Book Description

The theory of Markov Decision Processes - also known underseveral other names including sequential stochastic optimization,discrete-time stochastic control, and stochastic dynamic programming -studies sequential optimization of discrete time stochastic systems.Fundamentally, this is a methodology that examines and analyzes adiscrete-time stochastic system whose transition mechanism can becontrolled over time.Each control policy defines the stochasticprocess and values of objective functions associated with thisprocess.Its objective is to select a "good" control policy.In reallife, decisions that humans and computers make on all levels usuallyhave two types of impacts: (i) they cost or save time, money, or otherresources, or they bring revenues, as well as (ii) they have an impacton the future, by influencing the dynamics.In many situations,decisions with the largest immediate profit may not be good in view offuture events.Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) model this paradigmand provide results on the structure and existence of good policiesand on methods for their calculations. MDPs are attractive to many researchers because they are importantboth from the practical and the intellectual points of view.MDPsprovide tools for the solution of important real-life problems.Inparticular, many business and engineering applications use MDP models.Analysis of various problems arising in MDPs leads to a large varietyof interesting mathematical and computational problems.Accordingly,the Handbook of Markov Decision Processes is split into threeparts:Part I deals with models with finite state and action spacesand Part II deals with infinite state problems, and Part III examinesspecific applications.Individual chapters are written by leadingexperts on the subject. ... Read more

Book Description

In this first comprehensive departure from the time-and-motion dictums of Frederick Taylor's Shop Management that have influenced management practices for most of this century, Kiyoshi Suzaki offers a framework for successfully conducting business at its most crucial point-the shop floor. Drawing on the principles of holistic management, where organizational boundaries are smashed and co-destiny is created, Suzaki demonstrates how modern shop floor management techniques -- focusing maximum energy on the front line -- can lead to dramatic improvements in productivity and valueadded-to-services.

The role of management today, Suzaki argues, is to eliminate its own responsibilities by thinking of the organization from the genba, or shop floor, point of view. In this challenge, Suzaki claims, organizations need to collect the wisdom of people by practicing "Glass Wall Management," where organizations become transparent, enabling employees to contribute maximum creativity as opposed to blocking their potential with what he calls "Brick Wall Management." Further, to empower individuals to selfmanage their work and satisfy their customers, Suzaki asserts that they all should learn to manage their own "mini-company," where everybody is considered president of his or her area of responsibility.

Front-line supervisors, Suzaki shows, must develop a mission and goals and share them both up and downstream. He cites examples of the "shop floor point of view" -- McDonald's Corporation's legal staff learning how to sell hamburgers and fix milkshake machines; Honda's human resource staff training on the assembly line -- that narrow the gap between top management and the shop floor. By upgrading people's skills, focusing on empowerment, and streamlining processes, Suzaki illustrates that an organization will realize concrete improvements in quality, cost, delivery, safety, morale, and ultimately, its competitive position. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Holistic?
This guy must be from outer space!
His junk will not fly in our factories, I guarantee it!

Book has stood the test of time
I had a copy of this book for years and lost it recently. Although I remember so much of it by heart I bought another copy as it is one of the most timeless, relevant and clearly written books on deploying visual production controls. I thought that was testimony enough to the value of the book.

Just in Demand
It is a hit book just feed readers' needs - especially for value chain or Costing saving research. ... Read more

Book Description

Why do markets so often seem to defy logic?

Why do people hold on to their losers and dump winners?

How does your risk tolerance affect investment success?

Answers to these and other perplexing questions are found in Getting Psyched for Wall Street.This ground-breaking book explains how investors' actions and emotions affect the market.It usses the principles of psychology and the power of behavioral finance to explain the seeming contradictions of Wall Street.Now it's possible to really understand what's going on-- and profit from it.Dr. Murstein cuts through the fog that obscures the workings of the stock market.He explains why and how the market functions, in terms that can be easily understood.The book includes numerous examples and illustrations to help readers see how the concepts can be used to profit consistently.This isn't just theory: Dr. Murstein is living proof that his concepts work. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Investment book "sleeper"
I was curious about the nearly unanimous 5-star rating given this book by other reviewers. After picking up a copy from Amazon and reading it, let me join the chorus with my own 5-star rating! What a find! Murstein seems to cover nearly everything you would want to know about the market in a succinct and humorous manner, remarkable for a volume of only 350 pages. Of particular and topical interest: it has been published recently enough to discuss the impact of the Enron scandal and how investors should approach the market in these times. It is scholarly without being stodgy. Murstein evaluates the great variety of strategies, schemes, systems and newsletters out there with a very critical eye. He names names and doesn't pull any punches. While the book is oriented mainly toward the individual securities investor, he does have a useful section on mutual funds (my special interest). There's one outstanding chapter near the end (alone worth the price of the book) called "Maxims, Adages and Suggestions" - over 70 of these, many of which are very useful. One last word: I'm familiar with and rely on the Lynch and Zweig investment books; the Murstein volume beats them both hands down!

An economist's opinion
This book is a must for every serious investor. It is informative and based on research findings, but humorous and easy to read. I especially liked the chapters showing that serious individual investors can outperform professional money managers, and how to do it.

The ultimate key to working the market
Finally! A book every individual investor can understand and use immediately. Murstein is both lucid and witty. His analyses are scholarly but clearly presented. Practical? Check his chapter on a rational approach to selecting stocks. My own investment strategies will never be the same. Professor Murstein, where were you when we needed you at the beginning of our investment rollercoaster?

Give This Book to YOUR Broker [if you have one]
I REALLY enjoyed the history of investing in the introduction.

Afterward, I found certain sections to be particularly illuminating with regard to my personal efforts to increase my assets via the markets, but the numerous graphs often left me, neither a psychologist nor a financial professional, wondering.

SO, I've given a copy of this book to my broker, and I hope that SHE will use it to enrich us both.

A superb blend of psychology and finance
Getting Psyched For Wall Street: A Rational Approach To An Irrational Market by psychology and behavioral finance expert Bernard Murstein is a superb blend of psychology and finance. Specifically written to help ordinary investors of all background better understand the interaction between human psychology and the ups and downs of Wall Street, Getting Psyched For Wall Street covers everything from why so many people were blind to Enron's problems to why stocks sometimes go up on bad news and down on good news. Getting Psyched For Wall Street is a unique, inherently fascinating, "reader friendly", practical work that should be read by any investor seeking to understand how market forces function and are influenced. ... Read more

Book Description

The text provides students a study of the processes involved in managing and controlling a variety of business operations from high-tech manufacturing to high touch services with a balanced treatment of the manufacturing and service aspects.Chase/Aquilano and Jacobs, 9/e (CAJ9) covers the latest and most important issues facing OM managers such as ERP, Supply Chain Management, E-Commerce, Process Analysis, and provides tools and techniques to effectively manage operations. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Good Operations Management Book
This is an excellent text for a graduate or advanced undergraduate course on operations management. The ninth edition is very comprehensive; however I recommend you get the most current (tenth) edition in which the authors have emphasized recent innovations in e-commerce and the internet. The text is well written, with less obfuscation than most books of this genre. The organization is quite good, with numerous graphs, charts and photos to illustrate the thrust of the subject matter.

I really like the excellent applicable case studies cited as examples in the text. These really helped with comprehension on the material. The CD has some expanded spreadsheets, presentations for the various chapters, and miscellaneous other items of interest. Candidly, I have really not used the CD much, but it is a nice resource to have.

Detractors for the book include the degree of statistical background and comprehension that students are presumed to have when they begin using the book (and the relatively poor mathematical explanations given for various formulas), the excessive price of the book, and the lack of clarity of some of the illustrations.

Overall, this is a good book, and I would recommend it, especially to a student with a strong mathematical background.

Good Operations Management Text
Used this book in an undergraduate supply chain management class. I found the book to be well written and enjoyable to read. Chapters are not overly long and the book moves a long at a good pace. Some of the concepts will make more sense and be easier to get through if you have had some exposure to statistics. There is some math, not a lot, but enough to trip up students that are not math savvy. Most of the book concentrates on manufacturing, though it does also touch on the service sector. Case studies are OK, I just remember American companies, and most sounded like propaganda.

Operations Management for Competitive Advantage Review
This was my first exposure to operations management, as a senior MBA student; though I am familiar with many of the concepts from earlier coursework in statistics and accounting. I found the text to be well written and easy to understand. The sample problems within the chapters were straight forward and easy to follow. Having taking this class as a summer course, I was able to read the majority (75%) of the textbook within a 4-week period easily. The only drawback may be in how the actual theory pertains to real life models. I would recommend this text for anyone who is new to the field as the overview is excellent. A background in statistics and accounting (at least from coursework standpoint) would also be helpful in comprehending the material.

The Text Poorly Explains the Mathmatical Formulas
Let me say that I am an Mechanical Engineer with 15 years experience, and possess a MS.I work in quality engineering (test design). My exposure to this text was in a recent MBA class.

Positives: The text, in each chapter, does a respectable job describing how OM applies in the various workplace environments. Though it is more manufacturing oriented, the service sector is addressed. Also, many of the problems at the end of the chapters are quite good.

Negatives: First the book is written by college professors. What more needs to be said! Due to this fact, I believe the main problem of the book lies.This is not a subject which can be taught or written about unless you have some significant real-life experience. In the latter part of the book the chapters pertaining to forcasting,aggregate planning,inventory control,and material planning,the mathmatical models were poorly explained that study groups had to be formed and the professor, to his credit, devised some alternative approaches which were more realistic. The engineers and accountants in the study groups were a valuable asset to some students due to their math backgrounds. Most students in the class who came from various backgrounds; medical and business were lost/confused. The primary problem was not being able to understand how the models worked and applied to the material. Many of the students commented that they just gave up trying to understand the material, and mindlessly plugged values into the various formulas. Granted, many of these models are worked out on Excel programs in the business arena, but for one to understand their meaning, in an educational setting,you need to do the preliminary organization and calculations. I correlate this with a 3rd grade student "learning" their multiplication tables with a calculator.What have you really learned?

Excellent Read for a novice
As a novice in the field and a first year MBA student, I found it very easy to read, and even easier to understand. Great emphasis is placed on Case studies, which in my view gives the book a practical edge.

Unfortunately it is very focussed on the American market. Yet it's information should be applicable even the markets of Developing Countries ... Read more

Book Description

Cause-and-Effect Diagrams provides the needed tools for identifying possible causes of a problem and organizing them into a structured format.The information is presented in a straightforward, easy-to-understand manner through a series of exercises and case studies.Users of the series learn how to select the right tool for the task at hand, collect the right data, interpret the data, and take appropriate action based on their findings. ... Read more

Book Description

The subject of management for quality has undergone rapid and drastic change as a result of competition in the marketplace and the vulnerability of industrialized societies that depend heavily on the quality of goods and services. In this companion volume to his acclaimed Juran on Planning for Quality, J.M. Juran provides top-level managers with the specific, field-tested methods they need to successfully lead their companies on the quest for superior quality.

Managers have long recognized that the most sound response to a competitive challenge is to become more competitive. Today, informed managers also realize that quality improvement is the best source of competitive advantage. They know that return on investment in quality improvement projects is among the highest available. Yet, the means by which management can supply the leadership necessary to attain quality goals remains elusive. J.M. Juran has drawn on the experiences of thousands of chief executives in companies around the world to create a clear plan of action applicable to any industry, whether service or manufacturing.

The famous "Juran Trilogy," clearly presented step-by-step, shows how to apply the familiar business concepts of planning, control, and improvement to quality leadership. For each concept, Dr. Juran provides a succinct and proven series of actions. He gives criteria for selecting project-by-project improvements and mobilizing a team to carry them out. He also describes a realistic timetable of implementation and directs the formation of an ongoing quality council whose job is to launch, coordinate, and "institutionalize" annual quality improvement. The membership of this council, as Dr. Juran insists, must come from the ranks of senior managers; the stakes are too high for upper managers not to personally become the leaders and members of this vital council. Using real-world case examples of highly profitable quality improvements in such companies as Bethlehem Steel and Florida Power & Light, Dr. Juran illustrates how to guide a company into a continuing steep rate of improvement. The key, as Dr. Juran emphasizes, is that quality must be implemented from the top down. This essential handbook makes executive leadership the key to a company's quality revolution -- and to producing the real cost benefits over both the short and long run that superior quality brings. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

QUALITY
Guality in the broadest sense of the term must become an obsession in every corporation throughout America. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A book about Clarence, NY
This book is about a gypsum mine in Clarence, NY ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

An exceptionally comprehensive treatment of this subject aimed at students in business, management, science, and engineering. Topics include linear, non-linear, integer, and dynamic programming, network analysis, quadratic and separable programming, inventory control, probabilistic methods, and many other topics.Numerous applications. ... Read more

Book Description

Fundamentals of Operations Management, 4/e introduces students to the fundamental processes of managing and controlling a variety of operations.Davis’s book addresses the increasing trend away from lengthy, highly quantitative texts toward more pragmatic, managerial issues that confront today’s operations managers. There is increased coverage of service operations rather than the more traditional “factory”, or manufacturing approach. It’s written in a style suited for non-majors who assume no prior background in the field of operations.Davis covers introductory and numerical examples and quantitative methods, but the main focus is on general concepts and applications. Unlike Stevenson, which focuses on the tools of operations management, Davis’s approach to the subject is more conceptual or managerial. ... Read more

Book Description

Stochastic local search (SLS) algorithms are among the most prominent and successful techniques for solving computationally difficult problems in many areas of computer science and operations research, including propositional satisfiability, constraint satisfaction, routing, and scheduling. SLS algorithms have also become increasingly popular for solving challenging combinatorial problems in many application areas, such as e-commerce and bioinformatics.

Hoos and Stutzle offer the first systematic and unified treatment of SLS algorithms. In this groundbreaking new book, they examine the general concepts and specific instances of SLS algorithms and carefully consider their development, analysis and application. The discussion focuses on the most successful SLS methods and explores their underlying principles, properties, and features. This book gives hands-on experience with some of the most widely used search techniques, and provides readers with the necessary understanding and skills to use this powerful tool.

*Provides the first unified view of the field.
*Offers an extensive review of state-of-the-art stochastic local search algorithms and their applications.
*Presents and applies an advanced empirical methodology for analyzing the behavior of SLS algorithms.
*A companion website offers lecture slides as well as source code and Java applets for exploring and demonstrating SLS algorithms. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

If you run a helpdesk then you need this for your employees.
One of the hardest things to learn in the IT industry is how to deal with customers. Learning good skills is often an ongoing process. Learning how to communicate ideas and concepts can often be very difficult.

Having run 2 help desks I know that good agents are hard to find. Susan Sanderson has put together one of the few book on help desk that take it from the beginning and give you information that will help in everyday life. I have already found several things in here that I can use in the classes I teach as well as the customers I visit.

There are 10 chapters and each one builds on each other. You have practice labs and even review questions. This book can be used as a self paced course or in the formal classroom setting.

One of the things I liked best was the cd that is included; this cd has Help Desk Software included for practice. The big plus of the cd is the sample recording of actual calls so that you can hear what the customers is saying and learn several techniques for communicating and listening.

Overall this book is very helpful and seems to have just about everything included.

Good Content and Relevant Information
I'm in the process of setting up a 10 person help desk. I found this book thorough and comperehensive in introducing me to many of the concepts required to plan, set up, and run a help desk. The enclosed software (HelpSTAR) and exercises as well as help desk simulation are well thought out.

The book is positioned as a college-level text, but I found it practical for my own self learning.

Practical Help Desk implementation
This Book is ideally suited to those looking for guidance on the concepts and skills required for the setup and implementation of a World Class Help Desk.

Along the way, you get in-depth analysis and exercises, giving you a balanced insight into the way a Help Desk should be set up, and operated, providing both the End-Users, and Employees of the Help Desk with the best of both worlds.

Also, there are numerous examples of ways to both run the help desk itself, and the management of it's personnel, but particularly useful are the audio examples of a number of typical situations the Help Desk Staff can find themselves dealing with.

The book wraps up with a useful simulation including help desk software to give you hands-on practice in solving problems. ... Read more

Book Description

An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis is designed as a primer for anyone seeking an authoritative introduction to efficiency and productivity analysis. It is a systematic treatment of four relatively new methodologies in Efficiency/Production Analysis: (a) Least-Squares Econometric Production Models, (b) Total Factor Productivity (TFP) Indices, (c) Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and (d) Stochastic Frontiers. Each method is discussed thoroughly. First, the basic elements of each method are discussed using models to illustrate the method's fundamentals, and, second, the discussion is expanded to treat the extensions and varieties of each method's uses. Finally, one or more case studies are provided as a full illustration of how each methodology can be used. In addition, all four methodologies will be linked in the book's presentation by examining the advantages and disadvantages of each method and the problems to which each method can be most suitably applied. The book offers the first unified text presentation of methods that will be of use to students, researchers and practitioners who work in the growing area of Efficiency/Productivity Analysis.The book also provides detailed advice on computer programs which can be used to calculate the various measures. This involves a number of presentations of computer instructions and output listings for the SHAZAM, TFPIP, DEAP and FRONTIER computer programs. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Ira Winkler, a former analyst with the National Security Agency, contends that American companies lose billions of dollars each year through preventable information leaks. In Corporate Espionage, he shows how much of it is pilfered by unremarkable efforts--looking at memos, sifting through trash, peeking on desktops, or simply asking for it--and provides some advice to stop it. Additional highlights include a variety of illuminating anecdotes and an enlightening look at international subterfuge. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Insider Threat, and Poor Management = Major Losses
Ira, a former National Security Agency professional, made a name for himself in his second career as a corporate electronic security specialist by using a combination of common sense and basic work-arounds to penetrate and download millions if not billions of dollars worth of corporate research and development-always at the company's request, and generally with astonishing results. From his antics as a "temp" hire gaining access within two days, to his more systematic attacks using all known vulnerabilities including factory-shipped system administrator passwords that were never changed, he has exposed in a very practical way the "naked emperor" status of corporate America.

Excellent!!
This is a book that i would recommend to all system admins and anyone who works with networks and computers. This guy is simply amazing, all it is, being shared experiences from his job. But the tips he gives are priceless... a little social engineering here a little hacking there...BUY this book if you are a cpu afficionado and want to learn even more and protect your systems.

Poor effort; would not recommend
Mediocre presentation; little organization to the material; author on an ego trip to sell his "espionage" services to companies. Would not recommend.

Still a great book
It's sad that nobody wrote a review. This book was made in 94 I think, and the problems with computers he states, are still going on. You gotta buy this book if your interested in computer security

Not enough zing for a highly engaging subject
I was seeking an answer to the question, "Who is spying on me and how?" The modern workplace at large corporations, like mine, has changed. Technology pervades almost every communication and personal encounter. Am I being tape-recorded by my peers? How is my internet usage tracked and is it used to create a profile of my behavior? How can I use these tools to keep current? Are we crossing the line into paranoia? These questions are not answered, but are captivating to me. Anecdotes seem to ingratiate those involved, rather than communicate effective counter-tactics. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is designed to help readers analyze, make economic tradeoffs and choose wisely in complex decision problems where uncertainty, for all practical purposes, can be ignored.The authors focus on decisions involving relevant costs and revenues, pricing, constraints, the time value of money, and the use of scenarios, or "what if" analysis. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Quantitative Analysis at work
For a detailed case study analysis of the quantitative decision making process, Schleifer and Bell's "Decision Making Under Certainty" can't be beat. It is a detailed review of the variety of functions that quantitative decision analysis can be used for. From the analysis of operating procedures in the oil industry to the production of sugar, quantitative analysis is an effective tool and Schleifer and Bell have clearly established it as fact. ... Read more

Book Description

The Handbook of Metaheuristics provides both the research and practitioner communities with a comprehensive coverage of the metaheuristic methodologies that have proven to be successful in a wide variety of real-world problem settings. Moreover, it is these metaheuristic strategies that hold particular promise for success in the future. The various chapters serve as stand alone presentations giving both the necessary background underpinnings as well as practical guides for implementation. In most settings a problem solver has an option as to which metaheuristic approach should be adopted for the problem at hand. Alternative methodologies typically exist that could be employed to produce high quality solutions. Often it becomes a matter of choosing one of several approaches that could be adopted. The very nature of metaheuristics invites an analyst to modify basic methods in response to problem characteristics, past experiences, and personal preferences. The chapters in this handbook are designed to facilitate this as well.

This Handbook consists of 19 chapters. Topics covered include Scatter Search, Tabu Search, Genetic Algorithms, Genetic Programming, Memetic Algorithms, Variable Neighborhood Search, Guided Local Search, GRASP, Ant Colony Optimization, Simulated Annealing, Iterated Local Search, Multi-Start Methods, Constraint Programming, Constraint Satisfaction, Neural Network Methods for Optimization, Hyper-Heuristics, Parallel Strategies for Metaheuristics, Metaheuristic Class Libraries, and A-Teams. This family of metaheuristic chapters provides a state-of-the-art, comprehensive coverage of the major topics and methodologies of modern metaheuristics. ... Read more

Book Description

The field of multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) - also sometimes termed multiple criteria decision aid, or multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) - has developed rapidly over the past quarter century and in the process a number of divergent schools of thought have emerged.Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis: An Integrated Approach provides a comprehensive yet widely accessible overview of the main streams of thought within MCDA.Two principal aims are:To provide sufficient awareness of the underlying philosophies and theories, understanding of the practical detail of the methods, and insight into practice to enable researchers, students and industry practitioners to implement MCDA methods in an informed manner;To develop an integrated view of MCDA, incorporating both integration of different schools of thought within MCDA and integration of MCDA with broader management theory, science and practice, thereby informing the development of theory and practice across these areas.It is felt that this two-fold emphasis gives a book which will be of value to the following three groups:Practicing decision analysts or graduate students in MCDA for whom this book should serve as a state-of-the-art review, especially as regards techniques outside of their own specialization;Operational researchers or graduate students in OR/MS who wish to extend their knowledge into the tools of MCDA;Managers or management students who need to understand what MCDA can offer them. ... Read more