
Kudos to S. David Young and Stephen F. O'Byrne, management consultants who largely steer clear of their industry's usual empty catchphrases and superficial hype. Instead, their lucid explanation of the importance of shareholder value takes center stage. The heftiness of EVA and Value-Based Management may be daunting, but most readers will be satisfied with Part I's strategic overview. The concepts reappear in Part II accompanied by a wealth of technical details, calculations and case studies to help finance professionals with nitty-gritty implementation of EVA (Economic Value Added) programs. The book honestly assesses EVA's power to motivate managers, noting that some companies just are not well-suited for this performance metric. We from getAbstract prescribe this book to corporate executives who have overdosed on consultant jargon but still want to drive value growth in their companies, and to finance specialists who seek a comprehensive roadmap to EVA implementation.

Excellent book
As an author, speaker and consultant on these topics, I highly recommend this book. Not only have the authors discussed the pros and cons of a number of approaches thoughfully and concisely, they also expand the level of understanding related to the calculations in an accessible way. Their book discusses both implementation issues and the nitty gritty of the mechanics. In sum, the book takes the reader to the next level of understanding. I highly recommend this book.

Fails to keep its promise: Metric War + Compensation
This book does NOT offer 'A practical guide to valuation' but a theoretical,oldfashioned discussion of the 'Metrics War'and some empirical research on EVA, Compensation and CFROI-Fade.

My rating has got these origins: Empirical research on Compensation,EVA and CFROI-Fade: A+. Discussion of EVA/CFROI: D-. Terminology: D value for 'Hands-on-valuation': F- Structure: F- Style: F-.

This book does contain interesting empirical research on EVA etc, but it does not offer 'A practical Guide to Implementation' because it does not contain a STAGE-Approach. Its terminology differs from any other book I've read, you must often guess, which formulas the authors used, because they did not have the courtesy to express their formulas. Some formulas are wrong nad their discussion of the 'metrics war' betweenn EVA and CFROI lags 5 years behind reality. They attack old methods of CFROI,which Boston Consulting and Holt Value published 5 (!) years ago. They fail to know, that BCG have refined CVA/CFROI and that BAYER. Lufthansa,and VEBA have implemented these refined CFROI-techniques,which are way better, than the old methods, which the book attacks.

Moreover, this book is terrible to read due to a lack of structure, the absence of clear definitions, the lack of formulas, a wordy style,which exhausts your nerves, and many value judgements....

The Best Book Ever Written on EVA -- By Far!!
This book clearly explains the principles of EVA and provides countless real-world examples on implementation. As an independent consultant specializing in shareholder value, I have probably read and studied everything ever written on EVA. I can say, without reservation, that this is the finest work available.

The EVA Guide which holds nothing back!
This book, together with 'The Quest for Value'by G. Bennett Stewart, III and 'Valuation' by the Tom Copeland, provide a solid backgound on value-based management. S. David Young and Stephen F. O'Byrne give a fair description of their book: 'This book is not a intended to be a "teaser," which tries to tell you enough to whet your appetite so if you want to know more you will have to hire us as your consultants. We aim to be as comprehensive in our treatment of the subject as possible...We try to hold nothing back.' Thank you very much indeed. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you've been burned on Wall Street (and who hasn't?) but still need a practical place to park your savings (who doesn't?), Gregory Baer and Gary Gensler have your number. While somewhat mistitled because it decries "active investing" in individual stocks as well as in mutual funds, The Great Mutual Fund Trap is nonetheless a clearly and even entertainingly written argument in favor of the alternative: investing broadly in stocks that mirror the performance of the overall market. During their years in private investment and with the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve, Baer and Gensler have come to believe the high fees and high risks that go with always trying to beat the market make "active investing"--be it constantly fiddling with your own portfolio or relying on professionals to do so for you--a no-win proposition. Instead, they say, you can actually improve returns by shifting to "passive investments" that offer lower costs and greater tax efficiency. After explaining why they feel as they do, the authors thoroughly describe the appropriate vehicles--index mutual funds, exchange-traded index funds, and several other products--in a way that makes these staid options seem almost exciting and gives interested readers all the tools they need to utilize them. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Great Advice
I was really concerned about the huge losses I have seen in my kids' college funds and my retirement funds. I have everything in stock -- I figured I am young enough to wait things out. I also think I know a good stock when I see one. Boy, did I learn alot from this book, and I am SO glad I bought it. It is easy to read and understand, and is quite funny too. I knew I needed to spread my eggs into more baskets, but this book showed me where I should move my money, that picking individual stocks is very risky, and how to avoid huge investment fees. The examples (such as why fund managers are like bookies) really help you visualize how much money you are throwing away, and are quite amusing!

Did all your homework, and your bubble still burst?
I read the articles on investing in the major news and business magazines. I watched the financial shows on TV. I read the past performance of stocks and mutual funds before I invested. I read the prospectuses before I bought. I believed in my inteligent ability to follow advice and make money.

I failed to even retain the value of my initial investments.

All the TV and magazine blabbermouths are back at it. 'Buy this, buy that, buy the other.' But until I read this book, I didn't know what to do. Baer and Gensler explain what happened to my money. They use studies and statistics to back their advice on passive investing. They explain why mutual funds won't make me more money than the index funds. They even explain how to move my funds into passive investments while being careful of tax losses.

I recommend reading this book and following it's advice.

Good job revealing internals of mutual funds industry
It's a very well written book. The main purpose of this book is to show that mutual funds industry overall does not provide a good choices for regular individual investors and the book covers this topics exceptionally. It really reveals the real intentions of the industry and shows that this is the only way this indstry can work. The book advocates passive investment and especially index funds and exchange traded funds (ETF). While there were already quite a few good, if controversial, books about efficient market theory ('You can't beat the market'), such as famous 'Random walk On Wall Street', this book brings more details about today market environment and explains what choices passive investor has. My only complain is that sometimes I feel some kind of zealotry in authors considerations. Even for somebody that believes in efficient market theory some of the statements in this books could seem very questionable. Stock mutual funds takes majority of books space but the moment authors venture to the other territory (and they do try to cover practically all kinds of investments) their arguments often seem too absolute. Still, this is the book every investor in mutual funds must read (and it will probably convince you to make some changes in your investment strategy - it did this for me)

Great Book - I Loved It, Wall Street Must Hate It
For the ordinary Joe like me, investing is, and should be, so simple, boring even. Yet there is so much clutter out there - books, strategies, seminars, tapes, and various other nonsense - all of it ultimately designed to turn a buck for someone other than you. If folks read and employ what this book preaches, they'll come out way ahead in time and money, and a huge industry incessantly feeding off these folks will bite the dust.

Not bad but nothing special
There is really nothing new in this book that has not been beat to death elsewhere and the reader will probably find William Bernstein's books more rewarding. For those who buy this book however you will not go too far wrong. ... Read more

Book Description

Ron Ireland was one of the leaders in Wal-Mart’s effort to develop its supply chain processes for collaborative forecasting and replenishment execution using retail links for communicating point-of-sale, forecasts, and inventory information to its suppliers. As a result he helped pioneer the retail industry standard called Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR). This collaborative process, which involves sharing information with supply chain partners in real-time, enables substantially improved planning and financial results. Using his extensive knowledge and first-hand experience, Ireland, with Colleen Crum, demonstrates what is necessary to achieve successful win-win trading partner collaborations and describes what companies give up when they don’t collaborate.

Since an effective supply chain collaboration effort requires flexibility when adapting to each partner’s capabilities and the business environment, this book presents a blueprint that you can customize to fit your company’s and your company’s trading partners’ needs to achieve success. Supply Chain Collaboration shows you how to implement CPFR and other best collaborative practices quickly and successfully in almost any organization. Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble and other highly successful companies are reaping huge competitive benefits from the CPFR process. Learn from the "visionary pioneer" of CPFR how your organization can as well.

Key Features:
• Delineates the steps for developing and implementing a CPFR process that can drive reductions in inventory, logistics costs and cost of goods sold, and increase revenue, profits, and customer satisfaction with minimized risk
• Describes how to effectively integrate trading partner data into the demand planning and sales and operations planning processes and the risks of not doing so
• Discusses how to assess a potential trading partner’s readiness, how to evaluate the effectiveness and financial results of a trading partner relationship, and how to collaborate for continuous improvement
• WAV offers free downloadable CPFR white papers, VICS CPFR roundtable discussion slides, and a CPFR readiness assessment grid — available from the Web Added Value Download Resource Center ... Read more

Book Description

Written in a simple and user-friendly style, this book covers all the basics of supply chain management and production and inventory control. It is the only book listed in the APICS-The Educational Society for Resource Management CPIM Exam Content Manual as the text reference for the Basics of Supply Chain Management (BSCM) CPIM certification examination. 15 separate chapters discuss an introduction to materials management, production planning system, master scheduling, material requirements planning, capacity management, production activity control, purchasing, forecasting, inventory fundamentals, order quantities, independent demand ordering systems, physical inventory and warehouse management, physical distribution, products and processes, just-in-time manufacturing, and total quality management. For business personnel whose job functions include materials management, and production and inventory control.

Reviews (6)

Good book to start learing materials Managements
I read the 4th Edition , it is very good

a concise introduction to materials management
I think this is the right book to start studying materials management.Each chapter, written in an easy to read manner, offers a great deal of systematically classified information on every aspect of production planning and control. I suggest reading the book with the accompanying case book, which also covers lots of useful material though with some typographical errors.
If chapters were outlined in more detail with subsections it would help facilitate a clearer understanding and enable following up points of reference more easily.
I and my students found it both useful and enjoyable in class.

This is the best book for the CPIM Exam, but ...
there are better books on Manufacturing. The third edition was written to make the book agree with APICS terminology, and the fourth edition is not a major rewrite. If you are buying this book to study for the CPIM Exam, save yourself some money and buy the third edition used.

My problem with this book can best be shown with an example. On page 61 (3d ed.) "The master production schedule is a plan for the production of individual end items." Later (p.79) "Planning bills are an artificial grouping of components for planning purposes." "They are used to simplify forecasting, master production scheduling, and material requirements planning. They do not represent buldable products, but an average product."

So which is it, does the MPS contain only hard orders to be filled, or hard orders AND planning bills, or should we also add forecasts of families of products. I believe that an MPS that contained ONLY hard orders would be useless.

For a book that I wouldn't be without, see: "Manufacturing for Survival" by Blair Williams." It doesn't use APICS terminology, but it does have more useful information.

The best book for the first CPIM Exam, but ...
there are better books on Manufacturing. The third edition was written to make the book agree with APICS terminology, and the fourth edition is not a major rewrite. If you are buying this book to study for the CPIM Exam, save yourself some money and buy the third edition used.

My problem with this book can best be shown with an example. On page 61 (3d ed.) "The master production schedule is a plan for the production of individual end items." Later (p.79) "Planning bills are an artificial grouping of components for planning purposes." "They are used to simplify forecasting, master production scheduling, and material requirements planning. They do not represent buldable products, but an average product."

So which is it, does the MPS contain only hard orders to be filled, or hard orders AND planning bills, or should we also add forecasts of families of products. I believe that an MPS that contained ONLY hard orders would be useless.

For a book that I wouldn't be without, see: "Manufacturing for Survival" by Blair Williams." It doesn't use APICS terminology, but it does have more useful information.

Easy Read - Tons of Information
Of all the supply chain type books I own, this is by far the easiest to understand. I will read the chapters to gain the understanding then move to another text if I felt I wanted a deeper level.

This book is perfect as a reference for APICs certification. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

RCM A Missing Piece
This book addressed maintenance of a system as the replacement of individual non-repairable components. However, it neglected to treat maintenace from the concept of a repairable system. I would refer readers to the book Repairable Systems by Ascher and Feingold for this type of analysis. In reality as a practitioner in both engineering and maintenanace, it is improtant to look at the system as a whole as well as the components. This is especially crtical in the decision as when to replace a system, which is a different analysis from when to replace a component.

The definitive textbook on RCM
This book is the definitive textbook on RCM, the result of the accumulated experience of thousands of RCM reviews in nearly every industry and in dozens of countries around the world.

It presents RCM's distinctive "systems" approach to maintenance, offering sophisticated criteria for deciding among four kinds of scheduled tasks (not simply the replacement of individual non-repairable components), and equally sophisticated criteria for deciding among two other kinds of failure management policies (including redesign) if scheduled tasks are not appropriate.

If you wish to do RCM, you need this book plus a mentor to guide your early efforts. (How many of us learned to ride a bicycle without someone holding the handlebars?)

But if you simply wish to understand RCM -- you need this book.

Not a text, an advertisement
...this book is not a great maintenance text.

Rather, it's a sales pitch for a program. The program is fine on its own merit, but the book is not worthy of purchase. All lessons of the book (minus the child-like uptime calculus) can be summarized in the statement:

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- and if it's cheap to replace, don't maintain it."

That's the summary.

It's not worth [the money]

An excellent book
It is an excellent book. It gives a more in-depth review and analysis from what Nowlan and Heap have done. It also gives a distinct defnition among the failure management technique. For aviation member, this book helps a lot to understanding MSG-3

Excellent book to be used to improve reliability performance
This book is well developed showing a methodology to improve or optimize your maintenance plans which is presented in this book as a team responsability. Could be better? Yes, if the last section dedicated to Failure Finding Intervals stablish relation or compare with other recommendations from International Institutions like ISA. I strongly recommend as an excellent book for Maintenance Engineers, planners or any person involved in asset healthcare program. ... Read more

Book Description

Based on groundbreaking research at MIT, Clockspeed introduces a revolutionary approach to business strategy, applying the principles of genetics to show how choices in supply-chain design can drive company and industry evolution.

"Faster is not necessarily smarter. In this world of constant acceleration, while most firms become increasingly reactive, the race will go to the few who can think more deeply rather than react more quickly. Charlie Fine's is likely to be one of the voices they are listening to."-Peter Senge, founding Director of the MIT Organizational Learning Center and author of The Fifth Discipline

Drawing from a decade of research at MIT, and using examples from the fastest-changing industries, Fine introduces a whole new vocabulary for analyzing and implementing business strategy, turning managers into "corporate geneticists" who do not react to the forces of change but master them to engineer their company's destiny. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Supply Chain: design should come first
Fine's book creates clear connection among Supply Chain, Product Development and Manufacturing activities. MIT's Professor Fine establishes an operational and strategic link among those company's environment. The book put in a plain text how to analyze you supply chain and how to design it accordly a strategy view. Finally, Supply Chain Design is proclaimed as being essential to assure competitive advantage and to sustain the company's progress. If you want to really understand supply chain, it is a book that you must read!

Read every page
This book has some really interesting threads around supply chain design competency, clockspeed, and learning from industry fruit flies, but the real value of the book is in between all of that. For years, there have been wonderful insights into technology strategy, product architecture, manufacturing strategy, etc. etc. roaming around the halls of MIT and throughout journal articles. The only way to really tap this depth of knowledge is by being there. Charlie has woven these thoughts, ideas, and concepts throughout the book rather seemlessly. If you read the book carefully, and think very hard about some of the nuggets throughout the book, I'm sure it will be worth your time.

Seminal Work in Supply Chain Design
Professor Fine makes a tremendously strong and lucid case for utilizing supply chain design as a functional catalyst in optimizing business strategy and evolution.

In a world of chronic oversupply and fear, Professor Fine sheds light on how managers and corporations can take control of their destiny instead of destiny and fate taking control of the managers and corporations.

Crucial for anyone in supply chain field
It would be a mistake to be employed in some supply chain capacity and *not* read this book. I believe that it offers an intriguing set of solid examples of how incorporating supply chain management into strategy discussions has helped some companies profit at the expense of others.

Some commenters have noted that examples seem anecdotal. I tend to think that Fine's approach here, in going into depth with just a few examples, is a richer basis upon which to draw conclusions. You don't necessarily need a statistically significant sample set in order to gain insights into how to conduct strategy.

I would also take issue with one reviewer's note that it is overly geared towards manufacturing, rather than services. Managing supply chains and conducting make-buy decisions are clearly the province of operations. But shouldn't consulting services develop precisely those areas of expertise in order to assist their biggest clients?

A note of disclosure: I took Fine's course on this subject while at MIT. While I wouldn't trade having been in that graduate seminar for 100 books, if you can't take the course, at least read the book! Doing so brought back the pleasure for me of being in his class.

Block That Metaphor
Which of the following is the most important competence of an organization?

A. Leadership

B. Customer service

C. Market dominance

D. Innovation

E. Supply chain design

If you chose E, then you and Charles Fine would get along famously. Fine believes that everything can be explained and even controlled by optimizing the supply chain. Industry evolution, competitive advantage, vertical integration, you name it: all are grist to the mill of supply chain dynamics. And as you trek through increasingly dense thickets of his book, studying such exotic flora as design structure matrices and 3-D concurrent engineering, Fine accompanies you in the role of pith-helmeted guide, discoursing upon the ineluctable primacy of his favorite subject.

You don't have to be a convert to the cult of the supply chain to see value in this book. But you do have to love metaphors. Fearing lest the reader find the subject a trifle dry, the author has chosen to frame his arguments in terms of genetics. In industries with faster clockspeeds - the rapid supply chain evolutions experienced by makers of personal computers, semiconductors, and even running shoes - companies are fruit flies, whose evolution we can observe from egg to carcass. Only the fittest and most adaptable survive, largely by applying the power of the double helix of business. The DNA can be mapped, the molecules engineered, the genes enriched and cloned, and so on.

Illustration by analogy has its place, but over the long haul it palls and wearies. What should have been a straightforward book on supply chains ends up distracting with a glib vocabulary. Can a Mobius-strip cycle between the integrated and the modular be termed a "double helix" if it doesn't establish a genetic code or look like a corkscrew ladder? Should we learn from fruit fly companies because their clockspeed is conveniently short, or because every company's clockspeed is accelerating? If real-life fruit flies are studied because their genetic structure resembles that of humans, are we wise to assume that Intel has the same genetic structure as Boeing? What is a corporate genetic structure, anyway?

Clockspeed would tick along more convincingly if it lost the first sixty-eight pages. There'd still be plenty of arguments - whether Fine's observations apply to non-manufacturing organizations, whether the laws of the supply chain are truly predictive - but they would at least be the right arguments, the sort of thoughts a stimulating work provokes. Unfortunately, the siren call of metaphor has lured an otherwise seaworthy vessel onto rocky shores. By the time the ship is put to sea again, you may have lost your taste for the voyage. ... Read more

Book Description

Clearly illustrates how established techniques can be easily understood and used with a sample size that is smaller than normally envisioned. Provides solutions to complex industrial problems by demonstrating how to define the problem and evaluate it statistically with the aim of accelerating product design testing that requires fewer samples and offers more information with less test effort. Along with examples, it contains detailed additional material presented in tabular form for both easy reference and cross-reference. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

How To Frame Corporate Strategy Methodically
Jay B. Barney has written an enduring, understandable user's guide to corporate strategy that is a must read for any business student. Barney helps would-be business leaders frame their strategic decision-making process. Barney first explains to his audience the concepts of strategy and performance, and their relevance to the corporate organization both internally and externally. Barney then explores the different strategies that the corporation can adopt in dealing with its competitive environment: Cost leadership, product differentiation, tacit collusion, and alliances. The author does a very good job in demonstrating to his readers that the four strategies are not mutually exclusive but occasionally complementary. Finally, Barney explores how a company can structure itself across markets over time. He successively addresses the issues of integration, diversification, mergers and acquisitions, and globalization. Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage has been one of the most influential business textbooks that I have ever been asked to read.

PERSPECTIVE IS EVERYTHING
This is a great book - more for what it organises than what it adds as new ideas.

Barney sets a model for Competitive Advantage (VIRO) and them compares strategic models as potential sources. It places many of the modern attempts in perspective. Without this starting understanding, the modern gurus (Hamel) are almost impossible to apply as their ideas lack the perspective on the role of strategy within an organisation and within all of the other management tools.

It places Michael Porter within a framework where his work can be better used.

For managers and post graduates, this book sets out the fundamentals of strategy and where it can take you.

Not cheap (by a long way) but a fair price for the knowledge.

Strategy is not that difficult!
This is a very concise and interesting book on competitive and corporate strategies. It compiles all the main issues regarding studies on competitive advantage withouth losing focus on the specifics of each different kind of strategy.

I would recommend using the book only after a review of microeconomic concepts. This will allow graduate business students coming from other areas (like engineering) to grasp the strategy concepts more easily.

One suggestion: it would be nice if the authors included cases at the end of each chapter. Since the book presents the theory from a basic up to a more advanced level, this would let students to quickly fix the concepts by applying them in real world situations.

Required @ Chicago GSM
A very good introduction to both business-level and corporate-level strategy, approached from the perspective of the resource-based firm.  Written at a slightly lower level than Sharon Oster's book, but contains a more extensive discussion of corporate strategy issues.

It is a good book.
I am using it for my class at the University. My professor recommended the students to read. I bought two of this book. One for myself and another for my friend. ... Read more

Book Description

Presents a detailed look into the massive industry of construction and the skills needed to be a successful construction manager. Includes all the professional groups (Architects, Engineers, Construction Managers, Materials Suppliers and Vendors, etc.) associated with this industry and examines the resources (money, machines, material, and men) needed to fulfill a construction project. New chapters on estimating, cost control and the analysis of construction operations have been added. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent guide for a construction engineer
This book have excellents concepts about the construction industry. I found a lot of examples like cost control systems, construction codes, change orders and budgets. The most important thing is how the book tide all this concepts and give you an idea of the entire situation ... Read more

Book Description

Focusing on the analysis of data using modern statistical and spreadsheet software, Hildebrand and Ott emphasize making sense of data and discuss not only how a statistical method is applied, but why and why not.Throughout the book, the authors integrate computer use into the development of statistical concepts, emphasizing the value of looking at data to make sure the right questions are being asked.The real-life applications and examples throughout challenge students to think like managers.The case that concludes every chapter asks students to deal with a relatively unstructured situation and to explain the statistical reasoning in nontechnical language.Modern statistical methods, including resampling and bootstrapping are included.In addition, the authors emphasize quality control and improvement throughout the book and include three full chapters on regression and correlation methods. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The worst one among intro statistics books.
My MBA class (top 20 program)used this book. But even my instructor did not recommend us to read this book. Instead he just taught class with his own hand-out. We only used this book for exercise problems. There were students who had many years of research experience. But they even complained about this book and recommended me to read Anderson's " Statistics for Business and Economics". Anyway, I think if you have a good instructor it is O.K. Otherwise I am sure that it will be very painful. Gook luck.

wow
You better hope you have a good teacher. Don't use it as a last resort to study, if you can even find where a certain topic starts, its nearly impossible to follow.

The Worst Book on the Planet
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!
This by far the worst book I have come accross in my life.
I am a mechanical engineer taking statistics for my MBA. Fortunately I have a very good intstructor so I dont even use the book.
Its worthless. Seems like the author is talking to himself.

The worse book about statistics
Do NOT buy this book. I am sure the author understands a lot about statistics but he definitely does not know how to organize its ideas. The book makes the subject appear much more complex than it really is. If you need to learn statistics are not a Statistics PhD student then what I really recommend you to do is to get another book. For MBA students: This book is way more complex than you will need to know for your studies.

A muddled mess
It's hard to believe that a Wharton professor produced this book but I guess it's just proof that no school is perfect. I'm sure the authors understand statistical analysis but they have no clue how to organize the material or communicate what they know effectively. Honestly, even if you have learned the concepts for a chapter through another source this book can be hard to follow.

Want an example of the murky text? Try this typical run-on sentence quoted directly from the book. "In the same way, the normal random variable is an abstraction, because in theory any numerical value, negative as well as positive, is possible, and the probability histogram is a smooth, symmetric, bell-shaped curve." Try stringing together 800 pages of similar prose and you have an idea what awaits you here.

I watched an entire class including the professor disown this book because it was useless. Do yourself a favor and avoid this turkey if at all possible. ... Read more

Book Description

Over the last three decades the process industries have grown very rapidly, with corresponding increases in the quantities of hazardous materials in process, storage or transport. Plants have become larger and are often situated in or close to densely populated areas. Increased hazard of loss of life or property is continually highlighted with incidents such as Flixborough, Bhopal, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, the Phillips 66 incident, and Piper Alpha to name but a few.

The field of Loss Prevention is, and continues to, be of supreme importance to countless companies, municipalities and governments around the world, because of the trend for processing plants to become larger and often be situated in or close to densely populated areas, thus increasing the hazard of loss of life or property. This book is a detailed guidebook to defending against these, and many other, hazards. It could without exaggeration be referred to as the "bible" for the process industries. This is THE standard reference work for chemical and process engineering safety professionals.For years, it has been the most complete collection of information on the theory, practice, design elements, equipment, regulations and laws covering the field of process safety.An entire library of alternative books (and cross-referencing systems) would be needed to replace or improve upon it, but everything of importance to safety professionals, engineers and managers can be found in this all-encompassing reference instead.

Frank Lees' world renowned work has been fully revised and expanded by a team of leading chemical and process engineers working under the guidance of one of the world's chief experts in this field.Sam Mannan is professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University, and heads the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M. He received his MS and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and joined the chemical engineering department at Texas A&M University as a professor in 1997.He has over 20 years of experience as an engineer, working both in industry and academia

New detail is added to chapters on fire safety, engineering, explosion hazards, analysis and suppression, and new appendices feature more recent disasters. The many thousands of references have been updated along with standards and codes of practice issued by authorities in the US, UK/Europe and internationally. In addition to all this, more regulatory relevance and case studies have been included in this edition. Written in a clear and concise style, Loss Prevention in the Process Industries covers traditional areas of personal safety as well as the more technological aspects and thus provides balanced and in-depth coverage of the whole field of safety and loss prevention.

- A must-have standard reference for chemical and process engineering safety professionals

- The most complete collection of information on the theory, practice, design elements, equipment and laws that pertain to process safety

- Only single work to provide everything; principles, practice, codes, standards, data and references needed by those practicing in the field ... Read more

Book Description

Financing Large Projects is one of the most comprehensive books written on the art of project finance. Project finance is a technique employed for the purpose of mobilizing capital for very large start-up projects, or greenfields, based on the cash flow merits of the project--usually with little or no external support provided by parent companies in the form of guarantees. Unlike other books, this one addresses the financial, technical, legal and environmental aspects of financing complex projects. In explaining the principles involved, the authors followed the project development cycle illustrating how projects are evolved from inception, usually through international competitive bidding, to financial closure when all debt and equity needed to construct and operate the project that has been mobilized.

The book is particularly thorough in explaining the criteria used by bankers and lawyers to distinguish projects that are bank-able from those that are not. It has some good sections, particularly apt for banking professionals, on the intricacies of international law as it impinges on project finance. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Useful Primer for Infrastructure Project Finance Technique
Financing Large Projects: Using Project Finance Techniques and Practices by Fouzul Khan, Robert Parra is a very useful primer for project finance practitioners.

This book focuses on the financing of large projects that rely on project finance techniques and practices in order to raise debt. Being in infrastructure financing industry over four (4) years, I faced a tremendous dearth of a good book covering infrastructure financing intricacies. The book has offered knowledge of my much needed felt areas.

The book integrates every essential aspects of issues relating to the financing of large projects, namely, financing, law, engineering, environmental, etc. It also has a detailed description on history of project finance along with origin and development of various instruments.

What a user shall find noteworthy about the book is that it covers different phases of project development, and attributes thereof. Starting from the project conception, the book goes on explaining project negotiation, appraisal, creation and perfection of security over project assets.

The first half of the book describes project origination and early development activities, negotiations with ceding authority and others of project agreements, sources of international finance and credit enhancements, and the sponsor's support required for classic and non-classic deals. The second half discusses the architecture of the typical financial model, due diligence and appraisal process conducted by lenders, scope and content of negotiations related to each of several finance documents, role of derivatives and hedges, and typical issues encountered in structuring a security package.

Finally, the book also appends a very useful project feasibility financial model, which could be customized for use in feasibility analysis of similar projects. ... Read more

Book Description

Building on the experiences of scores of companies and hundreds of managers, J.M. Juran, the world-renowned quality pioneer, presents a new, exhaustively comprehensive approach to planning, setting, and reaching quality goals. Employing three case examples which encompass the three major sectors of the economy -- service, manufacturing, and support, he offers a practical plan for companies to achieve strategic, market-driven goals by following a structural approach to planning quality.

Quality, according to Juran, has become a prerequisite for business success. He cites the loss of market share, failure of products, and waste as results of poor quality planning. Juran provides a set of universal steps which can be used in the basic managerial process to establish quality goals, identify customers, determine customer needs, provide measurement, and develop process features and controls to improve business tactics.

The author gives new emphasis to setting quality goals, planning in "multifunctional" processes, establishing data bases for quality planning, motivating managers and the work force, and introducing quality planning into organizations. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This book is IN DEPTH and well thought out
This book cannot be read like a 'coffee table' book. It is very challenging and at I learned a LOT even in the first 50 pages. Lots of examples, analogies and graphs/charts. If you want an in depth view of the QA process, this is THE book for you!

MARS : Great Book On Quality
Yes its really a nice book Sheikh Asi ... Read more

Book Description

Logistics management is increasingly being seen as a source of competitive strength.Its effective use provides potential for cost reduction and the opportunity for increasing market share.The second edition discusses the role of logistics in achieving corporate and financial goals.Updated and expanded with more checklists, more short cases and executive summaries, this is an invaluable guide for all logistics and distribution managers. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Information Packed
This book is an excellent overview of logistics and supply chain management. I own dozens of texts on these subjects and this is one of the best. If your looking for a college text with problems to work out; then this is not the book for you. But, if your looking for quick insight into these topics, this is an excellent choice. The book quickly teaches the reader strategy, industry trends and supplies some basic quantitative tools. The industry examples bring the topics to life. Two thumbs up from me.

Not my first choice....
If you like me need to get to SCM strategic or tactical decisions, I would rather consult other books I also own. "Strategic Logistics Management" from a school book perspective and the brand new "Designing and Managing the Supply Chain" are excellent and better resources, covering everything (and then some) this book can offer. I will probably resell my copy of this book.
For SAP "Jockeys" or those who are thinking about SAP, "Supply Chain Management based on SAP Systems" is Excellent.

Not The Book To Start With....Read This One Second
Generally...I have found that an individual needs to read three books on any one subject to capture a firm grasp upon the topic. With this title you may stop at two after a basic supply chain text is read.

The author covers all the key topics...with enough depth to interest the reader in additional topics/books on specific elements of the supply chain.

Good for beginning or intermediate reader
It is a good book for beginning or intermediate reader who like to know more about logistics and supply chain management. If the reader has financial background, it will be much better. The language is quite easy to understand as I am a foreigner. Full of realistic cases will make you more interest in reading this book.

Advanced SCM - Must Read Book
This is a wonderful book and introduces the practioner to some of the frontiers of strategically driven service response logistics. In other words how to design, deploy and organize integrated SCM for corporate strategic reasons, not just for functional cost control. Probably one of three key books for understanding the frontiers and highly recommended.

Key is the process, customer value and system integration perspectives threaded throughout but particularly in the last several chapters. The chaper on service response logistics is worth the price of the book.

As a practioner dealing with advanced SCM I found this very worthwhile and found myself wishing I'd written it. If you are relatively new to the field you need a decent baseline grounding and Stock & Lambert's book on 'Strateigc Logistics' is a perfect complement. To move slightly higher up the food chain get the recent compilation of HBR articles called 'Managing the Value Chain'. Together the three make a perfect bookshelf set for any practioner, student or corporate executive who needs to understand what integrated logistics, SCM or the future of e-business might be doing to your career or your firm's competitive prospects ! ... Read more

Book Description

Written by a well-renowned author team, this undergraduate text is intended for the required course for all logistics, transportation, and material management majors, as well as for the logistic elective course for marketing majors. This book is an updated, broadened version of a classic text last published in 1986 and now uses a systems integration of physical distribution, manufacturing support, and procurement for a viewpoint of total logistics management. The book presents a comprehensive description of contemporary logistical practice as it currently exists within the private and public sectors. It also presents a conceptual approach to integration that illustrates how the discipline is likely to change in the future. In-depth treatment of more advanced topics, such as strategic alliances, materials management integration, inventory, information technology, and location analysis, make the text useful for secondary coursework. Comprehensive case material and problems supplement the text. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Covers the landscape of supply chain management
As an Consultant and an Information Technology Project Manager, I have to get up to speed on new industries in hurry. If only I had such a tool in other industries. This book was great. After spending just three days reading the book, I had enough knowledge to be credible with the transportation industry people I was going to work with. In fact, their "school of hard knocks" learning could only hope to make those with 30+ years of experience, have as wide ranging a knowledge as I acquired with this book. This book is for anyone wanting to quickly elevate themselves in the area of Logistics.

Logistics for the MBA
This book was considered the "qualitative" text at Carnegie Mellon's Graduate School of Industrial Administration as opposed to other more "quantitative" logistical text books available.

This book does a great job discussing the executive and managerial aspects of logistics management. Some of the book topics include: basic logistics, logistical operations,customer service,supply chain relationships, global logistics, resources, forecasting, inventory strategy and material handling. It provides several real-world examples which are quite valuable.

If you are looking for an executive-level logistics book this is great. If you're a logistics manager who needs learn how to run a linear program to optimize your distribution routing, find another text. ... Read more

Download Description

Supply Chain Redesign delivers practical guidance for every aspect of supply chain redesign: mapping existing supply chains; identifying changes that promise the best ROI; intelligently leveraging new technologies; strengthening relationships with key par ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Chief Procurement Officer
I bought this book this weekend and started reading it. It was in a nice display of "recommended" reading at the airport book store in Singapore. Having been in both IBM and E2open (Supply Chain software) and now Agere Systems.... no doubt in my mind - the value is clear. Implementation is complex with competing solutions and agendas. Issue is even in the same industry you have too many competing solutions. I noticed CAPS has been pushing the same themes. I liked the way you put it together and got it published.

I am currently focused on building a Supply Chain which is geographically located with the supply base. This is a huge advantage as Value Chains can not overcome the timezone - same day impact. The core advantages of key supplier relationship management are also local and can not be overcome by distance. If we can automate human behavior in these management sytstems the value chain will really gain speed.
Chief Procurement Officer
Global Procurement
Agere Systems

"Very good value": Book review from the "SCM Review"
The title is a bit misleading: the book is about a lot more than redesign. Specifically it looks at the many processes and technologies associated with supply chain management. The subject matters covered run the gamut from the basics of supply chain management to supplier relationships to the fast-changing B2B landscape. The premise of educators Handfield and Nichols is that the more effectively you integrate these activities the more value you create across the supply chain. . . . The bottom line is that the pluses far outweight the minuses. The authors have a knack for explaining a range of supply chain concepts and techniques clearly. Just as important, they reinforce the discussion with real-life examples. Every major topic is introduced by a case study that sets the context for the discussion to follow. One final observation: From a cost-benefit standpoint, Supply Chain Redesign represents a good value in today's market. Very few books these days present this much worthwhile supply chain information for such a relatively low price.

Review published in the Supply Chain Management Review, November-December 2002, p. 59.

Chief Procurement Office review
I bought this book this weekend and started reading it. It was in a nice display of "recommended" reading at the airport book store in Singapore. Having been in both IBM and E2open (Supply Chain software) and now Agere Systems.... no doubt in my mind - the value is clear. Implementation is complex with competing solutions and agendas. Issue is even in the same industry you have too many competing solutions. I noticed CAPS has been pushing the same themes. I liked the way you put it together and got it published.

I am currently focused on building a Supply Chain which is geographically located with the supply base. This is a huge advantage as Value Chains can not overcome the timezone - same day impact. The core advantages of key supplier relationship management are also local and can not be overcome by distance. If we can automate human behavior in these management sytstems the value chain will really gain speed.
Chief Procurement Officer
Global Procurement
Agere Systems ... Read more

Book Description

"The one and only reason to go lean is to make more money", says Bill Carreira. Lean Manufacturing That Works is the first book to bring all the principles of lean manufacturing to where they're needed most: the shop floor and the people supervising daily operations. Engagingly written and easy to put to work, the book features essential tools that can help streamline operations in any manufacturing environment.Section 1 presents a thorough overview of lean, with discussions of: cost and cash flow; velocity and lead time; what waste is and how it affects both profit and customer satisfaction; how to quantify opportunities to become more profitable; and how to use lean manufacturing to both complement and implement business strategy.Section 2 gives step-by-step, dollar-by-dollar guidance on creating a lean process at virtually any manufacturing company, from laying out processes to transitioning and training employees. There is also valuable insight on establishing metrics and ensuring continuous improvement. Gaining specific, practical knowledge with every page, the reader will move effortlessly through the book and return to the shop floor with a workable plan for cutting waste and boosting profits. ... Read more