Book Description

This book provides the most current, thorough, and contemporary account of the factors affecting the organizational design process, making important organization theories accessible and interesting. It addresses the many issues and problems that are involved in managing the process of organizational change and transformation, providing direct and clear managerial implications.Topics covered in this comprehensive book are the organization and its environment; organizational design; organizational change; and finally, interesting case studies that illustrate the concepts presented.A useful book that is appropriate for managers in any organization. ... Read more

Book Description

Hands-on guidelines for using the Balanced Scorecard within mission-driven organizations

Today’s insistence on demonstrated organizational performance is not limited to private-sector corporations. Public and nonprofit agencies are also finding that, as financial resources decrease and demand for results increases, they too must institute performance goals along with programs and processes to consistently progress toward those goals.

Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step for Government and Nonprofit Agencies identifies the opportunities–and helps eliminate the obstacles–of bringing the popular and proven Balanced Scorecard approach to public and nonprofit organizations.

This results-focused and practical book provides you with:

• Fundamentals of the Balanced Scorecard concept
• Advice on how to alter the "geography" of the balanced scorecard to fit public and nonprofit agencies
• Techniques for developing strategy maps and Balanced Scorecards throughout your organization
• Tools and templates to link the Balanced Scorecard with key management processes

Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step for Government and Nonprofit Agencies outlines the very real benefits of the field-proven Balanced Scorecard approach, and details how it can be tailored to the unique requirements and realities of nonprofit and public-sector organizations. Let it show you how to use the Balanced Scorecard to help your organization dramatically improve operational and fiscal effectiveness–and better meet the needs of your stakeholders. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A book for the 21st century
Niven is one of the best authors on BSC. If this administration and communications tool has been hailed as one the best new concepts in the business world, in nonprofit and government administration it can have even more impact. It is a great general introduction, but even seasoned experts will find enlightenment and a great very updated bibliography. Works very well as a textbook for nonprofit management with HBS cases.

Clear, informative and highly implementable advice
Although the Balanced Scorecard has taken over performance mangagement thinking in business, its linkages and adaptability to public and non-profit organizations has remained extremely challenging. I currently am resposible for leading planning and strategy development for a large social services provider in Canada. Being a strong proponent of Balanced Scorecard theory, I anxiously waited two months for Paul Niven's latest book to hit the shelves in hope that I could adapt the balanced scorecard approach to evaluate our organization's strategy. Long story short >> Balanced Scorecard for Government and Nonprofit Agencies was an incredible investment, and we are now on the way to better measuring and reporting on our organization's progress with the help of this book's advice, tips and proecess design steps.

Paul Niven's writing style provides a clear and informative description of the balanced scorecard approach to performance planning and measurement - and presents easy-to-follow steps for designing and implementing performance systems to monitor and evaluate the impact of nonprofit and public sector programs. I highly recommend this easy-to-read book to anyone interested in understanding how the world's leading approach to performance measurement and management can be successfully incorporated into your organization.

Good & Practical Book on Balanced Scorecard
I've read most of the literature on the Balanced Scorecard and the previous books by Norton & Kaplan and Paul Niven himself. Being a Management Consultant of 15 years, I worked with numerous for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and have the usual skepticism towards theory books. This latest book on Balanced Scorecard was easy-to-read with numerous examples from Balanced Scorecard implementations in public sector. I found the step-by-step approach to be practical and quite down-to-earth with numerous take aways for a reader interested in BSC or a performance management practitioner, like myself. The book rightly touches upon the challenges in the scorecard implementations, and offers valuable advice. If you haven't read any previous books on this subject, you can read this book alone for a good idea on what the Balanced Scorecard is all about, and how you go about its implementation. ... Read more

Book Description

Most managers know that revitalization in their companies must occur from the ground up. But how to get that message to employees without applying the kind of pressure that makes them even less productive? The answer is empowerment. In this motivating book, you will find specific strategies designed to help you encourage responsibility, acknowledgment, and creativity so that employees feel they "own" their jobs. It's all here, in an accessible guide for the successful managers of tomorrow. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Communicate Better!
Many people fail to focus on whether or not their message is received. More effective people focus on whether the message is received as they attempt to improve communications so their company can be more successful. ZAPP! also focuses on WHAT message is received. As the book shows, a perceived message can be dispiriting or empowering.

I liked the fact that the book spent as much time on explaining about bad communications as it did on good ones. That is a great way to help people improve.

The only thing I did not like about the book was that the end led into a sales pitch for consulting rather than tips for how to pursue this on your own. It seemed out of keeping in a book about empowerment. Skip the last 2 pages, and you will be left with a better taste in your mouth.

Buy, read, think about, apply, and share this book and the lessons above with your colleagues. That will help you get heart-warming results to go with the heart-warming feeling that reading this book provides. Enjoy!

Avoid "Stallled Thinking" with Zapp!
Zapp! is fun and easy to read. It is a good basic reminder of the things that good managers and leaders should know but do not always practice. The cute story discribes the benefits of listening and sharing. Too many organizations are hindered by what I call the "Communications Stall". An additonal and very uccessful approach to this problem is to use many ways of communicating (print, videos, speeches, discussions,..) and to do so often. Part 4 accurately shows that in the larger company setting, the ways that people have always done things continuously get in the way of progress. We have found that these "Traditions Stalls" and "Bureaucratic Stalls" must be questioned if they are to be avoided, and new ways found to accomplish more. For example, take the seats out of the meeting rooms to make the meeting shorter. Zapp! begins to do this by saying "There must be another way". The key to finding 2,000 percent solutions and to making much faster progress, is to ask the right questions. I look forward to Byham's next book to learn how he recommends a manager or leader get started.

Has Zapped me since 96 (when I first read it I think)
Read this book sometime around 1996. I know it changed my way of dealing with people not just at the workplace but also with my wife at home on the sports field and it continues to influence the way I even deal with my 8 month old baby.

I have since quit my job and moved to the US to pursue a PhD in INdustrial Relations & Human Resources (after working for 15 years). And this continues to influence my choice of research.

A must read for all managers
Having worked for too many bosses who are micro-managers, I wish this book was required reading for all such managers. This book, although lacking in realistic settings, is nonetheless a good read. Managers can't expect employees to be excited about their work if they don't have Ownership of their task. How many times have I been given a project to do only to find out that I've been left out of the analysis phase of the project. All information is on a Need to Know basis, and I obviously don't. What do I do for a living? I'm a programmer/analyst.

An allegory for leaders
This book got a big build up by my prof, so it's not surprising it didn't quite measure up, thus no 5 star. You have to like allegorical illustrations, you have to have a bit of an imagination, and you should have some work experience. Don't go into this book looking for data or illustrations from life or statistics. It's a morals tale for the new business world--you may learn something from it as you would reading Aesop or Brothers Grimm, but don't look for an epic or a treatise. Good readers can finish it in under 2 hours. The hard-headed should probably not waste their time (enpowerment, bah, humbug!) The rest of you, relax and enjoy. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Dennis Bakke was co-founder and eventually CEO of AES, a large energy company which grew to over $8 billion in annual revenue and over 40,000 employees. Bakke's Joy at Work is in part, a CEO memoir, as it chronicles AES's growth, complete with anecdotes about boardroom confrontations, employee relations, and new openings of production facilities. Joy at Work goes beyond the standard business tale, though: Bakke believes in moral values as ends in themselves, as opposed to means towards the end of greater financial return, and he's not afraid to say it.

A number of authors in recent years have made the case that companies which embody humanistic values, and which nurture uplifting cultures, come to house happier, more productive employees. "Values" should be embraced, the argument goes, because they lead to better business results. Bakke shuns such thinking. He wants "values" for values' sake--because he believes they are an integral part of the human experience, and one that daily work should incorporate. He argues that financial return is only one good alongside others. As Bakke writes at one point in Joy at Work: "Why should enriching shareholders be more important than producing quality products and selling them to customers at fair prices?"

Readers who start off sympathetic to Bakke's worldview will likely enjoy Bakke's book. "Joy at Work" is situated perfectly within values-led business literature, alongside books like Howard Schultz’s Pour Your Heart Into It, the Body Shop's Anita Roddick (Take It Personally) and Ben & Jerry's Double Dip, by the ice-cream guys. Joy at Work provokes questions and warrants a read, if, for no reason other than its impressive string of blurbs from friends of the author: Everyone from President Bill Clinton to Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren vouches for Bakke and his gospel. --Peter Han ... Read more

Reviews (8)

More sparkle than substance
As a career coach and consultant, I naturally gravitated toward a book with the title Joy at Work. The subtitle promised an "approach" to "fun on the job."

However, the book gets only two stars because the title appears misleading. Joy at Work is not about how *you* the indvidual can have fun -- it's more of a memoir. You'll even find family photos in the middle of the book!

What makes Bakke'sAES unique are values, premised on a core concept: Workers feel happier when they have more control over their environment. When they have control, they take ownership, so you need fewer supervisors. Workers have fun *and* the company gets profitable.

Frankly, some of Bakke's ideas aren't unique. Why have sick leave? Just let workers stay home when they're sick. Well, at least one large software company has had this policy for years, according to an acquaintance who worked there.And the notion of empowering workers has a familiar ring, too.

Are workers really happy? Does a CEO really know? When Bakke argues for a leaner workplace (which I agree *is* more fun), he sounds remarkably like Jack Welch.

On page 156, Bakke questions why shareholder values should drive the firm. Why not focus on employees, he seems to be asking.But on page 210, Bakke wishes he'd sought more equity than debt, selling more shares more frequently.Maybe I'm missing something, but investors will be more likely to buy stock if the company focuses on making them, the shareholders, richer.

So bottomline, this book won't help an ordinary person who's perched on the corporate ladder. You have to be a CEO(with a supporting Board and staff) to implement these values that presumably bring "joy."A manager could create only temporary, smaller-scale changes.

My biggest criticism: Books today are judged by their cover.Nothing on the book's jacket gives a hint that Bakke operates from a system of strong religious values, which he mentions in the text from time to time.The Postscript (pages 246-277 -- 10% of the book) has been titled "The Master's Joy." It is certainly appropriate for an author to present his religious views and values -- but please tell the reader up front, before we buy a copy or even check one out of a library.

Actually we get some clues if we read the 9 endorsements on the back cover, an eclectic mix of individuals ranging from Bill Clinton to a football coach to a US Senator.Inside the book are 15 more endorsements, from a church pastor, Chuck Colson of prison ministries, and an NFL quarterback.Only one of the 24 endorsements seems to be from a woman: the androgynously named Lynn Sharp Paine.

Appendix A provides a "Case Study" which is really a timeline, presented honestly. Of special note: AES's initial offering price was $19.25 in 1991. The stock hit an all-time high of $70.62 in October 2000 and then plummeted to $5 a share in February 2002. In June 2002 Bakke retired from the company.It would be interesting to hear how these trends would be discussed in a top MBA classroom.

Dull and Dry with Few Insights
I've read the other positive reviews here on this work, and I must respectfully disagree.I purchased this volume with great expectations, and was sadly disappointed. Perhaps the main reason for my negative response is that this title came across to me as a Christian-oriented guide to management.For me, the best part of the book was the short postscript at the end.It was the only portion that was clearly faith-based.

Bakke here offers some insights that may be helpful to leaders in secular management, but individuals wanting a specifically Christian perspective should look elsewhere.

Revolutionary.Refreshing.Real.
I regard most new books aimed at business leaders as recycled drivel.But Bakke's work stands out, and it could indeed be the seedling for a revolution in business culture, particularly in light of recent spectacular corporate failures.

Revolutionary: Early in the book, Bakke backs up and offers a brief history of the Industrial Revolution and its impact on current corporate structures - hierarchy, hourly wages, corporate specialists (i.e. accounting, purchasing, contracting), policy manuals, centralized decision-making, etc.Then he explains how these forces have removed personal initiative, measured risk-taking and a sense of contribution from workers, thus removing "joy" from the workplace.He replaces it with genuine respect for all workers, allowance for mistakes, and giving everyone an opportunity to make key decisions that can impact the whole company.He argues AGAINST the fundamental belief that return on shareholder value is the primary goal of a corporation.

Refreshing: Bakke makes the case for values over profits - even if adherence to corporate values means missed opportunities or forgone profits.In the post Enron/Tyco/WorldCom era, there has been renewed emphasis on values.But Bakke provides lengthy examples of how to identify, proclaim, teach and maintain on-going conversations about a company's values.He does away with the concept of our work life being differentiated from the rest of our life - if most people's goal in life is to "make a positive contribution in the world," the workplace should provide an opportunity for such goals.

Real:Unlike many academics that dream up such ideals in a vacuum, Bakke's lab for developing these revolutionary concepts is a global energy company with 40,000 employees, over $8 billion in revenues and operations in 31 countries (read, "cultures!"), where he served as co-founder and CEO.He is candid about how difficult and stressful it was to put these ideas into action, struggles with his board, and mistakes made along the way by himself and others he empowered.He provides actual excerpts from communications with employees, shareholders and clients.And in a helpful appendix, he differentiates between "a conventional approach" and "the joy at work approach" to dealing with compensation, auditing, employees, boards and other issues that leaders must address daily.

I'd Like to Work for/with Him
Back more years ago than I can count on all my fingers and toes I remember an organizational theory teacher saying that the Roman Catholic church was easily the most successful organization of all time. One of the mail reasons, he said, was that the Catholic Church essentially had three layers in its chain of command: priest, bishop, pope.

At the time I was working for a computer company as an engineer and had eleven layers in the chain of command just to get out ot the plant I was in, and who knos how many more to get to the president. This one of those computer companies that completely missed the PC revolution and is now still alive but pretty sickly.

What attracted me to this book was reading a page where Mr. Bakke said that the corporation he founded had a three layer chain of command. I then went on to read of his concept of management of a company. He believes in empowering the worker to a greater extent than anyone I've read before.

In this book he presents a workplace vision that he apparently carried out in the formation of a quite large company. I am left with the feeling, however, that the company became a reflection of Mr. Bakke rather than the principles that he describes in the book. As I look at the AES web site now, I see words like "Focus on Performance" and little mention of Mr. Bakke, apparently he is not even a director. Certainly the structure of the company as he founded it would make it a joy to work there. I wonder if it still is.

This book is very interesting to read. It's more attuned to the individual starting or running a company than to the person working eleven or fifteen layers down.

Should be called "Joy at Life"
It is interesting how finding Joy at Work results in finding Joy in Life.A very inspiring book which make one realize that not matter what their station is within an organization, that one person can make a difference.Bakke's principles are my guiding light in finding "Joy at Work" ... Read more

Book Description

Known in manufacturing among those striving to maximize productivity and create pull-scheduling of production as "the yellow book," Lean Transformation: How to Change Your Business into a Lean Enterprise is used across the globe by companies as they switch to lean production and management by empowered teams. Touted by lean production experts everywhere as practical, down-to-earth, and easy to read, it warns of cultural issues that are almost certain to arise, and gives management step by step instructions as it explains clearly in terms anyone can understand such concepts as continuous flow, value stream mapping, kanban, kaizen, six sigma, just-in-time (JIT), techniques for converting to quick set-ups, and other pillars of the Toyota Production System. Indeed, Toyota may have been the first, but Toyota is not the only company that excels at lean manufacturing. Dell Computers provides another model of a successful lean enterprise as do Harley-Davidson and Pella Windows. Learn why initial improvements of 40 percent in direct labor productivity and a 50 percent reduction in the space required for manufacturing are routine when production and assembly are converted to continuous flow. Lean Transformation is chock full of real life examples of value stream mapping, how kanban can resolve material supply issues, how kaizen brainstorming can result in startling improvements overnight, how just-in-time (JIT) frees mountains of money tied up in work-in-progress, why six sigma quality needs to be built in and not inspected in, how bottlenecks can be eliminated, kanban snafus spotted before they happen, and how instilling a championship mentality in cross-functional teams can lead to increased productivity and continuous improvement that doesn't stop after the initial kaizen event.

It doesn't take a genius to know that the low cost producer that meets customers "want" dates 99% of the time yet carries only two days inventory has a tremendous competitive advantage. So put value stream mapping, just-in-time (JIT), six sigma, kanban, kaizen, continuous flow, empowered teams, and all the other techniques you'll learn about in Lean Transformation to work. Order a copy for everyone involved in your transformation into a lean enterprise. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Very Complete Look at the Lean Journey
This book will be an excellent read for both the experienced lean warrior and those new to the subject. Henderson has clearly been through many lean implementations, for his words of caution in Part I of this book could not be more accurate. Also of specific interest is a section near the end of the book on financial measurements for lean - very interesting. This would be a great book for a lean champion in any company to put on the required reading list.

For any company wanting to win--a must-read
Lean Transformation is an informative yet easy-to-read guide for companies wishing to transform themselves into lean manufacturers. Authored by Bruce Henderson, CEO Invensys Controls and Jorge Larco, a leading manufacturing consultant, the book addresses topics ranging from cultural issues to mapping for continuous flow, to right-sizing machinery and quick set-up, to kanban and material handling to spreading the transformation from final assembly throughout the entire organization. Readers will learn from the experiences of Toyota, Dell Computers and others, while benefiting from the charts, diagrams and step-by-step instructions provided in the book. A must-read for any and all companies wanting to lead in the next millennium. ... Read more

Book Description

Look in Mickey's Briefcase . . .

Now, an outsider takes you inside the incredible Disney service culture and presents simple, powerful concepts in a fun, memorable waythat just may change the way you conduct business.

Based on hours of interviews and discussions with present and former Disney employees, Inside the Magic Kingdom discloses the secrets behind Disneys success . . . and explains why, of its more than 30 million guests each year, over two-thirds are repeat customers.

This upbeat, easy-to-read book illustrates clear, solid principles with examples that are well-known to Disney insiders but virtually unknown to outsidersuntil now. ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Good. For a seven year old.
This book explains the customer service and overall business philosophies of The Walt Disney Company. The lessons and anecdotes it includes are very good, however the way they are presented is ridiculous. A tour guide who is not at all affliated with Disney takes a group of business people through the Magic Kingdom pointing out various interesting things and showing them just how great Disney is. Of course it all ends up with the stubborn, uptight last man coming around to see what a great company Disney is. How touching. This book was an incredibly easy read. Almost along the lines of; See Spot. See Spot run. Spot likes Disney. Anyone who would find this book useful should be insulted by the level at which it is written. It is worth borrowing for an afternoon quick read but definatly not worth buying.

McDisney
Inside the Magic Kingdom is a great book when read just to get information about why Disney does what it does with its company and theme parks from the standpoint of customer service.

The real power, as I see it, of this book come from seeing that, like McDonalds, Disney has discovered how to apply a customer service attitude across all areas of their business operations. Moreover, these principles are not proprietary and can be learned and applied by anyone seeking to improve his or her company's (or personal) customer service strategy.

Read the book and apply the lessons and don't get too hung up on the dialogue of things.

Good reminders of things companies tend to forget
I thought this book did a great job of conveying its message. To the reviewer who said "The sophisticated executive will not get past the first chapter. Both my husband and I are in upper management and have returned this book", I think you need to give it a chance. I'm sure some of the executives at my company would say the same thing, but as a 20 year employee, I can see many lessons that they could learn from this simple book. Many execs have blinders on - the point of the book is to help remove them!

INSIDE THE MOUSE'S HEAD
INSIDE THE MAGIC KINGDOM is a terrific read just to have a look at how Disney does what it does with its company and theme parks from the standpoint of customer service. Incredible stuff. You won't believe what pains Disney takes to make us more comfortable and, of course, amenable to making a return trip or purchase.

The real "magic" of this book are the applications that anyone can make of its principles to a customer service or to attention to detail that one intends to make in ones own life. Disney does not own the principles here and they can be learned and used by anyone who wants to improve his organization's (or personal) customer service strategy.

THE HORSEMAN

I normally don't like books like this, but...
I normally don't like books like this, but...

this one by a noted customer service guru seemed to please me.

This is one of those books you buy to read on a one hour airplane trip. It's an easy-to-read, fictional story about customer service. Kinda hokey, cute. But it wasn't too cute as this genre often can be.

The book is organized around 7 major customer service concepts. But you'll end up with maybe 20 thoughts that trigger ideas. Many of them will be stupidly simple, but most businesses don't do them. Several of them will be embarassing. Several will be important.

There was one point that I thought was particularly important: Your competition is whoever your customer would compare you to... whoever raises your customer's expectations. So that means FedEx on fast delivery reliability, or in other areas: L.L. Bean, or GE's answer center. So, don't benchmark your industry competition, benchmark the best in each area of your services.

Again, its a cute book but not too cute. It's fun to read, easily consumed in a one hour flight. You'll end up with a few good ideas. It's a great way to keep reminded on customer service topics. I enjoyed finding out more about Disney.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Insightful!
Continual improvement is the key to survival in today's business climate, and as companies like GE and Motorola have proven, Six Sigma is a useful tool for ingraining the quest for perfection in an organization. After reading The Six Sigma Way, you'll probably be ready to jump out of your chair and immediately follow in these companies' footsteps by launching a Six Sigma initiative of your own. The authors, three consultants who teach firms to implement Six Sigma efforts, convincingly extol the money-saving and efficiency-enhancing virtues of the holistic approach. This book offers a lot of jargon and complex concepts, but the material is presented in easily understood charts and lists, and there are plenty of concrete examples. We [...] recommend The Six Sigma Way to managers who have heard wondrous tales of Six Sigma, but would like a more down-to-earth explanation of how it can be used and the benefits it offers.

How to Achieve "Practically-Perfect Quality of Performance"
Over the years, I have worked with dozens of small-to-midsize companies, all of which were in dire need of improving one or more of the following: cost reduction, culture change, customer retention, cycle-time reduction, defect reduction, market-share growth, productivity improvement, and product-service development. You can thus understand why I was curious to know to what extent (if any) Six Sigma could be helpful to small-to-midsize companies.

By now we have become well aware of the success of Six Sigma initiatives at major international corporations such as ABB, Allied Signal/Honeywell, Black & Decker, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Federal Express, General Electric, Johnson and Johnson, Kodak, Motorola, SONY, and Toshiba. Once having read this book, I am convinced that -- with certain modifications -- Six Sigma could perhaps be even more valuable to small-to-midsize companies which, obviously, have fewer resources. What exactly is Six Sigma? The authors provide this definition: "A comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining, and maximizing business success. Six Sigma is uniquely driven by close understanding of consumer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing, improving, and reinventing business processes."

The authors identify what they call "hidden truths" about Six Sigma:

1. You can apply Six Sigma to many different business activities and challenges -- from strategic planning to operations to customer service -- and maximize the impact of your efforts.

2. The benefits of Six Sigma will be accessible whether you lead an entire organization or a department. Moreover, you'll be able to scale your efforts, from tackling specific problems to renewing the entire business.

3. You'll be prepared to achieve breakthroughs in these untapped gold mines of opportunity -- and to broaden Six Sigma beyond the realm of the engineering community.

4. You'll gain insights into how to strike the balance between push and pull -- accommodating people and demanding performance. That balance is where real sustained improvement is found. On either side -- being "too nice" or forcing people beyond their understanding and readiness -- lie merely short-term goals or no results at all.

5. The good news is, Six Sigma is a lot more fun than root canal. Seriously, the significant financial gains from Six Sigma may be exceeded in value by the intangible benefits. In fact, the changes in attitude and enthusiasm that come from improved processes and better-informed people are often easier to observe, and more emotionally rewarding than dollar savings.

The authors organize their material as follows: Part One: An Executive Summary of Six Sigma; Part Two: Gearing Up and Adapting Six Sigma to Your Organization; Part Three: Implementing Six Sigma -- The Roadmap and Tools; and finally, The Appendices: Practical Support. According to Jack Welch, "The best Six Sigma projects begin not inside the business but outside it, focused on answering the question -- how can we make the customer more competitive? What is critical to the customer's success?...One thing we have discovered with certainty is that anything we do that makes the customer more successful inevitably results in a financial return for us."

If anything, it is even more important for small-to-midsize companies (than it is for the GEs of the world) to answer these two questions correctly and then track and compare their performance in terms of what their customers require. The well-publicized objective of Six Sigma is to achieve practically-perfect quality of performance (ie 3.4 defects for every million activities or "opportunities") and this is indeed an ambitious objective. Collins and Porras, authors of Built to Last, would probably view it as the biggest of Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs). In that book, they assert that the most successful and admired companies have the ability -- and willingness -- to simultaneously adopt two seemingly contrary objectives at the same time. Stability and renewal, Big Picture and minute detail, creativity and rational analysis -- these forces, working together,, make organizations great. This "we can do it all" approach they call the "Genius of the And."

Pande, Neuman, and Cavanagh suggest that all manner of specific benefits can result from following "the Six Sigma way." For example, Six Sigma generates sustained success, sets a performance goal for everyone, enhances value to customers, accelerates the rate of improvement, promotes learning and "cross-pollination", and executes strategic change. All organizations (regardless of their size or nature) need to avoid or escape what the authors refer to as the "Tyranny of Or." Here in a single volume is about all they need to seek "practically-perfect quality of performance." Whether or not they ultimately reach that destination, their journey en route is certain to achieve improvement which would otherwise not be possible.

A Breakthrough in "Boundaryless Thinking"
From livejournal notrealnews

Jack Welch, the retired CEO of General Electric, has hailed his recent affair with Harvard Business Review reporter Suzy Wetlaufer as a breakthrough in the business concept of "Boundaryless Thinking". "I could have easily spent the rest of my life trapped in the narrow view that my marriage meant lifelong monogamy," said Welch, a smug look on his face, "but with boundaryless thinking, I was able to take the concept of marriage in a whole new direction. Just like the things I did at GE."

Boundaryless thinking was one of the tenants that allowed Welch to get GE out of the failing appliances business and into the credit business, which now comprises more than half of GE's corporate makeup. It was a concept Welch highly stressed and touted in his autobiography "Jack: Straight from the Gut." He intends to follow it up with a new book, "Cheating on your wife the Six Sigma Way: How CEO's of GE, Motorola, and Other Top Companies are Honing Their Extramarital Performance".

What a load of c***!
I never read the book, but the CD is such a masterfully "abridged" version of the book that it manages to tell you for hour HOW WONDERFUL six sigma is, while totally neglecting to tell you WHAT SIX SIGMA ACTUALLY IS, or HOW IT IS IMPLEMENTED. In short, the CD contains nothing but self-marketing bull. If you have money to waste, go buy it.

The Six Sigma Way
The book was very easy to follow. I found it especially helpful that the Six Sigma Way gave tips as to which chapters should be read for each level of Six Sigma implementation. Since my company already had it implemented and I was only reading the book for an understanding of what my company was doing, I was able to skip the unneeded portions about implementation. This was a big time saver. ... Read more

Book Description

As Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz demonstrate in their groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, managing energy, not time, is the key to enduring high performance as well as to health, happiness, and life balance. Their Full Engagement Training System is grounded in twenty-five years of working with great athletes -- tennis champ Monica Seles and speed-skating gold medalist Dan Jansen, to name just two -- to help them perform more effectively under brutal competitive pressures. Now this powerful, step-by-step program will help you to:

· Mobilize four key sources of energy

· Balance energy expenditure with intermittent energy renewal

· Expand capacity in the same systematic way that elite athletes do

· Create highly specific, positive energy management rituals

The Power of Full Engagement is a highly practical, scientifically based approach to managing your energy more skillfully. It provides a clear road map to becoming more physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused, and spiritually aligned -- both on and off the job. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Well worth the time
I work as a stress management trainer for humanitarian relief and development workers around the world, so I've read a lot of self-help books in my time. This is one of the best I've read. Beautifully structured, it's finely balanced between research, anecdotes and application. It kept my attention throughout, and most pages now have highlighter on them. It's well worth the time to read and will challenge you gently, but firmly, to assess your priorities and how you are living your life. ... Read more

Book Description

Is it possible for a company to grow its revenues and profits by 10percent ormore for atleast ten consecutive years, not counting acquisitions? That’s an incrediblyhigh bar forgrowth and profitability, one that 99.99 percent of American companies can’tmeet— including the famous ones that routinely land on magazine covers.

Management expert Jason Jennings screened 100,000 companies to identify ninelittle- known firms that have delivered stellar performance for a full decade or more,despite theups and downs of the economy. And, as he reveals in his new book, thesesuperstars havea lot in common despite their wide range of industries, which includes software,foodservices, medical supplies, and sporting goods.

It turns out that the best long-term performers all combine the strengths of abigorganization with the hunger of a start-up. They build excellent relationshipswith theircustomers, suppliers, workers, and shareholders. They groom future leaders atall levels.They balance their short-term goals with their long-term visions. And they teachtheirmanagers to get their hands dirty.

Jennings did extensive interviews at his nine featured companies to find outexactly howthey consistently increase revenue and profits without using manipulation orgimmickry.He reveals their unique approach to leadership and shows how any company, nomatterwhat size or industry, can benefit from following their examples.

Think Big, Act Small may be the most powerful management book sinceGood to Great and Execution. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Business Novel--Read for Pleasure, Read for Profit
Telling the stories of nine companies, in a manner both fascinating and insightful, Jennings's has created a true business novel.You'll want to take this book on vacation for pleasure and then bring it home for profit.

Prudent Business Advice for any Business
I can't remember the last time I've considered a business non-fiction book a "page turner", but Jason Jennings has accomplished what very few writers in this genre do. His wit, combined with articulate facts, make "Think Big, Act Small" a much better read than similar books. However, what really encapsulated me were candid, yet invigorating details about what differentiates so-so businesses from the shockingly sparse few companies who actually maintain steady, consecutive growth along with increased profits year after year. Free from scandal, quiet, humble, down-to-earth CEO leadership appears to be one pervasive factor for a success formula. Incredibly, Jennings and his staff conduct face-to-face interviews with these precious leaders of the featured corporations more as if it were a coffee clutch than a business profile. Casual, laid-back and approachable, the words they speak aren't about themselves at all. Rather, their sage advice regarding the prosperity of their respective companies proves "big" dreams are still attainable while "acting small" as they genuinely focus on what's best for all.
As the owner of a successful computer company, one other surprise were the parallels seen within our own business. Namely, of the successful companies featured in the book, more than half are some of our BEST customers. This may be a perfect fit for any proactive sales organization. You'll be hooked from the start so this is just bonus material well worth the price of admission itself.
This book is a must read for anybody even slightly interested in learning about what makes today's best businesses tick.

Jennings' Most Important Book...Thus Far
Jennings' highly innovative, at times refreshingly unorthodox thinking was evident in his previously published books,It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...It's the Fast That Eat the Slow (co-authored with Laurence Haughton) and then Less Is More: How Great Companies Use Productivity As a Competitive Tool in Business.

As I read this volume, I was reminded of at least some of the material in Sun Tzu's The Art of War and, especially, the strategies recommended in a section called "Estimates" in Samuel B. Griffith's superb translation. For example: "All warfare is based on deception. Therefore, when capable, feign incapacity; when active, inactivity. When near, make it appear that you are far away; when far away, that you are near. Offer the enemy a bait to lure him; feign disorder and strike him. When he concentrates, prepare against him; where he is strong, avoid him. Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance. When he is united, divide him. Attack when he is unprepared; sally out when he does not expect you." You get the idea.

Jennings is a staunch and eloquent advocate of this principle: Do much more and do it much better, faster, and do it with less. OK, but how? The answer to that question was revealed by rigorous and extensive research which he and his two associates (Brian Solon and Greg Powell) conducted. They began with 70,000 companies as candidates for designation as the best performing companies in the U.S. Among all of them, which have increased their revenue and profits by at least 10% for ten years or longer? Only nine qualified: Cabela's, Dot Foods, Koch Industries, Medline Industries, O'Reilly Automotive, PETCO Animal Supplies, SAS Institute, Sonic Drive-in, and Strayer Education.

Back to "How?" Jennings identifies ten "Building Blocks" which, in combination, explain why each of those in an obviously mixed bag of companies has been and continues to be a best performer (i.e. among the top one-hundredth of 1% of all U.S. companies). It would be a disservice to both Jennings and to those who read this brief commentary to list them and then comment on each out of the context within which Jennings so skillfully presents them. Suffice to say that all organizations (regardless of their size or nature) need to have all ten Building Blocks as a core foundation on which to increase their revenue and profits by at least 10% and then continue to do so year after year after year.

How revealing that the CEOs whom Jennings and his research associates interviewed indicate little (if any) interest in any of Sun Tzu's deception strategies...nor in what their competitors are up to, for that matter. They seem wholly preoccupied with sticking to their own "knitting," focusing on what their companies can do best, how to do it even better, and thereby deliver even greater value to their customers. Also, each seems determined to nourish and enhance the quality of life as well as standard of living of everyone involved in the enterprise. This is precisely what Jennings means when referring to building communities, Building Block #9. Employees, customers, and allies should be viewed as "partners" and treated as such.

Ultimately, one of the most formidable challenges for those in any organization is to achieve and then maintain an appropriate balance of "thinking BIG" while "acting small." Hence the importance of Section Three, "The Quad: A Self-Evaluation and Ranking," in which Jennings "breaks down the title of the book into four scenarios, each represented by a quadrant":

TSAS Think Small, Act Small
TSAB Think Small, Act Big
TBAB Think Big, Act Big
TBAS Think Big, Act Small

He applies this template to each of the ten Building Blocks. It remains for each reader to complete the self-evaluation, one which helps to measure her or his own organization's current situation. The details of this exercise are best revealed within the text, pages 189-201.

I highly recommend this book for reasons previously indicated but also because I cannot recall a prior time since the Great Depression when it was more difficult for companies to increase their revenue and profits by at least 10% for ten years or longer. Consider these statistics which Michael Gerber shares in his recently published E-Myth Mastery: "Of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started this year [2005], more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th birthday." Chilling statistics indeed. Here in a single volume is a rigorous analysis of how nine quite different companies have achieved and then sustained their "full economic and human potential."

How important and potentially valuable is this book? Please re-read the statistics provided by Gerber. ... Read more

Book Description

The theme of this edition is The High Performance Organization. Ethics and social responsibility, workforce diversity, technology, entrepreneurship, and skill-building are some of the important topics emphasized. Schermerhorn's new edition is intended for the Organizational Behavior course taught at most 2-year and 4-year colleges. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

There are much better books out there
· Very little focus on individual behavior in organizations - I know this is not a psychology text, but, Jex (2002), or one of the other psych authors (Osland, 2000) could have used for this course with much better coverage and not alter the course objectives to a great extent.
· For a 2003 edition of text, the citations were very much out of date. The chapter on leadership for example (Chapter 14, which had a total of 53 citations) had only seven references within the last five years; 1998 or greater.
· I am not of the opinion that this was a graduate text. The stories, pictures, essay and "effective manager" were not intellectual in their added information. In many cases the added material didn't correspond to the text (see chart on page 48 and subsequent text explanation). Another example would be on page 157 they ask the reader to refer to Figure 8.2 and then explain the chart with text that isn't even related to the major sections of this chart.
o Not one of the Effective Manager boxes has references; where did all this good advice come from?
· Typo's abounded in the text, they always do - but check out page 233 Chapter summary - it's not the right chapter; this appears agan with chapter 19. I really had the feeling that this was written by three people who did not do a line-by-line update of the 7th edition.
· Of very serious concern would be the author's inclusion of sources in their writing. This infuriated me to no end. Page 63 under Gender "However, women are reported to be more conforming and to have lower expectations of success than men do." That is a very serious statement and it contains no citation - what reports, who, where, when? Another example is on page 85 when discussion perceptual differences in managers and employees - not citations given, even when stating that the differences are significant.
o Just to show that I did not cull these examples only from the front of the book, Pg 274 "Recent work on the linkages among corporate culture and financial performance reaffirms the importance of an emphasis on helping employees adjust to environment." What recent work, by who, saying what? This is just poor scholarship in my humble student estimation.

Boring to death
This textbook is so boring that although I made an A in the class, I couldn't wait to finish it. It uses too many technical words, it makes reference to subjects that students with a few courses in Human Resources know already. It would be better if it offered some real life examples. If you are a teacher looking for a textbook, please keep looking! If you are a student whose teacher assigned you this book..... I am sorry for you!

Adjunct Professor Uses For All His Classes
This is an outstanding book. It is very easy reading, organized and it communicates information to the student. It is loaded with easy following diagrams which reinforce the material, and it is loaded with real world Corporate America and Military Organizational Behavior examples to support the text work. It has an OUTSTANDING CASE Section which again reinforces the material and makes the student apply the concepts learned in the chapters. Also, this text is complete with alot of Personal Assessment Exercises which make you think about the type of person you are, how to improve yourself in working with others. I've used in now for 3 different schools and the students enjoy it...Mainly for the Easy Reading and the way it introduces the concepts. Price is IRRELEVANT. You can go spend $40 on an Organizational Behavior text and you won't get anything out of it because it is poorly written, no cases and no assessments. Highly recommend for any instructor who wants his students to learn. Great reference book also. Don't sell it!!!

Excellent book
I'm reading this book only because it is required for my class, but in reading it, had I known about its quality, I would have purchased it anyhow. It's a very expensive book (and I do doubt whether it's worth $100--but then, I think books are overpriced nowadays)--but the content is very good. Maybe the difference between the previous reviewer and me is that I don't know much about organizational behaviour and haven't compared it to other books in this field.

I hope you don't have to read this book.
The only reason you should buy and read this book is if it isrequired reading for a class. You are buying an advertisement for Fast Company Magazine. The writing is sketchy at best, and the examples are vague. You get access to their Web site for online tests, but the site is poorly done with typographical errors. There are other better texts on organizational behavior. ... Read more

Book Description

Marketing Strategy is presented from a perspective that guides strategic marketing management in the social, economic, and technological arenas in which businesses function today. This text helps to develop a customer-oriented market strategy and market plan. ... Read more

Book Description

Bestselling Lean Six Sigma author Michael George provides the first pocket guide for deployers of Lean Six Sigma

The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook blends Lean and Six Sigma tools and concepts, providing expert advice on how to determine which tool within a "family" is best for different purposes. Packed with detailed examples and step-bystep instructions, it's the ideal handy reference guide to help Green and Black Belts make the transition from the classroom to the field.

• Features brief summaries and examples of the 70 most important tools in Lean Six Sigma, such as "Pull," "Heijunka," and "Control Charts"
• Groups tools by purpose and usage
• Offers a quick, easy reference on using the DMAIC improvement cycle
• Provides comprehensive coverage in a compact, portable format

Reviews (1)

Outstanding Quick Reference Guide
This pocket toolbook hits the "sweet spot" as a quick reference guide for lean six sigma practitioners.Don't expect this to be an in-depth treatment of the 70+ tools covered in this book.If you're new to the lean/six sigma disciplines, you need to start someplace else.However, if you are currently working in these disciplines and you need a reference with enough meat to remind you of how/why/when a particular tool should be used and also a little of the statistical foundations supporting the tool, then you will find this to be a very valuable book to own.I own just about all of the "pocket guides" and I often find them to be a little too cryptic and abbreviated to meet my needs.This book is a very nice middle ground between the often complex and verbose "learning textbooks" and the often times overly brief pocket guides.As with any first edition, there are some errors that slipped through the editing process, but I can still highly recommend this book as one to keep handy when your out there fighting those "quality and productivity" battles. ... Read more

Book Description

Get that monkey off your back!

Start with a monkey. It comes from your subordinates shifting their responsibility to you -- until you're working for them! How does the successful manager keep monkeys off his back? In this lively, provocative seminar, two of today's foremost consultants show you:

* How to recognize monkeys before they land on your back
* How to stop your subordinates from imposing unnecessary time demands on you
* Why "an honest day's work for a fair day's pay" does not apply to managers
* The real answer to the Manager's Lament: "where does all the time go?"
* Why you should be on the golf course on Saturday instead of at the office

Be a smarter, tougher and better manager!

Together and separately Kenneth Blanchard and William Oncken have trained and consulted with America's largest corporations. Now they bring their unique style and hard-hitting program to audio -- to help you take charge of your job and your life. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

A new way to work less and be more efficient
The one minute manager's symbol, a one-minute readout from the face of a modern digital watch, is intended to remind each of us to take a minute out of our day to look into the faces of the people we manage. The monkey manger's symbol a stressed manager overwhelmed by a desk full of problems, is intended to remind us to constantly discipline ourselves to invest our time on the most vital aspects of management rather than dilute our effectiveness by "doing more efficiently those things that shouldn't be done in the first place." What follows, is a story of a manger who worked long hours and never seemed to get caught up with all the work he had to do. He learned about monkey management and how not to take initiative away from his people so they can care for and feed their own monkeys. In the process, he learned to be more effective in dealing with his own manager and the demands of his organization. The performance of his department drastically improved, as did the prospects for his career. The authors hope is that you will use what you learn in this book to make a difference in your life and the lives of the people you interact with at work and at home.

Just to Sum it up..
The One Minute Manager's symbol- a one-minute readout from the face of a modern digital watch- is intended to remind each of us to take a minute out of our day to look into the faces of the people we manage. And to realize that they are our most important resources. The Monkey Manager's symbol- a harried manager overwhelmed by a deskful of problems- is intended to remind us to constantly discipline ourselves to invest our time on the most vital aspects of management rather than dilute our effectiveness by "doing more efficiently those things that shouldn't be done in the first place." What follows is a story about a harried manager who worked long, hard hours, yet never quite seemed to get caught up with all the work he had to do. He learned about monkey management and how not to take initiative away from his people so they can care for and feed their own "monkeys." In the process, he learned to be more effective in dealing with his own manager and the demands of his organization. The performance of his department drastically improved as did the prospects for his career. The authors hope is that you will use what you learn in this book to make a difference in your life and the lives of the people you interact with at work, and at home.

Great Advise!
Great advise to new managers. I really could relate to the story. Both helpful and validating.

How to make money by stating the bleedin' obvious
Take a "humourous" title, take one sentence (in this case : Don't take too much responsibility for things) and write an entire book about it - don't forget to include quotable phrases that mean nothing. This is the perfect recipe for getting money out of the easiest (and most populous) demographic in America : the incompetent middle manager.

Absolutely Fantastic! Will kickstart your career
Buy the book or better yet listen to the tape then watch the change in your attitude Monday morning.

A good meter for a manager to know if he has too many monkeys is by comparing e-mail inbaskets, since that is where so many of us spend much of our time nowadays. My own is usually over 300 items while my staff's is usually under 20. I thought about each of these as a monkey and then also thought back over all the one-on-one conversations I had had with each of them (7 people). In most cases, it was usually left that I would do something next, and that fits in perfectly with this book. True to the book and the tape, I spend countless hours to catch up, only to fall further behind.

The book is pretty good, but the tape is far superior. There are two tapes; the first one is a speech by Bill Oncken Jr, and he is just a fantastic story-teller. He really brings to life the story of the manager whose staff is all waiting on him, the stress he feels, and the revelation that hits him when he sees them golfing when he goes in on the weekend. Of course this is all written before the days of e-mail, but it still works. You can feel the energy in his voice rising as he turns his life around and puts all the monkeys back where they belong, and the final line where he gets the whole audience to shout "HOW'S IT GOING?!" to the new monkey-owner is a great ending.

The second tape is Ken Blanchard delivering the rest of the material, and while he's entertaining, it's not nearly as good as Oncken's "day-in-the-life" tale. He ties the material back to the One-Minute Manager, and touches on some psychological issues.

They also stress that this isn't just an exercise in delegating and taking work off the manager's hand, it is just as important as a developmental process for the subordinate.

As a side-note, it's interesting that there is no mention anywhere in the book of Spencer Johnson, the co-author of the original book The One Minute Manager, who invented the system. In all the author biographies and Thank-You's, he is never mentioned, I wonder if he and Blanchard had a parting of company. And the book itself makes almost no mention at all about what One-Minute Manager is all about, it seems just a way to put a popular title to a book about monkey management,
although I think this monkey manual is the better book. ... Read more

Book Description

Improve quality and productivity in most any organization

Based on W. Edwards Deming's model, this guide offers an integrated approach to testing and improvement?one that is designed to deliver quick and substantial results. Using simple stories to illustrate core ideas, the authors?all active consultants?introduce a new, flexible model for improving quality and productivity in diverse settings. They draw from research conducted in a variety of areas?manufacturing, government, and schools?to present a practical tool kit of ideas, examples, and applications. What's more, they've included a Resource Guide to Change Concepts so even beginners can utilize the tested techniques of some of the world's most experienced practitioners.

... Read more

Reviews (6)

A must read for all Black Belts
This is a very practical and powerful guide for improvement.

1. The first revelation this book brings is: improvement is a change. From this viewpoint, the fundamental questions faced by the improver (e.g. Green Belts and Black Belts) are:

(1) What are we trying to accomplish? (Define phase)
(2) How will we know if a change will result in an improvement? (What are the key Y's?)
(3) What changes can we make that will result in improvement?
(What are the key X's and their settings to affect Y's)
Appropriate tools from '6-sigma' tool sets can be used to seek answers to (2) and (3).

2. The Guide emphasizes testing a change in small scale before full implementation so we can learn and improve the proposed change using the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. This significantly improves our typical 'trial-and-error' approach.

3. The Guide classifies improvement into 3 categories:
(1) Eliminate Quality Problems (the aim of many '6-sigma' projects)
(2) Reduce Costs while maintaining or improving quality (the goal of many internally focused improvement efforts)
(3) Expanding Customer Expectations
Specific advises and examples are presented for each of these categories.

4. Best of all is a list of 70 Change Concepts categorized under 9 sessions, e.g. standardization under Manage Variation, Synchronize under Improve Work Flow.
Using these change concepts can significantly reduce the time to develop the specific changes.

This book is very easy to follow and contains a lot of examples. It is a must read for all improvement practitioners including Green Belts and Black Belts.

Improvement viewed as a science.
Whether involved with improving products/processes within a business or coaching little league baseball, The Improvement Guide provides a practical and fundamental approach for improving performance. The book serves as an excellent reference for those involved with change, specifically, change that will result in improvement.

A few of the items from the book which ring in my mind continuously include:

Improvement can be viewed as a science (in fact, some of us do!).

Three questions provide the framework for improvement: 1. What are we trying to accomplish? 2. How will we know if we if a change will result in an improvement? 3. What changes can we make that will result in improvement?

While there are many opportunities to change, there are only 70 change concepts (included in the Appendix) available to us today.

Any system for improvement will include five activities: 1. Establishing and communicating the purpose of the organization/team. 2. Viewing the organization/team as a system. 3. Designing and managing the a system for gathering information for improvement 4. Planning for improvement and integrating it with business planning. 5. Managing individual and team improvement activities.

Leaders are required to implement change that will result in improvement and they draw their power from three sources (the informal leader gets his/her power from sources 2 and 3 below). 1. Authority or position 2. Knowledge 3. Personality and persuasiveness (caring about people)

These items and many more, are introduced in the book via an easy-to-understand model that uses proven methodology for developing, testing, and implementing change that produces specific, identifiable improvements.

The Answer to Dr. Deming's question: "By What Method?"
Dr. W. Edwards Deming, whose management ideas and Profound Knowledge provide the theoretical underpinnings of this book, continually asked the question to anxious audiences: "By what method? How do you go about it?" As a professional in the quality sciences field, I believe this book has the answer to those questions as it relates to improvement. The Improvement Guide defines improvement and describes in complete detail workable, easy to use techniques that are effective and time-tested. The book is based around the Improvement Model, an expanded and improved version of the Deming-Shewhart cycle, whose historical roots trace are grounded in applications of the scientific method and applied scientists since Roger Bacon. The principle of testing on a small scale, learning using the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle, and building knowledge sequentially using the Improvement Model are some of the most practical and useful aspects of the book. Part I is written on an introductory level and provides lots of simple examples that guide the beginner through theory and practice. The heart of the book, and some of its most useful content, describes ways to develop, test, and implement a change. The insights provided, based on decades of experience and knowledge of the authors, are invaluable. They are followed up by thoroughly documented and easy to understand case studies that ring true using real life examples related to manufacturing, services, health care, and a variety of standard business and educational processes. Finally, the third section describes an integrated approach to various standard improvement goals and useful strategies for achieving them. This section also includes extremely insightful guidance for leaders trying to promote and enable improvement, and an innovative and thought-provoking section suggesting techniques for expanding customer expectations to increase demand for products and/or services. This section, too, is replete with examples and case studies to support and illustrate methods and concepts.

This book should be studied by anyone, beginner or experienced professional, interested in a systematic method for improving processes, products, or services. I strongly recommend it.

The definitive book on performance improvement
I think this is the most important and practical book available on performance improvement since Deming's "The New Economics". I found this book to be highly useful and well articulated around the practical application of Deming's system of profound knowledge, authored by some of the world's most preeminent thought leaders and practitioners in quality improvement. Chock full of relevant and easy to understand examples. The Model for Improvement, introduced in this book, is an amazingly simple way to bring about improvement in any undertaking. If you are interested in performance this book is a must.

A significant contribution to quality literature
In the extensive library of quality material, a select few items stand out for their practical approach to implementing powerful quality principles in such a manner to be understood by everyone. These authors, strongly tied to Deming principles, are consultants with Associates in Process Improvement, a national quality consulting firm, and have consulted on quality with numerous industries in the US, Canada, and Europe. They are heavily schooled in statistics and quality engineering and now add this valuable item to the elite group of quality tools. The book is driven by their simplified approach to the now well known PDSA cycle, preceding this with their three fundamental questions: What are we trying to accomplish?, How will we know a change is an improvement?, and What changes can we make that will result in improvement? After considering these questions, the authors then take the reader through the classic PDSA steps in this useful model of quality improvement easily adaptable in any business. Part 1 introduces and explains this model, part 2 further applies the model in exemplary business situations, and part 3 offers solid advice for leadership in a quality organization. The added resource guide, alone worth the investment in this work, further explains how different executives are applying in their business the numerous concepts that fill this excellent guide to improvement. This is a very useful addition to the library of any quality professional, and will be most useful to those newly entering the endless road to quality improvement. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides readers with basic information about human beings and their behavior within the context of a business environment. It includes such issues as how to motivate people, how to give them feedback on their performance, how to influence them, and how to help them cope with stress. By examining the factors that contribute to an ever-changing business world, it will teach readers to develop, train, and motivate high-performance employees in a world of constant change.The Field of Organizational Beha