C.E. Bogan, M.J. English

1994, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing

ISBN: 0070063753

Benchmark expert Christopher E. Bogan and corporate quality director Michael J. English walk management through their 9-step benchmarking model--from improving baseline trends to achieving world-class quality leadership. Recognizing that successful benchmarking often, demands dramatic changes in corporate attitudes--and an end to the "not invented here'' mentality that stifles innovation--they arm readers with the weapons to: Forge a learning organization ready to borrow successful ideas wherever they occur--inside or outside the firm; Tailor benchmarking to a firm's unique identity--acknowledging that one company's "best practices'' aren't always another's; Sell benchmarking to even the most skeptical senior executives or "turf conscious'' factory and line managers; Manage the total project--including determining what, and against whom, to benchmark.

 

 

R. Hiebeler, T. Kelly, C. Ketteman

1998, Simon&Schuster

ISBN: B0000645WD

What makes the world's top companies so adept at providing stellar customer service? How do they meet the needs of every customer and still turn healthy profits? And, most important, how can you adapt their practices to fit your business?

 

Thanks to over six years of ongoing research and an investment of $30 million, Arthur Andersen has created its Global Best Practices Database to uncover breakthrough thinking at world-class companies. Now, in Best Practices, Arthur Andersen for the first time shares its understanding of how more than forty best-practices companies focus on their customers, create growth, reduce cost, and increase profits. Managers of any business in any industry can adapt and apply what those companies do best.

 

Unlike most books based merely on an author's own theories or limited anecdotal experience, Best Practices is backed up by 30,000 pages of active, documented data on hundreds of companies worldwide. This book concentrates primarily on customers and how to involve them in everything from the design of products and services to marketing, selling, and product delivery.

 

Perhaps the greatest value of the book lies in its linking of best practices to business processes, thereby encouraging managers to expand their thinking and engage in creative problem-solving with the help of insights from companies inside or outside their own industry For example, the manager of a clothing store chain can study how Federal Express adapted the concept of just-in-time manufacturing to its rapid delivery of parts between supplier and customer. The owner of a small coffee shop chain might learn from American Express and Peapod how to target customers by offering particular products and predicting exactly when they will make their next purchases.

 

These and other examples will help business people diagnose the processes in place at their own companies and determine how best to improve them. Comprehensive and on the cutting edge, Best Practices will serve as an invaluable information resource.

 

 

M. Hammer

1996, Harperbusiness

ISBN: 0887307299

In 1990 Michael Hammer introduced the world to reengineering and set in motion a series of events that has transformed the business world beyond recognition. What began as an effort to improve performance has led to a complete rethinking of all aspects of business, from the jobs that people have, to the ways in which companies are structured.

 

 

In Beyond Reengineering, Hammer offers powerful insights into the consequences of the reengineering revolution and how they are changing our work and our lives. To succeed -- or even to survive -- in today's global economy, companies must refocus and reorganize themselves around their processes: the end-to-end sequence of tasks that creates customer value. This change, so easily described, in fact marks the end of the Industrial Revolution and of the organizations that were designed for it. In this groundbreaking work, Hammer, co-author of the bestselling Reengineering the Corporation, mines the experiences of individuals and organizations that have already made this transition to offer a compelling vision of an imminent future.

 

 

Beyond Reengineering provides more than a preview of tomorrow's businesses. It also offers an understanding of what we must all do to prepare ourselves and our children for an economy in which all the familiar rules have been broken. It is required reading for executives and frontline workers, for students and investors, for everyone who wants to be prepared for the new world that is at our doorstep.

 

 

J.R. Whelan, P.B. Bozell

1984, Jameson Books

ISBN 0-915463-06-7

"The authors of this important book cut through both the lies and the illusions that obscure our understanding of the turmoil in Central America.

 

They focus instead on the reality - the security of our country, the prospects for freedom in our hemisphere."

 

 

L. Kahaner

1998, Touchstone Books

ISBN: 0684844044

This book takes readers beyond the Information Age and into the Age of Intelligence, explaining how to turn the raw facts, statistics, and numbers about competitors' activities and market trends into practical guidelines for making the right business decisions. "Help separate the useless from the useful".--"USA Today". BOMC Selection National print & radio publicity.

 

 

R.S. Kaplan, R. Cooper

1997, Harvard Business School Pr

ISBN: 0875847889

Two of the most innovative thinkers in the field present a work that represents the single best resource for understanding and implementing activity-based cost management. Kaplan and Cooper reveal that most companies don't know how to measure accurately, influence, or understand the fundamental cost drivers in their businesses. They then provide a detailed and comprehensive blueprint that will enable managers to make better decisions and to promote organizational learning and improvement.

 

Cost and Effect takes the management, finance, and accounting fields to an entirely new level, as the authors demonstrate how the principles of activity-based costing and other advanced cost management techniques, such as target and kaizen costing, can drive business performance. Using lively examples from a variety of leading companies worldwide--including Siemens, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T, the Swedish wire manufacturer Kanthal, Kirin Beer, and Procter& Gamble--they show how to create integrated, knowledge-based systems that provide meaningful information on current and past performance.

 

The innovation systems described in Cost and Effect will help you: Determine where improvements in quality, efficiency, and productivity will have the highest payoffs. Assist front-line employees in their learning and improvement activities. Make better product mix and capital investment decisions. Negotiate more effectively on price, product features, quality, delivery, and service to promote win-win relationships with your customers. Choose low-cost suppliers who are truly low cost, not just low price. Design products and services that meet customers'expectations--and that can be produced and delivered at a profit. Integrate your activity-based cost system into reporting and budgeting processes to reveal the sources of excess capacity.

 

Everyone involved in running a business--from general managers and strategic planners to financial executives, IT professionals, and operations managers--must read this book to learn how innovative cost and performance measurement systems can enhance their organizational profitability and performance.

 

 

R.K. Roy

2001, Wiley-Interscience

ISBN: 0471361011

Fulfill the practical potential of DOE–with a powerful, 16-step approach for applying the Taguchi method

 

Over the past decade, Design of Experiments (DOE) has undergone great advances through the work of the Japanese management guru Genechi Taguchi. Yet, until now, books on the Taguchi method have been steeped in theory and complicated statistical analysis. Now this trailblazing work translates the Taguchi method into an easy-to-implement 16-step system.

 

Based on Ranjit Roy’s successful Taguchi training course, this extensively illustrated book/CD-ROM package gives readers the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and apply the Taguchi method to engineering projects–from theory and applications to hands-on analysis of the data. It is suitable for managers and technicians without a college-level engineering or statistical background, and its self-study pace–with exercises included in each chapter–helps readers start using Taguchi DOE tools on the job quickly. Special features include:

 

An accompanying CD-ROM of Qualitek-4 software, which performs calculations and features all example experiments described in the book

Problem-solving exercises relevant to actual engineering situations, with solutions included at the end of the text

Coverage of two-, three-, and four-level factors, analysis of variance, robust designs, combination designs, and more

Engineers and technical personnel working in process and product design–as well as other professionals interested in the Taguchi method–will find this book/CD-ROM a tremendously important and useful asset for making the most of DOE in their work.

 

 

E. Alvarado

1996, 3ª Edición, Colección Enalba

Litografía e Imprenta LIL, San José Costa Rica

ISBN 9977-47-211-4

La búsqueda de la excelencia competitiva global, la calidad de la información es una variable clave. Las organizaciones necesitan información confiable sobre su efectividad para crear valor reconocido por los clientes.  Actualmente, el costo, por si solo, ha dejado de ser una fuente competitiva de valor; son las actividades las que tienen el poder de agregar valor.  En consecuencia, es necesario enfocar éstas en todas sus dimensiones.  Una dimensión crítica de las actividades está constituida por los costos, razón por la cual han surgido los sistemas de costos basados en actividades. - R.Alvarado -

 

 

J. Tennent, G.Friend

Profile Books Limited; (July 2001)

ISBN: 1861971265

The definitive guide to creating business models that can be used to evaluate anything from a modest business proposal to a major acquisition.

 

All organizations face more and more complex decision-making while the risks dependent on their decisions require increasingly explicit understanding of potential outcomes.

 

This special larger format guide is full of practical help on how to build the best, most flexible and easy-to-use business models for analyzing the upside or potential downside of anything from a small development of an existing business to large scale mergers and acquisitions. For anyone who wants to get ahead in business and especially for those with bottom-line responsibilities, this is an invaluable guide to how to build spreadsheet models for assessing business risks and opportunities.

 

About the Author

John Tennent, a qualified accountant, manages a training consultancy specializing in business modelling and investment appraisal. Graham Friend is a consultant specializing in business modelling.

 

 

N. Marín, W. Ketelhöhn

1995, 6ª Edición, Libre

Litografía e Imprenta LIL, San José Costa Rica

ISBN 9977-89-036-6

En este libro los doctores Marín y Ketelhöhn presentan una visión práctica para identificar y evaluar los proyectos de inversión, lo mismo que de la formulación de las estrategias empresariales que les dieron origen.

 

Los autores lograron una presentación novedosa, que intenta en cuatro secciones complementarias las dimensiones esenciales que afectan la estrategia de la empresa y la evaluación de sus proyectos de inversión:

 

- Concepto Estratégico

- Evaluación Financiera

- Evaluación de Riesgo

- Evaluación del Entorno

 

 

J. Naisbitt

1984, Warner Books

ISBN: 9994956191

Nearly two decades have passed since the publication of the groundbreaking national bestseller --Megatrends-- and a remarkable number of its controversial prophecies have come to pass. Now the forecasters who accurately predicted the shape of the '80s turn their sights on the coming new century. And what they see will astound, excite, and profoundly touch the lives of each and every one of us.

 

 

A. Toffler

1976, Random House (Paper)

ISBN: 0394489470

Toffler argues that while headlines focus on shifts of power at the global level, equally significant shifts are taking place in our everyday world--supermarkets, hospitals, banks, television, and politics. As old antagonisms fade, Toffler identifies where the next, far more important world division will arise . . . between the "fast" and the "slow." "Thought-provoking on every page."--Newsday. HC: Bantam.

 

 

T.H. Davenport

1992, Harvard Business School Pr

ISBN: 0875843662

"Davenport is the new breed of management researcher; he combines academic rigor with practical experience in responding to the 1990's competitive reality of probing ho general managers can make 'big things happen.'"

 

"Process Innovation is breakthrough thinking on how to exploit the real potential of the IT. This work offers no'silver bullets,' but a pathway for the serious general manager who must incorporate IT into his or her strategic management repertoire. Bold initiatives are required, and Process Innovation 'best-of-the-best practices,' and sound guidelines on how to apply these practices. I recommended Davenport’s book as an important read for the 1990s general manager."

 

 

V. D. Hunt

1996, John Wiley& Sons

ISBN: 0471132810

A practical and attainable blueprint for getting to market faster, cheaper and better. Based on the experiences of successful enterprises including IBM, General Electric, NASA and Tandy Electronics, this outstanding guide outlines a 12-step program to successfully transform the business processes of any company. Contains extremely useful how-to advice and numerous sample process maps.

 

 

R.T. Kiyosaki, S.L. Lechter

2000, Warner Books

ISBN: 0446677450

"Personal-finance author and lecturer Robert T. Kiyosaki developed his unique economic perspective from two very different influences--his two fathers. One father (Robert's real father) was a highly educated man, but fiscally poor. The other father was the father of Robert's best friend--the Dad who was an eighth grade dropout who became a self-made multi-millionaire. The lifelong monetary problems experienced by his "poor dad" pounded home the counterpoint communicated by his "rich dad." Taking that message to heart, Kiyosaki was able to retore at 47. RICH DAD, POOR DAD, written with consultant and CPA Sharon L. Lechter lays out Kiyosaki's philosophy behind his relationship with money. RICH DAD, POOR DAD opens readers eyes by:

 

- exploding the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich

- challenging the belief that your house is an asset

- defining once and for all an asset versus a liability

- explaining what kids need to know about money for their future financial success"

 

 

S.R. Covey

1990, Simon& Schuster

ISBN: 0671708635

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges.

Before you can adopt the seven habits, you'll need to accomplish what Covey calls a"paradigm shift"--a change in perception and interpretation of how the world works. Covey takes you through this change, which affects how you perceive and act regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, developing your "proactive muscles" (acting with initiative rather than reacting), and much more.

 

This isn't a quick-tips-start-tomorrow kind of book. The concepts are sometimes intricate, and you'll want to study this book, not skim it. When you finish, you'll probably have Post-it notes or hand-written annotations in every chapter, and you'll feel like you've taken a powerful seminar by Covey. --Joan Price

 

 

R.S. Kaplan, D.P. Norton

1996, Harvard Business School Pr

ISBN: 0875846513

Here is the book--by the recognized architects of the Balanced Scorecard--that shows how managers can use this revolutionary tool to mobilize their people to fulfill the company's mission. More than just a measurement system, the Balanced Scorecard is a management system that can channel the energies, abilities, and specific knowledge held by people throughout the organization toward achieving long-term strategic goals.

 

Kaplan and Norton demonstrate how senior executives in industries such as banking, oil, insurance, and retailing are using the Balanced Scorecard both to guide current performance and to target future performance. They show how to use measures in four categories-financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and learning and growth-to align individual, organizational, and cross-departmental initiatives and to identify entirely new processes for meeting customer and shareholder objectives.

 

The authors also reveal how to use the Balanced Scorecard as a robust learning system for testing, gaining feedback on, and updating the organization's strategy. Finally, they walk through the steps that managers in any company can use to build their own Balanced Scorecard.

 

The Balanced Scorecard provides the management system for companies to invest in the long term-in customers, in employees, in new product development, and in systems-rather than managing the bottom line to pump up short-term earnings. It will change the way you measure and manage your business.

 

 

R.W. Rahn

1999, Discovery Institute

ISBN: 0963865420

Imagine a world in which: you make all of your purchases without ever handling currency - bills or coins - or even writing checks; most money is issued privately and digitally, rather than by governments; inflation is largely a relic of the past; you choose which transactions you wish to be on record and which you wish to be anonymous. This world is not science fiction, but the world that increasing numbers of people will come to enjoy over the next couple of decades, according to the new book, The end of Money, by Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Richard W. Rahn.

 

Technology has fast outpaced governments'ability to maintain control of electronic finance. Advances in fiber optics, encryption, and smart-card technologies make it ever easier to transfer funds from one person to another anywhere around the globe almost instantaneously, and without the use of paper and coins. Global financial networks and systems allow any asset whose value is recognized and guaranteed by a reliable financial institution to be instantly transferred from one person to another.

 

Private institutions are already developing"digital dollars" that will someday reduce transaction costs and monetary instability, thus leading to grater economic efficiency and higher standards of living. Unfortunately, this new world f digital money is fiercely resisted by many government officials. The full benefits of digital money will not be realized unless people are left free to move their financial assets around the globe in a private fashion.

 

 

P.M. Senge, A. Kleiner

1994, Currency/Doubleday

ISBN: 0385472560

Peter Senge's national bestseller, The Fifth Discipline, revolutionized the practice of management by introducing the theory of learning organizations. Now Dr. Senge moves from the philosophical to the practical by answering the first question all lovers of the learning organization ask: What do they do on Monday morning?

 

The Fieldbook is an intensely pragmatic guide. It shows how to create an organization of learners where memories are brought to life, where collaboration is the lifeblood of every endeavor, and where the tough questions are fearlessly asked. The stories here show that companies, businesses, schools, agencies, and even communities can undo their"learning disabilities" and achieve superior performance. If ever a work gave meaning to the phrase hands-on, this is it. Senge and his four co-authors cover it all including:

 

       Reinventing relationships

       Being loyal to the truth

       Building a shared vision

       Organizations as communities

       Designing an organization's governing ideas

 

The Fieldbook is designed to have you creating a learning organization right from the very beginning! Listen to it anywhere: in meetings, planning sessions, during reflections, or anytime a conflict or challenge arises. Listen to The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, take notes, and watch your own guide to mastering the disciplines of organizational learning evolve.

 

 

J.A. Dorn

1997, Cato Institute

ISBN 1-882577-52-3

All but two of the 18 essays in this collection come from a conference organized by the Cato Institute in May 1996 to discuss the economic ramifications of the information revolution; the topics range from current technological possibilities to the impact that further developments will have on monetary policy. Catherine England, a George Mason University economist, goes so far as to propose that "what is 'money' will be determined by what buyers and sellers accept and use as money," and that the Fed will no longer be the sole supplier of currency. It's too soon to determine whether this outcome will transpire, but as this anthology demonstrates, it's a possibility we must begin considering now.

 

 

C.M. Christensen

1997, McGraw-Hill

ISBN: 0071038698

What do the Honda Supercub, Intel's 8088 processor, and hydraulic excavators have in common? They are all examples of disruptive technologies that helped to redefine the competitive landscape of their respective markets. These products did not come about as the result of successful companies carrying out sound business practices in established markets. In The Innovator's Dilemma, author Clayton M. Christensen shows how these and other products cut into the low end of the marketplace and eventually evolved to displace high-end competitors and their reigning technologies.

 

At the heart of The Innovator's Dilemma is how a successful company with established products keeps from being pushed aside by newer, cheaper products that will, over time, get better and become a serious threat. Christensen writes that even the best-managed companies, in spite of their attention to customers and continual investment in new technology, are susceptible to failure no matter what the industry, be it hard drives or consumer retailing. Succinct and clearly written, The Innovator's Dilemma is an important book that belongs on every manager's bookshelf. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards

 

 

M. Brassard, D. Ritter

1994, Goal/QPC

ISBN 1-879364-44-1

The Memory Jogger II is an easy-to-use pocket guide that describes tools to help you make continuous improvements in an organization. The tools help people at all levels participate in identifying and solving problems; eliminating rework; streamlining processes; improving cross-functional communication; decreasing costs; and measuring results. The guide supports organization-wide consistency and participation in creating organizational breakthroughs and improvements.

 

 

P. Martin, K. Tate

1997, Goal/QPC

ISBN 1-57681-001-1

This cost-effective pocket guide ensures that project teams achieve high-quality results. It provides each member of an organization with an easy-to-use roadmap for managing all types of projects. Whether a team is planning the construction of a new facility or implementing a customer feedback system, this pocket guide can help you avoid typical problems and pitfalls. It is packed with useful information on everything from project concept to completion. The method described in the Project Management Memory Jogger is consistent with industry standard approaches such as PMBOK, with an emphasis on participation, empowerment, individual accountability, and results, and utilizes continuous improvement tools and concepts.

 

 

J.R. Schuster, P.K. Zingheim

1992, Lexington Books

ISBN 0-669-15358-3

Schuster and Zingheim revolutionize old-line compensation systems with The New Pay. By showing how modern pay plans develop talent over the long run, they demonstrate how to make the best possible investment in a company’s future.

 

This book is full of truly innovative ideas for relating pay to measures of performance not just for executives but for everyone.

 

 

A.R. Cohen

1995, John Wiley& Sons

ISBN: 047112723X

Combines the best of current leadership and management theory and practice. Focuses on the use of people and organizations as "competitive weapons'' as well as how to generate and sustain the behavior necessary to stay ahead of the competition. Improving subordinate performance, negotiating skills, organizational design, development and change are among the topics covered.

 

 

T. Sowell

1999, The Free Press

ISBN 0-68486462-2

Thomas Sowell is a man of immense learning but with a common touch. His books reveal a dazzling mind that ranges freely and easily from history and sociology to economics to public policy. He conveys complex ideas in a simple way for a mass audience, a skill he learned as an academic who writes a syndicated newspaper column. This strength is on full view in The Quest for Cosmic Justice, which is perhaps best described as a work of moral philosophy. That may sound off-putting, but it shouldn't. Again, Sowell writes for lay readers, and his clear thinking is on immediate display. His topic is justice, broadly understood. We constantly hear of "social justice," he says. But how is social justice different from other kinds of justice? The word social, in fact, is redundant here: "All justice is inherently social. Can someone on a desert island be either just or unjust?" The book goes on to show how one person's sense of justice and equality can lead to their exact opposites: injustice and inequality. He holds no quarter for those who pursue "cosmic justice," the dangerous notion that people can right all wrongs, and favors "traditional justice," which emphasizes rules and procedures. The Quest for Cosmic Justice ought to be required reading for all students in college-level political theory courses; Sowell's conservative politics and aversion to academic jargon probably guarantee it won't be. That's a shame, because he is the very definition of a public intellectual--and The Quest for Cosmic Justice is another awesome achievement. --John J. Miller

 

 

R.L. Manganelli

1996, AMACOM

ISBN: 0814479235

A businessperson's guide to "re-engineering the corporation" that explains what that process means to a business, how to determine if such efforts are needed and what they will do, and a detailed methodology of how to carry out the transformation. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

 

 

M.H. McCormack

1988, Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Trd Pap)

ISBN: 0553345834

"Business demands innovation. There is a constant need to feel around the fringes, to test the edges, but business schools, out of necessity, are condemned to teach the past.'

-- Mark H. McCormack, from"What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School" published by Bantam Books.

 

Mark McCormack is the founder of International Management Group, a multimillion-dollar, worldwide corporation that is a consultant to fifty Fortune 500 companies, a major producer of television programming and credited as the single most important influence in turning sports into big business.

 

Listen to McCormack as he tells you how to -- read people -- create the right first impression -- take the leading edge -run and attend meetings -- the secrets of successful selling and moving up within the organization.

 

 

S. Johnson, K. Blanchard

1998, Putnam Pub Group (Paper)

ISBN: 0399144463

Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice -- non-analytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are "little people," mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. It's not just sustenance to them; it's their self-image. Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they've found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese, and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out.

 

Dr. Johnson, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and many other books, presents this parable to business, church groups, schools, military organizations--anyplace where you find people who may fear or resist change. And although more analytical and skeptical readers may find the tale a little too simplistic, its beauty is that it sums up all natural history in just 94 pages: Things change. They always have changed and always will change. And while there's no single way to deal with change, the consequence of pretending change won't happen is always the same: The cheese runs out. --Lou Schuler

 

 

D.P. Goleman

2000, Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Trd Pap)

ISBN: 0553378589

Working With Emotional Intelligence takes the concepts from Daniel Goleman's bestseller, Emotional Intelligence, into the workplace. Business leaders and outstanding performers are not defined by their IQs or even their job skills, but by their "emotional intelligence": a set of competencies that distinguishes how people manage feelings, interact, and communicate. Analyses done by dozens of experts in 500 corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide conclude that emotional intelligence is the barometer of excellence on virtually any job. This book explains what emotional intelligence is and why it counts more than IQ or expertise for excelling on the job. It details 12 personal competencies based on self-mastery (such as accurate self-assessment, self-control, initiative, and optimism) and 13 key relationship skills (such as service orientation, developing others, conflict management, and building bonds). Goleman includes many examples and anecdotes--from Fortune 500 companies to a nonprofit preschool--that show how these competencies lead to or thwart success.

 

Unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can keep growing--it continues to develop with life experiences. Understanding and raising your emotional intelligence is essential to your success and leadership potential. This book is an excellent resource for learning how to accomplish this. --Joan Price