Book Description

Emergencies wreak havoc on businesses and governments on a daily basis. Whether it is a hurricane pounding a coastal community, a terrorist attack on a company's headquarters, or a hazardous chemical spill at a local school, the results can be loss of life, health, and property. How can you prevent or reduce the effects of such occurrences? By planning ahead.
Emergency Response Planning is designed to help corporate and municipal managers quickly understand their roles in proactive and reactive emergency management. Author Paul Erickson shows how to develop partnerships with federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as community groups in order to prevent, prepare for, and respond to natural disasters and manmade emergencies.
Emergency Response Planning provides essential information to help you comply with government regulations, design an emergency response plan, train personnel, use the proper safety equipment, safeguard information systems, and resume normal operations after an emergency as quickly as possible. It will also help consultants design emergency response plans for their clients, and provide practical information for students studying business continuity and emergency issues.

Is an important resource for:
* Corporate and municipal managers involved in emergency management
* Organizational safety committee members
* Industrial health and safety consultants and their clients
* Graduate and undergraduate students studying emergency response issues
* Outlines both proactive and reactive strategies to reduce risk to human life, health, and property
* Describes how to form effective partnerships with government agencies and community support resources
* Defines the roles of corporate and municipal managers, planning team members, and response personnel
* Explains regulations and guidelines from key agencies including OSHA, EPA, FEMA, CDC, US Fire Administration, and more
* Makes information easy to understand with dozens of tables, illustrations, and appendices ... Read more

Book Description

Almost two decades of research in U.S. city politics has produced a compelling empirical account of the nature of urban governance revolving around the alliance of business interests and local public officials. In Reconstructing City Politics, author David L. Imbroscio urges that urban political economy must now move forward beyond the question of "what is?" to a consideration of "what might be?" He systematically poses the possibilities for reconstructing the nature of contemporary city politics, while integrating a wealth of innovative urban analysis. To bring about this reconstruction, Imbroscio explores three comprehensive alternative urban economic development strategies--entrepreneurial mercantilism, community based economic development, and municipal enterprise. He considers whether these three strategies are likely to be effective for bringing about urban economic vitality and whether it is feasible for cities to pursue these efforts in the current political economic context. By addressing these questions, Imbroscio is able to reach conclusions about the possibilities for a successful and sustainable reconstruction of U.S. city politics. This important volume will be vital for professionals and and researchers in urban planning, urban studies, urban and regional economics, as well as urban politics. ... Read more

Book Description

This is a graduate-level reference documenting the results of two years of research into sustainable development in Scotland, supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Global Environmental Change Programme (GEC).Written for a broad audience of scientists, students, and environmentalists, it reflects the growing recognition that current patterns of economic and social developmentare not sustainable,and that if science is to offer ways of living within the constraints of our ecological systems, alternative paths of ecologically sound economic development must be found. Beginning with simple definitions and principles of sustainable development, it then covers the historical context of Scotland, from the Highland clearances to the present oil-rich days. It continues with examples of measuring sustainable development, environmental indicators, economic and sociopolitical measures in other countries. This is followed by a time series analysis for Scotland, outlining the natural limits to development, the theory of sustainable corridors, and alternative approaches. The authors explain the mathematics of systems dynamics and economic modelling of sustainable development policies. The work concludes with the forward-looking chapter, "Towards sustainable societies." ... Read more

Book Description

Total Quality in Purchasing and Supplier Management is an important and essential new book which develops a systematic approach to purchasing and supplier quality management (PSQM). It explains how to build a solid customer-supplier relationship and presents methods for finding suppliers who will best align with the purchaser's organization (i.e., suppliers who are committed to a long-term relationship as well as the continuous improvement process). The methods involved in the purchaser/supplier continuing improvement process is also presented.Systems for prioritizing the deployment of commodities, products, services and suppliers are covered. A feedback mechanism that tracks supplier performance and insures that plans are being followed is presented.Finally, this new book explains the need for a PSQM system and shows how that system must become an integral part of any quality program in order for the extended enterprise to be successful.This book is an essential resource for any organization committed to the sucessful implementation of PSQM. ... Read more

Book Description

Economic skill is an essential partner to technical skill in every step of the mining process. An economic "mindset" begins before the first drill hole. This new book will help you effectively direct mining operations through the use of innovative economic strategies.

The text covers what is meant by a cost-effective mining scheme, the economics of information, and the procedures for rational evaluation of uncertain projects. It defines "ore" from an economic perspective and covers the influence of scheduling on ore reserves.

Discounted cash flow techniques, the most widely used evaluation technique for investment decision making, is covered in detail. The assumption of the use of spreadsheets is unique to this book. The application of DCF techniques in an operating mine environment is given expanded coverage and examples are drawn from real-life studies.

The differences between economic decision-making--a forward-looking task--and the reporting of results via accounting methods--a backward-looking activity are reviewed. Capital and decision-making procedures associated with capital investments in a risk environment are given extensive coverage. Case studies for capital investment in an operating mine are included. Comprehensive examples investigate "value" from a risk-reduction perspective and from an "expected return on investment" perspective.

This book offers solutions to the problem that many mining projects fail to achieve expectations because of their inability to adapt to change. A new technique is explained that allows calculation of capital that is "at risk" from capital that is not at risk. This promises significant advances in the way that investments are made and capital is valued in the industry.

The book concludes with a brief review of the historical setting and knowledge difficulties in any mining-related investment, and how these issues might also influence the success of investments in the future. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Concise, Comprehensive and Understandable
If you're unfamiliar with economics in general, but are in the mining industry, I would recommend this book to you. Not only is Mining Economics and Strategy easy to understand, it incorporates helpful examples, methods and programs to support the text.

The book is not limited to mining engineers either. Examples and all information can be understood and utilised in all economical situations - i.e. anywhere money is involved.

As a mineral processing engineer this book was recommended by a mining engineer and I was pleasantly suprised with the detail and presentation of the book ... Read more

Amazon.com

On Competition, a collection of works by Michael E. Porter, is a critical examination of the dog-eat-dog international economy. A Harvard Business School professor, Porter is one of the most respected and innovative economists of his time. Author of 15 books, he advises key elected officials and business leaders in all parts of the world. On Competition features 13 of his best articles over the past 15 years, including 2 new ones.The essence of Porter's message is that every company, country, and person must master competition to thrive in brutal international and domestic economies. Competition is the key to excellence. Worried about losing your job or your services becoming obsolete? Porter believes that a little fear is good for everyone. "Companies that value stability, obedient customers, dependent suppliers and sleepy competitors are inviting inertia and, ultimately, failure," he writes in his 1990 study and essay "The Competitive Advantage of Nations." Porter is a longtime critic of the short-term thinking on Wall Street that often stifles competition and hurts the economy. In "Capital Disadvantage: America's Failing Capital Investment System," he calls for much lower capital-gains rates for people who invest for the long term. He also urges investors and businesses to start thinking together. He contends that pension funds and institutional investors should get a greater say over the companies they own. It's wacky to have company directors with little expertise or financial interest in the company, he writes.

Porter is often unconventional and asserts that businessmen must be, too. In his essay "Green and Competitive," he shows little sympathy for businesses that complain about environmental regulations. Rules to protect the environment don't have to strangle companies--they can actually improve productivity with the right attitude and approach. Rhone-Poulenc, a French chemical and drug company, proved this when it stopped incinerating a certain byproduct and began selling it as an additive for dyes and tanning. Readable and provocative, On Competition is vital for business, government, and financial leaders as well as small-business people and investors. --Dan Ring ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Great, clear frameworks on competition
Michael E. Porter is a Harvard Business School professor and a leading authority on competition. This book consists of three parts - Competition and Strategy: Core Concepts, The Competitiveness of Locations, and Competitive Solutions to Societal Problems - and each of these parts consists of 4-to-5 Harvard Business Review articles which were published between 1979 and 1998. "The study of competition, in its full richness, has preoccupied me for two decades."

In Part I, the five HBR articles outline Porter's strategic concepts. "I have sought to capture the complexity of what actually happens in companies and industries in a way that both advances theory and brings theory to life for practitioners. My goal has been to develop both rigorous and useful frameworks for understanding competition that effectively bridge the gap between theory and practice." In the 1979-article 'How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy', Porter introduces the monumental five competitive forces (from existing competitors, new entrants, customers, suppliers, substitution). This article has had an extensive impact on the field of strategy and is still a starting point for strategic management at any MBA-course. 'What is Strategy?' was published in 1996 and is, in my opinion, a reply to all the critics of his frameworks and models. The 1985-article 'How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage', Porter and co-author Victor Millar write how information technology influences competition. The current impact of Internet and e-commerce provide excellent examples for this article. In the 1993-article 'End-Game Strategies for Declining Industries', Porter lines up with Kathryn Rudie Harrigan to discuss the last stage/final phase of a industry. This articles is largely based on Harrigan's 1980 book 'Strategies for Declining Businesses' and is a chapter in Porter's 1980-book 'Competitive Strategy'. Part I is finalised with the magnificent 'From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy'. This article is truly a classic and discusses the radical rethinking of corporate strategy. "Corporate strategy is what makes the corporate whole add up to more than the sum of its business parts." This article is the basis of his book 'Competitive Advantage'.

In Part II, Porter kicks off with 'The Competitive Advantage of Nartions', which is also one of the titles of his books. In this 1990-article Porter argues that in a world of increasingly global competition, nations have become more, not less, important. In 'Clusters and Competition' (1998), Porter expands on the theme and discusses the new economics of competition - clusters. "A Cluster is a geographically proximate group of interconnected companies and associated institutions in particular fields, linked by commonalities and complementarities." Examples are the Italian fashion industry, the California Wine cluster, Silicon Valley's venture capital industry, and Massachusetts IT industry. In the next article, 'How Global Companies Win Out' (1992), Porter, Thomas Hout and Eileen Rudden discuss what a global industry is and how global companies can win out. In the next article, 'Competing Across Locations' (1995), returns on this subject and provides additional insights on global strategy, including a general framework.

Part III includes the latest works of Porter. Porter discusses environmental regulation and competition ('Green and Competitive', 1995), with a great case study of the Dutch flower industry, and the impact of these regulations on competition and industries. In the next article ('The Competitive Advantage of the Inner City', 1995), Porter introduces the economic distress of America's inner cities, whereby "the real need - and the real opportunity - is to create wealth" . In the 1990s, Porter also turned more towards government institutions. He discusses the American health care ('Making Competition in Health Care Work', 1994) and, the according to Porter, America's failing capital investment system ('Capital Disadvantage', 1992).

The advantage of this book is that it provides the a quick insight into the ideas and essential points of Porter's books 'Competitive Strategy', 'Competitive Advantage', and 'Competitive Advantage of Nations'. Part I and Part II are now essentials in the field of strategy and competition with fantastic frameworks and models. Part III are Porter's latest articles and discuss the connection between social issues and competition. A great book that is good to read (simple US-English).

Helpful Essays from a Corporate Strategy Icon
This book is a collection of essays and articles by Michael Porter alone or with others. Most of them are collected from his writings in the Harvard Business Review although two are new to this book. Think of this as a "Porter's Greatest Hits" kind of thing. That is a bit misleading because his HBR articles are not exactly the same thing as his Competitive Advantage books although the topics are definitely related.

The essays are grouped into three broad sections: 1) Competition and Strategy: Core Concepts, 2) The Competitiveness of Locations, and 3) Competitive Solutions to Societal Problems. Will you find each article of the same high quality? Probably not (again, like a greatest hits collection), but you will find them informative and thought provoking. It is impossible to study for an MBA nowadays without invoking "Porter's Five Forces" in your discussions of competitive and marketing strategy.

This book can help add to your thinking and understanding of how every aspect of our life is in some way part of a competitive context and the ways it improves our standard of living. It will also help you improve your thinking in how to best strategize for and participate in competitive situations.

It would be a mistake to think that Porter advocates for a Hobbesian nightmare of life being nasty, brutish and short. Rather, he is more or less helping us think through the nature of the way competition arises and how to best think about its sources and how to manage it and the traps to avoid.

While Porter's model is used by some as a hammer that sees everything as a nail, it really needn't be used that way and, in its proper context, is very helpful.

Great Aggregration Of Porter's Work
'Porter On Competition' is 'lighter' to read than his 'Trilogy', but it nicely consists the core ideas of his work and how it evolved during the past decades. The book provides reader a nice overview about how competitive strategy & competitive advantage are applicable to a wide range of areas: from corporation, industry & nation, to social issues such as health care and environment.

Ladies and Gentlemen please! time to get out the Porter
You can always tell when it's time to dust off the old Michael E. Porter books and to start to frantically search for better and sounder ways to do business and compete, it's when the economy starts to get a little tighter and begin to show signs of taking a down-turn, like about now.

So, before you fork out good money and time to read the next great and grandiose book on how to make a fast few million bucks on the internet read this first, and you will still be in business this time next year, and after that - maybe.

The Gospel on Competition
Prof. Porter's work on competition in industry is a milestone and after two decades still holds its ground. I had his textbook for my MBA class well over a decade ago. His recent (Harvard Bus. Rev - March 2001) article regarding 'Strategy and the Internet' shows that the fundamental principles of Competitive Strategy is still valid as ever in the "new economy". ... Read more

Book Description

In this book David Driesen shows in detail how the concept of economic dynamics can reshape thinking about environmental law and policy. He argues that environmental policymaking in the United States has been poorly served by the dominant, static view of the relationship between environmental regulation and the economy, technology, and business. Basing public policy on the concept of economic efficiency, he claims, warps our sense of what is necessary and achievable in environmental lawmaking.

According to Driesen, environmentally beneficial technological innovation would be a more effective public policy goal than economic efficiency because it could better keep pace with private-sector innovations that create new forms of pollution and resource destruction. His arguments provide a corrective to the free-market and cost-benefit analysis approaches common to most proposals for regulatory reform. Those who believe that environmental law should focus on economic efficiency assume that efficiency and innovation coincide. But static efficiency may detract from, rather than stimulate, creativity in the real world. Cost-benefit analysis may discourage innovation by adding delay and uncertainty to government decisions. Economic incentives such as emissions trading may facilitate better use of existing techniques rather than bring about fundamental changes in technology. Driesen suggests ways that the regulatory system could better foster environmentally beneficial technological innovations. Using the theory of economic dynamics, he discusses privatizing environmental law, reforming administrative and international legal processes, and improving regulation design. He also explains the significance of economic dynamics for legal theory in general. ... Read more

Book Description

The Guide is a tool for practitioners at all levels —social scientists, agency employees, community leaders, volunteers—to complete social impact assessments (SIA’s) efficiently and effectively. The Guide is a how-to manual that provides the users with a step-by-step process easily followed by persons with minimal social science training. The Guide is organized into three sections:

• Chapters 1-6 provides the background, a short history, the conceptual model, the SIA scoping process and an explanation as to how to obtain data to measure SIA variables.

• Chapters 7-11 correspond to the five categories of SIA variables--population change, community and institutional arrangements, communities in transition, individual and family impacts and community infrastructure needs.

• Chapters 12-13 provide worksheets for summarizing SIA variables, and how resulting data may be used in the SIA mitigation/enhancement process. ... Read more

Book Description

This book contains the most recent information about the standard, including all its final modifications. The book outlines the scope and purpose of the standard and makes it accessible to everyone. The book leads the reader through the theory and implementation of an ISO14000-compliant environmental management system, including the consultant's and auditor's perspective, and give case studies from industries that have actually undergone the process.Finally there is input from training organisations and certification and accreditation bodies to help with trouble-shooting and assessment.


The book rounds off with an examination of the likely future, including the potential role of the European `sub-set' of ISO14000 - EMAS - and what chances it has of international adoption.

Author has years of practical experience with a world-renowned organisation
Real-life case-studies provide meat for readers wondering about relevance to their companies ... Read more

Book Description

Environmental activists and academics alike are realizing that a sustainable society must be a just one. Environmental degradation is almost always linked to questions of human equality and quality of life. Throughout the world, those segments of the population that have the least political power and are the most marginalized are selectively victimized by environmental crises.

Just Sustainabilities argues that social and environmental justice within and between nations should be an integral part of the policies and agreements that promote sustainable development. The book addresses many aspects of the links between environmental quality and human equality and between sustainability and environmental justice more generally. The topics discussed include anthropocentrism; biotechnology; bioprospecting; biocultural assimilation; deep and radical ecology; ecological debt; ecological democracy; ecological footprints; ecological modernization; feminism and gender; globalization; participatory research; place, identity, and legal rights; precaution; risk society; selective victimization; and valuation. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Comprehensive Look at EJ and Sustainability
This book does a wonderful job of taking different approaches and tools of looking at how sustainability and equity relate to each other. It scans the globe, distinct definitions of environmental justice, and a variety of environmental issues to create a less U.S. centered look at what environmental justice means and its relationship with sustainability around the world. The editors and contributors are well-known and distinguished in the field of environmental justice and sustainable development, making this book a must read for a comprehensive look at how two sometimes disparate and sometimes intertwined concepts interact. It also works well as an introduction to environmental justice and sustainability. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in equity issues; environmental justice is often one of the last considerations in environmental battles. Works like this will help make equity one of the first considerations. ... Read more

Book Description

Hardbound. Some 20 years have elapsed since the publication of the first textbook on theoretical geostatistics and, after hundreds of practical studies, it is worth looking at how geostatistics has evolved to become the practical tool it was intended to be.Although there have been many new developments and dozens of new theoretical tools, the basis of everyday geostatistics - as used in orebody modelling and mine planning - has essentially remained the same.

This book describes the advances made in the last 15 years which have practical applications in ore reserve estimation.In particular, it addresses the problems commonly encountered in the practice of orebody modelling when the data do not conform to the early theoretical models.It offers solutions to problems like irregularly distributed samples of irregular sizes, shows how to get the best possible variogram and how to model it in practice.It addresses the problem of the grade tonnage curve ... Read more

Book Description

As humanity presses down inexorably on the natural world, people debate the extent to which we can save the Earth's millions of different species without sacrificing human economic welfare. But is this argument wise? Must the human and natural worlds be adversaries? In this book, ecologist Michael Rosenzweig finds that ecological science actually rejects such polarization. Instead it suggests that, to be successful, conservation must discover how we can blend a rich natural world into the world of economic activity. This revolutionary, common ground between development and conservation is called reconciliation ecology: creating and maintaining species-friendly habitats in the very places where people live, work, or play. The book offers many inspiring examples of the good results already achieved. The Nature Conservancy, for instance, has a cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense, with more than 200 conservation projects taking place on more than 170 bases in 41 states. In places such as Elgin Air Force Base, the human uses-testing munitions, profitable timbering and recreation--continue, but populations of several threatened species on the base, such as the long-leaf pine and the red-cockaded woodpecker, have been greatly improved. The Safe Harbor strategy of the Fish & Wildlife Service encourages private landowners to improve their property for endangered species, thus overcoming the unintended negative aspects of the Endangered Species Act. And Golden Gate Park, which began as a system of sand dunes, has become, through human effort, a world of ponds and shrubs, waterfowl and trees.Rosenzweig shows that reconciliation ecology is the missing tool of conservation, the practical, scientifically based approach that, when added to the rest, will solve the problem of preserving Earth's species. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Inspiration amidst depression.
This book inspires you to look at your surroundings and make changes that improve the welfare of the living world around you. However, it states the cold equations of our increasing destruction, and explains what the future is likely to bring if we don't immediately start working for a better world.

Plants and animals used to be able to move to new habitats during periods of climate change -- today we've locked them into too-small reserves and they have nowhere to go except extinct during the current warming trend. That's why we must work hard at making our cities (where most of us live) as hospitable as possible for other living creatures. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

With contributions from distinguished authors and covering everything you need to know about global warming and its financial implications, this readable book will appeal across the political and scientific spectrum. ... Read more

Book Description

The Russian Far East (RFE) is a vital storehouse of oil and gas, timber, fish, and precious metals that will inevitably be tapped as Pacific Rim economies seek to secure the natural resources necessary for long-term economic growth. Sustainable development of the resources in this vast regionù an area more than two-thirds the size of the United Statesùhasemerged as a major policy priority for the Russian government and the international community.The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development is the most comprehensive English-language reference text on the region to be published in the more than ten years. With contributions from an interdisciplinary team of ninety specialists from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, the book overviews and analyzes the region’s geography and ecology, natural resources, major industries, infrastructure, foreign trade, demographics, protected area system, and legal structure. Particular attention is devoted to how to region can develop in an environmentally sustainable way.The book is divided into eleven chapters. The first chapter summarizes the RFE as a whole, while each of the remaining ten chapters deal with an administrative region within the Russian Far East. All of the chapters are divided into identical sections to simplify comparison among the regions. More than fifty maps, a number of which are in color, detail administrative districts and indigenous peoples' lands, protected areas, mineral deposits, timber resources, fisheries, and energy reserves. Tables and figures provide the reader with a wealth of useful, hard-to-find statistics. Color and black and white photographs. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A complete update of the classic 1996 reference
Now in its second edition, The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide For Conservation And Development is a complete update of the classic 1996 reference, offering region-by-region maps and information concerning geography, climate, flora and fauna, population and resources, as well as contributions from ninety authors giving expert analysis and insights, black and white photographs, and tables and charts to form a comprehensive handbook of the Russian Far East environment. A first-rate referenve for environmental studies shelves, with a great wealth of information and insights arranged in easy-to-look-up format. ... Read more

Book Description

A thorough, in-depth overview of the leading environmental law, written specifically with the needs of the paralegal/legal assistant in mind. It is a comprehensive, comprehensible sourcebook intended to make environmentallaw accessible.The book provides a range of aids such ascase selections, geared specifically to the paralegal/legal assistant. It is written in open, non-technical language, focusing on all the key elements in Environmental Law - NEPA, RECRA, CERCLA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and more. ALSO AVAILABLE INSTRUCTOR SUPPLEMENTS CALL CUSTOMER SUPPORT TO ORDER Instructor?s Manual, ISBN:0-8273-6214-5Computerized Test Bank (1996), ISBN:0-8273-7973-0 ... Read more

Book Description

Ecological economics addresses one of the fundamental flaws in conventional economics--its failure to consider biophysical and social reality in its analyses and equations. Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications is an introductory-level textbook that offers a pedagogically complete examination of this dynamic new field.

As a workbook accompanying the text, this volume breaks new ground in applying the principles of ecological economics in a problem- or service-based learning setting. Both the textbook and this workbook are situated within a new interdisciplinary framework that embraces the linkages among economic growth, environmental degradation, and social inequity in an effort to guide policy in a way that respects fundamental human values. The workbook takes the approach a step further in placing ecological economic analysis within a systems perspective, in order to help students identify leverage points by which they can help to affect change. The workbook helps students to develop a practical, operational understanding of the principles and concepts explored in the text through real-world activities, and describes numerous case studies in which students have successfully completed projects.

Ecological Economics: A Workbook for Problem-Based Learning represents an important new resource for undergraduate and graduate environmental studies courses focusing on economics, environmental policy, and environmental problem-solving.