Book Description

Students in the 21st Century will face an unprecedented rate of change in employee diversity, global competition, and legal requirements. Organizational Behavior and Management (OBM), 6th edition, by Ivancevich and Matteson is intended for that precise student. OBM 6/e provides those students with a wealth of text, readings, exercises and cases allowing them to experience and understand organizational behavior and it’s importance to them as future managers. Twenty-first century managers must not only be able to perform the necessary functions of management, but they must also lead in a manner that enriches the capacity of employees who may or are likely to be moving around from work assignments, starting their own firms, and multiple organizations.Leading change, thinking ahead, executing flawlessly a plan or program, using technology, displaying passion regularly are what leaders must do smoothly and easily. The 6th Edition of OBM prepares students for this enhanced role, by focusing on managing and leading a firm’s most valuable assets, its people. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Easy reading
I really liked this book. If you are interested in psychology and management, this book would be a good start.

A First-Rate Text That Challenges As Well As Informs
Milkovich and Newman's text is sets the standard for Compensation and Human Resources texts,period. From its strategic decisions framework it clearly illustrates that compensation policy can be a key to unlocking an organization's capabilities (and the ever elusive sustainable competitive advantage).

The strength of the book is that it extracts and builds on key research findings in a way that advances the body of compensation knowledge (in a way pleasing to academics) and is relevant to practitioners. Chapter 2 on Strategic Perspectives and Chapters 9 & 10 on Pay for Performance best exemplify the confluence of research relevance and tactical usefulness.

It is absolutely a must read for anyone who is a student of organizations or who attempts to manage one (not just compensation managers).

Uses superb strategic model to supply decision-making tools
A 5++ - the best BUSINESS text i've read. This is the first book i've read where i both grew intellectually and in tactical/application skills. This compensation text is quite unusual in that it effectively reduces huge bodies of research in business strategy, economics, organizational behavior and compensation to provide a holistic business model to analyze compensation decisions - all in the first three chapters. The Milkovich/Newman approach creatively blends a conceptual underpining (the why) with tactical details (the what and how). This blending allows them to supply enormous value by reducing the myriad of compensation decisions to 4 major pieces. The utility of this elegance is that long after reading the book or taking a course using this book, you'll still remember the framework and steps to both build from scratch and to adjust a compensation system - not just the what, but the why. i personally felt quite empowered and ready to take on compensation work after reading this text.

This text is really designed for those compensation practioners that want to understand how compensation might be used to supply a sustainable competitive advantage. The authors' deep reading and involvement in both research and consulting with business shows here. They worked very hard to allow us to absorb the research implication and to use the tools, without our having to read the full body of research or to invent the tools.

The authors balance the research perspective by developing a working model and applying it to real world cases where they have consulted. The reader is then challenged to apply the model to case situations presented in the book and to their work practice.

Lastly, some things i've learned from this book:

1. you get what you pay for ... -- the research clearly shows that pay is a key motivator and that people will behave as they're incentivized by their pay systems. -- the implication is that EVERY compensation system, no matter whether it's planned or evolves, supplies a network of incentives that in part direct employee behavior and business outcomes.

2. compensation systems can be designed to support a sustainable competitive advantage. -- through understanding the motivational incentives and how they tie into business strategy. -- a "universalistic" compensation approach that says there's one right answer supplies some good practices, but doesn't fully explain observed motivational differences.

3. Compensation must tie tightly to the work process (work flow) or it will surely fail in it's objectives. -- how many companies talk about changing their cultures while they don't change or even understand the motivational impacts of their pay plans?

4. There's no right answer, only a good model to help. -- is a tournament pay system (tied to an individual / hierachical workflow) better than an egalitarian system (tied to a team workflow)? it depends ... and that's where Milkovich/Newman fill in the blanks.

A M-U-S-T read for anyone participating in making compensation decisions - whether you're in school or already a compensation vice president. ... Read more

Book Description

Market-leading Organization Development and Change blends theory, concepts and applications in a comprehensive and clear presentation. The authors work from a strong theoretical foothold and apply behavioral science knowledge to the development of organizational structures, strategies, and processes. ... Read more

Book Description

Extreme Facilitation picks up where other books on the topic leave off to present a revolutionary method that helps large, unwieldy, adversarial, and apparently dysfunctional groups achieve consensus and reach objectives on divisive and contentious issues no matter how long the group has been struggling. Throughout the book, expert facilitator Suzanne Ghais shows how extreme facilitation - which puts on the emphasis on creativity, flexibility, and customization - can change how group members interact with one another and how participants view the issues even in the most challenging and exceptionally difficult situations. Extreme Facilitation covers the preparatory phases of the process, including assessment, convening, and contracting. Ghais also offers vital information on process design and tips for handling situations that many facilitators find particularly challenging. ... Read more

Book Description

How to thrive in an age of information overload by learning to do more of what matters and less of what doesn't. Drawing from a study of over 2,500 people in 460 companies, Simplicity has been hailed as " a breakthrough in the design of understanding," a book that "outlines the future of leadership." It's a powerful guide to working smarter, not harder, and, in the process, creating more flexible and productive organizations, more compelling experiences for customers, and more fulfilling work for everyone.

"Jensen's observations about today's business world are dead on, and his core message is simple to understand. From the first page of the book, Jensen reveals that his 'Simplicity Manifesto' is rooted in a keen observation of the price we have all been paying for trying to thread efficiency onto chaos via management-by-nuancing-around." -Tom Brown, Across the Board ... Read more

Reviews (68)

Real Help in a "World of More, Better, Faster"
Many of us like our 'knowledge work', but we face an endless source of competing priorities and demands. So I was delighted to read Bill Jensen's book, Simplicity. His work puts into words what we've been feeling and thinking as employees and managers. He brings clarity and organization to what makes work so complex. Even better, he provides practical ways for figuring out what to do in our world of infinite choices. He shows what we and our organizations can do to progress right now and to build-in longer term solutions. I started using his ideas before I'd finished reading his book (e.g., "storytelling as a business tool" in explaining strategy and plans). The organization and design of the book-summaries, lists, tables, graphics-speeds understanding and facilitates rereading for key messages.

I particularly like Jensen's ideas on working smarter by designing smarter work-taking a user-centered approach (e.g., consulting employees) to ensure that work tools, processes and information are grounded in what we need; and by using time differently-making the complex clear, e.g., via clear goals, objectives and priorities, with ongoing dialogue, and smarter tools, so we can "...spend a lot less time on the things that don't matter and more time on the things that do." I work in a group whose role is to help organizations better understand, manage and communicate about risk. Jensen's ideas can help us significantly in our and our clients' work to create and sustain a risk-smart workforce and environment.

Awesome for what a book can do
Let's start with ourselves: Throw out the reviews that say the author walks on water. Throw out the negative reviews that expected the author to solve all their problems, or deal with a complex subject in too-few pages.

Jensen delivers extremely well within the limitations of what a book can do. In the first section he details the challenge of choice- and info-overload in ways that bring it home to our own behaviors. He holds each of us accountable for our own solutions.

Then he delivers the tools for those solutions. I can personally vouch for the fact that his approach to behavioral communication, storytelling, listening, and working backwards from people's needs have truly changed how my team interacts. Once we understood the power of clarity through use of the tools, we took on the accountability. This book didn't change our entire world. Just a valuable portion of how we try to work smarter and faster.

For me, whenever a book can help me do that, it's awesome.

Simple, at the beginning. Then lotsa mumbo jumbo
the book is intriguing at the beginning, laying down some good thoughts on how the corporate world became too complex.
Then it gets into a overlong description of technicality of his "simplification" processes that to me it looks very complex. So I basically started skimming the book starting from page 100 on...
Bottom line: good first 100 pages, rest not good. This is my opinion

Disaponting, and not simple to read
I had great optomism when I picked up this book, caring much about simplicity at work and in product design. However I found this book did not live up to the title - the page layout and design is complex, heavy on semi-relevant, but not great, quotes and anecdotes from people other than the author. The book generates a great deal of models, buzzwords, and processes, that could be beneficial, but are definitely not simple to follow, or to put into practice. The study mentioned in the book, which might be great, is impossible to find on the website (http://www.simplerwork.com - claims the section is under construction).

Sense-making, and Changing the Rules
This is two reviews, really. One for Simplicity, the other for the author's new book, Work 2.0. Another confession: I don't expect a book to solve all my needs. If I get one major or useful "aha!" (as the author calls it), then the book is worthwhile.

In Simplicity, he focuses on the basics of cutting through the clutter. I've had lots of experience in all sorts of communication and coaching tools and workshops, and nowhere have I found such useful guidance as Simplicity about what to do when there's too much communication, too much information. The hapters on behavioral communication and "hitting delete" more often are worth the purchase!

In Work 2.0, the author goes further. I was excited by his SimplerWork Index. He applies the principles from Simplicity to organizational design, work and tool design. He's setting new standards for what we should consider when envisioning great places to work.

The the communication tools in Simplicity, and the new things you'll think about in Work 2.0 make this pair of books a very worthwhile investment. ... Read more

Book Description

"An important, sophisticated and complex monograph . . . Both the theoretical analysis and the empirical findings constitute major contributions to cross-cultural value analysis and the cross-cultural study of work motivations and organizational dynamics. This book is also a valuable resource for anyone interested in a historical or anthropological approach to cross-cultural comparisons."
--PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

The Second Edition of this classic work, first published in 1981 and an international bestseller, explores the differences in thinking and social action that exist among members of more than 50 modern nations. Geert Hofstede argues that people carry "mental programs" which are developed in the family in early childhood and reinforced in schools and organizations, and that these programs contain components of national culture. They are expressed most clearly in the different values that predominate among people from different countries.

Geert Hofstede has completely rewritten, revised and updated Cultures Consequences for the twenty-first century, he has broadened the book's cross-disciplinary appeal, expanded the coverage of countries examined from 40 to more than 50, reformulated his arguments and a large amount of new literature has been included. The book is structured around five major dimensions: power distance; uncertainty avoidance; individualism versus collectivism; masculinity versus femininity; and long term versus short-term orientation.

Reviews (8)

Excellent for academic inquiry, not for bedside reading
In reference to the previous reviews, there is considerable critique of Hofstede's work throughout the academic community and Amazon.com is not the ideal place to get a feel for the value of this book. Also, the survey was not given in English around the world; it was translated into the appropriate languages and retranslated back into English just to ensure that the translation from English was accurate. However, this does not mean that other problems with the survey do not exist.

If you are seeking an understanding of what is currently known about culture and how to compare cultures, this book is essential. I don't mean that I think it is good. I mean that no reputable research on cultural values will fail to include Hofstede's work because it has been so influential, even for those who despise it. Those who agree use this to reinforce their perspectives. Those who disagree use this to frame counter-argument. It is essential.

It should be understood that this is academic literature. Only those committed to understanding the deep and complex issues associated with differences among cultures should even attempt to read thus. It is more like a reference book. I have only read probably half of it, myself. However, I learned more in that half than I have in many whole books.

For experienced readers and thinkers only.

Pure Garbage! Academic Quackery! A Joke! Cold Fusion!
Two important points: First, language and culture are inseparable. Second, this entire survey was done in English and therefore was flawed from the very beginning.

As for all of the reviewers, Amazon and otherwise:

1. No one has demonstrated any foreign language skills or published any peer-reviewed studies on this subject in native languages. Furthermore, who would trust a cross cultural survey performed on England or the U.S. but done completely in Michelin (French) or Nissan (Japanese) or Haier (Chinese) or Hyundai (Korean)and not in English and not outside of any one of these companies? (IBM and English language surveys)

2. Hofstede and Trompenaars try the "bigger is better" fallacy and both fail. Large numbers hide the truth and have NOTHING to do with the kind of people surveyed, the questions asked or the number of people surveyed in each group (sample sizes).

3.McSweeney points out in 1/02 Human Relations page 94 that the number of "respondents in 15 countries was less than 200". In the 1960's, the Philippines (part of this 15) had at least 30 million people on 6000 islands with 100 different dialects. Gallup polls in the U.S. alone are generally 5,000 people from a wide cross section, not a single company like IBM. His samples sizes are meaningless. Some samples were less than 100 people per country.

4. Those who think that any group of people can be reasonably described by 5 bipolar characteristics or even 10 simply are novices and have no place in academia. Furthermore, those who believe that the Russians, the Pakistanis, the Brazilians, the Irish and the Japanese can be characterized by a COMMON set of descriptors, have no language skills and no understanding of culture whatsoever.

5. It's doubtful if Hofstede or any commentators on either side have any significant overseas living experience outside of their home country's military, government, university or even home country company (i.e. subsidiary) using the local language and managing most affairs by themselves. They are all inexperienced and have no clue which questions to ask.

6. Those who believe that they have the capacity to do an analysis (survey instrument construction and collection/analysis) of more than 3 countries competently, except for a few Europeans working in Europe only, are delusional and possibly arrogant.

7. The belief that the one-dimensional analysis of country through one company, native or foreign, can yield any sort of reflection of even that one country's culture should be an obvious fallacy. Does anyone believe that Deal & Kennedy's 1977 survey instrument could be used outside of a Western country?

8. When respondents know the intent of a survey, the danger of bias is very high. When managers know the intent, the threat to the subordinate responders is even greater. Page 103 McSweeney 1/02 Human Relations, elucidates Hofstede's methods on this point.

9. The Confucianism dimension is nothing more than cultural condescension and severe academic laziness by Hofstede.

10. Hofstede and others have created a result and then found data to "prove??" their contrived result. Given the lack of qualifications, the unwillingness to ask the right questions and the unwillingness to even allow the IBM data speak the truth, there is nothing academic or reliable here.

The 1000 word limit is insufficient to detail all of the mistakes here. Suffice it to say, Hofstede's work is truly, the "Cold Fusion" of cross-cultural studies.

critiques of Hofstede
Pass the salt please. As already acknowledged in these reviews, there are sustained critiques of Hofstede. e.g.
Nigel Holden "Cross-Cultural Managment - a Knowledge Management Perspective" Harlow : Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2002.
"Hofstede's model of national cultural differences and their consequences: a triumph of faith - a failure of analysis." Brendan McSweeney in Human Relations, 2002, 55 (1)
"Beyond models of national culture in information systems research", by Michael Myers & Felix Tan in the Journal of Global Information Management,2002, 10 (1).
"Hofstede never studied culture" by Rachel Baskerville 2003 Accounting Organizations and Society 28 pages 1- 14
Those using this book should take it with a large grain of salt.

What Lies Beneath
From earlier reviews it is clear that Hofstede's research claims are controversial. The reviews have been extraordinarly laudatory or have very sharply questioned the verasity of Hofstede's research. So, I decided to read the book and the journal article cited in one of the reviews. The conclusions of that article are clear from its title: B.McSweeney "Hofstede's model of national cultural research: A triumph of faith - a failure of analysis", Human Relations, 2002 Vol.55,(January) pp.89-117. Human Relations is, I know, a very highly rated scholarly journal. All articles published in it are independently refereed, so there must be some merit in McSweeney's critique! I found his article to be very clearly and carefully written and to be very convincing. Whilst looking for a copy of the article, I discovered that Hofstede had replied and McSweeney had responed. Both reply and response were published in Human Relations in November last year (Vol.55, No.11). In my view it's "game, set, and match" to McSweeney. His demonstrations in his response of the flaws in Hofstede's "validations" are I think devastating. So, my recommendation is, if you plan to read Hofstede's book make sure you also read the three articles in Human Relations: McSweeney's critique; Hofstede's reply; McSweeney's response.

IBM Defines Your Nation's Culture ?
I'm kind of surprised by the voting on the reviews thus far. The glowing tributes which don't address the book critically are classified as helpful; the one which point to Hofstede's methodological problems, and cited further information in a leading management journal is seen as unhelpful. What should a review do ?

Well, how about this for food for thought. IBM, which is the organization Hofstede built his theory around, is now being accused of being complicit in sustaining apartheid in South Africa in the period of his research. Are we happy that this kind of a company is defining our understanding of nations' culture ? And how accurate a picture of South Africa's culture it presents ? And what about the other countries ? ... Read more

Book Description

Now in its Sixth Edition, this OB reader continues to both instruct and entertain the current generation of students and professionals about workplace realities.

Going beyond the usual technical/rational analysis of books on organizational behavior, each chapter is a fictionalized account of actual workplace happenings, and involves a continuing cast of characters whom readers come to know. Each account makes a point of its own, or illustrates theoretical material covered in the introductions to parts and sections.

For instance, why would a plant manager call a continuing series of 6:30am meetings about coordination of efforts, and then cancel them after a short while? (He effectively used negative reinforcement to reward the coordination that resulted from imposing the inconvenient meetings – aside from whatever the participants may have discussed.)

The "realness" of this text continues to draw a kind of fan mail from both students and others. As one Vice President of Sales for a nationally known corporation put it: "After 18 years in business life I only wish I had read it much earlier. Your book should be required reading for anyone embarking into any kind of organizational life . . ." ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Excellent view of corporate culture
Ritti writes an excellent view of corporate culture explaining the "why" decisions are made and "why" people act as they do in corporate America. It really helps to put the discipline of change management into perspective. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in organizational behavior (American companies only). My only criticism is that there is no short and simple explanation for each of the behaviors. The reader is forced to read the entire chapter and all of the short stories in order to get an idea as to what behavior is being described.

Excellent view of coporate culture
Ritti writes an excellent view of corporate culture explaining the "why" decisions are made and "why" people act as they do in corporate America. It really helps to put the discipline of change management into perspective. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in organizational behavior (American companies only). My only criticism is that there is no short and simple explanation for each of the behaviors. The reader is forced to read the entire chapter and all of the short stories in order to get an idea as to what behavior is being described.

Adventures in the Company
This book is often touted as a great book for students, or for new workers just beginning their career. While I agree with that prescription, I think as well that this could be an important book for everyone, no matter what their age is or where they are placed in the corporate environment. Particularly in these difficult economic times, it's never a bad idea to remind yourself how organizations work, or how others may perceive you without your awareness. Updated with new stories for the 5th edition. Very useful bibliography of further reading.

Organizational Revelation
"Ropes" is the only book that I read as part of my MBA course work from which I actually learned something useful. I apply its lessons at work everday. It reveals how organizations truly work. The various scenes played out in the book have been duplicated in my own career experience many times over. It is incredible. It was as if the author had studied the firm that I worked for and then wrote this book. I consider this book crucial in helping me in my career. Not only in advancement but in alleviating the frustration of not understanding why things happen the way they do in organizations. For example, "Ropes" helps answer the question, why does the idiot get put in charge of a project and not the person who is the most capable. It is also an excellent reference. I often turn back to it to see how a situation that I am experiencing now played out in the book. Not only is it instructive but it is also extremely entertaining. I could not put this book down and finished reading it in a day and a half. Since then I have read it several more times. This is the only edition that I have read, but since the different editions are significantly changed, I am sure that the earlier editions are just as worthwhile. I would highly recomend "ropes" to anyone who works in any type of organization and wants to understand what is going on in that organization.

You'll like it
It's a great management book with lots of tips. But way too centred on the American point of view. Here in Europe, there are things that just shouldn't be done the way Ritti puts them. ... Read more

Book Description

Dramatic trends are already in motion that will force organizations to do some major rethinking about their relationships with their employees. The New Workforce outlines five of these crucial developments, and describes how they will affect critical HR policies and programs in the very near future. The book considers the implications of ever-increasing life (and work-life) expectancy, new household types including same-sex partners and "Mr. Moms," the Baby Boom "Echo," widening diversity, and employee demands for greater emphasis on spirituality and social responsibility in the workplace. The New Workforce addresses such concerns as: How can we deal with the conflicting needs of four generations of employees? What changes must we make in our benefits coverage? Our pay policies? Our management training efforts? Do we need new recruiting and retention strategies? Why should the company care about employees' personal values and beliefs? ... Read more

Book Description

In Organizational Behavior: Solutions for Management, Paul Sweeney and Dean McFarlin have identified 4 key management skills areas that act as building blocks for successful behavior in management. These skills are: self-insight/perceptual skills; ability to inspire/motivate/lead; ability to analyze situations; and personal flexibility/adaptability. The authors also feel strongly that successful management of organizational behavior rests on the problem-solving process; in fact, the 4 skills listed above enable managers to use this process to deal with the “people problems” they face more effectively. If nothing else, studying what organizational behavior has to offer as a field should help a person figure out his/her strengths and weaknesses. ... Read more

Book Description

This innovative book is designed to drastically shorten the time needed to effectively implement change initiatives by helping readers understand both the behavioral and operational aspects of organizational change. The authors demonstrate how, through Action-Learning Teams, organizations can accomplish tangible business objectives while creating superior workforce development. They show leaders how to overcome resistance to change by involving critical stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, and cross-functional teams, in the design and deployment of change initiatives, resulting in drastically shortened time horizons for the successful implementation of change. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

What an absolute crock.
I read this book because of Marshall G.'s foreword. What I found was an academically immature, half-witted, and chaotic minor opus.I was so frustrated by the stupidity of it all that I actually investigated the authors.What I found was that Paul Childs is a farce.He has no major degrees or industry-worthy credentials, but that didn't stop him from padding his CV more than your average Enron executive. ... Read more

Book Description

Learn How You Can Create Life-Long Residual Income and Financial Security Through a Simple, Proven System!

With This Book You Will:

*Get the 6 keys that unlock the door to success in MLM
*Learn how to build your business free from doubt and fear.
*Discover how the way you listen has limited your success. And...
*Accomplish your goals in record time by shifting your "listening".
*Use the Zen of Prospecting to draw people to you like a magnet.
*Build rapport and find your prospect’s hot buttons instantly.
*Pick the perfect prospecting approach for you.
*Turn any prospect’s objection into the very reason they join.
*Identify your most productive prospecting sources . And...
*Win the numbers game of network marketing.
*Develop a step-by-step business plan that ensures your future.
*Design a "Single Daily Action" that increases your income 10 times.
*Rate yourself as a top sponsor and business partner.
*Create a passionate vision that guarantees your success.

And More!!! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Honest, no double-talk, simple, duplicatable techniques
Dr. Joe Rubino's book "...BEEN THERE DONE THAT" really shows that he HAS been there, done that! He is believable, and you can quickly see that his success comes from a "hands on experience". INTEGRITY, TESTED AND PROVEN KNOWLEDGE, SOLID and above all HONEST business practices and methods spill from every page. This simple, easy reading book is a favorite of mine and is presented to members of my organization who are serious about building a financial empire. It teaches leaders in the industry how to partner in the success of others. A true leader isn't a "Monday morning Quarterback"...Dr. Rubino teaches you how to get IN the game and WIN! Devouring this book taught me how to create my business goals and visions and then to PLAY FULL OUT with successful momentum!

No hype! Pure wisdom!
If you are seeking a book of simple, duplicatable methods to build a solid organization and income that will outlast your grandchildren, this is the one! It contiues to be used as a resource material for success! It is a favorite gift that I give to others.
Dr. Rubino's integrity and true contribution to this industry pours from every page!
This book really opened my eyes at what I was currently doing in my single daily actions. If read with the intention of applying these business building principles, you too will see where the "missings" in your business may lie, work to change them, and can experience the same thing I did...GREAT SUCCESS!

It made all the difference in my MLM business
"Been There Done That" is responsible for my network marketing success. It showed me how to correct all the things I was doing wrong and assisted me in creating a personal development plan combined with a specific effective action plan. The listening chapters alone are worth many times the cost of the book. I particularly benefitted from the clear advice on how to "listen through objections" as opposed to answering them. I also purchased Dr. Rubino's tape set "10-Weeks to Network Marketing Success" which is equally awesome and goes way beyond the book. It's like taking a 10 week course with Dr. Rubino. If you want a solid foundation toward success in MLM, buy this book and the tape set as well.

The best book written on how to succeed in MLM
No hype, just sound information on how to build a huge organization. Highly recommended!

Overpriced, no secrets.
This is a brief (as in thin), dumbed-down paperback that is mostly about prospecting. I'd say it's for the person who's never read anything about sales before, but only if you have a very limited attention span. Otherwise, there are far better books. ... Read more

Book Description

Sponsored by the International Association of Facilitators, The IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation offers the need-to-know basics in the field brought together by fifty leading practitioners and scholars. This indispensable resource includes successful strategies and methods, foundations, and resources for anyone who works with groups. The IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation provides an overview of the field for new and aspiring practitioners and a reliable reference for experienced group facilitators, including chapters on 

• Creating positive ongoing client relationships
• Building trust and improving communications
• Facilitating group brainstorming sessions
• Drawing out the best in people
• Developing a collaborative environment
• Designing and facilitating dialogue
• Managing conflicting agendas
• Working with multicultural groups
• Using improvisation
• Understanding virtual meetings
• Facilitating team start-up
• Assessing group decision processes
•   Building expertise in facilitation
• Reviewing core facilitation competencies
• Modeling positive professional attitudes

Reviews (1)

The Facilitation Reference Book
I have over 35 years of experience in facilitation, working in villages, multinational companies, intergovernmental bodies and not-for-profit organizations.The IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation is the reference book of facilitation.From the day it arrived I began using it.

Chapters cover a wide array of applications, methods and theory of faciliation.Topics such as visual facilitation, the use of stories in facilitation, training of facilitators, facilitation as a communications tool and much more make this book a must have for those concerned with the profession of facilitation ... Read more

Book Description

M->CREATED

Reviews (1)

Knowledgable
Nice book and I HAVE to read it. No choice! Is in my school text!It really isnt as boring as the other text books generally. Interesting actually! ... Read more

Book Description

Reveals emerging techniques for answering the challenges senior managers face today: improving organizational quality, inspiring team performance, and creating powerful long-range strategy. Presents a proven model for understanding organizations and demonstrates how it can be used to effect positive change in organizational systems.

... Read more

Reviews (1)

An Excellent Book!
An Excellent Book.. A Must For All The Managers In Any Organistaion. ... Read more

Book Description

This readable, research-based book contains a somewhat psychological approach that is balanced by engaging business and management features. Clearly presented theory is backed up by real-world cases, discussion questions, and experiential exercises.Comprehensive coverage includes organizational behaviour and management; personality and learning; perception, attribution, and judgment of others; values, attitudes, and work behaviour; theories of work motivation; motivation in practice; groups and teamwork; social influence, socialization, and culture; leadership; communication; decision making; power, politics, and ethics; conflict and stress; organizational structure; environment, strategy, and technology; organizational change, development, and innovation.For organizations' individuals who want to be successful and happy in the workplace. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Long winded but not unbearably so
This book was used as part of a Business Management program I'm doing and because of the length of chapters we did not get to cover much of the book.I think that the chapters could have been shortened a great deal and more emphasis placed on important issues.The book itself (quality) is extremely poor.Every student in the class found that despite its having a hard cover the pages were falling out and the binding didn't hold.

Ironically, this books needs some ORGANIZATION
Maybe, it is just me but I personally think that the book is poorly written and structured.I dislike the style that the author uses writing this book by constantly mentioning the names of scientists who developed some of the theories. This made it extremely difficult to follow due to the overflow of people's names. An example of my own "I wrote this review because John made an experient with Dave Smith that shows Amazon.com Customers will read it and not purchase the book.Dave Smith with Mark Davidson and Howard James conclude that reviews are good and reviews have become a part of good books".This sentence clearly did not have any great purpose, all it did was take up 'word counts'.

Other bad layouts include: Bad paragraph strucuturing (some paragraphs are so badly strucutured that it takes up the entire page), lack of highlights, bad definitions meant that you would actually have to look in the dictionary to get a better explaination.Another example of mine BAD: "Java is comprised of Legend 1422 and Cobra122, using H111 as a base running-engine symmetric to C1223". ALOT of useless nonsense, instead of simple saying "Java is a computer-friendly high level programming language....."

Maybe, I'm wrong or biased but I have definitely seen and used better books.Please write a review on what you think and maybe correct me on some areas if i'm wrong ... Read more

Book Description

The Shopfloor Series puts powerful improvement tools in thehands of an entire workforce. And now Productivity's all-timebestseller, A Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED System, isavailable in a condensed version prepared especially for front-lineworkers and general interest readers.Quick changeover techniques, thebasis for "just-in-time" manufacturing, result in dramatically lowercosts and vastly improved product quality.This peerless introductionincludes chapter outlines, margin assists, illustrations, and helpfulapplication questions.The late Shigeo Shingo was the undisputedmaster of advanced methods that revolutionized manufacturing worldwide.Dr. Shingo, inventor of the Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) systemfor Toyota, shows how to reduce changeover time by an average of 98percent! Application of Shingo's techniques can reduce lead time fromweeks to days, and lower work-in-process, inventory, and warehousingcostsall of which will improve quality, productivity, and profits. ... Read more

Book Description

This new approach to managerial economics takes models from recent economics research and applies this research to the internal structure of the firm. After teaching basic applied economics, the authors look inside the firm and apply this analysis to management decision making.

The general model used for this application is organizational architecture.Organizational architecture consists of three aspects of corporate organization: the assignment of decision rights within the company; methods of rewarding individuals; the structure of systems to evaluate the performance of both individuals and business units.These three components can be likened to a stool with three legs.If one of the legs is shorter, the stool is out of balance.These three elements must be in balance in the organization as well. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Healthy Concepts
I just loved the way each chapter started with a scenario from the history archives of actual firms that narrated a story which was directly linked to the contents of the chapter. Out of all the books that i read for my MBA, this book has been one of the better Management books, which i enjoyed reading. The ideas, theories and concepts in the book felt like eating a salad for lunch. It was light, easy to digest and healthy

Great Economics Text for Managers
Great overview of economics. Good for managers who want to know how to read economic forces, react to them, and how to use them.

An outstanding all-in-one guide to business management
Besides being a well organized and example-packed textbook, I found Managerial Economics and Organizational Architecture to be a compact MBA refresher course -- and a useful reference for day-to-day problems. Thinking about business organizations as rational individuals responding to incentives and new information simply fits the facts. The three basic elements developed in this book allow managers to translate this logical thinking into operational decisions: allocating decision rights, measuring performance, and compensating individuals and groups. The power of this approach in analyzing common management problems equips the reader with a rich set of tools for identifying and solving them.

It provides a powerful analysis of organizational structure.
This book provides a broad, powerful, economics-based framework for examining a wide array of organizational problems--centralization vs decentralization, use of incentive compensation, establishing cost or profit centers. It is well organized, and the numerous examples from the business press help relate the analysis to practice. Because it is based on economics, it provides strong links to finance, accounting, and marketing.

I loved this book.
This is one of the most insightful approaches I have ever seen toward understanding behavior in organizations and organization structure. It's the best managerial economics text on the market. Very useful for thoughtful readers. ... Read more

Book Description

Most managers hate conducting performance appraisal discussions. What's worse, few feel confident in their ability to accurately assessthe performance of a subordinate. In The Performance Appraisal Question and Answer Book, expert Dick Grote answers over 100 of the mostcommon -- and most difficult -- questions about this vitally important but often misunderstood and misused tool, including:

* How should I react when an employee starts crying during the appraisal discussion . . . or gets mad at me? * Which is more important -- the results the person achieved or the way she went about doing the job? * Is there such a thing as a perfect performance appraisal form?

Many of the answers include a Hot Tip or Red Flag: a note to the reader making a particularly insightful suggestion. This book helps supervisors and HRprofessionals ease the pain of performance appraisal and use the process effectively. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A book for new and old managers alike
Mr. Grote tells it like it is, and I loved his approach in this book. It's presented in a question & answer format where he presents a question that is just about everyone's mind who conducts performance appraisals for employees, and he answers it with a short answer then a longer and more detailed answer. The best line is when he says, "Supervisors put up with too much [stuff]otherwise writes very well and straightforward, and strongly pushed the responsibility for improvement back to the employee, not the manager. Thank you for liberating me! He spends a good deal of the book on performance planning as well, an often underutilized tool to set an employee up for success. ... Read more